#that's the name of the song but also what I might be doing

[marlynnofmany]

Cave Space

The mechanic’s shop was the loudest and dirtiest place I’d seen on this space station so far, and somehow that was comforting. All the ritzy retail stores and elaborate restaurants tried to look as fancy as possible, even the cheap ones. But this place felt honest and straightforward. It had bare concrete floors and the kind of shelf displays that didn’t bother with signs to actually explain what you were looking at. A real mechanic would know.

I had no idea, but I was just here to help haul things. Blip and Blop might have been a better choice if the things in question proved to be heavy, but they were off wrangling jumbo tubs of food and medical supplies with Eggskin, and anyways we had the big hoversled this time. It would probably be fine.

Mimi was talking fast with an employee about manifolds and vents and lots of other words, waving a couple green tentacles while he stood on the rest. The employee was the biggest Heatseeker I could remember seeing, which was still only mid-rib-height on me. He reminded me of the short gym guys from back home, able to build muscle in every direction but up.

A box thumped onto a counter near me. “You here to help lift and pull?”

I found an older human woman grinning at me, wearing a tank top covered in grease and long white hair held back in a ponytail. Also the kind of arm muscle that said she yanked engines out of spaceships for fun.

“Something like that,” I said with a smile. “Gotta make sure nothing falls off the sled.”

She waved a hand. “Ah, we’ll strap it down for you. There’s enough ramps around here to cause problems if we don’t.”

“I bet,” I said, thinking back to the last time I’d chased something important down a hill. “Don’t want to risk any explosions or chemical spills.”

“Or slamming a gear shaft into the side of a building,” she agreed. “There was a bit of a mess the last time someone was sure they didn’t need their stuff tied down.”

I winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, it’s standard procedure now,” she said, opening the box to pull out multiple smaller boxes, all labeled with arcane terminology and numbers. They rattled as she stocked them on the shelf under the counter. “If they’d asked me, it would have been standard from the start, but what do I know? I’ve only been doing this kind of work for decades, on more planets than I care to count.”

“Sounds exciting,” I said as she finished stocking. “I haven’t been out here all that long by comparison, but there’s always something new to see.” A glance around the shop took in rows of alien technology, a Heatseeker with scales painted silver, and one of those centipede-like people whose species name I didn’t remember. I was pretty sure they were looking at a jetpack display.

“Oh sure, plenty of weirdos out here,” the woman said easily, ripping tape off the box and flattening it. “Though it’s easy to tip over from marveling at the wonders to feeling the kind of intense homesickness that you get when you’re light years away from home.”

“I suppose so.” I’d been pretty lucky on that front, since my alien coworkers were friendly sorts who made me feel welcome. But there were times when the sheer amount of empty space between me and Earth was a little too much to think about.

“You’ve got to find ways to remind yourself of where you come from, and take pride in it,” the older woman said with a pointed finger, like a grandparent giving career advice. “Recreate bits of home while you’re far from it.”

I thought back to the potted plants and sun lamp in my quarters, kept high enough that the cat couldn’t chew on them. “I like to think I do that,” I said. “Do you have a preferred method? Classic Earth songs, googly eyes stuck in funny places?”

She barked a laugh. “Ha! Nothing I’d admit to. But I’ll show you my current favorite touchstone to humanity.” She dug in a pocket.

I stepped closer, curious, as she pulled out something palm-sized. She rested her elbows on the counter and held it up, framed by splayed fingers with appropriate drama.

It was a rock, smooth and shiny like it had been polished by a river and then by a thick layer of varnish, and it was covered in minuscule handprints. All in earthtones, like a cave painting reduced to pocket size: some in silhouettes like tiny hands had pressed mud or ash against the cave wall, and others shadowed by color like the prehistoric artist had chewed charcoal and spat it carefully around their fingers.

(I’d done that in school one day, with one of the cool teachers, who taught us the basics of humanity’s oldest style of airbrushing. It was incredibly messy and trickier than I’d expected. It gave me renewed respect for the artists from eons ago whose artwork had survived into modern times.)

And this was that same thing, made small enough to carry around the galaxy, a tiny reminder of home. “That’s fantastic,” I breathed.

“Isn’t it?” she asked, rubbing at the shine. “I got it from a traveling artist awhile back. If I was in a different line of work, I’d sell clothes with this pattern on them. It’s the kind of thing that makes other Earthlings smile.” She stood up and put it back in her pocket with a wink. “Not like googly eyes, but still good.”

“Yes, still good!” I agreed, smiling. I would have liked to talk more about it, maybe find out where that traveling artist had gone, but Mimi was wrapping up his conversation. A door opened to admit a trio of Heatseekers carrying a huge cylinder that was probably destined for somewhere in the guts of our ship.

“I’ll get the tie-down straps,” said the woman, rummaging under a different section of counter.

“Thanks,” I said, though I don’t think she heard me. The air was full of talk and the sound of clawed feet on concrete. I hurried to take up a position by the controls of the hoversled, making sure it stayed locked in place.

The team worked quickly, and in no time they had it strapped down well enough that it wouldn’t budge even if the gravity cut out completely. (Which had better not happen; I’d had more than enough of that kind of nonsense at the last station.)

Mimi processed the payment, tapping a screen with one tentacle tip and thanking the employees for having this whatsit in stock. I got the impression that it wasn’t the one he’d actually come to get, but it was better in some way or other.

“Thanks again!” I said as we tugged the sled toward the door. I waved at the other human and she waved back, two hands signaling kinship briefly across the room. Then she took her flattened box into the back and I stepped out into the artificial sunlight, looking for signs leading back to the spaceport.

The gravity behaved, and the ramps were no trouble. Blip and Blop were there to help unload the thing. I asked Mimi if he wanted three people to maneuver it into wherever it went, or if I should go put the hoversled away.

He was busy climbing inside of the cylinder with a flashlight, for whatever reason. “Nah, not enough space for everybody,” his gravelly voice echoed. “Let me just — really? Another one?” A faint squeak sounded like he was rubbing a tentacle against the side.

“What is it?” I asked, bending to look inside. Blip and Blop crowded behind me, a jumble of curious muscles and silks.

Mimi grumbled, “This is the third engine part that I’ve gotten with these annoying marks. All from different sources, too. If I ever find out which finger-having species is doing it, we are going to have words.”

Deep inside the cylinder, in a spot that likely would never have been seen by anyone but an agile mechanic, was a patch of handprints. Mimi had already smeared the ones made in grease, but the others looked like they might have been paint. All in earthtones. A cave painting in the depths of a spaceship.

Blip and Blop chorused, “Not it.”

