#this is all 'modern day' so to speak. id like to think more about what other eras are interesting to me though its all post fish falling in

[planet4546b]

i dont have any art ideas so im just gonna type up a post about my iterators cause ive been thinking about them.....elo has the iterator version of not having telomeres and knows that he likely is unable to die, his superstructure grounds have been constantly growing (hes like a lobster) through a mix of mysterious means and purposed organisms that are sorta building uselessly but most of those areas are completely nonfunctional. theyre starting to creep towards rivers but i havent decided what river's deal is in the present day. glass went offline a few cycles ago but no one really knows what happened to her and she burned bridges with elo, rivers, and iggy before this so none of them are really trying to figure out what happened to her (fish is the only one who cares, they were the closest but they don't have the resources to do anything about it).

iggy was an extremely recent, 'experimental' model that had a ton of novel systems, and after xyr near-complete shutdown, fish started building a ton of connections straight into xyr experimental power systems to prolong their own life (iggy's can is literally collapsed on top of fish's after long term damage from the seismic event that dropped fish into the pit, theyre in physical contact which is both Extremely unlikely and, in this case, convienent). iggy's 'death' may or may not have been from natural causes and may or may not have been as a result of a scheme between wtg and fish (wtg had a specialty in purposing organisms, which surely has nothing to do with all that!). so elo and fish are the only two left alive and they hate each other the most !

[wolfcat-hybrid]

For more detail on realistic biomes, maybe check out Artifexian! These videos were helpful for me :]

If you're at all interested in more in-depth worldbuilding, I've included a link below the cut; keep in mind however that "being more detailed" doesn't automatically mean "good". If you don't want to get into the nitty gritty, more power to ya!

Artifexian is, in general, a great resource if you want to get more in-depth on worldbuilding! His Worldbuilder's Log series goes into INTENSE detail on creating a scientifically plausible planet, complete with a star, orbit, moon(s), and other planets! He's designed the series to be accessible to people with no prior experience, so you should be able to follow along, even if you nearly failed high school physics like I did.

Since the series is so in-depth he's still on the 'planetbuilding' stage, and hasn't gotten into details like language, culture, etc. In the meantime, he has older videos that cover stuff like conlanging, though they may be less detailed than the Worldbuilder's Log series. There's also a ton of conlanging guides on youtube; I personally have used Biblaridion's "How to Make a Language" series myself :]

Again, this level of detail isn't needed for, I'd say, MOST works (unless you can organically bring up stuff like the mass of the sun in your project). I like getting into the little details because, well, I just find it fascinating! If you don't, then you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. Play to your interests :]

I'm not kidding when I say worldbuilding is extremely easy and fun, you can make easily all sorts of new fantasy worlds on like half an hour, follow this guide:

take a rectangle, draw a line through the middle, that's your equator, draw another two lines south and north, those are your tropics, draw another two lines further north (you can see a real world map to guide yourself), those are your arctic/antarctic circles

Draw continents, any shape you want, it's better to combine large soft blobs (like Africa or South America) with coastlines full of peninsulas and islands (like Europe or South Asia). Draw some island chains in between where you feel it's appropiate. Some inland seas like the Mediterranean are good too.

Decide where you will place mountain ranges. In real life, they are where oceanic-continental plates (Andes) or continental-continental plates (Himalayas, Alps), collide. These are very important.

Place rivers, just the most important ones. The places where you place big river systems are gonna be big plains.

Now, the fun part. With your first step, you've already decided where arctic, temperate, and tropical climates are there. You can mark it as letters in your map. Mountain ranges, of course, are colder.

Here's the tricky part: vegetation: vegetation mostly follows precipitation, and precipitation is mostly decided by altitude and distance from the ocean. The interior of your continents should be dry with plains and deserts; the coasts should be rainy with forests and plains. But remember, if you have a mountain range, that's a rain shadow! Picture the wind coming from the ocean with rain, and it should get less rainy when it "clashes" with a mountain range, with the other side a desert.

Deserts are tricky to place, but as a quick cheat, you can place them in your tropic lines. They can even border oceans: see Australia and the Kalahari.

WHEN IN DOUBT, LOOK AT SIMILAR AREAS ON A REAL WORLD VEGETATION/CLIMATE MAP. THIS IS WHY DRAWING THE EQUATOR AND THE TROPICS IS SO IMPORTANT AND SHOULD BE YOUR FIRST STEP ALWAYS.

Now you already have a quick and dirty vegetation map, you're halfway there! Don't worry if there are some doubtful areas, real world geography can be weird.

Now for the REAL fun stuff (if you aren't having fun already, I sure am): making civilizations!

You have to decide center of origins for your domesticated crops and animals. Basically, every early civilization had its own "package" of staple crops and animals that are still used today.

With this, you can decide:

the primary civilizations of your world

roughly how different animals and vegetation are distributed, if you want an Earth-like world (for an quicker method, you can apply the biogeographical realms to your own continents as you wish)

A quick cheat sheet of centers of origin, what they have, and where you can place them:

(this is just a quick thing, do read the article it's so much better)

Middle Eastern: wheat, barley, cows, sheep, goats. Place them in a dry area with lots of rivers (the Fertile Crescent!)

East Asia: rice, soybean, oranges, pigs, horses. Place it in a rainy temperate area bordering the tropics.

Mesoamerica: Corn, beans, pumpkin, chilli, tomato. Place it in a dry area near the tropics.

Andes: Potato, quinoa, llamas. Place it in a mountain range.

Tropical South America: manioc, peanuts, pineapple. In the tropics.

Tropical Asia: Rice, banana, sugar cane, beans. In the tropics, again.

or, just straight up use this fucking map, it's so much better:

You can mix and match the crops, animals, and such as you wish, and you should definitively read the wiki page on center of origins and see some other less known crops.

If you have non-human civilizations, of course they'll have different packages. Carnivore or subterranean civilizations might be very different. But at this point, your imagination should be flying already and I don't have to hold your hand here.

Now, you have a rough map of your world at the dawn of agriculture! Congratulations! Depending on the historical period you're setting your world, you can start to draw countries and civilizations. This is where it gets complicated again. I might have to make a part two... But just with this, you already have a new world to use as you wish.

I'll make a worked example later to show you how easy it is if you don't believe me.

[thatdeadaquarius]

About your language brainrot. I see your "Reader's writing can't match tyvat's long and flowery writing" and bring you "Tyvat isn't used to books over 50 pages long so a short story to the Reader is a whole dictionary to tyvat readers".

Seriously, have you seen how thin the books are? They don't wrote novels, they write short chapters formatted in the way really old stories are. As in, summarizing all the events down into one smooth story then adding a few quotes. Fanfiction writers are insane. They will willingly sit down and write hundreds of words at a time. To them, a proper modern day story of maybe, oh 10k words or so, would probably be like the Oddessy itself.

If we were to combine the two headcanons. It would end up as many historians being intimidated by this insanely long written scripture in the language of the forgotten.

I'm going to take this a step further and say that if the creator asked some people to proofread their things, it would establish a hiarchy of who is able to actually finish the book the creator read and who isn't.

NOW THIS, THIS IS MY FUCKING JAMMMM

I'm so sorry this is so old!! u probably all know this by this point that I've really slowed down as the year has gone on, but I graduated university and then got my first job so its been pretty crazy!

Sun: Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: Headcanons-ish

Stars: dash of all the book/nerds of Genshin, heavy on Sumeru?

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: Cussing, 16+ Mature Audiences, Spoliers for Sumeru Archon Quests/Scaramouche, & Trigger Warnings: mention of shipping/characters shipping themselves with you.

Comment if any missed, please.

☆

FULL STOP.

THE AKADEMIYA, FONTAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, HAVE BEEN WAITTTINNGGGG ON YOUR ASS LMAO

You fall from the fucking sky like a 5 star, or pop out of the Irminsul or whatever

and immediately are mobbed by scholars. LMAO jkjk (not really, bc that's what it’d feel like)

can you even imagine the dread older stories(”the classics” to them), that was instilled in the poor students around Teyvat??

id like to think ur works are the most preserved over the thousands of years of Teyvat archeologists excavating them, in comparison to other authors (teyvat just likes you more, suck it William Shakespeare)

also, bc I cant resist language differences/world building I'm sorryyyy 😭 😭

the vocab of Genshin lang vs. ours, has significantly less vocabulary like their actual dictionary is 1/3 the size of ours type of energy

(Omfg all ur fanfics being considered like insanely long realistic romantic classics or tragedies like Jane Austen-level, and only the richest and biggest play companies put on plays about ur stories bc the script goes on for hours)

(ur plays only get put on for rlly big events bc of this, like Lantern Rite or like a Summer/Winter festival/your birthday, which is, yes, an international holiday)

dude the sheer power move of anything you’ve written being essentially “Journey of the West” to them, like Damnnn.

endless like adaptations, plays, Teyvat-short stories condensing it, (THEIR OWN FANFICTION ABOUT UR STORIES)

the power is, in fact, going to your head every time another scholar both deflates at how long ur stuff is, but also lights up bc they get to read it

speaking of scholars… you know who snatched you up first. you know. you don’t even need to read the next line.

Alhaitham.

sneaky bastard he is, absolutely manipulated, mansplained (and manwhored bc he knows he’s handsome, cheeky little shit) his way into getting you to sit down with him and interview you about both translating other classics, your own, giving your own analysis of others works and ur own, and picking ur brain apart of how/why you wrote urs, etc. its fucking endless,

Kaveh had to come rescue you bc u were starving to death after getting stuck with the Haravatat scholar in his office for nearly 7 hours of interrogation discussion about literature

and Alhaitham wasn't even nearly done, he’d informed you as you left that he already had another appointment for later conversation scheduled (how?? you don't even know ur own schedule??? you have a schedule???) and was looking forward to more of your “creative and enlightening input” :)))

(you’re never going to escape him, not even Nahida herself can save you from his stubborn ass)

On another note, Xingqiu is quaking when you agree to autograph his copy of your stories (of which he has all hard covers of the first edition translations)

Zhongli/Rex Lapis is known for having a near-lifelong passion for searching for your works specifically, and learning how to translate them better into Teyvatian vernacular

like the same way he can absolutely speak on Rex Lapis facts/rocks/adepti info, is the same confidence he speaks about knowing ur work lol

(yes he did also ask for several autographs and another sit-down talk about the works, tho a lot more sneaky then Alhaitham bc he just casually gets u guys into it during dinner)

Barbatos/Venti has written some of the most famous songs based on your stuff, he has his favorites too,

but he always claims the best songs are any that have been written in the story, like either when a character sings something, or there are like quotes from songs ur fanfics are based on lol

(he also demanded to hear what they actually sound like from you, yes, you have to sing them for him lol)

Venti also can surprisingly drunkenly ramble the entirety of at least one of ur stories, like, word for word lmao

(Diluc gave in and did give him a drink on the house for that one, just once, Venti doesn’t remember it lol)

(I forgot to mention, u guys still speak the same language, just like, different versions of it)

ur works being one of the few things all the Archons can freely talk about with each other, like it’s neutral ground bc they’re all fangirling about it lmao

Furina and Neuvillette have had like,, fierce debates over the decades about character dynamics and the general drama of ur stories, they’ve gotten into it enough they’ve stopped talking to each other for a couple days a few times lol

Albedo, Sucrose, Kokomi, Yae Miko, Ei, Raiden, have read every single work they’re gotten their hands on in Teyvat (it took them like a literal year or longer)

Albedo drew you fanart for every single story, bc he’s hyperfixated on everything related to you ngl,

Kokomi had commissioned smaller pocket versions of ur works (which later got popular thanks to Yae Miko) both the OG and the Teyvat shortened versions

THE HARBINGERS ARE THE MOST DOWN BAD LMAO

Childe has literally tried to recreate battle scenes from ur works lmao

and gets especially riled up about fighting someone who resembles any characters from them (esp villains, what a cutie)

You cannot fathom the amount of research throughout Teyvat that has been secretly or indirectly funded by Pantalone/Tsaritsa

from the experts to analyze them, to funding play companies to act them out, to actually excavating places to get more of ur stuff unearthed

(the Harbingers absolutely are the first group of people that got to read several of ur stories first bc of this, like the world’s most exclusive secret book club lol)

Scaramouche used to clown on Childe all the time about how he was too impatient to even “sit down and read the King’s classics”, and he was downright insufferable when he found out about Tartaglia’s habit of recreating battle scenes/that being what motivated him to fight sometimes lol

that being said, Wanderer surprisingly never forgot ur stories.

