#I'm sorry I cannot do more comprehensive posts

[redjaybathood]

Check out this Twitter thread

[aces-and-angels]

seeing the influx of gfm campaigns on your dash may be overwhelming- the purpose of this post is to help others navigate through the many gfm links that are circulating here on this site- esp. those that find their way directly to you via your inbox. this advice is specific to tumblr- i cannot speak on other platforms (instagram, twitter, etc.) though some things i say may be applicable

disclaimer: i do not vet/verify any campaigns myself. i simply want people who are willing to engage with these types of posts to do so in a safe manner

read more below:

---

what to do if you get a message from an account claiming to be 🇵🇸 in your inbox:

-> step 1: do not immediately dismiss it as spam

to quote one of nabulsi's posts:

"... you cannot generalise with Gazans if their tumblr blog is only a few days or a few hours old.

Gazans on tumblr are making accounts for the express purpose of spreading their fundraisers because it is spreading amongst Gazans that tumblr is a safe place to do so.

They could often be making multiple blogs and even remaking after staff flags them as spam. But don't blanket assume that Gazans are scammers if they're on a new tumblr blog with no pfp or content.

I agree that until a fundraiser is vetted you shouldn't reblog it in case it is someone dishonest taking advantage of the circumstances in Gaza. But you cannot do the opposite and immediately assume they're a scammer. I'm seeing people harass Gazans sometimes who genuinely are people who just don't know how to use tumblr and are falsely raising red flags because of it." (read full post here)

to sum it up: don't hit 'report' right away- marinate a lil and put on a detective hat

-> step 2: background check

the following are accounts that are known to vet/verify gfm campaigns here on tumblr. note- this is not a comprehensive list:

el-shab-hussein

nabulsi

90-ghost* (edit 8/4: recently announced that ahmed will no longer be vetting/verifying new campaigns)

ibtisams* (only has done it on situational basis; is not currently vetting new campaigns- read post here)

rubashabansblog (has been promoting other palestinians who lost their tumblr accounts; currently living under occupation)

heba-20 (unsure if heba takes request to vet others personally but is a reliable source for finding legitimate campaigns)

northgazaupdates

fairuzfan (says they are less active on tumblr these days/not currently vetting new campaigns but is a reliable source)

i recommend giving these individuals a follow if you haven't already as they provide far more information regarding all things 🇵🇸. they've all put in a lot of work to make the process i'm sharing with y'all as simple as possible. also please be respectful if you try reaching out to any of them. they are likely getting a high volume of asks and may not be able to respond to you quickly

important note: it has been recently announced that nabulsi + el-shab-hussein have stopped vetting new accounts for the time being and are only focusing on campaigns that have already been vetted. read their full statement here and here

to start- check out the person's account. this can be a hit or miss depending on how new the account is. however- you may notice that the person in question has stated that they have been vetted:

good signs so far- but better to be safe than sorry. next thing to do is search the username of the person who messaged you on tumblr. it's likely if you got a message like the one pictured above, others may have received one as well and did the digging for you:

if you can't find a clear answer with tumblr's illustrious search bar/want to confirm someone's claim that the campaign in question was already verified, the next thing to do is check one of the following:

el-shab-hussein's pinned post

el-shab-hussein/nabulsi's google sheet

imo, this process is far easier to do while on a laptop/desktop vs. mobile app. ctrl+f is your friend in this scenario as is the ability to click through multiple tabs. for el-shab-hussein's pinned post, i click through the multiple lists and see if any names match. in ruba's case, she was found under List of fundraisers for my direct contacts from Ghazzah & Sudan:

and for the google sheet- her campaign is no. 90 on the list:

tip: to narrow down your search even further- ctrl+f the title of the person's gfm campaign that they've linked on their tumblr account:

-> step 3: share your findings + follow that account

if everything checks out- ✨share le campaign✨ provide the link to it in your response to the ask + where it was verified. make it easier for the next person who gets a message to figure out that the gfm is real

following 🍉accounts is esp. important since the forces that be are keen on suppressing them at every turn. the more eyes on these accounts- the easier it'll be to determine the legitimacy of any new accounts they may need to make

---

okay, but... scams 😬:

-> step 1: seek a master

people can be assholes- and anyone trying to make a profit off of an ongoing genocide can eat glass

anyways- the following are accounts that are known to identify scam posts on tumblr (again, not a comprehensive list. these are just the one's ive seen/most familiar with):

mangocheesecakes

kyra45

kyra45's pinned post contains a plethora of resources to help determine if a post/message is a scam- and not just in regards to 🇵🇸- key goes in on many types of scams. please refer to their guides (and be sure that you are reading the most recent version of key's posts)

-> step 2: if you see sumn, say sumn

we're human and sometimes things slip our radar. so if you ever see someone on here sharing a known scam, do 'em a solid and let them know about it regardless if you are mutuals or not

---

final/misc. thoughts:

it's good practice to double check a campaign's verification with these tools for yourself regardless of how legitimate it looks. note that checking for a gfm's verification is not the same as verifying them. that work should be left to qualified individuals with experience in doing so. this is why it's bad to attempt things you are not qualified to tackle also- i think it's important to remember that transferring 💵 from a gfm campaign to those in need requires a lot of pieces to be perfectly set in place. if you see 🇵🇸 blogs linking alt. methods of raising funds (ex. p*ypal/k*fi) the reason could be that their gfms were frozen/suspended for a myriad of reasons. as always- check credible sources if you are unsure about a campaign you may come across notice how the spreadsheet provided here has over 100+ campaigns listed. generating a list that extensive requires hard work that is undoubtedly both physically and mentally straining to the individuals who are involved in making it. i've seen some accounts myself that have had to announce that they can no longer continue to vet campaigns because it has taken that much of a toll on their wellbeing. do not let their efforts go wasted

other resources:

some other places/grassroot organizations where you can find vetted campaigns:

operation olive branch (oob)

gazafunds

operation poppy flower (now also linked in oob's sheet)

operation watermelon

project watermelon

strawberry seeds collective

ottawa4palestine

camps breakerz crew

gofund(water)me(lons)

flowersfromfalasteen

[danieyells]

Sorry to bother you. I see in your post about Towa's stigma that his demon is 'almost definitely' Asmodeus, but is it possible that his demon is Amdusias? (Masudeus > Masudias > Amdusias)?

Not a bother at all! And. . .honestly I think you might be right. My listening comprehension in Japanese isn't great so I mix up sounds easily(you'd think 'o' and 'u' would be harder to mix up in a language where the sounds are mostly kinda uniform--) and. Looking at Amdusias' information it makes 1000% more sense for Towa than Asmodeus

Amdusias (also Amduscias, Amdukias or Ambduscias) has 29 legions of demons and spirits under his command. He is depicted as a human with claws instead of hands and feet, the head of a unicorn, and a trumpet to symbolize his powerful voice. Amdusias is associated with thunder and it has been said that his voice is heard during storms. In other sources, he is accompanied by the sound of trumpets when he comes and will give concerts if commanded, but while all his types of musical instruments can be heard they cannot be seen. He is regarded as being the demon in charge of the cacophonous music that is played in Hell. He can make trees bend at will.

unicorns are horses and you know what a horse's eyes look like?

. . .also he's kinda unicorn colored tbh. like if you think of a stereotypical unicorn and you don't get white, pink, and lavendar i'd be curious as to what you'd be getting.

making trees bend at will? he's very close to a tree. he says it's special and only special people can see it. only he can hear its voice. only he knows about the tree. He isn't controlling the tree(that we're aware of), but the tree is an anomaly and anomalies obey him so he probably could if he wanted to.

and, y'know, the obvious stuff about storms and thunder.

also a friend of his--who cannot be seen by most people--plays. . .arguably cacophonous music. And he might be rating that music whenever he comes to play it, we haven't figured out what he's doing with that wall yet.

I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT ANON I'M GONNA EDIT THAT POST BECAUSE THIS MAKES MORE SENSE THANK YOU SO MUCH

also pinging people who might find this information valuable @yuri-is-online @tokutaiseichan @creamtese

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

Someone made a very good point on a recent post of mine, so I wanted to be up front about an issue that I'm bound to run into repeatedly on this blog: I do not speak Chinese and cannot confirm anything regarding the original text of Mo Dao Zu Shi. Because of this, my sources for these posts are the official English translation and, as a supplemental source, the Exiled Rebels fan translation. Especially because even the official Seven Seas translation is known to be iffy, and it's not possible to have a perfectly accurate translation of the novels, this means any of my posts must by necessity be taken with a grain of salt.

My posts should be only be considered canon or fanon insofar as they are true to the English translations, which are not one-to-one with the original Chinese (or even each other). Additionally, I am not a primary source. I do my best to double-check my work, but that doesn't mean I don't – or can't – make mistakes. This blog is not a comprehensive reference but, if anything, more of a general guide to the English novels.

Finally: it is never my intention to speak over or disregard important aspects of the Chinese fandom and text, but the fact remains that it has happened before, and may yet be inevitable with these restrictions. I'm so sorry about this, and it shouldn't have taken me this long to address this issue. As it is, I unfortunately have to rely on you all to correct me if I make a mistake with regards to this issue. I have no way of accurately checking my work against the Chinese text and fandom without potentially bringing another mod on board, but in the future I'll be particularly careful about making blanket statements and discussing fandom. I also have some references for the differences between translations, which should help me avoid most major pitfalls.

I appreciate everyone's willingness to come along for the ride with me on this blog. As always, I greatly welcome corrections, additions, and analysis on all of my posts, particularly in the case of translation errors and cultural differences/perspectives. Thank you so much for reading!

[narratingvoice]

My sincerest apologies for the radio silence from this blog recently. I know, it's very out of character for me. The thing is, I've been in a bit of a pickle over the past few months. The fiscal year for 2023 didn't end nearly as profitably as I projected, not even with the hype and celebration surrounding

THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE STANLEY PARABLE (2013)!

Server maintenance isn't free, you know, and neither are infinite holes. And with Unity changing its pricing structure on top of it, well, I really needed to put the old noggin to work finding a way to squeeze every last dime out of my fans provide new and valuable pieces of entertainment that will be worth your money. And that's why I'm thrilled to announce my partnership with the fine folks at I Am 8bit to bring you: The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe: Collector's Edition!

