#they would understand my sensitive nature so accurately

[tetsuskei]

i want to say that my quiet and shy nature are things that childe and kuroo resonate with just because that is how they both were as kids. so them meeting and dating me doesn’t seem as far fetched as i think, idk how to explain. i hope this makes some sense >_>

[seelie-buddy]

Hello, i hope you're having a good day...

Can i request genshin impact character (hybrid) like gorou, tighnari to do something like 'animal' instinctly.

If you add another character it's okay too...

Peculiar Traits

summary : some interesting characteristics of Tighnari, Gorou, and Ganyu that highlight their wondrous heritage

contains : just the characters using their unique traits to keep you away from harm's way ; fluff ; gn!reader, this drabble is written in second person

word count : 500

It's etched into Gorou to protect those he cherishes, being the general of Watatsumi's army. So when matters relate to you, of course he's going all out to ensure your well-being! His gut feeling is almost always accurate, and he does everything in his power to keep you away from harm's way.

If you're going some place dangerous, he will see to it that someone escorts you, or would himself accompany you on your trip. If there's any trouble that plagues you, just say the word, and he'll be ready to help.

If you were hanging out with some person Gorou didn't have a good feeling about, turns out they did actually have foul motives. And when things go south during expeditions, you know that Gorou will be there to watch your back.

Things like these brings you to fully trust the general, and you've learned to always keep in mind his warnings.

Tighnari is one to be cautious, and his sensitivity to sound and smell only helps him ensure your safety. He will be especially sure to keep an ear out for any potential threats everytime you accompany him on his patrols.

The forest may feel homey to those who have resided in the rainforest for a while, but it doesn't mean that it is without its dangers; the remnants of the withering, wildlife, and monsters need to be accounted for.

But with Tighnari by your side, you needn't worry! You can always put your utmost trust in him, and his understanding of the environment; the way he recognises danger from the sounds often unheard by others, and his knowledge regarding both the flora and fauna are unparalleled.

Any disturbances in an immediate proximity never goes unnoticed by him, and his reactions to said disturbances are swift; the lack of birds chirping has him alerted at the presence of a predator. Or when the polluted stench is in the air, he is quick to steer you away from the upcoming withering zone.

Ganyu is half-qilin, half-human.

She's calm, and reserved by nature; that's what being half-qilin grants her. Her sereneness is just like the soft flurry of snow in winter, or like the cool breeze on a summer day. She's always willing to lend you a hand, assist you in all manners possible, and merely her presence is all you need to relax as a smile grows in your face.

She is half-qilin, and it reflects in her traits.

Ganyu is half human; it shows in those moments of impulsivity. If someone dare speak ill of those she respects and cherishes– especially you– and they may as well be prepared for her (albeit supple) wrath. She will see to it that they will apologise and refuse to spout such nonsense again. It is in moments like these that you see that she does, in fact, possess emotions and feelings beyond that of tranquillity.

Ganyu is half-human, and it reflects in her traits.

a/n : I hope this was what you were looking for, anon!! No, seriously, I really hope I didn't misunderstand what you were asking for;;

p/s : A little ramble about my thoughts on this:

I didn't really come by the opportunity to write for Ganyu, and I believe she's underrated!

As for Gorou, he resembles the dog breed shiba inu, and apparently dogs (or just animals in general) have a very good sense of danger, whether it be people or things!

I've seen a lot of people relate Tighnari to fennec foxes (because of the ears) but his lore states him to be a descendant of Valuka Shuna (also called Tighnarians) so it's hard to place any specific traits on his species, given he's the only one we know of his kind

[queer-ragnelle]

could you please elaborate on how anachronisms are a feature not a bug? It's probably an issue of "kill the cop in your head" but despite knowing others have done it I find it difficult to accept *I* can mix elements from 1200s france and 600s england (for example).

The Arthurian literary tradition has never been Historical Fiction. Ever. And for many, it's not a detriment, but part of the appeal!

Sure, there are some Arthurian books that set out to be Historical Fiction, that is, pinpoint the era during which their story takes place and sticking to it. They may include historical figures to help immerse the story in that era. That's all well and good. But those stories contain anachronisms. Arthurian Legend has always "mixed elements" of the author's current era with their limited understanding of the past, it has always contained magic, it has always contained characters firmly cemented in mythos that were never considered to have really existed. It's a literary tradition built upon the stories which came before, not a transcription of factual events because we frankly don't even know squat about who Arthur "really was," if he existed at all.

I understand your perspective, I really do. I briefly had an editor who suggested female knights weren't Historically accurate so I should write them out. Gromer and Merlin both perform magic in the prologue, the events pertaining to the Green Knight are mentioned, but gender-neutral language when referring to knights (who this editor insisted should all be cis men) was a step too far. Around the same time, I had a sensitivity reader suggest that Gawain wasn't racist enough to Ragnelle (a Persian woman) and he should call her, his future wife, in my queer romance book, "a savage." Hand to my heart Anon that's a quote I had to read on my manuscript with my own two eyes. And I say to these people, "Are you lost?" Because even though I disclosed the nature of my books before letting these people read it, clearly it wasn't a good match. Literally kill the cop in your head and protect yourself from anyone who makes it more difficult by insinuating the Historical accuracies should be upheld, especially as it pertains to misogyny or racism. Excuse my French, fuck them and fuck that.

This hesitation to write "mixed elements" can come from the false idea a "true" or "objective" way to write within a Historical Era exists. There simply isn't. Unless you have a time machine, you will inevitably rely on anachronisms to bridge gaps both narratively and because the information simply doesn't exist.

Let's use your example to talk about narrative anachronisms first. Say you're writing in 600s Britain (since England didn't exist yet) but you want your character to stand in the stirrups. Ah nuts, they didn't have stirrups yet! That's okay. We're gonna borrow the stirrups from 1200s French version of the stories so your character can do what they need to do. Persia Woolley did this exact thing in her first book Child of the Northern Spring; she wrote Palomides into the story as a means for the Round Table to receive stirrups from the East and this upgrade is something which gave Arthur's knights an edge over others. Another instance could be women riding sidesaddle. Generally speaking, it was meant to keep women's knees together for the sake of modesty, but it also made sense from a practical standpoint as riding astride with ankle-length skirts was cumbersome and simply never done... or was it?

My good friend Alisoun from The Wife of Bath rides astride! Geoffrey Chaucer you madlad!! So while the general Historical fact, that women rode sidesaddle, still stands, they did so except when they didn't! Is this used to mark Alisoun, a fictional woman, as unconventional? Yeah, duh. So it would still be Historically accurate to have the majority of women riding sidesaddle. Alisoun can do things real women of this era weren't allowed to. But the point is this illumination casts doubt on the idea such a thing was unheard of. A woman riding astride wasn't automatically descended upon by a mob that stoned her to death. You can write her riding astride and no misogyny happens. The same could be said for female or transmasc knights, as I explained here. So you can write in a reason why this specific anachronism is present in your story, (Palomides brought the stirrups, Alisoun is a bad bitch who does what she wants, Marine and Silence are proof of GNC knights, etc). It might put you at ease about including it.

But you simply cannot do it for everything. You would spend more time reassuring the reader you're aware of the inaccuracies than you would be telling your story. Every Historical Fiction author in the world can corroborate this.

Even the most serious and intensely research heavy Historical Fiction will contain anachronisms. It's literally impossible to be 100% accurate. Let's say you scour contemporary sources like letters or writings, you're still forced to interpret those either through the inevitably biased author and/or whoever translated it (their word choice, what passages they omitted, etc). (I had to navigate this myself while researching Iranian Zoroastrians through Arabic-written sources, ie, the conquerors' interpretation of the people they sought to eradicate. On top of that, the text is then translated into English for me to read it. The document I end up researching from becomes many steps removed from authenticity, and yet it's all there is; the Avestan or Persian language texts with first hand accounts are scant to none, and also translated into English.)

Best case scenario: you have an artifact, in hand. You can still only glean so much from something that's degraded over many years, something that may be an outlier in and of itself, the authenticity of which could only be corroborated through the help of an expert, someone who is, just like you, living in the present and must make educated guesses with the resources available (carbon dating, context clues, chemical testing of materials, etc).

So sure, you could read in the documentation that this Historical figure had a mustache. A comb alleged to be used for facial grooming was found, which may lend weight to the supposed accuracy of the writings. But unless the documentation also says what color the mustache was, and the length, and the style, and during what point in this person's life they wore the mustache, and whether they also had side burns and beard, your interpretation is based on an inference and likely anachronistic. Even if you have a really detailed text, that's one source. That Medieval author could be a big liar! Maybe they got carried away embellishing their favorite king! Or they cut out the parts which made their favorite king look bad! Or they slanderously depicted their enemy king as depraved to make their favorite look even better by comparison! Every writer has their own agendas. We have no way of knowing the extent of it!

Now I want to circle back to anachronisms that aren't tied to a story element but perhaps something as simple as bridging cultural gaps or practical means in the story itself. By that I mean you cannot know every detail of their lives. What exactly did their Church services look like? How exactly did the nobles' spirituality differ from the lower class? We cannot know for certain and will inevitably fill in the blanks with what we understand of Christianity today. You will more than likely include foods they didn't eat out of necessity because the resources are so scarce or limited or for your own sanity. In book 2, I wrote Agravaine describing something to Ragnelle as "the color of a carrot." Well. They didn't have carrots back in 6th century Britain. They were imported through trade with the East which was a long time coming yet when Agravaine said this. Early Medieval people had other root vegetables, but what were they called? What color were they? Certainly not neon orange carrots thick as the hilt of a sword like we have today. But I left this in anyway because it's a single line. It's so brief as to be insignificant, it's meant to quickly call to mind a color the reader can identify easily. It works on a subtextual level as well since Ragnelle, a Persian woman, would know what a carrot is in the 6th century. So it's only half anachronistic. To me.

