#my tan lines are INSANE but thats ok

[trlblzd]

im back from the ocean sailors did u miss me

[thatonebipotato]

gonna ramble about MAWS season 3 predictions and stuff under the cut, its gonna be pretty long and also mostly about conner

ok so first off, MAWS season 3 and conner in s3 are both CONFIRMED LETS GOOO

so i have some thoughts about what i think will happen, at least very specifically with conner

alright so first off, its possible that they could go the standard clone route. thats what im hoping for, as it seems pretty fun and has so much angst potential, especially in this iteration

first off there's the half kryptonian half human thing. thats probably gonna be luthors main draw to why superboy is better. however, thats also gonna be the thing that drives him to isolation, as it tends to do. hes too human to be kryptonian and too kryptonian to be human

luthor and slade, who are fairly good at manipulation, can use this against him and keep him feeling isolated so that he stays with them. knowing them and what they can do, i also believe that they might use kryptonite against him to keep him in line

i believe it could be some kind of sick back and forth, where conner keeps one upping clark and kara and being used as proof that aliens arent needed or wanted, and then clark and kara catching back up and him feeling like hes failing his only purpose

this leads up to a culmination of superboy going against superman and supergirl. ive mentioned the line "i never asked/wanted to be made" coming up before, and i think it could be here that its used

the first season was about clark learning and accepting who he is, then the second was about him and kara learning and accepting who they are, so it does make sense for the third season to also throw in a third kryptonian so they learn who they are together

however, the conner teaser we got shows him looking fairly tan. both luthor and clark are fairly pale in this iteration, so its possible that it could be a clone between lois and clark instead, as ive seen some people point out.

the alternative, which i think is a little bit more likely, is that it will be a conner from an alternate dimension.

alternate dimensions have already been played around with in the first season of MAWS, and as seen in this photo (the second one of the post) from the panel showing off what might be the s3 opening or possibly a promotional poster or smth, it looks like they're not only going to be bringing back the other dimensions, but it seems like that might be the main focus of the season

what i think could happen with this is that they either get to a dimension with conner in it and he helps them with whatever they need, or hes the one/is also traveling dimensions and they just happen to run into each other and they help each other out.

from there, i think we can learn that conner doesnt exist in the main dimension yet, so conner gives clark tips on how to handle him when he finally gets made. that, or because of weird dimension stuff he has to be super tight lipped about everything and can only give him vague hints.

near the end of the season, we also get a teaser for the main universes superboy, who gets to actually star in a potential 4th season

idk, these are just my thoughts that i wanna share. we dont have a lot to go off of as far as i know, but im so hyped for the next season its insane. if anyone wants to add PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go for it, id love to hear other thoughts and perspectives and discuss this with people!!

[m1ckeyb3rry]

HOW IS IT OVER THERE?? Hopefully the weather’s treating you well in Switzerland!

Also DOG PERSON KARASU Lowk I can also see it…I was not expecting that breed though lowk LMAO I also thought it was a spaniel of sorts but?? I’m just gonna trust whoever made the post bc I mean the visuals aren’t insanely detailed either so…ok but trench coat Karasu >>>>> Lowk I saw people hating on the tan and I’m like that’s not what I’m complaining about LMFAO maybe people got too used to the blue???

Them matching the dogs with their teams is sooo cute but also a funny Easter egg for those who don’t read!! Ok but ummmm tabieitaken WHERES THE EITA??? I’m ngl I’m a little surprised Reo is there since he’s not as pivotal to the third selection but maybe it’s a marketing moment….

Ok and definitely like hey…shit talking is Lowk necessary….like I kinda use it as a way to like warn friends of red flags or bad people….i agree in moderation though LMAO like people who shit on others for no reason <<<<

I’m ngl o completely forgot what I wrote before and when I started reading abt yuki I thought you meant Yukimiya and was astronomically lost but I GET IT NOW!!’ But FR she literally was on campus for like 5 min and had already been like no contact with the school for so long like what???

Omfg the “you have 13 minutes before I kill you” is SO. BAROU!!! Like the epitome of Barou if you ever decide to write something like this I’m advocating for this line to make the cut!!!

LMFAOOOO IBS ALLEGATIONS IM CRYING BUT FR!!! I wonder what he’d do to get Barou to go on a date or if he’d even bother approaching Rin LMAOO something about yuki comically losing his shit has me giggling

Omg NOOO thats actually the worst!! Manifesting that your bc adjusting period speeds up right about now!!!! And I hope you didn’t have to go through motion sickness for the whole like 8 hours but at least now you can get some fresh air!! Was there a lot of turbulence or is it just kinda a plane sickness sort of thing? Either way hoping it isn’t as bad on your return flight! I’m trying to think of some nausea remedies….I think the fastest one ik of is ginger based items (courtesy of a friend who shoved a bunch of ginger candies in my hand one day LMAO)…ofc I think walking around lightly helps too!

