#you should also check notes on posts too - people might say on the post its ai and not real art

[lunawlw]

i think tumblr needs more talk about ai "art" here because i see so many reblogs of things that are just ai and not actual art but people dont know :c

[noellefan101]

Your First Date-Genshin pt 3

Characters: Lyney, Freminet, Wriothesley, Neuvillette, Alhaitham x gn reader

Summary: Your first date with them,

Warnings: lyney flirting, tea

Note: omg im finally done, i really liked writing these tho, ye thats all i have to say school literally destroyed my brain, love you

Lyney

he would definitely preform a TON of magic tricks during your first date, both romantic, some are just pretty to look at and then there´s the brother-you're-just-embarrassing-yourself magic tricks

: said ever so kindly by Lynette

wouldn't make your date as public as his shows, since he wants to share the moments and magic tricks with you only

(+ Lynette, Fremi and "father" if she asked him so, but yk, they're only made for you)

after he had given you more rainbow roses than you could ever count to, he set out some homemade goods, like cookies, a cake, cupcakes(whatever you lik)

(in which he definitely didn´t spend a few days learning to make)

overall 10/10 (if you dont ask lynette, she had to leave bc of the amount of secondhand embarrassment(she was there at the start)) and it was enjoyable for u.

Freminet

yes, you would be underwater for your first date, but if you really don´t like it(yet)he can just take you some other time

^^but he would prefer to show take you on your first

[and yes, Lyney and Lynette (+his other siblings at home)did bet on when he would finally confesses and take you on a date]

he would let you wear his diving helmet if you really wanted to, but he would also just wear it if he felt embarrassed, or wanted to tell you a story (most likely abt pers)

he aslo ended up showing you a few of his mechanics(robots?)

and showed you some works in progresses other people haven´t seen, other than him and pers ofc

Wriothesley

he would drink tea with you in his office

^^maybe Sigewinne baked you something too,

but you mainly drank tea and just talked the whole time

(bro likes tea so much, someone pls make him shut up abt it)

well other than showing you and talking about his (absolutely massive) tea collection (and cake/bakery(sry))

if he´ll ever let you talk, ofc he will(its a very unfunny joke), he´ll listen to you for as long as you´d want to talk

you also laughed a little when he told about how melusines and stickers dont work well

and he liked seeing and hearing your laugh, so he might go for a date number two

Neuvillette

he would take you out to a fancy restaurant or he would just sit and talk with you somewhere more private

but maybe include a Melusine passing by here and there, checking on you both or for some work-related reasons (that they then put off, just a little, when seeing you both together)

i imagine that you would try some different types of water with him, by his request, and tried your dam best to find a difference.

but he would also get you any kind of drink, dessert or food you´d like

all in all its pretty easy bonding with him, and he just likes being beside you and spending time with you

Alhaitham

he would take you to a quiet cafe where you could sit in peace, since he doesn´t like loud places and want you two to be alone for the most part

he would pay 100% he doesn't even give you a chance to try and pay for anything (he´s nice when he wants to be)

he definitely brought a book with him to read(+ one for you) and would either let you talk while he reads a "little", or he would just read out loud so you know what kind of books he likes

he´s not good at doing any kind of romantic things, but he did try and do something

that including:

taking you out on the date later in the evening so he later could show you the stars, and point out some constellations

asking your friends (and maybe family) what you like food-wise, so he knows what kind of place he should have in mind when picking the place of your date

thank you for reading i don´t think i´ll make any more of these, but if you want it i´ll do it, luv ya-Masterlist

You are welcome to reblog and like any of my posts, but you CAN NOT translate, copy or hate on anybody for liking my posts

[misguidedasgardian]

Wild Cats (part III)

III. A leader worth following

MASTERLSIT

Summary: The bigger, the better, the most dangerous 

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Zombie apocalypse AU, living dead, zombies, guts, blood, guns, injuries, cannibalism, creepiness, murder, might miss some warnings. 

+18, MINORS DNI

Notes: I want to say that the reader will make a lot of movie references and phrases and the sort, its because since she is not from the US, she learned “the language” by watching movies and series, jeje. Also, she is a carnivore. 

“So you all agree? we’re going to this Terminus thing?”, asked Daryl. You were not convinced, but you didn’t want to voice your concerns either

“We think its worth to check it out”, said Rick

Since the events of that night, there was something different about Rick, and you could understand it, they had touched his cub. But he had this feral look to him. You barely knew him, and you could tell he was going through something.

He seemed like he was pulling out of the group, so did Michonne, the one that was looking at you like a hawk was the new guy -at least for you-, Daryl.

He was… hard to read

He and Rick both, from what you could gather, went down the longest, friends, more even, a certain bond beyond friendship existed between the both, and judging by the kind of world you now lived in, you guessed a bond made of blood, guts and shots. And those were proving to be quite strong. Survival

Because of how he spoke, you guessed he was what they called a redneck, sometimes it was hard for you to follow his words, because of his accent, but he seemed… good… but not to you though

He looked like he hated you, you felt watched all the time, and sometimes when you’d ask something he would answer harshly. You understood it, you did, this was a fucked up world, and, well… it did seem like they had been through hell.

You were surprised to find out you were still… sensitive like that, that you cared that much that he looked at you like you were the most idiotic thing left on the planet.

But you did save him from a brutal ass-kicking, so you felt like the lack of trust was a bit much, and a bit harsh.

The train tracks you were following were across a forest, it was autumn, and all the leaves were left on the floor. It was a pretty sight, if you had your phone, you’d snap a picture of it. 

The tracks were sure to disappear in a few years in the midst of nature, but still, you followed them. You walked for half a day, with remote conversations, until. You walked until you saw an old wooden post, and sign on the floor, it could be barely read

“Terminus, sanctuary for all”, said Rick, almost mockingly.

“We are getting er’ before sundown”, muttered Daryl, “we’re close”

“Now we head through the woods, we don’t know who they are”, muttered Rick, you all nodded, an decided to abandon the small tracks to sneak in through the forest 

Rick did not believe in this sanctuary, if they ask you, you really wanted to do so, you wanted to believe you could finally be safe, although the idea of meeting even more people unnerved you. Gods how antisocial you were.

“Hey new girl”, Daryl called you, and you realized you had been standing there as they headed towards the woods

“Sorry”, you muttered, following them close

“Are you alright?”, asked Rick, you barely nodded, “If you don’t want to go, I can’t make you”, he said slowly

“I do”, you assured him, “it’s just… weird”, you had a weird feeling, like a lump on your throat or something like that. You didn’t know if it was nervousness because something good was going to happen, or something bad.

“We just want to see if our people is there”, said Rick, “if they are, we will see what to do”, you nodded

You should be excited, for sanctuary, but you’ve come to realize, if something was too good to be true, it probably was. You kept walking through the woods, in parallel to the train tracks, or you thought you were, luckily these guys had a much better sense of directions than you.

“Do you think your people are there?”, you asked shyly

“If we are being hopeful”, muttered Daryl, he was looking at you, you looked at him back, he hummed and kept walking, you did the same.

He got you all nervous and you didn’t even know why.

As the archer had said, the sun was still on the horizon when you reached the fence, and a huge building came into view. 

“Let’s spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready, stay close”, command Rick, and you all obeyed him. You all spread out, Daryl and you went together as Michonne went with Carl the other way.

You kept eyeing the building so much you tripped.

“Can you be more careful?”, he snapped

“Sorry, I thought I saw something”, you whispered, he eyed you angrily and you tried your best to ignore it. The building was far, pretty far, you couldn’t see anything and that unnerved you, if it was said sanctuary wouldn’t you be able to see some movement?

“Don’t lie”, he grumbled

“Yes you are right”, you discussed, “is the lack of something that’s unnerving me”, you said, eyeing the building

“What ya’ mean?”, he asked

“I can’t see anything, either it’s deserted or it's a trap”, you mumbled, he only hummed, you felt his gaze on you again, and again, he made you so, so nervous. 

You walked far enough that you could see around, and still, you couldn’t see anything. 

“Let’s go back”, he grumbled, at least, you thought, he was talking to you and wanted to keep you around, you’d think he would just walk away from you, but he didn’t, that had to be something, right?

“Sure”, he wouldn’t walk behind him, he’d walk by your side of behind you, you thought that maybe he didn’t want to turn his back to you

You met again with Michonne, Carl and Rick in the same point, you arrived just as Rick was burying a duffel bag with weapons

“Just in case”, he muttered, as he used his hands as a rake to place dirt on top of it. You looked at “Terminus”. The word alone made you nervous. Even though it was probably used -in this case- to depict the end of the train tracks, you couldn’t help but notice its symbolism 

They only had to look at each other to know what they were supposed to be doing, and you just followed shortly after. 

You climbed up the fence, and jumped into the terrain of the train terminal. 

You sneaked into the nearest building, one of the biggest ones, you followed Daryl closely, who had taken the lead, je looked like he knew what he was doing, so you were comfortable in doing so. You went in through the backdoor, ended up in a big aisle, there was a door to your left down the hall. From where you stood you could tell this was a big warehouse, where what looked to be the center of operation was being run. The voice of a woman was louder than any others, she was speaking as she was sending a message through the radio, and she probably was. You crossed the door to the big space where you could see on the inside. 

“...Those who arrive survive… Terminus… sanctuary for all communities…”, the woman interrupted herself when they saw you coming in. The rest of them turned around to meet you, they were like six of them, all on the young side. 

One of them immediately gives a few steps forwards, claiming the leadership of the group of course.

“I bet Andre is in the perimeter watch”, he said mockingly, “are you here to rob us?”

“No, we wanted to see you before you saw us”, said Rick. You were still on guard, you’d thought this was going to be… different… for some reason, there was something that unnerved you about this place. 

“Makes sense”, said this guy, there were like six people in there, all young looking, “well, we usually do this where the tracks meet, but… Welcome to Terminus”, he said, he looked incredibly bored, “I’m Gareth, and you lot look like you had been in the road for a while”

“We have”, said Rick, “I’m Rick, this is Carl, Daryl, Michonne, and (y/n)”, the silence was tense, they were weary of you, and you were weary of them, but this guy was… just… already annoying 

“You are nervous we get it! we were all the same way”, he said, “we came here for sanctuary”, he said, “is that what you are here for?”

“Yes”, said Rick

“Well, you found it”, another young guy came forwards, “this is Alex”, he said, presenting a friend of his, “I promise you the welcome wagon it's just so much nicer on the front, he will take you there, but first, I need to see those weapons, so put them in the floor in front of you”

You looked at Rick, you all did, he barely nodded, and agreed. You dropped your ax and your gun in front of you.

Gareth approached you, you took a step back but he just checked you

“I would like to see the other guy”, the jackass Alexx said when he looked at Daryl’s beat up face. Like he hasn't been beaten to an inch of his life

“You wouldn’t”, he just said shortly. 

“Did they deserve it?”, asked Gareth, as Carl was sporting some injuries on his neck too.

“Yes”, said Carl shortly. They finished with the firsking and you were relieved it was over, they stood in front of your group again

“Well, don’t do anything stupid, because we are not stupid”, said Gareth, “so as long as you don’t everything will be fine”, you picked your arms back again, it was incredible that you felt like naked without it. You hanged your Ax from your special belt, and your gun in your holster 

You followed the guy out of the warehouse.

