#and the rest of the most beautiful region on Earth

[an-onyx-void]

I can't believe I didn't know this previously, but HAPPY CARRIBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH EVERYONE!!!

#national Caribbean-American heritage month #carribean american heritage month #jamaica #St. Kitts and Nevis #Cuba #puerto rico #dominican republic #Guadalupe #Bahamas #the cayman islands #turks and caicos #trinidad and tobago #dominica #and the rest of the most beautiful region on Earth #I'm sorry i couldn't tag more countries 😅

[peachdues]

THE GREAT WAR — PART II TEASER

Giyuu’s Flashback • Secret Pregnancy AU

A/N: don’t think I’ve forgotten about these two!

Enjoy a small teaser featuring a key flashback for Giyuu from Part II of TGW. As I said in the notes for Part I, this is a non-linear story, and this flashback in particular is something referenced in Part I, while Reader is patching Giyuu’s wound up (a hint: Giyuu’s particular questioning about Reader’s choice of perfume oils).

Enjoy a little humor and a very, very flustered Water Pillar.

CW: accidental spying while Reader is bathing • Giyuu gets horny but doesn’t realize why • Giyuu is an idiot

READ PART I HERE

The shop vendor continued to gape after the woman long after she disappeared into the bustling crowd. Mildly, Giyuu noted that he’d polished the same dish two times over, unable to break free from his trance.

“Was that not the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?”

“I did not notice.” He replied, chewing thickly on his mouthful of udon. The vendor raised a single, skeptical eyebrow at his dismissiveness but said nothing more, and for that Giyuu was grateful.

He hated small talk, especially when he was trying to enjoy his meal. If anything, it only took away from the experience, ensuring that half his food ended up everywhere — his lap, the counter — but his mouth.

Besides, the Merchant’s attempt to engage him on this particular subject was rather pointless. In truth, Giyuu never really found anyone beautiful — not really. Though, he supposed as he shoved down another mouthful of his soup, perhaps that was because he’d never truly bothered to pay attention to anyone to definitively say one way or another. Paying attention to something as trivial as one’s physical appearance meant he wasn’t focusing on that which truly mattered — like signs of demons, of things going bump in the night.

And Giyuu Tomioka did not tolerate distractions.

With a grimace, he drained the last of the broth from his bowl and tossed a handful of change on the counter for payment. He only nodded curtly at the cook in farewell before he set off, ready to do one final patrol through the forest leading to his home before he would return and await his next orders.

The sleepy forest absorbed the sound of his footsteps as Giyuu made his way through the unmarked path he’d established as the final length of his patrol through the small, mountainous region in which he was assigned. Judging by the faint chirps of the earliest birds beginning to sound from the canopy of trees above, he knew dawn was close, and thus, his vigil was coming to an end.

The night had been relatively quiet, and so Giyuu allowed his thoughts to roam to the Shrine at the other end of the forest. He wondered whether its grounds were already abuzz with trainee priestesses and groundskeepers, as they flurried around to take care of their morning duties before breakfast was served.

Truthfully, his mind was only interested in the activities of one particular trainee, but the Water Pillar had no reason to drop by the once-reverent shrine, and so, he decided to stick to his current route, and then he’d make his way back for a few hours’ rest. If anything were amiss at the shrine, one of the crows he’d stationed there would alert him.

As Giyuu began to make the loop that would lead him back to his barren estate, a shift in the wind brought a change in scent from that of the usual dirt-pine-molded earth odor he’d always associated with the woods, to something softer; sweeter.

The Water Pillar frowned as the early morning breeze wafted more of the peculiar scent towards him. The herbal-floral fragrance was out of place amidst the familiar, damp rot of the forest, and it made him uneasy. Giyuu had long since learned that things that were out place usually spelled trouble, and where there was trouble, there was usually demon activity afoot.

That was all it took for him to change his course of action. With a fluid deftness that came only from years of having to tread lightly to avoid being ripped apart, Giyuu moved through the forest towards the source of the scent, it’s pull growing thicker as he drew nearer.

A cursory glance toward the canopy of the forest above him revealed a lightening sky; the stars had long since winked out, and the Water Pillar knew that the sun was well on its way to breaking over the horizon. But until that time arrived, the threat of demon activity persisted, and this unknown scent was far too close to not investigate.

Besides, if there was a demon in this forest, that meant it could stumble upon the Shrine at any moment, and that was a risk Giyuu would not take.

He took off in a silent run, eyes peeled to track any movement in the dark, his ears pricked for the slightest signal of something misplaced — an odd crack of a branch, or the sudden silence of the rising, tittering birds.

As the trail of strange floral perfume grew stronger, so too, did the distinct aquatic scent of nearby water. His eyes narrowed; only a few feet ahead, the trees thinned into a line before giving way to a large gap.

A clearing. One that housed a sizeable waterfall, judging by the telltale sound of roaring water as it smashed into a cluster of rocks below. He eased into a stealthy prowl toward the opening, his body alert and poised to respond to any threat that awaited him beyond the darker of the forest.

But all was quiet; yet, years spent within the Corps had ingrained within him a deep mistrust of silence. And so, Giyuu lingered in the shadows of the trees surrounding the small waterfall as he watched, waiting.

The raven-haired slayer’s attention snapped to a small disturbance over by the bank of the waterfall. The sky had lightened enough that he could make out a figure, clad in white, knelt down in the shallow of the river basin.

Giyuu’s hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, but as his eyes further adjusted, he felt his mouth go dry.

Silhouetted against the faint glow emitting from the waterfall and the rapidly lightening sky, Y/N sharpened into focus as she waded deeper into the pool, a small bucket cradled in her arms.

She was not dressed in her usual, traditional Miko attire; rather, she was clad only in a thin white kimono that clung wetly to her hips as she moved towards the waterfall. She paused at the base of the gentle flow of river from the cliff above, and she pulled a small vial from her bucket that she uncorked with one hand.

The shrine maiden poured the contents of the glass over her head, the liquid too viscous to be water. Giyuu closed his eyes and sniffed the air, and he noted that the scent of herbs and flowers now hung in the air like a thick perfume.

The Water Pillar’s gaze snapped back down to the vexatious Miko just as she filled her bucket with water from the fall. With a grace that he hadn’t realized the young woman possessed, Y/N lifted the pail over her head and tipped its contents over, allowing the water to pour down her frame, drenching her.

A cleansing ritual, Giyuu realized as he watched her repeat the process once more. And a very old one at that; he wasn’t sure many shrine maidens still partook in the rite.

Though, Giyuu supposed, it would make sense that Y/N would not only know of the outdated ceremony, but that she would practice it, given that she’d been raised by a grandmother who insisted on abiding by tradition at all cost.

He hadn’t realized that the mere observation of a cleansing rite meant that its participant would look the way Y/N did, standing in the cool spring, clad in nothing but a thin white gown that the water had nearly turned transparent. The Water Pillar’s worked to swallow around the lump that had formed in his throat as Y/N’s water-soaked kimono clung to her skin, revealing the soft, rounded curve of her backside and the delicate length of her legs that Giyuu hadn’t realized she possessed under the loose layers of her shrine outfit.

Giyuu shifted his weight in the tree, inexplicably enraptured by the Miko’s morning ritual to realize he’d startled a small bird into flight.

Y/N whipped around at the disturbance and the ravenette shrank further back into the shadows, his cheeks feeling bizarrely warm at the sight of the young woman now facing his direction.

Giyuu chanced a glance back at the Miko just as the sun broke over the horizon, its pale golden light reflecting off the calm surface of the spring, casting Y/N in the hoary glow of the cascading waterfall.

She looked…like she did not belong in this world. Her hair hung around her shoulders and down to her waist, and the spray of the waterfall clung to the strands like thousands of glittering stars. Her eyes were sharp and bright as they scanned the tree line for the source, her soft, reddened lips twisted down into an uncharacteristic frown.

Giyuu kept his assessment of her form, so stripped back and vulnerable, confined strictly to her face. It was bad enough that the sight of Y/N, standing in the luminescent water, had sent his pulse skyrocketing; he did not trust what would happen if he allowed his gaze to drop lower, to where that diaphanous kimono covered her chest.

Perhaps there was a perfectly logical explanation for his strange reaction to the image of Y/N, standing in the pool, that had nothing to do with her at all. He wondered whether some of the herbs she’d used in her cleansing oil could impart a physical effect on those exposed to their concentrated fragrance; Giyuu made a mental note to find a casual way to ask her, the next time he saw her.

Y/N turned away from him once more as she began to wade back over to the bank of the spring. Now that the sun had risen, Giyuu could spy the familiar white and red cloth of her kosode and hakama pants, folded in a neat bundle atop a small boulder.

Before the sun could chase away the shadows of the forest and reveal his presence, Giyuu turned away and retreated, willing himself not to ponder on the fact that she’d changed clothes, in the middle of a dark forest, just prior to his arrival.

Though, his commitment to not thinking about how the shrine maiden may have looked as she discarded her usual attire in favor of the flimsy bathing kimono she’d been wearing meant that Giyuu’s traitorous thoughts wandered instead to the memory of her standing hip-deep in the spring. His mind struggled to categorize the mental image of her — she was the same Y/N he’d come to know, and yet, something about her was different, though he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what it was.

The word he’d been searching for came to him not long after the sun had fully risen in the early summer sky, just as the sloped roof of his manor came into view.

Beautiful, Giyuu decided. Y/N was beautiful.

dividers from @/saradika • reblogs/comments/likes always appreciated!

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #giyuu tomioka #kny #kny x reader #kny fanfic #kny tomioka #tomioka giyū #kny giyuu #giyuu #kny giyu #kny smut #demon slayer smut #demon slayer fanfic #giyuu x reader #giyuu x y/n #giyuu x you

[megumimania]

IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH - shoko ieiri

warnings: shoko x fem!reader, rct has minor side effects , fluff, shoko finally getting taken care of, rct = reverse cursed technique

a/n: shoko yearners (me) rise!

you sighed at her stubbornness.

shoko couldn’t even stand up before her limbs went to jelly and she flopped back onto the couch—a minor side effect of abusing her rct when she worked late nights at the hospital.

yet she was still trying to do the laundry despite you insisting that she needed rest.