On the other hand, in book 1, Gawain and co are in Persia. There Owain and Gaheris eat peaches for the first time. They call them "stone fruit," as they've encountered other fruits with pits, but not these. Gromer, a native, explains they're called "peaches" and they come from China (a place he has personally visited, so he knows). None of these words would've been in Medieval dialogue, but the History of that fruit, which we now call a "peach," is sound. Because it's a moment of cultural connection, and Owain is shown carving peach pits for the rest of the book, and still doing so in book 2, grounding this in as close to Historically sound facts as I could was important.

Now if Owain wanted to bring that peach pit back to Britain and grow a peach tree for his wife Laudine, could that happen? Well, Britain's weather conditions are not at all appropriate for it and the soil probably isn't right and he's not exactly known to have a green thumb. But anachronisms are a feature, not a bug. It's not an "inaccuracy" to write this successful endeavor because I did it on purpose! It is "accurate" to my story! Not an oversight, but a creative choice made with intention. Now I've extended the use of the "prop" and maintained that cultural connection I went out of my way to include. Perhaps later, once Ragnelle has settled at Camelot, she would enjoy a piece of fruit from her homeland as a gift from Laudine. Now the whole thing has come full circle and become enmeshed with the story in such a way the readers won't say "Hey! How does Laudine have a functioning green house in 6th century Britain? That's absurd!" Yeah, well, not any more absurd than Owain's pet lion or his battle with a dragon.

I think this is perfectly okay to do even if you don't have the magical elements. Nothing in the exchange about carrots relies on fantasy. The peaches don't either, not until there's suddenly a functioning greenhouse made of perfect panes of glass. People did travel great distances even in that era. You're not obligated to point to a specific instance of this thing happening Historically for it to be valid in your story. Arthurian authors have literally never been concerned with that. More importantly, neither have the readers! But there are exceptions to many of the "rules" or preconceived notions Historically which can help support your narrative choices if you desire to seek them some of the time. You have a few Modern Arthurian authors writing Historical Fiction, but Bernard Cornwell also included magic and a ton of characters from the Mabinogion, Edward Frankland did the same with Gwalchmai and Olwen, and Henry Treece wrote Cuneglas so strong he could T-pose with two grown men standing on each arm as a display of his strength. Push those boundaries, everyone is! It's fun!

Reading more will help. You'll be able to see what your boundary of anachronisms are. What irks you while reading? What did you notice as inaccurate and not care about? What anachronisms did you enjoy best? Researching a lot will also help. Get a very thorough understanding of the era and location you intend to write in. Then you'll better understand where the gaps in knowledge lies and what you'll have to add anachronistically to fill them. I assure you no one is going to be angry if you write Gringolet as a big beautiful stallion instead of a more Historically accurate little fluffy pony. You'll drive yourself crazy if you get hung up on every detail.

That's all I got. Arthurian Legend frees you from this "Historically accurate" headache. If you're still having trouble, perhaps ask yourself if you what you actually want to be writing is Historical Fiction instead. That's totally cool too! But nobody who enjoys Arthurian Legend is concerned whatsoever with Historical accuracy and you shouldn't be either. So write whatever pleases you! Take care, I hope that helps clear things up a little. :^)

[shyvioletcat]

ROWAELIN MONTH: DAY 4 - ACCIDENTAL NUDE

I had fun with this one. Took an unexpected approach but it’s still good.

~~~~~

Rowan was content with his night of leisure. Watching TV, filling in a page of his mindfulness colouring book, letting his thoughts idle around nothing. It was relaxing and he barely had a care in the world. That was until his roommate unceremoniously burst into his room without knocking. The door would have slammed into the wall if a washing basket hadn’t been tucked behind it.

“Fen, what the fu—“

“I’ve made a mistake,” Fenrys said quickly.

Rowan leveled him with an unsurprised glare. “Again?”

“Let’s just skip the whole ‘how remarkable it is for you to make a mistake’ sarcasm because this is very time sensitive,” Fenrys stepped into the room, hands gesturing one over the other in front of him. “And I need your help and I’m coming here because of how much I value your friendship because this concerns you as well.”

“All right,” Rowan said, pausing his show and crossing his arms, dreading whatever his roommate and long time friend might have dragged him into. “I’ll bite.”

Fenrys gave a sharp but heavy sigh that might have been out of relief. “Okay, you know that thing you do when you’re having two conversations, and you finish messaging on one and then you’re thinking about the other one and when you pick your phone you think you’re in that conversation?”

There was a moment when the two men just looked at each other, Fenrys waiting for Rowan to decipher the tangle of words. It did take a moment and even though Rowan wasn’t entirely sure he gave a hesitant, “Yeah.”

“I did that. With an intimate photo. I sent it to the wrong person.”

With a scoff Rowan said, “That sounds like a you problem.”

Fenrys cringed, looking guilty as well. “I sent it to Aelin.

“You what?” Rowan’s gut twisted.

“Remember I said I sent it to the wrong person. Aelin was asking me if I wanted to meet them at the bar they’re at and I was chatting to another girl and I got my lines crossed and I accidentally sent it to Aelin,” Fenrys explained, his words coming out fast in his uncharacteristic nervousness.

“You can’t unsend it?” Rowan asked.

Fenrys shook his head. “It was over text. There’s no taking it back.”

It was hard for Rowan to pinpoint exactly what he was feeling. Despair might be the most accurate description, with a decent mix of jealousy. That was stupid thing to feel, Aelin was his best friend and totally ignorant of his deeper feelings. If she was talking to other guys and receiving messages like the one Fenrys apparently mistakenly sent, that was her business, none of his. Rowan shouldn’t care, but by the gods he did.

“I know how you feel about her, Rowan. I would never do that to you,” Fenrys said earnestly.

One night Rowan had been miserable and more than a little drunk when his deepest secret had come spilling out to his roommate. Fenrys was the only one who knew about how far his feelings went for Aelin and he’d never pushed it. Every once and a while there was some teasing comment or a knowing look, but it would be a complete denial of Fenrys’ nature to do absolutely nothing. So when Fenrys said he didn’t mean to send the photo, Rowan believed him.

“I don’t know what you want me to do about it,” Rowan said.

“Ah, hear me out,” Fenrys said, his face lifting and leaning his palms on the foot of the bed. “She hasn’t seen it. So what you can do is go to the bar, get into her phone and delete the message before she can. I know you know her passcode, which is saying something more that I won’t mention further. Thus, preventing the ruination of her for all other men and preserving my modesty.” When Rowan outright laughed at that last comment Fenrys amended with, “Maybe just my embarrassment.”

“I’m sure Aelin would understand,” Rowan supplied. This all sounded a little too risky and it was late and he was comfy.

“I have never in my life sent an unsolicited dick pic and I don’t intend to start now,” Fenrys protested adamantly. “And bro code, she’s your girl. Not mine.”

If only that were true.

Groaning Rowan threw himself back on his pillows. There was an inner battle going on and he wasn’t a fan of the side that was currently winning. He hated that his main motivation for even considering going was for his own selfish reasons to prevent Aelin from seeing Fenrys naked. If Aelin was seeing a man naked, Rowan wanted it to be him. And Fenrys was a handsome man and he took care of his body—it would definitely be an appealing picture.

“Right now Aelin is dancing the night away, too busy to check her phone. We have a very small window of opportunity.” Fenrys added, cutting into Rowan’s thoughts. “Please, Ro, buddy, old pal. Save me from being a creeper. We all know girls talk about these things.”

Fenrys looked over with puppy dog eyes, beseeching Rowan to say yes. It was obvious Fenrys’ pride was at stake but he was also trying to do the gallant thing, So Rowan resigned himself with his second heavy sigh. “Where am I going?”

~~~~~

The bar was busy and loud when Rowan got there. Even then it didn’t take long for him to spot Aelin and the group she had come out with tonight. They commanded the dance floor, all high energy and clothing that sparkled in the low light. Aelin was in the middle of it, a queen in her chosen domain. It was hard not to stare at her, the joy on her face making her more beautiful if it were possible. Rowan had been invited on this little outing, but he’d declined. Being in his final semester of university he was being slammed with assignments and he was exhausted. A night in was what he needed, and yet it wasn’t what he was going to get. Fenrys would owe him for this.

Aelin spotted him first, smiling brightly as she waved at him through the crowd that he lingered on the edges of. Rowan didn’t know how she knew he was there, but she’d looked right at him. Then she was leaning in and saying something to Lysandra and started to weave through the mass of bodies. It wasn’t long before Aelin was close enough for Rowan to get a clear look at her.

She looked stunning tonight. The dress she wore was made of a cream fabric, small clusters of gold sequins making a haphazard but tasteful pattern. The hem sat high on her thigh, a small slit accentuating the length of her tanned legs. The real show stealer was the neckline that scooped low with a slight drape, held up with thin straps, showing off her cleavage. Aelin was a sight to behold and Rowan had to remind himself that friends didn’t look at each other like the way he was looking at her and he better fix his face before she got closer and noticed.

Aelin was so happy to see him, a wide smile lighting up her face. The way she looked at him did funny things to his heart and Rowan tried to ignore it. When Fenrys was in the mood to pester he asked why Rowan hadn’t confessed his true feelings yet. The truth of it was that he couldn’t risk losing her, if she didn’t feel the same he knew their friendship would dissolve into awkwardness and he cared too much about her to ruin what they had. So he stayed silent and suffered.

“Rowan! What are you doing here?” Aelin asked as she threw her arms around his neck, the scent of her perfume overtaking the smell of alcohol and sweat of the bar. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

When Aelin pulled back Rowan shrugged. “Changed my mind.”

She didn’t go far or let him go, instead linked their elbows. “Good. I’ve missed you.”

He couldn’t help the smile that worked its way onto his lips and the sentiment, or the way his body welcomed her touch. The others had made their way off the dancefloor too, crowding around a tall table. For a while everyone just chatted. Elide and Lysandra were there, Aedion had tagged along as well. Dorian and Manon were pretending not to be interested in each other much to the quiet amusement of everyone.

