#maybe he has an even powerful backer

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

Cain Should Have Been Charlie's Mysterious Backer

Seriously, instead of the radio demon being presented as this backer who even the princess of hell is afraid of how about Cain who could be made out to be one of the few sinners who has the power to contend with Lucifer and Lilith due to him being like the latter a former human turned demon. He also would be the oldest overlord who has been there for centuries instead of it being Lord Zestial. Also I would have this motivation that maybe due to his guilt of feeling he caused the fall of so many of his own descendants that he wants set things right by maybe tackling the possibility of redeeming a sinner.

As a twist have Alasto, Husker, and Nifty all be former warlords who fell under him but still are notorious for being under him. Them being former warlords would show how really powerful he is and how he really has such grand power to make even powerful warlords bend to him. And make it so all three don't tell people who he is, but hint they work for someone higher up. Also have Cain be someone people talk in whispers and rumors and have them be tales of his antics.

To tie things with Adam have there be he has drama with Adam and tells Charlie not to mention him to his father and what he is doing because he still has issues with his family and can't really show his face to them after what he did eons ago. Also i this rewrite Adam is an angel but he's an ambassador from heaven who checks in on his children and acts like his canon self, but less debauch and is just a g rated rocker guy who likes to have fun with even his fallen descendants. I would like to think he would underneath show his secret vulnerable side to Charlie and says he misses his son Cain which gets Charlie to feel guilty about keeping Cain as her backer a secret from him.

[widderwise]

Prompt: DP x DC or Marvel (Mostly Marvel on this one)

For the record when it comes to DP I can't swear to what is canon/fanon. My DC/Marvel knowledge is better but I can't say which timeline/version is which. They have too many versions of people/events.

So, going with the thought that destroying the Ghost Zone/Infinite Realms would destroy the 'living' dimensions attached to it, it would serve to reason that more than just the "Earth" in that dimension would be at risk. Some fanon speaks of the possibility of 'pruning' dimensions that threaten the Realms sufficiently. Both Marvel and DC have extensive non-Earth people. Given that humans are threatening them, why wouldn't the Ancients turn to older or more powerful people in the 'problem' universe to shut down the upstart humans.

In DC, it could be the Green Lantern Corps. Forget Hal and them, just send someone to OA. It would be in the whole dimensions interest to stop the humans. I don't know GL lore well and I'm sure there are other groups that would come shut Earth down either diplomatically or taking it as an excuse to conquer. That's assuming Spectre himself didn't deal with the GIW and their backers himself. Given what he did to Constantine, he is more than powerful enough.

In a Marvel dimension, it could be the Nova Corps which I know even less lore about but are the closest things to space cops I know of. My original thought actually went to a different authority. Purely on Earth The Ancient One/Stephen Strange/Wong should be all over that kind of problem.

But! Outside of Earth there is a figure who claims to be the protector of the realms of Yggdrasil: (Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard (EARTH!), Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim)... ODIN!

Space cops are one thing, but Asguard is living mythology so the Realms, maybe a representative from Valhalla, sending a message (maybe a delegation of Ancients? Pandora, Clockwork, Vortex, Nocturne, Undergrowth, etc) to Odin that Earth is making trouble and it's his job to fix it? It lose lose for him if he doesn't. One, end of life for everyone there and two if he lets others investigate they might dig up his dirty little secret in Helheim (his 'dead' daugher Hela).

He is less than shocked of human stupidity and decides to send Thor to 'negotiate' and fix the problem. Timeline wise I'd say after Avengers but before Thor: Dark World. So Loki is currently imprisoned. Odin and Frigga think this will be an excellent chance for Thor to prove his ability to rule Asgard. The preferred method would be diplomatic, but Thor is expect to deal with the humans threatening the universe one way or the bloody way. Just in case, maybe Frigga has Loki ready to step in and actually be diplomatic.

So, Thor shows up back on Earth not to be a hero but to take on part (even if a very small part) of the US government. He announces his intentions loudly, maybe it gets overheard and his words (maybe not the smoothest ones) spread around.

Danny Phantom (ghost prince/king?) and his fraid (I know it's fanon, but I love it) get put in protective custody (likely with the Avengers) whether they like it or not. The Ancient actually stepping up and treating the kids like kids (horrors- Danny hates it-mostly) Tracking down Dani is harder, she probably gets in trouble with someone (GIW, Shieldra, etc). I feel like bad/especially dense Fenton parents might be prime pickings for Hydra.

I see a comedy of errors on Thor's part. Some angst from the ghosts being harmed by the GIW. A massive migraine from Tony Stark who is trying to be actually diplomatic, not piss off his own government, and deal with a small mid-western town that has an information lock down his tech hadn't detected before. (The whole of Amity disappeared for a bit) I see Steve taking Thor's declaration badly and not believing that 'ghosts' can destroy everyone. Shield/Hydra wants ecto-tech and has no issue 'detaining' ghosts.

I think I'll write at least the scene where Thor arrives back on Earth.

Other less fleshed out thoughts:

-Hela is totally at least part dead. Is she a halfa too? Hela mentors Danny eventually? O.O Maybe Danny decides he doesn't want to be KIng. Queen of Ghosts Hela. Maybe a less crazy Hela because she had ghosts to chill with all this time? Either way, Odin is in trouble now.

[ahaura]

the liberal idea of "good vs evil" in the media is insidiously being used to justify genocide. the state committing genocide right now (israel) is objectively the bad guys. the existence of the apartheid, fascist, genocidal ethno-state was created and is maintained by the murder, displacement, brutalization, and dehumanization of palestinians. the idea that israel is "the only democracy" in the middle east is nothing more than colonial propaganda garbage when an apartheid ethno-state cannot functionally be democratic, and the claim/implication that a country is "civilized" while it brutalizes the people whose presence in the region that predates both the creation of the zionist state and the zionist, colonial movement itself is not only racist and stupid but absurd. it's been a month and western media still touts the line that "israel is the victim" and "they're surrounded by enemies on all sides" when 1) israel cannot be the victim when experiencing the blowback of its own violent, heinous occupation and ethnic cleansing of the people who were there first 2) any and all deaths that occur are the fault of the apartheid state; violence begets violence and when you eliminate all other forms of resistance except for armed struggle then that resorting to violence is the fault of the apartheid, settler state, 3) maybe if they didn't constantly bomb their neighbors things would be a little different wouldn't you think? they're the only country who can bomb 3 different countries at once and the media will still say they're the victim

irt the united states: the two-party system is always described as "the worst people [republicans] vs. the lesser evil [democrats] and it's true that their facades are different and on internal social issues they differ but the truth is that both parties have the same corporate backers and they both functionally serve capital, and US imperialism. biden was elected on the premise of being "less bad than trump" despite being pro-segregation and pro-crime bill during his tenure prior to being obama's vice president. the police receive equal material support from democracts and republicans alike even if party members decry police brutality. and despite biden being "the lesser evil", he is not only allowing genocide to happen but is on record for saying, as of today, that there is "no chance" of a ceasefire for gaza. over 11,000 people have been murdered en masse by israel, with even more injured and displaced. the material goal of israel is to remove palestinians from their land by any means - be it murder or displacement. the existence of israel ensures that the u.s. and the west has a military base and foothold in the middle east; the u.s. empire is waning and desperate to maintain its hegemony and power and the benefits reaped from exploitation and extraction.

the u.s. disguises their material interests by saying "this is about defending jewish people" (when the u.s. and israel clearly don't care about jewish people) or "we're defending democracy" (israel cannot be a democracy as an apartheid ethno-state) or "it's a country defending itself from terrorists" (never mind that 'terrorist' is a political designation that western powers use when it suits their interest; the mujahideen was famously referred to as "freedom fighters" by the white house when the u.s. used them against the soviets; 9/11 happened when the fighters the u.s. trained turned their sights on america; then the government lied about WMDs and iraq's supposed role in 9/11 to justify the invasion of iraq, et cetera) and they depend on people not taking a good hard look at the real, material reasons and the reality of the united states' role and actions, both direct and indirect across the global stage and, in this case, specifically in israel.

the idea that zionists care about jewish people is laughable when the vast majority of zionists in the u.s. are evangelical christians who see the jewish people's presence in israel as a means to trigger the rapture (i think?). the deliberate conflation of anti-zionism and antisemitism is genuinely dangerous for jewish people; it benefits the israeli state - and by extension u.s. interests - for people to defend the existence of an apartheid settler colony. zionism was originally acknowledged as a colonial movement; it still is. that zionists are now trying to humanize and rehabilitating nazis in their efforts to demonize palestinians and justify genocide should tell you all you need to know about who they actually care about.

never mind the fact that, if you simply take a look at u.s. history, it has and never will be a country founded on "freedom" or "democracy". the genocide and displacement of the indigenous peoples should tell you that; the history of chattel slavery and the conditions that followed the abolition of slavery should tell you that. the united states role following WWII and also in korea, vietnam, nicauragua, iraq, afghanistan, cuba, cambodia, and practically everywhere across the world should tell you that. it's not hard to look at the history and begin to understand where american interests and motivations come from & how they manifest.

colonial movements and imperialist interests are disguised as good vs. evil conversations. they depend on people's liberal frameworks, partnered with the unmitigated propaganda on behalf of israel and the genocide the state is carrying out against palestinians, in order to justify their actions (or lack thereof) to the public. no one is immune to propaganda but there are ways of combating it and educating yourself so you are more resistant to it.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Of Last Meals In Peace and Dark Moons

[Omega and Ifrit have breakfast, and nothing bad happens... yet.] Below the cut.