It's true! Yes, I know I did a fake announcement for something similar last year, but this one is for real! A physical product that you can purchase and have delivered to your home, and play on your Nintendo Switch or Playstation 5. And this package involves absolutely no changes to the game itself, which really takes a load off my back. Since I have no presence in the physical world, I have to trust that my collaborators will deliver the finest quality items. And trust them I do. Shall we take a look at all the wonderful bonuses you'll receive?

Stickers!

Just like the ones I slapped onto Stanley's bucket, now you too can slap these stickers on your own bucket. Or anything else that currently lacks stickers on it. You will not receive a bucket to stick them on. We floated that idea, but Mr. 8bit told me he'd rather not have to lug dozens of buckets down to the post office every day. You'd look like a right idiot doing that, I agree. So get your own bucket and enjoy the thrill of sticking!

Oh, and do be aware that whatever object you affix the "Property of Stanley" sticker to, does legally become Stanley's property, and he will demand you send it to him.

More surprises under the cut!

An instructional manual!

"But Narrator," I hear you saying, "didn't you just say you're not giving me a bucket? What do I need this for?" First of all, do not interrupt me when I'm giving a presentation. Second of all, this manual is for the bucket that's in the game. I've noticed many players do not seem to know how to operate the bucket, and treat it like it's a person rather than an inanimate container. With this instructional manual, I will give you a comprehensive guide as to what a bucket can do (such as: prevent water from spilling all over your trousers) and what it cannot do (such as: love you back). I have had some harrowing experiences in the field of instructional manual writing, but I think this one is some of my finest work yet.

A figurine!

Yes, our most requested piece of merchandise is finally here! The OFFICIAL Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe Stanigurine stands 5 inches tall and is made of durable PVC. And as with the virtual Figustans, that's all there is to it. There's no articulation or any type of toy action. You don't get anything but the feeling of deep satisfaction at owning this collectible. The package only comes with one, so why not buy six copies if you really want to recreate the game in your home?

But wait, that's not all!

If you are an absolute Stanley Parable fanatic, you'll want to supplement your Collector's Edition with even more plastic tat commemorating your favourite game. And you definitely want to support me as much as possible, right? So you can also buy:

The button that says the name of the person playing the game!

For just $10, you too can have a button that says your name, presuming your name is Jim. The button will only say the name Jim and will never say any other name, no matter how often you press it. I found that a lot of players really got into the immersive experience of being Jim, so I decided to keep it that way instead of programming it to say a whole lot of names. Sorry, but there are too many different names in the world. You're Jim and you'll like it.

Vinyl albums!

When you buy the Collector's Edition, you'll get a free code to download the Official Soundtrack in MP3 format. But what if you don't like MP3? What if you're a bit more old-fashioned in your audiophile taste? Well, I've got you covered! With this 2-record set, you can listen to all the office ambience on your gramophone or turntable. Why, you could even DJ a set with it! If you do, please send me your mixtape and I'll give it an honest review. My music taste is impeccable.

An instructional audio cassette!

Yes, this is just a cassette telling you how to install and run a copy machine. Listen, I took some odd voiceover jobs here and there to pay the bills. And I figured, you lot are so ravenous to hear my voice that you'd even pay good money to hear me deliver some boring instructions. At least, that's the impression I get from the more saucy side of the fandom. So that's what you get. Do I do anything funny? You'll have to buy it and find out!

Hold on, Stanley is trying to tell me something. What do you mean, nobody has a cassette player any more? Why wouldn't they? It's the perfect compact audio format! It's got two sides, which is more than you can say for a CD, and it's a lot more portable than vinyl. Well I'm not shipping out cassette players. You can take it or leave it. No refunds.

[eclipsecrowned]

This is the last brain cell I am dedicating to this. This is the last post I am making on it. This is my line in the sand. I am confronting this as directly as I can without a forthright namedrop or losing class over honestly the stupidest drama.

'I don’t like Tw*light' is an opinion.

'I don’t want to RP in the W*zarding W0rld or with associated muses because the creator makes me viscerally uncomfortable' is a boundary.

'I cannot stand M*rius de R0manus so no one is ever allowed to roleplay him because I don’t like him' is censorship.

Some people lack the reading comprehension to differentiate between a boundary and censorship. Such as last year, when I set boundaries for my own mental health as well as my own longevity as a roleplayer by saying I would be more selective with one fandom that delves my trigger and outlining other fandoms I’m just not interested in. Lack of interest was taken as a personal attack on a community, when this was a wholly personal decision made after self-reflection, not community scrutiny.

Someone’s lack of reading comprehension is not my problem. What is my problem is how I keep getting anons about this person's interpretation of my actions putting words into my mouth. What is my problem is how this person has been in a cycle of blocking-unblocking-blocking me to skim my blog, vague on me, and try to start drama all over again by making unrelated posts about them.

What is my problem is the way I have been led to believe by other sources this person went so far as to report me to staff and when that failed, alleging that I 'deleted evidence' of harassing and hurting them.

And you know what? None of that matters. This is a hobby. If I don't have this site, I still have ways to pursue joy. This won't amount to a hill of beans, and I'm not pretending it will. I am not even angry. I am tired.

I have said before that I want this person to get over me and that I believed that their constant desire to trawl my blog and keep tabs on me is ruining their own tumblr experience. It's been months since this happened and I just got an anon about the way I 'censor people' and how 'Oh you can like problematic content but no one else can' directly calling out both a fandom we overlapped in. This person isn't slick. They're just exhausting.

And that's really all I wanted to say. I'm not responsible for other people not being able to read a post or get their head out of their own ass. I set boundaries. I am not sorry for that. This is no longer my problem. All asks related to this are getting deleted. This is literally the end of this, no matter what this person wants to do.

And I know you're going to read this. You're back, you skim, you get mad about me like you do because you treat this like some kind of moral crusade because we have two different comfort levels about content. I am giving you permission to get over me this time. Whether you're sending the anons or not, I don't care, I fully believe you have the ability to make it stop. Leave me alone.

[monzterzack]

So I'm confused/curious; What exactly is Maverick's whole deal? I'm not sure i get it. Like the whole past life thing?

heyo!!! ill try to answer this in a straightforward and comprehensible way!!

Maverick is one of the villains in my comic Wild Ride, but since i post development and story bits on social media, you are probably more familiar with his second role as a side character for Wild Ride's sequel

His original role as the villain haves him as someone that possesses Mind Powers and uses them to push forward his father's criminal empire

A buff, crude and manipulative man with some obvious psychological hang ups and a deep darkness between him

I have it that by the end of the story he develops a way to use his mind powers to transfer his mind into a different body, i called him a body snatcher because thats basically what he does

which leads us to the current iteration most people are familiar with

it all started because i was developing his arc for the comic's sequel, and i just got too excited to keep quiet and i posted it on twitter and here

then as i developed him further, i posted more of that on social media while avoiding showing any of the previous development first

so most people that follow me know this second iteration a bit more profoundly

a depressevely lonely sex addict who whores himself out to anyone that gives him time

there is a time skip between the end of the first comic and the second one, a time skip of 800 years so the plot for the second comic can brew, so this weasel man has been switching bodies for all those years, albeit not on will

his mind transfer powers have become instinctual and he cannot turn it off (which to me is hilarious)

so what i mean with "first life/first body" is basically his original plot

i am currently doing one webcomic, and ive been hit with carpal tunnel in both my hands from overworking myself, so its taking me a lot of time to retake and continue Wild Ride

so i took to posting the story bits before i could clearly develop things for everyone to understand ksdjfaskdf

its also because maverick's story and well.... sexual adventures have gained me public on twitter, and i legitimately enjoy drawing him, so im reverse storytelling you all about him

im so sorry for how confusing he can be, i just ask for your patience as i unravel him at the seems!!!

[funtomfactory]

About Sebastian's origins

I've seen a lot of posts speculating about Sebastian's whereabouts before he became Ciel's butler, his true form and if he was ever a human himself. I'm here to weigh my two cents in and I'm sorry to disappoint to those who had their hopes up, but I don't think he ever was human or from this plane of existance at all.

One: Sebastian's home world We know that Sebastian comes from a demon or demonesque realm, based on these panels from the manga:

(Idk exactly which chapter this is from) He mentions having creatures known to be pets "over there", showing a mental image of a xenomorph from Alien a demonic being. This suggests there is another place filled with beings like himself. From that, we can deduct that Sebastian is possibly not originally from Earth as we know it. Another clue is given further along the manga:

(chapter 137) Although Sebastian has stated here that he cannot appear in this world physically unless a sacrifice is made, further details about what that includes are unknown. He had also mentioned being present at certain events before, but we don't know if he was or wasn't under a contract at the time. Also William mentioned demons ravaging on human souls before, and I don't know how that would work if they couldn't even be here without a contract.

But until more details on the matter are released, we can deduct that Sebastian has a demonic home world, and doesn't physically reside in the human plane of existance outside of his contracts.

Two: Sebastian's true form Ah, the first image that comes to mind...

(Chapter 137) His yassified boots. It was one of the first details besides his eyes and fingernails that told us who he was behind the handsome face. But beside these manifestations, things get confusing quickly.

(Chapter 137) These pages in particular show us a lot of details about Sebastian. He seems to be made out of all sort of things: Snakes, flies, loads of eyes, a goat, an octopus and so on. But I think it truly comes down to this:

(Chapter 137) I think we as humans cannot comprehend Sebastian's true form, yet he can bend his appearance at will once summoned into the mortal plane. This sadly also means we'll never know what he really looks like. At the one hand this stinks, but at the other just imagine a being so terrifying, your brain can't grasp it. And since it's not a real world manifestation if feels different, but just imagine the sheer fright you'd feel if something like that ever pops up in front of you out of the blue.

As for his appearance in the human world alongside O!Ciel, here's a little theory to get sidetracked on:

Many before me have poointed this out already, but it appears there are some similarities between Sebastian's and Vincent's looks. Sure, this could be just a coincidence, but since we now know who exactly O!Ciel sacrificed to summon Sebastian, wouldn't it be fun if his appearance was based on how the twins would've looked if they'd grown into adults? We know R!Ciel is dead and won't grow up, and we're not sure O!Ciel will make it, so what if Sebastian's human appearance is a constant reminder of what could have been? Just to add insult to injury?

Three: Was Sebastian ever human? The answer to this one is, at least according to my opinion, no. Sebastian has said in earnesty time and time again that he has no comprehension of human thoughts or senses: not in taste, nor in touch.

