#also 'how come its so much easier for anything less than human'

[luckybyler]

This was a reply to someone else, but I'm making this its own post because so many people are being so evil right now re: Noah Schnapp.

You can find other, longer explanations with history and all, but all the places I've seen more or less agree with this:

So you're all calling people to cancel Noah because he's in favor of a Jewish nation in what is today Israel. Which is a perfectly reasonable, decent and educated opinion to have, especially when you, to use a trendy term, "educate yourself" and find out why the state of Israel was created.

11000 dead Palestinians, half of them children

According to Hamas. Don't forget that, ever. They're the current, official government of Gaza, thus they're the ones who give numbers. This means that the real number could be 10, 1 million, anything in between. What I've read is that they probably give more of less accurate total numbers. What they fail to do, however, is distinguish between Hamas militants and civilians, and beteween civilians killed by IDF strikes, civilians killed by failed Hamas or Palestininan Islamic Jihad's rockets (which happens a lot), and Palestinians murdered by Hamas/PIJ (which also happens, a whole damn lot). They also don't specify how many civilians they have prevented or tried to prevent from evacuating or receiving aid.

11k dead people is a horrible number. Even 1 dead person is a horrible number. However, urban warfare in such a densely populated area is its own kind of hell, especially when the other side is fond of using civilians as human shields in every way possible. The fact that the number is 11k and not 50k, 100k, and so on, indicates that the IDF have indeed done a lot to minimize deaths. You don't genocide people by doing roof knocks, opening evacuation lines, dropping guided bombs, putting up an Iron Dome to deal with rockets while avoiding escalation, etc. simply because actual genocide, while a lot worse, is also cheaper, easier and faster than what they're doing. This is important because caling every act of war genocide dilutes the word, and there are actual genocides happening around the world. Also, there is a difference between striking military targets and causing civilian deaths as a side effect (what the IDF is doing) and planning and carrying out a massacre deliberately targeting civilians and inflicting as much pain and humilliation as possible on them. And there is a difference between doing so by breaking a ceasefire (which is what Hamas did), and defending your country because if you don't do that a terrorist group will anhilate you (which is what the IDF is doing).

Back to Noah. So far, these are the things that people have tried to cancel him for:

Traveling to Israel (a completely normal thing)

Having Israeli friends (another completely normal thing)

Condemning Hamas' horrible attack on October 7th (the decent thing to do)

Posting a statement saying he feels unsafe as a Jewish person in the US (which, given the rise of antisemitic acts in the world, including the US, including where he lives and where he studies, is a valid feeling to have)

Signing a letter, along with Shawn Levy, Brett Gelman, Ross Duffer and I think Cara Buono, asking Biden to press for the liberation of every hostage by Hamas. This especially shows the utter ignorance of the cancellers because, as it turns out, caring about every hostage implies a slowdown of IDF's actions (and, at the time, a delay of a ground invasion).

Supporting the existence and preservation of the state of Israel (once again, a completely normal thing). The fact that people are turning against him for these things says to me that the real reason you are all hating Noah is beacuse:

He's Jewish. Like, really really Jewish.

And the fact that this all comes from a place of antisemitism isn't hidden at all: I've seen y'all on here, on Twitter, Reddit, every other social media calling him slurs (such as "cunt"), censoring his name, pretending he's not part of the cast, asking the Duffers/Netflix to fire him, wishing him failure, doxxing him, calling on his classmates to physically assault him, etc. He doesn't need to educate himself: you guys are already teaching him a great lesson on why a Jewish state is necessary. If that's the treament he gets from his own "fans", what can he expect from the world at large?

#byler #noah schnapp #antisemitism #jumblr #stranger things #i know many people here are actual children or college students #who have never lived war or armed conflict #and this is baby's first social justice fight #but the way you're acting towards Noah is disgusting and evil #I'm not even jewish but I know what terrorism is like #and I know what it's like to have idiot 1st worlders be on the terrorists' side because they think they're “liberators” or something #harming the very people you think they help

[starseungs]

after the curtain falls. lmh

lee know x gn!reader — spring was a season welcomed by all. what a pity that the notion of ‘all’ exempted you.

genre/s — angst, fluff, its just hurt-comfort, university au • 2.9k words

warning/s — break-up aftermath, profanity, commitment issues, minho gets called a bad bf (sorry), there's a twist i swear !

note — its quite literally been a year since i last wrote a fic so i would love to know how the quality of my writing is !! feedback is greatly appreciated 🫶

2024 ⓒ starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

Spring was never supposed to be this lifeless.

It was a season of new beginnings, where growth is celebrated and life is nurtured back into full bloom. A time of bright colors and freshly scented air floating all throughout the expanse of space, bringing soft smiles of comfort towards anyone who takes it in. Springtime was welcomed by all.

What a pity that the notion of ‘all’ exempted you.

You didn’t know why your spring was so vastly different from the others near you. You’d like to think that your winter started off just as normal as everybody else: watching the crisp fallen leaves on the ground get replaced by a fresh coat of snow, feeling the familiar prick of the icy season’s breeze on your skin as your body tried to suppress a giggling shiver, as well as seeing puffs of steam come out of every warm breath you took, reminding you that despite the cold weather, you still held a warmth inside of you.

Just who would have known that your spring would be the complete opposite, with your heart frosted over despite the rising temperatures? But somewhere in the back of your mind, you knew exactly why. You would never want to catch yourself admitting it, but maybe it was the way your winter ended in a snowstorm of emotions.

It wasn’t every winter that someone had a fight that could completely shatter an intricately built mosaic. It also wasn’t every winter that you would watch your other half walk out of your life without so much of a single falter.

You knew so damn well that it wasn’t every winter that you could get your heart broken.

Perhaps that was why you allowed your heart to get glazed over by ice. After all, it was the only thing keeping it together without requiring you to spend too much effort. Sure, it melted a bit every now and then, but it was easier to freeze liquid than it was to achieve the complete opposite.

It was for the same reason that you found solace in the springtime evenings, where it resembled even half of the winter that was keeping you human. The dimmed atmosphere of the surroundings was able to neutralize all the parading palettes of color, leaving you with a monochrome wonderland that was much more comforting to the eye.

The walk back to your dorm building wasn’t anything special. It really wasn’t supposed to, nor did you expect something to happen. You had just gotten over the hurdles of coursework back in the school’s library when you decided to call it a day, peacefully trek back to your dorm room, and get to sleep the hours away until duty calls. That was how your evening was supposed to go.

Except it didn’t.

When you first saw a figure more or less passed out near the lower steps of your dorm building, you were visibly concerned. Why wouldn’t you be? At this time of the day, it would be dangerous to just leave yourself undefended in public. That, and who in their right mind would be willing to snooze away amidst the midnight breeze?

That was enough for you to start a little jog toward them. Was this person locked out? Were they drunk? Should you help them? All sorts of questions popped into your head as you got closer to the steps the figure took as their bed for the night.

And yet all those same questions vanished into thin air the moment you caught a glimpse of the person’s face.

“—Minho?”

His name came out of your lips so frail, as if any stronger, and the scene before you would shatter into nothingness, telling you once again that it was all in your head. That you had wished to see him again.

It was almost comical just how fast the sight of him brought back the familiar prick in your eyes—the tears fighting the crisp blow of the wind to keep themselves at bay. This wasn’t how your evening was supposed to go.

Granted, the fight between you was a petty one. Well, not more so petty than sudden since it literally blew up out of nowhere. It started off with a question about commitment. Arguably simple one of where you saw each other in a few years. You had gone first after you asked, rambling happily about graduation and living together. Minho chuckled along with your plans, and to you, he even seemed glad to hear them.

Yet, when the topic of marriage was brought up, his smile immediately turned blank.

Of course, you noticed his drastic change of mood right away. What kind of significant other would you be if you didn’t? But when you reached out to ask him what was wrong, he merely brushed it off as being tired.

Except that both you and him had done nothing but lay around the whole day.

Maybe you, too, had a fault in all of this. You prodded him more about the topic, not knowing you were agitating a ticking time bomb running out of time. If you only knew, then it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he eventually exploded, spitting out that he wasn’t too sure about marriage.

In your view, that would have been fine. You were willing to talk it out; perhaps he had other plans for the both of you that would settle just fine in yours. There was no way you’d pressure Minho into doing something he didn’t feel like doing. You had too much love and respect for him to do so.

It was in an unfortunate turn of events that you had to find out the sentiment wasn’t shared in the same way you did, as when he slammed your room’s door shut after expressing that it wouldn’t work out, he took a piece of your heart with him that left you incomplete on the days that followed.

And yet, there he was again. Marching into your life like nothing ever happened.

In a blinding flash of hot white fury, you marched up to Minho’s peaceful figure, blissfully unaware of the chaos headed his way. Your body shook in the repressed burst of energy, trying not to lose yourself in public despite the area devoid of people. After reaching him in less than a minute, you saw no hesitation in leaning down to wake him.

“Minho,” you grasped at his right shoulder, trying to shake him out of slumber. You saw the action as intense in a way that was borderline frantic, not a care for the state of the joint you had grabbed. After all, why would you? Yet, while you’d like to believe you did a great job at expressing your displeasure, a small voice pestering at the back of your mind begged to say otherwise.

It was a mere whisper—directed at the act you just committed, one that shouldn’t even bother you in the slightest. Yet, it did. So painfully so.

That kind of gentleness isn’t reserved for a heart swirling in rage.

The slight squeeze in your heart at the notion only made you grit your teeth further in displeasure. Curse your damned heart for keeping its fondness for the man before you. The same man who was still up in dreamland while you were fighting your own war at the present. You clicked your tongue in building irritation.

“Wake up, or else I’m leaving you out here to freeze.” With one last shove, Minho finally came back to Earth.

You watched as he fluttered his eyes open, ignoring the warmth that seemed to spread over you once you got a glimpse of his big almond eyes. Minho sure took his sweet time to process his surroundings, causing you to purse your lips in uncertainty when his gaze lingered on your figure towering over him a bit too long with an unexplainable emotion.

“Hi,” he mumbled slowly, a small smile ghosting on his rosy lips. “Even in my dreams, you never fail to look so lovely.”

Cold air filled your lungs as you sucked in a breath at his words. You hated the way he easily melted the ice that you had covered your heart in. Without even meaning to, Minho had already managed to tear down the first layer of protection you had set up to keep yourself sane. There were a lot of things you wanted to tell him back, but you held your tongue. This wasn’t the right time.

Nor would that time ever come.

“It’s not a dream,” you opted to inform him of what was left of the goodness in your heart, partly feeling guilty for his disoriented state. “Get up, Minho. It’s cold out here.”

“You’re—what, wait!”

Minho scrambled frantically from his seated position on the dorm building’s steps, clumsily finding his balance to get up. The rush of suddenly standing after a nap came over him like a wave, causing him to stumble with a groan as he let the blood that came up settle. You sighed at Minho’s efforts, turning back around to continue your way towards the entrance.

“You should go back home.”

“I won’t!” He replied in haste, pure desperation seeping over his words. “Not again. Not when I spend every passing hour regretting that I did back then when I clearly shouldn’t have.”

You felt your world still at what Minho had just said. Did you hear it correctly?

“Please, Y/N.”

Minho’s footsteps echoed in your mind, telling you that he was moving closer. But your body had yet to listen to the warning bells you had set off, keeping you still in the same place you had stopped in. You surprised yourself with the small whimper that escaped your lips after feeling warmth radiating right behind you.

“Can—can I hug you?”

And just like that, the dam broke as the first fits of sobs spluttered out of your body in waves, barely getting contained as Minho wrapped you with his arms firmly. You turned to face him just to throw weak punches at his chest. “I hate you so much!”

“I know,” he said, hugging you tighter, as if you would disappear the moment he eased his hold. “I know you do.”

“Do you know how hurt I was? How could you just leave me like that!”

“I don’t know,” Minho answers again, completely giving in to your inner turmoil. He let you dampen his hoodie with your tears without any reference. “I was stupid.”

“So stupid!”

“Very stupid,” he repeats your words without hesitation, finally pulling back slightly to see your tear-stained face, gently wiping the fresh drops that escaped with his thumb.

You cursed the way your body naturally leaned into his touch. You disliked the way his voice soothed your running mind from the horrors it placed upon yourself. You hated the way you felt comforted by his presence, the same way he hurt you with his absence.

And most of all, you despised the way you couldn’t bring yourself to stay mad at him.

“I’m sorry,” Minho said heavily, visibly trying to keep his own tears at bay. “I know that won’t fix all the things that happened, but I still wanted to let you know.”

You exhaled shakily.

“I—I won’t force you to accept my apology,” he continued. “But please—God, Y/N. I don’t think I’d be able to handle you telling me to go home and never fixing us. I wouldn’t survive in this world without you by my side. I promise I’ll do better for you. I’ll reflect on what I need to, just—”

Minho breathed in deeply.

“Give me another chance.”

The two of you breathed in unison for the first time in weeks.

“Cut!”

“Nice,” Jisung’s squeal of joy could be heard throughout the wide space, carefully fumbling with his video camera to watch the scene’s replay. “That was a great take!”

Seungmin groans at the noise level. “Seriously, would it hurt you to keep it down? Some people are already asleep,” he scoffs, really not wanting to deal with a complaint filed against them this late into the night.

The younger of the two only juts his lower lip forward into a childish pout. “But it’s only midnight. We’re in university. Who gets to sleep that early in university?” Seungmin only bites back a retort after sensing genuine confusion in Jisung’s tone.

“Whatever,” he grumbled.

At the sound of their bickering, the late night’s breeze didn’t seem to be as frosty as it was a few minutes ago. You distantly hear Seungmin and Jisung continue to talk, now finding themselves in a heated discussion about the next scene. A light chuckle was heard coming from the man still holding you.

“Well, I’m glad that they’re having fun,” Minho comments, greatly amused at the duo. You felt his gaze drop down towards your head, still resting on his shoulder. “Feeling okay?”

You could only nod at his query, too exhausted from enacting the scene that just finished. He hummed at your non-verbal approach to answering, running a hand through your hair to soothe your dropping emotions.

“What’s going on in that pretty little mind of yours?” You let out a soft giggle at his wording before snuggling yourself closer to his figure. Minho lets you do your thing with a smile.

“Let’s not ever do that.”

“Do what, love?” He asks, requesting that you elaborate. You listened to his heartbeat thump calmly before speaking up.

“Break up,” you said, the thought leaving a bitter taste on your tongue. “I don’t like the feeling. It hurts.”

Minho laughs again, but this time it was aimed at you. “Well, of course it’s going to hurt,” he says with a light tone. “You’re going to be losing me!” You slapped his arm in annoyance.

“You are such an ass, Lee Minho!”

“Ow—hold on!” He chokes out in between chuckles. Minho takes hold of the hand that was assaulting his arm, slipping it into his own and entangling both of your fingers. You couldn’t help the heat that washed over your face at the intimate action. Minho seemed satisfied with your reaction. “If it makes you feel better, it’s going to hurt me too.”

You pull away to raise a brow at his statement. “Why? Since you’ll be single?” Minho pretends to think for a second.

