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stergeon · 15 days

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say it

Byleth makes Edelgard say swear words.

(~350 words; too stupid to post on ao3)

“‘Shit.’”

“Grotesque.”

“Give it a try.”

“… Shit.”

“Very good. ‘Ass.’”

“That one is easier. I’ve said it before.”

“Then why don’t you say it now?”

“I… er…”

“If it’s so easy, then do it.”

“… Ass.”

“Excellent.”

“Don’t mock me.”

“How about this one? ‘Cunt.’”

“Wh—I actually, um, don’t know what that means.”

“You don’t know ‘cunt’?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Byleth, it’s simply not in my lexicon.”

“It means va—”

“All right, I understand. The gesture was absolutely unnecessary. I’m astounded at how many words there seem to be for the same thing.”

“If you think that’s bad, you won’t believe how many there are for pe—”

“Well, this has been a fun exercise and hopefully a source of great amusement to you, but I think I’m finished.”

“Wait, wait.”

“No.”

“One more, one more.”

“Mm, no. I don’t think so.”

“Please?”

“… You know it’s not fair of you to give me those eyes.”

“Is that a yes?”

“All right. All right. One more.”

“Yesssss. ‘Fuck.’”

“Byleth!”

“What?! You said one more, and that’s the one to say.”

“I’m—I am not—”

“Please?”

“You can’t pull the same maneuver twice in a minute and expect to succeed. That’s poor strategy.”

“Is it working?”

“… Regrettably, it is.”

“Then it seems like a good strategy to me. Just say it. ‘Fuck.’ It’s easy.”

“It most certainly is not!”

“Try it. Say ‘fuck.’”

“… Fuck.”

“Oh, that’s rich. That’s very good.”

“Are you quite satisfied?”

“Nearly. Now use it in a sentence.”

“Byleth.”

“I’ll give you one. It’ll be easy.”

“I did not—and do not—agree to this!”

“Just repeat after me.”

“No!”

“Say, ‘Byleth, I want you to fuck me.’”

“… Oh.”

“Go on, El. You can do it.”

“… Byleth, I…”

“Keep going.”

“Byleth, I-I want you to… f-fuck me.”

“Good girl. Wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Less than I—ah—thought it would be.”

“Mm. Well, you’ve certainly earned a reward, haven’t you?”

“Yes, my teacher. Fuck…”

“Aren’t you a fast learner? I’m impressed.”

“If you don’t shut up and kiss me right now, I’m going to start swearing in earnest.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Your Majesty.”

#fe3h #fire emblem #edeleth #edelgard von hresvelg #byleth eisner #ficlet #sterge.rtf #sick of having this knock around in my drafts so now it is loose in the wild #but it’s so dumb that i really don’t want to bother posting it on ao3 #if i got an email alert for this i’d be disappointed #besides i’m trying to pretend i’m hard at work on the vickyvesties right now #it’s not crack it’s just goofy #theoretically this takes place during the honeymoon phase of chapter 5 of shared space #since edelgard knows her swears by the time of muscle memory/shared space chapter 9 #edelgard’s combination teacher/praise thing is truly unfortunate but what can you do. sometimes a girl is a gotdam mess #it’s not weird unless you make it weird. but she makes it weird.#i think sometimes (like here) she drops a ‘my teacher’ accidentally and byleth politely pretends not to notice #because if she Did call attention to it edelgard would be mortified and that would be the end of whatever fun things they’re doing #frankly no one deserves to say fuck more than edelgard #but with that giant stick up her ass she’d have a hard time getting around to it without some goading #i also hc that dropping honorifics is generally a Huge Turnoff for edelgard due to power dynamic shenanigans #their relationship is Complicated Enough in canon before i fucked it up more in shared space lol #so byleth is really asking for trouble here #but i also reckon ‘my teacher’ is a vibekiller for byleth so if anything they’re just riling each other up now #godspeed girls. hope you shut up long enough to get some

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bigkickguy · 10 months

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i'm so emo over yi sang - i know im half projecting but also i gotta scream

canto 4 pt 1+2 spoilers below read more !!!!!

angry yi sang protecting from canto 4 pt 1+2 spoilers past this point!!!!