“babe it’s fine. i can take care of myself.”

she protested, shooing you away. but you physically couldn’t when she was in such a bad state. you accepted her wishes but you lingered outside the laundry room ready to catch her if she fell.

she was always a fierce beacon of independence, it made sense when she spent most of her adolescence shacked up in the four sterile walls of the hospital, working in silence and solitude fixing up the most unimaginable horrors unbeknownst to man.

however you wanted her to rely and depend on you too. you saw how much stress she carried from work, causing her to be easily irritable but you didn’t take her outbursts personally. shoko being the sole doctor who could perform rct on others in the whole tokyo region was taxing.

so when you saw her knees about to buckle from carrying the load of laundry. you were there in an instant. holding her with such gentleness as if she was going to break with the slightest touch.

her eyes that were full of fire and determination gave way to her true feelings; exhaustion and pain. it broke your heart seeing her like this but you both knew as long as curses reigned the earth and there were sorcerers made to fight them that this would be a continuous cycle.

“will you finally let me take care of you now?” you said softly, brushing the stray hairs away from her face. shoko was honestly too tired to put up a fight, she just needed some sleep.

she mumbled a tired “yeah” which was all the confirmation you needed. shoko let herself go, letting you take care of her the way she desperately needed. background noise from the tv played as you nestled her into bed with a hot water battle, some soup and vitamins and lots of love and kisses.

in the midst of all this shoko realised three things:

1.being taken care of was pretty damn nice

2.she was stubborn as hell and that’s something that needed to work on.

3. she was so lucky to have you, the most beautiful amazing person in the world as her girlfriend.

she slept like a baby that night knowing that you’d always be by her side, ready to catch her if she ever falls.

#vina writes: jjk #ieiri shoko x reader #shoko x you #shoko x reader #shoko x black!reader #it got more introspective than i initially thought hm #jujutsu kaisen shoko #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x you #jjk fluff #jjk x fem!reader #fem!reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk shoko #jjk fic #jjk x reader

[drawingdroid]

The Unknown Regions III

A Din Djarin x Fem Plus Size Reader Fic

Summary: You, a soft astrophysicist, meet the hardened Mandalorian in less-than-ideal circumstances. Your abilities will lead to you crossing the galaxy together in search of his green son.

Read Chapter 1 | Read Chapter 2

Warnings: Expect conversations about weight, body dysmorphia and internalised fatphobia that may be triggering, so read at your own discretion; injuries and blood; canon typical violence; reader is AFAB and user she/her pronouns; no use of y/n; smut to come in next chapters; porn with plot; plot with porn; Din Djarin need a hug and a fuck.

Word count: 2,777

A/N: Forget reader for not knowing anything about Mandalorians, let's just pretend she was just so focused studying the planets! In my head she's an Inner Rim girlie too, so not much info about Mandos reaching her planet there, I hope you enjoy going inside Din`s mind for a while! I hope it doesn't feels too off since going inside the tin can brain is a lot of guess work hehe. Anyways, I love you so much for reading this and value a LOT your comments, it's very difficult for me to respond to them but I do my best to overcome the anxiety.

🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐

“We need to stop.”

The sound of your voice over the speeder’s motor startled Din. He had just achieved not being aware of every part of his body touching yours when you spoke in your beautiful tone. You both had been traveling across the desert for a while now, in that time not a soul crossed your path. The truth was that you were a good driver, and Din could have even relaxed if he wasn’t so preoccupied with Grogu´s whereabouts. He was confident about the little boy`s abilities and also sure that Karga was moving Heaven and Earth to find his child. But he wouldn´t rest until his thumb was again between his claws.

Din had another pressing problem too. And it was you. He had been actively trying to fight his arousal during your ride. Dank Farrik, it was taking all of his discipline to stop his hips from moving as close to yours as he desired. But you were a sweet, good-hearted woman who was helping him selflessly and he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by any means. He would have to restrain himself just a little more.

“What?” He managed to ask after a moment. You turned a bit in your seat, confident that any obstacle was in sight, and he could admire your profile against Tatooine’s sunset.

“Your bandages, it’s been a while, we have to change them.” Din swallowed thinking about what he remembered as a fever dream: last night, your soft hands over his naked torso trying desperately to keep him alive. He shivered at the only thought of being touched with such delicacy again. He didn´t want to stop nevertheless, he wanted to be as soon as possible inside the Crest, ready to fly wherever Grogu was.

“It’s getting cold, too,” You said, thinking that his shiver was related to the temperature. “If we are fast, I think we’ll arrive by nightfall.” A silence went by while he weighed his options, but then remembered what you said about not being useful to his son if the was septic. He sighed heavily.

“Okay.” 

The spot where you decided to stop was a bit more hidden than the open dunes. Din didn’t want to have any surprises while he was vulnerable, even though he would remain vigilant all the time. He’d do the treatment himself if the nasty burn wasn’t in the most awkward place across his side. It looked like he’d need to rely on you once more. And wasn´t he enjoying that secretly?

“I’m sorry for burning you.” You were on your knees while he rested against a rock, medical supplies on display across your lap. He observed your guilty expression, beautiful brows curving downwards in a cute frown. 

“You saved my life.” He offered, stopping for a second the process of removing his armor. It was a moment of silence where you two just stared at each other until he resumed working on his padded vest. 

When he was bare (his undershirt had ended useless after having to cut through it), you couldn’t hold a heavy sigh that Din noticed. He caught your gaze on him and felt exposed, not used to being seen even without his cuirass. It looked like you felt his uneasiness because your hands started to work fast in the bandages. He tried to look away while your fingers grazed here and there his raw skin, tender and welcoming.

“It seems like everything is healing well.” He could hear the smile on your voice, and without looking he knew your full cheeks were looking round and beautiful. “I smuggled some bacta patches from work that would do even a better job.” He just nodded, grateful and wanting this to be finished as soon as possible. Every muscle in him was tense while he was actively trying not to dwell on how delicious you smelled.

“I’m going to clean the wound first.” You informed him since he was looking away. The gentle touches provoked his chest to tighten and goosebumps started to form on Din’s skin. “Does it hurt?” Your voice carried a lot of worry and he felt bad. 

“Sweet girl, if you only knew.” He thought, biting his lip under the helmet.

“Just hurry up please.” His voice came hoarser than he intended and he cleared his throat before speaking again. “Tell me about your job.” He said in a softer tone, intending to distract himself from the fire of your touch. He finally surrendered to turn his helmet to you again, and maker, what a sight. You were so, so close to him and your cheeks were rosy because of the sun. But the better part was seeing your eyes, lighted up like stars because of Din´s question.

“I’m an astrophysicist. Currently, I’m studying The Unknown Regions at the observatory. Trying to map them and gathering information about their systems.” It was clear you loved your job since your voice became so joyful and full of wonder in a moment. So you were a smart girl. Din knew how difficult calculations were even inside the mapped space. He saw you under another light now, but his interest didn’t show because he just nodded and remained silent as always, thinking about what to say next. Small talk wasn’t his forte. But looking at how your smile started to fade made him panic as he didn’t want you to feel bad. So he tried again.

“For us Mandalorians, knowing our way around the galaxy is essential. Space navigation and calculating hyperspace jumps are as important as blaster training.” You were the one that remained silent this time, gaze fixated on his wounds while applying the bacta patches carefully. It was probably the longest sentence he had spoken since you had met and he was suddenly self-aware of how he sounded. He started getting nervous when you didn´t answer. Prejudice against Mandalorians was usual among the galaxy, and it wouldn´t surprise Din that you’d been fed the same stories about them. 

“So that’s who you are? A Mandalorian?” You asked curiously when you were finished with the patches. Oh, you weren’t mad, just concentrated. Din sighed in relief, feeling instantly ashamed of his concern. “You can dress now, I brought some ration packs if you’re hungry before leaving.”Din started working in his armor once again, fast and efficient, but trying to avoid the tender spots you had just dressed.

“So Mando is short for Mandalorian.” You realized munching a ration bar, speaking more to yourself than anything. When he was finished, you offered another one for him and also the water flask and a thermos with warm broth. When Din refused, your elegant brows joined in a cute annoyed face. “You have to eat something or you’ll faint before finding your son, Mando.”

Your threat worked so he grabbed the food you were offering, but just stood awkwardly there. You tilted your head in a silent question. Din realized then you didn’t know anything about Mandalorian culture.

“I…I can’t show my helmet…face…so…” Din blamed the blood loss for his lack of eloquence, but it looked like you caught the concept. Your smile was so kind when you looked at him understanding.

“Sure! Then if you excuse me, I’ll go use the bathroom to give you some privacy.” You said standing up nervously and shaking all the sand from your clothes. You avoided his gaze al looked embarrassed, probably thinking she had offended him.

“Be careful.” Din said when you started walking towards a nearby rock formation. Turning to him, your expression was amused when you spoke.

“Afraid some of some lizard biting my ass, Mando?” You giggled and disappeared behind the improvised restroom.

“There are far worse things than lizards in this land!” He responded, but the harm was already done: now he would be thinking about your ass again after fighting the thought for hours during your ride. It looked so plush, so rounded, and Din found him conjuring the image of how his hand would feel grabbing a handful of it and… 

“Are you done?” You asked, cutting his daydreaming short. Dank Farrik, he was worse than a teenager. He then practically absorbed the food before giving you the green light, and shortly after you were both on your way to Mos Eisley again.

As you had calculated, the twin suns had just set when you made it through the city’s door. With Din’s indications, it wasn’t long until you arrived to Hangar 3-5. Due to the time, Peli had already finished her work day, so the first ones to say hi were a trembling R5 and the mechanic droids Mando despised.

“Tell Peli I’m here” You both didn’t wait long for the curly haired woman, who was chewing a plate of suspiciously-looking meat. 

“I’m charging you extra for arriving after opening hours! I just roasted the biggest womp rat ever and it’s going to get cold!” She then eyed the woman piloting the speeder and smirked. But when she and Din got out of the vehicle she noticed the lack of a certain gremlin.