I bit my lip to hide a smile. “It’s a mystery.”

~~~

Inspired by this excellent artwork by @letmeinimafairy! It deserved at least one story, if not several.

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[the-sea-called-history02]

How Stray Kids say, “I love you,” without saying it (hyung line)

Genre: fluff

Warnings: mild cursing

Bang Chan

Spoils you

This man loves nothing more than to spoil the ever-loving shit out of you. He knows he can’t always be there, and the guilt of that eats him alive all the time, so he takes every chance he gets to buy you any and everything he can. You’ve told him a million times that he shouldn’t buy you such expensive gifts, but he won’t have any of that. You’re his whole world outside of Stray Kids, and he just prays that his gifts can make up for the time he has to be away from you.

“Jokingly” calls you the boys’ mother

Originally, it was Jeongin who started the joke because you had asked him to do something around the house, to which he responded with an eye roll and an, “okay, mOm,” but it kind of just stuck, and Chan can’t get enough of it. He’s someone who prioritizes family over everything, so any chance he can include you in that, he will take it in a heartbeat.

Lee Minho

Craves your touch

He might not seem like it, but skz themselves have said that Minho is the most romantic member. He’ll try to be subtle about it, but you’ll somehow always find his hands on you in some way. Whether it be lightly squeezing your hand, tracing his fingers across your back, or even a little boop on the nose, he’s always finding some sort of reason to touch you.

Defends you

If there’s one thing Minho NEVER plays about, it’s how precious you are to him. Therefore, he is most certainly not going to tolerate anyone speaking poorly of you. He will be the first to block “fans” that have something hateful to say about your relationship. It dumbfounds him that people who don’t know either of you think they can comment on the most important person in his world and then act buddy-buddy with him. He won’t think twice about lashing out if it’s for you.

Seo Changbin

“Did you eat?”

Such a simple question that holds so much meaning to Binnie. Like Chan, he wants you to know that he’s always thinking about you, even when he’s a million miles away. He also wants you to know that the pressure to be “perfect” that he faces day-to-day should never be a burden you face, and that starts with having a healthy relationship with food and your body. (Plus, he’s lowkey looking for ideas on what he should have for lunch, so please send him food pics.)

Credits you in his songs

After all the late nights you’ve pulled just to keep him company while he works, you deserve a spot in the credits just as much as he does, in his mind. Especially if he’s writing a love song because who else could he have ever written that about? Might even give you a stage name if your relationship is private so you can both laugh at stay going out of their minds, theorizing who this new writer working with skz is.

Hwang Hyunjin

OOTD’s

Loverboy™ has 3 passions. Art, dance, and adding to his portfolio of daily photos of you. He stops you anytime you’re about to leave the house to get a quick pic of your ootd, whether it’s just sweats and an old t-shirt, or a full evening gown, he has an insatiable appetite for the goofy, awkward poses you do anytime he whips out the camera. To him, every photo of you is more precious than gold, and he is not above throwing a mini tantrum if you forget to send him daily pictures while he’s on tour.

Collects your drawings

You could have the art skills of a three-year-old on crack, but this man would still take your napkin doodles and keep them in a special scrapbook. Draw on his arm, and he’ll proudly wear it like a badge of honor, taking pictures so he can still have it after he has to wash it off. Definitely the type to drunkenly get one of your quick sketches tattooed and not have a single regret about it in the morning.

[vidavalor]

Oh, wow, I hadn't realized anyone had done the details on the records to this extent-- this is amazing! You've uncovered song titles 😍 I love you fellow crazy people lol. I was actually really excited when I heard that they made up all the artist names and record info for the shop because I knew all of it would be wordplay 😂 but I didn't know we had tracklists, too!

I just had a quick look through all of the ones you have there in addition to the Oslo Revival one and they're all absolutely hidden language keys. It's another etymology puzzle/guide to the cant, like Demon's Guide. I'd have to do some digging on a couple of them but others I get from doing other word metas. It gives some words and topics to focus on and pairs them up in ways that help guide people towards understanding them. The track called: "I'm Lost and I Don't Speak the Language" 😂😂😂 I was wheezing... especially since the music in Maggie's shop is one of the guides full of Clues that can help teach it!

Couple of examples of what I mean:

"It's Raining in My Kitchen" (food as sex; the vavoom convo/rain/The Flood & an, erm, flood)... "A Dog in God's Hot Car" (backwards words/palindromes/flipping syllables; blasphemous innuendo; car/transportation-themed innuendo; animals as metaphorical people; sex-and-death, as that dog gonna eventually die if he's in his god's hot car too long... so, uh, probably a roundabout edging joke as well)... The entire album of 'Sea Songs' 😂... "Have a Watery Nap" ties to Crowley using "have a nap" in Good Omens: Lockdown as euphemistic for having a wank, as the Brits says. If one is having "a watery nap", they're masturbating in the shower/bath. Either with or without the aid of a rubber duck.

"Peggy Asked For Her Jumper Back", at first pass-- that's a combination of American/English language differences (sweater vs. jumper), which are in play elsewhere in the story ("packet of crisps"; "Arma-bloody-geddon") and a reference to the wordplay around the name Margaret that's all over the story. I went into some of it as part of the response to Melba over here.

Referencing a jumper and the Peggy of Peggy Sue-- American rock 'n roll-- also makes me think of the jumper that is given to the American Gabriel. It might be drawing some extra attention to that, too. The track's title seems like it's suggesting that we pay attention to Maggie and her sweaters/jumpers-- the daisies and snake birds, etc..-- as they're visual puns.

I agree that the Oslo Revival album is far less humorous and with on your take with it. I realized that you can read it a couple of different ways depending on which of the etymological tracks of the words you take and those ways all fit the story so I'll be back with that asap.

What do you think is happening in the scene when Crowley falls to the ground in pain in Tadfield?! I find your thoughts about Satan and Crowley really interesting and sorry if you've already mentioned it but I think I've gobbled up all your metas on the subject and didn't see it. Thank you 🤗

Hi there! 💕 Thanks for reading & asking. I have an assortment of Christmas cookies to share. *gets the plates* Sugar feels extra necessary for Satan-related Crowley meta...

Let's talk about that 1.06 scene you mentioned where Crowley is dragged to the ground by Satan in Tadfield, what it has to do with a motif throughout both seasons around a thing known as proskynesis, and how all of that is relevant to The Final 15 in S2.

TW: rape (mentions of the non-consensual possession-as-rape allegory).

Note: Themes of bodily autonomy and its relationship to freedom overlap between Good Omens and Terry Pratchett's Discworld and that's the main reason why some of us are still here, not giving up on this rare, A+++ survivor story, despite also wanting to hurl a certain, other person once involved with it into an active volcano. Considering the topic, I felt the need to just mention that at the start.

Sooo... let's talk about what the scene in your ask has to do with a bunch of other ones, including that scene in The Final 15...

Good Omens has a few scenes that are dealing with a thing known as proskynesis. If you're unfamiliar with this, it's a word describing rituals of reverence and worship in royal courts, as formed originally in various parts of the ancient world, like Persia, Greece, and Rome, as well as rituals involving religious worship across many different religions.

Aspects of proskynesis exist into the present in different ways in different cultures. For societies that are monarchies, proskynesis is at the root of rituals regarding how subjects in those societies address royalty. Everything from kissing the ring of high-ranking clergy in some churches to doing the same with some mafia leaders has historical ties to this. Things like bowing and curtsying customs in Victorian England can also be rooted back to proskynesis.

There are also elements of it in everyday manners and customs in societies that you wouldn't think would have any connection in the modern world to things like this. In many democracies, for instance, as in many other countries of the world, the custom of getting down on one knee to propose marriage is actually rooted in proskynesis, even if the partnership is (hopefully) more equal in today's societies.