I need yi sang to get more moments playing chess with sinclair and don I want him to get more moments goofing around with gregor and heathcliff He's gotta spend more time with ryoshu talking about poetry and art He is at his worst right now holding onto this belief that nothing matters and everything is worthless when some bad events happen in the future. It seems like he has been for so long (since Gubo or that other person had him around? the 'i'll look so you don't have to + just be quiet' bits?) but he also clearly still has moments of life he loves.

It sucks seeing his friends talk around him so much. I think its very intentional that yi sang doesn't seem to have a lot of dialogue in his focus story. He's been basically trained himself to repress everything and is probably very used to those friends talking over him and assuming his intentions as fuel for their arguments. This is not to say they aren't all friends and don't love each other but clearly the corps and stress of their separation has warped all of them.

The bit where dongbaek is explaining she was trying to kill him because it was what he wants and gregor stands up for him trying to argue you can't make that choice for someone else? That feels very indicative of what situation he's been repressing himself under for so long.

Hating life because he can only see it as fleeting moments of worthless effort before it's ruined by forces outside his control. Then whenever he could express himself he has others speak in his stead assuming things, correctly or incorrectly, and cutting him out of any personal connection to the situation.

It's awful feeling so disconnected from everything! Compounding that with the people trying to recruit him who seem to only want him for something he's created. That separation of the people he trusted and them possibly shifting to repress him in this way - even with good intentions - is so so crunchy.

I mainly assume he has stopped talking or doing as much because he doesn't believe its worth it? That living life is worthless because basically existing as a function to make the mirror and nothing else he does matters? because even his few friends are broken by the events of them splitting and assume things and control him instead of talking to him like a person?

I even feel bad trying to analyze him a bit cause ultimately I'm doing the same as others in the situation. Watching his actions and assuming what he's thinking without his input.

I would not be surprised if his sin ends up being shutting down back then and letting others control him. He has opportunities but by now he won't take them - either because it was useless before or he was too scared or depressed to.

It makes sense to me he is at his most talkative in ch1 sort of fresh after they were all bribed to join Limbus Company with granting their greatest wishes. Despite hating life he probably still wants something better and is actively trying to reach it.

He is still trying! He's somehow preserved through this state and is still living hoping for something to change! I think he still deep down does want to live!

I think yi sang is a very quiet but strong character and if the dungeon is good it's going to ruin me!!

I want to see him grow more comfortable with others and take opportunities like the others give him to learn to express himself again. Regrow his sense of self and get to a place where he enjoys life more and less moments are written off as worthless!

#kickguyreply #limbus rambling #i don't know shit about yi sang's source material so i'm just flying blind here with wild assumptions #i've already seen people say this is a 'repeat of rodion chapter giving us nothing' and like i have so many problems with that lol #rodion's chapter gave us a lot of understanding of her character and how she deals with things!!#yi sang's chapter is also giving us a lot of potential insight into who he is and why he acts the way he does #i would make ocs just to comfort him but honestly the limbus cast as already shown up for him so many times - i believe in them #I want to force yi sang to watch sonny boy #in general if you open a limbus company post read more - assume the limbus company trigger warning list is all in effect #tw suicidal ideation #tw depression #all fictional!! but still worth tagging i feel like juuuuuuust to be safe!

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gallawitchxx · 2 years

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M8TE — a modern a/b/o au

M8TE is the premiere app for unmated alphas and omegas. Just enter your location and the dates of your rut or heat cycle, and you’ll be instantly paired with up to 3 potential matches in your area. Who you choose is up to you! Just be sure to tick the appropriate boxes on your profile to signal if you’re looking for a mate or a one-time thing.

M8TE. What are you waiting for?

a part of day 2 of gallavich week 2022, hosted by @gallavichthings . based on a prompt by @ianandmickeygallavich with brilliant beta work by @thisdivorce ☎️🖤

- - - - -

chapter eight: MEND

rating: e

word count: 5.5k / 48k total

chapter summary: ian is missing in action and mickey's going into heat.

additional tags: au-modern with a/b/o dynamics, omega mickey milkovich, alpha ian gallagher, online dating, angst with a happy ending, internalized omegaphobia, panic attacks with some thoughts of self-harm, gratuitous smut, come swallowing, knotting, mild blood, bipolar disorder

[ read HERE on ao3 ]