“How long has this palace been here?”, asked Daryl, as you walked down a hallway into the outside. 

“From almost the start”, Alex said, “when all other camps started to get overrun people started finding this place, think it was instinct you know? follow a path”, he kept mumbling things, but you didn’t care, you looked all around you as you reached a common open space in between the buildings.

There was this sweet-looking older woman serving a barbecue, good, you were hungry, but as the smell hit you you knew there was something wrong. It smelled strange, like… sweet? like nothing you had tried before and that made you uneasy, although it looked kind of good.

You kept looking and saw there were some tables and chairs, all looking nice and pretty. It looked like a normal hipsters backyard in the middle of New York or something, like in the movies. There were some people there, instinctively you looked to the rooftops and couldn’t see anyone else. 

“I see you went through the backdoor, smart”, said the woman, rotating some pieces of meat, “You’ll fit right in here”, all of these people had a weird attitude, like… tired? unsurprised? Bored? you didn’t know how to explain it

“Mary, can you fix them a plate please?”. You weren’t the only one nervous, Rick had stayed a bit back, and Daryl was watching everything like a hawk.

“Why do you receive people here?”, asked Michonne. Your group was weary of strangers, and they had every right to be, you were too, you even surprised yourself by joining this unusual gang. 

“The more people we have, the stronger we become”, the Alex-guy mumbled some other things, but again, your stomach turning rather from hunger or nervousness wouldn’t let you pay much attention. 

The lady served you paper plates with the nice looking meat.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but can you tell me what this is?”, you asked her. But she didn’t get to answer. Rick slapped the plate off your hands and Carl’s, and grabbed Alex, placing him in front of him, sneaking an arm around his throat and pointing his gun at his head.

All of you jumped like springs, Daryl was already pointing his crossbow, and you grabbed your gun as well, pointed it at the woman.

“Where the hell did you get this watch?”, he asked, referring to a silver pocket watch this dude had on his hand. You were all pointing now as things got heated, even Carl. The people that were a bit far also were armed, as they grabbed their guns and pointed them back at you

“Dude!”

“Where did you get this watch?”, asked Rick again.

“You want answers? take the gun down!”, he implored, as he raised his hands. Rick was unhinge looking right now. 

“I see your men on the roof with a sniper rifle”, you looked up and there he was, “how good is his aim? WHERE DID YOU GET THE WATCH?”

“I took it from a dead guy! didn’t think he’ll need it!”, he mumbled something else

“What about the riot gear? the poncho?”, you followed his eyesight and, this didn’t look good. Oh gods…

“We got the riot gear from a dead cop!”, Gareth shows up again, and you decide to point your gun at him, “the poncho from a cloth line”

“Gareth we can wait!”, said the hostage 

“Shut up”, demanded Rick, tightening his hold on Alex, “you talk to me”, demanded from Gareth

“You don’t trust us anymore, so why bother?”, asked Gareth, there was something infuriating about him, he seemed so calm, this dude had seen things

“WHERE ARE OUR PEOPLE?”, asked Rick again, clearly angry, you looked at both Daryl, Michonne and Carl and they were all pointing at a different person with their weapons. 

Hell broke loose, a man sneaked up behind Rick, he turned and they just shot the human shield, and your group started shooting as well.

All went to hell. Shots began falling upon you from above, you shot at him, at the sniper, but you didn’t think you hit him as Daryl grabbed you by the arm and encouraged you to run. You all did, you ran back to where you came in, but the guy on the roof just started shooting in the groups to make you stop, so you turned and ran the other way, together.

Soon all the people had vanished but the men on the roof, shooting you from above.

You sneaked in through a building, but at every corner and every turn, everything was getting closed on your wake, doors and garage doors, and heavy metal floodgates. 

You finally could see a door you could enter through, to hide yourself from the snipers, and you did. You came inside what looked like a sanctuary, candles lit everywhere, writing on the walls. 

“What the hell is this place?”, asked Daryl, finally releasing you, as he stole the words from your tongue, as you were going to ask the same.

“These people… I don’t think they want to kill us”, muttered Michonne

“No, they were aiming at our feet”, said Rick

“What do they want us for?”, you asked. Reading the words on the walls, TRUST NO ONE, NEVER FORGET, NEVER AGAIN and other strange missives. “Rob us?”, you saw them exchange looks but didn’t answer, it was like they were in on a secret. 

two of the three doors of the space closed right in your face

“THERE!”, screamed Rick, there was only one door available to exit, and you took it quickly.

Outside you were met with more gunshots. But still, there was a perimeter fence ahead and you ran towards that, and just when you thought you had freed yourself, five men showed up from the bushes, heavily armed and pointing straight at you

You were cornered, and screwed, as you stopped, so did the gunshots.

“DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW!”, commanded Gareth, appearing from the building, there were at least five snipers on the roof, five other men behind you. “NOW!”, he said again. And you did, you didn’t have any choice. You left your gun and Ax on the floor right in front of you. And raised your hands. You all did. 

“Ring leader! go to your left! train car, go!”, you looked that way and indeed there was a train car with the letter “A” painted on it. Rick hesitated, “You do what we say, the boy ends up with you, you don’t… the kid dies and you go anyways”, you knew he looked like a little bitch. Rick began to walk.

“Now the archer”, he said calmly, and Daryl did as he was told too, shooting you a look, “now the Samurai”, he said, Michone started moving too, and it wasn’t until she was half way there, that he called for you, “now the viking”, you frowned but did as you were told, you walked until you were behind Michonne, “stay in front of the door, Ringleader, Archer, Samurai, Viking… in that order”

“MY SON!”, demanded Rick

“Go kid”, he mumbled, “now Ringleader, open the door, and enter the wagon”

“I’ll go with him!”, he counterattacked, as Carl had not reach you yet

“Don’t make us kill him now”, you didn’t like how that “now” sounded. So you were done for? Now or later these sickos were going to try and kill you. 

Rick opened the door, and entered the space, so did Daryl, Michonne and then you, followed by Carl, it was dark in there, and empty. The door got closed and locked after Carl. It was only when your eyes adapted that you could see some human figures on the other side.

“Rick?”, a man came walking slowly, and then a woman. It was dark, but in front of the light that sneaked through the closed door you could see his face, or sort of. Every second that passed your eyes adapted more and you could define seven other people inside.

“You are here!”, said Rick. Both groups looked at eachother curiously, cautiously. Rick threw himself at the dude, the one that called his name, and hugged him tightly, he hugged him back. Then Daryl, as Rick hugged the woman. 

You found Rick’s team?, this was insane! What are the chances? They were seven strangers to you though, four men, and three women

When the reunion of the people that already knew each other ended, it was pretty clear who the new additions were, including you, who stood there, trying to calm yourself after the adrenalin was wearing off. 

“They are our friends”, said the woman, looking behind her, to three strangers, “they helped safe us”

“This is our friend”, presented Daryl, talking about you, you only waved weirdly, “now they’re friends of ours”

“For however long that’ll be”, said a huge ginger man with a thick mustache. 

“No”, said Rick, you all looked at him. He walked around, towards the door, and tried to peek out of there. “They’re gonna feel pretty stupid when they found out…”, Rick said, turning again towards you

“Find out what?”, asked the big ginger man

“That they are screwing with the wrong people”, he said darkly you smirked 

[oddballwriter]

Triplets?!

Summary: A dumb thought I had and decided to write. 

Warnings: There isn't anything that I can think of other than just a misunderstanding that leads to something funny 

Author’s Snip: This was just a silly little post that I had come to mind when I heard the one MBMbam clip where its a person talking about how they call their male friends their "boys" and a drive thru worker thinks that the person is a parent, also a little bit of Reba McEntire's I'm a Survivor "A single mom who works two jobs who loves her kids and never stops" meme. This whole thing is kind of just a writing shit post.

Notes: This isn't proof read 

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

It was an inside joke. With yourself.

As a joke you would call your Marc, Steven, and Jake your triplets even though they were your boyfriends. It was kind of like when a mom says "I have two children, three if you want to include my husband.". It wasn't meant to be mean. It was just a light hearted joke since they can sometimes be everywhere and your sense of domestically can be hectic.

Speaking of domestic things, you were currently grocery shopping but line was painfully long and slow for whatever reason. It wasn't all bad though. There was this nice lady named Cathy behind you, and you two had started having a full conversation after she made small talk about how long the line was. She was an older woman, maybe in her mid to late forties. You had offered to switch spots in line since she had more in her cart than you but she said she didn't mind and that you should be quicker either way. You could tell she was a mom just by the looks of her and how she was acting. She wasn't exactly mothering you but she was talking like how most moms talk to younger people compared to her.

Your conversations topic had just changed to something else when your phone rang. It was Steven.

"Oh, one of my triplets." you mumble under your voice before answering. The call wasn't much. He just called to ask if everything's alright since you've been out for longer than you said you would and some other things before you ended the call with an "I love you, bye.".

"Wow. Three of them? Huh?" Cathy smiled. You looked at her confused for a moment before realizing that she might have heard your mumble.

"That must be chaos." she said. "I have issues wrangling my kids and they're all different ages!" she adds with a laugh. You just nod along, but she still goes on with the new subject.

"How old are they?" Cathy asked, to which you respond with "Thirteen." since that seemed like a reasonable age for a 'kid' to have a phone. "Oh my gosh! Three of them and they're teenagers?" she pitied. "At such a young age like you too. Sweetheart, you deserve a metal." Cathy praised. "It's not that bad." you say as you try and go along with this accidental act you placed on yourself, "Only one of them is a troublemaker. The other two... well they stay inside at least." you joke, mostly for yourself.

Cathy had actually become very chatty and mostly took up the subject. She talked about how her eldest, Kimberly, was sixteen and that she was starting to talk to boys and stay out. Her second eldest, Noah, was starting to have an attitude with her. The middle, Jackie, was having issues in getting along in the classroom and during recess. And her toddler, Marie, was leaning manners and "That's going as good as you think it is." as Cathy put it.

You wanted to stop her so that you could leave but she was just so nice, and sounded like she needed to vent out some stress, so you let her go on while the casher checked out both you and her carts. Cathy did give you the note that her husband was also involved in the kids too but since she's a stay at home she was the frontline.

You felt a bit sad when you had to leave and head home. You didn't know if you'd meet Cathy ever again but you already missed her and said your goodbyes to her, with her of course saying "And best of luck with your triplets.".

When you got home Steven was there to help take in the bags but at a certain point when you locked eyes and laughed he asked what was up.

"There's a forty-something year old woman named Cathy somewhere in town and she thinks I'm a parent with teenage triplets." you confess.

[call-of-ishmael]

The Last Ishmael OCD Post

One of my first times that i dabbled into character analysis was about Ishmael's OCD, people like that post but i really feel i could have done better

Canto V was my last major chapter i was willing to read. As i put more distance between me and the story, i want one final farewell in the form of finally fixing up my analysis

PART I: THE META-TEXTUAL

Before i delve into the writing itself, here is some pointers the story gives to her OCD in the form of flavor text and descriptions.

