#work writing

[protector-ofthe-wilds]

The afternoon following the events in the Hinterlands was rather quiet. Koda and her new companion had spent the majority of the night talking at the camp about many topics - both serious and casual in nature. The sunrise prompted a nap, and then the two found themselves sat across from each other once more as Koda prepared an apple to snack on.

“May I see your bow?” The request was polite enough, given the otherwise haughty nature the Lady Sathrah seemed to possess. More Highborne than arachnid, Koda had thought to herself - though perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised. To be so thoroughly loved, by both Elune and her priestesses, would be enough to inflate anyone’s ego, she mused. To be loved so dearly that in order to save her soul and relieve her of the misery of madness, they would give the somber order to murder her. It was almost…

“Kodian?” The named Kaldorei sat up a little straighter, her thoughts sundered as the many eyes of Sathrah peered at her quizzically. “Your bow?” 

Koda exhaled a quiet grunt, before reaching for her prized weapon. It was placed with care in the space between them and then the archer was still. The Lady took a moment to give the bow proper appreciation, admiring the handiwork of its crafting and the endless amount of care that had gone into maintaining it…and then promptly used her pincers to bite through the string, shearing it into two uneven pieces. 

“Hey!” Koda barked out in shock, snatching it back into her hand. The apple was abandoned as she flipped the weapon over, gingerly lifting one half of the string with her fingers. Then, her ire landed onto the tarantula with a deep frown. “What’s wrong with you, huh? Do you know how much work it takes for me to get this to where I want it?” 

“Hush, sister, and have patience,” the Lady chided, which only served to vex Koda further. “I do not act without purpose.” 

“I’m not your sister,” Koda growled back, but then found herself obliging Sathrah’s order as the spider began to…spin a web? Well, not quite - she wasn’t hanging from the tree and weaving some intricate pattern to entrap flies. No, it was more like a seamstress pulling thread from a spinning wheel, winding the silvery fibers together between the hooks of her legs. 

“Your bow again, if you would be so kind.” 

Koda was understandably hesitant, but at least this time she had an idea of what the Lady was planning to do. And so, the archer's deft fingers worked the tattered string away, and the bow was now held out at an angle towards the weaver. A certain sort of awe overtook Koda, then, as she watched Sathrah slice free what was now a solid, tensile string and attach it to the bow's hooks with ease. 

“You may need to adjust the tension,” she instructed, “but you should find it an otherwise perfect fit.” 

Koda didn’t waste time on being annoyed by the Lady’s prideful self-admiration, instead taking the moment to thoroughly inspect the new bow string. Hardly half a second’s worth of adjustment, and the string settled into place perfectly. 

“I’ve never had it balance so easily,” Koda said, tone baffled. This, of course, did no favors for the Lady’s already swelling ego, which was clear enough in the tone of her next words. 

“Yes, well, the Priestesses did not have me weave for them simply due to my good looks.” This earned her something of an exasperated stare from Koda, and so the Lady quietly exhaled an amused sigh and continued. “The healing capabilities borne of my webs are well known, but lesser spoken of is the latent power woven within each thread. My mother has deemed you worthy of such gifts…” One of her frontmost legs pointed towards Koda for emphasis. “...and so I shall give of them freely.” After a second of pause, the Lady continued, her leg once more resting upon the loamy soil. 

“I will need to travel to Duskwood soon in order to provide you with my healing waters. Weaving a web here to gather dew would be pointless; the air is too thick with the humans’ detritus. In the Twilight Grove, however - under the Light of Elune and within proximity to the Dream - I will be able to work with the proper efficiency.” The corruption of the human’s city was one thing the two of them could agree on, and Koda nodded along in understanding. The Lady watched her for a moment, before offering one final thought: “The battle ahead will test you and your flame-bathed Druid, both body and soul. You will want these waters, sister.” 

“Then I will accept them,” was Koda’s solemn response - a reply which seemed to please the Lady well enough, by the way she adjusted her stance to stand a bit taller.

