#my due south creations

[ranfordgallus]

I can't believe i made a whole ass species lore just for a wild kratts oc my god i never thought it could come this way but..thats the fun of it i guess LMAOO

Anyways..

Meet the Sickle-horned Equdore, a species of antelope found in the northern part of Kazakhstan where forests lie. Where their ancestors, the bluebuck, migrated from the south coast of africa to central asia.

The word Equdore (pronounced "eqoodor") means equine-like antelope, due to their appearance being similar to those of modern day horses though due to their two hooved they are not considered in the equus family.

The sexual dymorphism of the Sickle-horned Equdores are somewhat similar to those of deers or mooses, the male being bigger and more patterned with bigger horns. However not all male Sickle-horns have big horns, some have smaller horns usually from too much stress of poor diet during development of the horns growing, female Sickle-horns prefer those with bigger horns to show their health and potential. Male Sickle-horns are the only sex with the distinctive sickle shaped horns, hence their name.

Female Sickle-horned Equdores are slightly smaller than the male by a foot, however just because they are smaller than the males, does not mean they are small compared by a human, standing 8 feet tall. Female Sickle-horns have more curved horns that doesn't resemble an actual sickle, while the male horns of the Sickle-horned Equdore are shaped for both protection and attraction, female horns are only used for protection.

The social behavior of them are also similar to wild horses or chickens. One alpha male (fuck..i can't take that phrase seriously due to THOSE alpha male dudes you see in instagram reels or in podcasts..) and a herd, usually 8 to 15 females, the male provides safety and food by communicating that theres an abundance of food, if the male..example, finds a fruit tree, he will call the herd and let them eat first by helping to kick the tree so the fruits could fall down, easier to pick on, and the male will eat after a few have eaten already.

The unique part of the Sickle-horned Equdore is each pattern from each individual species are different, so they have their own set of pattern only own by those who bear it, making them easy to distinguish from others. And their fur is blue in colour, while not very blue, if you colorpicked their fur the color is more the blue area even though it looks more purple. Blue pigment is very- almost impossible in mammals, some "blue" furred mammals are usually more grey.

I also even made what the creature power suits of the species, both sex, though the powersuits are still a big smaller compared to the actual animal, they still stand around 7-8 feet. Poor chris, he's more teal and blue than his usual green colour, like the blue heron episode...

So what are the Sickle-horned Equdores known for other than their sickle-shaped horns and their blue fur?

They are famous for the creation of the mythical greek animal, the unicorn. When greek adventurers went to central asia, they discovered the rarest mutation of the Sickle-horns, the mutation that made them have a singular horn, while in real life unicorns were from the misinterpertation of rhinos, in my Wild Kratts universe, the unicorn mythology came from this species but historians theoried that it came from rhinoceros because they haven't found or rediscovered the species that created the famous fantasy animal in the first place.

This mutation is REALLY REALLY rare, less than 2 percent have this mutation that caused them to have a singular horn.

(Picture of Aoife and Einhorn. Oc on the left (Aoife) belongs to @martincrushcameback while Einhorn belongs to me.)

The burden of having such a unique birth defect is that you have a low chance of surviving or creating a herd of their own, female Sickle-horns with this condition are less likely to find a mate or a group to be accepted in, while males have a hard time to create their own herd, and their singular horn couldn't fight a male who already has a herd and they can't stand a chance, because whos more likely to win? A highly skilled person with two swords or the one that only has one and is average skilled?

One horns are so rare that records say only one was found, though many scientist disaproved the one horned as "not real" thinking the photo was painted to look like it had one horn, since they didn't believe that unicorns existed..lol

And Sickle-horned Equdores were once highly poached and hunted during the mongol empire, the people tried domesticating them so they could use them as a source of transportation for the extremely wealthy and war for the mightiest soldiers, unfortunately the domestication was a fail, so instead, they hunted them for their beautiful coat and horns for decor for the rich and those in power. So much that they reduced their population from a million to only 200 thousand left today. Their population is growing at a steady pace due to orginizations to protect these endangered animals. Fun fact, the Sickle-horned was rediscovered very early in the 1970's, historians found remnants of Sickle-horn hide and horns thinking these creatures are long extinct back in the 1900's.

Sooo..yeah, thats all i got for the species of Einhorn and Aoife..guuuhhh so much research..

Also, Equdore is a genus of antelope, meaning, like the big cat family including jaguars, tigers, lions and such, is their own family branch of the antelope family..MEANING...that there are other Equdore species not only existing to the Sickle-horned!

Also just to make sure Equdore is a fictional animal, there is no such genus of antelope called an Equdore..bah..

[staytinyweeniebeanie]

Valentine’s Day with Ateez 💘

Pairings: bf!Ateez x fem!reader and crush!Ateez x fem!reader

Content: Fluff, Established Relationship, Love Confessions

Warning(s): some explicit language, tooth-rotting fluff

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: How you celebrate Valentine’s Day with the members of Ateez; a mix of boyfriend and crush scenarios!

A/N: I can’t believe I squeaked this out in time for Valentine’s Day (at least by US time zones lol). Did you know that in South Korea, the Valentine’s day tradition is for women to gift men chocolate as a sign of their affections or to confess their love? Happy reading  😘

My masterlist 💕

Jongho

You met Jongho through a mutual friend 

The attraction was definitely there from the start, but you were hesitant to approach him due to his idol status, and he was he nervous and quiet whenever you were around 

After a few months of slowly warming up to each other, you and Jongho become good friends (if you look past the hopeless pining) 

Sick of watching the two of you circle around each other at gatherings, your friend forces you to confront your feelings and convinces you to make a move… 

You fiddled with a napkin nervously while waiting at a booth in a secluded corner of your favorite cafe for Jongho to arrive. You had texted him the day before, asking to meet for coffee. Nothing out of the ordinary for your budding friendship. 

But this time is different.

This time, you have a small gift bag on the seat next to you containing a little bear made of chocolate, and a stomach full of butterflies. 

Maybe this is a bad idea and my friend has it all wrong… you think to yourself, considering tossing the gift and pretending it never existed in the first place. But just then you spot Jongho walking through the door, and you make eye contact. He’s wearing a mask, but you can tell from the crinkle in his eyes that he’s smiling. Damn, I am down so bad for him you realize.

“Hey Y/n, it’s good to see you,” Jongho says sweetly and slides into the booth across from you. 

You return his hello and pleasantries before you hesitantly reach for the gift bag. “So Jongho, I’m sure you know what day it is today and I… I have something for you,” you anxiously start and set the bag on the table between you two. 

Your cheeks are flaming hot, but you continue, “I know we’ve become good friends, but well…”

you take a steadying breath, “I like you Jongho.” You finish quietly, and finally look up to see his face.  

A gummy smile fills your vision as he pulls the chocolate bear out, and he lets out the sweetest laugh. Your heart swoops in relief and something that feels like hope at the positive reaction.

“You beat me to it,” Jongho says, “I’ve been working up the courage to ask you out because I like you Y/N, a lot.” His cheeks are tinged pink and his eyes are warm and soft as they stare into yours. 

You’re beaming now too when he reaches across the table to snag your hand in his and squeezes. Thank goodness for your friend pushing you to make a move!

Wooyoung

You’ve been dating Wooyoung for a couple years now, but both of you were busy with schedules/work on Valentine’s day last year 

But not this year!

So you decide to surprise him with special handmade chocolate treats

Who knew chocolate was so difficult to work with?

“Okay, so now I just need to add the drizzle! Where the hell did my piping bag go?” you grumble to yourself and try to find the items you need amidst the chaos you’ve created in your kitchen. 

You might as well have set off a chocolate bomb the way it's gotten everywhere: the counter, the sink, your hands, you think there might even be some in your hair. Needless to say, making your own chocolate treats for Valentine’s Day is messier than you expected.

But you can’t help but feel proud of your creations as you add the finishing touches. You’ve made a few different versions of chocolate truffles, some chocolate bars with fun additions, chocolate chip cookies, and of course, chocolate covered strawberries. It’s taken a good chunk of the day to get everything done, but you should have just enough time to clean up before Wooyoung gets there. 

“Baby! Your handsome boyfriend is here! Where’s my surprise?” 

Shit.

Wooyoung is still yapping loudly as he takes off his shoes and makes his way towards the kitchen where you are frantically trying to clean up your mess and make everything look presentable.

“-And Sannie wouldn’t tell me a single thing!” He complains as he rounds the corner and stops short when he sees you. There’s a pile of chocolate covered dishes in the sink, a haphazard spread of homemade treats, and most importantly you. Standing there with a streak of chocolate on your cheek and sheepish smile.

“Surprise?” you offer and then laugh when Wooyoung shrieks with glee and rushes towards you. He wraps you up in his arms and presses kiss after kiss all over your face. Even sneaking in a lick to get the chocolate on your cheek which makes you shriek. 

“Don’t you have something to ask me?” he smirks and leans back against the counter, “Go ahead!” You roll your eyes but give in immediately, “Dearest Wooyoung, would you please be my Valentine even though we are already dating?” you ask. 

Wooyoung giggles like the brat he is, and smacks another kiss to your lips, “No need to beg baby, I’ll be your Valentine.”  

Mingi

It’s your first Valentine’s Day with your boyfriend, Mingi!

Neither of you have been in a relationship during the holiday before, so it’s your first time celebrating!

You plan the most perfect date to spoil your princess, except, everything is going wrong…

Maybe there’s a way you can still salvage the night?

You’re not sure how things could have gone so wrong when you took so much time to make sure everything went to plan! 

It started when your boss kept you late at work to finish a last minute task. Then, after rushing to get ready and make it to the new restaurant he’s been excited about, you find out that they double-booked your reservation slot and have no available tables. Now it’s pouring rain, you’re hungry, and you and Mingi are getting soaked as you run back to your car that’s parked a few streets over because of course the parking lot at the restaurant was full.

Once inside, you start the car and blast the heat, sitting in silence as you try to collect yourself and try not to ruin the night further by crying. It’s no matter, as soon as you look over at your soggy boyfriend you burst into tears.

“Oh Princess, it’s okay!” Mingi tries his best to console you, reaching over to stroke your damp hair, but you just sob harder into your hands. 

“I just wanted to give you a nice Valentine’s Day,” you blubber and take a shaky breath, “but everything is ruined!” 

Mingi shakes his head and reaches over, undoing your seatbelt and grabbing your waist to tug you into his lap. He presses your face into his neck and rubs those big hands up and down your back until your breathing is more steady and your sobs have quieted to sniffles. “Shhh,” he soothes, “nothing is ruined Y/n.” 

“But-”, he presses a finger to your lips before you can argue back. “Nothing is ruined,” he says firmly, tilting your head back so you can look him in the eyes, “I just wanted to spend this night with you. It doesn’t matter to me if we get dressed up and go out, or if we eat ice cream and cuddle at your place.” 

He gently wipes your tear tracks away with his thumb and presses a soft kiss to your forehead. You give him a small, but genuine smile, and nod, “Okay, let’s go home then, I can give you the box of chocolates I left.” The baritone chuckle that follows warms you right up. 

San

You’ve been working for KQ for several months now as a videographer for Xikers 

Of course you develop a silly little crush on San (who hasn’t?!), but it has not gone away like you originally thought it would. 

And to make matters worse, he flirts with you every chance he gets! It’s really not good for your blood pressure

And now, it’s Valentine’s Day, maybe it’s time you say something?

It’s late, but you’re still in the KQ building, pacing outside the dance practice studio. All day you’ve been going back and forth in your mind on whether or not you should give the small box of chocolates you picked up on your lunch break to your crush.

While the dating ban is no longer in place for the members of Ateez, that doesn’t mean that Choi San is interested in dating you. But when you think over all the recent interactions you’ve had with the man, maybe there’s something there…

Just this morning you had arrived at your desk and found your favorite snack and drink from the vending machine sitting there with a sticky note. The note had a cute drawing of Sandeoki and a heart. Your coworker bestie teased you mercilessly for your (not-so) secret admirer and you decided that it’s time to do something about this cat and mouse game you’ve been playing!

Which brings you to the present. It’s Valentine’s Day, and you’ve spent most of it gathering your courage to say something about your feelings. 

You peek your head into the studio to see him taking a break from dancing and sipping water, no manager in sight. Now’s my chance! 

San looks up at the sound of footsteps and his eyes widen when they land on you marching determinedly towards him. Despite the dozens of times you rehearsed exactly how you would confess, you forget every single word and just thrust the box of chocolates into his hands. 

It only takes a few seconds for San to catch up and then in the next breath his lips are on yours. You could melt into the floor with how good it feels to have those strong arms circle your waist and pull you closer. One hand travels up your back, and into your hair where he gently tilts your head to kiss you deeper with a sigh. 

When you pull away to catch your breath, San smiles wide, dimples on display, and rasps, “Finally, I’ve wanted to do that since we met.” 

Yeosang

You spend a quiet night in with your long-term boyfriend, Yeosang, on Valentine’s Day

There’s plenty of takeout and your favorite movies on the agenda 

And what’s this? A surprise slice of chocolate cake for you two to share?

You’ll take any chance to show your Doberman how much you love him <3 

“Precious, I think the restaurant messed up and gave us a free slice of chocolate cake,” Yeosang says as he unpacks the multiple bags of food you ordered onto the coffee table. You smile to yourself at how sweet your boyfriend can be, “No Sangie, I ordered it for us to share!” 

Yeosang just hums in response and plops down on the couch next to you as you queue up the first movie of the night. You both tuck into the food in comfortable silence, thighs pressed up against each other, hands brushing, and it’s perfect. 

By the time the first movie ends, you’ve polished off most of the food and you’re curled up in the arm of the couch with your legs in Yeosang’s lap. He’s absentmindedly massaging your calves and you’re fighting not to doze off.

“Hey,” Yeosang pats your knee and smiles fondly at the sleepy look in your eyes, “do you want to have that slice of cake now?” 

You nod excitedly and sit up a bit, shaking off the haze of sleep while he reaches down to grab the container and two spoons. You pout immediately and whine, “Sangie, I told you we’re sharing…”

Yeosang just looks at you confused and offers you one of the spoons, “I know,” he says slowly,  “That’s why I grabbed two spoons?”. You scoff and grab both utensils, tossing one back onto the table, and scooping up a bite of the chocolate cake with the other. You hold it up to Yeosang’s mouth and give him your best puppy dog eyes, “This is what I meant, now try it!” 

He pauses for a moment, but relents and lets you feed him the bite. Happy noises and a thumbs up follow and you grin victoriously. 

Before you can scoop up a bite for yourself, Yeosang gently takes the spoon and does it instead. You eagerly lean in to take the bite, but he pulls the spoon back out of reach. “Hey!” you cry out and try again quickly, but Yeosang is faster. He’s laughing now and you huff indignantly, “Withholding cake on Valentine’s Day is just cruel!”

Finally done teasing you, Yeosang places the spoon right on your lips for you to take the bite and follows it with a quick peck. “I’m sorry precious, you’re just too cute when you’re riled up,” he says and continues to feed you and himself the rest of the cake.  

Yunho

You’re a new-ish BBTrippin dancer and poor Yunho is crushing on you so bad (good thing it’s mutual) 

And it’s so obvious to everyone except you 

Until you overhear him one night talking with Seonghwa about his feelings for you…

Now you’re just finishing up a special Valentine’s Day performance with the members and you have something special for Yunho

The adrenaline of performing is still coursing through you and there’s whoops and laughter all around as you scurry from the stage over to the dressing room where you and the other dancers have stashed your personal items during the show. You don’t have much time before the idols are needed for post-concert remarks and fan interactions and whatever else is demanded of them, so you need to hurry and catch Yunho before he’s swept away.

It’s quiet and you’re digging through your bag when suddenly a large hand lands on top of your head. You whip around and nearly trip over your own feet scrambling back when the very man you wanted to see is right there in front of you. 

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” Yunho starts, “I just wanted to congratulate you on a successful stage! You looked amazing out there… well, you always look great when you perform,” He’s rambling, and it’s so damn cute you have no chance to contain your giggle. How could you have missed his obvious affections?

“- and you’re perfect,” he startles and rushes to correct himself, “I mean your dancing was perfect!”

“Thank you, Yunho,” you smile warmly, “You looked really good out there too! Atiny were going crazy!””

As if he couldn’t get any cuter, he’s blushing up to his ears and you decide now is the perfect moment. You finally pull out the shiny box of chocolates from your bag and Yunho is stunned silent when he sees it.

You shuffle a half-step closer and look up up up, “I know you’ve got places to be, but I got these for you…” he steps closer then and gently grasps your hands, big dark eyes staring hopefully into your own, “I like you too Yunho.” 

A big smile takes over his handsome face and he lifts you up into his arms and spins you around while you both laugh happily. When he sets you back on your feet, his eyes flicker down to your lips and your heart races. You want so badly to kiss him, but at that moment, there’s a thump from out in the hallway and you both remember where you are.

“I’ll find you after all this, wait for me sweetheart?” he asks, you’re nodding before he even finishes the question.

Hongjoong

You are a budding fashion designer and have become fast friends with Hongjoong while working together on an upcoming collab 

You’ve just finished up the last piece and are packing it up to send to Hongjoong 

But you realize Valentine’s Day is approaching

What if you add an extra item to the package to acknowledge the growing feelings between you two?

“Thanks for all your help today,” You call out to your assistant as she heads towards the exit of your studio, “ I can finish up this last thing, get home safe!”

You hum along to the music playing from a speaker as you take your time wrapping up the jacket you’ve spent hours upon hours working on for your very special client. 

Working with the very fashionable Captain of Ateez was not something you ever expected for your career, but when the management team from KQ reached out to you so long ago for a potential collaboration you jumped on it right away. And now here you are, on your third collection designed together with Hongjoong for him to wear on the upcoming tour.

You just need to package up the final item, an ornate jacket you hand embroidered, for its journey to Hongjoong, but you are hesitating to seal the box. There’s only a few days until Valentine’s Day and you’re debating adding a little gift to acknowledge the chemistry and flirtation that’s been present at every meeting you’ve had with the tenacious man so far.

Recalling the heat in his gaze when your hands were on him for his last fitting a couple weeks ago, and the smell of his perfume as he sat closer than needed to look at the fabric samples you were considering, your mind is made up.

