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me vs my desire to do a shanks inbox call is real because jfc this muse has me. instead I'm going to think about where to shove him in the g.enshin / black sails au so he can bother more people

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“Nothing but water – an ever-moving swell; nothing but waves, swiftly forming and instantly dying; nothing but depths; dark, fathomless depths; and nothing but sky, scudding white clouds, puffy and intangible. This was the living world, nothing besides, nothing else but sea. No winter or summer, no hills or ravines.”

— Chingiz Aitmatov, Spotted Dog Running Along the Seashore (1977)

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/breaks out list of Hu Tao questions I've been sitting on 🤭 Okay, so, forgive some assumptions here but, Hu Tao seems to be one of the few people who seems to really notice that Zhongli is properly 'unusual', yet she doesn’t ever seem to... pry very or too intensely deeply. Why do you think she respects that boundary in the way she seems to, or would you disagree? If so, please do share, I want to know, I'm shaking you affectionately

I've talked around this before so the answer to me is really simple. Hu Tao isn't so much interested in the final answer as she is interested in the chase, the tease of prying without actually knowing. She knows enough to function; that he is different, that he is unusual, and knows things that a mortal cannot know. What that makes him does not matter as an individual, but it does make him other and therefore easier for her to connect to. Outside of that the guessing is just a game, and a game that she doesn't want an answer to unless he feels that in that moment she must know.

That boundary will remain intact from Hu Tao's perspective until Zhongli himself is ready to break it. She just likes to bounce against it occasionally to test it and see how he deals with the reverberations.

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Wrote up a few hcs that I've thrown in the queue for now and had an impromptu follower clear out mostly archived/long time gone or just lack of interaction based. Think tonight I'm going to call it early and spend some time reading OP before I have to get up for garden work at grandad's tomorrow dskfjshk

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Afternoon! Today I have absolutely sucked at mini golf with my friend but it was fun - and by sucked I mean 20 point difference! That poll is fascinating me because every time one character takes the lead, someone votes for the other two that are close 🤭 I'll be around to write later working on that ask box!

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dash game : pick 4 of your favorite characters from fandoms and let your mutuals decide which one you’re most like, as the mun!

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With a wide grin brightening his features, Luffy threw his arms in the air when he spots Zoro, far too amused by the scowl on the swordsman's features. ❝ ━ ZORO ! ❞ To be fair, Luffy had gotten hungry and forgotten why'd they come to this town, but the smell of food had lured him to this neat tavern. ❝ ━ Lets get some grub ! ❞

Features soften fractionally at the sound of his name shouted across the heads of the crowd, corners of his mouth upturning as eyes finally laying upon the captain of their crew. Straightening up, Zoro moves from where he was stood, pushing through people to narrow the space, following the path laid before him by the one who bears the smile that works as his guiding light, the sunshine that lights the path before him and erases all others.

"Yeah, alright..." He doesn't need to disagree, following the lead Luffy sets with that sense of smell, his own gaze focused on the streets around, ensuring none intend to come close. "Better fill up that endless tank of yours..." He shakes his head, truly impressed at how food overrides everything but unsurprised given their time at sea. One hand slips to sit on the hilt of his sword, comfortably protective as they push through the streets, his footsteps falling in the shadow of Luffy's own as they make their way to the tavern that exudes the smell of cooking meat and a variety of ales.

As he steps in, he makes a mental note to try and not get into trouble. Nami will kill them if they delay the journey any further, but he makes no promises.

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sometimes the sun is a kind boy with a straw hat

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one more raid of ambie's inbox and then I am up to date on my pirate inbox call I've been scuttling around in the background working on it and all my current active calls. Then I suppose I should attempt the mess that is my drafts and inbox; fair warning I'm going to be having a pretty harsh clear out at the end of the month with only personalised asks being saved so that I don't go into september with too much to do. I'm going to see how much of it I can work out first though.

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if  you  repeat  this,  i'll  deny  everything.

(albedo & diluc)

"Why would I repeat it?" The question is offered quietly into the air before them as the crimson-haired ex-knight hangs his legs off the edge of their perch and glances down at the sketch the other is in the process of, a quirk of the lip upwards marking his contentment in the moment.

The chill of the Dragonspine air rushes past as a soft breeze passes and he breathes a sigh into the air, twining fingers together in lieu of having anything else to do with them. Really a book might have sufficed, even a scroll to write down what he knew about current strongholds in the area, but he was bereft and so he would have to make do. Instead he traces sketchlines with his observant gaze and then turns his gaze upward to find the spot that has caught the other's attention, head tipping as eventually it drifts from art to artist, seeking Albedo's profile.

"Those words are mine alone." He says slowly, unlocking one gloved hand to reach forward, hesitating a moment before he lays it on Albedo's cheek, letting warmth bleed from his glove to the wind-chilled cheek. "I'm not sharing them." He's not so eloquent, more meaning pressed in those words cared to admit, your sentiment was shared in return and I want to keep this special between us choking his throat rather than slipping from lips. Personal sentiment tended to escape him, fear of giving away too much only to lose staying his tongue. He'd lost so much already, this was a gamble he was not prepared to face yet.

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okay meetings for the day done, time for some pirates. and by pirates i probably mean let shanks out of his enclosure, but i will attempt to coax zoro out too KJDFSHKFH

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"Captain!"

Calista's voice echoes above the clash of blades and the lap of the waves at his heels as Caspian dances along the sand, splashing water up the salt-stained leather of his boots as his saber finally jams between ribs to drop one of his opponents. His arms are lined with nicks and cuts, though that matter was not as pressing as that which his dear Quartermaster raised, namely the rising sun of the sixth day and his feet were still on land.

