#yes i know they are not naturally occuring! i think that makes them really cool when appearing in fictional words

[autistic-partisan]

r is for rose

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

there aren't many blue rose stim gifs around so i took this opportunity to collect some in one place

[s-wave-entertainment]

Okay I'm doing it I'm making that long-winded post about N-

Your honor, this boy never Actually Wanted to kill.

Now for most of you, I'm sure you already knew this. It's not all too hard to perceive, seeing as we've really only seen him in full blown kill mode twice, and there's a hypothesized good reason for the first and an ACTUAL good reason for the second. But I'm making this post anyway because this little murder robot has a heart core of gold, and he makes me so fucking sad sometimes so I just have to scream about it. MOVING ON:

Exhibit A: The Landing

Both times we see N in full blown (worker) kill mode* were in the pilot; once when he first landed back at the spire and attacked Uzi, and the other when he raided the bunker pursuing her. I'll refer to the first time here as "The Landing (TL)." In this sequence we watch him slam down onto the ship, finish off the oil in some poor sap's head, then attack Uzi as soon as he realizes she's there. What's my reasoning for this? Hunger.

N says, a little more than 3 minutes later, that he kills for one of two reasons:

1) If he doesn't, he dies.

2) It's his job, and he wants to be useful.

Now take this next take with a bit of salt, as it's completely headcanoned, but I personally think that N dislikes hunting as a whole. Despite his desire to be useful, it still means he has to kill - which I think if he CAN avoid at a given time, he will. Thus, in my opinion, N only hunts either when J forces him to, or when he knows he's at risk of overheating. Overheating does shit to robot brains, as we saw with Uzi in episode 4, so if N was out HUNTING - which he does when he's close to overheating - when TL occurred, it's only NATURAL that he sees a worker in his space and his first thought is "kill." He was ALREADY in hunting mode - I imagine it doesn't just "turn off" the second they satiate the initial urge. If it did, that wouldn't work too well for The Solver, now would it (yes I know that when the Earth AND the gala massacre occurred none of them had any jurisdiction over their bodies/actions, but the Solver openly admit to allowing them to keep their personalities, and knowing N I think the whole "killing for sport" thing doesn't work too well with his)?

So of course he attacks Uzi - he was likely still hungry, and hungry means risk for overheating, which can translate to death. I will admit, he did seem to toy with her just a little before going for the kill, but actually I think the whole "throwing her across the area with his tail" was more to disorient Uzi, as from the dodge he had just witnessed her perform could signify to him that she's more competent in a fight than the first appeared, even disarmed. Thus, the need to both injured and discombobulate her arose. I'll talk more about N's fighting style in the second incident here:

Exhibit B: The Bunker

Now the bunker has a different reason altogether: protection of his fellow squad mates. Don't believe me? I was hoping you'd say that:

He only goes AFTER Uzi after he realizes that she's made off with the weapon that took his head off. Yes, she missed and he was able to regenerate, but if Uzi had hit just a little bit lower, she would have hit his core - which would have permakilled him. Surely realizing this, he runs off and attacks the bunker with what given reason?

It wasn't about him. It was NEVER about him. It was about V. He wanted to keep HER safe, he wanted to make sure Uzi wouldn't shoot HER with that gun. Now, why all the unecessary carnage then? In THIS case, I think he defaulted to wanting to be useful and thus making all of the kills that he did. Though, it could also be argued just as fairly that he was consuming so much oil/matter to ensure that if she DID shoot him again, he would be able to get back up faster. The gun has a cool down, yes, but I don't know if he knew that. Or if he did, he couldn't have known that it only lasted for 30 minutes. Now about that fighting style I mentioned - this is why I think the reasoning here was purely for utility: N appears to have a very cut-and-run fighting style. If he has a choice, he doesn't prolong his kills - the first guy he stabs through the chest then immediately takes his head off, the second dies via missile, the third N just tackles and kills himself (we only hear the guy scream fir a second before N is seen drinking oil from his neck, which leads me to believe that the death was quick), and Braxton dies via super accurate cutting-you-in-half laser (which was probably meant for Uzi, but he couldn't see them when he fired as he was too busy drinking, so he probably just latched onto the voice that he heard and fired). All deaths which were extremely fast and without any toying, despite the multitude of weapons used. Now to me, this implies that he has a style, and he sticks with it. And that style is just to /get the damn thing over with./

And that's it! Those are the only times we see him in worker kill mode. Now we do see him switch into a "general" kill mode when he takes "Tessa's" head off, but it's pretty plainly obvious that that took every ounce of his mental strength to do. I mean shit, he basically collapsed as soon as it was over and didn't regulate until Uzi took his hand. Now I guess it could be argued that that was "his friend" so of course he's more hesitant to kill her, but I think part of the reason it was So Hard is because he ALREADY doesn't favor killing, and now he has to behead the only human who ever showed him any kindness. AND THEN IT WASN'T EVEN HER, SO-

And don't bring up the episode 8 fight - OBVIOUSLY he's gonna fight to kill, he's recovering the memory of everything this thing has done to him and now he has two new motivators: love, and WRATH. I make exception for that fight because quite frankly if he WASN'T fighting to kill at that point I would be worried. Though I do wanna bring up that he was very obviously conflicted about the whole thing. And before you argue:

Even against THE SOLVER ITSELF, he was still incredibly conflicted about killing. Again, that used to be his friend (and is wearing the SKIN OF THE ACTUAL HUMAN HE THOUGHT HE KILLED NOT EVEN A CANON 20 MINUTES AGO FOR THEM), but even still, my earlier point of "already doesn't favor killing, forced to kill" still stands.

In conclusion - your honor, N is a sweetheart. Always has been, despite everything he's been forced to do. And the amount of guilt he probably feels for the oil (and blood, now that he remembers that) on his hands is probably so, so much. Too much. Why do you think he copes with repression and positivity?

*"Worker Kill Mode" specified because I acknowledge that he kind of has two kill modes - one where he's in control and one where he's Not, as the Solver's puppet.

[nibbelraz]

I thought about something the other day which I nearly wrote but I don't have the patience for- what if Mobei had a sudden epithany while snooping qinghua's house? cause obv hes gonna snoop. sqh is mad sus, and mobei has trust issues with his trust issues. but it suddenly occurs to him that the bed that he constantly steals from his little human is very much rather. luxurious. The mattress is thick and expensive, and sqh rotates and flips it frequently so it doesnt get lumpy. it has a topper(1)

(2) with cooling talismans all over it to make it a good temp for mobei any time he decides to sleep in it. the sheets are silk, soft, and light. they're in his colours. his shades. it's a huge bed- long enough for mobei to lay down fully stretched out and still have room. theres countless pillows made of whatever is best for mobei's hair. they're piled up and spread out in a decadance fit for royalty. its always clean. it always smells like him. hes never seen qinghua in it once.

(3) and surely, he must use it, right? it's still his bed, no matter how mobei frames it. But he knows what sqh smells like, and that scent has never been anywhere but in the fleeting touch of someone who changed the sheets. there's never been a lingering warmth from his humans body on the mattress. its the most luxurious, extravagant, expensive thing sqh owns. its not his. looking around the bedroom- is this his either? can he see anything that he might say with confidence is the cultivators?

(4) the answer is no. There's peak lord things in here, yes, but by the nature of being a spy, that's mobeis as well. So he looks- where does sqh sleep, if not a bed that (should? could?) be his own. The answer appears to be a cheap, small little daybed. It's uncomfortable. Mobei knows how big his human is, and this wouldn't fit him well. It's made well enough, but next to the actual bed in the room? It's a grade up from the floor. If Mobei laid on it he'd be off of it by his hips.

(5) honestly its not even good as a chair. It's uneven and kinda lumpy. There's a vague pillow- flat and showing signs of being folded often. A blanket that looks more like a repurposed curtain. It it bad so sqh doesn't lose it to mobei's wants? or worse, is it what he feels like he deserves? He already knew qinghua wasn't one to spend on himself but, he didn't think it was a possible fear of having it stolen from him. Does he have anything of his own worth having at all? Mobei doesn't know.

(6) anyway this obv leads into a comedy of errors where mobei is like. "qinghua. get into bed." and the man positively bluescreens because ??? literally how is he supposed to take that. and when he sorta makes a movement to just lay down on the day bed mobei is like. do you even fucking have any night clothes or do you just sleep like that. get night clothes. get into my bed. you're being cringe. my king with all respect due; crack? is it crack that you smoke? ))

-------------------------------------------------------

He wants QINGHUA TO BE COMFY AND SLEEP GOOD IN A PROPER BED WITH PROPER CLOTHES AND WARM BLANKETS

Knowing them both it really would take Mobei an extremely long time to figure out that wait a minute, Qinghua doesn't sleep here at all?? Especially realizing the bed doesnt even smell like him, but the thought of him trying to fix that is so cute

I can also see him just picking Qinghua up throwing him into bed, Wrapping him up in furs and blankets and then tugging him to his chest

Yes he's comfortable now

ALSO QINGHUA BEING SO CONFUSED BECAUSE HE JUST UP AND DOES THIS WITHOUT ANY WARNING NOT EVEN SAYING ANYTHING

Ah I love how Mobei shows his love by trying to take care of his scared sweaty human

[scrumptiousstuffs]

Hi Sue! What do you think about today's episode?🤭

In my opinion it was even better!! (Don't get me wrong, the bed scene between KantBison is still №1) I love the humour this show has, it's my style. The way First is flirting the hell out of everything, I'm here for it 😆 It's for all these times Khao was flirting with him heheh

And the way Style conquers Fadel, I'm living for every second 👀 And as the last scene shows, he's almost there...