#wowowow there's only one chapter left after this one my babes #WILD #we're actually gonna do it -- we're gonna finish by november!#please come scream at me if you find the last little bit of this as feral as i do lolol #slash just in general come scream at me #because i'm going to miss this story & miss these boys #can't wait to write their big conclusion!#also i'm really happy with this cover art? so zoom in babes check out the little details?#weeeee 🎉#shameless #shameless fanfiction #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #ian x mickey #a/b/o #a/b/o au #M8TE #bee writes 🐝 ✍🏼

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tonyglowheart · 1 month

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reading thru old meta posts on qian qiu and there's like, some stuff I agree with sure but there's also a lot I don't lol. w like yan wushi especially. there's a lot of. I think too much conventional-mindedness in approaching yws even from the ppl who did like him as a character. saying he's a difficult character, and is meant to be a difficult character, but then still framing him along more conventional moral frameworks. yet another apartment 'complex'? strange, I find it quite simple moments.

#qian qiu #yan wushi #sorry so many of you are still hung up over the *chapter 45* '''''betrayal''''' rip but i'm different #(though I wonder if I'd feel this way if ppl hadn't made such a big deal of it and so I was expecting The Betrayal to be like. worse lol)#like for me since I was expecting *a* betrayal when I hit it in chap 45 I was like. this is it? lmao I thought it was sth actually serious #and then ppl like I can't let it go or I can't get over him saying he doesn't regret it - like god forbid women do anything forreal #the thing about yan wushi is he is not just master-less he's also in many ways *peer*-less #and that's why to him he was so much on the 'what a shame you're like the one guy who maybe could have been my rival but you're not'#I think ppl see rival as like. could be my enemy. but it's like. someone has to be your peer to be your rival #and it's very much established that yan wushi even before his power level is like maxed up has this wild potential #there's that chap where sq reflects on what qfg said abt yws having the potential to be better than him #but also I think it's a huge mistake to see/think of yws as amoral #he HAS morals. they're just not the same as yours #he doesn't care about the greater good as a rule but he's also not completely indifferent to it #and like. I think it's also a simplification to say that 'sq breaks the rules of yws's world of human nature being inherently corrupt etc'#I think that's a belief that yws holds about human nature but I think he's also like. smarter than to believe in absolutes?#and besides. to say it that way I think frames it as if yws is in denial about sq's existence and nature #I just don't get that sense from him - imo he sees sq as more of a curiosity than a like aberration #he's testing sq's bottom line not necessarily bc he's convinced sq is secretly evil but he because he wants to see what sq's bottom line is #and he wants to know that because sq's nature is so different than his own or those he generally encounters and understands from people #he's squishing sq like a dog with a chew toy not because he wants to destroy it but because he wants to see exactly what kind of noises #he can get out of it and exactly how far he can squish it before it starts being too much #(but also I think bc he sees sq's potential to be on his level and wants to see if that can get teased out)#in a like... bonsai shaping kind of way #yes he's pruning the tree back and sometimes pruning & shaping quite hard #but as with the art of bonsai - it's an interactive dance and like only the tree can add material #and for all that you can prune & shape the tree you will never know exactly what the tree will do #SQ is also like a tree in the sense that like you have to prune to get read of dead growth & also encourage new growth #and SQ goes from that like houseplant side of the meme that's like i'm allergic to tapwater #to flourishing under the adversity and the 'i can eat thru concrete'

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chexie · 5 months

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interdimensional gateway fic update for 3rd anniversary

haha kidding

it takes forever to write fics so I applaud you for still managing to keep up with it, especially multi-chapter fics. and especially especially ones that are over like 5 chapters.

I would've forgotten about it and then just hoped the readers weren't that into it so i could abandon the thing

(have done that in the past but then again they never got many likes 2 begin with haha)

anyways wish u luck on it, dont worry about meeting deadlines n shit

Oh honestly at some point this past spring I had this silly pipe dream that I’d have Gateway’s epilogue up in time for it’s third birthday lmao it’s even pipe-dreamier now, but hey, who knows (I knows, I absolutely probably won’t finish it by then but yknow it’d be nice)

But at the same time the fact that this ask is like. Even here at all is so so wild to me because this is the first time I’ve had people engage with my content so positively and consistently, and I feel like that’s been one of my reasons that work on it’s been so ‘consistent’

(That and the Darkside communities size. Back then we only had 7 fics to pick from so it was my civil service to the community, obvs)

At the end of the day, while the stunted progress in 2022 was just another cost of a mentally taxing year, 2023 has just been me wrangling my brain to focus on anything for more than two weeks and clinically failing, and the lack of engagement chapter 9 got around its release ended up burying DD in my head

I’m not,,, entirely certain what my point was in all of this? But. Thank you. Maybe chapter 10 will drop by year’s end. Wouldn’t that be rad?