"One minute! Shan't be long, just finishing..." A pause as he swipes his saber across the chest of another oncoming bilgerat, a grunt leaving him with the effort "...business."

He flicks the blood from his saber with a grimace, glancing back in the direction of the rising sun, and the oncoming dregs of the crew attempting to avenge their captain who had met his end after his insults were put to an end by the captain, the cabin boy used as entertainment relieved from his care and safelt sequestered away on Caspian's ship.

"You haven't got time for that, move!" A spray of sea salt gushes forth as Calista leaps in next to him, drawing her own sword and staring pointedly. "Any longer and you'll start..." As if her words were a cue of a stage director of some dreadful play Capsian's nose begin dribbling blood, his limbs struck with sharp pains that wanted to drive him to his knees. He staggers, breath gasping as he splashed deeper into the ocean, hoping that at least if the sea went up to his knees he may be able to grant some reprieve, elongate his time enough to get him the strength to haul himself on deck.

Distantly he can hear the clash of swords as Calista dispatches the last of his crew, but the rest goes blurry, fading as Salt-Tongued's festering words echo in his mind. You will be chained to the sea. No longer welcome on the land, cursed boy. She will reject you and repel you, curse you to never know home or comfort on her shores. Leave you longing in agony as her touch turns cruel and your comfort stolen. She will drain the life from your very bones, steal the comfort of solid ground and remind you that there will be no one place will ever let you belong.

He sways again, unhearing of the splash as Ainsley charges over, lifting him up with ease and throwing him over his shoulder, a weak cry escaping him. Calista's running through the water echoes as she sheathes her saber and begins directing, one hand reaching to lay on his cheek.

"Rest easy, and next time, pay attention to the damn dawn."

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“An over-indulgence of anything, even something as pure as water, can intoxicate.” (geshu lin to scar, like the hypocrite he is -)

"And yet you return to me every time, no? Over-indulging in every whim that strikes you, intoxicating yourself on the high of my dear companionship..."

Audacious to the last, Scar surges forward suddenly, pushing until there is brick at Geshu Lin's back and his own hand held high on the wall, crowding the former general there. His other hand remains fixed to his hip, fingertips searing through clothes to bruise, to claim, with a daring curvature of his smile.

"Just admit to it. There's a thrill you cannot find anywhere else. Why waste the days worrying about over-indulgence and self-restraint when you have had a taste of what letting go of your inhibitions can do?" He accompanies his words by leaning in close, breath ghosting the shell of the other's ear, words hissed with twisted amusement. For as charged as his words are, he is not simply talking of the dynamic that has been forged between them, but rather everything that has happened to Geshu Lin since joining the Fractsidus. The freedom of not kow-towing to rules, the lack of worry for every life too weak to be spared. The chance to grow in strength and power, the choice in doing things because you wish. Because you can.

"You're addicted to it..." An accusation delivered like a punch, sharply spoken into his ear as hands move to grab for wrists that are no doubt shifting to push him away. Too soon, too early in their little game. "To the freedom. To the power. To the taking what you want, when you want it." He leans closer and sinks teeth into the flesh at the hinge of the general's jaw, a sharp nip meant to sting. "You want it more than anything. So don't go running chicken now. You've already played your cards, remember?"

Laughter spills across lips and Scar pounces away, putting enough distance between them to at least give himself a fighting chance as the general no doubt retaliates. His mirthful gaze is alight, a cocktail of frenzied enthusiasm, anticipating the next move. What a way to kill time.

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Writing down some notes about Caspian's life at sea, purely because aven asked me some questions so here's some facts about Caspian:

Caspian is 32 years old and cannot remember a time in his life when he was not on a ship. He grew up as a cabin boy on a ship and while there were some formative years as a baby he lived on land, he cannot recall any of them. All he remembers is the rock of the deck beneath his feet and the crash of the waves against the hull.

Caspian has been captain of The Damned Corsair for 3 years and thus also carrying his curse for the same length of time.

He sailed The Howl of the Saber for 8 years prior, making his total time in captaincy 11 years.

Before that he sailed with the same crew he'd been with since he was a boy. I will dive into this deeply in a separate post as there are some key life moments I need to think about and flesh out.

The longest serving member of his crew is his gunner, Ainsley Draegan, who has been with him since he left the previous ship as he chose to follow Caspian over. He was originally the Quartermaster until Calista came along, holding the role as someone who could be trusted entirely. Calista joined the crew 1 year into them sailing, and made Quartermaster in the third, as Ainsley handed the role over to the person who complimented the captain best.

Caspian is quite, superficial, at times, mostly about his own looks. He cares a lot about his own appearance, particularly when he ventures onto land.

He calls the one who cursed him the Salt-Tongued in lieu of knowing their actual name.

Calista actually has to send him to clean his cabin because it is always messy. Not aggressively so but he's the type of person who is in the middle of doing something and then gets distracted and leaves things behind.

Caspian is friendly until he is not. He's pleasant in disposition, occasionally flirtatious, full of vigor for life, but if something angers him or upsets him then he can swiftly become more tempestuous and cold.

Caspian has something of a rivalry with the captain of The Star of Daedelus, a privateer's vessel set to continue undoing the crew after they captured Caspian's former crew and captain. More on this once I've cooked a bit more.

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Anaïs Nin, from a letter to Joaquin Nin, featured in Reunited: The Correspondence of Anais and Joaquin Nin, 1933-1940

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DAHLIA CALL. You have to specify this time because you can choose either inbox or starter; no speciification on this will default to inbox. You also need to specify your muse or you get nout. I am happy to plot a little first to get an idea or wing it neither matters to me. I'm capping at 5 starters / 5 asks because I still have pirates to write djfdsjfhk