“Wonderful. You may run along for now, Kodian, and begin your preparations for the journey to come. Perhaps give your bow’s upgrade a try at the training grounds, yes?” The arachnid’s dismissal of Koda returned some of the girl’s annoyance - but not quite all of it - and with a grunt, the Kaldorei stood to depart, slinging her bow into its place across her back.

“Try not to get your webs all over everything while I’m gone,” Koda instructed as she retrieved her apple, if only to punctuate the quip with a sharp bite into the crisp skin of the fruit. The Lady allowed her this, only chuckling lowly as she watched the girl wander off towards the city with a silent, solitary thought:

What a fascinating little adventure this would surely turn out to be.

[inkskinned]

please i love you i'm begging you bring back suspension of disbelief bring back trusting the audience like. i cannot handle any more dialogue that sounds like a legal document. "hello, i am here to talk to you about the incident from a few minutes ago, because i feel you might be unwell, and i am invested in your personal wellbeing." "thank you, i am unwell because the incident was hurtful to me due to my childhood, which was bad." I CANT!!!!

do you know how many people are mad that authors use "growled" as a word for "said"? it's just poetics! they do not literally mean "growled," it's just a common replacement for "said with force but in a low tone." it's normal! do you hear me!! help me i love you please let me out of here!!!

[mamaangiwine]

I don't think many people realize how much they've been turned into a bunch of casually cynical jerks.

Someone may come to their parents and say "I want to write a book" and their parents will say "it's really hard to get published".

Someone might confide in their sibling and say "I want to sell my art on "x" platform" and that sibling will say "do you know how many people you'd be competing with? Do you know how many shops are even on that platform?"

I know a kid who once told his best friend "I think I wanna start a dnd podcast" and the friend was like "do you know what the word "oversaturation" means?"

Personally, I don't know why any of that matters? And even if it did, perhaps your response should be "Do it! Do it and see where it goes!"

[heartbrokenhowl]

Yeeeowch that hits home 😂😭

Nothing Doing no. 2

[cauchesque]

applying for jobs seems to mostly consist of lying and submitting to indignities, which is whatever. but it is very difficult for me to override my innate instinct that anyone demanding i write a cover letter has insulted me so greatly that the only way to retain my honor is violence

[whatkindofnameisella]

can you believe that we have fanfiction. that we have websites dedicated to fanfiction. that there is a place that you can go and read tens, hundreds, thousands and thousands of pieces of writing that strangers have made. people who are not "writers". people who come home at the end of the day and have feelings and say, i am going to put that into words. i am going to share those words. short, long, sweet, sad, horny, funny, wonderful words. we are all just human and we all love to make and remake and share that with others. can you believe that.

[asgardian--angels]

Planet's Fucked: What Can You Do To Help? (Long Post)

Since nobody is talking about the existential threat to the climate and the environment a second Trump term/Republican government control will cause, which to me supersedes literally every other issue, I wanted to just say my two cents, and some things you can do to help. I am a conservation biologist, whose field was hit substantially by the first Trump presidency. I study wild bees, birds, and plants.

In case anyone forgot what he did last time, he gagged scientists' ability to talk about climate change, he tried zeroing budgets for agencies like the NOAA, he attempted to gut protections in the Endangered Species Act (mainly by redefining 'take' in a way that would allow corporations to destroy habitat of imperiled species with no ramifications), he tried to do the same for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the law that offers official protection for native non-game birds), he sought to expand oil and coal extraction from federal protected lands, he shrunk the size of multiple national preserves, HE PULLED US OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, and more.

We are at a crucial tipping point in being able to slow the pace of climate change, where we decide what emissions scenario we will operate at, with existential consequences for both the environment and people. We are also in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction, with the rate of species extinctions far surpassing background rates due completely to human actions. What we do now will determine the fate of the environment for hundreds or thousands of years - from our ability to grow key food crops (goodbye corn belt! I hated you anyway but), to the pressure on coastal communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and intensifying extreme weather events, to desertification, ocean acidification, wildfires, melting permafrost (yay, outbreaks of deadly frozen viruses!), and a breaking down of ecosystems and ecosystem services due to continued habitat loss and species declines, especially insect declines. The fact that the environment is clearly a low priority issue despite the very real existential threat to so many people, is beyond my ability to understand. I do partly blame the public education system for offering no mandatory environmental science curriculum or any at all in most places. What it means is that it will take the support of everyone who does care to make any amount of difference in this steeply uphill battle.