Even if he had been human before and turned into a demon, wouldn't there be some recognition left on how humans do or feel things? We've all had the experience of getting a burn from hot water or the likes before. We can even imagine what it feels like without it actually happening. So if Sebastian had been human before, wouldn't he remember? Even if half of this was just to mock O!Ciel, putting the boy in boiling water could have caused severe injury, which would go against the contract.

We can even compare him to Grim Reapers, a group we know to have been human prior to becoming supernatural. Demigods verus demons aside, Shinigami seem to understand The needs of the human body, and are somewhat tied to them still themselves (like the need to sleep). Sebastian genuinely seems to be disassociated with the workings of the human body, that's why I don't think he has been a human before.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[multiplicity-positivity]

Sorry if this ask gets broken or send more than once, tumblr likes to crash on my phone a lot oops!

Anyhoo, any advice for creating a headmate?

We're a traumagenic system, so we never had any control over when we split new headmates. But I'm a fictive of someone who's a twin and I really miss my brother and would really really love it if he could join us in the headspace, I think he would really like my headmates and they would be very receptive of him <:) I talked to the others about it and they said they think its okay for me to try as long as we do so in a healthy way.

But I dont know how to split a new headmate in a healthy way. Im obviously not going to purposely put us through stress and/or trauma to encourage a traumagenic formation, that'd be unhealthy. BUT I dont know how to help form a headmate in a non-traumagenic way... Do you have any advice or tips? I know theres lots of ways to willingly form new headmates, but I dont really know how to utilize them.

Thank you so much in advance!!

Hi! This is pretty tricky, and in general we’d advise traumagenic systems to make sure they’re in a safe place/have made significant progress towards recovery before attempting to create a headmate. There’s a lot of ways something like this could go very wrong if proper care is not taken! That being said, you do know yourself and your system better than anyone else! So if you and your system believe attempting to create a headmate is the right thing to do and the best move for your system, we’re wishing you the best of luck, and have some resources we can share.

All of the best resources we’ve found so far we’ve compiled in our resources post for questioning systems.

That post ^ has a whole section for plurality that is non-dissociative disorder specific, with tons of links to guides and resources on how to go about creating a headmate. The paromancy (called “tulpamancy” in the links) guides are probably the most comprehensive, with tons of information on creating a paro/thoughtform, which is a type of nontraumagenic headmate.

Y’all might also find it easier and less high-stakes to visualize this person as an imaginary friend or an aspect of your headspace. Lots of systems have NPCs in their headspace which have limited autonomy, but aren’t actually full-fledged system members. You can visualize an NPC in the same way you visualize a setting or object as a part of a headspace - we have a little headspace primer which we’ll link below which might help if you choose to go this route!

If you start out with this potential headmate as an imaginary friend, and they ultimately start to feel like a part of the system, there’s a term for that! It’s called imagi, and you can read a bit more about it on Pluralpedia:

Hopefully this helps at least give you somewhat of a starting point! And if we may, a final word of caution:

Creating a headmate is a big deal. Often this is something that will last forever, and cannot be easily reversed. What is so so important to understand, is that once this headmate can think for themself and are afforded some autonomy and agency, they may make decisions or choose to be something that no one in your system ever would have anticipated.

This means thy may want to separate from their source. They may not act, look, or view themselves the way the twin from your source would have. They may not arrive with source memories, and may not see themselves as your twin at all. In many systems, headmates act and function as their own individuals, and feel happiest when they have their own agency and get to make choices about how they present and interact with the world. This means, there is a chance that any headmate you create won’t live up to the standards you’ve set for them beforehand. We’re not saying this sort of thing will happen 100%! But there definitely is a chance of this occurring, so it’s best to be prepared in case it does.

In the end, this is your choice and a choice to be made by your system! We just hope y’all are understanding the consequences of doing something like this, and know that no matter how you envision your new headmate at the beginning, there’s nothing certain that will keep them that way as they grow and develop on their own. We hope your potential new headmate will be understood, valued, and respected for who they are as they are, and not who others hoped for them to be!

Sorry this got so long! Good luck with everything! We hope this process goes as smoothly for you and your system as it can!

🌸 Margo and 👻 Ghost

[ave-immaculata]

Why do you hate gay people, seriously, just when I start to associate Catholics in my head as "the cool Christians" a homophobic Catholic comes along and ruins the good image your brothers and sisters in faith were trying to build up. Like what did we even do to you? You can pursue your salvation and leave us to rot in hell without an unnecessary culture war, right?

I genuinely don't, and I'm not sure what post you're referring to, but I'm sorry that it gave the impression that I hate you or anyone else. I experience same sex attraction (although I don't talk about it much) and, although I do definitely get frustrated at time about disagreements, I'm sorry that I clearly portrayed myself as hating you or anybody.

That said, the whole point is that we don't want to let anyone just rot in hell. We want everyone to be saved. I cannot pursue salvation without trying to bring as many people as I can with me, and in my clumsiness, that sometimes re-wounds people in already really tender places. God wants to enter into the bruised and pierced and tramuatized and closed off places in our hearts and just sit with us, seeing us in truth and in complete love.

Christ is a Person, who truly existed. He was crucified and then His apostles had a sincere belief that they had seen Him raised from the dead, that they'd spoken with Him and touched Him. The overwhelming majority of historians (including non-Christians) affirm this to be true. His Apostles gave up everything to preach His message, being tortured and murdered rather than recant that they had encountered the Risen Lord. This isn't just a mythos we believe, it's history, and it belongs to you as your birthright.

God loves me, you, all of us, not in spite of our sins. He doesn't think, if only they could get over x, they'd be better and more deserving of love. He loves us now with a love beyond all comprehension. He wants us to come to Him and let Him see us. He wants us to be in right relationship with Him. He want us to turn away from what can never satisfy the achings in our hearts. This world is only a glimpse of what is to come, and it will never be enough when we were made for Communion with an eternal and infinitely loving God.

[toxifoxx]

I'm new at asking asks so uh um sorry if I'm typing weird anyways wanna explain your au or something or just talk about random facts about your fnaf au? Been staring at your version of william and Henry and just admiring it and wanna know stuff about the sillies ye.

hello anon, thank you very much for the question! :D

to preface this i'll say i do have a few different AUs that all kind of vaguely exist in my mind but i'll presume you wanna hear about my main AU. i like to describe it as "fnaf lore if it didn't suck", i try to stick to canon by keeping major events mostly the same so if you already know fnaf lore you won't be too confused at my AU. i also like to focus more on the tragedy aspects of the lore, so in my writing there's a lot of focus on characters and their emotions, particularly william because i like to psychoanalyze him. but i also want to give more depth to the characters in general and put some spotlight on the missing kids since like… they are barely treated as important in canon and that's kind of sad

putting the rest under the cut cause this post got pretty long (talks about AU features, and a lot about henry and william)

i actually do have a breakdown of some of the key features of my AU! -less sci-fi, more paranormal like old fnaf -willry canon for shits and giggles (past tense)(they are like a divorced couple) -semi-good dad william (until the horrors) -more complex character dynamics, personalities, etc. -relationships expanded upon -more focus on the tragedy aspect -a mildly comprehensive timeline! -transgenderism (william is trans bc i believe it in my heart to be true) -ends at fnaf 6/pizza sim! (UCN is more of like, an epilogue)

if you're curious about my william and henry, i try to base them mostly off the novels! (though novel lore is irrelevant here, since i follow game canon instead, it's still a good basis for their personalities)

so, william is "the normal one", mostly running the business side of things but still a talented inventor and a great entertainer as well. he's silly, he's goofy, he's charming, and he loves the kids! and he loves his family more than anything, even though he's not the most amazing parent! so naturally no one would suspect him to be a murderer. cause underneath all that he's very selfish, willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals. when CC died he kind of snapped, killing charlie on impulse (but discovering animatronic posession later after observing fredbear and the puppet behaving strangely) thus starting the whole remnant thing. remnant exists still but its more just like a concept than a physical, tangible thing; it's the part of the soul that cannot move on.

and henry is the artist, the recluse who prefers to remain out of the public eye and always seems to be off in another world. he doesn't like talking with people much but i imagine he's very passionate about fredbear's and feels more confident whilst performing as fredbear (like how william does with springbonnie). he's a better dad than william but that's not a super high bar to beat and he unintentionally kind of neglects his kids a lot. which is why the security puppet exists, to keep them safe (didn't quite work. RIP!) i think him and william are actually more similar than either of them would care to admit. henry is a selfish man who'd do anything to achieve his goals too, which is why the murders are covered up and fazbear entertainment keeps going. and also why fnaf 6 happens.

more about charlie's death. it puts a strain on henry and william's relationship, but henry also doesn't want to believe that his partner did it. but i think somewhere in the back of his mind, he absolutely knows. they stick together for a while, but after the missing children's incident henry completely kicks william out of the company. william almost gets convicted, but he's let off since cops couldn't find evidence (henry almost does too but is also let off). and after that william decides to lay low for a while and fuck off to somewhere else. what does he do? shrugs. sister location would happen a while after this and so on and so forth. i could elaborate more if you have any more specific questions!

[helluva-world-innit]

So...they are far from perfect, but they have taken me months and I finally have these two as close to what I see in my head as I'm going to get them for now. I will just hope I improve as I draw them more or something. Digital art is also something I'm still adjusting to so...yeah. Anyway, say hey to our protags (reimagined)! Buckle up, this post got looooooong.

Charlie is the only child sired by Lucifer himself even if it's in a most unconventional way. He's essentially her father and her mother. No Lilith here, folks, sorry. I'm not Jewish and I don't feel comfortable adding her considering what Jewish folks have said about her inclusion in modern works so she's just...not appearing in this comic. A lot of this will be based on my Protestant upbringing with my Hellenic Polytheist sensibilities thrown in, just fyi.

Now, about the redesign...

I don't actually hate the redesign of Charlie in the show. Her hair is fun, her being masc-presenting is interesting, and red is actually my favorite color. However, I completely redid the Rings and like the idea of Charlie trying to unify Hell with her cause instead of just Pride Ring. She kept some of her red because Lucifer has blond/red hair in my version, depending on how much of his angelic persona drops. There's also red in her coat of many colors which is a Biblical reference as well as an extension of Charlie's ideas about Hell and how the "rainbow" of the Rings should be working together to rehabilitate Sinners instead of just torturing them and making them worse. She even made it herself from scraps of the Ringmasters' clothes, Belphagor's fleece, and an old sewing machine. Her dad hates it because it makes her look poor. They are locked in constant battle over him trying to discreetly destroy it and her salvaging it last minute. She also wears spats on her shoes. They're tap shoes because ofc they are. I let her keep her love of theater because it's cute. Lucifer secretly loves that his daughter is just as much of a showboat as he is.