Firstly we have her Bio

This is easy to miss as its just a tiny blurb above her whole intro blurb.

Now, "obsessive compulsive neurosis" is a very weird way to phrase it, "obsessive compulsive" is clear enough but "neurosis" is odd, this is not TOO odd though, as "neurotic" used to be how OCD was classified as a disorder.

However if we look at her bio in Korean, the particulars do simply straight up say "OCD" very clearly, you'd need to MTL but this was also confirmed to me by a friend from SK

The sinner bios are biased though, and are written through a very corporate lens, so lets see if there's any other pointers elsewhere

Her base EGO, Snagharpoon, actually does just that

Her passives name is called "Compulsion" and in its gameplay design its a very interesting way to also point to it

Ishmael is a very all or nothing person, you do it well or you don't do it at all, and this is reflected on how this passive aids you to play

This passive is excellent for boosting the consistency of playing by only going for "Favored" or "Dominating" clashes, while punishing you for taking chances on clashes you MIGHT win

Base ID Ishmael is also a unit with all single coins, rolling tails puts her in a very unfavorable position so this also adds an extra safety net on top. Worth noting being all single coins is also a high risk high reward type of play style.

Finally we see two more pointers id like to note, both from Canto V

The Compulsive`s Knot, an ego gift themed after a naval rope, one of many in the dungeon all alluding to her struggles.

Most obviously though

Her exclusive status effect, Compulsion. This is in direct reference to her EGO passive, providing an attack boost at the same time it provides a drawback in the form of low SP.

We are gonna talk a bit more about this passive since it ties into another gameplay oriented way to point towards her OCD

During the story dungeon we have an event where a noise is heard, you are given two choices, check, gain SP, don't check, lose SP.

Compulsive checking is probably the most well known (to the conditions detriment we will talk about it later) hallmark of OCD

Notably, this doesn't aid Ishmael, while checking can avoid the combat encounter, not checking only has a chance of triggering it, and most interestingly, her SP will always start at -25 during combat encounters. Meaning the temporary boost in her sanity will just get reset next battle, should you decide to check. Checking wont satisfy her anxiety for more than a brief moment.

Lastly the most obvious ones are all the references to Obsession. These are so abundant i feel if you are familiar with the Canto its redundant to have them, i wanted to draw more attention to the allusions to compulsion, as they are less common.

PART II: BEFORE THE STORM

Even since before her own Canto, we can see Ishmael's ruminating and anxious tendencies pop up during previous chapters, which for OCD is important to explore as OCD is an anxious and ruminating disorder.

So lets talk a little bit about OCD! Its a disorder characterized by repetitive and constant intrusive urges to perform a task or a thought (lets keep this in mind for later)

These thoughts or actions are used to try to relieve stress from an anxiety inducing thought or situation. The most common example is OCD exacerbating germ phobia, and causing people who have it to wash their hands in excess.

While OCD is usually described as "irrational thoughts" i feel that's a pretty limited way to view it in my own experience with it. OCD compulsions and thoughts can be informed by very real worries, the worry of getting sick, of making the wrong moral choices, of hurting others. Being clean is a normal and a good practice to stave off getting sick, its the frequency and intensity that turns it maladaptive, OCD turns your own lived fears and traumas against you, and those might very well be real things to worry about, which makes dealing with it very hard.

Enough of that off to the writing!

Lets start with Canto II

This is the first example of her constant need for a lack of ambiguity, previous to this we see her complain about the treatment the sinners are receiving from Effie and Saude, skeptical of the whole deal.

Until shes shown the plans, they are so well crafted shes able to anchor to that and calm down.

This by itself is not really much other than being very detail oriented, lets look a bit further into the chapter

Here we see that aspect elaborated upon more, this moment is framed as a very important one between Dante and Ishmael in their dynamic later on, Ishmael is incredibly upset at the plan having fallen apart so quickly, while yes this is not unreasonable to be upset at, her anger is remarked on by Dante and Gregor as very intense and unusual. This in my opinion is a minor but clear indication her need for planning and considering every option is due to a deep anxiety, but don't take it from me, lets look at Canto III

Here we are told pretty explicitly, Ishmael moving quickly and asking lots of questions is something Dante has noted as an anxious habit.

And here we have more elaboration on what exactly that moment at the Casino meant for Ishmael, it was enough anger and disappointment she has stopped expecting Dante to perform well and instead taken it upon herself to see things go according to plan, this is VERY important to her.

And her worries, are repetitive enough to annoy others, and to be remarked upon by Dante.

This is perhaps the more notable chain of events to point out previous to her chapters aside from 4.5, as it helps contextualize all her usual ways of acting in a more complete light, showing a lot of this is driven by a deep anxiety

And this all makes S.E.A all the more interesting as it pays off on this.

Something i quite enjoy about Limbus is how it re-contextualizes things characters have previously done and said. And the events of S.E.A and Canto V bring a lot of interesting stuff to the table

Lets get cracking with this chapter

In general shes extremely confrontational, and tense, more than usual

But its her anxious outbursts i wanna focus on, what she puts

emphasis on.

This chapter is so crucial in this whole analysis. We see some behaviors way more clearly now, firstly we see her emphasize her need to be absolutely 100% prepared for this, no ambiguity no risks she wants certainty.

But we see something even more clearly and that's her ruminating behaviors, shes brought up things like this to a smaller extent before like commenting on a lot of aspects but here we see in full display her inner world become externalized, shes started voicing worries shes never voiced before can Dante turn them back always? What if Dante dies? What if the sinners get eaten can that be turned back?

And these don't all get brought up immediately, she mentions them in different conversations, pointing to the fact shes constantly going over the subject in her head with no pause, and she gets frustrated when she cannot work on these worries when she cant do anything to quell the anxiety.

And the last part, when Dante finds her so fixated in her planning its impossible to even talk to her. She has to perform some action do something to stave off the disaster she can see coming in her head

As someone with OCD inevitably i have to mention the personal component that drew me to analyze this was how real this feels to when you spiral

A lot of the times OCD is explained as the compulsions being something you do cause you feel its a sort of ritual to stave off disaster. Its in this way i see it reflected in this moment.

As we see with Heathcliff acting as her foil, he points out her worrying is really not doing much other than just her talking and talking, and by the state shes in when Dante checks in on her, aimless not even paying attention to anything else we see the main objective of the planning really isn't practical as much as a compulsive coping mechanism.

She has to do something

PART III: INTO THE DARK

Lots to cover and honestly i will make a companion post to this with all the examples, so for this section i wanna cover some highlights instead, as well as a general discussion of the tone.

The way this chapter is structured is very interesting, its really reflective of the mental state of Ishmael. The chapter feels really aimless, they wander around not really ever finding what they need, which drives Ishmael more and more tense and frustrate

Its a good continuation to how we see her by the end of S.E.A fixated on one goal one thing

As previously stated shes inflicted with a constant special and unique to her status effect called "Compulsion" as covered in Part I

Her behavior is also reflective of this

For a good part of the first third of the chapter shes in her room, the whole time whetting her harpoon, nonstop

However you might notice compulsion is not as present as obsession, and compulsion is also important to OCD its in the acronym! And i have seen others point to it too

However id like you to remember, in the post earlier i said thoughts can fit into OCD, compulsions can be mental and sometimes almost exclusively or mostly mental. Its even in the DSM noted that for diagnosis the compulsions to count you for a diagnosis can be mental in nature

Its in this aspect that i feel Ishmael shines a lot

In general OCD in media is lacking in representation and is often a trait given to assholes or villains

The normal conception of OCD in movies or TV is of neat freaks or control freaks, Compulsion is usually heavily emphasized when it isn't the whole picture

Often ignored though is the aspect of Obsession, some people can have Purely Obsessional OCD (Pure O), this isn't a formal diagnosis or term but its colloquially used by people who have it. Its a bit of a misnomer, as compulsions are present but internalized as mental rituals or rumination

Usually its harder to diagnose, its harder to treat as there's no apparent compulsions others can see, and the people having it seem pretty high functioning to the people around them.

This can be noticed though in people avoiding certain subjects, avoidant behaviors can be the clearest external behavior.

I personally read Ishmael as having more mental compulsions, the way she tends to be a more ruminating and anxious character than outwardly compulsive

During S.E.A and Canto V we see outward compulsions more but from the examples from previous Cantos we can see that's not her usual and she operates more on anxious overthinking most of the time.

However another aspect that ties into mental compulsions is in the previously mentioned avoidant behaviors, we see her isolate and try to stave of having to deal with her worries in both S.E.A and the beginning of Canto V when shes in her room, in both cases doing some excessive preparation in a compulsive way.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

As previously stated Canto V deserves its own companion post, and ill work on that later, i feel this encapsulates what i wanted to say well enough.

I wanted to discuss the previous signs of her behaviors that make me certain her OCD is an intended textual read, and in my opinion a well executed one

Canto V was hard to read as it felt very real and very familiar to the worst times i have had due to my OCD.

Shes a character that despite my distaste i have developed for the franchise, it will never stop meaning a lot to me same as her chapter will always be a piece of storytelling that affected me deeply in ways others haven't

To close i want to leave off what i feel encapsulates the feeling pretty well, in my favorite moment with the membrane consuming her as a metaphor for letting fear, anger, obsessions and compulsions cloud your mind until you forget why you were even there

To you, dear reader, Bon Voyage

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Slagzogg

This is, interestingly, our third consecutive Beaſt that's actually a common everyday animal pretty much all over Europe, including the area where this manuscript was produced. This is interesting to me because the three are handled very differently. First we had the salamander, which I'm pretty sure got mentally separated from the actual animal somewhere, probably because people use different terms for the real-life amphibian in different regions and languages, and not everybody is going to recognize that it's just the Greek word for the same animal. Second we had the deer, which it seemed like the manuscript producers did recognize, because the illustration is clearly a deer... but elements of the entry are just nuts (As @sweetlyfez said, "How do you make up this many wild myths about a guy you live with"). And now we have the [redacted until end of post], which is just given a completely mundane, if engaging, description with the only weird part being the symbolism attached to it.

I think it might also be our first domestic animal -- the entry even talks about the difference between wild and domestic varieties -- which seems like it's worth noting.

Anyway, as usual people who don't know what I'm talking about should check https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. The entry this week's artists are working from can be found here:

This is another one where I almost didn't put it in because it seemed super obvious what it was, but the artists have done a superb job not drawing that. Excellent work on everyone's part, and it can be found below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) shows us both a domestic and a wild Slagzogg; the design of the domestic one makes me think of fancy pigeons, which I think is a pretty good direction to take here. The vulture-like faces really improve the design also. Very good birds, and you should go check out the linked post to hear about the design decisions and real-life inspirations behind this one; I think it's pretty interesting.