#I’m not gonna tag this properly #because I feel like this isn’t a concrete update moreso just. uh me talking about things that not everyone would care about #but. yeah no I miss Darkside and the idea of coming back to it is good #and obviously moral of the story is leave comments. any comments #they give me the good serotonin and make me realize that yeah. this fic matters #that feels like an extreme way of putting it but uh. you get it #and like honestly even if chapter 10 takes a hot minute I should note #that anyone is welcome to come into my ask box and talk about Gateway or just Darkside in general #but no yeah that’s all I got #it’s still wild that people are still looking into my lil fic because I feel like it is one of my works I’m most proud of #like! I got a fanart for it! what the fuck #/pos

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teruthecreator · 1 year

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hello i asked for some mp100 fic recommendations and someone sent me a fic that’s by you and icannot for the LIFE of me find it using the ao3 search bar so i was wondering if you perhaps had the link 👁️👁️

np!

#ignorance cloud on #go wacky go wild!!! hope u enjoy :-)#there’s gonna be a new chapter soon i prommy (short for promise) i’m just kinda writerblocked and also i have friends over rn #this is just a general update for those who are curious. i’m getting there i’m halfway done w the next chap

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lonelyquail · 1 year

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i got an itty bitty game today! little game with little cube man and caveman and Fucked Up man!!!!! might have to spend all day playing it tomorrow!!!

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!! ANOTHER INDOCTRINATION SUCCESSFUL!!!!

#please please please update me and pester me #i looove being pestered about video games i like #also jic my general ranking of chapters is near future > wild west > imperial china = distant future > present day > edo japan > prehistory #but really all of them are good. though i will admit i do Not like prehistory.#also unless you feel like it. please play edo like a normal person. you Can play it pacifist or murder but its so much easier to just #go through it like a normal person. pacifist is savescum hell and murder is 'forever stuck at 98 kills bc i missed a trigger' hell

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fideidefenswhore · 2 years

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very random but why did worsley choose to villainize cranmer > henry...

#i think cranmer had his shady moments but the way he was portrayed in that docuseries... like a comic book villain... we just don't know #it was almost like he got the catholique cromwell treatment #altho i think cromwell was arguably more brutal #he was not just 'one thing' in the way none of are just 'one thing'#cranmer had his shady moments like lambert and katherine howard #i actually think cromwell was pretty much equally brutal to henry but i would say he was. you know #a better husband/father than henry. so there is that #but most kings were bad fathers/husbands altho the latter not generally QUITE that bad #I DIGRESS #but obviously the blame rests with henry #primarily. re: everything. but particularly katherine howard #didn't have to do All That #also this docuseries did not even mention jane rochford did it...? in either AB or KH chapter #odd .#meanwhile we get entirety of blackfriars speech and maria de salinas but not anne's execution speech or any of her friends / ladies or any #of ANY of theirs except the usual saccharine nonsense about jane seymour & mary #i really think she just should have done a catherine of aragon docu #id anyone has ever done a standalone co.a docu...? which almost seems weird #queen consort for the longer that them all put together. wild

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orcelito · 1 year

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Only in Discordant Accord can u read about akechi goro punting Morgana like a football

#speculation nation #discacc shit #unless it is in some other fic but ive certainly never seen it lol #rereading a comment left to me and reliving the good moments from last chapter #genuinely a little surprised by how positive the reception to rei was #when mentioned in comments ppl seemed to genuinely be happy to see her again #and im just like. that's my funky lil oc who was barely even an oc to start with lmfao #i just split my own older sister into two older sisters for akira and called it a day. their personalities just kinda happened as a result #like im very well versed in making characters so maybe thats why it was so just. Accidental?#an accidental oc. that people do like. kinda wild.#granted i say i split my sister into two but it's in a similar way to how i inform my akira and akechi characterizations #by splitting Myself in two #less of a direct trait to trait kind of thing and more just. focusing on different parts of a person and extrapolating from them #koharu being the Protective Older Sibling energy &rei being the Good Friend And Constant Antagonistic Force (but still fiercely protective)#two parts of what my sister is to me. i guess.#it's similar to how i gave goro Soooo much of my self destructive tendencies + general bloated ego syndrome #and akira a lot of the like. idk. worrywart kinda thing. and also Anxiety. panic shit. sorry akira.#thats the secret to my realistic characterizations lol. it's all informed by self experience.#i wasnt meaning to make a whole post like this. none of these tags r even relevant to the main text of the post #but when have i ever stayed on task with a post lol . never.

