#and thus. abbreviating.

[piplupod]

hoodie painting progress under the cut!

ignore how weird i am holding it fhdksl i have a hard time holding things sometimes bc my hand joints are fucked up or smth but !!!! the painting is coming along well!!!

the only issue is that i am struggling with like... the whole colour theory thing of what the paint will actually look like next to the black bc rn its surrounded by tape, so I can't actually tell if it'll look stark enough against the black or if i need to do a third coat of paint fhdjksl

[flowerflamestars]

Effloresce Snippet

He kissed both her cheeks, bending even lower to raise Nesta’s right hand, pressing her cold knuckles to his brow in solemn salute. “Nesta Archeron,” Jurian said, like her name was twice its length, a foreign weighted history, “You ready to know whose blood runs in your veins?” Nesta, who had lived this particular conversation thrice over now, only shook her head. Touched between his brows in curious, only half-understood benediction, allowing him to step away. “Jurian. You survived the fires.” His smile was only in his eyes, rainwater grey searingly bright. “You wouldn’t waste time sending messages to corpses.” Nadia, from where she’d stopped three swaggering paces into the room, shedding her coat and swords with utterly false carelessness, huffed out a rough laugh. It was a bizarre comfort to see her, unchanged- strong brown hands dense with tattoos that bloomed into looser patterns up her arms, those knives and that hideous leather vest, remnants of a life that seemed nearly simple, now. So very far away. She cast a scathing look at Nesta’s guard, the Illyrian busy visibly wishing murder upon Jurian, his entire focus held on the distance between their bodies. “Protection has gotten more interesting,” she said, tone blithe, “Where’s your Vanserra?” “Honeymoon.” Nesta let herself lean back onto the desk, hand behind her body biting into its ash lip. Dawn, Winter, reconnaissance. Elain walking underhill in mortal wedding pearls, Lucien at her back. A heaved sigh, Jurian’s head oh so briefly dipped. “Wars and weddings, my lady. Blessings.” “When you were our age, humans couldn’t marry.” “Nor does he believe in any damned gods,” Nadia crossed the room fae quick, expression wicked as the guard flinched, stopping right alongside Nesta. A test, twofold- Nesta didn’t pull a knife as Nadia had once taught her, the legionnaire didn’t start in on violence without orders. “Don’t believe the prayers, unless they’re bloody.”

[finishwhatyoustarted-event]

Finish What You Started 2024 - Event Rules

[ID copied from alt: Event Rules on a blue background. ⬒ No new projects ◨ Any medium and any fandom welcome ⬓ NSFW inclusive, warnings must be tagged ◧ Tag #FinishWhatYouStarted2024; boosting/retweeting starts September 13th ◼ Event ends October 31st, 2024]

The goal of this event is to get things done that you’ve already started. We all have unfinished projects whose incomplete status haunts us. Those are what we want to tackle!

The structure is loose, as this is a multimedia event. While primarily aimed at writers, this event is open to any kind of creative fanwork. Fics, translations, podfics, fanart, animations, cosplay - if you started it and never got it done, it qualifies. There is no sign-up required. I will not assign beta readers for writers, but I can boost requests for those who want them! And I can boost messages of those who would like to beta read.

The mod is a danmei fan mainly, but your work can be any fandom. Maybe something you started before your current fandom excitement took over, or one you keep putting off in favor of compelling new ideas.

Feel free to pass this event info along! The more the merrier!

Further rules and clarifications:

Alt text is very encouraged, especially for boost posts or artwork!

If your work is NSFW, I will only boost it if it has appropriate content warnings. Spoilering images is recommended but not required as long as it’s tagged. Do not letter-swap or abbreviate content warnings. These are so people can mute them as needed. Example: "gore" not "g0re"

Remember Tumblr can mute phrases, but each warning should be its own tag as well as in the body.

Please use genderbend or genderswap for characters depicted not as canon genders. Example: "#NSFW #genderbend #gore”

Please use Omegaverse or A/O/B for that content. The original letter order is a slur against Aboriginal peoples and will not be tolerated here, even with the slashes. It, like other racial or identity-based slurs, fall under hate speech and are thus not permitted.

This account will post weekly morale-boosting messages and helpful resources. Every Friday, starting September 13th, will be Finished It Friday. All the completed works posted that week will be boosted together in a big thread, so we can celebrate your accomplishment!

Halfway-point check-in is October 1st. Final event deadline is October 31st. The last Finished It Friday is November 1st.

FAQ:

Q: Are original works acceptable?

A: This is primarily a fanwork-focused event. If original work is the only WIP you have to work on, it's certainly fine to work on it during the time frame of the event. If it is posted publicly when finished, you may tag it for boosting.

Q: Are there any restrictions on topics?

A: No, so long as your event # post is properly & fully tagged for content (see rules about tagging above). "Dead Dove" topics are allowed. Some submissions will be 18+. For me, this is less about the content and more about finishing it. 

The usual restrictions based on laws and Community Guidelines of course apply, so you may need to tailor how you post to which event space your interacting with. Twitter, Tumblr, and Discord all have their own rules. There are also some topics that are in poor taste to make fanworks around. The event organizer and mods reserve the right to not boost your work if they decide it is rage-baiting or trolling. They are not responsible for negative reactions to your works. Please be respectful of those you share a digital space with. 

Keep in mind that when I link to your finished work during a Finished It Friday, it may reach a wider audience than you may be used to.

Q: Are there any restrictions on media that can be submitted?

A: Machine Generated or "AI" images and writing are not permitted. If you are found in violation of this rule, you will be removed from the event. All images, writing, or other works must be your own.

This is a positive, shared space. Do not belittle other creators' medium of choice. Please no fandom/character/ship/creator bashing, and don't berate artists or authors for not being done with something, even if they don't finish by the end of the event. Also, please don't passive-aggressively send this event to the author of an unfinished fic you want to see done faster. 😥 Be cool, respect each other, and keep any interpersonal disagreements to your own tumblrsphere.

All posts and boosts will be crossposted to the event Twitter (finishwatustart) and Discord. Expanded rules, explanations, and Dead Dove guidelines can also be found on the Discord. (invite link in pinned post) 

Fics can be posted to the AO3 collection (archiveofourown(dot)org /collections /FinishWhatYouStarted2024_Fall)

Work-in-progress posts should be tagged #FinishWhatYouStarted2024 . If you complete a wip within the event, tag it #IFinishedWhatIStarted2024 for boosting so we can all celebrate!

Find more information and community on the Discord, if you want! Joining the Discord is not required for the event. As always, if you have questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

[heimeldat]

I've spent an inordinate amount of time parsing the few examples we have of Old High Gallifreyan text, and here at last is the result of my labors!

The Old Gallifreyan alphabet:

The alternate forms of letters may be used interchangeably with their main forms; the differences are purely cosmetic, much like the difference between cursive and print-style writing.

Now for my analysis of the existing texts. It's rather long, so I've put it below the break!

EXAMPLES OF OLD HIGH GALLIFREYAN TEXT

ITEM ONE

Supposedly from “The Five Doctors,” though I can’t spot this writing anywhere. Translation given in episode.

ORA PSYERPA

O – honorific indicating uniqueness, may be rendered with the definite article “the”

R – combined with the definite honorific, a common abbreviation of Rassilon’s name

A – an alternate version of the possessive “ya,” used only when the possessive noun is already abbreviated

Psyerpa – a general term for harps and other large stringed instruments

Thus, the full text reads:

O-Rassilon-ya psyerpa

The Rassilon’s harp

ITEM TWO

From “The Colony in Space,” across the bottom of the Doctor’s mugshot. No translation given.

QU  ETHOA TRIOUAX BRIA

Qu – This is not a complete word, merely a letter used in this case for alphanumerical file designation: note that it stands alone, separate from the main text.

Ethoa – exile

Triouax – an infinitive verb, “to persist” or “to remain in effect”

Bria – a conditional modifier used exclusively in bureaucratic contexts, implying the need for occasional update of information or policy.

This text is a record of the Doctor’s sentence, and may be rendered something like this: Exile: to remain in effect barring further review.