- Karasu anon

it’s super super nice out!! i just took a shower and a nap as well as ate something substantial and i’m feeling much better now thankfully as well 😄 the place we’re staying doesn’t have air conditioning but it’s not miserably hot and it gets cold at night so we’re just going to open windows and vibe hehe…luckily everywhere we’re going in france + the two days we’re in italy we’ll have AC because it’s really really hot there according to the weather app 😭

I LOVE KARASU’S FIT he looks so handsome and put together it’s giving me 30s noir film vibes in the best way…tbh the tan >>>> the blue i think the blue is too bright at least in the colored illustrations!! also yes i can totally see him liking dogs he just gives me secret animal lover vibes in general…bruh actually so true where IS otoya?? maybe it’s payback for how majestic and detailed of a shot he got in the trailer compared to 90% of the characters HFKSJSAHFKS

there’s def a difference between being a bully and just saying what needs to be said!! and also too it’s all abt what you choose to say/make fun of if that makes sense LMAO

no every time i write yuki i have to put sm context around it to clarify which one i mean…help but imagine yukimiya and geto meeting through gojo and mrs l/n 😭 atp yukimiya is an honorary pi character so he’s basically in jjk already which means essentially he IS the reason why geto had his downfall 🥱 /j

YESSS i just think that would be the funniest dynamic with barou…like almost a reverse fwtkac karasu and reader?? where barou is legitimately tweaking out over every little thing and reader is just in love with him but he has 0 clue and thinks she’s his arch-nemesis 😫 bro watches the dark knight every time before he goes to her house just to hype himself up meanwhile reader is twiddling her thumbs and kicking her feet waiting for him 🤩 normally i don’t like writing an mc who likes her love interest more than he likes her but truly with barou’s personality this is the best way i can imagine it

rin hiori and niko i feel like he wouldn’t ask because they’re much younger (15/16 compared to karasu and yuki being 18) but omg imagine he convinces barou to go bowling with him and then reader (who can’t bowl) shows up and it’s genuinely barou’s final straw 😓 the real reason he didn’t play in the game against pxg is because snuffy was terrified barou might actually murder karasu JFHSKKS (loki did NOT gaf either way but yk snuffy has to be a #responsibleadult) 😟 pls the thought of yukimiya going apeshit cracks me up too but honestly it’s what he deserves 😔

luckily i’m finally doing better!! i think my mother might’ve brought ginger gum with her so i’ll probably ask her for some for the flight home just in case…thankfully i actually wasn’t terribly nauseous on the plane it was just before and afterwards?? 🤔 idk HAHAHA but at least it’s gone now 😪

[sorikkung]

IM BACK ON MY BULLSHIT AFTER REREADING ACT 1 NEW AND IMPROVED W MORE BRAINROT LESGO!!!

ive literally just been sending myself discord messages to a private channel while i read SKFDJGKSJF so here is. the compilation i guess

ok so rereading the first few chapters and. i completely forgot san smiled at mc straight away what was that. was it just bc he thought she was hot or did they already know shed be on that ship i needa know how early the plan was set in action... was this entire stowaway thing staged or was it only when san found her in the cargo bay that they were like yup shes a siren (maybe via seonghwa's siren powers sensing her, or when they took her jacket off to treat her arm maybe they saw the tattoo or sumn) like... i get the feeling they knew long before she first revealed it to anyone, based on how san and seonghwas entire relationships w her were done deliberately to gain her trust, it rly just changes the entire way i view these first few chapters its INSANE. i knew things would be drastically different upon a reread but like THIS different... these first chapters seem so light hearted and almost like, typical scifi story beginnings, like typical not as in bad but just standard for the genre yk, like oooh she impresses the captain and earns her place on the ship and they all have tragic backstories... but now knowing there is So Much More going on underneath makes this so much more sinister its Haunting. i fucking love it

also her saying wooyo looks vaguely familiar got me bc it could so easily be read as her seeing his glimpse of tan skin n dark hair before passing out, but no, that vague familiarity was from her past wasnt it... that first meeting w them hits so different knowing wooyo knows who she is the entire time. my god.

i also wanna note how drastically different the writing feels going back - it was good from the start, but only now that im rereading do i realise how much you've improved over the course of writing?? which is to be expected, writing something for this long, but wow, its cool to see the progression of such improvement yk. you went from good writing to Great writing to Every Fucking Line Is Rewiring My Brain Stem. goals

yeah see seonghwa saying joong doesnt make decisions on a whim and obviously decided she could stay long before he told her... he had to have known she was a siren already, right? like, why else would he decide to let her stay... unless it was just bc shes the ghost of eros and he doesnt know the details of that but like, idk, im not buying it

OH and this is reminding me of another thing i cant tell if this is just a progression of writing thing or if its part of the act they put on but like. san and seonghwa seemed like they felt pretty bad about killing up until this point. like seonghwa on the ship saying they dont have to kill everyone vs san wanting so badly to keep mc alive. this is part of why i think they mustve known she was a siren on that ship somehow bc yeah san did the same thing to jongho but we also know that hongjoong knew abt jongho right away. the san we know now doesnt seem like he holds much remorse for what he does bc hes just the captains loyal black dog… tho i do remember him feeling pretty bad abt it in the earlier chapters, i cant tell if thats just something he worked thru w mc or if it was just part of the act to gain her trust. man. i be doubting EVERYTHING now 😭 😭 😭

god i MISSEDDD the feisty sassy interactions w hwa and the mc omg things have gotten so grim now i literally forgot this was their original dynamic… “You’re so feisty, princess. If I didn’t know how dangerous you truly are, I might ask you to spar with me one day.” “You’re so romantic, pretty boy. I’m sure all the ladies love when you say that.” “All the ladies and men, in fact." i still fucking love that entire exchange its so good i love them