The Japanese, who have an intricate system of bowing as part of the social expectations of their society, are a great example of how proskynesis elements have evolved to not necessarily be related to royalty or religious worship but also form the roots of manners between people throughout all classes of a society.

The rules of proskynesis in a society or a religious group varied in details a bit between cultures but has always had the same, general, wide gap between different types of actions.

As a general rule, there's a polite head bob of a bow on one end of the spectrum of proskynesis, with different bows then getting progressively lower and more intense, until we're closer to the other, more extreme end of the spectrum. That end involves kneeling at the feet of the king or in worship of a deity. The absolute, opposite end of that spectrum from that polite, head nod/bob of a bow is fully prostrating, which is lying fully on the ground, and what of this is tied to the scene in your ask, as we'll look at here.

The sketch below is a good, simple visual of what I mean:

[User: Arseni on Wikipedia]

What's interesting to note here is that when you look at the above sketch and see different movements in it that are associated with different religions, these things came to those religions by first being associated with the royal court of ancient Persia and then being adopted, in part, into Greece and Rome. What physical worshipping in a religious way looks like to this day was adopted into different religions from how humans were showing deference to other humans as royalty.

One, big debate in Christianity is actually what kind of proskynesis was given to Jesus. The word is found in The New Testament but Jesus is the perfect example of the blurred lines here between venerating a human being and treating one like a god.

There are different levels of proskynesis for religious figures, with saints and the like being ok to venerate but proskynesis involving full worship supposed to remain only for God. What kind of treatment Jesus received or should have received and what he thought about it is a matter of debate. Is he a carpenter or is he a king of kings, right? Is he human or is he supernatural... or is he both?

Crowley and Aziraphale struggle with this, too, but what they wind up doing is not technically proskynesis but it's arguably a lot better. They bear witness to Jesus' suffering and murder. They show him empathy and respect. The scene we see shows them talking about him a bit, as two people might do at any wake or funeral or the like for ages to come.

When it came to royalty, what kind of proskynesis you would perform would be dependent in different courts on your rank and your relationship to the king. You might be expected to grovel with some really low bows if you were of low rank or to have a more modest bow or to kiss the king, if you were of higher rank. The lower ranked people were expected to go lower in their bows and do more work with all of this, in order for even the chance of being recognized by the king or another high-ranked royal.

When Crowley mocks Beez, addressing them formally as Lord Beezlebub, he does a formal bow, complete with the proper foot positioning-- you can see him step into it from how his hips move. He bows almost to the waist, complete with flourishing hand gestures that are showing mock-fealty and deference to the Grand Duke of Hell by sarcastically treating them as if they were a king.

This scene which, as we'll see, is related to the one in your ask, is only one example of a couple of Crowley sassing the fuck out of someone, specifically by using proskynesis. It also adds to the chilling nature of the scene in your ask by having occurred just a matter of moments prior.

Beez lets it pass entirely because they're really only Lord Beezlebub in an attempt to project power enough to try to survive Hell. Their title is more about self-protection than it is about an expectation of deference-- which is something that Crowley also knows and is at the heart of the mockery.

Like Aziraphale, with his respectful bowing to his friend in gratitude for the sushi in 1.01, Crowley has no issue with a polite, non-religious, non-royal version of proskynesis. If worshipping the humans is wrong, Crowley and Aziraphale don't wanna be right. They don't revere individual humans as kings or gods but they do revere humanity itself as a whole in that way. They show polite respect to those sharing that with them or educating them in it.

They also do that with one another. Crowley's soft, polite nod of a bow to Aziraphale when they meet in Eden is gentlemanly. It's respectful but not in a way that isn't just treating Aziraphale as an equal. Nina gets a similar treatment when they meet in S2.

Crowley still does something similar into the modern era with Aziraphale-- note the little nod/bow when Aziraphale accepts his lunch invitation in S1.

This is all very much on the egalitarian end of proskynesis; it's in where it basically formed parts of the foundation of gestures related to having good manners in different societies. It's respect and acknowledgement between people who view and treat one another as equals, as is the case with Crowley and Aziraphale.

Their relationship is one that is built around equality, free choice, and consent. Therefore, when Crowley apologizes in S2 in another scene that is related to the one in your ask by being an intentional, totally opposite contrast to it, Aziraphale can barely contain his laughter at Crowley's mock-submissive dance. The dance, in many ways, is really a satire of proskynesis.

Crowley is doing this "yes, my king" dance for Aziraphale with tongue firmly in cheek. The dance is poking fun at the difference between general submissiveness, which Crowley loathes and likes to mock, and voluntary sexual submission with one another, which different scenes have shown us that they both periodically enjoy as some light fun from time to time.

Aziraphale is desperately trying not to laugh long enough to reply with equal humor in his dry, self-aware, soft dom voice. He can't resist smiling a bit and mimes a kiss at Crowley-- seeing Crowley's droll mocking of proskynesis-- which is etymologically linked to words related to kissing and which can involve it in different stages-- and replying by bestowing upon Crowley a kiss.

Aziraphale is intentionally doing something that isn't really the result of proskynesis when in the royal circles that Crowley is referencing with The Apology Dance. The subject is meant to seek the king's favor and would be the one, if ranked high enough to warrant such a relationship with royalty, who would kiss the king-- not the other way around. By miming a kiss at Crowley, Aziraphale is meeting Crowley's mocking of inequitable aspects of proskynesis with some mocking of his own by being miming a kiss at Crowley, who is his equal and partner.

There's also a droll joke in there where the only royal subject of a king who could reasonably have expected a kiss from the king, if maybe not always in a public setting, was the king's queen. So, Crowley's whole mocking Apology Dance has a joking, "yes, my king" vibe to it and Aziraphale's response is to show equal humor towards and affection for the person who is-- in all senses of the word-- his queen.

The end of Crowley's dance is a combination curtsy and what's known as a bow-and-scrape-- the thing from which the phrase "to bow and scrape" comes. The scrape is the movement of the foot behind a person across the floor, done to be able to go lower to the floor on the bow.

To "bow and scrape" was to basically grovel in this really overly demonstrative way for favor with the king, in the hopes that he'd be impressed by your humiliating submission enough to bestow favor upon you. The phrase now refers to doing a large amount of work or groveling to someone in a position in authority, usually with the suggested reward likely not forthcoming.

The second word in the phrase-- scrape-- also contains the word for the thing Crowley has survived at the hands of that fucking monster, Satan, who lives for the demons to bow and scrape for his favor. That's intentional on Crowley's part-- the end of this apology dance is also a visual pun on the word scrape, which contains the word rape, and this while he's doing this mocking dance that is a perfect example of how completely different and very healthy his relationship with Aziraphale is by how he is free to be this hilarious, sassy shit with his partner versus the forced subjugation by his assailant.

You might think that wordplay-- visual or otherwise-- involving the word rape is a bit dark. I won't disagree with that but I just want to briefly show you other examples of it that I've noticed so you can see what they're showing as the rationale for it between Crowley and Aziraphale. It's actually more of an empowering thing when you see other examples of it that are in other scenes.