“But, seriously though... what is their deal?” Ifrit asks between bites of his hash browns, “Were those two always like that or what?”

Omega hums, taking a swig of his orange juice.

“Ehn, more or less.” he says, leaning back in the plush faux leather backer of the booth they’re seated in, sighing.

“They’re both strong willed.” he sets his drink down, tilting his head back, “And stupid.”

He’s tired.

Tired of the road.

Tired of the practicing.

Tired of the fighting.

He just wants to go home and sleep, but he’s still under contract for another six months.

Assuming the church doesn’t change their mind.

“I dunno about Mist... but Alpha.” Ifrit huffs, picking up a piece of bacon and breaking it in half, offering part to Omega, “Alpha is either stupid or in denial about... well, fucking everything.”

Omega takes the offered bit of food and shrugs, “Can’t blame him.”

“You get too self important in this line of work... You’re liable to get yourself into some hot water.”

Ifrit frowns.

“Speaking of... that kind of reminded me.” He starts, sliding his plate across the table, wiping greasy fingers on a stray napkin, “You’re helping perform Dewdrop’s rites soon, yeah?”

“In a week or so.” Omega nods, “That’s when they’ll summon the new water ghoul, too. Why do you ask?”

Ifrit leans forward, propping his elbows up on the table, “I have this sort of ‘itchy’ feeling, ya know?”

“Itchy?”

“Yeah, like, back of the mind kind of deal.” Ifrit explains, “Like something’s gonna happen...”

Omega stretches and rolls his neck, yawning.

“I mean, I kind of doubt anything’ll happen.” he says, then stops for a moment, lost in thought, “...Something is weird though.”

“Yeah?”

“Papa isn’t assisting in the rites.” Omega reaches for his orange juice again, “Sister Imperator has some cardinal coming to perform the blessing, which is...”

“Unusual.” Ifrit concludes.

“Exactly.”

“It’s also a bit odd.” Omega continues, “The timing and all... Usually rites are performed on the full moon, but the position of the moon on the day we have set isn’t anything special.”

Ifrit stares down at his coffee.

“We’re headed towards a new moon, it doesn’t make sense to confer rites on a moonless night... there has to be a reason for it. Maybe something with the tides? I remember Mist explaining that the full moon makes her more powerful because of how the moon moves the water...” he mumbles, taking a sip of his coffee.

He makes a face and then proceeds to pour three creamers and two sugars into the bitter drink.

“No moon, means a low ride, maybe?” he guesses, sipping again, this time satisfied with the flavor, “They’re trying to piss him dry, so making it harder for him to pull water from the area around him would help with that...”

“Piss him dry...” Omega repeats, snorting, “Maybe.”

Ifrit laughs.

Then pauses, setting his cup down with a dull ‘thunk’ against the linoleum tabletop.

“...Really though... I have a bad feeling.”

“If it will make you feel better, I could have Aether scry for you when we get home?” Omega offers, “He’s getting quite good at it.”

“Why can’t you do it?” Ifrit asks.

“I have to save my energy for the rites.” he explains, “That’s why I’ve left Aether in charge of the infirmary in my absence. I can’t even do healing spells at the moment.”

“Oh, shit.” Ifrit raises his eyebrows, “Noted. I’ll try not to get hurt or die until after the rites then.”

“Hey, have some faith in my boy, he’s a fine healer.” Omega assures the other, “Although I will admit he needs more practice in the healing arts... I highly doubt he’ll need to take someone’s life into his hands anytime soon.”

“Haha, yeah. Yeah...”

[bonefall]

Idk much about the blackstar situation in canon but from what u said i think someone just needs to fuckin talk to the man. Like genuinely. No trickery into thinking starclan is there or starclan showing up- someone needs to go up to him, tears streaming down their eyes, and *beg* blackstar to lead them again. Something like "blackstar sees a clanmate in trouble and saves them and realizes they need him" wouldnt work rlly, it doesnt convey that the clan loves him and needs him. It'd contrast Sol too- A god manipulating and tricking Blackstar is twarted by a mortal cat asking and pleading. The lies is beaten by the truth, that hes loved and needed. No idea who it should be that comes to him begging- Genuinely dont think it should be someone he was too awfully close to since he can just tell himself "they know me so they love me", needs to be some random warrior/apprentice hes only had 1 or 2 full conversations with to get it through his skull that even those he barely knows love him. Anyways ill stop rambling have a good night/day/week

[ID: Meme of Persuadable Bouncer opening a door and gesturing to come inside]

Right this way to the Big Brain Club, anon

Adopted in a heartbeat. The turnaround moment for Blackstar is his Clanmates telling him that they love and need him. To this end I think it'll be good to have Rowanclaw be the person who coordinates the crowd in some way, so he becomes deputy after this.

It should be about quantity too, so he can have some of his family come in here. I feel like his niece Ivytail (or, if she's dead, one of her kids) should be with them, plus a mix of warriors, apprentices, and elders who remind him of how important his leadership has been to them.

And of course then they team up and throw Ratscar, Applefur, and Redwillow out of power. Shouldn't be too hard since they wouldn't have too many supporters-- but it will be VERY cool.

Others who should be Blackstar Backers who are part of the Rowan Rally (In addition to including some random ShadowClan cats who aren't close to him):

Tangleburr Also an ex-Brokenstar and Tigerstar supporter, lost her brother and changed in a similar way, knows what he's going through. If she's not a monster, how can he be one?

Talonclaw + Smokefoot One of these two is probably disabled in some way, but saved through Blackstar's actions

Ivytail Niece. Should be here just as a result of pointing out he's her embarrassing uncle and she loves him

One of the cats who watched Berrykit lose his tail (Whitewater maybe?) To remind him his punishments have always been fair and he isn't the tyrant he thinks he is

[winterbirb]

My daydreaming can't be put on hold until late 2025 so here's some of my PL:ZA!AU

Characters

Juliette [Sycamore] - the head doctor of the Blue Cross (an × shape instead of +). Doesn't like pokemon because she's dealt with so many pokemon-related injuries. Not a fan of the city's renovation for how it's causing more pokemon-human injuries. Juliette (July) like Augustine (August). Xerneas. Prof Sycamore's curly hair pulled back into a bun; streaks of grey at her temples. Has her descendant's typical flair when talking about medical innovation.

Liliane [Fleur-de-lis] - Kalosian royalty, a descendant of the ancient king. The main financial backer of Lumiose City's huge renovation—and thus, also the protagonist. Liliane because... lilies, and I couldn't find a great lion name that wasn't trying too hard. Yveltal doesn't tie in as neatly. Maybe death of the old ways, in with the new? Long red hair like the female version of that lion pokemon I forgot the name of. Not wearing Lys's Yveltal gijinka suit.

Governor Désiré. Diantha's ancestor. The political force behind the renovation... and yes, this does follow the PL:A template, thabks for noticing. He's the "twist" villain, seeking to build a version of the Ultimate Weapon in Lumiose Plaza that's powered by none other than... *drumroll* Diancie! He wants to build a beautiful city and then turn it all, people and pokemon included, into Diancie's pink diamond so it's "beautiful forever." The Governor's Mansion has pink diamond statues which he refers to as his "beloved pokemon." Masc version of Diantha's face structure with the same base hair color, but styled in a perfect Politician's Cut with perfect streaks of grey at his temples... almost like he dyes his hair. Maybe he doesn't even leave grey streaks. Dresses in white suits with pink accents, a white ruffle collar with a pink diamond gem.