ITEM THREE

From “The Time of Angels.” Translation given.

JUSYMOU CAIDEU OXA OOYY MAISOM

Jusymou – An archaic greeting, roughly equivalent to “well met” or “hail.”

Caideu – self, soul, or “hearts” in a poetic sense

Oxa – prepositional suffix, “part of”

OOYY – a conceptual abbreviation that combines the two meanings of the solitary letter O (definite article + symbol of individuality) and the mathematical use of the letter Y (usually indicating a dimensional shift). Literally, this means something like the individual, shifted two dimensions. In practice, it refers to a Time Lord’s fifth dimensional aspect.

Maisom – name, designation, identification

Thus, a literal translation would read something like this: Greetings, soul-linked fifth-dimensional name!

Or as the Doctor paraphrases it: Hello, Sweetie.

ITEM FOUR

From “The Five Doctors.” Translation is given, though it’s not specified which face of the obelisk corresponds to which section of the text.

First Face:

RA NASA TO TANA EURIFSTAN OBLR ORE NATA

Ra – where

Nasa – sleep

To – in

Tana – lies, reclines, rests

Eurifstan – eternal, endless, timeless. Here it modifies the verb, so it should be rendered as an adverb.

Oblr – abbreviated form of obelar, tomb or grave

OR – the same abbreviation seen previously, “The One And Only Rassilon.”

E – an alternate version of the possessive “ya,” used only when the possessive noun is already abbreviated

Nata – a basic verb of being, is

This yields the following literal translation: Where sleep-in lies eternally, tomb Rassilon’s is.

Or as the Doctor translates it: This is the Tomb of Rassilon, where Rassilon lies in eternal sleep.

Second Face:

The text on the second face is never seen. The Doctor translates it as: Anyone who's got this far has passed many dangers and shown great courage and determination.

Third Face:

ULIREIF RAENATA TOAAN LAKI FSTA TORARO

Ulireif – to lose everything, to be utterly defeated

Raenata – an emphatic form of the being-verb nata, indicating that something really, truly, permanently is

Toa’an – to win everything, to be crowned victor

Laki – a compound conjunction combining la (so) with ki (and): “and so”

Fsta – an abbreviated form of festoa, a winner or leader

Toraro – future tense of torar, to fail or collapse

Thus: To lose all is truly to win all, and so the winner will fail.

Or as the Doctor puts it: To lose is to win, and he who wins shall lose.

Fourth Face:

KIRA ATOUNA OR TA LIRI EUKI RAATO SUTE ANAAN FEIRLIO REUNT

Kira – takes

Atouna – ring

OR – the same abbreviation seen previously, “The One And Only Rassilon.”

Ta – from

Liri – hand

Euki – a compound conjunction combining eu (then, next, afterward) with ki (and): “and then”

Ra’ato – future tense of ra’at, to wear

Sute – reward, prize, payment

Ana’an – desired, sought-after

Feirlio – future tense of feiril, to get or acquire. Note that this is an irregular verb: the last two letters switch places when adding any tense ending.

Reunt – immortality, eternity

Literally: Takes ring Rassilon-from-hand and then will wear, reward-sought will have: immortality.

Or as the Doctor translates it: Whoever takes the ring from Rassilon's hand and puts it on shall get the reward he seeks: immortality.

[imitationgame77]

New Murderbot Discord Server Launch

Hello, fellow Murderbot fans!

This is a post to announce that we are starting a new Discord Server where we can talk about "The Murderbot Diaries" series by Martha Wells.

There are already several excellent discord servers, big and small, in existence, but our emphasis is to be beginner-friendly, and has a relatively narrow focus on the book series.

All are welcome, including:

People who have just finished the first book and want to talk about just that book, without spoilers for subsequent books

People who have just started to read and are still confused

People who have never used Discord before and are a little worried about the protocols there

People who need to look up all these abbreviations, like 'lmao', 'artmb', 'ship', 'tmbd', etc. (I know I did...)

People who love the series and want to talk with people who are new to refresh their take

People who love tmbd and are happy to interact with newcomers

We consider our server like a hub-station for beginners (thus, named "Murderbot Transit Hub"). Find footing before joining other servers with more defined characteristics. With kind permissions by owners/moderators of other Murderbot discord servers, we have a page where you can find the descriptions and invitations to other servers, too.

There are no protocols with this new server - except

"if in disagreement, just agree to disagree - excercise tolerance and accept diverse views".

I myself am new to tmbd, Tumblr, Discord etc. (all from this year...), so, I am not a confident moderator. But I love to interact with people and talk about The Murderbot Diaries (TMBD).

Fortunately, the server is created and set up by a lot more experienced @crabs-brencil, so we are in safe hands!

31 August 2024

[catboydogma]

far/further

Fox arrived late because the caf machine in the Guard HQ was broken. The caf machine was broken because some enterprising, thick-skulled individual had been suplexed directly through the rickety table in the officers’ mess. Someone blessed with a head hard enough to compete with Prime’s had been suplexed through the table because Thire was having a day in which physical violence was the answer to all his various and myriad issues.

Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard was beginning to think that Commander Thire’s was the correct approach to living.

“Fox,” Noon-Chi said, voice even and quiet.

“Noon,” Fox grunted out, stiffly dropping onto the seating provided at the edge of a long, low table. He had to have sunk a good five inches into the squishy, overstuffed cushions, feeling for all the world like he was being swallowed by a marshmallow.

They had come to an agreement, of sorts. Master Hyeon would call Fox “Fox” instead of “Commander” and Fox would call his Senate-mandated Jedi Healer “Noon” instead of “Jedi Master Hyeon” and all parties were satisfied with appearing to be at ease with each other. Thus, Fox would no longer be pestered by Commander Cody et. al., and Noon-Chi could make placidly smug faces at his fellow Jedi Masters.

This did, however, come at the cost of Noon no longer stiffening like a guilty shiny whenever Fox used his Commander “lecturing Hound for bringing sopping wet massiff puppies into the mess and ‘accidentally’ releasing them” voice.

Whoever Master Hyeon had been before he’d come to the Jedi Temple, Fox knew, it was someone who had been in one of the lowest echelons of a military chain of command. Some things were wound into muscle and bone from birth—or in Fox’s case, decanting. 

“You look awful,” Noon told him, still in that calm, even tone. Fox hadn’t yet managed to pry out of him where the fuck he was from—he was getting close, though, he could feel it—but Noon tended towards a heavy accent, one with rolling R’s and abbreviated vowels.

Fox grunted in reply.

“I’ll make tea.” Noon got up, sighing with the motion, and went for the little kitchenette attached to his quarters.

Tea seemed to fix everything for some Jedi. Noon was not one such Jedi, but he had a crusade out for finding a tea that wouldn’t make Fox delicately pretend to retch into his cup. Fox aimlessly traced patterns into the low tabletop as he listened to Noon puttering around in the kitchen, his particular and strange gait almost familiar by now. When he’d first met with Noon, he’d expected to be ushered into an office—like the one that General Windu worked out of, or one of the “therapist” offices that sometimes populated the holodramas a few of Fox’s troopers liked to watch.

read more on ao3

[jealousmartini]

It's 21:09, or 9:09 pm on the 12 hr clock shifters. You know the drill. Let's shift.

∘₊ ✧───────────────────✧₊∘

Some stuff I have included in my kpop drs (Specifically O.M.G and MKB) that make them really special to me😫🥹❤️

000 :: Friendships and crushes

Around 2011 to 2018, companies like BIGHIT, Starship, and JYP were very lenient toward friendships with other K-pop idols opposite their gender. This is so special to me because I have THE LOUDEST MOUTH EVER when it comes to who I've got a crush on (looking directly at you wonyoung, jungkook, nayeon, jhope, chuu, taehyung, jimin, keeho, yeonjun, yoongi, sana, jin and namjoon) and who I am best friends with. (looking directly at you wonyoung, jungkook, nayeon, jhope, chuu, taehyung, jimin, keeho, yeonjun, yoongi, sana, jin and namjoon again.) Yeah i am best friends with idols i have crushes on If you couldn't tell. This basically gave me the freedom to talk my ass off about "Ooo wait whys San from ateez kindaa" or "NAH cus what do yall know about my goat min yoonfreak yo." And "No cus I've got the biggest girl crush on Jennie from blackpink right now"

All companies would only become stricter with this after 2019 due to fans complaining about dating rumours and feeling like the relationships are too close (girl I know like I've heard these complaints before) because they like the idea of their idols being single. This makes the 3rd generation of kpop even more precious due to how open idols were with who they were friends with.