Crowley and Aziraphale's cant vocabulary-- their invented hidden language-- uses a lot of words-within-words, just like how rape lives within scrape. If you consider that, you might also notice a couple of foods that recur in Good Omens that also are related to this. In Crowley and Aziraphale's language and in their life together, food is food but food is also figurative language for sex. Their healthy relationship and all the food and sex that is part of their life together is their answer to the traumas they've both suffered.

It's sensual, mindful living that focuses on healthier, positive experiences that help them to provide one another with a quality of life that the pain of Heaven and Hell does not. As a result, some frequently mentioned food and drink is held up between them as examples of the loving, enjoyable, pleasurable relationship with one another that they have that stands in contrast to Heaven and, especially, Hell.

Crowley enjoys wine, right? Which is made from? Grapes, as Aziraphale orders in 1601...

The opposite of the rape-related issues that Aziraphale unintentionally triggered in Crowley in 1793, for example, is what he then offers him for lunch-- both figurative and euphemistic crepes.

Not coincidentally, that's also what Aziraphale suggested the day after Crowley was assaulted by Satan on the night Armageddon began-- the crepes of Paris, 1793-- and Crowley, as we could see, was all for it:

Another covert reference to this is Aziraphale's magic trick of changing a turnip into an inkwell. It's a metaphor on a couple of different levels but one of them is that the word rape overlaps with a type of plant that is also called that and is the category name for a group of plants and vegetables, the most famous of which is the turnip.

Turnips are also a pretty clever food metaphor for rape. They have been in existence for forever and are, horrifyingly, really common, but no one-- no one lol-- has ever really wanted to eat a turnip. They're not a terribly appealing food and I would wager that if you lined up every person on the planet and asked them to name a delicious food no one-- at all-- would say the turnip.

So, adding that into the etymology of the vegetable being tied to the word rape, then turning "the common turnip" into "an inkwell"-- when sea creatures, like octopi, are often sources of ink, and 'well' meaning both healthy and a flowing source of liquid? It's Aziraphale making a magic trick that is a metaphor for him helping Crowley heal from the rape-related inorgasmia referenced subtly in a few, other scenes, and which is the subject of the Fish meta, if you're interested in that.

Anyway, the healthy, humorous, proskynesis-mocking apology dance is one of the scenes that serves as a direct contrast to the scene in your ask where Crowley is forced to the ground by Satan in Tadfield. That scene involves the other, more extreme end of proskynesis, which is number 6 on the sketch near the start of the meta: prostration.

To be clear: how people want to worship in any way, if they do, is no one's business, so long as it's not harming anyone else. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of this if it's of someone's free will. The scene in your ask, though, doesn't involve free choice, it involves forced subjugation, which is from where the horror of it comes.

Prostration involves lying flat and face down on the ground with your arms outstretched. It involves kissing the feet of the king or the ground that you believe belongs to the deity you're worshipping.

Prostration is complete submission. It's basically a rejection of any sense of self in full deference to the king or the deity.

In Hell, all the demons are seen as belonging to Satan. Several of them, like Hastur and Shax, refer to Satan as "our Master." They are all seen as Satan's subjects and his property-- all known as a collective referred to by Hastur in S1 as The Fallen, as we also looked at in relation to Aziraphale being Mr. Fell in this meta.

In Heaven and Hell's view, The Fallen do not belong to themselves but to Satan. Crowley's sense of autonomy and his relationship with Aziraphale are secrets he keeps because of how they conflict with Hell, where he's not supposed to have any other desire but to live to serve his rapist, who believes that he owns him.

All of Crowley's mocking of anything more than a polite nod when it comes to proskynesis is more than just being generally anti-royalty and anti-authority. The root cause of all of it is Satan.

In the scene in Tadfield, Satan is forcing Crowley to first kneel and, then, to prostrate, before him.

When Crowley clutches one hand to his chest and uses his other hand under him to keep himself an inch or two above ground, he's doing so in an effort to resist fully prostrating.

He's trying to keep his hands from being pulled out in front of him and to keep up enough to keep his lips from kissing the ground in forced subjugation to Satan.

This is probably the darkest scene in the show-- even darker, maybe, than 1.01's scene of Satan attacking Crowley in The Bentley-- because this is a whole new level of horror here. Crowley is shaking with the pain of fighting for enough control over himself to keep from prostrating any more than he is being forced to. This is happening with other people present-- including Aziraphale and kids, including Satan's own kid-- with the obvious humiliation factor being part of the attack.

Unlike in 1.01, when Satan took complete control of Crowley to a point that he couldn't speak, he's left him that ability in this scene, getting off on hearing Crowley protest. This scene shocks because the 1.01 scene of Satan attacking Crowley, and subsequent scenes reinforcing the non-consensual possession-as-rape allegory throughout the story, lead the viewer to believe that this is how it will always be referred to in the story. It lulls us into a sense of complacency where we think we know what the show will do, which has the desired effect of making this scene, in which they shift that tone pretty dramatically, all the more impactful and terrifying.

Furthering the allegorical here is that Crowley is outmatched, power-wise, for the most part, but is putting up a fight. He's moved by an assailant against his will, quite violently. He's dragged to his knees and then pushed forward to the ground. He's in pain and distressed, he's lost control of his body, his legs end up splayed, he pulls in on himself as much as he can, and he's repeatedly saying the word no. I think it might be pretty much impossible to make a scene full of more direct correlations to rape than this scene. They're doing so to really underline this survivor story with Crowley that is running through so many of the other scenes.

Crowley grabs his right leg when he is forced down to the tarmac, presumably because that's the side that is being forced to move by Satan to drag Crowley to his knees. It's possible, though, that this might be also be an allusion to the aftermath of 1827.

When we saw Crowley in 1862 in the scene that functions as him still trying to deal with what happened in 1827, Crowley was carrying that cane that many think was more than a fashion statement. Something that could cause Crowley periodic pain, while also still allowing for other scenes in which he pretty clearly isn't in any pain, is the possibility that, in the 1827 aftermath, Satan broke one or both of Crowley's legs.

As any of us who have ever broken a part of our human corporations know, they can often be painful long after they heal and frequently subject to weather and stress. It's possible that Crowley had recurring pain for decades and might still into today. This is all speculative but why else might this idea also fit?

Possibly just because there are so many scenes in Good Omens that are nothing but Crowley just walking freely or hopping, owning his human body by sauntering around on the legs that are often symbolic of his life as a human of Earth, as he very notably doesn't have them in snake form... and his snake form is something that he associates negatively with his fall and Hell.

Crowley's walk at any given time is related to his sense of empowerment and, sweetly, there are also a bunch of scenes of Aziraphale just gazing at Crowley as he walks around. Including, darkly, the one that was happening when Crowley was dragged to Hell in 1827:

The scene related to this that I like best, though, is when Crowley and Aziraphale both get one over on Satan and The Metatron by successfully hiding Gabriel in S2. They grin at one another as Crowley hops down from the chair, fully in his body, landing gracefully and happily on the legs that, whether once broken or not, we have seen in 1.06 ripped out from under him by Satan before.

Hell also has some Godfather-referencing, mafia-like nods in different scenes in the series and breaking someone's legs is kind of classic mob stuff but, really, I think it's more tied to the whole forced subservience snake thing. Crowley, telling Aziraphale that he'd changed his name to one we learn in S2's Job minisode is associated for Crowley with freedom, autonomy, choice, and Aziraphale...