JC is also Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Comic, but at least we have Charlie.

Now, some of you are probably noticing that I made Charlie darker...that's not an accident. Charlie, by the method of her birth here, has black skin. She has her father's eyes and hair. As I get better at drawing and rendering black hair, we will see it in other styles because I love some of the things black folks with more textured hair than myself do with it. I just really like the bubble braid too. It suggests thickness not a lot of people have in their hair. Charlie has had to learn how to style her hair herself a lot since Luci can barely manage some puff buns. Doesn't help that It seems to grow back as fast as it's cut so Charlie mostly trims the ends and moisturizes the hell out of it.

I think it's fitting for Charlie to have a bit extra vibrancy with demon and angelic features because she isn't mortal. At least not completely. She does have a more horrifying form with horns and eyes and wings but she hardly ever has to use it. She also has a natural charm to her she gets from her dad that makes it very hard to turn down what she suggests. Not impossible, just very unappealing. Hoping I can get to a point where her eyes aren't so scary looking but she does have cat pupils so, we'll...see.

Funny thing about Charlie is she is a bit like Elsa. Born with powers beyond comprehension, lives in an icy castle in the mountainside of the remote (only) city in her country, and was kept away from most of her citizens until her 200th birthday.

Okay, it's not a complete 1:1 here. Yes, Lucifer kept Charlie under wraps for about 200, well 50 years from his family, the other Ringmasters. The other denizens of Hell had no idea they had a princess until the events of the comic. They really aren't sure what to make of it either. Some Hellborn think they'll be able to marry into Lucifer's good graces (Sinners cannot legally marry anyone), others consider ransoming Charlie when she ventures out to start the rehab hotel (they are so painfully mistaken; everyone from her dad to her aunt Bel has taught her how to fight viciously even if it's not her preferred method of conflict resolution. to say nothing of the protective friends she gathers quickly). It also makes Charlie a little...well, naive about just how well her plans to rehab Hell are going to go. Most of what she knows about interacting with others come from pop media and her loving and protective family. It's an eye-opening experience when she strikes out on her own.

Debating on adding more black fleece to the bottom hem of her coat too. Thots? The background is just a deserted little corner of Pride Ring which is covered in snow (yes, Pride Ring is cold like in the Divine Comedy here). The orange trees in the background are courtesy of @holoanarchy for giving me the idea when I asked "what's a good color for the leaves of Hell trees?". I'll talk more about those when I post that Ring up, though.

Okay, let's talk about this lovable asshole now.

Blitz Wire has had to struggle and fight for most of the things he has in life. From the very beginning, things have been...tough for him. Imps are not the very bottom of the social ladder in my version of circus Hell, but they still make up the majority of the working class. If you've never been working class, take it from me, it sucks rocks. Sucks even more when neither of your parents were ever really successful or good with money either, as is the case with the Wires. Blitz's parents met when they were young and idealistic in Greed Ring and shortly married after a brief courtship. Beatriz (this is what I named his mom to keep with the 'B' theme), worked in a factory where they painted figurines of Mammon and the gold paint she huffed developed into Imphysema over time. She stayed sickly throughout Blitz, Barbie, and Fizz's childhood while Buckzo took over the family carnival to help put food on the table. When Beatriz could no longer work, he put the kids to it. They were happy to help and work to get noticed by Mammon so they could rake in some dough to get better medical treatment for their mother, despite the Ringmaster being the very reason she was sick in the first place (capitalism, baby!).

Blitz, as in the canon...is not very funny. Despite having a range of acrobatic tricks and being able to think and react very quickly, he just never had a knack for nor got a grasp of how to hold people's interest and make them laugh. Is what it is. Fizz was always the star of their little sideshow attraction. Barbie came as a close second with her death-defying knife acts and torture plays. Blitz just never stood out as an entertainer as the maladjusted middle child. Over time, that became a resentment. Coupled with Buckzo's disregard for him as his son, Blitz started pushing the envelope with the acts he performed.

Finally, when he was sixteen, Blitz decided he was ready to run a giant obstacle course straight out of Hell. It went about as bad as you would expect. Fizz got the brunt of the damage when he pulled his surrogate brother out of the jaws of certain death. While he was still recovering from being scalded by holy water, Blitz was fired and kicked out of the only home he'd ever known by his father. Barbie and Beatriz kept in touch, despite Buckzo's "banning" it, but Blitz spent the remainder of his teenage years on the streets of Hell, urban foraging and doing odd jobs to save up for a place away from Greed and the posters of Fizz's face as his fame grew.

I didn't really want to change much about Blitz's clothing choices since it makes sense for him to want to look professional, but also be comfortable while slicing throats and blowing people up. Also, blue and gold comes from him being from Greed and Asmo being his company's sponsor. Took away the boots and gave him proper hooves, though. Now, I didn't base the imps' lower halves on any specific ungulates, but Blitz's top half is defs based on an iguana. I want them to be more reptilian since Wrath is pretty desert-oriented and Satan is lizard-like herself. I could probs get away with making his tail a little shorter, but I'm happy with how his horns and spines turned out. He smokes this shitty brand of cigs called Blak'N'Bluz. They aren't called that because of the black filter and blue of the Hellfire they burn on, though. It's said they actually make one's lungs black and blue with one drag because they're so caustic. They're the easiest to steal as a result and the one Blitz started with so he always comes back to them.

I wanted him and Barbie to look more twin-like and I really don't care for OG Blitz's horns. As far as the pendant he's wearing goes, it never made sense to me that his mom only left him something and never left anything for her other kids (which could not be the case but we just don't know because...well, we're never given this info). Blitz and Barbie split their mother's necklace down the middle and each of them wears a piece of it. No idea what to give Fizz from her yet.

I changed Blitz's facial scars and I'll tell you why. Forget who pointed it out in the critical tag, but the type of face scar OG Blitz has would likely leave him blind, with low vision, or with no eyelid in the eye covered in that scar tissue. No matter how you slice it, his sight would be compromised. Given that I gave that particular trait to Loona and Vaggie also has an eye patch, I decided to vary him up. He's still disabled though. As another person pointed out on a totally unrelated to HB/HH post, burn scars can impact everything from self-esteem to physical movement depending on what caused them and how they heal. Due to the majority of Blitz's scarring being on his right and back, his tail and right side usually suffer some debilitating pain flares when he overworks himself. Also, migraines and trouble extending his limbs fully. Basically, he carries a bottle of percocet around (it's like demon ibuprophen; it's fine). His pain is part of why Blitz is such a cussy grump. Hard to be pleasant when you're poor, traumatized, AND hurting all the time.

I.M.P. is still a thing in this rewrite (still debating the name), but Blitz got the idea for it when he was dating Verosika (yup, that's still a thing too). She's the one who got him an in with her boss, Asmodeus. So, he has access to Asmodean crystals since the Ringmaster also liked the idea for snatching extra wicked souls early (they're a power source and, therefore, far more valuable then someone committing tax fraud or whatever) They parted on okay terms, but Blitz adopted Loona shortly after entering his 30s. Kid's gotta eat, so he expanded the business from an imp with a knife to two imps with a van full of guns. Hiring on Moxxie from his old stomping grounds of Greed, they were able to take on more clients. That led to meeting and hiring Millie. Loona comes on hunts now that she's old enough too and they all have a blast. The rest, they say, is history.

The other side of his face for ref:

Gave him a tear-shaped scar because why not? Also a horntip cap. That one is damaged and his trying to keep it from getting worse and breaking the whole tip off.

[cosmicrhetoric]

tagged by the incomparable @briarhips to post nine book recs <3 sorry so many of these are classics im going thru smth

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen: This is MY Austen of choice. I'm doing a reread atm and it's very Emma in it's social commentary but this is THEE eldest daughter book of all time. Maybe I just like when characters are super repressed but if you want to see a woman (who has spent 200 pages being soooo hinged) have the most cathartic breakdown about it......

Identitti, Mithu Sanyal: For fans of Kuang's Yellowface who want a bit more of an academic lens! Our main character, a 2nd gen Indian-German woman, spends years of her life in the trenches of postcolonial study under a seemingly Indian woman who is then exposed as white. It doesn't give you any easy answers but it provides a lot of scholarly resources and leaves a lot of space to come to your own conclusions. Read it on a plane. Kinda fire.

Eros the Bittersweet, Anne Carson: We all know Carson. But I'm picking a nonfiction essay instead of Autobiography of Red or her translations mostly because this one takes you behind the curtain of a lot of her famous translations when it comes to the aspect of love. I'm not really nonfiction girl in general but this was worth it

Chain Gang All Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: Speculative abolitionist fiction! Set in a near future where prisoners can compete in death matches to try and win their freedom. I've honestly read nothing like this...ever, like it's in a league of it's own but if you're a fan of the way footnotes were used in something like Babel you're gonna wanna check this out. Multiple povs (really interesting pov switching from a craft perspective actually) overlap to paint a stark and realistic depiction of American prisons.

The Devourers, Indrapramit Das: This was described to me as "IWTV but with werewolves and in Mughal India and actually really good" and while that's a pretty comprehensive plot summary it does not even begin to cover the shit this novel goes through. This is a book about transformation and stories and what letting a story live in you can do for you. The werewolves are kinda obviously a genderqueer allegory as well (as they often are in sff lmao) but when the interviewer himself starts talking about gender in his experiences you can see how that changes the story he's transcribing and it's just very cool. Heavy trigger warnings on this one though. Don't read if you can't handle a bit of piss (they are wolves). Writing style wise feels very similar to the magical realism of The Hungry Tide if that's ur bag

The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot: In the way that s&s is my Austen, this is MY Eliot. A classic story about women of this era who cannot fit into the boxes society lays out for them. A failed romance brands the main character an outcast in their town in a way that is. Hear me out. Fucking Utenaesque. Follow for some classic tragedy and themes of water....I would compare this more with like Dickens Bleak House than Austen though.

Villette, Charlotte Bronte: Once again. MY Bronte. Maybe it's just cause I read this before Jane Eyre but literally I do not understand why Miss Eyre gets so much more love than my girl Lucy. In broad strokes the story is about an English girl who ends up having to support herself by moving to France and becoming an English teacher at a girls boarding school. She's also plagued by a terrifying apparition of a nun, because this is Charlotte we're talking about and there's a bit of Catholic v Protestant thing going on. I read this during the very early pandemic and let me tell you some of the descriptions of isolation and loneliness are soooooo. yeah.