A few days later

Hongjoong tries not to be too obvious in his excitement to open the latest package from you that was delivered earlier that day, but based on the snort of laughter from Jongho as he hurries to his room he was unsuccessful.

Finally alone, he tears into the box carefully and pulls out the completed jacket. It’s even better than the mock-up sketches you made, and he’s so impressed by the level of detail you’ve incorporated. 

He’s admiring the fit of the jacket in his mirror when his eyes catch the edge of another item in the box that he overlooked. “Hmm?” he wonders and pulls out another, smaller decorative box, “There’s something else?” 

Inside, there is an assortment of fancy chocolates along with a note that has a phone number scribbled on it and your signature. Hongjoong throws his head back and laughs, already plugging the number in his phone to call you. 

Seonghwa

This Valentine’s Day, you and Seonghwa decided that you need to take cheesy couple photos 

I’m talking all the props and matching outfits and silly poses

How convenient that your friend owns her own photography studio and is willing to take all your pictures and ensure privacy!

And of course you brought chocolates to include in your pics

“Okay, and now lean across the table like you're going to kiss… Hey! Don’t actually kiss!” Your friend fakes gagging noises and you and Seonghwa giggle to yourselves while trying to hold the pose as her camera clicks away. 

It was Seonghwa’s idea to take couple photos for Valentine’s Day and you were quick to reach out to your best friend to see if you could borrow some of her props to take the pictures at home. To your surprise, she wanted to set up a whole photoshoot for you two, the only catch is a surprise visit to her niece’s birthday party from your boyfriend. 

“Alright, last few photos! Y/n? Wanna grab your prop?” your friend asks and shoots you a wink. You quickly grab the heart shaped box of chocolates you hid behind a nearby fake plant and grin at the shocked look on Seonghwa’s face.

“Darling, when did you sneak that over there?” he blurts out and you laugh as Seonghwa’s surprise is captured from every angle. “Don’t worry about it Hwa, here,” you say and pluck out a chocolate to hold up to his plush lips, “try one!” 

A devilish smile spreads across his face and he takes the chocolate into his mouth, making sure to catch your fingers with that long tongue. The tables have turned and now you’re the one that’s shocked. 

Your cheeks heat and you try to snatch your hand back, but Seonghwa grabs your wrist and holds you right here. He presses a kiss to the tip of each finger and all you can hear in that moment is your thundering pulse and the rapid shutter of the camera.

Seonghwa maintains intense eye contact the entire time and even raises a perfect eyebrow until you, overwhelmed, look away. Silence fills the room and you gulp.

“Well, that was hot.” 

Leave it to your friend to break up the sudden tension, you all laugh it off and finish up the shoot. But based on the quick squeeze to your thigh under the table, Seonghwa is far from done playing with you. 

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you all had the sweetest Valentine’s Day! ❤️💗❤️

All writing content created here belongs to me (@staytinyweeniebeanie) and I do not consent to my work being reposted on other platforms without permission!

Reblogs and Comments are always welcome and highly appreciated!

dividers by @enchanthings

[ezlo-x]

hi I have thoughts to implement to my au maybe sorta I just thought the idea was cool. The Zonai were a Minish Tribe that were established in the Faron region when descending down from the skies

The Zonai were architecturally advanced as their structures and monuments were massive compared to their small size. It was at a point lead to believe that Hylians from a long ago past created those structures that are in the Faron region. Zonai don’t have a third eye in this, only highly respected Zonai would create these headpieces in form of a third eye. It is only a wild coincidence that the Sheikah and Zonai use eye symbols. However the Zonai in my au use more hand symbolism as they connect it more to into their architectural history and skills.

The Zonai established their own society in Faron, being the first to create a monarchy way before Hyrule was established to have a kingdom. That is the Zonai tribe of the south region, as a handful of the Zonai started to embark to the upper north side of Hyrule. There were two siblings in hopes to create their own society just like their cousins, Rauru and Mineru. They first settled in the upper north of the Woodland Region now known as the Thyphlo Ruins, until the discovery of the Great Lord Deku Tree in the Deku Woods (this is before the Koroks appeared). Rauru and Mineru decided to focus on the magic of the forest with the help of the Lord Deku Tree. Making Rauru hone the power of light and Mineru the power of spirit.

With these powers they have and their wisdom through experimentation and with Lord Deku Tree's blessing, was the creation of the Moth Fairy. Healing Fairies that transformed into Moth Fairies in their pupa stage. Who absorb the wisdom and story of the Zonai. As the Zonai wanted to keep their traditions alive the moth fairies were there as to archive their stories.

This magic came in handy when a threat of evil emerged in Hyrule as the Master Sword only being a few centuries old. And the incarnate of Light in a need of help to stop this force of evil from consuming Hyrule into darkness. The Zonai with their powers of magic that were obtained through the forest, gifted the Master Sword an enchantment to strengthen the sword and vanish the evil from Hyrule.

As centuries and many millennia passed by and the threat of evil being handled by child of light and courageous hero. Zonai tradition slowly diminished as also the Minish started to expand across Hyrule. The Zonai culture and tradition slowly faded as new cultures and traditions formed reestablishing as the Woodland tribe. People from Hyrule slowly forgetting about the Minish tribe. Leaving only the Moth Fairies to be the only remnants to know the origin of the Minish. The Zonai from the Faron region never really vanished however just like their Woodland cousins they became the Faron tribe as many things changed. However they had it slightly unlucky as not a lot of Moth Fairies know much for their history aside from the origin. Leaving many things behind and to be left a mystery.

The Master Sword's enchantment slowly diminished mostly as the threat of evil came back in long periods of time. In the current stage the Master Sword is weak due to the absence of maintenance and the enchantment is completely gone. The Master Sword has slowly become a rusted sword from a legend that is 10 thousand years old

[macabresymphonies]

You guys this season is 100% about items and artifacts, this episode confirms it. It's like SCP or Control in that regard - oddities (possibly prototypes for philosopher's stone) gathered and categorized by The Magnus Institute Manchester.

This is much different from TMA where it was very specifically about powers affecting people - items they used (artifacts and leitners) were mentioned to almost always be used improperly and their endgoal was to corrupt and twist person who wielded them and people around them, they weren't instruments on their own, they were extensions of their Entity the same way an avatar is. This is not the case here because of two people specifically: Needles and The Dice guy.

The thing about avatars was that no matter if you were afriad of them or not their corrupting power and presence always affected you in some way and they themselves were some way supernaturally in contact with their Entity - this is very common Lovecraftian concept, trying to get close to those "Gods" corrupts you and warps you, subconsciously making you do their bidding thus giving you this supernatural "confidence" in what you do.

Now look at Needles, we laughed at how he couldn't make the dispacher scared and got thrown off when he realized it, but it makes sense - outside of being made of needles there is no paranormal infulence helping him, he's just unwell. Same goes for The Dice guy, he even mentions trying to "become" a type of person we would expect from a TMA avatar, the trenchoat fedora stranger making people roll bad luck dice, but the moment things go south he ditches the dice and dies at the end due to his own stupidity, can you ever imagine a halfway-there Avatar doing such a thing? All this, because they are NOT Avatars: nobody is guiding them, nobody is whispering instructions in their ears and they do not actually feed of the mayhem they are spreading.

It's the items, they themselves are victims of somebody spreading them for data - this goes back to my "it's about alchemists making prototypes of a philosopher's stone" theory. All of those people are either test subjects for specific items/locations (like class-D personel in SCP) or test subjects themselves, transformed by somebody. This also goes back to the incident at Hilltop the volunteers were a project in themselves, self duplicating each one with an odd item, this was an attempt to apply infinite monkey theorem to philisopher's stone creation.

[dedalvs]

My apologies, what I meant is that most of your languages are made for fantastic, fantasy worlds, as opposed to a fictional culture on Earth. If you're creating a language for a culture set on Earth, you'd probably incorporate features that tie it to a real language, am I correct?

I think you still may be misunderstanding what the key questions are and how they factor into language creation. There are two questions:

Is this language supposed to be descended from an existing language (or set of languages) on Earth?

Is this language spoken by creatures that are identical to humans in all the ways that play a crucial role in language use, comprehensijon, and transmission?

These are the only relevant questions. Notice I didn't say anything about where the languages are spoken. That bit is irrelevant. Language has its own geography and it's the only geography that matters when it comes to a posteriori language construction.

For example, looking at Dothraki, the answer to (1) is no, and the answer to (2) is yes. For that reason, Dothraki should be a language that looks entirely ordinary, in terms of how it stacks up with languages spoken currently on Earth, but its vocabulary and grammar shouldn't be directly related to any language on the planet. How could it be, if our planet doesn't exist in that universe? But since Dothraki are completely ordinary human beings their language should be a compeltely ordinary human language.

If you look at the aliens District 9, the answers to both (1) and (2) are no, despite the fact that the movie takes place in South Africa. And, in fact, you see some very interesting linguistic phenomena in that movie, where you have two species that understand but cannot use each other's languages. Its setting, though, doesn't mean that the alien language should be influenced by Afrikaans in any important way, though. It may have "borrowings", but even those would be strange (calques, most likely), since the aliens can't actually make human sounds—the same way the humans wouldn't have "borrowings" from the alien language.

On the other hand, if you look at Trigedasleng, the answers to both (1) and (2) are yes. But the suggestion you seem to be making is that I might kind of haphazardly "borrow" features from an existing language into a language that I'm nevertheless creating from scratch. That wouldn't make sense. Trigedasleng is simply an evolved form of American English with some specific constraints (some quite unrealistic, due to the scifi setting) placed on the evolution. I didn't "incorporate" features from American English: it IS American English, through and through, evolved in a way that makes sense for the setting.

There are certainly a posteriori conlangs where the creator approaches the creation of the language by saying, "I took the initial consonant mutation of Irish and combined it with the triconsonantal root system of Arabic and added the Turkish plural suffix (with vowel harmony) and added the accusative from Esperanto", and the like. This is one of the hallmarks of an amateur conlanger. Not even a creole language in the real world does this. Creole languages draw influences from many different languages, but the resulting system can't be divided up neatly into different linguistic sources. Furthermore, the result is a coherent system that doesn't look like any of the sources. Tok Pisin gets a lot of its vocabulary and grammar from English, but also gets vocabulary from German and other languages that were native to the region. When listening to the language, though, it's not like it sounds like English, then it suddenly sounds like German for a word, then it sounds like a Papuan language, then back to English: the whole thing sounds like Tok Pisin. It's a seamless, coherent system—just like any language, since all languages on Earth have borrowings and features from other languages.

Also, minor nitpick: "real" language doesn't make sense. We say natural language vs. constructed languages. Both are equally real, in that neither has any kind of material existence. A constructed language is a real language with a fake history.

Does this make sense?

[americankimchi]

dragon age veilguard review: spoilers for the entire game ahead

alright now that it's been a few days and i've had time to 1) get over the honeymoon phase and 2) really think on the game beyond the emotional high of the endgame mission/endgame choice, i can finally type this up

my final score for this game is 8/10, if you just care about that part and wanna skip the rest.

preface, i've only finished one playthrough as an elf mage grey warden, and played every companion/region quest*/side objective to completion**.

i played it on the underdog difficulty and it took me ~74 hours (i left the game open and went to do something else a few times, so it should probably read closer to ~70). this is a screenshot of the final auto-save after i beat the game

veeery long review under the cut ✌️

*exception being minrathous since i picked treviso instead, so the region quests got shafted

**didn't find all the chests or all the collectables, but i got close. also, i missed neve's first companion outing because i forgot to do it prior to the minrathous/treviso choice and didn't realize recruiting davrin was a cut-off point. aside from that i finished every quest i could grab my hands on.

OKAY SO i want to start this off by saying that i thoroughly enjoyed this game, enough to want to replay it again (i currently have two concurrent playthroughs as a dwarf shadow dragon and a human antivan crow going) and will probably be modding it to high heavens once that boat gets sailing, and that i believe it deserves that 8/10 score with all my heart. it was a great time.

that being said.

DIALOGUE REACTIVITY BASED OFF CHARACTER CREATION:

anyone who plays dragon age veilguard and only veilguard is getting a very surface level experience of what thedas is/has to offer culturally. i'm saying this because the excuse being "this is tevinter, why would it be the same as the southern half of thedas" isn't enough to explain a lot of gaping holes in the game's setting.

for instance, i played as an ELF MAGE GREY WARDEN in the middle of TEVINTER during a massive catastrophe brought about by the returned "ELVEN GODS"

having played all the games prior to dav, i did so because i knew that there would be

high tension with my PC being an elf in the notoriously cruel-to-elves country of tevinter, the old empire of which caused the fall of arlathan, and who enslaves elves to the point of it being a huge story beat for a previous companion (fenris)

a mage in a magocracy, where the script is flipped between mages and templars as compared to the south which recently went through years of a mage-templar war

a grey warden - their relevancy in thedas ended around 10 years ago due to corypheus basically tricking them all into hearing their calling, and 22 years prior veilguard during the fifth blight. at the beginning of the game, being a grey warden is more of a coincidental occupation than a narrative beat like it is in origins, but there's always something going on with the wardens so i picked it as a 'i'll pick this to experience the game first and then go for what i suspect is the best narratively relevant origin for my second playthrough' option

of the three descriptors, ELF/MAGE/GREY WARDEN, which do you think had the most story-relevant screen time?

that's right.

the grey warden one.

i won't say that there was nothing about being a mage, but i can remember probably on one hand where the option to chime in as a mage was relevant to what was being spoken about. (a conversation about spite, a conversation about scout harding's new abilities, and if there were more they weren't memorable enough for me to recall off the top of my head) which was fine on paper if you don't know anything about dragon age's entire deal wrt mages. i believe the only real mention about tensions between mages and templars happened in minrathous when we met up with neve's templar friend rana. i think the line reads something like "oh templars are just here to make sure the magic doesn't go out of hand. we don't even take lyrium like our southern counterparts" and then the game moves on to other things

which is crazy considering just how seriously the mage vs templar conflict was being leaned into for the previous three games, enough to the point where i was getting absolutely sick and tired of hearing about it. well the monkey's paw curls a finger because not only did i not hear about it, it felt like it never even happened.

TO BE FAIR: we're playing in tevinter (and antiva. and rivain. and the hossberg wetlands. and—well, you get the idea) and there's a general air of tevinter snooty superiority when they consider the 'south', so perhaps it wasn't fair for me to think "oh, they'd talk about it right? they'd bring it up more than once", but my being a mage seemed to just not even register for any characters in tevinter. not that i wanted them to roll out the red carpet or anything, but i can't remember a single moment where an NPC was like "oh right, you're a mage too". maybe they did, and i just don't remember it. but it didn't seem to matter at all.

but alright whatever, if we want to write that off as being "we're in tevinter. that has no bearing on circumstances here because it's a MAGOCRACY" fine i'll let it slide.

but the fact that my being an ELF didn't seem to be a Huge Deal when in tevinter threw me for a fucking loop. was there some sort of massive societal upheaval in the ten years between dragon age inquisition (dorian: i thought keeping slaves was fine as long as you treat them well) to veilguard (i found a single codex entry of a letter where dorian says "hey guys. we should stop keeping slaves. like genuinely what the fuck is wrong with us for even doing that in the first place") but the fact that NOBODY SEEMS TO BLINK AN EYE at my rook's elven heritage. ESPECIALLY since the main antagonists of this game are ALL ELVEN GODS seems like a wildly missed opportunity to introduce some tension. UNJUSTIFIED TENSION, but tension nonetheless.

the wardens had a lot of content, which both surprised and delighted me thoroughly. i'll never speak a word against them of course, and i did love how it showed that the wardens were here to do a job, and not play nice about it. the first warden was, in my humble opinion, one of the best characters in the entire game. annoying, gruff, called my rook warden basically the equivalent of a stupid rhino in a china shop not knowing what's best for the wardens/their oaths and impulsive in a way detrimental to everyone in his surroundings. literally one of my favorite lines happens when he and rook are beefing in the middle of the cobbled swan:

like. that was so satisfying.

the fact that the first warden isn't a villain, he's actually a fantastic grey warden. he'd sacrifice himself to kill an archdemon, and in fact "steals the glory" for himself. like was he an asshole during that exchange? yes, but it's undeniable that he was going to his death voluntarily and with a grim fervor. that's peak grey warden. nobody can say he'd ever shirk his duty. his character flaw was that he's a terrible leader, has the military tactics of a damp slice of toast, and generally doesn't inspire his subordinates to feel any sort of true loyalty to him. see here where my rook aggressively relieves him of duty and after a tense exchange where it seems like combat is about to start, evka saves the day by taking charge. and she does take charge pretty quick. nobody seems to really oppose the real quick promotion.

and then it's back to business as usual. archdemon trapping, anyone?

which was a problem i had with other factions in the game, namely the antivan crows. like yes, not every group is a monolith sharing the same ideals/morals/etc. but having played dragon age origins close to two decades prior where a massive point of contention was between zevran and the crows and the trauma that came from his upbringing as a crow... to then get thrown into treviso to see that the house we're dealing with is a bunch of leathery robin hoods was an unexpected turn. like. guys? weren't they villains? why are we all relatively good people (barring illario) here??? if anything, i thought that there'd be more politicking and backstabbing (literally and figuratively) but everything here seems kinda...... harmonious in comparison to whatever the fuck house arainai was doing. i might have missed a codex entry (i didn't read them all) explaining why the tonal shift happened, like maybe someone somewhere wrote about how house arainai imploded post-fifth blight when a crow went, well, rogue, and exposed the crows for the literal torture they put CHILDREN through, but nothing. like the game straight up lets an NPC whose name escapes me form a new house composed OF children at the end. like. what........ this isn't neverland, why are we forming the lost boys with knives here. hello??

on the other hand, i feel like the wardens had more options to expand on the fact that uh. yeah. grey wardens don't come from great backgrounds. like when you could conscript the mayor of d'meta's crossing much to everyone's displeasure, or the first warden actively being an obstacle to real progress (but not a villain! just extremely blind to the real dangers!), etc. etc. still not great in terms of "we employ literal murderers and criminals of every kind so we can toss them in the direction of darkspawn as a literal meat shield for thedas" but at least it's something.

but i digress. back to the point:

felt like the amount of dialogue options i had where i could bring up my warden expertise not only outstripped the mage/elf tags, but was so prevalent that sometimes it felt like the game was specifically catered to me being a grey warden. this is obviously just because i haven't played enough of the other origins to really feel out how much content they have in comparison, and it's partially just because of how obviously biased i am towards them as a group, but the FLAVOR of being a grey warden was present wherever i went. we'll see how well this opinion holds up after i finish my other two playthroughs.