Oh, and the music! Is top notch, I love the "Micro" vibes of it all (thanks to Sand I'm a Micro fan now heh)

Hello Mei!!! I love Ep 2 - all four boys continue to do an amazing job establishing their characters. The styling and music (like you say) continue to be a delight.

And since I am vibrating with excitement from the recent episode (despite my sleep deprivation cause the live airing for THK is after midnight for me), here are some of my musings:

1) I am delighted to see First playing Kant with such nuances. There is a degree of complexity with Kant. Yes, he is lusting after Bison (cause the sex was just that good) - but you can tell, he is pulling all the moves on Bison partly because of his job as an informant (the sleeping with target part is currently secondary, although I suspect this will change soon hehee). Everytime Bison rebuffs him whenever Kant tries to get physical/kiss him, you could see a break in Kant’s suave and cool nature (the grit and tension of his jaw, the slight tightness in his eyes and eyebrow lift - all of which occurs in split second before he quickly smooth his expression and becomes the charming flirt he dons on when he is with Bison). Similarly, when he is lusting after Bison, the mouth bite or quick tongue swipe across his lips as he makes a quick sweep of Bison’s body (most noticeable in that tattoo parlour when Bison dressed/undressed his pants).

Plus, him hiring his friend to flirt with Bison just so he could prove to Bison how jealous and protective he can be? - oh yes, I can see why the police keep using him as their informant. Kant is meticulous, a good planner and savvy (although I am quite amused this was the route he took when Babe gave him the advice to show how sincere he is with his feelings to Bison)

You and I both know First is a master in microexpression and here we are given another top tier performance by yours truly.

2) Speaking of microexpression, Khaotung also knocked it out of the park for me as Bison. He may be an assassin with a girgonomous knowledge on how to kill and dispose a body efficiently - but there is a naivety and innocence to him. Truly, only Khaotung could play a mixture of deadly assassin, cutie pie and naive dork at the same time.

His facial expression screams burnout when he is doing the assassin job. E.g: Bison being careless with the gloves? - I think it’s really a way of him essentially telling Fadel and us (as audience), he simply no longer cares about his job. Or everytime Kant flirts with him, the disbelief and bemused expression on his face whenever Kant proclaims he is “so in love” but at the same time, he can’t help be charm whenever Kant does pull the moves on him. And I will like to point out that Bison is gradually letting his guard down with Kant - him slipping and saying “Khun Mae”. You can see the micro-change in his expression when Kant pointed it out.

Bison has also voiced out clearly what he wants most at present is freedom, which includes no long-term commitment (one of the reason he keeps rebuffing Kant) - isn’t it interesting Kant is the one who keeps insisting for them to be boyfriends when he could have just agree with Bison to keep it casual/FWB type?. I mean, I’m sure the FWB will still allow some opportunity for Kant to snoop and gain information from Bison. That itself tells me Kant has subconsciously decided he wants Bison regardless of the informant/police business.

3) Style cracks me up so much in this episode. He is like the buzzing mosquito (affectionately) that Fadel wants to slap off but keep missing. I mentioned in a previous musing (on my side blog) that Style is sharper than most people realise (there is a reason why he is bestie with Kant).

Dunk acting was on point here - from the shameless and boisterous performance at the fieldtrack to him basically haunting Fadel like the Ghost from Xmas Past at the market and gym. But oh - I think he really clocked on how to break into Fadel’s shell after the very enlightening conversation with Bison at the burger joint. Not sure if you realised, but it’s after that conversation, he amped up his seduction rather than just trying to relentlessly annoy Fadel to submission.

Even Style kissing (quite aggressively, I may add) in the gym is calculated on Style part. He saw Fadel did not rebuff him in the sauna, clocked on Fadel actually checking him out. And so he took his chance!

4) And that brings me to my boi, Fadel (urgh, I just want to hug him so badly). We talked about how Bison has a touch of naivity to him. However, I think Fadel is just the same in some aspects.

Bison (bless him) really wants his brother to live a little. I cannot express how much I adore Fadel and Bison’s dynamic as brothers. Bison may be rebellious but he truly loves his big brother. And so, Bison giving his blessing to Style delight me to no end! (Also, did you click on Kant gritting his teeth (heh) when Bison admitted to Kant he primarily agreed for Kant’s bestie to hit on Fadel not because it will free them to date but so that his brother can experience living too!)

Anyway, I’m regressing. Poor Fadel is having a whiplash from all the emotions he has never previously experienced hitting him all at once because of Style. Style annoys him (yes) but you could also see the flicker of amusement in his eyes and begrudging admiration for the gumption of this shameless boy who does not fear him and will come up to his face (even if he gets soak with water, foot stomped or the threat of windpipe being crushed. None of these really faze Style (and I think that sticks in Fadel’s mind). Plus, with Bison whispering in his ears about how Style is cute and fearless (really Bison gaslighting his brother into thinking more about Style 😉).

And so, him jerking off to Style beautiful body (and face) that really was a revelation for him (he is so so aroused but also damn mad with himself for having any feeling at all) - did you also clock Fadel’s fantasy Style looking angelic and even more alluring/seductive than real life sauna event? (Truly good cinematography and storytelling here!)

Speaking of which, I am going to give a special shout out to the dancing scene by KantBison. Some people hate it (and I read some fans actually skip it due to the cringe nature) - I don’t know about you, but I love it. And we know with Jojo, there is always good reasons why a scene is included. Yes, it is a tribute to Pulp Fiction (which Jojo adores), but beyond that the scene is important for several factors:

1) Bison subtle challenge for Kant to prove he is willing to do anything for him

2) Kant essentially lying that he couldn’t dance (and Bison commented on this later on), which Kant smoothly cover up by saying he was just following Bison’s lead (that tells me Kant has variety of skills that we and Bison are not privy too!)

3) And oh the song choice - the lyrics talk about scheming, mixed signals and how the eyes don’t lies - ahem, what does that remind you of?

Ok, enough analysis 😂😂😂 - this is getting way too long. I’m also going to finish up by saying - I’m intrigued by Bison’s choice of phone - an old-fashioned flip phone when we know this is set at present time. And we still have yet to see Fadel’s choice of phone model - does it mean anything? ☺️

[sadistic-kiss]

🐺House of Alphas Chapter 46: Totally Spies 🐺

(Jujutsu Kaisen Omegaverse )

Summary: Waking up in a world that was not your own was problematic enough. Being the villainess was another. However, the possessive alphas might take the cake.

Disclaimer: Angsty but I ain’t Gege

Omega!Reader x Alpha!Sukuna x Alpha!Gojo x Alpha!Toji x Alpha!Nanami x Alpha!Getou

~

...

Alone at last.

You walk the streets with your hood upon your head, trying to hide in the crowd and be as discreet as possible. Stopping by shops and asking questions about the items that you thought your alphas would like. You buy a few things for them but in truth, shopping wasn't your main goal.

“Ah~ this necklace is just soooo pretty!”

You glance out the corner of your eye as you watch what is more important than learning what the hell occurs when you black out- the unknown witch. She was holding up a gold necklace as if she could envision it with the best outfit.

This was your plan all along. Trying to understand who this villain is. You wouldn't have been able to move so quietly with your alphas around so yes you did give them the boot- all in good intentions though. You also didn't think she would feel so comfortable with you approaching with five beasts. You needed to see her for who she was, in her natural habitat.

If you could figure this witch out you could save yourself a ton of stress...and of course many lives.

So far you've learned that her name is Nobara and the girl she is with goes by Maki. The two betas seemed to have a really close relationship, perhaps a comrade? To be fair they just seemed like regular people. You don't mean that in an insulting way but in a way that differentiates them from the wicked witch in the game. The one that was killing everyone without mercy. Maki doesn't appear in the game so you don't know exactly where she stands on the good vs evil scale.

“Hot or no?” Nobara questioned as she turned to and fro.

“You make anything look hot.” Maki winked at her making the girl blush and tuck her hair behind her ear.

Oh, it seemed their relationship was a bit more than just close friends. It would appear they might be roommates.

“Ma’am?" A man called to you, "Ma'am? Do you like the dress?”

“Hm?” you looked back at what you were doing, pretending to be looking at what appeared to be a very revealing dress. It had a deep cut in the middle, slits on the sides, and down both sides of the skirt, this dress left nothing to the imagination. Could it even be considered a dress? You were just feeling it because the fabric felt nice, you weren’t actually looking at what you were touching.

"It's a one-of-a-kind, a divine dress made with the best-"

“Oh- no, I was just looking…” You quickly dismiss the man before he starts going on his sailing rant. As you spoke to him you noticed the girls leave the stand they were at. You bowed to the owner and slowly began to walk, keeping an eye on your targets.

This girl sure did love shopping.

