#not only they are separately rich but they are from the same family so combined money is a lot more

[eternallovers65]

Chat saying Tubbo will have to beat bad, forever, pierre, etoiles or vegetta for the richest person on the smp title, and I say yall are wrong because the richest people on that serve are Leo and Richas

He will have to beat Leo and Richas, literally eggs, to become the richest person

EDIT: For the people saying I didn't put Ramon or Dapper, they both have only a parent (sorry). Both Leo and Richas are from the same family, which means their money is somewhat connected. Not only that, but richas has 7 parents (who all are pretty rich, minus quacks and feelps) and is the grandson of foolish and vegetta, technically making him the richest imo

[opencommunion]

Hi opencommunion - you are one of my favourite Tumblrs and I love hearing about Lebanese history from you. You say you are antiPhoenicianist - I hope you would tell us more about it. Hope you're having a great day.

aww thanks, I love your blog too <3

Phoenicianism is a Lebanese ethnonationalist ideology that basically argues that Lebanese people are ethnically/culturally unrelated to (and, implicitly or explicitly, superior to) not only other Arabs but other Levantine peoples. It's a secular ideology but it's extremely Islamophobic, so it posits that Lebanese Christians (especially Maronites) are the "purest" Lebanese people with a direct line of descent from the Phoenicians, who are portrayed as an almost supernaturally heroic and advanced culture who were supplanted by savage Arabs from the south (you probably recognize this as a Zionist talking point; more on that later). It's a narrative of Lebanese history that originates from rich European-educated Lebanese and their French & English orientalist buddies, and it bears all the hallmarks of European ethnonationalism and scientific racism. In my experience ascribing to Phoenicianism is associated with class and it doesn't represent the majority of Lebanese Maronites, who do consider ourselves Arabs. My family are dyed-in-the-wool Maronites from Wadi Qadisha, the cradle of Maronite culture, and for as far back as our family histories go we've always described ourselves as Arabs, with religion being the only difference—and an unimportant difference—between us and our Druze and Muslim neighbors. Phoenicianism predates the Zionist occupation but it started to take shape around the same time as Zionism, and is based in the same core orientalist myth: that the ancient Levant was populated by strictly separate and homogenous ethnocultures with exclusive claim over portions of the land, which were later supplanted by Arab Muslim invaders who oppressed a tiny remaining local population. (In reality, of course, SWANA cultures have always been internally diverse and mutually influential, and "Arabization" in the Levant was characterized by organic cultural shifts among local populations, with Arab culture influencing and combining with local cultures rather than replacing them). So when the Zionist settler project arrived they found easy allies in Phoenicianism. This relationship eventually culminated with the settler state backing the fascist Lebanese Phalanges Party (Kataeb in Arabic, a direct translation of Falange, the Spanish fascist party that inspired its founders) in the Lebanese Civil War. Israel used the Phalanges as a proxy to fight the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon, and it was Phalangists who collaborated with IOF to carry out the Sabra and Shatila massacres. This is the cruelest and ugliest moment in Lebanon's history and Phoenicianism enabled it; Phoenicianism enabled the cognitive dissonance necessary for Lebanese to participate in the occupation's genocide against our siblings and act as footsoldiers for the European fascist agenda in our region. The Phalangists and Zionists lost the war but there is still a Phalangist presence in the Lebanese government, and Phoenicianism is unfortunately alive and well among the Lebanese right wing at home and in the diaspora

[lime-bloods]

I've been really enjoying your posts on black holes and homes as sources of gravity (as I understand the posts so far). Out of curiosity, what do you make of page 5404, where Drunk Rose describes in drunk babble that Gravitation itself is somehow related to "the intrinsic nature of nothingness"? Combined with a few of the screenshots you've taken, it feels like you're hitting on something close to Void as a thematic presence in Homestuck to me, but bugger me if I know what it is!

My instinct is that Rose has reached the same conclusion I have: that 'gravity', as a metonym for the influence of a black hole, is just the inevitable pull towards oblivion. I think she's using "nothingness" as a euphemism for "space", over which gravity has dominion, but through this we can start to appreciate how the concepts of Space and Void weave into each other ("nothingness", "space" and "void" all being functional synonyms).

Understanding that Rose's lapse into alcoholism is her own way of succumbing to 'gravity' - a pull towards toxic familial cycles which not only evokes Vriska's own "addiction" to breaking 8-balls but also literally surrounds the drinker in a dark pocket - her allusions to the Void and gravity here are also tinged by her own experience and outlook as a Seer of Light (who heavily relied on a magic cue ball as her source; a fountain of information which is symbolically opposed to the information-consuming black hole). In particular, the idea that the gravity/knowledge contained within the apple was "for BIDDEN..!" feels like it harkens back to Rose's own quest for forbidden knowledge, which led ultimately to her first foray into the dark. (Like a sun collapsing in on itself, in her hunger for information Rose becomes the black hole in a simultaneously Biblical-and-Newtonian fall-from-grace-cum-moment-of-inspiration. Oh, hey, exactly like Kanaya said would happen!)

But through allusions to Adam and Eve, and the plucking of primordial ideas "from the void" or "the abyss of coinsciousness", we also get the sense that nothingness is the substrate from which things are born - in a manner of speaking, "the Void" here is an ideological incestuous slurry. Just as the void consists of the aspects of creation so "closely woven together [...] that they are barely separable", all things are eventually pulled by forces of gravity (or inevitability, or Time, or whatever name suits them in the context), manifested as a black hole, into nothingness... just to be mixed up and recombined again in Paradox Space's great masturbatory cycle of life and death, like English being born again and again in countless universes. And what Rose "take[s] for granned", about the ease of creating complex objects and the difficulty of creating simple ones, is the exact opposite problem to what the Rogue of Void experiences.

I don't know if I'm HAPPY with these answers, per se... Rose's rant is so rich with imagery I feel like I should be able to give you one, cohesive answer rather than 2-3 smaller fragmented ones. Perhaps that's sort of the point - in her drunkenness, Rose has access to this veritably spaghetti heap of interwoven ideas, but lacks the vision to line them up into a unified Point? But I can't help but feel like that's a cop-out.

Thanks so much for asking though!

[fatehbaz]

Americans [...] would sip the rich cocoa as a hot drink. Cocoa made its way to North America on the same ships that transported rum and sugar from the Caribbean and South America [...] and was heavily reliant on the labor of enslaved Africans throughout the diaspora. [...] [B]y the early 1700s, Boston, Newport, New York and Philadelphia were processing cocoa into chocolate to export and to sell domestically. Chocolate was popular in the coffeehouse culture and was processed for sale and consumption by enslaved laborers in the North. Farther south, in Virginia, cocoa was becoming [...] so popular that it is estimated that approximately one-third of Virginia’s elite was consuming cocoa in some form or another. For the wealthy, this treat was sipped multiple times a week; for others it was out of reach. [...]

The art of chocolate-making – roasting beans, grinding pods onto a stone over a small flame – was a labor-intensive task. An enslaved cook would have had to roast the cocoa beans on the open hearth, shell them by hand, grind the nibs on a heated chocolate stone, and then scrape the raw cocoa, add milk or water, cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla, and serve it piping hot.

---

One of the first chocolatiers in the Colonies was an enslaved cook named Caesar.

Born in 1732, Caesar was the chef at Stratford Hall, the home of the Lees of Virginia, and in his kitchen sat one of only three chocolate stones in the Colony. The other two were located at the governor’s palace and at the Carter family estate, belonging to one of the wealthiest families in Virginia. Caesar was responsible for cooking multiple meals a day for the Lees and any free person who came to visit. [...]

---

The work was oppressive in the plantation kitchens at Christmas time. [...]

[T]hose working in the big house kitchen and as domestic laborers were expected to work around the clock to ensure a perfect holiday for the white family. The biggest task at hand was to cook and serve Christmas dinner, and chocolate was a favorite addition to the three-course formal dinner. [...] Oyster stew, meat pies, roasted pheasant, puddings, roasted suckling pig and Virginia ham are some of the many dishes that would be served in just one course. The night would finish with the sipping of chocolate: toasted, ground and spiced [...] and served in sipping-cups made specifically for drinking chocolate. [...]

---

Decades before the two well-known enslaved chefs, Monticello’s James Hemings and George Washington’s Chef Hercules, [...] Caesar was running one of the Colonies’ most prestigious kitchens inside of Stratford Hall, and making chocolate for the Lees and their guests. [...] [H]is son, Caesar Jr., lived nearby and was the postillion [...].

The stress of cooking the most important dinner of the year was combined with the fear of what was to come on Jan. 1. New Year’s Day was commonly known as heartbreak day, when enslaved folks would be sold to pay off debts or rented out to a different plantation. Jan. 1 represented an impending doom, and the separation of families and loved ones. [...] Caesar disappeared from the records by the end of the 18th century. By 1800, his son Caesar Jr. was still owned by the Lees, but as that year ended, Christmas came and went, and Caesar Jr. was put up for collateral by Henry Lee for payment of his debts.