Emmet <3. He's in The Tunnels, for some reason. What tunnels? Well. IDK if catacombs would fit Pokemon (but it would certainly fit the life/death theme). If not actual catacombs, then some sort of ancient Diancie-created tunnel structure. He remembers more about the past/future than Ingo—same with my Serena vs Lucas. Why? Because it's my story, and I want them both to suffer in new ways. Emmet is seen as a strange ghost-like figure who haunts the tunnels, looking for his brother (how to find a way home).

Serena - originally from Unova, from the same town as Rosa (B2W2 protag), but a year younger than her. Moved after the Kyurem thing. Loves fashion, looks up to Elesa.

Mechanics

Serena (as the MC) needs to change clothes to fit in different parts of the city (like Looker doing disguise stuff; my Lucas has Looker's detective skills)

Zygarde is the "sponsor" this time, much like Arceus in PL:A. Some sort of Zygarde-tablet-thingy. But also Serena needs to do the Find Zygarde's Cells quest, because of course she does.

I don't really have any other mechanics. This section was just made to include the fashion thing.

Oops, I forgot about Mega Evolution. It's there, I guess.

I just remembered Hoopa. It helps Serena travel around the city and get into places she shouldn't be in. Why, when its chaos is the opposite of Zygarde's order? IDK, Governor Désiré probably pissed it off.

Other

It's Paris in the late 19th century. It's gross. It's overpopulated. Greedy capitalists abound, and so do the horrors of poverty. There's also an overconsuming Royal Class. She has to hold onto her ideals despite all the signs pointing to the "easy out" of Lysandre's hardcore-Malthusian philosophy. She succeeds with flying colors, because "kill all the poors and unworthy so humanity has enough to survive" is a terrible philosophy.

Might be redundant because Zygarde, but a major theme is ecology and ecosystems.

Emmet and Ingo both disappeared and came back in 2011; BW happens in 2010, B2W2 happens in 2012, XY happens in 2013, and Serena disappears a few years after 2013. Emmet remembers being in the past, and is very alarmed when a younger Serena becomes the Kalosian champion. Elesa, who is troubled by how much the twins have changed and how little she knows, eventually gets in contact with Serena. When? IDK. I just want them to meet up eventually.

Lysandre isn't dead in the present time. Even in Y, in-game dialogue implies he's still alive. There was plenty of time to drag him out of the Ultimate Weapon.

Perhaps Zygarde traveled through an Ultra Wormhole to bring Serena back and prevent Désiré's dumbassery... but got scattered into Z Cells. Or maybe Hoopa brought it to the present, but on the way back to the past it had to use an UW and got scattered. IDK, I'm just trying to figure out a way for post-games Lucas and Serena to meet in Alola (to harass Looker and give Nanu a headache ofc).

[exnihilo-etc]

im packing to move soon and i thought as long as im packing i could show off my bookshelf, one row at a time, starting with the bottom: graphic novels, comics, and puzzle books

most of ex nihilo i still have in its original physical form. im not too sentimental for it, but it is hard to throw it away. if theres literally anything ive drawn that you want, just lmk and ill ship it to you 👀

my old notebook

i fucking LOVE this graphic novel. i found it at a thrift shop, signed by the author, which probably means whoever this belonged to was a kickstarter backer for the project. it tells the story of a young artist and his wife being revisited by an old friend just released from prison. a story about drug use, lost friendships, and how your own memory can lie to you, and by extension, lie to your loved ones. maybe the very last line of the novel inspired the name of my comic?

seconds is an amazing graphic novel by bryan lee o'malley, who might be better known for creating scott pilgrim. this is a contemporary fairy tale of the disastrous consequences you might face if you could literally undo anything that might happen to you during the day, and how katie, a restaurant manager learns to abuse that power to send her own world crashing down around her. find it, i know its for free online somewhere but if you buy it thats even better!!

moon moth started as a short story by jack vance (who in his own right created rules for an internal magic system within his stories now called "vancian magic") about a sci fi murder mystery on a utopian planet called Sirene, a planet so accustomed to luxury that crafting and artistic expression are the sole pastime. everyone always wears a mask on sirene, and the social order is complex to learn and navigate...all communication is done through musical accompaniment as well. how will ambassador edward thissel know who is friend or foe??

i havent read 'everything is teeth' yet

a graphic novelisation of one episode of angel where a tv station is sucking souls out of kids and angel becomes a felt puppet

a great graphic novel going over the history of anti scientific conspiracies, like why ppl think the moon landing was fake, homeopathy, the quack history of chiropractics, anti vax, global warming denial, evolution misunderstandings, and fracking

what the hell?

a collection of wondermark, which i would classify as having the old found artstyle of married to the sea, plus the zany writing of oglaf. its a webcomic, look fer it!

part graphic, part novel. the fog mound explores a world of talking animals where humanity's existence is rumored as a legend. but thelonious chipmunk has proof: an old postcard with a human city on it. when thelonious accidentally gets lost and finds himself in the very city on his postcard, he has to wonder...where did the humans go? are there any left?

i met jeremy at an expo a few years ago and regularly visit him every year now whenever hes at a showcase or expo. putting watercolor illustrations to music, writing little creepy poems, fan art of all kinds of franchises, i just really vibe with his artwork.

like isnt she just gorgeous???

issues 3-6 of kingdom of loathing bc ill always be such a die hard fan of the loathing games, especially the stick figure mmo that started it all

[soir-rouges-esprit]

xxxi.n: Coke, Blood & Handguns, Ok … generous of you … how long to get this information you’re looking to pass with? How much you lookin for exactly? “I’ve already gotten something in actually … and this ones on the house” He threw across the table, a tan folder, J grabbed it and opened it. “He apparently is in some debt … some real big debt. Not the kind you can just … pay off at the bank either” “Holy shit …” Wha-what? Let me see? I grabbed the folder and read quickly as Mr.F talked on about more details on Alzon … when I came across … the debt. Alzon apparently from this source had purchased weapons from a MS-13 … lots of weapons as well ammunition to fund fuel this gun empire he had collected, so much so that it had racked him up a mighty bill of four and a half million dollars … and they weren’t so happy with his “little” or missing payments towards those. WOW!!! Holy shit indeed … so what's the deal here, is he fucked or? “From what I’ve been able to gather, no … he had some issues for sure with paying off his debt, but soon after it seems they stopped pursuing him in a hostile manner, as you can see on the next page, a few months later they managed to strike another deal for drug shipments, imports for him to sell on the streets for profit with a slight cut I’d assume going back home to where ever they were being sent from. Needless to say … they wouldn’t make another deal with someone like that if he didn’t make amends and probably even pay off a lot of his debt ahead of time to ease the tension” “Fuck me … ok so what do we do with this information exactly? It’s good shit, but not like it matters if they kind of made buddy-buddy over the issue right?” Right, but he hasn’t paid off the debt in full and as the doc states … he made another deal for the import … meaning drugs in, cash out … something to be intercepted either way. “Correct … and with his history of already fucking up … no matter how much he paid in advance if any at all … again that was just an assumption … he would still be somewhat on the fence for awhile with his sketchy nature and somewhat shitty past dealings; meaning if you can intercept maybe just a couple times, especially that cash-out vehicle … and make it look like he wasn’t sending the cash or trying to delay their payments … he’d be in hot water fast … making them either his fucking enemy … or shutting off what we assume is his really only big ticket gang affiliation and partner/backer … that must be what's fueling his power imbalance there back at home for you guys” Hmm … ok. Anyway we could leverage more of your help in that particular matter? “Haha … not even with the money I'm giving you … listen my game is larger than this, the one that me and your Viper are after. This is … well a way for me to meet you … and help fund what I was told was more your operation … so that you'd help further along that bigger game I speak of … get you on board.” … Wow … how honest of you. “No honesty … just one of many facts said out loud” …  …  … “Mmm … haha … laughter all around … *cough* anyways … sounds good, and more importantly … sounds like we got everything we need, so we’ll uh … count our cash and head out aye?” “For the most part … but tell me” He walked over to our side of the table and put his hand on the table right next to me. Then raised it off the table leaving a jet-black card with a red phone number on it in small print, centered on the card. “If you're ever willing to work in a bit more of a … lucrative … business, and get paid more professional numbers … give me a call. That's also the number you should call if you or you're Viper are looking for any more information, she has the number already, but I was told you were to handle any and all calls from here on out.” … Thanks. I grab the card, give it a quick look over front and back … then slip it into my pocket. He Snapped Loudly, then pointed at two guardsmen in the back of the room … [To Be Continued]

[mysticdragon3md3]

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who was reminded of Ban by Gojo. Sometimes i do think about getting one of the Gojo Nendoroids on sale, and painting his hair brunette, to get a custom Nendoroid Ban. (I already have the original Gojo Nendoroid, but I'd like to keep him in tact.)