"and yet again you find yourself shocked by the boldness of this crew." i am once again wondering how much of this is just them being flirty bastards and how much of it was a LIE… or at least orchestrated SDKFJHKSDFHKSKFD also “Aren’t you a bit too cheeky for a criminal?” “Is there a special guide I should be following? ‘Proper ways to be a criminal’? Rule number one: don’t be cheeky with princess, it gets on her nerves.” is another really good exchange GOD I RLY FORGOT ABT ALL THIS I MISSED IT SO BAD i do love me some good banter. now when hwa uses the nickname princess it just feels so sad 😭 😭 😭

"It’s the little shit who plugged an anesthesia shot into your neck." i love it when fics refer to wooyo as some little shit or anything along the sorts its like. sooo true bestie i see we are thinking abt the same man <3 i love him sm

damn i forgot wooyoung was this Nervous at first, what was up w that… is it bc mc was there?? cause he seems mighty comfortable w the rest of em now SJKFDGKJSFD but then again that could just be after everything that happened afterwards. now i wonder if the real reason he went into the medbay was bc he missed her or sumn.

NOW I FEEL REALLY BAD FOR WOOYO, SEEING HIS LONG LOST CHILDHOOD FRIEND AND THE FIRST THING THEY WANNA DO IS SOCK HIM IN THE NOSE 😭 😭 😭

“Because you’re only good at causing problems, not fucking solving them." DAMN WTF DID WOOYO DO THAT MADE SAN SO MEAN TO HIM 😭 I DONT REMEEMBER THIS…

“In all the time you have worked together, you should know by now how San behaves and that he says things he doesn’t mean.” this hits a lil different now too, is he actually mad at wooyo or just tryna defend mc…. yeah im rly just here doubting every single interaction they have now SJDFKKJSFDHKSDF

"his amount of respect for his captain seemed lackluster at best." LMFAO IF ONLY SHE KNEW. ok so this fr has to be an act bc san would do anything hongjoong asked of him, so this is obviously him tryna appeal to mc as someone who also doesnt always agree w authority so she can confide in him, right?

"Yeosang won the mental battle. He wormed his way into San’s mind and won that way." at… telling him to shut the fuck up?? 😭 😭 howd That worm into his mind 😭

"you seem a bit more like the type who needs to be put in place rather than the other way around.” i rmb first reading this and thinking DAMN that is so ballsy for a man like yeosang to say, but is he just comfortable around her real quickly bc he knew her already. or, well, not comfortable, but comfortable enough to tease her like that hskdfgkjskdjfgsdf

“Oh? I didn’t know that you were an Elitist." yeosang you little shit SDFKJGKSDFKHSFJKDH

this whole interaction with yeosang is sending me now that i know he knows… my god hes such a little SHIT JDKFGKSDFKH

"For someone who is supposed to be a traitor, he sure seems to have a lot of pride in his home and military…" and now im wondering if yeosang really is still prideful which is. entirely possible and i could be reading too far into it or. is he tryna jog a memory….

“You seem to be the type to balance him out with calmness and humility. At least that’s the aura I get from you. Yeosang always feels so angry but you exude the opposite of that.” this bitch? mc? ghost of eros? CALM? SFDKJHSKDFHKSFDK girlies been tryna question n fight every bitch since being put on the ship but like, sure, i guess… lmfaoooo

"You can only hope that he somehow missed the marking on your back." suppose theres a chance he saw it here, but… i doubt it my bets are still on he knew the whole time shkdjfgksdf but i will see if he pays more/different attention to her after this 👁️

“Good girl. See, we can make you obedient yet.” yeah even with the context of all the future chapters what the everloving FUCK was THAT. are he and wooyoung not together already yet no they were together since long before the horizon right. i still dont know what hes playing at here flirting w her so much 😭

“Before it’s all over? How do you think this is going to end, Y/n?” how does HE think its gonna end? do he and wooyo and the others know what the big 3 were plotting to get to our ghost? i was under the impression only they knew about the whole deception to earn her trust thing, esp given how hongjoong treats yunho and manipulates him i figured the others would be the same but like… what answer is yeosang expecting to hear, here?

"And Hongjoong certainly isn’t the type to keep slaves, despite how he might come across sometimes. There’s a difference between being harsh and inhumane.” me when i manipulate peoples feelings, insecurities, trauma and relationships but i draw the line at keeping slaves… SDFKJGJKSDFKJHSDKJF i think hes still harsh and inhumane babes but ok!

“I know one thing for certain. You are not an Elitist.” yeah so he TOTALLY knew she was a siren i forgot abt this SJKDFKJHSKJDFH but hes waiting for her to say it herself, isnt he?