Even when his memories were wiped for a bit, he found comfort in these fantastical epics still sticking around, even when his old names did not

(he mayyyy or mayyy nottt have secretly namedhimselfafteroneofthetragicprotagonistsherelatesto- )

oh btw, Nahida also found joy and comfort in ur stories when she was trapped, they also helped her literally grow as a person bc she had ur stories to help her sort of process the world/what life was like outside of her dreaming prison 🥺💔❤️‍🩹

◇

OMFG

ANYWAY FULL TONE SHIFT LMFAO-

the ABSOLUTE SPIRAL-RED-STRING-CONSPIRACY-THEORY-BOARD ENERGY IF THIS WAS A BLUNT LANGUAGE AU LMAOOOO

like specifically how Teyvatians like to give all the context ever thru their words, but older deities/beings like you just do simple phrases that can have deeper meanings (whereas teyvat just explains all the meanings behind their words)

STOP there’s like an official display at the Akademiya and Fontaine Institute of red string theory boards 😭😭 (look what you’ve done to themmm LMAO)

for like every story of urs, INCLUDING THE FANFICS STOP

IMAGINE THE SHIPPING WARS IF U EVER WROTE ONE THAT WASNT EXPLICIT OR LIKE ONE OF THE MAIN ROMANTIC INTERESTS HAD CHEMISTRY WITH OTHER CHARACTERS HAHAHAHAA

that's actually what Akademiya scholars argue about the most viciously, it’s like politics you can’t just bring up ships from ur stories casually in regular convos 💀

(poor Cyno has to deal with a shipping war once a year bc someone always makes the mistake of reading ur work for the first time (without being told to not talk to others abt ships lol) and it starts an all out brawl in the cafeteria every time LMAO)

Also yes.

Cyno is a fanboy.

(he has read Creator x Reader-insert fanfiction.)

(As have most of the characters mentioned, and those not lol)

…

(I'm gonna make a whole Creator x reader fanfic post one day i stg lmao)

☆

an iced coffee? for me?? :0

ok but real talk…

wtf do you guys wanna see for new years!!

i didn't do a inktober/october days thingy bc i felt too unprepared (and bc id wanted to post that 1000+ followers eldritch au for Halloween)

but now i kinda wanna, at least for a few days :o

ill post a poll in a minute, so check it out!! but still, please feel free to comment some ideas here! :)

Safe Travels Deafening Dreamer,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily

[aokoaoi]

saw the request was open and id love to request an ao’nung x reader where they’re arranged to be mates, reader is the ‘it’ girl along with tsireya, graceful, kind, and beautiful but still with that fiery spirit in her. females and males in their clan show off or surround her and ao’nung wouldn’t admit it out loud but he would kiss the ground she walked on. he has loved her ever since they were children. upon the arrival of the sullys, reader gets along with neteyam in only a friendly way ofc bc man theyre the mature and level headed ones. ao’nung gets jealous and confesses his undying love for the reader? 🫶🏻 please n thank you i love your writings

— pairings : ao'nung x fem!metkayina!reader.

— warnings : avatar the way of water spoilers. small arguments. bruises. mentions of death. very horrible way of confessing.

— author's note : so i searched up what cheeky actually meant, i was so heartbroken when i learned it actually wasn't what i thought it meant☹.. anyways enjoy ! i love ao'nung sm so i love this request<3 ty for requesting this !

You were sort of known as an 'it girl' in your village if you were to describe it in modern ways. No matter where you go, who you were with, you were always the same kind of lady everyone would talk about.

Elegant, graceful, admirable and compassionate. Not to mention attractive.

That had always been how the village folks describes you, and you never had a problem with it. It started when you were fairly young, adults would come around you and your parents and share how they think you'd grow to be such a fine lady. And you did.

But you weren't only compassionate, 'soft and gentle'. You were also fierce and bold when you had to. You'd do anything for your family, even if it'd have to ruin your perfect image.

By the day you were fourteen, you learned from your parents that you have been set as a mate of the clan leaders son, Ao'nung. You were still young, and you didn't know what or how to react, but you didn't have a problem with it since you'd only be his mate once you both are old enough.

Still though, you were fairly upset that you couldn't be free and choose a man or woman of your own.

Ao'nung wasn't all that bad. He did have a ruthless side to him, but he does show you some decent qualities of himself whenever it's just you two. The village people are already aware about how you two were set to be mates when you're of age, but that certainly didn't stop na'vi's your age from showing themselves off for you.

You and Ao'nung's sister, Tsireya had also gotten close considering both of the 'popularity' you two had. Tsireya had only heard talks and gossips about you from the beginning, but she never got the change to talk to you. That was, until Ao'nung introduced you to her.

You two were basically platonic soulmates. You adored the girl so much, probably more than you adored Ao'nung. You two basically acted like sisters with eachother, always seen laughing and gossiping together like you're still cheeky little girls.

But back to the present.

You trailed behind Tsireya after she dramatically emerged from the waters, watching as she swiftly finds her way to her brother and his friend, Rotxo. She scolds him, slapping his hand away as he was pointing at two boys' tails, and instantly the duo shuts up.

You turn to look at the two boys, seeing as they were trying hard to ignore the teasing of your two friends. The shorter one of the two boys nods his head at Tsireya, speaking up a short; "hey,"

The girl beside you giggles with a cheeky smile, and you smugly grinned at her, teasing her with small nudges of your shoulders.

You watched as the siblings father, Tonowari, fly down into the water his spear raised up high in confidence. You smiled at his presence, and then you noticed a figure slip past from behind you. You turn to see Ao'nung walking past you, and towards his father.

He gives you a look, gesturing movements with his hands that just screamed, 'follow me'.

And to which you did. You took light steps towards him while you still paid attention to Tonowari's conversation with the Omaticaya clan leader, Jake Sully.

"We are reef people, you are forest people. Your skills will be nothing here." You heard him speak.

You saw Ao'nung's mother walk to where the Omaticayas where, circling them as she was examining something. She looked at the arms and touched their tails. She stopped by a small child, and you watched as the poor girl look at her mother in worry.

"Their arms are thin. Their tails," the girl winced a small 'ow', shoving the Tsahìk's hands away from her tail. "Are weak." Ronal finishes.

"You'll be slow in the water." She stoicly spoke, her eyes looking down at something. She grabbed the girls hand before speaking up again. "These children.. are not even true na'vi." She reveals the girls hands, and you heard gasps ring around you.

"Yes we are!" The girl harshly says, pulling her hand away from Ronals hold.

The woman walks to another direction, towards the two boys and immediately grabbed the shorter ones hands. "They have demon blood!" She exclaims. The na'vi around you gasped, and started hissing, making you worry.

Their father speaks up for their children as they hung their heads down in shame. "—I was born of the sky people, and now I am not. Alright you can adapt!" He says, trying not to come off as threatening.

"My husband was Toruk Makto." A tall woman perks up, and you immediately saw her husband make a face at her words. You slightly grin, biting your lip at their chemistry.

"He lead the clans to victory against the sky people."

"This is what you call victory? Hiding amongst strangers?" Ronal immediately retorts. The woman looks down at her words as Tsahìk nears her.

"It seems eywa has turned her back on you, chosen one." She turned to the clan leader, and in an instant his wife hissed at Ronal.

You looked at Ao'nung secretly, wondering what his thoughts on this scene was right now.

"I apologize for my mate, chief."

"Do not apologize."

"We've come a long way and she's exhausted." — "Jake!"

Tonowari looks at the three, making sure they were done before stepping in to speak. "Toruk Makto was a great war leader. All na'vi people know his stories." He gestured to the clan members around, putting a hand on the man's shoulders. "But we Metkayina, are not at war." He assures the people.

"We cannot let you bring your war here." He spoke as he turned to the Omaticaya clan leader.

"I'm done with war. Okay? I just wanna keep my family safe." Jake says as he places a hand in his youngest daughter's back. You looked at them sympathetically, wondering what decision Tonowari and Ronal would make.

"Uturu has been asked." Says the woman.

You observed as the scene went silent, and Tonowari turned to look at his wife, letting him know of her decision.

"Toruk Makto and his family will stay with us. Treat them as our brothers and sisters. They do not know the sea. So they will he like babies taking their first breath."

"Teach them our ways so they do not suffer the same of being useless." You bit your lip at his bold words, wincing slightly.

Jake sighs, turning to his daughter as the girl looked up at Tonowari gratefully. "What do we say?"

"Thank you."

My son Ao'nung, our daughter Tsireya will show you daughter what to do." Tonowari informs, hid hand pointing at the said siblings. Ao'nung looked at him in confusion before coming up to question him.

"Father why—?"

"It has been decided." He cuts Ao'nung off.

"Come! I will show you our village." Tsireya speaks up, swiftly moving towards the other clan and greeted them with a big smile. Tonowari turns to you as you grasped Ao'nung's hand, rubbing it in reassurance.

"You're free to help those children as well, child." He informed you, and you just nodded your head, bowing slightly.

Ao'nung sighed before letting go of your hand, wrapping it around you shoulders instead. "Let's go back to meet Tsireya." He says, walking to the direction where the girl and the other clan went to.

You held a small girl who you knew as Tuktirey as you watched his brother try to make a bond with an ilu while Ao'nung stuck close with his sister.

"It's just like you're riding an Ikran, but a different species and on the ocean." You told him, attempting to make a conversation with the boy to make things less awkward. You flashed him a smile as he only nodded, nervous.

"Be careful of how fast you go. It's your first time, so you're definitely not used to it yet. The pressure of the water is different from the air when riding after all." You informed him, watching as he listened closely.

"How about you try leading him above the water first? It's simpler that way." You instructed, your hand brushing on the boys Ilu.

"..what's your name?"

You looked at him as he questioned you this. You slightly grinned at his shy expression, and it made you wonder how long he's been waiting to ask you that.

"(name)." You answered. He nods, smiling slightly. "It's nice to meet you, (name)." He bows his head, almost falling off his Ilu in the process. You softly laugh at his clumsiness, your voice ringing in his ears.

Ao'nung turns at the sound of your laughter, seeing you and that four fingered boy talking and smiling at eachother. He scrunched his nose, clicking his tongue before averting his gaze, displeased by the sight of you smiling because of another boy.

You irritatedly looked at Ao'nung's face, face scrunched at the sight of his bruises. "Why would pick a fight on Sully's kids?" You hissed out of concern, but at the same time scolding him. He puffs out a breath, rolling his eyes and looking away as you treated the bruise on his face.

"He blew the first hit. Not me." He corrected you, still avoiding his gaze.

Your hand and the herbs your holding moved away from his face, and you pursed your lips tightly. "From what I heard, you were picking on Kiri and called the siblings freaks. Why did you do that?"

"It's true. Didn't you see how they had four fingers and a thumb? They're not real, (name)."

"It's still not right to act like that, Ao'nung. You should treat them like that just because they're different." You lectured him before you continued to dab a few more healing herbs on his face.

"Why would you care now? You didn't care before when I picked on someone. Why are the Sully's any different?" He questioned you, looking at you suspiciously.

You sighed, putting the herbs away. "Because they're my friends. I care about them." Ao'nung scoffs at your response, standing up.

"Yeah right. You just met them yesterday, (name). They might seem nice now, but you wouldn't know. They may be plotting something." Ao'nung retorts.

"Don't talk about them like that."

"It's about that boy, isn't it?" Ao'nung questioned you, catching you off guard. He crouched down to your level as you were sitting on the ground, intently watching your expression.

"I'm sorry? What boy?"

"That eldest Sully. I saw how you were getting comfortable with him earlier, you think i wouldn't?"

"Neteyam..? He's a friend, Ao'nung." He scoffs again, standing up from his crouched position and walking away irritatedly. Your gaze followed where he left, and you looked down at the bowl of herbs on your lab sympathetically.

"Greatmother, what will I do with that boy.."

"I wish I had been there. The ocean blessed you with a gift, brother."

Your group and the Sully siblings had been gathered around somewhere in the village. Lo'ak as telling you the story of when he was lead to the three brothers rocks and almost died, but fortunately a tulkun saved him.

You sat next to Neteyam, but you were also beside Ao'nung. He was standing and leaning on a tree, though. It seemed as if he was avoiding you.

"The tulkuns have not returned yet. And anyway mo tulkun is ever alone." He made gestures with his hand. He leaned forward, and you watched as his necklace that always clung onto his collarbone swing back and forth at the motion.

"This one was." Lo'ak spoke. "He had a missing fin. Like a stump on the left side."

Your eyes widen in realization, "Payakan. Lo'ak, you just met Payakan." You told the boy, nonexistent brows slightly furrowing. Ao'nung turns at the sound of your voice, but pettily looks away.

Neteyam noticed this, and gave you a questioning look. You only shrugged your shoulders, making gestures with your hand to just leave him be.

"Who's payakan?"

"A young bull who went rogue. He's outcast, alone, and has a missing fin." Rotxo answers Kiri's question.

"They say he is a killer." Tsireya tells the boy beside her, looking at him worridly. Lo'ak shakes his head, muttering a small 'no' before getting cut off my Ao'nung.

"He killed na'vi and other tulkuns." Says the boy. "Not here, but far to the south." You and Neteyam exchanged looks, and you turned to see what Lo'ak was feeling.

The boy immediately shots down the accusations of his new friend being a killer. "Lo'ak, you're lucky to be alive." Tsireya's voice falters.

"I'm telling you guys he saved my life," Lo'ak attempts to convince the group. "He's my friend."