THE COMBAT:

genuinely the best combat in the series. the fact that you can dodge-roll and more importantly PARRY in this game is an unexpected boon that i can't praise bioware enough for. the abilities themselves are smooth, the detonations provide a nice chunk of damage AND crowd control where you can just unload, and the damage types/weaknesses being a genuinely relevant part of the game to the point where if you have a lightning abilities/weapons equipped and you're facing down a hoard of antaam, you're going to have an extremely bad time*.

* on higher difficulties. i've heard on lower ones that it doesn't matter and you can just brute force your way through the game

i will say the "quick recovery" doesn't feel quick at all, even if i'm hitting the button for it frame-perfect, i can still get knocked down as the animation for quick recovery is going off, which was annoying. would've liked the i-frames to have saved me from getting turned into paste by the three ogres punching me down at the same time but alas.

also, they tend to target you even if you have a warrior (davrin/taash) on the team. unless you're actively casting taunt, they will run past your party members to hammer down on you. which was. annoying.

STILL I LOVED THE COMBAT, i went spellblade as a mage and my build was absolutely disgusting at the end. with a combination of fully stacked out duration+strike abilities, arcane bomb stacking abilities/weapons, and not even glancing at the other two trees for the majority of the game, i felt like i was a rogue that could conveniently cast chain lightning. it was crazy fun.

but also a steep learning curve. mythal took me 17 entire real life minutes to beat. LMAO.

i love that you don't need to restart the game if you want to play a different subclass, you can just refund your skill points and explore the game to your heart's content that way. not that i did, i picked one tree and stuck to it the entire game come hell or high water (or a lightning resistant high dragon 10 levels above me) and i had a blast with it.

THE STORY (THE EVANURIS, ROOK, & VARRIC):

hooooo boy. okay. this is going to be about the MAIN STORY ONLY, companion and region specific stuff will be in its own section later.

the writing for the main story was actually pretty enjoyable the further along in the game i got. every single main story mission was an incredibly cinematic experience; my favorite being the siege at weisshaupt mission—but only because it's kind of hard to quantify the endgame section as a 'mission' when it felt like an entire act on its own.

the amount of personality rook has was a breath of fresh air, and the voice acting for male british rook (alex jordan, who also coincidentally voices my favorite character in wuthering waves: jiyan♥) was SOOOO good. every line delivered felt like it matched the scene's energy/the personality i picked, so the flow of dialogue felt natural enough to be part of a tv show or movie.

although i do wish there was more option to be a little bit more of a bitch. a little rat bastard. not evil because i don't think dragon age would ever let you be evil in the way owlcat games lets you turn into a literal swarm of bugs consuming all (including companions) in its path, i thought there'd be a chance to be like. well. a little mean to people. i can be rude, but not mean. if that makes sense.

i do feel that rook was done a disservice by not having a hawke-like session 0 where we can see, precisely, why they're already so attached to varric and scout harding, but maybe that was left on the cutting room floor. i'm not a fan of tell don't show, so the game telling me "hey remember when you and varric did this thing that we're not going to actually show you" was pretty annoying. i wasn't expecting a dragon age origins-type prologue segment where i move through the world as a warden pre-veilguard, but i do wish we had like. a short cutscene flashback sequence or something to really immerse myself into the character. like let me put my shoes on before i start running the race!

still though rook felt really present in the story. like they slotted really nicely and smoothly into the leadership position which. i mean yeah who else, right? even though they did have plot armor in the sense that i didn't really understand (in-universe) why ghilan'nain and elgar'nan didn't just squish my rook into a pulp and scrape the dagger off the smear he became every time they came face to face... i suppose we wouldn't have a game, otherwise lolol

moving swiftly on, the boss fights felt appropriately built up to, and never did i feel like i was woefully unprepared for the task set up before me (although i must admit i was slightly taken aback by the three-headed hydra at weisshaupt. delightfully so, but it did stunlock me for a few seconds sjkhfj)

from the prologue -> endgame, i suspected something was off about varric once i realized "hey, how come nobody's talking to him anymore?" while the answer of "varric is actually a manifestation in rook's mind caused by solas trying to mold him into someone who could replace solas in the fade prison he crafted" was admittedly beyond the scope of what i came up with:

1. everyone in this game is a monumental asshole (funny, but disappointing narratively)

or

2. he died but bc he died next to the fade magic + we live in the fade now he's just a ghost only rook can see?? (true, but to the left)

i didn't really consider solas had a hand in it which is funny as hell considering. well. blood magic was mentioned at the very start of the game by solas himself

the reveal was very satisfying, and on my current playthroughs it's very entertaining to see everyone (especially solas, but my companions too) very carefully skirt the subject of varric's death by speaking about it in terms oblique enough that everyone in the know understands it as 'varric is fucking dead' vs. rook's manipulated memories understands it as 'varric is laid up in the infirmary'

the evanuris were very well designed, ghilan'nain being a creepy flesh centipede woman with tentacles and blight covering her head to toe was genuinely one of the most refreshing villain designs i've ever seen. elgar'nan was comparatively boring, but considering his whole deal is to be the elven god of tyranny having him just be a conventionally attractive man was a statement in and of itself.

their boss fights were standard, elgar'nan's being the easier of the two specifically because i wasn't trying to haul my ass through waves of darkspawn, but even ghilan'nain's wasn't that hard either considering all i really needed to to was burst some blight growths and could fully ignore the darkspawn if i wanted to. i had more trouble fighting the demon of desperation in minrathous than i did the story boss fights, but that was a trend for most games i feel. the side objectives containing the optional, harder fights and the mandatory quests softening the blow from the main story bosses so the player can get through them at a steady pace.

i do feel like the majority of the story was well written, but suffered greatly from pacing issues brought about by the format of the game itself. while there was a steady pressure brought about by the urgency needed to stop them from crafting the red lyrium dagger, the fact that i could just wander about the world picking up and completing side quests at my leisure before tackling the broader problem at hand did have me slightly confused about how long the game's time frame really was. i think it takes place over the course of a few months, or maybe a year total? if it was mentioned, it went straight over my head.

though i suppose that's a problem most RPGs have—the risk of allowing the player to have agency in picking what to do next means that. well sometimes they can spend hours trying to pick up every collectible while minrathous burns in the background.

though i did wish there was more dalish presence in a game focusing around the elven gods. like i know the veil jumpers are in the game as a faction but. they don't really feel dalish. they just feel like a bunch of archeologists who happen to be elves. a bit of a disappointment, there. also, they were constantly imperiled by something which really put a damper on the "we are also a competent group of people" vibe that i got from pretty much everyone else. the dalish aesthetic was just that, aesthetic. the veil jumpers being posted up in arlathan forest just seemed like they were there due to their occupation and not their heritage. bellara goes into it a little bit through her quest line, but i don't know. there wasn't that sense of unity and closed ranks the way it felt in da:o and da2. the less we speak of the dalish in da:i the better.

as for solas himself, i'm positive that the way you speak to him reflects his demeanor to you over the course of the game (i picked every aggressive/stoic option i possibly could, and the results i got were extremely entertaining; i have so many recorded videos of rook and solas duking it out but due to size constraints i haven't uploaded them anywhere ajkjdj) but at one point they went from "actively antagonistic" to "actively antagonistic but with begrudging respect"... on the side of solas. my rook was extremely honest about hating him every step of the way. extremely honest.

still, i loved how the game kept track of the progression of their relationship. the way every time a new talk with solas started i'd see a little "yeah last time you kept yelling at each other so we're keeping that energy" popup on the side of my screen. the way rook and solas could constantly. well i don't want to call it 'banter' because at every given point my rook would call him out on his bullshit and solas would strike back with a precise cut deep enough to bleed, watching them snipe at each other so aggressively vs. what i suspect is a much softer and more amicable conversation if you go the more diplomatic route was nice to see.

during endgame, since i completed every side objective (the solas's regrets chain of quests + the mythal encounter/fight) i had the option to:

deceive him by giving him a fake prop of his dagger

convince him to stop (unlockable by doing the aforementioned quest chain)

fuck it we ball; 1v1 me right now you bald bitch

obviously, i threw aside all other options and went for the 1v1. when i say i was HOWLING WITH LAUGHTER watching my rook go "I BEEN WAITING FOR THIS" and throw a haymaker to the face........... /wipes tear. it was beautiful. and then my rook STABBED HIM IN THE GUT, SEALING HIM INTO THE FADE FOREVER??? ten years i waited for this. ten YEARS. HALLELUJAH.

though it is very funny after all those years of seeing posts like "UMMM ACTUALLY THE VEIL SHOULD COME DOWN" and then the game is like "nah. that shit stayin up for a while" like kjHDJKLSHGFJK

anyways. i enjoyed stabbing him and watching him get yoinked into the fade. i'll do the merciful ending eventually but i had to do it to him at least once.👍

THE COMPANIONS:

though obviously i have a few characters who i enjoyed more than the others, i did like all of them!!

taash's questline was very good in terms of the cultural aspect (i can relate to feeling torn between two worlds) but the gender identity was somehow both heartwarming and. extremely awkward. it felt a little bit like watching an intro to gender studies 101 powerpoint presentation. like i suppose it was to explain the concept of being nonbinary to people who've never considered gender beyond what color cake to buy for a baby shower, but it did have me raising an eyebrow a few times. not in a bad way but in a very "this is obviously catered to people who don't know a thing about it, and i appreciate that bc it serves as a nice jumping off point for people to really get to know more, but it is a little clumsy in execution". i think my favorite scene for taash is when they're with neve in the dining room talking about how "nobody REALLY likes being a woman" and neve's just there like. oh. you sweet summer child. JKHDSKLAGHFGJ THAT WAS SO GOOD!! but i think the strongest part of their character arc was them trying to figure out who they are in relation to their cultural identity. especially the bit where they fought with their mom about it alllll the time. like where my second generation kids who don't really relate to their ethnic background at!!!!! RISE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

the way i had to google if i was first or second gen. apparently it's "first to be natively born in a country = second gen" so i'm going with that

and the scene where they're screaming "TAMAAA" when shathann dies...... bro i teared up. i ain't ashamed about it. that was heartbreaking af.

still uh. it was kinda funny (read: eyebrow raising) that a character whose entire arc is coming to grips with multiculturalism and a break from the gender binary..... ends up being presented with a binary choice on whether or not to pursue their connections to their qunari heritage or their rivaini roots. like uh. guys. guys??? why do we have to pick??? aint the whole point of multiculturalism is that it's. uh. multicultural??? i suppose you could argue that it's the "oh you're just supporting taash into embracing a specific part of their culture, you're not really telling them to abandon the other!" but like. eh. EHHHHHHH. it didn't FEEL like that. esp. when it's presented as an either-or scenario.

THEIR PARTY BANTER WITH LUCANIS WAS THEEEE FUNNIEST SERIES OF LINES. i love those two together omg. and taash + scout harding!!! wagh!!!!

EDIT: i was gonna add a section abt the lords of fortune for taash's segment but forgot. which is very on brand bc they were forgettable at best and invisible at worst throughout the entire game. i don't want to say that they were irrelevant but like. uh. yeah. 💀💀

neve. neve neve neve. has hands down the absolute worst voice acting in the entire game. like i'm sorry to say that every single line was monotonous and genuinely lacking in any real connection to the words being said. i have to wonder if the voice actor for neve isn't used to working in a booth and more on camera, because truly with every line she spoke i became more and more disinterested with the conversation. the concept of a mage detective in the depths of minrathous rooting out corruption sounds so compelling, and it was, but unfortunately any deeper connection i could've forged with neve was hamstrung by the fact that i was bored to tears by the voice acting. even the conflict generated between my rook and neve due to him picking treviso (an obvious choice for a warden. they were going to blight the waterways) fell flat. because the lines were delivered flat. disappointing, considering how interesting the content of the game she features in is. like the sequence where i'm running through run-down ruins with NPCs tethered by their own blood jetting out of their bodies as they function as living speakerphones for a blood mage hell bent on revitalizing minrathous in her own twisted way. that's sick as hell. it WAS sick as hell. i loved every second of that. i just didn't love neve's voice acting. a shame, bc i was really excited about her pre-release. :(

scout harding's questline confused me not because of the content, but because it felt like this should've been a separate game entirely?? like why are we discussing the tranquilized titans and their horrific half-dead, half-dreaming state solely through the lens of a companion quest? why aren't we visiting orzammar or kal-sharok for more than 2 minutes and talking about the fact that the lyrium they've been mining for centuries is the blood of their ancestors?? like it's mentioned once or twice, but only during side-quests. like the solas's regrets quest chain or scout harding's companion quests. like isn't this a huge deal? why are we slotting this into a game about the elven gods?? the reveal that the evanuris essentially genocided the titans in order to craft their own bodies is a tale of horrific violence and violation and we........ just kinda. don't talk about it? after scout harding's quest is over? and the fugliest armor set known to man is unlocked? (toes. why does her armor have TOES.)

i did appreciate the fact that the game let us tell her that her anger was justified bc like. ngl if i learned all that and then the only option presented to me was to forgive the fuckers that did it i think i'd go crazy.

aside from that weirdness, scout harding is bestie. i love her. sorry that i KILLED HER OFF THOUGH!!! WHAT!!! okay unironically though i love that. i love that you can PERMANENTLY kill someone off. it adds depth. it adds STAKES. i wish more people would've died at the end. like bellara just being. fine? after being trapped in blight for who knows how long was baffling as hell. like she's not FINE but she's not dead. crazy stuff. how does being a warden sound bellara. u got a swift career change ahead of u. my rook's a warden tho he'll put in a good word for u dw

SPEAKING OF BELLARA. her questline was sad as hell but also like. how many times am i going to deal with cyrian bro like why couldn't we just knock his ass out. i know for the plot he has to keep going back to his evil masked ghost overlord anaris but like. eh.

his death scene was very sad though. bellara :((

CYRIAN UNMASKED LOWKEY....... KINDA FINE THO..... 👀

same as scout harding's i wish bellara's whole thing had more to do with the dalish. NOT THAT IT WASN'T I MEAN IT WAS ALL ABOUT BEING DALISH but it was more veil jumper than anything. man the veil jumpers were disappointing. just a faction built to fumble at any given chance. the only competent person is bellara and she's on the squad........... whole faction just fell apart without her 💀💀

bellara is my cutie pie bestie babygirl though <33 im so excited to romance her WAUGHHH even if i hate her hairstyle like girl what the hell is that on the back of your head!!!! they had to nerf her otherwise she'd be the Perfect Companion 😔💞

emmrich was sooo sweet. literally just an amiable old man on a journey to help his friends and students and his BONE SON!!!! SKELETON CHILD....... manfred my love......... unfortunately i did honor manfred's noble sacrifice and help emmrich into becoming a lich but like. that shit. feels like it should've been saved for post-game, somehow?? like in the veilguard equivalent of a trespasser or whatever. like what do you mean we just have an immortal lich companion just chillin. just vibin outta the necropolis. is that allowed?? are there other liches outside the necropolis???

???

the drip is immaculate though ngl. he easily clears everyone else's veilguard outfits <-she has only seen half of them due to only having the one finished playthrough

i didn't really use him much outside of his companion quests + fighting undead, so i don't know much about him with regards to party banter. sorry emmrich ;-;

davrin was. oh my goodness. have you ever seen a man so beautiful. the soulful brown eyes. the jawline strong enough to cut diamond. the EXPOSED CHEST. GOOD HEAVENS..... /SWOONS

literally the dreamiest dragon age companion ever like im sorry he clears literally everyone else ever made. and i say that even with zevran existing in the universe. (if silver fox zevran had at any point showed up in this game this opinion would swiftly change.)

i didn't romance him and i regret it bc i feel like there would've been something to the whole brothers in arms -> you and i are the only two people on this team who perfectly understand each other; you and i are dead men walking but we go to our blighted graves with grim smiles and clear eyes; should the calling come for one of us, it will end up claiming two, etc etc—unfortunately you recruit lucanis first and i didn't pivot 🫡

THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE FOR DAVRIN: his entire arc focuses around assan. not JUST assan, like assan is the conduit through which davrin works through a lot of stuff, but it feels like. well i don't think there was a single scene where assan wasn't there. which makes sense because GRIFFONS. MY GOD. THEY'RE BACK. but also. i feel like if davrin had some space from assan in like a single mission/quest/etc. it would've been good. absence making the heart grow fonder and all. like i'd kill and die for assan but like 60% of the way through davrin's arc i was lowkey getting tired of it all being about our favorite bird son.

lucanis.... lucanis lucanis lucanis. he's the one my rook romanced and uh....... i'm gonna be honest. i wasn't really feeling like i was in a romance at all until the very end of the game. there's a line where lucanis was like "that's what i love about you" or whatever and i was like. huh? what? when was this established? i don't think we ever had a conversation or an event that would lead to this conclusion??? did i skip it? did i forget??? taps game is this thing on???

like i'm not saying the romance was BAD. (aside from some questionable animation choices. like why was lucanis standing so close to my rook like BACK UPPPPPP 😭😭)

all of the romance scenes were sweet and enjoyable and full of typical Bioware Cringe Romance Lines™ (affectionate) (honorary) but it did feel a little like. 80% of the game we had tepid to mildly reciprocal reactions to any of rook's flirtatious dialogue choices, and then when i got the choice to lock in the romance for lucanis it's like. OKAY HIT THE GAS, BUDDY! IT'S TIME TO FLOOR IT. 0->100 in an instant. i love a slowburn, but this was less of a slowburn and more me silently watching a mile long fuse burn up for like 60 hours until it thunderously explodes all at once.

unrelated but why does rook not have a bed in his room. why is it just a couch. they were suckin' n' fuckin' on an ancient elven la-z-boy in the fade. amazing stuff.

