#bc its bee's idea technically!!

[pluviophile-imagines]

ok originally i was gonna add on to your post @suguwu but this had a mind of its own sooooo my own take on pantalone writing you letters to practice his penmanship except it’s childhood friends!au where he loses contact with you and doesn’t find you again until he’s become a harbinger.......

He writes to you and never sends the letters.

He writes to you and never sends them for many reasons, not the least of which being that without an address to direct them they’d be lost to the bitter howling winds of his beautiful, frigid homeland and that he’s half convinced you’ll never grace his life with your brilliant presence again. He writes to you and never sends them because he cannot take the thought of you (not even you, especially you) seeing the chicken scratch he begins with, the rough, choppy lines of his just-budding script. He writes to you and never sends them because he pours his heart into the ink and the words, the words which begin just as simple and unrefined as the lettering but become flowery, elegant (desperate, fervent, covetous and salacious and ignominious) confessions as time moves on.

He perfects his form, the art of the love letter, for you—just as he learns to balance books and pours through economic theory for you, just as he fills his coffers and rises in the ranks for you. So that when he finally finds you again, after so many years of searching and yearning and preparing, he can court you properly the way he’d always hoped he could back when he was a pauper on those cold, ruthless streets. He writes you new ones with that perfected swirling penmanship that graces the very financial documents making up the bones of Snezhnaya’s economic prosperity, whispers sweet nothings to you that none would suspect an eminent Fatui Harbinger capable of with pen and ink on parchment using that eloquent grace which charms businessmen into signing away their livelihoods, and gives them to you in person until he finally, truly has you. Everything has been for you. It’s always been for you.

That’s why he can’t bring himself to burn those unsent letters on the eve of your move into his manor, years since he first found you again. They’re yours, he hasn’t a right to destroy them; but he hasn’t the valor to give them to you, either. He bundles them up with and squirrels them away in his study, and deep in his heart though his mind refuses to believe it he knows—hopes, perhaps, if he were a wise enough man to admit it—that you’ll find them eventually.

Months in, therefore, he can’t find it within himself to be surprised when he comes home to find you in his study.

You’re more meddlesome than most might think he’d care for—but he hardly minds, of course. Your brain is one of the countless things he covets about you, and despite a desire to keep you safe he could never bar you from any aspect of himself; you will always be a welcome sight in his study, at his side, etching your glorious signature into his meticulous plans until they bear the mark of both of you entwined so immensely, so gloriously, he’d wonder if it weren’t permanent. Perhaps you’d entered to hide away his work as you do so often when you’re feeling neglected. Perhaps those letters called to you, rightfully yours as they are. It hardly matters.

What matters is he opens the door and sees you on the floor, precious silk skirts of the dress he’d gifted you on a whim mere weeks before pooling around your form where you kneel with those letters scattered about you. Two in your lap, one in your hand, you look up at the sound of the door opening to see him standing there—your free hand covers your slack mouth, your eyes wide and filled with tears.

He makes for you on instinct, all but stumbling over his feet as he falls to his own knees before you, dropping the paperwork he’d taken home without thought for the way it flutters to the floor in favor of reaching out and cupping your face in his hands. Thumbs reach out to wipe away your tears, neck bows to press his forehead to yours, and body curls in to hold you; you melt against him, breath shaky as you inhale.

And then he’s kissing you. It isn’t deep or heavy but chaste, calming. A firm press of lips against yours, and then another, then another and another and ever more until his lips barely part from yours between them and his own cheeks are wet with the tears streaking your face. An apology is uttered through them, breathed into your mouth, imploring, shamefully urgent.

You’re shaking your head. There’s an attempt at words, surely, but he kisses them away too quickly, fear pulsing through his veins at the thought of what those frigid tears might mean—you think him obsessive, surely. Unable to control himself, fixated on you. He can’t bear to hear it.

But when your hand threads through the back of his hair and tightens to pull him away, when he obeys without hesitance or protest like he’d only ever do for you, it isn’t horror that he sees in your still-wet eyes. It’s awe.

All this time? you sigh against his lips, a murmuration filling his lungs with the breath of life. You’ve loved me this much? All this time?

Yes...

It doesn’t register that he’s spoken until the word is out, and perhaps if there were an audience he might be inclined to quell the unadulterated veneration in his tone, but it isn’t something to dwell on when you’re kissing him the moment the word comes out.

He falls back. Work papers and long-hidden sentiments of desire, of avarice, of utter worship each addressed to you flutter with the movement as his shoulders slam into the ground with the full force of your weight atop him, and though he surges up to respond in kind he makes no true effort to throw you off.

He’s only ever wanted to be at your mercy, after all.

[eldritch-araneae]

Can you make a list of Bumblebee's best friend (bot) in all versions such as animated, Cyberserve or prime?🥺

Hi, I was a bit confused ( like you want me only list bots, not humans?), especially if you want only the continuities you listed or all of them? Anyway, I'll do all bc as I was thinking about the answer I got some interesting thoughts. So prepare your tea and sit comfortably ~

Generation 1

In G1 cartoon they made it seem like Bumblebee just gets along with everyone. But I can't remember if Bee had someone among bot who we could consider his best friend. This title really went to Spike exclusively and I know you said to list bots only, bear with me here.

This fits into Bumblebee's struggles, because he's weak, but humans weak too so he feel he belong with them more than his own people. And Bumblebee still friends with Spike even after the human grows up and has a family (and the fact its the only time they show passage of time like this with a human character?)! We don't see Bee a lot on later seasons so I like to assume he just hangs out with Spike's family most of the time.

It would be so dope if they actually explored the idea of human mortality and how cybertronians would handle the invertible. But it never happens in canon even in "serious" continuities. And same even in fandom spaces. I only once stumbled upon the fic where Bee gets super anxious because Spike is getting older, really long time ago. Of course I wrote a story about this, but still, I can't be the only one thinking about this. In G1 based comics it's kinda the same thing, except IDW where Bumblebee has NO FRIENDS ( nor bot or human). Like he had some pals in the past, but he lost them all. In IDW2 there is Windblade who was established as Bumblebee's bestie but they way it was written... it was very cold friendship judging by panels I saw. Not a fan. Ah yes, I didn't watched the Netflix version, so idk, but considering how writers decided to deconstruct the character for no reason I can assume he has no friends at all.

Bayverse

I can's really say anything, I watched only first and second movies and again, Bee was bonded with a human. Same with Bee-movie, I know it's not technically bayverse, but sadly, Bee has the same the design and I still can't watch the movie bc of it xD

Animated

This is very clear that Bumblebee bot bestie is Bulkhead. And if both Bumblebee and Bulkhead were written better we would have a really dope character dynamic. Tho their dynamic is fun even as it is ( Bee crawling all over Bulkhead like a spider is Halloween episode cracks me up), but sadly Bee just never develops as a character.

Prime

I can't say anything about because I didn't really watched the show. I started, didn't liked it and dropped it. The entire aligned continuity isnt really for me, so I skipped Rescue Bots and RiD15. Though, I did like "War for Cybertron" game a lot, and maybe I would watch Prime if character designs were from that game. In the game Bee didn't had any besties.

Cyberverse

Here Bumblebee has bonds with few bots. First one is Windblade and I absolutely loved it. Their relationship was amazing and warm and physically tactile, and that's how I started ship them. Then we see Hot Rod and, now deceased, Blurr and later Bumblebee bonds with Cheetor.

This show had so much potential, like the buildup in S1 was nice and well established dynamic between Bumblebee and Windblade, but then it was all thrown out the window. Windblade was sidelined entirely in S2 as Bee hands out with Hot Rod and Cheetor ( as it's the typical all boys gang no girls allowed) after all this demonstration how close those two are in S1?? Meh.

And when Cheetor sacrifices himself? Bee looks sad at this moment, and then moves on like thing happened and it didn't affect him? What is this?? Ugh.

Earthspark

Right it's too early to say, but we can already see that Bee has a very sibling-like bond with Arcee. And from the trailer it looks like Bee is good friends with Breakdown which is interesting. Maybe he was the reason why Bee picked the racer car after his VW Beetle mode? We will see~

I think it's all? There is Shattered Glass too, but I have no idea, cant say anything. I hope it was enough)

[grimsdeadb0nes]

Blue Honey Context!

[ In reference to this; (Loser's Corner) where I mentioned it but not really in the tags ]

Fair note; There's context that needs context that needs context! so please bear with me here in my rambling! You're getting some of my LOOOOORE and it might be alittle long! Thus i'll make it a read more uwu

So let's get started! With this;

The "Bee's" you encounter on the Hex are not natives but instead mass-produced badniks called Galaga Bee's (obviously, since when you hit them they give you Animal Friends (Flickys/Cluckys/etc)). There's a lot of 'native' critters that i've made to flush out the Hex since the most you encounter that aren't badniks are bigger Beasts (Sandworms, Swamp Crocs, etc); the Beewasps are just one of them! (In fact theres three variants/palettes depending on the Biome the bees live in!) I go more in depth about all of the Hex Inhabitants in my lore bible, I promise some of you'll get to see that at some point!!!!

When Eggman got to the Hex / the D6's territories and introduced/spread badniks everywhere, alot of the smaller native critters fled in confusion or fear and don't return until after the events of LW / after the 6 (7) clean up what was left behind by the egghead; which is why none are seen during the course of the game except the usual "Animal Friends".

------

Context on top of context on top of Context-

Zenyx is a BeastKeeper, meaning she has a much higher, natural affinity for taming or befriending Beasts and Critters than any of the others; she loves all the critters, but the bee's are just too cute!

Back when Zenyx first joined the group, they were finding things she could do in each biome to “help out”, since she couldn’t be seen or known about outside the group/territories (Offcolor issues) and her own Biome is basically useless. The best she could do was beast/critter related, such as sheep handling in Windy Hill for example, since she was just naturally better at it than the others. When she was introduced to the Sandwood Hive (aka the second stage in Desert Ruins), she immediately fell in love with the little beewasp fluffbutts! And they didn’t seem to mind her at all, even getting extra cooperative after she managed to befriend the Queen of that Hive. Doing so allowed her to collect various honeys from them- so so so much easier than the big silly doofus that’s Zomom, who the bees weren’t as fond of (at the time) due to his size, loudness, and bottomless appetite.

At some point, Zenyx comes across the Blue Honey, and the first person she thought to share it with/give it to was Zom! (Technically theres a few different Honeys that vary in color, it all depends on what the bees ingest to make said batches. Certain flora or fruit may effect tastes and resulting colors, but the vivid Blue Honey that she jared at the time was from the beewasps' going off and ingesting sugary sweets left aside by a nearby (out-of-territory) market setting, giving the resulting Honey a more candy-like sweetness- trust me this all makes sense!) The first few times she gifted the Blue to him, he accidentally kept eating the jars too- 😂 he doesnt anymore though dw! He knows better now and consumes the honey a lot slower now.

----

Finally! Blue Context!

Zenyx likes being food buddies with him, and as such they have little or silly easy names/nicknames for certain things- just between them (sometimes Zazz wiggles his way into their food vocab tho). Which results in both of them just calling the Blue Honey “Blue!” since it’s one of the very few edible things that are such a vivid hue of it.

So during LW, when Zom comments on Sonic’s color [ “Blue! My favorite flavor” ] he’s actually being serious- bc Sonic's color reminds him of the Honey! We’re told his favorite food is meat... and bc Blue Steak is a thing, (its essentially just Extra Extra Rare... nothing to do with the actual color)- It's completely possible thats what he was talking about- BUT to be less morbid and bc the idea of Zom having an inside joke with Zenyx about calling the blue honey just "Blue!" (and him thinking about it just by seeing the color elsewhere) is way cuter/funnier! I like to think his favorite flavor in general is more candy-like or sweets... 👉👈 So during that moment when Sonic/the Player probably think Zom’s just being silly/stupid or something, the whole “Blue” thing now has proper meaning (at least for me!). --- That being said, in the Losers Corner drawing; Zenyx gifted the jar of Blue Honey to Zom as a reward for trying (the tourney) so he didnt feel so bad about losing (bc she cares)- before she conked out next to him to catch some Zzz's of course.

--- I rambled about the whole Blue Honey thing FOREVER ago with the lovely @galionne-speeding (-vibin/-digin) (luv u lilllyyy) and we both agree it's adorable and mayhaps adds just a smidge of depth to Zomom even if it's silly; I swear if I didn’t ramble off most of these little things with her, at least half or more of them would be lost bc I’m brainless at keeping notes sometime-

And thats the Blue Honey Context ramble! 👍✨

[pharahsgf]

! I saw from a recent ask that you watched rrr! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's been interesting in both a good and bad way to see how its fanbase has grown. I don't go into the tag for my peace of mind but I remember when there were only like 5 people in there who were all indian and already fans of the director/actors/actors' families...and now my gifsets have hundreds of notes from people all around the world. wild. also thank you for calling it homoerotic. one of the most frustrating side effects of the growing popularity has been westerners being like HAHA THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THEY MADE IT GAY/THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE IT GAY. but the relationship is very much purposeful, coded through actions/music/references to old homoerotic desi media/references to couples in mythology, plus the fact that many of the dialogue writers, lyricists, and singers in multiple languages have done smaller projects that are openly lgbt. rajamouli directly said that he intended for the romance angle to be between ram and bheem (it was in a long technical interview in telugu before the movie released and he immediately covered it up afterward by saying bromance, so I think he felt safe enough to sneak it in lol). so anyway, I'd expect as much from someone whose cql opinions are so correct but thank you anyway for Getting It!

AH THANK YOU... i didn't know that abt the interview & other crew members' involvement in lgbt projects! it's nice to know the romantic angle was rly something rajamouli deliberately or at least knowingly included, because this pervasive attitude that media from any country east of europe is too Unenlightened for el gee bee tees makes me want to throw things. still i'm glad the movie is getting so much attention online bc i'd really like to see more non-american stories in the mainstream media landscape, & also you have no idea how funny it was to be poking around in the tag for gifsets only to end up going (beyoncé girl voice) tumblr user pariaritzia???