“Where’s the little one, Mando?” Her grumpy façade broke when she didn’t even see the hover pram around. Din felt like he was being gutted. He looked at his feet ashamed and defeated.

“They’ve taken him.” It was painful to speak and he felt how his eyes became glazy. Din thanked the helmet in situations like this. He turned his head when he felt a warm, soft hand just where his pauldrons ended. It was you, trying to comfort him silently. Your expression was shy, but your grip was steady and it somewhat grounded him. Peli looked at you both, brows up in silent amusement and Din caught the expression, feeling like his face was on fire. 

“I’ll have the Crest ready in a second.” Peli said, keeping to herself any snarky remark going through her brain. “You better find the little one.” He added with a menacing finger against his cuirass, and Din could only nod. The bounty hunter didn’t tell her he didn’t know where to start looking. If he had his helmet off, he'd be pinching the bridge of his nose, but for now he could just stand there awkwardly twitching his fingers. You had been silent all the time, and Din realized that the dreadful moment had arrived.

“Tell the droids to refuel your bike, it’s on me.” He offered, not knowing how to address the elephant in the room. Din hadn’t noticed when, but you had removed your helmet and now your hair was framing lovingly your pretty face. Tatooine’s three moons made your skin glow like beskar and… Dank Farrik was he an idiot. “Uh…it’s not safe to cross the desert now.” A bit of common sense returned to him when he realized he couldn´t just send you home. He looked to his ship, then to his hands, and then to your pretty face again. All options were worse than each other. Inviting you to his ship? The Crest was probably kriffing uncomfortable for someone as you, he had seen your house, you liked to be surrounded by beautiful things, soft fabrics, like the carpet he had ruined with his blood. It didn´t look appropriate either He got nervous just imagining it. The other alternative was a hotel, but any of them on this side of the city was as unsafe as riding the desert alone in the middle of the night. But finally, his lust-clouded brain came up with something.

“I can drop you by the compound if you put the bike inside the cargo bay.” Maker, why did he have to sound so unsure with you? He felt like an idiot. But it looked like you had been waiting patiently for him to figure things out and just smiled in agreement.

“That would be really thoughtful Mando.” Thoughtful? How dare you say that after driving a stranger across the desert because he had his butt beaten up and his son kidnapped? Okay, it made a good sob story, but nevertheless. Your heart was made of gold. Din then froze for a moment. In his line of work, when things looked too good to be true, he should always be suspicious. He looked at your kind eyes under the moon. Dank Farrik it was almost painful to mistrust you.

“Ship’s ready!” Peli announced cleaning her hands from grease with a rag, followed by her droids. She looked to you and then to Din, and you smiled amicably to her and then proceeded to secure the bike inside of the cargo bay, leaving him and Peli alone.

“She looks like a good one Mando.” Peli nudged his bruised side and smiled with her incomplete dentition. Din couldn’t hide a groan of pain.

“You haven’t even spoken to her.” He responded exasperated, while handing her the credits he owed. 

“Call it women’s intuition.” She ended the conversation returning to her kitchen to that roasted womp rat, leaving Din confused as hell.

In the meantime, it looked like you were ready on the top of the ramp, and you were just looking around uncomfortably while trying not to be too nosy. Din had noticed that one of your many virtues was your politeness and how you didn't make him feel uncomfortable.

“She seems nice.” You commented when Din had climbed the ramp. He chuckled dryly for a moment, and with the modulator it could have been missed for a cough.

“She’s a menace.”

You both were sitting in silence inside of the cockpit while Din covered the distance between Mos Eisley and the Observatory’s compound. What it had looked like a long ride, passed in the blink of an eye, and you were amazed at how fast a ship could move in atmo too. It wasn’t long until the control tower asked about your credentials to land, and you provided the employee number given to you. The landing was gentle and before you could realize it, you were just sitting there staring awkwardly at Mando. You didn´t want to leave.

On the other hand, Mando looked as frozen as you. Neither of you had said absolutely anything since abandoning Peli’s Hangar as if the reality of his son’s kidnapping had finally hit him. You didn’t want what to say. A million things passed through your mind, but any of them seemed adequate. Finally, you gathered the courage to stand up and Mando just kept his visor on you. The silence was thick and uncomfortable.

“I’m… I’m gonna get the speeder.” You finally said, pointing vaguely downwards, but not making any move. He nodded and you felt disappointed. He had just lost his son. What were you thinking? Him asking you on a date? He didn’t look like he did the whole dating thing anyway.

But then that particular thought installed inside your brain, landed like a ship in your head before you could stop it. How dare you? How dare you think you had any opportunity with Mando? Someone like him couldn’t possibly be attracted to you. Warriors valued strong, fit bodies. And you were the opposite of that. Your mood soured and you were just prepared to exit the cockpit when the cabin’s commlink went to live.

“Mando!” The same grey-bearded man from before appeared as a holo, his hand on his hips in a serious demeanor. “I have good and bad news for you.” The bounty hunter turned his body to face Greef Karga, giving him his full attention. “We know who has the kid and where are they taking him.”

“How is that bad news?” You interrupted, without containing your joy at the information. You didn’t know anything about the child, but you were already so invested in his recovery.  

“They are taking him to the Unknown Regions, sweetheart. Unmapped Wild Space.” Karga explained with a gloomy demeanor. “It will be almost impossible to find him there…” He looked as devastated as the boy’s dad had looked before. However, Mando was still in silence although now his back looked straighter and more posture more confident. Maker, he even looked wider than before. He slowly turned his visor to look at you. 

Maybe you weren’t confident with your body sometimes. But the thing you were sure of was your wits. So when you spoke, without looking away from Mando’s visor, it sounded almost cocky how self-assured you were. Your smile, not the sweet welcoming one, but an intelligent, mischievous grin, adorned your face when you spoke.

“It’s a pity for the kidnapers that I’m precisely an expert on that.”

Next Chapter

#din djarin #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #din djarin smut #din djarin x female reader #din djarin x y/n #din djarin fanfiction #the mandalorian smut #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fandom #droidwrites

[roanniom]

Issa darling, I NEED, nay, I CRAVE, Eddie accidentally meeting an honest-to-God siren!

The Voice on the Lake

Eddie Munson x Siren!fem!reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+ ONLY, Dub Con (you’re a siren and you manipulate Eddie into a sexual experience, which can be seen as dub con, but Eddie enjoys it), hand job, sex with a mythological creature

I love the idea that Eddie would realize about halfway through the encounter that you’re a siren. His lil nerd brain would explode and he’d ask you what you are.

He’d been practicing, sitting in the back of his van with the doors open with his acoustic guitar, working on a new song. Alone at night at lover’s lake until a voice came seeping up from the water. It was singing a counter melody to his own and, shocked, he went to investigate.

The rest is hazy. He remembers finding the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen perched on some rocks at the shore. He remembers calling out to her and her beckoning him closer.

And now he’s beneath you, body stretched out on the wet sand while the waves of the lake lap gently at his heels.

You’ve straddled him and your mouth is making its way down his throat. He feels like he’s going to black out again when you sing out his name. He doesn’t remember giving it to you, but he loves the way it vibrates off your lips. Loves the way your voice seems to fill the air as if you aren’t out in the open bit instead in a closed intimate space where the sound can do nothing but bounce off the walls and enter directly into his blood stream.

It registers in his mind at one point that nothing about this interaction is normal. You radiate an otherworldliness that has his skin vibrating with goosebumps. He fights for reason through the fog that your presence has brought, and in wracking his brain to comprehend what he’s experiencing, he lands on one thing.

“A-are…are you a…siren?” he finally asks, delving deep into his tabletop game and mythology knowledge for info that should be far from the front of his mind right now. Especially with the way you’ve begun to swirl your hips and press down on his nether regions.

You laugh and it is the tinkling of bells. It’s the sound of chimes in the wind. Of clear waves crashing on weather-smoothed stone.

“I’ve been called many things,” you respond simply. You’ve gotten his shirt pulled up and his pants unbuttoned by now, your hand smoothing over the bulge in his boxers. Are those webs between your fingers or is he just seeing things?

“You…oh fuck. You lure people to you and k-kill them, don’t you?” He manages to ask, though there isn’t a hint of fear or apprehension in his voice. How could there be when your very presence is stronger than any drug he’s tried.

You don’t deny it. Instead, you pull his length out and begin to jerk him off at a steady pace. His hips buck and you grin. Are your teeth sharper than they should be or is it a trick of the light?

“Does it feel like I’m killing you?” you ask quietly. Eddie groans into the night and thrashes his head in a shake.

“I mean yeah but…Jesus fucking Christ, no. You’re…oh god.”

Everything is hazy after that. He remembers pleasure. Mind numbing, earth shattering pleasure. He remembers his hands finally touching your body and feeling you cold. Wet.

At some point you take him inside you but that part is the most obscured by darkness in his memory. It’s just sensation and sound. Heat, in contrast to your skin. Moans that don’t sound of this world, shattering against his ear drums and scattering like light in a prism. A rainbow of sound and feeling creating a glow that did nothing to illuminate your surroundings. Instead it served as a sort of pulsing aura. Protecting the two of you from the outside world as you sought pleasure in one another’s bodies.

When Eddie finally awakens, dawn is breaking on the horizon. His clothes are soaked and askew, his jeans hastily pulled up over rucked up boxers but zipper and belt still undone. He shivers in the chill of the early morning air but it’s more to it than that. His body feels zapped of all warmth. As if his internal heating system has malfunctioned, or as if a crucial part of it has been carried off.

There’s no sign of the beautiful creature who had called him down to the shore. In fact there are no signs indicating you’d ever been there at all.

#eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson discourse #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things smut #Eddie munson x siren!reader

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Silmarillion Daily - Of the Battle of the Powers and the Summons of the Valar

Time to catch up on this!

Manwë sat long in thought upon Taniquetil, and he sought the counsel of Ilúvatar. And coming then down to Valmar he summoned the Valar to the Ring of Doom, and thither came even Ulmo from the Outer Sea.

