#because otherwise i don't know how many people would have the time and patience to read it all in one post

[ms-demeanor]

You posted about adhd and I was hoping to follow up to clarify something. I’ve explained to my partner a million times about how the borderline-hoarding mess of his space is very mentally draining to me, and he understands but we’ve both essentially accepted he won’t clean his mess because he can’t because of his adhd. You’re saying he’s actually being a shit head?

This isn't necessarily an issue of him being a shithead, but it also isn't a sustainable situation. It's not good for you and there's a level of clutter that's probably not good for him either.

Large bastard is a lot more clutter-y than I am. The solution we've come to is trying to keep our messes at least isolated from one another; he can have his messes and I can have mine, but he can have those messes in his spaces, not all over the place. Sometimes those messes migrate, and that's when it's important for him to make the effort to rein them in rather than trying and failing to make a daily effort to keep our entire shared space tidy.

I think when you say "we've both essentially accepted he won't clean his mess" what I'm hearing is resignation; you're not happy about this but you don't know what to do so you've thrown up your hands and he feels helpless and unsure of what to do to improve the situation. This is the kind of "it's fine" that isn't really fine.

I think it would be worthwhile for you to each separately think about the mess and talk about it together. Are there areas that YOU *need* to have not-messy? Both for utility and your mental health? Are there areas where you can tolerate more mess than otherwise? Are there areas that are going to be harder for him to keep the mess out of than others? Are there things he doesn't *know* about cleaning up the mess?

I'm obviously a big "communication communication communication" person so I'm going to recommend a lot of talking about stuff, which is probably going to mean a lot of thinking about and interrogating stuff. I'm going to say "talk to him about why the mess bothers you" which means you also have to really articulate to yourself why the mess bothers you (for instance I'm not actually *bothered* by a messy kitchen, but I know it's going to reflect badly on us - and me specifically b/c of presumed gender roles - if someone pops by and the kitchen is a disaster, AND a messy kitchen is going to be harder to use). Genuinely, sometimes knowing *why* something is a problem might make it easier for someone with ADHD to do something. And it's not that he doesn't care that it upsets you, it's just that "Oh if I don't wash my breakfast dishes Anon won't have clear counterspace to make lunch" might be stickier in his brain (and less hard to look at emotionally) than "this thing I forget to do upsets my partner so I should do it."

For the record, I think that people with ADHD should read up on Demand Avoidance and see if it might explain some of the issues that they have in their day-to-day life; I've seen some really unfortunate situations with friends where trying to do things that their partner needed became the subject of demand avoidance. *I* have experienced negative outcomes of demand avoidance. The solution to that, however, isn't to stop making attempts to do the thing OR to simply try harder to do as they're asked/told (which reinforces the demand), it's to work on setting up a situation where the partners' needs are not interpreted as a demand. This is fuck-off difficult and requires a lot of patience and care and many attempts to succeed and will be different for each person and relationship.

(Also for the record demand avoidance isn't *super* strongly linked to ADHD and it's not a definitive symptom; like Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, it is something that occurs in some number of people with ADHD and can be a useful lens through which to examine various behaviors; you don't need to have DA or RSD to have ADHD, and having DA or RSD also doesn't invalidate your diagnosis; they're symptoms. For me, DA often feels like "if I don't look at it, it can't get me" - If I ignore all the messages I've got they aren't real and don't have real consequences so I'll just ignore my texts. If I don't look at the vendor email about the order, the problem with the order isn't real and it won't get added to my task list. If I don't look at the requests in my inbox I can't let people down when I don't do them. It's a self-protective coping mechanism but it's *maladaptive* and I can't just ignore the vendor email or all my texts. I need to work on a way of doing the stuff that I'm avoiding in a way that makes it less stressful and doesn't hurt the people relying on me. That takes a lot of effort, personal insight, trial and error, and )

But before I dive into specifics I want to be really really clear about one thing: sometimes people are simply incompatible. Sometimes one person has such a low tolerance for "mess" and the other person has such a high threshold for "mess" that it can't be reconciled. It sucks that this can end up being a thing that people break up over, but it is MUCH better to acknowledge incompatibility as early as possible instead of spending years and years building resentment.

There used to be a great forum called MiL's Anonymous that I spent a lot of time on. It had a lot of people in a lot of difficult situations struggling to get by and hold their relationships together. The question that was used as a litmus test to approach each situation was simple: If you knew today that everything about living with this person would be the same in five years, would you stay?

Because you can't control your partner. You can't control the future. You can only control yourself and your proximity to situations that are harmful to you. If you knew, 100%, that things wouldn't get better in five years, would you be okay with staying in this relationship? If the answer is "no," then that's that. Don't worry about questions of whether or not your boyfriend is a shithead, start the process of ending the relationship because there's a good chance the situation is going to be exactly the same in five years.

If the answer is "yes," and you'd stay in the relationship regardless of whether or not things changed, then it's time to take actions to improve your life within the context of the relationship.

(No judgement on that yes or no, btw. If you would hate living like this for another five years, and you would feel like you'd wasted your time and hadn't done the things you wanted to with your life, get out. Bail. Go. It will be better for you and better for your partner if you split instead of spending half a decade building resentments and and problems that you'll have to spend another half a decade healing from.)

Also, a note: you describe your boyfriend's mess as borderline hoarding - is the issue *mess* or is the issue *clutter*? I have friends who are very tidy, but whose homes are very cluttered. They like things, they have many things, they keep many things around, but their houses are always clean and well-dusted and orderly, just with a tremendous amount of *stuff.* I am addressing all of this as though the issue is mess, not clutter. If your boyfriend's situation is clutter (the space is busy and packed with things but it is functional and clean) and your issue isn't with *mess* (things out of place, things not having a place, things that need to be cleaned up gathering in stacks, falling behind on regular chores like laundry and dishes and taking out the trash) then you definitely need to assess whether or not you are compatible.

For instance here's a room that is messy but not cluttered compared to a room that is cluttered but not messy:

That first room is a *mess* but it would be very easy to clean up in under an hour. The second room is fairly tidy, but would take significant effort to pare down and declutter. BOTH of these can be difficult to live with but the second one is not dangerous or threatening to anyone's health. (The second one is QUITE cluttered and if every room in a house looks like this it can be overwhelming to live with; this is actually harder to deal with in a relationship than the first one in a lot of ways. I don't have a lot of advice for what to do if your partner is a high degree of tidy-but-cluttered because I don't actually think it's a problem or wrong to have thousands of books or bins full of lego or a million kitchen appliances as long as you have the space and can keep it safe and well-maintained; this is a really significant compatibility issue)

Okay, all that out of the way, here's the hard work.

Talk about this shit

Talk to your partner and define "mess." Make sure you are on the same page about what you mean when you're talking about what a messy room looks like versus what a tidy room looks like. Gather reference pictures. DRAW reference pictures.

Explain not just that the mess upsets you, but *why* and *how* it upsets you. In this context don't think of it as your boyfriend's mess, think of it as an unpleasant roommate. Discuss this using "I-statements". "When I have to pick up laundry all over the apartment, I feel like a parent more than a partner." "When there are piles of miniatures all over the table, I feel like I don't have anywhere to do things I'm interested in." "When there are dishes in the sink, I feel frustrated because I have to clean before I can feed myself."

Discuss, frankly and openly, whether he knows how to clean. I'm not trying to make excuses for him here but a lot of people with ADHD have a lot of stress and avoidance around cleaning because they spent a lot of time getting yelled at for not knowing how to clean properly.