Just to make this clear tho, no one in BTS has confirmed or explicitly admitted they have a crush on anyone in O.M.G (or MKB for that matter) they have only mentioned how "so and so" is really cool or subtle compliments like "blah blah is actually really pretty" but I will admit Taehyung mouth is almost as big as mine when it comes to who he likes lmao and sometimes he makes it a little obvious with the "subtle hints" he gives☠️☠️

001 :: Fun facts about O.M.G and MKB!

OMG and MKB are practically the same. One of the only things that differentiate them from each other is the way OMG and MKB was introduced to the KPOP industry.

O.M.G started off as an independent kpop group made by 6 girls for fun but then ended up being adopted by JYP in 2015 because of how much they had blown up in Korea and JYP saw a lot of potential in O.M.G, but even before then, they were widely known and loved amongst Koreans and most of the Western world. It started off as an animated girl group, all music, choreography, aesthetics, designs and art were made by me lol but the girls were basically of me and my 5 friends. They would debut the same year JYP adopted them and it would be in 2016 when O.M.G was officially recognised and accepted as a kpop group.

O.M.G would also be labelled as the experimental group because O.M.G wasn't made to be serious but for fun and because of how successful every era of O.M.G is. I mean literally not a single genre they have done has flopped they are just that good.

Now MKB is literally the same as them. 6 girls who body every and all Genres and concepts and aesthetics like it's nothing. Icons. But MKB wasn't a pre-existing group. JYP had put these 6 girls together and allowed them Creative freedom. This was an experiment made by him that would only come around ONCE and ONE TIME ONLY. He wanted to see what 6 girls could random make together and see if they would be a hit (he wanted to copy BTS lmao) thus why MKB is labelled as the female BTS because of how similar their aura and character was. No one can explain it but everyone gets it.

Both O.M.G and MKB's fanbases are called "Charmings," and their fans independently refer to the members as "Darlings"

How did the fanbases of O.M.G AND MKB even come to be? Literally 70% of Charmings are originally ARMYs. Because of this I frequently refer to my fanbase as CHARMYs

O.M.G and MKB when they aren't abbreviated? O.M.G stands for Oh My Gosh and MKB stands for MaKe-Believe.

002 :: Small appearances in other idols mvs and helping produce music

Randomly popping up as a background character in a kpop group's mv who I am close to isn't rare. Sometimes it's not very obvious, sometimes I am literally hiding in plain sight. I tend to try not to do it too much tho. I can't be THAT ACCESSIBLE..

I already make all of my music from scratch. So I thought it would be pretty cool if I git nosy and helped TWICE or ITZY with ad-libs and instrumentals. No this isn't an excuse to hangout with them more why tf would you accuse me of that.

[mcytblrconfessions]

I dunno if thus is just a dsmp thing, I don't read fanfic often, but I fucking hated it when they tried to include smp and wrote it our as its own word. essempeii or something liked that. it sucks. just say smp and make it an abbreviations for something. south of maple ponds. idk. it's 3 am and I just got reminded of how much I hate essempeii

[boxturret]

The Consequences of Bibs

Bohrok are cool. Their combiners are not. They don't even have names, look it up.

I was messing around with the Bohrok Kaita builds a bit and noticed something funny with the instructions.

The combination of Lehvak, Gahlok, and Kohrak, the Ice Bohrok, which will be referred to as Kaita A, clearly just uses most of a Lehvak for its head. Its such a reuse that they literally just tell you to go back to earlier in the book and reread those instruction pages, rather than reprint them, as this part of the instructions was in Lehvak's book.

This has the result of the Kaita A instructions being 80% of a bohrok shorter than the other one, so they have more pages left than the other combiner!

They make use of this with 4 pages with lots of nice story renders, 4 per page.

Now the second combiner, composed of Pahrak, Tahnok, and Nuhvok, referred to here as Kaita 1, has a bit of a difference. Much of the build of Kaitas A and 1 is identical, the main differences being in the arms and the upper torso. Kaita 1 also embeds Tahnok's face shield inside of Nuhvok's body.

This means that they can't just reuse parts of the main Bohrok instructions like Kaita A, which leads to the instructions overall being longer. To keep things simple they most likely wanted the instructions for all 6 sets to be the same length, so this led to a reduction in the number of pages devoted to the story renders, having only two.

They're much smaller also, they manage to squeeze 9 per page compared to Kaita A's 4.

But you may notice something odd there. 4x4 is 16, but 9x2 is 18!

That's right, despite having smaller images overall, and less pages, the Kaita 1 instructions actually contain MORE images. The hive cell about to burst and Onua and Whenua meeting at the Amaja Nui are exclusive to these two books.

Yes I said two. For poor Nuhvok, after the first two books cover the legs and head, has to show everything else, and thus only gets a single page of renders.

It shares the same format as the others of Kaita 1, but is super abbreviated.

So on this day let us all take a moment to appreciate little Nuhvok, the Bohrok that had to shoulder the bulk of its Kaita instructions due to the addition of a silly little bib, and as a consequence contained the least story renders of any of them.

[g-xix]

OKAY, GUYS - I HAVE ANOTHER SDMN-CENTRED FEMINIST RANT.

Okay, so, hopefully you all know TheBurntChip (Josh Larkin), and his lovely jovely gf Sabina:

Beautiful couple, seem happy together, no problems there.

One thing i think im seeing with the YouTubers' Girlfriends (let's call them YTer gf's, abbreviated) is that there's a certain trend in assets for which fans pick and choose to determine whether or not a YT gf is "per standard" and collectively liked.

For example, Faith and Talia have gone through shitloads of hate from fans because they actually speak their mind and are consistent with their own personal ethos within whatever content they produce and share online.

Like the whole Mia-sat-on-Ethan's-lap incident which resulted in Faith making a TikTok and speaking out on social media multiple times to call out the fact that yes - she's unhappy about it - and also the fact that it's a very valid thing to be unhappy over

Aaand this created a lot of backlash and hatred from Sidemen fans, because they don't like hearing anything that's inconsistent with what is a stereotypically immature male opinion, generally consistent with patriarchal societal roles... And this is shown through a lot of Talia and Faith's comment sections by the adolescent male SDMN fans

Hence the assumption can be made that Sidemen fans dislike YTer gf's that are too vocal about problems they've faced which aren't relevant to male audiences.

Thing is, there's obviously some YTer gf's that these fans really like, but...

Why do they like them so much???

Well, I think that both Sabina and Tennessee are two YTer gf's that can be used as examples of wamen that are completely adored by these adolescent male SDMN fans.

But their reasons for being so liked to much are so very contrasting.

Tennesse is loved because she's beautiful. We've been through this quite a bit when i went through the whole "I can't believe Danny would put his ex through that" pipeline following Locked In... But it's worth pointing out that (as far as I know), the toxic Fifa fanboys seem to love her because she's a clearly good looking woman who's undeniably got personality too (watched the saving grade pod w her on it last night) and i don't think she's said anything too inconsistent with male opinions yet, sooo... Makes sense why she's liked; imo she plays into the ideal woman from a man's perspective very well

Alternately, Sabina seems pretty reserved on social medias - not really speaking that much as a social media personality, rather just sharing her life on insta n tiktok, whatever - nothing wrong with that.