Source:

Though, after all the cool fights in Get Backers, i was a little disappointed in Ban's and Dr. Jackal's last confrontation. But then again, they had had a lot of interesting fights beforehand, what made this fight interesting was all the build-up tension from throughout the series, and Ban had been saying all along (and even during this scene too) that fighting/violence isn't the point of power. He said that same thing when his big finishing move turned out to be a distraction. He reiterates Ginji's wish to use his power to help people. They're a recovery service, instead of bodyguards, assassinations, or any of the other jobs that the antagonists they run into do---jobs which require violence, unlike a recovery service. I have the entire manga and all the anime disks, and still haven't finished the series. But maybe the overarching story theme was that there are more important things than battle, violence, destruction, and ego.

Also, i know whenever people think of Ban, they remember how cool he is---maybe because he has Guts's seiyuu---but i love when he is very silly. And he is very silly. It's just often overshadowed by how responsible he is. He's the one reminding Ginji of their financial problems; he's the one giving mature sounding advice; he's the one who often seems calm. Ban even pulls on Ginji's ear and chides Ginji like a parent/grandma. (From what i can extrapolate from Ban's flashback, i think he picked it up from how tough his grandma was on him.) But when Ban is relaxed, he's fairly silly. One of the things i liked about Gojo was that he was like if Ban was silly all the time.

[meteorsage]

When I was younger, I watched superhero cartoons religiously. And coincidentally, Hannah-Barbera had released a line of popular Bible-stories on VHS

Theology in 1997

Central

An unknowable transcendent deity who we only even talk about from the implied existence of creation. Can turn off the game whenever she wants

The Creator

The Father, also called "the creator" for his role in the Creation Story

The Holy Spirit, also called "the Companion", is who was over the waters before there was form, and is who The Father was talking to during the Creation Story

The Son, is not mentioned in the Creation story but since someone divine had no problems walking on Regular Earth I think this was who spoke to Adam

Antagonism

The concept of evil and decay: a by-product of existence that could only be reduced through personal responsibility, which requires sapience; like asking a Person to stop casting a shadow VS asking a Boulder

It is not outside the Central figure

The Devil, which speaks and acts in opposition to the narrative of The Creator but he also works for them

Major Prophets

Moses, the law-giver

Elijah, the clap-backer

Jonah, because of the subnautical adventure

Daniel, not because of the lions but beceuse he told Nebuchadnezzar to stop appropriating Jewish Culture (there was a PowerPoint Presentation)

Minor Prophets

The rest of them. There's a lot of dudes in there & most of them don't even have specials or finishers

Historical Period

The home team lost too many matches & now all the coaches are Akkadian

Babylonian

Persian

The Persian managers are trying to set up a trade with the Hellenic league and

Sorry, that league has been taken over by the Romans. They are insistent on their standard and are not interested in "trading"

New Testament

The guy from the Creation Story, the "people person"? He's back

No, but like, Again

Historical Period

The cult I was in taught us that Europe had no wars because all of its kings were Christian and European

This does not align with History, Kings, Christianity, or Europeans

Awebo miss, ¿y todo esto que? 🌎🌍🌏

Age of Atom

Atom, esoteric yet accessible. Existential threat

Creation, has become creator. Is too immature to take care of itself

Ours is a new world made out of the old. And every new world comes with monsters

The presence of monsters creates the requirement for the presence of heroes

Antagonist is the monsters, who I was told were victims too

So maybe it makes sense that the same God who would give the Prophet Elijah powers of Flexibility, Invisibility, Earthquakes, and Flying Fire

Could have, in our scary times, split those powers up between four people who ventured close to heaven, so that while they might not be prophets they can still protect their city

They might not be holy, but they're still Fantastic

I might be why the church I grew up in suppressed superhero media

"Re-enlightenment"

Per the cult: "Global Warfare and Telecomms Tech prove we are the 'Last Generation' and have been for 40 years!"

This is why Sheila, who tried to sell my mom Avon in the parking lot, needs to Review your Birthday and Study your Chakras

Sunday School teacher that's said "resist your nature" to kids when who were acting up, but never to the kids with light hair

"Oh and don't consume pop culture or hang out with people who do! 🤭"

This is also where my love for whimsigoth aesthetic started. Maybe because it was the 90s, maybe because one of the kids was nice to me.

She wore Candid cologne, listened to Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Enya; She taught me the revolutionary history of France through her comic book collection, and how to waltz to "There is a light that never goes out"

[sounmashnews]

[ad_1] Twitter needs a Delaware court docket to order Elon Musk to purchase the social media service for $44 billion, as he promised again in April. But what if a decide makes that ruling and Musk balks? The Tesla billionaire's status for dismissing authorities pronouncements has some frightened that he may flout an unfavorable ruling of the Delaware Court of Chancery, identified for its dealing with of high-profile enterprise disputes.Musk hopes to win the case that is headed for an October trial. He's scheduled to be deposed by Twitter attorneys beginning Thursday.But the implications of him shedding badly — both by an order of “specific performance” that forces him to finish the deal, or by strolling away from Twitter however nonetheless coughing up a billion dollars or extra for breach of contract — has raised considerations about how the Delaware court docket would implement its closing ruling.“The problem with specific performance, especially with Elon Musk, is that it’s unclear whether the order of the court would be obeyed,” retired Delaware Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Berger advised CNBC in July. “And the courts in Delaware — courts all over — are very concerned about issuing a decision or issuing an order that then is ignored, flouted.”Berger, who was additionally a vice chancellor of the Chancery Court within the Nineteen Eighties and Nineties, stood by these considerations in an interview with The Associated Press however mentioned she doubted the Delaware establishment would go as far as to make him full the deal.“The court can impose sanctions and the court can kind of coerce Musk into taking over the company,” she mentioned. “But why would the court do that when what really is at stake is money?"Berger said she expects San Francisco-based Twitter to prevail, but said a less tumultuous remedy for the company and its shareholders would make Musk pay monetary damages. “The court doesn’t want to be in a position to step in and essentially run this company,” she mentioned.Musk and his lawyers didn’t respond to requests for comment.Other legal observers say such defiance is almost impossible to imagine, even from a famously combative personality such as Musk. He acknowledged he might lose in August in explaining why he suddenly sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares.“I take him at his word," said Ann Lipton, an associate law professor at Tulane University. “He wants to win. Maybe he’s got his own judgment as to what the odds are. But he’s also being sort of practical about this. He’s getting some cash ready so he doesn’t have to dump his Tesla shares if it turns out he is ordered to buy the company.”A ruling of particular efficiency might power Musk to pay up his $33.5 billion private stake within the deal; the value will increase to $44 billion with promised financing from backers corresponding to Morgan Stanley.The Delaware court docket has powers to implement its orders, and will appoint a receivership to grab a few of Musk’s belongings, specifically Tesla inventory, if he does not comply, in line with Tom Lin, a legislation professor at Temple University.In a precedent set simply this week involving contempt for noncompliance with a court docket order, a decide affirmed that shares of an organization included in Delaware are private property topic to the Court of Chancery’s jurisdiction. The decide famous in his Monday ruling that it may be the primary time the court docket has invoked its authority to deal with possession of shares in a contempt continuing, as he divested an entity of its shares and transferred title to a different celebration within the lawsuit.Speculation that Musk might be threatened with jail time for failing to adjust to a ruling is unrealistic, mentioned Berger. “At least, not for the Court of Chancery,” mentioned the previous decide. “That’s not the way the court operates.”But extra necessary, Lin mentioned Musk's authorized advisers will strongly urge him to adjust to the rulings

of a court docket that routinely takes instances involving Tesla and different companies included within the state of Delaware.“If you are an executive at a major American corporation incorporated in Delaware, it’s very hard for you to do business and defy the chancery court’s orders,” Lin mentioned.Concerns about Musk's compliance derive from his previous conduct coping with varied arms of the federal government. In a long-running dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he was accused of defying a securities fraud settlement that required that his tweets be authorised by a Tesla legal professional earlier than being printed. He publicly feuded with California officers over whether or not Tesla’s electrical automobile manufacturing facility ought to stay shut down throughout the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.He's additionally taken a combative method in Delaware Chancery Court, calling an opposing legal professional a “bad human being” whereas defending Tesla’s 2016 acquisition of SolarCity in opposition to a lawsuit that blamed Musk for a deal rife with conflicts of curiosity and damaged guarantees. He and his attorneys produce other Delaware instances nonetheless pending, together with one involving his compensation bundle at Tesla.“I feel we’ve acquired an entire lot of gamers who, as free a cannon as Elon Musk is, depend on the goodwill of the Delaware courts on an ongoing foundation for his or her companies," Lipton said.Musk's argument for winning his latest Delaware case largely rests on his allegation that Twitter misrepresented how it measures the magnitude of “spam bot” accounts that are useless to advertisers. But most legal experts believe he faces an uphill battle in convincing Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, the court's head judge who is presiding over the case, that something changed since the April merger agreement that justifies terminating the deal.The trial begins Oct. 17 and whichever side loses can appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court, which is expected to act swiftly. Musk and Twitter could also settle the case before, during or after the trial, lawyers said.Delaware's courts are well-respected in the business world and any move to flout them would be “shocking and unexpected,” said Paul Regan, associate professor of Widener University's Delaware Law School who has practiced in Delaware courts since the 1980s. “If there was some kind of crisis like that, I think the reputational harm would be all on Musk, not the court.”——AP reporter Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware, contributed to this report. [ad_2] Source link