[mariproducer]

what do you think would be ml characters' favorite enstars units ...

OHHHH I've assigned them to units but I didn't think abt which units they'd like specifically... from the main kids:

Marinette: Knights (based off the idea that she's attracted to the princely type), I could see her liking Alkaloid too since she likes Jagged Stone

Adrien: he kinda gives me Trickstar fan vibes like idk why I can't see him really liking any other unit

Alya: easily Ryuseitai for the hero aesthetic and heart pumping music

Nino: Switch, 2wink, and Eden since these units rely heavily on synths the most and maybe Crazy:B too for its club and hip-hop influences; he'd be into it for the music over the aesthetic

Chloe: she'd tell you fine bc of their aesthetic but she probably enjoys Crazy B and Ryuseitai on the downlow ever since becoming Queen Bee

Lila: she'd like MaM and specifically MaM and she would likely start flame wars over Double Face's existence (I'd say she could like Akatsuki too if you headcanon that she has a genuine interest in traveling around the world)

Luka: Alkaloid aesthetically and musically... he might like Undead musically (since they technically fall under rock) but not aesthetically. I'd say he might be into Akatsuki too as a sort of keeping an open mind to various kinds of music.

Kagami: Ra*bits and Trickstar (I'd feel like she'd believe she should like Akatsuki or fine since it would make sense for her background but I think she'd find herself enjoying Ra*bits' cutesy songs and Trickstar's generic idol beats)

Felix: Valkyrie because one of valkyrie's plot points involves finding self autonomy and well if Felix is a senti he probably questions his own autonomy an I wanna say fine and Eden too but i cannot imagine him listening to their songs unironically

[rawmeknockout]

who's your fave character to write for? 👀👀👀👀

my fave character to write for changes all the time i used to do a TON of swerve and have a lot of swerve ideas and im not really 'burnt out' on him per se but ive explored his character so much in terms of romance/smut that i feel im rehashing the same ideas and i think a fresh perspective would help

im a sucker for rodimus i have a soft side for arrogant people irl and crush hard on anyone who is just way too confident but i love how he is soft and really cares about people too bc i can relate to that i have so much love for rodimus even if he is a shallow bastard and makes poor decisions for his own ego, i feel like theres a lot of room for improvement there esp if he had someone as his opposite (cough rival cough) to push on him and force him to think outside his own worldview im a big dork for rivals to lovers tho its like enemies to lovers but enemies generally start off VERY antagonistic and rivals are generally antagonistic yes but have room for an underlying respect and admiration and wiggle room to how they could interact as friends

someone i never get requests for but love immensely with my whole heart is bumblebee all bumblebees (i even have a soft spot for bayverse but i will NEVER touch those movies i dont want them within the bi county area stay away from me) i have loved bee since i was a kid bc the first transformers i watched was tfa and i loved characters like jack spicer and bee and other such overconfident jerks with a soft side as ive explored other series that love for bee has only grown i love him when hes a bold leader who wants to earn respect but treats even his enemies with kindness and i love him when he's a scout who gets into trouble bc hes just too gentle and weak i have so many thoughts about bumblebee i love him lots i could go on and on about the different bees (and their relationships with starscream ill die on this hill) hes always such a gentle good guy and deserves the whole world i dont care if transformers is overrun with bumblebee content i want MORE

i also love to write cheetor but strictly beast wars and cyberverse cheetor i feel only terror with beast machines cheetor im a big sucker for anything that has a likeness to cats and the fact that his alt mode is a cheetah i think is so cool im a cat lady through and through i love cat mugs and posters and slippers so ofc one of my fave robots has to be the cat one which also brings up ravage whom i adore in a different way than cheetor they are complete opposites in many regards but they are both loyal which is a quality i treasure in any character or person i think the most interesting thing about ravages story (particularly idw here) is that he is essentially a man with a body that makes others see him as a creature rather than a person i like that the writers took the time to think about all the altmodes the decepticons have and how their original functions made them sympathetic to megatrons cause

i also like writing for rumble and frenzy (all the cassetticons really) although i have a hard time bc two of my friends are big cassette fans and i want to portray them in a way that they would when it comes to transformers or any fandom imma be honest and say,,,,,,,,, ive hardly looked at the source material i havent read much and i havent watched much i saw big sexy robots and i was hooked and i love the story but,,,,,,,,,,, theres no way my attention span would allow me to read a full range of comics man i dont have that in me

other than that i dont want to say that im clinical in how i approach characters but im technical and i know them in a general sense and expand upon them in a way i feel a real person with specific personality traits would act i want them to feel more in depth than just a one or two dimensional character i want to write them in various situations bc deep down we all are just,,,,,, love creatures we all love and we all love to be loved

[zackcrazyvalentine]

Hiyo! This is gonna be a bit specific so i hope you dont mind haha;;

Would it be alright to request for HC's for Mammon, Beel and Belphie(if you only take one char per request then Mammon's fine!) with a GN! reader, where in the reader is extremely obssessed with bug critters? Like tarantulas, moths, all that jazz and they often have a lotta them in their room

Im a big bug lover myself but it often freaks people out when i show them a beetle i caught but honestly its just pretty funny to me more than anything haha

Sorry for this long ask!! And take care~☆

Oh~ this is an interesting prompt :o

I myself am squeamish with bugs, but very much respect enthusiasts and entomologists!

Without further ado, here’s your request!!

-- -- --

😈💛 Mammon 💰💸

“Yo... think we can sell these to witches for some cash? Y’kow, for their rituals and generally to keep as pets? Think ’bout- OW, HEY!!”

This one I see recoiling back once you show him a bug. Doesn’t matter if it’s trapped in a jar, or held by your hands, he will get surprised if the critter is shoved in his face

Back in the Devildom, if you ever wandered out and somehow caught one of the unique dangerous bugs within, he would freak out and worry about your safety

“WTF [Name], put that down!! Its bite/sting is dangerous and hurts a lot! PUT IT DOWN!” “Relax, Mammon, your panic will distress it and provoke it to attack! I’ve got this.”

However, in the first weeks of your stay with them, he won’t care at all. Remember how he acted all irritated and mad when you were lumped onto him, right? Yeah, that’s it

Things change when Lucifer gave a stern warning, in his own Lucifer way, to keep you safe at all times

“Drop that, you don’t want to anger it”  “How many times do I need to tell you to stop with that?! Pesky human..”  “Oi, ya dumb mortal! Hands off, no pets allowed!”

Little “I’m not interested” warning will be given, which then morph to “Not worried about you but in reality I very much am” as time goes on and he warms up to you (damn tsundere, this one)

Once he grows fond of you and a friendship is established (and maybe other feelings surface), he will issue the more panic filled warnings

But otherwise, he will admire the little things. The ones with shiny exoskeletons and vibrant colors immediately catch his eye

He will eventually look forward to see what new friends you bring, even more so once you go over to the human world

Just...keep an eye out for his typical Mammon shenanigans of taking stuff to sell. He knows witches who would absolutely love to have some of your critters so, watch out.

You may find him baby talking to a particular bug he’s fond of from time to time (Mammon and the cat audio drama~)

Takes some time for him to stop being squeamish and handle the bugs

Totally the one to look at whichever critter, point at it and go “haha...Lucifer/[any other of his brothers]” (he may have led you to name a scorpion ‘Asmo’)

If he sees accessories or keychains that are bug related, he’ll buy them for you  “D-Don’t take it out of context! It just reminded me of [bug] and thought of getting it… totallydidn’tremindmeofyou,no”

Any colorful and/or shiny insects interest him, but I can see him loving centi- and millipedes (and pill bugs too, but those are crustaceans aha)

👿❤️ Beelzebub 🍔🤤

“Ah, I can do that too!”   “Beel, don’t! My papers-!!”   *cue him buzzing his wings and all documents are blown away*

At the beginning of your friendship? He’d just be like “...cool…” and keep doing whatever he was doing

Not one to flinch away from the bugs (he welcomes them)

Tell him ants or X bug/s are exceptionally strong, and he’ll begin to take interest in your bug keeping shenanigans

He feels for them, the strength of the tiny things. He’s one half of the youngest brothers, and very physically capable, one could say he relates to them (so tiny, but oh so strong = youngest brother, but oh so buff)

His signature animal is a fly, claims he has a special connection to bugs, but this “sense” was previously not explored… until you came to his life~

Out of the three, I think Beel will be the one to get on with the idea faster, even helping you take care of the bugs. Will also go out of his way to catch a particularly eye catching one for you.

“[Name], look! This one was hanging out near me/was on my path when going somewhere, thought of you and caught it” (insert Reader’s heart full of soft feelings for this teddy bear)

He’s the enabler of you keeping dangerous Devildom bugs. He can do the catching if you’re afraid of getting hurt

Just say the word and he’ll help you clean enclosures, feed critters, free them back to nature, anything

Honestly, you may very well wake up a hidden talent and surprise hobby of his

Please, introduce this boy to any and every bug you come across in the human world! Show him pictures and tidbits of information about all of them, but more so the ones you previously told him are so strong

If you introduce him to an ant farm, he will sit down and eat his snacks while observing the colony closely

Not afraid to handle your bugs at all, likes the sensation of their little legs crawling up his arms

Says he doesn’t have favorites, but absolutely does (he sneaks his favs snacks from time to time, it’s so cute)  Beetles and ants are in his top 5

Mixed feelings about entomophagy (insect eating)

Congratulations! You now have a bug enthusiast buddy to fan with!

👿💜 Belphegor 🛏️💤

“That one’s fuzzy… Can I pet it, hold it maybe?”

Belphie is pretty chill in general, so I don’t see him making a fuzz whenever a bug is brought up to his face

He may act indifferent to your obsession at first, perhaps Beel’s curiosity rubs off on him eventually

Very curious about your moths and tarantulas, and bees (when you get the chance to introduce him to them)

He’s drawn to the fuzzy fluffy bugs because they look comfortable to pet and hold (and sleep with lol)

Beware: DO NOT wake him up to introduce him to a bug, he WILL be cranky. On the same note, don’t even DARE let a critter crawl on his body while sleeping, won’t hesitate to exterminate the thing

This one… edgy boy… The one to warm up and love your arachnids (technically not insects, but let’s let it slide~   remember you’re talking to a biology nerd here, me)

Introduce him to the deadly insects of your word and he will repay the favor by teaching you about any highly dangerous Devildom bugs he knows about

Butterfly magnet. Let your moths and butterflies free in the room and most likely, they’ll land on him. His calm demeanour seems to attract them

Along with Beel, he will invite yourself to you room to look at the fluttering wings of butterflies   “They lull me to sleep”

Perhaps the one that gained a soft spot in his heart is the tarantula. Relates to it in a sense: people are afraid to approach it when it’s actually quite chill (when not provoked)

If you have Madagascar roaches… This was one of the first times you saw him flinch and let out a (very monotone) yelp, the hissing spooked him good

He may buy a blanket with bug patterns on it because it reminds him of you, sleeps with it when missing you

He’s more of taking pictures and sending them to you if cool bugs, spiders, and even snails cross his path. He will text a “Reminds me of you”  “Cool bug”  “Is this a bug?” along with the pics

Up in the human world: PLEASE catch a jar of fireflies for this boy! His eyes will light up at the amazing little natural light bulbs trapped within

Will want to take some fireflies back to the Devildom bc they remind him of the night sky and its stars

A very chill boy towards your obsession, but will eventually encourage you to keep doing what you love

Thank you for your request~! This was great to think about, if I do say so myself Hope it is to your liking!

You take care as well, anon~ ❤️

[vegalocity]

AU idea based off the fact that MK's age is unknown- Xiaotian is Wukong's son and before everything fell apart, he and Red Boy were childhood sweethearts. And now, for reasons, neither really remember each other but are drawn to each other.

okay this is really interesting to me because this feels like it could be one of those AUs that technically plays with canon but doesn't subvert it like a normal AU

Like, One would think that maybe Red Son would remember after all it was Xiaotian's fucking father that sealed his father away, but if they BOTH don't really remember eachother lets take it a step farther-

(under a cut bc i got carried away bc i speant like all shift today thinking about this)

Let's say that neither of them remember their own childhoods at all. Idk how or why, thats not the point, but if we run with this, then we can assume Xiaotian grew up on FFM, but after a certain point left for the city, maybe since he's just.. way more extroverted than his dad he just wanted to be around people other than the monkeys, and bc... you know... reasonsTM he's been keeping his relationship with Wukong secret. Also it's fun to hear how the stories that were some of his favorites of his dad's adventures ended up remembered by others. And he's not sure if Tang's research was a flawed history or his dad embellished a bit more to entertain him as a child, or maybe both, but some of these stories as Tang tells them are VERY different.

But it's then, when he's living alone and always out and about on deliveries something-... happens... something mysterious and-

Suddenly he can't really remember much about a time before he moved in to the little loft above Pigsy's shop.

And the letters (emails) keeping Wukong updated stop coming. He considers finally giving in and getting a cellphone to call his damn kid and ask if he's alright, but Xiaotian never answers his phone for unknown numbers- Is- is something wrong? Is he in trouble?...Maybe he'll just pop into the city real quick in disguise, just to be certain, and if there's not a problem he can laugh to himself about being paranoid and then come to visit properly-

And maybe just to check up on it, peek in on his staff to make sure everything's still in place.