Discuss your needs, be firm about what you require but willing to compromise. You *need* some spaces to be clean, and some spaces may be harder for him to keep clean than others. It may be MUCH harder for him to keep a bedroom tidy than it is to keep a kitchen tidy; if you need a clean and empty bedroom with everything put away and he simply cannot do that, that is a compatibility issue. But perhaps you need *your* side of the bedroom to be very orderly and can tolerate a moderate level of mess and clutter on his side. Maybe you're really really bothered by a messy kitchen, but it doesn't bug you if the dining table is covered with projects and papers. Figure out something more workable than "his mess goes everywhere and i live with it because he's incapable of cleaning" because he probably is not incapable of cleaning and you deserve to have places in your home that are comfortable for you.

Reduce friction for cleaning

Sometimes the problem isn't cleaning, the problem is the many many steps before cleaning, or not knowing where something should go when you are done cleaning. One of the absolute best things I've done for myself for cleaning my space is getting a broom holder and mounting the broom to the wall. Sweeping is now essentially thoughtless. I don't have to find the broom or pull it out from a pile of fans or go scrounging around for a dustpan it's right there on the wall, frictionless. So here are some ways to reduce the barriers to cleaning:

Make sure you and your partner both know how to use your cleaning supplies and know where those supplies are. When I switched dishwasher soap I had to re-show Large Bastard where I was storing it and how it was used, because to him what happened was the dishwasher tabs just vanished one day and he didn't know what I was putting in the machine or the process I used. He sometimes puts tools away in places that I can't see (he's more than a foot taller than me) so sometimes I can't get started on a maintenance project until he shows me where he put the battery pack for the drill.

Consider making a how-to chart to or having him make a how-to chart to keep someplace accessible so he can reference it while cleaning. Goblin.Tools Magic ToDo is great for this. Basically a lot of the time people with ADHD have trouble knowing what to do from step to step even if they've done something before, so having a step by step guide can make it easier (I have notebooks full of step-by-step guides for everything from paying for my tuition to removing licenses for my customers to weeding my yard)

Remove obstacles; don't keep cleaning chemicals in the garage in a box that's behind a stack of parts, keep them in the room you'll be cleaning. Don't keep the cleaning supplies that you use to clean the bathroom in the kitchen. Sometimes this means buying two bottles of bleach solution and two scrubbers and two sets of cleaning gloves but having fewer steps (fetch the windex, fetch the paper towels, fetch the gloves) is often the key to getting things done (open under-sink cabinet and grab windex, gloves, and paper towels that are there instead of in the kitchen).

This sort of overlaps with the next category, which is:

Create Dump Zones

One thing that I've found that seems very different between people with ADHD cleaning and neurotypical people cleaning is that neurotypical people are good at getting to a point where the cleaning is "done." They have checked off their tasks and they have finished and it is over. There are *SOME* chores that are like this (taking out the trash is a binary state, the trash has been taken out or it has not) and some chores are perpetual (horrid cursed dishes) but I think with people with ADHD, some chores that are binary for neurotypicals are actually perpetual chores. For instance "clean off the counter" is not a one and done for me. "Clean off the counter" may involve a three day reorganization project. "Clean off the counter" does not mean "wipe down the tile and put dishes away" it means assessing whether or not I need to make vegetable stock and bleaching three tea containers and reconsidering whether or not the sharps container should live somewhere else and going through the mail and figuring out what needs to be responded to and taking out the recycling and on and on and on.

We have had company at the house for the last two weeks, so I asked large bastard to clean off the dining room table, which is largely a project zone for him. Cleaning off the dining room table meant putting away his meds (and since he's a transplant patient that involves a 30 gallon rubbermade tote), throwing away some trash, and totally reorganizing his workshop. It also incidentally involved picking up a table from facebook marketplace and moving my plants, which has now involved moving my former plant rack outside (moving buckets, finding and organizing planters and gardening tools) and taking the former table to the thrift store (not done yet) and cleaning the rug that was under the former table. So "either the table is clean, or it isn't" isn't really true for us.

HOWEVER "hang on we can't eat until the table is clear so let's drive to Pico Rivera to get that console table right now" isn't a workable plan, so you create dumpzones as areas of holding between the start and the finish of the chore.

A dump zone can be a laundry basket. It can be a craft bin. It can be a back room or under your bed. It is a place to put things that you are going to deal with later because if you deal with them now it is going to derail the thing you are actually trying to do, which is set the table for dinner.

Dump zones are vital to cleaning with ADHD and I recommend them for day-to-day cleaning as well. The day-to-day dump zones might be more for you than for your boyfriend. For instance, Large Bastard works with bullets and he sheds bullets all over the house. I used to get stressed when I found bullets when I was cleaning because are these work bullets? Are these recreational bullets? Are they in testing? Do they need to be pulled? Do they go in the workshop or the office or the garage or does he need these today so they have to stay on the counter? And the answer now is "that's not my problem naughty bullets go in the jar." Which is perfectly sensible because he gets to say "mystery yarn goes in the bin" and "art supplies go in the bucket."

I feel helpless when cleaning a lot of the time. I'm frustrated and lost and I don't know where stuff goes and everything I pick up spins off into three projects in my head and every step feels like a wall to scale. Dump zones help me with that when there's pressure or a reason for cleaning beyond day to day home maintenance. People are coming over? The bedroom is a dump zone, I'll deal with that later. I'm just cleaning up because I need to? Okay I can find a permanent home for this new dish soap.

AS A VERY IMPORTANT COROLLARY TO THIS:

Active projects do not go in dump zones while you or your partner are cleaning. This may mean designating a project sanctuary area like a corner of the table or one particular chair in your main room where a project can be placed so as not to be disturbed. (if my current crochet project ends up in the yarn bin, that may mean that I don't pick the project up for another three months, it lives on the windowsill behind the couch because that's where it'll get worked on)

Do not put things away for your partner, put them in the dump zone for your partner. Your partner has to be the one to put their own stuff away in a way that works for them. I tend to find that this naturally puts a limit on the time stuff sits in the dump zone, because eventually you'll go "hey where's my thing?" and will put stuff away. If that doesn't happen, it's still generally better to have stuff in a dump zone than all over the home.

Do not decide you know what things go together from your partner's stuff and try to "put like things together." The neurotypical urge to put like things together is the mindkiller(j/k). You do not know which things are "similar" in your partner's organization schema and attempting to organize things on your own is going to end up with all of the things "organized" being functionally lost forever from your partner's perspective. Large Bastard's mom would do this and it was infuriating, she'd say "oh I put all the electronics stuff in one box" and she would mean soldering irons, transistors, ham radios, HDMI cables, and cellphone chargers. We are *still* going through boxes of stuff that she "tidied up" when he was hospitalized in 2020 and 2021.

To prevent the need for quite so many dump zones over time, you can work on setting up landing zones and "homes" for projects and tools.

Landing Zones

Landing zones are places where things go when you come inside from doing various things. Sometimes your landing zone only needs to be a tray for your wallet and keys, sometimes your landing zone needs to be a place to take off muddy boots and put a trowel and gloves down before you shower.

To make an effective landing zone, consider what behaviors you're trying to minimize and whether the people using it are ACTUALLY going to use it. For instance I was tired of the corner of my hearth getting cluttered with random junk so I hung up some hooks and put a shelf and a basket there and it became a really effective landing zone for my bag and keys and the mail, but it was VERY ineffective for Large Bastard because it's by a door that isn't the primary door he uses to enter the house. As a result I always know where my keys and bag are but he has trouble finding his keys and wallet. He tends to enter the house through our bedroom and has an overloaded valet next to the door and that's usually where his wallet ends up. Mounting a shelf to the wall above the valet and putting a basket and a hook on it will be a better place for his stuff to land. It's not that he's not using the first zone because he doesn't know that it's there, or because he doesn't care about lost time when I'm searching for my car keys after he borrows them, he's not using it because it's not by the door he uses. That's all.

I have a landing space for when I come in for gardening that's different than the one when I come in from grocery shopping. I have a landing space for when I walk into the dining room instead of the kitchen when I get home.