“I mean, I guess?” You shot him an icy glare at his admission, but the tender smile he gave back at you made your angry facade falter in an instant. It looks like on-screen you had the same issues with their own Minho—both being undeniably weak when it came to them.

“Stop giving me that look,” you sigh amidst a smile you were suppressing.

“What look?”

“That look,” you say, almost in a breath as you struggle to chase the words out of your mouth. “The one when you look at me like I’m the only person in this world.”

It was a look you’ve seen too many times. One that he would give you both at the most intimate of moments and the most random of times. You see it when you wake up in the morning to him already awake beside you; you saw it when you squealed in joy after winning a prize from those rigged claw machines in the arcade across town; and you see it especially when he sees you waiting outside his class’ building after an extensive lecture, holding two cups of coffee for both you and him. It was from those times that you realized—it was Minho’s gaze of unfiltered love for you.

Minho pulls you back into his arms, still unable to let go of his endearing grin. Your head finds its way back into the crevice of his neck, finding home in it once again, like second nature.

“That’s because you are the only person in my world.”

“We beg to differ.”

Minho could only roll his eyes at the eerily synchronized voices of Jisung and Seungmin, leaving you to crumble into fits of laughter. He scoffs before replying, “If I lose my beloved darling, then you guys are losing an actor.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be trying to salvage your relationship if you stopped being such a shit boyfriend!” Jisung bites back at Minho’s threat.

“What, so you would rather watch us be all lovey-dovey in front of you? I didn’t take you for that kind of person, Jisung.”

“Seungmin, he’s fighting me again!”

“What am I, your mom?”

The night continued on in blissful laughter and amused smiles, finally fitting for the season of spring. Even with the chilled breeze of the evening air, the warmth exuding from the four of you would remain, defrosting the ice you had layered on your heart for the scene given to you. Deep in your mind, you knew that this was really how your night was supposed to go.

That as much as you loved creating little scenarios for your friends’ films, you’d always prefer the life you had after the curtain falls.

mastertag 🔖— send in an ask if you want to be added ! 🫶

@fairyki @hysgf @euncsace @comet-falls @starlostseungmin @ameliesaysshoo @hyunverse @djeniryuu

sorry for anyone tagged that didn't want to be !! i used my old mastertag from a year ago for this fic. i'll be creating a new one soon, so kindly just tell me if you want to be included still 🤍

#starseungs-library #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #skz #skz x reader #stray kids #stray kids x reader #lee minho imagines #lee know imagines #lee minho #lee know #lee minho x reader #lee know x reader #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic #lee minho fanfic #lee know fanfic #skz angst #stray kids angst #skz fluff #stray kids fluff #lee know angst #lee know fluff #stray kids fanfiction #skz fanfiction #lee know fanfiction

[ladykailitha]

Batshit Soulmates Part 2

Yay! More soulmates!!!

In this Eddie has nothing but time to think while Steve tries to outrun his problems and runs into new ones.

In Medias Res| Prologue|Pt 1|

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

****

Eddie waited until he heard the sound the maroon BMW fade into the distance before he broke down and sobbed. He wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that his sheep were involved with whatever the hell happened to Chrissy or the fact that Vecna was real. He couldn’t have imagined finding your soulmate in a worse way then an actual fucking battefield.

Was Eddie surprised his soulmate was a boy? No. He had figured out pretty quick that it was all boys for him. Felt a little bad for Steve through, must have come as shock. Because let’s be fair, Eddie was pretty shocked, too. Of all the dudes in all the world, the universe picked the most diametrically opposed human on the fucking planet.

He didn’t hate Steve or anything. Steve tended to leave the Hellfire Club and its members alone and would stop Tommy and his ilk from harassing them, too. Which made more sense once Eddie had met Dustin, Mike, and Lucas. Those three never shut up about him really. To Dustin he was the old brother he always wanted. To Lucas he was a mentor. To Mike? Hilariously, when Mike was around Dustin and Lucas, he would roll his eyes and sigh dramatically whenever Steve was brought up.

When they weren’t around? Mike talked about the dude in hushed, reverent tones. Mike had an even bigger case of hero worship then the other two put together. But he was also a bitchy teen, so he hid it better then the others.

Eddie had scoffed at their depictions the first time he heard them, but the more they repeated it, the less it began to sound like they were telling tall tales, and more like they actually had a huge amount of respect for Steve. Which really didn’t gel well with the Munson Doctrine.

Jock=bad, rich=bad, popular with girls=bad, added all up together and you get a douche of the highest order. But even though Eddie had threatened to cut his throat Steve had still wanted to help him. Eddie wasn’t sure if their places were reversed that he wouldn’t have thrown Steve off and told him where to stick it. Soulmate or not.

But Steve had stayed. Either the man was a sap or maybe Dustin and them were right about him.

Eddie sighed. Well, he supposed only time would tell which one it was. As much as his inner cynic was screaming that Steve would give up. That he would learn that loving him was too hard and walk away. Leave Eddie to deal with murder charges and monsters. Another part of him was telling him that Steve wouldn’t do that. That Steve never back down from a fight no matter how much a losing battle it was. That loving Eddie was easier than fighting bullies and apparently monsters.

He knew realistically that Steve was a better soulmate then a lot of people got, but seriously whatever immortal asshole up there making the decisions had to have a sick sense of humor. The only things the two of them had in common was their height and their eye color and even that was slightly off. Oh all right, maybe their love three little freshmen dorks.

Protectors. Steve and him were both protectors. They had that too. Eddie could see it his eyes that he was more worried about Eddie would do the rest of them if Eddie actually went through with it. Not that he was going to. He had been trying to. He wanted to so bad. Steve stood in the place of all those people that had hurt Eddie his whole life. His dad. Bullies. Teachers.

Eddie was given an chance to become who they all thought he was. A murderer. He couldn’t tell if it was the look in Steve’s eyes that stayed his hand, or the burning on his arm, or if he just wasn’t built to kill. That he was more like his gentle Uncle Wayne then the violent Al Munson. Maybe it was combination of all three.

The sad (?) thing was, that Eddie could see himself next to Steve’s side. In fact it was too damn easy to imagine. He could feel the rightness of it, even if every other part of him scream at the injustice of it. The King and the Freak. But maybe that wasn’t what the universe saw. Maybe it saw two lonely boys that fit better than it looked on the surface.

After all, wasn’t that what Eddie himself had been preaching for years. That too many people only saw what they wanted to see and not dare to get to know people before making a judgment.

He preferred the easy charm of captain Steve Harrington over the hard nosed oneupmanship of Billy Hargrove and fierce competitiveness of Jason Carver any day. It was only after Steve’s fall from grace that he had even began targeting the basketball team in the first place. Both Billy and Jason would get mad and try and start something with Eddie.

Steve though? Steve would smirk and turn away. Like Eddie was funny and not a freak. And maybe Eddie targeted Steve just to see him smile and smirk. But the only people who knew that was him and Wayne. And he intended to keep it that way.

In fact, Eddie thought straightening up, the more he thought about how Steve actually acted in school the more he realized that Steve was actually a pretty chill dude.

Oh.

Maybe he needed to have a heart to heart with the universe about the Munson doctrine. Because if that was wrong, what else had Eddie gotten wrong?

His stomach growled. He bit his lip nervously and looked up at the house. He wasn’t sure if he could risk going up to the house again, not at night anyway. He was going to have to wait until tomorrow to see if he could at least make something to eat.

Maybe he should have asked them to bring something to do while he hid out. He was starting to get bored out his mind.

There was nothing for it, all Eddie could do right now is sleep and hope his soulmate was the natural caretaker all his sheep said he was.

He carefully rearranged the tarp so that it would be easy to pull back over him once he was in the boat and stepped gingerly into it. He got settled and pulled the tarp back over himself, letting the lapping water against the boat lull him to sleep.

*

Steve would like to say that the nap did him good and that he felt refreshed and ready to take on...what did Dustin and Eddie call him? Vickie? No, that was Robin’s crush. Vacuum? He snorted. Definitely not that. Evil wizard dude. He would like to say he felt refreshed to tackle the wizard dude, but the food he ate made him queasy and it made for a fitful sleep.

He opened his wallet and looked to see how much cash he had on hand. It should be enough to get Eddie some food and drink. Eddie had been fairing well enough, but he could use something a bit more substantial. He took out five bucks for gas and shoved it in his top drawer.

Steve looked at the time and groaned. It was too late to go to sleep, but too early to be awake. He shouldn’t have tried napping that late in the evening but this whole thing with the Upside Down being back, no Hopper, no El and even if they did have her, no powers. They had to rely on him. Well, Nancy mostly.

He would gladly relinquish control over to her, if he was being honest.

Steve pulled up his sleeve and rubbed the soulmark thoughtfully. It still glowed a dark sickening red, almost blood like it’s shade. It seemed to thrum beneath his skin like a melody he couldn’t quite make out. It comforted him. He just hoped it comforted Eddie, too.

He looked out at the dark sky that was hours away from dawn. He got changed into a pair of shirts and a swim team t-shirt. It was going to cold out there, but it wouldn’t matter for long. He changed his socks and pulled on a pair of running shoes.

He grabbed his keys and locked the door behind him. He stretched out on his front lawn in the putrid light of the street lamp. Once he was satisfied that he was warmed up enough not to pull a muscle, he started down the road. At first it was gentle lop, not quite a jog, but soon he was running as hard as he could toward the horizon, chasing a dream that he knew he would never be able to keep.

Steve ran until his lungs burned, his muscles ached, and his cheeks were flushed and sweaty from the exertion. He looked up to find that he had somehow ran all the way to the trail park. It had long since been cleared of police and looked more worn and depressing in their wake. Maybe it was the tragedy that clung to every rock of gravel, every concrete walkway, every panel and tin roof.

“Hey, loser,” Max said from her front step. “Can’t sleep either?”

Steve turned and panted, his hands on his knees as he fought for breath. “Yeah, yeah. What’s got you up before the asscrack of dawn? My excuse is that I’m a barely reformed jock.”

Max opened her mouth to answer but closed it again. She just shook her head. Steve turned to look at the roped off trailer that had been Eddie’s home, before he trotted over to her.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” he asked in hushed tone.

Max nodded. She looked down at her worn out shoes, scuffing the side of her right one on the gravel in front of her. “I hate that you and me only found our soulmates because the Upside Down happened.”

Steve hummed in agreement. “I didn’t even think it would be a boy. Never even crossed my mind. Maybe if it had, I would have realized sooner that it was Eddie.”

The silence stretched on between them as around them the sky began to lighten and the trailer park came to life.

She picked at her nails. “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

“Lucas?” Steve asked, twisting his neck to try and get a better look at her.

She nodded again, refusing to look him in the eye. “I think bad things just happen around me. Maybe I’m cursed.”

Steve snorted. “This town is cursed. But it’s not good what happened to Chrissy. You know who would be able to figure this all out?”

“Nancy?” Max asked.

Steve ruffled her hair. “Right in one. But first I have a soulmate that needs food and I’ll be damned if I let him starve while on the lam for something he didn’t do.”

Max pushed at him. “Don’t say shit like ‘on the lam’, what are you fifty?”

Steve just shook his head. He got to his feet. “I’m going to go home and shower. Then I’ll pick up yesterday’s rogue gallery and we’ll go shopping. I’ve got enough to cover at least a couple of days worth of food for the guy.”

She nodded. “I am sorry, Steve, that he got dragged into this mess, but isn’t it better that he knows? Because then you don’t have to lie to him?”

He sighed. “Is better that he knows? Sure. But it’s not good.”

Max scoffed. “Nothing in this town ever is.”

Ain’t that the truth, Steve thought bitterly. He just waved his hand at her and started back down the road, back to Loch Nora.

****

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @vecnuthy @bookbinderbitch @littlewildflowerkitten @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @scheodingers-muppet @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @anne-bennett-cosplayer @irregular-child @oxidantdreamboat @mogami13 @samsoble @xandriumbat @ellietheasexylibrarian

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #soulmate au

[hyperfixat]

AI LESS WHUMPTOBER 2023 DAY TWO OVERWORKED + EXHAUSTED

hai day two is here! support and engagement would really motivate me to help post and work on the rest of this stuff!

(@ailesswhumptober)

You don’t want to disappoint Lord Diavolo, you’ll make him look bad, make Lucifer look bad, make humans look bad, make the exchange students look bad, make everyone look bad. And you absolutely do not want that to happen, your sanity relies on keeping them pleased with you.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that RAD coursework is so illogical and unfamiliar. You manage to get consistent B’s in class work, but you have to work hard on essays to avoid D’s. And you aren’t lazy, you can work hard, but the brothers make it so hard sometimes.

You constantly have to dismiss whoever comes knocking on your bedroom door, and keep your DDD on DND. There’s a huge essay due in a few days for Potions and Seductive Speechcraft, on the usage of theoretical love potions. It’s frustrating, and because the grade is going to count for both classes, you can’t afford to have anything less than a C. And of course because you’re no longer on the easier courses from your first year, it’s so much harder and less grace will be given for mistakes. It also means you have to write the full five-thousand words, rather than a two and a half thousand word essay.

There’s a knocking on your door, but you’ve made sure to let all the brothers know you’re working, so you ignore it in favor of flipping through the textbook Satan lent you, saying it had some valuable information for this combined course.

Eventually whoever was at your door gives up, but you don’t notice, in fact by the time you regain awareness of your surroundings, your hand is covered in little paper cuts, and you’ve flipped through two whole books, skimming for anything that you could add to the ungodly long assignment. Your body pops and creaks when you stand and pad over to the door, unlocking the magic deadbolt you installed for nights like these and swinging the door open to a dark hallway.

It must be rather late if the brothers have (mostly) all gone to bed. Before you step outside, you look down at the eve of your door, and smile while your heart melts, because someone left you a plate with a wrapped sandwich and a tupperware with some (presumably,) human-safe poison apple slices. With a warm feeling bubbling in your chest, you pack it away in your private mini fridge.

Now that the halls are dark, you have to rely on a spell Solomon taught you long ago, just a small ball of light for when it’s dark. You bite back a yawn as you shuffle into the kitchen, the reminder that you still haven’t changed out of your school clothes is stark as your medals jingle when you flick the light on. You manage to keep quiet and discreet as you pour yourself some imported human world spring water, but when you turn around you jump out of your skin at the tall figure in the doorway.

“AH! Lucifer!” you place a hand over your chest where your heart is beating out of its cavity. “I didn’t see you there.” A heavy sigh leaves you as you set the water canister down onto the counter.

Lucifer hums, moving into the kitchen and lifting the already dewing water container and putting it back on its shelf in the fridge.

“Oh, I was going to put that back-!” a sinking feeling sets into your stomach. Speaking of your stomach, a clenching growl of hunger runs through your abdomen.

“My brothers are concerned with how much time you’re spending in your room. Alone.” Crimson eyes bore into your own. “It goes without saying I dislike it as well. You haven’t had the time to visit me, I have grown used to your frequent visits.”

Before you reply, you take a sip of the cool water. “Sorry, I’ve just been working on the essay for the theoretical love potions. I can’t afford to get a poor grade on it this time around.”

Lucifer’s eyes narrow, “is that so? Perhaps I can be of some assistance.”