[fivekrystalpetals]

Now that Dazai and Fyodor are going to finally actively start participating in all the chaos they have collectively caused in the world, I prepared a list of how many allies in total Fyodor has on his side and how many people want him dead asap before next chapter: 

(This is just for fun; don’t take it too seriously lol. Also, Fyodor is an unreliable narrator so I won’t be surprised if he brings in new tricks and pieces to the table out of thin air)

In order of alliance:

F. S. Fitzgerald: Backstabbed, caused Moby Dick to fall, stole 40% of Guild’s assets, another attempt on his life to prevent use of God’s Eye (definitely wants Fyodor dead) 

Agatha Christie: got the pilots from the Order to be poisoned and murdered (unsure about their alliance status)

Hawthorne: used as a mindless puppet; currently captured in Anne’s Room (he needs to wake up from his brainwashing for us to know his alliance status; probably hates Fyodor)

Shibusawa: sent him to his death eight to ten years ago at the mantiger’s claws, slit his throat again and destroyed his collection (dead)

Crime and Punishment: he and his ability are close acquaintances apparently (allies)

Ace: wanted to form an ‘alliance’; hanged himself (dead)

Goncharov and Pushkin from the Rats in the House of Dead: Goncharov is brainwashed and arrested; Pushkin doesn’t care about Dostoyevsky (how is he not brainwashed) plus he too is arrested (no help can be expected from either of them)

Mushitarou Oguri: found better friends in Ranpo and Poe (idk if he hates Fyodor but he won’t help him again for sure)

Nikolai Gogol: was supposed to die in the Wretched Chair Arc ‘according to plan’, escaped, wants to get rid of Fyodor because he was the only one who understood him (complicated, both of them need therapy and relationship counseling)

Sigma: got him shot by Hawthorne, currently allied with Dazai and Gogol in their plan to kill Fyodor (he just wants a home, guys. Someone please rescue him from these freaks)

Kamui / Fukuchi: Leader of DoA, struggling with all the it-didn’t-go-according-to-plan-! scenarios (like with Atsushi running away with his identity, Tachihara, Jouno, Bram etc.) so their alliance is definitely on thin ice (If anyone is to break this alliance, I bet it’d be Fyodor)

Bram Stoker: enemies with Fukuchi, joined DoA against his will, currently friends with Aya (and ADA) (definitely no alliance with Fyodor) 

Nakahara Chuuya: turned into vampire, brainwashed, Dazai’s ex-partner, would he help Fyodor or Dazai? Find out more in next chapter! (shaky alliance)

People who hate him with a vengeance: Ranpo, Kunikida, Dazai

People who openly want him dead: Ranpo, Nikolai Gogol

Alliance strength: very very shaky

No. of allies: 4 (Fukuchi(?), Agatha Christie(?), Chuuya(!), Crime and Punishment(??))

Feel free to add more to this list! I might have forgotten some but guess this is pretty exhaustive 

[robininthelabyrinth]

i've been keeping a list of possible prompts for you and there's one i have no memory of adding that just says "courtesan nmj????" so i guess that's the prompt you're getting lmao

What Does the Fox Say - ao3

“Second Madame Nie!” a disciple shouted, rushing into her little garden. She didn’t recognize him, but he was solidly built and well-muscled like most of the others – truly, the Unclean Realm was a rapturous feast for one with eyes to see it. Yum, yum. “Second Madame Nie, I have bad news!”

Boo. She hated bad news: bad news meant she’d have to do something, usually, and right now she was seated very comfortably in a pleasant piece of sun in the garden path that’d been made up just for her and to her preferences, with her feet up on a chair and a full plate of fruit from the kitchen on the table in front of her just begging to be devoured, morsel by delicious morsel.

Her schedule was packed!

“I regret to tell you, but your husband has been killed!”

“Oh,” she said, frowning slightly. “Has he? How obnoxious of him.”

How unreliable. Men.

She sighed.

“Second Madame – Second Madame – you don’t understand!” The disciple was all red-eyed and weepy, which was a look she liked, especially in big, stout men like this. The salt added a bit of spice to the whole thing. “You must flee at once! He was killed by Sect Leader Wen in an act of outright aggression – Sect Leader Wen has declared war – the Wen sect is invading!”

She nodded and picked up another lychee to start peeling it. She’d get around to fleeing in her own time. As long as this Wen sect or whatnot was being led by a man, she wasn’t terribly concerned.

“They intend to wipe out the inheritance of Qinghe Nie! They will rip out the child in your belly!”

She hummed noncommittally. Really, how attached was she to having a child of her own? Really?

“They will slaughter civilians – execute Nie-gongzi –”

Her hands stilled.

“What,” she said, and the disciple took a step back automatically, proving that he, at least, had something more of a survival instinct than her late husband did. “Hurt my little meat bun? My darling rice roll? My savory zongzi?”

She stood up, diminutive height and over-large belly and frilly clothing doing absolutely nothing to diminish the vaguely menacing aura that darkened the sky around her. She bared her teeth.

“Who does this upstart Wen dog think he is?!”

The disciple blinked owlishly, but nodded, seeming relieved that she’d finally accepted his concern, though she could see on his face that he was thinking that her reasoning was – characteristically – a little strange. But then again, and she could see this thought process on his far too honest face, it was well known that the second Madame Nie been quite strange ever since Sect Leader Nie had found her in some lonesome place with no family or background and brought her back to be his new wife nevertheless.

Such a charming man. Pity about his loss, really.

“You have to flee at once, we can’t possibly fight so many people,” the disciple said once more, and this time she nodded in agreement. “We can escort you to a hidden exit –”

“No!” a little voice called. “We can’t go.”

She turned to look, and there was the little pork-and-shrimp dumpling himself, chubby-cheeked and earnest-eyed, looking as delicious as always.

“What do you mean, fish cake?” she asked. “Of course we have to go. Didn’t you hear what this strapping young man said? This Wen person wants to kill you!”

“If Father is dead, then I’m the sect leader,” her stepson said. He was serious and solemn in a way that made her want to pinch his cheeks and bury her face into his belly to blow raspberries, and also possibly to eat him right up, flesh and marrow and gristle and all. “That means it’s my responsibility to preserve the Nie sect.”

“Nie-gongzi, no!” the disciple cried, throwing himself to his knees in a dramatic display of loyalty. “You would only die – far better for you to run, and live!”

“Then isn’t the same true for everyone else?” the tasty little dish asked, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. Possibly he was trying to put on a fierce expression, maybe, she couldn’t quite tell sometimes. He was so cute. “Why should I live, and them not? I refuse to buy my life with their deaths!”

“But – Nie-gongzi –”

Her charming little honey cake shook his head and held up a hand to stop the disciple, turning to look at her instead.

“Second Mother,” he said, and he had that wholesome trusting expression again that was such a perfect little one-shot-kill to the heart, ugh. “You always said you’re the best at hiding. The best in the world, no one better among all the gods or demons!”

She was, too. She couldn’t help but preen a little, proud.

“– can’t you do something?”

“Oh, darling cabbage bun,” she said, not without fondness. “I can hide myself from even the net of Heaven itself if I so choose, from gods and demons alike, and I can most certainly hide a small group from any mortal eyes that dare to look, if you don’t mind being a little tiny bit dishonorable about the business. But an entire sect? That’s a bit much, even for someone as talented and skilled as me.”

Her stepson looked up at her, all straight-steel sincerity and upright righteousness wrapped into a perfectly edible little snack-sized package. “If we split them up, the sect could be small groups,” he said eagerly. “Couldn’t you do something then?”

He was so cute, and he trusted her. He trusted her, believed in her, felt that she could perform miracles with a wave of her sleeve if only she so wished.

It was awful.

She couldn’t bear it.