Landing spaces prevent stuff from piling up all over the place because they are a limited functional space that should be used frequently. Mail ONLY goes in the landing zone. If you have mystery mail or if you're not sure it's safe to toss, you put it in the landing zone. You can't let the mail get piled up too high or you won't have a space for your keys. You can't let the change in your wallet tray get too deep or your wallet is going to slide off, etc., but you also don't just put change on the coffee table or your nightstand because the landing zone is right there.

Homes for items are just what they sound like. They're the place the item goes. It lives there. My meds live on my nightstand. You would not believe how poorly I did with taking my meds on my vacation because they weren't on my nightstand. A while back large bastard lost one of his sets of sorted meds and we tore the house up looking for them because he couldn't find them in his nightstand, which is where they live. *I* found them in his nightstand because I emptied out the entire top drawer (he had only looked on the top layer) and found them underneath a radio and a hammock. Even though they were *hidden* they were in their home, so they were findable. I recently needed ink for an art class. Art supplies live in a dresser by my desk. Ink lives in the art bin or the top left drawer. The ink was not in either of these places (it was on a cabinet in the dining room behind a teacup) so it took me weeks to find it.

Sometimes the reason that ADHD spaces are so messy is because objects have been assigned homes in places that are visible and if they get moved they get lost. This is a genuinely difficult problem that requires a lot of effort to solve and can involve a lot of trial and error for creating a tidy living space. For some people, open shelving and visible storage might be a good solution. For some people, assigning a VERY clear home and inculcating that location by habit is the only way to clean up a space. For some people one very cluttered corner to at least isolate the chaos does the trick (for me and large bastard open shelving doesn't work because anything in one place for too long becomes invisible; that means that I rely on assigning things homes and large bastard relies on having contained chaos and a general idea of where to search but what that DOES NOT mean is that he is clean or tidy. His spaces look like an explosion. But he can mostly find his stuff and do what he needs to do and as long as that's limited to specific places in shared spaces I can live with it; the dining room table can be a disaster, the kitchen cannot).

People organize things differently. It often takes a while for neurotypical adults to settle into an organizational style that works for them and ADHD adults may need to settle into a new system every few months for it to continue working. The cleanup and declutter is most likely going to be a permanent project that is always going to demand some level of attention from everyone in a shared space, but "my ADHD means I can't do it" is not really going to fly. Maybe his ADHD means that he can't keep his space tidy, but it doesn't mean you can't move stuff from shared spaces into dump zones or that he can't do stuff around the house.

If he's insisting that his ADHD means that he can't clean it is possible that he's not being a shithead, he just feels helpless and doesn't know where to start and has adopted the belief that he's a useless piece of shit who can't even keep a tidy space like a grownup because he's internalized a lot of shitty attitudes (hello, my internal monologue about keeping a clean house). But it's also possible that he's just being a shithead.

It's something that's worthwhile to investigate with him. If he's unwilling to make an attempt, then he's being a shithead.

It is also not your responsibility to rehabilitate another person. If he wants to clean and it's something he feels bad about and needs some help and support with the way that someone might need help or support for learning to use a mobility aid, that is fine but you don't have to be the one who gives him that support if it's detrimental to your health, and you don't have to be the one to teach him that stuff if it's not something you're capable of. And if he is NOT interested in working on making your shared living space more accessible for you, that is not your suitcase to unpack and you just have to ask yourself the question from the start: would I stay with this person if I knew the situation was never going to change?

IDK, I'm sure a lot of this reads like "anon you must take on the emotional labor of training your partner to be an adult" but it's really meant to be more of a way of assessing yourself and your relationship. If you created landing zones do you think he'd use them? Would he get angry if you assigned a laundry basket as a dump zone for his stuff while you tidy the living room? Is living with him long-term going to be comfortable for you if nothing changes? Do you have enough of a shared definition of "mess" that you're at least in the ballpark for what counts as a clean house?

anyway good luck, and a reminder to folks that I'm compiling a bunch of adhd resources and other information on my personal website, ms-demeanor.com. It's coming along slowly but it will eventually include stuff like ADHD cleaning tips and how to tackle a hoard, so maybe keep your eye on that space.

[skunkox]

"Until he gets tired of me."

That's was Darlin's answer anytime someone questioned their relationship with Sam. A pircing but deep pain would shoot through their chest every time they said it. But it was always said in a joking tone and a movement to distract the other person from their face.

No one needed to see how that thought may have hurt them. They knew what they were getting into from jump. Darlin' felt safe. Safer than they had felt in a long time. They found that safety in Sam and were grateful for it. Nothing is promised, and to have had Sam in their life at all was a blessing and a mercy.

As much as they hated the thought of Sam ever leaving them, Darlin' could never blame him. They'd fucked up so many times in their life. People had gotten hurt. They were reckless. In being so, caused Sam to strain himself to care and worry for them.

There were day they wished Sam would just pack up and go. To rid himself the headache of their presence. But whenever they woke, he was always right there, holding them close and tightly.

He'd never do that, though. It was obvious to anyone who actually bothered to see them together. The tenderness in his eyes. The gentleness of his touch. The vampire was beyond sprung for the wolf. He was happy. Like he was finally healing.

Sam wouldn't be going anywhere. Sam learned that about himself very quickly after the first couple of meetings. Darlin' knew as well. A part of their brain screamed to believe otherwise. They hadn't done anything to deserve his grace. His patience. His love. Love that was promised to them until the end of their time.

"Do you think Count Yee-Haw will stay?"

The question had been asked once again. This time, by a young boy named Carlos. He had gotten attached to Darlin' as a toddler and was one of the few pack members that was genuinely happy to see them back.

Count Yee-Haw was the nickname the the pack kids had given Sam. Only they could call him that, though. It was a name bestowed upon him after the collective decided to put his vamp strength to the test. The poor man was literally dog piled and left to hold and stumble around with a minimum of 8 kids hanging off his frame like ornaments. It was a title he was growing fond of.

"Probably. At least until he gets tired of me." Darlin gave the boy a half-hearted smile and pulled forward the hood of his jacket.

"I heard some of the adults talking. They said that he wouldn't stay when you get older." Carlos admitted, frown all too clear on his face. "It's stupid. He obviously loves you. And you're happy now. Isn't that enough?"

The words spoken came from a place of care. Carlos had missed his favorite rebel and defender of Asher's antics. Truth be told, he was worried Darlin' would become uneasy around the pack again and got MIA again. They were more stable with the southern vamp at their side.

Darlin' was about ready to hug the kid in an attempt to soothe his nerves. But a single thought ran through their head. Carlos was a sweet kid. But what he said was just a little nice? Too nice to come from a tween.

"Besides. I don't think you'll ever stop being weird. A d he already talks like an old ma-." Darlin' cut him short with a smack to the back of his head.

"If you think that, why even ask?"

"Because I know you hear them too. And I don't want you guys to go anywhere."

🦇🐺🦇🐺🦇🐺🦇🐺

If you read all that, I'm sorry.

Labeling this as part 1 cause I'm tired. Sorta been drained all week. Hoping to get actually rest this weekend and do a part 2. I have a habit of starting things and not finishing.

AO3 scares me, so small shit will remain here for the time being.

[onskepa]

hi i was wondering if you could write something for tsu’tey? so to set the scene it’s jake and fem avatar’s iknimaya and this is when jake is first taming his ikran and fem avatar (that tsu’tey had to train like neytiri trained jake) gets really concerned for her friend who has been through the same things as her (in reference to getting found by neytiri and then being taken to the na’vi village and having to be trained) and tsu’tey gets jealous because he’s slowly grown feelings for the avatar reader as he’s taught her

(and i’m actually so excited bc i saw you write for Sylwanin and Mo’at and now i have so many ideas for stories but i’ll refrain for the time being, also hope you’re doing well since getting over your sickness! <3)

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!! MY FIRST TSU'TEY REQUEST!! THANK YOU SO MUCH SWEET~!! OH HOW I WANTED SOMEONE TO REQUEST FOR HIM!! MY SWEET HUBBY!!! HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS ONE~!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ningay

Of all things to happen to tsu'tey, he can bare it all. Hunting, gathering, teaching, fighting, being a warrior. Tolerate pathetic whiney skxawng. He can handle it all. But teaching a sky demon the ways of his people? His already thin patience, will be hair thin.