---

The world Caesar lived in was one fueled by the Columbian Exchange, which was built from enslaved labor [...]: pineapples, Madeira wine, port, champagne, coffee, sugar and cocoa beans. These items traveled from plantation to dining room via the Atlantic trade, and were central to securing the reputation of Virginia’s plantation elite. The more exotic and delicious the food, the more domestic fame one would reap. Having cocoa delivered directly to your home, and having a chocolatier in the kitchen, were exceptional. It was through Caesar’s culinary arts that Stratford Hall became well-known throughout Colonial Virginia as a culinary destination.

---

All text above by: Kelley Fanto Deetz. “Oppression in the kitchen, delight in the dining room: The story of Caesar, an enslaved chef and chocolatier in Colonial Virginia.” The Conversation. 21 December 2020. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[bekolxeram]

I feel like no one is asking the important question ever since the pre-8x05 interview with Oliver came out...

Robinson R22

It's small, it's lightweight, it's fast, it's agile, the 2-seat Robinson R22 is the Cessna 152 of the rotary world, meaning it's by far the most popular model for basic pilot training.

Everything from its 2-bladed semi-rigid teetering rotor system, to its T-bar cyclic design keeps the production and maintenance costs of the R22 to a relatively affordable level, hence allowing more aspiring pilots to achieve their dream without breaking the bank. Due to its popularity, employment opportunities are also easier to come by. Once you've successfully gotten your flight instructor license, you can basically accumulate flight hours while earning money by instructing other students.

Please don't be mistaken, the R22 is popular among student pilots solely for its cost effectiveness. It's in no way an easy helicopter to fly. Because it's so light, the controls are extremely sensitive, some may even say twichy. The first 10 or so hours in the R22 can be quite a frustrating experience. Instead of you flying the chopper, it'll feel like it's flying you, that it has a mind of its own. Even the most experienced former military pilots who spent their entire career flying attack helicopters may feel like they're writing cursive in the sky for their first couple of hours in the R22 before slowly getting used to it. But if you manage to tame this beast, you can basically learn to fly anything.

The Robinson rotor system design also makes it very susceptible to mast bumping. (Yes, even more so than other similar teetering rotor designs) While it can be prevented by adequate pilot training (to avoid instinctively overcontrolling the aircraft), once it happens and the rotor separates from the mast, it's basically always a death sentence.

But the most important factor that may disqualify the R22 as BuckTommy's training helicopter of choice, is its lack of cabin space and low weight limit. It has a maximum cabin width of 3.7 feet, which is cramped even for normal sized people, let alone our 2 human tanks. Not only will they be pressed flush against each other (kinda hot ngl), their shoulders will be squeezed tight by the doors, which makes the overall flying experience very uncomfortable, even a bit limiting. The maximum weight the R22 can carry, including fuel, luggage and occupants, is 490 lbs. If you want to have enough fuel to last for more than 30 minutes, that leaves you only 400 lbs to spare. I strongly suspect the combine weight of these beefcakes exceeds that number.

Robinson R44

The Robinson R44 is basically the bigger, 4 seat version of an R22. It has all the advantages of the R22 in terms of performance, cost effectiveness and abundance of employment opportunities (It's the most produced piston engine helicopter), with the added bonus of a more spacious cabin, a higher weight limit (it's designed for 4 occupants after all) and less sensitive controls as it's quite a bit heavier.

It still has the same heightened risk of mast bumping, and it's more expensive to rent and operate than the R22 (seeing that it's double the size).

A unique advantage of starting your pilot training in the R44 is that once you get your PPL (private pilot license), you've already had enough experience in a 4 seater and you can immediately take your friends and family to the sky with you, no transition or additional training needed. I think Buck will appreciate that.

Schweizer S300

Unlike the Robinsons, the Schweizer S300 was designed especially for training purposes, so it's much more forgiving to fly for student pilots.

It has a 3-bladed fully articulated high inertia rotor system, making it very stable in flight and eliminating the issue of mast bumping. Its conventional but clean cockpit design also makes the learning experience more straightforward. The cabin can be configured into a 2 pilot training setup, or a 1 pilot+2 passengers one, so naturally, the cabin is quite spacious as well.

It has a traditional cyclic in the middle for controls, instead of the T-bar in Robbies.

One possible downside of the S300 is the lack of an RPM governor, meaning pilots have to manually adjust the throttle to maintain rotor speed when maneuvering the helicopter. It adds a bit of workload, but it's not hard getting used to.

The major problem with this aircraft is the giant flat windshield in the front creating enormous amount of drag. It may be suitable for training, but absolutely not for any medium to long distance leisure flying. Its range is quite short, and if you run into strong headwind, it can be veeeerrrryyyyy slooooooooowwwwwww.

Guimbal Cabri G2

Watch out, she's the new hot chick kid on the block. She's young, she's smooth, she's cool and she's from France. (Cue gone girl cool girl speech) First introduced in 2008, this bird was designed to be the ultimate training helicopter, combining the sleek aerodynamic fuselage and lightweight 2 seat configuration of the R22, but with extra space for comfort, and the stability and controllability of the Schweizer S300, without the added drag. It's fast, agile, but at the same time safe and comfortable.

Designed by a former Eurocopter engineer, the Cabri G2 has many modern systems in place to ensure the safety of the inexperienced student pilot.

It has a glass cockpit with fully integrated flight computer system. Unlike flying the Robbies, where you only have a analog fuel gauge, the Cabri G2's system constantly calculates and shows you the estimated time you have left in the air with your current amount fuel.

It has a 3-bladed articulated main rotor just like the Schweizer, so mast bumping is not an issue either, but it also has the added protection of a shrouded tail rotor called a Fenestron, which is a trademark of Eurocopter (known as Airbus Helicopter now).

Instead of being exposed to the element like traditional tail rotors, the Fenestron type is housed in a sort of window in the tail to protect it from striking foreign object in flight, thus greatly enhancing its safety.

Like all aircrafts designed in the 21st century, it's largely made out of light composite material, so it can be spacious and sophisticated without compromising on weight.

The Cabri G2 was designed to be very crash resistant. According to the manufacturer, the seats can withstand shocks from a crash with as high as a 2000 fpm descent rate. Its fuel tank is also incorporated with resistant technology to prevent a fuel fire post crash.

With the Cabri G2, learning to fly a helicopter has never been safer, comfier and cooler.

I can't hide my bias to this hot chick beautiful bird, she's just that good, but she's also very hard to find and super expensive to rent. Over 6866 Robinson R44 were ever built, but the new girl Cabri G2? Just around 300. It's very expensive to rent, the hourly rate comparable to a 4 seat R44, simply due to its rarity. But Tommy works in the industry? I'm sure he can pull some strings for his boyfriend if the G2 is what he wants.

Turbine helicopters

The previous 4 models are all powered by piston engines. They're cheaper, easier to maintain, but not powerful enough for bigger utility helicopters operated by the military or authorities. If your goal is to work for those institutions, you'll eventually have to gain experience in a helicopter with turbine engines.

So why not start in a turbine helicopter, you asked? Well, they're super expensive to rent. The hourly rates for the above 4 models are all in the hundreds, but for a turbine one, like the AS350 (the one Tommy flew to the cruise ship and to Vegas with Eddie), it's in the thousands.

Although we're talking about Tommy "knows a guy" Kinard, who magicked a whole AS350 news helicopter for his personal trip to a fight in Vegas, and Evan "trust fund baby" Buckley here. I guess they can somehow get a giant turbine one without any problem like us commoners. They're easier and more fun to fly anyways. (Faster but more stable.)

[draconic-distress]

Ok apple pen jumpscare aside, I have a LOT of thoughts on the ghost craft/holy horror mansion trailer, so I may as well make a kinda deep dive post like I did with the Legends ZA announcement

this is gonna be long as fuck so be warned, we're diving deep

Ok so first of all… I think we all knew that it was gonna be yokai watch’s spiritual successor, but I don’t think leading with that is a great call, because people will expect more of the same, and I don’t think that’s entirely fair to this new game they’re making.

That being said, let’s get into the actual game itself, because holy shit this is a lot to take in at once and we still know like nothing.