There are not enough environmental scientists to solve these issues, not if public support is not on our side and the majority of the general public is either uninformed or actively hostile towards climate science (or any conservation science).

So what can you, my fellow Americans, do to help mitigate and minimize the inevitable damage that lay ahead?

I'm not going to tell you to recycle more or take shorter showers. I'll be honest, that stuff is a drop in the bucket. What does matter on the individual level is restoring and protecting habitat, reducing threats to at-risk species, reducing pesticide use, improving agricultural practices, and pushing for policy changes. Restoring CONNECTIVITY to our landscape - corridors of contiguous habitat - will make all the difference for wildlife to be able to survive a changing climate and continued human population expansion.

**Caveat that I work in the northeast with pollinators and birds so I cannot provide specific organizations for some topics, including climate change focused NGOs. Scientists on tumblr who specialize in other fields, please add your own recommended resources. **

We need two things: FUNDING and MANPOWER.

You may surprised to find that an insane amount of conservation work is carried out by volunteers. We don't ever have the funds to pay most of the people who want to help. If you really really care, consider going into a conservation-related field as a career. It's rewarding, passionate work.

At the national level, please support:

The Nature Conservancy

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (including eBird)

National Audubon Society

Federal Duck Stamps (you don't need to be a hunter to buy one!)

These first four work to acquire and restore critical habitat, change environmental policy, and educate the public. There is almost certainly a Nature Conservancy-owned property within driving distance of you. Xerces plays a very large role in pollinator conservation, including sustainable agriculture, native bee monitoring programs, and the Bee City/Bee Campus USA programs. The Lab of O is one of the world's leaders in bird research and conservation. Audubon focuses on bird conservation. You can get annual memberships to these organizations and receive cool swag and/or a subscription to their publications which are well worth it. You can also volunteer your time; we need thousands of volunteers to do everything from conducting wildlife surveys, invasive species removal, providing outreach programming, managing habitat/clearing trails, planting trees, you name it. Federal Duck Stamps are the major revenue for wetland conservation; hunters need to buy them to hunt waterfowl but anyone can get them to collect!

THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE, but these are a start.

Additionally, any federal or local organizations that seek to provide support and relief to those affected by hurricanes, sea level rise, any form of coastal climate change...

At the regional level:

These are a list of topics that affect major regions of the United States. Since I do not work in most of these areas I don't feel confident recommending specific organizations, but please seek resources relating to these as they are likely major conservation issues near you.

PRAIRIE CONSERVATION & PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS

DRYING OF THE COLORADO RIVER (good overview video linked)

PROTECTION OF ESTUARIES AND SALTMARSH, ESPECIALLY IN THE DELAWARE BAY AND LONG ISLAND (and mangroves further south, everglades etc; this includes restoring LIVING SHORELINES instead of concrete storm walls; also check out the likely-soon extinction of saltmarsh sparrows)

UNDAMMING MAJOR RIVERS (not just the Colorado; restoring salmon runs, restoring historic floodplains)

NATIVE POLLINATOR DECLINES (NOT honeybees. for fuck's sake. honeybees are non-native domesticated animals. don't you DARE get honeybee hives to 'save the bees')

WILDLIFE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER (support the Mission Butterfly Center!)