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cinnabeat · 10 months

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i cant remember if i said this or not but i was saying how i dont think the reveal about iruma being a human was being teased cuz the progress for it was all very natural but now that the fucking reveal was cockblocked TWICE by a fucking phone call im willing to retract my statement

#THIS is teasing #the fact that iruma is a human was never really touched on much?#like first of all iruma had to get over thinking he was gonna get munched on #not saying its an unreasonable fear but like he couldnt be too paranoid about it #like his humanness is always in the background and iruma HAS expressed wanting to say it before #and explicityl showing that his fear is no long er being waten and more just being rejected in general #which is a normal fear and a nice show of his progress in the character development department #and maybe the issue of him being human would be more touched upon if it wasnt the background plot #like i think people forget mairuma is a very slice of life manga lmao like the action and antagonist plot is VERY background #like the whole point is iruma learning to do things gor himself rather than doing things because others want him too #its about irumas character journey you know? like yeah theres like a prophecy or whatever happening but thats b plot business #so the reveal of him being a human should naturally follow the flow of his own character development which it has!! and i think iruma is in #fact getting to that point of feelinng brave enough and confident enough to tell his closest friends if hes not at the point already #also it probably feels like its being teased bc its quite literally been years irl but u gotta take into account the Whole Manga and not the #weekly chapter releases #like of course everything feels slow when ur only getting bite sized pieces of big arcs you know?#idk what the rate of plot progress is tho bc my only experience with anything FINISHED is fairy tail and that too 545 chapters #which is wild considering how much shit happened there and how much shit ISNT happening here #where was i going with this #oh yeah so before it didnt feel like teasing just basic plot progression based on where the characters are in their devlopment which for a h #heavily character based story is amazing imo #but the two interruption are VERY annoying especially since it just breaks the tension #maybe itd be comically if i was reading this all in one go like start to finish like haha damn interrupted twice #but it IS annoying in real time. i do apprrciate the universe refusing to let the antagonists share irumas secret with the people he conside #considers important without his say so. very considerate of them #narnia can eat shit btw no matter how pretty he looks #michi tag #i fucking wish i could talk like this about other things im interested in but i only pull out my analysis hat when i see bad takes which mar #mairuma has A LOT of imo. like every new chapter at least one person will say something so baffling that i have to say something back if onl #only to myself

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bamsara · 6 months

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Some side characters/cult members for The Rehabilitation of Death. This originally was just supposed to be some light sketches but now they're all fully lined up and colored oops

Info about all of them under the cut:

All followers were designed based off of the actaul follower forms in game. Characters in order:

Bremar 🦊 (He/Him): Boy that often gets peer pressured into doing dangerous or scary things by his friends/bullies. Good heart, not a lot of spine yet.

Finor 🐰 (She/They): Elderly follower. A devoted follower, but much too in the habit of behaving like an overbearing grandmother to those who aren’t even her kits. Comes from bearing so many in life before losing them to heretics in the wilds. Lambert found her already aged out in the forest after her husband and family were slaughtered, and she has been caring for others ever since her rescue. Stern and not a big fan of PDA, but good heart.

Cow Nurse 🐄 (No Name yet, She/Her): A nurse that works in the healing bay; takes care of the injured and sick while the lamb is gone. Stern and easily frustrated but it comes from a place of concern.

The Shrew and The Otter (No names yet) 🐁🦦 (Both She/Her): Lovers that often leave their work posts to be affectionate with each other in secret (even though everyone already knows). Eventually asks the Lamb to officiate their wedding.

Joon 😺 (Any/They/Them) (Otherwise known as 'the yellow cat' from that one COTL short): The best farmer the cult has, wasn't born until long after the bishop's defeats, and is a part of the generation that is blissfully unaware of Bishops prior tyranny. Bright but a little nervous at times, the Lamb asks them to watch over a certain 'new arrival' as their own hands are full, and Joon becomes the unaware caretaker for a certain God of Chaos.