So the first thing we get introduced to right off the bat is our protagonist, Ten Lordland, which is kind of a stupid name so I’m hoping that the localization gives him a better one

^ this is the bitch. He kinda reminds me of Hailey-Anne with how uppity and all over the place he is; we don’t have much substance on him as a character but he seems like a good kid

One thing we do know about him though is that he’s Loaded, and that his grandma is the landlord of the titular holy horror mansion, which is apparently also a gate to the underworld (giving Mt. Wildwood, but this is where the comparisons end)

We also have a better look at smaller areas of the apartment complex, or at least one small room where he whole thing starts. The camera in the third pic shows up a couple times, so I think it’ll be important in some way, especially considering this is where our ‘ghosts’ comes from:

So there’s three types, and honestly this is where the game shines the most in my opinion and really separates itself from yokai watch conceptually. they play into the concept of ‘ghost crafting’ really well:

First off is the green ghost, whose power we saw at the end of the last level 5 vision. Basically this ghost combines with objects and brings them to life, and that’s where the main critter collecting aspect comes in. I really like how they're handling this, it's a really fun idea

This is also where we get our new mascot aka pillow jibanyan:

She’s cute, her design feels very lively but not messy or too much. I hope we get to see more of her personality in game, I like her :)

Anyways back to the ghosts, now we have the blue one, whose thing is making chimera ghosts out of random objects. This is in fact where that fuckass apple pen reference happens

I like this mechanic, it’ll be fun just making fuck all from whatever’s in your inventory. Still, we’ll come back to the pen pineapple apple pen thing and its implications (because yes I’m not done with this)

And lastly is the pink ghost, whose power is… making dungeons?? I guess??

It’s cool and I like the idea of themed dungeons from everyday objects and the cool gameplay that will come of it, and I adore the cake themed dungeon, but it sticks out like a sore thumb, mostly because it’s the least purposeful of the three.

The green and blue ones have mechanics that make sense within the gameplay of being a critter collector, but the pink one’s uniqueness in its mechanics makes it feel weird.

I’m guessing that we’ll get more of an explanation of what it’s being used for in the actual game, so I’m looking forward to that. And also finding out whether the ‘something important’ Ten mentions is story related or if it’s just the thing at the end of each dungeon.

And then we hit the story aspects… ooh boy I know Yokai Watch and creature collectors in general aren’t really popular for their story, but this one just feels strange to me.

First off, our villain is the “De Ville Corp” and the "Dakarymen", and I mean I’m glad they’re not being subtle with it, we all knew what happened with YKW3, though its a bit on the nose; it makes some sense this game is clearly more family friendly/“kiddie.” But I think weirdly what irks me the most is…

why is this rich kid beefing with other rich kids? Like dude you’re fucking loaded your grandma literally owns the only known(?) gate to the underworld and makes bank off of other people living in this apartment complex that you live off of, what do you mean the villain is capitalism in a game where the protagonist is Rich.

Ok that one’s more nitpicky but still an odd decision imo. Anyways into the villain’s tactics, the main thing they do is they sell 'ghost items' which do... something. i dunno they're evil and hurt people ig maybe it'll get expanded on more later

there's also other wild ghosts that you have to find with your yokai wat-- i mean this shitty camera guy whose design is good on paper but bland in execution, and you fight those guys. i'm gonna say it now as much as i don't want to, i don't think this game is gonna beat the pokemon clone allegations in the west

i don't doubt that the battle system will be unique but at first glance i just have a feeling that people are gonna compare it to pokemon the same way they did with yokai watch, and it's a shame.

now that we've gone over the whole trailer, let's get into my three biggest concerns for this game because yes i sure do have opinions about it

first thing i wanna talk about that they said up-front is the fact that this is gonna become a HUGE multimedia series. ok. kind of horrifying if we're getting that immediately. i don't think it's such a good idea to have a brand new ip that's not even ready yet be put up to the expectation of this behemoth of a new series. that sets the bar pretty high, and there's a lot of worry of this getting too much and crashing from the pressure before its time like what happened to yokai watch

the second thing i've got which i think is a bit nitpicky but i want to mention anyways: "the theme of this title is 'family'," which means it will be "an experience for the whole family to enjoy together." this worries me a little because it gives the implication this is gonna be a more 'kiddie' game in a way. like the trailer was exciting and fun, but i could barely keep up with how fast and in your face it was even with how simple and straight forward is. (someone described it as like a tik tok brainrot vid and i think that does make sense). I hope that making it more appealing to all ages doesn't sacrifice Holy Horror Mansion's heart (we'll get to that) and willingness to go to darker places.

last thing, which i didn't know when i started writing this post, is the use of AI in like 90% of the trailer. because holy shit there's a lot.

look at that. gross. i knew something felt weird about Ten but I couldn't put my finger on it until i found out about the AI thing. this damn kid is the most damning evidence, at least for me since it's the easiest to see on him. and that's not even close to everything that could be AI, that's just the fucking protagonist!

I think deep down we all saw this coming considering Hino's previous statements on AI and the fact that he used a bunch of shitty ai yokai watch mockups as an example. Obviously if this game does use AI for all this stuff we're not gonna fucking support it, but this is still a very very VERY early proof of concept, and anything could happen between now and the game actually making any progress; until we see more I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic about the direction this game goes. Either Hino gets his shit together or we're not playing Holy Horror House because what the fuck.

to be honest, I think it's ok that yokai watch as a major franchise is ending. it kinda sucks since we've been waiting like five years since y school, but i do think it's over and that this is gonna be a fun new ip that can stand on its own from yokai watch. for a series whose first game's resolution was to live and let go of something you love, I think we should take a page from yokai watch 1's book more often. i'm excited to see where Holy Horror Mansion goes from here on out! also we still have puni puni and Jaen is there so I'm satisfied enough I guess.

anyways tl;dr, Holy Horror House looks fun and has a lot of potential as a brand new ip, i'm afraid for its future as a multimedia giant and/or an ai shitshow, and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is my most anticipated game of 2025

[eolewyn1010]

Downton Abbey Fashion 29 - festive occasions in the 1920s

There are times when the Crawleys wear a sort of outfit that I tentatively want to call “semi-formal”? They leave the house in these, so it’s not exactly an indoor look, and it’s day wear, not evening, but it’s often more lightweight than a coat or walking suit, and the optics go more in the direction of their garden fashions – light, mostly pastel colors, flowered hats, loosely falling robes… The occasions in question are 1st, Mary’s wedding, 2nd, a family picnic at Eryholme which at that time might become their new home, 3rd, Edith’s little disaster of a wedding, and finally, the baptism of Sybil junior.

The only occasion for which Violet bothers to get a new outfit is Mary’s wedding; for the others, she repeats a few of her already-established coats. This is stylistically familiar though, and in fact she combines it with a tulle-wrapped hat she’s worn before. I do love the cream coat; can’t quite tell the material, but it’s something softly shiny. And then she goes all extra on the cuffs and hem – this trim is easily five or six inches of piping flowers and ferns.

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Remember when I said that Martha doesn’t really cross the line into tasteless? Well. I’ll admit it: This one is kind of tacky. Lady, tone down the fur and velvet; this is not a winter wedding. Admittedly, the turban-like head wrap is something I would have enjoyed a great deal more in an evening setting. Martha loves her some quirky 1920s headdresses. But for the day, the plumage seem a little much.

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For her son’s wedding to Mary, Isobel got a lovely light blue walking coat that she repeats later for the Eryholme picnic, if with a less frothy hat. What I find funny during the wedding is that the cream collar with the darling birds-and-flowers embroidery makes Isobel look like she coordinated with the random extra next to her, a nameless lady in cream with a similar embroidery motif on the lapels.

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Cora wears this long lavender coat for Mary’s wedding and for Sybbie’s baptism, a pretty rose-patterned damask with a long plain collar. I think this is supposed to be a matching set with the dress she wears under it, a lilac number with a velvet sash. The main variation between the wedding and the baptism is that for the former, she wears a ton of white fabric flowers on her hat and another huge one pinned to her lapel, whereas for the baptism she’s way more toned down, nothing on her lapel and the flowers on her hat much smaller and darker. Granted, that baptism has an overlap with mourning time.

Despite financial hardships, Cora can afford new hats all the time. What do you know. I kind of like the pleated design of the crown here, but not the overall shape if that makes sense. The sandy walking suit with the giant folded lapels will transition into her everyday wardrobe in season 4, although by then she picks a rather less flattering hat to go with it. I don’t know what these buttons are doing down there; they sure aren’t shutting the coat in any meaningful way. They just look nice, I guess.

This is Cora’s get-up for Edith’s wedding, and it has to be the first time I am aware of that the hatband was actually made to fit the cardigan. See? That’s the exact same flower embroidery. And back with a ton of white flowers on her hat. I like the jacket, but the outfit overall is a bit unspectacular, as is to be expected from a wedding guest who’s not to outshine the bride. Would probably pop more if she wore that over a red blouse.

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We’ll get to what Mary wears to her wedding in a separate post, but for Edith’s wedding, she shows up in light blue chiffon and what I think is a layer of white lace. The drop waist sash, the sleeves and the hatband are all the same material, all pastel on pastel plus pearls; it’s all very rich boring white people. But at least it’s flattering. Edith gets fucked over by her outfits for these occasions.