He and neytiri were given the task to teach jake sully and his dream walker friend. Stranded and lost in the forest, those two were found by him and neytiri. Given a sign by Eywa, mo'at had allowed them to learn the ways of their clan and go through their iknimaya.

At first, while neytiri was reluctant, tsu'tey was highly against it. But of course, what the tsahik says it goes. So neytiri was assigned to train jake, while tsu'tey was assigned to train the demon who he never cared to remember the name of.

"wrong....wrong ...wrong again! even a child can hold a bow better than you!" tsu'tey bullied criticized the sky demon. The false na'vi in front of him inwardly sighed, [don't say anything don't say anything don't say anything].

Tsu'tey smirks knowing the demon cant talk back, she doesn't even think of saying anything knowing anything can go wrong in her way. "AGAIN!" he would say after each failed attempt to shoot a proper arrow.

If he is forced to train the demon, might as well get some fun out of it. "At least tell me where I am in the wrong, yelling 'wrong' wont help me get better" the demon says. He merely scoffs and shakes his head. "I have told you again and again, but your little demon brain cant seem to grasp! What is the point to show you if you don't listen? Demons like you never do!".

"Well at least show me the correct way otherwise, we would be out here for hours" the demon says, slight irritation in her voice. Inwardly sighing, tsu'tey grabs her arms and corrects her position. His face close to her, taking in her natural scent. For a demon...she doesn't smell all that terrible.

The sky demon has gotten better, doing good in a well paste. All achievements, small victories, and accomplishments, the sky demon celebrates them. However, she doesn't celebrate it alone. The sky demon shares her excitement with jake sully.

Why him? Yes they go through the same trials and errors but it is tsu'tey that guides her! If there is anyone the sky demon should share her happiness is should be with him! Not the skxawng! But alas, seems the sky demon only has interest in jake sully. It brings bitter taste to tsu'tey's mouth for some reason.

"jake please be careful and try not to die!" the sky demon screamed after jake sully. It was time for the both of them to tame an ikran, and it was jake who is to tame one first.

Tsu'tey was expecting a good laugh, to see jake sully fail miserably. He could use a good joke. He and others of his training group gathered to see jake sully making his way towards the untamed ikrans.

Looking over, the mighty warrior sees the sky demon holding herself in comfort. Tsu'tey walks over to her, close, nearly their arms touching. "He will succeed....right?" the demon asks in worry, her eyes never looking away from jake. He wont die. Why must she keep looking at him when tsu'tey is right there beside her?

"If he doesn't make a foolish move, he will pass" tsu'tey replies, huffing a bit. The demon should be more worried about herself. In a fit of a show, jake managed to tame his ikran with not so much of blood or injuring himself. Taking his first flight with his newly tamed ikran.

Now it was the demons turn.

Taking a deep breathe, the demon went ahead to the other group of ikrans. "Remember what you have to do!" tsu'tey shouted after. Nodding in fear, the demon hissed at the ikrans, until one took at her challenge.

The demon screeched as she does her best to tie the mouth of the ikran with pale light coloring. But the ikran was slightly more aggressive than jake's. Tossing the demon back against the rocky walls. "I will tame you!" the demon said with determination in her voice. Launching back at the ikran, tsu'tey would secretly admit he was impressed. The demon isnt letting down with a fight.

As days pass, and both dreamwalkers were succeeding in their iknimaya, tsu'tey was no fool in how neytiri sees jake. He sees how she looks at him in a new light. Yet would play it off. But tsu'tey is no fool. He knows, neytiri knows deep in her heart. She is growing deep affections for jake sully.

Tus'tey isn't mad. True they were arranged to be mated but if neytiri feels a connection to jake, who is he to step in the way. Besides, he soon begins to feel for the other sky demon....

Every time he and the sky demon are together, he feels more at free, more loose, more...himself. With the little demon, he smiles more, makes jokes and coitizes less. Overall, he is more at peace.

"you know it tsu'tey, you know it as much as I do" neytiri spoke to him one day. Tsu'tey knows exactly what she is talking about. "I know....but the question is....can it be possible" he questions. Can it be? Can they love the sky demons truly?

"after the iknimaya....they should know" neytiri says. It wasn't a question nor was it a thought. It was confirmation. And tsu'tey agrees. While he may not understand these new found feelings for the female sky demon, its best to confess now. Before either jake sully or someone else speaks from their heart.

Their iknimaya is complete. Both sky demons are now part of the people. Omaticaya. And tonight, the whole clan celebrate their new brother and sister. But in the midst of it all, tsu'tey sees neytiri taking jake away from the crowd. That was his cue.

Gathering all the courage he can withhold, he seeks the female sky demon. It wasn't hard, she was the center of attention. Something tsu'tey isn't fond of. She has to share her attention to everyone, everyone that wasn't him. Quickly he grabs her arm and takes her away from the celebration and somewhere more quiet and private. A field of night flowers that the sky demon has come to love. Her favorite place.

"Thank you for taking me away from them...I am not so used to that amount of attention" the demon laughs nervously. She stares at the vast field of the night flowers, admiring their beauty. And tsu'tey does the same, rather, for a different type of beauty.

"I saw jake leave with neytiri. I wonder where they are going....perhaps somewhere like where we are....Jake is a man who can get easily lost I wouldn't be surprised if he loses neytiri somewhere in the forest" she releases a light giggle. He would have join in had it not being the mention of jake sully. It is always jake sully in her mind. It bothers tsu'tey greatly.

Slowly he moves closer, almost touching at the shoulders, taking in her sweet scent. A lovely smell pleasing to his nose. "Jake is a fine warrior....and so are you" he comment, the demon looks up at him with joy in her eyes. "Yes, it is thanks to you I have come this far...truly tsu'tey, I appreciate everything you have done for me"...there it goes. The pounding of his heart beat, ringing in his ears. The rush of joy and pride flow throughout his body.

"I merely did what I was tasked to do...but you are a good student. Better than others I admit to say. Now I await to see what you can do with everything I showed you" he says with care and genuine clarity. The sky demon giggles lightly, her sounds send shivers down his spine like never before.

The girl smiles brightly, seeming to be pleased with his words. Good. That is a good sign. Teasing him to follow, she leads him further into the fields.

Together, side by side they admire the beauty of the night. The glowing flowers gently swaying from the breeze. "Tsu'tey...there is something I have been meaning to tell you" the demon says in a low whispers but he managed to hear it. Shifting a bit he looks down at her, "what is it?". Anticipation is all he feels at the moment.

"I don't know when it began but......whenever I am with you.....I feel things and......I know it cant be good. While I am now Omaticaya...I don't think it can be with..." her sentence trails off. No no this isn't what he wanted!

Getting near her face, speaking with a soft voice he says "What if you could? What if...we can?" tsu'tey looked at her with strong hope, hope that she may reciprocate what he feels. The demon-no, calling her a demon now sounds more insulting, she is anything but a demon.

This beautiful woman in front him stands still, hesitation in her golden eyes. Gently grabbing her oddly five fingered hands into his. A small smile creeped up to her sweet lips. Oh how her beautiful smile brings warmth into his heart.

She takes a deep breath and says "does this mean you understand...?" she asks. Tsu'tey nods a bit too desperate. "I do...I have began to feel certain ways for you and if we give it a chance, explore where it can go" he offers. He is willing to do almost anything for this woman. As moments pass, he is getting more certain what he is feeling for her. Yes, he knows now.