And then Red Boy was there, holding some machine apparatus to his. damn. staff. and taking readings, writing down whatever he's got and muttering to himself about 'the plan' and Red Boy--certainly no longer a boy much like how his own son had become a man, was planning something.

blah blah blah the pilot happens but whoops this time canon is like EXTREMELY sad through Wukong's perspective bc his OWN FUCKING KID somehow FORGOT ABOUT BEING HIS KID?! WHAT THE FUCK?! and he'd TRIED getting him back on his own but that did nothing, and then he'd faced LBD again and she said that thing 'the memory of you' and... yeah that context would make this whole thing like WAY scarier lol

ANYWAY SO SEASON 3 ROLLS ALONG AND RED SON IS PLOT RELEVANT AGAIN

And maybe it's just brought up breifly, just simply while the lot of them were chillin around the dinner table, Xiaojiao tells this hilarious story of her childhood involving a bee, a sequoia tree and several gallons of applesauce, and asks Red Son if he's got any crazy stories like that, and he says very bluntly 'I can't remember Jack shit from my childhood.' Xiaotian over here like 'Big mood' Sun Wukong exits as quickly as he can without it looking sus (-insert subplot ship here-)

And here's the thing, now that they're not trying to fight eachother it's easy to get comfy around eachother. Too easy. Like suspiciously easy. Like 'I had multiple naptimes beside you for the majority of my younger years and by that logic when we're not actively enemies i trust you implicitly' easy

Memory seems to come up a lot on their search for the weapon, and whenever that heppans the others seem to carry the missions, leaving Xiaotian and Red Son constantly feeling useless, and its starting to get really REALLY upsetting, so Red Son just huffs, and approached Xiaotian's bunk one day like 'It's odd right? That you and I have the exact same sort of memory problems, and we have both been in contact the most with LBD other than Wukong is it possible that these events are all related?'

so they start working to try and figure out what it was they'd both forgotten.

[thxngam]

Hey! Do you have any recent TWW fic recs?

i love it when ppl ask this bc it's an excuse to go through like 5 pages of tww fic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30801968-- been talkin' 'bout the way things change by @sam-loves-seb: sam's pov after the hawaii vacation and how he finds out about josh and donna. a sweet fic; josh is all domestic and cute and i think its nice seeing it from a outside pov

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30825962--Enjambment by Anon: a veep and tww crossover! i honestly don't know some of these characters but i live for the last paragraph and also the way josh's inner monologue is written is so funny.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/2273615--windyink/cookiecrumbl's fics: technically these were posted before but then were taken off, and this is a series of them being put back up-i love the role reversal au in particular (also if anyone wants to ask for more headcanons about that au id love that bc i have Ideas). anyway, they're all good!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30606488--california dreamin' by sapphicdonnatella: AHHHHHHH. literally this fic breaks my heart and i love it i just askdlhjlkjhr. after the 47th josh and sam are at a crossroads.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30843320--Blindside by Anon: another crossover! tww characters but in the Social Network (that other aaron sorkin movie?). apprently the movie had a ton of gay energy between zuckerberg (?) and his friend that he started fb with but now is estranged from so this is sam and josh manifested into that world.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30856964--Alive by Kabaleena: guess what? take that completely humorous storyline where josh wanted to be a ballerina when he was younger and make it SAD AF

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30879284--Shenandoah by @hufflepuffhermione: i love one (1) national park geek and his grumpily obliging staff/children

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31121522--Inextricably Linked by Iamsherlocked07: i! just! want! my! characters! to! be! domestic! and! in! love! (cj/toby - they own my heart)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31033013--that this pain wouldn't be forevermore by hanyolo: ok no matter who you ship josh with we all wanted to see what happened after noel. cmon. this is a really lovely post-ep fic for that!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31027226--life is such a changing art by pocky_slash: the fact that this decade old series is still being updated never fails to amaze me. sam/will in the Iowa series (a fabulous series that i've reread a million times: tldr, sam has a mental breakdown and moves in with will and schmoop and coping with mental illness happen) but when their little town knows

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31012385--atwixt by @tunennbee: bee! my love! this is a post canon au of canon (?) that's a really great fic about josh and donna's friendship as sam's president/about to be president and josh is about to be first gentleman. i absolutely ADORE the donnajoey in this fic i just asdjhlkjherjkf.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30966470--rewind by @tunennbee: the first installment of the press sec au!! josh is a sad pining man for sam. literally, i love a dumbass. donna shares these feelings.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30923063--Crossword by @tunennbee: the flipped version of jigsaw! (if you do not know what jigsaw is u have a treat waiting for you if you want to read it here) i am so excited for more. the continuity with jigsaw is amazing and I love seeing sam's take

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31249931--we could be the way forward and I know I'll pay for it by @claudiajcregg: cj and danny at a campaign event during 1998. the way cj is written is literally the best and I love the way the author wrote danny and cj's flirty relationship and also the way danny just has faith and confidence in her even tho he's a reporter and that's technically not his job as just some outside journalist

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31398083--After by Anon: josh and sam as they figure out what they're gonna be after they fall into bed together. a short, but awesome, fic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31335668--King of the beach by @aroacedonnamoss: trans!josh. i literally LOVE THIS FIC i don't have words its so painful and wonderful I just. ugh. josh, as a teenager, not out to his parents and missing his sister and then donna with him post-rosslyn. literally the way josh's inner monologue is written as his parents deadname and misgender him bc they don't know is just. it's so personal and I love it so much. also the way the author wrote josh's feelings about his sister and what she'd say if she was there I just aldsfhlwejhwkj. so good!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31332755--With One Hello I'll Never Be the Same by @jessbakescakes: THE ULTIMATE DONNAJOSH FIC. i aldshflwejhfkj. read it. read it again.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31316927--a dawning day unfurling by @tunennbee​ and me!: i am so proud of this fic. the second (but not last) fic in the press sec au that actually covers s6-7! sam comes back to be press sec when cj becomes cos and basically covers from that to santos’ inauguration. read this! bee’s prose is amazing.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31160861--Copse by @callixton​: a fantasy au!! it’s so fun to get an au that’s so inventive as this one. also features poly senior staff and im so excited to where this goes goddammit. also the prose is phenominal.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31224122--it was like i couldn’t breathe: an affair in three moments by @singingaboutwishingx​: LITERALLY THROW MY HEART IN A BLENDER WHY DONT YOU. sam, josh, and donna but betty, august, and cardigan. hurts so good.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31276175--roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool by @regardstosoulandromance: domestic cj/toby, precanon. so cute

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31266608--after everything (i must confess) by hanyolo: josh and donna post Dead Irish Writers. i love their banter, its the best part of this fic. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31381484--saviors who are fast asleep by darlingdarling: cj/toby and samjosh on the campaign. i think it’s gonna be about the foundings of that familial relationship that was the best part of tww! really excited for this one. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31466189--your eyes look like coming home by hanyolo: basically nobody left (cough cough sam), nobody did something completely out of character bc the writers are stupid (cough cough toby) and nobody was completely burnt out - i mean done with the WH but not so run down (cough cough cj and to an extent josh). donna is also here which is fun and about to get her own amazing career which is fun. our favorite senior staff members leave the white house and go for drinks at which point josh and donna realize they looovvveee each other. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31460531--On the Way to Comfort by Perri Smith (neonhummingbird): im pretty sure this was written a long time ago but it was posted recently so here it is. zoey’s pov after rosslyn. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31438424--you’ll have to run to me tonigh by mikaylawrites: josh and donna in three moments of nightmares. very sweet.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31439759--The Hearts of Men by CarolineShea: tw sexual assault. donna gets through a shitty experience with a shitty congressman. josh is also there to help her. (this is a bad summary it’s actually a really good fic, but tw assault. not super graphic or anything but yeah)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31548374--if life were made of moments by @tunennbee and me: mal and josh after indiana, as mal reflects how oblivious josh and sam are. another installment in the press sec au; the banter is really really good!

these are from the last five pgs of the west wing tag on ao3. i really hope you read these, i love them all!

[daaziscoolbesties]

[REPOST] MY 2K WORD COMMENTARY/ANALYSIS OF RANBOO’S LORE STREAM

‼️‼️This post contains lore spoilers from Ranboo’s 4/23 stream, “The Enderwalk Saga. Chapter 1: The Lessons”. If you haven’t seen that stream don’t read ahead unless you want spoilers‼️‼️

disclaimer: this isnt really an analysis as much as a bunch of commentary and half-baked theories.

-on the way to the mansion he was sort of talking to himself saying stuff like "i'm good i'm good" which m a y be a normal thing but also maybe it's not and it flew over our heads cause he talks to chats and donos like that so often

-again, this one may just be a normal thing but when he was climbing up the stairs in the mansion looking for foolish, he repeats some of his words like down to the exact same tone of voice and everything. 12:42,  "this mansion is way too big actually. this mansion is way too big actually." (why the repeated actually? seems odd to me but again it might just be a normal thing that i haven't picked up on). (right after) "okay okay lemme find him lemme find him" again repeated words in the e x a c t same tone.

-does everyone know about ranboo's silk touch hands ability thing? or was that just a techno and ranboo main character moment. bc if it was, how would foolish know that ranboo could pick up the full cake after it'd been partially eaten. unless everyone on the sever knows about that in which case this means nothing. but if they d o n t know... how would foolish know? ranboo wrote about it in the do not read book so maybe if it's not a publicly known thing maybe foolish got his hands on the book and read it??

-14:53-ish, they're talking about the war room and how it was for tubbo or whatever and ranboo says, and i quote "he prepares for lore but he's never gonna do it." now funny thing is at first i couldn't tell if he said "war" like in reference to the war room or "lore". but after playing the clip over and over i can say with ALMOST 100% certainty that he said lore. there is a definite L sound at the beginning of the word. which either means a) this was a slip up (doubtful bc he said later that there were no mistakes), b) he broke the fourth wall because they were supposed to be rping at that point, or c) i'm completely wrong and he said "war" which leads down an entire other road of possibilities

-15:17 "are you a book reader?" "*checks inventory for do not read book* uh yeah i'd say i'm a book reader-" dunno how i didn't catch this the first time I HATE THAT DAMN BOOK

-15:18 there's blue in his hotbar. where did he get the blue.

-16:40 "it's like a metaphor- i have two minds: i have my normal self, my normal little shift-dancing self, and then the builder one. the builder one is demanding. it's a very demanding mind." ranboo then lets out a weird sigh after this. i feel like what foolish was talking about was an indirect(?) parallel to ranboo in and out of enderwalk, there's how he normally is, trying to do best for others, and then there's enderwalk, meeting up with bad guys and "demanding" things (its very late as i write this i really don't know what i'm talking about)

-17:11 "you have your panic closet" i'm sorry his what now 😀 no but seriously how the hell did i miss some of these

-18:04 "you're asking me if i remember?" very funny ranboo thank you for making jokes in these trying times

-18:25 WHY DID HE GET OUT THE AXE WHEN STARING AT THE BEE

-19:38 why did foolish hold the grass block- most of these observations probably mean nothing but- h u h - is that- i'm too tired for this

-19:54 "i never properly thanked you for the deal you made with me" so foolish got something out of this deal, we're not sure if ranboo did. "the green cardboard box" again do you mean dream's house- but seriously the only people i can think of on the server that are associated with green are dream and sam. and i have no idea what cardboard box could be referring to.  foolish got a lime colored shulker from drista

-20:30 "we're supposed to only talk about it at a certain location" hmm now where would that be? panic room maybe? cause like usually after doing a big thing in the enderwalk state ranboo wakes up in the panic room so maybe?  the deal was that they only talk about it in his house

-21:52 how does ranboo receive(?) the lessons? like are they whispered to him in his mind or is he seeing them as words in front of him like we see? hmm

-"Lesson 14: If you have the opportunity to gain a favor, take it." "gain a favor" don't you usually ask people for favors though? how does one "gain a favor"? anyways i'm pretty sure lesson 14 has to do with the deal foolish was talking about. (the deal explained because i now have info: at some point a bit ago foolish met up with ranboo and asked to make a deal, he'd gotten a shulker box from drista. the deal was that ranboo would have ownership of the box, it would be under his name but foolish rents/borrows it indefinitely. ranboo negotiated that if he took ownership of the box he would get a "war favor"  from foolish where if something happens that creates sides, ranboo can ask him a favor that could change his side. but why would foolish want ranboo to have ownership of the shulker you may ask? well i have an answer for you. a theory actually but still. basically since drista technically isn't supposed to give out shit on the server if someone where to have that stuff then they may get in trouble. foolish wants to be able to use the shulker but if it gets found he doesn't want to get in trouble, so he can blame it on ranboo seeing as it's under his name.)

-22:16-ish "i still have this from when you *can't understand whats said here*" well i guess that sort of explains why he had the grass block? idk man (info update: he had the grass block from when ranboo threw it at him telling him to calm down like what ghostbur does with blue)

-31:35 "i figured out how to cause it" how to cause the enderwalk state

-38:30 "ninety three lessons" I STILL DONT KNOW WHY HE KEPT SAYING NINETY THREE AND NOT NINETY FOUR AND ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY LMAO

-39:01 "it's all for the greater good" okay well when are you gonna start thinking about yourself and not everyone else for once huh. self care bitch.