I think that the fanboys like Sabina quite a bit though, as she posts cooking content on TikTok, and idk why but there's an agenda on social medias atm, that a woman who can cook is wifey material... This woman-must-be-good-at-cooking culture ofc stems from historical patriarchal roles for women to fulfil the duty of housewives, thus being able to cook n clean - but i really have no idea why this still exists in a modern day society considering there's been so many changes within the world which now enables women to work equal jobs as men

I don't know whether this belief of cooking-women being a blessing is a toxic sorta concept though, because there's a certain tenderness and nicety to having someone cook you a meal - regardless of whether it is a male or female tbh

Either ways, Sabina does make meals and does her cooking thing on TikTok really well - like - honestly? Some days I'm jealous that I'm not the one able to eat some of the stuff she can bake n make... Back on track - yes - Sabina bakes/cooks her things n films Chippo's reaction to trying them out

Male audience love this ofc, bc it fulfils the whole woman-cooking-for-partner thing which is favoured amongst males

What's this big whole rant about though?

Well, the male fans hate Faith. Love Sabina.

Okay, cool.

These two facts weren't directly correlated until Sabina's recent post though...

Sabina chefs up some tacos for Chip, and whilst some of the comments are normal cooking TikTok comments, a lot are a bit more... targetted towards Faith:

First time Faith's ever been slewed in Sabina's comment section n the point that i made this whole rant for is that:

BIG UP FUCKING SABINA FOR ACTUALLY REPLYING STRAIGHT WITH THEM

Perfect response imo, not just disagreeing and leaving it open ended, but also pulling Faith up when Faith's been demeaned by these weirdos online

I'm a big supporter of the "you can big someone up without pulling someone else down" notion, and big up Sabina for pulling Faith the fuck up when someone's tried to reduce Faith to praise Sabina

So much respect for Sabina for this one negl - didn't really have any idea about what she was like as a girlie - but this reply's firmly sold me into believing that Sabina is one for the girlies 🙏

(post-writing, blooody hell i realise there's a lot of unecessary waffle here... apologies everyone)

[blessed-pizza]

This is pretty big post (for my standards at least), so if you're not interested in reading a schizophrenic ramble about time travel, then keep scrolling.

If you do however, well then sit tight and let me introduce you to:

Blessed Pizza's Schizophrenic Guide to Time Travel Shenanigans

(and how to not completely destroy the space-time continuum)

or BPSGtTTS for short.

So I've seen a lot of different styles and flavours of time travel and and I really wanted to somehow be able to sort them up in separate categories, that way I could make it easier to understand them. So I came up with a couple that i think contain most of the shenanigans I've seen.

alternate timelines/universes (AT)

changeable singular timeline (CST)

defined singular timeline (DST)

time loop (TL)

(if you know any more, please let me know. I'd love to hear about more wacky ways to do time travelling) (also, im not gonna refer to these with their full name, because that would be way to much typing, so I've put some abbreviations behind them)

The Alternate timelines/universes (aka the cowards way out)

The AT way of time travel is probably the simplest and the second most consequence free (I'll get back to that later) way to do time travel (and therefore also the most boring one in my opinion).

It's rather simple: Every time you travel in time and change something, it creates a new timeline. The changes made will effect everything in the time line you are currently in, but won't effect other timelines. This means that if you were to go back in time and kill your grandfather (or anyone anyone which you are a descendent of), you will not be effected! This, however, does mean that alternate-you won't be born in this timeline, buttt.... once again, that's not a problem for timetraveler-you, because timetraveler-you isn't from this timeline; so no paradoxes :) yet... With every travel through time you create a new branching timeline. This will eventually create a exponential tree like structure of alternate timelines. have fun keeping track of all of them :)

Let me just draw a quick time line so it's a bit easier to understand.

A possible way you could spice it up, is by allowing for the travel between these different timelines. What ever the implications for that are though... well, I think you'd kind of end up with weird hybrid of AT and CST, which could then result in some timelines effecting other timelines; possibly even destroying entire timelines and their off-chutes, what could in turn cause paradoxes to occur similar to those of CST and Oh! Hey, talking about CST; lets get into:

Changeable Singular Timelines (aka the one you probably think of first when thinking of time travel)

Unlike AT, whenever you time travel in CST, you stay in the same timeline. Meaning that any changes you make will effect you; possibly leading to paradoxes! Yippee!! A great example of a possible paradox that could occur, is the grandfather paradox. If we take same example from AT, the one where you go back in time and kill your grandfather, and apply it SCT, the change does effect you. So when you kill your grandfather, it means you couldn't have been born; thus being unable to travel back in time, which means you couldn't have killed your grandfather and thus will be born like normal. Though this then means that you can go back in time and kill your grandfather... aannd it results in a infinite loop; a paradox (now you also see why its called the grandfather paradox if you didn't know already).

Here's another quick sketch of the timeline.

(note: THESE ARE BOTH THE SAME TIMELINE, it just keeps changing into the other)

One way you could solve the paradox is by having the timeline "adapt" to the problem. So when you kill your grandpa and disappear, instead of creating a paradox, your grandpa stays dead. How did he die? Natural causes probably, some kind of disease or maybe even hit by a car. It doesn't matter, as long as he's dead, time will be fine again. Want a great example; look at this amazing post from @sincerely-sofie (it's also where I got the idea from)

There is another paradox that I've found, but I don't know if it has a name yet. So I'm just gonna call it the cotton-eye-joe paradox, because it makes me ask two things: one; where did it come from and two; where does it go. OK lets say you're in front of a locked door, but you don't have the key. So you search for it for a while and when you find it, you unlock the door. Then you decide to go back in time to give past-you the key to save them some time. Because it's a single timeline, it means that now you actually got your key from future-you. Great! You just created a never ending and never loop for that key. Where did that key come from? It can't be where it originally was, because you got it from future-you. Where did they get it? Well, from future-future-you of course! You see the problem? It's another paradox.

So just avoid these paradoxes right and then every thing will be fine, right? Yeahh, good luck with that. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? Even tiny, seemingly insignificantly small changes, can cause massive ones later in time, which in turn could lead to paradoxes, which are bad. So unless you somehow have the mental capacity and foresight to somehow oversee what all these changes will eventually even lead to without making them, you're gonna end up ruining time! My advise? DO NOT GO BACK IN TIME!!! unless you do want completely ruin the word as we know it, for some reason

Sooo..... how do you fix it make it less likely to break? Easy: just remove free will!

Defined Singular Timeline (aka the illusion of choice)

I wasn't sure if I should split CST and DST, because they are very similar. The one difference being that the timeline doesn't change when time travelling, because it was always about to happen. (I know this probably doesn't make any sense just bare with me for a bit. This is probably the most confusing of out of all of them) DST prevents the grandfather paradox from happening by making sure that changing the timeline isn't possible. That doesn't that your grandpa is immortal or something no no no, it just mean that if you would have killed your grandpa, it should have already happend. But you exist, so that means you're not going to kill your grandpa. I swear it's all gonna make sense, just uuhh... hold on let me get another example real quick. OK so imagine you're in a room and you get to the floor above through a hole, but you just can't reach the side of the hole to pull yourself up. Actually, you don't need to imagine, I'll draw it for you!

The good thing is; you can travel back in time, so you get the idea to go back and help yourself get up! Then suddenly a future-you shows up and tells you that you need to help him up. You help them up and then you travel back to past-you. You ask past-you to help you up and they do, allowing you to leave. (visual aid below)

What makes this different from CST? The fact that future you already showed up before you even went back in time. So you helping you was always gonna happen. Every version of you has experienced and will experience the exact same events. Everyone must experience the same events, otherwise its a not DST, but CST. Hold on, let me just quickly draw another timeline for you so its easier to see. hold on where did I put my markers... dammit... uhhhh... I guess this red pen will do...

As you can see it's all just you. This works just fine, no alternate timelines, no paradox, it just works, right? Well... Kind of? Its kind of complicated. The cotton-eye-joe paradox can still ocour, though it is less likely. The key example from CST could still be possible, but it has just always been in circulation; you always got the key from future-you. If you need a good example, there is this short film made by corridor that displays it really well.