The sweet girl laughed a bit and looks at him directly in the eyes, "then....can we" she asks a bit hesitantly. Smirking a bit, he says "we can ma'ningay" tsu'tey wraps his arms around her waist, and her arms around his neck, both getting closer, eyes closed and their lips meet to a passionate kiss.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand that is all for this one! Sorry this took me a long time! had to rewrite this so many times! But I hope you all like it! until next time! see ya!

Ningay = truly

[oneatlatime]

The Painted Lady

Air Bison, Sea Bison, and now Sludge Bison.

I have no idea how Aang is swimming through a solid. Must be an Avatar thing.

I bet there would be time for more potty breaks if Sokka hadn't spent 100+ hours of their time drawing up the schedule. A very Sokka thing to do though.

Because hills often have horns. Great disguise.

You can't tell me that a factory that close to their town wouldn't also become the town's primary employer.

That is a lot of town.

I sense a return of preachy Katara. This episode is going to suck.

I'm with Sokka on this one. Buy fish, move on, defeat Firelord, return to help with environmental remediation if time permits.

I like Doc. And Shu. Nice people.

Writers: if you have to make one of your characters an entirely different person to set up the episode's lesson of the week, maybe the lesson doesn't fit your chosen characters. This is the Warriors of Kyoshi all over again. Funny how that's happened to Sokka twice.

We are all Sokka.

And where exactly did this mysterious painted lady get the food to deliver to the village, if the reason the Gaang stopped in the village in the first place was because they needed food?

Let the record show: I lost the last of my patience with this episode 8 minutes and 9 seconds in.

Waterbending healing has never thrown off that much light before. Even the spirit oasis water wasn't that bright.

Also where is the water she's healing with? Usually she has a big bubble of it.

Impersonating a religious figure. That won't end badly.

"Well I hope she returns every night otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was." YES!!!!!! THAT'S THE POINT!!!!!

What was Katara's plan? Forget about the eclipse, forget about fighting the Fire Lord, we're going to stay here for the rest of our lives so that the painted lady can put in a nightly appearance. THIS IS WHY SOKKA DOES THE PLANNING.

Spirit magic is more doing the worm than doing the wave. Good to know.

Bold of a kids' show to advocate for ecoterrorism.

Aang's like "Hey spirit lady! Here's my resume! Here's my connections on LinkedIn!" Why did Katara think that faking being a spirit within two feet of the bridge to the spirit world would be consequence free? Actually that presupposes that Katara thought. Which she didn't. Sokka does her thinking.

"I don't get to meet many spirits. But the ones I do meet, not very attractive." I am OFFENDED on Yue's behalf. And Sokka's. I guess Aang doesn't like Water Tribe girls after all.

"I guess I just became her." No. That's an excuse and a deflection. I don't want to hear it.

What was I saying about Aang and Katara enabling each others' bad tendencies?

Sokka is horribly out of character this episode, but Aang is as well. In what universe would Aang be so unbothered by Appa being sick, and then so unbothered by the reveal that Katara had been faking Appa being sick? Like, this is Appa. He nearly skinned a bunch of sandbenders over the guy. And he finds out Katara's been messing with him and calls her 'great' and 'a secret hero.'

So this factory, despite being operational 24/7, has no night staff, not even a night guard? Because if it does (which it absolutely does - automation is a problem for factories in our world, not the ATLA one), Katara and Aang just killed A LOT of people.

And so she follows up one short term solution with another short term solution, which causes a third problem she will no doubt solve with a short term solution. You think there won't be reprisals for the only obvious suspects to this industrial sabotage? You think they won't rebuild the factory?

Sokka was kidding when he said that the Spirit Lady had better blow up the factory, but not in the way Katara thought he was kidding. Katara thought he wasn't being serious. But Sokka was serious, in that blowing up the factory is as short term a solution as appearing every night. He thought the joke - exchanging one bad solution for another - was obvious.

Somebody's enjoying himself a little too much.

Unfortunately, serving as Exhibit A is the most Toph has had to do all episode.

It is cathartic to see someone finally call Katara on her nonsense. But I'll bet everything I own that the narrative is going to side with her anyway.

Welp. I won that bet.

"You need me." Correct! Katara unsupervised needs bailing out after five minutes. "And I will never turn my back on you." A much more realistic goal than never turning your back on anyone who needs you, and also Sokka summarised in one sentence. Impressive for an episode where they had to Flanderise him beyond recognition to make Katara somehow the good guy.

Oh for fuck's sake. It's not about having a heart. This late in the game it's pure damage control.

So that's where the Painted Lady's food came from. I guess Fire Nation factories count as pirates?

I like the jetskis. The seem far more stable than actual jetskis.

It never occurred to Katara to obscure the evidence even a little bit? At least rub some dirt on the emblem. Look at me assuming Katara has thoughts.

Actual reprisals for once. About time.

This kid is annoying.

Toph gets to be a haunted house sound effects machine.

That's awfully waterbendery for a Fire Nation spirit.

I don't buy for a minute that anyone would be able to stay perfectly upright and balanced after an air blast from below without extensive trampoline training.

This won't work. His superiors, or the next shift change, or the first recruit wanting to climb the ranks quickly, will rise to the challenge presented here by the "painted lady." And as soon as one FN attack goes unchallenged by the "painted lady," the village is toast. I give them a week, tops.

Kudos to some clever in-universe bending special effects. Doesn't save the episode though.

Katara's preachy speech here makes absolutely no sense in light of the rest of the episode. Scolding them for not saving themselves, when waiting around for someone to save them appears to have worked perfectly? And having little miss I-must-save-the-whole-world-on-a-weekly-basis-otherwise-my-sense-of-self-implodes deliver that scold?

Who are these people wearing the Gaang's skin?

Yeah, nothing screams undercover in enemy territory like an entire village knowing that you're a waterbender. Good thing the only competent tracker in the Fire Nation is Zuko, otherwise these kids will absolutely be dead long before the eclipse.

Hi Bushi! You're about the only part of this episode that doesn't drive me nuts!

At least the animators had fun with this one.

Is this guy mopping the river?

Exactly how many days did they take out of Sokka's schedule to restore the ecosystem? I don't care how overlevelled these kids are at bending, you cannot mechanically separate an entire river's worth of dirt from water in an afternoon.

Well that's just he piss icing on the shit cake, isn't it? It wasn't enough for Sokka to lose all reason and come around to Katara's very flawed way of thinking, it wasn't enough for Aang to call her a hero, it wasn't enough to have a village worshipping at her feet, Katara needs affirmations of how right and special and correct and perfect and morally justified she is from the spirit world itself. This is Mary Sue stuff.

Final Thoughts

This is the first time an episode of Avatar has felt like a waste of my time.

It's also the first time I've felt like an episode has gone out of its way to insult the audience.

Katara talking about how she knows what she's doing is wrong is worth absolutely nothing when a) she goes right back to doing it; and b) literally every other part of this episode trips over itself to assure Katara that she's in the right.

Katara is downright punchable this episode. Sokka is Flanderised; Toph is non-existent; Aang is just there; poor Appa is an unwitting accessory to crime; and Momo has as much impact as a housefly.

So the execs forgot about the existence of The Spirit World Part One and demanded a save the environment special episode. The writers responded by forgetting that they'd already established that Katara was ride or die for literally anyone with a pulse in Imprisoned, and gave us this to remind us of that fact. They also forgot that they'd already established that Katara has no moral code whatsoever the minute her personal interest is involved in The Waterbending Scroll, so they decided to recycle the "narrative sides with Katara endangering them all over Sokka being reasonable" plot from that episode and hope we wouldn't notice. We did.