-40:31 he started holding the axe when he was looking at sam- gonna say it i really don't like that axe ahahah- WAIT A DAMN MINUTE THE AXE IS NAMED "axe of ender" I DONT LIKE THAT I DONT LIKE THAT AT ALL

-41:53 is there something?? physically keeping him from telling sam??? or maybe it's sort of like his enderwalk state taking control to make him shut the fuck up??? so many questions and approximately zero answers

-43:18 ranboo raising his voice legitimately scares me 😀👍

-"Lesson 27: Do not reminisce on what you have lost for it will weigh you down." showed up when he was thinking about and REMINISCING about the community house 👀👀

-"Lesson 53: Never fully trust anyone." showed up literally after he said that he thinks he can trust the other people on the server enough to tell them about what he did

-"Lesson 67: Leave no evidence of what you have helped with." this is different from the others because there doesn't seem to be at least a semi-direct connection to it? unless maybe at the time ranboo was near something he may have "helped with"? not sure about this one

-"Lesson 94: DO NOT LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE" yeah yeah i get it i get it he's fucked up some shit in enderwalk i don't feel like analyzing this thanks

-OH OH NOTICE HOW HE SAYS "REMEMBERING" WHEN THE LESSONS SHOW UP. IMPLYING THAT THIS ISNT A NEW THING, ITS HAPPENED BEFORE AND NOW HES REMEMBERING IT. MAYBE HE WROTE DOWN THE LESSONS WHEN HE WAS IN ENDERWALK AND NOW THAT HES BEEN EXPERIMENTING ITS BEEN EASIER FOR HIM TO REMEMBER THOSE ENDERWALK MEMORIES

-okokok the experiments are that he's been e x p e r i m e n t i n g on how to purposefully induce the enderwalk state. and we know now that it wasn't from the pain of the water because on the stream afterwords he said that it's caused by the intense fear of something happening. and so the "side effects" of the experiments is that since he's in enderwalk more often(?) he starts remembering more things from it

-OH MY GOD WAIT "there is a reason sam, there's so many reasons, theres ninety three of them" (44:47) WHAT IF EVERY LESSON IS TIED TO A QUOTE UNQUOTE "reason" THAT RANBOO THINKS HES A BAD PERSON/NEEDS TO BE LOCKED UP BUT HE SAYS NINETY THREE INSTEAD OF NINETY FOUR BECAUSE THE NINETY FOURTH LESSON DOESNT HAVE A REASON YET/HE DOESNT REMEMBER IT HAVING A REASON

-dude honestly the whole sam part hurts so much this man is scarily good at acting

-46:46 "i cant put you in the prison you wouldn't be able to see michael anymore" bestie that's the point he doesn't want to accidentally hurt michael or tubbo in the enderwalk state—

-okay but there's no way that sam couldn't tell that ranboo was at least TRYING to confess to something- i feel like he definitely knows more than he's letting on because usually like when people do bad shit or admit to doing bad shit he's like in Prison Guard Mode™️ (he literally cut off ponk's arm because he stole some keycards or something) and whatever and idk what he knows but he definitely knows something and is trying to protect ranboo. or he's trying to manipulate him or smth either one works—

-50:38 "you are a good person" "i am?" you can hear my heart shatter. "yes you are" "i don't think so sam" "i do, even if you don't" "i really don't think so" and there it goes again

-51:25 hello badboyhalo i see you to the left of ranboo

-52:44 "but then my curiosity got the best of me" curiosity killed the cat, bitch

-52:54 "there's ninety three, ninety four, ninety- theres so many reasons!" SEE!! NOT ONLY ARE THERE THAT MANY LESSONS THERE ARE REASONS THAT CORRESPOND IM S O SMART—

-52:56 "i don't want to remember anymore!" *quietly brings forth my theory that when ranboo loses a canon life his memory gets wiped*

-53:13 "ive opened pandora's box" isn't the prison?? literally called pandora's VAULT??? so this m a y be a stretch but i'm thinking that maybe this could be taken in the literal sense that he "opened" the prison and let dream out (the sirens at the end of quackity's stream confirm that dream is indeed out)

-53:42 mans just straight up walked through a ghost i—

-55:37 so are we just gonna ignore the eleventh page of the book? "he's alive, but hopefully soon dream won't be"??? alright nevermind it's most likely bc when tommy came back he recruited ranboo in his plan to kill dream

-55:47 notice how he writes "what am i?" as opposed to "who am i?" no elaboration here idk what it could be

-56:08 just so it's clear for anyone who doesn't know- he's wearing armor at this point, and i'm like 90% sure that when he wears his armor water can't hurt him. and i saw someone say somewhere that like with splash potions when thrown it turns into a gas-like thing? so again, it didn't hurt him, he didn't get hurt. he said in the chill stream that he wasn't comfortable making it where his character had to hurt himself to do that. the thing that causes the enderwalk isn't pain, it's intense and sudden emotions like fear and stress. thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

[frillshark-fr]

How do you get people to always buy your dragons? Genuine question

i was gonna say something like “haha i have no fucking clue” but that would be a lie i think about this a lot actually so i might have some insights i’ve been breeding dragons as my primary activity on FR since i started playing FR (in 2014...) and people have only started actually buying dragons from me consistently like, 5-6 months ago, despite 2-3 attempts at running a genuine hatchery onsite that always died due to lack of interest & not really being worth the effort. 

so ive thought a lot about what the hell is happening now and why my dragons are suddenly consistently selling and I think ive come down to these being the main points of advice i can give: 1. make friends! be friendly! don’t be weird! be a cool and fun person to interact with! 2. post consistently. post your dragons consistently. post about other stuff consistently. just be an active member of the community 3. POST YOUR SHIT IN THE “#FLIGHT RISING” TAG. THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY TRUELY HELPFUL THING I SAY IN THIS POST 4. make pairs that are sexy as hell and be openly proud of them. make dragons and pairs that you like, not what you think will necessarily sell. people can tell when you like stuff and being genuinely passionate about something, whatever the fuck it is, will get other people passionate as well longer versions/explanations under the cut because man this got a mile long. i wasn’t kidding when i said i think about this a lot and i am so sorry if you wanted something concise and useful

1. to be a little glib. i am mutuals/friends with more clout in the FR community than I do kjdshfdsfdhjhkfdf shoutout to everyone who draws their dragons really good on a regular basis because i am riding on your coattails to sell my dragons. i love you this was never my intent, obviously! DO NOT BEFRIEND PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU WILL GET STUFF FROM THEM IT’S JUST A REALLY BAD THING TO DO TO PEOPLE!!! i wouldn’t be friends w/ people if i didn’t genuinely like and get along with them! no amount of pixel cash is worth putting up with people you dont like or abusing people you admire!  but i’d also somehow feel wrong to just... neglect mentioning this factor. idk it’s probably a self-esteem thing sjdkgfhdsf i just Don’t feel like my #success has been totally out of my own effort because its not like im #hustling or whatever i just posted dragons and stuff happened

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2. being consistent! just. posting consistently! posting Every Hatchling I Have and Talking About Them On Tumblr!  Once I had a couple nests just sell super fast likely due to aforementioned clout, i was emboldened to just post more of my nests more often and I swear this has more effect than anything else. i just needed the self-esteem boost to Start Doing That posting consistently makes ppl follow u for ur content which gets even more people to look at your dragons which gets more people to buy your dragons.

-

2a. Also just post a lot in general, even if you aren’t necessarily posting about your dragons for sale. it definitely helps! just be friendly and active and people will come

-----

3. post your shit in the tag. not in “#dragon-sales” or “#fr-dragon-sales” or anything weird like that because I don’t know if anyone actually looks at those, but people definitely browse “#flight rising”. no matter how many followers you have, more people will see your content if you post it in #flight rising than if you just chuck it into the void. 

-

3a. however! do not put links into the post if you want it to actually show up in the tag. tumblr is cool in that it doesn’t actually matter that much when you post something, the same way it really matters on twitter bc twitter has algorithms that decide for you what it thinks you want to be seeing whereas tumblr just shows you everything in chronological order. if you post something into the tag at 1am... it will still be there at 2pm when people log on and start scrolling.

the only thing tumblr seems to consistently hide from a tag (and possibly a dashboard, but idk) are posts with links in them, as a half-assed attempt to limit spam. instead of linking to your sales tab/to the dragons directly in the post, reblog it with the links instead. to reduce latency between a post going up and the links being available, i type out the links in the initial post, cut them, post the thing into the tag, then very quickly reblog, paste the links, and post the reblog jdhfsdf. i don’t know if that benefits anything really? but it can sometimes take me a while to type links, so if i posted, pressed reblog, typed up all the links, then posted, it’d be like ~15 minutes where someone may see the post, think “oh i would like to buy those dragons”, then can’t find the link, think “oh well, i will just find it later”, scroll on, and just... completely forget about it. so uh. go quick?

-

3b. the armchair sociologist in me also thinks self-reblogging has the added benefit of like... you know how people are more likely to tip a barista when a dollar is already in the tip jar? or how people are more likely to take one of those little tabs on a flyer if one of them is already missing? i think that works with notes, too. i don’t know why i think that or why it happens i just swear once a post gets 1 note, suddenly it gets Even More Notes, and if it doesn’t get any notes for a while it will sit at 0 notes until the end of time. so giving yourself 1 obligatory note makes people more likely to interact. i think

-----

4. all of these are hard to quantify but this one is especially so: have cool and unique dragons. make your pairs sexy as hell. don’t put all your eggs (hah) into the one basket of selling dragons that are technically “popular”. we have all seen triple white/triple obsidian/triple orca/triple any other popular colors and cherub/pere/stained or wasp/bee/glim pthahlos or whatever. they’re pretty! we get it! but everyone has had one and everyone has had those pairs and market for dragons like that can be super oversaturated. try to break free from that and sell dragons that people can only get from you. I can’t tell you what to do though bc that rly depends on you. make pairs that you find exciting or interesting and people will feel that. i have a very specific theme and aesthetic that i don’t feel like is especially common on FR and i am genuinely very enthusiastic about it. marine shit is my Thing:tm: both on and off FR and dragons are one of my many ways of expressing that   if you have a Thing:tm:, either some fr-centric aesthetic (like being super into plague or earth or light or something) or something more general (such as any of the -punks or -cores)... just fuckin roll with it honestly. if you’re goth? make got h dragons. like scene stuff that looks straight out of a middle school in 2010? rock that hot-topic lair. outdoorsey type? make dragons that look like you’d meet them on a hike in the woods. it really works with anything!  people can tell when you really love something and i know that seeing someone really love something, even if it’s not necessarily MY thing, makes me really excited too!! 

-

4a. never show fear. people can smell fear. never be like “well this one isn’t that good” because suddenly now you’ve planted the idea that it’s ugly in other people’s heads when they may have really liked it had you not accidentally suggested to them that it’s an ugly dragon. people are EXTREMELY suggestible to even VERY minor cues so be always a little bit bolder than you think you should be you’d be surprised at how many times ive been like “eh, this one’s kind of a dud, i’ll probably have to exalt this one when the auction expires” and then that hatchling is the first to sell. never ever ever ever decide what other people like for them. always act like your dragons are the hottest shit in all the land and Believe It. this is what people mean when they say “fake it till you make it”

- 4b. also, idk if it’s true of everyone but it’s really off-putting to see someone having serious pity-parties for themselves, on sales posts or otherwise. ive had bad experiences with people who are uncomfortably quick to self-depreciate (because they were using their genuine self-hatred to manipulate me or my friends), so i might be a little more trigger-happy about avoiding this behavior than others, but don’t weaponize your sadness to guilt people into doing what you want. it’s really not cool.

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okay i think that’s my entire manifesto on how i do dragon selling. anon i am so sorry im sure you were expecting like “believe in yourself :)” and here i am dissecting dragon selling like it’s a frog in a science class

edit: AFTER ALL THAT I STILL THOUGHT OF ONE MORE THING. It’s not really a Point, just a Reminder:

i don’t post about all the times i have to exalt dragons that don’t sell. you are seeing me being very selective about what i post. you dont sit and stare at my lair or click through offspring lists or check old sales posts. there are a lot of times where someone just doesn’t sell. even now when i’m selling stuff pretty consistently i will still sometimes have dragons that don’t sell for seemingly no reason. even dragons I think are sure to sell will sometimes just... not. and that’s ok! you gotta just be.. ok with that. it’s par for the course. i typically list dragons for 7 days on the AH, give them a couple more days after their auction expires (partially because i forget, partially to give them a grace period for people to pm/ask me about them), and then exalt them after that point. w/ some dragons that i don’t think got a fair shake for one reason or another (such as the sales post not showing up in the tag or something) i do a little clearance (like the halloween dragons i recently posted) but for the most part if they don’t sell, i just exalt them. 90% of the time i don’t even bother to level them up i just press the exalt button and call it a day. it’s fine

[j-mysticalien]

🔫 the oc content, hand it over /lh

you don’t have to if u don’t want to lol I just saw you said something about ocs and 👀 I am interested

FIRST OF ALL 🥺🥺🥺

SECOND OF ALL OKAY OKAY HERE TAKE IT 

(I ended up dumping a lot ... I saw the opportunity and ran with it I didn’t mean to oops)

These guys have been in my head for y e a r s and even though I'll abandon them for months at a time, there are plot points I've forgotten, it’s very very unfinished, and clearly influenced by my freshman year interests, they're some of my favorites to imagine and write like every time I do a picrew chain or something I make them too for myself okay okay-

So. Exposition. For ages the demons and dark things have slipped between the veil and into the world. As evil rises, so do those who stand against it. In some parts of the world The Order was established not to eradicate or wage war against the demons, just to keep everything in their proper dimensions and destroy those who refuse. Members of the Order work in groups with assigned roles, often passed down generations. 1: trained in the physical aspects of fighting creatures, they have the unique and mysterious ability to survive in the other dimension-at least better than the average mortal. 2, “Alchemist”: Usually a witch, human descendant of a magical being, or a particularly skilled mortal even. they provide the magical aid since the other cannot perform magic themselves. (Though Witches tend to form their own communities or work with the demon realm which historically has caused tensions) While fewer and well hidden, this secret society guards the mortal realm to this day... 

There’s a small, quiet town in the northeast. Nothing much happens- the power may go out or the weather may turn within seconds and figures may appear and shift into the shadows but it all turns out fine eventually. Nothing to worry about. But those who know a  little too much know where to go when things need to be taken care off. Bloom’s Florist and Garden Shop, a sweet little store in the middle of town staffed by the owner’s two teenaged kids. They’ve got a lovely selection of flowers and herbs. If you hear noises from their basement, best to ignore it. If you see the kids sprinting down the street, best to stay out of their way. If they tell you to avoid the woods one night, you listen...