Though all of these paradoxes and problems are annoying. What if we just had something without any of that? What if we had a form of time travel without any consequences? what if we could just try again if something goes wrong? That's right! IT'S TIME FOR

Time Loops (aka the road to insanity)

Remember when i said AT was the second most consequence free?Yup, TL's are why. In a time loop, time keeps resetting back to a certain point, but you remember everything. (and maybe a couple of other people) Every time you reach a certain point in time you get yanked back in time to do it aallll over again. Sounds nifty right! Messed something up last time? Try again this time! Didn't like the outcome of one of your actions? WHO CARES! Just go back! Didn't manage to break the cycle last time? Doesn't matter. You can try something else next time. And the loop after that. And the loop after that. And the loop after that. And the loop after that... You're stuck here for eternity... or at least what feels like a eternity. Time has no more context, the cycle has become all you know. How do you stay sane in these scenarios? Depends on how much mental fortitude you have, but you'll probably break eventually.

As for problems, there isn't really a lot to say. paradoxes don't really happen because time resets every time anyway. There are literally no consequences to your actions (until the cycle breaks). I don't even think i need to draw a timeline for this one. (it would literally be just a loop) However despite its seeming simplicity, I personally find it one of the most fun scenarios for time travel. I guess i just really like watching character reach their breaking point and see them go completely insane.

Anyway, this has been quite a long post. By far the longest I've ever made. Again, if you know of any more time shenanigans, please share them . I love to overthink these things. And thanks, once again, to @sincerely-sofie for encouraging me down this path of madness in the first place (and providing me with countless examples. like genuinely, you have made a post about like 90% of the stuff i rambled about)

[callm3-q]

Favorite qsmp ship? Romantic or platonic and why

Ok, as a multi shipper I am incapable of picking one so I'll give you a list and leave it up to interpritation!

Most of them involve Bad btw, mostly because he's always on, so always happy (take my shit excuse pls)

Also not listing all the ships I have that involve Bad... To many...

Foolhalo/Landduo I love this one I most any way (Platonic or romantic, etc) Because of how goofy they can be. I always find myself kicking my feet in joy whenever I see a post abt them, Physicly and metaphorically. I just love the relationship they have with my whole body and mind, thus said I could go on for hours and hours on end, so I'm gonna move on :'D

FitPac/Hideduo It's the slow burn that does it for me weirdly, I just love how akward they can get. Also the nicknames, "My Brazilian boyfriend" Is top tier. Also the exchange of gifts make me happy, the roses and everything else. Their dynamic is also just one of my faves, they also like to flirt... yes...

Pissa/Deathduo Also ship this one either way (Platonic or Romantic, etc) They are literally them. The protector and fighter and his wet cat, ahhh love them. They also just have a relationship that gives 'It's ok to kiss the homies' to me, in a 'It's ok to kiss your platonic egg co-parent' kinda way. I love the respect also, and the nicknames, and the parenting style, and basicly everything abt them.

Cucuhalo/Surveyduo This one is more due to recent events, and has not been up in the ranks for very long for me. They give red flags, they are red flags. The deffinition of 'walking red flags' and I love that. Bad is so oblivious to any form of fliratious activity, and just lables it as normal friend talk. And Cucurucho is just Cucurucho, he's always watching, always there, and get's mad when Bad doesn't give him flowers on date night.

I'll prob continue this after school tmmr, if you guys couldn't tell... I'm very eepy :'D, you can tell when I use a lot of abbreviations [more than normal]

[lickthecowhappy]

Good Omens season 3 and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra

S3 speculation

This is my called shot. I see a lot of assumptions for a Persuasion plot but I don’t think we’ll get Austen again.

“Age does not wither nor custom stale his infinite variety.” - Crowley (debatable to whom he is referring) “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.” - Enobarbus (referring to Cleopatra)

For the purpose of this, I will abbreviate Antony and Cleopatra to A and C, and Egypt to E for psychological priming purposes.

A and C are living in E. They’re happy to stay there together with one another. Unfortunately, the leadership in A’s homeland recall him to sit on the ruling council. A regretfully leaves C alone on E. 

Back in his homeland, A is forced into a partnership with someone to assure his loyalty since the others in charge are concerned about his loyalty to C. C finds out and is jealous.

A and the others in charge broker an agreement with their main threat but as soon as A’s attention is elsewhere, the others in charge betray the agreement.

A is furious and leaves his homeland to go back to E and his love C. They fight for E together. 

Let Rome in Tiber Heaven above melt and the wide arch Of the ranged empire fall. Here is my space. Kingdoms are clay. Our dungy earth alike Feeds beast as man. The nobleness of life Is to do thus; when such a mutual pair And such a twain can do ‘t, in which I bind, On pain of punishment, the world to weet We stand up peerless.

The plot continues, but Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy, and Good Omens is a comedy. There are other plot points I think could be incorporated (A believing C has died, C being captured, themes of self-sacrifice and no longer fitting the mold you were made from) but for the basic, general plot, this is where my bet is placed.

[nishloves]

plethora; choi seungcheol

(n.) a large or excessive amount of something; abundance.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 (coming soon)

pairing : choi seungcheol (svt) x f!reader

words : 8.5k approx.

theme : fluff / com / angst / action / royal au / fantasy au

part 1 of "seventeen dating simulator" series

warning(s) : curse words, implied sex (not descriptive and not highly suggestive so 16+), action — injuries, blood and mentions of death.

synopsis : renowned as the richest man in meraki, seungcheol rules over aurum, one of the elvian kingdoms. he is termed to be ferocious and enjoys revels as much as he adores to host them; quiet yet intimidating in front of strangers, he's known to have a red eye when angered. rumoured to have a soft spot for his family and friends, but they too might not escape his wrath. would love you for ages, would love you in different lives, but are you capable of owning his heart?

cameo of other seventeen members will be present.

[ not required but it will be preferred if you read the prologue and introduction before you read this to grasp the story better! (if you want to follow the series you can send an ask or comment and I will add you <3) this story can be read as a singular and without any prior knowledge of the series, thankyou. ]

[ Kindly refer to the prologue for accurate sequences of all the stories in the series <3]

thankyou for giving my work a chance, hope you enjoy it <3

All Rights Reserved © nishloves 2023

Your bottom dug into the fancy marbled chair as you held the gold-plated ceramic cup by it's handle, taking in the sweet scent of your freshly prepared tea. Nothing could bug you in the situation— well except the chair, it was a rather beautiful evening, so you enjoyed your little space in the castle grounds yet when you were met by visits of numerous households— because they had nothing to do, your evening was then ruined.

"Rumour has it that King Seungcheol will host the first ball of the season!" The ladies squealed as their mamas fanned themselves, coming up with strategies to win the King's heart, and you, the miser treasurer of the kingdom buried yourself in more of the workload as Seungcheol was holding a ball, thus increasing your work, one thing you knew, the ball was going to be ridiculously extravagant.

"y/n, will you join the ball or are you thinking of honing your banking skills more?" A lady asked you, her hat tipped on the other side and was very dangerously near to fall off.

"Seungch— The King did ask me to have fun once a while— though he is the one increasing my workload," you murmured, opening the book which rested near you, which consisted of undoubtedly the accounts of where Seungcheol had spent his money, you felt like his personal accountant sometimes or more, his personal assistant.

You and the many ladies and mamas were seated in the royal garden, you wanted to take random strolls between work but your cousins called you over and you hated yourself for starting to adore them this soon into your life.

You had been in Aurum for around three months now, and there wasn't any way you were cut out for the job, you hissed as you pushed the thoughts at the back of your mind, they would do nothing but make you feel worthless.

"So you're saying it's the king's fault!" The lady gasped, attracting by-standers by her scandalous words.

"What— do you mean to say our King is faulty?"

"I surely meant nothing like that— you are misunderstanding my words," you tried to reason but no one would hear you.

Gold, gold was a currency, with the formula of Au— short abbreviation of Aurum, a latin word, which literally meant gold. Gold, a cheeky little thing with too much market value. Gold, a round currency which could help you be the most fulfilled person in Meraki, Gold which Seungcheol abundantly had and Gold which you wanted to shove into their mouths screaming, EAT THIS. (in lower case because you weren't confrontational)

"So what if she curses me for making her work, it wasn't as if she chose this job for herself, I chose her."