His gaze makes you shift uncomfortably, and you take another sip of water to clear the sudden dryness in your mouth.

“Yes! But I’m working on it, don’t worry, at this rate, I’ll be finished in time to entertain your brothers, my schedule will be back on track eventually.”

“I’m not worried about you entertaining my brothers, they’re grown demons. I’m worried about you. You’re human. You can’t keep going like this.”

“I’m doing fine, Lucifer, really. Besides I can take time to relax once this semester is over.” You let out a weak laugh, leaning back on the counter.

“You’re…” Lucifers lips turn down in a frown, “what’s the human world expression? Running on empty?”

“Thank you for the concern, but I’m really fine, Lucifer.” You walk over to him and reach a hand to cup his cheek and pull his head to a level where you can press a sweet kiss on his cheek. Before he has time to argue with you again, you make your way back down the hall to your room.

When you’re back in your room, you debate between the inviting allure of your bed or the stack of papers and books that you really should finish if you want to have time to hang out with the brothers. With a whole body sigh, you sit back down at your desk.

The next morning at breakfast, you’re dead tired.

With zombie-like steps you shuffle into the dining area, where most of the brothers already are. You have deep eye bags and your complicated uniform is poorly put on. You sit down next to Asmo and Beel, on both sides of you respectively, and blink at the assortment of foods available.

“Darling,” Asmo chides lightly, “your uniform is all out of shape.” He sets his fork down and pulls your torso to face him more than it does the table so he can adjust the straps and buttons and ties.

“Sorry, just a bit tired this morning.” You muffle a yawn and Asmo’s brow creases.

“Your eye bags…” he pauses his fiddling with your uniform, lifting a hand to run his fingertips under your eyes. “I have some concealer in your shade if you’d like some, okay? I can put it on for you if you’d like.”

“That’s very kind, but I’m good,” you say, turning your head away. With a hum Asmo returns to fixing up your uniform.

“Let me know if you change your mind, alright?”

“I will,” you say with a smile. “Beel, could you save me some of the Devil Zebra Bacon and some of the sweet toast?”

Beelzebub nods, and sets himself to work, loading your plate with the bacon and bread, along with some Shadow Goose scrambled eggs.

“Thank you,” you say gratefully.

“You seem awfully tired, MC,” Mammon points out.

“Ohh, were you up for the release of today’s Another Ridiculously Long Anime Title that Reveals the Whole Plot? Awh, we could have waited together!” Levi says as he walks into the room.

“No, no, just working on some schoolwork.” You let out a bitter laugh. “Would someone mind brewing me some Hell Coffee? I need something to keep me awake today.”

“Are you really fit to attend RAD after pulling two all-nighters in a row?” Lucifer asks skeptically.

You gape, how did he know? You were careful to be courteous of all the HoL residents.

“Nothing about you eludes me, little star.”

“Wh…whatever, I’m fine.” You say with an embarrassed flush, trying to pretend that everyone wasn’t staring at you. “Mammon, you wouldn’t mind brewing me a cup, would you?”

Asking him to make you a cup of Hell Coffee never failed to make him flush. It made his fondness to you undeniable, the bitter taste a clear sign he loves you. (Hell Coffee’s strength gets more intense based on the feeling of the brewer to the drinker.)

You are fine and doing perfectly well and okay.

You are fine and doing perfectly well and okay.

You are fine and doing perfectly well and okay, until you aren’t.

By the time lunch rolls around you feel dead on your feet, tiredness having long settled deep in your bones. Beel offered to help you with your tray, and it’s lucky he did, because right before you scan your student ID to pay, your legs give out and you collapse into a weak mess on the cafeteria floor.

Your vision comically fades to black, blinking a few times before you slump forward, face first into the linoleum.

You come to the feeling of a cool and damp washcloth on your forehead. A hum rumbles through your chest and you peek through your lashes at who is tending to you.

Blood red eyes flicker to your own; Lucifer. Your groan turns into a grumble and you open your eyes properly.

“Good evening, sleeping beauty.”

You can’t be bothered to tell if the light warmth in your face is from embarrassment or at being called a beauty by Lucifer.

“Mhm, what happened?” You prop yourself up with an arm and look around. You’re not in your room, rather Lucifer’s private chambers. The last thing you remember was being at lunch… any time since then comes up blank. Did he… carry you here? To his room?

Why were you here rather than your own room? To calm your fluttering heart you logic out that you likely would have been swarmed by the brothers if he left you in your own room. That and he wouldn’t face his brother’s teasing remarks for taking care of you with tender touches and soft words.

“I should have been more vigilant in scolding you.”

Huh?! Your heart stops; stomach drops, and the arm propping you up falters. No, you don’t like being scolded by Lucifer, you don’t like being scolded at all.

His gaze softens, “what I mean is, I could have prevented your collapse if I insisted you stop overworking yourself. It’s on me for thinking you wouldn’t be such a stubborn thing.”

“Sorry.” Your gaze flickers downward in shame. Lucifer tsks, and the hand holding the cloth grabs your chin and lifts your face back up.

“Now, don’t go apologizing, you need to focus on relaxing. We can work out a better schedule for you at a later time. You won’t be disturbed by my brothers for as long as you’re in my room, and your school work has been dealt with.”

Gratitude surges in your heart and you offer a soft smile to Lucifer, laying back into his bed. “Thank you… will you lay with me? Just for a bit?”

“Naturally.”

#verified hyperfixat post #obey me #obey me x reader #obey me shall we date #obey me x mc #ailesswhumptober2023 #ailesswhumptober #ailesswhumptoberdaytwo #ailesswhumptoberdaytwo2023 #lucifer obey me #obey me luci x reader #obey me brothers x reader #demon brothers x reader #obey me lucifer #om lucifer x reader #lucifer >.<

[bobosbillionsknives]

i agree with a lot of your points about knives, i do also think he is aroace of some kind (demi imo), but the way he ignores bodily autonomy wasn't a theme that was new to stampede. the way he consumes other plants and forced vash to use his angel arm are examples of it, though less explicitly 'sexual'. either way, his actions weren't born out of sexual attraction, he simply thinks that all plants are an extension of himself and he can use their bodies as he pleases since its for a 'greater purpose'. he is not a predator but he isn't innocent either

Oh no no no no no no no I do NOT wanna give the impression that I am genuinely defending knives is ANY way. 😭

I completely agree with everything you're saying. He is inarguably abusive. Saying he's not would be a wild ass claim to make. 🙏 My only argument here is that it isn't specifically sexual, but I'll get more into that in a bit. 😝 I have SO MUCH to say abt this...so I'm gunna use this as an excuse to word vomit on y'all. Thank you for bringing this to me I am itching.CRAVING to talk about my favorite girls always. 🤗💖

INSANE ESSAY POSTING LETS GOO !!!

I think your point on Knives seeing the plants as an extension of himself is SPOT ON!!! He does the same thing with Vash too. He's doing it because hes so stuck up his own ass he seriously thinks there is no possible way he could ever be wrong, everyone else is just too blind or stupid to see it his way. That's why he does the whole "eternal suffering for Vash the Stampede" bit. He genuinely cannot comprehend that Vash just fundamentally disagrees with him. He thinks if Vash goes out and sees every horrible thing a human can be he'll finally give up the hippy dippy act and face this false reality Knives made up as a coping mechanism so he never has to actually face any of his problems. Cause stabbing all your problems away is waaaaay easier than actual growth or change. Top ten girls who are trapped by the horrors of their past 😂!

Knives has a blatant misunderstanding of people's worth outside of himself. He disregards the lives of others constantly, he literally murdered 20 mil+ and was genuinely confused when Vash was mad at him for it. He doesn't take anything seriously. He especially doesn’t take physical pain seriously, unless it’s happening to himself. [DID YOU ACTUALLY SHOOT ME!!?] He's said that he knows none of the crazies he sends after Vash can ever kill him. He thinks if they can't kill him, then none of the hurt Vash experiences during these fights really count. Its always a game to him. He knows Vash will be fine because he has faith in his ability to fight. (He's complimented his fighting skills several times lol.) Yet he’s consistently shocked and disgusted when he sees Vashes scars, like he didn’t play a role in that ??? He just never thought of it until it was literally staring him in the face.

HE THINKS EVERYTHINGS A DAMN GAME !!!!!

Knives never really wants to force Vash to agree with him either, he's literally waited decades for him to come around to his point. He's definitely lashed out violently before, and has disregarded his safety. But I don't think he actually even likes seeing Vash in pain 😭 (maybe a little in a Itoldyouso brother kinda way lol.) He's completely horrified when he sees his scars. This panel speaks absolute VOLUMES to me. He is angry that Vash would allow people to hurt him this much. (Bro is for sure a victim blamer 🥱 Vash OBVIOUSLY should've known humans are evil and would do this to him. 🙄 HIS FAULT !) Those scars solidify in his mind that his brother is reckless, and clearly doesn't know what's best for himself. That's why he feels the right to "save" him from humans. Knives out of anyone in the world knows how much Vash disregards his own life. He's angry that his own brother would choose the perceived violence of humanity instead of the safety he has worked SO hard to cultivate for over a hundred years. After everything they learned from their childhoods, Vash would have to be deaf and dumb to keep crawling back to them. (From his perspective anyway.)

Everything Knives does he thinks is to better Vashes life. That's what makes him such a tragic character to me. He genuinely believes he's in the right and doing everything he has to so him and his brother can feel that safety that was never guaranteed to them in childhood. He loves Vash, (PLATONICALLY !!!! 😰) He wants Vash to be happy. He just doesn't understand why, that despite everything, living alongside the humans is what makes him happy. Something he only accepts at the end of trimax when he literally trees himself to assumed death so Vash could have that. Knives is unambiguously in the wrong, but I do think his thought processes are sympathetic. WRONG. But like .I get it girl. Besides, he acts more like a toxic mother than anything. How DARE you be so ungrateful after everything I've ever done for you that you've never even asked for. ✋😒 and EXPLICITLY told me not to do. Ugh. 🙄 you don't even love me…guess im just a terrible brother than huh…🥀 BITCH SHUT UP !!!!

Now about the asexuality, not only...do I think Knives is aroace. I think he's completely sex REPULSED!!!!! Sex is a mark of human degeneracy, animals clinging for power over each other. Hed think hes above it !! It would disgust him, I don't think he's ever had a sexual thought in his life. He’s also a Jesus freak he'd think procreation in general is a sin 🙄‼️ik his interpretation of the bibles gotta be INSANE. Exploring sensuality is like a normal and healthy thing to do no fucking WAY Knives is self aware enough to do all that. If he could experience any kind of libido, his hatred of humans would never allow him to explore it anyway. Since sex is such a huge part of human culture. He probably thinks consensual sex is a myth humans made up to assault each other easier…😭

this is literally him bro I can't see him any other way...🚬 He's literally a pearl clutching mom who refuses to understand anyone else's experiences because he doesn't understand them.

I can't imagine him being able to feel romantic love either...I actually think it would be pretty out of character ngl. Plus I think it could be an interesting element of why he feels so disconnected from humanity in general. It would be part of why he feels the need to define himself as alien. Knives would rather die than admit this, (and he did) but all he's ever wanted was understanding. The same way Vash does. Knives doesn't understand sexuality/romance, or deep empathy, or most social confinements at all. That's clear by his inappropriate emotional reactions and lack of a filter. He can't feel emotions the same way Vash or Rem can. It makes it very difficult for him to relate to and connect with others. Especially Rem. He feels too wrong, too broken, too alien. But he's convinced himself that this is actually a superiority. So he can sleep at night. But he's far more human than he'll ever be willing to accept. The familial love he feels for Vash is the only thing that makes him feel normal. And it's why he clings to it so desperately. I think that feeling being explicitly familial makes the most sense for the story.

(cut for explicit talk of SA/CSA)

Im never one to dismiss bad actions from a fictional character. If I thought Knives was a sexual abuser, id say it. I even considered it before I watched/read Trigun and kept it in mind the whole time because of how prevalent of a take it is. If anything, I feel like theres more evidence for metaphorical depictions of Knives BEING sexually abused than being the sexual abuser. I mean his literal whole thing is how plants bodies are used and abused against their will. Solely for the humans gain. While it's slowly and painfully killing them. And how afraid he is that they'll do it to him too....😭 He would be absolutely HORRIFIED by SA. I just don't think it's an abuse he'd perpetuate. It goes against literally everything he stands for. I get he’s a hypocrite and all but I could just never see Knives of all people doing anything sexually ever. ESPECIALLY for his own pleasure.

Both Vash and Knives read to me as CSA victims. This would need to be a separate post all together because there is entirely just too much to say. But I feel very strongly about this interpretation and it's why I'm so firm on this. Sexual abuse is a huge theme in trigun OBVIOUSLY!! And Vash and Knives can easily represent different ways people cope with trauma like that. Knives gets angry, and bitter, and lashes out. While Vash shuts himself off, and tries to run away from it all. Two extremes from two brothers. Two sides of the same coin and all that. They've been victimized, I think it's the main reason why Knives would be so angry and distrustful of humans. Now I know Steve was kind of a throw away character from the anime- but I believe long term interpersonal abuse from a human early in life would explain a lot of the deep rooted hatred Knives has for humanity. Along with his hatred for Rem if she failed to protect them, and his deep sense of entitlement to protect Vash if Vash couldn't protect himself. (Tesla was the last straw for Knives bc at least for a while he thought he could trust Conrad till all that happened and he realized the only person he could ever trust was Vash, and that fear never really left him even 100+ years after.) (My interpretation of Conrads role is also a different post gerrrrr TOO MUCH TO SAY.)

Knives' ideology has always been inconsistent, I can easily see him disregarding autonomy in some ways but refusing to in others and never making a mental connection between the two. Plus Knives would think Vashes scars are shameful and disgusting. He probably cant even make himself look at him let alone touch him be so fr. Knives' definitely has an unhealthily attachment to Vash but not in a sexy sex or ROMANCE way 🤦‍♂️ ITS JUST HIS BPD YA’LL 😝‼️#favoriteperson #extremefearofabandonment #vashkeepsleavinghim (also another separate insane essay post) there is no argument here that Knives isn’t extremely bad at emotional regulation. Familial/platonic dynamics like that happen literally all the time it’s just not evidence of anything to me. I can't even see Knives directly punching someone let alone be capable of sexual violence against his own BROTHER ? I'd argue he's far more verbally/emotionally abusive than he ever is physically anyway. He doesn't even kill directly, it's always either done without a second thought by his powers, indirectly by starving the population out, or by making other people do it for him. He doesn't seem to actually enjoy seeing people in pain, more the satisfaction of a job well done. I don't see why this wouldn't apply to Vash too? He doesn't even usually initiate their physical fights. Vash does. (He has every right to, for the record. Knives just doesn't comprehend why Vash would be mad so he always tries to talk like everything is normal. Lol.) And when they are fighting he always puts his hand on his face ?? More annoying than a direct indication of violence. He could just punch him or something but he doesn't? Like violence in Trigun isn't a thing known to happen. Idk I think that's interesting and worth exploring a bit yk ???