...from one that is "a bit too squirming-at-your-feet-ish" to Crowley. It's a comment made more horrifying when 1.06's scene in Tadfield makes it clear that this isn't just a metaphor here-- Crowley's unwillingness to be Crawly and his discomfort with being a snake makes even more sense once we have this scene in Tadfield that sees Satan knock his human legs out from under him and force him into literally squirming like a snake at his feet.

No wonder why Snake!Crowley has a tendency to prefer roaring like a lion when transforming into a snake-like monster, like he did in the paintball scene...

Crowley and Aziraphale working to reframe and claim The Serpent from Crowley's negative associations with being a snake is something I talked about in the other meta I posted recently, should you also be interested in that.

The other thing of note when it comes to this scene of Satan trying to force Crowley to fully prostrate is then the fact that, while we've looked at the horror that Crowley is experiencing here, there are some other scenes that are subtly referencing positive life experiences that can be associated with this same type of position, if the situation is consensual and of someone's free choice.

They're also the exact types of things that can be complicated by having been assaulted. Lying face down are obviously both common sexual and sleep positions, for instance...

In S1, one of the scenes that got cut was supposed to be Crowley waking up from a nap in his flat. The script book says it was supposed to be that Crowley was sleeping on the ceiling in his bedroom, which also looks to be how they were filming it from the picture of it that exists. DT filmed it standing up, presumably so that they could flip the shot around and make it look like Crowley was sleeping on the ceiling. In addition to the heat-seeking snake aspect of this, there's some interesting psychology that may be at work here.

Crowley's flat in S1 was not owned by Crowley-- Hell owned it, as we can see even more in S2-- and he was not technically safe in it. Hell isn't great with boundaries and, although Crowley had structured the flat to make it so that he might have some warning if someone were to come through the front door, there was no guarantee that they would do that. Crowley sleeping on the ceiling in the bedroom in his flat might suggest that he did so, at least in part, to try to have an advantage over someone who might show up in his flat.

It might suggest that Crowley likes to sleep on his stomach but he felt too vulnerable to do that in the bed in his flat so the only way he could make that happen there was to sleep on the ceiling, where his position would potentially be a bit more advantageous. Where Crowley likely does not have that issue is in the bookshop, as he's much safer there.

In another area of life? After 1.06 showing where the proskynesis theme was leading in that season, this scene below is then retroactively given another layer:

As looked at before, Aziraphale's hand gestures here are actually massage movements. His dialogue is also full of massage-related puns-- need/knead, back, practice. Probably also not coincidentally? In addition to just being fun and relaxing, massage is also often suggested by therapists working with couples where one or more partners has been assaulted, as it can be therapeutic on a variety of levels. The scene is suggestive of Crowley being comfortable with a variety of different kinds of pleasurable prostrate positions with Aziraphale, which stands in obvious direct contrast to the horrors of Satan.

So, here's where we're going to end this by talking about some mirroring to the scene in your ask with The Final 15, especially through using etymology. The word proskynesis comes from the Greek and is a combination of pros (meaning: towards, in this case) and kyneo (meaning: kiss). Some translations of it actually wind up being less "towards the kiss" more along the lines of "to kiss in the presence of."

Yeah... There's a word in the mix in this story that means "to kiss in the presence of" and that feels pretty relevant to the last few minutes of the most recent episode we've seen, no? 😂

In the S1 finale, the season's recurring moments of proskynesis lead towards the Tadfield scene, in which we watch Crowley wind up forcibly prostrated before Satan and resisting a kiss with everything he's got. While he'd do that anyway, what's the biggest reason as to why he was in that moment? Aziraphale, right?

It's because Aziraphale is right there and this is all already more than horrible enough. Crowley does everything in his power to retain enough control to resist this kiss because he is absolutely not kissing the Earth Satan claims is his, in forced deference to him, with Aziraphale watching.

Poor Aziraphale can't do anything about this in the moment that it's happening. He can't go to Crowley without giving away that he's Crowley's partner. They've been terrified for a long time that Satan would kill Crowley if he found out about them and, based on what we've seen of how violent and dangerous Satan is, it doesn't seem like that fear is at all unfounded.

By S2, Crowley and Aziraphale are becoming a bit less of a secret but the people who they are letting in are ones they feel are trustworthy. None of them have any affiliation with Hell or Satan. The one person around them each a bit that does have affiliation with him-- Shax-- is the one they're both still attempting to fool.

The S2 mirror of the proskynesis/"kiss in the presence of" moment from 1.06 of Satan attacking Crowley in Tadfield and Crowley resisting the kiss in front of Aziraphale involves these same three characters again... but some aspects of it are-- as they would be with a mirror-- shifted around a little.

In 2.06, it's Crowley with a kiss again-- but, this time, it's Aziraphale that he's kissing. Instead of being the person who is watching the kiss be resisted, Aziraphale is the recipient of a kiss that Crowley is actually willing to give.

Aziraphale, like Crowley in 1.06, is mostly resisting the kiss. While Crowley pushed to resist it entirely in S1 for obvious reasons, Aziraphale isn't put off by the idea of kissing Crowley in general but, in S2, is resisting it as much as he's able to do so.

Why?

Because Aziraphale knows with almost complete certainty that it's Satan watching them through the window.

[guy-writes]

"Die Zeit mit dir war schön"

CBF! König x Reader

. . .

To begin König will have a name, Reader has a dad (adopted), and considering I'm not from Austria there will be inaccuracies with language and schooling. This is where the warnings will typically go but since there isn't any for the chapter thought I just say these few points.

Hope you enjoy!

Age: 12

Memory One

“New area, new kid”

While you and your dad were eating dinner, you noticed he was being uncharacteristically quiet. Normally he would be asking you about your day and then he would recount his, and often over exaggerating to make it more entertaining. But at this moment he was shoving more macaroni and cheese down his mouth. He seemed deep in thought and it was starting to make you uneasy. Gathering some courage you finally spoke up.

“So… Is there something on your mind?-”

“-Kiddo, there’s something I need to discuss with you,” you both ended up speaking at the same time. 

“About what?” You answered, frowning as you tried to decipher if this was going to be a good or bad thing. Your dad took a sip of his water before speaking up again. He looked into your eyes when he spoke, being as serious as possible.

“My job has decided that my teaching and research is needed elsewhere… It’s a better position but it’s really far from where we live,” he finally revealed. Your eyes widened at this dilemma, that was a big life changing event not just for him but for you as well. Staring at your food, you gathered your thoughts on the matter. You started picking at your food, your thoughts overcrowding your mind.

You didn’t want to move, to start over in some foreign country. But what happens if you voice this out loud and your dad decides to leave without you? He might leave you with some family member and probably forget about you… But you also knew this was probably really important to your dad. Still, you couldn’t help the words that bubbled into your mouth and flew out.

“But Dad, I don't want to move! Aren't we perfectly fine staying here?” 

You gripped your fork harder into your hand and looked away from him. Your 12-year-old brain thought it was the best argument. Your dad just looked at your pouty face, frowning slightly. His shoulders slumped as he let out a tired sigh. 

“It’s not my choice kiddo, they're relocating me whether I like it or not- and I can’t just leave this job… But hey, look at this way, we’ll be together every step of the way, and think of all the new friends you’ll make,” He gave you an encouraging smile, remaining positive, for your sake. He wasn't particularly happy about this move either but this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. He could live with you being mad at him for a short while, knowing this was extremely hard considering you didn’t have a choice. 