“Want a drink?” Dorian asked across the table.

“No, I can't stay long,” Rowan replied.

Aedion followed Dorian to the bar, leaving Rowan with the girls who had taken up a conversation amongst themselves. Rowan cataloged whose bag was who’s, relieved when Aelin reached into her bag for lipgloss and not her phone. He still had time, he just needed everyone else to leave so he could ransack Aelin’s bag. The song changed and all three girls squealed. Despite the noise of the club the combined high pitched sound of their excitement hurt his ears.

“Come dance, Rowan!” Aelin said, holding her hand out to him.

“I’ll stay with the table, you go,” Rowan told her.

She looked ready to protest but she must have seen the pleading in his eyes that he was having trouble hiding. Rowan hoped he assumed it was over his reluctance to dance rather than his ulterior motives. He watched as she disappeared through the crowd and onto the dance floor. The light flashed and the bass thrummed though his body, and all the while Rowan couldn’t look away. Aelin moved effortlessly to the beat, smiling and laughing with her friends. He could watch her forever, and he was so entranced that he almost forgot his purpose in being here.

Aelin had left her bag on the table and Rowan did a final check to see if he’d be busted before he opened it. Luckily, her phone was still in there and he wouldn’t have to try and get it off her person. Rowan tapped in her passcode, a string of numbers he didn’t know the meaning of and he was in. The little red bubble on her text app showed more than 100 unread messages. There were two types of people in the world, he was one and Aelin was the other. He ignored the irrational irritation seeing that unattended notification gave him and kept to his task. Fenrys’ thread was near the top, the preview saying there was an image in the latest text.

Rowan braced himself, living with Fenrys for as long as he had, he’d seen the man naked a few times under various circumstances. But Rowan had the feeling this was about to be an entirely different experience. With one final farewell to his current sanity Rowan opened the message thread and trying his hardest not to look he swiped left for delete. It was an impossible feat, he needed his vision to get rid of the evidence. Even squinting, Rowan copped an eyeful of a full frontal nudity mirror shot, everything at the ready. If only mind bleach existed. The photo had just disappeared from existence on Aelin’s phone when a voice came from right next to him.

“What are you doing?”

Rowan started so hard he dropped the phone on the table, the clattering heard over the music. He frantically tried to get it back into his hand, checking for damage because the last thing he needed tonight was to smash Aelin’s screen. Caught red handed Rowan turned, finding the phone’s owner right next to him. Her expression was both curious and amused, and expectant of an answer.

“Uh…” That was embarrassingly the best that Rowan could do.

That only made one corner of Aelin’s mouth crook upwards as she lent on the table to get closer to him. “Why do you have my phone? And what were you doing just before I busted you?”

“Well, I can blame Fenrys for that, for everything actually,” Rowan offered lamely.

“Fenrys?” Aelin asked.

“Yeah, he needed a favour,” Rowan explained.

Aelin just looked more confused by the second. “What does that have to do with my phone?”

“You see—”

Rowan was interrupted by Dorian and Aedion returning to the table, drinks in hand. No one noticed the tension between him and Aelin, or the fact the phone was still in his hand. Conversation broke out around them, but neither joined in. Aelin just had him pinned with her turquoise eyes still waiting for her answer.

Leaning in, Rowan whispered, “I don’t think this is the right place for this,” he handed the phone back. “Can I tell you later?”

It seemed this was one thing that Aelin didn’t have the patience for. She took her phone from Rowan, and then with her unoccupied hand she twisted a fist into the hem of his shirt, dragging him off his stool, giving him no option but to follow her. There were questioning looks from just about everyone they passed, Aelin ignored them and Rowan did his best to as well. They made quite the sight with Aelin physically dragging him off to wherever she deemed an appropriate place to continue this conversation. She didn’t let go until they were outside, taking him around the corner so they were off the main street and in a little alleyway instead.

“All right, Whitethorn. Spill,” Aelin said, leaving him against the wall while she stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “Why were you going through my phone?”

Rowan was trapped, nowhere to go unless he could melt into the wall. “It’s a long story.”

“Oh, I’ve got time,” Aelin assured him.

With the wall at his back and the unrelenting force of a woman in front of him, Rowan truly felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He might as well be honest about it.

“I was deleting a message from Fenrys. He accidentally sent you a nude, so he asked me to delete it before you could see it,” Rowan succinctly put it.

“That was mighty noble of him,” Aelin said, laughter shaking her voice. “And you might I add. I’m curious as to why he sent you, you aren’t always the most benevolent when it comes to Fen’s stupidity.”

Standing here in front of Aelin admitting his wrong doings had Rowan flustered, her outfit wasn’t helping matters either. He was distracted and rambling, and words just started spilling out of his mouth. “It wasn’t just for him, it was for me too. Fen’s knows I’m in love with you and he felt bad and—”

“Wait, what did you say?” Aelin’s hand darted out, landing on his chest.

“Shit…” That was when he realised what he’d said. That he’d dobbed himself in.

Aelin stepped closer, right into his personal space. She’d been this close to him a million times before, but this time it felt different. There was something charged between them. Rowan didn’t dare breathe, afraid to break whatever spell they were under. Aelin reached out the palm of her hand burning through his thin t-shirt.

“Rowan, what did you say?”

That long held breath shuddered out of him, there was nowhere for him to go, nowhere for him to hide. It was now or never, and if he lied to her, Aelin would know it in a second.

“I said I was in love with you.”

Aelin stared at him for a long moment, then there was a cluster of rapid blinks and she shook her head just a little bit. Rowan’s heart threatened to break, his mind imagining all the devastating sentences she might say. None of those came, instead she glanced up at him with an almost shy expression, if she could ever be called shy.

“I thought it was just me,” Aelin whispered.

The words were said so quietly Rowan couldn’t be sure if he’d heard them or imagined them. “What?”

Aelin’s answer was to reach for his t-shirt again, this time up near his collar and pulling him down. Soft and inviting lips met his, the shock of it melting away as Aelin’s tongue swept over his lips. He groaned, on hand on her hip and the other on the small of her back bringing her closer. Aelin came willingly, her body melting against his. When his hand slid up her back to the nape of her neck she sighed, letting him angle her head the exact way he wanted.

Kissing Aelin lived up to every expectation—and then some. His fantasties never did her justice, there was something about the way she kissed him. It was like walking into a wildfire and letting it consume you. Rowan couldn’t get enough. They only stopped when he had to come up for air. He didn’t let her get far though.

Rowan held her, his chin resting on her head. When she laughed Rowan pulled back kissing Aelin’s cheek before she looked up at him.

“I can’t believe it took Fenrys sending me a nude for us to finally admit our feelings,” she said, her laughter shaking her voice.

“That was also not on my list of possibilities,” Rowan agreed with a light chuckle. “His situation is not one I’d ever be caught in.”

Aelin drew back to look up at him. “Wait, you mean you’ve never sent a nude before.” When Rowan shook his head her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Seriously?”

“I… no. Is that weird?” Rowan was suddenly feeling a little self conscious.

“Well, no. Maybe a touch unusual,” Aelin admitted.

There was an implication floating between Aelin’s words, and it had his hand tightening ever so slightly on her hip. “You have?”

Aelin gave him a smirk that told him she knew exactly what realm his emotions had wandered off to. He was getting jealous. “Every now and then, always tasteful though.”

Through the teeth cracking tightness of his jaw all Rowan could manage was soft, “Oh.”

The poorly hidden display of his emotions made Aelin laugh and she was kissing him again. The worry fading from him as the reality of what was happening really set in. His. Aelin was well on her way to being his and it was so godsdamned stupid of him to be jealous. Rowan wouldn’t let anything ruin this moment.

“Will you come back in?” Aelin said onto his lips, like she couldn’t bear to pull away.

With Aelin’s body pressed against him like this it was a tempting offer. But he was tired, and unless it was just him and Aelin he didn’t particularly feel like socialising. Plus, this was new. Rowan didn’t know how he was supposed to act, he certainly wouldn’t be able to pretend things hadn’t changed. He would give them away in half a second. There would be questions and he and Aelin hadn’t even had a chance to talk about it properly.

“I’m gonna go home,” Rowan said, kissing her in between words. “But tomorrow, I promise.”

He didn’t exactly know what he was promising, but tomorrow they would figure everything out.

“Okay,” Aelin said.

When she stepped away Rowan’s body screamed in protest. He would go home, fall asleep, and make tomorrow come that much sooner. Aelin was outright grinning as she took a few steps backward, eyeing him up with intent. It had heat rushing to Rowan’s cheeks made worse when she winked suggestively at him.

“Make sure you keep your phone close. Who knows what kind of messages are flying around these days.”