A very familiar voice resounded against you, helping you to get out of this mess, you couldn't help but look up at him, his curls decorated his face, his eyes were tender and his lips were soft. He didn't change in any way was the only thing you thought.

"Your majesty," the majority of your accusers bowed deeply as some took their time to get out of shock, why was a King in the publicly accessible garden and not in his residential and private ones?

"Don't pressurize her, she works harder than most of you and she's the reason Aurum thrives," Seungcheol argued on your behalf as almost instantly everyone apologised to you, almost everyone started to sing you praises and almost everyone realized that you didn't greet the king, yet he wasn't angry.

"Your majesty, it's great to see you here, we are blessed by your presence— but what you must be doing here?"

It is literally his castle? You're the ones trespassing?

"I had to talk about something to our dear treasurer here," Seungcheol pointed at you. "Come."

You silently stood up from your seat, collecting all the records in your hands, Seungcheol didn't let you though, he could have asked his guard to pick up your books, he should have asked his guard to pick up your books, but he found solace in pissing others off and helping you at the same time.

He was like a child at times, an obscenely cute man-child, you couldn't help but admire him then too, when must you find a man like him behaving so sweetly?

"You should have been rude to them too," Seungcheol whined while handing you his expenses of Lux.

"Thanks for helping me back there," you simply said, opening up the small page he gave to you where he had recorded everything in his sloppy and messy handwriting, which was weird because his handwriting was strangely good, and then you saw, "You drink a lot."

"I don't! I bought most of the drinks for Chan! And I'm your friend, I will most surely step in to help you, plus I'm your king, I can't stand unjust people."

"You spent seven million on drinks alone?"

"Hey! They were like imported from a different planet and Chan drinks a lot," He reasoned as you sighed, opening the single book you held in your hand and pushing his expenses into it.

"Thanks for the detailed expenditure."

"I didn't want you to go mad tallying the sheets, so I made the mental note to write everything down, I remember your mental breakdown from two weeks ago," he grinned like a child, you couldn't help but see the newfound twinkle in his eyes, does he want a praise?

You scoffed, "Any responsible person will do that."

"Hey! Since when are you this rude to me?"

"Since when you barged into my room when I was still changing," you reminded him as your frown deepened and he flushed more.

"That was an honest mistake!"

You were a scholar on your first day of Aurum and you were graduating at the top of your class the next day, and that's when Seungcheol hired you, because the past treasurer was now retired and Seungcheol wanted someone with young blood.

"So is expecting that your workers will be ready for you anytime for the day, they might be sleeping, they might be eating, and they might be showering," you reasoned walking further from Seungcheol.

"Are you still upset? It was a month ago! I gave you the rights to treat me as a friend!"

You sighed, was that any kind of compensation? You didn't want to be his friend, at this point you were just as annoyed with your life here as your life on Earth. There were some moments which you enjoyed, there were some moments when your heart fluttered for the man, but it was hard for you to fall in love and you couldn't make anyone fall for you.

"Your Majesty, Choi Seungcheol, I am fine."

"You know I don't like it when people call me by my full name," he whined, passing your books to one of his guards as he walked faster to catch up with you.

"I am your friend, aren't I?" You grinned as you looked back at him, he seemed annoyed but you didn't care, he dropped an axe on his own foot when he asked to be your friend.

"Oh and the princess of Phosphenes is here—"

"Fuck, I said I would meet her today," Seungcheol groaned.

"She's your guest, you should have met her two days ago?"

"I was in Lux!"

"Fair enough." You hummed as you walked forward.

"Where is she now?" He asked, still walking with you.

"I am not hers and nor your secretary, how must I know?" You said, adjusting the spectacles on your nose. "Oh, but now that I think, she went sight-seeing." You and Seungcheol then heard the royal trumpets, "And she's back."

"Fuck, should I escort her?" He asked, his brows crossed as his lips formed a full pout, you immediately looked away from him.

"That— ahem, that would be better for political situation," you merely replied, diverting your attention from him to anything you saw, the tree looked quite fine.

"Right, so get me a gift," Seungcheol asked, your eyes widened as you looked up at him to complain but then you remembered... as nice as he is to you, he is similarly prone to temper outbursts and you had annoyed him throughout the day.

"What gift do you deam appropriate?" You asked, caressing your gown to be clear of unwanted folds.

"A jewelry perhaps, ask the accountant to pass you a set of diamond earrings and necklace, make sure it's bulky," Seungcheol replied, twirling one of the braids in his hands.

He dressed better than any nobility you had seen may it be on Earth or in Meraki itself, all his robes were sewn with gold and his hairs were braided with silver threads, you remembered that he was going to ask the royal barber to cut his hair off— tomorrow, you remembered how badly you wanted to step in and ask him not to make that horrendous decision, pitying his beautiful locks. But, you were no one and he was the king. His ears were hidden behind his locks most of the time and the rare times you would see them, they would be red but you couldn't help but wonder, his ears weren't as pointed as it was made out to be.

"I will try to be as fast as possible, please excuse me," you said as you turned around.

"And listen!" He called out.

"Get some flowers."

Your eyes twitched, flowers? You had pollen allergy.

"Ask the Gardner to make you two bouquets, one a magnificent and large one, which will reside straight in her room and one which I can present to her."

You wanted to scream "Seriously?" to his face but you held your tongue.

"You yourself said it's a better political decision," he smiled.

"I did," you groaned internally as you merely nodded running off to find a gift and fucking flowers.

You ran as fast as you could in a dress to the greenhouse, you prioritised getting flowers first because gifts can be sent by servants, flowers given in person are more meaningful.

And there they were! Both the accountant and gardener tangled up as they ate each other's faces

THEY WERE DOING WHAT?

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, shit, fuck, no, no cursing here! Oh god, I will leave!" You panicked and even though you should have been quieter you were not once quiet and surely, both of them noticed you.

"Lady y/n!? Oh god, it's not what it looks like—"

"There was a bee on his face!"

"WERE YOU EATING THE BEE?"

"NO! Why would I do that—"

"Rethink your excuse then!" You screamed and you could see that they were this near to remove each other's clothes off.

"Sir Eiz— Mr. Accountant, Seungch— th-the King wants some bulky diamond sets please arrange some for him."

"I am his account not his fucking secretary, there is not a single moment of peace— oh fuck, i shouldn't have said that, shit, I shouldn't have cursed."

"I heard nothing!" You wailed, covering your eyes you said.

"Just please do his work and then do whatever you want, my lips are sealed."

"Really?"

"Yes! I don't have any business with whatever you two were doing just please help me out," you pleaded as you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose.

"Please make me a bouquet while you're at it, it should be a good one and make a five feet tall assortment to be transported to the room of our guest, in under three hours."

"With your time frame we can't go back to whatever we were doing any soon—"

"I am not hearing any complaints," you said rather harshly, but it had to be done. First, they were doing personal endeavours while stationed on their jobs, second, they bad mouthed Seungcheol and third, they were too complaining about the work they chose to do.

You weren't going to interfere or anything but if you saw anything faulty on their work frontier you would definitely ask Seungcheol to replace them.

Your eyes widened, it wasn't like you to be so cruel.

Did staying with that man child made me like this?

Somehow you compiled everything, you sent a servant to drop of the huge bouquet and the gifts to the princess' room but you yourself ran to Seungcheol to give the bouquet, you really wanted him to make a good impression on the phosphene's envoy— which oddly was their princess but you didn't care.

Phosphenes was a land of illusions and had numerous technologies advances, you hoped Aurum and its scientists could join forces with Phosphene's ones and create teleport points, why were you immersing yourself in your role as treasurer? Because you felt happy to be wanted at once, you felt happy to feel non-replaceable and you knew you couldn't stay here if you didn't take your work seriously, because then you would have a breakdown and princesses don't cry.

But ironically, the pollen was making you cry.

Your eyes and nose were red and because you were running towards Seungcheol the pollen was directly getting in your eyes.

I hate my job.