INVASIVE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES (this is everywhere but the specifics will differ regionally, dear lord please help Hawaii)

LOSS OF WETLANDS NATIONWIDE (some states have lost over 90% of their wetlands, I'm looking at you California, Ohio, Illinois)

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, esp in the CORN BELT and CALIFORNIA - this is an issue much bigger than each of us, but we can work incrementally to promote sustainable practices and create habitat in farmland-dominated areas. Support small, local farms, especially those that use soil regenerative practices, no-till agriculture, no pesticides/Integrated Pest Management/no neonicotinoids/at least non-persistent pesticides. We need more farmers enrolling in NRCS programs to put farmland in temporary or permanent wetland easements, or to rent the land for a 30-year solar farm cycle. We've lost over 99% of our prairies to corn and soybeans. Let's not make it 100%.

INDIGENOUS LAND-BACK EFFORTS/INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT/TEK (adding this because there have been increasing efforts not just for reparations but to also allow indigenous communities to steward and manage lands either fully independently or alongside western science, and it would have great benefits for both people and the land; I know others on here could speak much more on this. Please platform indigenous voices)

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (get your neighbors to stop dumping fertilizers on their lawn next to lakes, reduce agricultural runoff)

OCEAN PLASTIC (it's not straws, it's mostly commercial fishing line/trawling equipment and microplastics)

A lot of these are interconnected. And of course not a complete list.

At the state and local level:

You probably have the most power to make change at the local level!

Support or volunteer at your local nature centers, local/state land conservancy non-profits (find out who owns&manages the preserves you like to hike at!), state fish & game dept/non-game program, local Audubon chapters (they do a LOT). Participate in a Christmas Bird Count!

Join local garden clubs, which install and maintain town plantings - encourage them to use NATIVE plants. Join a community garden!

Get your college campus or city/town certified in the Bee Campus USA/Bee City USA programs from the Xerces Society

Check out your state's official plant nursery, forest society, natural heritage program, anything that you could become a member of, get plants from, or volunteer at.

Volunteer to be part of your town's conservation commission, which makes decisions about land management and funding

Attend classes or volunteer with your land grant university's cooperative extension (including master gardener programs)

Literally any volunteer effort aimed at improving the local environment, whether that's picking up litter, pulling invasive plants, installing a local garden, planting trees in a city park, ANYTHING. make a positive change in your own sphere. learn the local issues affecting your nearby ecosystems. I guarantee some lake or river nearby is polluted

MAKE HABITAT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Biggest thing you can do. Use plants native to your area in your yard or garden. Ditch your lawn. Don't use pesticides (including mosquito spraying, tick spraying, Roundup, etc). Don't use fertilizers that will run off into drinking water. Leave the leaves in your yard. Get your school/college to plant native gardens. Plant native trees (most trees planted in yards are not native). Remove invasive plants in your yard.

On this last point, HERE ARE EASY ONLINE RESOURCES TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS and LEARN ABOUT NATIVE GARDENING:

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resource Center

Pollinator Pathway

Audubon Native Plant Finder

Homegrown National Park (and Doug Tallamy's other books)

National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (clunky but somewhat helpful)

Heather Holm (for prairie/midwest/northeast)

MonarchGard w/ Benjamin Vogt (for prairie/midwest)

Native Plant Trust (northeast & mid-atlantic)

Grow Native Massachusetts (northeast)

Habitat Gardening in Central New York (northeast)

There are many more - I'm not familiar with resources for western states. Print books are your biggest friend. Happy to provide a list of those.

Lastly, you can help scientists monitor species using citizen science. Contribute to iNaturalist, eBird, Bumblebee Watch, or any number of more geographically or taxonomically targeted programs (for instance, our state has a butterfly census carried out by citizen volunteers).

In short? Get curious, get educated, get involved. Notice your local nature, find out how it's threatened, and find out who's working to protect it that you can help with. The health of the planet, including our resilience to climate change, is determined by small local efforts to maintain and restore habitat. That is how we survive this. When government funding won't come, when we're beat back at every turn trying to get policy changed, it comes down to each individual person creating a safe refuge for nature.

Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to add your own credible resources and organizations.

[maeamian]

If you saw me agreeing with being annoyed about wasted helium in a fictional context and were like "I bet she has some more helium based anger in her life" good news LAPD fucked up a raid on a medical facility they thought was a pot farm and flat out ruined thousands of gallons of the stuff.