Rowan didn’t know what to say to that, what to think about the promise she was hinting at between the lines. No matter what, Rowan wouldn’t let his phone drift too far. When Aelin was gone from sight and Rowan composed himself, sending a quick message to Fenrys to let him know his mission was accomplished before starting on his way back home, to wait, and his outlook on life that much brighter.

~~~~~

There is a very fun part two in the works *smirks* @rowaelinscourt

[betraumatizebaby]

I Signed Up for a Quest Not a Wedding Registry! AU part seven

Previous = Next

Tw: Implied S.A and forced pregnancy.

Odysseus rested his head on Penelope’s lap, his body sinking into the comfort of her presence. Odysseus close his eyes and smile as he felt her finger run though his hair. The world beyond them faded; for once, he allowed himself to forget everything—everything but her touch. Only forcing on her. Suddenly, "He did something to you."

Odysseus’s eyes snapped open as he look up at his wife, there was something was wrong. Her eyes—once familiar and alive—had turned pitch black, hollow as the void.

"What?" His voice cracked, his confusion raw. Clearly doesn't understand what Penelope saying. "None of this is real." Penelope murmured, her face beginning to dissolve like wax under flame.

Odysseus scrambled to his feet as his surroundings twisted and decayed into a grotesque corruption of reality. Covering his ears, he dropped to his knees, as overwhelmed by a cacophony of voices invading his mind:

“None of this is real.” “You are not home.” “He did something to you.” “Please wake up.” “There is something inside—”

---

He jolted awake, gasping, his body drenched in sweat. Scrambling for the bucket by his bedside and vomit. Another nightmare. Odysseus wiped his mouth. His stomach churned as he tried to steady himself.

Was this normal? Had Apollo or Artemis cursed him with their arrows? Could a god even fall ill? His eyes drifted to the marks scattered across his skin—purple bruises and faint impressions of teeth. The sight churned his stomach anew. The sight sent a wave of nausea through him. He felt sick. Not just sick. Wrong. He wasn’t just sick; he felt… violated.

Odysseus tried to make sense of the dream. He did something to you. What did he do? Or, more accurately, what didn’t he do? The sickness didn’t fade, and an unsettling craving gnawed at him—fruits of all kinds, though none were available here. He supposed it was natural, given that his diet had consisted entirely of seafood. Well, not always, but it might as well have been.

Maybe he could ask him for some—no! He slapped himself lightly, shaking his head. No, he wouldn’t indulge this ridiculous urge. No matter how unbearable it felt (and it was unbearable). Curling into a ball, he gritted his teeth as the ache in his stomach intensified. He pressed a trembling hand against his abdomen, his breath shallow.

There was something growing inside him.

Fix the grammer and try to replace overused word:

Mpreg canon!? Well, not quite yet. I always planning on making one of them pregnant I’ve always considered making one of the characters pregnant since I’ve never written a story about someone experiencing pregnancy—let alone someone struggling through it. Odysseus seems like the ideal candidate, not only because he blinded Poseidon's son, but also because it doesn’t feel as fitting for the others (though that doesn’t rule out the possibility entirely).

Even though this AU started as a lighthearted "haha, the crew becomes gods" AU, I want to address sensitive topics, like S/A, with care and respect. My main priority is to ensure that these themes are handled thoughtfully and don’t cause discomfort or make anyone, especially survivors, feel invalidated—despite my tendency to make jokes about darker subjects.

Anyway. This is my first attempt at a mini-fic in this AU, so please, I would love to hear your ideas, opinions, and criticism for this AU!

[cosmicjoke]

Hi, Cosmic! I was considering this scene from a Levi story on AO3 which I had read a while ago, where it described his life in the Underground before he met Furlan (maybe it was one of yours, I'm not certain). It talked of how he would often go days without speaking at all, and ultimately delved into his loneliness and how he hadn't realized how alone he'd been until he wasn't. I had also read recently an analysis stating that Levi's attachment style would be fearful-avoidant due to how he grew up, which, I mean, makes perfect sense.

Thus the combination made me wonder: How do you think Levi felt when he and Furlan moved in together? Did it trigger his abandonment issues in any way, letting Furlan in emotionally when his last relationship (that we know of) was with Kenny? Given the concept of attachment styles, Levi was probably both distant and reliant with him, so how do you think Furlan reacted to this?

Hmm, that could have been one of my stories, haha, I've definitely written a few stories (all of which remain incomplete, lol) about Levi's life Underground. I feel like it's a period in Levi's life that's just ripe for exploration, but very few people seem particularly interested in writing about it, for whatever reason.

I know I do explore that idea in "This Life, After", of Levi being sort of functionally mute because he gets so little social interaction, and I think that's a pretty fair assumption to make about him growing up, especially after Kenny left him. As far as we know, Levi didn't have a single friend until he met Furlan, and we know, from the extra stories included in the "No Regrets" manga that Levi met Furlan when he was essentially full grown. I've talked before also, pretty extensively, about how it seems very likely that Levi had no social interaction with other children growing up, even when living with his mother. I don't know if you've read my analysis posts on this, but I'll link you to them here:

Anyway, I'm not a psychologist, so I can't really speak to what specific attachment style Levi may or may not have. In truth, nobody, even an accredited and practicing psychologist could definitively diagnose Levi with any, specific mental disorder or condition, because of course he's a fictional character, lol. But I don't think you need to be a psychologist to make accurate or educated guesses about what sort of mental health issues Levi might be suffering from. For example, I think it's fairly obvious that Levi is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, because it would seem to me nearly impossible for him not to have been deeply traumatized by the experiences, not only in his childhood, but as an adult too, and I say that because of Levi's obvious emotional sensitivity. He feels things very keenly and I think more deeply than any other character in the series. That well of emotional depth, along with his immense empathic nature I think renders Levi more susceptible to emotional pain, and more easily given to grief over the loss of his comrades/friends/family than even an average person. I just think Levi feels things more deeply than is common. I think that's also what gives Levi his exceptional emotional intelligence, his ability to accurately read people and understand who they are at their cores.

To get to your specific question, it's an interesting one.

Levi is definitely someone who I think is fearful of getting close to others out of a fear of losing them, knowing the pain it causes him when he, seemingly inevitably, does. No doubt that finds its roots in Levi's earliest childhood experiences. People often talk about Kenny's abandonment of Levi (with good reason), but I rarely see it talked about how Levi's mother, in a sense, also abandoned him. Not intentionally, the way Kenny did, but the fact remains, Levi's mother died and left him alone, which very nearly led to Levi's own death. I think that absolutely must have had an impact on Levi and caused an expectation in him from very early on of abandonment. Levi couldn't have been more than five years old when his mother died, and those are obviously very important developmental years for a child. You add to that Kenny's abandonment, and it seems pretty likely to me that, yes, Levi has a fear of abandonment by the people he loves.

What's interesting about Levi, though, is that even with this fear, and even in his efforts to keep his distance from people in order to spare himself the emotional and mental distress of losing them, I think Levi's higher level of empathy and compassion renders him incapable of escaping that emotional pain, even when he doesn't know a person well, even when he's intentionally kept away from them. I've spoken numerous times of how Levi shows the same level of care and concern, and makes just as much of an effort to save the lives of people he doesn't know or doesn't know well as the ones he does know well and is close to. He even extends that same level of care and concern toward people who have been actively hostile toward him, such as the merchants in Trost who badger and bully him over the failures of the Survey Corps, to the point of even personally insulting him, or in "No Regrets", we see Levi go out of his way to save the lives of soldiers who have both endangered his own and actively mistreated and been cruel to him. We see Levi do this with Dieter, during the Female Titan arc. Despite Dieter's cruelty toward Levi, calling him a heartless monster, Levi gives him Petra's badge and tells him it was Ivan's. He gives up his own comfort to someone who's been nothing but hostile toward him, and who would have rightly been in for a scolding and even punishment for endangering the lives of the unit. But instead of being unkind in return, Levi shows Dieter nothing but compassion.

All this to say, I think even when Levi isn't emotionally or personally close to people, he still feels the weight of their loss as if he were, and he still empathizes with and understands their emotions and thought process as if he were. There's a part in "No Regrets" in which Furlan laments that they had better hurry up and complete their mission to get the documents from Erwin before Levi and Isabel start genuinely considering "dedicating their hearts" to the Survey Corps. I've talked about how this clearly indicates that Furlan is aware of Levi's tendency to get attached to people, even when he's actively trying not to. Levi, for example, doesn't want to teach his combat techniques to any of the other SC soldiers because he knows if he does and then they end up getting killed, he'll hold himself responsible for it. Again, this is indicative of Levi's tendency to become emotionally attached and involved with people, even those he doesn't know well, to the point he would feel responsible for their lives, and responsible for protecting those lives, even when, again, he doesn't know them well, and even when he hasn't been treated particularly well by them. We have to remember, upon entering the SC, none of the other soldiers showed any particular friendliness toward Levi, outside of Hange. He was even faced with pretty blatant classism from some of them, and plain resentment. But he still knew himself well enough to know that he was already beginning to feel responsible for their lives. Even with being treated as an outsider by them, he still isn't able to keep himself detached from them. We see this play out too, in the story's climax, when Levi makes his choice to go after Erwin alone. He makes the choice with full consideration of what he thinks will be best, not just for Furlan and Isabel, but for Flagon and the rest of their squad. He's equally concerned for their well being, and determines that all of them will have a better chance of survival if Furlan and Isabel stays with them. Again, Flagon has been nothing but hostile toward Levi through the entire story, but he still cares about Flagon's life.

So basically, to get to your specific question, lol, I think Levi likely became very attached to Furlan fairly quickly. There's even a similarity to Levi's relationship with Furlan and what I laid out above, in terms of how Levi even cares about people who have been unkind to him. We know from one of the extra stories that Furlan first met Levi by attempting to entrap him and force him through physical assault to join his gang. So Furlan's first interaction with Levi was one of deception and an attempt to use him against his will. We learn later from a conversation Levi is having with another scout that Levi saved his life from his own gang, when they eventually turned on him. This is consistent with how we see Levi make just as much effort to help and show just as much concern for the lives of people who have previously been unkind to him in some way or even attempted to hurt him in some way. Levi saves Furlan's life, despite Furlan trying to deceive Levi and force him into a situation against his will.