ASIDE FROM THE WEIRD PACING ISSUES I EXPERIENCED (hopefully it wasn't universal) THE ROMANCE WAS SWEET. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND

as for his personal character arc. why the hell did lucanis become first talon??? like speaking as someone who found out post-game that he straight up SAYS in his tevinter nights short story that he doesn't want to be first talon. at no point in the game did i think "yeah this guy is fit for and desires a position of authority" like um. viago is right there. i could see the argument if treviso was blighted (don't know if teia and viago survive that; i saved treviso in my playthrough) but like. VIAGO (AND TEIA!) ARE RIGHT THERE BRO...............

him not killing illario is whatever i can understand not wanting to have the blood of family on your hands. it's the becoming first talon that's crazy. although i suppose the whole filial duty to caterina angle........ but since when was the antivan crow org following the right of primogeniture??? WHATEVERRR

also. antivan crows?? are not a moral organization??? what happened between da:o --> veilguard. why are they all robin hoods. weren't they child slavers who mercilessly tortured them into becoming assassins. there's an argument for "oh that was just house arainai" but i was expecting more morally gray/amoral assassins for hire and less "TREVISO WILL BE FREE. DOWN WITH TYRANNY" like huh???? are we red jennies all of a sudden. are we shadow dragons. whats goin on here.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

wow that's a lot. girl has a phd in yaponomics fr. at the end of the day, veilguard is a good game. i mean, i'm playing again it right now on nightmare mode this time. (CALIVAN'S FIGHT.......... WHAT THE FUCK................ i didn't die to his little minions OR to his pride demon summon i kept dying to his fuckass sextuple cast magic missiles that get spammed constantly like BRO CAN YOU RELAX. CHILL BRO CHIIIIIILLLLLLLLLL IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS!!!!!!!)

i think this game could easily make space for a few more DLC, something like trespasser or mass effect's citadel DLC. hopefully they do because the epilogue slides were PITIFUL. PALTRY. and dare i say? PATHETIC. the romance slide for lucanis and rook being a single line of dialogue that they split between them. i was gobsmacked.

dragon age i say this because i love you and i have loved you for so long and will love you forever: BRING BACK WORLDSTATES. PLEASE. I DON'T NEED A MASSIVE CALLBACK. I DON'T NEED CUTSCENES. I WOULD BE CONTENT WITH THROWAWAY DIALOGUE. WITH A CODEX ENTRY. A LETTER SENT IN-GAME. PLEASE. BRING BACK WORLDSTATES AUGHHHH

although i don't think it'll matter bc if i'm reading those hints right we're going across the sea in the next game to deal with the uh. what was it called? something storm?? that the qunari were running from or whatever???? so i dont think anything we did here in thedas matters. it'll be like me:a except. you know. dragon age.

WAIT. PAUSE. THIS GAME HAS A SECRET ENDING??? <-SHE JUST GOOGLED "DRAGON AGE STORM"

FOR FUCK'S SAKE. WELL THAT'S ON THE TO-DO LIST NEXT THEN.

anyways i love this game. 8/10 would get my ass beat by the demon of desperation and its 5 billion summoned minions again 👍

[felassan]

Image credits: David Gaider [source link below]

Article: 'Who is qualified to make a world? In search of the magic of maps'

"You're travelling with your imagination..."

An extensive feature article about maps, map creation and world-building. It refers to David Gaider and the team's early world-building and early-days process of creating the universe that would become Dragon Age. It includes this early series of original sketches of the map of Thedas through time that Gaider drew when the world was being created.

Excerpts under the cut (due to length):

"Dragon Age. That's the game Gaider was working on - or rather, it was the world he would dream up. Ideas had been swirling about what Dragon Age would be for a few months. The team knew it would be like D&D but would not be actual D&D, because BioWare was sick of licensed games at the time. They knew they were going for Tolkien rather than Conan or Diablo. "We definitely had at least some idea of the kind of RPG this was going to be," Gaider tells me when in a video call. But BioWare didn't have a world. One day, Gaider was handed a historical atlas of Europe and tasked with going away and coming up with a fantasy world for players to explore. And almost immediately, he sketched a map." - "What is it about a map that gives it magical powers to bind us and pull us in? I wanted to know more, and through talking to David Gaider and learning about his creation of the map for Dragon Age, I hoped I might find out." - "In fact, he corrects me, "I sketched a lot of maps." But they were the same map, replicated over and over, because in order for a world to make sense to Gaider, it needed history. "I drew this coastline and then made a bunch of photocopies of it," he says, "and did this series of sketches, like, 'Okay in this era, this is where people lived and where they migrated and created different cultures,' and those cultures changed over time as they got conquered. Much like the book of European maps I had, I was doing it in eras and forming an idea in my mind about how these groups all mingled together. David Gaider was kind enough to share his original sketches of the Dragon Age world with me, and in them, you can see an emerging flow of history. You can see the spread of the Tevinter Empire as the race of Men lands in the north and then begins to spread out. You can see, in the earliest images, there's still a kingdom of Elves in the forest of Arlathan, nearby. Then, they are forced out by the growing Tevinter Empire, south to the Dales, where we encounter them in the Dragon Age games, subjugated to being a kind of slave race. Tribes give way to kingdoms, and names we're familiar with begin to appear." - Caption on the sketches: "David Gaider's original sketches of the Dragon Age world. Wherever you see a name typed in, it's because it was changed by EA's in-house sensitivity team, which cross-checked place names with real-world names in case there was a clash. The area of Antiva, for example, used to be called Calabria, but Calabria is the name of a region in southern Italy. "Well, if you do something with the Calabrians that real Calabrians don't like, they might get upset," the sensitivity department at EA told Gaider. "So I was like, 'Oh fine, I'll change it,'" he says." - ""My feeling on history when it comes to worlds," Gaider says, "is that you need to have a lot of it." Without it, he says a world will feel like a facade. "Sometimes you'll see worlds where they've made only what is needed for their current story, and it's like an old Western set: it feels right, it looks right, but then you slowly get a sense of, 'Oh, there's nothing behind those doors.' Before he sat down to draw, Gaider already knew some of the geographical elements he wanted. He knew he wanted a topsy-turvy 'South was cold and North was hot' idea for the continent, to play with people's expectations, and he knew he wanted a large waterway - that he likens to the Mediterranean - carving its way far inland. Today, we know this as the Waking Sea, and it's an incredibly important feature in the Dragon Age games. Gaider also knew he wanted islands far up in the north, from which an unknown race could invade. "I knew that I wanted an 'other' race that would come along," he says, "which ended up being the Qunari." Gaider also knew he wanted untouched areas for adventure, like forests and mountains, just in case the game would need them. "I didn't want every place to be so civilised that when it came time for 'we need ruins' or 'we need massive wilderness', we've got nowhere to go because I've civilised the entire thing," he says."

"Because remember, the team didn't yet know where the game they were making would be set. That's why so much of the continent you see in the sketches is as yet unused in Dragon Age games - the series hasn't needed all of it by this point. Continents are vast, after all, and realising them in 3D for players to explore is a mighty task. "I guess in my head," Gaider says, "we would be probably either on the north of Ferelden, on what became the Free Marches, or maybe off in the west more towards the Tirashan Forest or the Hunterhorns. That was a very wild area and I was like, 'That's a good place for an adventure to be.' Atlas at hand, photocopies in front of him, Gaider set about his work of growing a game world from a bunch of maps, and with not a small amount of trepidation. There was a lot riding on the world after all; it was a far cry from the worlds he'd created and freely abandoned as a teenager. "This is going to form the foundation, ideally, for a lot of games," he says, "and a lot of people are going to do work [on it]. And the trepidation is like, 'I don't know what I'm doing.' I'm essentially the equivalent of a 13-year-old just going, 'La la la, I'm going to call this Ferelden!'" - "Some things bother David Gaider about the Dragon Age 1 map, still, and they occurred when artists prettied his sketches without his involvement. "Oh," he said awkwardly when they were presented to him. "I didn't want it to look like this, exactly." He says they added a lot more rivers and mountains, and flipping between his sketches and the Dragon Age: Origins map, you can see some have moved around, or gained prominence, and places like Redcliffe have shifted. Apparently people would take to the BioWare forums after the game came out to complain about the map's geography. "And I'm like, 'You know what? You got a point,'" Gaider says. This is mostly anger at himself, though, for not doing more about it. Similarly, he wishes he'd been able to sit down with artists and work out what the rest of the continent you don't see in his sketches looked like, so they didn't have to have "the continent just keeps going..."-like messages at the edge of it. "But to where?" Gaider says. But it speaks to something he's noticed in his decades working in games about artists and writers. "They really speak two different languages," he tells me. They process things differently and they tend to care about different things. There were reams of history and lore written in a "world bible" for the Dragon Age team, but getting artists to read it was another matter. They wanted clear visual cues, not piles of backstory. Dragon Age: Origins eventually found its setting in Ferelden, the kingdom in the bottom right bulge of the sketches, so it left a huge portion of the sketched world unused, which the team presumed no one would ever see. "We thought that was going to be the only one," he says of Dragon Age: Origins. "That's why when you get to the end of Origins, there's so many epilogues that cast off far into the future, which, if we'd known that we were going to keep going and keep going with history, we wouldn't have said, 'Oh, in fifty and one hundred years, this is going to happen.' I think we would have played our cards a little closer to our chest. EA apparently found the game very old-fashioned and thought no one wanted turn-based role-playing games like that any more, which of course now seems ridiculous given the success of Baldur's Gate 3. "Baldur's Gate just goes to show how wrong people are when it comes to industry wisdom," Gaider says."

-

"Nevertheless, when Dragon Age 2 eventually was green-lit, the scope of it, and the focus of it, would completely change. With it, BioWare and EA would push towards a console RPG experience that stopped and started less, and had more action-packed combat. And EA only gave BioWare 18 months to make it, so BioWare decided to make a much smaller, more tightly focused game. It seemed like a good idea at the time. "People at BioWare convinced themselves that the fans would be okay - it'll be fine if it's a smaller game," Gaider says. "And I don't know why we thought that was the case, but for a moment there in time, we were like, 'Yeah, sure, it'll be fine.'" As for the mapping, a tighter focus meant centering on one place rather than a whole region, so the city of Kirkwall on the Waking Sea became the heart of the game, and BioWare developed a time-jumping idea for the game so you could see it at various different points in your character's lifetime, which I still think is really neat. And because there wasn't a large region to explore, the game didn't need a sprawling map, so BioWare turned the map on its side to give Kirkwall some height and majesty instead. It wasn't particularly memorable, but it looked nice. The game didn't go down well. "Its highs were really high, and its lows were really low," Gaider says now. "It was very unpolished. If it even got six months more polish, I think the reception would have been a lot different." More importantly, it meant everything would need to change again for Dragon Age 3." - "In Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third game in the series, the map plays a starring role. It's built into the game world specifically so you and your Inquisition advisors can gather around it and push pieces about as you choose where to go next. Thematically, this fits neatly with the theme of running an organisation like the Inquisition, but the map was also required to cover a lot of ground. One thing BioWare knew the moment it started making the game was that it needed to be bigger than DA2. This time, the game would spread across areas of Ferelden we hadn't been to as well as some we had; up to Kirkwall and into surrounding Free Marches, and then west to the city of Orlais and onwards until it reached past the Waking Sea and arid desert land. But the sense of scale was an illusion. Dragon Age: Inquisition wasn't a continuous, open world, but a fragmented one, made up of a few open-world-like zones, some small parts of cities, and many 'you can't actually explore there, but you can read about it' text-window interactions. Again, this was Gaider's idea, to give the game "a feeling of breadth" without needing the art department to render it all in 3D. By the time Inquisition came out in 2014, the world of Thedas - the name an amalgamation of "the" and "Dragon Age Setting" by the way - had been reinterpreted for three games and touched by many pairs of hands. Gaider's writing team had plugged the holes he, as a single writer, couldn't fill, and the art team had shown us what the world looked like. There was even, fittingly, a Dragon Age encyclopaedia released, compiling the teetering piles of lore and backstory, and maps and imagery that BioWare created for it. People were now joining the team who were already fans of the series. This was no longer an imaginary world; Thedas felt real. And perhaps it no longer needed Gaider to steer it."

- "So Gaider left BioWare in 2016, having worked there for 17 years, most of it spent on Dragon Age. Really, he'd had enough of wizards and demons, and Anthem wasn't the tonic he sought. Eventually, he'd move all the way from Canada to Australia for a fresh start, where he'd start Summerfall Studios and make a role-playing musical called Stray Gods, which was released last year. That game, incidentally, only featured a small map for travelling between city locations. Today, he awaits the arrival of a new Dragon Age game - Dragon Age: Dreadwolf - like the rest of us, having had no direct input. It's an anxious wait, as you can imagine. "I was Mr Dragon Age for ten years," he says, "so there is a certain amount of attachment. I'm not sure how I will feel when Dragon Age 4 comes out. I have a hard time believing that if I play it, I won't spend a lot of the time second guessing any choices I see, like, 'Oh, hmm, I wouldn't have done that.' What if they bring back some characters that I wrote? They're going to Tevinter so what if Dorian's there? Gah! I don't know; I am of two minds as to whether or not I will even play it." "It makes me wonder about these people who create worlds, who draw them into existence - whether that's in a preliminary sketch or a lavish piece of artwork - and whether there's always a point where success comes with the consequence of ceding control. Had Gaider kept the world of Dragon Age to himself, a photocopied map, folded and stuffed in a back pocket, we'd never have played it. And had millions of people not played and enjoyed it, I wouldn't be writing about it now and have that feeling when I look at an image of one of Gaider's photocopies, that I'm in the presence of something special, something powerful. But it's no longer Gaider's map, and no longer Gaider's world. It's all of ours."" - "For Gaider, maps are snapshots of history, photocopied slideshows explaining how places came to be. And of course they are, because he was thinking about Dragon Age when he started in on maps, which meant that he was thinking about geography, sure, but also the passing of time, and the way the latter affects the former."

[source and full article]

[minhosimthings]

For Love to Exist: A Hyunjin Fic

Synopsis: In which Aphrodite makes a plan for two loveless souls.

Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin × Fem!reader, includes rest of Skz (side characters)

Word count: don't know but it's really long

Warnings: Fluff, angst, slow burn, mentions of self harm, and mental abuse, reader is an orphan, mentions of food and drink. She/her pronouns used, reader has scars on her skin

A/N: this is sort of a self indulgent fic for me and it is dedicated to all the people in my life who have made me feel like I am worthy of love again. This is based off of my own experiences due to my abusive past and how I let those go with the help of the people I've met here in university. I based Y/N off of myself (I hope you don't mind) because I feel like Hyunjin would be the type of person to love s person, regardless of their past, and ignorant of their future (and also I'm too delulu for Hyun rn). I dedicate this fic to all the people around the world, who feel that they do not deserve a red heart, and an I love you everyday. I dedicate this fic to the little girl inside of me, who still thinks that she is unworthy of love.

For love to exist, souls should exist too. For love to breathe, souls should take a deep breath too. For love to live, souls should learn how to live too. But for you, souls simply did not exist. They were just imaginary things made up by boring adults to tell children why they married their partners, to mask whatever what going on in reality. Why would anyone believe in souls and hearts and bonds and all that bullshit? Kids, of course, believed it.

You, on the other hand, were taught by cold eyes, ever since forever. Cold eyes had taught you that warm ones always lied and that love was just a fairytale made up to increase the population of earth. Cold eyes told you that June wasn't about pretty flowers and sundresses. They taught you it was about the burning sun and the heatwaves. Cold eyes taught you that flowers were nothing more than biological creations of two genetically unique organisms. Cold eyes taught you that the world was just the Earth, just a globe and that the universe didn't care for a tiny speck like you.

Work, Eat, and sleep. Those were the only things you did with passion. Those were the only things in your life that you noticed and yearned for. It was painful to watch your coworkers at the company, who were below you, enjoy life so much. As chief editor, you had less work than they did, yet they saw life as a chance. They saw life as a chance to enjoy the fruits of the universe, while you still saw life as a scarred being. Funny, how you thought that everyone else was mad to have love in their lives, yet there you were with scars on your chest, both physical and mental, going unnoticed by the minute.

Until Hyunjin came into your life.

Hwang Hyunjin. Step son of your goddamned boss. You were told that he would be working alongside you as both an assistant editor and as a new cartoonist, replacing Mr Park, who had resigned five days ago. You groaned at the idea of having someone follow you all day, asking you if you needed anything. You were better off without an assistant or a cartoonist. But your magazine wasn't the leading magazine in South Korea for no reason. The illustrations provided alongside the thigh slapping articles always provided the greatest entertainment to the millions of readers. Mr Park was an old man, who was always quiet and mostly kept to his drawings, exactly your preference. Someone who doesn't annoy you or ask about your love life because apparently, at 23, a woman has nothing better to do. But a man, your age, who you've heard used to be a singer in a band, yeah that wasn't going to work with you.

Your boss had introduced you guys on his first day. He was.... surprisingly handsome. His eyes were like a kitten's, small and glittery, as if Andromeda had poured all her stars into them. His nose and jawline were so sharp, in total contrast to his gaze, soft and pinkish. You wondered why all those thoughts were coming into your head. Never before had they had even touched your mind, when you saw other men and women around you, no matter how pretty they were.

He worked in silence. Complete silence. He wouldn't even move his chair or anything. The desk on which he worked was so pristine and organized, very much like yours, exactly like yours. But there was an aura with which he worked on piece of paper with a black ink pot that you could only dream of having. It was like the sky favoured him, sunlight illuminating all of his features, including some tiny moles on his face. You couldn't help but admire his serious face, headphones in, with an ink stained brush moving swiftly across paper, tracing the tiny dots and lines of whatever he was making. You had first approached the company as a cartoonist yourself, having the skills because of an art minor. But soon the director saw you better as a journalist and slowly but surely you moved your way up the ladder to become chief editor. And when you saw other people doing something you used to love doing, you wondered if you hadn't accepted the job as an editor, would your life have been so mundane? So brown and still?