“I have studied Elitists in the past, and I am one myself." no the fuck you aint. SDFKJHKSJFHKJSFDKJHSKFD i used to think joong might be a siren as well himself but seonghwa would know if he was after sleeping w him so long and he still said without mc they only have One siren so… either hes a spectre, which, has no reason to hide from everyone i dont imagine, or hes a normie… my bets are on normie. so used to not being taken seriously for his class that he keeps it a secret and has a need to prove himself. honestly with the new interim id almost believe hongjoong was an elitist More if it werent for yeosang saying theres only one real elitist on the ship and its him SDFKJHSKFHKSDF

reading the first interims now and… man its crazy to think how Soft hongjoong was at the start. he was still cutthroat and ruthless, but he seems so much smaller here. like between this interim and the latest hongjoong interim, you can really tell just how far down he's spiralled. its fascinating. i love character development for the worse <3

goddamn all his worry about his crew members and being scared of breaking their trust… wheres this energy w ghosty SDKFJGKSJFGKSFDKG how far he's fallen fr…

"I don’t know how to fix him. I need to fix him. I need to help him. I just have to do something.” and he calls out mc for having a saviour complex… 🤭

anyway that was my rereading experience but heres some anecdotes from my two friends i dragged into it who Also happened to just finish act 1 and its interims around the same time

>friend 1 messages me randomly "this fic is getting me emotional wtf" and changes the topic when i ask them to elaborate KSJDFGKJ

they then (the next day) send me this screenshot followed by "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

and this one followed by "FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK"

then i asked what they think of it overall so far and they said is very good, theyre excited for the pace to pick up!

meanwhile friend number 2 was going thru it so i am suppling screenshots (mind the lack of cohesion theres conversations in between some of these but im tryna cap just whats strictly relevant LMFAO)

(this was the screenshot they attached w the withered wojack)

anyway if these friends r seeing this sorry for exposing u lol but i am at least preserving ur anonymity to a number <3 actually wait you shouldnt be reading this bc mad spoilers. well ANYWAY. i imagine the only one reading this far is the author so caly i hope this brings u some modicum of joy <3 KSJFDJGKSDFKJ onto the next act!! 🤩🤩🤩

tbh it was rly good timing that we all finished the act around the same time i have no idea what im gonna do when the reading inevitably gets disjointed (haha unless...?) i guess id chuck those into your ask box??? or would dming you be ok. man either way i am flooding the fuck outta ur notifs lately and i apologise do lmk if you want me to slow down SKDJFGJKSFKDJGSKJFD hope ur having a good day regardless :>

mists of celeste ➻ one

➻ pairing: ??? x fem reader ➻ genre: space au, pirate au, space pirate!ateez, angst, eventual smut ➻ Word Count: 4.5k ➻ Rating: M ➻ Warnings: language, violence, guns and weaponry, blood, future warnings tba ➻ summary: Sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you 

⇐ previous | next ⇒

mists of celeste act one ➻ part one

‎

“You said that you’re with the military? I don’t recall the military having ships as small as yours.” If possible, your eyes would roll all the way back in your head at the man’s comment. Instead, you plaster a smile on your lips, gaze flitting around the bridge as you do. 

“Yes, Ambassador Salvadore. They sent me on a transport ship, as I am here to relieve the captain of his duties—”

“That is not necessary, Miss.”

“—on military orders, Ambassador.” Your grin continues to stretch as you gauge the state of the bridge. It is severely lacking in terms of soldiers, which is good for you on multiple fronts, but the ambassador before you is proving to be more difficult than you first anticipated.

Keep reading

[stagefoureddiediaz]

having a minor breakdown over this;

Because WHY?? 

WHY ARE THEY DRESSED ALMOST THE SAME?? 

Like I know Eddie’s trousers are more camel/tan coloured, while Sheila’s are khaki, but I mean they’re basically dressed the same - down to the white undershirts and the rolled up sleeves!!! They could’ve put her in a black undershirt or a different coloured shirt or anything, but no they chose to basically dress her in the female version of Eddies outfit!

Actually now I’m sitting here typing this out, I’m starting to think this might actually be an insanely clever way of paralleling/ contrasting seasons 2 & 3 and foreshadowing whats been going on in season 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤯🤯🤯

lets do this in order

The only other time (I can think of off the top of my head) we’ve seen Eddie in that undershirt and shirt combo was 2x07 when Shannon came back, but he was wearing jeans then (don’t get me started on the whole double denim thing 😂) and Christopher wasn’t present - physically at least - but he was in the sense that Eddie only got in touch with Shannon for Christophers benefit - to get him into Durrand school - but he doesn’t intend to let her back into his life leading to that all important line when Shannon says

“Eddie always knows whats best for everyone”

Moving on to 3x03 and Eddie drops Christopher off with Buck (and reassures Buck in the process) - it is this moment that truly signifies and cements the bond between Buddifer - which grows into the will etc etc. Its another example of Eddie knowing whats best for everyone (Buddie Eddie/Shannon paralleling much!) only this time he actually is doing whats best for everyone - but the important thing here is that he communicates - yes he actually uses his words “there’s no one I trust more with my son than you” its also in that golden moment before everything starts to spiral out and Eddie closes back in on himself!