[protector-ofthe-wilds]

Koda inhaled a deep breath, held it, and then raised her fist to knock. Barely twenty seconds after the last rap of her knuckle, and the familiar door swung half open, revealing a familiar face behind it. Jaledriel blinked eyes of wispy emerald once, his floppy ears fluttering as he peered down to view the visitor. The moment his gaze properly recognized Koda, that trademarked goofy smile sprung to life over his lips.

"Oh. Hey, kid." The door was opened the rest of the way as he properly greeted her, tilting his own body out of the way to allow her room to enter. "Welcome back."

As Koda stepped inside, the interior of Wintermoon Retreat welcomed her like an old friend. Everything was exactly where it had been during her last visit - save for the common area being a tad more messy. Jaledriel seemed to notice Koda's stare lingering on some unwashed dishes, and he giggled.

"You could probably guess, but Liev's been out. She and Ely had business back in Feralas." The man lifted a clawed finger to scratch through the thick lengths of emerald hair, past the leafy vines, and directly against his scalp. "Well, I should say that Er'lynn had business there."

"And they didn't bring you?" Koda seemed only half-invested in the answer, already moving to set her things down upon her window seat. The book she had started reading last time still sat upon a half-folded fur blanket; she shifted both to the side to sit down with a sighed exhale. The sound caught Jale's attention, a bushy brow quirking as he turned to face her.

"Yeah, uh...they had it under control. You alright?"

He transitioned into the inquiry so suddenly that Koda nearly didn't catch it. She looked up to see the gentle concern on his face, before promptly looking away.

"I bring news," she said after a moment, and she could feel the air around them immediately shift. Jaledriel was normally a jocular guy - the complete and total polar opposite to Liev - but when the moment got serious, the man would adapt. Arms folded over his broad chest, his biceps tightening to suggest some trepidation. A nod for her to continue, and she obliged.

"You've probably heard by now about the Dream Surges in the Isles, and the fact that the Druids of the Flame are working with Fyrakk to try and reach Amirdrassil, yeah?"

"Koda, I am a Warden of the Grove, bound to the Dream by the blood of the Green Dragonflight. Of course I'm aware of what's happening." Though he kept his tone steady, the reminder caused trepidation to turn to wrath; the wispy nature of Jaledriel's eyes sharpening into something more akin to flames.

Koda exhaled a frustrated sigh, pushing her fingers up through her hair. "Right, yeah, I know. Dumb question." A breath, and she continued.

"It's not just a threat anymore. They're actually going to be able to do it, Jale. They're bringing the Firelands to the Dream, and now they've got this...Runestone-thing they grabbed from Desolace to amplify their efforts."

Her building frustration boiled over, and the girl was suddenly on her feet, pacing steps back and forth through the room. "We tried to stop them from getting it, but we were too little, too late."

"It's not the only weapon they have in their arsenal," Jale replied slowly, his gaze following the girl. "Nor is it their greatest one."

"Yeah, but they didn't need another one, okay?!" Koda barked back, stopping on her next step to sharply turn and face him. "We could have stopped him! We were right there! Now everything is fucked and the Dream's going to burn!"

"The weight of Amirdrassil's fate is not your burden to carry, so you can just cut that out right now," Jale demanded, in the same sort of tone a father would take. It only served to frustrate her further.

"You're Dream-blessed, Liev's a Night Warrior, Ely's the champion of Aessina, Ryndolyn is the personification of the arcane, and Er'lynn's an actual green dragon!" The girl's voice tremored with the threat of tears, her arms thrown up into the air with exasperation. "What am I? Just a heretic's daughter, floundering about in the face of what I can't change! How can I call myself a protector of anything if I couldn't even do this?!"

"It's that sort of thinking that warped my other self into doing terrible things, Koda." Jale's tone swept into a low, rumbled warning. "Ghost chased after power, spurred on by the feeling of inadequacy and fear until it tore both himself and his family apart."