@pomrania (link to post here) observed that, though the entry mentions beaks and flight, it doesn't actually say "bird", so they can draw a pet dragon and have it fit the description. Fair call, and I think it turned out well. I like the contrast between the fairly dignified-looking creature on the left -- this is a Slagzogg who is on its way to win Best in Show -- and the sketch on the right of someone forcibly preventing it from getting into a fight. If you check out the linked post, you can see Pomrania's progress thread for this design.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has made the eminently-understandable decision that if they're going to draw a bird with no specific anatomical details given, it's going to be a potoo. On the left we have three domestic Slagzoggs socializing, and on the right we have a wild one perching alone. I like how this incorporates the symbolism of the entry: we're told that the wild type is meant to signify people who choose a religious life ("those who keep apart from this world wear the modest garb of penitence"), and this wild Slagzogg does look a bit more serious and... monastic? Like, that bird is a nun. (Also, thank you for including alt text.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) also went with the direction of "well, it doesn't say 'bird'," and so we have this really charming image of a medieval person feeding their domestic... pterosaurs. Love it. Honestly, these alternate visions of the Middle Ages where people have entirely different domestic animals than our timeline are really appealing to me. Too much Dinotopia as a child, perhaps. Anyway, check out the linked post for substantially more detail, it's worth it. In fact, everyone reading this should just go ahead and follow all of the bestiaryposting participants. (Also, thank you for the alt text.)

@strixcattus (link to post here) is clearly thinking of the modern day's feral pigeons, formerly the result of selective breeding by pigeon fanciers. We can see the "fancy" domestic version on the left contrasted with the wild version on the right. (I think it's interesting that everyone who's drawn both has put the domestic Slagzogg on the left and the wild Slagzogg on the right.) Anyway, as is usually the case with Strixcattus, the writing included in the post is absolutely worth your time and you should read it. And again, follow them, as well as everyone who has ever contributed to bestiaryposting. Go do it; you won't regret it.

Now, to the Aberdeen Bestiary.

Beak shape aside, these are clearly geese.

I think the degree to which people guessed that varies somewhat; Strixcattus made a post suggesting they were leaning "pigeon", but Pomrania probably clocked it, because they described two Slagzoggs fighting as a "hissing match" despite hissing not being mentioned in the entry. I have no idea where everyone else landed.

Honestly, what I find interesting about this entry is that it's pulling symbolism while remaining pretty much entirely grounded in reality. Check this out:

The goose marks the watches of the night by its constant cry.

Okay, I don't know to what degree it's useful in marking time, but I don't doubt that geese make noise at night.

No other creature picks up the scent of man as it does.

That one I'm not sure about.

This next bit I cut because if anyone knows Roman history they'd nail it right out of the gate:

It was because of its noise, that the Gauls were detected when they ascended the Capitol. Rabanus says in this context: 'The goose can signify men who are prudent and look out for their own safety.'

Okay, that might be less history and more legend, but still, people know it, I think.

There are two kinds of geese, domestic and wild. Wild geese fly high, in a an orderly fashion, signifying those who, far away from earthly things, preserve a rule of virtuous conduct.

I can absolutely see medieval people looking up at geese flying in that V formation and going, "look how orderly these birds are; clearly they are virtuous creatures."

Domestic geese live together in villages, they cackle together all the time and rend each other with their beaks...

Yeah, that sounds like what geese would do in a village.

All wild geese are grey in colour; I have not seen any that were of mixed colour or white. But among domestic geese, there are not only grey but variegated and white ones. Wild geese are the colour of ashes, that is to say, those who keep apart from this world wear the modest garb of penitence.

This bit falls into the category of "I believe it, but it does not accord with my personal experience." Because if you told me that in Europe they had a variety of different aesthetically-pleasing domestic goose breeds, I'd have no problem believing that. And I'm sure some wild geese are gray. But I live in North America, so to me wild geese look like this:

And domestic geese look like this:

But again, I have no difficulty believing that the experience of the medieval Europeans was different from mine.

What really sticks out to me here is the fact that the characteristic behavior of domestic geese is to make noise and get in fights -- I think the Untitled Goose Game would have made perfect sense to a medieval audience.

(After the Smithfield Decretals)

[writingwithfolklore]

Hey there, wanted to ask some advice for writing. Apologies if you've written this before. I searched your posted links, but didn't find quite was I was looking for. (I may have missed it!)

Let's say you're revising a scene, and something about isn't working, but you're not 100% sure what's off.

What steps do you take to try and understand why the scene doesn't work? What should we be looking for?

Thanks!

Hi! This is a great question, and something I don't think I've really covered yet.

How to Fix an "off" Scene

There are so many things that can make a scene feel 'off' so it might be helpful to begin to narrow it down or try to pinpoint the part that isn't working.

So first, I would read it out loud.

Stop to take notes if you need to--notice where you're running out of breath, where you stumble or stutter, sentences you read wrong the first time or that aren't making the sense/impact/feel you want them to. Sometimes a stutter is just a stutter and doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong, but sometimes a stutter is from odd word choice. Little things like that can have a big impact on how the scene feels.

The problem may jump out at you already. If not, there are 3 big things to watch out for:

The pacing

I just did a post on controlling pacing here, and here so I won't go too in-depth now, but a good 70% of the time when I rewrite an off scene with pacing in mind, it fixes it. Try rewriting the scene a few times--make different choices, change the weather, change the room, change the people who are there. These little details might just jog something loose here.

2. Intention

A scene may also feel off because the characters are acting strangely or the events are propelling without a propeller. Ask yourself why the characters in the scene are there--both in their purpose to add to it, as well as the 'narrative sense' it makes. Would Character A drive half an hour to join in on this conversation in person? Does their presence add something unique/essential to the conversation?

If it's a dialogue heavy scene, the problem is likely in the dialogue. Think about what each character wants out of the exchange, and how they're going to try to convince the others to give it to them. (Check out more dialogue tips here, here, and here)

3. Placement

It may just be a bad time in the story to have that specific scene. Maybe the flow is a bit off--the last chapter was super intense and now they're suddenly sitting down for tea and the momentum had to screech in its tracks. Try going back and reading what just happened and feel out the transition between scenes--they should have a similar but evolving feel to them. If they are starkly different, that's probably the "off" that you're noticing.

Otherwise, leave and come back to it. There's a chance a scene feels off because you've written it too much and you're looking at it from the lens of the author who knows all, rather than the reader who knows very little and is learning on the fly.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes!

[dadbodbuck]

i wanted to post something and its tuesday

snippet from my ecologist!buck au:

Eddie’s fresh off a 24 when he sees him for the first time. He’s clocked out, picked Christopher up, and stopped by the bank to drop off a check. He’s dead on his feet, and Chris is always hangry and overtired after school, so Eddie is also, to put it politely, at his fucking limit.

He turns into his driveway and sees it. “It” being two positively massive piles of wood chips spilling out from his neighbor’s yard onto his own. It’s completely overtaken a good chunk of Eddie’s yard, including part of Christopher’s ramp, which pushes up against the border between the properties.

And, okay, it’s not like Christopher can’t just move around the wood chips, but it’s a principle of the thing. If his neighbor thinks it’s okay to block part of the ramp, they might think it’s okay to block the whole ramp, that Christopher might not need the ramp, or they might think it’s okay to block Christopher’s concrete path to his ramp. It’s a slippery slope, and most people don’t understand accommodations. He can’t just explain to everyone that his barely-in-code steps are too steep for an eight-year-old with balance issues, but some stairs and some obstacles are okay. That’s at least a five minute conversation if he’s lucky. 

When he was first learning to make accommodations for Christopher, there were a few over thirty minute, endless back and forth conversations that Eddie had with a particularly nosy “HOA board member” who was convinced Eddie was building a meth lab instead of an accessible shower.

So, Eddie unlocks the door and tells Christopher to go on inside and get himself changed and started on his homework, and he goes over to his neighbor’s house to assert himself. Assertively. He can do that. He was in the army.

Assertive and polite, Eddie reminds himself, steeling himself to knock on the door. Right when he goes to knock, though, the door opens and Eddie’s hand winds up swinging forward—

Right into someone’s face.

“Ow! Fuck!” The person says, dropping some cardboard and cradling their face in their hands, “What was that for?”

And Eddie should reply, but the only thing he can really take note of is that the person in front of him is fucking hot. He’s a few inches taller than Eddie, with broad shoulders and biceps that look like they’re about to pop out of his stained t-shirt. He’s in plain shorts that stop above the knee—where his absolutely gigantic thighs peek out—and tennis shoes that look like they’re falling apart.

“Sorry,” Eddie says, through the driest mouth he’s probably ever had, “I was trying to knock.”

Eddie prays that the man’s face is ugly, or that he’s going to be a dick, but when he moves his hand, Eddie can see baby blue (albeit watery) eyes, soft, curly blond hair, plush lips, and a birthmark just above his eye. This guy is a fucking smoke show from head to toe, and instead of looking pissed off, he relaxes and huffs out a laugh. “Were you trying to break my door down or something?”

“You got woodchips on my son’s ramp,” Eddie says, instead of answering.

“I did?” The man blinks, “Sorry! Oh God, sorry, I didn’t notice, I’ve been so busy with the shipment. I promise I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay,” Eddie says, sighing and feeling all the fight leave him. Of course his new neighbor wasn’t trying to be an ableist asshole, it was just an accident, and Eddie assumed the worst. 

“Sorry, uh, can I squeeze past you?” The man asks, and that’s when Eddie realizes he’s gone somewhere and come back with a broom. Eddie follows him back over to the ramp, where he starts sweeping off the wood.

“This is a little uneven,” The man mentions, “Does your son use a wheelchair? I could redo this for you.”

Eddie bristles at that—the familiar urge rises in the back of his throat. He’s just about to bite back something harsher than his neighbor probably deserves, something about how he doesn’t need help, when Christopher pops his head out the front door.

“Daddy?” Chris asks, “Who’s that?”

“Hey, buddy,” Buck says, before Eddie can introduce him, “I’m Evan Buckley, your new neighbor. Everyone calls me Buck.”

Buck sticks his hand out for Christopher to shake, and if Eddie weren’t so busy trying to give this guy the chance he deserved, he’d be pissed at Buck for ignoring him. Or maybe embarrassed that he forgot to ask Buck for his name. Or that he forgot to introduce himself when he knocked on his door.

Chris introduces himself as, “Christopher Diaz, but everyone calls me Chris,” and gleefully shakes Buck’s hand, jerking it up and down so hard Eddie’s worried he might dislodge it from the socket. And then he’d have to give his sort-of asshole neighbor medical treatment. Whatever.

“What do you even need all these wood chips for, anyway?” Eddie asks, trying not to sound bitter or sarcastic. He’s only mostly sure it works.

“Oh, I’m redoing the lawn,” Buck says, “I’m working to create a few different microfarms in LA. This one’s kind of my first big project. I’m going to be doing an herb garden out here in front, and then in the back I plan on doing some compost and raising some chickens. Maybe some ducks, rabbits—”

“Oh,” Eddie says, because it’s—okay. He understands that his food has to come from somewhere, but he’s hesitant about all this. It sounds like a lot. “So, what, your yard is just gonna be covered in wood chips?”

“Only for the first season,” Buck explains, “To kill the grass.”

“Why would you kill the grass?” Eddie blinks, taken aback.