In 4x13 Sheila thinks she’s looking out for her son and providing for him (She is mentally ill - which is important) when the reality is that she isn’t looking out for her son - her actions are not in his best interests and are doing him harm - Charlie even tells Eddie he knows what Sheila has been doing to him “I see her put the eyedrops in my food, she thinks I don’t, but I do” 

Then we get to what Eddie is doing in season 5?? Eddie thinks what he’s doing is in Christophers best interests, but it’s not - his repression and refusal to face up to his trauma is the equivalent of Sheila putting eyedrops in Charlies food - Eddie is mentally ill and it is harming his son. I am not saying that what Eddie is doing is FIDA by any stretch, more that the parallel is the mental health side of things - the writers have deliberately created a parallel that highlights the need for parents to take care of their own mental health in order to look after their children - its genius writing!

Where falling through the balcony floor was the (literal) breaking point for Sheila (because it led to the discovery of what she was doing and I’m assuming meant she was taken off to get mental health treatment!) Christophers meltdown was the same moment for Eddie -almost like he had the rug pulled out from underneath him and discovered there was no floor beneath - so now he’s falling - which has led to his breaking point and him leaving the 118.

The thing is Eddie has reverted - he’s back to “always knowing whats best for everyone” without actually talking to them - god what I’d give to see what would’ve happened if Buck hadn’t filed that lawsuit - because Eddie was really starting to open up to Buck and communicate with him - and the lawsuit shut that down and its never been opened back up...

ok thats enough spiralling for tonight, but man on man is that some insanely clever storytelling through the contrasts and parallels of costumes - its making me feral!!!!! 

[kosmicdream]

hi i just discovered your webcomic !! i very much love it a lot and i was wondering if yo could maybe clear up the worm's anatomy ? cuz like, one minute they have boobs except its referred to as a he and then it has a dick but its still a queen ? don't get me wrong its insanely cool but if you would be so kind as to enlighten me on the subject it would be very much appreciated !! keep up the good work !!

I’ve been getting a lot of new readers and I think its been a while since i’ve gotten questions about this, so I suppose I don’t mind recirculating some information again. Hopefully i can cover a little bit more of the deeper nuances about worms and their relationship to gender/sex/pronouns that i haven’t talked about before. Its best to keep in mind that pronouns and also body parts (genitals/breasts, ect) arent always indicative of gender or sex. I think this is safe to say this is true for.. even outside of my story.

**SOME SPOILERS BELOW IF YOU HAVENT READ THE ENTIRE COMIC... SORRY I RAMBLED***

Anyway-- In the case of hydragora worms (which ill focus on as they are the ones with the king/queens classifications), their pronouns are not even exactly related to their genders or sex at all! but rather the type of ‘class’ of worm they are. Technically, all worms are able to lay eggs and also fertilize them. there are no “girl” or “boy” worm. Sometimes their rituals with how this process happens are different depending on what kind of worm they are, but they are all able to shape-shift their bodies to look how they want-- well, based on what they eat-- so body parts like boobs and genitals are really just accessories. For some worms, they’re important parts of their body that help make them comfortable, for others they couldnt give a fuck about what is swinging around. it really depends on the individual. Worms can mate without even having any visible genitals just as long as they squirm around in the necessary fun fluids with some sort of .. open.. orifice to absorb it with.... worm sex can be real damn freaky i wont get into it rn.

Back to the pronouns though. What does it mean??? Well, Kings do not actually mean male and Queens do not mean female..Even though we humans generally associate these pronouns/words with male and female! To make it as simple as i can, I try to explain or ask others to think of it like..Kings (he/him) - Typical characteristics: Lazy, Important, Need to be worshipped and protected. Very sexually appealing. Also have mysterious powers. Often have little weird crowns.Queens (she/her) - Characteristics: generally very large, can regenerate, specifically hunt down kings to kill them. Super strong. Generally have cool looking tails for some reason. Very colorful because that is useful for intimidation and showing off how strong they are.Regular worms: want to worship kings + protect them, also desire to become knights. technically speaking-- i would say that the lack of pronouns is the most ‘suitable’ pronoun to describe them. some even casually adopt he/she/they pronouns but usually in the space of interacting with other species. anyway, they’re loyal and subservient. knight worms: the special king-appointed upgrade of regular worms, they often adopt he/him pronouns through this process but it is reflective of their close bond with their king. (the very simple format is thinking the three basic worm genders as LAZY, MURDER and WORSHIP.)