OCS MY BELOVED HERE THEY ARE

 Dante Achilles Sindweller. He is type 1.  He’s tall, thin but muscular, almost dangerously pale. His hair is blue, eyes blue though they sometimes look red. Riddles with piercings and pale scars. Cocky bastard but well deserved. Friendly and deadly all at once. He’s good at what he does and is always up for a challenge. Low key high key losing his sense of humanity. You see actually being in the demon dimension is draining because of the pure chaos of it but returning to reality is rough too. Because of the hunter’s ability (I’m pretty sure they have this ability bc the og demon hunters secretly fucked a bunch of demons so Hunters have demon blood and cannot “die” in the hell dimension but idfk at this point) they can adapt to the word with a combination of demonic attributes and idealized forms that disappear when he gets back. So um the mental toll is very much a thing that he hides very well...at least at first. He doesn’t actually have to travel too often thought, just during emergencies and later he genuinely visits some chill demon friends there.

Cordelia Emerys Bloom, “Cordie”. 5′2″, dark brown skin, black hair she keeps in two short braids, round rimmed glasses. She’s the alchemist. a few of her far off ancestors were fae. Her own magical battery is low so she’s become skilled in working with. potions and magical plants. She’s the most serious member. of the trio. She knows the job, she has a rhythm, she doesn’t like change. This group had three braincells and 90% of the time she has all of them. She likes her plants, her books, and Dante. She’s a little high strung and stubborn but she’s clever, intelligent, and really warm person once you get past her shields. She grew up way too fast and with all her adult figures gone, Dante slowly slipping (though she denies it to the point where Alice bright it up and they didn’t talk for a week), and this irritation turned fear that Alice’s presence is temporary leaves her with some issues but it’s okay im determined to let her be happy, she just has to let herself accept happiness.

Alice Barnet. A witch. Thick, bright red  hair, hazel/ blue eyes. Absolutely stunning. and a fashion icon. She moved to attend to uppity private school right outside of town. She stumbled upon the shop and immediately sensed the great power hidden in there. So she just walked in- because of the dimensional portal not because the girl at the register she saw through the window was so pretty what are you talking about it was witch instinct only- and announced herself and offered her services. She’s a flirt, though a sincere one. She projects a confident, fun vibes even if she doesn't actually feel it. Fake it until you make it I guess. Coffee addict will memorize your birth chart, Starbucks order, and all the little behavioral things. Most of my early drabbles with her involve her sitting on Cordie’s desk sipping her iced coffee while Cordie is like “how tf did you get in here” “good question. Better one: they didn’t have the black tea you like is green okay?” She actually is part of an informal coven but that’s a whole side story with its own cast of characters I haven’t touched in ages

Dynamics dynamics so Cordie and Dante are siblings in all but blood, they’ve been together for almost their entire lives. (Cordie’s parents are almost always away-either on Order business or just vibing idk they’re cool though. Dante’s parents are dead but only Dante himself seems to know that-Something about demon blood and dimension hopping doesn’t let their kind live long) They’re really close. If they met at this point in life they probably would never have been friends and Cordie probably would despise him but as they are they love each other and *know* each other. Technically Dante is older but Cordie is the eldest sister of the relationship.

The two of them have opposite reactions when Alice enters their life. (This entrance is one of the few *full* scenes I actually wrote down) Dante is allured-not by her but by the potential adventure she represents. She states her case and he’s like oh this’ll be interesting. They become best friends almost instantly. Their sass, confidence, and more adventurous sides click harmoniously- much of the time to Cordie’s dismay. To Cordelia, Alice is something unknown, something potentially dangerous. She makes her assumptions (prissy, incompetent, entitled, inexperienced) and tolerated her. Alice has had a crush on her since day 1. She was determined to prove herself to the group and really she’d just like to get her trust and friendship at some point, gushy feelings be damned. They fall in love slowly, they learn to trust and be weak and learn to know each other and be themselves Alice is genuinely interested in all the stuff Cordie knows about the magical world and Cordie gets to try to be a person outside of that world. The recent stuff I’ve actually written down involves a lot of sleepy conversations and whispered confessions and soft touched and hhh

Some of the non-human characters

“Lady”: the ghost that haunts the basement/ Order base. She can’t really speak and isn't always visible, never fully. They don’t know who she was or why she’s there. She helps out when she can though. Might help Dante in the very end. 

All of the actual demons are off ideas. Like each deadly sin has it’s own demon (they didn’t realize some humans had grouped them together for some time but they think it’s funny, sometimes they hang out just because of that) The gang doesn't directly meet a lot of them but 

Curiosity aka “Apple” aka “Heather” aka “Bee”aka...:The spark that fuels innovation ne the spiral of a downfall. frequently visits human world, team switches between stopping them from blowing up a building to playing Mario kart together. Like he definitely causes trouble and should not keep escaping through the portal but like...he’s fun to got to the mall with. Funky Lil dude who’s there for a good time and some chaos. Changes aliases all the time.

Nostalgia aka “Honey-Lavender”: the kind that leaves the ghost of a smile on your face, the kind that drowns you in the past, the kind that makes you want to go back, or forget. mostly stays in hell. One of the demons Dante visits and is acquainted with. They lay and talk. She can be a downer but he doesn’t mind, he appreciates the company and some days she keeps him tethered to his life and sanity (on the bad says she has the opposite effect, she can’t help it)

OKAY AHAHA THATS ENOUGH OUT OF ME THERE THEY ARE THANKS

[hoedameron]

but before i go looking in the tags, let’s talk about my latest gifsets!

what a worker bee i was both yesterday and today with prodigal son AND loki <3 never have i created so many gifs in a short amount of time it’s a damn miracle that my photoshop didn’t straight up cough up blood and keel over. alas, us bitches are stronger than that! if this post gets flagged because of the scenes i included....that would just mean that i made the right decision to exclude those scenes ajsdksajkldsa

malcolm stabbing martin

when the episode finally downloaded, i took a peek at the ending before it aired to see how it all ends (just in case it doesn’t get renewed </3). GOSH, was i just in a TIZZY when i saw this happen and i couldn’t tell my dad what i saw because we were straight up watching the show as it aired. anyways, keeping my secret knowledge, i got to work on making this gifset. i missed a huge chunk of the episode bc it took me over TWO hours to make the six gif set. i was really torn on the “artistic” approach aka which scene to gif and which to leave out. because i saw the ending before anything else, i couldn’t play it out loud and i didn’t have my headphones to listen so i was like FREE FORMING THE SUBTITLES. plus the captions weren’t synced up so it was really hard to decipher what was being said :( 

i really thought i would be able to create the set before 9 but i was running into unforeseen issues such as the subtitle problem, which on top of that, like i said earlier, my photoshop is c/racked and janky so....you catch my drift. i was actually going to gif the bisexual moment in the cafe which i think would’ve been MUCH easier but i jumped the gun and wanted to make the gifs of the shocking ending. funny part about that is the shocking part wasn’t even included in my set (malcolm driving the knife into martin) because i felt like the scene was too short...anyways, let’s talk about the positives:

i really do like the coloring of this one. i used a psd that i’ve used before and luckily it’s meant for outdoor scenes with greenery so the gif really popped. sharpening, buddy ole pal, love you sm. the caption was kinda last minute but i hoped to save it with the gradient. cropping was a bitch because for some reason, it takes forever when you’ve made multiple gifs beforehand (cache innit) pero we pulled through! i actually started not saving the psd files to try and save time which is very unusual for me pero i was getting frustrated with photoshop so i was like y’know what....so i just gave up entirely and stopped saving. i do save when i’m taking my time but jeez, it’s a bad habit. i like saving the psd file because i never know if there is a mistake i missed in post and when i go to publish it, it’s blatant and it needs to be fixed. please, save your psd files idc if it takes up space u can just delete them later. IT HELPS !! TRUST ME!!

first & “last” appearance

i actually premade gifs for this gifset! unfortunately, i didn’t realize that three of the five gifs were the wrong size (pictured above) because i flipped the ratio. instead of 268 x 250, i made them 250 x 268. i don’t know HOW i managed to fuck that up but luckily i saved the psd files (wink, wink) so the coloring was still intact. i think i had to restart photoshop or it was getting too late so i picked it back up in the morning. sucks that i had to remake the entire gif from scratch but we will take some wins xx

coloring is the same with the previous gifset (listen....it’s a good coloring) and i actually did have an alternative coloring that was very warm pero i didn’t end up using it. almost melted the two with the “last” appearance of gil but ultimately didn’t go through with it. also i was thinking of using baby malcolm as the first appearance because technically, that IS his first appearance in the show but i was like...just use adult malcolm lol. also i know that scene of dani isn’t the “first” but the first scene she has goes really quick and she is planked by gil so there isn’t much of a solo (even though this scene isn’t much of a solo either pero it’s better than the former). the lighting is weird in this episode and my coloring tried their best :/ i know gifmakers make each gif a diff coloring pero i’m lazy okay and looking to be time effiencent. another slight tangent is that i actually queued the post for the morning but since i woke up to a storm, i was like, i’m here so i’ll publish it myself.

other than that...i didn’t run into any other problem. i was actually hesitant to make the caption that because i wasn’t sure how to really describe the team. i have poor memory so if there was ever an official name, i do not remember it. i did a quick google search pero it turned up nothing. i stuck with “dream team” because, well, that’s what they are. plus i didn’t want to tarnish the gifset with any mentions of p/olice (i was thinking about putting sumn along the lines of ‘the nypd team’) so DREAM TEAM IT IS because it’s true! you cannot have the show without these five! also, i should’ve used quotations on “last” because there is a bunch of talk about a renewal pero...just in case... sorry y’all :/

odinson brothers parallels

this was made in the spur of the moment. i saw that the teaser trailer with shirtless loki dropped in hd, i came A-RUNNING! it was posted like 47 minutes after the fact and i was like...somebody probably already made a gifset of the scene so i was like...gosh, to make the gifset or not all the while i was trying to download the video. trying because again, this was in the middle of a storm so my wifi was acting up and wasn’t at its strongest (whatever that may be). so i was getting frustrated because neither cc nor 4kdownloader was downloading this small one minute clip. that’s when i knew i was gonna be too late to make the loki gifset so i was like whatever ig...

then i had an idea.

i love parallels so luckily it hit me that this paralleled with thor and how his hair got chopped off. so, i knew i had ragnarok downloaded and got to work <3 wasn’t sure what dimensions to use so i went with 268 x 268 to make perfect squares. because the loki scene was short, i could only make three so i was like..okay, i can work with this. three for loki, three for thor, they’re brothers and they share! i wasn’t planning to add subtitles but i had written them down for the plain gifset so i was like alright, we’re going all in. i didn’t take that long to make since again, they’re small gifs and i did have a coloring in mind that i always use for ragnarok (it’s my fave for non-marvel edits as well). there was a slight adjustment to the final loki gif because i realized the gif had that dark fade into the scene which i didn’t know if it was an artistic choice for the show itself or was added for the trailer only (it happens when companies cut a bunch of scenes together and it’s not at all how it actually plays out). i didn’t want to take any chances so i cut those parts out. i know the gifs are short on the loki side pero...that’s just how it is in show business.

thank you so much for listening and hearing me out! i like discussing my work and i try to have pride in them even if the numbers don’t reflect what i hope they would. either way, still learning, still growing, still thinking about buying p.s. like deadass this shit is RIDICULOUS -_- imagine opening up ps and like...it opens up in less than two minutes...shivers

[briellelevi]

『 maude apatow. twenty-one. cis woman. she/her. 』 oh heavens, is that GABRIELLE LEVI from CHESTNUT DRIVE i see roaming around mapleview? minnie may’s always calling them -INVASIVE & -IMPULSIVE. i happen to think they’re not that bad! they’re a pretty cool FLORIST and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been +AFFECTIONATE & +IDEALISTIC. i hope i see them around again! 『 kenna. twenty. cst. she/her. 』

basics

full name: gabrielle luisa levi.

nicknames: gabby, gabs (family only), brielle, bri, elle, etc

age: twenty-one.

birthday: january 23rd, 1999 (capricorn)

gender / pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: bisexual.

family: david levi (father), katherine carmichael (mother), older brother, aurora levi (older sister)

hometown: mapleview.

background

meet the youngest levi child: gabrielle. most know her as brielle, the nickname she started going by when she was thirteen. no one rlly calls her gabrielle except for her family & super close family friends.

she was always super close to her dad growing up. like.... total daddy’s girl. it probably had a lot to do with her dad being the ‘fun parent’ tbh 

looves her siblings! always. was v much the annoying nosy little sister growing up. meddled quite a bit in their personal affairs. did the same to her friends too tbh. but in a well meaning way! she just wants her friends and family to be happy and thinks that sometimes they just need a push, yanno??

juggled a million different activities throughout school. she was always picking up new hobbies and was just... trying new things constantly.  embroidery. sewing. drawing. she got rlly into writing one summer and even wrote a book! it uh... wasn’t very good. she was like twelve, ok?

she played quite a few sports in middle & high school. her personal favorite and the one she consistently came back to every year was tennis. oh, she loved everything about it! she did really contemplate maybe becoming a professional tennis player but... she wasn’t that good and she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle that much pressure. 

and even with her million hobbies, she still found time to act out a bit. she was constantly sneaking out of the house. to go to parties, to hang out with her on again/off again boyfriend, to sneak into abandoned buildings after dark. why? she couldn’t really tell you. maybe it was just her boyfriend’s influence or it was her acting out due to her parents fighting OR acting out because her dad was the mayor and it always seemed like everyone’s eyes were on her anyways. who knows! she doesn’t. it was fun though. she does look back on those times fondly.

she has always been very impulsive and not rlly the best at making decisions. she went and got a tattoo of her boyfriend’s initials when she was eighteen. like... right on her eighteenth birthday. she was young, in love, and wanted to prove it. he did the same.

two more impulsive tattoos followed that one. one of a bee on a flower & one that says “remember who you are”. she still has yet to regret the last two. she thinks they’re nice. 