Buck smiles in a way that, quite frankly, makes Eddie feel condescended to. (If he weren’t so irritated, he might notice the way Buck’s eyes light up and his hands do half the talking for him, adorably excited.) “Lawn grass isn’t actually native to the United States. It was a status symbol in Europe, because only royalty could afford to have their lawns tended to. And here in California, it’s actually detrimental to the local environment to have one. Non-native grass takes a lot of water to maintain, and we just don’t have those resources here. I’m culling the grass in the front yard and the backyard, and doing some water retention gardening to save on the rain that happens our way.”

Eddie’s head hurts. Unfortunately, when he opens his eyes, he sees Christopher’s own, wide and bright with stars.

Oh no.

“That’s so cool!” Chris gasps, “How do you reten—retent?—the water?”

“Chris, why don’t we go inside and stop bothering Buck?” Eddie urges, because if Chris ends up actually liking this man Eddie will move again. He’ll go to Alaska. He’ll take Chris to fucking Mexico if it means never seeing Evan Buckley, his neighbor who he punched and immediately developed a low-simmering irritation for, ever again.

[honeyhive65]

LIST OF MONSTERS/CREATURES FOR PUNCH OUT

Someone said I should post the list. I know it was one person but I wanna do it. I’ll also make concepts for their contender and TD matches (I only have joes which I’ll probably put here)

MINOR CIRCUIT

Glass Joe- originally was the only other human. Got turned into a vampire after trying to help someone near an alleyway. Woke up in the dumpster and still trying to adapt. Unfortunately never told his doctor about his predicament (he has woken up in the morgue multiple times).

Von Kaiser- a monster similar to Frankenstein monster. Some scientists wanted to create a boxer using the body parts of some of the best boxers they knew. Unfortunately the product did not meet their expectations and is sitting comfortably down in the minor circuit.

Disco Kid- a friendly zombie who recently rose from its grave. No memory of his life but recently rediscovered boxing, disco, and Micheal Jackson. Managed to be so inspired by thriller he likes to break it down right there in the ring. He’s a bit stiff but he’s still got that spirit in him.

King Hippo- nobody really knows why he came from the sea to land JUST to box. Maybe someone threw an old poster into the ocean and made its way to him. This sea beast may not speak any human language but he sure knows how to throw a punch. Stole clothes from a drowned sailor however the pants are a bit loose even on him.

MAJOR CIRCUIT

Piston Hondo- some people mistake this spirit for a yokai, however he’s just a regular looking ghost. In his life he was an excellent boxer. Most knew his training methods were extreme but nobody ever thought that he’d take “train til you drop dead” a little too seriously. Still he manages to haunt the WVBA determined to keep boxing.

Bear Hugger- he may seem like a human at first but there’s always that one day most people avoid taking a match with him. From evening to morning on a full moon is when his schedule is almost always free. Most people don’t want to get clawed by a werewolf but there have been a few who tried…let’s just say the results in the hospital weren’t pretty. (NOTE: despite the species rivalry, he’s actually pretty good friends with Joe. Being someone who was a human himself he tries his best to give as many tips as he can to adapt)

Great Tiger- a genie who tricked its master into freeing him, tiger now spends his freedom here in the WVBA. He never gives a straight answer for why he wanted to spend his free time here of all places but hey he’s happy at least. Enjoys human opponents the most since they’re the most easy to mess with.

Don Flamenco- did he come from outer space? Was he given a little too much fertilizer? Or perhaps he is just a nymph who lied about his origin. Don was a rose who somehow gained sentience and has taken a more humanoid form. The best way to find out how to be more human to him? Well boxing of course! This plant somehow even got himself a girlfriend but who could resist the passion of a rose?…he may be carnivorous though so watch your back.

WORLD CIRCUIT

Aran Ryan- with Joe now being a vampire, Aran has taken the place as the only human contender in the WVBA…at least before Mac joined. Despite this he seems just as freaky as the others. His superstition keeps him from bonding with the other boxers and maybe even some humans that occasionally join. He gets a little…paranoid.

Soda Popinski- Seeing an advertisement on the WVBA, this abominable snowman quickly left home to check it out. Coming out from his home, he quickly discovered his love for boxing and sugary sodas. It’s however too hot for him to look presentable so all he wears most times is a speedo.

Bald Bull- A Minotaur who’s been at the WVBA for what seems to be forever…at least to most people here. Some don’t even know when he joined and others never bothered to ask. Only exception is doc but he never seems to want to talk about it. He tends to enjoy time alone so best not to bother him or else you might find a horn in your chest.

Super Macho Man- Most people have to avoid being in the front of him and sometimes the sides due to one of his so called signature moves. Macho is a trans gorgon who thought that going into a sport involving punching one’s face was a good idea. You really couldn’t afford his sunglasses although best not to break them. You could end up cold as stone if you do. Where do you think all those decorative statues came from?

Sandman- not much is known about his species but he claims to be something called a dreamcatcher. A creature who can manifest dreams into reality. Nobody knew about it before he came along but what does matter is he seems friendly enough and has even taken a liking to that Gorgon just below his rank (SURPRISE SUPERSAND RAAAAAAH sorry. Also credits to @wvbaandtheboys for making the species/creature I used)

Okay that’s all also I’ll probably also make tempered glass for this. Why? Cause I can and I like the ship so I have to feed myself somehow. Also here’s the concept for joes contender and TD.

Contender- Mac got lucky and doc managed to talk Joe into a day match. A good beginning for someone’s career for Joe is a bit sluggish and looking like he’s on the verge of passing out. He may not burn up in the sun but it sure does exhaust him. Constantly drinking a mysteriously red substance during intermission.

Title defense- His poor unassuming doctor can’t understand how Joe keeps coming back from the dead. His vitals are all off but Joe insists it’s just a cold. His doctor decided to put him on a different diet to help him be healthier and maybe put some weight on those bones of his…unfortunately the doctor gave Joe a not so vampire friendly diet and Joe as slowly gone in a more crazed state from it. For the safety of the other boxers, the WVBA graciously gave Joe a makeshift muzzle from a helmet and something attached. He’s faster and more unpredictable in this state and will try and lunge at opponents to get something in his starving state. Not even the sun can stop him from getting a meal but hey the helmet protects his head at least! Just…try not too hit it too hard or that piece covering his mouth might detach.

[selfportrait27]

Ween fans of Tumblr. Come over to ween.wiki and help us build a new knowledge base for future fans.

I didn't start the wiki, I just got pissed off a couple of months ago and posted this on r/ween. To my surprise, people actually listened. We now have a few regular contributors, but it's time to start reaching out to the rest of the Ween web, and I'm starting here on Tumblr for a reason.

The fuck-you spirit of Ween and punk rock seems to have actually survived on this platform. Despite Tumblr's best efforts, this has mercifully not become a Nice Normal Place for Nice Normal People. There's a beautifully unhinged quality to all Ween fans that still circulates in the air supply here, that when you see it on reddit for example, you know that it's being allowed to happen.

Anyway, check out my original post on Reddit, or you can read the text below. Then saunter back to the Ween Wiki house and take a look around. If you see anything you think you can help with, go for it. You can find my user page here.

Full text of my post from r/ween:

If you didn't know, there is a Ween wiki just sitting there waiting for us to fill it in.

I know it isn’t very well maintained or reliable. That’s because we’re not using it. It’s a community database, not someone’s personal website. It’s supposed to be maintained by the fan base, that’s the point of a knowledge commons.

Let’s say, for example, if 50 of us make one quick, low-effort change to the wiki in the next month or so. That would already be a big improvement. If it’s the first and last time for you, you will have made a contribution.

Here are some little things you can do anonymously, without an account or a username: 

~Add lyrics to a song.~ 

Change lyrics that someone else added. (It updates instantly, this isn’t genius.com.)

Add a page that you think should be there - you can leave it blank for others to fill in if you don’t want to do it.

Delete something if you think it’s wrong -  you don’t need to have something to replace it with in order to do this. Removing something counts as a contribution. If it turns out to be right after all, it can be put back.

Ditto if you see a citation that you don’t trust - you can just remove the source. Now it’s a ‘citation needed’ situation, which gives others an opportunity to do something.

Correct a minor spelling error, it can literally be that small.

Don’t share private material without permission, but other than that, it can be just about anything at this point, as long as it keeps the ~recent changes page~ ~active.~ Even if you’re new and you don’t know much about Ween, you almost certainly know something that isn’t there yet. Remember you can edit anonymously, so nobody can give you shit if you get it wrong. What they can do is change it.

A few notes:

Why do we need this, when we can just ask someone more reliable? Because it’s too much pressure to expect any person to be reliable all of the time*.* It might sound counter-intuitive, but having a community database that “just anyone” can edit actually creates more accountability, because we’re all responsible for its content, rather than expecting a few people to do all the work and get everything right. This is an opportunity to make a contribution to the legacy of Ween and their fan base, one that’s at least a little better than the stew of info and misinfo that’s out there now. It’s also a chance to help ensure that the good work people are doing on projects like Ween Archived doesn’t just end up getting mixed in with all the bullshit~.~

You don’t need to know what you’re doing. I’m a tech-moron - seriously, my 80-year-old father probably knows how to use Media Wiki better than I do. Even I figured out how to make a few basic edits. We’re going for minimal effort here, so even if you think it won’t make a difference, it will only have cost you a minute of your life.  Do a sloppy, half-assed job. Make a tiny improvement to someone else’s sloppy, half-assed job. Do it now or later - a community database is a long term, ongoing project and there’s no deadline for anything.

But people will just use it to troll? Yeah, they might. They can already do that now. If that’s what you want to use it for, you’re going to anyway. Here’s a couple of things worth remembering:

Nobody needs to put in a ton of work only to risk having it spoiled. There’s enough of us that your individual contribution can be as tiny as you want, and it still counts.

Again, anybody can delete information, so dealing with troll entries doesn’t just fall to one person or a few people. It’s unlikely that we’re gonna have a troll problem that’s too big for the rest of us to handle.

Sorry to be cheesy, but if we’re too scared to do anything, then my friends, the trolls have already won.

One last thing. You can do this and still hate everybody and complain as much as you want, nobody can take that away from you. You can even feel better about complaining, knowing that at least you did something. And if you want to tell me to shut up, who the fuck do I think I am etc, then you’ll still have plenty of time to do that too.

Come on, people. Two children who couldn’t play their guitars yet started a band without a drummer, and we can’t build a better community wiki than this, with all the tools in front of us? Of course we fucking can.

[l-crimson-l]

I'd love to get into girlpla, I'm just a bit too broke to afford any kits; however, if you'd like to talk about it as a whole, I'd be more than happy to hear.

So…let me try this again. I had a whole nice post written up and I swapped off for a moment to check something and I completely lost the post.

Mecha Musume has a pretty long history that I’m not going to go into but here’s a little video if you’re interested.

Now when most people think of Mecha Musume there’s basically one standout line above them all: Frame Arms Girl.

This line is a bit old now but its popularity has set the aesthetic style for the market as it stands now. The build of these are…ok. Kotobukiya was definitely learning with these kits but they’re still solid at the end of it.

Now if you’re like me you’re not too much a fan of the pantsu out look, and other kits in the line don’t exactly do anything to mitigate that feeling (looking at you Durga I).

The next line Koto would release would be better at this tho. The Megami Device line features all original designs as well as collabs from new and old mecha musume brands alike.