*ok more specific character spoilrs below YOUUUVE BEEN WARNNNED IM WARNING YOOOU ok done warning**

Some worms break from this system and try to reinvent or reinterpret pronouns for their own while still interacting with worm culture/society. A couple examples of worms that do this are Agent Paper and Nail. (although really, its hard to think what worm character in ffak does not do this lol) Paper is a woman wishes to be viewed/treated as a woman by ANY species she interacts with. But! this doesnt mean she identifies as being a queen worm however- even tho she uses she/her pronouns. She just is a female worm. That identity is important to her even if, for a worm, it is far more ‘binary’ way of thinking than worms typically exhibit. Other worms will probably view her as a wanna-be-human or close minded. But just because the majority of worms are very fluid in many aspects of their gender/bodies/identity/sexuality doesn’t mean paper has to conform to this fluidity as well. The idea of a ‘Binary Gender’ for worms is typically very confusing (or an example of someone who is misinformed) to those who understand that worms generally do not adhere to a binary system. Especially for a worm who is NOT trying to disguise themselves as a human and integrate with human society (Aka, like Dylan who mostly interacts with humans and generally tries to remove herself from worm culture/society completely. Dylan does not even WANT to be considered a worm while paper still LOVES being a worm and associating herself with worms. shes just a woman worm. dylan is a woman. just not a worm woman. she will begrudgingly accept she is still technically a worm, but the identity of woman is less important to her and is more just the default of being viewed as a cis lady by humans and dylan is like ‘yeah whatevs’.)Nail is a queen worm, which typically have she/her pronouns, but he goes by he/him pronouns and also is fairly assertive of that. However, this doesnt mean he is a man or wishes to be viewed a ‘Man’ or ‘Male' (specifically) or even as a “King.” its more like... his own interpretation of what he/him means, which is about authority, dominance and most importantly: power. If he would pick a ‘binary gender sort of thing’ (while rolling his eyes bc he thinks its stupid while also thinking its important enough to get annoyed at when people dont respect his pronouns) he would pick being a man and would vehemently reject being viewed as a woman, but in a more deeper level that is not actually how he sees his he/him pronouns as a man thing. (even between being NB/male/female he would still pick man because that just seems ‘direct to the point.’ and satisfying) He also generally rejects the label of Queen worm too, but will begrudgingly or unenthusiastically accept that he is one. He is also considered an ‘odd’ queen because he is very small in stature and generally has muted colors of browns/tans instead of flashy ones. He has been teased at this too that he wasnt QUEEN enough by being so small and puny lmao.

To backtrack a little, As worms integrate with human society, or even hekatons (which that species also mimics a lot of human society), they will often adopt the ideology and system of how pronouns are used. Or at least, will be forced to process how other species will view them based on the shared language of using the same words, despite it meaning many different things... to not only groups of people but also on the individual level. I think thats an important thing to consider that there are many different dynamics, interpretations and journeys interacting all at once and influencing each other and are constantly evolving and branching out. Even the lines between what is a king/queen/other worms really ARE is blurry because its all on a spectrum of.. various physical characteristics and behaviors.

And to go into EVOLUTION and BLURRY LINES... As we can see with a worm like, Jacket for example... while he is specifically NOT a king, he is also more like a unique blend of features from queens/regular worms and also knights. because he WANTS to be a knight he already uses he/him pronouns despite not actually having a king already and hasnt even gone through the specific knighting process. Jacket sees He/him as words that mean total loyalty to the king. Whoever the king is. And if someone were to try to put him in a specific box of queen/king/knight/regular worm they would be unable to place him b/c he is something else unique entirely. and while jacket uses he/him pronouns i think at the core of it he literally does not give a fuck about language at all, or genders, or labels. those are all nonsense things. he relies only on instinct and desire.

Phew. ok I could ramble on and describe every one of my worm characters, but I’ll leave it at there for now. Crimson is even more confusing bc she is a fucking hybrid human/mandragora worm, using a goddamn hydragora body, and has like 2 other clone heart selves and all this other fucking bullshit. i have been writing this for like an hour. lmao

I hope some of this is communicates at least, its a little difficult to orchestrate and articulate all the levels operating here at once in a simple-to-digest manner. the fun thing about ffak at least is that if you dont want to think about this stuff you dont really have to--although id think it enriches the experience a bit.

[plot-twist-i-survived]

ToG-Alein and Rowan-Lies are scars modern day planetary blindness au

Alein’s POV

~flashback~

7 years ago- I was blind, stumbling around in complete darkness until I ran into a furry body, presumably my dog Fleetfoot. “Are you ok?? Good boy!!” I told him, and heard a hearty woof in reply. “Where are they Fleetfoot?? Find them!” I held on to her body as she led me inside and through rooms to where I had found my best friend Lysandra, I was able to tell by the scar on her wrist she earned by telling a creepo on the street she had a boyfriend to get away from him. “Alein is that you?” she had asked, running a hand up my back, over the three large scars running across my back. “It is you!” She cried, embracing me. “I was terrified! All of a sudden I couldn’t see!” She said. “Yeah, me too.” I shuddered. ~end of flashback~