Granted, Mary’s baptism look is really dowdy. Why is she dressed like her mother-in-law? This dress tries to do something with lavender and purple piping, but the placement of it doesn’t do much to enhance the outfit. I think she stole her mother’s jewelry again though; this is the exact necklace Cora was wearing with her beige picnic coat above.

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Why. Why did they put Edith in this for Mary’s wedding? At this point, her sense of fashion has developed so much that this stupid, unflattering granny dress looks dissonant. She’s wearing a sack with a big flower on it. And what’s with the plump pin tucks in the skirt? They throw this so off balance. Ugh, anyway. The hat is quite lovely.

I found the last dress so ugly that this one, which she wears for the baptism, is already an upgrade. The color is not for Edith imo, but the drop waist has a patterned sash that is kind of nice, and while the sleeves look baggy, it at least has a pretty neckline.

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Sybil got a rather nice look for Mary’s wedding. Why couldn’t Edith wear something like this? The color and weight is similar, blue chiffon, but the scarf matching the dress looks way more elegant than that strange embroidery. Any additional color is banned to the hat embroidery, which looks cute but less grand than those of her relatives because Sybil isn’t about that life anymore.

Her hat for Edith’s wedding has pretty much the same shape, the brim widening to the front and curving a bit up to form something akin to a bonnet, but it’s white with a lilac ribbon to match her dress. This dress is quite similar to Mary’s for the same event, chiffon with floral white lace, but it has some additional trim with an under layer in a darker purple, and the skirt has a little gathering on the side.

[happyinjection]

HC Novel ♦️7 Never No Dollars “Pre flop ~Prologue~”

People sometimes ask me about the appeal of collecting antiques. Personally, I believe it is merely a hobby, but at the same time it’s also my life’s work that I can’t stop doing.

It is difficult to put it into words, but the greatest value of an item lies in the spirit, or perhaps we can also call it the energy, of said item’s creator or successive owners which resides in it. In a way, it contained condensed history. The concept is not plausible by those with lower education or class.

Antique collectors are countless in number. Most of them are those who are considered to be rich.

On the surface, I’m the headmaster of Rummy College, a prestigious private boarding school for boys in Fourland Kingdom. However, in the end, I work under the board of directors. So I don’t get paid that much.

Antiques are made to be unique. If you miss the chance to acquire an item once, the next opportunity will only come when the wealthy owner dies and their family sorts out their belongings, or when they lose their mind and give it away for charity, or when they go bankrupt. When such an opportunity comes, usually the price has soared high.

Therefore, in order to compete with other antique collectors from around the world, it is necessary for me to form a few underworld connections. Even so, I’m first and foremost a teacher, hence I won’t take part in their terrible deeds. That said, I have no control over the happenings without my knowledge. I simply use money or some other convenience in exchange for antiques I want to get my hands on.

I’m talking about “the cards”.

At a glance, they seem to be no more than trump cards of somewhat good quality. However, the truth is there is no antique more valuable than these cards in the entire Fourland Kingdom. Their rarity, lore, and even purpose—they are all surpassed by none. I paid a fair price for the risk, thankfully the broker was an idiot and agreed to seal the deal.

In this Kingdom of Fourland, we have a folklore—or perhaps a myth is a better word. Every citizen must have heard of it from their parents or grandparents in their bed when they were children, and listening to it they would fall asleep peacefully.

In other words, everyone knows about the cards, yet only a few are aware that they actually exist. Isn’t that romantic?

—Fourland Kingdom as we know it is a nation made up of four states. In the past, when this place had not yet earned its name but was instead called Trapla Island, the four states were separate countries and were repeatedly in conflict with each other. Combined with the invasion of foreign enemies, the four states were at the edge of destruction.

During such a time, a figure stood to prominence, a boy who would eventually become the first king of Fourland and his 52 knights.

The boy alongside the 52 knights fought with all their might to unite the four nations. Unfortunately, the knights lost their lives in the midst of their battle.

It was then Lala Waldenklein[*] demonstrated her powers. Lala is a mage who accompanied and led the boy to become the first king. She magically transformed the souls of the fallen knights into cards and gave them to the boy who survived. With the cards and supernatural powers at his disposal, he splendidly defeated his enemies.

—Such is the folklore in essence. It gave rise to the publication of a lot of thick fantasy novels, but not many were interested in reading them.

The number of cards is equal to the number of knights, as there is one for each. Since the number of cards matches, those cards are said to be the origin of trump card games in the Fourland Kingdom.

Although they appear to be nothing more than ordinary trump cards, the cards grant supernatural abilities to those whom they have chosen to be their holders, rumors say.

It seems that some people have started calling these cards the “X-Playing Cards”.

The existence of X-Playing Cards would confirm the existence of the supernatural powers they hold. If possible I want to see it with my own eyes.

Long story short—I’ve managed to acquire two cards.

Still, to prove whether or not they are the real deal is easier said than done. The day after I got my hands on them, I put the two cards on the large table in the headmaster’s office, and while leaning back into my leather chair I stared at them in utmost admiration.

The cards would never get damaged. I’ve tried to fold them and set them on fire, but in the end they continue to reflect the light like a mirror.

I left the windows open. The grids of anti-intruder bars were decorated with a pattern of lions which can also be found on the grassy fields of Rummy College. After I was appointed to be the headmaster, I had started displaying my collections here, so the bars were only recently installed. Through the gaps, a cool breeze was blowing.

Someone knocked on the door. It’s true that I had scheduled a meeting with the vice headmaster. 

“Come in,” I responded, and the door flew open.

I felt a particularly strong gust of wind. Had the cards not been right in front of me, I wouldn’t have minded the wind at all, because nothing would get blown away.

—Before I knew it, there was only one card remaining on the table, while the other had vanished without a trace.

For a split second, when he caught my distraught expression, the incompetent vice headmaster whose only talent was to lick my shoes appeared to be very afraid for his life.

I burst out laughing. But it wasn’t because I saw the hilarious reaction of the vice headmaster.

The cards were created from the souls of the 52 fallen knights. They were made using the mage Lala’s supernatural abilities. So if the cards can also magically disappear, isn’t that just one wonder among many others?

I still had one card in my possession, so there was nothing to be down about. 

The cards are by no doubt real. That knowledge alone had brought me immeasurable happiness.

♠️♥️♦️♣️

TL notes: I’m not a professional translator so feel free to tell me if you spot any errors! Please do not repost this translation anywhere. In the case of any problem occuring in the future, I may take down this post. Also bear in mind that I’ll be updating at a suuuper slow pace. [*] I might not spell her surname right, will fix it once the official comes out.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

See the 3 witches are doing their pound land version of the iconic layby kiss with second rate characters nobody's interested in. Strikes me they are beyond desperate to inject some life into the soap they're ruined.

Honestly, this whole Caleb/Nicky story is so confusing to me at this point, I don't even know what to make of it anymore.

On a base surface level, it was kind of a fun twist/reveal with the Frank Tate connection but it just opened up so many questions that have yet to be answered, it's hard for me to wrap my head around and frankly, it's still just not that interesting to me.

I still want to understand how Caleb knew Frank was his father and how he got all of his Tate history information to even know enough to want to take down Kim. And then, why does he even really care?! And why does he care enough to rope his son into it? And not just rope him into it, but put him in the middle of it and potentially force him to marry someone against his will? And I don't understand his money problems and why we should care about Nicky's mum being homeless?! Or why she's homeless? Or what any of these people were doing before they showed up in Emmerdale?! I mean you had Caleb doing nothing but splashing out on fancy lawyers for Kyle when he first showed up and he did actually help. But all of a sudden Nicky is complaining that his mum needs money and is homeless and that's somehow Caleb's responsibility even though they're separated? Or does Nicky want to take part in this scheme because he wants to support his mum? But why is she so broke in the first place?

And what is Caleb even really trying to do to Kim? Get money? I guess? But also ruin her somehow? Sure?! But is he meant to succeed? Are having a changing of the guard or is he going to fail and we'll end up right back and status quo? And are we supposed to be rooting for him?!

And then I have all kinds of questions about Nicky and Ally. Not in a genuine interest kind of way, but in a 'I just want to understand what it is they're trying to do' kind of way. Is he gay? Is he bi and they're just continuing their whole 'every bisexual character has to cheat' story? But also it's not like he loves Gabby anyway and is only doing this for a scam so it's not quite the same?! And then were Nicky and Ally actually a thing? In the past? Currently? It half seemed like they had a thing going at some point and half like this was the first time this happened??

And we know absolutely nothing about Ally. Is he supposed to be a regular character or just a guest star for a few episodes? Are we meant to be interested in this relationship? Or is it just to give Nicky more secret reveals?

And if this relationship is supposed to be something, then I don't feel like they've started it off super well with all this cryptic confusion and unanswered questions either.

I mean, they're never going to recreate Robron because it was kind of lightning in a bottle, with them being two characters from big families who had such rich on screen histories to play off of and lots of connections in the village. they're just never going to have that kind of perfect combination to work with again.