…

That's how you found yourself on the first day of summer break, miles away from where you grew up. He mentioned on a call with his friend that the ‘paperwork ran smoothly’ and moving wasn't as much of a nightmare as he thought it was. Your dad was driving in unknown territory… though the buildings were nice to look at. You weren’t scanning your surroundings in wonder though, you kept your eyes glued to the card your classmates gave you on the last day… along with a small book your teacher got as a housewarming present. You frowned and sunk lower into your seat, watching the rooftops of buildings pass by. You could see your dad peek at you through the rearview mirror.

“You doing okay back there?” He asked.

“...No… I want to go back,” you lamented. 

“I know… here, why don't we play your favourite song?” he beamed at you, fiddling with the radio before you heard your favourite song come out of the speakers. You had to admit it was making you feel better. You grumpily swayed your head to the music and your dad chuckled. It was a while before you started seeing the tops of houses, it looks like he finally found the neighbourhood. You sat up more, a part of you was really curious what kind of house your dad’s job hooked him up with. He parked the car in front of a yellow two story house.

“This looks like the place…” Your dad got a piece of paper from the glove compartment along with the house key. He stared at the paper for a while, making sure the addresses matched. He let out a happy hum when he confirmed this was the house. You placed your book and card down on the seat next to you before exiting the car. It honestly looked like something from a fairytale, vines decorated the front. There was also a small balcony with a window above it… that seemed to be the entrance to it. The windows had those shutters on the outside and the door had a curve on the top so it wasn’t fully square. Your dad came up beside you and whistled, putting his hands on his hips in the weird pose he did when admiring something.

Alright, maybe you were impressed. The house and the surrounding area looked really nice, nicer than your old house back home. Your resolve to hate this place was breaking, especially when your dad said you could take the room that had the balcony. He gave you a warm pat on the back before walking up the path, fishing out the keys and unlocking the door. You ran over to see what the inside looked like, you could immediately see the stairs to the second floor from the doorway, and a hallway leading to the kitchen. The living room was on the left side, in front of the stairs while there was an extra room on the right. It all seemed to circle back to the main hallway.

Taking a peek up the stairs you saw the main landing had four doors all leading to bedrooms and a bathroom. The house was in pretty good condition, it was just insanely dusty and grimy but nothing like a good wash wouldn’t fix… is what your dad would say. 

“Come on kiddo, the moving truck is here!”

… 

It was a long week of unpacking, cleaning, and finding the nearest store for supplies. The majority of the unpacking was easy- since your dad just ended up doing all of it. You got to decorate your new room which was fun, your dad let you have full control of what you wanted. 

Currently, you were outside, your dad urged you to explore the neighbourhood just as long as you didn’t go to the next street. You look over to your left, spotting a trail between your house and your neighbour’s blue one. The cul-de-sac was surrounded by woods, besides the part that led to the other block and main street. You decided to follow the little gravel path that was made. It was cloudy today so most people were inside. That was fine with you, at least you wouldn’t be introducing yourself today.

You stopped in your tracks when you spotted something colourful off the trail you were on. Growing a bit curious you went to investigate, it wasn’t hard to see that it was a playground. You were caught off guard by the boy playing by himself though. He was around your height, maybe a bit taller, chubby, had messy brown hair and an interesting mix of grey and blue eyes. He was moving around the play structure rapidly, waving a large stick around like it was a sword. He shouted around giving commands to his ‘soldiers’ and claiming they needed to save the princess from the clutches of the evil wizard. Who the evil wizard was… you didn’t know, but it looked like fun. You stepped closer to the playground and that’s when he finally noticed you. He tensed, turning to face you, he looked like a deer in the headlights. 

“Hi, sorry- I didn’t mean to scare you,” You spoke, trying to make yourself seem less threatening. It didn’t seem to work though, he looked like he was going to bolt at any moment. You could see him biting the inside of his cheek, it was awkward but you waited for him to say something. 

What felt like minutes passed before he finally spoke. 

“It’s… fine I was just about to… leave…” He spoke, he sounded anxious. You frowned, that was not what you were expecting. You should be the one leaving, not him, but he seemed hellbent on exiting this situation. You watched as he started making his way towards the gravel path and walking towards the neighbourhood you resided in. Did he live near you?

“Wait!” You called out to him. 

He continued walking and picked up speed when you called out for him. You didn’t follow him since you didn’t want to spook him more. You watched him disappear down the path, you decided to wait a few minutes before heading home yourself.

… 

Knock!

Knock! 

Knock!

“This is the third visitor we’ve gotten today…” Dad mumbled as he got up from the couch, stretching his limbs out a bit. He was repeating the same motions today, sitting, getting up, then sitting for maybe an hour before another neighbour came over. You’ve gotten two casseroles already and it looks like you’ll be adding a third. You walked with your dad to the door, he opened it to see a whole family of three on your little porch. You immediately noticed that the husband looked like he didn’t want to be here. The wife was holding a container full of what looked like dessert. Their kid were standing behind them, and from the looks of it they were a boy.. 

“Hallo! I hope we aren’t interrupting anything, but we thought it was finally time to introduce ourselves. I'm Lina Andreas and this is my husband Rudolph and behind us is our son… get up here,” she motioned her kid towards the front. You instantly recognized him, he was the boy from the park whom you scared off three days ago. His eyes widened slightly when he spotted you and he shifted on his feet.

“This is Alexander,” Lina introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you all, I'm Andrew Wright,” Your dad shook hands with the parents before introducing you. 

“My daughter just recently turned 12, she’ll be going to the nearby school,” Dad said. Lina perked up at that.

“That’s wonderful! Alexander here recently turned 12 and goes to that school, maybe they could walk together?” Lina offered. Alexander seemed to deflate at that, pouting more since his mom didn’t even ask for his opinion. 

“But anyway, before I forget, I brought you an apple strudel! I hope you like them,” she handed off the dessert to your dad who took it with a quick ‘thank you.’ He placed it on the small table that was near the door. 

“Did we catch the missus at the wrong time?” Linda asked, you looked up at your dad and he shook his head.

“No missus here, just me and my daughter,” your dad replied.

“Oh, is she…?” Linda trailed off

“Nope, never had a wife to begin with if you really need to know,” your dad shrugged. He got that question a lot, some people were shocked to hear that he wanted to raise a kid all on his own without a woman's help. You heard at one point he was married but they divorced long before you were in the picture. You could hear Rudolph scoff under his breath, clearly in disapproval but keeping his opinions to himself. You dad didn’t pay him any attention, keeping the conversation going so it didn’t grow awkward. 

It was mostly Linda and your dad talking, the rest of them seemed to just idly stand there. It reminded you of the times your dad ran into someone he knew at the store. They stand there, talking for what felt like hours. While you just stood there and hoped the conversation ended soon. After what felt like an eternity, they finally wrap up their conversation. All the family members say their goodbyes. Your dad shut the door, sighing tiredly before looking over at you.

“I thought that conversation was never going to end…” He mumbled.

“It’s not like you were helping,” you mumbled, taking the apple strudel from the table and resuming your movie.

Memory Two

Masterlist

Dividers by @//cafekitsune

Reblogs & comments by @//reveriesources

[gabilina]

Can you explain how Manon Blackbeak is a ripoff of Visenya Targaryen (I love Visenya)

Hi, virtual-dragon-almond-bakery! How are you? Thank you so much for your question.