So I imagine, once Levi became actual friends with Furlan, and moved in with him, at that point, I imagine the bond between them was incredibly deep and unbreakable. I think over time Furlan would have begun to recognize that Levi's aloof demeanor and lack of expression wasn't at all indicative of the actual depth of attachment and care he felt toward Furlan himself. I always say that I think Levi's relationship with both Furlan and Isabel was more than simple friendship. I think Levi viewed the both of them as his family, and objectively speaking, I think he was probably closer to the two of them than anyone else in his life. Part of that, I think, would come from the fact they were his first, actual friends, and also because they were the only people Levi ever knew and was close to who were from the same world he was. I think Levi likely was fearful at first when he first moved in with Furlan that he might lose him in some way, that Furlan might leave him, or be killed, etc... But I also think it's a testament to Levi's resilience and open heart that, despite having already been abandoned by the two most important people in his life up to that point, he still allowed this new person into his life and allowed himself to grow deeply close to him. I think, also, that's a product of, again, Levi's inability to close his heart off to people, due to his immense empathy. Even though Levi is afraid of losing people and wants to shield himself against the pain of that, he continually fails at remaining detached, because he just naturally cares too much about other people to ever, truly separate himself from them or freeze them out. He's never been able to not care. I think Furlan probably understood that pretty quickly about Levi, and as I already said, he probably understood that Levi's aloof demeanor and seeming distance didn't actually mean he didn't care. I think Furlan understood that Levi would protect him no matter what and would always stay by his side. Isayama even said Levi is extremely loyal. He isn't ever going to abandon anyone himself. So basically, I think Furlan understood Levi, after a time, and would have recognized that Levi's appearance of apathy in truth was just his way of dealing with the fact he actually feels and cares more deeply than anyone. He only keeps his emotions held inside so he can remain reliable to himself and others, because if he allowed himself to fully feel what he was actually feeling in any, given moment, it would be overwhelming. People that know Levi truly know this about him. And so Furlan definitely would have realized that.

Anyway, I hope that answers your question, lol. That got WAY too long. I can never seem to keep my answers short.

[dykeiism]

whenever i see people talking about the purpose of mental health diagnoses, three reasons usually come up:

to encourage self-understanding

to concisely describe treatment options to professionals

to gain access to resources and accomodations

but it's hard for me to agree with any of these. given the harm associated with diagnosis, especially diagnosis of a personality disorder, i'm finding it increasingly difficult to justify diagnosing any mental disorder at all. below the cut is a breakdown of each of these three reasons, and why i believe that none of them hold up to criticism.

(1) to encourage self-understanding.

diagnostic criteria are so rigid that they discourage self-understanding. they fragment the human experience, categorizing it into easily digestible groups of "symptoms" rather than understanding a person's struggles holistically. this is why we have a phenomenon of people thinking, "well, my anxiety tells me this, but my depression tells me that" and "i'm having an intrusive thought but can't tell if it's coming from my ocd, ptsd, or bpd." diagnosis misleads patients into believing that, much like one might cough due to either pollen in the lungs or a respiratory illness, one might feel anxious due to either their generalized anxiety disorder diagnosis or their post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis. a more accurate understanding of the human mind would necessarily involve doing away with the pathology of gad versus ptsd, and instead being able to understand that the anxiety might simply result from a combination of previous negative experiences, a naturally sensitive personality, and underdeveloped emotion regulation skills. a diagnosis is a description of a pattern of thoughts and behaviours; nothing more. my mental health conditions don't cause me to think or behave a certain way. rather, my thoughts and behaviours are similar to the thoughts and behaviours of other people who have also been deemed mentally sick. this makes it possible for doctors to use a certain diagnosis as a shorthand to describe my personality and skills (i refuse to call such things "symptoms") to other doctors. it does not mean that i have a sickness that causes me to think and act in certain way.

why would i want to understand myself through the lens of a psychiatrist, anyways? psychiatry is a deeply individual solution to systemic problems. we're living in a world that evolution could not prepare us for, yet we are told that there's something wrong with our brains if we're unable to adapt to these unprecedented living conditions. i refuse to believe that my brain is sick unless somebody has looked at my brain and can tell me where the sickness is. we must not forget that we're dealing with the discipline that understood homosexuality and hysteria as mental illnesses, and that initially understood autism to be a form of schizophrenia.

(2) to concisely describe treatment options to professionals

imagine, if you will, someone with post-traumatic stress disorder. all you know about them is that they have ptsd. now, recommend a treatment method for them!

nobody can give a good treatment recommendation based on that diagnosis alone. more information is needed: is the patient dealing with persistent general anxiety, sudden panic attacks, or a phobia? does the patient have compulsions? is the patient aggressive, anxious, or depressive? depending on the answers, the ideal treatment plan will be quite different.

now let's consider borderline personality disorder. there are 4 types of bpd and there are 256 possible ways to combine the 5 symptoms required for diagnosis (there are 9 symptoms in total). the personalities, cognitive abilities, and struggles of people diagnosed with bpd are quite diverse, and they will all require varying types and degrees of professional intervention. that being said, bpd is almost always treated with dbt and a few medication options including antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and anticonvulsants. there are so many other disorders that are treated with dbt and the same drugs. so why make bpd, bipolar, ptsd, cptsd, and depression their own diagnoses? what reason is there, other than to fragment our struggles and generate stigma?

my wish for the future of psychiatry is that, instead of being diagnosed with a disorder that is simultaneously very specific yet inexplicably vague, patients will be told "your struggles are related to trauma and emotional dysregulation. i recommend that you take an antidepressant and attend dialectical behavioural therapy sessions," or "your struggles are related to catastrophization and unhelpful behaviours, i recommend that you engage in cognitive behavioural therapy."

(3) to gain access to resources and accommodations

there are better ways to do this. i don't think anyone should be turned away from the accommodations that they need. however, if resources are scarce and must be gatekept, then a simple interview or quotient test will be sufficient in determining the level of need.

[sugaringcozy]

Donghyuck/Haechan Natal Chart Reading - Part 3: Childhood and Education

Disclaimers: 

☁️ This natal chart reading is for entertainment purposes and this is just my perspective. Take this with a grain of salt.

☁️ My intention from this reading is just to understand Donghyuck better and appreciate the person he is, where any sensitive topics come up I do not claim to know them as fact or wish to speculate.

☁️ This idol has given two different birth times, 10am and 6pm. This reading is based of his 6pm Natal Chart as I am not sure which birth time was given more recently and this chart seems more accurate to me.

Please do not copy my work and credit me if referencing!

🪐Neptune in 3rd House is a very interesting placement and there is a lot to cover here. 3rd house can suggest a lot about your childhood and early education. What I have picked up with the Neptune ruling third house is that Donghyuck was probably very imaginative and spent a lot of time daydreaming as a child, which is encouraged by the Aquarius placement as this is a naturally imaginative sign. Likely had a lot of ideas and was clumsy due to his mind being elsewhere. Can suggest anxiety in childhood - either in the child themselves or in circumstances which caused the child to worry excessively. For Haechan I imagine this would have been a result of being left with his grandparents as the eldest of 4. He likely felt a lot of uncertainty and insecurity around his family situation. Third House Neptune in Aquarius also suggests distance from your parents growing up. Neptune in the third house also suggests a parent was absent from your life during childhood, which we know was true. When Aquarius is in the third house, these adults tend to like to distance themselves from their childhood and as such Donghyuck likely prefers not to think about that period of his life. Donghyuck would have learned a lot through play, imaginative games and socialising with other kids. This placement also has a tendency to concentrate heavily or not at all. This house is on the Pisces cusp so Haechan would have learned best with no distractions. Neptune also rules dance, music and acting so Haechan is naturally talented in these areas and would have been drawn to them since he was little and started dance classes young. 🎭

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 3rd House can give some insight on childhood as well as sibling relationships growing up - in Capricorn this represents being the responsible sibling, could have “parented” other siblings or feels a need to protect them. Capricorn in 3rd also shows the importance of the native to their family - Donghyuck is a main authority in his family and has caused a big shift in dynamic - which could of course be the fact that Donghyuck has brought a large amount of wealth to his family through his career.

🦁 9th House is always interesting as it can tell you about someone’s father and their relationship. A Leo Moon in 9th House suggests a father who is creatively inclined, proud, brave, dominant and hard-working. Hyuck likely has a good relationship with him and regards him very well, although a theme of independence also comes up with this placement. To me it makes sense as Donghyuck has lived most of his life away from his Dad, but clearly admires him and his sacrifices for their family. You also inherit certain traits from your father - the fact Leo is his Moon would indicate Hyuck has inherited many of his father’s mental traits - his bravery, his fire-like passion, and likely his creative talents too - I think Donghyuck mentioned in ‘Lost Boys’ that his parents met while they were working as musicians?

☀️ Donghyuck’s Gemini Sun and Mars Conjunction tells us more about his father, as Sun represents father and Mars represents warrior - so often this combination can suggest a father who ‘fights’ for a living, like being a fire-fighter, soldier etc or it can be a father who is very warrior-like - fierce and courageous, leading his family through difficulty. Often these fathers are also strict and have high standards for their children.

✨ Square between Jupiter and Uranus can signify an inner conflict between having a very busy career and spending time with family - Donghyuck is likely hyper aware of all the important moments he has missed due to being so busy, and maybe feels a sense of guilt about it :(

✨ Opposition between Gemini Sun and Sagittarius Pluto - People with this placement are very sensitive to criticism. Also shows a deep fear of losing people, and maybe a fear of losing control. For Donghyuck I think this stems from his childhood, which as we now know had multiple losses and large adjustments. He must have missed his parents terribly and this may have impacted upon his sense of security as an adult.