But these two are so underdeveloped at the moment, I don't even know what to make of them. And sure, you can start stories from different points, but it wouldn't kill them to actually develop characters before they throw them at each other.

I don't know...this show is a mess. And so is this answer. Haha.

[frenchmonkeyslut]

BASICS

FULL NAME: TANAKA HIROTO [ たなかひろと / 田中大翔 ]

» MEANING: Tanaka [Tanaka (たなか) is the fourth most common Japanese surname. It is typically written with the kanji for ricefield & middle (田中). Less common variants include many & middle (多中), many & relationship (多仲), another & middle (他中), shelf & low (棚下), shelf & summer (棚夏) and many & name & congratulation (多名賀).]; Hiroto [The name Hiroto is boy's name of Japanese origin meaning "great flying". A very popular Japanese boys' name whose characters refer to the constellation Ursa Major. Hiroto (written: 浩人, 博人, 博土, 弘人, 洋人, 紘人, 裕人, 寛人, 大仁 or ヒロト in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. 飛 means "fly, jump, leap." From Japanese 大 (hiro) meaning "big, great" or 博 (hiro) meaning "command, esteem" combined with 人 (to) meaning "person", 翔 (to) meaning "soar, glide" or 斗 (to), which refers to a Chinese constellation. Other kanji combinations can also form this name.]

VERSES: City of Gods, The Game, Le Château.

NICKNAME(S): Hiro.

AGE: 26-years old.

DATE OF BIRTH: 1996 November 13th, Wednesday.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Tokyo, Japan.

OCCUPATION: Unemployed; heir to telecom company in Japan.

RELIGION: None.

ORIENTATION: Bisexual; Biromantic.

GENDER: Cisgender male.

PERSONALITY

STRENGTHS: Resourceful, Powerful, Brave, Passionate, Loyal.

WEAKNESSES: Jealous, Manipulative, Violent, Distrusting, Obsessive.

APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Mackenyu Maeda.

HEIGHT: 6"0 [182 cm.]

WEIGHT: 163 lbs. [74 kg.]

BUILD: Athletic, mascular.

GAIT: Relaxed.

HAIR COLOR: Black.

EYE COLOR: Dark brown.

BIRTHMARK: TBA.

OVERVIEW: » SCARS: Some. » TATTOOS: Yes. TBA.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Tokyo, Japan.

RESIDENCES: Tokyo, Stockholm, New York, Los Angeles, London.

NATIONALITY: Japanese.

ETHNICITY: Asian.

FINANCIAL STATUS: Filthy rich.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Uni graduate.

DEGREES: Computer-related and business.

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Japanese is his first language. He speaks Korean and he is fluent in English. He knows some French and Swedish. His grandfather loves Sweden and had a childhood friend from there because the old Tanaka went to school there. They have a house in Stockholm as well. His Danish is rusty but he gets by. Traveling to middle east and Africa, he picked up a lot of Arabic and can converse in it lightly.

RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTS: Both his parents are alive but he was raised by his grandparents because apparently, his parents cannot be trusted. He doesn't agree. He has a good relationship with his mother

SIBLINGS: Yes, two younger ones from the same parents.

CHILDREN: None.

PETS: None.

SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: » Im Eon, friend from France. University friend, Red Sangchareon.

HISTORY: 

Hiro was born in Tokyo to young parents. His mother's parents' didn't think his parents were ready to become parents themselves so they adopted Hiro and raised them like he is their own son. Hiro's parents' relationship didn’t last long simply because the old Tanaka did not approve of it.

His parents didn't marry and stopped communicating until later on. They rekindled their relationship and married in secret against Hiro's mother's will.

Hiro, in secret, formed a relationship with his parents but eventually, his grandfather found out about it and threatened to disown him. Hiro was worried at first because he didn't have his own money and experience. But after learning how the real world works at a very young age - saving money, earning money, investing separately from his grandparents' wealth - he's able to build up his own future however, it cannot be compared to what his grandparents could provide.

In reality, his grandparents cannot disown him as he is the only heir they recognize. His mother, their biological child, is the only child.

Hiro compromised with his grandparents; he will run the business in the future but that he is not going to stop seeing his parents and his siblings. Little by little he works on chipping away the frozen ice that surrounds his grandfather in hopes that in the future, he'd be able to unite his family together.

Despite being a hard worker and for the most part, an obedient grandchild, Hiro can be a rebel and continuously questioned his grandparents. He's sent to France a few times but he doesn't take it as a punishment and instead, he network with everyone he meets.

ROMANTIC HISTORY: Hiro has many flings in the past but he doesn't settle or doesn't have a lasting relationship because he's easily swayed.

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS: He is friends with Saam Akesson and will be good friends with Eon. Hiro is also good friends with Red Sangchareon, a Thai photographer whom he met in France during his college days. Hiro often met Red when they are in the same city. He once housed Red during the photographer's training in Japan. Hiro and Red often traveled together. A few times, they traveled all throughout Asia for a photobook project. Their big goal is to travel the middle east for a similar project.

THOUGHTS ON LOVE: “Sharing is caring.”

HEALTH

PHOBIA(S): None.

HANDICAP(S): None.

MENTAL DISEASE(S): Alcoholism, depression.

PHYSICAL DISEASE(S): None.

PREDISPOSITION(S): None.

[ryuichirou]

So in your RSA!Kalim headcanons, you mentioned that Kalim had a hard time at RSA and that intrigued me.

My own headcanon is that Kalim would most likely not be nearly as well liked at RSA as he is at NRC since his habit of accidentally saying insensitive things combined with with his extravagant ways of performing well intended deeds would lead to him being perceived as condescending and obsessed with showing off his family's wealth and power.

Hi Anon!

What I meant by that was that it is unusual for Kalim to be away from Jamil for so long, and having a bunch of servants around is just not the same thing, because he considers Jamil a very close person to him, and definitely feels some separation anxiety. So, even though he is surrounded by all kinds of nice and fun people, there is this void that no one can really fill; the fact that there is no one around who would be similar to Jamil personality-wise only makes it worse.

Your headcanon sounds interesting though! Even though, as far as we know, the guys from RSA are also quite rich (at least according to Leona), maybe Kalim’s behavior would’ve been ehhh excessive? I’m not sure what would be the main source of potential discomfort between Kalim and other students, but it would be interesting to see him feeling out of place surrounded by all the “good guys”, when we’re so used to him hanging out at the “bad guys” school and feeling pretty much at home.

Have a great day, and sorry for the late reply!

[thetoiletwater]

The "LGB without the T" TikTok and its comments are so rich with enlightening context about transgender ideologues and qu**r theorists' views of the world, and in particular gay rights activism. Aside from the general historical revisionism ("trans women of color threw the first brick at Stonewall" already being something we're all familiar with being wrong in almost every sense, along with the other statements asserting that gay people are not responsible for any of their own activism or attaining of rights), there are a few things of particular note that I want to call attention to.

For starters, I want to shine a spotlight on the second most common sort of comment present in your screenshots (aside from the aforementioned historical revisionism): "You can't leave us." Not in the sense of denial or disbelief, but as a statement of authority. This can be seen in the comments of users coffaeiene, ch1oethebitch, and the user whose name is cropped out of the top of the fourth screenshot.

Now, I understand that the tone of these comments are intended to be jokes. However, I also understand that abusive, entitled, and narcissistic people can, and often do, make jokes about the exact sort of behavior they genuinely present. This is an extremely common form of gaslighting used in abusive relationships. "It's just a joke" doesn't simply serve to negate what has been said, but to call into question if someone who would make jokes that are supposedly mocking abusive behavior would truly be abusers, themselves.

When we contextualize all of the comments with that in mind, as context (though I understand that, to many, this will come across as pretentious; I have seen the way modern conversations have become overly-saturated with psychological terminology and comparisons, myself), the rest of the contents will become eerily familiar to anyone who knows even the slightest thing about emotional abuse (be it romantic, platonic, familial, religious, etc.). "You cannot leave. You are helpless without me. I have done everything for you. If you leave, you will be in danger. Others will harm you more than I have. I will not save you if you leave me. You will be harming me if you go. You are being selfish. Your views are ridiculous and unjustified. You just don't understand how much I have done for you." We are simultaneously helpless victims that they are burdened with protecting, and cruel parasites that do nothing for them.

Anyone familiar with this sort of situation would know it crumbles under the weight of a single question: If it's true, why are they so desperate to keep us? Surely, if they have any reason to so much as believe this, regardless of if it's actually true or not, they would abandon us, or at least allow us to leave them.