Monstrous Regiment, Terry Pratchett: Listen. Like, listen. It's that good. I wouldn't put a discworld novel up against fucking chain gang all stars unless it was THAT good. This is a classic 'girl dresses up as a boy and goes to war to find her brother' story. It definitely started as a commentary on folk songs/stories but it is at it's heart a novel long criticism of imperialism, nationalism, and organized religion (there's jokes though it's funny). Also not to be that guy when it comes to LGBTQ book recs but the thing came out in 2002 and it's surprisingly thoughtful when it comes to both gender and sexuality. You do not have to be a fantasy fan or a discworld fan to read this. If you gave Pratchett a try and didn't like it i STILL insist you give MR a shot. It is in a league of it's own.

Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell: Do not be scared off by the sheer length of this one. It's fucking silly. This is one of my faaaaaaaave 1800s novels about class. We have juxtaposition between Molly's family (her father is a gentleman but a working doctor) and the landed gentry but also this divide between the uneducated Squire and his Cambridge bound sons and another one with the 'new money' gentry. There's also quite a lot of early science and anthropology documented in this (Gaskell and Darwin were besties) if that's interesting to you. WARNING: SHE DIED BEFORE SHE FINISHED THIS. ITS LIKE 99% DONE THOUGH

This was a hard list to narrow down but I have to include (at least as honorable mentions): Ling Ma's Severance/Bliss Orange, Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem and the SFF POC anthology New Suns

tagging: @weltonreject @bronskibeet @gaymersrights @orchidreign @brechtian + any and all mutuals i know ive forgotten <3

[bloomboxygo]

Day 2: Kayhoreigetsu

Flowers, Moon, Winds, Birds. Four wonders of nature, gentle and pure, and four matching bracelets around the wrists of one girl each. For the first time in too long, today's show stars our very own quartet of Bracelet Girls, so be sure to celebrate those beautiful sweethearts!

First of all: Yes, it's the 16th for me right now. I am OK with posting this and I wanted to right away.

Quick word of warning before the fanfic in question. This is a continuation of my Spinoff Series, Arias of Florescence, taking place after a certain event of A Blossoming Legato. HOWEVER, the spinoff series is composed of a series of scattered stories which can be read in any order without any problems. This chapter in particular also serves as a presentation of what I want to offer, and what the Fic is ultimately about. There will be some mentions of late events, but they're merely mentions and quite vague, so I'm sure you'll be fine with reading this Chapter.

Anyway: Have fun!

Comments and Criticisms are appreciated as always!

Arias of Florescence Chapter 5 - Leisurely Legato

Rating: GA

Type of relationships: F/F, platonic

Characters and relationships: Yuzu Hiiragi | Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir, Ruri Kurosaki | Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale, Rin | Windwitch Winter Bell - Serena | Lunalight Cat Dancer

Other tags: Fluff, Friendship, Post-Canon(but not actual Canon), Duel Monsters, Duel Spirits

Yuzu is a girl who has gone through quite a lot, to say the least. Getting flung through dimensions by various means, being captured over and over, and fighting the interdimensional war and saving the world would be a summary, but hardly comprehensive of what happened to her in these last weeks. It was unlikely she would come out as well as she could have if it were not for the help of her friends and their motivations to finally reunite as Yuzu was stranded more and more, and also the one who could almost always stand by her side, Bloom Diva.

Ever since they first talked to each other after Yuzu’s rematch with Masumi, Bloom Diva has always been inside her mind, and they would console each other, as well as push each other forward to brave this journey. Now that Z-ARC had been placated for some days now, Yuzu decided, amidst the work she had yet to do, to spend some leisure time with Bloom Diva. That was definitely a first for the two, as their journey was constantly keeping them on their toes, so Yuzu decided to spend it by showing some music of her own: her playing with the transverse flute, a delicate and soothing instrument that was the one of choice for her ever since she was a kid. She hadn’t undertaken a specialistic course for that, but she practiced fairly consistently with soothing and light songs.

She had played it for a bit to show it off to Bloom Diva, manifested thanks to Academia’s Duel Disk… And she seemed to struggle with it. She had to take a little time adjusting her breath to properly play the thing, but she seemed to flub some notes in songs she was familiar with. This… Frustrated her more than anything.

“Ugh… Of course I’ve gotten rusty!” The pinkette lamented, putting the transverse flute on her desk in a huff. “Sorry, Bloom Diva… I swear, I played this much better before.”

Bloom Diva had listened to Yuzu’s tunes for a bit now, sitting on a chair Yuzu offered, and decided to give her honest critique through her mind.

“I cannot compare this to your previous experiences, unfortunately, but I can say that while your movements and breathing are somewhat imperfect and rigid now, I wholly understand why. You were afflicted by a significant amount of stress these past weeks, and quite frankly, I believe you about your previous experiences. Such ordeals greatly affect one’s mind, and it is difficult to attune your mindset to before all of your troubles happened. Especially as you have offered to work still.”

“Yeah… That has to be it.” Yuzu then continued talking with Bloom Diva. “With so much I had on my mind, I guess I just fell behind. It’s not that big of a deal, since there’s much left to do, but it’s still embarrassing that-”

The Choir promptly shut her up by gently patting the pinkette’s shoulder, who turned around. She then reassured her: “It is not embarrassing to confide your feelings to your friends, be it via your song or by your words. I recognized your poorer performance also stems from exhaustion, as you had communicated it to me as you played, albeit unknowingly. While your skill may have plateaued, your passion has not.”

The girl gave a warm smile to the Monster as she listened to her words, then returned with: “You have a good point, Bloom Diva. Still, I’ll take some more time to practice with it, so I can get where I used to be, or better! I can afford some more time off, after all.”

“While I am glad you want to pursue the delightful art of music once more, do not take this step back as a failure on your part. Furthermore, you have learned and grown elsewhere in our journey.”

“Heh… But that’s also because of your guidance. Even you have grown really well, Mozarta!” Yuzu referring to Bloom Diva’s original form did lead to a chuckle from both sides, as well as some more thoughts from the pinkette.

“Hm… Now I wonder how the others are doing.”

“The others?”

“Serena and Cat Dancer, Ruri and Assembled Nightingale, and Rin and Winter Bell.” Yuzu then elaborated due to the Fairy’s curiosity. “Sure, Serena and Cat Dancer know each other for almost as long as we do, but Ruri and Rin have a new world ahead of them… I imagine it’d be weird for them to have a partner in their mind at all times. But at the same time, it’s one they’ve always had with them, one that always accompanied them...”

“Indeed, it is quite strange. Yet, with them standing by each other’s side, and them knowing how much their Ace Monsters have truly done, is enough for all to trust one another. That is enough for a strong bond to start, then slowly build up to be everlasting, both parties ever learning something new from one another.”

“I bet they’d have quite a bit to learn… After all, we all have.” Yuzu then got a lamp in her head, which led her to a quirky idea. “Speaking of learning… Have you ever known how to play a transverse flute, Bloom Diva?”

“Perhaps… I had never done it before, but my knowledge of the arts should allow me to get used to it quickly.”

“Care to try?”

Yuzu then handed the flute over to Bloom Diva, encouraging her to play it. It was a little out of left field for Bloom Diva, as the Melodious Monsters were composed primarily of songstresses, and she, as Mozarta, was a conductor. Shopina was extremely proficient in piano, however, and Mozarta was quite good too, so she felt that she could try a different instrument. 

And so she played, quickly adjusting her breath to make the flute sing nicely, then trying out the different combinations of keys needed for notes. With just that alone, she was able to create a simple, slow, yet soothing melody after a bit, impressing the pinkette a bit. It seemed weird for a Monster to learn a new skill like this, but it seemed they had found a new leisure activity, and Yuzu could get to be a teacher for once.

XYZ DIMENSION - HEARTLAND CITY

Around the same time, Ruri had returned to her home, Heartland City, some days ago; seeing how in ruins it all was, but seeing the efforts the Resistance and Academia put in order to restore it goaded her to give it her all. Her Lyriluscs had done some work to transport resources and removing obstacles, but Ruri didn’t feel like she did much, despite trying her best. 

Unlike Yuzu, Ruri wasn’t able to talk to Assembled Nightingale until recently, and thus they had spent some time knowing each other better… But the brunette immediately understood that the Lyrilusc shared that same desire of rebuilding she did, and demonstrated to be able to do more than her part in order to do so, and Ruri felt that she needed to properly support her, as well as everyone else.

One morning, Ruri decided to wake up earlier than usual, and isolated herself from the group in order to see if she can learn to do as well as Nightingale does… By directly calling her. While they had talked to each other in their minds for a few days, she had a feeling that in order to learn the most she had to see her in person. As such, she activated her Academia Duel Disk and played Nightingale, who gently opened her wings to greet Ruri, being quite surprised.

“My… I didn’t expect you to call me this early, Ruri. Good Morning!”

“G…Good morning.” Ruri’s weak response did concern Nightingale a bit, but it took just a bit before the brunette breathed in deeply… And knelt, pleading with her: “Please… You are doing so much that I just can’t do… But I want to help as well as you do! This city is my home, my life, my friends… And I don’t want to give it less than my all for it!”

“But… You are doing enough, Ruri!” The XYZ responded. “Not only are you incapable of flight, but you’re also still tired and stressed from all that happened to you! And yet you still pressed on and fought! Do you really want to tire yourself out for this?!”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t know how I can help, but if I can do something, anything, to help you all… I really want to. You’ve done so much for me…”

Ruri’s speech went quieter and quieter as she grew sadder. Nightingale tried as best as she could to think of something; after all, there might be something Ruri doesn’t know about them yet. But no solution came across her mind that didn’t involve her Master getting tired further, thus ironically doing less by doing more, wasting all her efforts…

…So she decided to approach it from a different angle.

“Ruri! ATTENTION!” This order from Nightingale snapped Ruri up in confusion, as the Avian stood firm in a classic sergeant pose, chest up and firm stance. The brunette swiftly followed in kind after snapping out of it, and then Nightingale elaborated:

“Now listen… If you want to help us, with all your heart, then there is one way for you to do it! You’ll become one of us: a Lyrilusc Scout!”

“I’ll… Become one of you?”

“As much as you can be! You may not be able to take our appearance, but you will learn our code!”

