#ownership kin

[shittykinaesthetics]

Shitty Boss aesthetic: so when men are shitty capitalists who manipulate the masses and kill a few people, you all start blorboposting, but when she/her coins do it... sports fans are so fucking misogynistic it’s disgusting

[rqs-arcade]

🕹️ ⸻ fox/ren hana & toga himiko moodboard

ft; red/black/pink, yancore/lovecore, knives, ownership, cats/foxes, stereotypical kawaii aesthetics

[mothslimes]

honestly do not get comfort characters any character is a discomfort character to me i look at them and get really uneasy and it physically hurts and i wanna hide in a cave curled around them like a dog for the rest of my life and never see sunlight again. is that a thought you guys find comforting?

[frogchiro]

Dear Kin,

Do you think Nikto makes his sweet nurse wear a blindfold during sex? He doesn't want her seeing his face and being grossed out :((

Also... what kind of dirty talk would this man say during coitus? Pre-coitus? Post-coitus?

I also HC him as having some very very very deep mommy issues because of his upbringing (he's not gonna show it please my boobs in his mouth)

This is me, a slavic girl writing about a disgusting slavic man bc yeah and I love this :(( I hoarded this ask just bc I love this so much so I'm sorry to keep you waiting nonnie ;;

Honestly? Nikto is the type to dirty talk all the time and it's so out of pocket he'll leave you like???

Nikto is a...specific man; he's deeply troubled and traumatised with more issues than fingers but on the other hand he's a absolutely nasty and perverted man with absolutely no filter, that of course includes dirty talk. Likes to randomly get close to you and growl in that low gravely voice about how he wants to cum all over you, make you walk all day with his thick sperm on your skin so he knows that even if you're out of the house you're still marked as his.

I like to think that Nikto's dirty talk is based mostly on the idea of ownership and possession. Due to his mommy issues (and daddy issues too tbh because I imagine his father leaving when he was young but old enough to remember and then he had to suffer his mother's wrath because she blamed him as the cause why his father left since he was an 'oops baby') he has the almost pathological need to keep 'his' things, that includes people too, as close as he can and hates sharing.

But yes, Nikto is also someone who, simply put, is a boobs in my mouth guy😭 He adores the idea of you all soft and pregnant with his baby and although he doesn't necessary wants the baby part (he believes he's too old and scarred to give you a baby) he still is obsessed with you being all heavy and dependent on him; just the knowledge that he was the cause of it, that he was the one who helped making the cub kicking in your belly and tying you to him in the most primal way just gets him going like nothing else </3

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

How would the suitors reaction be when their wife ( Crewle daughter) is pregnant with triplets? And meeting the kids after birth?

With Ruggie, Jack, Lions, Malleus, Silver, Trey, Vil and Ace

Triplets Are Here | Yandere Twisted Wonderland Crewel Daughter

Ruggie Bucci

“What can I say I’m a beast in bed!” 

He’s not going to act like it even could have been inherited to you

He’s got a whole new air of confidence

Not only does he have the woman of his dreams 

But he knocked her up times three

Hopefully that will squash anyone else’s delusions about being with you

Either way he doesn’t mind getting rid of them the old fashioned way

“Awww they look like we had babies! Oh wait-”

“Just focus on feeding that one.”

“Yes Mama!” 

Jack Howl

“...!”

“Jack?”

“!!!!”

“Jack?!”

“!!!!”

“If you faint now, I won’t catch you!”

This is the best news 

A strong litter, a perfect mate

He’s protecting his already larger than average pack

“Back away or I will not hesitate to end your life. I’ve got four lives to protect now.”

Leona Kingscholar

“Geez…three?”

“Don’t make that face.”

“What face? I’m just surprised you took me so well.”

He has mixed feelings about it

Especially when he’s catering to you as your belly swells to an almost unbelievable size

And you groan in pain

“Why don’t the brats just get here. I hate seeing you in pain.”

He’s heard of other lions so jealous they kill their kin

But as he holds the little bundles he can’t begin to fathom it

He might just cry

Malleus Draconia

“If you and I were not made for each other, theres noway this could be.”

He’s ecstatic 

But the entirety of Briar Valley and the world around you must be made to cater to you

Devoted to your comfort and health above all else 

he even struggles to let Crewel see you

“Nothing will ever hurt my loves. My babes. My wive. I’d curse the world for you.”

Genocide Murder spree ensues should there be any pain or assassination attempts

No one’s so much as flicking you 

He’d sooner rend them to ash

Silver

“Three…at the same time…?”

“Yes so we’ll have to get three times the baby equipment and–Silver?”

“Three…in…you?”

He’s barely processing any of it 

Even when he’s practically carrying the four of you as you waddle places

“Our babies…”

“Aren’t they precious they have your eyes!”

“M-m-my eyes-? Agh-!”

“Its okay babe this is a good time to cry.”

“H-how did Dad do it!? I-I’m never letting any of you leave me!”

Any protective traits are amplified even higher

And if there was ever a time he refused to kill anyone in his pursuit for love

That has long since past

Trey Clover 

“Well I did always say I wanted a big family!”

He’s thrilled to see your tummy rounding with his children

All while you incessantly demand for his sweets and cooking

And he’s jumping to his tooth brush after a rough morning 

But its all made even better when they arrive

Little mixes of his love and himself 

“They’ll have the cutest little teeth!”

He definitely saves them when they get older

But he’s the perfect papa

Poisoned sweets and all

Vil Schoenheit

“We’ll be parents…is that registering?”

“Barely. When we agreed to marry I doubted ever moving further than that.”

“Does it make you unhappy?”

“Not in the slightest.”