"Um Miss Y/N?" A voice broke you out of your stupor, starting you and getting your mind away from the articles on your computer screen. Hyunjin was standing next to you, holding pieces of paper in one hand and his brush in the other. He had a dab of ink sprawled across his nose. Cute, you thought.

"I, uh, finished the illustration for the first article you sent. Are they ok?" He gave you five pieces of paper, all with funny intonations on them, a cookie wearing hat, and an iguana wearing a DJ's glasses. It was cute, really cute you thought, as you gave them back to him, nodding in approval and shooting him a small smile. "You have ink on your nose, did you know that?" You pointed out to him, handing him a tissue from your tissue box, which he took and immediately disappeared behind his computer, wiping his nose aggressively. Cute, so cute.

You usually left work at eight thirty, not too late and not too early that you'd miss your tea. But something made you want to stay back today. Someone, specifically. Hyunjin told you that he usually went home by ten, since he didn't do much during the night. You refrained from telling him when you went, lest he question why you stayed back today.

"Miss Y/N I'll be heading out now. Good night." He held up his olive green bag and waved goodbye to you. Something inside of you wanted to say 'Wanna go together?' but you had always ignored that something so you instead waved back to him and started picking up your things.

That day, the old grandmother at the ramen shop you always went to said something was different about you and told you to smile more. You didn't know whether or not that was a complement but you took it willingly along with spicy ramen with beef.

"Miss Y/N I-" "Hyunjin stop call me Miss. Im your age. Just call me Y/N, alright?" You finally got that sentence out of your mouth after keeping it in for an entire week. An entire week Hyunjin addressed you with honorifics and today you wanted to tell him that just your name was enough. Just your name coming out of his mouth like a sweet melody was alright. "Oh well ok Y/N." He said with some difficulty, feeling awkward not using the proper words. "I wanted to say that lunch break began over two hours ago and you still haven't got up from your seat, so I uh bought you something. I asked your co workers what you usually eat so um yeah." He did what? You looked down at his extended hand, holding a box of your usual Ramyeon and an americano. You silently took the food from his hands, shooting him a quick 'thank you'. He deserved more than that, but at that moment, all your shocked brain could do was that.

Someone cared for you. Someone noticed that you weren't eating. Someone noticed how you stayed on this cold October day. And that was sort of sweet? Someone did that for you and for once it seemed he did not want anything in return. That couldn't be true, you thought as you silently ate your Ramyeon, all the while shooting tiny glances at Hyunjin, who was once again immersed in his drawings. Seeing him so deeply imbued in an art, which provided him a job, was so endearing to look at. He was doing something he enjoyed, while earning money for it. Isn't that what everyone in the world would love?

"Um Hyunjin? Hyunjin." You snapped your fingers in front of Hyunjin, who had his headphones on, with that brush back in his hand. He looked so cute, being broken out of his hypnotised state. His eyes blinked at you for a few seconds, before he took the headphones off and greeted you. "What is it Mi- I mean Y/N?" God he was so handsome. He was in a loose baby blue sweater and white pants today. He looked so dainty and fragile as if you touch him and he'll break. "I uh wanted to thank you again for the food today. Um. Any way I can thank you for it? Maybe buy you a coffee?" You could feel your cheeks getting redder by the moment. Even if he couldn't see the blush, you could definetly feel them. If your guardian angels were watching you right now, they'd be saying 'Y/N get your ass up and stop blushing so much.'. "Oh. Um uh" Hyunjin stuttered for a bit before checking his watch. Nine thirty am. There was still half an hour left to go home, meaning you both had enough time to grab a coffee and perhaps a bagel or something tasty.

"Oh course Y/N. But please do not pay for my food. You need not repay me for lunch." Your pleas for that sentence went unheard, as Hyunjin kept saying that he didn't want anyone to pay for him, reasoning that lunch was a basic human need and he was just helping his co worker out. Something about the way he defended himself and explained things was so adorable. It was like a ferret explaining why it's fur is white and why it's ears are so round.

"This is surprisingly good." You commented, as Hyunjin and you sat by the little round table in the coffee shop, drinking Americans and eating Macarons. Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at you, watching as you are your pistachio Macaron. "You never had a Macaron before in your life?" You shook your head at his question, trying to swallow your bite of the Macaron quickly, so as to answer his question. "No actually." You managed to cough out after what seemed like five hours of you chewing the sweet dessert. "I don't have a preference for sweet things. I used to but I grew out of it." Hyunjin looked up at you, from staring at his shoes. "You used to? Well I always used to believe that a sweet tooth could never grow out of their preferences. Turns out I was wrong then." The corners of your mouth twitched as your heart itched not to say 'why are you so perfect?' to the man sitting in front of you. "So what musicians do you listen to?" It was now your turn to look up at him with wide eyes. It was funny how both of you were eating food together like two normal human beings, yet neither of you dared to look at each other, or maintain direct eye contact for more than a fraction of a second. "Pardon?" You asked him, eyebrow raised and foot tapping on the floor. He stumbled back a bit and said, in a apologetic tone, "Oh I didn't mean to impose. Im sorry. I just thought, you know we see each other every single day, and I have never gotten to know what my coworker likes a dislikes so um.. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Seeing him apologize like that was like seeing a puppy apologize to a black cat. You probably looked scary right now, with your expression and your rigid figure, so it made sense for Hyunjin to react like that.

"Oh it's alright Hyunjin." You said, shooting him the tiniest smile ever. "People don't really ask me questions about myself that often so I was kind of taken aback." Hyunjin just nodded and hummed in response to your bland statement.

That night, when you went home, you thought to yourself, about how much you missed human interaction. Most often disassociation and loneliness were your favourite drugs, but Hyunjin asking you a simple question about your favourite singer, made those drugs seem pleasure less. Your therapist would have probably looked you up and down and immediately told you that you were in love, being the hopeless romantic he was. People were scared to approach you. You, with your head held high in the air, your gait threatening that of Hera's, and your expression, cool and wicked. But Hyunjin just casually asked you what musicians you listen to, as if he had known you for years and he was meeting up with you again, at a school reunion. It was shocking to you, how he could just say that, without stuttering. Yes he did stutter later on, but it was so adorable the way he apologized to you, hands nervously palming at his fingers and nose silently twitching. Maybe friends weren't so bad after all, you thought, as the stars looked at you in pity, talking amongst themselves, about where had God gone wrong with you.

A sticky note? Your boss never left sticky boss for you. Usually his assistant to deliver you messages. So who wrote this mysterious pink sticky note, stuck to your computer with a smiley and something written on it? You had arrived at work after Hyunjin today, who, once again was is a hypnotic state, lightly bobbing his head to whatever was playing inside of those blue headphones. You slightly suspected that the note was probably his, as you sat down on your chair, hanging your bag in the usual place beside your table. You pulled off the note from the computer and examined it closely. There was something written on it with a glittery purple pen.

I scared you yesterday with my question. So I'm going to ask you through a note. What musicians do you listen to? (PS you can answer through a sticky note too)

You noticed Hyunjin kept giving you small glances from time to time, only taking his eyes away from his art for a fraction of a second. Cute, you thought, really cute. This was by far the cutest thing he had done. You silently took up a glittery blue pen from your drawer and wrote some sentences on a different sticky note, knowing when you were going to stick it.

"Hyunjin could you do me a favour?" You tapped on his desk to alert him. He looked up at you once again, with those same doe eyes. You noticed the ink once again splattered on his nose. "Yeah?" "Could you take this up to Mr Kim once and ask him if this is how he wanted the article to be edited?" You handed him a blue file to take it upto your boss, which is silently took and went up to the boss's office, giving you enough time to stick the note onto his computer. You made a last minute addition to the note, before rushing off to the canteen, lest Hyunjin catches you in your mischievous act. Even though it was just sticking a note to your co worker's computer this felt like the most amazing thing you had ever done in your life, the most daring.

Where had you gone? Hyunjin had come back to his desk after handing off the file to the boss, who said he'd give it back tomorrow, only to find you nowhere to be found. He swore that he had saw you here just a second ago. Where had you gone now? Shrugging his shoulders and telling himself that you had probably taken a bathroom break, he sat back down on his desk, ready to complete the illustrations for the day, that you had given him yesterday, when he noticed something stuck to his computer. A green sticky note. Could it be? Did you respond to his very creepy, weirdo nerd way of asking you a question in order to get to know you better?

When Hyunjin sat down on his chair, and slowly pulled the sticky note out, he sweated that his heart had skipped a hundred beats (or 143 beats hehe). Your loopy handwriting was scrambled on it with sparkly blue ink.

This is very middle school of us to be passing notes in work but I like listening to Lana del Rey, Florence and The Machines, a bit of k-pop and lot of classical music. Now you answer my question along with your own question. What is your favourite ice cream flavour? (PS you have ink on your nose)

Hyunjin's soul was doing backflips in his stomach. Having an obsession for love, he wondered whether this was how Cupid felt like when he shot his first arrow. You listened to the same artist he did. He absent-mindedly wondered about what question to ask you next when you came out from the canteen, carrying lunch for the both of you. "Oh hey Hyunjin." You said in what you hoped wasn't an over active tone. "I uh got you lunch to pay back for when you got me lunch and um here you go." You awkwardly handed him the cup of spicy tteokbokki along with some other dishes and an Americano. As if returning the awkwardness, he mumbled a sheepish 'thank you', grabbed the food and hid behind his desk. Somewhere in the clouds Aphrodite was sighing, not knowing what to do with you two.

After a few hours, when you had gotten up to go the boss's office, Hyunjin saw his golden chance and took it. He scribbled his question onto a pink sticky note and quickly stuck it to your desk, frantically sitting back on his chair and pretending to be focusing on his cartoon which had long been completed.

Happiness. Happiness was all you and Hyunjin felt that night, when both of you parted ways. It was that happiness which a fourteen year old gets when their crush pays attention to them. It was mischievous happiness, as both you went home and pondered about questions and answers. Middle school romance was something neither of you had, with him not finding the correct person, who would love him for who he is, and you just not wanting love anymore. Aphrodite would be probably be smiling right now, twirling her roses and she makes the next part of her plan.

"Hyunjin! Over here!" It was raining very heavily today and you had chosen this very day to not take your car. Apparently Hyunjin had done the same thing, as both of you saw other close to the cafe a distance from your work. He didn't have an umbrella and you had spotted him running over in the direction of your work, blue hoodie gripped tightly over his head. "Did the universe have to choose the day I didn't get my car to rain?" He shouted at you as you both were shielded by your umbrella. "I was thinking the same thing!" You shouted back at him. "Let's get inside the cafe!"

The cafe thankfully wasn't crowded at all, and as you took off your coat and shoes to dry, you appreciated the heat coming from inside the cafe. It was on the more traditional side, with a wooden interior and sepia toned plants hidden in mud pots.

"Oh great." Hyunjin sighed. He was holding his phone is his hands, having taken off his hoodie and his shoes before you did and setting his bag down at a table for two. "Boss just texted. Work's cancelled for three days straight." "So we went through all that rain for nothing?" You deflated on the comfy chair, opposite Hyunjin, who was revealed to be wearing a dark blue shirt underneath his baby blue hoodie. "Well damn it. What do we do now? I didn't bring my car and neither did you. Do we have to wait out the storm here?" You asked him, wiping your face with a handkerchief. "Well we can." Hyunjin responded. "I think the owner will probably let us." You raised a brow at him at that statement while he just stared into space, as if expecting an alien to show up any moment. "How do you know the own-" "HWANG HYUNJIN YOU FINALLY DRAG YOUR ASS HERE TO SEE ME."

A very loud voice rang through the cafe, accompanied by a much quieter 'Hyunjin's here?'. Hyunjin groaned and buried his face in his hands, as a handsome man with olive skin, brown hair, and the prettiest nose ever, came striding up to your table, wearing the uniform of the cafe. He promptly pulled up a chair and collapsed onto it, next to Hyunjin, all the while playfully glaring at him. "Hey Minho hyung." Hyunjin mumbled, not looking directly at whoever this Minho was. The other man clicked his tongue out of disapproval and said, "Say that louder would ya? And why have you not been coming to visit me and emotional dump on me for like two weeks? Oh and who's this lovely young lady?" He looked into your eyes at that last bit, startling you a bit, at how round and black his eyes were, like tiny little boba balls. "I'm Y/N." You extended a hand forward. "L/N Y/N" Minho took your hand and shook it with a firm grip, before getting up and slightly bowing to you. "Well Miss Y/N, may I get you anything? Perhaps something which is not an Americano, which is what this monster" he motioned to Hyunjin "drinks?" You gave him a calculator look before saying, "Oh. Um I would like an americano actually and probably one for Hyunjin too please." Minho looked ever so slightly taken aback by your words. "As you wish!" He declared before giving Hyunjin and a smirk and leaving.

"So who was that?" You asked Hyunjin, whose ears were burning red. With a sigh, he put his elbows on the table, burrying his head in them.

"That was Lee Minho. A college mate of mine, who opened a cafe with a friend of his, soon after graduation, because apparently he didn't want to get into a boring job." He chuckled slightly at that. "He's a mentor to me. He's like I think two years older than me and he treats me like a damn baby. But it's fine cause I'm the one who helped him cheat on his exams so I get free shit here."

"Americano for two?" Oh hey Hyunjin!" A freckled boy had come up to your table, americano filled cups in his hand. His skin was porcelain, like glass, dotted with star like freckles, with blonde hair framing his beautiful face. "Hey Lix." Hyunjin patted the boy's back, as he set the coffee down on the table. "How's your mum now? Is the treatment working?" A smile never seemed to leave this boy's face, as he sat down in the chair which Minho had pulled up earlier. "She's good now. Much better! I've been sending her some brownies every now and then but she's still disappointed because apparently her son won't get a girlfriend." He slightly pouted as Hyunjin chuckled lightly. "Oh who's this? Wait are you-" the boy looked at you with excited eyes, before gasping and turning his head to Hyunjin. "Is this the Y/N you told me about?" He excitedly extended a hand towards you, which you took, experience pleasure at his soft grip and hands, which was in stark contrast to Minho's handshake. "I'm Felix! Lee Felix. Nice to meet you! Y/N right?" The amount of happiness radiating from this boy was so much that you thought he was probably the reincarnation of Helios himself. "Nice to meet you too Felix. I'd introduce myself, but judging from your excitement I believe Hyunjin's already told you about me." You gave him a smile, which he returned. "Yah Felix!" Minho's voice came from across the wooden walls. Felix groaned and got up from his chair saying goodbye to both of you and rushing off to Minho.

"They're really nice." You told Hyunjin, sipping on your americano. It was nice and weird to have people like you for who you are. It was kind of alien to you, to meet two people who knew about you. It was even more alien of Hyunjin to tell people about you. What could people tell about you? What fragments of your being attracted Hyunjin that he told his friends about your existence?

"Y/N are you ok?" Hyunjin's voice broke your mind from staring at the rain pouring outside. The storm had calmed down now and it was just lightly drizzling, drops staining the window, racing against each other. "Oh yes I'm good. Sorry."

"So you wanna talk about the notes or should we keep it a middle school secret?" Hyunjin's question rang across your brain, and as you sipped on your americano, you couldn't help but notice how innocent that question was. It was just a question. It wasn't an interrogative question, which you'd be punished for if you didn't answer. You fingers unconsciously went up to your wrists when you thought about that question. "What do you suggest? I'm alright with answering the question in person, instead of exchanging notes." You responded, keeping your tone casual, so as to not reveal the fast pace of your heart beat.

Hyunjin smiled at you and sipped on his americano again. "My favourite ice cream flavour is pistachio. And I also like listening to Lana del Rey and classical music. My turn now." He leaned forward slightly. "A song which you could listen to, for all eternity?" Musical questions were what you enjoyed the most, having being in love with music ever since your ears picked up the tune of twinkle twinkle little star. Hyunjin's question seemed hard, since your favourite song changed every few seconds and you couldn't just choose one melody to pleasure your ears for all of eternity. "Hmm" you responded after a while. "Probably Love by Lana Del Rey." "Why so?" Hyunjin asked.

"Because along with having an amazing tune and the greatest vocals ever," you started your lecture "It's also such a deep song. The way she is symbolising young love is so beautiful, from the way she alters her voice at certain lines to the lyrics themselves. I especially fell in love with the chorus because it signifies such a beautiful matter of being so much in love that even the tiniest actions can seem like elephantine gestures. Even that lyric 'The world is yours and you can't refuse it' it's so pretty. It's symbolising that feeling of ruling the world when you fall in love. Or atleast I think it does. I've never fell in love so."

You fell quiet after your rambling, hoping that it didn't freak him out how much you knew about one particular song, which you definetly did not write an entire essay about. L/n Y/n you've done it again. You've scared a person off because of your rambling about your hyperfixation because you have nothing else to love. Great job, you thought.

But as you looked over at Hyunjin's face, it was happy? His eyes were wide and his lips were slightly parted as if thinking what to say, his americano straw remained in his mouth, but he wasn't sipping on it. He was in total awe, something you couldn't see.

"That- that was amazing." He said after a pregnant silence. "I never thought about songs that way honestly. But I think from now on I'll start thinking of it like that." God his smile was so handsome. The way the corners of his mouth stretched and the way his lips always slightly parted, it was all so pretty. And since when have you became so observant? To notice a man's manner of smiling?

Aphrodite smiled again in the clouds, calling for her chariot, to take a ride across the sky, making up the next step of her masterplan.

It was still pitter-pattering outside the window as both of you finished your drinks. You declined Minho's offer to eat, since you had already ate a lot for breakfast and you weren't feeling hungry. You tasted a bit of Felix's brownies, for which you complemented the freckled boy so mich to point where his glass skin turned into stained red glass.

"God the rain is stopping, how the hell are we going to get home?" Hyunjin sighed, as he meant back in his chair. You both had put your shoes, hoodie and coat back on and were staring out the window. You had an idea in your mind. A peculiar idea. An idea unlike you. An idea made by your heart controlled mind. You know how they say that we should never let our heart control our brain? Well sometimes, just sometimes, in the tiniest moments, we could let it control our being just a little bit.