Neteyam stands up, and at those actions Ao'nung gestures you to stand up and come beside him. You did as what you were told, leaning your head on his shoulders as you watched the two brothers interact.

"The mighty warrior who faced a killer tulkun and lived to tell about it." He teased the boy, both hands coming up to his brothers shoulders as he puts his weight on the younger boy.

Lo'ak hissed, pushing his brother away. The boy stands up from his position, putting a hand up in exasperation. "You guys aren't listening."

"Lo'ak— I'm listening." You heard Tuktirey call out for her brother. Your tongue clicked at her attempts to try to make her brother feel heard, looking at her sympathetically.

"Lo'ak, come back."

"..is it weird that I believe him..?" You perked up after the boy leaves. The group turns to look at you after your statement, looking at you as if you were crazy.

"I mean.. he couldn't like about something like that, yknow? How would he when know about Payakans existence in the first place?"

"He met Payakan and he survived? Are you hearing yourself right now, (name)?" Ao'nung questions incredulously. You sighed, rubbing your shoulders as you removed your head from the boys shoulders.

"The possibility isn't impossible. If he actually saw Payakan then he wouldn't even be here anymore. He'd be dead. He couldn't possibly fight against that creature especially when he has nothing to defend himself with."

Ao'nung looks at you incredulously. His sister steps in after the both of you have a glaring competition, pulling you away from her brother and distracting you with flowers.

You looked down at the water beneath you with a peaceful smile, throwing petals on the clear liquid from the flowers Tsireya placed on your hair earlier. You and Ao'nung had split ways earlier, once again without saying anything.

You didn't know what was happening to the both of you, but you were just being pulled apart the past few days by a nonexistent force.

Biting your lip, you wondered where it went wrong. The flowers on your hand remained there was you thought carefully. A few days ago, he showed signs of jealousy just because you shared a few laughs with Neteyam.

And then you got into another argument because of how he almost got Lo'ak killed, and then what happened earlier with the Payakan thing was another one.

So yes, it's safe to say it went downhill when the Sully's showed up. You can't blame the Sully's though.

You were too lost in your thought to notice the boy you were just thinking about approach you and take a seat right beside you. He looks at you, noticing that you weren't paying attention and was lost in thought. He fakes a cough, and nudges your shoulder with his own.

You snapped out of your train of thoughts, looking at him in surprise. Your body slightly shifted from the thick woven material you sat on, facing the boy. "What are you doing here?" You asked him, your fingers subconsciously curling around the flowers that peacefully sat on your hand. You didn't crush it though, not wanted to destroy its pretty petals.

Ao'nung looks at the water as his feet got wet from it, swinging it back and forth. "I wanted to check up on you." He says, his eyes not leaving the soft moving waters.

You took the chance to admire the sharp features on his face, from his jaw and to his cheekbones. Your head leaned against his shoulders, your soft and slightly wet hair touching his skin.

"Alright." You simply responded, letting out a small exhale. Ao'nung glances at you, seeing how you were looking up at the stars.

"..I also want to apologize." He perks up after the silence. He hears you let out a breathy chuckle, and he feels your body slightly shift. He hopes you don't move your head away from his shoulder, and he let's out a relieved exhale when you don't.

"Apologize? For?"

Ao'nung bobs his head around for a few seconds, "Yknow.. for being an asshole to the siblings. And to you." He eventually says.

"Well I forgive you. But you shouldn't be apologizing to me for the siblings." You respond to him, a hand coming to touch his arm and you patted on it gently.

"And I'm also sorry for not being understanding and always shutting you out when you confront me about my behavior." He ignores your words, continuing to apologize to you. He shifts slightly, removing his gaze from the water and finally facing you.

"Ao'nung—"

"No, listen to me. I'm apologizing for my wrongs okay? I was such an asshole back then, I not only did others wrong, but also you. I should've tried to be a better person to you back then and stopped treating you like trash. But—"

"There's a but?" You cut him off, looking at him incredulously. He grins slightly at your words, trying to get back to his point.

"I was dealing with my feelings. You know what cheesy romantic stuff and all. Yeah I was basically going through that. I was pushing you away because figuring out if I.. liked you or not."

"And a few days ago— I was jealous. I didn't like how close you and that sullys eldest son gotten and I accidentally hurt your feelings in the process. I'm such a bitch, aren't I?"

"No you aren't." You shook your head, holding his hand reassuringly. He looks at you with a 'seriously?' face, and you pursed your lips. "You kind of are, but there's still hope that you'll change." You sweetly smiled, bringing his hand you're holding up to your bottom lip.

"So.. you forgive me?" He asks you, anticipating your answer. You nodded at his question, still smiling.

"You weren't that all bad to me. You were mostly nice to me after all, you were only mean to me when there's other people."

"But I was still a bitch."

"Mhm." You cooed, your hand falling back to your lap. You grabbed one of the flowers that you left on your lap, gently holding it in between your fingers and placed it on Ao'nung's hair. You giggled at his confusion, watching as he held up his hand to where you placed the flower.

He grins when he realized what it was, nudging your side with his hand, slightly tickling you. You two shared a few laughs together, eachothers voices filling up the silence of the village, no shame in disturbing the people sleeping near your area.

Your laughter died down, and Ao'nung leaned his weight onto you. He leaned his head onto of yours, looking like he was trying to say something but was hesitant.

"I don't know if now is the right time, but I have something to confess." Your heart skipped a beat at his words, thinking of every possible outcomes on what he meant by that.

"You don't have to respond right now, but I simply cannot keep it to myself anymore—"

"Get to the point!" You hissed, anticipating his words. There was only one thing on your mind right now, and one only.

Ao'nung clears his throat at your hiss, trying to his his smile. "I know I haven't been the best, but I am willing to change. (name) (fullname), i like you, would you be—"

"Yes!"

"I haven't finished yet—"

"Yes! Greatmother, yes! Took you long enough." You laughed loudly, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as you engulfed him into a tight embrace. Ao'nung's hand holds your back as you both slip down from the woven material, and onto the waters with a splash.

You both come up from the water, breathing loudly as you flicked your hair away from your face. Ao'nung chuckles at your enthusiasm, looking at you fondly as you gave him the biggest grin you've ever had.

"I'm so happy." You cooed, pressing your forehead against his ad you let the cool waters relax you. Ao'nung's hand wrapped around your waist as he pulls you closer, biting his lip as he smiled cheekily.

"Is this your way of saying you like me too? Pulling me into the water?" He teases you, and you let out a breathy chuckle, nodding your head.

One of his hand comes to your cheek, thumb caressing your skin as he pressing a kiss on your forehead.

"Mmm, you missed, silly." You cheekily grin, peaking at him with mischievousness. Ao'nung snorted at your words, softly hitting your back as he hides his face from the curve of your neck.

[xoxoxkisses]

hi hi i love your writing very much 🤩

can i request how tanjiro would help reader when she’s insecure?:3

you don’t have to do this ofc, no pressure!!^^

tanjiro x fem!reader

warnings: mention of insecurities

*no specific insecurities*

modern au

————————————————————————

Tanjiro was always there for you, so you weren’t surprised when he was sitting on your bed with his arms around you letting you cry into his chest. Well..sob into his chest. Your period had started and you had tons of new pimples appear on your face and since your emotions were so high, the imperfections that were so small, were now so big. You hated how you looked.

Tanjiro rubbed your back to comfort you, except he wasn’t quite sure why he was comforting you. You just called him and told him to come over and now here you two are. “Y/n?” Your sobs slightly subsided in order to answer him. “Y-yeah?” You leaned back slightly, wiping your eyes. “What’s wrong?” Suddenly all of your emotions came back and you started crying all over again and blurting out all of your feelings. “I-I hate how I look! My face is full of pimples now and everything else looks horrible as w-well!” You sobbed uncontrollably now, and Tanjiro kept putting his hands out then back in as he wasn’t sure what to do.

He was starting to get slightly overwhelmed as you continued to cry, just then he cupped your face and pulled you closer to him and kissed you. Your eyes immediately went wide as soon as you felt his lips on yours. He pulled away and looked all over your face, trying to read it. Your tears had ceased as a blush crept onto your face. “W-why did you do that?” He shook his head. “I don’t know, im very sorry Y/n. I didn’t know how to make you stop.” He pulled his hands away from your face and put them in his lap. You brought your left hand up to your cheek and rubbed it slightly, feeling his lingering touch.

Before you could speak, he spoke up again. “I think you’re perfect Y/n, and I think you should see that too. Id give anything to show you what you look like in my eyes. I like you Y/n, if it’s not obvious now.” Your tears had fully stopped now, you were sure your face was red now and not just from the tears. He looked away from you shyly. “I..I like you too.” He looked back up and now his face was tinted red. You wiped away the lingering tears on your face as he stared at you. As you were about to pull your hand away, he pulled you into a hug. “Please don’t ever talk bad about yourself again, okay?” You nodded your head on his shoulder and he pulled away.

Ever since that day, the two of you made it official and everyday, without fail, he wrote you a letter reminding you how beautiful you are. He could text you, but he wanted it to mean more to you. Every time you read the letters, a smile appeared on your face. It was safe to say once you started dating him, your insecurities slowly faded away.

————————————————————————

hiya! Sorry if this isn’t exactly what you asked for, I was on a slight time crunch 😓

[hongluboobs]

ok i was cooking up another hong lu analysis thing bc i noticed SEVERAL things in his base id art the other day and wanted to share with the class but they just dropped a new one in the canto V trailer and i have some stuff i wanna talk about that one:)

My Hong Lu knowledge and interpretation is very heavily influenced by reading Dream of the Red Chamber, which may not be the best because I don’t know how much Limbus will pull from the book because it’s Long as fuck but I think it’s given me a deeper knowledge of Hong Lu.

Keep in mind this ego is NOT out yet so i could be totally off base depending on what the full animation/corrosion/sin affinities are like and this is totally theorizing but I wanted to have a go at anyway!! And this got totally out of hand so reading is appreciated :)

One of the first things I noticed here is this Hong Lu seems VERY Bao-yu. We still don’t know for sure what Hong Lu is within the context of Red Chamber (i don’t think it’ll be straightforward considering how that book works) but it’s important to note!

He has this little hat on (this is the best pic i can get atm to show it’s not a fancy hair tie, unfortunately the footage we have rn is a little scuffed)

and Bao-yu is ALWAYS depicted with a hat like this.

This could just be because that’s the appropriate outfit for Chinese nobility (I unfortunately have little to no reference point here, feel free to correct me, but from some quick searches hats aren’t ubiquitous and ESPECIALLY not ones of this style.) I think it’s worth noting because it comes up in nearly all modern depictions of Bao-yu.

There’s also the pearl Hong Lu is wearing on his neck/chest area, which is where Bao-yu wears the magic jade he was born with. His jade is translated into Limbus as Hong Lu’s jade eye, but this plus his hat and the abno’s themes REALLY makes me think we are dealing with some Bao-Yu stuff here.

Speaking of the Abno’s themes, now i can actually go over them! All we have for Walking Pearl right now is the MD event (as well as general observation), but there’s a few things that are relevant.

Just based off design, the abnormality seems to be mostly about the precious (the pearl) and the filth (the muck) intermixing. which makes sense with the EGO being named “Effervescent Corrosion” and our holders being Hong Lu and Rodya.

There’s some symbolism around greed/wealth (the offspring filled muck desiring the pearl and fighting for which one will earn it? the muck tarnishing the pearl? ) and I think we should read into that because it’s Hong Lu and Rodya who have this one and they’re both very tied to their financial status. Those two sharing an ego makes me insane for a bunch of reasons but that’s probably for another analysis piece! But duality is REALLY important for those guys and that’s a theme they’re emphasizing here with both the pearl and muck within the clam.

There’s also some elements of shelter/protection/potentially entrapment with the clam’s shell which are HUGE for Hong Lu, especially with his egos so I think those may come up.

But mostly it’s about the mixing of the precious (likely “wealth” here) and the unsavory, which works very well with what we know of the Jia family. The design likely referencing Bao-yu and thematically dealing with the Jia family makes me think each of those individual readings are more likely because they’re deeply tied together!

And now onto the MD event! I did not write this in order so I may repeat stuff here but. I realized I had to cover the design first so here we are!

First thing that stuck out of me is this portion when you choose to sample some of the clam’s slime.

Sibling/family infighting is very Jia family. It reminds me a lot of this line base Hong Lu says.

You could take this a step further because the clam is something that would typically offer shelter from the rest of the world, and even though it protects, its offspring continue to kill and eat each other.

It seems fine, the offspring have this lovely shell for protection, and they have the precious pearl held within, but even as they are sheltered and wealthy. They are still getting killed and eaten by one another! Reminds me of someone I know:)

It reminds me of some bits in the later half of Red Chamber, where family members more obviously start acting behind each other’s backs or turning on each other, some even killing other family members.