and probably the biggest impulsive decision she’s ever made - she moved to new york city with her boyfriend when she was nineteen. it was while her parents were divorcing and she kinda just wanted to get away. from her mom more than her anyone, she was just like... really upset and angry with her. even though rationally she knew that her parents were probably better off apart. at first, she just wanted to take a trip but her boyfriend was wanting to move so she thought... hey! why not? and off she went. 

she got a job at a little flower shop in new york that really opened her eyes to just how much she loved flowers. she had always been the type of kid to just pluck flowers out of the ground (sometimes out of her neighbor’s garden) and give them to her friends and family. she just never really thought that she could do something with flowers as a job.

a year after the move though, she learned that her boyfriend had been cheating on her. almost for like... the whole time they had been living there??? a mutual friend told her and she was honestly just heartbroken. 

and to like.... everyone’s surprise, her mom was the one she called in tears that night. she’ll say that she just called her mom because she knew her dad was busy as mayor but really... she just wanted her mom. her mom picked her up as soon as she could and brielle ended up staying with her for a few months. it was a nice time for the two of them and they repaired their relationship a bit. it was good for them 

she ended up moving into an apartment with some old friends from high school and has been ever since she moved back (which... if my math is correct was about a year ago?? give or take). she likes having roommates. 

lil fun facts

rides a bike basically everywhere she goes. she knows how to drive, she just prefers not to. the whole thing just makes her really nervous.

loves to cook!!! is always cooking different meals for her roommates. has been known to cook breakfast for any one nightstands/fwbs/significant others her roommates have had over. 

likes insects. she just thinks they’re Neat. has seriously considered starting up beekeeping as a hobby. she’s done a lot of research into it but she doesn’t think her current residence is the best place for it. 

went vegan for like a month back in high school. still enjoys a lot of vegan dishes though! she tries to eat vegan at least once a week. 

likes flavored lemonades. strawberry is her favorite and is the usually what she has in the house. whether she made it herself or just bought a jug from the store. depends on how she’s feeling that week. 

has a lil kitty cat named pepper! she technically adopted pepper with her ex-boyfriend but he just let her take her :) 

really likes pressing flowers. she likes to make art out of them and has considered starting an etsy shop. not just for the pressed flower art but for some of her embroidery and sewing projects.

is looking to cover her tattoo of her ex’s initials.... if anyone has any ideas pls hit her up she’s so tired of looking at it its so cringe-y

wanted connections

her roommates!! she probably has like... 2 or 3 of them? they should be around the same age as her considering most of them are her friends from high school. 

best friend since childhood! they kept in touch when brielle moved away but it just wasn’t the same. was probably overjoyed when she moved back!!! could be her roommate too? maybe? idk. up 2 you!

high school exes - people she dated before her ex. or even during one of the times they had broken up. they were always off & on in high school.

her ex she moved to new york with? could be fun.... why did he move back? who knows!

almost lover/one that got away - this is gonna be the most specific one but like... they were always super close friends. they had feelings for brielle. had this dramatic “Hey, I Love You” confession right before she moved away in a hope that maybe she’d choose to stay. rlly confused her tbh. she left anyway. now she’s back! they could decide to just be friends. maybe they’re over her but brielle has feelings for them. maybe they BOTH like each other but think the other one doesn’t. we could do anything! i just like... angst.

family friends - yanno... friends of the family. could be friends with her dad or her mom. or was a mutual friend idk.

hmmm... this is all i can think of atm... i’m rlly up for anything! i’m gonna try to make like an actual in-depth wanted connections page but no promises bc i can be lazy :// 

[scrutineyeze]

i’m seeing a lot of ppl tossing around ideas about the nature of Fear & the Fourteen Fears (& some about the Extinction & its place in that), so i thought i’d try my hand at it too, lol. these thoughts have been kicking around my head for a while, & i’d be really interested in hearing what others think about this !

gonna put a warning here just about descriptions of fear/s & stuff. also a heads up: this contains spoilers for all of the magnus archives up to date [6/29/2020] and also i have A Lot of thoughts & can Not shut up, so this got. long. (2.7k) & ,,, increasingly weirdly worded bc uhh that’s kinda How I Write

without further ado: my thoughts on Fear, its facets, & how Old these might be. possibly also featuring mentions of the sublime & various things i’ve read. (i’ll work to paraphrase and/or quote these things as succinctly as possible.)

01. introduction 02. Fear: that it is not distinct Fears 03. Fear: a continuation, that it is in Facets 04. on the separation & age of such Facets 05. on, indeed, why such facets cannot be seen are Separate 06. some closing thoughts

01. thesis: robert smirke is Wrong about Fear. robert smirke believes that Fear is distinguishable into Fourteen Separate Fears; this has been shown to be, of a sort, already incorrect, as jonah magnus figured out & demonstrated with the only successful ritual, which entailed bringing in all the “fears” at once. however, to think of them as distinct Fears as in plural is a misunderstanding.

02. the following are selections from the meno, a dialogue written by plato & this translation is from Cathal Woods. beginning at 71d.

Socrates: … But you yourself, divine Meno, what do you say virtue is? … Meno: M: But it's not hard to say, Socrates. To begin with, if you want the virtue of a man, it's easy. A man's virtue is this: to attend to the affairs of the city effectively and in the process to benefit his friends and harm his enemies and make sure that he suffers nothing similar himself. If you're looking for the virtue of a woman, it's not hard to express. It's to manage her home well, preserving her possessions and being obedient to her husband. And there's a different virtue for children, both male and female, and for an old man, and, if you want, for a free man and, if you so desire, for a slave. And there are so many other virtues that there's no problem saying what virtue is, since there's a virtue for each occupation and stage of life with respect to each function of each person. And I take the same to hold for vice, Socrates. Socrates: It seems I've had some great good fortune, Meno, if, when looking for a single virtue, I have discovered in your possession some kind of swarm of virtues.

socrates then goes on to ask about bees & if meno thinks that they differ from each other insofar as “their being bees” or if they only differ through other means, such as beauty, size, colour, etc. meno says that they differ by other means, not through their being bees, & socrates presses then that virtue must be the same: there must be something which makes each of the attributes which meno listed virtues, and that connecting thread must be Virtue.

imagine, then, that we are talking about fear. (not so hard to do, when we are talking about fear lol.) so it might follow thus:

Socrates: meno, what is fear? Meno: Well, it is of corruption, and of violence, and of death, and of …

and so on—except that meno could, of course, differentiate further than simply the fourteen which smirke spoke of. as said in 111 “Family Business:”

I always think it helps to imagine them like colours. The edges bleed together, and you can talk about little differences: “oh, that’s indigo, that’s more lilac”, but they’re both purple. I mean, I guess there are technically infinite colours, but you group them together into a few big ones. A lot of it’s kind of arbitrary. I mean, why are navy blue and sky blue both called blue, when pink’s an entirely different colour from red?

and, of course, he goes on to say:

I mean, you could see them all as just one thing, I guess, but it would be pretty much meaningless, y’know, like… like trying to describe a… shirt by talking about the concept of colour.

but i would (will) argue that it isn’t meaningless to try to describe Fear as it is, which is as a single Entity. because it is the differences by other means (beauty, size, shape) which distinguish the facets of Fear, and not that it is distinct from itself by its Being Fear. that which makes us afraid—and us here, and likely everywhere, will be in reference to living things which feel fear in general, tho i will try to make myself clear at any time i speak less or more generally—makes us afraid through its Shared Connection to Fear, not through its connection to any other thing or other attributes. if something has the capacity to induce fear, then it must contain within itself the connection to Fear, or its being scary—the way that a bee, regardless of its other features, will always share with other bees their Being Bees, and the way that virtues must all contain within themselves that which Makes Them Virtuous in order to be listed as virtues at all. “that which Makes Them Virtuous,” socrates says, must be Virtue, & he spends the whole dialogue trying to get meno to help him answer that question (plus an interesting part about memory & reincarnation, but that’s unrelated).

(i’m going to say here that you Really Don’t Have To Read the meno. i uh personally dislike plato, esp when he’s not talking about love—but this is neither here nor there.)

03. so this brings us to, well, if Fear isn’t separate, then what are the Fourteen in relation to Fear? i’d say that they’re Facets of Fear, the way that honeybees and bumblebees are both bees, and aren’t different insofar as “their being bees,” but they are different in terms of other things, such as size and shape, so you might call them Facets (or different manifestations) of Bee-ness.

this does, also, allow for the looseness of seeing Fear like Colour. you can stick to the basics—blue, red, yellow, green, etc.—or get into specifics—ochre, cerulean, lilac—but you’re still discussing Colour. at the same time, Fear works similarly; you can speak of Fear of change (which would include fears such as uninjured to injured, healthy to sick, alive to dead), of depths (which is my reasoning against the point in 111 that “[s]ome really clash, and you just can’t put them together” … “I doubt The Buried would be bringing through The Vast,” because the fear of both seems to me as significantly more similar than dissimilar: the fear is often categorized as not being able to breathe, due to a too-much or not-enough, and also as the fear of being insignificant in comparison to the size, the fear of a deepness you will Never comprehend that Will Swallow you—a video i would Highly Recommend is “Fear of Depths,” made by Jacob Geller; he talks mostly about caves, the darkness you can’t see into, the call of the void. he talks some of the creatures at the bottom of the ocean, a lot about various video games, including a platformer which causes you to lose the floor. it’s a game about going deeper, ever deeper, and yet … you’re plunged into a massive, empty space. it’s a very, very good video. cw for talking about someone dying stuck in a cave.)—and you can speak of Fear in specifics, even more into detail than the Fourteen do. the Fourteen seems, to me, as a relatively easy nomenclature for these things, especially as understanding these things involve “paradoxes that most adults couldn’t handle” (111)

04. and i’m not arguing, necessarily, against using such nomenclature. to talk about Fear is difficult—i believe, much like socrates believes in Virtue, that there must be something that we can speak to which will succinctly categorize all that we find Scary, but, just like socrates and his search for Virtue rather than the naming of virtues, i find myself at a loss. i have my own thoughts on its connection to the sublime, & how terror and awe meet—how i find it impossible to separate the two, and other thoughts on how perhaps calling what i’m speaking of Fear is a reduction of what it Is—but i think putting those thoughts in another meta is a better organization of my thoughts.

so to talk about Fear in a much more manageable way, to talk about it in its particulars, in its Facets, allows us to better speak to it, just as, when trying to speak of Bravery, one does not need to speak of all things Virtuous.

however, i do believe it important to bear in mind the distinction between something being a Facet of Fear, and something being A Separate Fear. this is when we come to the “age” of various “fears,” or facets. this is another point at which i believe that robert smirke is wrong. he believes that the flesh is the youngest entity, that the end is old & so is the dark—and i’ve seen further speculation from there, about the eye being young—which, in light of how the eye (or, at least, jonah magnus, which i think is more likely, as it does seem Fear is malleable based on belief—as it should be, if it is to reflect our Fear) feels about children’s fears (cf. “Night Night,” ep. 173), i’ve seen quite a bit about

in order for fear to exist, the Fear must have been there since the first time fear was felt—or must have been created simultaneously with it, or some such thing. if Fear is indeed how i’ve described it, and smirke took the easy way out by calling it by its Facets as meno did Virtue, then i would argue against the saying that one facet of Fear is older than another—especially because the difference seems only to be in how close one pays attention.

consider the hunt and the eye, for a moment. at first glance—indeed, likely from smirke’s point of view—the hunt would be an older fear than the eye. we understand the hunt to be the fear of being chased, the fear of being made prey, the fear of predators lurking or stalking or hunting. and we understand the eye to be the fear of being watched, seen, known, of having our secrets brought into the light—the eye, as i’ve seen algie @equalseleventhirds say (along with a great deal of other things that i find highly interesting! they have had a lot to say about the connection between fears—fear soup is the nomenclature there—& also about jonah’s effect on the apocalypse & the distinction of Fear that we’ve seen in season five; all of this i highly recommend checking out) is younger than others, and from how these facets are understood now, it seems possible

after all, animals have been afraid of being prey since there were first hunters.

except to be hunted, you must first be Seen. how many animals protect themselves through camouflage? how long have animals used camouflage to protect themselves? how many animals Must fear being Seen just as much as being Hunted because, to them, those facets are inextricable?

05. which brings us to the facets being incapable of being made separate. we—and once more, this is all living things which can feel fear—don’t ever fear only One Thing At A Time.

from a piece of my writing (which is still very much in the works):

“Fear … isn’t that separate. The cabin fed on your fear of loss, yes, but also of being alone—of being left alone. Of being the sole survivor. Of watching us slip away—of losing us to an unfathomable violence that hid[es] … you’re not only afraid of one thing, Tim. It all blurs together.”

in this instance, i’m talking about desolation—kind of. 111 describes it as the “[f]ear of pain, fear of loss, fear of unthinking or cruel destruction.” but where does the fear of pain stop connecting to the fear of being prey, of being the victim of some unexpected violence? from “the Eye Opens,” ep. 160:

You see, the thing about the Fears is that they can never be truly separated from each other. When does the fear of sudden violence transition into the fear of hunted prey? When does the mask of the Stranger become the deception of the Spiral?

where does the fear of loss stop being the fear of being alone? if you’re afraid of losing those you love, you’re also afraid of being made separate from them, of being alone, aren’t you?

even the flesh, which smirke thinks began with the industrial revolution, must have existed since there were first bodies. even if included within other facets, there are so many things which force us to recall our own physicality in the worst way. in the disease & decomposition of bodies—in things like gangrene, in the bacteria that consume flesh—in the witnessing of flesh (sometimes yours) in the mouths of predators—hyenas and lions don’t always kill their prey being beginning to consume it—

humanity’s stories are full of reminders, too. we have cannibalism in our fairytales (hansel & gretel) & we have it in our propaganda: horror stories ranging from during the famine in Jerusalem during Titus’ siege—Reza Aslan’s Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, “There were scattered reports of Jews who succumbed to eating the dead.” and i think i’ve read of similar rumors spread about early christians eating children, tho can’t currently find any sources—and also in significantly more recent times we also tell stories of various people participating in cannibalism, or of monsters which only consume human flesh, or people driven to starvation (cf. ep. 58, “Trail Rations”)—these stories aren’t new. living things have probably feared our own bodies since we had the knowledge that they age and deteriorate and die—that we must eventually end because of them.

this is also why i don’t believe the extinction is any more than another facet of Fear, just like any other; (from “Rotten Core,” ep. 157) “[p]erhaps it is an existential fear that flows through the others like a vein of ore.” it overlaps with and through and into the other facets just as each other in turn folds into the rest. i mean ,,, how many apocalypse-setting shows/books/movies/podcasts exist now? how big was the “2012 as the end of the world” thought? (they made a movie about it: 2012.) us, our end, & the life that comes after … i’m put in mind of a post i recall going around:

“but we built robots, who have beat-up hulls and metal brains, and who have names; and if the other people come and say, who were these people? what were they like?

the robots can say, when they made us, they called us discovery; they called us curiosity; they called us explorer; they called us spirit. they must have thought that was important.

and they told us to tell you hello.”