✨ Opposition between Saturn and Ascendant/Saturn Setting - A negative aspect here, symbolising that as a child he may have felt lonely, worried or struggled with feelings of loss/abandonment. It could also mean he has avoided romantic relationships despite many offers because he has had to overcome feelings of unworthiness. However Haechan has allowed himself to gain a new family in NCT, and his closeness with the members certainly suggests he is not isolating himself. It could be that he has worked through this trauma already, or that he is in the process of it. His childhood has also made him a very resilient and tough person - these people are very reliable and level.

🐻 Uranus in 3rd House - This placement is associated with geniuses who can only really focus on what interests them, so it's quite likely Donghyuck would have performed less well in some classes and excelled in Music & Drama class. Probably got in trouble for pranks, and could have been teased by other children. Interestingly this house yet again points to an unusual upbringing. Being the oldest of four, and being raised by his grandparents due to his parents working away must have put some weight on Donghyuck’s shoulders. It signifies a feeling of responsibility or often being the child in trouble (either through his mischief or being the oldest). Haechan also feels very protective of his family’s privacy.

⛵ Square between Uranus & Ascendant - This placement seems to suggest big changes in someone’s early life which cause them to lack roots or a predetermined identity - basically, they aren't given much of a secure/fixed identity. Usually it manifests as moving a lot as a child or other big changes in childhood which prevent you from putting down roots and having a strong sense of who you are. This is very interesting because there was a lot of adjustment in Donghyuck’s childhood, and things got even crazier when he debuted in SM rookies at age 14, essentially ending any normal/private teenage years he otherwise would have had.

🗡️ Chiron & Pluto Sagittarius in 1st House in Retrograde - Signifies that his deepest wound is from early life and being in 1st house, it was quite core in making him who he is. Being in retrograde means that Donghyuck’s pain is internalised, an emotional rather than physical reaction. The Sagittarius element reveals that Donghyuck experienced pain or loss when developing his core beliefs/sense of stability and identity. Can make it hard for him to truly believe in anything and know who he identifies with. There is a need for finding meaning in life and to put down roots as he feels lost and unstable. Having a religious faith is likely very helpful to him. Chiron in 1st house can also bring about self-consciousness about your body/looks, which could have stemmed from ways he was treated in childhood. Because it is in the 1st house, this pain is visible to others around him; the people who know him are aware of the walls he puts up, his self-image issues and know he doesn't verbalise all of his feelings. Along with his Leo Moon I again think this means Hyuck prefers to ‘show’ his feelings rather than talk about them, and needs people around him who can understand and comfort/reassure him without needing him to verbalise his insecurities. 

🏰 Midheaven in Virgo - 10th House cusp, Scorpio Rising/Ascendant - Donghyuck will guard his private life very closely, and issues can occur if the people around him don't consider his privacy as important as he does. This is especially true for the privacy of his family.

🌊♀️ Pisces in 4th House - 4th House can symbolise relationship with Mom and how the native sees them - for Donghyuck, this is a Mom who is creative, free-spirited, good-hearted and had to sacrifice a lot while raising her children. Speaks of a Karmic past-life bond with his Mom. ❤️ So cute. Through his mother, Donghyuck has learned unconditional love, loss and sacrifice. 4th House also speaks of childhood generally - Pisces is a childhood in which one or both parents were absent either physically or emotionally. A lot of adults with this placement tend to struggle with emotional expression. It can also manifest as an adult seeking love from people who do not love them. Often adults with mutable 4th houses find it hard to talk about their childhoods and again are very private and protective of themselves, which seems to be the case with Donghyuck, combined with his Scorpio Ascendant. Pisces in 4th is often a childhood where someone had to learn to care for themselves at a young age and ‘grow up’ quickly. HOWEVER, I think this is more about Hyuck moving to Seoul at 12 years old to become a trainee, rather than about his family.

💘 His Leo Moon and Sagittarius Pluto Trine shows an especially deep relationship with female relatives. One woman in particular will have a profound impact on Donghyuck’s life and he will learn and grow so much through her despite early difficulties. I want to say it’s a soul bond, and with the Pisces 4th house I believe this is referring to his Mom, though it could be his Grandmother who he also respects greatly.

👶 North Node in Cancer 8th House & South Node in Capricorn 2nd House - Haechan will dream of creating his own happy family. This is so cute because we obviously know how much he wants to be a Dad one day to show his child “a father’s love.”

~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading, I hope this was interesting! ☁️ 💖

Previous - Part 2: Career, Passions and Work Life

Next - Part 4: Friendships and Relationships

Back to Masterlist

[ao3-oner]

you are such an amazing reader i've slammed through all your works in the past few days. i simply cannot get enough! what are some of your favourite fics from lol rpf (not gwen because i've consumed all of her content too lol) ?

Lmao thank you for the compliment! I'm going to assume that you meant "amazing writer," but we'll see if my fic recs are good enough to prove me a passable reader as well!

ALSO YOU DID NOT NEED TO CLOCK ME AS A GWEN FANBOY OKAY lol, it's a completely accurate assessment of what my list would have looked like without your specification but damn. I guess I'll shut up about her. Her fics are so good, though...

I'll do it like this: if you've read all my works, then you're familiar with my core four ships (GK, OZ, CS, and RL), so I'll recommend two fics for each of those ships, plus two Gen fics because imo all Gen fics need more love. I'll limit myself to doing one fic per author because there are too many talented fic writers in this fandom to count, and I'll also try to make one fic for each ship more lh while the other can be angstier (since Idk which you'd prefer). Also disclaimer that I will only be including English fics in this list - I have dabbled in Google translate and thoroughly enjoyed some of the non-English fics I've read, but I do not feel comfortable recommending them as someone who cannot understand the original language. Hopefully, you'll find some stuff on here that you like!

Let's start with the GuKe (the inability to recommend Gwen's fics is absolutely killing me here):

no rules in breakable heaven by Maria Swift, Rated T, 12,000 words (you will need to be logged in to AO3 to read this one)

This was one of the first fics in the fandom I ever read and I absolutely loved it. It's meetcute college AU GuKe with a side of "and they were roommates" that's just very fun and entertaining to read. Definitely a great feel-good fic and one that I've returned to a handful of times when I need a pick-me-up. Super well-written, as well.

Phantom, Be Still In My Heart by seralove, Unrated (there is some sensitive content but nothing too graphic), 10,500 words

I was lucky enough to read this fic when it first came out and ohhhh my God did it make me feel things. This is canon (well, not quite) Worlds GuKe with a healthy portion of angst, and the descriptions are all very emotional. This fic kind of ruined me, in a good way, so just be prepared for that and definitely give it a read.

For the One2eus fics, I have the pleasure of recommending two of my favorite fic writers in the entire fandom:

lightning storm by sightstone (symmetrophobic), Rated T, 8,500 words

Reading this fic was part of what inspired me to start writing for this fandom in the first place. It's cute, it's sweet, it's absolutely hilarious - I laughed out loud multiple times while reading it. Definitely check out the other works by sightstone, too, especially her ongoing GuKe fae fic that currently has me brainrotting like crazy.

just look at me now (i'm lovesick) by screamtail, Rated E for smut, 3,500 words

Honestly, all of screamtail's works are iconic and recommendable, but for some reason, this one stuck with me a bit more than the others. I think it's probably the angst undertone and the brilliant descriptions that really made it stick in my mind. It explores the OZ dynamic from Zeus's perspective while offering some high-quality pwp content, so what's not to love?

Now if you're a CanMaker fan like me, you've probably already read all of the English fics in the tag (as you should, as have I), but I'll shoutout some of my personal favorites here:

we're magnetized (I admit it) by dustedpeach, Rated T, 15,000 words

I did not know how desperately I needed cat cafe AU Gen.G in my life until I read this fic. There could be a 100 volume series solely about this AU cafe and all of its shenanigans and I would eat up every chapter of it. In addition to the world building being truly visionary, the CanShow content is (naturally) super adorable and I will always love Canyon being a simp.

If only time were kinder by Chastelove, Rated T, 3,000 words

Speaking of fics that messed me up, Christ, my heart after reading this! Idk how I'm going to be okay. I might not. It's just... Apocalypse AU CanMaker. That's it. Read it. Please. I can't suffer alone anymore-

Since both of these recs are from AUs, if you're looking for more canon CanMaker (CanonMaker??), or if you're looking for something a bit spicier, I'd definitely recommend snow by chovying as well. It's another amazing and adorable fic, and the only reason that I didn't recommend it above is that it felt like a copout answer to push a fic that was gifted to me - like of course I love that fic! You should definitely read it and give it all the kudos in the world, though.

Finally (for the ship fics, at least), we have my beloved RuLehends. Much like CanMaker, true fans of this ship will have already read all of the English fics on AO3 for it, but I'll still take the opportunity to squeal about some of them:

told you so by Aurelion8(Monochrome01), Rated E for smut, 2,000 words

On its own, this is a short, sweet and smutty pwp fic, but I am once again encouraging you to read all of the fics by this writer because there are only three of them but they all go insanely hard - especially we're still here, but really 3/3 are bangers. The reason I specifically recommended told you so was that it's like... the closest RuLehends ever gets to not being angsty? Lmao, these two really just have angst and smut encoded into their dynamic. But seriously, you should read all three of Aurelion8's fics. They are hot and lovely and I am eagerly awaiting whenever they post next.

i feel it burning me (i feel it burning you) by speaktothemoon, Rated M for implied sexual content (imho it could prob be T), 12,500 words

Ughhh this fic is just so good. It does such an excellent job of capturing the complex and heartbreaking relationship that Siwoo and Jaehyuk share while diving into what happened behind closed doors in 2022. I may have cried while reading it. Tears of joy but also sorrow because wtf... these two really will be the death of me.

Last but certainly not least, we have a pair of Gen fics aka shipless fics that I cannot recommend enough! Honestly, this category was the hardest to pick two from by far, but here's what I have for you:

In which T1 accidentally summons the Unkillable Demon King by ginger_owl, Unrated (for violence purposes), 35,500 words and ongoing

Ginger is 100% another writer who you should just click the account name for and read everything on there - her Star Guardian AU, Welcome to Summoner's Rift, it's all brilliant beyond words. The reason I chose this fic specifically is it's the first one I read (also one of the first LoL RPF fics I ever read) and that makes me nostalgic for it. It's basically what it says on the tin - high school AU where ZOGK are students and they summon the demon Faker. The worldbuilding and characterizations in her fics are always a highlight, and I'd strongly recommend reading through her entire corpus!