Another part of the MD event that I got something out of was the beginning portion.

using specifically jade as the color for the seawater is a Hong Lu thing. I may be reaching with this bc it’s more than likely just flavor text BUT when taking this color with the fact that there’s nothing in the water it makes me think of an important scene in Red Chamber where Bao-Yu is described as an empty shell, so I wanted to mention it. We know Hong Lu has TONS of water motifs, especially when relating to his family (see his base ego)

The main reason I brought up this section of the MD event is because of the question brought up by the last portion.

If you take one thing from Dream Of The Red Chamber into your perception of Hong Lu as a character, it should be the themes of ambiguity, duality, and being between binaries. Because he sure as hell does that a lot!!! (and i’m not just talking about his gender) He is both genuinely curious and sheltered with an urge to learn as much as he can, but he also plays dumb frequently, backpedals and asks a lot of stupid questions on purpose to maintain others’ perceptions of him. He is CONSTANTLY walking the line between truth and illusion and it can be hard to tell which is which and precisely how much is fake or real, which is why I find him such an interesting character to think about.

Tangent about Hong Lu's characterization aside, it's really easy to read this line as about his family's perceptions of him.

Hong Lu (or rather, Bao-yu) can be read as being the source of the contamination in that he is the heir of the Jia family who is just an absolute fucking failure of everything you’d want in an heir for that time period.

The clam containing the filth can be read as Hong Lu’s lies (whether conscious lies or otherwise) to himself and others about the true “filth” of his family. Really good example of this is with another bit of window dialogue, but these lies and half truths come up quite a bit if you know where to look. (what happened to cohort of kin looking to stab each other in the back at every turn???)

We already have Hong Lu’s assorted water motifs (his feet make ripples on the water in his base id, land of illusion has so much water theming and shows the Jia mansion is surrounded by water) so I think this is a reasonable analysis to make :)

There’s some other sections to the MD event, but there’s nothing of note that triggered the Hong Lu sleeper agent in my brain & also this has gone on long enough that I wanna talk about predicting some stuff for the ego!

I am manifesting Gluttony/Gloom/Wrath for this ego!!

Gluttony and gloom are in the MD event’s skill check already and I think tie in nicely with the themes. Gluttony works with the offspring in the muck killing and eating each other and themes of greed with the pearl (plus the ego is primarily green and that’s a pretty good clue) and then gloom comes up a LOT with Hong Lu’s family (Liu Hong Lu, the only one that remarks on his jade eye, is also the only Hong Lu with gloom. land of illusion requires 5 gloom resources and also relates a lot to red chamber/his family) Gloom’s also generally a stand-in for water which exists here.

Wrath in Hong Lu generally manifests in him going “yeah, maybe my family was a little fucked up actually” internally, instead of manifesting as taking direct action about the fucked up things like it works for most other sinners, and acknowledging that his family was at least partially filth and killing and eating eachother (metaphorically. maybe literally) works for that

i am not an expert on sin analysis but i wanted to take a prediction bc it’s fun :)

I have a couple of predictions for corrosion and i’ll be real they are the main reason i wrote this thing because i LOVE when bad things happen to Hong Lu!!

Since this ego seems to be referencing Bao-yu so much i can pull stuff from Red Chamber too which makes it more fun :)

First one I came up with is Hong Lu taking the place of the pearl within the clam and getting locked in there! A bunch of his egos have to do with being controlled/trapped so i think it works and it also can work as a parallel for Bao-yu’s treatment by his family. Bao-yu’s name means precious jade, and he’s often treated more like his namesake than a person, heavily controlled and never allowed to leave the Jia mansion (or, in this case, the clam.) I just think it’d be fun!

My other concept has to do with more Red Chamber stuff, notably what happens when Bao-yu loses his jade. I’m not quite there yet in the text, but from what i’ve heard he becomes incredibly unstable and essentially loses his mind. This sets the Jia family’s downfall into even faster motion and from that point things get REALLY fucked up. Since the pearl here parallels Bao-yu’s jade, I think having a reference to that part of the book would be really fucking crazy for all 5 people who have read 1800+ pages of red chanber to get to chapter 94 where he loses that thing. Also i just want to see Hong Lu lose his mind i KNOW it would be terrifying and chilling. but they may be saving that for his distortion (manifesting)

In my skimming Red Chamber table of contents to find when Bao-yu loses his jade i just found a chapter where Bao-yu’s father admires a pearl but we will just ignore that for now bc this has taken long enough to type already and that is several chapters off. but there may be more analysis when this thing actually comes out!

Thank you for reading this far!! I hope you enjoyed me looking far too deep into an unreleased ego we know next to nothing about for fun! this took WAY longer than expected to type out but i’m glad I did because I loveee telling people about Hong Lu!

There is a very real chance very little of my analysis and prediction is reflected in canon BUT please remember that truth becomes fiction when the fiction’s true and even if this doesn’t turn out to be correct now u know a little more about Hong Lu and the themes he plays with :)

[toomuchracket]

late night talking (sweetheart!george x reader smut)

calling it smut is lowkey misleading, but it's definitely extremely very sexy. day 7 of summer75, set in the weird tentative dating era after you and george reunite. enjoy <3

you're in bed when your phone buzzes beside you, cocooned in blankets while watching a third consecutive episode of drag race; when you see the caller ID, you extract your arms as fast as you can, one hand scrambling to mute snatch game while you answer the call with the other, smile surely audible. “hi, george.”

“hi, angel,” comes the reply, the always-devastating combo of gravel voice and pet name awakening the butterflies in your stomach. fuck, you've missed him. “how was work?”

“was okay. busy.”

“you're settling in alright, though, yeah? nobody giving you grief?”

“yeah, everyone’s nice. how was your day?”

“busy, too. really busy, actually,” george sighs. “still found time to miss you, though.”

you smile. “i missed you too, babe.”

“missed you calling me that and all,” he giggles after he speaks, the same stupidly high laugh that's always made your heart feel funny. “sorry for how uncool i'm being, by the way. i know we said we'd be cool about everything, about us, but…”

“s'alright. i get it,” you reply, not unkindly, because you do get it, you understand completely. choosing not to rush back into a relationship seemed like the sensible thing for you and george to do after four years and a few countries apart, but it's proving to be much more difficult in practice; he is your first (and honestly only) love, after all, and you never could resist that voice. or those eyes. or those lips, actually - the first time you kissed him again recently (just a normal smooch, mind you), you almost swooned. like, actually swooned, proper virgin behaviour. “feel like a teenager all over again with you, to be honest.”

“so do i, baby - can i call you that, or-?”

jesus. you hope you don't sound too breathlessly desperate. “of course.”

“thanks, baby,” the grin on george's face is obvious, and yours widens even more as you wriggle further out of your blanket cocoon and roll onto your stomach. “but yeah, i genuinely do feel like i'm seventeen again…”

“good film, that.”

“knew that was coming as soon as i said it,” he sighs down the phone, before joining in with your giggling. “genuinely, though, angel - feel like it's still 2007, because all i can think about is kissing you. m'serious. can't get anything done.”

you kick your legs back and forth, overjoyed to hear him admit he feels the same as you. still, you don't miss the opportunity to take the piss out of him. “jesus, it's the new gucci perfume fiasco all over again.”

“christ, don't remind me of that,” george groans, voice slightly muffled by what you know is him facepalming, dragging his hand down his face slowly; he's a creature of habit, your… well, your george. “thought i’d died and gone to heaven when i got a whiff of it the day we ran into each other in the shop, when we first saw each other again.”

“shut up.”

“m'not kidding, baby. driven me mental since day one, that perfume.”

you rest your head on your folded arms, wistful. “i remember. you walking into the art classroom door because you were that distracted trying to lean over and smell me? how could i forget?”

“yeah, well, it had its benefits too, that day,” george retorts. “if i recall correctly, it motivated me to get all my homework done quickly so i could kiss you, no?”

“that's true,” you allow yourself to briefly get lost in the memory, so strong you swear you can feel the shitty bic pen in your hand now. the flashback progresses to a scene you almost wore out repeating at the time, the workbooks and pencilcases shoved off the bed, and school uniforms following as you and george took advantage of having his house to yourself that monday afternoon. despite not having even discussed doing that with george in the modern version of your relationship yet, the mention of that after-school activity leaves your lips before you realise. “and if i recall correctly, we did a lot more than kiss that night.”

there's silence from the other end of the phone line. a very particular, pregnant type of silence, one that you intuitively know will end with something pivotal to you and george's relationship; despite this make or break moment, you keep quiet, not wanting to make it worse by fumbling an apology or explanation, even though you've got a growing sense of creeping dread that you might've just fucked the whole dynamic up beyond repair already.

and then he speaks, and you can exhale again. “i think about that a lot, you know.”

the atmosphere shifts again - it's still one of anticipation, but of the more… sensual variety, you'd say. heart pounding against your sternum, you wriggle out of the blankets completely, clicking the tv off so you can give george your complete, undivided attention. “yeah?”

“yeah. that night, and my eighteenth, and your eighteenth. prom, and all our holidays, and christening your uni flat,” george hums, giggling after he's done listing. “just any time we fucked, really.”

“you miss it?”

he sighs. “a lot.”

“so do i,” you say softly. “i really miss… no,” you close your mouth, shaking your head. “i can't say it. not yet. s'inappropriate.”

“baby,” there's a hint of forcefulness in george's voice, and it goes straight to your already-slick core. “tell me, please. wanna hear you.”

fuck. you really have missed him.

you sigh. “you're sure you wanna do this?”

“angel, i've never been more sure of anything,” george replies, and you know he means it. “talk to me.”

“alright,” you can't help smiling, both at george and the memory. “was gonna say that i really miss the way you would hold me after we both came, you know? you'd just wrap your whole body around me and kiss my neck, and i'd just feel, y'know, so safe, and happy,” you pause, then grin. “i mean, i miss the actual sex too, of course, but…”

he laughs, and your heart flutters. “i miss that too, the post-shag hugging. you're cute, y'know, baby - thought you were about to say something filthy, honestly.”

you twirl a strand of hair around your finger, flirty. “well, if you want me to be dirty, g, i can. can be whatever you want me to be.”

george groans. “don't fuck me about, angel.”

“m'not!” you decide to be proper serious for a second. “i just want to make you feel good, george. i miss doing that. i miss you,” you bite your lip, releasing it slowly in a poor imitation of the man at the other end of the phone line. “and i want you. i really, really want you.”

another brief silence, then he replies. “how do you want me?”

you smirk. “you tell me. like i said, sweetheart, whatever - and however - you want me to be… i'll do it.”

“well, in that case,” god, his voice. “i want you to come over. right now. how does that sound?”

“perfect,” you aren't lying. “is there anything else you want me to do?”

“be my girlfriend again, but we can discuss that when you get here, yeah?”

you beam, kicking your legs excitedly. finally. “yeah. alright,” you roll out of bed and make a beeline for your lingerie collection. “i'll be over as soon as i get changed, babe.”

“please be quick,” george sighs. “oh, a final thing, baby?”

“yeah?”

the smirk on his face is crystal clear. “bring a vibrator.”

[notiddygothgf]

3. Obsessed

★ pairings: aki hayakawa x fem reader

★ ❝ Aki, you smooth bastard. ❞

★ c.w.: nothing :) (more content warnings and tags)

★ a/n: accidentally posted chap 4 before chap 3 oopsies!! omg so like this one lowkey seems like filler but I PROMISE ITS NECESSARY. im building the tension. i hope you all like obsessive aki as much as i love him. teehee. like comment and talk to me! id love to hear ur thoughts x

★ w.c.;3.2k

shameless ; chapter index

YOU HELD YOUR PHONE TO YOUR EAR later in the evening, listening to your husband talk about his day. His voice was a comforting, familiar anchor, but tonight, it struggled to pull you from the storm raging in your mind the way it usually did.

"And then I told them they couldn't just ignore the data. They finally agreed to reassess the project," he was saying, his tone tinged with satisfaction. "That's how my day was."

"That's great," you replied absentmindedly, your fingers hovering over your phone's keyboard.

As he continued speaking, you opened a new message thread. The name "Aki Hayakawa" stared back at you, the cursor blinking in anticipation. You started typing slowly, uncertainly:

Aki, I'm sorry for running out on you like that. It wasn't |

You paused, backspaced, and tried again:

Captain Hayakawa, I apologize for how I acted tonight. It was unprofessional. |

No, that was too formal. You sighed, deleting the message once more.

"Are you still there?" your husband asked, snapping you out of your reverie.

"Yeah, I'm here," you said quickly. "Just... distracted. Sorry."

"What are you up to?" he asked, his tone lightening. "You sound busy."

"I'm just sending a text to my friend, Himeno," you lied smoothly, hoping the guilt didn't seep into your voice.

"You're so sweet," he said warmly. "Always thinking of others."

Always thinking of other men, apparently, you mean? 

You forced a smile, even though he couldn't see it. "Yeah, I guess so."

Your thumb hovered over the screen again. This time, you typed:

Can we talk?

You hesitated for a moment, then pressed delete before you could change your mind. You had done enough damage tonight. The best thing you could do was just ignore him for the remainder of your stay in Tokyo. It would be over before you knew it.