This time you stop from across from them, hiding behind a rack with hats hanging on it. Moving them around you checked them out while thinking of a way to get closer to Nobara. Maybe you could point something out, or just so happen to like the same thing she likes. Start a conversation with her, become friendly, and get to know her. See what she was really about. Yes… all you needed to do was just go up to her and say-

“Haaaaiiiii~.”

“Eeeeek!” you let out a surprised yip as you turned to look at Junpei who had snuck up on you. “Junpei?!”

“Oh hey, Raven whachaaaa dooooin?” Yuuji smiles behind the blue monster, Megumi right beside him.

“Yuuji what is Junpei doing here?” you question looking around. It seemed like no one was paying the blue monster any mind but rather looking at you because of your outburst. "S-sorry." you bowed your head as you turned back to Yuuji for an explanation.

“I thought it be cool to show Junpei around!”

“Y-yes I see that but you shouldn't have him out here…”

“Everyone just thinks I'm a spirit handler.” Yuuji shrugs nonchalantly, “...and when he starts to get annoyed I just play him his favorite song.”

You pursed your lips together looking at the monster omega as it scratched at its arm shyly. You were glad Yuuji had taken up caring for Junpei but the boy was quite naive like a damn protagonist in an anime. His shiny good personality was too damn bright. If Junpei attacks someone, even if it were an accident, he could be killed. “Listen Yuuji I know-”

“The girl you are stalking is getting away.” Megumi states nonchalantly.

You gasp, turning your head upon instinct to see where the girls were going but were very surprised to see that Nobara hadn't moved. Did...did Megumi lie…he did that on purpose- little sh-. You try to backpedal your obvious mistake, whipping your head back around as you say, “I-i wasn't stalking anyone.”

“Why'd you look.”

...

~

*Read More*

[wumblr]

trying to figure out how to unlock purple stars in no man's sky and i know i've made fun of the game for having very thin lore that has almost no impact on gameplay but like. you have to finish talking to the space cathedral and entrap the traveler in a simulation, the one who's lost ouside the universe. you don't have to tell her that you did that. you can. but it will hurt her feelings. even though it was the only thing you can do for her. and i think in order to do both of those things you also have to talk to the robot priest in the anomaly about how the universe is a simulation. whether or not anybody figures out they're in a video game is not specified but my money's on the lizard technician

anyway, have you noticed how everything's covered in slime? and you can refine the slime to create gray goo? which is what the naturally occurring police robots are made of. but sometimes they get corrupted by dissonance. which is purple, right? remember how everybody's been talking about not drinking the water, you know, like, in the logs at crashed freighters? and the space cathedral had you craft a seed as an exosuit module to create a random unnamed star somewhere in the galaxy? reinstall that (+1 core health). and then go to a dissonant system (you can find them in the galaxy map because it says "dissonant" where it usually says "water") and just fly away from everything for a minute and the thing that allows you to create a purple star will find you. this time it is named and you can go to it

unless maybe you already completed all mission objectives before the universe update was downloaded, or possibly due to some kind of bug. you could try to get there using portal addresses but then we have to get into how every galaxy has way more addressed stars than visible stars. who built the portals? don't worry about it! all that matters about portals is they let you go to places you haven't been, while teleporting only allows you to revisit places you have. that's why there's one on every planet, which is also how you know they weren't made by the same mysterious ancient civilization that left ruins on some but not all planets. no not the ruins that are on every planet, those are made by the regular currently existing civilizations. they're clearly labeled. and they have rocks that teach you words. you don't really need to understand what anyone is saying, though. yes the rocks are made of the same material as the portals i said don't worry about it

you can install a mod to display all addressed stars but it makes the galaxy map an unusable mess of pure white. and anyway that probably doesn't make purple stars visible. and gas giants don't occur around normal stars. so finding the thing is the only feasible way to get to a gas giant, which are really cool because you can land on the surface -- hold on. forget all that. let me catch and release 250 fish in shallow water real quick so i can be an old boot. the fish give you gray goo when you release them for some reason. which makes selling sushi to the gas station probably the most overpowered early game grind. because the police are made of currency

[zqmbiescorpse]

𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗘..

kaitlyn ka x female reader

a/n: i've been dying for kaitlyn fics, and just the quarry fics in general, because there's hardly any and that makes me want to cry. anyways, first thing i'm hopefully posting so no bullying pls. no werewolves! also sorry if the ending feels like it could be improved, i just really wanted to be finished with this <3

warnings: nothing serious, some making out

word count: 2.4k

(masterlist)

The joyous, fun atmosphere surrounding the gentle flicker of the campfire quickly disappeared, leaving the mood somewhat awkward as everyone who had remained (being Dylan, Ryan and yourself) turned towards Kaitlyn with a disappointed look.

"What?" questioned the small ravenette, sensing the glares from the three of you while she feigned innocence at the situation she, may have, intentionally, created.

"You totally ruined the party man," Dylan absentmindedly responded, taking a sip of whatever beer was left. All of you were a little tipsy, sober enough that thinking clearly wasn't an issue but drunk enough to feel a warm woozy sensation floating around your bodies.

In all truth, you weren't bothered in the slightest by the absence of Jacob, Abi, Emma or Nick. You did like them, sure, though being with them throughout the summer was often challenging - you typically found yourself enjoying the company of the others instead.

The four of you had stuck together for a large portion of the time, and you felt you'd become pretty close; so close that, naturally, you formed a humongous crush on the confident, very attractive, super cool dark-haired girl that was sometimes a little mean to you.

With Kaitlyn, you could never be quite sure about how she felt about you, there had been a few occasions where you doubted if she even liked as a friend. She was hard to read and you were a bit sensitive so, as you can imagine, things got tricky - having a ton of feelings for her only made you suffer greatly.

Then again, when these times occurred where you were miserable, Kaitlyn would periodically open up to you and let you know that, yes, she did appreciate you. Small moments of affirmation after so much doubt made you feel so unbelievably fuzzy inside. Unfortunately, the pair of you were tremendously insecure, because of this, there was a lot of dancing around each other the entire summer, similarly to Nick and Abi.

Suddenly desperate to relish in what could be the last evening with her, a rapid demand to continue the entertainment of 'truth or dare' came spilling from your mouth.

'Someone's...eager," Ryan chuckled slowly, glancing over at you and then at Dylan with a knowing glint in his eye.

Following this, Dylan offered, "Y/N's just disappointed she didn't get to smooch anyone this evening."

"You and me both, Y/N."

It was such a quiet array of words yet everyone heard Kaitlyn mutter them - nobody said anything back.

You were so hopelessly in love with her, that you couldn't help but hang onto anything Kaitlyn said that remotely resembled a reciprocation of feelings.

Shyly, you lifted your gaze from the muddy floor to your friends around you, careful not to stare directly at her gorgeous face. Whatever you were about to say next needed to be calm, one hundred percent normal and definitely not suggestive of anything.

With a brief amount of consideration and overthinking, you said, "Well, I don't know, what else is there to do right now? We can keep playing without the others."

You needed to stop working yourself up over such minuscule things; with Kaitlyn anywhere near you, you couldn't control yourself. Not being a fumbling mess was incredibly difficult.

"Yeah sure, why the fuck not?" Dylan chimed back in with a sense of glee, intrigued to see what would happen next.

"Cool alright, Kaitlyn?"

Deep down, it was clear to you that she would join back in, but part of you still inwardly thanked Ryan for ensuring that she was interested in continuing.

"I'm in, of course," A short pause. "You're a bit far away from us Y/N, you should get a bit closer, come here..."

Watching as Kaitlyn patted the empty space on the rough log impatiently, indicating you join her, an eruption of warmth covered your cheeks at her attention being on you; her wanting you next to her.

"Yeah, come on over here Y/N!"

Obviously, it didn't feel as special when Dylan said it, though, you appreciated how it got rid of some of the tension.

"Okay okay, yes, I'm coming," You spoke up, giggling, absolutely infected with giddiness that was bursting to show. You're sure it did, a big goofy smile plastered to your face as you made your way to the opposite side of the campfire. Apparently, the delight spread to Kaitlyn since you could've sworn she was attempting to mask an excited grin too.

Immediately, a soft scent of honey mixed with something floral was all you could smell, each and every time you inhaled. It made you feel very comfortable.

"Who wants to start it off this time?" inquired Ryan, yet your attention was instantly torn away from him due to the sensation of a soft, smaller hand brushing over your slightly sweaty one.

There was not a doubt in your mind. You had already jumped to the conclusion that it was intentional. From doing an action so small as turning away from you to face Ryan, how could Kaitlyn's hand touch yours in the process if it were on accident? There was no time to think rationally, you were already freaking out like mad. And she loved it.

"I'll go."

Leaving no room for arguments, Kaitlyn's head whipped back round to face you once more, this time with a playful theme prominent within her features.

"Y/N. Truth or dare," she asked, intently, her pretty eyes trained on your very nervous self.

You couldn't pick a place to focus your line of sight, eyes darting from her straight to the floor and back at your two shaky hands resting in your lap. Not in a million years were you prepared to answer 'dare'. In what world did you have the confidence.

Telling yourself it was the sensible response, you requested 'truth' like the jittery coward you are - to nobody's surprise but to Kaitlyn's disappointment.