“Oh all right, you nummy little slice of roast pork belly,” she said, yielding. “But I’m telling you now, it won’t be the least bit honorable! There’s only so many excuses you can come up with for having a lot of strong men with wide shoulders and women with thick thighs hanging around, and not a single one of them has the slightest bit to do with what you people consider to be appropriate.”

“That’s all right. Preserving human life comes first, always.”

The disciple looked between them, clearly completely confused. Clearly all his effort had been spent on developing the muscles in his arms (quite nice) rather than his brain (quite slow).

“What?” he said. “What’s happening?”

“We’re saving the sect,” Nie Mingjue announced happily, clapping his hands together. Too precious, too precious entirely; she’d have to make sure no one else even thought about going near her darling little snackling. “Tell everyone to prepare to evacuate.”

“That will take too long,” she said, and smiled, with teeth. “Let me call some friends to help.”

-

When the Wen sect arrived at the Unclean Realm, they found the gate open.

That was unexpected enough, but when they entered, they found that the entire place had emptied out – not just of people, but of everything else, too. There wasn’t a single intact chair or table in the entire place, not a scrap of cloth nor a bit of food, like it’d been swept clean by locusts or wild monkeys come to pilfer whatever they could.

Even the paving stones where arrays had been laid out by the Nie sect’s ancestors had been pried up and carted away.

Sect Leader Wen ordered a search, but there wasn’t any trace of it – of the people, of the stuff, anything.

No one ever found out what happened.

-

Jin Guangyao despised social events, he’d found.

It was one thing when it was something he’d planned himself, where the work was interesting enough to distract him, but when he was an honored guest for someone else…miserable. Utterly miserable.

The only thing more miserable was when the host was his erstwhile father, from whom he’d forcefully extracted recognition. With Wen Ruohan as his backer, indulging his favorite torturer as if a beloved pet, there wasn’t much Jin Guangshan could do to refuse, and neither could he force Jin Guangyao to do anything on his behalf, either. And so Jin Guangyao, sitting as always by Wen Ruohan’s side, right beneath his sons, was now an honored guest at his father’s house, getting offered his pick of prostitutes as if the man had no notion of the irony.

Maybe he didn’t. Jin Guangyao couldn’t quite tell if his father had just forgotten his origins, thinking his bastard son too unimportant to remember the details of, or whether it was meant as a deliberate insult – who could tell?

“Oh, right,” the simpering idiot in front of him, a nephew or cousin of some sort to the sect leader, said. “Our dear Jin Guangyao is known not to like the gentle flower queens, even when they come from the finest houses in Lanling. Isn’t that right, cousin?”

Jin Guangyao’s fists clenched. A deliberate insult, then.

Despite that, his face remained neutral. Instead, he chuckled and said, “The appeal is limited. After all, I have seen the best of them.”

Beside him, Wen Ruohan nodded and smirked. He appreciated Jin Guangyao’s devotion to his mother, though Jin Guangyao suspected it was because he thought it funny that Jin Guangyao would bother to honor such a lowly woman – but what he thought didn’t matter, not really. All that mattered was that he let Jin Guangyao pay his respects to her to his heart’s content.

“Well, you’re in luck!” the idiot Jin Zixun said, looking absurdly smug. “We have something of a different flavor than the usual tonight – we’ve invited entertainment from the local branch of Splendid Spring.”

Jin Guangyao barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes.

The Splendid Spring Palace was a series of brothels that had popped up fully formed just about everywhere some years back, with madams and girls and musicians and bodyguards of all sorts. It was so patently a political move that Jin Guangyao had barely bothered to pay attention to it once he’d become actually powerful, and Wen Ruohan hadn’t paid attention to it at all. After all, in the unlikely event that the business really was backed by a cultivation sect that didn’t care about its face any longer, anyone who needed to use such a façade to gather power was clearly beneath notice.

Jin Guangyao had paid only very little attention, but to different and unusual aspects of the place: by all accounts, they were surprisingly decent employers as far as places like that went. They didn’t steal girls or accept unwilling goods – they had some connection with the merchant caravans, or at least one of the companies that helped coordinate routes and provide protection to such things, and they were as meticulous about checking things over as they were about seeking refunds if they were dissatisfied – and they did accept married girls fleeing unhappy marriages, which not everyone did. They did buy up all the girls in the local markets wherever they were, but they swept them away and brought them back transformed, even the ones that wouldn’t sell because they were too ugly; Jin Guangyao assumed that meant they had people who were talented in make-up and clothing, since the usual rumors of the girls being blessed with a yao’s enchantment were obviously ridiculous and nothing more than the usual marketing gimmicks that brothels since time immemorial had tried.

Even once they had the girls in hand, the places were pretty decent: they had physicians on staff to help with the usual side effects of the business, made sure their girls were clean and healthy, and were said to even limit the number of customers a girl would be obliged to take on in a given evening…honestly, knowing as he did the brothel business, Jin Guangyao sometimes wondered how they’d managed to bespell enough people to even make money in the early days. At any rate, whatever they’d done, it’d worked, because by now they had a solid enough reputation to trade on.

In short: a decent enough place, far better than the usual run of the mill. Once he’d had the ability to do so, he’d even pulled a few strings and arranged for the better of his mother’s old compatriots to end up there, since he couldn’t convince them to leave their old professions behind entirely.

Anyway, if they also seemed to have a sideline in information brokering and assassinations, well, let them. In the cultivation world, where the only thing that mattered was strength, real strength.

A little thing like that wouldn’t make any real difference.

Or so Jin Guangyao had thought.

He found himself re-thinking that, though, when the entertainment in question came out. There were the usual set of attractive (albeit in a wider variety of shapes and sizes than usually seen) dancers, dressed up in silks that seemed actually high quality, and plenty of strapping young men carrying sabers – dancers as well, once assumed, to provide some spice to the entertainment, and implicitly on the offer for men who cut their sleeves or women with more flexibility, like widows or ones with especially permissive husbands. Wen Ruohan’s wives were in that latter category, and they were already whispering to each other excitedly, looking at them.

They’d even brought in the local madame, who was…

Well, she was actually breathtaking, even by Jin Guangyao’s extremely jaded standards. She had hair that fell almost all the way to her ankles, shimmering in the light, and dark eyes shining with liveliness, a smooth and ageless face that simultaneously suggested youth and health but also winked at knowable experience, the features characteristic of what his mother’s employers had called the ‘fox-face’. As if to emphasize that, the lady was wrapped in fox-fur and draped in embroidered brocade, with little stylized foxes running up and down the hems of her clothing and along the gazy silk draped on her shoulders.

It ought to have looked absurd, looked gaudy and overwrought and overdone, but it didn’t.

She was a thousand dreams of wealth and beauty and power and sex appeal all wrapped up in one, and even Jin Guangyao – who was in his personal preferences quite firmly a cutsleeve – couldn’t help but intrigued by her, wondering what it might be like to touch the hem of such a glorious creature.

And next to her…

The lady was accompanied by two men that seemed completely different from each other. One was a slender and winsome young man, fluttering his eyelashes from behind a fan with a charming smile, emanating the appeal of softness and weakness, ready to be indulged. While the other…

Jin Guangyao swallowed.

He was the exact opposite of the first man. Clearly strong, muscular and powerful, and tall to the point of towering, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, a chest that you could lean your head against and an ass that begged to have someone’s hands on it – and there were his hands, big and broad, perfect for holding someone down or up if they so wished and of a size that was very promising as to what was only hinted at under his clothes. His face was hidden behind a veil as if he were a woman, marking him, like his comrade, as one of the available courtesans of the Splendid Spring, but his body was visible under clothing clearly cut to put it to the best advantage.

And oh, what advantages it had…!

“It seems we found something to the tastes of dear cousin Guangyao after all,” the idiot said mockingly, sniggering and snorting like the pig he was, and for once Jin Guangyao didn’t even care.

“Who’s the woman in front?” Wen Ruohan asked, ignoring their interplay. He seemed utterly fascinated, almost spellbound, and Jin Guangyao couldn’t blame him one bit. If this woman had been at the same brothel as his mother, there wouldn’t have even been room for jealousy or shame; his mother would have gone straight up to her to ask for some tips. “She seems…familiar, somehow.”

“That’s the madame of the Splendid Spring,” Jin Zixun said proudly, as if he’d done anything at all in relation to this – nonsense, of course. Everyone know which brothels were backed by the Jin sect, and Splendid Spring wasn’t one of them. He was acting as if he deserve a pat on the back just for the introduction! “That means she’s not for sale.”

His smile faded a little, twisting in a small bit of bitterness. “Or so she told my uncle, anyway…although I’m sure if it were Sect Leader Wen asking, the answer would undoubtedly be different.”