He’s brimming with anxiety 

Worry eating away as he contemplates his own jealousy and the excitement of having a  child

It doesn’t become much easier when the triplets arrive

He despises the paparazzi 

So much so he’s willing to set his rabid fans on them

Purge them of every photo of his adorable babes

He’s the only one who gets the honor

A dazzling photo of your delivery is only for his eyes

Doxx the peeping toms

“They’re all mine. I’m willing to lose everything for them.”

Ace Trappola

“Dang! I really am amazing–Ow! Joking, joking.”

He couldn’t be happier

What better way to prove his love ownership of the sexiest woman alive if it weren’t for the giant round belly you had

And soon to be three little rascals that are further testaments of his status

He’ll whine about things 

Probably more than you 

But in the end he’s glowing with pride as you look down at your freshly born babies

“Ehehe they can’t deny that I may have children for days but I’ve got game.”

[city-of-ladies]

Genmei (661-721) was Japan's fourth empress regnant. She was Empress Jitō's half-sister and her match in terms of ambition and political skills. Her rule was characterized by a development of culture and innovations. 

Ruling after her son

Like Jitō (645-703), Genmei was the daughter of Emperor Tenji but was born from a different mother. Jitō was both her half-sister and mother-in-law since Genmei had married the empress’ son, Prince Kusakabe (662-689). She had a son with him, Emperor Monmu (683-707). 

Kusakabe died early and never reigned, which led to Jitō's enthronement. The empress was then succeeded by her grandson Monmu. The latter’s reign was short. In his last will, he called for his mother to succeed him in accordance with the “immutable law” of her father Tenji. Genmei accepted. 

Steadfast and ambitious 

Genmei was made from the same mold as her half-sister. She proved to be a fearless sovereign, undeterred by military crises. 

She pursued Jitō's policies, strengthening the central administration and keeping the power in imperial hands. Among her decisions were the proscription of runaway peasants and the restriction of private ownership of mountain and field properties by the nobility and Buddhist temples. 

Another of her achievements was transferring the capital at Heijō-kyō (Nara) in 710, turning it into an unprecedented cultural and political center. Her rule saw many innovations. Among them were the first attempt to replace the barter system with the Wadō copper coins, new techniques for making brocade twills and dyeing and the settlement of experimental dairy farmers.

A protector of culture

Genmei sponsored many cultural projects. The first was the Kojiki, written in 712 it told Japan’s history from mythological origins to the current rulers. In its preface, the editor Ō no Yasumaro praised the empress:

“Her Imperial Majesty…illumines the univers…Ruling in the Purple Pavillion, her virtue extends to the limit of the horses’ hoof-prints…It must be saif that her fame is greater than that of Emperor Yü and her virtue surpasses that of Emperor Tang (legendary emperors of China)”.

In 713, she ordered the local governments to collect local legends and oral traditions as well as information about the soil, weather, products and geological and zoological features. Those local gazetteers (Fudoki) were an invaluable source of Japan’s ancient tradition.

Several of Genmei’s poems are included in the Man'yōshū anthology, including a reply by one of the court ladies. 

Listen to the sounds of the warriors' elbow-guards;

Our captain must be ranging the shields to drill the troops.

– Genmei Tennō

Reply:

Be not concerned, O my Sovereign;

Am I not here,

I, whom the ancestral gods endowed with life,

Next of kin to yourself

– Minabe-hime

From mother to daughter 

Genmei abdicated in 715 and passed the throne to her daughter, empress Genshō (680-748) instead of her sickly grandson prince Obito. This was an unprecedented situation, making the Nara period the pinnacle of female monarchy in Japan. 

Genmei would oversee state affairs until she died in 721. Before her death, she shaved her head and became a nun, becoming the first Japanese monarch to take Buddhist vows and establishing a long tradition.

Feel free to check out my Ko-Fi if you like what I do! Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Further reading

Shillony Ben-Ami, Enigma of the Emperors Sacred Subservience in Japanese History

Tsurumi Patricia E., “Japan’s early female emperors”

Aoki Michiko Y., "Jitō Tennō, the female sovereign",in: Mulhern Chieko Irie (ed.), Heroic with grace legendary women of Japan

[dragonfiremagic]

Slay AU <3 I love ur ideas and I enjoy helping u with them

The radiant Kin her name is Yura, shes sorta an oc/AU idea i made My idea behind her concept is that she's an offspring of The Radiance as a last resort plan to preserve herself and attempt to continue Hallownest's infection. However, Yurai will defy her blood by helping the people of Hallownest instead. Her campaign takes place after HK's Dream No More true ending. She is unaware that she is related to a vengeful Goddess that destroyed everything and is the catalyst for the infection. Upon coming across Hallownest and seeing it in its ruined state, she soon wishes to help the people restore the fallen kingdom and goes on an adventure despite her mediocre fighting skills. She is distrusted by most, but still wishes to help them out the best she can anyway, fully unaware of her origin. She slowly does discover the truth in the end, although she chooses to defy her mother, now carrying the burden of knowing the suffering caused by her own cursed blood. She becomes bitterly spiteful of her parent and gains even more determination to help rebuild the ruined kingdom from its ancient remains.

me and my bestie @dragonfiremagic were discussing a lot about this

[astrologyaware777]