"Doyouwanttocomeovertomyhouseitsreallycloseby" "I beg your pardon?" Oh great you spoke the easiest sentence in the fastest way you could possibly imagine. You should probably get the Nobel Prize for the most awkward person ever. Taking a deep breath, you made eye contact with Hyunjin (perhaps for the first time) and said, "Would you like to come over to my house? It's close by and I can drop you off at your house if I get my car." Hyunjin looked slightly taken aback by your suggestion, and as he pondered over it with a series of 'ohs' and 'ums', you mentally scolded yourself. How could you never say the right thing ever? How did you manage to say the wrong thing every single time? How did you manage to scare off every person every single time? Were you really not capable of love? Was your mother really right?

"If I don't impose Y/N, I would like to come over to your house. I should actually probably get going home too, so I accept your offer, only if it doesn't bother you." Your heart lifted from where it was earlier. Listening to the words coming out of Hyunjin's mouth in the soft tone, was something so comforting to you. It was like the smell of old books, like the way flowers moved in the wind, like the way wine swirled in a wine glass and like the way melodies danced to the beat of a song.

"This is your house?" You and Hyunjin had walked all the way to your house, shielded by his umbrella. It was safe to say that your house was a very luxurious one, in the more expensive side, courtesy to your high profile job. It was a two bedroom house, with the most beautiful terrace and balcony anyone had ever seen, which gave a view of the Seoul skyline. "It's beautiful." Hyunjin breathed out. "Come inside." You said, taking off your shoes at the entrance and unlocking the wooden door. "Want some food?" Hyunjin shook his head as both of you entered your house, his mouth dropping on seeing the interior. You had a conversation pit inside your house, much like one of those 80's sitcoms, and it was the most queer thing in your house. It was purple and magenta, with white finishings and a pretty carpet, sitting below a glass table. "It seems the interior is much prettier than the exterior." Hyunjin said, as you both entered the pit, sitting down. You sheepishly smiled and mumbled a thank you, before getting up to get him some water, even though you both had downed a big cup of americano.

"Your books are really interesting." You had started showing Hyunjin around your house, and when you reached the library portion, he wouldn't move from there. Granted, you did have a pretty library, decorated with fake moss and hanging vines, which made it look like a shelf growing out of the forest. "What is so interesting about them?" You asked him as he stroked the book covers with his fingers, to which he smiled and pointed to the last two books. "Their arrangment is fascinating first of all. I mean The Animal Farm and Pride and Prejudice are sitting together, as if going for a tea party. Did you arrange them yourself?" You only nodded to his question, too scared to answer. "The second interesting thing about this bookshelf is that all the books are so dual to each other. You have Harry Potter-" he pointed to the topmost shelf, "then you have 1984-" his fingers went to a handsome leather book, "and then finally you have a pop up children'd book." He laughed pointing to the bottom most shelf, where a glittery pink book lie. You blushed, as you saw that book. It was the book, which your best friend at the orphanage had given to you, before she was taken away. You cherished it a lot, it being the only form of love you had ever recieved in your life. "Woah you have Taylor Caldwell too!" Hyunjin said, excitedly, his fingers bouncing on the shelf closest to him, where a series of faded books lie. "Do you want them perhaps?" You asked him, to which he gave you a sad smile. "I've always loved her since the age of eleven but I could never buy any of her books, courtesy to my mum thinking they're too 'westernised'." "You can take some if you want. I hardly ever read these ones." You pulled out some of the books and put them in his hands. He looked surprised and his eyes widened at you. After much trial and error, which included him refusing to take the books, and you threatening to leave him out in the rain if he didn't take them, he finally stuffed then into his bag, thanking you over and over again.

The car ride to his home was fun, to say the least. Hyunjin narrated some funny stories with Minho and Felix, and a few of his other friends. You were shocked to find out that he used to be in a band, where he played the drums. "You must play them for me one day." You said, as you pulled up to a light. "as payback for the books." Hyunjin gave you that sweet smile again, causing your brain to malfunction.

"Thank you for the ride home Y/N. And for the books." Hyunjin said as you both pulled up to his house. "Say I have a question." He said, before unbuckling his seatbelt (drive safely kids). "Would you ever be interested in spending your lunch break with me everyday? Cause I really like talking to you and I don't have many friends at work. Only if you want to though!" God he was so adorable with those round eyes and those cute cheeks. Was he actually so cute or was your hopeless brain just making it up?

Aphrodite sighed again as she watched you silently from the bushes, happy that you were going on the right path, but worried about the trajectory of your mind.

Spending time with Hyunjin were the best moments of your life. It was surprisingly fun to spend a part of your day everyday with Hyunjin. It was just lunch and americanos, fresh from Minho's cafe, since it was the only one you liked now. You warmed up to him more than you had wanted to, and for the first time, your brain didn't mind being ruled by your heart. Hyunjin had introduced you to some of his closest friend, who came to visit him at work, making sure he didn't overwork himself. And he had interesting friends. Apart from Minho and Felix, there was a producer group called 3Racha who wrote songs for a company called JYP. It was composed of the three most kindest people you had ever met. Jisung, Changbin and Chan treated you like their own sister, often picking up an Americano for you whenever they got one for Hyunjin. You met Hyunjin's youngest friends Seungmin and Jeongin at Minho's cafe, when Jeongin bumped into your shoulder, dropping his books and apologizing to you frantically. Both of them were University students, one having a pottery studio and the other studying computer science. They were mischievous little things, but you loved them too, with you sharing Seungmin's love for pottery and Jeongin's hatred for sugary foods. It was so fun, having friends, even if they weren't your friends from the beginning. This was the first time you had experienced happiness ever since you were eight.

The words on your books weren't skimmed over by your eyes anymore. Instead they were carefully taken in, word by word, appreciating how every letter formed the beautiful sentence. Now, winter wasn't about surviving anymore. Instead it was about being warm and cosy, all wrapped up in a big blanket, hugging a plushie and drinking hot chocolate as pretty winter flakes poured outside the window. Now you digged out the sundresses you haven't worn in so long, and you would wear them to work every now and then, catching the eyes of every person you passed (because you are the most beautiful person on earth LOVE YOURSELF I LOVE YOU). You never noticed it, but now, Hyunjin looked at you differently. He wasn't a very defensive person, choosing to end arguments quickly, but whenever his eyes set upon your figure dancing in a yellow sundress, embroidered with flowers, he swore that he would burn done the entire world for you. Both of you regularly met up at each other's house, having k drama nights, where you would do nothing but cry over the slow burn, and try out a new snack from the local convenience store every time. Sometimes Hyunjin would play the drums for you, taking your excited requests of the 70's and 80's rock songs. It was all so perfect, having Hyunjin in your life and every time you saw him moving his own across a piece of paper, whipping up a cartoon for you as a gift, your heart smiled, urging you to let it take over for just a little longer.

But Aphrodite had something else in plan.

Sometimes the Gods plan sinister things for humans. Sometimes they say 'lets whip up conflict'. And most often it's not between one human and another. Most often it's between a human and her own mind. You had gotten a call on a nice Thursday morning, when you were about to set out for work, clad in a white dress, which reached your knees. A call from your adoptive parents. Unbeknownst to the entire world, behind your pretty face, you hid a grief filled secret behind those glassy eyes. Your childhood wasn't all sunshines and rainbows. You had grown up in an orphanage basically your entire life, and at the tender age of eleven, you had gotten adopted by a rich couple. Good right? Nope it was the polar opposite. Turns out they had adopted you for their own benefit, to gain support from the media to continue their company or some bullshit like that. It had haunted you all your life, how they would never speak a word to you, never a word of affection. It was just words of 'who would ever love you?' and 'you aren't capable of love'. When you had gotten accepted in college, with a full ride scholarship, they had help a party, not for you, but to brag that their daughter, whom they did not even love, had gotten into a college all by herself. They had turned their devil tails into angel wings and it angered you, but you stayed silent. Why should you fight battles with other people when you could fight a battle with your own mind? You had cut off all communications with them however as soon as you left for college. Now it was just you and the world. Getting a job was the hardest thing and you still remember all those days that you survived on water and biscuits, like Marie Curie, when she used to research on radioactivity. You had learnt that your 'parents's' buisness had gone bankrupt, soon after you had gotten a job, but they still hadn't ever contacted you until this Thursday. It was Seungmin's birthday today and you had gotten him a puppy keychain, one that he had been wanting for a long time, which he had told you about in secret. You had purchased it the day before and wrapped it up in a cute box, writing some notes on the top. It was supposed to be the most perfect day. Happiness and melted ice cream that was what this day was supposed to be.

"Hello?" You had picked up your mother's call and your world came crashing down immediately. "Hey there Y/N. We need some money right now and we know you work for Mr Kim. Send us some money please." Not even a hello. The woman who had given you food and shelter didn't even say a hello. The woman who you owed nothing to didn't even say hello.

Hyunjin wondered where you were that day. You wouldn't ever miss a day of work and plus you were excited for Seungmin's birthday. You were going to go for a birthday party which was to be held at Chan's house. Hyunjin had told you that most of the boys would be bringing their girlfriends so you could meet them. You wouldn't never have missed this, especially not when your eyes lit up, when he had told you that Seungmin would be singing for you guys and Minho would be bringing his famous meat. So why? Why was your chair lying all alone and your americano untouched? He had asked Mr Kim whether you had called him today, to which he got disappointment when Mr Kim said no. Your boss didn't really care whether or not you took breaks, since you mostly finished your work in advance, in order to save time. That day Hyunjin told the guys, that he wouldn't be coming to the party, much to their disappointment. But they understood when he said that he was worried for you. He basically talked about you 24/7 and the boys still didn't understand how their most romantic friend ever ended up not knowing what love was.

Hyunjin had an extra key to your house, which you had given him after two months of knowing him, trusting him enough to keep an emergency contact. Hyunjin kept fiddling with it on the cab ride to your place, massaging his nerves to calm himself down. As he reached your house, the atmosphere around him changed. It became gloomy, even when the Sun attacked him with his rays. The sunflowers in your garden all seemed to bow their heads to him, as if to apologise.

"Y/N?" Hyunjin stepped inside your house, calling your name. "Y/N where are you?" He shouted a little louder this time. If you weren't in the living room, you'd be up in your bedroom or the library. Hyunjin slowly climbed up the stairs to the second floor, taking in the eerie silence of the house. It was such a loud silence. He could hear something in the distance but he didn't know what it was. Was it a cat? He heard a wailing noise that sounded something like a wolf crying.

The door to your bedroom was open. Hyunjin stepped inside, careful not to make a sound. He knew how creepy this was, to enter a person's house like this, but he didn't have a choice. "Y/N?" He called out, noticing the light in your bathroom switched on. "Y/N!" You were sitting on the floor, with a knife next to you. Your hair was in tangles and your body swayed back and forth, As you kept mumbling something to yourself. Your upper arm was slightly bleeding and your breathing was heavy. You had been lying there for the entire morning. You were still in your dress,which was now stained with blood from your arm. Your face was tear stained and your eyes were glassy. "Y/n. Hey look at me. Look at me. I'm here." You looked up to see Hyunjin's worried face, eyebrows furrowed and lips parted again. "Hyunjin?" You breathed out in a weak voice, which made Hyunjin's heart drop to his knees. "Yes it's me. Hey breathe. Please breathe for me." He coached you through breathing in and out, which calmed you down a bit, but you were still shivering and your skin was ice cold and white. You looked like a ghost. A ghost with sunken eyes and shocked expression stuck on its face.

Hyunjin carefully lifted you up and carried you to your bed, careful not to disturb your injury, which he immediately knew how it happened, from the knife lying beside you. He got some cloth and medicine for you from the first aid kit you hid under your bed, something you had told him a long time ago. You watched him with wide eyes as he carefully dressed your wound and got some water for you, forcing you to drink it.

"What happened? And it's ok if you don't wanna tell me." He sat beside you as you leant back against the bed frame. You tried not to catch his eye because you knew if you looked into those galaxies inside his eyes, you would start weeping. "Nothing happened Hyunjin." You mumbled, to which he scoffed silently, getting his hand up to your forehead to check your temperature. It was normal, thankfully you didn't have a fever. "Y/n" he faced you and out his hand on yours. "You know you can tell me right? I'm here for you and I'm worried. Please tell me what happened." It all happened so quickly. You looked into his eyes, taking in the stars inside of them, and you couldn't hold it back anymore as you burst out crying. Hyunjin was quick to hug you, holding your head gently as you buried yourself deeper in his chest, staining his grey shirt. His heart was breaking into a milion pieces, seeing his universe crying out her planets from her eyes. He shushed you from time to time, to make sure you don't become weak from crying.

"Y/N hey hey." He held you head in his hands, cupping your cheeks. "What's wrong? Just one word. Tell me one word. I beg you." You sniffled slightly and looked up at him, stopping you're tears slowly. You felt guilty, for him coming to you. Why should he? He's a human like you and he has responsibilities too and he should tend to them, not you. "Hyunjin, you should go. Y-you have S-Seungmin's party to attend. I'll be fine." Hyunjin knew how much you rejected being taken care of. Care was was word which simply never existed in your dictionary, courtesy to your past.

"Y/N-" "No Hyunjin!" You lashed out at him, tears brewing again in your eyes. Hyunjin now understood why the sunflowers outside had bowed to him, and why the aura was grey today. You had bottled up your feelings again, and one single word from a person of your past, was enough to break you. "I don't want help I don't need it! Just leave me alone! I don't want to be around you!" You panted a bit after shouting all that, your chest feeling heavy, not from the weight of your exhaustion, but from the weight of the entire world around you "Get out. Now."

The next few days, you came back to work, you avoided Hyunjin. You couldn't bear to look at his face, knowing that the stars in your eyes will collapse again if you do. You both worked in complete silence, with Hyunjin silently putting the completed illustrations in your desk, whenever you left to go to the bathroom. You now left at 9 am, instead of your usual 10 am along with Hyunjin. Your americanos seemed even more bitter now that you had no one to share your memories with. Every song in the world sounded like the same mundane melody now, chords repeating over and over again.

But Aphrodite always have something in plan, for souls like yours and Hyunjin's.

Hyunjin had been comforted by his friends for a week now. Every week, he would turn up at either Felix or Chan's house and cry to them. It broke their hearts to see their dearest friend weep and sob over you. You, on the other hand, would sometimes turn up to Minho, drinking his americano and venting your feelings, while he silently grilled his meat and put it on your plate. What you didn't know was that Hyunjin would be hiding silently behind the counter, listening to the notes of your voice talk about him. So one fine Saturday morning, he decided to do something. Something that would finally satisfy Aphrodite, and make her drop her roses down to earth to celebrate.

"Y/N." He called your name as you focused on your most recent article. "Y/N." He said again, when you didn't respond. "Y/N for Pete's sake, talk to me!" He basically shouted at you. You were staying back late tonight, courtesy to the hundreds of things you had to edit, due to your numerous amount of holidays. "Not now Hyunjin. I have to edit this." You spoke sternly, abandoning the fun filled voice you usually used when you were with him.

Hyunjin frowned at you, this time an actual frown, not like the playful ones he did when you would steal his meat from his plate. He was angry. He was angry at the world and at your mind for not treating you well. He was angry at your past, for making you believe that you were unworthy of love. He was furious and he would take it out right now, when no one except for you two were in the office building.

"Y/N listen to me!" He shouted, making you startled. You had gotten up from your seat and now you were cowering against a wall. You had never seen Hyunjin like this before, eyes narrowed and lips closed, burning anger seeping through them.

"Y/N you are quite possibly the most amazing person I have ever had the pleasure to meet in my stupid life. The way you walk the way you talk, everything about you is so amazing! It's so magnificent to me, how everyday you would explain the meaning behind a song, with your eyes all widened and your mouth moving fast! And it hurts me. It hurts me so much to see you like this, thinking that you are unworthy of love." His words were hitting you like bowling balls. "When you told me about your past, you know what I felt? I felt anger. True anger for the first time in my life. For the first time in my life, I wanted to burn down this entire world for a person. I was also so relieved that you trusted me enough to tell me about something like this. You really think I can't see the scars on your wrist through your foundation?" The scars on your wrist. How did he know about that? "Hyunjin-" you breathed out, crystals forming in your eyes again. "Y/N it breaks me. It breaks me so much to have a person like you in my life and not love them. I love you more than you can imagine. So why won't you accept it?"

"Because I can't!" The words spilled from your mouth like water spilling from a waterfall. "I can't Hyunjin! I don't know what love feels like! I never did! An-and when you came into my life and introduce me to all these amazing people, I felt so happy! For the first time in this dumb thing I call my life I felt happy. And I hated it! I hated the way Felix's eyes would light up every time he saw me. I hated the way Chan would always check up on me, making sure I don't overwork myself. I hated the way Minho would treat me like his own family, making sure I got the biggest portions of meat." Everything that you had kept hidden in that crack of your soul came running out. "I hated the way Jeongin looks up to me, telling me he admires the way I work! And you know what I hate the most out of all? I hate you! I hate the way you care so much for me and my stupid brain can't see it! The way you draw little cartoons on my americanos, the way you talk to me as if you were talking to a gentle lamb! I hate it Hyunjin! I hate myself for not seeing how much you love me! And I hate that I can't return the favour!"

Your knees gave way and you collapsed on the floor, sobbing your eyes out. Hyunjin was quick to kneel down next to you, hands searching for yours. Both of you looked into each other's eyes, seeing your entire universe's inside of them. You need love. You needed love to exist. And Hyunjin was there just to do that.

He leaned closer to you, eyes not leaving yours. He knew he had to do it now. Now or never right? Hyunjin, cupped your cheek with his left hand, right one still squeezing yours, and kissed you. He kissed you as if you were the most beautiful thing in the world. He kissed you as if you were the reincarnation of his last lover. He kissed you as if he had been wanting to kiss you for the last fifteen years. He kissed you, and you kissed him back. Your lips moved in sync with his, not moving away, hands wrapped safely around each other, both of you shielded from whatever the world was planning next. Time moved slowly again, as if the spinners of time had abandoned their looms to come watch you two.

And somewhere in the clouds, Aphrodite smiled, knowing that her mission was complete, and that two loveless souls had finally reunited, mending each other's cracks, slowly but surely.