At least with Imprisoned, Katara kind of sort of caused the problem that she fixed. She was super tangentially involved in that kid's arrest. Here, she causes problems by trying to fix problems that she didn't really have any business getting involved in.

The more of this I watched, the more I wanted someone to slap Katara. What I wouldn't give for an episode where she is wrong (has happened a lot) and the episode doesn't pretend otherwise (has never happened). For god's sake, LET HER BE WRONG AND FEEL IT. How else is she going to progress past being self-righteously fourteen? Why is she being so consistently insulated from consequences? Aang chooses power over family at the end of season two and gets actually murdered for it. Katara steals, lies, skirts dangerously close to being a false prophet and does a nifty little ecoterrorism (with Aang's help), and she gets villagers being a bit shouty before big brother comes in and fixes it. Then she gets divine sanction for her actions so even the shouty bit is negated.

There's an interesting contrast in Katara's "I will never turn my back on people who need me" and Sokka's "I will never turn my back on you." It shows which of the two doesn't have their head in the clouds, and has actually formulated realistic expectations of how much a single person can do. It also speaks to the fundamental difference in how they operate. Katara acts; Sokka mitigates. Sokka does Katara's thinking for her; Katara outsources her thinking and then gets pissed when rational thoughts don't conform to her emotions' view of the world.

Why haven't the villagers moved away? If the water was poisoning them this much, why are they still here? Was the early 2000s too early to have a theme of climate refugees? Or the pollution equivalent? That would have been more interesting than this.

I hated this. Why isn't this the episode that gets hated on like the Great Divide? Its sins are nothing compared to this.

Doc, Shu, and Bushi were the only good thing in this episode, but they weren't enough to make this one remotely rewatchable.

One out of Three so far on season three episode quality. No other season has had this bad a ratio this early. This does not bode well for the rest of this season.

[feroluce]

So I adore time loops and I think Sampo would be very fun in a time loop AU. Because despite having so many onscreen interactions with so many characters, he almost always seems to hold people at a certain careful distance, so it's fun to imagine what or who he's willing to use a time loop for, how far he's willing to go, how much he actually does care.

At the end of the Masquerade Duet companion quest, Sparkle mentions a catastrophe soon to befall Jarilo-VI. And some players have interpreted this as a past event (the catastrophe being the story quests we took part in there), but other players have speculated this as an upcoming disaster that Sampo is trying to mitigate.

And so, Gepard finds Sampo in Belobog, right after he was supposed to return from Penacony...or whatever it was called, Gepard had almost been too relieved to remember the name after Natasha assured him that Sampo was fine and not missing or dead, just on a trip since the planet was finally open for travel.

He had assumed this was some kind of vacation, or some shady business endeavor (valid), but when he sees him, Sampo looks. Exhausted.

His usual smirk is there, but there's something horribly off about it that Gepard can't put into words. His voice doesn't have the usual bounce in it. His gait slightly off. There are bags under his eyes, his hair is just the slightest bit out of place. Sampo looks exhausted.

His feet move without him really thinking, he goes up to Sampo to say...something. Maybe just ask him if he's ok. But he can't leave this alone and not do anything, because Gepard can feel it, something is wrong.

And that feeling sticks with him, like the persistent cold, like frostbite, all day. Gepard can't seem to shake it. There is a collective unease seeping through Belobog, sinking deep, tangling around their bones. And the only one who seems to be reacting truly different to it is Sampo.

Gepard tries to tail the guy a few times, anything he can do to learn about what's going on and ease this devouring dread, but Sampo seems to know where he's hiding and calls him out every single time.

He dodges every question (normal), slips out of every grab and grasp (normal), barely even looks at Gepard (decidedly NOT normal).

And maybe it's the darkness that seems to hover over them. The way the air feels like it is pressing down and smothering the breath out of his lungs. But Gepard's patience finally snaps, much sooner than he ever would have thought it would, and he finally grabs Sampo by the collar, hauls him up and forces his back against the brick wall of the alleyway. Because maybe Sampo makes his living double crossing and stabbing backs and he wouldn't understand this, but Gepard has a family, he has people he wants to protect, and so he needs to know what the fuck is going on.

And he knows he's crossed a line the moment he says it. He knows it's not true. Gepard has seen the way Sampo and Caelus sneak around in the Fragmentum or meander down the alleys, snickering with their arms slung around each other. He's seen the way Sampo lets Hook climb up his back onto his shoulders while he takes the moles on little adventures. He's seen the way he and Serval rib each other like it was natural, easy, and the way he goes out of his way for Natasha like he wouldn't any other client, had even trusted her with the knowledge that he was leaving off-planet.

Sampo has people he wants to protect, too, and Gepard shouldn't have accused him otherwise.

But before he can even apologize, Sampo does something stranger still.

Instead of telling him off, or taking a swing at him- both things Gepard would admit he deserved- Sampo just. Lifts one hand, lays it over Gepard's fists still balled in his jacket. Like he's keeping him there. Even through his gloves, his hand is warm.

And Sampo doesn't even really look at him, he leaves his head hung low as he quietly tells Gepard to just go home. Stay in with his family. Don't come out. Please. Please.

But eventually, the catastrophe strikes.

And Gepard can't. He can't stay safe inside his home while this is happening. He can't ignore this. He tells Serval and Lynx to stay in. Don't come out. And he dons his armor and marches out to protect as many people as he can.

When it's all said and done, all Gepard can see is rubble piled around him and a blackened sky. He can hear fire crackling. He can hear a voice he recognizes as Serval's wailing and screaming his name, and he knows she's not going to find him in time. She shouldn't even be out here.

A bloodied face swims into view, bright green eyes looking hollowed and haunted, posture weary and defeated. Gepard reaches out a shaking arm, trying to grab at Sampo's pantleg, trying to make any sound other than gurgling the blood filling his throat, because he knows it for certain now, he knew, Sampo knew.

"Not this time either, huh...?" The sigh he heaves isn't theatrical, for once. Somewhere, rubble groans and loudly collapses. Sampo doesn't even startle or turn to look at it. "I'll figure it out soon, I promise. There has to be a way to pull you through this alive. There has to be."

Something materializes in his hand, something red. Gepard's vision dims at the edges as he watches Sampo hold the mask over his face, as it seemingly attaches itself directly to his skin.

"See you on the next go around, Captain."

[just-b-wilde]

Okay, I just saw S02E07 and I have so many thoughts and feelings about this episode!

Many people write that Five would do anything for his family and they build his entire personality on that. Which is definitely true, he has done so much for them! But at what cost? Also, what did he get from them in return?

When Five accepts The Handler's offer and kills the Board of Directors, you can literally see that he's trying to exhaust all other options. He doesn't want to do it, and his frustration comes through with the food vending machine scene, trying to stall the moment as long as possible... and when the chocolate doesn't fall out of the machine, it's the imaginary last straw of his patience.

Is the axe scene cool? Visually? Absolutely! But otherwise, it's deeply disturbing and you can see on his face many times that he's ashamed of that he did it. He did it, he was a professional at this, of course. But he never really wanted to do it. It certainly wasn't an act he was proud of himself for.

You know, his sarcasm and scenes like these make him a beloved character. But you know, sarcasm is a defensive gesture in many, many cases. I'm pretty sure that he's so uncomfortable at many points in his life and doesn't feel comfortable opening up to anyone that he just operates in that mode of his.

And his family? All they do is tell him all the time how it's his fault they got where they did! But neither of them realize that without him, they'd all be dead. Both Allison and Vanya are experiencing their equivalent of the "strawberry greenhouse", Vanya in particular is very selfish about this and doesn't want to give up her happiness. She even stands up to Five, she has no idea what Five must have done for her and the other siblings and in his face it's just - pain and frustration.