Just as your vision was getting clouded you saw Seungcheol, helping the princess out of her carriage on the front gates of the castle. You applauded yourself for reaching this soon.

You walked forward, without caring about your apparel, your hair was sticking to your forehead because of your sweat and you knew, you knew Seungcheol had noticed your presence like he always did.

You pushed the bouquet forward, relieved after completing your short term duties, but all Seungcheol saw was your quivering face and red eyes as you looked away from him.

"Believe me, she had a tear-stricken face with red eyes and cheeks, as if she had lost something so dear to her heart, that she couldn't bear it," Seungcheol argued, clutching his champagne glass harder as he sunk himself more into his comfortable velvet chair, looking at Jeonghan who was shamelessly occupying his bed.

"y/n? Crying?" Jeonghan chuckled as he sipped his drink, keeping it on Seungcheol's nightstand he said, "Believe me Seungcheol, she seems like a girl who will suck up every emotion of hers just so that people can't see she's hurting inside."

"No! You don't understand, she definitely was upset at me for giving flowers to you know— the princess," he argued.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think she—" Seungcheol trailed off remembering all the flushed expressions you bestowed upon him whenever he flirted with you, or joked with you; how happy (and shocked) you were when he had announced that you were his friend.

"I think she likes me! And on top of that she had to see me give flowers to another lady, oh my! And the flowers she brought herself!" Seungcheol's eyes widened as he groaned, slapping his forehead. "How was I so blind? How could I hurt her so much in a single day? She's a special friend to me."

Jeonghan chuckled, "Just because there were tears in her eyes doesn't mean that she was crying— you said she was human, right? Aren't humans weak? She might have hurt herself somewhere, it doesn't mean she was crying because of you." He reasoned.

Your resume had stated that you were an orphan and found yourself stuck in Meraki at a tender age— your adoptive parents took you in happily and as everyone in Meraki was super sweet to you, you didn't really have any problem. Your resume was a surprise to you too, more so because your resume was produced by Seungcheol— just because he wanted you to get to work faster he compiled every information about you in mere two hours.

Seungcheol remembered your resume and his heart sank, how could he make you go through so much emotional pain? You were only human, you were more sensitive and empathic than anyone in Meraki, surely you must have felt terrible.

"I feel so bad for causing her such pain," Seungcheol murmured as Jeonghan sighed.

"What was she wearing today, cheol?" He asked, taking in all of his champagne at once, Jeonghan wanted to confirm something.

"Why?" Seungcheol asked.

"Just so I could picture the situation better— it would be easier to help."

"Oh? Alright," Seungcheol closed his eyes as he wandered off in his vivid memories, he remembered all the butterflies circling around the roses, and how the starlings and nightingales sang joyously in his gardens, how the sun shone all too pleasantly accessorizing your glistening skin.

"She wore a pale blue gown with medium frills, decorated by small pearls and lace. Her hairs were done and she applied very little to no makeup today— I guess her makeup depends on her mood and how late she is, she wore a small diamond pendant and pearl earrings, circlet silver rings too."

Jeonghan confirmed— Seungcheol liked you. He was almost a simp at this point. Hell, you didn't know you wore all that.

"I see," Jeonghan whispered, not understanding how to present his conclusion to his friend.

"I...uhm... currently have no advice," Jeonghan opted to smile sheepishly.

"Well...you have rejected many proposals— I didn't expect you to have an advice."

"Well, I will advise you to consider your feelings also, rather than hers alone," Jeonghan spoke, having no idea about how to break the news to him.

But he shut his mouth, maybe it would be better if Seungcheol came on terms with his own feelings at his own pace, he might freak out if he tells him.

"I will take a note on that," Seungcheol said smiling at his friend and then he remembered something.

"Jeonghan?"

"Yes?"

"You weren't at my castle this morning and there was no news of your arrival."

Jeonghan laughed, "I snuck in."

"The guards let you in?"

"I come in too often," Jeonghan waved him off, "You on the other hand are coming over too less."

Seungcheol smiled sheepishly, "It's hard being a king— can't really snuck out now."

"Well, I wanted to scare my family."

"Don't tell me you're worrying uncle again, he's too old for your pranks," Seungcheol laughed, still allowing his best friend to stay.

"Well, he's the king of ailes, he's got better jobs to do than worrying about where his son is," Jeonghan smiled getting up from Seungcheol's bed.

"How long will you stay here?" Seungcheol asked.

"Two days more."

"You won't even stay for a week this time?"

Jeonghan smiled slightly, nostalgia visible on his face, "Sooner or later I have to take on the job too you know, I can't act immature at all times."

"Come on, everyone knows you're like super smart and luck always favours you."

"That's true," Jeonghan smiled. "Come on now, you should sleep, you have a date tomorrow."

"A date?" Seungcheol's face scrunched up, he never agreed for a date?

"Phosphenes sent its princess as an envoy, you really think that's the only reason why she's here? You're gonna have lunch and evening tea with her discussing political matters, your wedding would be finalized in a month," Jeonghan chuckled, but there was no humour behind his laugh.

"I'm not marrying her," Seungcheol asserted, looking away from Jeonghan.

"Whatever you say, no one really wants to cross you, you know. Maybe, your thoughts would be taken into consideration," Jeonghan smiled sadly, and Seungcheol couldn't help but wonder if there was something else behind his reasonings.

"Which room did you take?" Seungcheol asked.

"Oh? The room adjacent to yours, the connected one."

"The queen's chambers?" Seungcheol's mouth hung open, "You're gonna need to stop using Queen's chambers on your every visit, my servants will literally make a rumour spread like wildfire."

"Do you care?" Jeonghan laughed as he knew the answer, Seungcheol didn't care, he didn't care at all.

"Well then, Good night, hanie, if I get a nightmare I will enter your room."

"Oh god I'm gonna lock it."

It would be a lie to say that Seungcheol was particularly enamoured by the lady in front of him, she was trying too hard to deviate the conversation from work.

"You see, the Lethe is prone to floods, it would be most probable if dams are built on it to obstruct the waters, as Lethe lies on the periphery of both Phosphenes and Aurum, we will fund half of the operation."

"What problem might you have with a bridge on Lethe?"

Seungcheol sighed, during these times he wondered if he should choose his queen on the basis of sole looks, Jeonghan was right afterall, he had to marry but all the royal prospects seemed far too dim to him to agree too and she was sailing in the same boat.

"The trade is handled by Elixir's air-ships in most of the kingdoms—"

"They benefit too much from the airships and what if Elixir wages war on any kingdom?"

"That... That prospect is highly unlikely, you can't just wage war on anyone, the peace treaty among the kingdoms of Meraki was signed fifty years ago by our grandparents under the seal of Angelos and Daimon faction— Lux of Meraki, there is no reason to break that vow anytime in upcoming seventy-five years atleast," Seungcheol tried to reason.

"I see," the princess fidgeted, "Aurum most definitely is the richest kingdom in all of Meraki but Phosphenes and Lux both are undeniably advanced although, I admit that Lux is probably too endeared by human culture and Ailes and Sonora are ridiculously good at arts and commerce and Elixir does have the most fearsome army."

"What's your point?"

"I don't see why you would want a deal with Phosphenes when you already have a deal with all the other kingdoms."

Seungcheol sighed, so that's what it was about, she was wary and scared that Seungcheol would stop the trade if he faced continuous losses due to heavy usage of Elixir's airships and Ailes's pixie dust.

"It's to expand our horizons, my lady. Aurum isn't the richest kingdom for no reason, we do the deals, we live up to them and we earn, it's simple really," Seungcheol replied. Most of the money they earned went into keeping up the domestic value of the country— education, healthcare, minimum wages, food and everything. Aurum was the biggest kingdom in all of Meraki.

"I see," the princess had a faraway look in her eyes.

And that left Seungcheol to his own thoughts, he thought about all his prospects, about his incomplete life as a king, he had to be wedded soon, his mother would force him to it and then he remembered you.

He remembered how you graciously understood every work, he remembered how you had such grandeur of plans for Aurum, he thought how appropriate you would be as a queen.