Epilouge

"Hyunjin! We're going to be late! Hurry your ass!" You called out to your boyfriend of five years, as you waited by the door, bag clutched in hand, and white sundress flowing softly. The ash coloured cat you had both adopted, rubbed against your legs, purring and licking herself. Hyunjin had organised a 'special' date today, taking you to one of your most favourite places, a meadow by the beach, where you used to spend your days. It was already late in tbe evening, when Hyunjin finally came down from the steps of your house, still fixing his hair. "Alright Miss Universe, stop fixing your hair and come on!" You said, causing him to giggle, as both of you got in the car and drove off towards the sunset.

"God I love this place so much." You stretched your arms as you watched the dying sun, collapse into the ocean. "More than me?" Hyunjin pouted, as you slapped his chest playfully. "Oh god are those Minho's Macarons? These things are drugs to me." Both of you took a Macaron each, and raised them in the air, as if to make a toast. "Well, to our five year anniversary." Hyunjin toasted while you said 'hear hear!'.

"Y/N, I have a gift for you." You both had eaten all your food and we're slightly leaning against a tree, wrapped in each other's warmth. "What is it Hyun?" Hyunjin pulled out a paper from his pocket. A link sticky note. With Purple glitter pen scribbled on it.

Marry me Y/N?

"I thought I should do it in the way we first talked to each other. You know to make it more roma-" Hyunjin didn't get to complete his sentence, as you threw yourself around him, kissing him on his lips, as if you didn't kiss him every single day.

And Aphrodite couldn't stop giggling and smiling, knowing that now, love existed. And you? Oh you loved the existence of love.

[kreept12]

Thoughts about the dwarves in DATV

Warnings : Spoilers for Lace Harding's quests

I just finished Harding's quests for the second time, and although I really liked them, I can't shake the feeling that the quest and lore feel disconnected from what we know about dwarves in the Dragon Age universe.

I really appreciate that Harding has to come to terms with the pain and anger over what happened to the Titans. However, I wish they had emphasized how much the dwarves are still struggling because of what happened to the Titans.

The death of the Titans led to the birth of the dwarves (which I'm still not entirely sure how, by the way), and the dwarves built a vast underground empire that thrived long ago. It all fell apart due to the darkspawn, who emerged from the Blight. This division left only Orzammar and Kal-Sharok, with Kal-Sharok being a recent addition. Orzammar's strict caste system, as presented in Origins, only serves to divide them further, especially in their relationships with surface dwellers. In Origins, we also learn that dwarves have a low fertility rate, contributing to their population decline, which is exacerbated by the internal divisions. To make matters worse, they are constantly under attack by the darkspawn—not just during the Blights like the rest of Thedas, but every day, dwarves die in the Deep Roads to prevent the darkspawn from reaching their cities. The dwarves are slowly dying out, much like their ancestors, the Titans. And this is all because of the Blight that Solas caused. Yet, none of this is ever addressed.

The first time I played, I didn’t connect with Harding’s anger much; the Titans felt distant, more like a concept than a reality. We never had clear information about the Titans' connection with the dwarves, and I felt like their fate was treated as something ancient that was done and over with, like the elves moving on after the creation of the Veil. But it still has an impact. Harding, or even Dwarf Rook, can’t speak to the fear of knowing your ancestors were exterminated, treated with such cruelty, and completely forgotten—and the terror that it might happen to you too. That the cycle could repeat. What will be left of the dwarves once they are all gone? Will their art, their fallen empire, and their culture be exploited, just as the dwarves mined the Titans' corpses? Shouldn't this fear fuel the already strict and conservative views of some of the counselors in Orzammar? If Harding's knowledge is discovered, the consequences could be huge!

In my two playthroughs as a dwarf Grey Warden, I was kind of sad about how little we could discuss our shared lineage with Harding. The group discussion when you discover Solas' regret about the Titans is the closest you get to voicing your own anger. You can even express sadness that you were "fighting against my own dreams." But you can never talk about what being a dwarf feels like for Rook—whether you’re from Orzammar or a surface dwarf. I understand that the faction choice assigns you a premade backstory, but this doesn’t really apply to the Grey Warden, since all we know is that you trained at Weisshaupt, with no details about your life before joining the Wardens. Heck, we can't even choose the casteless tattoo in character creation.

Dragon Age has been starving dwarf enthusiasts since Origins, and although I'm glad we got all this ancient lore about the origins of the dwarves, I can't shake the feeling that something is missing. I was so excited the first time I played Harding’s quest and discovered Kal-Sharok (whose existence really surprised me, as I completely forgot about that side quest in Inquisition). It was fascinating to see how their culture diverged from Orzammar, but we only get glimpses. Hopefully, we'll get more current-day information about dwarven civilization in the next game (especially with what happened in the South during Veilguard).

[halliescomut]

Love Sky to Love Sea connection

Alright, so I was going over everything following the news that our beloved FortPeat are going to be the main couple in a new show for Mame.

And if you have been partaking in Mame BLs for a while, you may be aware that all of her novels and the shows that are based on them have existed in the same universe up until this point (a la the MCU). Following the creation of MeMindY she has not cast previous actors from her shows into new roles, instead having them return in cameos as the universe progressed forward.

It's easy to understand why she would choose this moment to recast FortPeat (and very likely BossNouel, but that confirmation will come in a couple of days). The chief reason of course being money, Love in the Air was arguably one of her most successful series, equaled only by TharnType. This is due to the stories, the performances, and also just luck of timing. The boom of BL shows for international audiences, from what I can tell, occurred in late 2021 - early 2022, with shows like Cutie Pie and Kinnporsche (and the impeccable chemistry presented in both) being some of the most common first forays into BL. I have only assumptions and inferences as to why this is, I think the popularity of shows like Love Victor and HeartStopper on streaming services led more people to essentially google more queer media, and found that there is a rather awesome amount being produced in Thailand, but in South East Asia and East Asia altogether. I also know a number of people were on the K-Drama to BL pipeline, assisted by Netflix and Viki. But back to my point, generally I think the popularity of MewGulf and JaFirst locally, or at least within SEA is fairly equal, but the inclusion of a much larger international audience at the time when Love in the Air came out has created a level of popularity that I don't think Mame expected.

I think another very valid reason why Love in the Air is incredibly popular is that while it exhibits some of her 'classic Mame' tropes like histories and instances of SA, and her ever-present 'No Kink', it is arguably one of the less problematic stories that we've seen on screen so far form her. (And this is coming from someone who actually likes a lot of Mame's stories, though I'd imagine my affection for brat-type characters is a leading cause of this.) This means that for many viewers for whom this was a first foray into Mame's universe and characters were not being immediately put off by some of the more problematic scenes and storylines presented in previous shows.

Mame has most certainly observed the potential for success in recasting these well-liked actors/pairs in other companies, top of said list being pairs like ZeeNunew, EarthMix, FirstKhaotung, and many others. So to take a pair whose chemistry and ease onset is equal to those and cast them in a new role, while breaking a previously established 'rule' is certainly a choice where the potential benefits far outweigh the risk. Literally the only 'risk' is potential confusion from those that are aware of the fact that ALL of Mame's work exists in a single universe, which if you came in on the LITA train is not likely to be something you would know. You may know of the clear connection to Sailom and Nuea presented in Wedding Plan, but connections to the further universe beyond LITA are limited to two rather small cameos that even I didn't pick up on immediately. (These cameos being the brief appearance of the twins and Leon from Don't Say No.)

So, I wanted to give an idea of what exactly is the connection between their existing LITA characters, but also the kind of show why it's really not going to be as big of a deal as far as causing confusion. This is a diagram of the existing Mame universe in terms of her novels, I've updated it as needed to include the connections to Prapai and adding in the Love Sea story as well. I have included a link to the original as well.

I've placed stars for the LoveSky/LoveStorm stories and then added ones by Love Sea and The Boy Next World (which we anticipate to star Boss and Noeul). Because the universe is so large, it is a bit confusing, so I did break it down into more simplified connections.

Hearts represent romantic relationships and the dashes are platonic. most of them are just friendships of various types, though Tharn and Pookan are cousins. But as you can see there is at least 5 people between the characters in LITA and the actors' new characters. So even in-universe the likelihood of these characters ever meeting would be slim, but beyond that the connection of LITA to the over-arching Love by Chance universe is pretty tenuous as previously mentioned.

In the case specifically of Love Sea, this is an unpublished novel, so it's possible Mame will remove or choose to leave out any mentions to the greater universe (meaning either changing the name of Kom's character if he is present in the scripted version, or leaving him out altogether). In the case of The Boy Next World, Pookan is related to Tharn, but let's be honest, do we really expect Mew to show up in a cameo? He's already moved on from Mame, TT, and the MewGulf ship. At best we may get fanservice in the way of a name drop, and it's possible we could see other characters from TT, but I'm skeptical. Since Pookan barely shows up in TT at all, the better option, especially with the passage of time since the first season of TT came out, is to have him be Tharn's cousin, but have him attending university after Tharn has graduated. And that's really only if you want to include that connection, you really don't have to. Given the amount of detail that we get about secondary characters in a lot of these shows, it wouldn't really be that difficult to simply rename any characters that cross over into the greater universe because there's just not going to be enough specific detail to really connect them.

I did also want to include the small amount that we know about Fort and Peat's new characters. We of course don't have much information yet, but there was some crumbs dropped at the recent fanmeet and appearances.

Their characters are Mahasamut(Fort) and Tongrak(Peat). Mahasamut is the son of a hotel owner who after a falling out is now living on his own. It looks as though he is quite young, along the same age of Fort IRL, and he is working as a tour guide to support himself. He is someone who is, I would say, likely lower income, and he's very ambitious and at this current time his goal is to kind of amass a certain amount of savings. He is running his own company as a tour guide and is considered very popular among foreigners both because he can speak good English but also because he is very charismatic. The information given at the fanmeet also includes that he has a diving certificate and is also good at fighting. How that will come up in the story, I don't know.😂

If their hints are to be believed, these characters will be in the same age dynamic as Fort and Peat meaning that Peat's character Tongrak will be older than Fort's character. Tongrak is a writer, specifically of romance novels. He is wealthy, though it is unclear if that is through his career or familial wealth. There's a strange emphasis on how beautiful he is, but in fairness Peat does very accurately fill that criteria. It also says that he does not talk about having a partner, he goes his own way, tends to be a loner. And this is with the implication that this is a result of past negative romantic experiences. Because Mame is who she is, there's also a possibility that part of his solitude is the result of past violence from a previous partner. Fort and Peat did state that they felt the story for this series is more challenging than Love Sky (which honestly scares me a little). But out of all of the stories Mame has told so far, I did feel that Sky's story was handled the best, so hopefully that trend continues.

It's not clear currently if Mame will be directing this series as well, previously she has only directed Wedding Plan, while all of her other series, even those produced by MMY did have other hired directors. We can see from the behind the scenes footage that even with a separate director, Mame was heavily involved in the filming, so her touch will be there regardless.

As far as further timelines, based on past series it is usually about 5-6 months from announcement of a series (and the cast) to the premiere of said series. It does depend on many different variables. The length of the show being one, as well as the level of difficulty. LITA was a more complex series with some pretty large set pieces (the night time races) and more complex scenes in terms of filming (the Stop and Payu race) in comparison to Wedding Plan. Since we don't have a published novel to study and theorize about potential scenes and the difficulties of filming, I can't really give much insight. I will say that the specific inclusion of the fact that Mahasamut holds a diving certification could indicate some diving/underwater filmed scenes. While those are not necessarily super complex, they can be time consuming, require special permits, are very weather dependent, and would require special filming equipment. I also very sincerely hope that if Mame does venture in that direction that she will also make sure that specialists with the necessary expertise are on set to maintain the safety of both the cast and crew. I know what the requirements are in western media, but not in Thailand. What all this boils down to though is that I would not expect the series to premiere earlier than February, and I'd put my bets on March. It's possible she may film a special trailer like she did with LITA, and if that happens, then we may see footage in late November or December, if not I expect a trailer after the New Year. A lot of this actively depends on when we get confirmation that filming has started.

I did also want to note, that while we expect Boss and Noeul to be the leads for The Boy Next World, since she is announcing that after Love Sea, I'm also expecting that to be filmed after Love Sea, even though we suspected that BNW was on the docket way back in March, Boss is still attached to Zomvivor with Mandee/Domundi, which could begin filming this fall, though that's not fully confirmed, it's based on the schedule presented at their look-aheads last year and what has already filmed and aired. But my point is that Boss may not be free to commit to the filming of BNW for a couple of months. There's a lot of variables that go into it.

But anyway...I hope this little rundown/update was helpful. If you have questions and I can answer them, my asks are open.

[simbistardis]

As an aromantic and an asexual, I can’t say that I’ve personally experienced any form of excessive violent antiblackness in the community, which is a good thing. Although, in the larger aro and ace spaces that I was active in, I couldn’t help but feel like I was a “token” in the community. I was especially active on Amino, which I felt was an excellent way to be part of the ace and aro communities in a more exclusive manner, however I eventually left due to this isolating feeling as well as other less relevant issues. I am unaware of any exclusive space for Black aros, however I believe the creation of one would be best for the safety and wellbeing of these members of our community. I remember seeing a post on Twitter that said something along the lines of “Being Black and LGBTQ+ is navigating through anti-Black LGBTQ+ spaces and anti LGBTQ+ Black spaces.” When you’re aro and/or ace, that further complicates the matter, especially with vehement anti-aspec rhetoric floating around the LGBTQ+ community, some of which I’ve also been confronted with personally, and the anti-LGBTQ+ and painfully amatonormative rhetoric floating around most Black spaces, which in my experience tied in with Christianity.  I have also seen antiblackness being perpetuated by other members of both the ace and aro communities, and I’ve noticed a trend of the responsibility of holding these racist individuals accountable for their actions being thrusted upon black members, while the actions as perceived by white or other nonblack members largely go unchecked.This is unacceptable. We as a community need to become more anti-racist, as opposed to believing the false narrative that racism has “gotten better” or is nonexistent, which is the impression I get from many aros and aces alike in the spaces that I was previously active in. Being anti-racist is not a passive stance, but an active effort. As a community, we need to be aware of the additional pitfalls that other BIPOC aros experience for not only being LGBTQ+, but also people of color. It is important that our fellow white members of the aromantic community understand that as people of color, other hateful individuals will see our skin before they see our identities as LGBTQ+ people, and upon learning this about us, their hostility towards us may increase. As a mixed Black and South Asian aromantic, I implore all nonblack aros and even other members of the LGBTQ+ community to educate themselves on black history, and remember to listen, uplift, support, and protect your fellow black members of the LGBTQ+ community.

My Personal Experiences in the Aro community by Jason W. (@/DerelictSpectre) (2021)

[voraciousvore]

Giganterra (Chapter 53)

Prologue/TOC | Previous (52) | Next (54)

Content Warning: Soft safe unwilling vore, mild sexual themes, vulgar language

Word Count: 2.4k

------ Chapter 53: Lost ------

While the rest of the hunting party retreated to the castle, the greyhounds and their master sought to catch Martin and Candy. They lost the trail at the river. They crossed to the other side and searched, but when the hounds were unable to pick up the scent, the trainer guided them back to the river. He surmised, correctly, that Martin swam downstream, so he sent the hounds on a path along the shore to find him. 

The dog handler had to abandon his horse as the trees grew closer and closer together. Eventually, the riverside became impassible for even the dogs, overgrown with dense webs of thorned brambles, trees, and mud, so the trainer was forced to backtrack and return to the opposing shore. He doubted the knight would be foolish enough to exit the water’s flow so close to the castle, so he continued south through the town. No sightings or sign of the knight materialized, so he trekked into the woods beyond. 

There, he struck gold. He discovered the knight’s gauntlets and supplies, washed up in a tangle of vines. However, the dogs still couldn’t pick up the scent. They wandered aimlessly through the trees, chasing squirrels and marking their scents with pride. The hunter figured the dogs must be too tired after the prolonged journey, which had taken several hours, so he rounded up the animals and went back to the castle to report to the king.  

King Richard brooded on his throne, fuming. He’d lost both his favorites, Millie and Candy, not to mention one of his most esteemed loyal knights. He didn’t understand why Martin betrayed him, except out of envy and greed, to take one of his pets for his own. He observed coldly as Hunter repaired Ajax: stitching up his wounds, refilling his veins with facsimile blood, and infusing fresh magic into his animated corpse via stones, potions, and muttered incantations. Joey stood next to the king, filling in as his personal guard while Ajax’s body was repaired. His cut had been tended to. As he suspected, it was shallow enough to heal quickly with the potion, though the scar still ached. Leon stood stiffly at the king’s left shoulder. 

The king perked up when the dog master, his breeches and boots wet and splattered with grime, marched into the throne room. “Did you find her? Did you slaughter the traitor?” Hardon inquired eagerly. 

“Um... no.” The king clenched his fists in anger on the arms of his throne, causing the handler to cower back. “B-b-but I found some of his gear in the river south of the castle! I had to turn back because the dogs were unable to persist, due to fatigue.” 

“Worthless mutts! Execute them all!” Hardon bellowed, slamming down his fist. The trainer blanched, too dumbfounded to form a protest. 

Leon leaned over and whispered in the king’s ear. “Your Majesty, do not allow your temper to cloud your good judgement. It would take time to replace all those well-trained dogs. For now, send Chester.” The king grunted with annoyance but executed the command. “Show Chester where to search. And if you can’t find her and bring her to me, it’ll be your head!” The trainer bowed and rushed out. 

Next, Hardon sent a servant to fetch the royal blacksmith. He arrived within minutes, wiping the soot from his gloves onto his shirt. “Blacksmith! I need you to craft an iron helmet for my guard! One that can’t be removed and completely covers his empty eye socket!” The blacksmith didn’t question the strange order and measured Ajax’s skull to determine the correct size. 

“I’ll have to weld it directly to his head. Or bolt it on,” the blacksmith stated. 

“Very well. Hunter, go with him to the forge and finish your business there.” Hunter glared disdainfully at the dirty blacksmith but accompanied his own freakish creation to the smithy.  

The king grumbled something under his breath and shifted with dissatisfaction in his chair. Out of habit, his fingers traced the cord of his necklace, but he only became more incensed when he felt the cold metal of the empty clasp, bereft of warm living flesh. 