First thing off the bat this is that they’re pricey. At an average cost of $70 you’re basically buying a Bandai MG gunpla. That said, they all typically come with a bunch of option parts. These are usually in the form of unarmored limbs, different chest pieces, face plates (with water slides to make your own) and extra connectors to help with kitbashing. Koto also has released option body segments to let you swap any part of the body you might want to if the right option isn’t available in the box (~$12). It should be noted the newest kits in this line have brought the price down to $50 as well as reengineered the build to add a lot more articulation and pose-ability.

Also in this lines favor is the articulation and build quality. You’re going to get a nice range of motion with or without armor and some of the smaller details also sometimes come pre painted.

That said Kotobukiya is a company that favors more complex character design over an Out Of Box experience so there’s some smaller details that are etched into the kit but unless your paints them won’t be color correct. I would say this is pretty common across most Koto lines.

Both the FAgirls and Megami Device are scaled at 1/12 so Little Armory guns and the whole market of 3rd party accessories will work with these kits.

Next up is Koto’s Sousai Shoujo Teien which is simple girls as plastic models

A little cheaper and at 1/10 scale instead of 1/12. I’ve not built any but I do know they can bash with Megami Device and Hexa Gear lines just fine. If you take a peek at the JP girpla community there’s actually a niche but healthy group dedicated to taking nice photos of their kits dressed up in everyday scenarios.

Finally the newest line of Koto girl kits is the Arcanadea line.

Purely in a fantasy take these are Incredible kits. I’ve only built one (Lumitea) but it was far and away a much better build experience than the FAgirl kits. These are actually designed by a vtuber artist iirc which is why the designs are so different than other Koto kit lines. If you have the cash and want to try something different I would highly recommend.

Now finally we get to Bandai. After learning from their failures with the Hg Build Fighters girls they went back and designed something solid and what got me into mecha musume: 30 Minute Sisters

Right off the bat with an average price of around $30 the barrier to entry is much easier. While not as refined as the Megami Device line, these simple kits cram in a lot for the price. You’ll get an armored and unarmored form, as well as face plates. However the biggest selling point is How Damn Easy they are to bash. Being apart of the 30M line means they’re completely compatible with the 30MM line of mechs. Which also means all of those extra weapon and armor sets transfer over for the most part. And that’s not even talking about the dedicated 30MS option sets like hair parts, body parts, etc.

This is a Very beginner friendly line of kits and the place I would suggest most people starting if they’re looking to get into mecha musume.

This example I think uses about 5 different kits to build and I don’t believe any serious modifications were needed.

Another Bandai line to mention is the Standard Figurise line which you’ll be familiar with if you’ve picked up the Sulletta, Miorine or ChuChu kits. Typically pretty solid kits (uma musume excluded, only get the 30ms version of that one) they usually include characters from a variety of different shows. These are still of course bash-able but not without modification.

With the explosion of popularity with these kits means we have even more companies now joining in the race. ATK and MS General have a bunch of kits to offer and we see new companies pop up some really sick looking kits (see tgat Galahad)

We even have Plamax giving us the really cool looking GODZ ORDER kits and soon character kits from Blue Archive, Konosuba and others.

For these smaller/third party companies I would suggest doing plenty of research before buying one. The ATK kit that I made was Especially frustrating and required a lot of extra work to make parts fit right or to clean them up so they fit at all. Not to mention the extra detail work required to really make them look like the box example. Just do your homework.

I hope this helps!! It’s a growing market so there’s always more kits being announced. This should have covered the majority of kits out there but IMPORTANT! Check sites like AmiAmi for sales or resales on kits. You can sometimes find an unbuilt kit that retails at $70 going for $30.

USAGS will regularly get Koto kits in and new releases but by no means believe them when they say a kit is USAGS exclusive. Remember to check HLJ as well. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll do my best to answer them!!

[thesillyvivi]

i made a post asking if u guys would like my oc being a failed eva/trish thingy (would it be eva or trish i still dont know) and i think yall did and i did say if enough people liked it i would make a post going a bit more into it. yeah. something like that. anyway this is thay post

be warned this is one of the few times ive decided to write out oc lore n stuaff so it migjt be a little sloppy. a bit bad. im not a professional at this sort of thing. we ball

ok yap time

so the whole idea was that Liniyal (the dmc oc in question) was like. a proto trish i guess u could say???? that eventually escapes mallet island and tries to live a normal life. or as normal as she can all things considered

how she escapes i havent really figured out yet. i think during the collapse would make tje most sene but thats as far as that goes. i heard that trish and dante got there by boat so maybe she made her own little makeshift boat and skedaddled??? who knows. but she Gets Out

the only reason why mundus even keeps her long enough that she manages to escape is that he wanted to punish her failure (even if technically he was the one that failed) by keeping her locked up and showing her what she couldve been and what she couldve done when he finally creates the perfect one aka trish. its like when a parent says "you should/could be more like (person)" but way worse if that makes sense

so then dmc1 happens and all the while liniyal is like somewhere just kinda trapped and then mundus is defeated and shes able to be set free since his magic stuff was beung used to keep her locked up and since hes like gone? probably? it would kinda just disappear. you know??.????

so yada yada she escapes and arrives to main land and the immediate first thing she wants to do is remove or cover anything that reminds her of what she is. basically starting a new life or at least trying to

its like a V situation where she has to go around stealing stuff and hunting demons 4 food (since i think he does that in vov) at first she probably has the mosy horrendous fashion taste but for like 95% of her life she WAS naked so u cant blame her too much. she does get better eventually i hopr

ive yet to decide whether or not i want to give her a buddy who like helps her w everythinf because while i do think it would be nice idk if id want to make it a canon character and if not that would mean id have to make up a whole new character and i just Dont Know how to go about that. maybe i can jusg say there was some guy and you can put your own interpetations on em if u wanted

also still thinkimg about when she would actually appear in "canon" either during dmc4 or dmc5. not sure when in dmc4 but for 5 i thought about maybe her firsy appearence would be in the far background when nero is fightinf (checks notes) artemis kinda like how in the one dmc4 cutscene you can see dante just chilling while neros kicking ass

and then her like meeting appearence if that also makes sense would be when V or nero come across a later boss (still on surface or when v is in the queen empusa area) and she gets like whacked so one of em decides they gotta like help??? and soon enough she'll be bavk on her feet and syart fighting alongside em and be like a companion. dont know where to go after that though

i 100% do think that if she were to ever meet trish it would be AWKWARD. even if trish wouldnt know her (another thing i havent decided on. that comes up a lot in here) she would know trish and just feel all weird aroun her because. You Know

and i think? thats all i can think off the top of my head????? it is fsirly late when im writing this so idk i might be too tired to remember anything else that would be important

i hope this isnt a let down like i said im not very good this sort of thing. at some point i think im gonna make a ref that has liniyal, trish, and eva to likr compare them and see how liniyal was considered a failure. and thrn also her weapon and yada yada

if anyone has any suggestions or questions or corrections u wanna make feel free to reblog or senf me an ask i am open to Everything

okauy. goodnight

[grimm909]

Deep In The Sea - Part 1

Hey guys! I don't have much to say here, not to mention that I will be answering your requests as soon as possible. I'm sorry for those who wait, but I had made a promise to myself that I would do, first of all, a horror and drama story where Jade would be the main attraction. Sorry for the delay and please don't give up on me! I also want to apologize if there are any English mistakes. As I said in my first post here on tumbrl: English is not my native language. Happy reading~  WARNINGS: female gender reader, violence, yandere, obsession, non-consensual, mind break, horror, drama, mutilation, mention of pregnancy.

The creature's eyes glowed with fervent attraction, which you thought were like a child's after being given a new toy. That same heterochromatic gaze met two other eyes fragmented between fear and fascination, but equally deep as the ocean. Those eyes were too fixed to dare to look away. Those eyes were yours.

Apparently attracted to you, little by little the creature's slippery tail began to wrap itself around your body, similar to a seaweed that simply wraps itself around things, without actually squeezing them. It was almost like a preventive measure to not let you get away from him, preventing any attempt by you to escape – which you thought was a possibility.

The penknife still present in your hand — firmly attached to your fingers as the only weapon you had in case you tried to defend yourself against him — was something seen and admired by the merman, as it had been exactly the object that had saved him until a few moments ago.

And of course, you.

[...]

It should have been just another normal day of swimming for you. As a marine biologist, sometimes your job allows you to explore and catalog the different types of fish in the sea.

You don't know exactly when this desire to explore the intriguing and dangerous ocean started, but you know that's what you wanted for your life. The emotion, the adrenaline, and how enchanting the beauty of the things that existed below the water was not something that made you tired.

You also usually had the help of your friend and co-worker, who was responsible for steering a small speedboat, to take it to the middle of the ocean. Sometimes you took turns swimming, as it was not a good idea to leave your only means of transport floating in the sea. 

Really, nothing had been much different from that. You put on your wetsuit, waved goodbye to your mate, and dropped into the ocean with a waterproof camera slung around your neck. 

You dove as far as you could to the bottom of the ocean, for enduring the cold and high pressure down there was not something a human could do without the proper equipment. And his were good, but not the best. 

Nevertheless, for someone with affinity and custome, trying to go more than a hundred meters deep was reasonable. As far as you knew, the longest record ever broken by a person was 320 meters. But honestly, it's not like you're too interested in beating other people's records, if they weren't your own. 

So you were tempted to go deeper than ever before. Checking his blood pressure gauge and what oxygen he had left, he realized that a longer round trip would be possible, as long as there were no interruptions along the way. 

However, it was from this decision that things started to take another turn. 

So, well, your fault. 

You've successfully managed to bear the huge weight on your back and take some great pictures, which you use to take some daily notes later on. However, just as you were about to swim back to the surface because of the oxygen, a tiny high-pitched sound was captured by his ears.

You thought at first that it might be a whale, dolphin, or any other creature that made relatively loud sounds like that. However, this hypothesis was soon dismissed on its own when the sound again resounded in a more strangely shrill and profound way, that even the earplugs could not rid him of the momentary headache caused by the noise. 

This was unlike anything you had ever heard, recognizing that it was not an aquatic animal ever cataloged by man. You were extremely tempted to want to know what it could be, perhaps even discovering a new species of sea creature and being able to photograph it. 

Curiosity overcame your logic and you tried to guide yourself through the animal's "screams", noticing that as you swam deeper, the sound increased. Darkness began to cover more and more the entire route, due to the lack of sunlight. And you were forced to turn on the flashlight housed above your head, so you could see what was before your eyes. 

The vision was of a tortuous path with many stones, but his biggest concern was the excess of mesh nets present in the environment and other types of garbage improperly discarded, which continued along the way to where the source of the sound was. 

You checked the oxygen in the cylinder one more time and realized you had to race against the time. The movement of your feet and hands became more erratic, yet quite painful due to the pressure of being even further down than you could have anticipated. 

By the increase in speed, in the distance you noticed a strange sea shape, which for you exactly resembled an eel. However, eels didn't "scream" that way. They didn't even look as huge as this one. 

You became more cautious as you knew the good reputations of these creatures and taking an electrical shock was not in your plans. Then he tried to approach more slowly, until he noticed that the creature's shape was starting to get even weirder. 