“Oh, right… Your scout code. I remember you-” After that train of thought distracted her, Ruri stood ready and relayed to her companion: “Roger! I will listen carefully!”

“That’s the spirit! Now then, there are 10 rules a Lyrilusc always follows!

Rule #1: A Lyrilusc Scout is to be attentive!

Rule #2: A Lyrilusc Scout is to be ever helpful!

Rule #3: A Lyrilusc Scout never goes alone without permission!

Rule #4: A Lyrilusc Scout always respects themselves, others, nature, and air currents!

Rule #5: A Lyrilusc Scout frequently practices their chirps!

Rule #6: A Lyrilusc Scout doesn’t hesitate to ask for clarification!

Rule #7: A Lyrilusc Scout always keeps themselves and their possessions clean!

Rule #8: A Lyrilusc Scout is courageous, but not reckless!

Rule #9: A Lyrilusc Scout always takes care of their w-”

The Rule listing was so captivating to Ruri that she started to imitate her firmness and behavior. It came to this point, which involved Assembled Nightingale showing off her wings to indicate what one needs to take care of… And the Duelist imitated that, even down to the light flaps to simulate hers. That marked the end of that listing as Nightingale started breaking down laughing from it, concerning Ruri and breaking her out of the immersion.

“Um… Hello? Is everything alright?”

“Haha…Hah… Yes, everything’s OK now.” The XYZ calmed down shortly after. “I just… Don’t see Rule #9 concerning you."

“Well, I always dreamed of soaring through the sky. Since you coming to this world and even dueling already happened… Who knows what crazy thing could happen? Maybe I could fully join you some day!”

As she talked, Ruri looked visibly happier and lighter than she was before meeting her companion, and just… Seemed more at ease for herself, yet still eager to work more and know more. 

“Say… Rule #9 is about taking care of the wings, right?”

“Yes, it is.” The XYZ responded, not long before Ruri asked:

“Then we’re still missing Rule #10, right? What’s it about?”

“This rule is the most important one, Ruri.” Nightingale then explained that much more softly than the others:

“Rule #10: A Lyrilusc always works in unison with others, flies in unison with others, and sings in unison with others.”

“Oh… I see now why it’s so important!” Ruri commented. “It somewhat emulates how I gather you all when I duel, really quickly. And also singing in unison… Is that for XYZ Summoning?”

“Right it is, but so much more!”

“Well, about these… They do seem to overlap somewhat.”

“Hehe… Quite frankly, it’s more about the spirit than the rules themselves.” Nightingale admitted, a bit flustered. “We’re a close enough group after all, and we can look to help one another really easily. Plus, making up the rules and being all orderly about it isn’t even my thing! It’s Promenade Thrush who’s all about them! But it’s just to motivate the others…”

“Well, I did feel pretty motivated myself!

…

Waitaminute.” Ruri stopped upon hearing Nightingale chuckle.

“See, Ruri, motivation is the core of our conduct! It’s the motivation to help those in need that keeps us going. And you know this too. Thanks to Yusho’s motivation, you became motivated to make people smile. To contrast Academia, you became motivated to protect the others from them! From seeing the people needing help to rebuild the city, you became motivated to assist them!

You are already one of us, Ruri! You’ve been one of us for a while!”

“Uh… Am I?” Ruri then tried to compare this thought with her previous one. “Despite me not being nearly as capable as you… Despite me not being able to do that much… I am one of you. Motivation… To help others… Is all that matters to keep pushing myself forward!” Ruri then clapped her cheeks and stood firm, before declaring:

“Lyrilusc Scout, Opal Raven, at your service!”

This stunned both of them, before they both had a hearty giggle at that.

“Alright, I don’t think I’ll go that far, but… Thank you! I know what to do now!” Ruri then declared serenely: “I’ll keep going until this city is restored. I’ll give aid anyone, no matter how little it might be. As long as I made people smile, and as long as I keep pushing forward, we’ll all eventually reach our goal. I trust you to do much more, as I know you can do it… But I’ll do my part as well, and I’ll give it all I’ve got!”

“That’s the spirit!” Nightingale exclaimed, with a tear of joy down her cheeks. “See… This attitude, this… Everything, suits you so much more! I’m glad to have you back, Ruri!”

“And I’m glad you’ll all join me, especially you, Nightingale!” Ruri and Nightingale then traded warm smiles and patted each other’s shoulders, before the brunette relayed: “OK… I’ll go have breakfast now. I’ll be sure to be fully ready when I call you!”

“Then I’ll ensure you that all the Lyriluscs will be as ready as you are!” And with Nightingale’s last promise, the two finally separated for the time being, both having their resolve renewed so they would restore their home to full. No matter how long it took.

SYNCHRO DIMENSION - CITY

Likewise, Rin was also one who recently returned to her home City of… City. She came out of that whole ordeal… Largely confused, but ultimately delighted that she was finally free to return to her home. Now, what remained was to explore more of this City, apparently one that turned a new leaf towards unity rather than division. She had to understand that… But moreover, she felt the need to understand her newfound companion, the Windwitch, Winter Bell.

She was a particular one: Whereas the other Ace Monsters could communicate through their minds via voices similar to people’s, Winter Bell communicated through chimes, whistles, and ding dongs produced by her body and magic. As such, it was tough, almost impossible, for Rin to understand her beyond a very basic level, in the few days they actually communicated with each other.

While the bike was in repairs and was needed to fully explore City, Rin was allowed some time to rest alone… Or rather, of studying with her new companion. She brought out her Duel Disk from Academia and played Winter Bell so she could join her in person, who associated chimes with movements, simply nodding or shaking her head part for a high whistle and a low whistle respectively.

“Alright so… The high whistle means “Yes”, while the low whistle means “No”, right? Can we start off with that?” Rin asked, for the Windwitch to reply with a high whistle, which encouraged the green haired to go further.

“OK! First that, then we can finally understand one another! Hmm… How do we continue though… I know! You can understand me, right? So, why not just repeat what I say, in your own language?”

Winter Bell excitedly whistled high to confirm Rin’s proposition and promptly shined to signal that she was ready.

“OK! Let’s start off with a few simple things! But first, I wanna ask you… Does the tingling you do when you first enter my mind after a while mean “Hi!”?” 

Winter Bell gave her “No” whistle as a response, thus Rin went rapidfire with guesses.

“Hey?” That prompted a negative response.

“What’s up?” The Windwitch declared that as wrong, but not without a bit of hesitation.

“Everything OK?” And here, Winter Bell replied “yes” with her chimes, which warmed Rin somewhat.

“Aww… Well… If you want to know, I’m OK now. Surely much more than before, and it was also because of you.”

Winter Bell made herself heard with a low chime, very reminiscent in tone of the “aww” one usually utters.

“OK… That means “Aww”, right?” The Windwitch confirmed Rin’s question, and this excited the green haired more and more.

“All right! I bet we can clear this easily! After all, we’ve known each other for quite a bit, right?” And so came the lesson, as proposed by Rin: a word or phrase from her, and Winter Bell’s translation.

“Hi!” Winter Bell rang in response, with the same tone as one the green haired heard before.

“Thanks!” The Windwitch rang twice, a succession of two dings each.

“See you!” A swift downwards chime was the translation.

“Sorry…” A much slower, low tone whistle this time.

“Wait!” Three consecutive bell dongs, swiftly interrupted, were the response.

All the while, Rin took notes as best as she could, and made a little chart for all the translations. Many more examples were given as she studied…

…

After a bit, Rin felt particularly confident, and decided to jump ahead to directly translate phrases Winter Bell gave her. Maybe though she went a little ahead, and after a few… Poor attempts, it came to this attempt by the green haired.

“Hey there, this is a nice place! Wanna… Uhm…” She then tried to look at the notes, prompting a glare and a “no” whistle from the Windwitch, and tried to complete the phrase herself.

“...Hang out here?”

At that, the Synchro fired a small icy breeze to Rin, prompting her to panic:

"Ah, Chill here! Chill here! That’s the one, right?” Upon that, Winter Bell replied with a yes chime, and Rin sighed and sat down on her desk, proposing:

“All right… Can we call it here now? I probably went a little ahead of myself.”

The Windwitch responded with a calm “Yes” and went to join her Master beside her, who turned around to look at the numerous pages of notes she had made.

“Dang… I think I’ve learned more here than I’ve ever done at the orphanage class.” Rin mused, feeling tired yet serene. “But we’ve only scratched the surface here! I’ll admit, I’ve never learned another language before. Now I imagine all the things I said… How would YOU say them exactly? There’s too much for me to even comprehend… But I want to go further. I want to hear what you have to say about City. I want to hear all of your stories about the Windwitches! I want… To truly understand you.”

This last remark made Winter Bell come closer with a low descending chime, and Rin further reflected upon these last words.

“Understand you… Y'know, it's weird for me to even say this. After all, we've been here together for a long time now. Back then, I thought of having Monster friends as merely children's tales, but it turns out… Each time you dueled alongside me, each time you helped me, each time you let me ride you like a surfboard… It wasn't just the wonders of technology! You really wanted to help me as best as you could, didn't you?"

Winter Bell simply nodded, gently chiming before Rin continued with her thoughts.

“I also thought of the time I actually met the other Windwitches, or rather I watched them from a distance before joining you for our final battle. And… While I understood you little, I did get this from all of you.

Ice Bell is quirky, but prepared.

Glass Bell is a little bit silly.

Freeze Bell… Has shown herself to be incredibly blunt. And kinda rude.” This prompted a little laugh from Winter Bell that even Rin could understand. However, that would soon turn as she ended talking:

“But I’ve got one thing from all of you. You all are very dependable friends, who have gone through a lot with me and want to help in anyway you can. And that, for me, is enough to fully trust you!

I trust we’ll help each other through everything. I’ll give it my all for you, because you’ve done so much for me!”

It was lucky that Winter Bell could fully understand Rin. The human-looking witches do speak as she would, but the Synchros can’t quite do that. To repay her Master, the Windwitch had to communicate her feelings as best as she could… And that was by floating up to Rin and nuzzling her, and the green haired hugged her back. Logically, how Rin felt was all kinds of weird. Despite the Windwitches being specialized in ice and wind magic,and the Synchro being crystalized beings of ice magic, this moment felt really warm for both of them. By Winter Bell’s twitching, Rin could also guess that she was crying tears of joy, despite being technically unable to do so. 

“Hehe… I guess there is such a thing as universal language!”