Paazi 🐸 and her parents🦅🦇: (She/Her for Paazi, Unnamed: Eagle is He/Him, Bat is They/Them): Paazi is a orphan rescue from Anura found as young as a tadpole, later adopted by this older couple. She is the frog that fell from the cliffside and was later saved by Narinder, in which gains him her parent's appreciation.

Grekimar 🐷 (He/Him): A lumber worker who was exiled from his village in Anura, and taken in by the cult as 'all past sins are forgiven here'. Very critical of Narinder's presence, and is one spit away from dissension

Jayen 🐻 (He/Him): One of the two followers Narinder killed during his dramatic arrival to the cult grounds when Jayen was just trying to protect his leader, later resurrected by Narinder and Lambert in Chapter 2. Conflicted about Narinder's presence: grateful to be resurrected (Lamb told Jayen that Narinder helped) but still traumatized from the murder. Feels tingly in his hand and arm often. Sweet but nervous.

Tyren 🐶 (He/Him): One of the stone miners. Rescued from Darkwood. The very 'golden lab retriever' personality makes him one of the more friendlier types; this dog has a big crush on the Lamb that goes past prophet idolization.

#TROD Au #the rehabilitation of death #narilamb #cult of the lamb #cotl au #cotl oc #cotl narinder #cotl lamb #cotl leshy #cotl yellow cat #doodles

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kaijutegu · 2 years

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It’s so fascinating to me that we’ve only been breeding Komodo dragons in captivity for thirty years. In that time, our understanding of them has actually really revolutionized the way we understand the social lives and behaviors of lizards in general, and it’s mostly thanks to this lady right here, who was born 30 years ago on September 13, 1992.

Kraken was the first Komodo to be bred in captivity. She hatched out at GMU, but was raised at the National Zoo. Her parents were wild-caught dragons- there’s still WC dragons in the AZA today- and this one specific individual probably did more to revolutionize lizard care in professional settings than any other individual lizard throughout zoo history.

Until Kraken, social enrichment wasn’t a thing people thought about. It wasn’t something anybody felt was necessary for lizards, because they were just... lizards. Sure, some keepers would play with their favorites, but it wasn’t until the National Zoo started documenting what she was doing that anybody realized how much Komodo dragons like to play with us too.

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Kraken’s not in that video, but she’s the one who inspired all of the social studies that have been done on captive Komodo dragons. When she was at the National Zoo, her keepers started getting curious when, for no apparent reason, she kept gingerly stealing things from peoples’ pockets and tugging on their shoelaces. So they started giving her stuff- Frisbees, blankets, soda cans, anything she showed an interest in.

She played with them, just like a mammal might. The way play behavior is described in psychology is a given activity that’s voluntary, repeated, and conducted under “relatively benign” circumstances. Keeper staff found that her conduct during the study met all of these criteria. “Kraken,” they wrote, had clearly demonstrated “play-like behavior with objects and even with humans (tug-of-war).” Moreover, she “could discriminate between prey and nonprey” while showing “varying responses” with different items (rubber rings, shoes, etc.). (There’s an excellent book on Komodo dragons that has an entire chapter devoted to her.)

Kraken died several years ago, but her legacy continues today. There’s several of her descendants still in the AZA, and the intelligence and social needs she demonstrated led to the improvement of life for these guys- and other lizards. The Komodo dragon program has been an eye opener, not just for reptile conservation, but for understanding reptile intelligence and how this incredible clade of animals functions.

#komodo dragon #thinking a lot about animal welfare and animal wellbeing #where would we be with reptiles if somebody hadn't realized how much this one specific animal liked to play?#reptile #reptiblr #Youtube

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dark-tides-in-faerun · 5 months

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Boiling Point (1/2)

Astarion x You!

Your party stumble across a hot spring in the wilds and agree to take turns bathing. It turns out, Astarion isn’t very good at taking turns but is more than happy to share…

🌶️mature🌶️ (fair warning that this chapter is just a little steamy but the next one will be very nsfw!)

You lay on your back in the recently discovered hot spring, eyes closed, basking in the delicious warmth. If this wasn't heaven, you weren't sure what was. The moon lights up the little clearing you’re in, giving everything that it touches a lovely, silvery sheen, and you close your eyes and relax into it, feeling at ease for the first time in weeks.

“Well, hello.”

You almost jump out of your skin.