You hid behind a rock and turned off your flashlight so the animal wouldn't see the light, then turned on the camera. Your intention was to zoom in as far as you could and try to take the picture right there in the darkness, through the flash.

Squinting your head a little, you positioned the camera towards the animal and in a quick fraction of a second, the light emerged through the click of a button. You get your photo and quickly go back into hiding, analyzing the image. 

It is not completely clear, let alone sufficiently illuminated, but the shading of the animal is quite noticeable and it would be possible to make an analysis of which species is. That is, if you knew any sea animals with arms. 

Yup. Damn arms. 

Aside from an apparently human head, of course. 

Is it possible to choke under water, breathing through a tube? Well, you almost did. 

You eyes widened in absolute surprise and her hands that were still holding the camera trembled with anxiety. 

You thought that, like every child, it was always normal to hear and even be interested in fanciful stories of mermaids and mermen. But the fact that somehow these creatures could be real stirred you in a strange way. To make matters worse, none of these stories portrayed the mermaids as friendly beings, but rather as ship sinks and fishermen killers. Especially, if you disregard the entire "The Little Mermaid" movie. 

However, you are abruptly kicked out of your own thoughts when the sound made by the creature is even worse than before, causing your eardrums to ache due to the distance of only a few meters between the two of you. 

No way. That's ridiculous. It should just be a misunderstanding on your part. It was all so dark in the image, that simply assuming it was a mythological creature without even seeing it with its own eyes, was evidently gross neglect on the part of the animal that was screaming for apparent help. Yes, animal. 

By this reasoning, which you tried to tell yourself was the only absolute truth, you put your camera in place, turned on your flashlight again, and came out of your makeshift hiding place to complete your objective. 

However, for a second surprise that day, in less than a few minutes, you realized how foolish you were, to think that your eyes had been deceived with the truth demonstrated through a blurry photograph.

It was real. The stories were really true.

For a few seconds, time stopped for you and your body remained stagnant, as if you were just some object floating in the water. The image before your eyes would be etched in your mind for a long time, both for the stunning beauty of the creature and for how deadly it looked, but especially for the deplorable state in which he found himself. 

His neck and wrists were tied to a large mesh net, linked to a generous amount of rubbish tangled around a rock. It was impossible to escape that trap caused by the illegal disposal of men, if the stone was not obstructed or if those wires were not cut. And the fact that the merman was struggling to get out of there didn't help, it just made the situation worse so that he was more and more trapped. It was like he was in quicksand, how funny. 

However, time didn't stop for him, who noticed your presence precisely by the light that the flashlight emitted, directing his attention to you and immediately growling as a probable warning. 

Soon, it all happened just too fast for your eyes to follow. One instant you were fine and the next a dull ache shot up the side of your face, so that totally unprepared by the force of the blow, you fell to the sand. 

His goggles ended up cracking a little on one of the lenses, perhaps from the fall or the attack by the merman's tail — who else could it have been and what? Furthermore, the creature's tail was the only thing it wasn't attached to, enabling it to attack anything that came dangerously close.

Afraid, you quickly sat up and crawled across the sand to get away from the monster, then raised your hands in the air and shook your head frantically from side to side, trying to indicate that you weren't there to hurt it. This didn't seem to have the slightest effect—probably because those signs didn't mean shit to him, or he wasn't a rational creature as mythological stories always suggested—whereupon the merman was now stretching his arm and tail toward him to try to reach you. Like anyone in this situation, you feared for your life, but you weren't angry at the creature for its hostile actions and you knew there was no way it could hurt you, precisely because it was trapped. 

Actions speak louder than words, however—even though there was this tremendous irony that you couldn't even speak because you were underwater, just as you seriously doubted the merman would understand you if he could—and you pulled out of the pocket of your latex coveralls a switchblade, grabbing a piece of net on the ground that luckily was close to you, and cutting it with extreme ease, then pointing at the blade and then at the net it was tangled up with, signaling that he wanted to help you. 

The merman somehow seemed to understand you bad mime, relaxing his muscles and stopping his growling, yet still giving him an extreme look of distrust. Surely, one wrong move with that object and your neck would be broken. You were just lucky this time, because you weren't close enough to take the full weight of that monster's tail in one slap.

A third time, you checked your oxygen and realized that you would now not only have to be careful to help him, but very quickly. However, fast and careful were two words that couldn't always keep together. 

You thought a little about getting close. Is it ok to untie it? Until a few moments ago, he seemed quite willing to kill you. However, you stopped to once again analyze the situation he was in. If by chance his movements in his hands and neck were not entirely restricted, he might even be able to cut the net with his teeth or sharp nails. And if he wasn't released, he might starve to death or some other predator even bigger than he would make him a snack.

You forced yourself to swallow your own fear. If I were in his shoes, I would also like to be released. Maybe he wouldn't kill you in retribution, right? 

You got off the ground and swam a little closer, breaking the safe distance from your body to his. You looked into the merman's eyes, trying to convey serenity and confidence, then looked away at the hammock around his neck, deciding that first you would free him from that agonizing suffocation he was probably feeling. 

You lift the pocketknife in your hand and carefully begin grinding the line of his neck, breaking out in a cold sweat at the prospect of accidentally cutting it. If that happened, he'd get a little cut and you'd get a broken neck. Haha, it would even be funny, if it wasn't for a cruel possibility. 

Taking longer than you'd expect, when the last line of mesh on its neck is removed, the merman looks strangely relieved and you almost swore you saw him heave a sigh. Inside, you smiled at it and then proceeded to cut the net from one of your wrists. 

When the job was done, the creature raised its webbed hand and pushed you away with a light shove to the chest. You were slightly startled by this, but then realized that he would finish the job himself, using the claws of his free hand and sharp teeth to instantly rip apart that net, much faster and more aggressively than you had done with the knife. So that was it, he was on the loose. The merman massaged his neck and wrists, relieving the likely pain he was feeling. His face, no longer nervous, looked strangely indifferent and serious, as if he had stepped in mud and soiled his shoes—that is, if he had been on land and had feet.

Then he hovered over his person and approached with a single, brief flick of his tail. At that moment, the apathetic face gave way to a brief curve of lips in a polite smile. 

And you didn't like it.

[...]

So, here was your person. Facing a potentially dangerous and definitely carnivorous creature. However, now was not the time to remember the events that had stupidly gotten you into this situation. 

After all, you were starting to run out of oxygen in the cylinder. You widened your eyes and lifted your free hand and pointed at the tube in your mouth, then up, then at the tube again. Repeating this sequence more than three times so the merman could understand his despair. 

You shook your head from side to side and touched its slippery as well as sticky tail to push it away. That bad choice only made him tighten around you even tighter, not enough to hurt, though. You thought you could use your pocketknife to hurt him, but from the look of it, he was just holding you there out of sheer curiosity, with no pretense of attacking. 

Desperate, you gave him the best pleading, desperate look you could muster, trying to let him know that you really needed to go. And all he did was just widen his smile. 

Oh no. 

From then on you swore you would die, but it was then that he surprisingly proceeded to unroll his tail from his body. The merman swam dangerously closer until his face hovered inches away from his own, causing his eyes to widen and a nasty shiver down his spine. 

His big, sharp, smacking hand touched your face, then tenderly caressed the side, in the same spot where it had hit before—and which now was a huge red smear. You noticed: he was apologizing through this act of affection. 

In another situation, you would find this very cute. But not in this one, certainly. And it didn't help much when the creature decided to break the distance, opening its mouth to lick the entire reddened expanse, with a tongue you found to be extremely long and strangely soft. 

Is this supposed to be really cute? Now it felt more like psychological torture.

You felt a tightening around your waist, this time realizing it was his arm. And it wasn't long before the merman's other arm came around his back as well. You had no idea what he wanted, however you understood when the merman began to swim up, with you in his arms. 

Apparently, he had the vague idea that you definitely wouldn't survive if you stayed there much longer, so he was giving you a ride. He was so fast! So fast that even the pressure made her head ache, needing to hug him back so she would feel less likely to end up having a stroke. You would never have had a chance to escape him if he wasn't being so friendly. Killing and eating you wasn't in his plans, apparently. 

And lucky for you, in less than five minutes, the sea started to be less dark and brighter, indicating the brightness of the Sun and how close you were to the surface. 

The oxygen time in your cylinder runs out completely, but unbelievably coincides with the time your head finally emerged from the water. You hastily take the tube out of your mouth and suck in a significant amount of air. 

How stupid of you to take such a risk, as you had taken today. 

The feeling of pure relief makes you forget for a moment that you are still facing and in the arms of a mythological creature, resting your head on the merman's shoulder and breathing heavily. 

When the world in your head finally seems to be at peace, you take your distance from the merman and this time he lets you go. Lifting your goggles, you once again stare into the creature's eyes, this time without fear. 

"Thanks." 

You thanked him and smiled, gracing the merman's ears for the first time with your thin voice, even though you were uncertain if he would be able to understand it.

He then mutters something totally incomprehensible to you, however you imagined it was his "disposition". 

You start looking around the sea, identifying to your right a distant image of what looked like a speedboat. 

Immediately turning your back on the creature without saying another word, you proceed to swim towards your only mode of transport. 

Distant enough, you turn your head back one last time to confirm that the creature was still there and that for a moment, none of this was your imagination. And to her surprise, he was. However, showing a terrifying, sharp-toothed grin, exclusively for you in delight or gratitude. You wouldn't be able to identify it anyway. Maybe you didn't even want to. 

However, you are polite to smile again—however forcedly—and give him a brief wave of your hand, thus saying goodbye to him definitively and returning to swimming without looking back. 

You hoped never to see him again.

[...] 

Telling what happened to your friend was not a complicated task, because it would be really difficult for him to believe his story. For sure, he would just think that the water pressure started to affect his head in a negative way, making him notice things that weren't there. 

And by those thoughts, you omitted the truth. Even if you had that blurry photo intact—and showed it to prove the integrity of your words—your colleague would momentarily be surprised, but then quickly dismiss the possibility of being a merman by saying you were confusing seaweed with arms. Sea shadows are never to be trusted, he would say. 

Extremely skeptical he was, just as you were. Although, now, maybe you weren't as skeptical as before after seeing that sea monster in person, touching it and still hugging it. 

You decided to frame the creature's photo in a photo panel you had in your room, to always remember that certain "things" really existed and to remember that the sea floor might not be as friendly as you thought it would be. 

You almost died, idiot.

Still, it didn't shake you as much as it should have, for after a week since your encounter with the merman, you continued to do your usual job at sea. 

You didn't find him either and didn't risk swimming too deep, fearful that she would see him again or find another creature no longer as "generous" as the first. 

However, fate seemed to have other plans for you. 

Cruel plans.

Thanks for reading this far! But if you're frustrated that you don't have any smut, know that part two will be full of it. I had to split it due to how long it was. So next time be careful with the depth!

You don't want to drown, do you?

Eventually, my work will also be posted on Ao3, in the form of two chapters. So, don't be surprised if you find him there.