Obviously he chopped his arm off I'm not saying he's innocent there either, just that he's more likely to be emotionally manipulative than explicitly interpersonally violent LOOLL. He didn't chop off his brothers arm because he enjoyed it, to him that pain is neutral. It was just a super casual reminder. But SEXUAL violence is completely different, sure it'll leave scars but you can heal from physical pain all day and night I mean commooon it barely even COUNTS as real pain. (Because he rarely has to experience it.) (A certain someone's got a major empathy problem.) And if it kills you it doesn't matter cuz you're already dead 😝!! But SA is different. It's his worst fear and greatest agony. It's something he knows sticks with you your whole life, he doesn't think that's a wound capable of being healed. (So he never tries and chooses to live in constant fear and anger instead.) That's how I see it anyway...🤕 Again it's not like he's a reasonable guy he is known to be a bit unstable idk if u knew...

Actually if anything, I think Vash would be the more interpersonally violent of the two. (Vashes abuse is always reactionary tho he would never act like that if Knives would just be normal lol he is not the aggressor here.) I can't see Knives punching Vash but I could VERY easily see Vash punching Knives ykwim ??? (For trimax anyway, ik kid Knives beats the shit out of him in 98 which I DO think is funny. But I don't accept into my personal canon okay LISTEN we are talking about a lot of conflicting characterizations here. JUST HEAR ME OUT. ✋) Knives never even really blames Vash for BLOWING HIS LEGS OFF in July too, which I always thought was so interesting. It makes me think this is actually a common thing for them to the point that they don't even argue about it outside of "are you actually aiming at me again 🙄?" Which is more bitchy than angry. Like ugh I can't believe you. Typical, typical Vash. 🥱 He'd probably use it as a way of proving to him that they are the same. And despite denying it, Vash would actually agree and feel a deep sense of shame abt it. He's had 150 years of pent up anger after all. He almost killed him with a rock once lol. I'm tired of everyone woobifying Vash as some kind of perpetual uwu victim. Vash is fucking mean sometimes. He is just as capable of violence as Knives is. The same way Knives is just as capable of great kindness. It is known that Vash is in fact physically STRONGER than Knives. (With his plant powers and id assume in general because Vash actually goes outside while Knives reads in his garden all day.) I truly believe that the only reason Knives ever wins the sibling fights is because of Vashes constant hesitance. He's not a battered wife stereotype. All Vash wants is control over his own life, the last thing he'd want to see himself as is a helpless victim. It's why he always pretends nothing is ever wrong with him. It's why he doesn't accept help, and values other people's problems far above his own. His kindness was always an active choice and that's why he's such a powerful character. And Knives would bring out the absolute worst in him LOOL all that work he's done to better himself is instantly thrown out the window the second Knives' very punchable face walks in the room.

He was fighting absolute demons not to run over and beat tf out of Knives in this panel

This is why I feel so disgusted by stampede and the way they handled their relationship. They've dumbed down these characters to the point that they are unrecognizable. Literally every aspect of stampedes portrayal of them feels like a first conclusion based on a synopsis of their goals and personalities. I get there's only one season but that's a LOT to fuck up in one season bro. 😭. There is absolutely no salvaging Nai as a character for me. I'd cover my drink around that guy I find him genuinely repulsive. At least with trimax, you can read around an initial sussy reading if you wanted. How anyone defends Nai, I don't even know. That whole plant insemination thing is pretty on the nose y'all. Literally doesn't even make sense for him to do that like? Why would he want more independent plants??? It's like they tried to make Knives' motivations make sense when the whole point should be that they don't. He's fighting ghosts out of fear. Stampede wasn't even good enough to justify its own existence by how it looks. Adding peculiar plant pregnancy preggo fetish incest bait is just the turd on the turd cake. They ruined the most compelling part of the story for me. Pfft.... But whatever...🚬 not like I care ....🚬

Not to mention Legato y'all don't even get me started. The guy that HATES humans more than anything in the world taking in a HUMAN -SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIM. The one time he's ever taken pity on a human being and it was someone who was the victim of a violent sex crime. Yeah guys that dude. Total raper. Defo a brother diddler. What the fuck are we talking about right now y'all. I genuinely feel like sexual violence would be the last thing knives would ever do ever. I understand that there are sus scenes in the manga that could be interpreted this way, but considering the many themes in Trigun and his place in the story as a whole, I think it is such a misrepresentation. And it frustrates me to see it as one of the only things talked about in regards of his character. If I could, I'd rewrite every scene in the world so people could understand what I see, but I can't. And I know I can't control how other people see the media I like. Trigun is extremely interpretive, and I understand why this is a common conclusion. But I guess I just can't shake the feeling that it's more complicated than that. I have criticisms with trimax and ESPECIALLY 98. And there's obvi a lot id change to fit what I'd find most interesting. (Also why every headcanon revolves around Knives somehow teehee) BUUUUUT I do think all of my analysis is pretty based in canon. I can't stress how insane I am about this and how much I've thought about it 🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕. Believe me, I've considered every obstacle. And I've stayed consistent.

Knives is a raper feels like the easy answer to me. To be completely blunt, it's just not as compelling. Vash and Knives would both have very complicated relationships with their bodies and sensualities and gender and their relation to their plantself and their humanself and blah blah blah whatever. I'd much rather explore that as a separate result of the same abuse than default to supercestsimulator69. Knives is already an abuser. Making him a sexual aggressor too doesn't really add anything to the story besides diminish and dumb down his very complex motivations. Vash and Knives should be very good friends who know each other better than anyone. (They are trauma bonded like CRAAAZZY, very codependent like y'all get it.) I think that would make their conflict SO much more interesting. While providing some great context to why Vash is so willing to give every horrible person he meets a second chance at life. If I saw my brother, who I love, and is my best friend in the whole wide world, slowly deteriorate under the pressure of the abuse we we're BOTH experiencing; go fucking crazy and kill everyone. And I KNEWW. He genuinely believed he was doing what he had to do to protect the both of us...I'd probably also give everyone the benefit of the doubt idk. Vash understanding Knives' motivations but still holding on to that (justified) resentment and anger is ESSENTIAAAL to their dynamic and also literally all of Trigun. Sexual abuse throws a rock in all of this. If anything I think Knives would tell Vash "I'm the only one who WOULDN'T assault you. They're human, they'll only see you for how useful you are. It's what they do. It's what you know they do. You're choosing them over me the same way Rem chose Steve over us." Knives' abuse is complicated and multifaceted, not just some gross display of power. He's not even the most power hungry character in the world. He's got a whole cult dedicated to him that he canonically IGNORES.

And he sure as shit doesn't respect people who are desperate for power over others!! He'd think he's above that too. Just more evidence of human deviance. (Like the scene in 98 where kid Vash and Knives are watching the humans fight over water. Animals who think one is more deserving of resources than the other.) He's narcissistic in the literal diagnosable sense but definitely not some kinda megalomaniac. I think that's a huge mischaracterization. He doesn't want to rule the world, he wants to destroy it. And he wants Vash to be his equal in this, he respects Vash. (as far as someone like Knives can respect anybody at all) He doesn't understand why Vash would choose to be so "dumb" because he's never allowed himself to feel the vulnerability of potential harm that Vash wants him to understand is worth it. It's why he locks himself away from the world, he's afraid of being victimized again. Knives' morals are all over the place, he genuinely doesn't think murder is bad but would consider sexual violence to be the worst thing anyone could ever do EVER. It's not like we're talking about the beacon of reason and consistency here y'all, Knives is cray cray sauce.

Anyway that's my thoughts, sorry this took forever to answer. 😿 And ended up being SOOO long.. I've on and off mauled over this writing and rewriting again trying to make any of my garbled thoughts make any sense. Hope it resonates with anybody at least bc I genuinely feel like I've been taking crazy pills lately LOOL. Take care of yourselves everyone. 💖 Never an easy subject to talk about.

#tw sa mention #theres more to say with knives and the plants too but thats an entirely different essay post LOLL #thank you again for the ask I was itching for some kind of excuse to get my thoughts together like this 😭🙏 #my based takes #asks #vash the stampede #millions knives #trigun #ive been putting off posting anything else to force myself to finish this...sorray yaaalll.....hope it was werth it thoo.... #do NOT let him talk about trigun yall. 😂 !! you'll never hear the end !!!! #trigun maximum

[wannabelife]

omg ur kwan drabble. IM WKWNWKENWKWNWKW

pleaseeeee can u also do dom kwan with thigh riding and creampie 😫😫

BEHDJSUBDJS THANK YOUUUU !!!!!

you ask i deliver! making the thigh riding on this ask and promise to work on a creampie one later on, is that okay? hope you enjoy it :))))

p.s.: if someone gets mad about the plot, well, you shouldn't.... it's humane.

you have a problem. you've already tried some different things, from teasing with your hands to kissing it to sliding on it, but nothing is working. every time it's about to get hard, it gets back to its natural state again. seungkwan sighs, the frustration starting to get the best of him as he's worried about the pleasure from both of you.

"kwan, that's ok" you giggle at the little pout he has on his face "we dont have to do anything" you say, a little sadness really deep down on your mind because that's nothing you want more than fucking him, but there's nothing you can do and you wouldn't say or do anything that could possibly shame or put seungkwan down.

he is looking at you and something shifts on his mind, all of this getting to his ego somehow as he says "i can still make you feel good tho"

you stare, wondering, and he grins suddenly "go on, get up and take it all off for me" he demands.

the excitement building inside of you as you do how he says. you stand, getting completely naked in front of him, waiting for his next words like an obedient kid.

he takes his shirt off from above his head, his toned abs and perfect v line on full display to you as he takes his sporty shorts too. you look down, the volume on his boxers even on the flacid state, his muscular thighs and pretty legs, you feel your body and face burning red and arousal collect in-between your legs.

he catches you staring at it, and an idea comes to his mind. he moves to the back of the bed, making sure he has a good view of the mirror you have on the corner of the room. the one that you usually use to take pretty outfit pics on, that today will have much different and better use, he thinks. once he's comfortable in place, he pushes you to him by the waist "come sit on me"

you bring your legs up to sit facing him but he shakes his head "turn around" he says, motioning with his hands too.

you do, sitting in his right leg, while the other one stays slightly folded. you can't really see, but seungkwan is admiring your back and how perfectly the lines of your ass and legs come together. he spreads his palm flat on your back, forcing you to bend over a little as you hand the sheets above you for support.

he brings his hands to caress your ass cheeks, before squeezing the flesh and spreading them apart "so beautiful" he praises and he can feel you clench around nothing in the skin of his legs.

"why don't you make yourself cum on me, hm?" your breath gets stuck in your throat when you hear his mind and a whine slips out as he scoffs from behind you "do you like it? is that a good idea, love?" he says, getting closer so he can whisper it to you, making you hum in approval.

one hand in your waist and the other on your ass, he pushes you, making you finally slide on him. you close your eyes, feeling the contact as you start to rock your hips by your self "that's it, go on" he encourages, and you keep going, chasing your pleasure on him.

he keeps your ass spread so more of you is sliding on him, the wetness collecting, making the contact easier each time. he pins you down by the waist, flexing his muscles under you, and you can't control a loud moan. he helps you pick up the pace, your thighs starting to burn, but you feel so good, you couldn't care less.

he sneakily starts to caress your arms, down to your wrist, he entralace your fingers, bringing your arms to your back, pinning them together. he pulls your body up as he keeps your wrists caged in his hand.

you rest your head on his shoulders, keeping your eyes shut as you work on him. you're wasting such a good view, seungkwan stares at your form from the mirror in front of you two. your beautiful clavicle and perked nipples, your legs spread giving such a good view of your pussy on his thighs too.

"open your eyes" he says softly to your ear, his hot breath making you whimper as you do how he says. you open your eyes and immediately see the reflection of both of you. your face all twisted in pleasure, brows shut and mouth ajar, you feel close

"can you touch me?" you ask, it coming out in a much lower tone than you planned.

"so polite" he coos, mocking you a bit. you both locking eyes on each other by the mirror reflection.

with his free hand, he goes to your clit. you stop moving for a moment feeling like its too much. seungkwan notices that and let you rest while he takes over. he massages your sensitive spot, the pleasure starting to place around your lower belly as you moan at the work of his fingers.

your eyes meets his hand on your pussy, his beautiful fingers and beautiful legs all together for you too see. you feel a desesparate need to release all of sudden so you start moving again.

his hands leaves your center as he's folding his knees slightly so your whole pussy is sliding on him "oh fuck!" you exclaim, keeping the fast pace. your eyes going shut, not able to keep up with the intense pleasure.

still pinning your wrist in place, he goes hand your neck this time, you whimper, feeling the pressure as you both stare at your image.

seungkwan has a devilish grin on him "look at you" he says "looking like i fuck you senseless and needing just a thigh ride for it, such a sensitive whore"

you clench again, and your legs start to tremble "im close" you whine.

"i know, love" he states, and you moan at the pet name.

your juices spreading down, making a mess between both of you. he puts more pressure around your neck, and clench his muscles on your center one more time, that being your breaking point.

your body goes stiff until your breathing is released as you come undone on him. he frees you from his grip, letting you crash on him. his hands going back to your center, working on it to prolong your orgasm. his long fingers caressing up and down on your folds and clit.

you start to feel sensitive and whimper from the overstimulation "too much, too much" you plea

he stops, letting you rest on his shoulders for a few seconds before laying you down on the bed. his hands go caress your face as he stares at you before gripping your neck and pushing you to a kiss. you relax under him as he hums on your lips, the kiss getting intense in no time.

you're under him before you realize "kwan... what are you doing?" you ask when your lips parted for a moment.

he presses down on you, his center meeting yours, and you can feel the bulge pocking on you. your eyes go big and he smirks "look what you've done" he says, getting closer to nib right above your ear, sucking the skin there "you're so fucking hot, couldn't help it" he says.

your breathing starts to get heavy again and the need to build on you "what are you going to do about it, hm?" he asks, bringing his kisses and sucking down on your body.

there's a million things you can do about it, and you're hoping you will have at least some of them with him tonight.

#yn #seventeen #seventeen fanfic #svt fanfic #svt smut #svt ff #svt scenarios #seungkwan smut #seungkwan #svt seungkwan #seungkwan fic #seungkwan imagines #seungkwan scenarios #wannabelife inbox

[autogyne-redacted]

what’s wrong with building codes?

Ok fair, this isn't a line of critique ppl talk about much and probably isn't intuitive from lots of positions.

But they're a fundamental piece of how capitalism (tries to) force us to play its game and of how it destroys alternative lifeways!

Also worth noting that nearly all traditional indigenous dwellings are gonna be illegal by most building codes. That alone should make you real skeptical of them.

//

For most of human history, in most places, people could build dwellings at the individual or small group level out of readily available, natural materials. (Eg from what I've read 1-2 people can build a wigwam in 3 days that'll last well over a year).

This kind of set up gives individuals way more power over their housing and isn't conducive to landlording or housing debt. Readily available housing means way less pressure to stay with shitty family/housemates/partners/jobs. It removes one of the primary forms of leverage.

Building codes make it difficult or fully illegal to live in anything other than a modern, conventional home.*

///

Modern homes are convenient in tons of ways. But:

Older tech gets portrayed as way worse than it was, and:

A lot of that convenience primarily matters if you're spending most of your time/energy working because you're living thoroughly inside the market and if you're separated from the skills and knowledge to take care of your shit without modern conveniences.