they light candles in rome by keres (DeerGoBonk), Rated G, 9,000 words + an 18,000 word in-depth analysis in chapter 2 because legend???

Okay as someone who's a bit of a mythology nerd... this fic made me think for a very long time. It is gorgeous and tragic and definitely worth reading through multiple times. It will make you think, then if you read keres's own analysis in the following chapter it will make you think even more. It's indescribable, really, so just def go read it for yourself!

I've just realized that both of those recs are T1-centric (but honestly, aren't most fics in the fandom?) but so are all of the other Gen fics I wanted to recommend, so.... if you're looking for non-T1, non-romance-based fics, might I recommend Metro Lines and Their Prismatic Tears? :3

God, this is making me think that I should write more platonic fics... Like Master Yourself (Master Your Enemy) was supposed to be Gen, but then the CanShow leaked into it a bit too much... honestly though? I should change that back to being marked as Gen. Platonic Lucid & Canyon is still very much the central relationship there. I'm also proud of myself for writing How It Feels to Chew 5 Gum... 2024 KT Rolster, I will miss you dearly... You should also read the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb by this excellent author named gw- *Jhin 4th shot comes through the window*

One more thing: it didn't fit into any of my arbitrary above categories, but my favorite ongoing fic/the fic that I'm currently most excited to keep reading is definitely:

off with your head by oathsworn (onelastchence), KiinCuzz with background Bddker, Rated E for death and violence, 12,000 words and ongoing

The Netflix adaptation of Alice in Borderlands is one of my favorite live action shows of all time, so needless to say I am eagerly seated for an LoLRPF AU/retelling of the story. The writing and narrative has been incredible so far, and I would love to recruit more readers to join me on the journey that is reading this fic!

Thanks for the ask! I sincerely hope you enjoy all of these fics as much as I have, and please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts on all of them. Also, remember to leave kudos and comments on all of the fics you do enjoy, because it really means a lot to the writers and they all deserve more love than I alone could possibly offer them <3

Have a nice night, and happy Halloween!!

[forkingandcountry-if]

Hi!!! I just finished the demo and I just wanna say I'm loving it 🫶🫶🫶 this might be the lore-heaviest IF I've ever played and I love the fact you can be transgender!! I'm wondering if it will have any impact on the story? I'd understand if there won't be since some transgender folks wouldn't want to experience it, but it might be history accurate to have some comments on that. If so, a toggle for comments would be nice so that people can avoid them. I personally wouldn't mind the comments, I'm going to kick ass anyways! Lots of love!!!

Thank you for the comment, I'm happy you enjoyed it.

I answer your question under the cut.

It will have effects on the story in terms of flavour text of them taking the elixirs issued by the Church to help with their transition and stuff of that nature, of course in terms of comments the Empire is different to Europe was at the same approximate time so it's more fine the same way homosexuality is also considered more fine in the Empire.

Considering the idea of a choice to change it but seeing as I don't expect the MC to interact out-and-out transphobia from anyone I can't see the use in it that wouldn't detract from the story. At worst they'll experience the same things homosexual and queer MCs will experience which is a society that accepts them legally but there are those who find their presence disrupting to the status quo socially.

It's a fine line to walk between depicting the views on these things and not writing scenes that are potentially upsetting but that's why I have a few of my friends who are affected by these issues as sensitivity readers.

So all in all I don't see the need to add such a choice yet.

[blu-nurse-needs-sleep]

What are your thoughts on the other mercs?

(Disclaimer. This will include headcanons and ocs and these opinions aren't fully accurate to any rps I've had with others)

Me and Medic are close for obvious reasons. I'm his assistant in Medical. Though he is like a father to me and was the one to help me back then. A few of the others have compared me to being his guard dog.

I don't talk to Heavy. Simple reason; I don't like his relationship with Medic. He is a good man on the field. No more, no less.

Scout is... something alright. He can be annoying and I hate how he reeks of tobacco. Though at the same time he's the only one willing enough to let me experiment on him.

I don't like Spy. I don't like his fighting methods. I don't like his smell. I don't like his voice. I detest the man.

Pyro is lovely. They were one of the first in the team to approach me after I joined. It was easy to understand him and they're a pleasure to be around.

I don't really talk to Sniper. He doesn't tend to hang around much and prefers to stick to himself, and I will respect that. Though every so often he teases me and has pulled my tail before.

Soldier was the hardest for me to get used to being around. He's naturally very loud which can be hard when you have very sensitive ears. He does try to tone it down around me which is sweet.

Demo can be nice. He does get drunk often but usually when his hangovers hit in the morning he visits Medical and has me or Medic check him to make sure everything is alright. It took me a bit to understand his accent but he's a nice guy.

Engineer is really nice. I think he's my second favorite teammate after Medic. I enjoy his presence and I've fallen asleep in the workshop just listening to him rant about something he's working on or to the sound of the machinery. He's also who I have to go to when my legs stop working.

(oc) Boxer is... an interesting case. Technically we're brothers since our fathers are together, but we rarely talk. The most we communicate with is leaving drinks and snacks at each other's doors. But I won't deny that they can be nice since he was the one that found me puking up the enemy and comforted me.

(oc) Archer... Oh how I detest her. She is a two-faced lying little- Sorry... I don't like Archer. We never will and never can get along. She is the bane of my existence and if she were to die and never respawn, I would celebrate.

[elftwink]

every few months or so i have to reach out to someone i inexplicably stopped speaking to for literally no reason at all and in my mind this doesn't impact the nature of our relationship in the slightest (i think ive seen a post floating around on here that phrases this like "i don't have a friendship decay mechanic" and thats pretty accurate to me as well) but it is literally so scary because other people definitely can feel negatively about this complete gap in interaction and read into it my intentions (or worse when its due to memory issues do that thing where theyre like "if it was important you would remember ergo i am not important to you") and its like idk how explain that life is just moving to damn fast like to me we may as well have been talking yesterday... makes me very sad because on the one hand people have a right to feel that way and i understand that it can feel like your time is being wasted or that the other person doesn't respect you enough to get back to you (because also. some people do deliberately ignore messages for these reasons unfortunately)

but on the other hand. for me i feel like im always on the back foot because i just dont have the capacity to actually keep up with everyone, and i barely have the capacity to do the apology rounds every few months. also i hate the apology rounds because even if i have every intention of keeping up with people it always slips. i dont think i was meant to live in a world with instant messaging i think we should go back to snail mail. i would also be bad at replying to people with it but at least i would have a better excuse

also sometimes im just like i must be inventing problems when i write replies to people like an email on average takes me 4 hours or so to compose if given my own time. for time sensitive work emails it's still at least half an hour to an hour, which is also about the time it takes me to compose a text message to someone (unless i see it right away and stream of consciousness my answer without thinking then i can do it in 2 minutes but if i dont do this at the exact moment i see the text i cannot do it at a later time). during this process it feels impossible to speed up but its obviously ridiculous for two emails to take the time of an entire work day. also i have to take a break after sending an email or text like it is genuinely really draining and there is just no way it takes this much time or energy for anyone else because if it did we would have made texting illegal by now. but at the same time no single component of writing an email/text is that obviously difficult or energy intensive so im like sweating blood for hours to produce something that looks like it took 3 1/2 minutes maximum like what is wrong with meeeeeee

also no i didnt send my email yet im procrastinating by writing this post. perhaps this is also contributing to my extremely long composition times :/ ok bye everyone if i post again in the next hour and it does say "yay i sent my email" or something of the like please yell at me

[xstarlightxstarbrightx]

Neuvi headcanons

MY BBGRL,,, MY LIL CUTIE MANS WHO I ADORE,,,, i love him so much he's so fuCKIng CUTE dude, lil dragon mans sksmefkhjrshefkj. i swear i'm a normal individual w/ these characters

list of current h/c's: - i feel like he's socially anxious?? like ok, listen, he's GREAT w/ any formal situation, but THE MOMENT it gets casual he PANICs on the inside bc he's like 'wait what's the right and wrong thing to say'. - following that, i feel like when he's in a casual conversation w/ ppl and starts getting panicked, i feel like he's learned to tap his cane twice on the ground to signal to any of his closer companions that he's freaking out. like a "get me out of this situation please" type deal. - this ties into my belief that he's got anxiety regarding smaller scale things. like if he makes a small mistake on something or breaks an object, he feels SO BAD and panics as he tries to figure out how to fix it.

- knowing this, i feel like he feels a bunch of emotions, he just doesn't know how to like,,, put them into words? read below - a yearning for learning,,,, actively seeks out how to label his emotions, but how does one define their feelings? Emotions are not equated to logic, and yet they're a part of human experience, so what is the method to label that which is so intangible yet so real? he doesn't know yet, but he's figuring it out and i'm so proud of him :)c - overprotective in his own way. like he's been putting a lot of stuff on his shoulders so ofc that includes him being sensitive towards people he cares about being harmed. - prideful! he doesn't think he's prideful, he just is Proud Of Things, but tbh i get a bit of a "dragon pride" vibe from him. it's silly goofy and rears up the most around certain Archons. - GOOD DAD. NEUVI IS SUCH A GOOD DAD. IF A MELUSINE COMES UP TO HIM TO TALK ABT A THING, HE IS THE MOST ATTENTIVE LISTENER. HE'LL ASK QUESTIONS, TOO, TO TRY AND LEARN MORE. oUGH i love him he's SUCH a gOOD DAD - afraid of losing everything; Neuvi didn't really realize he had so much to lose until he almost lost it, and now he's like even more scared to lose anything else. - anxious of closer connections. Neuvi wants to be closer to people; he really likes humanity, and he wants to reach out to people. but he's afraid, bc if they ever err away from the side of justice, they may end up in his court. no matter what happens, then, is him sentencing them not a form of betrayal? neuvi ponders this a lot - MOVING AWAY FROM SAD THINGS: y'all i'll be SO real, ppl are so used to Neuvillette being in Fontaine that, when he's Outside of Fontaine, unless they Know Him on a personal level, no one recognizes that he's the Iudex of Fontaine. like not even actual Fontainians register it, bc, like, why would the literal Iudex Leave his Natural Habitat of the Court of Fontaine??? - side note, average ppl are intimidated by him. like most ppl look at him and go 'if i approach him, i will be arrested for war crimes bc CLEARLY he is a PRINCE' (which is the best and funniest shit) - 'unrelated'; Neuvi doesn't talk to a lot of ppl outside of his closer friend group, i think u can understand why - such a hard worker,,, honestly probably overworks himself and doesn't even realize it. - WHICH LEADS ME TO HIS HOBBIES HEHEHHEHEHEHE - ARTIST,,, you CANNOT sit there, after Lantern Rite, and TELL ME that HE DOES NOT start looking into the arts. THIS MAN would ABSOLUTELY get into painting and poetry and shit. he likes watercolors and he ADORES POTTERY (THAT FUCKING LADLE??? I CRIED OVER IT IN MY TEAPOT FOR 30 MINUTES HELP) - loves books and stories. like seriously they're kinda actually really fun for him to read bc he sits and breaks down what is and isn't accurate abt them (crime/detective books) and he gets invested in romance books (he's CURIOUS okay??) - bc he reads Fontainian romance books, any and every romantic gesture is like,,, awkwardly sappy? like he'll do small scale things bc he's a lil nervous baby, but it's THE SAPPIEST of the sappy. - fashion lover. Listen, this man could arguably wear whatever he wants and he chose to wear THAT???? he's a fashion lover / makeup master, and i will die on this hill. - he would laugh at Cyno's jokes, but only AFTER Cyno explains them.