The mask of the abuser slipped slightly in one comment, however. "The pettiness in me is saying we should just leave them behind and let them suffer their battles," the user conspicuously named the_rainbow.system says. "But," the comment continues "I know that would divide the community more." The implication here being that the people infuriated by LGB separating from the "TQIA2S+" believe the same-sex attracted individuals attempting to go their own way are both self-destructive and the only thing holding either group (both the LGB and the unrelated TQIA2S+) together, the only thing keeping any of this afloat. It is the precise conflicting sentiment a narcissist would hold over one of his victims; a truth and a lie that do not, and cannot, combine. We are parasites who do nothing for them, or even ourselves, but we are necessary for them to survive.

tl;dr The way TRAs and qu**r theorists speak about LGB people and activists is precisely the same way abusers speak about their victims (if you will pardon me for using psychological terms that have become buzzwords)

Very true. On top of that the way they talk about it is so childish like "why are we being excluded!!!!" is such a immature response; as if LGB is just a fun little club. Sorry but if you're not ssa it's not about you 🤷‍♀️

[find-your-wings]

What is v's gender? His sexuality?

For now, he's demi-romantic and demi-sexual! He does not care how someone presents their gender, but he needs to be emotionally attached to them to form any romantic or sexual bonds.

Short answer on his gender: He goes by He/Him!

Long answer, and a surface-level delve into Notseanis gender/sex politics!

Notseanis [the elf people that make up Vee's world] have a much different concept of 'gender' than we do. While humans may divide their sexes by [roughly], genitals, presence of breasts, dna stuff I don't understand, and other things... Notseanis have a completely different set of traits they define sexes by. [They all have the same genitalia sets]

[INFORMATION BELOW IS OUT OF DATE AND INACCURATE!]

Eyes, tongue, ear length, general body build, chest muscle development, muscle mass, etc are some of the traits that define their sexes.

I'll eventually have a whole 'study' I make that explores the intricacies, but I can summarize it like this:

SEX: There are 3 kinds of nis, they are on a firm scale. There's Maltis, Itsu, and Fauce. [You can substitute this as Male, Intersex, and Female, but it's not a 1:1 comparison.] Maltis and Fauce are the most clear-cut sides of the spectrum, and have defined physical traits that scientifically separate them. If someone does not fit ALL the traits on a Maltis or Fauce's list, they're considered an 'Itsu', which roughly translates to 'of both'. If someone has a mix of 'male' and 'female' traits, they're an Itsu. The only thing that matters really, is that SOME itsu are capable of producing offspring. Not all, but some. Maltis and Fauce CANNOT produce a baby, they are the catalysts. Fauce are much more likely to pass on their physical traits to the offspring than Maltis. If an Itsu gets with another Itsu [who is able to produce a catalyst], then the chances of passing on traits goes to who has more Fauce traits.

MOST nis fall under Itsu. There are far, far less pure fauce/maltis in the world at this point. Same-sex relationships aren't a big deal. The only thing nis care about is that most couples should produce at least 1 child, even if they don't raise it. 'Donators' are very common, and some nis put themselves up on 'dating sites' more or less to show off their features, should they be desirable to someone looking to have a child, but who can't because their partner isn't a catalyst. [I'm being vague cuz someday I plan on making a full breakdown of all this]

Fauce: Taller, more muscle mass, more rounded/developed chest muscles [they do not have boobs], clipped tongue, unusual pupils, longer ears.

Maltis: Shorter, less muscle mass, flat chests, regular tongue, round pupils, short ears.

Itsu: Combination of any of these traits.

GENDER: Notseanis care little about gender. Many of them change between pronouns freely between he/she/they/etc, and the only struggle usually comes from people getting used to the new pronouns as they change, little more. More strife comes from whether Nis have tails or longer fur, which is frowned upon.

Most notseanis are given a basic name when they are born, and then they choose their name when they turn 20, which is a wonderful celebration of the Self. Gender is not a big concern in this celebration. NAMES, however, are a big deal. Not calling someone their chosen name is considered greatly disrespectful.

Rich or high-up nis families usually choose their childrens' names. The children are not allowed their coming-of-age celebration, as a way to 'pay back' their parents for 'giving them such an easy life'. [Yes it's very fucked up]

So uhhhhh V chose his name [Vinny/Vincent/Vee-vee/V], and goes by he/him.

[honor-of-apostates]

The Setting

A quick note: Our world is based on medieval Euron, and the countries and nations within the site are our fictional versions of those countries. Some have been combined together, others have been left as they are. When thinking of 'The Isle' in greater detail such as climate and geographical lay out, imagine the United Kingdom. When thinking of 'The Continent' in greater detail such as climate and geographical lay out, imagine mainland Europe. For history and religion, we ask that players please refer to this guide as we have changed things to fit in with our world.

Another quick note! This is just a teaser of our guidebook page for Setting so what you will find in this post is a brief description of the two main settings of Honor of Apostates. Our Guidebook will have a look in on some history as well as a note on religions.

The Isle • 'Ograin'

Although referred to as 'The Isle' by both nationals and foreigners, the country is composed of several islands all united under the banner of one King. To differentiate the various islands that make up The Isle, they are often referred to by the cardinal direction they lie within. The central and largest island is often called the Royal Land and contains the bulk of the nobles, and the general population of The Isle.

The King and his family rule from the Capitol, a city set on the top of a plateau and surrounded by lush farmland and prosperous rivers. The nobles beneath the King rule over their own parcels of land, and meet yearly at the behest of the King.

The people of The Isle speak a variety of languages but are united under one common tongue called the King's Word.

The Continent • 'Padun'

Across a gentle sea, lies The Continent. Separated into 4 primary nations ruled by their own Kings and Queens. The largest of these nations is a direct ally of The Isle due to the efforts of King Lom. Soldiers and Knights are often brought over as emissaries and live in the courts of nobles as protection. There's no clear idea of what this nation is getting in return, but it is said to be for magical purposes.

These Kingdoms are:

Alhstan: Ruled by a King simply called 'The Barbarian' this kingdom leans on the merits of one's own hand. A place where The Archon has not truly taken hold, they worship their own gods in the forms of great warriors that have risen from mortal status to that of gods.

Creatus: Ruled by a Queen and hailed as the embracers of exploration, this kingdom is deeply reverent of The Archon and it's teachings.

Vertifine: Ruled by a King, this kingdom is vastly rich. They are upheld as the shining examples of the Archon's Creed at work, with gallant knights from this kingdom often hailed as the best warriors in the World.

Otia: Ruled by a Queen, but only allowed to speak through her male advisors, this kingdom is what is left of The Empire that once spanned the entire Continent. They are the home of Archonism, and because of that still are central to the known world.

Each kingdom has their own unique language, but they do know the same common tongue that is spoken in The Isle. On the continent the spread of this language was done thanks to the missionaries of The Archon and for this reason across the Continent this common language is known as 'The Blessed Tongue'.

[descendantofthesparrow]

Once Upon a December - The Invitation - Walter x Reader - P1

first vampire/the invitation fic les gooooooo NOTE HEAVY SPOILERS, DOES FOLLOW THE MOVIE/PLOT CLOSLY...that is until it dont, i’m a sucker for happy endings~ 

(i specialize in Thomas Doherty characters x readers so if i wrote something wrong no i didn't) 

=

They said I was found by the side of a road, there were tracks all around; it had recently snowed. In the darkness and cold with the wind in the trees A girl with no name, and no memories but these

-

It was dark, cold, and wet-that’s all you could remember-the flashes of fire and lightning, the echo of screams, a hand in yours, pulling you to what seemed to be safety, and then…gone. Someone screaming a name that-seemed to be yours, their voice sobbing and desperate as they drifted away until you couldn’t hear them anymore.

“(y/n)-NO-(y/n)!!!”

You don’t know how you got separated from them, they seemed to care a lot about you, just from how they screamed for you. But you could recall your foot hitting something-metal and slippery, and you fell; hitting your head. You had a nasty scar from it to this day.

You woke up to what felt like-hundreds of years later but couldn't have been more than a few weeks realistically, you couldn’t remember anything, only your name, your age, and the feeling that you were missing something…or someone-by your side.

All you had was a ruby crystal, silver stems and thorns holding it tight to the leather cord around your neck with two small letters engraved into the gem. ‘H.D’. Along the silver vines was another engraving, in the same style as the first except it seemed to simply be an extension of the last letter.

Deville.

It was so simple; you had the initials and the last name. All you had to do was match the name to the person, but-even after years of searching, be it through books or the internet; nothing popped up. A clue that led to nothing, it left you to wonder; who was this H. Deville?

And could you find them? Could you discover your lost past?

It seemed like a long shot, since this-Deville didn’t seem to exist, not a single search engine had any answers, not even a family  tree to maybe help you find them.

Maybe this-Deville had disappeared in the same incident that had caused you to lose your memories 10 years ago, you sighed remembering the day you woke up; all alone on a roadside, freezing cold with snow covering you and the forest surrounding you.

You had wandered into the town nearby, a kind family taking you in and warming you up, giving you new clothes, and doing their best to help you. But with no memories, and no account of-who you were other than your possible name-they couldn’t. Somehow you ended up in new York, homeless and doing your best to survive.