People started calling it “The Great Blinding,” as everyone on Earth had gone blind in the same moment. The world had quickly started deteriorating, with humans not being able to see, even the most bustling cities now appeared post-apocalyptic. We had started telling each other apart by our voices and our scars, earned by the lies we have told. It hurts like heck when it happ- my train of thought interrupted by someone stumbling into me and knocking me down. “Oh crap, sorry.” a voice says, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. “What did you do!” I screech, seeing him, the first person I’ve actually seen in three years. He’s looking at me with the same shocked face that I’m sure I have. As we look around, we gravitate toward each other ending up back to back as we look around, completely bewildered. Across every available solid surface the words “DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE” are scrawled in red paint. We look each other and shrug, confused, but we already were because we can see now so whatever I guess. I turn to him, noting the large tattoo across one side of his face. “My names Alein, what’s your’s handsome?” I say. I mean he is, silver hair, tan, tall, and buff, looking to be around my age, 18. “Rowan” he replies with a snort, “Not so bad yourself.” “Thanks” I smirk and then whip around startled, when I hear leaves crunch. Oh it had been so long since I had seen the beautiful fall colors of leaves in autumn. We saw an old man carrying a can if red spray paint. He grinned excitedly when he saw us staring at him. “You can see me!” He exclaimed. “I know what the messages say” he says chuckling, “but we mean the people who can’t see, until we find you. We find people like you and bring them back home to us.” He says. “Where is home and who is ‘we’?” Rowan asks. “Home is Indianapolis, we have restored parts of it to suit our needs, and we is those of us who have met our soulmates and have had our sight restored. We are the Resistance because everyones sight disappearing wasn’t a coincidence and we need to set it right.” He explains. Rowan and I are just gaping at him, shocked, but the old man continues. “Did you find each able to see or after meeting regain your sight?” He asks. I tell him that the male bumped into me and when we touched hands we could see again. “Just what I thought” he smirked, “you two are soulmates.

SOULMATES?!?!?! Who does this man think he is?! No way. I just met Rowan. But what if..? Again, my thoughts are interrupted, like what is up with today and getting my train of thought cut off?? The old man was asking our names. I cut in before Rowan could speak. “I’m Celeana and this is Chaol.” I said, my gut telling me not to give away our real names. I gave Rowan a glance that told him to play along. Right now, thats the best I can do.

Rowans POV

We followed the old man, who introduced himself as Dorian. It was a bit of a trek but after a while we reached a bunker leading underground. He led us inside, acting very welcoming, which for the world Alein and I are from, people don’t act like that. We actively avoid others for our own safety. People have gone insane enough from the virus to kill others and themselves. Who knows where he’s actually leading us. Now we are heading deep underground. “So how many of you are there in this ‘Resistance?’” I ask. “Well Chaol, we are somewhat scattered around in hopes to find others like us, but from our most recent count about a month ago, we number in the 700s.” the old man, Dorian, that was his name, replies. The tunnel levels out, and we reach a circular room containing one stairwell leading up, one leading down, two more hallways, and three doors. He leads us through one of the doors into a room. The walls are packed dirt, supported by wooden beams, which it to be expected, with the floor also packed dirt but with 6 large square plates of metal, tin by the looks of it. Curious. The ceiling is tin as well, some what beaten up.

Dorian disappears through a door on the other side of the room, then reappears through what appears to be a tinted window. “This is a one way mirror. That means you can see me but I cannot see you.” His voice crackes over an obviously dated sound system. Everything is old nowadays. “Strip down to your underclothes.” He orders, as Alein and I gasp. “Excuse me!” She demands. “I don’t take orders from you!” Dang. She’s angry. “Celeana do as I say or it will be done forcefully.” Dorian replies, calmly. Too calmly. She reluctantly complies, pulling her sweater off. I turn and face the opposite wall and strip down to my boxers. Thank goodness I didn’t wear my lobster embroidered ones even though they are my favorites! Dorian speaks again, “I am going to send a bot into the room, it will not take pictures or record, it will only catalog your scars. I ask that you face my wall and stay still.” Alein and I turn and face the indicated wall, but as the bot comes out of the door, I see Alein make a face out of the corner of my eye. She gives me a wince and turns slightly away from me, showing me her back. Oh God. She has three very large raised scars slashed across her back. I mouth “what did you do?!” “I’ll explain later, it isn’t anything super bad, I promise.” She mouths back. “My turn” I mouth to her, and point to my face, and the tattoo covering a third of my face then curling down my neck and spilling onto my chest. “It’s not a tattoo” I mouth to her, “I’ll explain later too.” She nods as the bot makes it’s way over to me. I stand still as it circles me a couple of times, beeps at me cheerily (how does a bot sound cheerful??) and starts over to Alein. She copies what I did, except while the bot is nearer her back she sticks her tongue out and crosses her eyes. I almost choked attempting to not laugh at her antics.

Finally the bot deemed us thoroughly scanned and left through the door and Dorian informed us that we could redress in the clothes that had been left for us. Dang, I hadn’t even realized clothes had been left, but our previous clothes had been neatly folded and packaged. I quickly donned the clothes left for me, somehow fitting exactly as they should. Grey sweatpants, a white almost but not quite skintight t-shirt, covered by a matching grey zippered hoodie. I was also provided with comfortable leather lace-up hiking boots with white fur on the inside. I grabbed my old clothes and turned around to see Alein in her provided clothes, grey skin-tight leggings, leather fur lined hiking boots similar to mine, but wearing an almost skintight white tank top and carrying a plain white drawstring hoodie. She looked breath-taking! How had I not noticed this as soon as I could see?!?