"Seungcheol..." The princess called to him as Seungcheol flinched, they were never on first name basis.

"Princess?"

"You know that my father sent me here for more reasons than just being an envoy right? I like Aurum and—"

"I would prefer it if we use titles to address ourselves, princess," Seungcheol smiled a warm smile, which still sent shivers up the princess' spine. She hastily agreed to everything he said, too embarrassed to push him.

The day went by blur and the tea time had now approached, after denying the lady of a lunch with him, he couldn't disagree for a tea time and so he sat, he sat in his favorite garden, replying to the princess about all the things he liked, but he hadn't had any slightest bit of interest in anything she spoke about. It was getting too awkward for both of them and then he saw her, approaching them and then his face lightened up and his heart quickened. He was slowly able to understand what all it meant but it was too soon, he had to apologise to her for breaking her heart.

He prayed for y/n to come and whisk him away, he prayed for attention and she came.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your grace, princess. I must talk to Seu— His Majesty about a special matter," you said, bowing slightly.

"Oh yes of course," Seungcheol was just trying to stand up and you said, "I must ask you, where is the fifteen million gold capital from our inventory, your majesty?" You asked with a tight-lipped smile. In all times Seungcheol knew you, he knew you were pissed right now.

"Oh, remember Hansol's café which he's setting up at Elixir? There, I sent gold there, free."

You merely nodded and just as you were excusing yourself Seungcheol got up.

"You have something more to ask of me, don't you?"

"Oh? I don—"

Seungcheol motioned you with his eyes, no. His brown beautiful eyes were glinting red and you panicked, "Yes surely! Uhm please i must require his help to sort the matter out, princess I'm very sorry for the intrusion."

The princess grimly stared at you both as she silently smiled, saying it was alright. Strangely, you felt bad for her but you didn't know why.

As you walked rapidly with Seungcheol you looked at him questioningly,

"What was that? Are you alright?"

"The deals were a trap, that old runt was setting me up with his daughter."

Your heart sank but you didn't let it show, muttering a small "oh" in response.

"y/n, i apologise to you," Seungcheol said, looking away from you and you stared at him more questionably if that was possible.

"Why so?"

"I broke your heart."

"What—"

"I know you liked me yet I made you bring flowers for another woman and made you prepare a present for her too, which I'm sure you would have loved more if it was presented to you by me, I'm sorry for my—"

"What the hell do you mean?" You looked up at him like he was crazy, sure you had to eventually make him fall in love with you, but you weren't planning on it? And certainly you never liked him currently, what was he on about?

"I'm sorry for—"

"I don't like you?"

"But you do," Seungcheol said with certainty.

"Oh? Stop being a pretentious brat and considering that everyone likes you," for some reason you were furious, furious that he had caught up to you so soon, furious that now you didn't see your plan taking any action.

"Oh? So now you're jealous of my instincts? It's alright, y/n, it's hard to be perfect like me, you don't have to pretend to not like me."

"But I really don't like you!"

"Oh really?" He asked as you nodded fervently, rapidly, howeverly, Seungcheol just hummed as he looked back and smiled at you, "Sorry for misunderstanding then."

You sighed in relief as you cleared whatever was stirring up in that man-child's head but little did you know, he whispered under his breath, "I will surely make you like me."

congratulations! you finished the 1st part of the "plethora" series of choi seungcheol, your game is saved! part 2 starts now <3

tags : @icyminghao @feat-sun @dearharshii

[adventuresofalgy]

The following morning was a great deal calmer, for the hoolie* had eventually blown itself out, after roaring and raging the whole day long. Algy often thought that these winds were just clumsy big bullies, for they swaggered about, blustering and buffeting the bushes and trees for hours on end, but then sneaked away sheepishly and vanished into thin air when they found that they had achieved nothing more than a scattering of a few leaves and twigs about the landscape.

Nevertheless Algy was glad that the hoolie had passed, and even more pleased to find that the new day was not only calm, but more or less dry, and - at times - even sunny, although the wind was uncomfortably cold.

So without further ado he fluffed up his feathers and flew back to the cotoneaster bush, which had apparently suffered very little harm. Settling down to resume his feast in comfort, he was suddenly reminded of a poem:

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit Beneath my shady roof; there thou mayst rest, And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe, And all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers. The narrow bud opens her beauties to The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins; Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve, Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing, And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head. The spirits of the air live on the smells Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round The gardens, or sits singing in the trees." Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat; Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

[Algy is quoting the poem To Autumn by the late 18th/early 19th century visionary English poet William Blake.]

*“It’s blowing (or blawin') a hoolie,” is a phrase that is supposedly derived from the Orkney Scots word ‘hoolan’. Hoolan describes a strong gale wind." Please see yesterday's post for a demonstration. Algy was interested to note that hoolie is also an abbreviation for hooligan 😀

[facts-i-just-made-up]

How many Final Fantasy games are there? I lost track?

It's easy to lose track but don't worry- It's simple once you know the history:

In the beginning, there was Final Fantasy 1. Released in 1987, the first Final Fantasy was then also released in 1989, 1990, 1994, 200, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2021. Final Fantasy 2 was released about as many times, beginning in 1988, but only in Japan. As such, it is known in America as Final Fantasy: The Lost Levequests. The same thing happened to Final Fantasy 3, which was released in America as “2 Final 2 Fantasy: Lindblum Drift.”

The second Final Fantasy released in America was Final Fantasy 2, which was Final Fantasy 4, the Japanese Final Fantasy 4 being a re-skin of an America only game called Chocoboki Panic. Final Fantasy 2, the first SNES game in the franchise, was acclaimed for being incredibly fucking depressing. Like you start the game by killing some kid’s mom and then there’s something about a cursed town maybe? I don’t know, it lost me early on and I never got to see Golbez or Zeromus or whatever. Also, I’m fine with even Dark Souls type menus now but I mean, in 1991 I wasn’t gonna spend 45 minutes trying to figure out how to equip a fucking shoe.

Final Fantasy 3: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate: Alucard’s Revenge 2 came out in both Japan and America in 1994. Introducing cutscenes to the series, Final Fantasy 3 (Abbreviated Final 3 or sometimes Fantasy 5: Hobbs & Sephiroth) was best known for its main villain, Kafka. Kafka was a difficult and frustrating boss who trapped the protagonists in endless bureaucracy and paperwork until they died of old age, never knowing why. It was later released again in Japan as Final Fantasy 6: The Fate of the Fantasy.

After this, the series switched from Nintendo consoles to the Xbox.

The first X-Box, simply called the Xbox, hosted Final Fantasy 7; The next Xbox, the Xbox 360, hosted Final Fantasy 8; The Xbox 1 hosted Final Fantasy 9, and the Xbox 10 hosted Final Fantasy X. Thus if X=7, 360>8, 1=9 and X<10, then Final Fantasy itself equals 11, which is ideal because Final Fantasy 11, the 14th game in the franchise, was indeed a remake of 9, which was the sequel not to 8 but 7, remade later as 13. This can be remembered with the mnemonic “SPUGNUT” but I don’t know how or why.

With fans confused and the Xbox being discontinued by Sega, Final Fantasy sought a new start with Sony and their NeoGeo: Turbografx master system. The first game for that console was Final Fantasy 11 2, not to be confused with 12. 11 2 and 11 3 were released before 12, but well after 14, known first as Final Fantasy Genesis, but re-titled after Final Fantasy 18 into Final Fantasy Genesis 19:18, or in Japan, Shin Megami Tensei.

Final Fantasy remakes continued with Final Fantasy 13, which was Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 17, which was Final Fantasy 16, and Final Fantasy 21, which was Kingdom Hearts 5, and the upcoming Final Fantasy 22, which will be both Animal Crossing 6 and Land Before Time 15: The Longnecks Take Manhattan, featuring Pinhead from Hellraiser and Beyoncé.

The next Final Fantasy game is planned to be Final Fantasy 28, which will come in two editions, Final Fantasy Dark Cloud and Light Ning. Truly, the greatest franchise ever to spin off from Battletoads.