06. this has all been a rather long-winded (and somewhat meandering) proposition on how Fear might work—i’m Very interested in how other people think about Fear/the Fears/the Fourteen (& if anyone wants to talk to me about the Sublime & where that meets Fear, i’d ! be Very interested in talking about that, i might make another post about that too). i see each facet of Fear as inextricable—when talking and/or writing about them, i find it hard to keep any of them separate at all, especially when it comes to fears i specifically have myself. what do other ppl think ? how separate do you see the various fears/facets ?

[haleruby]

Forget Me Not

Characters/Pairings: established Malia/Lydia/Reader (Quim), Malia, Lydia, Scott, Stiles, lots of snow, and I never say it but the literal yeti. 

Summary: Amnesia makes the mind go brrr, but in a bad way...brr (sad). [This not being a published imagine for my followers means I can mess with the summary and other info as much as I want. XD]

Word Count: 5.9k

Notes: I am using a sideblog that is empty and not tagging bc this is only for your eyes (hopefully and technically the gif maker’s...thank you @ gifmaker for the gif), so no need to reblog/like, etc.

Hope you enjoy and it gives you a boost for dealing with your aunt. :-)

I wrote this around October 11th 2019, so apologies about the style not being quite as fluid as my other writing. My other stuff is a bit more recent, if you maybe wanna read it. Most of my teen wolf phase was around here and then it re-sparked in 2020 towards the fall so I added a tiny bit to that one story I told you about with the warnings. 

Also, apologies for the ending, lol. >.>

- - - - -

She is cold... So cold. It feels like a slab of ice is being used for a bed; her back aches all the way down to the individual vertebrae that compose her spine. Pain is slowly causing her other senses to return, enlivening them in cruel way so feeling anything means to hurt to some degree. A whooshing sound makes it hard to think, it rips across her mind dashing the thoughts that slowly trickle in through the haze and the ache. What happened...? Whipping wind continues to bear down on wherever here is. There is hardness under her, so she is probably on the ground and outside based on the frigid temperature. Moving an arm to check the hypothesis causes pain to lance through her shoulder so sharply a feeling of vertigo sets in. The firm ground suddenly tilts slightly. The leverage is increased almost mockingly, it edges up bit by bit like she is about to be slid off a cold metal tray to join the next batch of suffering. A choked whimper leaves her at the odd sensation of slipping. Just before the final plummet, she snaps back into herself viciously. Jolting does nothing good for her body, but now her eyes snap open with a slight burn as if they were sealed shut previously with chilled glue...At least she thinks they are open. Blinking confirms that her eyelids still function, which is good because she is trying not to think about how her arms and legs are not, though she can still mostly feel them. Everything is white. A flurry of white is all she sees after staring long enough to detect movement in what was thought to be a static image. Snow from what may be an impending blizzard continues to beat down on the surroundings, coating them in freezing rain, smatterings of hail, and ice. Why isn't she buried yet...? How long has she been here? A large conglomerate of flurries landing on her cheek causes her to wince, because it will not melt for a time, but the question remains. The left side of her face is stinging brutally, while the rest of her exposed skin only feels like a wind chap is starting to set in. Frowning makes it seem like there is something frozen to her skin; the downward curl is not reaching the left corner of her lips as if they are stuck. Is there something on her face? Staring blankly at the sky is not helping any of this make sense. Turning her head a miniscule amount causes her to feel sick, so she stops, trying to breathe evenly although the slight shaking is making it difficult. Being still is not an option, but the jolts of pain makes her wish it was. Evergreen trees were glimpsed in her peripheral vision; they looked towering and dark, not all fit for a happy Christmas. Woods plus winter with injuries does not sound good. Why is she even here? Working up the will power to try and get up is not something she has even entertained, since moving a single appendage hurt way too much. The snow fall is becoming less like the interior of a cheap snow globe and more like sheets of rain are freezing and then coating the forest solidly. Her right arm is no longer visible. Maybe getting under a tree would provide some protective covering? Don't get up, just shuffle. She can do that. Her feet ache in a disconcerting way like they fell half asleep. Digging her heels into whatever frozen packed dirt or snow is under her takes a few minutes, but little divets were clumsily formed. Now, she just has to leverage it. Her left arm is tucked close after what happened when she moved it. Shakily drawing her legs up again allows her to try and push back slowly, more so scrambling a few inches than moving back with purpose. Sliding against snow should be easy. The rocks and sticks that litter the ground seem to dig into her when she attempts the awkward dragging motion that causes a pull of tension across her body.

It hurts. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she mumbles hoarsely. Anger at not knowing why, where, or what lead to this prompts the pain signals to be ignored, instead she attempts to continue the mutilated crab walk back. Powdery snow sticks to the black of her pants with less finding purchase on the plastic shell of the navy jacket. A bit of red is spotted in the snow, but checking for the source of bleeding is secondary to getting away from the flurries. A trail of blood spottily forms from where she started to where she has hauled herself to. She is practically panting, which causes the cold air to stab her lungs like multiple knifes each time a ragged breath is drawn in. Her movements become out of sync, bordering on frantic. Less than a few meters of progress has been made... A foot digging in is mistimed with the curl of her back and placement of her arm, so that the stretch wracks through her painfully. A gasp muffles the cry of pain. She ends up off balance, crashing to her side heavily. Snow forces her to reflexively turn her head slightly to the side, but she still feels it burning in a way only ice can against her cheek. Throbbing stemming from her left temple encapsulates her head in a vice and is likely what makes the white dance with undulating blots of black for a while until her vision slowly clears back up. She could just rest and then try again. Maybe she should just close her eyes... Lean back and try to conserve warmth until the effort to move again seems possible. A cat nap could work? She tried and is tired; it's deserved. A sudden shrill howl barely stirs her, but a primal part of her mind urges her to become slightly more alert. That kind of sound belongs to a predator. Laying semi-buried in the snow with the inability to move may as well be an open invitation for dinner to whatever can survive the harsh conditions of the forest; it is probably a wolf or something canine. The tree line is watched between too slow blinks for whatever just made that noise. Nothing happens... She didn't imagine it. The cold has penetrated her gloves, it has penetrated her to the very center of her being, but fingers weakly search for something of use. A large rock? A stick? A phone? A conveniently placed gun? There is nothing she can use for defense, so her right arm stops extending outwards from her side to come to rest with her useless left one. Guarding her vital organs may at least help a little... Another howl sounds, but this one sounds deeper and echoes across the space; it sounds low, haunting, and mournful. There is more than one... They could play tug-a-war with her.  She can barely make it to a tree for makeshift shelter, so climbing one to impede them locating her is also a 'no'. No weapon or means to deter the animal was magically found in the snow. The state she is in is yet another limitation, because she could not fend one off in perfect health either. ...What does she do?  A short yip sounds like an announcement that her time to wrack her weary mind for a solution has trickled away. The source of the sound is located immediately as a small wolf with large, rounded ears makes a bee line for her. She vaguely thought it would have white fur or maybe a light gray, but a tawny brown sticks out against the snowy surroundings and looks distinctly out of place; it should be in a rich pine forest with browns and greens. Mentally critiquing the animal is not what she should be doing. Fear laced adrenaline causes her to clench her right fist tightly as she attempts to shift upwards to appear less prone—less weak. Gathering snow in her palm is so she has something to throw, even if a snow ball is a poor choice against a predator. The animal skids to a stop a little ways away, raising its head towards the sky to scent the air. Is it smelling her blood and judging that she is easy prey?

Teeth grit at the thought, because she has no idea about wolves or whatever dog thing this is. Could noise scare it away or only incite it further? How do you deter a canine? Looking it in the eye may be taken as a challenge or as a warning, but she still stares into its' eyes sharply, trying to project an intimidating aura as she narrows her own. The little quakes racking her paired with the fact she is on her back does not make her cut an imposing figure. A slow step forward is taken as the small wolf lowers its body more to the ground; it must be savoring how easy a kill this will be. Her arm draws back in warning. Will the wolf call her bluff and edge closer? "Go away," she seethes, knowing that saying something to it is a lost cause, but it is eyeing her oddly for an animal, almost thoughtfully. Lunging for her throat or springing forward to pounce should have occurred by now. Why isn't it attacking? Ears fall back, almost dropping at the tone, rather than being pressed flat against the skull in anger. Another step forward is taken and then another, until the wolf is close enough that she thinks she can hit it...The snowball is poorly compacted and falls apart, but some of it lands on its fur, which causes the wolf to shake its head at the action, giving a disgruntled chuff at the coldness.  ...Did she expect that to go any better in her head? No. But it was her only real projectile. The wolf does something unexpected, it sits down like a dog and stares at her with those too human eyes. The forest in summer again comes to mind; a rich hazel that borders on brown like wood bark aside from the lightness around the iris is trained on her. She glares right back. Maybe its not a wolf, because it looks small and lean with a body that seems more agile than powerful. A long snout reminds her of a fox, and those ears that are still down are not really that wolf like either, too floppy... Maybe it's a special breed to this area or something else, not that it matters when it definitely has vicious claws, sharp teeth, and she can't get away. A decision must have been made as it creeps closer with tentative footfalls that barely displace the snow. Her arm is pinwheeled to kick up the remaining snow at her side at it in a last ditch effort for distance, but it keeps coming closer heedless of the weak icy barrage. The coolness likely does not seep through its thick fur. "Stop! Please, just go back!" She raises her voice sharply, distilling a hardness to her tone that causes the near hyperventilating quality of her breathing to abate for a moment as she tries to issue a command to a wild animal. Surprisingly, the wolf does halt its progress, but what it does next has her trying to get away as if the promise of being eaten was only a slight offense. Hazel just flashed a brilliant, glowing electric blue that seemed to pierce through her. Its an unnatural wolf thing. There may be worse things than death. Scrambling away using both hands and legs was a mistake, one that was made more than once as she groans. Her jaw locks like a steel trap as she continues, now on her stomach rather than side to crawl away. Tears feel momentarily warm against her frozen cheeks, before causing the burning to redouble from the wind. Everything hurts. She claws desperately at the snow, trying to get away, because there is no explanation for what she just saw or how odd the creature is in general. Her vision seems to be becoming the view used for wide screen movies; darkness creeps around the edges. She is struggling to make sense of things other than the need to move away, because that creature goes against the natural order.