Diego and Luther see him covered in blood and just ask what he did. But no one actually asks… I don't know… are you okay? Sure, he'd probably tell them to fuck off for asking that question, but I wonder if anyone ever really asked him. Sorry, I don't quite have a memory for every dialogue.

I think part of the reason he did what he did was because he felt guilty that everyone had gotten into the past at a different time and that he was constantly being blamed for it. But he doesn't take the blame for how his siblings live their lives.

Both Allison and Vanya would take their partners with them no matter what. Diego never once mentioned that he wanted Lila to leave with him (he just said he wanted to say goodbye to her before he found out the truth) but more on that later. If Klaus could have been with Dave, he certainly wouldn't have hesitated a minute either. Luther's heart is broken, so it probably doesn't matter where he is. But if Allison told him to run away together to who knows where, I think he wouldn't hesitate either. So - Five is bad for wanting to be with someone he loved and was happy with? Literally any of his siblings would do that!

And then if his family doesn't get together and he loses his suitcase? He is so very angry and frustrated because what he did was ultimately unnecessary! God, seriously, I don't think his family has ever been able to appreciate what the Five have ever done for them (again). Yes, he's often quite hard on them, but I actually don't blame him in many ways. And yes, they don't know many things. But why might that be?

Five has done a lot for his family, but you know what? I don't feel like they've ever given back to him in any way. Or that anyone would be willing to do something like that for him. Often his family sees him as just a crazy man who foresees the coming apocalypse and disrupts their lives.

And Lila (and Diego)? Well...

I'm pretty sure that if Diego left and never saw Lila again, he wouldn't have any deeper problem with it. Yes, I'm sure he liked her in a way - but at the same time he didn't know her. When he found out the truth, he wanted nothing to do with her. But still, everything else was more important to him. He wanted to save the president and be a hero, that was the main thing that drove him forward.

The fact that Lila kidnapped him was simply a rebellion against her "mother". By the way, I'm really sorry about how Elliot ended up... because that was just really bad and he deserved to at least be buried, Lila, really... Well, back to topic... Lila is scared of her and repeatedly talks about her fears for her safety and literally not sure if The Handler's plans include making sure nothing can happen to her. Maybe that was part of the reason she wanted to get the job that Five got. To show her that she was useful and necessary in her plans.

Honestly, I don't think Lila "enjoyed killing" any more than Five did, but I think it was her way of defending herself because she knew how dangerous her "mother" could be, even to her. Yet, at the same time, it's quite odd that she dragged Diego into this situation, as if perhaps he could be some sort of shield, which he most certainly is not.

This arc isn't actually very well grasped, and seeing it again, it just strikes me as odd. Yes, that was an interesting reason why Diego didn't come. But other reasons? And the foundation of their relationship is questionable at the very least (even more so than I remembered).

Well, I'm gonna go watch another episodes...

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Do you think you could do like a characterization of the Familers?

Everytime I try to think about their personalities and how they would interact with each other, or M6, or Mc I just feel like I don't get it right. Like I've got like the very basics but that's like it

Malak is a crazy

Chandra is spoiled

Faust is a wildcard

Ianna is protective

Pepi is energetic

Idk Lucio’s familars ( i cant spell one of their names) but they are kinda like wild dogs, they do whatever they want

EVEN THEN, I still feel like some of these are wrong or don't cover most of their character or I'm mischaracterizing them on accident.

Could you maybe do some more Familers mini headcannons?

Like what do the Familers do when M6 is sad?

What do they do when Mc is sad?

How do they interact with each other on a day to day bases?

( I think you might have done one of these actually )

But I have more

What do they do when M6 or/and MC gets hurt?

What do they typically do during the day and/or What do they do when they aren't with M6?

How would they respond if M6/Mc was in a dangerous situation/attacked | How are they when M6/Mc is ill?

Some of these are probably answers in their routes but it's hard to remember/recall. I do wish they were in their respective routes just a little bit more than they are so I could get a could grasp of their personalities.

What I really want is just like a written out basis of what they are like? I don't even need the Mini headcannons ( but I do like them) Their personalities is just what I have a hard time grasping because it not like right in front of me or I'm not constantly reminded of it like the Li’s that I just forget or mischaracterize them.

So if you ever have the time and or patience, I would love if you could just write about their personalities or just more about them in general. They are right hand to the Li’s and I love them so much and I tried using the wiki but I don't trust it because apparently some of the info is just flat-out wrong. I love reading you headcannons and mini headcannons because I feel like you do the Li’s justice and this account is keeping the Arcana fandom alive. I'm very sorry that this is a really long ask and my grammar my be wrong in some areas.

I'd like to thank you if you've read through everything. I hope you keep making Arcana content in the future as me and many others really do enjoy your content and takes on the characters.

-🃏

Hi friend!! I hope you're ready for the full scale essay under the cut XD

(also, you are more than welcome to request some mini-hcs with the M6's familiars - please feel free to submit them individually so I can sort and try to answer them ^.^)

The devs don't go hugely into detail about how familiars work, exactly, but here's what we know: First, how in-tune to magic you are does affect how involved your bond is, but people still have familiars whether or not they have a lot of magical ability. Second, the bond makes the most sense if you think of it as being similar to a "soulmates AU" setup. The person and animal involved have a natural connection with the potential for a full-fledged familiar bond, but how that manifests changes depending on the effort and type of bonding that happens.

There's also a consistent pattern when it comes to vibes and personality, with the familiars being very similar to their respective humans. I'll go familiar by familiar from here ^.^

Malak:

Julian and Malak are (unfortunately) not very in touch with each other. Julian doesn't speak of him much beyond referring to him as "the raven", and while it's clear that they're more in sync than the average human and animal would be, Julian tends to find it more uncanny than comforting. Malak, in turn, tends to get quickly annoyed by this when his genuine attempts to help and protect and connect get consistently thwarted. He shares Julian's values and habits, constantly keeping watch (anxiously or otherwise) over his person and the people important to him, and often flying beak-first into situations that seem out of control with little regard for his own well being. Malak and Julian have the capacity to cover each other's blind spots. Julian is quicker at analyzing and navigating social situations that sometimes send the bird into a frenzy, while Malak is aware of magical happenings that Julian is completely blind to.

The two of them share an anxiety about the world being a constantly dangerous place and noble mindset focused around doing the right thing and protecting the people they love. The big difference is that Malak doesn't doubt his own abilities - as generally anxious as he acts with all his ruffling feathers and screeches, the raven doesn't hold himself back because he thinks someone else could do better. If anything, he's often pushing Julian to get over the self-deprecation and join him already. Unfortunately, neither of them has figured out how to listen to each other yet, which means more often than not they just get on each other's nerves. Given MC's ability to help Julian navigate things of a magical nature, they could very easily become the communication bridge between the two.

Faust

It's pretty heavily implied (if not canon) that Faust is the child of Asra's parents' familiars, Chimes and Flamel. She was given to Asra as an egg and hatched on one of their birthdays, and the two have been inseparable ever since. They have an incredibly strong bond, enough for them to send memories to each other, have conversations, communicate across long distances, and even share emotions. Faust loves Asra, herself, and MC almost equally, and in Asra's route she happily becomes MC's companion when Asra isn't around to do so. She also appears to have her own capacity for magic, frequently blipping from one realm to another as she pleases.

The best way (in my head) of describing her vibes are that one honorary younger sibling who is also the instigator best friend. While she's borne witness to Asra's toughest moments, she's received such excellent care and attention that she doesn't seem to have nearly the same levels of trauma - or maturity. Reading about her feels a lot like what I imagine reading about a teenaged Asra with a much kinder life would feel like - whimsical, mischievous, creative, impulsive, unpredictable, and carefree to the point of recklessness. She's still learning what it means to have limits (re: going off on an unannounced adventure, only to be caught and held hostage by the Devil) but when push comes to shove she's suprisingly dependable (re: sabotaging the ritual, right under the Devil's nose).