I'm going to answer this in the best way I can but I don't know if I will be able to since this is my first Tumblr ask and my hands are shacking with excitement, but anyway this post will contain some spoilers, so if you haven't read Throne of Glass (TOG) or A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones (ASOIAF/GOT) or just any other George RR Martin's book and you don't want to be spoiled than don't read this post, but if you don't mind being spoiled than feel free to keep reading!

Before we start with the Manon/Visenya comparison I feel like we need to talk about how similar Manon is to Targaryens in general. As I mentioned in my previous post Manon IS very Targaryen coded. Even though some tog fans might argue that Manon's long, moon-white hair, and eyes of the color of burnt gold make her look different from most of the Targaryens whose main features are: pale skin, long, silver/gold/silver-gold/platinum hair and eyes in a variety of shades of light-blue/purple, the similarities are still hard to ignore, especially if we compare Manon's arts with those of the members of House Targaryen.

Manon Blackbeak-Crochan

The Targaryen's

Now onto the similarities between Manon and Visenya:

Their personalities

Monon in the Throne of Glass books is depicted as a person who is cruel, heartless, ruthless, yet cunning and resourceful. She is also described to be cold, uncaring, and icy. Meanwhile Visenya in Asoiaf is stern, serious, and unforgiving.

2. Their connections to the iron

In the world of Throne of Glass, there are 3 clans of witches: the Blackbeak Clan, the Blueblood Clan and the Yellowlegs Clan. Each of these clans belong to the group known as Ironteeth Witches.

As Ironteeth Witch, Manon has a specific physiology such as iron teeth and claws.

In George RR Martin's books, iron is also very important. As a metal, iron is used in tools and armaments. We also have ironborns, we have iron islands, but most importantly we have The Iron Throne which is a seat of the Lord of Seven Kingdoms. The Iron Throne was constructed by Aegon I Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Conqueror, first king of the Seven Kingdoms and Visenya's husband (and brother). It was made from the swords surrendered by Aegon's enemies.

3. Their connections to magic/sorcery

As I've said previously Manon is a witch but she's also the last surviving Queen of Witches. Visenya apart from being a skillful and powerful warrior was also rummored to be doing some magic stuff, including dark sorcery and poisons:

“Some claimed that Visenya dabbled in dark sorceries and played with poisons.” (Martin, A Wiki of Ice and Fire)

4. Dragons and blades

Just like Manon, Visenya is also a dragonrider. Her wyverns name is Vhagar, while Manon's wyvern is named Abraxos. What's interesting in all of this is how they named their dragons. Both of these names were associated with Gods of their respective series.

Manon named Abraxos after the Three Headed Goddess' pet and Visenya named Vhagar for one of the gods of Old Valyria

Apart from that they own swords, Manon - Wind-Cleaver and Visenya - the Valyrian steel longsword Dark Sister.

If you want more examples of this then go to @1800naveen blog and @autolykus one.

If someone has much more information on Manon/Visenya similarities or other Throne of Glass characters being Asoiaf characters copycats fell free to reblog and write about it.

Anyway that's for now. Hope you have a wonderful evening ❤️

[bradshawed]

nine five albums that got me through 2024 (and some extras)!

this is so cool omg, thank you so much to my wife (@vampteeths) for the tag, i had sm fun! sorry for the essay and i think you'll find a slight recurring theme of indie, pop and indie-pop (with one or two surprises)!

1. the secret of us by gracie abrams, fav song: risk! released at the perfect moment & was exactly what i needed. makes u really realise that you're not alone and that so many others are going through similar experiences. this album to me, is perfection (don't get me started on how much i love the deluxe version)!

2. emails i can't send fwd: by sabrina carpenter, fav song: bet u wanna x i know u might be sick of hearing about sab but this album gave me so much confidence. it's sexy and emotionally validating at the same time. listening to this when ur overthinking about a boy and realising "wait a minute.. fuck him" is the best feeling, only second to listening to it as ur getting ready to go out

3. glass half empty by voilà, fav song: ballerina (with the word alive) indie rock ml, i've missed u! not a fan of all the songs on this album but of the ones i do like, i could listen to on repeat for hours. it's super energetic, great to have a song or two on any playlist to switch up the vibe and their lyrics really tell a story.

4. boy by luke hemmings, fav song: benny moving to something a little slower, calmer, great for a change of pace. really helped me through those moments when i needed to feel a little peace.

5. dreamers by charles leclerc and sofiane pamart, fav song: focus! you wouldn't expect to see me listening to a classical piano album but here we are. honestly fell in love with it sm so that it made it to my most listened to in 2024. incredibly composed, really emotional and grounding at the same time (also makes great background music).

6. MICO, fav song: tears in your eyes! it's not an album but an artist whose 2/3 songs i listened to religiously on repeat towards the end of 2024. honestly don't remember how i found him but i listened to one song and got hooked (if you hadn't realised i'm not a massive album person, i find a song, listen to it on repeat and find another, i rarely like full albums). i think i've been listening to homesick since july!

7. maneater by daryl hall & john oates and honey by coastal club struggled to think of a no. 7 but i can't believe i forgot this song duo that got me through late summer! i listened to a lot of my "trust fall" playlist (made for @sematarygirls) & my retro playlist and that song duo played on repeat for hours! (you can probs see that this year was big on confidence and maneater is the song).

8. beach weather, fav song: seth cohen another artist that i liked a few of their songs. hottest summer on record was great, even if we had the rainiest summer on record (but it was nice to dream). def one of my summer staples! idk why but it's just something about their beat that really has me relaxed, imaging my own obx summer (or maybe the name has something to do with it idk). pineapple sunrise (came out in 2023) was such a good album, i remember listening to sex, drugs, etc and hard feelings for ages!

9. what love is by zimmer90 does anyone else remember this song from 2023 that got really popular as an audio for those yearly wrapped reels? well, it's been on my liked songs since 2023 and got me through the start of 2024 so i believe that's a good reason as any to put it on the list (even if i never seem to remember what i listened to at the start of the year)!

...

tagging, @bruisedboys, @sematarygirls, @zya8tracks, @lilithblackkk, @dixonsbrat, @edwardslvrr, @fallininlust, @thyme-in-a-bubble and anyone else who would like to join x

[firthbetterorfirthworse]

Hey, Jason Robert Brown? Fuck you

what is this

You're going to make me sit down and count out rhythm? How dare you

[malk-with-tea]

James Deen we were rooting for you

[age-of-moonknight]

Night Moves. Marvel Superheroes: Official Game Adventure (Vol. 1/1990), pg. 19.

Designer: Anthony Herring; Editor: Karen S. Boomgarden; Illustrator: John Statema

[cuteniaarts]

Completely outside of my usual drawing niche, but yesterday I was talking to my sister and she showed me an old drawing I made for her in 2021 that I had deleted and completely forgot about. There was a period of time when my sister was absolutely OBSESSED with Wings of Fire, so I drew a humanisation (I can barely draw humans, man, I would actually combust if asked to draw a dragon) of a pre-canon younger version of one of her favourite characters, Peril, who I also have a soft spot for because, you guessed it, I found a way to link her to my main obsession :’) And when I saw that old piece, I just knew I had to redraw it

+ The original, low quality bc I screenshotted my sister filming her tablet screen over video call, under the cut to save myself some embarrassment 😅

[synthshenanigans]

Finished fusions of them!

None have a set outfit atm but the point and style is there :}

[waywardsalt]

loz in the court of the crimson king au bulletpoints or whatever because i never talk about this au but want to yap abt it now!!!!!

yeah the fact that its named after that album is important the song of (mostly) the same name i used as a framework for the plot, the other songs in the album are used for character/other plot stuff and relevant whatever, im going to use song lyrics for chapter titles, there are literally characters referred to as the crimson king, the black queen, the yellow jester, all that from the song it’s all relevant and also the album is good listen to it. once the lyrics in moonchild are over i wont blame you for dipping after that point its mostly Noise