Then Manwë said to the Valar: “This is the counsel of Ilúvatar in my heart: that we should take up again the mastery of Arda, at whatsoever cost, and deliver the Quendi from the shadow of Melkor.”

Somehow, I’ve got a gut-level sense that Iluvatar’s answer to this was less “Yes” and more “YES! What have you been waiting for?!?” The point of the Valar being in Arda is almost certainly not for them to sit around in Valinor while Melkor is turning elves into orcs!

At the same time, the Valar’s reluctance isn’t about personal safety or comfort, but about fear of how much damage they could do to Arda, and it’s not an unfounded fear. As with the battles with Melkor in the early days of Arda, and as with the destruction of Almaren, the Battle of the Powers reshapes whole continents. If you look at the part in purple, Beleriand as we know it during the main events of the Silm didn’t exist until the Battle of the Powers. Hithlum, Dorthonion, and the River Sirion were made by the fighting between the Valar and Melkor in the Battle of the Powers.

Melkor met the onset of the Valar in the North-west of Middle-earth, and all that region was much broken. But the first victory of the hosts of the West was swift, and the servants of Melkor fled before them to Utumno. Then the Valar passed over Middle-earth, and they set a guard over Cuiviénen; and thereafter the Quendi knew nothing of the great Battle of the Powers, save that the Earth shook and groaned beneath them, and the waters were moved, and in the north there were lights as of many fires.

Long and grievous was the siege of Utumno, and many battles were fought before its gates of which naught but the rumour is known to the Elves. In that time the shape of Middle-earth was changed, and the Great Sea that sundered it from Aman grew wide and deep; and it broke it upon the coasts and made a deep gulf to the southward. Many lesser bays were made between the Great Gulf and Helcaraxë far in the north, where Middle-earth and Aman came nigh together. Of these the Bay of Balar was the chief; and into it the mighty river Sirion flowed down from the new-raised highlands northwards: Dorthonion, and the mountains about Hithlum. The lands of the far north were all made desolate in those days; for there Utumno was delved exceeding deep, and its pits were filled with fires and with great hosts of the servants of Melkor.

Even after the Valar capture Melkor, they don’t find all of his strongholds and pits, and they don’t find Angband.

And then we come to the next mistake the Valar make: calling the Elves to Valinor. It’s understandable - Valinor is beautiful and blissful, and Middle-earth is still unsafe even with Melkor gone, and on top that, the Valar like the Elves and want to spend time with them.

Then again the Valar were gathered in council, and they were divided in debate. For some, and of those Ulmo was the chief, held that the Quendi should be left free to walk as they would in Middle-earth, and with their gifts of skill to order all the lands and heal their hurts. But the most part feared for the Quendi in the dangerous world amid the deceits of the starlit dusk; and they were filled moreover with the love of the beauty of the Elves and desired their fellowship. At the last, therefore, the Valar summoned the Quendi to Valinor, there to be gathered at the knees of the Powers in the light of the Trees for ever; and Mandos broke his silence, saying: “So it is doomed.” From this summons came many woes that afterwards befell.

Basically every single time Ulmo disagrees with the other Valar, he’s right. And here’s he’s touched on something crucial that the rest of the Valar miss: the Elves aren’t just there to be protected and happy, they have something to contribute that is lost if they’re removed from Middle-earth. They can use their gifts to heal some of the damage done to Arda by Melkor, to make the world better. They’re intended to be co-creators with the Valar, not to be babysat by them. And there’s no reason the rest of the Valar couldn’t, like Oromë, leave Valinor sometimes to spend time with the elves and teach and befriend them. But the Valar, as is probably their key besetting weakness, opt for what feels like the lower-risk option. (Part of me wonders if this was supposed to be Melkor’s role, if he hadn’t fallen to evil - to be Initiative Guy, to be the risk-taker, to spur the others to get out of their comfort zone - and if that’s an element that’s consequently been lacking due to his fall.)

To give a rough overview of what’s upcoming for Silm Daily: the Valar first finding the Elves was on January 31, and the rest of February is going to cover the Great Journey and the early years of the Elves in Valinor, up to the birth of Fëanor.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #silmarillion daily #valar #ulmo #elves

[the-witch-with-the-raven-tattoo]

After about a decade of building up my crystal collection, I can no longer close my eyes to what I've been supporting. Far from the good vibes that crystals are purported to have, I need to be honest that their trade funds the same human rights abuses and environmental destruction that I've spent most of my life decrying. I need to address this cognitive dissonance within myself, and can no longer endorse buying mass-market crystals anymore. I call myself an earth-worshipper, or nature-worshipper, yet I'm contributing to the destruction of the Earth and her people. This no longer sits right with me. Yes, there are likely minerals in my phone that were mined using less-than-ethical practices, however a cell phone in this day and age is kind of a necessity. Decorative crystals and fossils, though, are more difficult to justify in this way.

I'm still going to keep the ones I have for now, because, welp, the damage has already been done, and getting rid of them now won't undo what I've been endorsing with my dollar. I still have a box of gems that I bought to make wire-wrapped jewelery with, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with those, so they're tucked away until I can decide.

If there's interest, I may make some pieces with them and put them up for sale as a Crystal Clearout sale, since I did spend a lot of money on those supplies. Or I might wear or gift them. We will see.

Back to my spiritual practice. What am I going to use instead?

River rocks!

Or lake rocks. Park rocks. Parking lot rocks. Farm rocks. Forest Rocks. Anything except store-bought is fine. Look at these cool rocks I've found in my city so far! These are geologically tied to the place I live, they carry the history on the land I'm on, which is not mine to live on. It is Treaty 6 territory—the traditional and ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux. This territory is home to the Métis Settlements and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Regions 2, 3 and 4 within the historical Northwest Métis Homeland.

These stones carry the memory of the people who were here before me, and that of a not-so-distant history I need to address time and time again, examine my own biases, and do what I can to address inequalities right here, right now. They are a connection to this land, and those who live on it.

These stones can also hold my own memories, for instance this petrified wood reminds me of a day a friend and I went rock-hunting by the river, and on a trip to Ontario with this same friend, we found some jade (I think). Which brings me to another point. I am not a geologist. I plan to learn about minerals local to me, but I'll never have the assurance of some shopkeeper (whatever that's worth) that what I'm holding is 100% a piece of pure amethyst, and here is a list of its properties. Instead, I'll be able to find my own meaning in the stones, feathers and flowers I find while walking in the world, and use them in my practices the way I feel intuitively guided to.

In spiritual practices, what we are working with is energy and intention. The rest are simply tools, symbols for our brain to understand what we are channeling towards or away from. The most important quality you can develop as a witch, a pagan, a yogi, a spiritualist, whatever you wish to call yourself, is self-trust. Trust that you are enough. Trust that this stone made its way to you so that you would find it exactly when you did. Trust that the herbs you lovingly grew, watered, bundled and dried are sufficient for clearing any stale energies. Learn from those who came before you, but at a certain point, you have to free yourself from reliance on corporations, merchants, readers, authors, course creators, and anyone else looking to make a buck off your lack of experience and confidence.

When you have a true need, harken not to others' greed. (the Wiccan Rede)

Consumerism has its hooks in us to such a point where we feel like we have to buy our way out of all of our real or perceived inadequacies.

Feeling down? Buy this sun lamp!

Tummy hurts? It's this scary new syndrome I just made up! Peer review, what's that? Nevermind. Buy this supplement!

Want to feel really cool and attractive? Buy this new outfit!

Want to make friends? Learn a new hobby! Oh, but this hobby requires you to buy all this gear before anyone thinks you're serious about it! And make sure you buy a t-shirt that says you're into this hobby while you're at it, so you can talk about it to everyone!

McSpirituality works the same way. Feel like you don't belong? It's definitely a past life thing, buy a reading with me to find out! Looking for love? Make sure you buy a rose quartz to send a lover your way within 24 hours. Hmm, it didn't work? It must not be big enough. Make sure you buy this one instead! Trying to get into meditation? You'll need to buy a zafu, some mala beads, and a buddha head with some very questionable history Are you broke after all these purchases? You can just buy this abundance generating spell kit, and this $10K course (I have seen this price point, it's not hyperbole) on dissolving your subconscious blocks to abundance!

It's not your fault, it's the system we all live in. I was, and still am, immersed in it too. If you're in a tough place, it can be so easy to be swept up by the promise of a quick fix, because spiritual work is hard. You'll have to confront yourself in some tough ways, work through traumatic experiences and spend years building discipline and focus.

It's a lot easier to just walk into a crystal shop and pick the one you like, isn't it? But I want to remind myself that life doesn't work that way.

Do you just walk into a store and pick out the partner, the job, the house, the experiences, the circumstances that look prettiest?

Okay, maybe some of you do if you're very lucky or have certain privileges, but these choices aren't always the ones that guarantee long-term compatibility or happiness.

In real life, it's a lot more like walking down a riverbank with a friend, catching up on life, and showing each other the cool thing you found, maybe deliberating on what it might be. Your rock might look different than hers, but you found it and it feels good to you. Maybe the shape feels satisfying and built just for your hand. You feel like it was waiting for you all this time.

Or maybe it's like walking home after a difficult day, and seeing the little sparkle of something glimmering in the sunlight. Maybe this represents hope and silver linings. Maybe a bird eyes you as you examine your rock, offering you company and understanding in a way that words fail to.

That feeling certainly isn't for sale in stores, or online. If I find it at a garage sale, I'll let you know.

#witchblr #wicca #green witch #witch #wiccan #crystals #altar #ethical crystals #mining #human rights #anti consumerism #witches against consumerism #witches vs patriarchy

[bones-and-whatnot]

Monster Prom Fantasy AU

Based on the costumes from the auditorium. most of them are written so you could imagine them to be humans or to still be a fantasy society of monsters— whatever floats your boat, I go back and forth myself.