That is-until you met Evie Jackson, your now roommate and one of your only friends, whom you had met during a catering job and hit it off pretty quickly; when she heard about how you were homeless and just looking for a place to crash until you could save up for your own place, she offered her apartment.

You had told her many times that you were grateful for her offer but-you couldn’t just-take half of her space, especially as someone she just met. But she insisted and now here you were, four years later, still living together.

With your combined paychecks, you had been able to move out of her studio apartment to a two-bedroom only a year after you met/started living together, and you were both just scraping by, doing your best to survive in a world that didn't favor you. Evie was a wonderful girl, smart and kind, with a wonderful sense of humor, and wicked ceramic skills. Your favorite thing from her was a beautifully made vase you always made sure to keep stocked with flowers, she had made it for your first birthday in the apartment. You did have to admit, you did cry.

You were just grateful that you had someone, two people in fact, that you cared about so deeply and they felt the same; you wouldn’t trade Evie or Grace for all the riches in the world. They made you feel just-so much less alone than you really were, a girl with no memories of her past other than voices and snow.

You were ripped out of your thoughts and memories as Evie walked into the apartment, sighing heavily as she kicked off her heels and gently threw her backpack onto the couch; before plopping next to you with a raspberry “long day?” you asked, knowing Evie had to work at this boring catering gig about a 10-year anniversary or whatever. She just groaned, leaning into you and hugging your arm.

You laughed gently, squishing your cheek into her head “Long day. I made pasta if you want it? Ravioli~” Evie perked up, opening one eye to get a good look at you “it’s that uh-lobster and ricotta cheese one I bought a few days ago, made some garlic rolls to go with it too”

Evie hummed, realizing the smell of garlic and lobster still waved about in the small space that was known as the living room and kitchen. “yes please” Evie muttered, huffing as you slipped out of her hold to go make her a bowl “Can you get me a Fanta too? Please?”

“Yep yep!” you called back, taking the leftover pasta out and heating it up in the microwave, sticking your hands in your hoodie pockets as Evie went to her room to change, sick of the full black outfit she had been wearing for hours on end. You took out Evie’s preferred pasta sauce and an orange Fanta, getting one for yourself as well; eyeing up the chocolate cake that was inside the fridge before closing it and finishing up Evie’s bowl, setting it on the counter with a re-toasted garlic roll on a paper towel.

“Orders up!” you yelled down the hall, laughing as Evie made a sarcastic laugh, coming back out of her room in a comfortable-looking set of overalls and her hair up. “Thank you (y/n), I really appreciate it, today was just-guh” Evie muttered, giving you a quick hug before collecting her food and drink, plopping back down on the couch to eat.

She un-paused the movie on your laptop and you sat down next to her, the two of you enjoying the near silence as you watched the cheesy vampire “horror” movie you had pulled up. By the end of it the two of you were cheesing it, sharing the small bottles of wine Evie had brought back in the little goodie bag grace had scored.

“I mean, who would be scared of that?” Evie snorted, gesturing to the goofy-looking vampire with obviously fake teeth and horribly done hairline. “man’s looks like Dracula on meth” At this you cracked up, sliding down the couch as Evie smirked in victory, finishing off her bottle before standing up to go wash her bowl “Thanks for dinner (y/n), really” you smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up, sitting up to change the movie as Evie washed up. “I’m gonna do some ‘pottery’” Evie mocked, using air quotes as you rolled your eyes “I said I was sorry, Ceramics~” you teased, having referred to her art as pottery only once and she still made fun of you about it to this day. Evie stuck her tongue out and sat down in her chair, taking a chunk of clay and slapping it down on her table.

You glanced at her as a few minutes later she made a frustrated noise and smushed down the bowl she had been making, pulling it up with the cord and throwing the clay with its ruined brethren. You looked away as she sighed, wiping her forehead. “Please tell me there's more mini-wine bottles in that bag” Evie muttered, standing up and walking over to you, holding her hand out as you grabbed the back and checked.

“Two more” you muttered, handing her the bag and looking away as she muttered thanks and took out one of the two wine bottles “You okay?” Evie shrugged, fiddling with her necklace like she always did when she was feeling alone. “You still have clay on your hands.”

Evie’s eyes widened and she yelped, looking down at her now clay-covered necklace and slamming the wine bottle onto the table, rushing to go wash her hands and necklace. You took a paper towel and cleaned the bottle before setting it back down on the table, resting your feet on the table as Evie walked back in, rubbing her face with her now clean hands.

“You wanna talk about anything?” you asked as she grabbed the wine bottle and the bag, smiling softly as she shook her head “Okay, I'm one doorway away if you need anything, okay?” Evie smiled at you, nodding as she turned to retire to her room “Goodnight Eve”

“Night Anya” you rolled her eyes at her nickname for you, but if fit; you matched the fictionalized Anastasia all too well. You just hoped your story would follow her’s in turn. Soon enough you were going to bed, passing by Evie’s room to hear her mother's voice faintly through the door. You frowned, knowing Evie was feeling just as lost as you did, she had no biological family left, simply floating by in life; just as you were.

You fiddled with the crystal hanging from your neck, thumbing the engraving on the vine “H. Deville” you whispered, sitting on your bed and leaning against the wall. “Just who are you?...who am I for that matter” you muttered to yourself, letting your hands fall and your head flop into your pillow, curling your hands to your chest to hold the necklace close.

“I’m never going to find out who I am” you whispered, feeling a tear roll down your cheek as you fell into a dream-filled sleep of grand parties and a soothing voice in your ear, strong hands holding you close.

-

A week later, you, Grace, and Evie were in the living room, Evie scrolling on her laptop to find a movie while Grace helped herself to some white wine. “Did you ever go out on a date with that bartender guy?” Grace asked, Evie made a gagging noise, sticking her tongue out as you giggled, curling the leather cord of your necklace between your fingers.

“I’m ignoring his texts” Evie muttered, looking back at her laptop screen as she switched over to her email, unable to find anything interesting to watch. Even your cheesy horror movies looked boring. Grace frowned, turning to Evie with a shocked look “why? I thought you said you liked him! Didn’t she (y/n)?”

You nodded, giving Evie a teasing smile as she glared at you for helping Grace mess with her “Yep, she said, and I quote ‘oh he’s cute’~ think I can get his number?’ with a capital c” you said almost proudly, and Evie chuckled a pillow at you, rolling her eyes as you giggled “For someone who doesn’t remember a lick of her past, she’s got our words down pact” Grace laughed, sitting next to Evie as she rolled her eyes and you blew a raspberry at Grace.

“I’m just-not-I can't handle the new York dating scene right now” Evie muttered, sipping at her coffee when her email pinged, Grace agreed with her opinion on the whole dating thing. “it is exhausting” Grace hummed, tilting her head as Evie blinked in surprise at what she found in her email. “What?”

“Yeah, what? You gasped like when you got 500 bucks off that lottery ticket” you asked, repeating Grace’s question as you moved from the love seat to sit on Evie’s other side. “I got a cousin!” Evie proclaimed, leaning back to show you and Grace the screen.

Well, there it was, right on the screen; Evie had a 2nd cousin, Oliver Alexander. “Impossible he’s white as hell” you muttered, laughing as Evie pushed at your shoulder. “What she said, that is the whitest man I’ve ever seen, and he’s British” Grace said with a small laugh, watching as Evie read what Oliver had messaged her.

“He wants to meet up” Evie muttered, licking her lips in thought as Grace choked on her wine “A stranger? On the internet?” Grace said with raised brows, as if the idea was stupid “mm-mm, you’re not doing that” Evie tried to justify it, stuttering on her words as you leaned closer to the laptop, clicking on the ‘family tree’ to see how she was related to this, Oliver.

“He’s family” Grace just gave you a look that said ‘and?’ which made you snort a bit, slapping your hand over your mouth and nose to let Evie go on without making her feel like she was being made fun of; because you both knew how important finding her family was to her.

There was a reason you got along so well, especially after her mom passed away. Evie continued, glancing back at her laptop “And-I don’t have any” Grace hummed, pursing her lips as she looked at Evie, mostly teasing but she didn’t want Evie to walk into something that was only going to get her hurt.

“Oh, so you wanna be catfished? Oh, interesting” Evie let out a small scoff at Grace's playful yet serious words, shrugging a bit as she gestured to Oliver “I mean-look, he’s wearing an ascot. What could he possibly want with my broke ass?”

“Your kidneys?” Grace joked, still kinda serious as you let yourself laugh, Evie rolled her eyes at Grace’s wild guess “That’s probably exactly what this site is, tinder for unassuming organ donors” Evie laughed, shaking her head as she clicked ‘read more’ on Oliver.