Civ has a gravity to it. You (theoretically/legally) have to pay a certain amount in taxes, at the point at which you're working a little, probably you find at least some things you want to buy. As you work more you handle less shit yourself and pay more so other people handle it for you. As more people are doing this community becomes harder and harder to find if you're holding out. And the skills, knowledge and lifeways for living outside of civ are harder to access.

While mass violence is needed at times, that's not needed or sustainable long term.

With the commons enclosed, the genocide and forced relocation of indigenous people enacted, industrialization and urbanization complete, more mundane and bureaucratic forms of coercion tend to do the trick for the few hold outs and breakaways.

Shit like telling you you have to install a septic system you can't begin to afford, or condemning your house.

//

*while the details of what's allowed and what's prohibited vary massively from place to place, it is a practical tension I and friends come up against with the state, and even if it wasn't I think it makes sense to object on principle/with an eye towards the future.

Child custody standards (what's grounds for the state taking your kid/what's gonna count against you in a custody battle) often go above and beyond building codes in requiring normative dwellings.

I'm thinking of details like: septic/sewer standards, requiring electric/water hookups, requiring buildings made to last decades vs easy to build structures that are rebuilt every few years or require more active maintenance, making it difficult or impossible to use natural materials, etc.

//

Qualifier: I think building codes serve a purpose in landlord-tennant relationships but without them it'd be way easier to escape renting

#anti-civ #theory #writing #none of this is about me #obviously since i would never break any laws #thanks for the ask!!

[thebunnycruise]

Less of a question and more of a comment, Im sorry if its in the wrong spot lol, I just had to say this. I promise it’s not a hate comment, and sorry for the length.

I have never in my life seen something that has made me feel so physically ill. I feel genuinely sick reading this, and mentally exhausted from it. I have never read anything that has ever made me want to do something about these topics so badly. I hate this comic, and feel every fiber of my body crumble that I can’t do anything to help these women. It’s such an uncomfortable and painful feeling to see such heinous acts being done to people who i know are just down on their luck and never deserved this. I hate to sound cliche, but this was the eye opener of the fucking century.

You should be proud of your work, you’re doing something that I haven’t ever seen work as effectively and as potently as this.

One question I guess; I unfortunately can’t donate, but what else could us readers do? This comic destroyed me and I’m genuinely desperate at this point to see some happy ending come out of this, and I don’t know what I can do.

Thank you for this question! And sorry for ruining your mood, I think... TL/DR: Giving a shit is free. I recall this one lady being interviewed by a local news reporter regarding her views on the homeless problem in her neighbourhood, and she said something that stuck in my mind: "The more I have to [pick up] human feces, the less empathy I have." I think that one comment really hit home why we're at this point in society. People connect with the characters on the Bunny Cruise because we see their backstories, how they got to where they are, what they've lost along the way, what they dream of for the future, and how they've suffered in trying to reach for that dream. But, even though we know the guy OD'ing on the sidewalk passed out in his own sick must have had a life, have dreams, it's not something we think of in the moment. The difference between the Cruise and real life is that the girls have each other to support them through it, but we will walk over or side-step the heroin addict on the sidewalk without a second glance. That "mentally drained" and "physically ill" feeling is the cognitive dissonance talking. It's when we're forced to confront an perspective that challenges our way of thinking, or in this case, face a fear that perhaps the only difference between us and 67, 10, the twins, or that guy on the sidewalk, is just pure luck. For a lot of us, this is something very uncomfortable, and it's much easier to put it out of our heads and move on with our lives. And politicians take advantage of this fear and apathy far too often. Famously, Mark Sutcliffe (Calling you out, asshole), the recently elected Mayor of Ottawa, campaigned on zoning land for more large, single-family homes rather than more compact, affordable housing. He called it "preserving the community and keeping it safe", but we all know what that really means by now. Or they will call for increased police spending and promise to be tougher on crime (which Sutcliffe also did). Because having bad luck or being neglected and abused by capitalism is a crime now... I think the easiest thing to do, is to just think about it, and speak up when the issue comes up. All too often, things like homeless shelters, affordable housing projects, and safe injection sites, don't get built because people don't want to think about the people living on the fringe of society. But the thing is, people with nowhere to go have to go somewhere.

I donate to a women's shelter because I've worked with women fleeing violence in the past, and it's an important cause for me. I also realize that I am in a very fortunate position to be able to pay rent and have a little left over to put toward charity work. But speaking up and spreading the word is free. The next time someone wants to veto a safe injection site project, speak up against them, ask them what millionaire real estate firm is lining their pockets. Vote for that city councilor campaigning to build shelters and affordable homes. Have a relative who says "the homeless deserve what's happening to them"? Shut them down, ruin that christmas dinner. They sound like a dick anyway.

It's not much, but I think if we can all treat our fellow humans a little better instead of kicking them to the curb, we can make a bit of a difference in the world.

#ask the bunny cruise #ask me anything

[ashironie]

OMG I JUST LISTENED TO THE NEWEST EPISODE AND—

Gerry sound so… happy

At first I didn’t recognize his voice and assumed Jonny just named another character Gerry, but then Gertrude was there and…

That all makes me so happy.

AND THEN AN ALICE AND GWEN INTERACTION!!! DYHARD FOR THE WIN!!! SURE THEY WERE AT EACHOTHERS THROATS MOST THE TIME BUT IF YOU SQUINT IT SOUNDS LIKE MILDLY UNHAPPY ROOMMATES!!! THATS BETTER THAN VERY UNHAPPY ROOMMATES!!!!

Ugh, they are so in love. They sound like a toxic st8 couple that’s been married for 50 years and makes ‘ball and chain’ jokes.

GEORGIE GEORGIE GEORGIE GEORGIE GEORGIE!!!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!

Also the statement seemed like… ok here’s a list of everything I could get from it

“and feelings of the uncanny” (about liminality) (1)

Two things for this quote “it creates an effect of absence despite presence, an ‘architectural hunger’ of a sort.” (4)

“The top of the tower… featured unmatched panoramic views of the surrounding rural countryside on all sides.” (3)

“a soulless fairground,” (regarding the previous area) (2) (4)

“there were less and less people every night.” (2) (4)

“There was a nebulous haze across the entire car park…muted colors punctuated with more vivid reds, whites and yellows… I realized it primarily hovered above the asphalt.” (1) (2) (4)

“the phenomena was accompanied by a disquieting sense of absence. Of hunger.” (4)

“kaleidoscope” (1) (4)

The description of the “You Are Here!” Woman (1)

“a particularly high tide of color swept down the corridor toward me.” (1) (4)

The repeating patrons of the Restaurant (1)

The Void (3) (4)

“Their grip on me tightened, a dozen hands pushing and pulling me as one.” (1) (2)

“opened his mouth, and bit into me.” And the ensuing cannibalism (? Is it really cannibalism if you aren’t human?) (2) (4)

“leaping out one of those windows into pure oblivion” (3) (4)

Okokokokok SO! I’ve put numbers to everything so I can talk about everything easier. (1) The Uncanny (both from The Stranger and The Spiral, they have similar enough vibes to me) (2) The Lonely (3) The Vast (4) The Hunger/The Nothing.

The uncanniness of this statement is undeniable, reminds me of the previous episode actually. It’s also worth a mention that the author constantly denies the validity of anything he says and just thinks he was going through an episode, which could be Spiral coded or just statement stuff. Since everything is copy and pasted that seems closer to that idea but still.

The author keeps talking about the lack of people at the beginning and a particular fixation on how they act (seems very Martin domain core to me). Also fog. And the people stuff reminds me of Mag 48 Lost in a Crowd, the otherness you feel, the loneliness because of it. Maybe this is a cannibalism and animal nature as a metaphor for the ✨horrors of other people✨. That kinda feels like a stretch but it makes sense in my head.

Ahhhh, the call of the void, the fear of uselessness to things that don’t even know you exist. The void is obvious Vast coded, especially with the oblivion comment (imo). I don’t have much to say that I’m not gonna say next but this needed its own section bc the void.

My favorite theory about wtf is happening in this episode that I made the fuck up right here right now. At multiple points in this statement does ‘Hungry’ and ‘Hunger’ come up, specifically when talking about your reaction to a deficit in something. This could also be cannibalism coded, being so desperate for someone, anyone, that they eat the only ones around. Which brings me to the second half, the nothingness. This is mixed with basically all the Lonely and Vast feelings of this statement, a lack of something, be it people, color, etc. This could maybe be something that is trying to be more like sensory deprivation, the more deprived you are the more your brain tries to make things to be less deprived, and the more empty you feel because of it. This episode kinda gives me overwhelming feels too? Like when everything is too much and too little at the same time? Overstimulation and understimulation mixing to make the worst thing in the world. Idk

#tmagp #the magnus protocol #the magnus protocol spoilers #tmagp spoilers

[moonshine-nightlight]

Hi, I'm always very impressed by your world building skills, even in shorter stories! Do you have any advice for aspiring writers on how to build their fantasy world?

So i drafted a response to this in between working just far too much and then my computer crashed and i lost it. Then i was even busier so i never got around to writing it again but i am making some time this weekend, so worldbuilding post - take 2

My main, high level worldbuilding tips are:

Rule of Cool: worldbuild things you think are fun and interesting. not only is that the best way to get ideas you like and are motivated to write about, but other people will also think they're interesting too. have fun with it.

Iceberg theory: know more about the world than ever makes it into the story. people can sense when worldbuilding is shallow, so even if they never see the true depths of the world they can often sense it's there. plus if u know the whole picture, everything the readers do see will seem more coherent

Integration: i heavily integrate the world i'm building into the story i'm telling--so dig into the plot and characters and make sure that the world and the story serve each other well. your world is there to contribute to the story so make sure its fulfilling that purpose

For more specifics about how i personally world build and for some examples from my stories of the above guidelines, see below.

So firstly, i love worldbuilding. i just think its a ton of fun and could easily spend hours just thinking about worlds in my head. (i mean what else is there to do when ur commuting to work, amiright?) i think that does make it easier for me to take the time to do it right and makes the world come through more vividly in my writing. it can get annoying or tedious or be more challenging at times, but since i like it/find world building interesting, i'm more willing to put in the time and effort to whip it into shape and i get less frustrated with that part of the process in general.

i'm also always thinking about world building to some degree in the back of my mind. picking up interesting information, facts, snatches of cool ideas or images or whatever. then i throw all that in like a junk drawer in my brain so when i sit down to more officially write or flesh out a world, i already have spare parts at my finger tips to use or drawn on.

Reading and consuming other art and worlds also makes it easier to make your own, just lik reading is a key part of writing practice. i don't just mean fiction, but just anything about the actual world makes it much easier to make up your own--that can manifest as awe at the fireflies that actually exist or spite that dragons dont. Whether that's random youtube video essays about the history of musicals or drinks or fashion to books and articles and documentaries or just my friend's niche interests (or their regular jobs). i'm always taking worldbuilding notes in the back of my mind.

For a more writing specific example, i read this short guide '50 Ways to Kill a Mermaid' (its locked for AO3 so u hav to sign in to read it) and it was super fun and cool to read that info from a writer who had studied marine biology. then when i was fleshing out Don't Shoot the Messenger a year later, the problem of Satrasi being a sea demon in a fresh water pool and bloating came to my mind because i'd stored that tidbit from the article away for later use.

My personal method for worldbuilding and plot outlining is sort a brainstorming/Q&A i have with myself (i hope this makes sense when i'm done writing this all out lol).

I've mentioned this before but the prompt that inspired Dale was: "You’re pretty sure your boyfriend was replaced by an eldritch being that can barely emulate being human. Weirdly, you enjoy a better relationship with them than your actual boyfriend."

So when that idea grabbed me, i started brainstorming about the world and asking myself questions. Why is the reader with the boyfriend if they don't really like them? What would make someone stay in a relationship like that? Do i want to make this a dark story? And i did not, i wanted it to be fun, so the arranged marriage angle came to mind. And if that's the premise then when is the story? is this our 'past' or another world entirely? diff world means more freedom so i automatically leaned in that direction.

Can the reader tell the 'boyfriend' has been replaced? Are demons a thing people know about? does the reader know that's an option? which is more fun? if the reader is worried about Dale getting caught, that's more room for hijinks so then yes, demons are known, but not common otherwise too many people would notice.

So my plot and worldbuilding are evolving in tandem and informing each other, based on the type of story i want to tell and how the characters i have in mind will react etc.

i run through a lot of ideas and turn them over in my head--trying out diff pieces to see if they fit--and am always willing to drop an idea or save it for another story if i don't think its working for the current one

For iceberg theory, i mentioned above for Dale would be the religions in that world. When i decided to introduce a priest like character (for discovery danger) i knew i needed to focus more on the religions than i previously had noted. the majority of what i came up with isn't int he story, but i think the fact that i know it helps me write when did end up in there, helped make it consistent, and means i can more easily work in allusions to it without having to work so hard those singular times.

For example, i'd decided to call the demon realm "the Depths" early on, which to me already invokes deep water and darkness, so i followed that through to sort height and air and light as being perceived more positively. fire and light are important symbols in this world and they primarily burn their dead--to bury someone below ground would be seen as almost condemning them and someone drowning is also seen as like, not good for their soul because what if it is 'pulled down' rather than 'ascending'. some of this was alluded to in the chapter, but most of it is not. this also helped me come up with the various "by the light" "dawn's ire" and other similar little 'religious' phrases and exclamations different characters use at times.

Meanwhile, in Sacrifice, the people living their are relatively non-religious--thats why they both don't pray to any other deities and it takes 5 years of problems to even bother trying an old god. it's not sacrilege because they're desperate people trying a long shot, not violating or abandoning a different belief. because i wanted the reader's main problem with it all to just be that they didn't think it work.

And why is she a translator? because i wanted to use the idea from that one post that goes around about how ridiculous it is in movies when their translated prophecies rhyme in english. why are they arguing about the translation? because its a dead language so no one really speaks it, that means the people who came up with it were here a century ago or longer. why aren't they here anymore? nomadic so they left and ended up staying away because of a natural disaster elsewhere. why is this town here now? a particular export/resource in this area became valuable enough for people to try to live here. the fact that its a lumber town due to some rare wood native to the area doesn't come up in the story, but i know it and i think that i know that about the town helps it feel more real, makes it easier for me to reach for new details when i need them

and going back to anything can be inspiration, let's talk about the doorlock in the very beginning of Finally Woken. its literally just a magical keypad/number pad but with different colored tiles instead of numbers because i wanted the reader to be able to get in, but i felt it didnt make sense for them to hav a physical key. and i thought it would look cool in Heshi's door and it went well with the fact that he's a glassblower . also, why is Heshi a glassblower? because i frickin' lov blown glass - i just think its so cool and pretty. that helped lead into the sort of artisan economy feel that world has.