Keywords for the houses

1st house

Brother and sister - especially the 1st sibling

♦️Early childhood

♦️coordination- motor or physical

Mars placements are the best drivers , Aries, mars , 1st house degrees, etc

♦️Death of aunts and uncles +7th house

♦️Employees

♦️Incarnation, birth



♦️Long and short journeys

♦️Attitude

♦️acne

♦️Common people- communities, general character of

♦️Death and legacies of ones enemies

♦️Friends of brothers and sisters

♦️Length of one’s life

♦️Consciousness-public

♦️The way someone walks

♦️Stepchildren- mentality, contracts, short journeys, physical strength of them

♦️Mannerisms, opinions

♦️Grandparents + 7th house

♦️Head, skull

♦️Ambition, assertiveness

♦️Initiation

♦️temperament

♦️New ventures

♦️Sunrise

2nd house

⚜️Ancestors

⚜️Banks, cash, earnings

⚜️Death of partner

⚜️Stepchildren

⚜️Vocal cords

⚜️Friends of the family

⚜️Illness of one’s grandchildren

⚜️Legacies of marriage partner

⚜️Ones moral growth

⚜️Nephew and nieces- death and legacy

⚜️Parent, parent Inlaw, step parent

Of the opposite sex of the native

⚜️Possessions of all kinds

⚜️Safe and places things are kept——

⚜️Secret thoughts & desires, ones security

⚜️Ownership

⚜️Loss or gain, financial

( love affairs- publicity given to ones material possessions)

⚜️Giving and receiving

3rd house

🪶Automobiles, bicycling, boating-boat trips

🪶Broadcast, bookkeepers

🪶Cleverness

🪶Signing contracts, critics

🪶Dexterity

🪶Enemies of the father

🪶Every day environment (environment of family)

🪶Gossip, grandchildren through stepchildren

🪶Hands, highways

🪶Kin, memory, and loss of memory

 🪶letters, literature, libraries

🪶Mental inclinations

🪶Perception

🪶Person sharing a home

🪶Publications, radio, and television broadcast

🪶Railways, rail Road

🪶Running, rumours, river, transportation, tests

🪶Visiting, vocal cords, treaties

Next 4-8

Signs Aries to Pisces

Planets

[vxmpyrate]

Petals - a Klance Fic

I’ve finally posted the first chapter of my tattoo parlor/flower shop klance fic to AO3

Summary:

The McClain family has been a staple in Garrison city for generations. Owning a small botanical shop on the corner of the busiest street, their family is well known and loved by their community. For generations, the responsibility and ownership of the shop gets passed down to one of the next of kin.

This year, Lance is being given the responsibility to uphold the McClain family name by taking ownership of the shop from his parents, and making the shop prosper for the years to come.

-

Keith Kogane, coming from a small city in Texas, has just graduated college with a degree in arts, and his next step is one he’s unsure of. His brother, Shiro, had told him about this tattoo shop in his city, one that’s located on the corner of a fairly busy street, and he thought it would be a good idea for him to check it out.

So, after a couple of online interviews with the owner of the shop, Allura, Keith had packed his things up and moved across the country to live near his brother and work as a paid apprentice as a tattoo artist.

TLDR: Tattoo artist Keith/Botanist Lance

If you like it, please make sure to leave kudos, it helps a lot

I’ll be posting updates regularly, and the chapters will release whenever I get to them :)

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Has anyone noticed the similarities between Sauron and Gollum in “Rings of Power”?

Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don’t know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum. The Hobbit

Riddles were all he could think of. Asking them, and sometimes guessing them, had been the only game he had ever played with other funny creatures sitting in their holes in the long, long ago, before he lost all his friends and was driven away, alone, and crept down, down, into the dark under the mountains. The Hobbit

They cursed us. 'Murderer', they called us. They cursed us, and drove us away. And we wept, precious. We wept to be so alone. And we forgot the taste of bread, the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name. Return of the King (2003)

“What a pity Bilbo did not stab that vile creature when he had the chance!”

“Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity."

“He deserves death"

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end, and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many--yours not least"

Fellowship of the Ring, Shadow of the Past

The “my precious” face:

Gollum looked at them. A strange expression passed over his lean hungry face. The gleam faded from his eyes, and they went dim and grey, old and tired. A spasm of pain seemed to twist him, and he turned away, peering back up towards the pass, shaking his head, as if engaged in some interior debate. Then he came back, and slowly putting out a trembling hand, very cautiously he touched Frodo’s knee – but almost the touch was a caress. For a fleeting moment, could one of the sleepers have seen him, they would have thought that they beheld an old weary hobbit, shrunken by the years that had carried him far beyond his time, beyond friends and kin, and the fields and streams of youth, an old starved pitiable thing.” The Two Towers

This is not random, because not only Sméagol was corrupted by the One Ring (Gollum), but he was also captured and tortured by Sauron himself for information in Barad-dûr (Mordor) to learn who had the One Ring, in the Third Age (in the books, Sauron is not a giant eye ball on the top of a tower).

However, Sauron let him go (instead of killing him), which is odd not only by Sauron’s standards, but because Gollum knew Sauron’s plans, and releasing him would be a terrible risk (especially for a being as secretive as Sauron). And indeed it was, because it allowed Gandalf to know that Sauron was planning to use the Nazgûl to get the One Ring, and that he was aware that Bilbo had it, and the Nine Riders were headed for the Shire.

However, that’s what Sauron does. And why? Tolkien himself answered, in the Unfinished Tales: Sauron saw something on Gollum.

“He [Sauron] did not trust Gollum, for he divined something indomitable in him, which could not be overcome, even by the Shadow of Fear, except by destroying him.”

What did Sauron see? We don’t know, because Tolkien does not say. Only that Gollum made him uneasy, and he was not able to discern why.

Some theorize that Sauron might have seen Eru’s plan for Gollum in the creature (he would be the one to take the One and cast into the fire), and couldn’t kill him by “divine intervention”. To me, this theory doesn’t make much sense, because if this was what Sauron saw, why release Gollum, in the first place? Why not keep him a prisoner in Mordor to prevent this from happening?

Others say that Sauron did not trust Gollum but knew he would seek out the One Ring, and he could use this to his advantage, and that’s why he let him go. This is more likely, but still doesn’t explain why Gollum stir something in him.