"Oh, so what? You think I'm going to go insane chasing after some sort of power? Become a heretic, like your alternative or my father?" Koda flashed her fangs in her anger - which was far too much of an affront against Jaledriel. She regretted it immediately, ears wilting even before he started to reply.

"You're putting words in my mouth that I've never spoken," he snapped back, though his tone almost immediately softened as he continued. "...because you're scared and you're lost and you're tired. I can see it in your eyes; hear it in your voice." His head shook slowly, his expression somber. "Talk to me, kid. You don't have to sit with this alone."

Koda liked to think that she had tough skin, but her family (this one - the one she had chosen) always seemed to know exactly how to lance straight through her defenses. And in this moment, where she was so scared and lost and mind-numbingly exhausted...well, his words had been almost too much to bear. Her anger was abandoned, traded for strangled sobs, and Jale wasted little time in crossing the room to wrap her up in his arms. It was a strong, solid embrace - the sort that made one feel like they were being put back together...or, at least, being kept from shattering into a thousand pieces on the floor.

"Trust me, kid, I get it. Probably more than anyone," he offered, quietly. A hand rose to stroke back her hair to get it out of her face as she wept. "So, go ahead, let it out. I've got you."

~~~

Koda sat with eyes bleary and puffy from her crying, a cup of tea held within her joined palms. She had, perhaps, cried a little more than she really felt comfortable with - hence the murmured apology she offered forward when Jaledriel returned from the kitchen with his own tea.

"I'm used to it with Ely," was Jale's teasing reply, that goofy grin back in place as he took a seat across from her. "That woman's cried enough to overflow the sea." His eyes squinted a little, his grin wavering. "Which has been mostly my idiot brother's fault."

"Ryndolyn's not a bad guy," Koda sniffled, and Jale snorted a laugh.

"Yeah, maybe not, but he's done some incredibly stupid things."

Koda's gaze averted down to her tea, and Jaledriel exhaled lightly, his grin settling until it was only a slight smile.

"Did you want to stay the night? You know you're welcome to."

Koda's head shallowly shook from side-to-side. "I've got...someone waiting on me. I have to head back." Jale nodded along, but his expression seemed conflicted - as if he wanted to argue against her decision. But, after a quiet moment, he resolved the feelings with a sigh.

"I know you've got your mission, kid, and I respect it. I do. We all heard the Traveler when he told you about your an'da. None of us question the validity of what you're doing; Thavenar needs to be stopped." The man leaned forward, elbows propped on his thighs as he tried to catch her gaze. She obliged, meeting his once-again wispy stare. "But you alone aren't responsible for saving the world, or the Dream, or anything at all, Koda. Don't allow self-imposed burden to break your spirit. I watched it happen with Ely, and I'd prefer it to not happen to you." He pauses, if only for a breath. "Come home often and recharge among the Wilds that love you. Allow yourself to rest. You can't sustain yourself if you're running all the time."

"Yeah," was Koda's terse reply, but there was something reflected across her expression that let Jale know she heard his words. That was enough to satisfy him, and so he sat straight again, nodding once.

"I'll share the news you brought with Liev and the others once they return, and we'll move accordingly." His tone then lightened as he continued. "For now, share this moment and tea with me, thero'shan of my beloved. Perhaps I'll recite a story before you go, if you'll allow this bard to play for you." A wide and warm grin punctuated his offer.

Koda could do little to stop a small smile from touching her lips, allowing her ears to relax at a comfortable incline as she relaxed into the window seat. The familiarity was...nice. Perhaps she could allow herself a moment to indulge in it.

"Yeah," she quietly murmured. "I think I'd like that."

[canonkiller]

but you can't keep holding on like this.

[rayveneyed]

nanami kento is the kind of man that makes people swoon without even realising it.

he's the kind of man to walk into a luxury store after work, suit jacket folded over one arm and a bouquet of flowers in the other -- his blonde hair still mostly perfect from the high-end pomade he uses. he scours the shelves, frowning to himself, while the attendants whisper and giggle amongst themselves near the tills -- an argument over who will be the one to talk to him, because he's intimidatingly pretty.