Each of these stories has an outline and notes doc at a minimum. the notes doc is where i throw lik pics, inspiration posts, random worldbuilding ideas etc. only much shorter stories or stories that are heavily based in 'modern' world don't hav extensive random notes.

my Dale folder has subfolders for characters and the setting, as well as random worldbuilding files such as "demon summoning/magic" "spiritual belief and org" "fashion - feminine" and so on. Even excluding the plot outline and chapter notes (and not counting pics) i've got like, over 4k of random notes saved. dale is the one i hav the most of that for, but all my fics have some little section with stuff like that jotted down

in the end, i think the best way to sum up all that is with my three original rules of: put stuff u think is cool in your world, known more than you tell to help everything fit together and seem deep, and build your world around your plot and characters because they should all be working together to tell the story you want to tell.

honestly, i could ramble about worldbuilding all day so if anyone has any questions or wants more examples, just let me know ^^

#asks #writing asks #story asks #man did i apparently really want to talk about anything that isn't work or what? #this is why 'rambling' is in my other tumblr username #worldbuilding #fantasy world building #world building #i really do enjoy world building a lot #writing #i rly hope this made some sense #sorry for the delay in answering #i'm still kinda salty my original answer got eaten by my computer #look sometimes ur worldbuilding is because you learned a lot about operetta in a documentary #sometimes its because the idea of a secret corset busk knife is cool #ur guess as to what's gonna show up in dale next #but one of them will and yes that is a threat

[altraviolet]

Oh man now that I've seen TWO asks this day about Soundwave dying, is that the inevitable conclusion to this fic? Did I miss this big spoiler somewhere or all the clues to it? I don't remember seeing a "Major character death" tag, either.

Or is this people speculating and doing "what if"? ...not that I'd be adverse to it, especially if it made sense to do so!

Also I completely understand about work sapping all creative juices. While I don't write (I've dabbled in the past, but little 3k words or less things for OC's way back in the LJ days), I used to sketch, draw, paint nearly every day for hours before I ended up in a corporate 9-5, full time job. Even doing customer service jobs, I was able to sketch on napkins and scrap receipt paper and sticky notes.. and now I just.. can't. Its unbelievable how mentally draining full time jobs can be. Every now and then I'll get the sketch pad or watercolors out,but it's maybe once or twice a year now.

I've seen writers who do ko-fi for tips or writing commissions for certain stories (I remember a tf author I used to follow did this - where a story was only continued if the chapters were commissioned) - or even patreons, where they set up an early access to the newer chapters, and the cut scenes, additional content - have you thought about those? I think you've got a big enough following where it could be feasible to go part time! And maybe fund a self publishing of an original work sometime down the road!

>is that the inevitable conclusion to this fic? Did I miss this big spoiler somewhere or all the clues to it? I don't remember seeing a "Major character death" tag, either.

The major tag on the fic is "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings." You haven't missed a big spoiler or clues. The influx of "WHAT IF HE DIES" was puzzling to me, too, but I rolled with it.

I'm curious why people think Soundwave is going to die, when one of the major themes of the fic (at least to me, inside my head) is bringing people back from the dead. Not literally, of course. But... but did they see the whole point of what Rodimus is doing? Trailbreaker, Ambulon, and Mirage? Skywarp? Literally pulling Soundwave from the shadow zone, where life is not worth living?

There's actually a lot more I want to say on this, but I don't want to spoil the story. I have a FAQ planned for when the fic is done and I address death in it, and my approach to writing it vs JRO, and the aforementioned major theme.

I'm guessssssssinnnnnnng people are going the doom route because of the Scavengers, and because Soundwave keeps getting injured and can't be healed, and because... ? I feel like stakes have been high in the past, so maybe that's part of it, too. I won't say anything else for now, though.

This post got long so I'll put the rest under a cut.

>Its unbelievable how mentally draining full time jobs can be.

good god, yeah. low key, I used to be an artist (mostly hobbyist, a few pro jobs). I gave up and went back to writing because it's much easier/comes more naturally to me, and that's all I have energy for. I fuckin' mourned stopping art, to be honest. but you know what, I'd rather have Echo Garden than slog through commissions. I learned I'd rather create my own things than do things other people want me to do. so I guess learning that about myself was ... good. it's absolutely unbelievable how draining a 9-5 job is. I will admit I am jealous of people who have spouses or understanding parents that allow them to do art full time by providing a safety net in the form of housing and health insurance. jealousy is very human, you know :D surely there is a better balance out there for us ;A;

>I remember a tf author I used to follow did this - where a story was only continued if the chapters were commissioned

oooohhhhhhhh you know... I get it. I get people need money. but that doesn't sit right with me. I would not withhold fic like that.

>patreons, where they set up an early access to the newer chapters, and the cut scenes, additional content - have you thought about those?

I've thought about it only in the fanciful sense. To be honest, unless I was getting enough support to quit my job, it's not really going to change my life. Like, how do I say this. I won't have any more additional time in the week to write if I make $50 extra/month through patreon. I'll still be doing my full time job AND I'll have an obligation to write for people. Does that make sense? Unless a patreon offsets the actually draining thing in my life, it's just another thing I have to do.

Although 'early access to chapters' sits way better with me than denying future chapters UNLESS funded. Though paying for fic is a huge gray area and I don't think it's wise to poke that beast...

>I think you've got a big enough following where it could be feasible to go part time!

thank you, I appreciate your kindness here :D I don't think my following is big enough, though. I think the readership is maybe 1400 people? and a bunch of those are minors and most of the adult fandom is fucking broke, lol. (the tf fans with the money tend to be the major toy buying ones, not the fanfic reading ones. Stereotype, but that's my observation)

and part of the problem is my place of employment. I asked, years ago, if I could go part time (so I could practice art) and my boss said no. it's a full time only position ;A; which is why I say, unless patreon can fully support me, it's not really feasible. freelancing incurs a higher tax rate and you don't have any health insurance, so I'd actually have to make more than I am now... and given the number of absolutely fantastic fan artists I see struggling to make it with patreon, I know I can't (since fan artists make more than fan writers)

I hope that my answers don't sound dismissive. Thank you very much for your empathy and kind ideas. I don't think the fandom can support me monetarily in the way I would need, and I think their interest in me will drop as soon as Echo Garden is finished. I base this statement on the fact that TEG has exponentially higher stats than any of my other fics.

The people clearly want only one thing, and it will eventually end xD

If you or anyone else thinks I'm looking at this wrong and there may actually be a way I can write without dying, please let me know. I've thought about this for years and the above is what I've concluded.

Thank you again for the kind ask! <3

#long post #ask #creepygoth666 #on writing and the reality of the day job #maybe I'm too pessimistic #if only I had a sugar spouse... lol

[resonancewitness]

witnessing resonance, part 3: holding on to what's important

what do I mean when I call myself a witness of resonance? continuing from here and here

and the third layer of meaning of witnessing, the last one for me (so far?) 

here I am going to dare to go out on a limb and give words to some experiences that in the modern world often seem to be much more taboo for discussion than the experiences of kinky sexuality (but I don’t have data, so maybe I am wrong :)) 

I am going to talk about witnessing something precious as a

personal non-religious spiritual practice in a secular world

I need to make a disclaimer that I do not assume that participating in any fandom or in this particular fandom may have such meaning for other participants, I am talking only about myself, using writing to make sense of my own experience

because not talking about it is subjecting myself to silencing as a form of self-oppression, and for the sake of what? I would need a valid reason to self-silence

anyway, back to definitions

I would call “spiritual” any practice of maintaining connection with the important values and principles that are not obvious and not very common in the everyday world

say, I want to believe in love that goes beyond distance, or in going strong against the current when it would be so much easier, in a certain practical sense, to give up and just drift along, or in justice and nobility, in human decency, mercy and empathy, — and, say, I don’t see many examples of these in my everyday surroundings, especially when I read the news

I would need special practices to keep re-connecting with these values that are so important to me

I consider the situation when people lose hope, perspective, sense of direction, persistence, and strength to go on, to be a spiritual crisis. “the dark night of the soul”

this can be also accompanied by a feeling of profound isolation

the practices of re-connecting with hope, perspective, sense of direction, persistence and strength to go on I will be calling spiritual practices. they are also recreating a sense of connection and belonging

as Casper ter Kuile says in “The Power of Ritual”, anything can be a spiritual practice if it is done with intention, attention and repetition 

everybody is capable of feeling awe, the emotion that accompanies meeting with something vast and mysterious, unconceivable in ordinary circumstances (“…how are you even real, sir?..”) 

when I come to the turtledom for my daily dose of beauty, inspiration and awe, I experience some sort of a boost that helps me reconnect to the values that are important to me, and I become more capable of continuing to do what I consider important in circumstances that, from a rational perspective, do not look too promising

…if they can, I can, right?.. albeit, of course, I possess less resources, but neither do I aim that high nor are the demands on me that intense. 

so, now to the Quakers. when George Fox formulated their mission in the 1600s,  it sounded like this: “Walking through the world cheerfully, responding to that of God in every person in such a way that the person will feel blessed and you will feel the blessings”. 

One of the central values (they call them testimonies) of the Quakers is honesty/ integrity: you have the right / and sometimes the duty to speak about what is true in your experience. If you met God personally in your experience, you speak of it, if you didn’t, you don’t. Easy :) Thus one can be a Quaker, but not a Christian (albeit here can be different opinions, but we’ll set them aside). 

but “that of God in every person” is something that we respond to with awe; amazing talent, giftedness, moral beauty in all its forms: courage, kindness, mercy, steadfastness etc. 

when I say that as a turtle I am witnessing something precious, it means that I also speak of what I see that is for me “that of God”, without implying any religious connotations 

what touches and inspires me today? how can I witness/ testify about it in such a way that it might also touch and inspire others and give them hope and strength to persevere? and in such a way that I would feel (the energy of) the blessings? 

bringing together all three layers of meaning, what touches me most in what I experience when I follow yizhan’s expressions of their preferred identities, is what I interpret as something intangible and related to maintaining hope and persistence when the road ahead is long, and the outcome uncertain; the feeling of purity and “dirt doesn’t stick to the pure ones”; something that makes me think of magic, mysticism and out-of-the-ordinary-world quality of the connection. 

I am aware that it is my personal need for this that focuses my attention in this manner

but I am very grateful that at this moment in my life I found something that feeds and supports me in such a way 

#yizhan #witnessing something precious #bjyxszd #sacred reading of visual texts #how reconstructing an untold story transforms us? #resonance #finding ourselves in their story #awe #awe inspiring #moral beauty #values #spirituality #quaker

[oumaheroes]

hi do you have any writings about the bothers bullying (brotherly bonding) england? like any type of pranks from a fake snake tied to his shoe to an ice cube down the back of his shirt. I really have a craving for them to just really push him around bc he's the youngest (not counting northern Ireland ofc) please and many thanks if you have any

I don't I'm afraid! (Kinda)

I don't think they're generally a fun kind of pranking family, or aim to do anything planned like that. They're more the type to verbally take the piss out of each other and are very opportunistic when it comes to pranks- if a possible attack point presents itself, they will use and abuse it. Things can quickly escalate, something is taken seriously, and before you know it they're scrapping on the floor only to be sharing a beer down the pub the next hour. Very quick and non-lasting swings and round-abouts

So they do, but they won't go out of their way to plan to be pranky or anything really so light hearted. They mostly bicker or fuck about

I have written them as being shits to each other many times but they're usually part of stories, rather than whole stories in their own right.

Here are some examples:

From Odd Socks:

Alasdair pressed a hand to his chest mock wounded, ‘My love, you sound surprised.’ ‘Arthur attempted to convince me that you’d planned to wear jogging bottoms.’ ‘Oh that’ll be Patrick’s idea, they had a dare on.’ ‘Ah. It almost worked.’ ‘I’m offended. But also not surprised.’ ... A muted crash and a cackle came from somewhere in the crowds and they both looked over to find Arthur, half staggered into a chair and scowling, and Patrick bent double with laughter nearby. Their mother turned and made her way over to them and Alasdair hissed in sympathy.

From I.C.E:

‘My nose is already half fixed, I’m surprised they’ve not noticed.’ ‘I could break it for you again, if you’d like.’ ‘Ha ha.’ Alisdair sighed and rubbed awkwardly at his eyes with his free hand, ‘I wish they’d turn these bloody lights down.’ ‘Concussion?’ ‘No, I just want to sit in the dark for fun.’ Alisdair closed his eyes and grimaced. He was obviously tired, face drawn and weary easy to spot even amongst the fresh bruising. Arthur wasn’t surprised. No matter how many times they had died or been hurt, no matter how long they had lived or how much they had endured, a primal, human fear of dying gripped them as much as it did any mortal man. A desperate, wild panic for life that overrode all logic, ignored all past experience to burn right through to that still human core of them. It was exhausting, and trialling death as blithely as they did not dull its sting or make it any easier to bear. He absentmindedly picked a few pieces of dirt and stray glass out of his brother’s hair and began to update the group chat they shared with Rhys, Sean and Patrick. ‘You the closest?’ Arthur pursed his lips, ‘Not your first choice I know, but I stayed in Meriden; Rhys went back to Cardiff.’ ‘With that attitude you’re certainly not.’ Alisdair thumped him gently in the stomach, ‘What time is it?’ ‘Three in the morning.’ Alisdair let out a soft whistle, ‘I got to Newcastle?’ ‘Just passed Middlesbrough. You’re in Newcastle now though; better A&E and I assume they thought you were critical.’ ‘I thought you sounded like less of a twat. Thank God they didn’t take me to Middlesbrough; a right shithole that is.’ ‘Stop it.’ ‘How are you getting on in here?’ A doctor opened the curtain and approached the bed. She introduced herself with a quick smile to Arthur and then leant forward so that Alisdair could see her properly, hands going to his neck brace, ‘Right, we can take this off; nothing concerning on the CT scan.’ ‘That’s a surprise.’ Arthur quipped. ‘Please ignore my brother, he gets antsy when he’s tired.’

The entirety of Afterparty, but particularly:

‘What’s the hold up?’ Scotland called from further down the little garden, the yellow light from the street lamps behind him obscuring the details of his face, ‘Come on I want to get in; he’s heavy.’ ‘I’m not fucking heavy,’ England hopped wildly on his one good leg as Scotland moved abruptly sidewards, the other ankle now noticeably swollen, ‘You’re just weak; I’m barely putting my weight on you.’ ‘Do you want me to throw you over to next door’s garden? Cos I bloody well will.’ ‘Oi, stop it a sec,’ Ireland called to them, putting his hand on Wales’ shoulder and giving it a light squeeze, ‘What are you doing, get us in.’ ‘You can piss off, you’re the reason my ankle’s fucked up.’ England wasn’t finished. ‘It wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t insist on walking on it for two hours,’ Ireland shot back. ‘What else was I going to do? Drag myself across Cardiff?’ ‘I thought it was a pretty clear hint that I wanted to leave you behind.’ ‘Oh, so it was intentional, then?’ ‘You’ll be fine.’ ‘Of course I will but that’s not the point, is it?’ ‘If I had known you were going wilt like a tight-laced Victorian noblewoman, I wouldn’t have tried to move you aside.’ ‘You pushed me down a bank!’ Ireland gave a casual shrug but his grin grew wicked, ‘You were in the way.’