primarily a ganonbeck au but its also the one with the homoerotic friendship(????) between bellum and linebeck that did the most in making me realize that yeah i do actually ship it

also the au where i have to pull off linebeck being 19-20 and the adoptive older brother of link and aryll. but he also has to pull it off in-universe because ofc he looks nothing like them and also looks older than he actually is and the cane really doesn’t help

also yeah cane user linebeck when he was a kid he fucked up his ankle really bad (ha) and it didn’t heal correctly so he needs a cane on occasion it’s a whole thing and i hope to actually do this justice when i get around to writing this au

general setup of linebeck being an adopted family member to link and aryll and their grandmother, and he spends half of his time living with them in their small apartment and being the one most capable of actually making money, and leaves every other week for a full week to do work out in the city

the city is a sort of industrial sort of city, split into some major districts, with hylians and zora and gorons and all of the major races living in this sorta industrial slightly fantasy city. there’s a train system. originally there was some kinda body of water between sections of the city primarily to allow for sea travel but it truly doesnt work for what the story needs so it’s just a sort of industrial type city, and the whole story takes place only in the city

general plot idea is that while linebeck spends half of his time at home with his adoptive family, the other half of his time he spends, yes, doing odd jobs around the city, but most of his income comes from working directly with bellum, who assigns him targets for murder and theft, which he carries out while in costume of the 'demon of the gray moon', an urban legend figure in the city that he came up with when he was like seven that he's mostly able to pull off because of bellum's support

bellum is one of the leaders of the city. there's five and they each anonymously hold control over one of the districts in the city and all try to get and edge over the others and all have assorted little lackies working for them. bellum does have a gaggle of lackies (tbh theyre likely going to be versions of the bosses) but he is the most close and open with linebeck, who is also the only one to know that he operates as one of the leaders

ganondorf is another leader. he's the crimson king (technically one of two) in question. the main thing that kicks of the story is bellum tasking linebeck with spying on and doing research into ganondorf to see if he's one of those leaders, as bellum has a strong hunch and is trying to identify the other leaders

linebeck and bellum met when they were kids, linebeck being an actual kid and bellum kinda just. pretending to be one and acting like hes aging at a human rate and w/e. link, aryll, and their grandmother have technically met bellum, but when he appears much more human and uses a false name. he very rarely actually uses his little real demon form in this au

yeah linebeck spends a lot of his time in his work weeks hanging out with bellum and taking advantage of the higher quality of life he gets when crashing at bellum's place and living in his part of the city. there's a whole. county mouse city mouse thing going on. he does not, in fact, save a lot of the money he earns at work for the sake of his adoptive family

linebeck does really care about his adoptive family but has more complicated feelings about them and his situation, but does genuinely try to make sure they're safe, having convinced bellum to help him in that, though his more dubious activities do also happen to

in general there's the split between linebeck's time with his adoptive family and his time with bellum and as the demon of the gray moon, and how they end up mixing even while he tries to keep them separate for reasons that are mostly selfish on his end. including him deciding that he should ask ganondorf out on a date while bellum desperately tries to keep him focused on the job at hand

[the-sea-called-history02]

How Stray Kids say “I love you” without saying it (maknae line)

Genre: fluff

Warnings: slight cursing

Han Jisung

Adds your favorite songs to his playlists

Music isn’t just this man’s love language. It’s his every language. It’s the oxygen he breaths and the water he drinks. In his mind, your favorite songs are a piece of your soul that he can carry with him no matter where he goes, so he adds your favorite songs to all of his playlists, and will never once hesitate to point that out to anyone in the vicinity. The boys have learned all the words at this point because of how often he plays the songs that remind him of you for them.

Just flat-out says it

Before anyone says that this is a lazy cop-out, just hear me out. Sweet Hannie wouldn’t know subtlety if it walked up to him with a name tag and slapped him upside the face. He wears his whole heart on his sleeve, so I really, truly believe that he wouldn’t be one to let his actions speak louder than his words. Both are equally important in his eyes, so please don’t get annoyed when every other thing out of his mouth is how much he loves you. He’s only a tad obsessed, I promise.

Felix Lee

Cooks with you

Sure, Lix can bake, but have you seen him try to cook? It’s not pretty, but he always has a blast trying, especially when it’s with you. Whether you’re a five star Michelin or burn water, you’re going to create some sort of mess when you two get together. No matter how it turns out, though, Felix will make himself enjoy every bite because it “was made with love.”

Sends you a million TikToks

It could be memes, sad videos, songs he thinks you’ll like, things about your hobbies, prepared to be bombarded with little videos from Felix 24/7. He shares them so you know he’s thinking of you, and it fills him with way too much joy when you find them as entertaining as he does. It just further convinces him that you’re soulmates, and who’s to say he’s wrong?

Kim Seungmin

Writes about you in his journal

His journal is an extension of himself, and is how he processes his insanely hectic life, but he always finds that writing about you feels different. He never has to think about what he’s writing, and the words just flow onto the page. If you manage to catch him in a particularly mushy mood, he might even let you read some of it.

Keeps a nightly routine with you

Ending his day with you is the highlight of it. He can’t wait to take his makeup off while telling you all the dumb shit the boys did that day. On tour, he’ll coordinate a time for you to do it all on FaceTime. Every step, from changing into pajamas to doing face masks, he loves knowing that, no matter how awful his day might have been, he will always be able to bear it because you would be there at the end to make it all worth it.

Yang Jeongin

Coordinates outfits

Listen, to Jeongin, being buck-naked is better than even considering not matching with you. No matter whether you’re even on the same continent, you better bet your best britches that he’ll be checking to make sure you AT LEAST have your couples bracelet on. He also definitely has a Pinterest board of couple outfit ideas.

Compares your hands

No matter how many times he does it, his heart still flutters a bit every time he sees your hands being engulfed by his. Not only is it an excuse to touch his favorite person, but it makes him feel like, in a small way, he can shelter you from the crazy world he lives in, and what kind of monster would you have to be to deny your sweet boy of that?

[universalthaumaturge]

ok i get why anthy has creature of delirium now

[red-dyed-sarumane]

[desperately into the store wide announcement system] IF TENSHI WAS IN KAMICITY SHE WOULDVE LIVED [being dragged away by security] THEY WOULDNT'VE SACRIFICED HER SHE WOULDVE LI

[look-better-in-gold]

one thing i think one piece fans forget is that for most of the characters in it having the d initial doesn’t mean anything. we don’t find out it’s anything to think about until skypiea while robin is talking to gan fall (who met roger) and he says “d.? i see. one letter of his name… that can’t just be a coincidence!!!” and laughs. we only know what we do bc luffy’s the main character. i guess you could argue kureha saying roger’s name is gol d. roger at the end of drum counts but it’s brushed off and you’re not like. encouraged to think about why it’s different. she only knows this bc she’s a REALLY old lady who was around when roger first set out. and gan fall met roger. law knows about it from cora, Who Used To Be A Celestial Dragon. nobody who knows about it is a normal citizen. the world government wants it to be a secret. they successfully wiped out 100 years of history. “the will of d.” or those “eat like a d.” jokes are NOT something everyone is making!!! GUYS. WE ONLY KNOW BECAUSE WE’RE THE VIEWERS. WE’RE WATCHING THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. NOT EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHAT THEY DO!!!!