("just look at him," one whispers. "he's definitely buying something for a girlfriend."

"a wife," another disagrees. "c'mon. he's giving husband vibes."

someone hums. "but i can't see a wedding band."

"his mother, maybe?" says one other. "oh, i love when guys come in shopping for their mother."

"nobody's mother is getting a bouquet of a hundred red roses--")

eventually, one of them is volunteered as a sacrifice -- smiling and sweet as all attendants should be, she clears her throat. the others, crowded around the till, watch the exchange closely. "excuse me, sir. is there anything we could help you with today?"

her mouth is dry and her hands are clammy -- and when he fixes her with those narrow, burning eyes, her throat bobs.

"ah, yes." and his voice is deep and gravelly and drawling, and her stomach turns. she can only imagine what her coworkers are thinking -- hell, she can only imagine what she's thinking. her mind has stopped short. "my girlfriend likes this brand quite a bit. i thought i'd pick her up something..."

disappointment brews in her stomach -- and it's stupid, she knows it's stupid, because obviously a guy like that is taken. and -- she glances down at the roses -- obviously he treats her super fucking well. of course he does, because why wouldn't he? "oh, perfect! do you have anything in mind?"

"well, actually..."

he ends up buying one of the priciest gift boxes available -- fancy body care and perfume laid out in their signature boxes, decorated with ribbon and dried lavender -- no argument, no fight. he doesn't look for something cheaper, doesn't try to haggle or remove something to decrease the price. he adds, and adds, and adds -- and when she mentions a special offer at the till, a little add on for an extra 2000 yen, he accepts it readily. he inserts a black card into the card machine (of course, a black card), takes the beautifully wrapped bag, and thanks the girls for their services -- and just as he's leaving, his phone rings.

of course he answers the phone with hello, darling. of course he begins to ask his girlfriend about her day, the girls think with some amount of annoyance -- of course. maybe the curse of retail isn't entitled assholes expecting you to wait on hand and foot for them -- maybe it's the handsome men coming in to splurge on their girlfriends while you're painfully single and working for pennies.

[eridan-ampora]

i love it when characters are codependent. i love it when losing someone feels like losing a limb. i love it when two people "complete" each other so wholly and terribly that one can barely function without the other. i love it when the fear of losing the only person who understands them is so all-consuming they'll destroy anything to stay together, including themselves.

[suguruverse]

your personal space has never really truly been yours since you’ve started dating him. his muscled arm around your waist when you wake up in the morning, has become as familiar as the sunrise itself. it used to be cute, his warmth a cozy start to the day. but now, it's suffocating, like he can't bear to let you go, even in his sleep.

you shift carefully under his weight, not wanting to disturb his sleep. his breath keeping its steady rhythm against your neck, and you wonder if he dreams of you as you lean in to kiss his forehead gently. he smiles in his sleep, a small, contented expression that almost makes you want to slip right back into his arms.

the sheets rustle softly as you slip out from his grip. you slowly tiptoe across your shared bedroom, craving the simple pleasure of being able to enjoy making coffee alone. the smell of freshly ground beans fills the kitchen, and you lean against the counter, enjoying the quiet morning.

but as your coffee brews, a twinge of guilt creeps in and you can almost imagine when he'll wake up and wonder where you've gone. despite enjoying the well needed alone time, you knew the longing to be close to him will pull you back into his embrace sooner than you'd planned. almost as if in complete sync with your thoughts, you hear a mumble approaching the kitchen, and then his voice, thick with sleep, calling out softly,

"angel cmon back to bed with me, you know i don’t like sleeping without you"

ੈ✩‧₊˚ gojo, nanami, bakugou, iwaizumi hajime (27) althetic trainer, oikawa, kuroo, geto, choso, yuji, midoriya

[mournfulroses]

Mary Oliver, from a poem titled "Work," featured in The Southern Review (edited)

[tofixtheshadows]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.

Meals are the privilege of the living.