"Tryna play it safe, are we, Y/N? I'm not letting you off that easily," was all she said as you sat there, patiently awaiting for whatever abomination that was heading your way.

Finally, you observed as her eyes lit up with a sudden delight; her full attention, once again, solely focused on you, not quite prepared for what was coming next.

"Out of everyone here, meaning me, Dylan or Ryan, who would you be the most interested in dating...and you have to answer otherwise it's no fun."

The situation wouldn't have felt awfully suffocating if it weren't for your stupid crush, which you were starting to suspect Kaitlyn was fully aware of. Her plump lips contorted mischievously into something smug - a perfectly arched eyebrow raised while she continued staring you down.

Because of the intense stare and immense amount of pressure you felt you were under, you missed a faint flash of worry flicker in her eye at your hesitation; uncertain whether or not her question had backfired on her.

Words couldn't describe the newfound urge tugging at your stomach to let her know that you so badly wanted to date her, to be with her, to kiss her. You couldn't handle rejection in the slightest but also couldn't bare the thought of letting this go on much longer - missing your chance when you had it.

You felt yourself tearing apart because of a silly crush on a girl who was way too good for you; evidently taking this unimportant game way too seriously. This time, you locked eyes with Kaitlyn, your heart racing, making an effort to bring any remnants of confidence together to prepare an answer.

"Uhhhh, I'd probably wanna date you, Kaitlyn?"

You had never experienced something simultaneously this underwhelming and overwhelming. Really, your response was very simple, basic, and not that huge. If, by chance, the beautiful ravenette was utterly disgusted by your answer it could be put down to merely a game and everyone would move on. You would be devastated but you'd get over it.

Having said that, repulsion was the last thing Kaitlyn felt regarding your answer, instead, a frantic fuel ignited within her. For a moment, she kind of just gawked at you, a bashful awkwardness radiating from your features.

"Truth or dare," she asked once more, this time the question coming across as more demanding, and a slight shake was apparent in her voice. Desperation spurred over her yet she seemed to be concealing it quite well, aside from the little chew on her lip while she awaited your answer, the nervous habit being the only indication of how Kaitlyn felt.

"Hey, what!" Dylan interjected, "Why are you going again, Kaitlyn? It's Y/N's turn."

Though you had to admit that Dylan's disapproval was amusing, you were too engulfed in whatever was happening between you and her. Nothing but you and her. Bathing in her alluring nature, you really did not mean to take this long to respond, you shouldn't be keeping someone that exquisite waiting.

"Dare..."

To outsiders, the atmosphere didn't appear tense at all. The luminous blaze of the golden camp, flickered and your chest tightened by the second.

"I dare you," Kaitlyn breathed out, her words trailing off implying a wane in confidence. Again, she was doubting herself, even when, at this point, the both of you had been as open as you could about your intense romantic interest for each other without explicitly saying anything.

You observed her complexion closely, each insecurity conveyed on her face made your heart rate increase consequently. You yearned for her to give in and do something to relieve all the built up anxiety, yet couldn't blame her too much since you found yourself incapable of initiating the first move.

An abrupt change conjured. Kaitlyn ostensibly bolder.

"I dare you to kiss me."

Silence. You inched forward but couldn't quite make it all the way. You didn't know what it was, something was holding you back. Also, with the audience of the two boys, you couldn't help your sheepish nature.

As though she couldn't handle it anymore, impatient because of your hesitancy, Kaitlyn took matters into her own hands and closed the gap, her soft lips meeting yours. Certain she would tease you about your failure to for fill the dare, you decided it was best to concern yourself with it later - a highly insignificant worry, really.

The kiss didn't last too long. The bliss you felt quickly overpowered by insecurity, and maybe disappointment too. You had hoped the moment you had been chasing for months would at least be longer than a few seconds. Grateful you got to kiss her, yet, you needed more.

"That was...terrible. I'm sorry," You mumbled bashfully, barely audible for Dylan and Ryan.

"Nu-uh baby, it was good," She whispered back, then tugging your face toward her once more.

Whereas the first peck was delicate, shy and over in a few seconds, in this instance, the kiss was deepened almost immediately. Her gentle hands cupped your flushed cheeks, promoting you to tightly grasp at her clothes. It took all of your power to not let any whimpers or whines escape you, making out with someone while other people were around was embarrassing enough as is.

"Okay...guys..." Ryan, being the first to speak up, broke the immersion, the two of you reluctantly pulling away from each other.

"Totally digging how happy you are right now, but, you know, lodge is empty..." Dylan chimed in, somewhat less awkward than Ryan.

You shared a look with Kaitlyn, your shortness of breath mirrored after your lips had been pressed against one another's for an extended period of time.

"Sounds great, thanks Dylan," Kaitlyn rose from her place seated on the log, enthusiasm oozing from her. "Let's get going huh, Y/N?" She proposed, laced with sultry.

You stayed seated, a little dumbfounded about the kiss and relishing in the electric sensation circulating in your body. Kaitlyn gripped your wrist, gaining your attention as her request caught up with you.

"Uh, yeah...yes we should go," Stumbling over your words, you got up, waved to Dylan and Ryan and began your journey back to the lodge. Incoherent mumbling could be heard from the pair left behind. You ignored it, giggling slightly and walked beside Kaitlyn.

When you arrived, you opened up the wooden door and stepped inside, Kaitlyn not giving you an opportunity to voice your opinion on anything; her mouth soon latched onto yours.

It was hungry, and you returned the passion. Although she may have been smaller than you, she still forced you up against one of the aging walls of the building; her tongue buried in your mouth. There was no fight for dominance, Kaitlyn was in control, not that you minded. It was such a rush, her lips all over your cool skin, your trembling hands in her dark hair, the occasional raspy chuckles from her, and the whines from you. Anything either one of you did spurred the other on wildly.

Eventually, distances had to be created since you couldn't keep going without catching your breath.

"I can't believe it took us that long to do this. We could've been having hot make-out sessions all summer" Kaitlyn beamed with genuine delight, her hands retreating from being all over you to placed on her hips, taking her usual sassy stance.

"I know," You agreed, laughing," I was so scared about being rejected"

"It's okay, I was equally terrified. Better late than never I suppose. At least we know now." The ravenette smirked, gazing into your eyes, entertained by how dishevelled you looked, encouraging her to admit, "I seriously am so fucking attracted to you."

Again, you let out a giggle, a noise that Kaitlyn thought was endearing. "Well, I've been fawning over you for like ages now." You blushed, the confession sparking a wave of heat to pass over you. Even though your actions had already said enough, disclosing the information made your shoulders feel externally lighter.

"It does really suck that it's the end of camp, going our separate ways and all" You continued, dejectedly. You were overjoyed that you were finally sharing these movements with Kaitlyn but hated yourself for holding off this long.

She examined your rapidly declining mood, likewise, she was regretful for waiting, however, not an ounce of uncertainty clouded her mind.

"What is there to worry about? Of course, we can stay in touch, I'm serious about this and...I do want to be with you." She reassured you, offering a loving smile filled with comfort. "Just give me your number, baby."

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 26: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip (Pacific Standard Time)

My feelings about A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip are as follows: 💖💙💞💛🖤💖💙💞💕. Yeah that sums it up. But ok, for real now. I have a long and personal history with this album, which... no, I don't actually have a long history with it, so maybe that only makes its personal significance to me even more amazing in nature. Got it as a christmas gift last year, been listening to it and enjoying it and occasionally crying to it and experiencing other beautiful emotions with it ever since. It's the kind of thing where I feel like a part of my very *soul* lies there, you know, right from the start.

How do I put it without sounding too dramatic. Well, it's probably the most comforting album for me that I can think of. It's in the music, but also in how Sparks themselves have this sort of presence of a spark of light in the dark for me currently, which I'm sure is something that many other people can relate to. It reminds me of how time will pass and things will change but you can always find something beautiful in midst of it all that can be your new home. And it TRULY feels exactly like this: I can just put this album on or even just think about doing that, and I'm immediately filled with warm fuzzy feelings and everything seems not quite as dark as it just seemed moments ago.

There's something deeply personal and resonating about ASDDD that I can't find on even any other Sparks album. And a big part of it is... drumroll... the lyrics (because I suppose I don't pay QUITE as much attention to those most of the time). This has got to be my favourite Sparks album in that aspect, definitely. I love how there's lots about being an artist, about achieving something, about feelings of inadequacy, fear, and about meaning and purpose too... And maybe less "strange" subjects than usual but still, the trademark Sparks humour never leaves and the more heartfelt elements of their work can shine even more!

I also think that this album is really just fantastic in every way, and has so many instant classics that feel like they've been with us forever rather than for only about 4 years. And something else that I nearly forgot, because I think this very special and cool thing about ASDDD especially is how it mixes synths and electronic, spacey sounds with acoustic guitar, and a more earthy sound, so to speak... and it's honestly just so perfect to me, how well it works here.