And it seems that “Rings of Power” might be exploring this angle by giving Sauron some Gollum inspo. Which might mean that Sauron shared a recognition with Gollum. Which makes sense, since the he was corrupted by the One Ring, which holds a part of Sauron’s soul.

This makes me wonder, if we’ll get a scene like this in future seasons:

Frodo looked straight into Gollum's eyes which flinched and twisted away. 'You know that, or you guess well enough, Sméagol,' he said quietly and sternly. 'We are going to Mordor, of course. And you know the way there, I believe.' 'Ach! sss!' said Gollum, covering his ears with his hands, as if such frankness, and the open speaking of the names, hurt him. Two Towers

Frodo's calling Gollum by his true name has opened a door within him that had long been shut. It’s Gandalf that tells Frodo Gollum’s real name in the chapter The Shadow of the Past in “Fellowship of the Ring”.

Gandalf uses the name “Sméagol” in the past, never in the present (he calls him “Gollum”): this establishes a duality between the two names: Sméagol vs. Gollum. Pretty much the same as Mairon vs. Sauron. Sméagol is the “forgotten things” of Gollum’s past; like Mairon the Admirable is to Sauron. Gandalf admits he has hope that “Gollum can be cured before he dies”, meaning redeemed. This was Halbrand in Season 1; the Repentant Mairon.

Frodo, by addressing Gollum as Sméagol, evokes (or hopes to) the memory of these “forgotten things” (like Gandalf told him). Of course, Gollum is far into his corruption (being a ring-bearer to the One for over 500 years), for a mere evocation of his true name to redeem him, however, it could open the door to the hope of.

Indeed Gollum himself makes the distinction between the two: “Don't ask Sméagol. Poor, poor Sméagol, he went away long ago. They took his Precious, and he's lost now.” Or “No precious, no Sméagol”. In Gollum’s mind, “Sméagol” was lost not with the murder of Déagol centuries before, but when he lost the One to Bilbo.

In the Peter Jackson adaptation, this scene translated into this:

Frodo: Who are you? Gollum: Musn't ask us. Not his business, gollum, gollum. Frodo: Gandalf told me you were one of the river-folk. Gollum: Cold be heart and hand and bone, cold be travellers far from home. Frodo: He said your life was a sad story. Gollum: They do not see what lies ahead, when sun has failed and moon is dead. Frodo: You were not so different from a Hobbit once, were you... Sméagol? Gollum: What did you call me? Frodo: That was your name once, wasn't it? A long time ago. Gollum: My... my name. Sméagol....

In Season 2, it was Gandalf who had to earned his name via finding his staff. His character arc parallels Sauron’s in “Rings of Power”, which makes me wonder if his real name (Mairon) might come into play in Season 3.

Especially since we had so many mentions of him having “many names” in “Rings of Power”, already.

Which raises another question: did he, like Gollum, forgot his real name?

But who could come into play in this scene? The character who’s paralleling Frodo and Bilbo, of course: Galadriel.

[musingsinmiddleearth]

Honestly, I do get part of Eöl's perspective when he is snubbing Turgon in the court of Gondolin. "No right have you or any of your kin this land to seize realms or set bounds... this is the land of the Teleri, to which you bring war and all unquiet, dealing ever proudly and unjustly."

After all, by what right did the Noldor have kingdoms here? They did just show up out of the West and take lands for their own, and it was by their judgement that they decided the lands already occupied by the Teleri were "sufficiently respected". If a Teleri could no longer roam the lands freely (for example when Eöl was waylaid by the host of Curufin) has not some injustice occurred?

Counterpoint: the Noldor and Teleri were of course kindreds, so it is somewhat stingy to play ownership over lands and holdings. Beleriand was, after all, home of the Quendi long before there was Orc and Dwarf and Man to stake claim to any part of it. Is it not fair that the Teleri be expected to share space with the Noldor, their long-time friends and allies?

Counter-counterpoint: did not the Noldor give up the right to kinship and closeness to the Teleri at the Kinslaying? Can you claim that alliance means something when you have a history of readily slaying your allies at the first convenience?

This is a lot of rhetorical questions, but my point is that Eöl was onto something. The Noldor colonised and made kingdoms as though they had a right to do so, and did not show any humility in this endeavour at any point. Even were their attitude different, with the same actions, it might have been more palatable and acceptable.

[slocumjoe]

what the companions get canceled for

Ada; thinks lost and found is a freebie box, will walk into your home if the garage door is open and try to haggle for your shit

Cait; The new Giddyup Buttercups just released, a riot broke out in the store, she emerged the winner. because, y'know. she was fighting moms and their children

Codsworth; assault (ferociously wiping bbq sauce off a strangers face)

Curie; chasing anti-vax protesters with disease samples on q-tips

Danse; slurs

Deacon; the most insane kin drama you have ever seen unfold

Dogmeat; peed on a prized show poodle at the park

Gage; exotic animal ownership and driving a truck that is holding on with duct tape and a prayer. no one finds out about the...other things

Hancock; went to Nuka World, popped some bad, expired chems, and spent a week living in the walls of the attractions, planning an assassination on Cappy

MacCready; chasing anti-vax protesters with knives

Nick; exiled by the Italian community for how he makes spaghetti in the microwave (he's a busy man, it's convenient, it tastes the same, what's the fuss about?)