“Astarion.” You gasp, spluttering up a lungful of water as you quickly sink lower beneath the surface, arms crossing against your chest in a bid to protect your modesty as you twist toward him. The water’s cloudy enough that he wouldn’t be able to see anything, but that knowledge does very little to make you feel less exposed. “What in the nine hells is wrong with you?”

“Nothing that a little dip couldn’t fix.” He quips, lounging against a rock, his face the picture of innocence and your eyes narrow as you notice he’s clutching a crimson towel in one pale hand.

“It’s not your turn.” You warn, narrow eyes meeting his as his carefully blank face looks back at you. You’d all agreed on a schedule for hot spring use and given that he’d already talked you into letting him steal all of your allocated time, it definitely wasn’t his turn.

“Oh, I know that.” He replies, the picture of unaffected grace as he looks at his nails and then back at you. “I just think it’s a little selfish of you to be… indulging yourself with so little regard for other people’s feelings.”

“Is it?” You say, slowly, and his lips quirk up in response. “Or is it a ‘little selfish’ to interrupt someone during the only time they’ve had to themselves in days. Especially when that person in question has already given up every other opportunity to bathe in the hot spring for you.”

“Yes, yes, that was very generous of you darling, but try to look at it from my perspective. You generate your own heat, but what about me? Do you know what it feels like to spend night after night in this frozen and miserable, knowing that there’s something warm and wet that I could sink myself into just meters away?”

His voice is innocent, but as his eyes drop to where your skin disappears beneath the water, the smile he gives you is anything but. It's obvious he’s trying to use your physical response to him to manipulate you, because he's always trying to do that and you flush, desire flooding to your core just as he intends it. But you're not just flushing because of the obscene way he's looking at you. It's because that smile has reminded you of how he looked when he returned from the springs last night. All pink skin and delighted exuberance. He’d been light, playful, exhilarated... Happy. And you knew enough about his past to know that happiness wasn’t something he’d known much of in his long life.

“Why can't you just go and bother someone else for a change.” You grumble, but the delighted shine in his eyes shows you that he knows he's getting his way and you scowl at him. “Gods give me strength. Turn around.”

“Why?” he asks, mouth blooming into a full smile and you can’t help the extra little flip your stomach gives at the sight of it.

“Because I’m naked and I’m not getting out with you staring at me. Turn around.”

“Darling, I’m hurt. Are you really suggesting we can’t share? There’s more than enough room for two.” He pouts, eyes shining as he stares down at you, sparkling with mischief and butterflies flutter to life in your stomach at the suggestion. You know he’s only trying to get a rise out of you but damn it, if it isn’t working. "Besides, I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

You choke back a strangled laugh because it really wasn’t him you were worried about. The butterflies have gone into overdrive just from the suggestion, and you can feel the heat staining your cheeks a darker pink than the warmth of the hot spring. You stare up at him, eyes a little too wide, and he gives you a self-satisfied smile. You can see in his gaze that he expects you to balk. Expects you to surrender the hot spring and slink away with your pink cheeks and pounding heart.

Well fuck him.

You force a sweet smile, feeling a thrum of satisfaction at the slight widening of his eyes as instead of moving toward him you wade to the far edge and turn around. For a long moment there’s nothing and you wonder if he’s even still there.

“Well? Are you getting in or not?” You demand, proud that your voice is only a little shaky, and he lets out a laugh. You swallow, focusing on trying to keep your heart rate level as you hear the sound of rustling fabric and then the water ripples around you as he slips in behind you.

“You can look now, darling, I assure you I’m quite decent.”

You turn around and immediately regret not getting out when you had the chance.

There is nothing decent about the way he looks right now.

The moonlight floods the broad expanse of his naked chest, staining it an ethereal, shining white, and he looks like he was carved from marble. The steam from the water has already tightened the hair at the nape of his neck into little curls. He’s stark and beautiful in the silver moonlight, but it’s not even that, that’s most striking.

It’s his expression.

His eyes are closed, head resting against the grassy bank behind him and the little smile that plays at the edges of his lips is a million miles away from his usual shit-eating grin. It’s small and soft and decidedly content and you swallow. It’s the full force of the little smile you’d seen at camp. It’s true happiness, you realize and it makes your heart pound and ache in equal measure to acknowledge that you’ve never seen that particular smile before.