We were then led back into the circle room and went down one of the hallways, made a couple turns and were through another circle room containing a staircase leading up, one leading down, and five hallways with doors up and down them. We went up the staircase, and were led to a medium sized rectangular room with a fireplace at one end with a large rug and couches forming a semi-circle around it. A couple of tables with comfy looking armchairs around them were scattered around the room, with a few couples and trios sitting playing games or talking. Some looked up and waved, obviously we weren’t an abnormality. They were all dressed in similar fashions and colors as us, and now that I think about it, so was Dorian. He led us to a room, and I was guessing these were dorms. Ours had a small, cozy looking living area and a small counter, sink, and fridge. Two doors led off one side of the room and shelves and bookshelves lined the last side. While gazing at the shelves, Alein’s mouth hung open. “A reader Celeana?” Dorian asked. She walked over to the books and ran her fingers over the spines. “Yes” she said, “and I’ve missed it so much.” Dorian informed us we would have plenty of time to settle in and Celeana could have plenty of time to read. Celeana crossed the room to me and whispered to me, “If I’m reading never ever interuppt me unless you are dying or something is on fire or another emergency.” I nodded, not needing threats to encourage me to obey. Dorian directed us to the two bedrooms. He recommended “Celeana” take the bedroom on the left for the bookshelves and I the right for the taller shower. He told us to settle in, and don’t be afraid to mingle. The people in our dorm area are newer as well, so they understand what you are feeling as well.

We sit together in the big room at a table, after ordering some tea through the tubes Dorian showed us so we wouldn’t have to wander around and wind up lost to get food. This place is actually way more updated than the rest of the world, what with people being able to see and all. “So, your scar?” Alein asked. “Before the Great Blinding my younger brother had cancer. He died only days before it hit. He had already lost his vision from the cancer though. During chemo and his episodes, and anytime I visited him, I would tell him it would be ok. That’s how I knew he was going to die. Every time I told him, “you’re gonna be ok” the scar grew. I think it became like this, all fancy and fooling people into thinking it was a tattoo before the blinding, because him being ok would have been a fairytale ending, so I got a fancy fairytale tattoo-like scar to mock me for my lies.” I told her, tears lining my eyes by the time I finished. “Yours?”

“I grew up in an abusive household until I ran away at 12 with my best friend Lysandra, who was in a similar situation as I was. My mom wasn’t usually around because she was afraid of my dad. My father... did many things. Raped me, beat me... broke me.”

A tear slipped from my eye.

“The beating started when I was 6. He was drunk most of the time, and nothing I did would ever be enough for him. He hated me, hated that he had a daughter. I was supposed to be a boy. He hurt my mom because I wasn’t born a boy like he wanted. I would receive beating almost daily, but only in the places other people couldn’t see. My back was his favorite.”

Another tear fell.

“He raped me for the first time at 9 years. Told me I had been a terrible child. That I deserved it. That was the night I got the beginnings of my first major scar. As he raped me, hurt me, I told myself I deserve this. The pain, the hurt, the taking of what little innocence I had left, I deserved it. When the first cut slashed down my back, he asked what I said. I told him that I was trying to tell myself that I didn’t deserve this. A tiny cut split on my scalp, where he wouldn’t notice, almost if whatever makes it happen knows it must stay hidden. Looking over me, seeing no more fresh cuts, he believes me. At a price. I can’t hide that scar. Soon after the first time, he started bringing his friends over as well. I hated myself. I wanted to die.”

Tears follow the lines of my scar down my face.

“As time went on that scar grew, and after me and Lysandra ran away, a new one started to form. She knew my story, and eventually others we befriended learned about it, from me of course. They would ask, ‘how are you?’ and ‘are you ok?’ I always said, ‘I’m ok.’ And every time, that scar reopened.”

More tears welled in my eyes, threatening to spill over.

“The last scar started when my mom reappeared to come see me where I was living with three other friends at 14. She said she wanted to apologize, that my father was gone, that she wanted to be a good part of my life. I told her I believed her. Hence the scar. By then I was almost used to the feeling of scars splitting open but that one hurt more than either of the others did the first time. Except this new scar? It doesn’t bleed. I disguised the tears of pain as those of relief and happiness. At 15 when a boy came along, said he only wanted to be friends, that’s all, I told him I believed him too. The scar split. No blood, only pain. I disguised those tears because in our new, even more screwed up world, friends can be hard to come by. He believed me. Thought I fell for him. Then a month later, he laced my water with a drug, and he raped me too. Just like my father did. Ever since, people think I believed them, but I trust few people these days. I don’t know how many more betrayals I can take before I break completely in two.”

The tears spilled out of my eyes, creating wet streaks down my face. The hurt and sadness from her story evident on her face. “I won’t ask if you trust me or not, I won’t do that to you. Promise.” Now tears ran down her cheeks, glistening in the firelight.

And in that moment, I saw peace settle over her body, and she whispered into my chest as she leaned into me, “Thank you.” And this time, I think she actually believed.