See you~💙

[leechanpremacy]

People You Know

After the death of his wife, he starts a whole new life in a whole new city with his three year old twins only to meet someone from his past. What a way to start something new, right?

pairings: psychiatrist!jeonghan, parent!jeonghan x doctor!reader petowner!reader fem!reader

tags: fluff, crack, slow burn, exes to lovers, romance, angst (if you think into it really deeply)

word count: 0.7k

notes: i’ve been dreading to write jeonghan as a parent of twins, now having the motivation and inspiration to write the plot, IM ON CLOUD NINE!!! lmao i’m also planning on posting this as an au on twitter if time, and motivation persists as my alter ego’s such a lazy ass bitch that takes at least half a month to find motivation to do updates on on-going twitter series’ THIS might also be turned in to a series (fuck, my mingyu series long forgotten 💀)

prologue | masterlist | one

Setting down the last batch of boxes, Jeonghan huffs a sigh of relief before watching his twins run around their new home. After three years, he finally had the guts to leave behind his work and old town that was filled with memories of her. His deceased wife. If it weren't for the twins, he wouldn't know how he'd survive those years. He loved her enough to grieve such a long time.

“Alright, who wants McDonald's?” He enthusiastically asked, erupting a squeal as they run towards their dad to cling on his legs, looking at him with their cheeky smiles.

Letting his children indulge in their food keeping them occupied with his phone playing some cartoons, he took the time to scroll through his tablet to see any emails from his patients and from the hospital that he recently applied with.

Clicking on one recent email, he checked to see if it was regarding of when he can start opening his clinic. “Fourth of October huh?” Smiling disappointedly before moving his eyes to his giggling daughter who had left her food unfinished. “Sweetie, no leftovers,” He softly says, “Dada!” Feeding her a couple of times, cooing her as she kept calling him every time he nears the food to her mouth.

“Dada?” His son then called, causing him hum and raise both his brows, before moving his gaze to his son, “Dada,” Reaching to his dad as he gestured grabbing hands, wanting to be lift by him.

Looks like cartoons aren't helping anymore. Immediately carrying his son to settle on his lap, he continued to feed his daughter who was fortunately two mouthfuls away from finishing.

You were having an afternoon walk with your dog after finishing a 12 hours shift. You were far from sleepy, reason to why you have opted to walk, just to tire yourself up.

“Am I that un-active?” Flabbergasted at how tired you are considering you just walked two blocks away from your home. You hear your dog barking for your attention, “No, I think I've had enough Manju, no more walks.” You tirelessly say to your dog, as if they could understand you. Seeing a nearby bench, you opted to sit and take a rest before going home.

“Should we just take the bus home?” You cooed your dog, letting out a bark as response. Giving your dog a pat on the head, you leaned back on the bench, letting your dog wonder off to the grass beside the bench.

You had your eyes closed when you heard giggles nearing you. Considering that your dog sometimes act out, you were afraid that the giggles you heard were children that may or may not be fond of dogs.

Jolting up from your seat, you watched to toddlers running towards your dog that had its back on them, with worried eyes, “Please don't touch her,” You said, softly enough not to scare the kids.

They seem too young to understand such words, but they halted and turned their heads to you. Wearing cheeky grins, now running to you instead of the dog.

Flustered at how they caged themselves in between your knees, as if using it shield against your dog, you brushed one of the two's head, “Who are you guys with?” Smiling at them warmly catching their attention that was on the dog earlier.

You watch her tilt her head cutely, making break in to a chuckle. Resting your hands on her head, you looked up trying to search for people who were looking frantic.

A bark erupted from you side, making you whip your head to your dog who was wagging her tail as it approached you. “Manju,” You warningly said, but the dog took no mind and continued to near you, causing you to pick both of the children up, settling them on the bench. Switching positions with the two children, you held your dog in your hands, weighing it's temperament.

“Do you want to touch?” You asked as you safely hold your dog's snout.

“Yuna! Yejun!” A frantic yell was heard behind, you were about to turn and apologize, not wanting to stir a misunderstanding but he beat you to it, “Thank God you found them, apologies. I hope they didn't bother you too much.” You could hear his quiet pants, probably from running around. “It's okay—” Finally taking notice of the man in front of you.

Shock filling you both as you locked eyes with him. A man from your grueling past that was bearable a long as you're with him. A man you loved so dearly. A man named Yoon Jeonghan.

[colorisbyshe]

Monthly Music 08/24 Hehehe

Albums/Multi Song Section:

Taemin released a mini album. Honestly, listen to all of it, even the more ballad-y fare but honestly... Sexy In the Air is a track EVERYONE should give a shot. It's what it says on the tin--sexy. Highlights: Horizon, if you like Kavinsky but want a kpop, energy-infused twist, try this out! (ITS A REACH BUT!!). Crush has some MJ-esque delivery that is very enthralling. Deju Vu is for the people who want to feel songs vibrate in their bones and in their [redacted]

Tinashe released her follow-up to the (superior) BB/Angel! My faves are No Simulation, Thirsty, When I Get You Alone, + No Broke Boys. Chill, alt R&B. Ethereal, sensual. Tinashe and Taemin should collab or at least do choreo to each other's songs tbh. NBB is a modern reimagining of No Scrubs

Foster the People is baack. BIASED REVIEW because I'm a longterm fan. See You in the Afterlife (oddly cunty??), Feed Me (cuntier except some of the instrumental could've been produced on Gene Belcher's random sound keyboard), Paradise State of Mind (Tame Impala knock off, mayhaps), & Glitchzig (discordant, extraterrestrial).

Fromis_9, a kpop group, has had a mini release. Here's a mini review: Supersonic & Beat the Heat have a throwback appeal. Simple, joyful pop with a non-obtrusive vocal power behind it. Talent wins <3

JPEGMAFIA released a new album and it's... beyond explanation? Alt hip hop with an amazing infusion of rock, gospel, dance elements. Dark, funny, slick as hell. Highlights: i scream this in the mirror before i interact with anyone, sin miedo (my fave, I think), don't rely on other men, vulgar display of power, Exmilitary (great use of samples), JPEGULTRA! (denzel!!!!!!!!! HORNS!!!!!!!!1), either on or off the drugs (one of my faves, absolutely), & loop it and leave it. If you're like "that's a lot of songs," okay well the entire album is good. 9.9/10 album

Recent Releases:

"Feel The Way" Peggy Gou. Just a solid dance track.

Ibibio Sound Machine's Black Notes is groovy and vocally ascendant.

"Leave" Low Hanging Fruits is Krock that feels straight out like... mid 2000s alt-pop rock. Just lively and lovely.

My blog title was taken from a Chase & Status song, so of course I need to shout out their collab with Stormzy, "Backbone." Just goes hard, is grimy as hell, and goes WUB WUB.

Want something that goes harder? Petit Brabancon, Japanese metal supergroup, is back and "Gankou" is... growling and intense and also just kinda fun.

Not here for music that might be a bit scary? "Edge of Saturday Night" The Blessed Madonna, Kylie Minogue is some eurodance to take the edge off.

If you like that track, try "Urallineed" by Jazzi Bobbi for some vaguely dancy indie pop. Love her voice.

This could've gone on the album review but honestly... Monkey Majik's new album is kinda Maroon 5-y and doesn't deserve a full shout out but give HYLMN a listen if you want to hear a fun, misremembered rip off of Blur's Song 2. Also, I guess the song Imposter.

"Check" by Flo is like... the kpop tracks inspired by Tinashe but... not kpop. Does that make sense? American, Fifth Harmony-esque song that feels like a kpop GG ripping off American Tinashe. A perfect feedback loop. Delectable.

"Out of Touch" Four Year Strong. Throwback, pop punk sound with a modern flourish.

"Nissan Altima" Doechii. As a Nissan driver, I had to rec this lmao. Great song, great flow, GET YA TITS SUCKED

"Tokyo" Sable Hills. Screamo :3 The guitar fucks

Older tracks: Keep Away by Carly Rae Jepsen (song to sway to), Bloom by Macico (the Japanese sound Harry styles tried to rip off), Thanks for Your Time by Gotye (dour and sensual) and Miss Fatty by Million Stylez (music to shake your ass to)

Posting this early because I know more music (Chungha, Bree Runway) is coming and uhhhh this post is already too full

[necronomeconomicism]

I've been accused of not being a Jew a lot on this website. By Zionists, of course, so I don't address it. This morning I got such an accusation from someone who seems, at least uninvolved? I don't want to reblog because its off topic for the original post.

What's interesting to me about the reply is conjecture about the Shema and religion and respect. It should be obvious I am not a religious Jew. More than that I am extremely irreverent. In general and in my relationship to Jewishness. When I wrote this

my message was iconoclastic and deeply personal, perhaps too personal for social media, honestly. It is also poorly written! I don't know Hebrew well, nobody in my family really does. I am an American Jew and this is pretty common. I don't have a Hebrew keyboard either because why would I? So the Hebrew is copy pasted. I did not do so without intention or context or double checking to make sure it looked right. The intention and context however is personal enough that the meaning can't consistently translate well.

I learned the Shema prayer when I was younger, but did not internalize a real translation of it. For me my frame of reference for Israel was English. This is a problem because Israel is a very very loaded word. In the prayer, as I understand it most would say Israel is supposed to mean the People of Israel, as in the Jews in general. A responsible reading of the Shema would separate out the State of Israel from the People of Israel, and I was not taught responsibly, I was taught by American Zionists. The background idea was that Zionism and Judaism were linked, to be actually Jewish you had to be Zionist, and when you believe that, the People of Israel starts to mean the People of the State of Israel. People who we were, even in America, because there was only one place we could ever really belong.

Throughout my childhood nobody bothered to correct that understanding of Israel. That monstrous conflation in the many ways it arises in Zionism is much of what I attacked in that post, and what I decried in my curse. The prayer even is addressing, it says "Hear", its meant for ears, and so in my curse I perverted this. Because what does the Shema mean to the person saying it? What does it mean for it to be received? Where do the thoughts and feelings of the speaker go when this prayer delivers them? This comes across better when the word Israel is read as multifaceted. When the whole curse is read as poetry rather than literally. Because, by one interpretation, the curse is basically "Hear me Jews, you should all die" which is obviously not what I meant.

If I had a better understanding or mastery of Hebrew I might have found a way to convey that better. Instead I just posted that part of the Shema out as I remembered it looking in the book. So I'm going to edit it, removing the Hebrew characters, leaving some notes and a fundraising link, and then pin that on my blog.

All of that is just explanation of the curse and not a direct response to anything in particular. This is.

Me and my mother have had to avoid neo nazis in an Arizona gas station. I've been bullied for my hair. I've hidden bacon at the back of the fridge to look better to visiting relatives. I have been sat down and given first hand account by my grandfather what it was like to flee Nazi Germany to China as a child and run directly into the Japanese invasion. Then years later completely fell out with him over his Zionism and now struggle to maintain a relationship with my grandmother.

The literal meaning of Israel is "one who struggles with G-d" and I've struggled with God plenty enough to be included in the People of Israel. My experience with the culture and languages and faith is no less valid than any other Jews' experience. Neither is my choice to wield the Shema as a weapon any less sacred than another Jews' choice to make it their last breath. I am not confused, or lost, or fake. I know exactly where I stand, what I stand for, and why.