THE PALACE

The Princess Miranda: The youngest of the king’s daughters. Adored by everyone in the kingdom (whether they like it or not). She is rarely ever seen, but people are always talking about her— what she’s wearing, what her favorite things are, who she will marry, what would be the best way to kidnap and/or kill her…

Count de Lioncourt: Another noble, who has only taken up residence in the palace very recently. He is supposedly related to the royal family, but it’s unclear how. He doesn’t want to be king— any fool can be king— but he definitely wouldn’t mind having a comfortable position by a monarch’s ear, safely away from the public eye. And the poor sheltered princess could certainly use someone to help her make… well-informed decisions.

Ser (Dame?) Schmidt: First name Victoria. The newest recruit to the knights of the kingdom; she is very, very eager to work her way up through the ranks. Above all else, she is loyal to the princess.

THE FOREST

The Sting in Yellow: A mysterious, quiet swordsman who travels the wood. They strike fear into the hearts of all who see them… although no one is really sure what exactly they do.

Bruyn the Green: Long ago, a terrible dragon dwelt in the forest. Every year, in mid-April, it would approach the kingdom and ask tribute of the people in form of their crops and livestock. At last, the dragon was slain, but the whereabouts of its body are unknown and legend says it merely slumbers beneath the earth, and will one day rise from the dead.

In the heart of the forest, there sits an enormous tree. It has no name, but according to myth, it dates back to a time before we walked the earth. There once was a curious wolf, who lived in a pack with his brothers. One day, despite their warning, he strayed too far from the rest of the group and became lost in the woods. The wolf spent many nights trying to find his way back to his home, not eating or sleeping until he eventually expired of exhaustion. Roots and wood grew over him that night, and he became a beautiful tree, home to birds and squirrels and insects of all types. At night, the spirit of the wolf leaves the tree to continue his search, but must return before daylight. It is said that the whistling of the wind through the leaves is his mournful howl, crying out for a family long since dead.

THE LANDS BEYOND

Amira, Mistress of the Flames: An evil sorceress in eternal conflict with both the Demon King and His Highness King Vanderbilt. From her tower in the outlands, she controls an army of flaming skeleton warriors and screaming fire spirits. It is rumored that she can scry through any flame anywhere in the world. So the next time you think about lighting up your fireplace, ask yourself: are you really that chilly?

The Demon King: Son of criminals exiled from the kingdom, the man now known as the Demon King grew up in a harsh, inhospitable region of the outlands. By the time he was six, he had killed the leaders of the three bandit groups who controlled the area and formed his own army of scoundrels and brutes. Today, the lands beyond the kingdom are in a constant power struggle between the Demon King’s hordes and the legions belonging to the Mistress of Flames. The leaders of the two factions hate each other with burning passion, but they hate the King Vanderbilt even more.

The Automated Man of Culeicester: The Automated Man is all that remains of Culeicester, an ancient city of wondrous scientific marvels located in what is now the distant badlands of the continent. The Automated Man still remains in the city’s ruins after untold years, continuing to fulfill the purpose for which he was constructed: To tend to the mythically beautiful Gardens of Culeicester. Of course, the land is now so arid that only the hardiest plants requiring the least water remain, but still the Automated Man works, untiring, as the lone bearer of all Culeicester’s lost knowledge. If you can find him (and convince him to step away from his plants), he is a powerful asset.

THE ROGUES

Vera Oberlin: The greatest assassin you’ve never heard of. Those who are unfortunate enough to know of her existence say that she was raised in the mountains by panthers who taught her the savage ways of their claws and teeth. They say she has a city of gold underneath the city streets made from the riches of those she has killed. They say no one has ever seen her face and lived to tell the tale. Whether these things are true, no one can say for sure, but the mysterious Vera seems to be on a meteoric rise through the kingdom’s underworld. The suspicion of most in the know is that she has her eye on the crown.

Doctor Geist: You can call her Polly. A physician and mixer of medicines who recently arrived to the kingdom. Her past is unknown, as she gives a different answer every time. She is quite cheerful, and despite the nature of her profession (or perhaps because of it), has a very carefree attitude towards death, usually only reacting to harm coming to her patients with mild surprise or disappointment. She tends to be rather… experimental with her procedures and concoctions, and self-tests liberally. There are rumors of a connection to the criminal underworld.

Zed, Scribe of the Zoites: An energetic young woman, the church Zed was raised in encouraged her to go on a pilgrimage and learn the ways of the world after she became a bit overzealous in her duties of cataloging information on the group’s members. Because of her close connection to her god, she possesses second sight and can see the alternate paths people’s lives may take, which she dutifully and eagerly inscribes (along with most things she sees) on the scrolls she carries with her. Being a prophet isn’t all fun and games, though— Zed is often tormented by visions of awful futures or dreadful pasts where her god enacts terrible punishment on the world. She is motivated by desire for knowledge and for new experiences of any kind; she wants to learn about and chronicle as much as she can and isn’t about to let silly things like “morality” or “boundaries” keep her from that goal.

#none of these groups are good #the closest is the forest people but they’re really more indifferent to anything outside the forest #they’re also not really a group they just all three happen to be based in the forest #monster prom #miranda vanderbilt #liam de lioncourt #vicky schmidt #oz monster prom #monster prom oz #brian yu #scott howl #amira rashid #damien lavey #calculester hewlett packard #vera oberlin #polly geist #zoe monster prom #monster prom zoe #roll the bones #tw animal death #bones’ writing #zed is short for ‘zeta’

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

I'm considering trying my hand at this idea I came up with but wanted a second opinion on if I should go through with it. Basically this is an au where human spirits manifest in the form of daemons, whereas with the Na'vi each clan is capable of shapeshifting into the animal that embodies their clan's spirit (in a way this is my take on how humans and Na'vi see the world differently: a lot of humans see themselves as individuals and separate from nature and the Na'vi have a strong sense of community and a deep connection to the life around them). This difference is something that baffles both parties and helps to feed the humans' thoughts on how the Na'vi are "savage animals" along with fueling the Na'vi's thoughts on humanity's disconnect from pretty much everything, and the rift just keeps on building between the two.

In this au humans have turned a piece of the land (basically what can be considered Hell's Gate + some extra) and turned it into this thriving human community with everything from their own gardens and whatnot to a school and a park, all that fun stuff (I'm picturing one of those beautiful dome cities that's like overrun with vegetation and just kind of a whole vibe) and this is where Spider grew up. Oh, also note that some of the dome goes into the ocean. Anyway, in this au the war still happened but later than in the original movie, and after Jake and the Na'vi won they were able to come to an agreement and though pretty much all of the military was sent back to Earth, the rest were allowed to stay---within agreed-upon borders, of course---especially due to the amount of children already within the city that was at the time just barely finished. Quaritch and Paz still died and all that and Spider was adopted, but not by the people who canonically adopted him.

He actually lives a pretty good life all things considered (I didn't want to make him suffer lol) but there's this curiosity he has regarding the world of Pandora outside of Eden (that's the region of the city he lives in; the city is divided into several regions such as Arcadia, Eden, and Newport. These regions are mostly divided by the main creole & product. For example, Eden grows most of the fruit and veggies and the main creole spoken there is an English-Gaelic variant. Arcadia produces most of the grains and rice and its main creole is an English-Greek variant. Newport is the part of the city the touches the sea, its main thing is seafood, and its defining creole is an English-Mandarin variant. Additionally, all kids are taught true English in school. Na'vi is optional, however a lot of the people who stayed behind were scientists who learned Na'vi and as they began mixing Na'vi with the English they spoke to their children an English-Na'vi hybrid began to rise and might eventually branch off and I'm getting off-track whoops) and the older he gets the more he yearns to go outside of the dome just to at least see what it's like.

One day his curiosity wins and he sneaks out into the forest. This is when he runs into one of the Sullys (feel free to give me an opinion on which Sully you think it could be if you want, I'm spending a decent amount of time thinking about it because this will be his love interest eventually) and from there they begin to learn about one another and slowly rebuild what was lost at the beginning of the war (oh yeah I forgot to mention that in this au most people consider the shooting at Grace's school to be the true beginning of the war for reasons that I won't get into in this ask lol). I feel like Kiri might be the perfect one for this and I have been wanting to try my hand at Spiri but I'm still weighing it.

Other things to note about this au:

Norm is still the ambassador between the Na'vi and the humans.

Avatars are tricky and took a long time to perfect because of the whole daemon/shapeshifting thing. I'm toying with a few possibilities but for now I think their daemon will stay with them but actually change its form to a Pandorian animal.

I'm still debating on what this means for the Sully children. I think it could mean that they all have a chance of either getting a daemon or being able to shapeshift, and if that's the case then I might make it to where one or two of them aren't able to shapeshift but instead have daemons.

Jake, just like all the avatars, cannot shapeshift but instead his daemon changed its form to match a Pandorian animal. Haven't decided what yet. I thought about Toruk but then decided against it because taming a real Toruk was, in my opinion, one of the deciding factors in the clan's acceptance of him after his betrayal (again, feel free to add what you think it could be if you want).

The city has been terraformed, however nothing outside of it has been as part of the agreement (originally they wanted to terraform it it all). In case you couldn't guess, this was a huge source of conflict before the war.

Jake never visits the city (I mean with the man-made atmosphere *that, fun fact, is actually showing signs that it's beginning to manage itself!* it is a bit inconvenient), instead Norm visits New Hometree. This is important to note because most of the common members of the community have never so much as seen an Avatar in person (again, because of the atmospheric difference) and most Na'vi by this point haven't seen a human up close in over a decade.

Earth animals do live within the city walls. Most of them are domesticated and genetically modified or used as livestock, but yeah. Since animals couldn't be shipped via kyro, they were a clone type of situation originally but now they're doing well on their own due to the abundant DNA samples adding diversity to the mix (we wouldn't want another Gros Michel banana situation).

Not really something you need to know, just a fun fact I wanted to add: Jake's daemon was originally a coyote :) Sometimes he'll wake up and forget that his daemon isn't still a coyote and look around for her for a minute.

Anyways, does this seem like an idea I should go through with? Is it too out-there? I'm willing to hear any thoughts you may have!

NO YOU SHOULD YOU SHOULD OMG.