The entirety of Road Trip. Too much to quote haha

Whenever they all appear together in It's All About the Delivery:

‘What the bloody hell are you two doing here.’ In the doorway to the room was Lord Kirkland looking somewhat harried. His accent was different than it had been when the PM had spoken to him last at the manor, vowels distinctly sharper and more pronounced than before- glass cut and Eton grown rather than the roughened and gentle burr of yesterday. The PM made a note to ask Mr Williams about the change later. ‘Took you long enough,’ Alisdair said, cheerfully. Kirkland narrowed his eyes in suspicion and Alisdair’s expression grew sly, ‘We noticed that you’d left your guest alone so we thought we’d step in to lend a hand. Terrible manners that, turning up so late.’ ‘Why are you here. We’re supposed to be meeting at Downing Street (2).’ ‘We are, we are.’ ‘Were we supposed to be?’ Rhys looked confused. He turned to Alisdair, ‘You said we had to meet England here.’ ‘Did I?’ Alisdair feigned a look of exaggerated surprise, ‘Lord knows what happened there. Where on earth were you anyway.’ Kirkland’s jaw was clenched tight, ‘A sudden and unexpected diversion that I now have a feeling wasn’t the result of miscommunication at all.’ Alisdair tutted, ‘Ach, a shame.’

and, of course:

‘I told you about Mr Marchand’s problem, didn’t I?’ The PM opened his mouth to interject but promptly shut it again, recognising that there was no point, ‘Besides, if you’d have known what I was planning, you’d’ve told him.’ ‘”Him?” I do have a name.’ ‘Aye, I’m told it’s “Dirt”.’

...

She shooed him off and the PM crossed the room, noticing how both Alisdair and Rhys immediately paused their conversation at his approach. ‘Good afternoon,’ he greeted them and Mr Williams, ‘Where’s your brother?’ ‘You mean Dirt? Or is he mud pile today. I’m fond of ecological wasteland myself.’ ‘Alisdair.’

Lastly, there are also a couple of quips in Reset that are too small and numerous to many any particular one

#hws british isles #aph uk bros #aph brit bros #heroes answers #sorry i couldn't give you exactly what you wanted anon #but hopefully this treasure trove of small goodies will do!

[rxttenfish]

Vampire hater? I that vampires were objectively perfect metaphors for predators?

I've always thought there was a lot of fun stuff they can be used for. Can your tirade be today?

lol. lmfao. i think vampires remain god awful metaphors for predators the second you know anything about predation or how it happens in nature.

okay lets start with the parasite bit because thats easier for me. parasitism is also a little bit of a... non-definition too, and technically is just another form of predation too (much like how we should probably define herbivores as predators too because plants are alive and just as alive as animals and the actual mechanics of herbivory is better understood that way but Oh Well i cant even get people to understand that reptiles are alive so plants are a no-go), so all im really talking about is disputing a certain idea of how they behave as predators. for the purposes of this, lets define parasitism as a form of predation that consumes prey in units of less than one.

for one, in a significant chunk of media, a vampire preying on a human usually kills that human. im assuming for this that the amount of blood they need is just equivalent to one human, rather than getting into the supernatural weeds of why this kills the human. you could also just assume the vampire is incompetent and dispatches the prey due to not know how to feed on blood and NOT, but thats bad for the species if all vampires do that.

this is BAD for a parasite. parasites do not actually want to kill their hosts. why would they? for most parasites, the host is not only their source of food but their HOUSE, their source of everything in the world. sure, never leaving the host makes reproduction a complicated mess, but thats the price you pay for getting literally everything handed to you on a silver platter. a parasite is not designed to leave the host, or not for long, and usually makes use of intermediate hosts to do so anyways, minimizing non-host time. did you know most parasites dont actually have any adaptations to manage their body temperature? because if they live inside a host body, then they can just use the hosts body temperature in the first place, nice and perfect for them.

high parasite loads in single hosts are not actually good for the parasite, anyways. anything that effects host health isnt good for the parasite, actually, because they run on such a fine line of "host is healthy and happy = even better food and house for me!" and "host cannot be TOO healthy and happy, because then their immune system has an even better chance to kick me out and kill me (at the same time ofc)"

vampires that just... kill their host upon first contact with said host are not being very good parasites. theyre bad parasites actually. why are you burning your own fields. the blood comes BACK.

but this is when you say, ah! but what if theyre like mosquitos and vampire bats and other forms of parasites that dont live inside their hosts body!

one, you still have the issue of STOP KILLING YOUR DAMN HOSTS. stop removing food sources for yourself in the future!!! but also, theres a reason vampire bats are so fucking weird for deciding to become obligate sangivores as tetrapods, and its because blood is a pretty shitty source of nutrition. its high in certain things, sure, but also it is crucially missing several different things necessary for life to Function, and this is a pretty extreme way to live if you cant just find ways around that. ie: is a vertebrate.

lack of detection is also the name of the game here. you do not want your prey to even notice that you are there, you do not want them to dislodge you, you want to get in and get out. why are you being the exact same fucking size as your prey. thats how you get immediately noticed. and you LOOK like how your prey looks???? in a social animal???? good job getting marked as 1. OUTSIDER TO INSIDE GROUP and 2. POTENTIAL THREAT. theres so much back and forth, pros and cons, competition and collaboration, in social species, that you shouldnt get wrapped up in that if you can help it (which you shouldnt, because you are trying to eat these people, not have your own feeding attempt thwarted because they pulled you into their social dramas and now you cant get close enough to any of them without getting noticed or possibly attacked anyways)

honestly the size thing is one of the big things for me. it makes no sense. theres a reason predators as a rule are smaller than the prey that they hunt, and thats because the 10% rule of tropic levels still applies here. you are operating at an energy deficit. the energy it takes to capture and kill and feed and digest (because you have to have energy to even begin eating something!! even if you dont catch it yourself!! digestion consumes energy!!!) something the size of a human will NOT be made up for by the energy you get from that human if you are ALSO the same size as a human. you are so much more likely to get caught and found out (and no i do not care how op your vampires are, getting outnumbered is far more powerful in real life than it has ever been in fiction because fiction solely runs on "rule of cool" and it kills me when people then try to apply it to real life) (see also: STOP KILLING YOUR SOURCE OF FOOD YOU IDIOTS) (YOU DO NOT GO INTO THE FIELD AND START KILLING ALL OF YOUR HERD OF COWS BECAUSE ONE BULL GORED SOMEONE) (YOU HAVE TO EAT TOO) and to have your feeding attempt botched if you are the size of a human. theres a reason all the sangivores we have are all fractions of a size of the animals that they feed on, AND this is already counting sangivores who eat OTHER stuff too (a lot of blood-feeding insects will also be important pollinators who eat nectar!! vampire bats are weird by only eating blood!!!)

theres also the issue of timing. vampires ALWAYS eat way more often than they should. like, okay, blood is garbage food and it has no fat meaning no extra stores of energy to prevent immediate starvation if you miss one feeding. but these are also animals that are taking a little bit of blood from an animal far larger than them who will not miss that amount of blood taken. they can afford to double-dip, because they arent killing their prey. sure, they can kill their prey in massive swarms, but not only does this primarily effect the young/small/weak and less so for the adults (a fair enough price to pay, babies are cheap and animals always seem to have a higher mortality in their early life than adulthood), but also this is a pretty rare situation to begin with and the bust/boom suggested would be beneficial enough alone to make up for the cost of these losses.

but no. vampires are killing their prey, they have to take a large amount of blood at once (one whole human the same size as them), and they only specialize into ONE TYPE OF PREY. yes, i know theres recent talk of vampires who eat animals, but no. im going pop vampire, the vampire that most people will first think of when thinking of a vampire, basic as shit.

humans are bad prey, okay? this is what all these stories dont understand. humans are really, really bad prey. first of all, we are apex predators to begin with (do not come at me and argue with me about this, an apex predator is literally just one of the largest predators in its ecosystem, can (not necessarily will) eat nearly any other type of animal in said ecosystem, and is rarely predated upon as adults. lions and bears and tigers and sharks are all regularly eaten by other animals when they are cubs. like i said. infant mortality is universally pretty high), so thats a bad call. even in cases of maneaters that exist, theyre nearly all animals that have had their natural form of living interrupted in some way. habitation is the least damaging option (aka why you need to STOP FEEDING THE WILDLIFE), but also if the animal is injured, or sick, or very old, or nursing cubs. aka, all the cases where we would expect an animal to start taking on riskier prey that cannot pan out. the lions of tsavo could not eat their regular prey due to injury and already were feeding off of bodies left behind by the human atrocities of the railroad being constructed. humans both remember and hold grudges. this is a bad strategy, and vampires have made the fatal mistake of absolutely needing to be in absolutely tiny populations just to make the numbers work and also being large enough to actively target. you cannot squish every mosquito, but one vampire already requires such a massive population to support them that you can easily drive them to localized extinction by just killing one.

which is another thing. if you are killing a human every time you eat, and you are eating often, then the humans are not replacing themselves. humans take at least 9 months to make another human, and even that is basically useless without a good decade and a half more of just waiting for them to grow up and get to a decent size which might then be useful for you. if you target the infants to begin with, then thats way less blood, not going to be enough, and youre going to make multiple kills in one night just to make up for that absence, and then some because you need even MORE to make up for the extra energy you just spent obtaining all of said infants. not to mention the time lag itll take for the same humans to make more humans to replace those, AND humans have a limited reproductive window to begin with. this is very bad if you have to eat more than once a week. hell, this is bad if youre even doing the regular predator thing of eating a single large prey maybe once a month (and they supplement their diet with other, smaller prey items to make up for the energy deficit). do you know how long it takes a wildebeest or a zebra to go from calf to reproductive adult? its not 18 years, okay.

and again i just sit here and fume thinking about every excuse made that vampires are using mimicry to look like humans to get close to them. first of all, thats not how most aggressive mimicry works. most aggressive mimicry is looking like something appetizing to your prey item, something it wants to get close to, or something it wouldnt even notice at all. usually if youre looking like a specific animal, its not actually FOR that animal, and aggressive mimicry to begin with is rarer than you think. the only example i can think of is the (small!!!!) fraction of ant-mimicking jumping spiders that do prey on ants, but not only is this rare due to how scary ants themselves are, but it cannot really be just copy + pasted onto humans, who have an entirely different reproductive setup and no queens that churn out hundreds of offspring a day (more than any spider could eat in the one single community of ants) and are mammalian megafauna that have extremely high energetic needs and physical effort required just to kill a single one of those bastards, let alone repeatedly doing it more than once, AND being obligated to navigate space in the same way that they do.

all of this is nonsensical because i am very sick right now so you know. unpolished vampire rant.

#beddragin #all the care guide says is 'biomass' #asks #bangs my head on the wall. I HATE VAMPIRES I HATE VAMPIRES I HATE VAMPIRES #WHY ARE THEY SO FUCKED UP WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP CLAIMING THEY ARE SUPERPREDATORS #WHY DO THEY WANT TO RULE HUMANITY WHY WOULD THEY NOT ALSO FEAR US #DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH EVERY PREDATOR FEARS ITS PREY #YOU CANNOT LIVE FEED SNAKES BECAUSE THE MICE WILL TEAR OPEN THEIR FACE AND CHEW THEIR SKULLS #THERE ARE HORROR STORIES OF PET TARANTULAS GETTING EATEN BY MEALWORMS #AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[texasbama]

Hiya I know you're a safe space and I need to get this out, so sorry in advance 🙃.

I see how amazing canon bi buck is for the queer community and I don't mind how it happened in canon. But while I should be happy, I actually kind of feel like I'm mourning? I'm so attached to eddie, maybe unhealthily so, and the ensemble found family dynamic is what first brought me to the show. For a while it's been a struggle having the fandom basically shove buck into every spec or storyline and act like he is a perfect angel and the centre of the universe. But there was always the eddiezers and it was more balanced. But now literally EVERYBODY is all about buck and tommy. It feels like the rest of the show doesn't even exist. I know its only been a couple of days but going on social media now just makes me anxious and idk why really. I'm worried about future eddie storylines, I'm desperate for marisol to disappear, but the vibe is that now buck is bi nothing else matters, we've won apparently, who even cares about eddie or the other characters because buck kissed a man.

Also I'm sex-repulsed ace and people saying how if you don't like it you're a purist and an evangelical and homophobic and biphobic actually makes me feel like shit. I never really understood wanting two characters to have sex 'because why not', because I don't understand why anyone wants to ever lol. I can only read buddie smut in very specific scenarios and most of the time i skip even that. And the rhetoric in a lot of tumblr space recently makes me feel like a bad person for not being all for it 100%. I don't think I've explained myself well here but I tried. You don't have to reply or post this either, I just wanted to reach out to someone in fandom who won't jump down my throat for it 😅. 911 is kind of a hyperfixation of mine so even though I'm trying to stay away as much as possible so as to not make myself more upset but I have no idea what to do with myself otherwise 🫠. Thanks for reading and sorry for unloading on you

Please don’t apologize, im happy you felt like I was a safe space. Im gonna break this into two parts and I hope I can articulate myself correctly lol

1) the first few days after an episode, any episode but especially one like this, isn’t indicative of fandom as a whole. Emotions are heightened due to what happened in the episode. Everyone is screaming about something and it’s in your face ya know? This week something HUGE happened, so yes people are talking about it. It was to be expected. We must make space for people to be happy about it. It’s a beautiful thing and queer joy MUST be celebrated.

This show (for the most part) has done a beautiful job of giving each character their time to shine(some more so than others but thats a conversation for a different day). Coming off 7x04, yes the headline is Bi Buck. And it will continue to be for a while, but it’s important to remember that YOU curate your fandom experience. I don’t blame you at all for what you’re feeling, ESPECIALLY as an Eddie girlie(gn), like I get it! Trust me! I’ve had to carefully maneuver through some emotions this week myself. I’m human! But filtering and being able to step away is everything.

Being excited about the storyline and also hoping and wanting more from other storylines are two things that can be true at the same time. It’s not one or the other. Remember that.

2) im going to say this and just know the caps is because I am just passionate. I promise you, its yelling at you with love okay?

I know it is easier said than done, but don’t you EVER allow ANYONE on this fucking hellsite make you feel less than or that your asexuality is anything but 100% valid. YOU are valid, you hear me?

Okay. I had to make sure to say that first. Whew. Now. As for the fandom piece of it all, we have to remember that there levels to it. You are allowed to feel the way you feel about sex, BUT it’s also important to remember that sex positivity (and those who express it) is also a good and valid. If you feel like there are blogs that talk down to you, imply that YOU are homophobic or biphobic simply because YOU are not doing cartwheels about different sex acts, then block. Unfollow. Do whatever you need to. Those people are scum.

Listen to me *pulls you close*, this is always a safe space. You are a valid, your existence and experiences are valid. And anyone who makes you question that can fuck right off. And lastly, HAPPY ASEXUALITY DAY TO YOU SPECIFICALLY! MUAH! 💜🤍🩶🖤

#this got REALLY long and I am sorry for that lmfaoooo #911 asks

[lostsunlight]

CHAPTER 8 - GOLDEN THREADS WOVEN BY SHARPEND HANDS

childe x reader, wc: 3.1k, masterlist , Ao3 cw: nsfw, violence, murder

You arrived at Bubu Pharmacy as soon as dawn broke, you had left the house without seeing Childe, you hadn’t seen him since he left you on the couch. You supposed he was busy with his grand plans to gain glory. 