Another thing that occurred to me this morning when I was listening to Hippopotamus (and trying not to cry lol, been really feeling all the feelings of appreciation and love that I have for Sparks over these past couple of days), is how there's something so special and inimitable about Sparks in this era especially. I love their 00s renaissance era for all its artistry and brilliance and how it's them reinventing themselves completely all over again... But this - these last couple of years, is where the HEART of it all really shows I think. I just get this overwhelming feeling that they're doing exactly what they want to be doing, the way they want to do it, and they're having so much fun with it too. It's so clear not just in the music itself, but their live shows, and everything else... And what can I say, thinking about it this way leaves me all :'))))

No point in counting off almost all of the songs and only leaving out a couple, when they're all so great and either among my top favourites or on their way of joining those ranks, so I'm just going to go over a few of them now... What I could call my Top 3 probably.

All That

I mean. .. This song is so cool because it has such a closer feeling (and appropriately enough that's what it's used as during live shows) but it's still an opener of the whole album and, yes, it works. I guess it really tells you all you need to know about what else is to come right away. Fun fact: this is both my parents' favourite Sparks song, and yeah I got this album as a gift from my dad actually, and he says that this song sounds like it came right from the 80s and is this whole beloved classic song. Makes sense why it'd be their favourite then! And truly speaks in favour of how Sparks are just making modern classics like it's nothing. Besides that... this songs is truly All That and more. I don't know man! I started writing about every song on this album a couple months ago and then forgot about it so it's only half finished, and All That is one of those songs that I only managed to come up with maybe one sentence for at that time. It's a lot! And it's so utterly beautiful!

Pacific Standard Time

As I've said before, I don't really like making definitive statements like these most of the time, but if I REALLY had to pick just one... Sure, this might be my #1 favourite Sparks song (and #1 favourite song overall honestly, if we follow that route??). That whole effect of "everything's ok when I listen to this" - yep, this is where it reaches its peak. Most comforting song ever, no competition (maybeeee All That could come kind of close, but that one makes me cry too much to be truly comforting actually, haha)

Self-Effacing

Love the lyrics, love the whole thing, the acoustic guitar plus the organ work so well together. This song has both the energy and the hopeful spirit that makes me very happy, and it never fully left my mind ever since I first heard it

[who-dat-homeless]

people keep saying like "oh it would be sad if azicrow becomes human in the finally :( " or "oh it'd be sad if crowley rejects aziraphale" or " oh it'd be sad if they wipe aziraphale's memories and he forgets crowley"

And I can't fucking relate because looking at the story we've got so far I SEE ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY OF THIS COULD HAPPEN EVEN THEORETICALLY.

oh they'd become humans -- thematically they are already humans. At the end of the season one crowley says that hell and heaven would start a war against humans and now both crowley and aziraphale are not demon and not angel but something grey, something in the middle, something that actually can decide their action and their future (which ahem ahem is how humans described by the aziraphale) there's absolutely no need to make them human's thematically because they're already are. The only reason I can think of for making them humans is to get a bittersweet emotion from the audience, BUT IT'S FOCKEN CHEAP and I really can not see Neil Gaiman going for this. The man is mad genius of tragedy and bittersweetness and he is because this tragedy always has a reason/theme.

oh crowley would reject aziraphale -- BABE HAVE YOU WATHCED THE SHOW??????? CROWLEY BREAKS UP WITH AZIRAPHALE EACH FIVE MINUTES FR FR AND THE NEXT SCENE IS HER STANDING ON HER KNEES WET SAD AND MISERABLE BEGGING AZIRAPHALE TO COME BACK. REALLY. For fuck's sake Crowley is the sensible little kitten that lingers to the stranger's pants leg hoping they will get at least a little bit of sympathy. He's optimistic at it's core. But also he's so FUCKING lonely.

DID YOU ALL COLLECTIVELY FORGOT THIS SCENE??? "I'm a demon I lied" -- AND THIS IS THE CONFESSION OF HER FEELING THE WORST, FEELING ABANDONED AND LONELY AND MISERABLE.

She literally drove Bentley slower TO GIVE AZIRAPHALE A CHANCE TO CATCH HER. Good god.

Yes, of course there'll be conflict and there'll be fights and misunderstanding yada yada yada BUT DEAR GOD the second aziraphale is hurt (even emotionally) crowley is here ready to fight god, satan and whoever there is, and then accept his angel back in a span of a second

AND IT ALSO MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE THEMATICALLY TO GET THEM FALL APART. They're each other's yang!!! bitch!! they're the human's nature dichotomy THEY LITERRALLY CAN NOT BE APART. WRITE THEM APART AND THE WHOLE MESSSAGE OF GOOD OMENS FALLS APART

oh they'll wipe aziraphale's memories -- let's start with that they couldn't even wipe off Gabriel's memories (he and beelzebup did, putting it into the fly, Metatron did not do it)

and now, aziraphale first -- knowing what to expect from heaven, second -- specifically going there to fix it and stop second coming HE WILL BE SO CAUTIOUS that I really can't see how the wiping can even occur

"oh the angels would catch him and torture and.." no. I mean I think they're capable but like. They're an extremely ass licking office workers, who prides their reputation and stupid brute force is not their style. Yes they kidnaped aziraphale(crowley) once but even that kidnaping was so sanitized and almost non violent that I hardly can imagine them getting into actions. I think that they wouldn't even chase aziraohale across the heaven because running is heaven is prohibited, so. Unless Aziraphale himself would want to wipe his memories.. I absolutely can't see it happening.

but y'know what is the only thought that does make me sad?

That there's a possibility that Crowley would accept Aziraphale back no questions asked

This is the real shit

Because Crowley already did that in the past. It's in his fucking character. Because he's optimistic, because he's lonely, because he already lost his friend once. Because he has it all, he can go back to hell become a respected demon, take back his cool brutalist flat, he's self-sufficient, he can be all by himself if he really wants but he can never shut this hole of lonliness in himself no matter what he does

In Crowley's eyes Aziraphale makes him complete. It's the lost part of her soul she was looking for so long.

And I so fucking afraid that she will give up her dignity, she'll repress her feelings and needs once again, she'll do the first step ONCE AGAIN, only to shut this ugly feeling deep inside that makes her want to disappear.

AND IT MAKES SENCE because then Aziraphale can see how desperate Crowley and how wrong he was to just pretend that everything is fine between them, and Crowley can be confronted about this really unhealthy behavior and so on and so on

and just the thought that it makes sense and that it's in character MAKES ME SO AFRAID and so sad...

[thornswoggled]

okay stream of consciousness thoughts about chapter 103 because that was. kind of a lot

we have to remind the reader that stella still exists

in fact lets remind them that chapter 97 happened at all

some confirmation that the new mage has a similarly aloof and misanthropic world view as other mages we already know. it doesnt matter if humans get eaten because its all toward a desirable end. reminds me very much of kyokos "the familiars eat the weak humans and turn into witches, then we eat those witches" speech. this coldness makes me think chise might be in a spot of trouble if they really earnestly try to recruit her again, or that elias may be able to have some self-satisfaction from knowing all along that their intentions are not pure

who is the "he" the apprentice wants to meet. the dragon???

this is the horniest title page weve gotten in like, a while

"dear chise. we will be running tests on you. <3" can one of them be an autism eval

okay so zoey was feeling bad because he was going birdmode. i guess when titania did whatever she did to him in chapter 99 it jumpstarted a sort of evolutionary process. strikes me as the sort of thing a creature like her would do. i imagine this will cause maximum ride-esque problems for him in public. he will have to wear a trench coat. you look like youre about to tell your friend not to come to school tomorrow. etc.

"atavism, atavism" ... the last time we heard that mentioned was from yori in 98. maybe warming us up for whatever this is? i have to wonder what the point of this small wing growth plot is. a result of heightened chaotic magic in the country?

this chapter takes place on my birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! seems fitting too, this chapter feels like "things are about to change, right fucking now," so having this all happen on the last day of the year feels right

a new scene!! pretty cool, and an allusion that the business with jasper is over and settled. it didnt occur to me until now that hes gone without any mention. gone as quickly as he showed up. SAD! well theres other guys

i dont think ill ever understand why chise is able to turn into a dragon unless its spelled out to me like im five. especially since the type of dragon that cursed her isnt even the same kind

"causes and factors attract and amplify each other" = "the shape goes into a shape press that presses the shape into a pressed shape"

elias is capable of bridal-carrying someone who isnt chise but hes tangentially linked to chise so it doesnt really count

a precious few pages dedicated to the fact that joseph may have at one point known how or why elias was "made." the type of creature he is is a "shadowborn," but this feels like a new translation of something that used to be called something different. elias notes that fae call him "shadowborn" as well. is this a reinterpretation of "half-made" or similar phrases?

also, i like elias' insistence that joseph cough up any information he has. yes, elias, id like to know too, keep shaking that boy

joseph bluntly demanding that chise carry him and her just being like. okay. your honor i love them they are total freaks of nature

confirmation that when chise said "priors...?" it means that she never found out that elias used to throw away her college recruitment letters. that was pretty damn funny

so theres a chance this "beyond the great wall" line did not mean what i thought it meant and now the egg is probably on my face. yamazaki listen to me very closely. what did you mean by that. besides yet another "well well well chise it looks like youre going to finally be cured of your lucky girl syndrome and bad shit will actually start happening to you for real now" line because we have GOTTEN that already

im gonna level with you i dont know who hilda is. are we supposed to know who hilda is? is she the st georges mom? she might be. she probably is. okay i just looked it up and she is

and shes flying to iceland! presumably to consult with lindel about all this dragon business. i wonder if this will be the event that prompts him to appear in london where he has that tense standoff with chise and elias

i have no idea what the bottom half of the last page is trying to communicate, who is speaking, etc

so yeah this all very much feels like a "things are ramping up and heres where all the respective parties we care about are right now" chapter. a lot to chew on

[cheerstotheelites-if]

To the anon who sent me the longest ask with mini asks in them, here are your answers:

1. Mana, arcana, aether: What's the difference between them on your story? Are they serving as different fuels for different types of magic?