O B S E S S E D. I love daemon aus so so much, as you guys know one of my areas of focus is speculative fiction because I love love love the metaphors of the speculative and how they can be used to represent real life conflicts and issues so fantastically. I am so interested in this idea of a disconnect in the Na'vi/Human soul representations, and how it plays into their prejudices. UGH fuck off the soulmate aus post is happening today probably you got me fired up. I have an essay to draft.

This different world that the humans live in is pretty fascinating too, I always get kinda bummed when the humans get anything besides the few loyal humans getting to stay and assimilate in a fic. I discussed this in the comments with @milesocorro on the end of their fic Please be kind, please be gentle with me (which I know, I KNOW I mention a lot lol, the worldbuilding requires it). I think it comes from the fact that any group of humans sent up to Pandora is not going to be the neediest ones, it's not going to be the ones who's lives were the worst on Earth. The first to leave and get out are going to be the richest, the most powerful, the most influential. It's the Elon Musks of the world, the ones who helped make Earth as bad as it is. Besides, the Na'vi shouldn't have to compromise their own land and their own safety.

Rant aside, VERY INTERESTED in the implications of this world. LOVE the idea of Spider and his undecided love interest bringing about a more communicative relationship. I always get sad when Spider doesn't grow up with Na'vi culture, but I like the Milo Thatch idea of him here lol. I think Kiri is a great choice, I love me some spiri and we as a collective deserve more of it. My second choice would be Neteyam as he's next in line to lead and there could be a storyline of star crossed lovers LEADER EDITION lol. I also just really need more nocorro there isn't enough of them.

I'm very obsessed thank u please do write it. Maybe Jake's daemon is a teeny tiny toruk, like in Harry Potter when they get the mini version of the dragons they'll fight and then they're like lil pets. That always LIVED WITH ME where is my teeny dragon.

#their daemons??? and then not shapeshifting??? #MAJORMAJOR difference for the kids #jake sully #miles spider socorro #spider socorro #kiri sully #spiri #neteyam sully #nocorro #norm spellman #avatar #avatar the way of water #james cameron avatar #melissa's asks #melissa on avatar (cameron) #we are mindmelding get in #the people need this fic we are begging for it #daemon au

[99griffon]

@todaysbird as promised, here's a statement about my Rio Grande trip! I can absolutely provide some details in specific areas if you'd like, and I'll likely be posting pics of the birds and other wildlife I spotted in some scheduled posts later on... but this is going over the sad reality of mankind's effect on bird populations.

Over the past week I had the immense privilege to stay in a state park on the Rio Grande for a week and witness the biodiversity of the region, more specifically the birds. We spent the week birding and other related activities, I saw many things I'd never seen before. One thing that was abundantly clear was the effect mankind has had on the population and diversity of the birds in the region.

Speaking to an anonymous scientist, I learned that the wind turbines providing renewable energy to the region come at a great cost. The downdraft caused by the turbines catches birds and bats and throws them down to the earth at a speed that kills them on impact. The number of birds he sees has dropped dramatically due to this, and he had been working there for decades. Most renewable energy sources harm birds, as do fossil fuels... so I really hope nuclear energy can be researched more.

We spotted invasive species, not extremely frequently, thankfully. I don't count grackles as invasive, even if they are extremely prolific. However, the success of the grackle does play into the effects of man on nature. Visiting the gulf coast, I could see how trees were demolished in a park once thriving with birds, leaving the place nearly empty. All for some nice, expensive little homes. Where once night herons would rest their wings, only a solitary shore bird and handful of warblers remained. Grackles filled parking lots of parks, taking over the trees and feeders, since there was no competition there.

I witnessed first hand the destruction of the wall's construction. Right through a state park... it was crazy seeing the abrupt edge between the dirt and wall construction and the lush wildlife. There weren't any birds near that thing. I only saw a small portion, but it still made it abundantly clear how awful it was elsewhere along the border.

I can say, however, some changes have been made for the better. The Brownsville Sanitary Landfill has made a LOT of progress regarding their disposal of trash and they still allow birders (that need to call ahead) to spot their rare crow, the Tamaulipas crow, which can only be found in the US in thst one location. I DID NOT see it though, it'd take a whole day to spot that damn thing in all those birds. They love the place

Finally, I'd like to mention the whooping cranes, always the whooping cranes: a stark example of how hunting absolutely demolishes the bird population. I witnessed 9 individuals on the gulf coast, all breeding pairs and their offspring (most fully grown, some still with juvenile plumage). It was a beautiful sight, and very disheartening knowing that's probably a lifer for me unless I can manage to head out there on my own one day. Beautiful birds, I heard their call and watched them take flight. Magnificent beasts. I hope one day we can see their population rise again.

This is just a rough crash-course of my overall takeaway from that trip. I had fun, saw magnificent animals, but there was such sorrow to be found there, regardless. I haven't had anyone beta read so this is a pure ramble haha. Hope it makes sense!

#birds #discourse #activism #enviorment

[ankles-be-bitten]

i live in florida. pretty much everyone who lives here makes jokes like this--including myself--but most of the time it's just that: a joke. there are so many people up north who believe that all of florida is either the meth-head, backwater swamp hillbillies who have a pet gator in their airstream camper and eat crawdads raw out of the everglades OR the disney obsessed snowbird population who winter here and live in new england the rest of the year.

and the truth is? while these people do *technically* exist, they are by no means the majority. florida is a pretty ordinary state, 99% of the time, and i'm actually getting weary of the "[insert southern state] is hell on earth" rhetoric, a sentiment i've seen spreading pretty quickly amongst gen z, and i think part of the reason is that this presumed horror state we live in is used to invalidate our desire for a better future. don't like your governor because he wants to make it illegal for you to receive the support and healthcare you need? well shit! you live in florida, or you live in texas, no wonder you're miserable!! move to a blue state. so easy. shouldn't have been born in a red state, silly! everyone knows it's homophobic there :)

but my friends are here. up until recently, my whole extended family was here--and the family who don't live here anymore live in tennessee (where i was actually born), which is definitely more volatile than florida. i actually don't know why northerners think this about florida--is it our beautiful, diverse, and ANCIENT wildlife and native flora? is it our bloody, messy, and intricate cultural and social history? is it the anti-lgbtq+ legislature? we live in a region so geographically unique, the southernmost tip of the peninsula is the only place in the world where the alligator and the crocodile coexist naturally in the wild. is that hell on earth?

i used to hate my state. i used to hate where i live. i still fantasize about leaving, moving to some northern, walkable city, with accessible abortion care and a less volatile healthcare system to trans people. but i'm done feeling ashamed of where i live, where i grew up; i grew up in the town zora neale hurston grew up in, and one of my favorite books as a child, the yearling, was written by marjorie kinnan rawlings, who was FROM that rural florida that's apparently full of meth heads and rednecks. yes, it's overly urbanized in many places, including where i currently live; yes, it's incredibly difficult to navigate life here as a queer student; yes, there is a vast class disparity between the richest and poorest amongst us. but everyone i love lives here, and underneath the 5-lane highways is an intricate and valuable and one-of-a-kind ecosystem worth loving and cherishing.

i'm not going to condemn the place i live because it gets hot in the summer, or there's bigoted legislature, or the cities are unwelcoming to pedestrians. i'm not going to condemn my state because of the podunk, buttfuck, inbred hillbilly stereotype that originates from classism and the demonization of those who live in poverty or rural areas. remember: drugs are only morally reprehensible if it's a poor person making, distributing, or using them. when rich people do drugs, it's cool. so yeah, maybe putnam county is "full of meth heads," but have you considered why that is?

i love florida at it's worst, and i want to see it get better. i won't characterize the midwest as one-dimensional and barren; i won't call northerners self-absorbed, self-obsessed, and self-interested. please don't tell southerners that we live in "hell on earth." doing so erases all our history, natural and cultural, and boils us down to only the most classist of the stereotypes that apply to us.

the funniest thing to me is that florida is hardly even a "southern" state, technically it's a northern transplant. we're a whole lot more like you than you think--and you know what? so is everyone else.

#florida #southern #the south #stereotypes #harmful stereotypes #northern transplant #healthcare #rant #ecological history

[silmforrookies]

Valaquenta: Important Quotes

A collection of quotes from the second chapter that I think are worth giving a look!

The Great among these spirits the Elves name the Valar, the Powers of Arda, and Men have often called them gods. The Lords of the Valar are seven; and the Valier, the Queens of the Valar, are seven also... The names of the Lords in due order are: Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lórien, and Tulkas; and the names of the Queens are: Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána, and Nessa. Melkor is counted no longer among the Valar, and his name is not spoken upon Earth. - Of the Valar

The mightiest of those Ainur who came into the World was in his beginning Melkor; but Manwë is dearest to Ilúvatar and understands most clearly his purposes. - Manwë and Eru

With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Ilúvatar lives still in her face... Taniquetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth. - Of Manwë and Varda

Ulmo is the Lord of Waters... He is next in might to Manwë, and before Valinor was made he was closest to him in friendship; but thereafter he went seldom to the councils of the Valar, unless great matters were in debate. For he kept all Arda in thought, and he has no need of any resting-place. - of Ulmo

Aulë has might little less than Ulmo. His lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made... He is a smith and a master of all crafts, and he delights in works of skill, however small, as much as in the mighty building of old... Melkor was jealous of him, for Aulë was most like himself in thought and in powers; and there was long strife between them, in which Melkor ever marred or undid the works of Aulë, and Aulë grew weary in repairing the tumults and disorders of Melkor. - of Aulë

The spouse of Aulë is Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the small and secret things in the mould. - of Yavanna

Námo the elder dwells in Mandos, which is westward in Valinor. He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead, and the summoner of the spirits of the slain. He forgets nothing; and he knows all things that shall be, save only those that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar. Vairë the Weaver is his spouse, who weaves all things that have ever been in Time into her storied webs, and the halls of Mandos that ever widen as the ages pass are clothed with them. - of Námo and Vairë

Irmo the younger is the master of visions and dreams... Estë the gentle, healer of hurts and of weariness, is his spouse... From the fountains of Irmo and Estë all those who dwell in Valinor draw refreshment; and often the Valar come themselves to Lórien and there find repose and easing of the burden of Arda. - of Irmo and Estë