Probably because Jin Guangshan couldn’t slaughter prostitutes with impunity if they said no to him, whereas no one could stop Wen Ruohan from doing any damn thing he pleased.

Wen Ruohan grunted, pleased by the answer – he was a possessive man, in the rare events that he did exert himself in the realm of women, and there had been more than one instance where he’d stolen away some girl his sons had been eyeing first just for the joy of having had her first – and raised a hand, catching the lady’s eye and gesturing for her to come over, which she did.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She laughed. “You can call me Hu Jiuwei. With the ‘Hu’ being the character for fox.”

Jin Guangyao tried not to choke. There were false names and then there were false names – the lady’s theme was already clearly related to foxes, given her fox-face and fox-fur lining and the foxes embroidered onto her robes. Was the over-the-top name really necessary?

“It’s a fake name,” she added, unnecessarily.

“I see,” Wen Ruohan said, sounding a little choked himself. Possibly it was the woman calling herself ‘Foxy Ninetails’ and then kindly reassuring them all that the name was false as if she thought them too dumb to figure it out that was tripping him up a little. Jin Guangyao couldn’t tell if she was doing it deliberately in order to make her frankly inhuman beauty a little less frightening, or maybe she was blessed with so much beauty that she hadn’t bothered to cultivate her brain at all. “Are you our entertainment for the evening?”

She smiled, and any complaints Jin Guangyao (or indeed Wen Ruohan) might have had about her intelligence faded away at once.

It was that type of smile.

You could wreck nations with that type of smile. Jin Guangyao couldn’t help but wonder: how had a woman this extraordinary ended up in a brothel, of all places? How had no one snatched her up to keep her all for himself before now?

“My sons and I –” she gestured at the two behind her, “– would be more than happy to provide you with all the entertainment you could possibly want.”

Her smile widened.

“We’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this for a long time.”

[veliseraptor]

Thoughts on how the cultivation world (at large) would have reacted to a-qing if she had gotten to live and interact with it? Either as xiao xingchen's disciple or something else, if you have ideas that might put her in contact with the jiangzhu

oh boy I wanna say the jianghu wouldn't know what hit em but maybe that's just because that's how they should feel. though actually they don't deserve her. unfortunately I feel like in actually a-Qing would probably not fare all that well out in the broader cultivation world, generally speaking.

she’s...got a lot of strikes against her, in terms of society: she’s a girl, she’s from the underclass, and at least in novel canon she’s “deformed” (her eyes look white) which is not going to serve her well with most people.

it would definitely help if she had Xiao Xingchen there standing over her shoulder claiming her as his disciple, but I think there’d still be a fair amount of side-eyeing and treating her as an outsider - Xiao Xingchen is weird and kind of eccentric but he has the clout/reputation to get away with it, and while that could spread to a-Qing by proxy I think it’s more likely that she would be perceived as either a mistake on his part or an object of pity on his part.

is this going to bother a-Qing? probably not a whole lot - she is, if nothing else, very used to people looking down at her and not thinking much of her. she doesn’t like it, and it is still...upsetting sometimes, but I think she has a pretty thick skin for it and a pretty practiced ability to go “whatever, they’re wrong and I have my daoshi so nyah” about it. is it going to bother Xiao Xingchen? oh, very much.

(stay tuned to witness Xiao Xingchen getting really, really, really indignant about the way someone treats a-Qing and giving them a thorough and public dressing down that’s not vicious but is still very painful, because having a famous folk hero stand there and tell you how disappointed in you he is and how he hopes you plan to apologize is just not an experience that’s going to be anything but excruciatingly humiliating.

a-Qing is going to enjoy this.)

in another situation where XIao Xingchen still dies (:() but a-Qing survives and gets away from Yi City...I think her life is even harder, actually. I know there are AUs out there with her getting adopted by one of the other sects (usually the Lans), but that is a scenario that I think is confined to a few very specific possibilities, constrained by the combination of (a) someone having to find her during that period of time and (b) that someone to be inclined to want to take a traumatized teenager home with them.

and I just don’t think there’s a long list of candidates there - and even if one does come along, she’s likely to run into at least some of the same kind of problems as above. 

the cultivation world is just really fuckin classist, you guys. and also sexist, which are two things that are not gonna add up very well for a girl of a-Qing’s background. 😕 having powerful backers would help, but in the case of Xiao Xingchen or Song Lan there’s only so far that status extends beyond them themselves when they’re already kind of outsiders, and in the case of someone else (Lan Wangji? I think I’ve seen that AU?) people would be nicer to her face/in his presence but...not so much otherwise, I don’t think.

I think it’s important to note that our major “adoptees from sketchy circumstances who manage to gain any respect” characters are Wei Wuxian, who is taken in as a young child and is dogged by the problems of his status throughout his life, actually; Lan Sizhui, who was also taken in as a young child, and Jin Guangyao, who...was not taken in as a young child and we see how that goes. I just don’t think “homeless teenager without any powerful preexisting connections” is going to have an easy time getting accepted in cultivation society; the example we have that’s actually that is Xue Yang and, well. I don’t think you could say that he’s exactly respected and I’d wager not all of that is down to his personality.

I feel like this got very grim for a “so what if a-Qing survived and got to have nice things!” question but unfortunately sometimes that’s what I do with happy AU concepts. I poke holes in them.

in a happier AU just across the board though, however one constructs that, I do think about her and the juniors. and the thing is specifically I think about the fact that she is actually older than the juniors despite looking the same age (by virtue of her having been dead for a solid chunk of time by the time they’re crossing paths) and the fact that she is now the cool older girl with this gaggle of baby cultivator (mostly) boys, and please consider that for a moment and tell me it’s not hilarious.

just. certified romantic Ouyang Zizhen, ca. 16-18 or whatever, attempting to flirt with a-Qing, ca. early 20s. she would be so merciless. that boy’s going home writing heartbroken love poetry.

[kkusuka]

oh how about this lol- s/o cooing over kuroo, bokuto, semi, tsukishima, osamu and noya! s/o saying 'you're so cute' or 'you're so adorable' maybe squishes his cheeks too and peppers kisses all over his face. hcs please! tysm!

oooooo~

Kuroo Tetsurou

Honestly, he probably egged this on

It's just in his nature, he’ll just be talking then he’ll hit you with a “aren’t I the cutest y/n?”

And of course, the answer is always yes, then he’ll have you tell him just how cute he was, that leads to him being upset that your hands and fingers can only go so wide

So that turns to him asking you to really show him

(you wish he'd just say when he wants affection it cuts out all the time to do the whole bit)

He’ll lead you over to him and just let you have at it

You have found out a few things about kuroo during these things

He really likes when you run hands through his hair

He loves when you press little kisses against his closed eyelids

Also in between every action, there has to be a praise of some sort, just feed into his ego a bit

(you also won't tell him that he practically purrs when you do this)

But when you’re finally done he’ll flip you over and start to shower you with praise and affection

(you also wish he would just tell you when he wants to give you affection)

Bokuto Koutarou

Your entire relationship is filled with random fluffy and cuddly events

With bokuto that is mandatory

He won't even speak, he’ll make these grabby hands at you

And then he looks up at you with the puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip and you're done for

It just an overwhelming feeling that you need to tell him all about you pretty he is and how amazing he always does

You have to give every place on his face a kiss or he’ll get fussy

He’ll ask you follow up questions too, like “am I really that pretty”

And the correct response is always yes, ALWAYS yes

Once he’s happy again, he’ll let you keep going until something interrupts

It always ends in some sort of cuddle, or him holding onto you in some way

Can't forget about the dopey smile he always has after  

Semi Eita

You are his greatest inspiration

So he practically lets you do what you want to him, it gives him ideas for songs

And sometimes when he’s writing, he puffs out his cheeks and creases his eyebrows, and you just have to touch

It starts with pokes, and he just ready’s himself for the small coos about how squishy he is

And he’s a talker-backer

He’ll let you know how funny he finds the fact that you even do this

(he likes it, don't let him say otherwise)

As much as he makes fun of you he does nuzzle and press himself into your hands

And he sticks his face out for kisses an awful lot

And you should tell him that, he does have the cutest blush

Of course, when you're finished he sits there, basking in his afterglow

Then it's your turn

Tsukishima Kei

He “hates” it (no he does not) 

(curious because he seems to do nothing to stop it)

The second he sees your eyes light up he knows what’s going to happen

Yeah he’ll whine and complain about how it’s embarrassing

But he’ll pull you ever so slightly closer to him

and he’ll sigh as you pepper kisses on his cheeks and run your hands through his hair