He shifts, lifting his arms from the water and resting them against the rocky edge of the pool, blinking up at you and that little smile dissolves into something darker. Water streams from his skin, running between the dips and crevices of his muscular biceps and you shrink into yourself a little, sinking into the water until just your chin hovers above it. There’s nothing you can do about your heart now, it’s pounding against your ribs like it wants to escape from your chest and his crimson eyes are fixed on you as you try your best to keep yourself in check.

“Happy now?” you ask, and though your voice is a little breathy you feel like the fact that you’ve even gotten the words out is a feat of heroic proportions.

“Very.” He replies closing his eyes, and you can’t help but smile at that. He looks more content than you’ve ever seen him and that thought triggers a reaction in you that’s so strong that you suddenly realize that you can’t stay here. He doesn’t deserve to be ogled like this, when he’s just trying to relax. From the little snippets he’s given you from his past he’s had enough of that to last several lifetimes.

You clear your throat and he opens his eyes again, one eyebrow raised questioningly you swallow, gesturing at him to swap places with you. He sits up at that, a surprised smile on his lips and you shake your head, not wanting him to get the wrong idea about your intentions.

“I’m going to leave you to it.” You say, your words only catching a little in your throat as he cocks his head to the side, looking at you thoughtfully.

“Leave me to what, exactly?” He asks, voice low and teasing, and heat rises beneath your cheeks as steam curls up in silvery tendrils around his chest.

“This. Warming up.” You manage, trying not to look at him as you edge your way around the to the other side of the spring, nearer to the grassy knoll, but you really need him to move out of the way if you want to make a graceful exit. “I’ll see you back at camp.”

“I can think of better ways to warm up.” He says, voice a little too innocent, and your gaze flicks to him before you can stop yourself. His eyes are fixed on you and the look in them is dark and predatory and you falter, heart in your throat. You’ve seen that look before, and you swallow as his gaze slips to your neck, the hunger in it apparent.

“I-I-“ you start, but your words die in your throat. The way he’s looking at you has melted your insides into a puddle of lust and your really, really need to get yourself under control. You take a breath. Blood. He means blood. You try to distract your pounding heart by thinking through the implications of what he’s asking. You’re no cleric, but surely bloodletting in hot water wasn’t the best of ideas... “Is it safe?”

He frowns at that, cocking his head to the side as if trying to work out your meaning and you swallow and touch your neck.

“Is it safe to feed in the water?” You say, again. He freezes for a second, and then some unreadable expression passes over his face before he quickly looks away. If you didn’t know him better, you’d have said it was disappointment.

“Of course.” He says, seemingly to himself, and when he looks up the expression has been swallowed up by his usual confidence. “Don’t worry, my sweet. I’ll take very good care of you.”

He holds out his hand and you bite your lip, hesitating for a moment. It’s not that you don’t trust him. If he says it’s safe you believe him, but you’re just suddenly very aware of your lack of clothes. You shift uncertainly, edging a tiny bit closer to him and a slow smile spread over his lips.

“I think you’ll find you need to be a little closer than that.” He says in a voice that spreads beneath your skin like treacle, and for the second time in one night you regret not leaving when you had the chance.

You shiver despite the heat as you place your hand in his and he wraps his pale fingers around yours, tugging you gently towards him. For one panicked second you think he's going to pull you onto his lap, but he stops when you're a few inches apart. You put your free hand on the grassy bank to steady yourself as he lifts your hand to his mouth, rotating it so that the soft skin of your wrist presses gently against his lips. He's fed from you before but, other than the very first time when he almost lost himself, he’s been almost clinical in his approach. Careful to only touch as much as he needs to.

This is not that.

You watch, dumbstruck, as his pink tongue slips out from between his lips to swipe a cool stripe across the overheated plane of your wrist. Your breath catches, a small hitch at the back of your throat, but he catches it and drowning crimson orbs flick up to meet your startled gaze. He does it again, staring at you darkly from beneath his eyelashes and licks another tortuously slow line across your aching skin.

You try not to, but you can't help but gasp, hand gripping tightly into the grass, and his pupils dilate with bloodlust as his fingers tighten against your skin. Gods.

“A-Astarion.” Your voice is breathy and tight, barely audible and you feel almost drunk from just this small amount of contact. He closes his eyes at the sound, a pained expression passing over his face as a shudder runs through his body, and then, before you can say anything else, his fangs sink into your wrist.

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