Mightier than Estë is Nienna, sister of the Fëanturi; she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. - of Nienna

Greatest in strength and deeds of prowess is Tulkas, who is surnamed Astaldo, the Valiant. He came last to Arda, to aid the Valar in the first battles with Melkor. He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless... His spouse is Nessa, the sister of Oromë, and she also is lithe and fleetfooted. - of Tulkas and Nessa

Oromë is a mighty lord. If he is less strong than Tulkas, he is more dreadful in anger; whereas Tulkas laughs ever, in sport or in war, and even in the face of Melkor he laughed in battles before the Elves were born. Oromë loved the lands of Middle-earth, and he left them unwillingly and came last to Valinor; and often of old he passed back east over the mountains and returned with his host to the hills and the plains... The spouse of Oromë is Vána, the Ever-young; she is the younger sister of Yavanna. All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming. - of Oromë and Vána

Among them Nine were of chief power and reverence; but one is removed from their number, and Eight remain, the Aratar, the High Ones of Arda: Manwë and Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna and Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë. - of Aratar

With the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree. These are the Maiar, the people of the Valar, and their servants and helpers. - of Maiar

Chief among the Maiar of Valinor whose names are remembered in the histories of the Elder Days are Ilmarë, the handmaid of Varda, and Eönwë, the bannerbearer and herald of Manwë, whose might in arms is surpassed by none in Arda. - of Eönwe and Ilmarë

Ossë is a vassal of Ulmo, and he is master of the seas that wash the shores of Middle-earth. He does not go in the deeps, but loves the coasts and the isles, and rejoices in the winds of Manwë; for in storm he delights, and laughs amid the roaring of the waves. His spouse is Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, whose hair lies spread through all waters under sky. - of Ossë and Uinen

it. It is said that in the making of Arda he endeavoured to draw Ossë to his allegiance, promising to him all the realm and power of Ulmo, if he would serve him. So it was that long ago there arose great tumults in the sea that wrought ruin to the lands. But Uinen, at the prayer of Aulë, restrained Ossë and brought him before Ulmo; and he was pardoned and returned to his allegiance, to which he has remained faithful. - Ossë, Melkor and Uinen

Of Melian much is told in the Quenta Silmarillion. But of Olórin that tale does not speak; for though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. - of Melian and Olórin

Great might was given to him by Ilúvatar, and he was coëval with Manwë. In the powers and knowledge of all the other Valar he had part, but he turned them to evil purposes, and squandered his strength in violence and tyranny. - of Melkor

Yet so great was the power of his uprising that in ages forgotten he contended with Manwë and all the Valar, and through long years in Arda held dominion over most of the lands of the Earth... Dreadful among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror. - of Melkor and Balrogs

Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel... In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part, and was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself. - of Sauron

#silmarillion #tolkien #quotes #silmforrokies

[as-per-jury]

I wrote this for class but tumblr loves mermaids and classic lit

Their eyes frightened me in the beginning. Wide, unblinking, and glassy. Their eyes look nothing like ours. As you should know, our eyes have three colours: white, black, and a third we like to compare to a feature of the earth such as its sky or soil. Our eyes sit in sockets, theirs look to be just under the skin. When I was very young, I used to play with sewing needles and perform surgery on the most awful looking dolls, having convinced myself their ugliness was a symptom of some rare, unidentified condition. I tended to pierce my fingers, not deep enough to have drawn blood though I very clearly separated my skin from itself. I could look through my skin and see the tip of the needle more vividly than if I lay my hand above it and squinted. Now that you can envision how far the eyes sat beneath the skin, perhaps you can try and paint in your mind the blend of colours in them too. Some were so flooded with hues they came across grey – or the ocean floor’s lighting was not designed for me – where others looked to have changed colours every other moment. What I saw of their eyes was about the size of a whole human eye removed from the skull and just as round, as they had no eyelids. The rest of their faces were as normal as I would expect – and I had no expectations – with flat or no noses [it varied by the person and, I later learned, the region] and lipless mouths that I never wished to see open upon catching a glimpse of their teeth not too long after seeing their faces for the first time. The teeth were long and thin, not unlike the aforementioned needles. Wide spaces of nothing separated each tooth. To accommodate their teeth, their jaws sat closer to their narrow shoulders than to where their ears should be – if they were human that is. Before I elaborate on their appearance, I must stress that I did indeed stare at them, despite how unsettling I found them [I never quite adjusted to their looks], because they were and are the most visually bizarre people I have met during my travels even if they were about average human size. Any similarities we share with those people who I have taken to thinking of as Nereids [not taking into account their abstract “beauty”] were limited to the presence of eyes, mouths, and a furless torso. Of course, where we lack fur, they had shimmering scales everywhere about their bodies. Do not call them mermaids, I request of the reader, as they were not all maids and “mer” is all too simple to call them by. I was certain they were being eaten alive when I first cast my sight upon them. They were not. From beneath their navels onward, creatures of the deep more natural than themselves had seemingly been stopped halfway through consuming what I thought were supposed to be “normal” human bodies. The creatures staring at me wore fish remains as skirts or were horrific parasites that were so bold to grow from the inside out through its host mouth so it may then don the marine beasts as bottoms to hide their shame [or parade its pride in stealing life for itself].

               It’s been brought to my attention that I’ve spent about a page’s worth of words to tell you how these beings looked, but, again, I only describe them so much that you might also believe that I did not live through a hallucination caused by nearly dying. I return, then, to my adventure in the deep. Though it was not much of an adventure as I was confined to the bubble should I have any chance of not drowning or asphyxiating. I never learned who placed me in the bubble, but I did learn how the bubbles were made. Down so far away from the surface, sound, I gathered, does not travel as it does on land and through air. These people communicated by creating shapes and swirls made of tiny bubbles with their hands and fingers, which were connected by thin skin at where I thought the halfway knuckle belonged. The bubbles often did not dissipate for minutes after a conversation was finished, allowing, I assumed, time for a review of the exchange should apologies be needed. Perhaps that was why disputes were so rare between citizens. I nearly summed up conflict with a nearby province to be that of miscommunications. Actually, I do still believe that was all due to a language barrier. These other Nereids had limp horns sprouting from their foreheads that dangled bulbs of light at the end. The Bubble Nereids did not have those, as I would have surely made a mention of it. The Light Nereids, though capable of speaking Bubble, refused for reasons I never quite grasped, opting to blink their lights and wave their horns at each other, producing bubbles in arrangements that some Bubble Nereids looked to take offense to. I failed to understand why they would do business with each other if all they ever did was fight. I eventually took it upon myself to conclude that they were closer to each other than others and that, just maybe, not all conflict is bad conflict. It appeared to drive their society to best the Lights in any trade. Not that they traded anything important by English standards – and I found myself in a constant state of befuddlement at how pearls were not a commodity in any sense, but, rather, they were all in a great demand of bloody seaweed.

#mermaids #mermaid #gulliver #swift #jonathan swift #english #ap english literature #ap english #gullivers travels #what if #what if mermaids #i love mermaids #i personally think mermaids are so fucking cool #mermaidcore #eldritch #humans are weird #adventure #fantasy #dnd #dndstuff #worldbuilding #world building #classic lit

[heynikkiyousofine]

Inuyasha Bingo Bonanza 2022

Refusing to Repeat the Past

read on ao3

Leaves bustled around their ankles, the autumn season bringing a chill air as the group continued on their afternoon journey. Any other day, she would have enjoyed the changing of the seasons, but today was like no other. Following behind the high priest, Tsubaki allowed her head to hang, her anger coursing through her veins. She wanted to scream, to cry, to make him bleed, but society decided that priestesses should not be allowed to express such inappropriate emotion. I hate him.

“Tsubaki.”

“Yes?” She smiled bitterly, raising her chin defiantly while still keeping her gaze trained on the ground.

“I understand you are upset, but this is for the best.”

“No, master! I can never accept this! Why did you entrust the Sacred Jewel to Kikyō and not me?” Her words tumbled out of her, unable to stop her hurt from rising. “Why couldn’t you choose me instead? I refuse to take place second to Kikyō.”

“That is enough! I cannot change what has been done and I think it would be best if you were silent now.”

Nodding, she knew it was of no use to argue, as she already had in the days prior to their little adventure. Though why I have to join them is beyond my understanding. Once it was decided who shall hold and protect Jewel of Four Souls, it was like she became invisible. The entire temple was dedicated to this journey, to the Priestess Kikyō and how utterly perfect she was for the job. I hate her. I hate all of them. I should be the one to do it, I’m powerful enough, the most beautiful and successful. What does she have that I don’t?

Tsubaki, along with three other priestess in training, four of the highest monks from her region and her teacher Master trailed along the path as the taijiya from a nearby village guided them towards their destination. She clenched her fists, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her palms, but she paid no mind to the beads of blood surfacing, her mind in turmoil.

I just don’t get it. I’m just as gifted and powerful as that wretch. It should be me guarding the jewel! Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, imagining a field of flowers with a crystal clear pond nearby.

She fantasized herself clutching the jewel to her chest, staring at her own reflection, admiring her youth and attractiveness. Her long black hair hung over her shoulders, the strands soft and silky to the touch, while a perfectly placed jewel sat nestled against her crown, emphasizing her beauty.

Her blue eyes that sparkled in the summer sun, her fair skin without imperfections and cherry lips were often admired by many others, men complimenting her stature as she slew demons. I wish to stay like this for the rest of eternity. The jewel, still tight in her hold, began to glow vividly, sealing her fate.

Opening her eyes, Tsubaki was brought out of her day dream and back to the present, a small smile playing across her lips. I will do whatever I can to stay young and beautiful, to become more powerful than any priestess who walks this earth, and to have the Sacred Jewel.

The memory faded from her mind, the dark priestess standing in a hut with her Shikigami and half of the jewel in her possession.

“Tsubaki.” 