Old Longfellow; sport hunter

Strong; rushes the stage at a production of Cats and attacks the actors ("Bustopher Jones~, is not skin and bones~, in fact, he's remarkably fa—AAAAAAAAAA–")

Piper; the most insane twitter political hot take thread you have ever seen unfold

Preston; broke HOA rules to start a community garden and sicced children on the HOA board members

X6-88; the only HOA board member that's willing to throw children into traffic if it means digging up Preston's illegal green beans

[dandelion-wings]

Finally from the second whumptober list: October 29 ownership/branding - any character BUT the branding/ownership has to be something they're doing to protect the other person / Brand Or Die

Thank you for lighting my brain on fire with this one, holy shit. Sorting out who I would do it with was really the hardest part, there's so much potential, especially delving into AUs, but I think this was the best canon option and of course you knew it was coming because I could not shut up. XD

---

Xiao is not surprised by the attack. He had not known its time or its place, but the fact of it had been inevitable. Morax and his yaksha generals cannot shelter him forever.

He is alone on the training field, practicing in the generals' absence. They are on the battlefield, serving Morax against his enemies. Xiao should be there too, but Morax has deemed him not yet fit--had dismissed him when he presented himself among the yaksha on the battle's eve, telling him that he must mend completely before he enters the fight in his savior's name. So all Xiao can do is train until he regains the strength he lost after his hated last master's defeat, and hope for Morax's swift approval of his efforts.

The attackers, it seems, mean to give him no chance to try and repay his debt on the field of battle. It is not only Morax whom he owes a debt to, after all. That debt is one of gratitude; the one that he owes these people is one of guilt.

It's because of both debts that he doesn't fight back. While the Millelith are on the field of battle too, some of these are Morax's people: injured soldiers or yaksha who have been held back as Xiao was, or civilians inexpertly wielding weapons or expertly wielding tools of the farmers' trade. They are under Morax's protection, and it would be unbearably shameful to harm them. The others may not be under his guardianship, may be bound to other gods, but they are people Xiao has wronged, too. From their resentment alone he knows these are the comrades and kin of the many righteous souls he was once forced to slaughter.

He does retreat, step by step, lifting his spear only to block strikes with the shaft, ducking or side-stepping others. Not all are so easily turned away. By the time he's backed up to the wall of the training grounds, he's already covered with dozens of minor wounds, cuts and bruises and gouges where borrowed blades or swinging hoes found their mark. His attackers crowd in, and there's no longer room to sidestep--not without bowling over the teary-eyed, half-grown child on his left, or the fierce-faced old woman to his right.

A one-armed yaksha right in front of him wrenches his spear from his hands with her good arm. "My whole division," she hisses, eyes glowing with fury, "every one of them."

"My father," the child says, fierce-faced through his tears, and, "My daughter," says the woman. Xiao tilts his head back as the yaksha spins the spear, feeling the weight of their massed resentment seizing at his throat. He doesn't wish to die. If he had, Morax's hand, outheld, would not have been such a blessing. But he knows that he deserves it, that Morax's act had been an unthinkable grace.

As his own spear is leveled against him, Xiao tilts his head back, baring his throat. Then there's a sudden clatter from the gates to the right, and a sudden scramble amid the outraged group, and then Bosacius is in amid them, roaring remonstrations, flinging the yaksha who'd taken his spear from him to the ground. Xiao sags against the wall, lets his head fall, and closes his eyes.

He should feel grateful for this rescue, as he had for Morax's outstretched hand. Yet the unsatisfied resentment all around him grinds against his soul like broken glass.

---

Morax stands before an assembly of allies just as furious as he is, even if none of them can shake the ground with their rage. Their alliance is a precarious one, for Celestia has made clear that only one with power of their scope can be left alive at the end of its holy war. Just as Morax has built a seal against the thought of that when he sits in peaceful moments with Guizhong, he typically walls it away when dealing with these allies.

How they cope he does not know. All of them are in agreement as to how gods should treat their mortal dependents; thus they have agreed to remain allied until circumstances leave them no other choice. Right now, though, the ire crackling between them makes him wonder if at least one is contemplating an earlier break.

"I will not *punish* my people for attempting to do what you already should have done," says that most furious god, smoke swirling about their ashen form.

(Three years from now one of their own yaksha, much-beloved, will die in a stratagem Morax devises, and they will be crushed beneath Azhdaha's power when they try to assassinate Morax in revenge. Morax will make contracts with all of their remaining yaksha who do not follow their lead, and eventually all those who survive the War and its aftermath will willingly perish in the Chasm, redeeming that ancient breach.)

"They have already suffered enough," says another, more reasonable, whose grainy skin crunches at every movement. "I am willing to forbid them from another such attempt, but punishment will only harden their resentment."

(Five years from now he will sacrifice himself to guard his people's retreat from Osial, begging Bonanus to carry his plea that Morax take on his people's care. Morax will accept that final contract, and they will become fishers and sailors, the ones whose knowledge helps build Liyue Harbor when the Guili Plains flood.)

Nails that glitter like clearwater jade flash as the third gestures wordlessly to the God of Sand, silently echoing his sentiments.

(Eleven years from now she will depart in silence and fade away, pouring herself into the waters of Lisha, willing to diminish herself to avoid Celestia's edict and in the end losing all recognizable sense of who she once was. Morax will allow her people to build a shrine to her by the waters, and long after they have forgotten he will go now and then himself to burn incense to her memory.)

The God of Ash is not content with the conciliation--and it is conciliation; Morax can see the narrowed gem-like eyes and the stiffness of restraint--of the other two. They start forward, eyes flashing like embers. "What right did you have in the first place, Morax, to spare him? It was never only your people that he slaughtered. My own territory was also on *that* god's borders, and was just as much a battlefront! Yaksha I loved killed or dismembered at his hand, whole villages of mine lost to his appetite for dreams, and you let him live without even asking us?"

"Morax is not the first to have seized an enemy's yaksha as spoils of their defeat," Guizhong says, but even her calming smile and pointed look cannot soothe the smoke swelling out and beginning to fill the room.