FUSION DIMENSION - YOU SHOW DUEL SCHOOL

While the others came back to their homes, Serena’s home was Academia, the faction who had caused so many people so much grief. Yet, the people there were to atone for all they’ve done, and were assisting the inhabitants of the XYZ Dimension, and she felt right to assist them as well. Seeing all the destruction wrought upon that land, that she indirectly wanted to participate in by proving herself to be worthy to the Professor, greatly weighed on her, and made her feel an impending sense of guilt… Which her partner, Cat Dancer, was quick to shrug off and console Serena through.

The Fusion Lunalight had been inside Serena’s mind for almost as long as Yuzu and Bloom Diva were. Having Serena come out of the shell Academia put her in, and joining the Lancers to end the war, built the bridge that allowed the two to talk to each other, and they went through their perilous journey together since. Cat Dancer’s chippy behavior was one Serena was baffled by, but that, coupled with the Dancer’s fiery spirit, made the blunette warm up to her considerably.

By Cat Dancer’s suggestion, Serena had taken a day off Academia, and ultimately accepted in a practice she was somewhat confused by: dancing alongside her Monster. Knowing that Academia set up flying drone cameras to monitor its students, Serena had asked Asuka for help after stumbling upon her by mistake, and the blonde allowed her a place in the Fusion Dimension’s You Show School, or rather the desolate church that preceeded it. It proved to be quite the ideal setting for them, having a circular window somewhat emulating moonlight.

And so, Serena called out Cat Dancer via her Duel Disk, and they started practicing right after some stretches and warmup exercises, not unlike those done as Serena’s training regimen. The girl simply had to follow the Lunalight’s movements, and while she shockingly didn’t to half bad on the more acrobatic moves, as her training as Duel Warrior allowed for quite the athleticism, there was something both noticed that Serena struggled with. It was more evident in the calmer movements that Cat Dancer flawlessly pulled off that Serena couldn’t keep up. She trembled and struggled to keep her balance, and it was more pronounced as it was noticed more and more by both. This quickly weighed on the blue haired and somewhat discouraged her.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Cat Dancer… I thought I could do something different for once for you, but I think I can’t cut it here.”

“Darling… Don’t worry about it!” Cat Dancer replied calmly. “I know full well that you can do it, Serena… But I know you’re not used to this yet.”

“Well, yes. That’s part of it. I’ve seen Yuzu have fun with her Duel in her Friendship Cup debut, and I asked her to teach me how to Duel like that, to have fun… And I thought I got that as I dueled against Yugo… But I just can’t seem to get into it.”

“I don’t think it’s just that, Serena. I think you’re not so used to have periods of peace and rest… Because you keep working so hard!”

“Well… I have to. This way, I can finally prove myself after spending my entire life being denied that!... And I can’t just sit by while there’s so much to be done.”

“I know, I know… But you’ll only tire yourself out when you keep at it! This is why I suggested dancing, Serena! It’s not just about working on your body, but also your mind!”

“Also my mind?” Serena then stopped and listened closely to what Cat Dancer had to say about that.

“I haven’t really told you what the Lunalights’ dancing is all about, did I? Well, now’s the perfect time!

It’s all about expression and release, Serena!

Any performance is a form of expression, and dancing is no different, especially what ours was conceived as! It’s like you tell the body what you’re feeling, and then convey it! Even if you don’t fully think about it, you always express something when you perform! Dueling, singing, and dancing! Even back then, you showed me that you really want to get out there and finally express yourself… But you’re just too burdened by all that happened, and all that you feel you need to do.

So here comes the release part! When you really get into your performance, it’s like everything else doesn’t exist for that moment. And that’s when you release it all. You’ll feel everything that isn’t relevant slowly fade, and you’ll finally feel free!”

“Huh… Is there a specific way to go about this?” Serena asked, intrigued by the Lunalight’s discourse.

“Well… Yes, but it needs to be very little. You know all these thoughts that clog your mind? Just imagine them all, but slowly dripping out of your body, like dewdrops. It’s like your whole body and mind will be washed off of them! Other than that, dance however you feel like it! You’re not imitating me for this one… But I’ll provide you some music!”

Without Serena being able to ask another question, Cat Dancer started playing music with her body. The girl was already familiar with the rings worn on her hips producing limited, yet rhythmically sound music. The Lunalight merely added gentle tingling thanks to bumping her knives into the rings on her arms, and whooshing sounds thanks to her veil. It made for a piece that was limited and simple to follow, yet did its job of Serena finding the right rhythm.

That was only the start of Serena’s dances, however. Slow steps at a steady rhythm led to her stretching with some effort. She tried to think of exactly what pose to strike or if doing a pirouette would help, but that only made her heavier.

And then, after realizing that, and stopping thinking about it… She felt a sensation coursing through her body, traveling down her limbs to reach her hands and feet to then disappear. With Cat Dancer steadily and unflinchingly continuing to play, she simply had to keep that up.

One at a time, her worries and burdens would be pushed forward, to then melt into sensations that left her body, like dewdrops…

Her long time at Academia, spent unproven and caged… Was now a thing of the past.

Her guilt for potentially dooming Yuzu, more than once… Washed away, knowing of Yuzu’s happiness returned.

Her time spent incapacitated and captured in Synchro… Simply returned there, and out of the girl’s thoughts.

Her prison as a Parasite Host… Eradicated.

Her dread as she was absorbed into ARC-V… Liquefied, coursing through her to then leave her.

Her movements became smoother and smoother as she felt these sensations, and let to slow, yet graceful and somewhat steady. However not fully, as something else was hard to quite remove…

There were still all these people left in ruin by the faction she swore to join. All the other things were in the past, but not this one. She just couldn’t shake them off… So for that one, she had to dissect it piece by piece.

While the people of Academia had ruined Heartland… They were more than willing to help out and restore it.

While the citizens were terrified and skeptical at first, they became more trusting and relieved.

All because everyone was ready and willing to help. Helping other people shouldn’t be a burden, rather an act to make people happy, or at least relieved. This was also how her closest friends performed and acted. Making people smile will fulfill their lives just a bit further, and also hers.

At this point, she was stunned at herself. She snapped back to reality and out of her thoughts to find out she was completely steady as her hand was reaching out to the sunlit glass, and she felt light as a feather, and finally free… Free to dance to her heart’s content. And Cat Dancer would fully support her, with her steady rhythm and her growing excitement and gladness.

Maybe those old burdens will come to haunt her again, every so often… But now they both knew how to wash them away, like dewdrops.

Serena ended her number with a graceful twirl and bow towards Cat Dancer. While not overly flashy, it felt like an immense accomplishment for both of them, as Serena finally smiled and the Lunalight clapped with tears in her eyes.

“THAT’S MY SERENA! I knew you could do it! I KNEW YOU COULD!”

“Thank you, Cat Dancer…” The blunette responded serenely. “Now I understand what my friends told me when I was stranded in Synchro: ultimately, giving others relief and feeling better yourself are intertwined. If you feel heavy, it’s hard to actually put in the effort to help the others. If people around you feel unsatisfied, it’s easy for that to rub off on you, and you become sad.

“Learning to enjoy Duels, as well as other things, and doing them for fun can bring out a lot more in you than you realize!”

That’s what Yuzu told me as you and Bloom Diva awkwardly passed the baton to each other, because we couldn’t communicate… And I know she also Duels for helping people in that same style.”

“Oh, dearie… You’re finally getting it, I just know it!” Cat Dancer felt greatly warmed by her speech. 

“But I know it’s not just her. I have a lot of people to thank for this, actually… Including you!” Serena then smiled warmly at her companion, who paid her back in kind without hesitation. After a slight pause, Serena came down with this proposition:

“I feel much better now. I first need to thank Asuka for this. And also I’ll stay in her You Show for a bit, while we’re at it. But since we have the whole day off… How about we explore more of the city here in the evening? I’ve heard it has a beautiful night, it should be full moon, and I know you wouldn’t miss it!”

“Aw, you KNOW ME, dear! Of course we will!” Cat Dancer excitedly responded. “If we find a good place in private, we can show how the Lunalights really do their rituals when under the full moon!”

“Well, we don’t have exactly a well, but we do have a coursing river. And sea of course.”

Serena and Cat Dancer kept openly talking about their plans for later on the day, now with tragedies finally in the past, and a future open, and hopefully brighter.

Yuzu, Ruri, Rin and Serena had all tough and tumultous adventures they could finally leave behind. Some were involved than others, but in the end, they came out stronger and more determined to explore and restore what the worlds have to offer. There is still much work to do, but it is still fundamental to restore yourself, to have leisure activities to free your mind, and these will not stop you from learning, only enhance it. All of this was done thanks to the help of their wonderful friends, especially Bloom Diva, Assembled Nightingale, Winter Bell, and Cat Dancer, who had stayed by each girl’s side respectively, and were always ready to aid them as best as they could.

However, for the girls, there was a thought in their mind when they spent this quality time together with their Monsters… Z-ARC was the one that originally could talk to his Monsters, yet Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri cannot. The girls, and their Ace Monsters, all wished that in some way, they could reunite with their Dragons in full, just to they would be happier and more fulfilled, by having your Ace Monster be so much more…They were convinced that some time, this WILL happen.

Except for Serena. She just couldn’t be bothered thinking about Yuri.

[nonuggetshere]

Asked a question about one au, and got a mention of another au half off, a great deal if I say so myself. XD Speaking of AUs, now you have me intrigued about the arranged marriage AU that you mentioned. I would absolutely love to hear more about that as well if you're willing. -An absolute sucker for various outcomes of various situations known as AUs 🍂

SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING, I was too tired to comprehensively explain this AU LMAO

So anyway, this AU isn't actually that well developed, but that's fine because talking about AUs helps me brainstorm them and develop them further (FaaF for example was a WAAAAY different AU before I started telling my bestie about it) so this is very convenient for me (so yeah this is also the first time I'm talking about this AU publically, no tag for it yet)

Excuse my rambling, I'm pretty much going to brainstorm in this post LMAO

Originally, Petunia was going to be related to Vespa, either her bastard child or grandchild that she marries off in exchange for training the Pure Vessel, but I was very, very unhappy with this idea from the get-go. With how opposed Vespa is to the entire plan in the game it would have been very OOC for her to do this in my opinion, and while I am a big advocate for "canon is just a suggestion" and am not too pressed about accurate characterisation, changing a character only to prop up the other is the only thing I cannot vibe with. Truly, the only reason Vespa even came to mind in the first place is because she's the closest and most convenient bee royalty, which...isn't a great reason to change her Singular Canon Trait, in my opinion.