"Anyway," your husband continued, oblivious to your internal struggle (as he typically was), "So my coworker came up to me and asked if I would go out for drinks with him tonight."

"Sounds great," you said automatically, your mind still on the message you had just deleted. You glanced out the window at the city rushing by – the midnight was blue, almost as blue as his eyes.

You hoped that, somehow, everything would make sense in the morning.

.

Your first informal mission took place at the art museum. There had been complaints of Devil-sightings there. It wasn't anything particularly alarming or dangerous, but you had been sent to check it out (and kill it).

With nothing but the quiet sound of your shoes clicking against the old wooden floorboards to accompany you, you made your rounds through the second floor. Your Public Safety uniform pulled very few strange looks here where everybody else was also done up in black-tie attire. There was an art showing tonight.

You put an 'x' over the words "Second floor". No Art-devil spotted there. Two more to go.

Stopping in front of a small painting, you took a moment to admire the artistry. You didn't mind doing the scut work while Makima was understaffed – more gruesome positions existed, surely. This was most certainly not the worst way you could think to spend your first day back on the job.

The painting was a masterful symphony of oil paints – shades of pink and green and blue forming the prettiest little petals. It depicted a serene field of wildflowers and nothing else. A singular tree near the right side of the painting, a clear blue sky on the top of it.

One day I'll buy a painting like that, you thought to yourself. Not that it had much of a place in your stale, modern-style home in the Japanese countryside. You always wanted a house with color – one with wooden seats and tables and wallpaper and a happy family – even if it aged poorly. There was something homely about flowers and colors. Something that the black-white-and-grey color scheme of your contemporary home lacked.

It was such a shame, too. You told your husband about these wishes long before you married him and, yet, he insisted upon having a home that would look "sleek" and "modern". Had it not been for his vision of what your home should look like, you would have taken the painting home with you.

Briefly, the image of a small, gold-framed painting of a flower field hung up in your cold, cool-toned dining room crossed your mind. It wouldn't work.

Then again, perhaps the painting could serve as a metaphor for your feelings?

You looked away from it, and went back to scanning the room for any sight of a Devil. You didn't find one.

What you did find, however, was the one person you didn't want to see today. A certain young captain stood with his arms crossed behind his back, inspecting a larger painting only a few yards away from you.

Then, as if the situation couldn't get any worse, he turned to look at you.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

You ducked over, shielding your face from his gaze. It was too late, though – you heard his telltale footsteps coming your way and you knew he'd sniffed you out.

His voice was a sickening croon behind you, "Enjoying the show?"

Okay. It would appear that neither of you wanted to address the elephant in the room (being last night, that is).

You couldn't stop the little flutter your heart did when it heard his voice.

"Yes, thank you," You snapped back a little quicker than you anticipated. "The paintings are beautiful."

"They are, aren't they?" He reiterated. Something told you he wasn't only speaking about the paintings. "You like that one?"

"I do," You answered. This whole conversation was just a whole lot more awkward than you could bear today. "It's peaceful, I think. Pretty."

You shouldn't be talking to him. You really shouldn't be talking to him – not after whatever the fuck had happened between the two of you at the party.

To your surprise, Aki didn't toy with you any longer than that. He walked away – you had only heard him leave, after all, as you hadn't made any effort to look him in the eye. How could you? You had seen that face of his far too many times in your dreams.

"Keep up the good work," He said over his shoulder.

You turned to look only when you were certain he was a respectable distance away from you. Then, looking at the back of his Public Safety suit jacket, you thought, How bizarre.

.

You were making your rounds at the grocery store two days later, grabbing some last minute food and snacks because you truly hadn't anticipated your stay to be so long. A small slip of paper clutched in one hand and a pen in the other, you crossed "bread" off the list.

"Okay," You muttered to yourself, glancing around for your next stop. "Pads, produce, chips," Deciding that you couldn't live off of the tiny little hotel sample containers in your shower, you quickly scribbled down 'Shampoo/Conditioner'.

Then you continued on your merry little way, pushing the cart forward and exploring the rest of the grocery store. Aisle 14's sign was done in a shade of lilac, and read 'Feminine Hygiene, Baby, Sexual Wellness'. Oddly enough, you had to pass through the baby section before you could get to the feminine hygiene products. You tried not to make eye contact with any diaper boxes, as they only served to remind you of the fact that – despite being married – you were the only one out of all of your friends who hadn't settled down and started a family by now.

Soon, you thought. But, then, a vision of a screaming baby throwing up in your arms flashed through your mind, an image of your husband asking you what was for dinner after the both of you had come home from work, and it didn't feel so right.

"Let's see," you hummed, tracing your finger over a box of day pads. You figured that it wouldn't hurt to be prepared, even if you weren't supposed to get your period for at least another two weeks.

So you grabbed a multipack – day pads, liners, and night pads – and you tossed them into the cart. Then, you checked "pads" off of your list.

At the end of the aisle, there were walls and walls full of condom boxes – some were even flavored – and lubricants.

Won't be needing those any time soon, you mused. You and your husband hadn't exactly been very... active recently. With work and cleaning and everything else to be done around the house, neither of you had the energy.

Well, okay. You didn't have the energy. He had made a great many fruitless attempts. It was difficult to want to have sex with a man who acted like an insolent child when you told him that, yes, it was his house too, and he could do some dishes once in a while.

You were happy, though. You were just... going through a rough patch was all.

"I'm married!" 

The words echoed in the back of your mind. You saw a vision of him there, too – not your husband – taking a tentative step towards you while you backed away from him.

"You weren't acting like it," The words replayed, clear as day, "I can't forget about tonight. I know you felt it, too."

You gazed blankly at the condom boxes on the shelves. He had been right. You weren't acting like a married woman, even now. Because when you thought of someone pressing kisses to your neck and slipping the clothes off of you, it wasn't your husband you envisioned. It was him.

You were fucked. Truly, royally fucked.

That being said, you walked right on past the wall of condoms. You were many things – a liar, Devil Hunter – but you would not break your marriage vows. It was your fault that you had been sucked into a wedding so early in your life. You had to see it through.

You had to do right by your husband.

The next aisle you hit up was the produce section in search of soup vegetables.

Some carrots would be nice, you thought. Oh, and some potatoes. Maybe even some angus beef? 

You rolled up to the vegetables. They looked so tasty, all bundled together, being misted gently with water. You pulled a few carrots off the display and popped them into a plastic produce bag.

Leeks, you thought, pursing your lips and glancing around. They were two shelves over to your right.

And you'll never guess what else was only two shelves over, so tall he had to bend over to reach the legumes, sporting a loose black tee shirt and some black sweatpants.

Captain Hayakawa. Your stomach did a backflip and a death drop and your heart seemed to beat a little faster. What the fuck.

You could tell yourself whatever you wanted, but the way your body reacted to his presence gave your true feelings away. He had you wrapped around his finger.

Still, you hadn't seen him in casual clothes before. He looked much cuter that way, you thought. You could see his arms much more clearly now, the ridges and hills of his chiseled biceps, his strong forearms.

And he was buying groceries. Could he get any better?

You couldn't recall the last time your husband had even cooked some food, let alone go buy produce.

Maybe he was grocery shopping for someone else? Maybe he had a woman at home, to whom he was only bringing these groceries. It seemed far more likely that he had just come here to cook for himself.

What am I thinking? He was bad for you. Real bad. You had no business thinking these things about another man.

So, you did what any other respectable, married woman would have done and left the produce section before he could notice you. Before you could even begin to question whether or not this meeting was really pure coincidence.

You could always pick your veggies up somewhere else.

.

"Hello, front desk, how can I assist you?"

You sighed a breath of relief, "Hey. Do you think you could have room service send up an extra towel?" You glanced down at the shattered bottle of wine you had picked up from the grocery store. You had used one of the hotel towels to mop it up. It was only after the fact, of course, that you realized you only had one towel left.

"Of course," The friendly woman on the phone answered, "Can I have a room number?"

"1409," You answered.

A few keyboard clacks later, and she said, "You have a package at the front desk. Would you like us to send that up, too?"

A package? You thought. You didn't recall ordering anything. Still, you figured it was most likely something Public Safety had sent you (and, least likely, a bouquet of flowers from your husband).

"Okay, yeah, sure," You hummed. "Send that up, too, thanks."

The phone call ended a moment later, after the two of you had exchanged goodbye. Within five minutes, there was a knock at your door.

"Room service," A feminine voice grunted.

"Coming!" You answered. Tip-toeing around the mess of broken glass you'd left bundled up inside of a red-stained white towel, you jogged to the door to answer it.

A short, brown-haired old lady in a maid's uniform was holding a freshly folded towel in one hand, and a rectangular brown box in the other. You took both from her gratefully, ducking your head and muttering a quick 'Thank you' before closing the door.

You set the towel down on the bed. Then you flopped down next to it, eyeing the brown box up precariously. It had "FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE" printed all over it.

I wonder what it is.

Of course, you had left your letter openers and box-cutters at home, so you made do with a butter knife that the hotel had so graciously provided to you. You took out a few layers of packing foam and tissue paper before the item was finally revealed to you.

It was a small, gold framed painting. One with pink and blue wildflowers in a green, open field. One with a clear sky and a tree. The one from the gallery.

"How the fuck...?" You asked, turning the thing over in your hands, as if to make sure that your eyes hadn't deceived you. (They hadn't.)

It was something so strange, so oddly specific, that you could only attribute it to one individual.

"The paintings are beautiful."

"They are, aren't they?" Captain Hayakawa reiterated. Something told you he wasn't only speaking about the paintings. "You like that one?"

"I do," You answered. "It's peaceful, I think. Pretty."

You admired the beautiful painting beneath the warm hotel light. Then, with a giddy sigh, you flopped onto your back, clutching it to your chest.

Aki, you smooth bastard. You thought. Fair play.

.

The conference room buzzed with anticipation as agents filed in, each clad in the standard uniform of crisp suits and ties.

You sat in the front row, your hands folded neatly in your lap, trying to maintain a professional demeanor.

The atmosphere was thick with tension and a sense of gravity, appropriate for a meeting about the Gun Devil—a formidable enemy everyone in the room was acutely aware of.

Miss Makima stood at the front, her posture perfect, her pink hair immaculately styled. She exuded an aura of authority and control that was almost frightening, which was normal for her. A large board behind her displayed a complex array of photographs, maps, and written leads, all connected by a web of strings and arrows. It was a visual representation of the intelligence gathered on the Gun Devil, a chilling reminder of the stakes at play.

As Makima began to speak, detailing the latest developments and potential leads, you tried to focus on her words. She spoke with a calm, measured cadence, explaining the connections and evidence they had so far. But as the minutes passed, you felt a warmth spreading across the back of your neck, an unsettling sensation that made you shift in your seat.

Curious, you turned your head slightly, just enough to glance over your shoulder. There he was—Captain Hayakawa—propped up against the wall at the back of the room, his gaze locked onto you with a disconcerting intensity. His blue eyes were sharp, unwavering, and you felt a jolt of electricity shoot down your spine. The way he looked at you, it was as if he could see right through the layers of professional decorum you had carefully constructed.

A rush of heat flooded your face, and you quickly turned back around, your pulse quickening.

Behave, you reminded yourself sternly. But it was hard to focus, hard to even think straight, with his gaze burning into you so desperately like that – like you were the only person in the room, like he would freeze time if he could just to ravage you right then and there.

You pressed your legs together, a subconscious reaction to the sheer force of his attention.

He was going to be the death of you if you didn't get the hell out of Tokyo soon.

Makima continued her presentation, moving to a new section of the board, but her words became a distant murmur in your ears. All you could think about was the weight of Aki's stare, the way it made you feel exposed and vulnerable. You couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. He wasn't shy, not in the slightest—his gaze was bold, almost challenging, as if daring you to meet his eyes again.

You swallowed hard, forcing yourself to look back at the board. The images and notes blurred together as you struggled to refocus. You knew you should be paying attention—this information was critical, after all—but Aki's presence was an insistent distraction. You could feel his eyes on you, a constant, burning sensation that refused to let up.

When the meeting finally concluded, you realized with a sinking feeling that you had retained almost nothing from the entire seminar. You gathered your things, avoiding eye contact with everyone as you hurried out of the room. 