Morax lets the ground shudder again beneath his feet. "I made a contract with Alatus. Whatever you may think I should have done, I cannot break it now."

"No," says the God of Sand, before the smoke can begin to choke them or the floor itself crack. "But your contracts with your yaksha require them only to defend *your* people from harm. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask that in this case, you require of him another, asking that all of ours be safe as well."

The God of Shells nods, ornaments of noctilucous jade and coral chiming in her hair. "And we will witness its making."

"Very well."

By Bosacius' report, Xiao had already refused to harm their people, not only Morax's own. The request isn't only reasonable; he doesn't doubt that his newest yaksha will welcome it. He has seen the weight of guilt in Xiao's eyes already. Had he not demanded his service in repayment for sparing his life, he doubts Xiao would ever have risen from where he knelt the moment after his last master's death, offering himself up to Morax's spear.

"And I will invoke another contract," the God of Ash says, "since you value those more than you value our goodwill. The one between us dictates the punishment of those of your underlings who without provocation harm our own. It does not limit that harm to what is done in your service. I will allow my comrades to let him off lightly, as he is no longer *that* god's yaksha, but at the very least, you will make clear that he is now yours."

"How so?" asks Guizhong, her gaze sharp, as she puts a gentle hand on Morax's arm.

"By inscribing both your first contract and this second directly into his flesh. I could demand his death!" they hiss before Morax can roar his denial. "If you agree to all our terms, I will be merciful, and demand only this."

This time, the floor does crack, tiles parting in twain. Yet Morax can feel the clauses of the contract draw tight as the God of Ash invokes them, binding him more firmly than any rope. It is his will that spoke them into being; it is his power that goes with them if he breaks them from within.

"Very well," he says, and this time it is not a polite concession, but a dragon's angry growl, resonating within the smoke.

---

Morax is angry, and Xiao does not know why.

He outlines the terms of the contracts he is bound by, and has no choice but to bind Xiao by in turn, in a voice that drops now and then into a growl. So, too, does the ground shake beneath him as he does. Xiao had dropped to his knees the moment he entered Morax's presence, and so he does not stumble and lose his footing, but each little tremor makes him bow his head lower, useless as it seems to appease this rumbling rage.

However it might show around them, though, Morax restrains it enough to touch Xiao only gently, his grip firm but not at all tight. He raises Xiao's chin as if he's handling some precious object, and forces Xiao to meet his eyes. Xiao resists the urge to close them. This is Morax's will.

"Do you agree to this contract?" Morax asks.

Xiao is confused by the question, but he has been asked for an answer. "As my lord wishes," he says, lowering his gaze, since Morax's hold on him prevents him from bowing his head.

The ground shakes again, harder. His answer has not softened his god's anger either. But Morax's grip stays perfectly steady, not tightening one iota. "Then we will go and have it witnessed," he says in a voice like a mountain readying an avalanche.

---

There are no other witnesses but the other three gods and Guizhong at his side. Morax would have fought for that if he had to. Xiao could be a great general of yaksha someday, should his spirit mend from the damage done to it, and Morax would not have those he might lead witness his torment. Not even his other generals, who have taken Xiao under their wing; Guizhong had whispered that it might be better for them not to witness it either, for the sake of Xiao's pride.

Pride is not something Xiao's wounded spirit is capable of, but she isn't wrong. That will come with mending. Morax would not have him look back then and feel this shames him in front of those who wish to welcome him as their brother-in-arms.

Xiao strips to the waist without hesitation when Morax instructs him to bare his skin. He starts to drop to his knees, to bow his head. The God of Ash demands that he stand.

"I need a more stable surface," Morax says.

Turning his back to Morax, Xiao says, "I will be so for my lord."

His spine is a straight line of determination, but for all the firmness in his voice, it comes out flat. The resentment swirling around this room is strong enough that even Morax can feel it; a yaksha, far more sensitive, must feel deeply oppressed. A god's resentment is a powerful thing, and these three carry not just their own wounds but those of all their followers.

"Very well," Morax says, with the weight of the contract he's forging, and raises his hand to draw it across the small of Xiao's back.

The first stroke runs at an angle across Xiao's spine. His skin shivers under Morax's stroke. Power flows with it, out of Morax's fingertips and into his flesh, twisting and hardening it, leaving a raised thick line that isn't a burn but twists like one into a keloid scar. Unlike a scar, Morax knows it still aches with the weight of his power. Such alteration of flesh only slowly becomes bearable, and never entirely loses its feeling.

Aside from the involuntary twitch, Xiao does not move at all. He stares straight ahead. From behind Morax can't see his face. He wouldn't be surprised if it's impassive; Xiao's tendency towards stoicism has been clear since his first day in Morax's keeping.

Without raising his fingertips from Xiao's skin, he draws the next line, shorter, slanted upwards in the other direction. The keloid lines left behind are reddened, but darkening quickly to rusted brown. When they finally heal, they'll be amber. Morax has inscribed contracts in this way before. All of the previous have been upon the unwilling.

Three more lines, each shorter than the last, all connected together in one folding triangular shape. A contract such as this does not need to be inscribed in words to be binding. Not when it's Morax's power that makes it such. The stamp of Geo is all that is necessary, and will double, for the God of Ash's satisfaction, as a brand.

Morax raises his hand a few inches. "So," he says, a dragon's growl, letting the floor shake for a second while there's no risk it will make Xiao stumble and mar the pattern. "That affirms the first contract. I will begin the second."

Words, clauses, careful phrasings pile up in his mind, stones building the unyielding wall that will bar Xiao from harming the people of any allied gods. Morax sets his fingertips back against Xiao's skin.