I think I've discussed before in the past and the info may change from then, but:

Mana - General magic fuel for most magic

Arcana - Old archaic term to refer to magic

Aether - Clerical magic fuel that came straight from Malkiel himself

2. Is the "Hands of Ectorius" mentioned on the Fae lore, a temple of sorts or a geolographical location within the Reflection?

Yes, and yes. Ectorius thought it would be cool to make a geographical location and make it their temple. The Hands of Ectorius are rock formations that resemble "hands" with fingers poking out of the ground and cupping it in its "palms".

3. Is Ectorius, the God of Fae and Arts, featured on the upcoming game "Retribution: He Cries" going to have a cameo appearance or special mention at any point in the future?

He will be mentioned, but I won't spoil what happened to him in Retribution in the mention.

4. Can you share what specific superstitions surround the Monarch Fae (kingdom of Earthshine) that makes them the most well-known and favored among the Fae?

Well, not really on superstitions and more on how they act towards Magi and humans. For one, the Monarch Fae are great hosts; hospitable and very helpful (and surprisingly honest) people. They aren't one to actively try to make a deal with you to steal your name, and are more intrigued at the fact that someone's in their kingdom than try to kill them on sight unlike the other kingdoms.

5. One of the primary reasons on the reasons on the rising tensions between neighboring kingdoms has been the "illegal" trespassings

I think this is an unfinished question, but yeah, one of the primary reasons are the trespassings that have been occuring as of late. The Tagalica (Cicadas) are fleeing their kingdom to others due to... multiple reasons. One of them is having the Scoldii (Wasps) constantly nearing and attacking their already small territory.

6. Given the aggressive nature of Scoldii, how do they maintain alliances or neutral relationships with other kingdoms? Are they any kingdoms they have a particularly close relationship with?

Well, more on neutral relationship with Earthshine, since they haven't attacked them yet. However, they are particularly close with Moonglade (Moth kingdom) due to the trade they have going on. The Scoldii love and want the Webworm's silk for their own clothes and personal use since the silk of moths are better than the silk of wasps, so a deal was made. The kingdom of Coachan will provide protection for Moonglade, as long as they provide them with silk.

7. Given the naming of each species found on the 6 kingdoms, is their social structures familiar to their normal earthling counterparts?

Somewhat. The Xylocopa and Scoldii are matrilineal, like their real life counterparts, where the queen rules the hive. While the Lucanidae are based of stag beetles, and beetles are known to be solitary hence an individualistic society unlike Xylocopa and Scoldii's collectivistic society (because, you know, h i v e s). I can go on, but it'll make this long post even longer.

8. Have any efforts been made towards advancing or improving the efficiency of the alchemical recipes and healing spells by expert magi of the field? Asking about inventions and advancement shared with the wider community of Magi, not crazy inventions locked away at the Company's agencies.

They've changed some archaic ingredients to more modern and more accessible ones and make the process faster, but no inventions were made. Why fix what's not even broken and ineffective?

9. Are there any known attempts to challenge or debunk the claims made in Sanctus Aether Issium?

There were back at 1700's when religion was a touchy subject, but that resulted in getting sent to the gallows by devoted clerics of Malkiel.

10. "Includes how to summon and communicate with the Archangels of Malkiel, also known as High Court, though one name is scratched out." Faisal is that you? (≖_≖ )

No, it's not Faisal, but one of the first Archangels of Malkiel, when there were still the Seven Heavenly Virtues; Sandalphon. Just knoe Sanctus Aether Issium was written around the 1200's; centuries after the events of Retribution.

11. Has blood magic and spells invented snd created by Aislinn been ruled forbidden after the massacre? What are the criteria used to include a spell/ritual/summoning on Illicitus Verba?

Yes, everything related to Aislinn and her magic are considered forbidden. Unfortunately, that includes her family's too, even if their practices are more medical. To get a spell/ritual/summoning into Illicitus Verba it has to have one or more of these:

Be able to actually kill a large group of people with ease

Be able to create a permanent effect that either affects the majority or the self in a very bad way

Can permanently damage the self or the victim

Can permanently curse the self or the victim

12. Are there any factions or groups within the Magi community that advocate for or against the specific types of magical spells/types of magic?

If it were back in the medieval eras, where opinions were... questionable, the modern Magi community does not. It's a bit more progressive than the Magi of before, however, they are a bit against necromancers due to the fact that they use demons and fiends as their summoned creatures, compared to druids who use creatures from Reflection.

13. Does the book MC is reading continue to narrate the life of Lothric and Aislinn until their, or Aislinn's eventual death? Can you reveal the cause of her death (was it natural, illness, accident, executed)?

Well, I'm not spoiling where the book of Lothric and Aislinn end, nor am I spoiling how one of them died.

14. What happens to Familiars who violate even one of the explicit rules of they have to obey regardless of reason?

Casted out as a Familiar as a whole. Plain and simple.

15. On the prologue released currently, it is implied that Aislinn has lost control over her magic before: How many times has that happened and has any of them been fatal?

Since she was around 15, Aislinn was already experimenting with her magic by then and multiple accidents have occured. Lothric was often a test subject, but sometimes she would practice on animal cadavers. There were times where cadavers would suddenly have twisted limbs because of Aislinn having poor control of the blood flow, and there are moments where Lothric would have a stroke because Aislinn would accidentally halt blood flow when practicing puppetry on him.

16. Was Aislinn ever a fan of fairytales and legends when she was a child? Or was she more of the type to find the truth behind them?

The latter. She was always one to seek out truth and knowledge in everything ever since she was young.

17. Was Lothric taught some advanced spells by Aislinn? What were some of them?

Yes, and the rest are spoilers.

18. Is the Stranger from the temple of the East a worshipper of Horatio? Did his position rise in the temple hierarchy after the deal he made with Aislinn? Will he appear anytime in the future?

* The Stranger's a they/them!

Yes, they are a disciple of Horatio; a senior one, and no, there is no hierarchy in the temple nor did they elevate in position. The Stranger is called a senior because of how long they stayed as a disciple. Also yes, the Stranger will appear in the future!

19. Are you going to include interludes or POV scenes in future chapters?

POV scenes? Yes. Interludes? Still thinking about it.

20. Is Despona going to take an active role in the future, or is she going to make a cameo appearance? A special mentioning perhaps?

Well, MC is going to meet Despoina in her temple, but an active role? She won't be having a big active role, and you'll see why soon.

[elftwink]

re: "moralizing disliking bugs" I believe this is a strawman reference to people saying it's bad to say that specific pest bugs are a "worthless species," ignoring the key role they play in their ecosystem. not to drag you into any discourse, it's just that i have seen this whole conversation play out

see thats my feeling too, bc all the bug content i see is like "i love bugs theyre so cool 😎 🪲" "🐞 [photo of bug] here's what kind of bug this is!" and occasionally "i wish people would respect bugs more for their vital role in the ecosystem and stop reacting with automatic fear and disgust without knowing anything about the insect in question" or even "i wish people would stop saying cruel things about bugs when i mention my interest in them, and if you talked about any other animal this way it would be obvious why that isn't appropriate behaviour"

but the post in question specifically said it wasn't about those people, and that talking about their role in the ecosystem was NOT what they were complaining about. which implies a person who specifically is claiming that you are a bad person if you personally dislike bugs for any reason

i have NEVER seen this implied person and their position is inherently ridiculous to me. my impulse is to immediately agree with you and say this is a strawman of posts asking you to interrogate your own fear of bugs because so many people really do not know anything about insects and say things like "kill it with fire!!" when they see a perfectly harmless creature that moves in a way that makes them slightly uncomfortable. to me, defensiveness of this request is the biggest reason you would be compelled to make a post about how you're not a bad person if you dislike bugs and bugs can be dangerous and you have good reason to be scared (because to me this is so obvious it need not be stated. like if you brought up dog attacks in every discussion about dogs. just not relevant so it feels like a deflection)

but... if you showed me a post that literally said "you're actually a terrible person if you hate bugs btw yes even if you're allergic yes even if you're literally currently in the hospital getting treatment for an extremely serious insect bite if you don't love bugs you ARE going to hell and all the bugs will be in heaven and the live ones will dance over your grave when you die which is hopefully soon" id be like 'yeah of course you'd be on here'. like. typical opinion in the replies of a post with 25k notes. but also that's how i talk about people who dislike carly rae jepsen so. actually i think i made my hypothetical post too funny because i would reblog that if it was on my dash

what im trying to say is: because of the nature of this site i cannot rule out that there does exist people who will send you anon hate for your personal dislike of bugs—even if you express it on your own blog without bothering anyone who does like bugs and making several disclaimers about the importance of bugs to the environment and what have you—even if ive never seen them and cannot imagine anyone sincerely acting that way. because people on this website sincerely believe a great many opinions that would literally never naturally occur to me. what i will say is that i hope this person and i continue to travel onwards on our journeys, blissfully unaware of each other forevermore

[practically-an-x-man]

1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10 for Kestrel and Quinn?