ITS SO SHORT ik ik. to make up for it, read chapter 4 and pretend i didnt accidentally post that one first LMFAOAOOA... see yall soon!! x

credits: UNKOWN ATM. I found the cover pic on pinterest unfortch. If you know the artist, please let me know, so I can credit them properly for their work!!! This is NOT MY BEAUTIFUL DRAWINGGG. I obviously do not own csm or anything related to it. please do not reproduce, copy, or translate my works anywhere. dont fk w me im a bruja.

also: come find me on my wattpad if u wanna interact more!

taglist: @mitsuyeahhh , @sleepysnk , @enneadec , @noaabean , @em1e , @drakensdarling , @bertholdts--butt , @satanlovesusall666 , @mitsuwuyaa , @noctifule , @scaraphobia , @ask-the-insect-hashira , @lovingranchturkeyweasel , @bontensbabygirl , @slvdsjjk , @novacrystalli , @hanmastattoos , @kodzuksn , @hqtiny , @ohmaiscool15 , @redlittlequeen , @leivane , @goldeneagles-posts , @yeahblahlame , @no-oneelsebutnsu , @cookiesandcreammy , @cawwn , @the-haitani-baton , @littlelovebug98 , @armani78 , @mindurownbussines , @kokos-property , @violetmatcha , @hp-simp505 , @acethebrave , @mitsuyeahhh , @sleepysnk , @enneadec , @noaabean , @em1e , @drakensdarling , @bertholdts--butt , @satanlovesusall666 , @mitsuwuyaa , @noctifule , @scaraphobia , @ask-the-insect-hashira , @lovingranchturkeyweasel , @bontensbabygirl , @slvdsjjk , @novacrystalli , @hanmastattoos , @kodzuksn , @hqtiny , @ohmaiscool15 , @redlittlequeen , @leivane , @goldeneagles-posts , @yeahblahlame , @no-oneelsebutnsu , @cookiesandcreammy , @cawwn , @the-haitani-baton , @littlelovebug98 , @armani78 , @mindurownbussines , @kokos-property , @violetmatcha , @hp-simp505

wanna join the taglist? | shameless ; chapter index

[solcorvidae]

Modern Witcher AU: My Headcanons (part 4)

Jaskier’s full legal name is Julian Alfred Pankratz. His parents have called him Jaskier since he was a baby and it stuck. He is their little buttercup to this day. Jaskier will not respond to ‘Julian’ unless it is painfully obvious it’s him who’s being spoken to. Jaskier has never truly been ‘Julian’ but for whatever reason his parents never got his name legally changed. He has lived his whole life as Jaskier despite his paperwork, ID, passport, and medications all having PANKRATZ, Julian Alfred written on them. He will probably never do it himself either, leaving him stuck with a legal name he has never gone by.

Jaskier sizes down his base layer clothes to be slim-fitting and Geralt sizes up. They very easy could share most clothes (both ways) with no issue if they both wore clothes that actually fit how they are supposed to. However, since they don't, they run the risk of having Jaskier's T-shirts becoming stretched out.

Jaskier sticks to stealing Geralt's clothes. Geralt lets him.

Cats loathe Aiden. (Yes, he will be appearing at some point.)

Eskel’s voice carries through walls even when he is speaking quietly. It can be felt more than heard because it emanates so strongly from his chest.

Jaskier can do a scarily accurate impression of Geralt and can easily fool people over the CB radio.

Jaskier was a loud kid. Like the type of kid that will go up to a stranger, basically yell “DO YOU LIKE MY SHOES?” and then start aggressively stomping around in his light-up sketchers.

Jaskier’s family was initially unsure of Geralt when they first met. It only took twenty minutes for his mom and dad to decide they adored him. They think that he is the most polite young man and a pleasure to be around. They spend hours talking (having a friendly and enthusiastic interrogation) with him, asking Geralt a billion questions about himself and his relationship with their son… how they met, what they’ve been up to, where Geralt is from, etc. Geralt is overwhelmed but feels welcomed by the end of the night, no longer feeling the judgement boring into the back of his skull like he did when he’d first arrived.

Jaskier’s mom has plenty of embarrassing scrapbook photos of him throughout his life. Geralt half-jokingly asks to see them and she shows him every single one. Jaskier groans and hides behind his hands the whole time but finds the scene in front of him endearing… so he tolerates it.

Eskel makes tea for people. People he loves, people he’s comforting, his friends, his family, his lover, strangers, people who he’s just meeting for the first time… there’s tea for every occasion.

While Geralt’s creative outlet is painting, Eskel crochets. He makes his friends and family warm clothes to bundle up in during the winter months. He sews a custom made tag into each of his pieces. The tag reads: ‘Handmade with Love by Eskel Bellegarde’

Vesemir has three giant boxes of all the boys’ school work, projects, and art work. He vows to never get rid of any of it.

Vesemir drinks his morning coffee from a mug that is practically illegible at this point but had once upon a time said “World’s Best Dad!” across the front.

Geralt knows how to ride a motorcycle... he just doesn’t have one anymore. He bought a used one for a wicked deal in highschool but sold it for his old pickup when he realized how impractical it was only a few years later. He will probably let his license expire because he can’t be arsed to retake the test.

Geralt walks on his toes. His heels hardly ever touch the ground unless he is wearing supportive shoes. He walks near-silently when donning bare-feet or socks. However, he walks heel-to-toe when he wears his boots. He has custom insoles to prevent knee pain and the shoes really do help his aches and pains... but he can be heard for miles--especially when wearing his favourite cowboy boots. Think: a set of heels on an office building floor.

Lambert gets sympathy pains and feels ill when his loved ones are in pain or sick. This, along with the guilt he feels causes him to isolate and distance himself from them when he is not needed/wanted in the room. He is still very present and loving when he is around (even more than he usually is) but he feels tremendous guilt that leads him to spend far more time in his room/at a friends house than usual.

[Modern AU Headcanon Masterpost]

[bonefall]

Tell us more about Larkstripe! She sounds cool as hell

[ID: Larkstripe from the Better Bones AU, along with her young son, Ripplekit. Larkstripe is a silver-gray cat with yellow eyes, and black, diamond-shaped markings. A black stripe stretches from her cheek down to her paw. Ripplekit is a fluffy black kitten with heart-shaped ginger markings on one side of his body.]

A minor character in Ripplestar's Rot!

In every time, there have always been people who've done the right thing and gotten punished for it. Never believe that there was an oppressive system, or a cruel choice, that someone didn't fight against. History is written by the winners, but the truth will never die.

When SkyClan was exiled, the Clerics protested immediately. 1/5th of the stars would be discarded like trash, their descendants scattered to a horrible fate. Larkstripe of WindClan rallied her fellow medics, going on strike against the four remaining leaders.

When Swiftstar got sick, Larkstripe reminded him of their demands, and told him,

"If you won't listen to your Cleric, then speak to StarClan yourself. If you live, I will take it as an omen that this suffering is their will. If you die, then we are correct. Gamble with your last life, Swiftstar, we have been clear."

But the deputy, Dalerunner, did not intend to negotiate.

In those days, the Cleric's Vow was not law. It was a personal oath that the Clerics took between mentor to apprentice, and served to encourage the cat to value medicine above loyalty to the Clan. Larkstripe had a single child, Ripplekit, but no cat had dared to accuse the ferocious senior Cleric of neglecting her commitment to her job.

But Dalestar did. She had allowed Swiftstar to die and refused to council him, destabilizing the entire Clan and leading the Clerics into rebellion. All Clan cats must be loyal, and StarClan had clearly stopped talking to her because of her violation of the vow. Ripplekit was taken from her to make an example, tossed to ShadowClan and raised at Birdflight's belly.

The Cleric's Vow was codified into law, and the strike was broken. Larkstripe had lost everything. Ripplekit never got to see his mother again, she was said to have died of a broken heart shortly before his apprenticeship.

More trivia, and an alt color, under the cut!

Larkstripe was previously Larkwing FQ! She has been renamed due to conflict with Sedgewhisker's daughter in the modern day.

Because of changes, Larkstripe is going to get a successor. That's going to be Thrushpelt WC, who is also getting a renaming to Thrushbreeze.

Larkstripe canonically links Mapleshade's Vengeance to Cloudstar's Journey, which is what my reworked timeline is based on.

Ripplekit was 4 moons old when he was taken from his mother, similar to being 8 or so. He remembers her very clearly.

Lark didn't have a mate. The honor sire is someone in WindClan.

This was before the Queen's Rights, but Honor-Siring within a Clan existed before that. The father was known but not involved.

She was experienced, self-assured, and intense. Honor and honesty were her favorite values; Ripplestar is a lot like her.

I slowly turned Ripple's generic blotches into heart-shapes and I realized it would be cool as hell if Larkstripe had diamonds. I just think card motifs are Neat.

I forgot that she's canonically silver-and-black and corrected it as soon as I remembered, but I did finish a coloring before I did. Bonus tortie Larkstripe be upon ye.

[alienaiver]

Behind the scenes

the lovely @dira333 tagged me in this and its sooo fun!! the questions are so amazing and id like to give it my best with some in depth answers, since learning these facts about one of my favorite writers here was so fun !!!!! behind the scenes of writing is so good to share!!

Started writing: i think ive always been writing. i remember when we used to have one computer for the entire family in the early 00's and had little screentime, i set alarms to 4-5am (with no concept of what that Would Do To Me emotionally without sleep LMAO) JUST to get some time to write in peace. my first fanfictions i published was on a homemade forum page with a friend when i was 11!

Started blogging: ive had my tumblr since 2009-ish where ive been a rp'er over multiple times and published d gray man and no. 6 fanfictions in 2011-12ish. i was also active on livejournal before i found fanfiction.net !! but this specific blog was made in may 2021!!! the reader inserts came then :3

Followers: i actually JUST hit 300 two days ago!!! which is very exciting. i dont always look at the number, since it doesnt necessarily correlate with engangement, but its fun to see the uptick!!

Communication: i genuinely love love LOVE the social part of social media, and communications so important to me. theres nothing better than reblogs with comments you can bounce off of, asks, dm's and all that! sadly, my disability makes it so hard for me to have continuous contact and im 90% of the time the one to drop the ball when it comes to replying :(( thats why its extra important to me/special with the mutuals who keeps reaching out and dont have the same social expectations about replying. even if im unable to reply the day that i receive the message, it still brings great joy seeing the notif!

Likes: i dont mind them! generally its not that important to me whether or not my followers interact a lot. a like still means the world to me. of course a reblog is much better and engages so much more (+ boosts me!!), but theyre good for my soul, too!

Requests: i get very few requests :( i think i like them, but i havent gotten enough to actually get a feel on whether or not it kills my writing spirit? generally i get very excited to be able to deliver something and it gets me up from the bed to write, but i sometimes fear im not providing what they wanted! its anxiety-inducing in some ways, but i love a good little writing challenge !!

Writing: i loove love love love writing for hours at a time, hyperfixating on it. sadly, my cat snøfle is Very Jealous of both my laptop and pc. giving him a substitution sadly doesnt help</3 so my writing is often limited to specific times of day, and when he gets tired of my keyboard clack-clack-clacking, its time to put on some one piece while he naps on me! i wish i could write more works or just scenes on my phone, but it hurts my hands So Much, so i only write small one shots when im heavily inspired but snøfles in A Mood!!

genre wise im a fluffy type. maybe some hurt/comfort but always leaning towards comfort. id like to write more disability fics to spread both awareness and visibility, but i sometimes struggle with putting in my own disabilities and not make them too personal or too detailed for others to not relate. its an overthinking problem, so i often procrastinate writing them., bcos i fear itll be too niche! but i always get positive feedback (excpet for that one time with inked coffee lmao) so im not sure whats holding me back!!!

i always listen to music when i write, and it differs a lot. when i wrote the star and the earth i listened to a lot of medieval-inspired music, and made a specific playlist for that. but when i write on my modern au's or canon compliant bnha/haikyuu, anything goes!

i love putting in 'boring' every day stuff into my fics, or small scenes that dont necessarily advance the plot but just gives a feel of the characters.

speaking of snøfle ^ i am no longer allowed to write for the evening.... so ill start some apothecary diaries and enjoy a cold soda on this hot and humid evening !!! mwuah mwuah if u read this far thank you, and i love you. i love all of you <3333

no pressure tags as always but would love to hear the answers and get to know u all! @cup-of-fluff @true-deru @mirandabarma @illuminiscentboba @tetsuskei @threadbaresweater @krystalgaia @petriquors @ktsumu @moonbeamwritings @ohtokki

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Stephen Knight

Published: Apr 1, 2024

Once again, an interview with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is inspiring a significant amount of brain melt on social media.

There’s an odd feeling of relief generated by witnessing the man most famous for inspiring global sceptical and atheist movements continue to resist the lunacy of progressive dogma. Especially when so many previously sane people have fallen for it so spectacularly. But I suppose that’s the difference between an actual critical thinker and a poseur.

The interview in question was on LBC. You can watch a clip of the most ‘controversial’ section below:

In the clip, Dawkins reiterates that he is not a believer in the claims of Christianity, and is “pleased” to see a decline in belief in Christianity. He describes himself as a “cultural Christian” however and says he thinks it would be worse if Islam dominated our culture in place of Christianity.

He says he holds this view because he believes Islam to be especially hostile to women and gay rights. He’s also very clear and careful to make the distinction between Islamic ideas and Muslims in general or as a whole.

It’s worth pointing out that despite the celebrations from my fellow culture warriors that Dawkins has finally ‘caught up’ and seen the light—the reality is that Richard Dawkins has been open about his ‘cultural Christian’ identity for a long time. Not to mention his criticism of Islam. This interview does not reveal anything new to those of us familiar with his work.