---

The God of Ash is staring at Xiao with a hunger that is both like and unlike Xiao's previous master. *That* god had delighted in the pain Xiao caused others, sometimes demanding he drag prisoners into the court and dispose of them exactly as instructed, slowly and exactingly or swiftly and messily at turns. When the whim had struck and no prisoners were at hand, Xiao had also suffered for that delight. There is something of that in this god's burning eyes.

It isn't, though, quite the same. Xiao doesn't dare to meet that gaze, knows it would only offend further; instead he fixes his own on the far wall, looking past all three of Morax's allies. He stills himself as he had stilled himself when his previous master had looked around the court for someone to enact that suffering upon. He has never been certain how to act under torture. If he stood impassive, his past master had made it worse in order to draw out a reaction; when he let it show too early, the punishment for weakness had been just as bad. But staying expressionless when he was doling it out always seemed to bore that god faster, just a little, so that he had to inflict slightly less pain to those he killed.

Morax is the god of Geo. Xiao hopes that a stone face is what he wants.

The first line feels like a wall dropped upon the base of his spine. It's only his control of Anemo that keeps Xiao from gasping. He pulls air in and out, slow and steady, as Morax continues the pattern.

Pain is familiar. That doesn't make it any less unpleasant, but it does make it easier to bear. What hangs heavier on Xiao's shoulders is the weight of resentment in the room. That of his attackers' has been festering in his chest since that failed attack, dragging at each breath. Having their gods before him, the focus of all their angry prayers, increases that weight tenfold.

The weight of all his sins. Those angry prayers are pleas for a justice that Morax has chosen to exempt him from. Xiao knows that he deserves even more punishment than this.

But *Morax* has chosen to exempt him. And by doing so, he has taken any choice away from Xiao. All Xiao can do is the will of his new master, the one who spared him in battle, the one who gave him a name, the one who took his service in exchange. It is Morax's will that he lives. The contract Morax is inscribing upon his flesh is its testimony.

Therefore, it is Xiao's obligation to accept this weight, and refuse to let it crush him. No matter what his sins might deserve.

Each line carries equal weight to the first, driving into the small of his back with all the force that Morax can bring to bear. Such force has carved valleys and uprooted mountains, raised cities and drawn the dragon Azhdaha from the earth. Xiao breathes in and out, long and slow, gaze still pinned on the wall beyond but slowly going unfocused as all his concentration centers in on bearing it.

Morax lifts his hand. Xiao is only half-aware of the ground shaking, or what he's saying. He's intimately aware of the sigil of his new god, and agonizingly aware of the one inscribed upon his back. He knows that it's only half-finished. There will be more.

"As Rex Lapis, known as Morax, God of Contracts, I make this contract with my yaksha general Alatus, known as Xiao."

Xiao just barely manages not to start. General? He's no general. Morax doesn't even consider him yet fit for the field. But the names are true, and he can feel Morax's power leaning upon him to answer. If this is some contractual loophole that Morax is crafting, all Xiao can do is play along. If it's not... all Xiao can do is answer as Morax desires.

"I, Alatus, make this contract with my lord," he says, making himself look again at the wall. There is an uneven crack in the wood caused by the shaking of the floor; he knows it to be from that tremor just now, because it wasn't there before.

This time, the line drawn across Xiao's back doesn't feel like a wall coming down. It feels like grit ground into a wound, or raw flesh dragged across gravel. The grinding feeling of it doesn't cease when Morax's finger comes to a stop, but continues to build, growing steadily and without surcease.

"As my servant, you will respect the servants of my allies as if they were your own comrades."

"I will, my lord," Xiao says.

The second line is as grating harsh as the first, the same sensation of sharp pebbles poured into his flesh. Continuing to pour, as the first line continues to grind, the pain of it steadily rising high.

"You will protect, defend, and give shelter to the people of my allies as if they were my own people."

"I will, my lord."

As the third line gouges through his flesh, the first two seem almost to feed upon it. The pain is so intense, so grating and blunt, that Xiao could almost imagine it turning into pressure, like gravel is indeed piling up on open wounds, gouging flesh as it sinks deeper.

"You will never turn your strength upon them, or do them harm," Morax says, voice hard and rumbling dragon-loud, "except to defend yourself, and then only in defense."

The weight of the other gods' resentment redoubles, and the God of Ash hisses, something crackling in the sound, like flame being stirred by wind. "*Never*," Xiao gasps out, not sure whether he's choking on his sins or on smoke.

He welcomes the fourth line, the grating, digging agony of it, the first by now truly incomprehensible as anything but pressure if he wishes to stay conscious. The hunger in the God of Ash's eyes isn't delight at all. It's pure and eager hate.

"Should the general Alatus break this contract, his life, and his service with me, are forfeit, by my guarantee."

The last line is almost painless compared to the still-building pressure of those before. Xiao feels like he's floating, light-headed, aware of nothing but the Anemo flowing around him and the screaming agony at the small of his back. He has to consciously force air into his lungs to find breath for an answer.

"As my lord wills," he says, and the escalating pain of the new contract solidifies all at once, all five lines of it hammering into his spine with the implacable weight of stone.

Morax lifts his hand away and catches Xiao easily as he falls. Xiao catches a glimpse of the God of Ash's face before he folds over the solid bar of his lord's arm. Their satisfaction is almost glee, and yet, for the first time Xiao feels a sense of satisfaction in return. A modicum of justice has been done, within the limitations imposed by Morax's will.

Some of the weight of resentment in the room has eased. Not much, not when these gods hold all of their peoples' as well as their own. But witnessing his punishment must have been some salve. As much as being so punished had been for him. The guilt doesn't drag so heavily now.

He tries to stand again, but there's no strength in his limbs. Morax lifts him over his shoulder as easily as if he were a sash being tried on. He is careful not to touch the brand, though Xiao doesn't imagine that his touch would make it hurt any more than it already does.