Its too intelligent, it knows too much. Those eyes. It won't just kill her... Something grabs a fistful of her jacket, tugging backwards to prevent the flagging forward motion. It must have a mouthful of her jacket. She kicks out. Her legs feel like lead weights that she only has a minor degree of control over and no contact was made with a furry body, instead only the inevitable collision back with the hard ground occurs. The additional jolt is nothing compared to the rest of the pain that is maddening at this point, because the adrenaline rush is failing at dampening it. Her actions are catching up with her. An angry sob leaves her when she inelegantly falls face first in the snow. Her arms are shaking and she can't support herself anymore while also resisting the wolf. The grip on her jacket is suddenly replaced by a clamping sensation on her shoulder. There is no tearing or teeth burrowing. What feels like fingers squeeze her shoulder, until another hand is placed flatly on her back. What the Hell? What. The. Fuck. Being turned over slowly causes her to whimper; her eyes screw shut because nothing makes sense and she hates it all. Fighting has gotten her nowhere. Something warm settles on her cheek, and she should look to see what is going on, but she is too cold and tired to care. The whipping wind gains an additional sound, though she can't process what it is except that is softer and more pleasing to the ear. A voice? No, that isn't possible. The falling sensation comes again; this time she does not try and stay upright or grounded against it, allowing herself to go along with it. She gives up. . . . . . . "-the blizzard is only increasing; it took out the power lines. We can't go out in that." "You can't, but I can." A dull bang sounds like someone hit something wooden with their fist. "We can't!" This is half shouted in clear exasperation that may be hiding anger. "Losing anyone else isn't an option, ok? I want to know where he is too, but you can't see, smell, or even hear when it's this bad out, and we don't know what is out there that did that to her. You're not thinking it through, Scott." "He's a part of the pack." Listening to the argument unfolding any further is prevented when warm fingers graze her neck. She stops playing possum. Her eyes snap open to meet startled green ones that reminds her of emerald gemstones. A strawberry blonde girl is sitting on the burgundy upholstered couch she lays on, and may just be checking her pulse, but her right hand wraps tightly around her wrist just in case the action is not so innocent. Only a cursory glance is given to the surroundings, since she feels on edge. Where is she? A ski lodge... Thick wooden logs make up the walls, though it is hard to tell how large the space is when only candle light provides light. She does spot the underside of the A-line architectural support that is made of exposed beams. A few mounted deer heads leer at her with glassy black eyes. One wall boasts a large crackling stone fire place that has ancient crossed ski poles above it as a decoration; this is the main source of warmth and brightens the large 'U' of couches that could fit a dozen or more comfortably. This must be a lobby, not a home, based on the few informational areas and posters she saw. Was she out skiing? Returning her attention to the girl has her pausing, because she is being watched so closely, but there may be fear to that gaze too. Pale skin seems to lack much color, even though the fire is casting warmth on both of them and making the red to her hair more vibrant. Her grip is not that tight, and she was touched first, so why is she being looked at like that? Releasing the hold after moving those probing fingers away occurs; she did not mean to frighten her... "She's up! Thank God." The sudden announcement breaks the silent stare off. A guy with spiked brown hair dashes over to the couch alongside a taller guy with black hair that is somewhat obscured by a beanie. These were the two who were arguing. She simply observes them, unwilling to be the first one to speak, because she has no clue how she got here and would rather not be at a deficit by admitting that. Letting them do the informing is a smart move. "We set your arm back in place, but you may need surgery for the cuff," Stiles explains, coming to kneel beside the couch. Soft brown eyes sweep over her form that has less snow and blood caked on it; however, he is still worried about the injuries, especially when they only have a small first aid kit and makeshift sling on hand. "We bandaged what we could. Also, you will probably need a CT scan because your head has a crack in it like Humpty Dumpty. We will figure it all out, Quimmie." He seems pretty caring, so she nods stiltedly in agreement for him to continue speaking. The taller one, who must be Scott, draws closer, fiddling with a walkie talkie in his hand, before sighing. She waits for him to muster up the will to speak. "I know you're hurting, and I'm sorry, but where is Liam?" Once one question is asked it seems that it breaks the dam so a deluge of them come forward as his dark brown eyes narrow at the faint popping of static that comes from the device. There has not been a check-in in a while. "What happened to your team? Was it the ridge that you investigated or did it come after you on a trail? Were the hikers right, and it's just a crazed wolf or something else?" "You can't ask her all that at once." "Stiles, the temperature is dropping further and he is still out in it." "Yeah, and she just woke up, Scott. So back off." A hand finding her own diverts her focus from another brewing argument between the two. Fingers interlace with her own one at a time with a gentleness that confuses her after how hard everything else has been, so she doesn't immediately resist it. A pinky edges over the row of her digits until her hand is covered and then a hold is formed that she does not return. The question must be evident on her features, because a sad smile of understanding is given; it looks like the girl is trying not to crumble, which she accomplishes, but the underlying cracks are still there for all to see. What did she do to be looked at like that?   "Malia is right..." Stiles practically rounds on both of them, knocking his knees against the edge of the couch at the softly spoken statement. "No, Lyds," he disagrees immediately, before locking eyes with impassive (Y/E/C) that watch him, but do not really take him in or express much emotion. He thought it was from the pain and shock, not because... "What is my name?" "Stiles," she answers correctly, because it was spoken already.

"Scott said it earlier," Lydia points it out calmly.  Stiles runs a hand down his face, not wanting to test the theory that Malia suggested because of what it could mean, but he also knows he needs to. There is a reason the werecoyote is listening from behind the couch and not present with the rest. The earlier fear towards her cut her to the bone. Explaining it away as confusion or discombobulation did not convince Malia, who he tries to not glance directly at, even though he can see the glowing blue to her eyes, because this is upsetting to her. He balls his hands into fists; it can't be that. "What school do we all go to?" She says nothing, but wishes the couch cushions would absorb her into it. "What does our dad do for a living?" He asks it more sharply at the silence that seems to say more than any answer could. No, no, no. A hand is placed on the edge of the couch to keep balance as he sinks to his knees, rather than kneel; he meets her eyes squarely. "Come on, try and answer."   Her brows furrow at this, because she does not look particularly like him for them to be blood related. His features are mentally compared to what she intuitively knows to be her appearance. The skepticism is not voiced.  Being stared in outright disbelief by Stiles makes it clear that anything she could say about the situation would make it worse. "What is your name? Where are we from? What is the year? Who is she-" A hand gestures quickly to Lydia, though he quickly unfolds his fingers so he is not rudely pointing at her, but his palm shakes, "-to you? Malia, come over here and-" "Stiles." Lydia's voice holds a firm warning as she places a hand on his shoulder, pushing him slightly away from the couch edge before he looms closer. She scoots to be blocking his stare that practically tears into them with its desperate edge. He probably does not even realize he was raising his voice, almost shouting out each question so it warped into a demand. "Don't push her; it's not her fault." "She isn't saying anything!" Stiles counters. "It wouldn't be what you all want to hear..." That causes the pack to grow quiet for a moment as they each consider the matter of fact statement. "So, what? You were just going to go along with it?" Scott asks, confused. The realization that they have no idea what they are facing or how Liam is doing also weighs on him in addition to how this amnesia will affect the pack. Did they just lose two friends tonight? He sits down heavily on the coffee table, shooting Malia a sympathetic look to try and silently communicate she needs to dim down. "There are five of you and one of me, not great odds, so-" "We aren't going to hurt you." The vehement interjection causes her to reword the point, though green eyes practically blaze as they meet her own; any of that fear has burned away, replaced with conviction. "I don't know anything about anything," she admits softly, glancing at the red and black plaid blanket draped over her legs to cope with so many people staring at her. Her head still aches and this is tiring. "Waiting to see what you had to say was the logical thing to do. I don't know your intentions, but I wasn't going to lie to you. Thanks for helping me out of the snow..." "That was Malia," Scott supplies automatically. She has the feeling that none of the ones in the seating area is this Malia person, so a nod is given. Stiles rises from the stone floor, trying to figure out how to fix the situation. This is no broken bone that can be set or a cut that needs to be stitched up; her memories are not murky or mixed up, but are completely gone. "Can you please tell us what you do remember?" "Why?"

"So we can help you and our other friend." Scott answers honestly, before Stiles losses the bit of composure he just re-gained. He is in older, adopted brother mode and is obviously upset. "We can answer your questions too." "I didn't say I had any..." "You don't know anything, so you should. Unless being amnesiac is how you want to reinvent yourself before senior year." Stiles snipes, but backs off when his best friend gives him a warning look that does not compare to the one he will get from Lydia and Malia, if he keeps pressing it. He is mad at what happened not her...But she is not acting like his adopted sister, who has been with him for years, but someone else entirely. Fingers pull at the worn tassels of the blanket for a moment as she considers the alternatives, turning them over in her head given how tense things are and her own deficit. They did help her, so being difficult is not her goal. She can't shake that there is something not quite right about them, especially Scott, it makes her feel on guard like there is a potentially hidden deadliness. Why are they in an empty ski lodge? The owners should be present or at least the other customers. She is mostly laying down aside from a pillow that elevates her back, sitting upright would put them more on equal terms, but the pain that will come with moving is considered. "Okay, one quick question: why are you all here alone? This place does not seem to be in operation, so did you break in...?" Scott shares a look with Stiles. Telling the full truth would only work with someone acquainted with the supernatural and all of that must have been wiped away too. He runs his hands down his thighs to stall. "We got, er, permission to come up. There's an unsolved mystery that we are trying to crack. The resort is temporarily closed down, because of it and the blizzard..." He trails off, trying to balance the truth with the lies. "We are trying to help." "You do seem the helpful type," she observes dubiously, before crossing her right arm carefully with her sling encased left. The position helps her feel a bit more distant from their prying eyes; it feels like they are judging her, though that makes sense when she is expected to actually be someone, not a blank slate. She turns her attention to the fire. "I don't know a Liam. I don't know why we were on a team or what our objective was. All I remember is snow: white, cold, burning snow. I was on the ground trying to get up, but failed because everything ached. I actually felt like I was falling..." She presses her lips together, mulling over what else can be said. Those glowing, unnaturally blue eyes come to mind so vividly, it feels like she is staring at the creature again. They probably already think she is crazy enough without mentioning it. "There was a wolf, or maybe it wasn't a wolf, that kept coming towards me. I assumed it would maul me, but it didn't...I'm not sure how it was going to kill me, it seemed too patient and smart, not really like a typical animal. I freaked out and tried to crawl away when it got too close, which made all the pain a lot worse. I fainted. I'm assuming Malia scared it off or dealt with it, because I think I would remember it biting into me...Then I woke up here." Lydia wants to reach out to her, but prevents the urge with how previous attempts were received. She can tell that she is still struggling with the pain on top of everything else; however, the far off look in her eyes must mean something is not being voiced. They still have not shared her name...

"Okay, so everything before the snow is blank?" Stiles confirms, getting a curt nod in response that makes him want to throw something into the flames of the fireplace. This is not how the weekend's mission was meant to go. He is pacing in front of the hearth, chewing on the cap end of a pen as he thinks about where to go from here. She was also their only lead with Liam and the creature. How will his dad react? He's older--the older sibling, and feels responsible for her, and now she's a very familiar stranger..."You're sure that's it? So like an hour or so comprises your entire, new existence?" "Yes, Stiles." He ignores the slight irritation to her tone, because he is busy thinking. "Maybe we can jog her memory?" This is posed to the pack, like his sister is another murder case or mystery that he can add to his pin and red string laden board to puzzle out the connections and causes. He can solve this. "We should wait until my mom sees her and the doctors run legit tests. There may be rules on how to deal with head trauma patients," Scott disagrees gently. "Maybe the head trauma is not the cause...It could be something else?" "She is still healing and we don't know how bad everything is." Scott sees the way Stiles crosses his arm abruptly at the disagreement, annoyed. "I want to help her. We need to find Liam too." "The answer could lie with her if we just try and remind her who she is!" "That could make it worse." Lydia is unsure who she sides with between the two guys, but knows talking about the one in question like she is not present in the room is almost always a bad idea. Malia getting up from the wooden chair that was pulled from behind the receptionist's to rest behind the couch is mostly ignored. Supple leather comprises her winter boots that only make a faint clack against the wood floor. She moves purposefully, ignoring Lydia's questioning look as she rounds the couch and stands in front of it to peer down at its occupant. The lack of recognition causes her to feel a deep ache in her heart, while the early fear left a ragged wound behind. Taking a knee, she tilts her head slightly as she watches (Y/E/C) eyes look her over cautiously, rather than softly, because the one in front of her does not know her. "Uhm, thank you for saving me?" Malia ignores the tentative gratitude. "Malia, I-" Scott's concerned warning is stopped short when Stiles holds up a hand, silently asking for him to let whatever is about to happen unfold. He locks his jaw, knowing how affected his beta was when she arrived back at the lodge. She was practically incoherent in describing what happened, instead whimpering and growling when anyone got too close to the two and unwilling to let go of the one bundled up in her arms. She was more coyote than human... Scott slides to the very edge of the coffee table to intervene, if needed, as a precaution. She looks kind of angry...Hazel eyes are not nearly as searching as the green ones that were first on her, rather they seem to be invasively prying without hesitation. The shoulder length cut to her brown locks frames her face nicely, which makes her gaze that much harder to look away from. Being stared at like some sort of freak show is grating on her patience, so she eventually manages to glance away to look back at the fire, though her view is soon occupied by Malia shifting closer with a challenging look. A lightly tanned hand rests on the back of the couch, effectively caging her in. "If you have something to say, then please go ahead," she requests calmly. "How could you forget about me?"

"It wasn't a choice." "Then why aren't you remembering?" Malia almost snaps out the question. A scoff almost leaves her at the presumption, because this girl is really blaming her...Are they all placing the fault on her alone? Maybe the inkling that something is not right with some of them is because they are actually a threat; the lodge is becoming more inhospitable by the second.  "I can't. It's not like I'm repressing it," she replies sternly. "I don't know my own name, so it's definitely not personal. Get over yourself." "Quim. That is your name" Lydia offers, trying to mediate between the two, though she knows this is hard for Malia. It is hard for her too, but someone has to be on Quim's side as a source of support. "Oh, okay..." Fingers burrow deeply into the upholstery of the couch, nails threaten to extend and rip out the plush stuffing. Her coyote aspect howls in her mind. Malia grits her teeth against the hurt those words just stirred, trying to let anger mask it because she would have never thought this would happen to them. This is not how it should be. Relying on instinct, she surges forward, placing a hand firmly over Quim's heart to pin her in place as she joins their lips without asking for permission. She is her's, so she should not have to. The kiss is forceful, demanding and not at all how a kiss should be...It is also one sided. She is doing all the action, while her partner is frozen and unresponsive, though that stasis eventually breaks for Quim to turn her head away abruptly, before a hand is against her shoulder, pushing away. Trying to move away from Malia causes a sharp pull in her back that earns a wince. Fucking oww. "What the hell are you doing?!" "I was trying to jog your memory!" Malia counters. "You can't just kiss people!" "We've done way more than kiss, Quim!" That causes the indignation to leave her in a rush, making the anger feel unwieldy and too large for her to handle. She retracts her hand from Malia, re-crossing her arms as best she can to serve as a barrier between the two of them. Now, she is more confused. "What...?" "Maybe now isn't the time for this..." Scott attempts to reason with his beta. "Mal-" "My soulmate forgot me!" "Not on purpose." Lydia pipes up, earning a huff from the werecoyote, but at least she is listening to her. She links their hands to try and pull Malia away from the couch edge. "We need to be patient." "How are you handling this well? She forgot you too--both of us!" "Not. By. Choice." "I have two girlfriends...?" Stiles runs a hand down his face at the turn in conversation; this is not going to fix her memory, but of course that is what his sister takes away from the conversation. "Yes," he answers at the perplexed expression, rolling up his shirt sleeve to show his blank wrist. "Soul identifying marks. Ring any bells? No, well, you have two of them, so you have two soulmates, even though it is rare to have even one. Lucky you."  Oh... Green and hazel eyes no longer meet in a silent, tense stare off, settling back on the occupant of the couch. Quim falls silent under their attention, unsure what could be said when forgetting your literal fated other halves.