OKAY I,,, I THINK I DID IT,,, i had so much written i'm dying please i love him so so so much. my itty bitty squishy bbgrl i cannot wait to explain why and how he joined the party / poly it's SO silly, this entire thing is my favorite i have been yapping abt them for a MILLENIA

[witchthewriter]

hello! could you please do a birth chart for michelle ‘mj’ jones from marvel? if that’s okay with you.

Of course, I can! I absolutely love doing these. And by the way - what I say doesn't necessarily mean it's accurate. It's my opinion mixed with how I see the character as well. So, if anyone has differing opinions, that's completely okay! 🕸❤🕷

𝐌𝐁𝐓𝐈

𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑷 | 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑛

Curious, creative, a prodigy. This personality is driven to understand the logical components behind everything around them. They question, scrutinize and inquire. They're more interested in ideas rather than social queues and can come off as tactless, or rude - but that isn't their intent. Other characters with this mbti are Arthur Weasley, Hiccup (from How To Train Your Dragon), Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) Sherlock Holmes and Yoda.

𝐒𝐔𝐍

𝑻𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒖𝒔

This placement feels very right. Practical, grounded, practical, devoted, loyal. All these traits can be used to describe MJ. She's stubborn (otherwise known as bull-headed - and the bull is Taurus' mascot).

𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍

𝑮𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊

With a Gemini Moon, a person is always interesting. They're intellectual, witty, charming, impressionable. Open-mindedness is a big part of this sign and MJ was completely okay with Peter being Spiderman. She took everything about the magical part of the world in her stride.

𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆/𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓

𝑨𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒔

Individual, independent, logical and often turned to for advice, Aquarius Risings can be spotted easily as they're often the odd one out. Or they choose to be. They often enjoy shocking others. Not that they are flamboyant by nature, but they do like to, albeit quietly, get a rise out of others.

𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒

𝑷𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒔

One may not think MJ fits into this aspect, but love seems to be the one area in her life that she isn't upfront and direct about. She had a crush on Peter for ages, and didn't say anything. Having a Pisces Venus means they don't go around just handing out access to their inner world to anybody. If someone with Venus in Pisces lets you in, they let you all the way in. A Pisces Venus is dreamy, moody, sensitive.

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐒

𝑮𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊

This aspect is highly intellectual and communicative. When it comes to conflict, they will use their words and messages to punish or destroy. They can be social if they desire - and popularity would follow. However, we know that MJ is a very independent person and doesn't care about what people think of her.

𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐘

𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒈𝒐

Ruled by Mercury, meaning the zodiac is in its home planet (so to speak). Having a Virgo Mercury means this person is analytical and great at recognizing patterns. They are very realistic and communicate directly - sometimes too directly. They are sarcastic, sharp and witty, but also serious thinkers.

[akenvs3000w24]

Blog 10

Welcome back to my final blog post!

As I journey through the world of nature interpretation, my personal ethic has become a compass guiding my interactions with the natural world and those who seek to connect with it. Over this semester I have found myself reflecting more on my connection with nature throughout my adventures. For me, nature interpretation is not just about sharing facts and stories, it's about creating meaningful connections and reigniting my interest in a deeper appreciation and stewardship of our environment. In this reflection, I’d like to share my beliefs, responsibilities, and approaches as well as some personal experiences that have helped shape my path.

I would like to begin by sharing some of my core beliefs that have developed over time. My approach to nature interpretation is rooted in my interest in wildlife from a young age which developed into my fascination with the web of life. I firmly believe that every living being, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance and diversity of our ecosystems. This belief surrounded me on every outdoor adventure, I specifically remember admiring the web of life on a camping trip this past summer where I witnessed the connection of plants, animals, and humans in a remote wilderness setting, reminding me of our shared responsibility to protect and preserve our natural world.

I am passionate about making nature interpretation inclusive and accessible to all. I've seen firsthand the transformative power of connecting diverse audiences with nature, breaking down barriers, and fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility for our planet's well-being. I have enjoyed sharing my passion with friends and family and getting to watch them create their connections with nature. Watching them interpret nature in their own way has given me a different perception.

In my role as a nature interpreter, I hold myself accountable to several key responsibilities:

1. Accuracy: I strive to ensure that the information I share is accurate, up-to-date, and presented transparently. I believe that honesty and integrity are essential for building trust and credibility with my audience. During a nature hike, I came across some plants that I assumed were a type of moss which I misidentified when I checked online. Rather than glossing over my mistake, I used it as a learning opportunity, acknowledging the error and emphasizing the importance of learning in nature interpretation.

2. Cultural Sensitivity: I recognize the importance of incorporating diverse cultural perspectives and indigenous knowledge into my interpretations. This enriches the storytelling and fosters a deeper understanding and respect for the interconnectedness of human-nature relationships. I have recently read the novel “Unsettling Canada” by Arthur Manuel, Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson. This novel opened my eyes to the importance of recognizing the history of the land that I had been exploring. I gained invaluable insights into their deep spiritual connection to the land and sustainable practices.

3. Environmental Advocacy: Beyond educating and inspiring individuals, I see myself as an advocate for environmental conservation. I aim to empower others to take meaningful action and make sustainable choices in their daily lives. I have signed up for some tree-planting initiatives this summer and like to think of this as one of many ways for me to translate advocacy into action.

4. Education: The field of environmental science and nature interpretation connected. I am committed to continuing to learn through hands-on experiences as well as extra schooling.

Throughout my journey as a nature interpreter, my approach has shifted from just being immersed in nature to expanding my learning and collaborating with other nature enthusiasts. I plan to build on my connection by gaining some hands-on experience so I can continue learning.

I am also reaching out to more environmental organizations to learn while making an active effort in environmental conservation. By working together with larger initiatives we may amplify the impact of nature interpretation initiatives and foster a culture of environmental stewardship and sustainability in our communities. 

In conclusion, my personal ethic as a nature interpreter is found in respect, inclusivity, integrity, advocacy, and collaboration. By upholding these principles I am committed to environmental education and interpretation, I aspire to foster a deeper appreciation, connection, and stewardship. As I continue to grow, learn, and evolve in environmental stewardship, I am excited to connect with like-minded individuals, share my experiences, learn from others, and collaborate on creating a more sustainable relationship between humanity and nature.

As part of my commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and collaborative community of nature interpreters and environmental educators I look forward to reading and relating to my peers and opening a conversation on how we can better support the planet and each other.

[rainisawriter]

Asking all the writeblrs I love to grow a vast garden, apologies if I ask the same thing twice *

Hello! I'm attempting to grow a Tumblr garden, with input from people around here to make a series of short stories about' houseplant fairies. The hope would be to have a 'community tumblr garden' full of all the wholesomeness the internet can offer.

Here's the request/seed - do you have a prior worry' or 'stumbling block'. perhaps an event or a piece of advice others told you that didn't help much or simply an' obstacle that you overcame. To be honest, I'm unsure of how to accurately describe 'the seed' but something in the realm of 'society expectations versus what actually helped- or whatever you wish? Also also, favorite plant/houseplant/ flower to write the story about.

Here's the houseplants we have so far in case this was confusing.

The Venus Flytrap from @poetsandstuff

"I've had advice about 'getting out there' and just socialising lile im not dieing on the inside every time"

The Venus Flytrap episode one - Relationships

The Rose from @briarborealisart

"i could still be true to myself while valuing what others thought."

Episode one - Thorns

The Prayer Plant from @awleeofficial

"I worry about how I am percieved by the people in my life as well as the creative works that I choose to share, and I can be rather hard on myself when it doesn't come out perfect."

Episode one - Inspiration

Thanks for participating :)



Hmm, this is a tough one and I had to give it a lot of thought. I think one of the biggest things I struggle to overcome is taking things to heart. I'm quite sensitive, see, and I tend to take things personally even when it isn't personal at all.

I still have a long way to go, but I believe I'm getting better at learning how to let things just wash over me, like water off a duck's back. I know it's nothing personal so there's no reason to get upset over it. It's simply not worth the negative feelings I put myself through when I do this to myself.

I'm not sure if this is what you meant by a seed? If not, please let me know and I'll try to better understand what you're asking for :) I hope this helps, though! Thank you so much for reaching out.

As for the plant, I chose the Philodendron because it's supposed to symbolize a love and appreciation for nature, as well as be a symbol of growth.