He opens his eyes to watch you place little kisses on his nose and chin

He fights with all of his power when you tell him that he’s just the cutest

And to his embarrassment, you do it in front of the team all the time which just adds to the list of reasons he “hates” it

(bull, he likes his team seeing that he has someone who loves him, especially Kageyama and Hinata)

Maybe, JUST MAYBE, he gives you a little kiss back

(he always gives you a little kiss back)

Osamu Miya

It’s just that Osamu always looks like he’s in heaven when he eats

And when he smiling and eating at the same time his cheeks puff up and sometimes you just can’t help yourself

It also doesn't help that his face is impossibly soft

(you’re sure he has better skin than you do)

It always starts the same “you’re so cute ‘Samu”

Just from that, he’ll know what's coming, so he’ll swallow whatever he had in his mouth and accept his fate

And whenever this happens you're usually standing in front of him (whether he’s sitting or not)

For a better angle of course

Then the candooling begins, in public or not, he isn't one to stop this

In fact, whenever you press a hand to his cheek he presses back

And he’ll laugh when you press little kisses on the button of his nose

He’ll also have his hands on you in some way, maybe your hips or the backs of your thighs

he won’t do it back but he just really likes it when you do it, but at the end of the cooing session (as Kita calls them)

He places a little kiss on either your forehead or your chin <3

Nishinoya Yuu

He straight-up asks for little kisses

Which always makes you take things way farther than little kisses

He’ll let you take the lead in the beginning, so he can see where you want to go

Then once he sees what you're doing he’ll go in

People can swear that they can see hearts flying out of the two of you

He’s also a master at the “no u” bit

“You are so so so cute”

“Nuh-uh, y/n, you’re the cutest”

“Nope”

“Yes”

And so on until you give up, the boy is relentless

one thing is that he only lets you run your hands through his hair when you are alone or hanging out

It takes a lot of time to spike it up and he’ll just let you ruin it later anyway so you can wait

[babbushka]

*insert Bernie voice* I am once again asking for a Clyde blurb for size kink 😩❤️❤️❤️

1.2k, NSFW (soft dom!Clyde, size kink, car sex, semi-nudity in public)

Late at night, when his shifts drag on into the 2’am hour, you get a real strong desire for your man, your Clyde. Sometimes, if you’re in a desperate enough mood for him, you’ll drive on down to Duck Tape and spring your achin’ need on him, and he’s happy enough to comply. But sometimes, you’re too desperate, and you can barely throw enough clothes on to be decent, so Clyde’s gotta meet you at the car.

You’ve called him to let him know you’re on the way for one of those times, and when you pull up to the front of the parkin’ lot, the place jam packed for bein’ a weekend and all, Clyde’s already waiting for you.

Damn it all, was he big. Six foot three without his boots on, and seemingly just as wide. A proper fuckin’ line backer, your Clyde was, and he’s heading your way. One of the things that was so tantalizin’ about him, was the way he was solid, real solid, all the way through. He didn’t have any curves really, he was thick, a brick wall. It made your mouth water, made your hands tap tap tap on the steerin’ wheel in anxious need.

“Hey there lil’ lady,” Clyde opens the rear passenger side door, cuttin’ right to the chase, “Heard you were in need of a good fuckin’.”

“Clyde please, I missed you too bad.” You whine, eagerly climbing over the center console and landing right in his lap, your legs straddling his strong thighs.

“I’ve got ya darlin’, don’t go apologizin’, I’ve got ya.” With a deep rumbling chuckle in his chest, Clyde tugs his cock out and strokes it with his good hand, mouth already seeking yours as you wriggle and whine impatiently above him. He nips at your bottom lip and orders, “Spread them pretty legs for me real nice and slow, let me see her.”

You’re in nothing but a see-through robe, one of the ones Clyde got you as a joke gift one valentine’s day, the mesh type with feathers around the hem and the cuffs. It does absolutely nothing to conceal any part of your body, but you do as he says, spreading your legs, wanting to be good for him.

“I should be punsihin’ you for showin’ up to the bar naked.” Clyde jerks himself off for a minute or two until his cock is so hard it’s got that delicious curve that you’re anxious to get stuffed up into your cunt.

“I’m not naked! I’ve...” You gesture down to the flimsy and see-through robe, huffin’ out a laugh, “Well I’ve got somethin’ on.”

“Not enough sugar, what if I wanted you to come in for a drink? Say hello t’some friends?” Clyde taps the side of your thigh then, and you rise up up up onto your knees, the leather of the car seat creakin’ under the shifting of your weight.

“You wouldn’t.” You breathe as you start to sink down on his cock, the head of it teasin’ right at your folds.

“No?”

“Nope, you want me all to yourself, ain’t that right?” You moan on the last word, as you let gravity pull you down onto Clyde’s dick, needing to steel yourself from the sheer overwhelming sensation of being so fuckin’ full.

“Fuckin’ hell you’re tight.” He grunts lowly, his hand rubbing circles on your back, eyes shuttin’ tight from it all, “C’mon darlin’ relax for me.”

“I can’t help it you’re -- oh yes! -- you’re so big.” You moan, because he was! He was ten inches of pure fucking power, and all of it was buried down to the hilt inside your body. You can feel the head of his cock knocking against your cervix, and it’s almost painful, but not quite, just so much.

“You like that I’m big?” Clyde eggs you on, an uncharacteristic speech that only tends to come out this late at night, when it’s just the two of you in the whole wide world, “Like how I can fill ya up real good?”

“Yes yes yes, I do, I love it Clyde, fuck I love you.” You’re bouncing on his cock, now that your body has had a minute to adjust, you can’t stop yourself from thrusting down onto it, taking the pleasure that his massive body gives you. You rock and grind your hips against his, your hands clutching and clinging to his shoulder for leverage. He’s so sturdy that he doesn’t barely move even as you bounce and moan wantonly loud.

“Alrigh’ stay quiet for me now, don’t go makin’ me cover that pretty mouth o’yours.” Clyde leans in to kiss at the spot where your neck meets your shoulder, and you have half a mind to tell him to gag you anyway, wanting to be stuffed from both ends, all over.

But then that would mean he doesn’t get to touch your clit and make you cry in pleasure, so you shut your mouth and swallow the louder shouts down into somethin’ less attention-grabbin’. It was a full bar after all.

“Come for me darlin’, get what you came here for.” Clyde is close, you can tell just from the husk of his voice, the way he’s startin’ to thrust up into you erratically, no longer as composed as he was.

“Oh fuck!” You suck in a sharp breath, tryin’ not to be loud in case anyone’s in the parkin’ lot, as the two of you come in tandem, the heat from your bodies steaming up the car.

A minute or so later, Clyde helps you off his lap, and buttons himself back up into his jeans. He gets out of the back seat and reaches onto the floor where you’ve stashed a little towel for this exact purpose, and dutifully cleans you down while you grin up at him through hooded eyelids.

“I came to see you too, y’know. It ain’t just about your cock or nothin’, honest.” You say sincerely, and he blushes deeply, his ego shootin’ through the roof.

“I know.” He kisses you gently, that big bear of yours shy and snuggly underneath his hardened exterior, “But I gotta admit, I like that you like it so much. Ain’t never had a girl go so wild over me.”

“Good thing you married then, huh?” You wink, and he blushes even deeper.

“Yep.” He takes a good look at ya, sighs out a little, “I wish I could bring you in for that damn drink. I don’t want you to go just yet.”

“Well, maybe you could lay out here with me for a while? Ain’t like the bar’ll turn to anarchy if you sit with me for a couple more minutes.” You offer, and he nods, takin’ you up on it, climbing back into the rear seat and settling himself on your chest, listenin’ to your heart beat.

The whole damn thing could go up in flames and he wouldn’t give a shit, if it means he gets to sit here with you, he thinks, and even though he doesn’t say it, you hear it anyway, and hold him extra tight for those few golden minutes before you make the drive back home, knowing he’ll be walkin’ through your door again soon for round two.

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Taggin' some Clyde lovin' friends! @mochabucky @sacklerscumrag @artsymaddie @bitchydecisions @direnightshade @reyloaddict55 @kylorenswhxre @sunflowersinthesnow @babayagakeanu @safarigirlsp @steeevienicks @lovinghufflepuffgirl @rosi3ba3z @chapterhappygirl @groovetoob @bxnnywriting @glassbxttless @angel-bxby3 @smallgirlbigpersonality @lovelyyy-luna @2000andwhat @raddo1975 @cornmousequeen @caillea @painttheskylineforme @holding-on-to-starwars @kylo-ren-is-alive @caitlin-was-here