Thank you so much!!

Pride Themed OC Ask Game

1. What's your oc's gender identity? What's their relationship to their gender?

Kestrel: Genderfluid, and sees it as an inextricable part of themself. They're very comfortable with their gender, even when they get insecure about other parts of their identity.

Quinn: Transgender woman - technically she could call herself a demigirl since she uses both she and they pronouns interchangeably, but she personally doesn't feel as comfortable with the microlabels. She's a woman! Simple as that. Dysphoria comes and goes, but for the most part they're comfortable with who they are.

3. How did your oc discover themself? Did something cause them to question, or did they always know?

Kestrel: Always knew. The "default state" for a changeling is to be genderfluid, since every part of their identity is naturally fluid, and Kestrel has always known that they were a changeling.

Quinn: Discovered herself while in uni. She'd gone to a drag show with a couple of queer friends, and from there went from "oh that looks fun" to "I really like being perceived as a woman" to "holy shit I think I am a woman" with the support and encouragement of her friend group.

6. How does your oc feel about labels? Theirs, or in general?

Kestrel: Literally cool with anything. Will accept any label they're told unconditionally and without question. This has the benefit of simultaneously making fellow queer people feel comfortable and pissing transphobes off like there's no tomorrow ("And what are your pronouns?" "My pronouns are beep/boop" "Oh yeah, beep was just telling me-"). For themself, they tend to stick to simpler labels, but they're accepting of all queer folks.

Quinn: Kind of a similar story, honestly. She tends to stick to simpler labels and doesn't feel the need to label every intricacy of her identity (see answer to question 1), but she's absolutely cool with others' labels. Like Kestrel, she'll accept any pronouns she's given as a subtle fuck-off to transphobes; but unlike Kestrel, Quinn will straight-up punch a TERF in the face if the situation presents itself.

7. Is there something that could cause your oc to question their identity? What?

Kestrel: Their identity as Kestrel? Absolutely. It's not set in stone and doesn't feel innate to them, since changelings are made to be creatures of completely fluid identity and sticking to a particular persona/identity is a little unheard of. But in terms of their genderfluidity specifically... no, not really. They're more than comfortable with that aspect of themself.

Quinn: Oh, she's had a lot of ups and downs. First it was when her parents disowned her, and she wondered if it was worth "just being a boy" so that it would be easier. Then it was when she started experimenting with her style and presentation and wondered if she was "really female" when she didn't want long hair, didn't want to dress feminine, didn't want gender reassignment surgeries or hormone replacement, etc.. By now, she's comfortable with who she is, but it took a lot to get there.

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

Kestrel: As a changeling, their genderfluidity is inextricably tied to their identity. If you read Taking Flight, you'll notice that most (but not all) of Kestrel's gender shifts occur during or after them transforming into another type of animal - metaphorical, yes, but also showing how their fluidity is linked to who they are. I'm actually really proud of how I've put together the whole changeling species, language, culture, etc.. Exploring Kestrel's background is a big part of Taking Flight.

Quinn: Not really? She's a white girl from London, middle-class (at least until her parents disowned her, then she was effectively homeless), and not from a strongly religious family. Any cultural views on her identity probably came when she first joined the quote-unquote "wolf pack" after Billy found her - that little band of thieves had its own sort of culture, made up of a lot of poor folks from various backgrounds and minority groups, and it helped Quinn adopt a generally very open-minded view on culture and identity.

10. Does your oc celebrate Pride? How?

Kestrel: Not really? For one thing, they don't necessarily perceive their genderfluidity as a queer identity the way a human person would, so they don't entirely understand the desire to celebrate it. For another, they do a lot of travel for their job, and that usually doesn't like up with the schedules of Pride festivals and events, so they don't usually get the chance to attend even if they wanted to. I could see them enjoying a Pride festival if they did go, they just haven't really been introduced to it yet.

Quinn: She's attended a few Pride festivals while in uni, but hasn't been to any since she started thieving. First she was worried about cops at Pride, then she was just too busy with thieving jobs, then it wasn't worth the pain of standing and walking all day. They'd like to go to another festival someday, though.

[artisan-king-morleus]

SIGMA IS KAFKA ASAGIRI

random theory/thought that turned into a rabbit hole, plz read

Not sure if this will get seen and I'm hella sleep deprived rn but a thought occured.

BSD man...

As of rn we don't know who Sigma is or what exactly he is. New official art, as I've seen, has some already guessing his origins and which author he's based off of.

But I have a dumb lil thought/theory.

He's born from "The Book" INSIDE bsd. So what if...

Sigma is Kafka Asagiri?

Why? Where'd this thought come from?

There's a vampire manga series I read in high school that was a journey of the main character (le gasp) but it was "written" by the character himself. As in the "author" of this manga series WAS the main character. (Honestly the author's last name was shortened for his main character but I think it's still relevant) (plus I think it was a novel before manga...? Idk but I've only read the manga)

As I know, it was written as if the another WAS the main character.

My guess is that he wanted his story to feel like it was ACTUALLY written by the MC but still have his story be linked to him when ppl look in libraries and stuff. I've had a similar thought to as my own story does canonically break the 4th wall so to have the MC's name as the AUTHOR adds to the illusion; the immersion. And I remember that THAT was such a cool thing to do when reading this awhile back.

I have no basis for this "Sigma is Kafka Asagiri" but with him kinda being his own character as of rn (not off of an author or even one we know of yet) he severely sticks out compared to EVERYONE.

Author vs Characters

Plus, this just came to me, his ability is basically "I touch you and know what you know" right?

So, as an aspiring author and comicteer and such, I have some words. Over the years id make characters and stories but it quickly became not my own, like it was alive, the things I created. The characters from my pen would move and do things on their own and by watching them, I'd learn of who they are. And as this continued, it really wasn't ME, the author, making these characters do things.

Yes, I do guide the story but I can't tell them to just do things just because; especially if it's not their nature. It's like forcing them to be what they are not. You can make up scenarios to lean them towards a path. I've have to basically "rehire" new characters because the villain I wanted wasn't in front of me like I hoped for. But that not-villian is someone else in the story.

So basically, even tho I'm the creator, I don't know all that happens. I'm even shocked as to what the conclusions are or who someone really is. Sigma being Asagiri's avatar (per say but not like living a fanfic of his own story/not self insert) would open up a hell of a 4th wall discussion. This could elude "The Book" as being BSD itself but I don't think it is.

The book is blank.

The blank pages are a possibility. They could just act as "sticky notes" to insert in a book to make changes later.

We don't know who brought from from that book either. Or if he was in the first place. Possibly just a simple loophole for Sigma=Asagiri.... idk

Ability =Author..?

Possibly BSD story is as we see it now, a trainwreck of bad news and the world ending but he couldn't find a way or change it. As I said, authors vs characters so Sigma was born into that world to change the outcome. Without Sigma, how different would the story be? We don't even know about him until hella later nor what his existence impacted the story before that.

I think he feels a lot like Atsushi because it's that lost MC thing. Cliche as it sounds, it's not a bad start for an MC, to be naive, lost, hopeless, and running until something changes. All they can go is up despite the monsters in their minds trying to drag them down. How different would the story be if Sigma was the MC instead? Would we know too much without actually knowing what it means?

Sigma's ability I think also taps into that "as an author, I only know what my characters tell me" thing. And if Asagiri did create Sigma to change BSD then following the rules of "The Book", he had to have Sigma fit into the world. Thus an ability based off an author (in a 4th wall sense rather then we in that world sense). And Sigma would then be just as clueless and maybe even hopeless as Asagiri would've felt but he's the only hope.

Again Sigma would be an insert just alien enough and blend in enough to maybe make a change. Plus a world of authors and books and abilities, introducing a character without those is like pulling a +4 uno card on us all. (Sneaky lmao)

Random rabbit hole of Σ, ς, σ (Sigma)

Sigma is the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet (Pheonician). Three ways to write it would be uppercase (Σ), lowercase (σ), and final-word position (ς). Sigma origin (šīn) meaning tooth.

I find this funny as Sigma is not of this world and his name basically means "sin". Kinda like he wasn't meant to be here. Or maybe punishing him for "writing/creating" the world of BSD if he's the avatar for Asagiri. Think that's fits with the thought that he made the world but has to suffer the end of that world but his last hope is Sigma.

(I'm bs-ing so hard rn, I'm so sorry 😭)

Plus, I thought this : sigma is used in complicated mathematics and symbols used often in "covariance matrix" which is basically math to map out MULTIDIMENSIONAL SPACES

"Multidimensional matrix". It's how to calculate data across two dimensions.