What is especially telling however is the amount of people now hurling the accusation of “Islamophobe” in Richard Dawkins’s direction, such as Mehdi Hasan.

In doing so, they have inadvertently revealed what many of us have often argued: that they simply use the word ‘islamophobia’ to mean ‘blasphemy’ rather than describing genuine bigotry towards Muslims—given there isn’t a single instance of bigotry towards people in Dawkins’s words.

Richard Dawkins was absolutely right to single out Islam for criticism. Those who are honest in their criticism of religion will have noticed that not all religious ideologies are the same—either due to their doctrinal contents, or the way in which they are practiced and understood in the current day. Some religious ideas really are preferable to others.

I think Sam Harris provided the best explanation of this important distinction with the following sports analogy:

Religion is a term like sports: Some sports are peaceful but spectacularly dangerous (“free solo” rock climbing); some are safer but synonymous with violence (mixed martial arts); and some entail little more risk of injury than standing in the shower (bowling). To speak of sports as a generic activity makes it impossible to discuss what athletes actually do or the physical attributes required to do it. What do all sports have in common apart from breathing? Not much. The term religion is hardly more useful.

And this is a truth that appeared to lead to the complete redundancy of organised atheism, especially in America. It was all fun and games patting each other on the back for mocking those crackpot Christian Republicans or sharing Flying Spaghetti Monster memes—but a lot of balls seemed to suddenly fall off when it came to saying anything useful about the bigger threat of global fundamentalist Islam.

American atheism has been utterly infected with dogmatic ‘progressive’ cowardice—exemplified by the fact numerous American atheist organisations condemned and cut ties with Richard Dawkins for asking some mild questions about gender self-ID.

Online drama aside, this whole discussion about the function of our Christian culture in the modern era does raise some interesting, yet potentially uncomfortable questions for me and my fellow secular atheists.

In the past, I had hoped—perhaps naively—that my fellow leftists would fill our cultural ‘god shaped hole’ with a staunch secular liberalism built on enlightenment principles. Instead, what we saw was the emergence of new godless religions.

These new ideologies are dogmatic and hostile to science, free expression and women in ways that could give conservative religion a run for its money. A vindictive, authoritarian, godless culture of cancellation was born.

And as many of us have previously warned until we were blue in the face, this was always going to have the undesired effect of making Christianity seem more appealing to a whole new generation—as well as inspiring older generations to reconnect with their faith in response to what they perceive to be the replacement of their culture and identity with something far worse.

On a personal note, I have just recently, over the space of a few months attended two funerals for close family members. Both of these funeral services were Christian in nature—including the singing of hymns and readings from the bible by the vicar.

And if I’m being honest, there was something comforting about all of us being unified in a familiar tradition to pay tribute to people we loved. It was a very Church of England affair.

Losing people you love is an especially difficult time. The anxiety inducing, guilt ridden question of “what are we supposed to do now?” is made slightly easier by the existence of a shared, familiar tradition we can all recognise and participate in. We all knew the steps to this dance.

It was a great honour to fulfil the role of pallbearer on both occasions. A tradition with roots in Roman/Christian tradition. Of course, Christianity is not necessary to sing songs and carry coffins—but we absolutely wouldn’t be doing these things, in the synchronicity and understanding with which we did them, were it not for the influence of our Christian culture.

Did I think about god or Jesus at any time? Of course not. That’s all nonsense. And the eulogy I read was entirely secular. But was it deeply meaningful and comforting that a room full of people I cared about united in a familiar tradition to pay tribute to people we loved? Of course it was.

This is the kind of thing Dawkins maintains his affection for—dignified tradition. And it’s very difficult to argue that secularism can, at this time, provide an equally uniting alternative, despite the efforts of humanist organisations to do so.

The simple truth is that Christianity had a head start on our culture, and whether you are practicing, non-practicing or a committed anti-theist, the cultural impact of Christianity appears to be here to stay. And whether this is a good or bad thing compared to the alternatives on offer is a perfectly legitimate topic for anyone to grapple with. 

Despite new “woke” ideology achieving little more than creating a massive PR win for conservative Christianity, we should never be complacent enough to forget how things were when Christianity had the run of it however. As the late, great Christopher Hitchens warned us:

“Many religions now come before us with ingratiating smirks and outspread hands, like an unctuous merchant in a bazaar. They offer consolation and solidarity and uplift, competing as they do in a marketplace. But we have a right to remember how barbarically they behaved when they were strong and were making an offer that people could not refuse.”

So, I will continue to push back on the encroachment of Christianity (or any worldview) in the direction of secularism and liberal freedoms. I happen to be someone who doesn't need Christianity for anything, but it would be dishonest to pretend I didn't understand its value to some people, some of the time. And it would also be dishonest to pretend that Christian tradition—if we are going to have a tradition—isn't preferable to Islam or woke lunacy.

But I’d much prefer an alternative to both options of course—so I once again appeal to my fellow secular leftists to reacquaint themselves with staunch liberal, secular enlightenment values, before it’s too late. If it isn’t already.

==

For years I had to put up with Islam apologists and useful idiots insisting to me that Islam wasn't a religion of totalitarianism, worldwide supremacy and thought control.

Mehdi Hasan has proven them wrong. I was right.

Reminder: it's completely okay to hate Islam. Islam isn't a person. It's a set of ideas, tenets and beliefs, and you can hate it as much as you want without any guilt or shame.

[planefood]

i dont have anything specific to say but!!!!! your robots are sooo soo cool and i love hearing more about them, and id love to know more about the world around them!!!! whats the deal with their setting?

Oh wonderful I was just thinking about this and was considering of making my own separate text post but didn't quite know where to put my thoughts. I'm glad you like my characters :) This is another lengthy answer bare with me I hope you don't mind. SO I don't know if I've actually outright stated this in a more obvious way but all my characters (currently) live in in modern day Auckland, the largest city in my country. It just made sense from a population point of view since about half of our entire population is in that city that that's where most of the robots would be.

and a handy map of the North Island, Te Ika-a-Māui for you before we continue

Tandy lived in the South Waikato for a while before moving to Auckland. Lithium comes from Hamilton, Jay and Phillip both come from Wellington. Cathy comes from around the rural Taupo area. The rest of the (nz) robots are local Aucklanders. I won't go too in depth about city differences and stuff because I only think like... 5 of my followers are from here as well. I know people are definitely more interested in the more 'sci fi' elements of robots living alongside humans, which I'll get to in time, but Aotearoa being the setting for the story is actually pretty important, at the very least in a sentimental level for me and will greatly influence a lot of the writing as we go forward. I want to focus more on that element for this ask sorry if that's not what you were looking for. A little more about me, a huge reason why I put such strong emphasis on my characters living here when I notice other local artists my age don't really tend to do that, is I spent my formative years living in Tokyo, Japan before moving to Aotearoa in like 2008. You can imagine moving from somewhere with 13 odd million people living in it to a city with like a 40,000 population speaking a language I wasn't familiar with was a massive change for anyone let alone a young disabled kid. Originally I was pretty resentful of living here, people at school generally treated me poorly just for being autistic alone only adding with all the cultural and language differences that came from being overseas. If I had simply stayed in Japan in my mind everything would've turned out fine. Now as an adult I do still think about what I would've turned out like if I did stay in Japan, but I still wouldn't trade growing up here for anything. As I get older a lot of cultural influence from Japan slips out of my grasp, I stopped speaking Japanese having nobody else my age who spoke it to talk to and when more things started getting imported overseas to here when I thought I could maybe get that part of myself back it even just a little, it was picked and altered for a more western palette and that's for a country as influential as Japan. I don't want that happening again for the country I live in now. As the internet becomes more commonplace and more NZ artists take the stage they're really starting to appeal to an American audience. It makes sense, it's the majority of your audience. I'm essentially screaming into a void with us making up less than 1% of the world population. I want my art and stories to appeal to a wider audience as well but I don't want to tone down any aspects I feel are important. I'm starting to get sick of writing all my ocs in the states when it's so alien to me just cause it's seen as a blank slate. My story is about robots, yes but it's also about the experience of what it's like to grow up and live here. I want people to really view and experience it like I do whether they've lived here or not, which is super difficult. I have a perspective a lot of people don't and I really want to use that to my advantage. I want to talk about more in depth and more niche aspects of it on here, but I also want to avoid boring anyone or alienating people?

[wh00pwh00p]

@glupiypryanik THIS IS FOR YOU (n also a great excuse to info dump about my babies)

so i have technically 5 OC worlds (minus dnd characters), i say technically 5 because i post like 4 of them here??? the other one is mainly written so i dont have a lot of art of them. but i also have ideas for how id love to present these worlds in the future..... like making some into shows or comics (i probably wont ever do that bc time but one can dream)

im ganna cover them one world at a time from least to most info??? i think?? its a long one.... much longer than i thought.... (i might just keep adding as characters get more info n stuff)

Nova & Circus (doesn't have an actual name yet) :

Nova and circus are roommates n live in a world which is like a near future with lots of built up places heavily based on cities like Tokyo, Seoul, New York and LA in there too. very entertainment industry heavy. Nova is an Idol (i specifically draw from the aesthetics of J-pop idols and a little from K-pop idols) she is very busy all the time which leads to her being very tired when shes not doing work. she also very much enjoys her work and is relatively popular. Circus is a streamer but does like live radio type streams, he used to be a DJ and producer before he started his own thing and now he also helps produce some of Novas music. hes much better at doing his own thing and he doesnt work well with like strict schedules and such. do they have to live together? no, they both make more than enough to live separately and be pretty well off. are they living together because they are dating? maybe but dating is taken very seriously within the Idol scene and it could cause problems for both of them if they were dating, which they are definitely not doing (/s)

Heavens Finest :

oh Delilah. Heaven in this universe isn't somewhere for the dead but more so a place for angels, these angels have a normal working society where everyone is delegated jobs. Delilah was delegated the job of a guardian angel, guardian angels in this universe are the beings that give you a sense of safety, they are the beings that give you the impulse to look before crossing the road or to watch your step. Delilah is horrifically bad at this (partially on purpose). everyone Delilah is sent to keep safe dies within 2-3 business days because she's either gotten to work late or was far too preoccupied doing literally anything else than her job. however shes also the queen of weaponised incompetence, every time her boss threatens to move her to another sector she happily reminds them that she will screw up anything, anywhere, anytime and out of pure fear theyve had to keep her on. as Delilahs story continues her boss gives her an ultimatum: If the next person she guards dies within a week they will let her go. Delilah happily accepts however what she doesnt realise is that shes been assigned the stupidest yet seemingly invincible guy who just. wont. die. her story evolves from her passively letting people die to her straight up trying to kill this guy within a week.

Bp&I :

this universe is a pretty normal modern world filled with halloween monsters. Skeletons, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, think of any classic scary monster n they are here. the main groups (the biggest groups) are: werewolves, vampires, skeletons, witches, zombies, demons, ghosts, sirens and ogres. sometimes (like a 1/1000 chance) a monster can have a seconds supernatural ability, these can be anything from turning invisible to being able to speak to cats. this universe exists alongside our own, for some this is their afterlife and for others our universe is a source of food (especially for vampires and sirens). another big part of this universe are the Fighting Tournaments. every month has a tournament on the last week of the month. these tournaments consist of one race (eg: an entire vampire tournament, an entire ghost tournament so on so on) this is primarily to do with the fact that some races are less or more effected by other races (eg: ghosts cant really be touched by non ghosts unless the ghost puts energy into being a physical thing and this also effects them using objects and such or vampires are more vulnerable to things like fire but demons are immune). these tornaments give non ranked fighters the ability to enter the ranked places. once a year their is a 'Ranked only' tournament which takes place over most of the month where the top 10 from each race compete to take each others rank. Rank 0s are the highest ranks and essentially run the world. Bloodpact is a vampire who also has the supernatural ability of a necromancer, shes able to bring back people she has drank from to act as undead slaves. Bp holds the 3rd spot within the vampire ranks, shes known for having an energetic and deeply chaotic personality and fighting style. her main weapon is a harley quin-esque hammer. Ink could not be further from Bp if they tried. Bp essentially picked Ink of the street to be their mentor. Ink is a ghost with the ability to shapeshift and has always wanted to be a high rank fighter after waking up here after dying. Ink is extremely chill n mildly worried about Bps caffeine addiction.

tbt the best way i can describe these two is 'Autism n ADHD solidarity' Bp may be Inks mentor but i think ink is objectively more responsible. Bp does also have a manager to keep her (and now Ink) on track in their activities.