“Leon! Bring me a big slice of vanilla bean cheesecake! Topped with caramel!” he demanded. “And put every damn human in the kitchen on it!” 

“Sire, your royal food taster is currently absent-” 

“I don’t care! You taste it for me!” Hardon snapped. “It’s not as if he’s not expendable!” Leon bowed and scurried out of the room like a rodent. 

He burst into the kitchen and announced the king’s request. The chefs dropped everything to fulfill the order. Chef Cruor gathered all the humans except for Addison and sprinkled them on top of a gigantic slab of cheesecake. As usual, he had to shove Eren into the slice up to her chin when she refused to settle down. She yelled at him until he buried her under a mountain of whipped cream and drizzled caramel in a fancy swirl over the confection. He handed the plate to Leon. 

“What about that one?” Leon asked, pointing at Addison. “He did say all the humans.” 

Cruor snarled like a feral beast and blocked Addison’s tank with his mass, which Leon couldn’t help but notice seemed to be expanding in width, though he was too polite to point it out. “Touch her and you’re dead meat!” 

“But the king said-” 

“I don’t give a damn what he said! You even think about touching her and I’ll rip your fingers off with my jaws!” Cruor bared his teeth wide enough to reveal a double chin. A wild flash shot through his violet eyes. 

Leon realized he was deathly serious and backed off. “Okay, okay, this should be enough,” he assured the chef, backing out the door. He strode down the hall with a shudder. He glanced down with misery at the multitude of humans trapped in sticky caramel on the giant cheesecake. They gazed back up at him with misery, fear, and condemnation. The tragic sight drowned him in an endless sea of loathing, both for the king and himself. He wanted to grab up all the humans and set them free. He wanted to douse the cake in poison and watch with glee as the savage king died an excruciating death, choking on his own vomit and blood. He wanted to run away from it all—but he knew he couldn’t. He wouldn’t be able to get away with any of it. He was trapped.  

He presented the king with his dessert. Hardon took the plate, licking his chops with ravenous hatred. “Which one of you would like to be my new favorite?” he questioned aggressively. The humans shivered with terror, too petrified to answer. Living in the kitchen was ghastly enough, but they all knew what the perverted giant did to helpless tiny women behind closed doors.  

He plucked each victim out of the cheesecake, one by one, and played with them in his hands. He rolled them around in his fingers, prodded them with his fork to test how they would respond, and licked them clean, before popping them in his mouth. He savored them thoughtfully, sucking and slurping, pressing them into his teeth and the inner walls of his cheeks, before swallowing them down. 

As much as he enjoyed their varied flavors, their fear, and their ceaseless squirming, his wrath increased with every swallow. They were fine and delicious, but none of them were Candy or Millie. None of them were of a high enough standard to qualify as his favorite. After eating five or six of them, he reached the last little morsel, Eren, still buried in cheesecake. He picked her out, amused by her futile thrashing and cursing as she punched his fingers. 

“Saucy little minx, aren’t you?” he remarked with amusement.  

She glowered at him. “Go to hell, you revolting beast!” Despite her attempts to sound fierce, her voice was small and squeaky in the vast hall. 

The giant chuckled. “I like girls with some fight in them. How would you like to be my new favorite?” 

Eren turned white as paper. Her rebellious spirit was dampened in a flash as she realized the error of her ways. She hadn’t anticipated that type of response from the dangerous king. She curled up her arms and trembled. “N-no thanks.” 

Joey, standing on one side of the king, felt dreadfully ill as he watched the display. He was powerless to do anything, surrounded by people and guards in the throne room. He could only stare in horror as the tiny people disappeared down the king’s gullet. He recognized Eren, the brave woman, and crumbled internally when he saw her reduced to such a state. He wondered to himself, if given the opportunity, if he’d be courageous enough to throw it all away like Martin did. He wished he could save her from such a gruesome fate. He regretted going against his better judgement and not taking more decisive action when he had the chance. 

Eren glanced over at Joey. The hard edge of defiance in her eyes softened. They shared a snapshot of connection before Eren was forcibly engulfed in the king’s hungry maw and swallowed. Joey turned his head to the side, sickened. 

“Is this all? This is the best we have?” the king complained as he stewed in his rage. “I might have to place another order with Minimaterra for some fresh meat.” 

“Oh, it’s a bit soon for that, isn’t it?” Leon hastily interjected. “If you ask for tribute too often, the quality will decline.” 

The king, as he listened to Leon, stared down at his half-eaten dessert. The fury festering inside him grew exponentially by the second, until the inferno within became intolerable. He erupted like a volcano, bellowing with intense vitriol, “Why am I surrounded by IDIOTS?! GODDAMMIT!” He stood up and hurled the plate across the throne room, shattering it with a dramatic crash. The room went deathly silent as everyone stiffened. “FIND HER!” he commanded, before storming off. 

In the coming days, Martin and Candy failed to materialize, since both Chester and the dogs were unable to pick up the scent trail south of the castle. The king was enraged and spent most of his time terrorizing his servants and sexually harassing the maids. Fortunately, Joey was relieved from guard duty once Ajax was fully restored. Besides his fresh stitches, Ajax was also equipped with a heavy iron mask that covered most of his face and clamped around his head. The device was a modified torture implement from the dungeons, with the lock welded shut and the chain hanging off the base of the skull shorn. An extra sheet of metal was added to replace his eyepatch, so that nobody could tear the magic runic stone animating his body out of his head. He had no more weaknesses. 

Joey felt lost without his mentor. He was torn between his loyalty to Martin, his duty as a servant to the royal family, and the code of chivalry that demanded he help a maiden in need, all critical foundations of knighthood. He couldn’t navigate the complex web of his responsibilities and what was morally right. He couldn’t read in a book what he was supposed to do in his specific situation. He wasn’t sure what he could do. He didn’t have Sir Maneater anymore to guide him and bestow great advice and wisdom. He wandered aimlessly in a maze of confusion. 

His anxiety spiked when the king commanded him to take over Sir Maneater’s role as instructor and resume the prince’s fencing lessons. Since the incident with the lemonade, Joey had avoided Ronny like the plague, limiting his interactions to sparring with his face covered so he didn’t have to talk or make eye contact. He hadn’t spoken to the prince more than the absolute bare minimum. Ronny hadn’t retaliated against him, but Joey still feared angering the volatile prince. 

He waited anxiously in the courtyard next to the stables for Prince Ronny, twirling his sword, digging his heels into the dirt, and polishing his glasses on his white outfit. Joey flinched, startled, when the royal made his appearance and advanced towards him with purpose. As usual, Ronny’s dark irises were hard and cold, his features haughty and aloof, and his figure sharp enough to be cut from stone. 

“Your Highness!” Joey scrambled into a low bow. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Ronny grumbled. 

“Y-yes, of course, Your Highness,” Joey stammered. “Let’s start with our usual warm-ups and stretches.” Joey was jittery and ungraceful as he went through the motions with Ronny in deafening silence. He couldn’t bear to look the prince in the face, staring stupidly at his shoes or hands instead. When it came to actual instruction, he could barely manage to squeak out a few words without stuttering like a fool. He tried to demonstrate a pattern of footwork and ended up tripping over his feet instead. 

Ronny huffed. “Are you going to be weird and awkward for this entire lesson?” 

“S-s-s-sorry, Your Highness!” Joey bit his tongue and grimaced. 

“Just—stop that! It’s so irritating! Is this about that whole lemonade thing?” the prince questioned gruffly. Joey chewed on his lip, sweating over the mere mention of his transgression. “Because I don’t give a fuck, you know.” 

“R-really? You’re not… mad at me?” Joey asked, incredulous. “I figured you’d want me flogged and quartered for what I did.” 

“Perhaps at one time, yes. But Tanya tells me I need to learn clemency. And... to control my childish tantrums,” Ronny admitted sheepishly. 

“Who’s Tanya?” 

“Never mind,” the prince grunted. “It’s not important. Let’s just keep moving.” Joey resumed the lesson, stronger this time, as he gradually regained his confidence. By the end, he was almost back to his old self. Ronny was in a hurry to leave, since he wanted to wash up and get back to Tanya, so he didn’t stick around for chit chat. Joey sighed in relief as he watched the prince go. He wasn’t about to get destroyed like he thought. Maybe the prince had a glimmer of magnanimity somewhere in his cold heart after all. 

Chapter 54

Tag List: @tinycoded360 @yummynomms @maybeiamdownbad

[outofgloom]

Hi. I was breaking down something you put into your story The Madness of Turaga; the "Eles Raliska". Now I assume this is an in-universe term for the creation machines, or at least how the matoran see them, so I'd like to ask if my breakdown is right: *Eles* from *Olu* and *Rali* are strightforward, but then is it **Iska** from **Akha** or **Ska** from **Xa**? I'd like to ask because I have a post-Reformation headcanon and am trying to figure out how mobile those machines are/were.

You are entirely correctly on the first two parts! Eles is the South Insular form of olu(a) "aperture, opening, access, door, doorway, gateway", while rali(kk) is South Insular for "producer, spawner, factory line, assembly machine", a term which was used to refer to the creation machines of the various species in the MU. In fact, a standardized North Matoric form of this term is also found in the story "Without Faces, Without Eyes" (rala).

The last element is iska, a South Insular form of akha[3]:

So eles raliska translates to something like "aperture of the spawn-machine". Some trivia: The reason that I used a South Insular form is due to the fact that this is the variety of early Matoric that would've been spoken on Lesovikk's home island. I used the properties of the names of the Matoran associated with Lesovikk (Sarda, Idris, etc.) as the basis for the development of the South Insular variety.

[gallacrafts]

For Theme 30 we will need you to get ready to bow down and worship at his feet…

(let’s be honest, y’all wanna do that, anyway!)

Theme 30:

KING OF THE SOUTHSIDE

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies / I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife / Offer me that deathless death / Good God, let me give you my life…

Alternatively, if you don’t want to go down the human sacrifice route - because of how trite and commercial it’s all become - we understand!

Instead we will accept drawings, jewellery, poems, felt art, glass work, stories, topiary, wood work, cork craft, or any other KING OF THE SOUTH SIDE inspired creation your heart desires!

Your offerings to His Royal Majesty King Milkovich are due on Sunday 18th February, and by his royal decree you are to tag them with #Gallacrafts, #Theme 30, and of course #KING OF THE SOUTHSIDE

[kitchenwitchery72]

Herbalism 101: Basil

EP. 6

Fun fact

The word Basil comes from the Greek word “basileus” which means king. Because of this, many believe it led to the creation of the word “basilisk” due to the creature's strength.

Properties : Love, money

Uses in the kitchen

Basil is a pretty common kitchen ingredient and can be delicious in many different cuisines. It can be found cuisines anywhere from Italian to South Asian. It is often used in sauces and broths, but also makes a good garnish.

Uses in healing

Basil is amazing for stomach issues and can also be used as a mood booster. Basil has been used for digestive issues for centuries, including as a way to help stomach cramps in Chinese medicine. It is also said to help improve one's mood.

Uses in witchcraft

I often have fresh Basil on my windowsill because of how versatile it is. My favorite use, however, is to use Basil essential oil in cleaning in order to set intentions of love and money in my home or to banish bad energy. I will often put the essential oil into a spray bottle with some water and other oils, then I spray a small amount on what I am cleaning and wipe it in the direction correlating to my desire. (Towards me to attract, away from me to dispel)

Tips for growing at home

Basil is not too tricky to grow, but it can be sensitive to temperature. It's best to keep the plant somewhere on the warmer side, with plenty of sunlight and moist soil. The other big tip is to prune/trim the flowering parts or dead leaves often.

Recipe

Pesto for love and joy

1 cup fresh basil leaves

2 cups Parmesan cheese

1-2 tablespoons of pine nuts

3 cloves of garlic

Around 1/2 cup of olive oil

Salt to taste

Combine ingredients in a mixer while slowly adding in olive oil until you get a consistency you enjoy. The basil is good for love, garlic can amplify intentions, and pine nuts can represent comfort and sometimes fertility.

[dazed--xx]

Cardinal (Series Preview)

Series Summary: If there was one thing God could say he’s ever regretted creating he’d explain there were 8. The 8 Evil Thoughts. Vainglory, Avarice, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Sloth are currently spending their exile living it up in the mortal world; spreading their sins into Gods most beloved creations so with determination in his heart he sends for the only things that can stop them….Their Virtues The Humility twins, Generosity, Temperance, Love, Chastity, Kindness, and Perseverance. Join them on a journey through morality, obsession, and temptation in Cardinal….

Genre: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Demon Au!

TW: YANDERE, Demon AU!, Cardinal Sins, Themes of Catholicism, mentions of religion, mentions of God, Blastphemy, smut, use of demonic powers, non-con (in some parts), more to be added as each part is posted.

A/N: So I’m officially off Hiatus 👋 so HIYA but I’ve been inspired for this for a while and I have been obsessed with the seven deadly sins since my theology class in high school and just now thought to write something about them but I’m super excited about this and I hope you guys will be too. Also anyone that has requested something your requests will be posted before this series and before one more time chapter 2 so keep an eye out cause I’m probably going to start posting those this week or next week anyway hope you enjoy the preview.

Bang Chan: coming soon

Vainglory; the sin or vice of one who immoderately desires renown, prestige, or the praise and respect of others. The desire of these things is not necessarily sinful but becomes so when it is immoderate and disordered.

Virtue: Humility

Summary: Belial, now reborn as Bang Chan as punishment for his most cardinal sin is happy with his prosperity as the CEO of Stay corporation. His employees worship the ground he walks on; his word holds more weight than almost anyone in all of South Korea, that is until a familiar foe threatens to take everything he’s built away. Now, Chan must face his largest feat yet…corrupting his virtue, Humility.

Minho: coming soon…

Avarice; an insatiable desire to gain and hoard wealth. It's similar to greed but goes even further, encompassing such things as selfishness, entitlement, materialism, consumerism, and hoarding.

Virtue: Generosity

Summary: Mammon, now cast away living his life disguised as mortal Lee Minho enjoys his days as the COO of Stay Corporation. From his many houses to the collections of automobiles he adores his cardinal sin. He indulges in his wealth, power and fornication as he so pleases bringing chaos to rain free wherever he so chooses until he’s faced with whom he only thought a myth…his virtue, Generosity.

Changbin: coming soon…

Gluttony; the over-indulgence or lack of self-restraint in food, drink, or wealth items, especially as status tokens.

Virtue: Temperance

Summary: Beelzebub, spends his days as Seo Changbin a world-renowned chef, wandering the cityscape bouncing from each flamboyant club to elegant restaurant he sets his sights on. He’d spend those days if it weren’t for the thorn in his side his virtue Temperance, a feisty archangel with a knack for ruining his fun he makes it his mission to corrupt the virtue and be the first of the sins to create a fallen angel.

Hyunjin: coming soon…

wrath; the inordinate and uncontrolled feeling of hatred and anger

Virtue: love or charity

Summary: Satan, now trapped in his mortal form Hwang Hyunjin by God due to his cardinal sins is forced to spend his eternity with his virtue, Love at his hip in every waking moment. He finds her mysterious call to his mind and heart infuriating as it drives him wild with wrath and infatuation. When he loses his ability to sense her presence everything is flipped into a world of Chaos, disparity and Wrath in which he did not cause. So, with a blood oath he sets out to locate his other half and destroy those that stolen her away from him.

Jisung: Coming soon…

Lust; defined as immoral because its object or action of affection is improperly ordered according to natural law or the appetite for the particular object (eg sexual desire) is governing the person's will and intellect rather than the will and intellect governing the appetite for that object.

Virtue: chastity

Summary: Asmodeus, now Han Jisung, a Has corrupted the strongest willed priests and popes in history. His love for his cardinal sin has him sharing the euphoria with almost every mortal he meets, that is until he comes face to face with his virtue, Chastity; the embodiment of everything he couldn’t have cast away by his own hands at the turn of the century. Her influence reaching a select few in his favorite personal hell. Vowing to show the object of his affection the true lengths Lust and absolute pleasure can take you; he embarks on a journey of fornication, heartbreak and persuasion.

Felix: coming soon…

pride; excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God.

Virtue: humility

Summary: Lucifer, hates his exile as Lee Felix under the demon Belial. He was far more intelligent than his current supervisor, he loathed his deity and their fear of anyone having a mind. He spent his days in a bore, missing his time in heaven he spends his days with visions of the precious virtue, Humility. He admonishes those that blindly follow their predestination, he detests his creator for condemning him to walk amongst these…. creatures that is until his twin brother presents him with a deal find and seal his beloved's fate…...corrupt her and get back into heaven.

Seungmin: coming soon….

Envy; sin of jealousy over the blessings and achievements of others

Virtue: kindness

Summary: Leviathan, lives his life as Kim Seungmin resenting his fellow keepers of the sins. They’re virtuous extravagant lifestyles to their most wildest dreams being fulfilled. While he had to stand there and watch, watch as the pesky humans around him found their way, watch as his brethren became successful in both hell and the mortal world. The Demon kings names bringing an icy chill up their spines at the power and influence they possess; if a demon king sets his sights on you, your soul becomes tainted with their sin until it eats the being alive and sends your soul straight to hell. He hates as his sin is the one full of disgust and had such a bad wrap, envy is what built civilization itself yet they worship Belial and the wretched deity that cursed himself, that is until he is greeted with something he’d never experienced before his virtue….Kindness

Jeongin: coming soon…

Sloth: a spiritual or emotional apathy, neglecting what God has spoken, and being physically and emotionally inactive. It can also be either an outright refusal or merely a carelessness in the performance of one's obligations, especially spiritual, moral or legal obligations.

Virtue: perseverance

Summary: Belphegor, enjoys his days as Yang Jeongin, the laid back neglectful floor manager of Stay Corporation. If you were to ask any of the mortal employees under his leadership they would say he was always at work but he was rarely ever working. His reputation was a positive one despite his hidden identity, he enjoyed watching as his floor scrambled to get report’s together for meetings he’d never mentioned until the day before. He adored sprinkling small bits of his sin around the office and watching as the floor became bored, underachieving and understandably tired. The only thing he would say he’d enjoy a change with is one particular little itty bitty thorn in his side; the one thing that he cannot stand more than actual work that sat right outside his office. His virtue….Perseverance.