“Well, he’s British, they’re all absurdly polite” Evie muttered, pursing her lips as Grace snorted, standing up to move to the love seat. “Yeah cause they’re wracked with colonial guilt! Doesn’t mean you need to mistake that for good manners.” Evie nodded, turning to you; playing with your necklace as you stared off at nothing.

“What do you think I should do?” Evie asked quietly, and Grace leaned forward; because you would know what Evie was going through the best, both of you without families and feeling lost without a map. You hummed, glancing between Oliver and your necklace, before you smiled.

“I think you should meet him, if just to meet him and know you have family. You don’t need to get all-buddy buddy, but-you know” you shrugged, leaning into Evie and resting your cheek on her shoulder “just make sure you meet in a very public place and update us about everything. British or not dude could be dangerous” Evie snorted, patting your head as Grace pointed at you.

“Exactly, if you do go through with this, keep us updated, he’ll make a group chat even.” Evie rolled her eyes again “you keep doin’ that you’re eyes gonna get stuck” Evie stuck her tongue out at grace as she stood to make sure dinner was ready while you leaned forward to check the family tree again, seeing they were related through Evie’s great grandmother Emmaline.

“maybe I should do this, see if I have any family” you muttered and Evie shrugged, playing with her necklace as she glanced between the family tree and Oliver's message.

Finally, she took the laptop from you and clicked the ‘respond to message’ bubble, taking a deep breath before she started to type.

-end of part 1-

 yeeeeeeeeeeee im hyped for this, I've been thinking about it since i first saw the invitation~ just-ah~ inspired by Anastasia, Beauty and the beast, nnnnnnnnn...idk my stupid brain XD

idk who wants to read this soooo no taglist yet? this isnt my Harry Hook stuff so no perm taglist...if anyone wants to be tagged just lemme know i guess?...okay byyyyyyyyyeeee

[beeinahailstorm]

Piglin Culture

Gold:

Gold is not only viewed as Shiny, it's viewed as something that helps protect people. They can't really use netherite from what I can tell, so gold is the only thing Piglins can use to defend themselves.

Non fighters will commonly have earrings or rings, maybe some gold lined clothing if they are upper class. Maybe rich piglins put ancient debris in their earring for that extra Status.

Fighter piglins — so like general piglins and piglin brutes — however tend to have gold necklaces, chains, or bracelets. They will still have rings and earrings, don't get me wrong, but they usually have more concentrated pieces of gold. Piercings are also common because I said so <3

When raids happen it's often that people look at the shiniest person for protection, which can be helpful in blind panic! It also is a good way to show your dominance. Yeah you're invading my bastion, but I am shiner and therefore more protected, get rekted.

Because of the hierarchy of Gold, younger piglins tend to have stud earrings or small loops. These smaller jewels are often unique and have a gemstone. When the piglin grows older, this can be a brand of who they are, like a second name.

Pack dynamics:

Piglins exist between these roles commonly, though they can some what branch out if other things are needed:

Leader

Elders council

Brutes

Soilders

Elders

Craftsmen

Regulars

Teenagers

Younglings

Outcasts

HOWEVER, to different groups the roles might appear differently. Brutes tend to care more about the elderly, young, handymen, and other regular people. Young are on their highest priority! It is often for brutes to be separated from young unless in high stress situations, so they can complete their jobs.

Don't get it twisted, brutes are sweethearts deep down. Just don't mess with their family and you will meet one of the chilliest people in the nether (no pun intended).

Brutes don't really care about their leaders, actually. Piglins who carry out military duty and value leadership are soldiers! They have the same hybrid mind as regulars, just with the added bonus of kicking ass. They highly respect their leaders and the elder council and often get into disputes with brutes over their conflicting instincts. They do however grow bigger due to different environments when being raised, though they definitely aren't as big as the brutes. I would make Techno a soldier or brute class, but whatever one you choose is up to you.

Leaders are pretty self explanatory. With a combination of gold usually worn by civilians and fighters alike, leaders wear long golden robes. Their robes are probably made of the material of the "leaves" of the trees in the nether, because I feel like that would be a hard material to refine. Depending on the climate that also makes their get up different colors. Leaders also can wear heavy armor. Piglin brutes can not be leaders. It goes against their instincts, since in general they don't really care about leading people. Leaders are usually ex soldiers. They are valued for being coldhearted and brutal to enemies, but a guiding firm hand to their bastions.

Leaders and brutes don't always get along, but they have heavy respect for each other. Brutes want the best for their pack, and someone who tells the others what to do and organizes their efforts seems to be the best! If the brutes don't like the leader, there will be no leader 😊.

The elder council is made up of old brutes and soldiers. These individuals have seen many battles and often help the much younger leader with advice and guidance. The elder council also handles legal matters, but the leader acts as the supreme court.

Handymen make the tools, weapons, armor, and clothing of the bastions. Usually the role is tied to a bloodline, but sometimes they can take apprentices from other families or even from outside of the pack. Becoming a handyman after joining a bastion is actually easier than becoming a soldier, since the other role is highly respected and valued.

Handymen are still really important to bastion life though! Mess with a brute or a soldier's favorite armor maker and you will end up six feet under 😀. Often you will have a handymen who gives advice to a general or something because they hear a lot of shit in their shops, man. People just enter the store and think no one is listening.

Regulars are usually lesser handymen, family people, hunters, or merchants. They grow to be smaller and can be easily thrown by brutes. Not that a brute would ever do that. For fun. When bored on a Saturday night. I have no idea what you mean. Just because they are the lowest class do NOT think they are pushovers. They are still piglins and can put up a good fight. Also every family of regular piglins — and handymen for that matter — have a brute assigned to them. Mess with their little found family, and the brute will find you.

Teenagers have their own class divides depending on who they are going to be. Between their young and teen ages is when this role is picked, and afterwards they are raised and trained to be that role. Teenagers are often doing whatever job they are trained to do poorly or goofing off.

Young! Babies! Children! Literally do nothing but look cute and get everything for it. Probably would bite you and get away with it. Hurt a young, and everyone in the bastion will hunt you down <3. Better know where your nether portal is, bitch, it's the only thing saving you right now.

(I would put Tommy under teenager or young depending on the fic. Take that as you will. Like I know most people would make him a young, BUT IMAGINE TECHNO TEACHING HIM HIS TRADE!!! THAT WOULD BE SO CUTE. BRUTE TECHNO BEING LIKE “you are doing good with your cobblestone making stuff” WHILE ABSOLUTELY HATING IT BECAUSE HE MUST SUPPORT??? AMAZING.)

Wait but, what are Phil and Wilbur then:

Okay, listen. As I said, piglins can have other roles. Wilbur fits both the elder and regular role in my eyes, so Techno would probably view Will with respect, but also view him as someone to be protected for the good of the pack and not because of status.

Phil? He’s probably a leader to Techno! That could have a funky dynamic if Techno is a brute, because his instincts don’t give a shit about Phil, but it’s fucking Phil, man. Techno has to listen to him smh. I love the concept of Techno telling Phil his hybrid brain considers him an elder just to mess with him. “Phil. Phil, look, I’m not saying anything, but the little voice inside my head — well one of them — tells me you’re old. That voice has never led me astray. I think you should lie down,,, for a couple of years.”

Honorable mention, but when Tommy grows up, I heavily see him in the soldier role. He respects authority and is eager to fight, it’s so him. I feel like this implies that Tommy would be the soldier under Wilbur who is his leader, so you could also write a fic where Techno feels like crimeboys have left his pack and made their own. Betrayal,,,,

Another honorable mention, Ranboo. Ranboo is totally a teenager right now, but when he grows older? Probably a Regular.

Displays of Affection (we know why this is here):

Cleaning. IRL pigs are some of the cleanest animals. If they clean your house for you, it means they care. This can also tie over to sharpening your swords or even taking care of your animals.

Resource sharing. Sharing is caring, literally. If someone shares food, clothing, or weapons with you, it means they trust you! Water is a heavily limited resource in the nether, so if a piglin shares water with you assume they would die for you.

Headbutts. Need I say more?

Brutes really hate being thrown off their Duties, but young and teens are 100% allowed to infodump the more boring shit to them. I see many a bedrock bros moment with this.

Music. When everything is on fire, you rarely have time for some sick lofi beats. Sharing music with someone is a way to show that you are completely relaxed with that person and have your guard down around them.

Piglins don’t actually like hugs and cuddles as much after a certain age. Not that they hate it, it just isn’t their most common way of saying “I love you.” They will put up with it for other cultures.

MENTIONED BY A FRIEND, BUT CUTENESS AGGRESSION AND CAIN INSTINCT!!! I could see brutes getting in trouble because of biting a young </3. Techno would smack Tommy upside the head (affectionate). Though, Tommy would probably bite back, and he has rabies.

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This is over 1k words, so will stop writing … for now. If you want to see me infodump about bird culture then SMASH THE LIKE BUTTON AND HIT SUBCRIBE/j/j/j/j