You had spent the night kneeled over the rather large bathtub inlaid into the floor, trying one again to form swords with your Vision anyways. Now with the aid of the borrowed catalyst it seemed easier to form the sharp edge of the blade.

Dr Baizhu stood at the front of the pharmacy alongside Qiqi, he was listing off a few things and writing them in the notebook you had seen Qiqi holding yesterday. You approached the pair, cool dawn breeze gently blowing your hair.

Baizhu hands the notebook to Qiqi and she ambles off without saying much of anything. Changsheng lazily slithers up his arm and then returns to her familiar perch around his shoulders. 

Baizhu addresses you “Y/N, I’m glad you could make it, come inside and we'll discuss your contract of employment”

You nod “Of course Doctor” 

You follow him behind the counter into a small office, herbs and papers meticulously placed and ordered. He sits behind the desk and pulls out a small stack of papers and slides them towards you. Changsheng slides off his arm to curl around a small lantern on the desk emitting heat.

“This covers your pay, hours and scope of practice. It also details what you will be doing while you study under me”

You flick through the pages, you hadn't exactly encountered anything like this but you trusted Baizhu enough to not scam you. After meticulously reading every line you signed the contract. You were required to work at least 4 days a week, but your hours seemed flexible. You swallowed your anxieties about Childe doing something stupid, he would tell you before right? Likely not seeing how spontaneous he can be, he would just have to seek you out at Bubu pharmacy and you would have to feign not knowing him.

You slid the contract back to him, black ink still glistening on the paper. You felt a spark up your forearm, you inhaled sharply, a reminder of Morax perhaps.

Baizhu gave a nod “Now, about Qiqi, you may have noticed she's not quite like a normal human child”

“I was wondering about that”

“She died quite a while ago, the adepti of Liyue blessed her so she may continue to live in the form of a zombie. Unfortunately due to her being a zombie she has very poor memory and she is unable to commence a task on her own”

You nod along, Baizhu continues “Any order you give her she will do and she will not stop until the task is completed, unless you give her a hug with enough conviction”

You smile a little bit, she was still somewhat human under all those frosty layers

“It’ll take a while for her to warm up to you, I would bring her some coconut milk when she asks for a ‘cocogoat’. Poor thing forgets what its called”

You nod, not having much to add.

“One more thing, if a woman by the name of Hu Tao comes around asking for Qiqi, say you do not know where she is. She’s the Director at Wangsheng Funeral Parlour”

“Right, I take it she wants Qiqi because she's technically dead?”

‘Correct”

Your eyes flick back to Changsheng, asleep around the lantern, soft orange glow dancing off her shining scales. “Is Changsheng alright? She seems less… chatty than she was yesterday”

Baizhu glances at Changsheng “She’ll be ok, as a cold blooded creature, the cold mornings in Liyue take a lot of energy from her. She’ll be ok once she's warmed up”

You nod “I see”

With that Baizhu prompt stands and exits the office “With that sorted, lets begin your training. First you must learn to harness your elemental energy more effectively” 

The day seeps into a mix of training and treating, Baizhu starts out by teaching you the fundamentals of Liyuan principles. That treatment involved both the body and soul, he teaches you to harness your elemental energy by using his Dendro Vision as an example. 

Oddly enough every time Baizhu attended to a patient you were sent out of the room, you had heard of his miracle work, perhaps it was his secret to keep. You could help but notice that Baizhu looked a little more weak every time he treated someone. The bags under his eyes grew darker, he seemed more and more tired. 

Soon enough you slip into an easy rhythm like you had back at the cathedral’s infirmary.

✧

Childe was escorted to a private room at the back of Luili Pavilion by a clearly nervous waitress. He stepped into the room, he barely registered the waitress saying she would be back to take orders in a bit. His attention was focused on the brown haired man sitting at the head of the table sipping tea.

Putting on his most outgoing personality he greeted the man “I take it you’re Zhongli? I’m glad we finally have the opportunity to meet” 

He sits himself down to face Zhongli “And you must be the Harbinger that has Liyue wrapped around his finger”

“Hah! You flatter me sir, I’m merely an envoy of her majesty here to oversee the Northland Bank for a while”

“I must say, I’m rather curious as to why you wished to meet me today” he placed the steaming teacup down and made eye contact with Childe “It's not everyday a Harbinger would take interest in a normal person”

“You’re well known around The Harbour for your extensive knowledge of Liyue’s history. I’m curious to learn about it” 

Childe omitted the rumours that he was an adeptus of some sorts. He wasn’t sure how much weight the rumours held or if they held any weight at all, he would have to judge that for himself. 

Zhongli took another sip of his tea “And what is it you wish to know Childe?”

“The adepti, I’ve heard legends of them but nobody here ever mentions them. If it were any other city gods walking among them would be the talk of the town” He looked directly Zhongli, wanting nothing but answers

Zhongli launches into a long-winded explanation “The adepti are bound to protect Liyue by a contract made with Morax, in an age gone by they fought to the death protecting Liyue during the Archon War and The Cataclysm” He pauses for a moment to take a sip of his tea and then continues “The ones who are left with a few exceptions have no interest in humans and their affairs. The adepti have all but left Liyue Harbour to be ruled by the Qixing”

“Where might you find the adepti now?” Childe traced a finger along the edge of his glass

“Juyen Karst. It would be a fool's errand to seek them out however. You would need a Sigil of Permission which have all but disappeared over the ages” 

Childe knew about the Sigils of course, but now the second piece of the puzzle had fallen into place, he knew where to find the adepti. Now all he needed was to find someone to carry out the dirty work. Going to see them himself would be too risky.

Childe continues to let Zhongli ramble on about the adepti and their history in the archon war. Telling a grand tale about something called ‘The Guili Assembly’ and a goddess of dust. After a short wait the food came out, instead of the fork and knife Childe was expecting he was presented with two wooden sticks. 

Zhongli picked them up with ease, Childe tried to replicate what he was doing briefly but after failing to pick up his food a few times he resolved to just stabbing the food with the chopstick. While Liyuean food was great he still missed the food of his home nation.

Zhongli didn't say anything but he could feel his eyes on him. At the end of the meal the waitress bought the check. Childe looked to Zhongli expecting him to pay his half.

“Ah, I'm afraid I do not have any Mora on my person” he confessed

Childe grit his teeth for a second before relenting, he had enough funds from Northland anyways “Don't worry, I can cover it. What's a little debt between friends anyways?” he joked.

“The storyteller at Heyu Teahouse is beginning soon, if you wish to learn more about Liyue’s history then you may accompany me” 

“I would be delighted to”

After paying for the admittedly expensive meal Chide and Zhongli set out. They quickly found seats just before The Teamaster began his tale, a popular epic of one of Morax’s battles during the Archon War. Liu Su cleared his throat and the crowd went silent. 

Master Liu Su was an excellent storyteller, weaving the threads together expertly. Zhongli on the other hand interrupted Liu Su more than once to correct him regarding some details of the story. Childe had expected the crowd to be annoyed at him but rather they seemed indifferent, like they were used to it. 

Perhaps there was weight to the rumours that Zhongli was an adeptus, he spoke as if he was there, in such a matter-of-fact tone as well. There was more to this man, no chance he was just a historian. Childe would just have to figure it out.

Liu Su wrapped up his tale and the crowd broke out into a polite applause, soon the air was filled with conversations. 

“It was lovely meeting you Zhongli, I find myself fascinated with Liyue’s history”

“If you wish to discuss it further and learn more, might I suggest we have another meal soon”

“That sounds delightful”

“Then it’s agreed”

✧

You returned to see Childe in a good mood. You were surprised to see him at home at all seeing as he had been all but a ghost for the last two days. You were still reeling from the conversation you had had. 

Childe looked up when he heard you step inside. He was standing over the stove with a piece of fish in hand. It looked strange to see a Harbinger in all his glory standing over a stove cooking. You approached him, standing next to him as he placed the piece of fish on the iron skillet.

“You can cook?” You question, taking in the scene 

“Of course, my Мама would have killed me and my brothers if we didn’t learn, something about finding a good wife” 

“Your mother, what’s she like?” Childe looks at you for a second before returning his attention to the pan, oil spitting as the fish crackles in the pan. 

“Kind, she's the best mother I could have asked for. She cares for all of my siblings younger and older. She could even wrangle my папа, father, out of a bad mood”

“How many siblings do you have?” You move to grab a thick wooden cutting board and a knife. You begin to cut the vegetables. 

“Six, three older and three younger, I'm right in the middle. The youngest two, Teucer and Anthon, don’t know that I work for the Fatui, they don’t know about my station as a Harbinger either. The others have agreed to keep quiet about it until they’re older”

“You want to keep them in the dark?”

“I want to preserve their innocence for as long as I can”

“That's… Rather admirable”

“Do you have any siblings, blood related that is”

You shake your head “No, and if I do I wouldn't know, all orphans are given to The Church or The Knights, considering the abyssal activity in Mondstadt has been particularly high there's a lot of children with dead parents” 

You wave your knife around for effect before continuing “The closest thing I had was Marianne”

“Marianne... You mentioned her before, another sister I’m guessing?”

“It’s complicated” you sigh “ Once I considered her as a second half of myself, a reflection if you will. But people change, she wanted to follow the path of what she thought was our duty and I didn’t” 

You don’t mention Mona’s prophecy for her, that she would be struck down in her prime, fighting for what she believed in. Marianne had dismissed the prophecy at the time, deeming it nothing but nonsense. 

Childe takes the slices of fish and places them on a plate, he grabs the now chopped vegetables and throws them in the pan and adds a little more oil. 

“One day I will cry for her” You said, moving to set two plates next to him and the cutlery on the table, you stripped yourself of your gloves. 

Deciding to change the subject, the fresh sting of Marianne still hurt too much.  “I haven’t seen you for the past few days, where have you been?” you ask

“Fatui business” He responds vaguely 

“Which means?” 

“Just lunch with a contact”

“I find that rather hard to believe Harbinger ” 

“How so?” He takes the pan off the fire and serves the vegetables, placing them on the table, you both take your respective seats. 

“I’m just surprised you haven't killed anything yet” you stab the fish with your fork and take a bite. Merde, It was delicious. 

“You sound so sure of yourself” he snarked 

“Oh so you have killed someone in the three short days we've been here” you glance up at him through your lashes 

“You shouldn’t be so surprised. If it helps it was in self defence” 

You shrug “You’re right I shouldn’t. Suppose its part of your job”

“I’m assuming you got the apprenticeship?” He pokes at the vegetables

“I was wondering when you would ask”

“So you did get it?”

You nod “Yes, with that being said I’ll be at Bubu Pharmacy so if you need me you’ll have to go there. I'll give you my schedule”

“Sounds good. I tend to find myself fighting at night anyways” He stands up and clears the plates “With that being said were headed to Mount Tianheng, there's a few hilichurl camps out there”

“We?” You cross your arms 

“Yep. We” he shrugs on his jacket and shoves on his boots and strides out the door. You resigned and followed him. 

You tail behind him from a distance without him asking you to, knowing the agreement about being associated with each other. After a short while you exit the city and catch up with him once you were sure there was nobody around. 

“Have you still got that catalyst I gave you?” 

You pull the weapon out, its form revealing itself with a golden sheen, letting it float beside you. 

“Good. You see that hilichurl? Shoot it” He points in the direction of the creature, it was hunched over digging in the dirt

You hesitate for a minute, trying to justify it. If you did not strike first it would hurt you. Taking a deep breath you formed a hydro dagger instead of a water droplet. It wasn’t the best but it would do for now. 

“Don’t hesitate in battle, that gives your opponent more time to land a hit on you” Childe comments

Letting it float, you aim it at the stray hilichurl and throw it with all the force you have, leaving a glimmering trail of hydro. It grazes the hilichurl’s blackened arm. It jumps to attention, letting out a screech, turning its body towards you. Without thinking you form a second dagger and throw it at the rapidly approaching hilichurl, bracing your knees getting ready to dodge.

This time it struck true embedding itself in the hilichurl’s stomach, it staggered a little.

Childe walked up behind you placing his hands on your shoulders, he leans in and whispers “Now finish it off” 

Gathering all your energy you throw one last hydro dagger, it lands in its throat. The hilichurl gurgles and dissipates into nothing but black smoke curling towards the night sky. You swallowed, hands shaking. 

“You did well, I like the daggers, very creative” he said jauntily, he keeps on walking not waiting for you. You jog to catch up with him. 

“Why did you bring me here?” you question him sharply

“What I can't enjoy spending time with you?” 

“And you do that by killing things?” 

“Tch- Their hilichurls, If anything its letting off some steam”

“Why would you think I would enjoy that?” you huff “I only agreed to learn to fight so I would be able to defend myself in case someone found out about us or the knights were tailing me”

“You would have to kill them anyways, might as well learn to make that final hit without hesitation”

You bit your lip, he was right of course. Letting a loose end hand was a horribly dangerous idea. Still, the thought of killing anything made you feel sick, you would just have to hope you never got into that situation. 

“Come, there's a camp not far ahead”

“If you want me to fight a whole camp then you would be mistaken”

“You’ll be fine, you have me as backup”

“...Right”

You walk a little further up the path, rounding a large rock to see the rudimentary camp. There were a few hilichirls milling around and one particularly menacing looking mitachurl. Childe draws his dual blades and you draw your catalyst.

Childe rushes into the camp, you stay back more than happy to keep your distance. Childe becomes nothing more than a flurry of movement. Blades converging to make a polearm, splitting to make a bow. The lower part of his red scarf moving like fire.

You summon a dagger and throw it at a hilichurl on the edge of the camp, it hits its back. It charges at you, swinging its bat a trail of flame lighting up the darkness. You sidestep its charge and hit it with a charged attack. It falls back and dies. 

The second time didn’t make it easier, you just wanted to go back to Liyue Harbour. In the time it took you to take down one hilichurl Childe had cleared the camp. His eyes lit up with what you could assume was battle-lust. 

There was a small spatter of blood along his cheek. You approach him, wiping the blood off his face, flicking your hand to get rid of it. 

“I don't understand you, how can you find joy in this?”

“I don’t understand how you can’t, its exhilarating” 

“Let’s go back to Liyue Harbour, I can’t stand the stench of abyssal creatures”

Childe averts his gaze, you notice his eyebrows furrow momentarily and his jaw clench 

“That's probably for the best, I forgot how hard the first few kill were”

Why did he react that way to you saying you hated the smell of the abyss? There was something more here. A problem for later you decided. You were just happy you were finally heading back to the safety of the Harbour.

#tartaglia x reader #tartaglia #childe #ajax #ajax fic #ajax x reader #tartaglia fic #tartaglia angst #tartaglia fluff #tartaglia fanfiction #tartaglia fanfic #tartaglia smut #childe fluff #childe angst #genshin #genshin impact #genshin impact childe #genshin tartaglia #genshin childe #genshin impact childe x reader #genshin impact fic #genshin impact commission #genshin fanfic #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact fics #b's writing #godless