The Bastards :

the name sounds mean but trust me they deserve it.

this story takes place on a planet which is made up of a single planet which is mainly desert but has some very large interconnected cities and towns within large bubble like structures which create almost fake environments. they can produce different types of weather and grow crops within them. however people do live outside of these bubbles, in the desert areas. this is a modern fantasy-esque space setting (a lot ik) think like Coruscant from star wars mixed with the envoriment in the Darling in the Franxx enviroment. large pockets of perfect land and infrastructure held within localised stationary domes the capability to mimic different enviroments and weather.

this is a rough idea of what its probably laid out like:

the agriculture domes are the least populated, dominated by fields and farms. these farms are able to produce most types of vegetation and can produce enough food for the vast majority of the planet.

main cities and sub cities have very high population densities (like i said think coruscant) minor cities are like the usual cities we have (think new york and london) the towns are less dense more like large sub urbs.

the smallest domes are either villages or business quarters.

the small red cubes/rectangles are settlements outside of the domes, these houses may seem to be of lower quality than the ones in the dome but theyre just much older and built for the desert conditions.

there is one main intergalactic ship dock far from the main urban areas however some of the outer dome settlements have their own landing zones for their own ships or to get deliveries

talon lives outside of the domes, he and his dad run a ranch with a focus in raising and breeding the older more traditional native breeds.

Heartstopper lives in the main city in a relatively nice penthouse gifted to her by her parents before they disowned her

cat scratch lives in the main city in a dingy basement apartment in the....not so nice parts of the main city Cat Scratch, Talon and Heartstopper all despise each other.

(arrows pointing to someone is why they hate the person its pointing to, it was just far easier to put into a diagram.)

all three of them have become bounty hunters due to life circumstances and had a pretty bad kill on sight mentality towards each other however one day they are essentially arrested and given the choice to either go to jail for the rest of their lives or become a unit to fight more dangerous crime groups. as much as they all hate each other they all hated the idea of prison more.

now these characters are supposed to be bad people however i wanted to build them in a way that gave them stories which are just bad life circumstances or events and essentially what would happen if people neglect the fact that they are deeply effected by these things and continue to bottle it up and ignore it instead of... yk.... going to therapy. just keep this in mind as i explain them.

Cat Scratch was orphaned at a very young age, never stayed in one place for long and was always bouncing homes or families. all this contributed to them harbouring a pretty strong hatred towards the world, they blamed other people their entire life, never trusted anyone and became just very violent as an outcome. as previously mentioned they were bullied during school pretty heavily by talon n his group of goons TM which onl;y made this worse as she then had to physically fight these people. as they grew up they met new people, they met heartstopper (though she wasnt heartstopper then) and a guy who they both fell for. cat scratch believed they should have him and they did get him eventually even if it did destroy their friendship with heartstopper and required a few extra steps. this didnt last long however and eventually Cat Scratch had to make it by themselves... again. they turned to bounty hunting as it was profitable enough to keep them off the streets and... a good way to get some anger out...even if it was pretty violent.

Heartstopper had a pretty good upbringing, her family was upper class and were relatively wealthy and yes maybe she had to fight for attention sometimes between her and her multiple siblings but it was never bad. she always had a knack for lying though, just little white lies here and there and pocketing a couple small things here and there (only a stick of gum or a lipstick here and there). she grew up got a good education, great grades and eventually a good job with even better money and met new people. she met cat scratch and a guy they both fell for. heartstopper knew they both had the same feeling but he obviously chose her and she hoped that cat scratch understood that. a little bit later and they were engaged and happy. only what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life became the beginning of the end. he never turned up. not only did he never turn up but no less than a week later sensitive private images, videos, messages were suddenly not so private. the emails to her work, the lies within these emails lined with sensitive content were the final straw. her family had turned their backs on her, her job had let her go and frankly she had nothing else. these things were her life. she had no money, no life and no aspirations so she said fuck it and became a bounty hunter... a much less violent one but a snake in long grass type. if lies were so easily spread about her, then why not everyone else.

Talon would tell you he had a normal upbringing, he didnt. hid mother left when he was very young and has only ever lived with his dad on their ranch. talons dad isnt exactly a good person, pretty horrible honestly, a notorious bigot but talon didnt see that at the end of the day he was his dad and that was all he had. par a few animals and his bird, rogue, obviously. talon knew he was different. not really because of his physical appearance, horns n tails were rather common at his school but inwardly he was conscious about something. it annoyed him when he saw people who were seemingly comfortable in their skin and cat scratch was one of them. it annoyed him that they would walk around as if they had nothing to lose, how theyd look at others with disgust as if they felt like they were above others. one day he and his friends, admittedly, got a little too rough. turned out this cat has much sharper claws than they thought. the next thing talon was aware of was lightning like pain stemming from his spine and the fact that it ceased as soon as he screamed in pain as if they realised he was awake and stopped. after the pain he realised he couldnt notice anything else, he couldnt see anything else. later hed be told his eyesight was unrecoverable and that his previously tan complexion and brunette hair were now stark white and his horns and spines a silver colour. as shit as it is to loose your eyes you get used to it, you find other means of navigating, for talon it was rogue. like a guide bird if you will. she even helped with using firearms, some things were off the table but if he could set up a place to camp out rogue helped with aiming and guiding him on where to shoot through sound or touch. as talon grew up he learned to ignore the feeling that he was different, as his dad grew old he took on more responsibilities around the ranch and just didnt have time to think about it anymore. money got tight a couple times and talon decided he needed to pick up a side hustle... a bounty hunter would probably make just enough.

as the story of the bastards develops they learn to trust and understand each other. they learn that at the end of the day theres not much they can do except to strive to be better.

key story moments include cat scratch almost dying due to their own reckless behaviour and having to trust the other members to not let them die and thank them for helping when they could have let them die on the mission, heartstopper fully breaking down on a mission and admits that she barely knows who she is anymore after the others confront her on her lying and manipulation of other people leading to her having to revaluate her life and open up to those around her and talon finally finds out why hes always felt different after meeting cyrus and falling pretty horrifically in love with him over the course of a short stay during a mission and having to recon with the fact that this could destroy everything hes ever known and being backed by the others in accepting himself and what he wants.

these guys are little shits but they get better n i love them, they are definitely the most in depth characters i have along with being the most depressing but i enjoy playing with the nature vs nurture aspect of terrible people yk and how some of them can get better if they only had good friends and/or therapy (dont worry i will send these idiots to therapy once theyve finished their main stories)

if you got this far heres a pic of one of my cats :3

[sweepseven]

Hi! you responded to my circus post like. forever ago and i realized i had a question that a circus person might know. (sorry in advance that this is long) (also that things are a bit vague bc im trying to explain everything with as little doxxing as possible) (if this is overwhelming or whatever you are not required to read it. just say like "sorry i cant deal with this" and ill be fine)

a little bit of backstory (because idk how else to explain) is that both writing and circus are very prominent parts of my life and for the past like. six months (maybe even year) the idea of a play (because i have written some 10 minute plays) that incorporates circus as a part of the formatting has been rotating in my mind.

I saw a production recently (ish) with my school that was a play, but really it was a musical that incorporated an aerial window and aerial ladders as both set-pieces and aparatuses. they used them as windows and ladders, but at a certain point in the play, when one character was describing something that had happened, there were aerialists performing on the aparatuses. i talked to my teacher afterwards and she also thought i should write a play that incorporates circus. and i dont mean as a plot point (like they go to the circus) but as a way of telling the story.

i also saw an opera recently in which the songs were the same, and the plot was essentially the same as when it was written (several centuries ago), but the setting and costumes were all more modern. someone would sing an aria and then draw three squiggly lines on the wall that, at the third line, became clear it was the body of a naked woman. another where i swear it was a legit clown skit (he climbed up the stairs. flumped down and gave up, then slid down fully flat on his back, climbed up again, slid off sideways, then crawled up, all while operatically singing (used clown rule of three etc)also it was very exciting when he spun a hat on a cane like plate spinning cuz id just learned how to do that a week before). it made me think of just the contrast between a formal format (like a play or opera) and modern, comedic, and otherwise circus-y flares.

ANYWAYS. the main question arose with a convo i had with my dad the other day about this same thing (we've taken to asking each other if we've been thinking abt anything interesting lately) and he knew someone who was in the circus. he asked if there was a structure of the circus (like the three act structure of stories) and the guy said yes absolutely. it was something like starting with the least amount of people each act and then ending with the most. however, i think there was more to it and i wanted to find out to see if i could work with that. unfortunately my dad hasnt spoken to this guy in years and doesn't want to ask again.

so the question: whats the structure of a circus performance?

Hi! Sounds like you get some really cool shows in your area!

Some shows vaguely follow the structure your dad's friend outlined, but I think he's speaking in the loosest possible terms. Yes, the finale act of a show is usually the biggest and grandest, both in terms of spectacle and the number of people involved. But many also open with an extra energetic first act to welcome the audience to the show and set the expectation for what's to follow (think Kooza charivari, Kurios Chaos Synchro, Echo cube suspension). You also see lots of acts opening with solos or duets (Mystere aerial straps, Quidam German or cyr wheel, Amaluna unicycles, etc.). It's definitely not a hard and fast rule, but it can be an element in deciding how a show is paced.

I'd say the most successful base structure is one that balances a natural narrative flow, human attention span, and rigging needs. I use "narrative" here very loosely, because a story isn't a guarantee in a circus, but like a story you don't want to go from nothing nothing nothing to ACTION ACTION ACTION and then suddenly it's all over. It's unnatural, unpredictable, and disengages the audience, and circus is trying to do the opposite. Similarly you don't want people to have to crane their necks for four aerial acts in a row - eventually they're all gonna look the same and people will feel bored. Acts that demand more complex rigging need to go at a point in the show where they can be gracefully set up and taken down without disrupting other things taking place. All these factors may change if your show has an intermission - if it does, you want a kind of "mini" flow that keeps people excited about coming back for the second half.

Alegria IANL is a good example. It starts with a bold opening number with lots of participants, which makes sense because it's a show about revolution. Then we slow it down to a solo act followed by a duet. Fire knife dance is a solo too, but it really ramps the energy back up. The first half closes with Snowstorm, which is a huge spectacle and makes us excited about what they're gonna do with all these tiny paper snowflakes in the second half.

Then you come back from intermission and discover the answer is: see the most gorgeous romantic aerial straps act of your life (a duet). More peaks and valleys follow in alternating smaller and larger acts, all of them on the ground, and all of them with distinctly varying paces. Then close with flying trapeze, which pulls the focus upward, has the most complex rigging in the show, and uses a net they can get away with leaving up for the finale. Tada! A tight, engaging, well-balanced show.

[hollowknightinsanity]

oh yeah also *drops these at your feet and skitters away*

(For context for the second one, in my AU, the sentient bugs of Bug Fables and Hollow Knight are sentient and human-sized because of radiation and magic or whatever. A nuclear war wiped out most life on earth, but mutated bugs and a few other species)

Text IDs

Image 1:

Vessel oc named Archangel

(The dictionary definition of an Archangel:

an angel of high rank. In traditional Christian angelology, a being of the eighth order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy.)

I’m making them real actually

The Archangel. The true pure vessel. Discarded, abandoned, escaped, ascended.

It kills everything in sight.

No real mind to think properly — it acts solely on impulse.

No emotional capacity to contain a will — it cares for nothing.

No voice to alert its victims to its presence — it has no vocal cords, and does not make a sound.

Severe memory issues. Short-term memory loss, vague long-term memory.

No thoughts. No hope. No sound.

Flighted, fanged, clawed, violent and uncaring.

Apex predator.

(Also, it’s more Wyrm than Rootkin. So it adopted a lot of PK’s base instincts and features. Sharp ass teeth and tail-tip. Speaking of its teeth, it has multiple rows of those, and they’re hooked inwards to latch onto prey. Terrifying.)

(Also, its full title is The False Archangel. Because it sounds cool.)

Image 2:

Hrmgh—

What if, because of the radiation combined with some Dragons’ naturally high magical capabilities, a bunch of them fused together and made one huge, immortal, mentally unstable, radiation-poisoned, three-headed Dragon thing.

Yes. Yes, I’m making that real right now.

Around 40,000 years ago, a bunch of Dragons somehow fused into a gigantic three-headed mutant, which resembles dinosaur-era Dragons, and also Hydras, what with the multiple heads and everything.

They’re known as The Hydra in modern day, at least by the bugs that have met them personally. In legends, they’re referred to as The Wyrm God (as they’re believed to be the ancestors of all Wyrms, which is not true), and they tend to call themselves The Something Lost.

They are so body horror. That’s it, no other description, they’re too complex — just Body Horror™.

They cry a lot, and also took in The False Archangel the SECOND they found it. Literally just. “You’re our child now. Come here”

(They’re also the most literal definition of “We use they/them pronouns because we are literally two like 500 motherfuckers.”)

Also, their heads each have different personalities. The left (named Rili, she/her) is mad all the time, the right (named Aga, they/he) is anxiety ridden, and the middle (named Tirve, they/them) is sick of their shit.

Rili and Aga: (arguing about nothing in particular)

Tirve: shush

Rili & Aga: (still arguing)

Tirve: s h u t u p.

Rili & Aga: (comin out ya mouth wit’ your blah blah blah zip your lips like a padl—)

Tirve: OH MY EMPTY HEAVENS SHUT THE FUCK UPPPPP

Archangel: (crunching on some bones, casually watching them argue)