"Our contract is complete," Morax says. Whether to Xiao or to the other gods, Xiao doesn't know. It must include those others, for Morax turns and strides out of the room with Xiao still over his shoulder, Guizhong a floating presence trailing along behind. Each step shakes the ground.

As they leave the gods' resentment behind entirely, Xiao's breath comes easier, and easier still. The weight of his sins still lies within him, and always well. But its weight is counterbalanced by the weight of his lord's symbol at the base of his spine. Xiao will accept that stamp without question. The pain is nothing against the guarantees that it provides.

[gayaest]

Might I inquire your motive for being anti-kin(/not wanting your work tagged as kin)?

This is actually. Very funny.

I’m not “anti-kin” people can do whatever they want with characters… that aren’t mine. Owned by me. I’m kind of giggling at “anti-kin”.

I own the rights to my original characters, and actually, ALL my art, even the fanart I make is made by my hands. Even if I don’t own those characters, I still reserve the right to not want my personal works tagged that way. I truly don’t care if people kin, I just don’t want /my/ art tagged that way. That’s a boundary of mine.

I’ve had people try to claim ownership to my art because they felt entitled to it on the basis of kinning. Which is wrong.

The only person that owns my art and can set boundaries for my art IS ME.

If someone wants personalized kin-related art they can commission and pay me, but otherwise all of my art is made for me.

[elerrinacrownedwithstars]

Why doesn't Thingol just give the Silmaril to Fëanorians?

One thing I find curious about the discourse around the Silmarils and their ownership issues is how it seems to often simplify the Sindarin and especially Thingol's perspective. I mean, Thingol giving the Silmaril Beren and Lúthien stole from Morgoth's crown to the Fëanorians is framed as somehow easy and obvious option. But I don't think it really is?

It's not even about whether Thingol is right or wrong to act as he does, it's about why his actions are justified from his point of view (and why it is more believable than him being compliant to Noldor).

1. Noldor disrespected and antagonised Thingol from the start. They have given him little reason to be nice or helpful.

When the Noldor arrive in Beleriand, they immediately start to do their own thing, and disregard Thingol, the local sovereign who is regarded as the overlord or at least respected and revered by the Elves native to this region. But Noldor (and Fëanorians) do not attempt to gain his friendship and alliance, they don't establish diplomatic relationships, they bring no gifts (which would be expected in this kinda medieval based society) and neither do they ask for help as Exiles, they don't let Thingol know where they are going to settle down or ask whether it's convenient but grab lands whether the locals like it or not, they don't recognise his position even as a friendly gesture, they don't disclose the nature of their expedition, withhold important information, and most of all, they bring violent trouble to his backyard. This must seem deeply and outrageously insulting to Thingol, especially because these princes are children and grandchildren of Finwë, Thingol's close friend - and yet they treat him without an ounce of respect.

Thingol is no less proud or particular about his position than Fëanor or Fingolfin is. He probably has not had it challenged or ignored by anyone except Morgoth's servants. Also he may see it as indicative of general Noldor prejudice/disdain against Sindar.

Whether Noldor had justified reasons for the way they act upon landing in Middle-earth, you can't deny that they don't do even the bare minimum to win the locals over. Yeah, you could argue that bringing reinforcements at the time when Morgoth returns and becomes active in Middle-earth again is something, but this is still not a way to treat potential friends and allies.

2. The Kinslaying of Thingol's people and kin at Alqualondë and the burning of their ships.

Obvious, really. He may see himself as standing in for Olwë, and regards the Silmaril as weregild for slain relatives and friends - people he himself probably knew before Teleri were sundered. Also why would he respect Fëanorian property rights when from his point of view, Noldor don't give a damn about Teleri or their rights?

Thingol may also judge that the Kinslaying and burning of the ships disputes the Fëanorians' right to the Silmarils and their moral high ground to a degree where anyone brave and cunning enough to reclaim even one of them becomes a rightful owner. Obviously he is biased in Beren and Lúthien's behalf but it would be weird if he was not? After B&L's efforts and their suffering, and quite literally achieving the impossible, he may be of the opinion that they have more right to the Silmaril than Fëanorians who seem more invested in competing Morgoth for land than for the Silmarils. Thingol may share the same attitude as Dior has in one of the drafts: there are two more Silmarils in the same place where the one in his possession came from, so why don't the Fëanorians go get them first?

3. Celegorm and Curufin.

I mean, after the way Lúthien was abused and attacked by the two brothers, Thingol could be holding on to the Silmaril out of pure spite. His daughter never gets any apology for how she was treated, and Thingol has no reason to believe that C&C's actions - and the attempt to force Thingol into an alliance - were not sanctioned and approved by the rest of the brothers. These people have been consistently terrible at everyone Thingol loves and cares about, so why should he help them in any way?

4. The Silmarils mess with your brain.

It's clear that the Silmarils have an unwholesome effect on almost everyone who possess them. Time and again Tolkien describes how characters fall prey to this greedy, possessive lust for the Silmarils. I mean, Fëanor and his sons are ready to spill blood again and again just to get them back. There is something about the jewels that, if you desire them for their own sake, kind of enslaves you to them. Thingol won't give up the Silmaril to Fëanorians because he can't.

5. The Doom of the Noldor compels him.

It's explicitly stated in the Doom that while the Oath will drive the Fëanorians, it will never yield its objective, and the Silmarils will elude them. As soon as Thingol names a Silmaril as a bride price for Lúthien, he becomes involved in the Doom and what it dictates, limiting his control of the situation. Because of the Doom (and the effect the Silmaril has on him), Thingol is not free to give it to the Fëanorians.