Using data to go from one place to another much like from inside the story to the auth-

Daemons and Angels

I had watched a Genshin Impact lore/theory video that had talked about some of the cube bosses names came from the Hebrew alphabet. They explained that these cubes correlate to the gods of the land and the elements they represent. These gods also have interesting names too. They have normal names but but the land and history, they go by names of demons from a book called the Ars Goetia.

These cube bosses and gods both have angel and demon names but besides them relating to one other by elements, their angel/demon names match up.

72 Daemons of Ars Goetia and 72 Angels of Shem Hamephorash.

(I sounded smart there for a sec but it's difficult to find the specific letters that correlate to these beings. There's 22 letters and 72 d/A's. ????)

Hebrew and Greek meaning

Σ (Greek sigma) came from שׁ (Hebrew sigma letter).

It's been flipped and changed to the one we know of as Σ. Which is Greek number for 18. In Hebrew 21 and pronounced as Shin, literally meaning tooth. The symbol also representing flames and transformation. Much like a forest fire, the ashes give way for the soul to reabsorb and grow anew thus a transformation. With flame and essential rebirth, the yin and yan, this ultimately represents balance.

It's the processing of destruction without the evil and rebuilding without the sorrow. Much like destruction can be seen as a sort of chaotic creation.

The way Shin is written is with 2-3 Vavs.

Vavs is the Hebrew number 6 and it means "hook". This letter has the power to bring things together when they've become separated in creation.

With this in mind...

His ability literally is to get info outta people like "their" truths

Sigma relation to D.N.A ➡️ specific names

One article talks of them being both letters and numbers, they have a correlation to human DNA. The building blocks. Relation to animo acids and how to tell the body how to process with 22 amino acids.

http://blog.cristianacaria.com/2014/11/26/the-72-angels-and-the-power-of-the-hebrew-letters/

⬆️ this article goes on to talk about how when we are all born, 3 letters are somehow assigned to us at birth and they make up a name of that daemon/angel. This explains the article for Socrates I found before this that talks of how it was believed that he was watched over by a daemon/angel. And had essentially helped him "change the world" and himself thru his philosophy.

This surely explains the 22 to 72 math problem earlier. (Daemons and Angels paragraph)

https://www.idler.co.uk/article/socrates-and-the-angels/#:~:text=Angels%20can%20be%20linked%20to,realms%20of%20mortals%20and%20gods.

Sigma (BSD) age meaning?

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SIGMA BEING BORN 3 YEARS AGO HAS TO DO WITH ANYTHING.

3 years could mean 1,095-1,096 days of living roughly so that really doesn't do me any good.

I'm done now

Purely speculation but this is based of like 3 brain cells, my author nerdy ass and artistic standpoint in crafting worlds and shit plus it's like 3 am rn 😭

Edit: it's 5:42 am now

Simple read rather than read all that :

Other manga gave thought that Sigma is the authors character like another other character in BSD.

Dazai Osamu, no longer human

Kafka Asagiri, bungou stray dogs

Sigma, information exchange

Maybe Sigma made to help world of BSD but not like self insert. And Sigma Greek and Hebrew letters mean to tear down and rebuild. A balance between mercy/kindness and justice/truth.

Letters relation to Daemons/angels and how they can lead one to change.

Thank you for your time 🥲

~King.M.

[pacifymebby]

Can you do me please? 🫣

Libra Sun

Scorpio moon

Gemini rising

Thank you love x

Always knew I got good vibes from you haha (so many of my irl besties are libras!!!)

🪐 a watery moon <3 I feel like these make for some lovely empathetic people but they also put that person through emotional hell. An emotional sponge you just sook up all the feelings in a room until you really can't hold anymore maybe.

🍒It also kinda gives me insight to your writing... How you're always drawn to either the dark stuff (Pure/ Ice Cold) you're so talented at drawing out that darkness and really sinking your teeth into it and the taboo stuff (you make the idea of shagging your uni teacher or your bfs best mate so enticing and like tempting haha) Scorpio moon might be what draws you to those themes!!!

🪐 I always associate Scorpio with darker colours, a few of my Scorpio friends dye their hair or keep it naturally dark shades of brown... Also greens, dark dark blues, night time imagery... Most my Scorpio moon friends are bordering on nocturnal and find peace at night time.

🍒 I feel like because your Libra will have you really valuing and seeking out strong relationships, your Scorpio moon will mean you feel deep deep about important relationships in your life... But also that you resist those deep feelings. Scorpios have that trust issues stereotype so you might find yourself desperately wanting to get closer to people whilst not trusting yourself not to hurt too much if it falls apart.

🪐 and like if a friendship or relationship falls apart you'll deep it, you'll take it to heart, you'll over think it and shoulder the blame, probably carry the guilt for a really long time.

🍒I mean this so so affectionately I promise but I don't know a single gemini that doesn't come across a little bit weird or erratic. And your rising sign is how you present to the world haha.

🪐 you know in science at school they'd show you what happens to particles when they heat up and become air and it was like, lots of tiny balls fucking flying around bouncing off the walls... It's not necessarily that you're always loud and hyper, but your thoughts maybe occurs very quickly and you just say stuff... You could be very quick witted (especially when it comes to sarcasm or "mean" humour because of your Scorpio placement)

🍒anyway yes, geminis are definitely "bright" personalities, kinda sparky, unpredictable and generally really interesting to know. Get excited about a new idea but won't necessarily follow it through, depending on what your mars and mercury are you might find you have loads of ideas, burst with enthusiasm but then struggle either to communicate them or bring them into physical reality?

🪐 always associate Gemini with yellows, golds and like sparkly colours. Ginger and golden hour.

🍒 your rising is the same as Alexandra Saviour and Stephen Malkmus' sun sign. It won't be exactly the same and gemini would impact them differently, however because you present to others in first impressions as your rising, these are both very gemini vibes geminis and they kind of sum up what I was meaning about geminis being a little cooky or unpredictable, Stephen Malkmus just presents as like an awkward little sunbeam and Alexandra Saviour presents as so not made for this world, left of center/misunderstood but like ethereal because of it.

🪐 anyways it's a cool combination of signs to have <3

[whipplewhippler]

Snivy x Sceptile Headcanons, pt. 1

it really irks me that the relationship these two could have had was never explored. I feel like they’ve got a few parallels worth elaborating on. I can’t even find fan content, so naturally I decided to just.. make some. these headcanons r so long that I had to delete my first draft for this post, so they all have to be uploaded in parts. my bad

these are primarily centered around Snivy and Sceptile both coming to terms with their brewing feelings for one another and how they cope with them— especially Sceptile, because I seriously feel like the experience he had with Meganium would have taken a massive toll on him romantically if that makes sense. I could talk about that for hours but this is already getting long so let’s get into these long ass headcanons I wrote

Sceptile is very wary when it comes to romance. Although the infamous Meganium incident was ages ago, the effects have taken a toll on Sceptile romantically, and he absolutely refuses to allow himself to go through anything like that again. He’s always quick to shy away from the topic of romance if his friends at the lab start to bring it up, which, thankfully, isn’t very often. 

Snivy, not unlike Sceptile, is initially averse to the idea of any kind of love to begin with. Even after having traveled with Ash, Snivy’s experiences with her past trainer(s) made it difficult for her to really be vulnerable in any capacity. Expressing her love, especially through speech, proves incredibly hard for her. 

Sceptile and Snivy are already good friends. Their cool, no-nonsense attitudes— and yes, maybe a bit of their pride— made forming a friendship based on respect (and a little bit of admiration, in Snivy’s case) incredibly easy.

They’d often be found watching protectively over the younger of Ash’s Pokémon. Sceptile particularly enjoyed the banter he and Snivy would take part in while they monitored their friends. Sceptile can deliver a good jab, sure, but Snivy can fire back a retort without so much as a shift in expression— and Sceptile’ll simply look on, slack-jawed (and, rather unknowingly, pretty enamored) at her ability to clap back so effortlessly.

Sceptile had always found Snivy’s sarcastic tendencies to be rather charming.. but, eventually, it occurs to him that it isn’t just that— he finds everything about her to be charming. Her sharp, crimson eyes, her nimbleness on the battlefield, hell, just the way she carries herself is just so damn endearing to Sceptile. And that fluttery feeling in his heart that he gets when she smiles at him? Please, he’s just awed by her presence. And in a totally platonic way. 

Suddenly, he’s gushing about her to anyone who’ll listen— and this is totally unbeknownst to her, of course. In Sceptile’s eyes, he’s just acting as her hype-man, but his friend Infernape argues that it’s not really being a hype-man if she doesn’t even know about it. 

Infernape is also not particularly fond of being on the receiving end of Sceptile’s newfound gushing sessions. He loves the guy, sure, but he and Sceptile can barely even spar anymore without Sceptile breaking into a tangent about Snivy. “If you think my Leaf Blade’s nothing to scoff at, you should totally see Snivy’s..” He’d muse, after a rough round of battle practice. “Have you heard from Snivy at all today?” He’d ask, on one of the rarer days where he somehow hadn’t spoken to or seen her at all. “I wonder what she’s up to.”

But, then, Arceus forbid Infernape suggest Sceptile might be catching feelings. “No, I’m not,” He’d reply, indignantly. “Far from it. I’m allowed to think she’s cool, Infernape. And she is. I’m just stating what we all know.”