Ignoring the baboon clad puppet behind her, she focused her hold on Kagome’s body, mind and soul. In her mirror, Tsubaki watched as the modern day priestess pulled another arrow, aiming right for the half demon.

“If Inuyasha should flee, then take the chance to kill Kagome.”

I’ll be taking care of you too, Naraku. This time, I refuse to be second rate to Kikyō or her reincarnation.

tag list

@blairex ; @mamabearcat ; @enchantedink-ag ; @splendentgoddess ; @mandirox89 ; @sailorlolo ; @mustardyellowsunshine ; @hny-moroha ; @knittingknots ; @yukinon-writes ; @clearwillow ; @keichanz ; @serial-doubters-club ; @malditamigs ; @zelink-inukag ; @shinidamachu ; @bonny2323 ; @banksdelivers ; @that-one-nerdy-gal ; @sarahk21 ; @dchelyst ; @anisaanisa ; @lavendertwilight89 ; @otaku-108 ; @sailorbabydoll92 ; @inukagbot ; @queerkagome ; @bluehawaiicat ; @chit-a-to ; @liz8080 ; @lightmidnight ; @shikonstar ; @soliska ; @inu-mothership ; @feudalconnection

#tsubaki #inuyasha #Inuyasha Bingo Bonanza 2022 #inubingobonanza #bingo bonanza #inu-mothership #feudalconnection #past #angst #canon #inukag #kagome is badass #vain and beauty

[isas-oc-asylum]

Arboresian Territories Lore

Arboresia is comprised of 6 territories of varying sizes, the borders of which constantly change. The cultures of each region are WILDLY unique and the Arboresians who call them home are passionately loud about how amazing they are.

Magic is the main influence of this, of course, even down to how the climate functions differently in each region. What do you mean there’s a blizzard in one territory and its 90°F in the one right next door? Magic fucking said so, that’s why. Earth’s regional climate logic be damned.

Four out of six of these territories are referred to as the Primary Territories. These four have cultures and names that revolve around the four seasons, which arguably is the phenomena that contributes most to making nature so beautiful, as it influences the flora and fauna. Fitting nature-inspired regions for the nature-loving country. These four primary territories are Autumn Hallow, Goldray, Bloomshine, and Fort Frost.

Arboresia also has micro-territories such as the Metsuki Kingdom, and disbanded territories such as Obsidimoore. These are not major enough to get a section elaborating on them, but I might change my mind on that.

A lot of territory culture and the expansion on how these territories are so cool come in the form of headcanons and such that don’t fit the format of this post, but that can be remedied by asks or other posts. One way or another I’ll find a way to convey how awesome and unique each territory is.

All flags below have been made by @deaths-presence​!

The 6 Arboresian territories are:

Autumn Hallow

Goldray

Bloomshine

Fort Frost

Jazswing

Scornwood

Natives in each territory are called:

Autumn Hallow: Autumn Hallowans

Bloomshine: Bloomshiners

Goldray: Goldrasians

Fort Frost: Frostians

Jazswing: Jazswingers

Scornwood: Scornwoodians

Autumn Hallow

The Autumn Territory, obviously. To nobody’s surprise, the spooky and magical supernaturals founded the Autumn and Halloween-themed territory first. Here, magic and power are loudly celebrated. October is Supernatural Pride Month and Halloween is the biggest, most extravagant and magical holiday in not just the territory, but perhaps the entire country. Autumn Hallowans party HARD and there is nothing more significant to them than being your true spooky self, no matter how terrifying or weird. Autumn Hallow is the most densely populated with supernaturals, though the entire country is comprised of them.

Territory Flag:

Goldray

The Summer-themed, yeehaw territory. Blend yeehaw aesthetic & hot girl summer. This territory is all about warmth and summer fun. If Arboresian agriculture isn’t coming from Autumn Hallow, it’s coming from here. Go to any rural American state, or fuck, just stand in a cornfield somewhere. There ya go, it’s Goldray. Arboresia has an entire population of Florida Man equivalents and they live here.

Territory Flag:

Bloomshine

The Spring-themed territory. Here, nature is even more everything than it is in the rest of the country. Litter is a felony and nature prevails over all. This territory is incredibly green and full of colorful plants and the most mystifying creatures you’ll ever see, even in its biggest cities. It’s very easy to mistake this territory for a rainforest or some kind of insane fae realm. Everything here is mythical and full of whimsy. Bloomshine is heavily populated by elves and other mythical creatures, rather than supernatural. Fairies, satyrs, unicorns, all of it.

Territory Flag:

Fort Frost

The Winter-themed territory. It’s like a free trial of what its like to live in Antarctica during the Winter, and during the other three seasons it’s a more accessible version of Alaska. Despite Autumn Hallow’s... everything, Fort Frost is the territory that terrifies Arboresians the most. Shit here is just another level of wild and scary. Internet cryptids found footage type scary. Yetis are real and they fucking live here. But even with an array of massive, deadly creatures both normal and mythical, Fort Frost still has all the cozy and gorgeous winter wonderland things all you cold weather enjoyers love the most.

Territory Flag:

Jazswing

The American 1920s called, they want their aesthetic back. For some reason a bunch of Arboresians (maybe who were American immigrants? But nobody knows for sure) fell in love with the aesthetic of being party animals with bomb ass fashion, so they made a territory about it. Jazswing is a territory of music, fashion, and living the high life no matter how poor or wealthy you are. The territory also has a reputation for not only bringing back the good parts of the American 20s and the arts, but it holds Arboresia’s biggest port, which is a popular spot for tourists, and modern day pirates. But most notable of all, Jazswing has a not-so-subtle and very present underworld of crime. Mafias, hitmen, bootlegging, drug dealers, the whole package. Jazswing has a rich culture that goes deep, but you best be careful about how far into it you venture.

Territory Flag:

Scornwood

Steampunk isn’t out of fashion or purely fantasy, you’re just a pleb who hasn’t visited Scornwood, Arboresia. Its a place of innovation, traditional magic like alchemy, and the coolest parts of the steampunk scene, especially the fashion and cool gadgets. Live your spunky sci-fi dreams here. Don your goggles, top-hats, pinstriped clothes and smother everything you own in gears. This is the territory for you. Scornwood loves tradition, and can be very exclusive about what or who enters it to avoid modernity tainting the things that make it special. They don’t live a strict no-tech lifestyle whatsoever, in fact they LOVE the stuff, but it absolutely MUST fit the culture. None of that sleek chrome bullshit.

Territory Flag:

#Arboresia Lore #Arboresian Territories Lore #Autumn Hallow #Goldray #Bloomshine #Fort Frost #Scornwood #Jazswing

[dawn-of-worlds]

(Omeara starts her turn with 2d6+3(rebate) -> 3,1+3 = 7 power.)

It was upon the peak of Balach-Tur that Ohm emerged, and it was there that it first tasted the many foreign delicacies of the surface. Here, the soil tasted... sweeter. Baked, almost, with a sort of diurnal zest to it. With a... what was that? A hint of... sidereal essence? Oh, yes, the palate was simply exquisite. This was earth that would satisfy an average worm for life, Ohm thought. But Ohm was no normal worm. No, not at all. Ohm was a special worm, and it had a proportionately special job.

Between bites, Ohm looked around. It could see no signs of beings like its Mother, nor any signs of their handiwork. So, it did as it was told and began to crawl, and slither, and inch down the side of the mountain to the vast waters of the sea.

As it went, it sampled new delights: things that had been stuck between the earthen fibres of its Mother's mighty cloak and had since taken root in the virgin soil of Morne. Ohm ate the first ________, ______, and the _______. Even the precious ____-_______ succumbed to its maw; so beautiful was it that surely Men and Atai would have sung of it a thousand thousand songs, but, alas, all things eaten by Ohm are forgotten, and now only the empty space where it once was is evidence that it ever was at all.

But Ohm is - truthfully, tragically, thankfully - a messy eater. And so, as it ate it left behind crumbs of those things, which remained and persisted and took root. Forests of conifers rose from those cast off crumbs, as did the ferns that cowered in their shadows, and some even clung to Ohm's hide, sprouting from the scraps that stuck to it. It left behind grooves between mountain and sea, too, which would one day become rivers, and the beds it carved to rest in became lakes, until all of Morne was sampled and all of Morne was seen.

Once Ohm was certain it had surveyed all there was, it perched upon the peak of Balach-Tur once more and peered beyond. There it spotted a land across the water - Incarien - and began to crawl, and slither, and inch to its foreign shores.

Incarien tasted different, Ohm thought, but no less delicious. It had a delightfully full flavour to it: raw orogenic flesh with a smoky aftertaste, drizzled with seasonal showers and seasoned with sea salt. This, Ohm new immediately, was a dish made by a chef he'd not yet patroned. So, it did as it was told and began to move along the coast, eating all the while.

For many suns and many moons Ohm travelled and tasted the barren shores and saw nothing save those rough shapes formed by another's hand. However, behind it, always behind it, crumbs fell and took root and painted the bare canvas with life. Grasses bloomed, nurtured by the coastal rains, and pioneering trees grew tall and proud. When it had reached the western shore a baleful and cold wind blew, and it caused Ohm to shiver. As it did, many of those ancient conifers which had long since grown to be mighty things upon its hide fell, and dense forests of pines and cedars and redwoods rose from their broken lengths.

Finally, very finally, having nearly circumnavigated all of Incarien, Ohm saw the works of Others. Dense, steaming jungles, both to the south and east. A veritable buffet of bird songs and colourful flowers and tangled and dense underbrush plump with tiny creatures and raw verdancy. Ohm drooled. All needed to be tasted. All needed to be forgotten.

(Omeara(?) uses Shape Climate to make a temperate coastal region around Morne and Incarien, uses Shape Climate again to sweep cold down from the north and create boreal-like environs, and uses Shape Land to make coniferous forests around Morne and Incarien's coasts, with a notable density on the western coast of Incarien where the water currents are warm and rainfall is most plentiful. 7 - 3 - 2 - 2 = 0 power remaining.)

#world 02547 diegesis #this one's pretty boring but the climates have to get done at some point #feel free to touch up the map if any of you want to. i won't be offended