Instead, I think I'm just going to have to plop down another bee kingdom reasonably nearby Hallownest but not a part of it. This does mean I could get to explore Petunia's parents as characters, which I've been meaning to do for a while (I don't talk about her past often because it isn't fully finished, but her mother wasn't a good parent. It's something they and Flower bond over in main FaaF AU).

Pale King, looking for any opportunity to sharpen his Pure Vessel's skills, works out an agreement with them. Their "problem child" will be married off to his vessel and he'll accept them into his family and they will be treated as such even post-sealing, and in exchange, her bees will help train the vessel.

Although she's not a good parent and pretty much just wants an easy way out of her problems with her son, she still loves him in her own weird, problematic way. So she only agreed to this because she was filled in on the basics of the Pure Vessel's nature and with the promise that they're not actually alive, in her mind marrying Petunia off isn't a problem if the said spouse is barely above an object. In her mind, Petunia will still get to live her life and date and do whatever she wants and won't have the obligations of a normal political marriage because nobody's actually expecting her to be loyal to an object, but now she's not her problem but the Pale King's, and maybe the two of them can have a normal relationship now that they don't constantly bicker and fight.

This of course doesn't go according to plan.

Petunia's mother's opinions of her daughter and their relationship couldn't be further from the truth, and if she thinks dropping them off to be a part of some other family will fix their problems then she's deeply mistaken. Petunia is not the kind to forgive easily and she sees this as just another slight from their mother, that she demands that Petunia respect her and be nice to her but doesn't actually want to put any of the work into fixing her wrongs and their relationship. So this entire situation just infuriates Petunia, who hates his mother even more now, and on top of it they feel alone and scared in a new kingdom, surrounded by strangers - and man are the nobles here complete assholes.

Petunia and Flower meet as teens and are married off shortly after they both turn 18 and then Petunia moves to Hallownest. They share a room and everything, and at first, Flower is very, very unhappy about their arrangement. They didn't want to get married to this stranger, that wasn't how they imagined their wedding day, and now they lost one of the very few safe spaces for them where they could be themself and relax in private.

But the more they live together and interact with one another, Flower starts not minding Petunia as much. They're always so unusually nice to them, despite knowing of their nature. And, okay, they'll admit it, they're actually kinda cute.

Flower finally reveals themself to Petunia when they one day return to their room after training and find her crying on the bed. They want to comfort her somehow, she was always so nice to them and they want to repay them.

Instead, they damn near give Petunia a heart attack. On the plus side, he's not crying anymore? It's hard to cry when a supposed statue is talking to you

They eventually calm down, and then they're just bewildered, honestly

"Why- why would you reveal your secret to me?"

"Because you were sad, I hate seeing you sad... And also no one will believe you."

So after this, they actually start to develop a friendship. Flower can actually act like themself at the end of the day again, and honestly, it's actually kind of nice to be able to talk to somebody who isn't their little sister.

Petunia can vent to them about their life and they always listen and try to support her, and similarly, they finally have somebody who they can rely on and vent to.

Petunia eventually started going out with them and Hornet, and sometimes he even managed to convince the Pale King to let him take Flower along to the city whenever they didn't have any other duties.

Petunia eventually settled into Hallownest nicely with their and Hornet's help, and aside from occasional hiccup with their mother whenever she'd remember their existence and write a letter their life was pretty good.

Over the course of the next few years, they grew extremely close together and naturally eventually started catching feelings. Cue the good old secret romance. Petunia even tried to convince them to reveal themself and not be sealed, but he knew that if Flower's anything it's extremely stubborn and there was no changing their mind once they set out to accomplish something.

This all went to shit the second Flower's knighting ceremony goes awry

Instantly, Petunia's mother treats it as a break of their deal and demands Pale King return her child home and for the marriage to be broken. She of course doesn't ask Petunia's opinion even once. Meanwhile, Pale King is busy trying to, you know, save his kingdom, so he essentially tells her to suck it and wait until after he deals with more pressing issues because he doesn't have the time now to handle their divorce.

On the plus side, Petunia's presence does mean Flower feels more comfortable and safer around the palace. Their spouse is literally the last saving grace in all of this.

That's all I could think up at the koment

Though to be fair, I am not happy about this version either. It honestly would have been better if I could get the Vespa version to work, but currently, I have no idea how to do that. Aside from it being just way more convenient, I also greatly prefer political drama within Hallownest rather than bringing up a distant kingdom into this. So I guess if you have any suggestions, feel free to hit me with them!

[elegantmadness]

Eternal RP Search

As the title indicates, I'm pretty much always on the lookout for some new RP partners! Please keep reading if you might be interested! c;

Basic Info:

I'm (old af) 33 now, so I'm only looking to write with partners 18+. This is non-negotiable.

I default to third person past tense; I'm happy to switch to present tense if that's your preference, but I won't write in first or second person for RP purposes. In the same vein, I can't write with a partner who uses first or second person. Sorry guys!

Expect there to be some NSFW content; I don't fade to black. That said, I'm happy with smut-focused threads or plot-focused ones with NSFW as more of a side feature. Please let me know your limits so I don't step on any toes! Also expect at least some mention/discussion of kinks.

I'll write over email, in gdocs, or on discord. Please do not ask me to join your server/group RP or to RP here on tumblr.

My post length tends to fluctuate from 4+ paragraphs to novella, though I'll never give you fewer than 4 paragraphs. I cannot tolerate one-liners or super short paragraphs; I absolutely want someone who can give me at least 4 paragraphs per character.

My posting frequency can, admittedly, be a little sporadic, though I won't make you wait more than a few days for a reply. Ideally, I'd like a partner who can offer something similar -- 3-5 posts per week. I don't generally do rapid-fire, and if posts get slower than once per week I start to lose motivation.

I tend to prefer m// and m/f pairs, though in certain circumstances I'd be happy to double with f//. I'm also happy to include trans, nb, and characters that otherwise fall outside of the binary.

I will not exclusively write tops for your bottoms, men for your women, or canon characters for your original characters. I am, however, happy to double/triple/write casts/write poly so we can each write what we like.

Fandoms:

Here I'll list all the fandoms I'd be interested in writing; I'm going to keep the info bare-bones to avoid making this post any longer than it already is, but I'll also add in a gdoc link with more comprehensive info. Characters in red are ones I wish to write; if no one's in red, I'm fine with writing any.

Final Fantasy VII (Crisis Core-focused)

I'm only interested in writing/writing with canon characters. Doubling is absolutely on the table, but please note I have zero interest in writing Clerith, Cloti, or Zerith; otherwise, please don't be offended if I have no interest in a pairing you offer.

I could also be potentially interested in including characters from other Final Fantasy games (Squall, for instance, or Lightning). I'm familiar with 7, 8, 10 + 10-2, 12, and 13 (but not 13's sequels).

AGSZC (Angeal | Genesis | Sephiroth | Zack | Cloud polycule)

AGS (Angeal | Genesis | Sephiroth polycule)

Angeal/Zack

Sephiroth/Angeal

Sephiroth/Genesis

Sephiroth/Zack

Angeal/Genesis

SZC (Sephiroth | Zack | Cloud polycule)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I'm also familiar with Three Hopes, though, admittedly, I'm not hunting for pairings with Shez or Arval. You're welcome to ask about them if you'd like to double, though! I'm only interested in writing/writing with canon characters.

Characters I'm absolutely not looking to write/write with: Bernadetta, Annette, Marianne, Rhea, Flayn, Hanneman, Constance, Manuela, Petra, Mercedes, Hilda, Ignatz, Raphael, Ingrid, Seteth, Lysithea, Caspar, Hapi, Monica, Leonie, Alois, Cyril

Sylvain/Felix (I'm willing to play Sylvain if you want to play more than one Sylvix thread)

Hubert/Ferdinand (I'm willing to play Hubert if you want to play more than one Ferdibert thread)

Lambert/Rodrigue

Miklan/Glenn

Yuri/Sylvain (I might be inclined to play Sylvain depending on the plot)

Balthus/Yuri

Dimitri/m! or f!Byleth

Claude/m!Byleth

Claude/Linhardt

Star Trek

I'm familiar with TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, AOS, PIC, and PRO. I'm personally looking to write an original character opposite a canon, and while I'm happy to double up I'm fine if you want a canon/canon pair or canon/oc in return.

Please note that I have no real interest in writing characters from TOS/AOS or PRO. I'm also less-than-enthusiastic about PIC, so I'd really like to stay away from those storylines.

I would, however, thoroughly enjoy a more complete crossover of TNG/DS9/VOY (or any of the two).

Please do not ask me to write Chakotay/Seven of Nine.

Data/f!OC

Julian Bashir/f!OC

Hakuoki

I've played through everyone's routes, though I'll probably want to reacquaint myself with whomever you ask for since it's admittedly been a while.

I'm shamelessly asking for poly here, but please don't be alarmed that I'm asking for 4 -- I don't imagine they'll all be played in the same scene often if at all ^^; I will happily write any of the other LIs in return, however!

f!OC/Sanosuke | Saito | Souji | Hijikata

The Wayhaven Chronicles

What I'm looking for here is a little hard to explain, so please bear with me! While I'm not averse to simple doubling, I'd really enjoy a poly or polycule situation with the male love interests (Adam, Nate, Mason, & Felix).

In the case of a polycule, however, I wouldn't want to focus on the romantic/sexual side of things between the boys, though I like the idea of the intimacy and closeness it potentially lends itself to the RP. In such an instance I would absolutely love to write an MC or OC, but I'll happily discuss it and compromise so we're both content!

Touchstarved

I know it hasn't been released yet -- and won't be for quite some time -- but I love the idea of playing in the world. I absolutely want to include all the LIs, and like above would be happy to indulge in poly, simple doubling, or a polycule (to be completely honest, I'm most interested in the polycule here).

I'd even be happy to focus only on the canon characters and not include OCs at all, but I'm glad to include them too. I just really want the opportunity to explore the boys and the world better.

That's pretty much it for fandoms I'm actively searching for, though you're welcome to check my gdoc for more information and for other fandoms I'd potentially be interested in! (Persona 5's in there, as well as some other IF titles and otome!)

If you're interested or have any questions, please feel free to reach out either here on tumblr (through a DM is preferred, tho asks are okay too) or on discord (Resoan#4408). Hope to hear from some of you soon!