Due to her being so accessible to MC's character, she has a level of plot influence and general content that comes closer to a main character than the other familiars. It gives fan work more content to work with, but also less space to take its own creative liberty.

Chandra

Chandra is always hovering, and yet rarely directly involved. We know that Nadia used to be able to speak with her similarly to how Asra speaks with Faust, but she doesn't remember how. There's a wall between the two of them that they both seem to want to breach, but given the circumstances, they just haven't found the time and resources to do it yet. However, it's clear that they know how important they are to each other - Chandra seems to live at Nadia's beck and call, despite seeming so distant, and Nadia dedicates much of her personal time and interests to caring for her. They rely heavily on each other as allies in uncertain times (re: Nadia trusting Chandra in multiple routes to be her eyes and ears and carry her most important messages).

Chandra certainly has Nadia's independence, initiative, and desire for companionship. She's often seen on alert on the fringes and ready to step in and help take control of chaotic situations. However, where Nadia responds to a desire for companionship by initiating connection, Chandra is more reserved. She's present, she's paying attention, but she's not actively connecting until she's invited. She, like Nadia, has become accustomed to living in a Palace filled with with intrigue and uncertain loyalties, and it plays out in her reticence. She's much more likely to communicate interest by watching intently from a distance than by approaching and interacting. Over time, if MC is able to help Nadia find the way to communicate with Chandra again, they'll likely become her confidante in her efforts to be a good familiar.

Inanna

The best way to describe her and Muriel is trauma bonded. (Which, given Muriel's past, is arguably the bond that lets him receive the support he needs from her best.) They're both loners, both uninterested in connection until it's proven to be worthwhile, and both deeply distrusting of other people's motives. Inanna is Muriel's breaking point twice. First, when he's expected to kill her in the Coliseum (how they met), and second, when she's horribly injured trying to protect the heart of the forest. Both of those moments with her push Muriel to recognize his priorities and actually act on them. As a result, they have a deep mutual respect for each other - and a stubborn emphasis on still being their own people (or wolf). Muriel refers to her as his friend more easily than as his familiar.

Inanna as a character, however, seems to hold onto some of the traits that Muriel has buried under his trauma. She's more adaptable than he is, quicker to accept change, and considerably more hopeful and optimistic. She's faster to act (often the one prompting Muriel to follow through, when he'd rather continue thinking), and she's nosier. Where Muriel analyzes and then quietly judges while respecting someone's decision, Inanna analyzes and then does her best to assist any kind of good change. Whether that's leading MC to Muriel when he's injured and would rather be left alone, or expressing the affection towards them that he's still trying to hide, she acts like a big sister. Independent, a bit of a bully, fiercely protective, and loyal beyond measurement. She doesn't need to bond with MC through Muriel, she can do that herself.

Pepi

Portia met Pepi on Mazelinka's ship, as she was on her way to hunt down her older brother and beat some sense into him. The two of them bonded instantly, and when the time came for Portia and Mazelinka to part ways, Pepi gave up the life of a ship cat to stay by Portia's side. Portia doesn't seem to be fully aware of Pepi being her familiar and sees her as more of an uncannily well-bonded pet. At least, until her own route, where Pepi learns how to speak. Up until that point Portia just seems to see Pepi more as an unusually intelligent cat that she likes to talk to. The two of them are each other's family, Pepi always ready to lend a helping paw with unruly birds, and Portia always happy to spoil her with snuggles and treats.

Pepi has Portia's optimism, love of mischief, and dauntless attitude. However, they differ somewhat in how they view themselves. While Portia struggles to see herself as the main character of her own story, often fading into the background in order to support someone else, Pepi is more than happy to take center stage. This cat can and will prioritize her own needs and preferences if she thinks nobody else is going to do it, and it often lands her in trouble (re: stealing your heartsong festival gift, seeking out nap places that give her access to forbidden fishies, etc). She's quick to make her own friendships, and when you and Portia start your new life together, she'll consider you one of her family as well. Thanks to her retained ability to speak (upright ending) you'll never have to go without a conversation partner again.

Mercedes & Melchior

Lucio, unfortunately, didn't realize these two were his familiars until after he'd met you. While a large part of his menagerie building was his search for a familiar, he failed to notice how those two in particular were so attached to them. Thankfully, they're never on their own given how closely they stick to each other. Their lack of a strongly developed magical connection with Lucio doesn't really stop them from being able to communicate. They vibe with him on a similar act-first-think-later wavelength, having such little interest in impulse control that it's impossible not to know what they want. All you know is that they're hellbent on accomplishing it and on getting out of whatever consequences they invite with a pair of large, shining puppy eyes.

Besides their impulsiveness and chaotic nature, Mercedes and Melchior share Lucio's tendency to live in the moment and focus on life's pleasures. However, they also have the emotional intelligence and undying loyalty all good dogs do. When Lucio was "dead" they spent three years guarding his wing and trying to find help for him, and when you join him in his search for answers, they'll remain with you and empathize with you regardless of the dangers involved (re: one of them going with Lucio to get help, the other staying next to you and whining when Valdemar has you strapped to a gurney). They instinctively track your emotional state and are often the reason Lucio notices how you're doing as quickly as he does. For all their bratty behavior, their doggy bodies are overflowing with love for the people they care about and nothing makes them happier than being with them. Don't mistake love for respect, though - they take orders from nobody.

[yearningaces]

(Too shy to say off nonny, sorry.) But I love your writing. Especially that it explores more than the sexual side of romances. I love to interact with the world in a way less driven in such a manner. It's a lovely change to see your writing in my sphere.

But also:

We have you meeting Nyx's family and fitting into his world, but what about trying to fit him into yours?

(never apologize, anon is on for a reason 👍)

I'm so so happy my blog can offer that for you! It's such a bummer each time I find some romantic buildup "plot sweet fluff they fuck." "Plot wholesome- they did this all just to fuck." "Romanc- they did it for sex."

And that's no problem! If people enjoy that then they can there's nothing wrong with enjoying sexual things, but as an asexual who is romantically attracted to folks(monsters mostly) it's disheartening to have almost every story end the same way so I have to skip huge chunks or just not read.which really minimizes how many stories I really have available

As for the idea you have!

Writing about families is far less reader inclusive so what I'm going to do is a brief overview that mostly is gonna focus on Nyx just being brought into the more human side of the world.

And with that in mind!

It takes time. And patience. Nyx is a bundle of nerves, and he loves you his wonderful human so much! But he's still terrified. Because you're sweet and good and know how to be gentle. Not every human does, and telling them apart is difficult at first.

Having to watch you and every other human tear through meat down to the bone at some restaurants (I'm craving ribs) takes him some time to not feel like he's about to fly out of his seat. So you compromised, he would never ask you not to eat something, but you do offer to cut whatever meat you're eating off the bone cause it seems to help his nerves.

The swarm and crowds of humans are so much larger than him, and so very loud for his delicate rabbit ears. Headphones and earbuds don't exactly work given his... Ear shapes.

What does work is a beanie he can tuck his ears into, or a crochet scarf(grandpa bun at it again) wrapped around his ears and head enough to cover them. It muffles the sounds.

Carry him. Please carry him, his legs are rabbit legs, his hind paws are rabbit paws no shoe can fit that and he refuses to wear dog shoes. Pavement is hot. Piggy back ride or sling him over your shoulder, if he's off the ground he's happy. (moreso if you show off that human strength)

Hates transportation at first. It's different, he walks or hops everywhere and now he just has to sit still and wait to get there? No. Give him the backseat to move around or find a bus that's not crowded so he can stretch his legs, y'all will not survive otherwise I'm sorry but ultimate "gotta move" attitude.

Other humans will scare him. You do, but in the attractive "this is my partner and they're so capable I love them so much" kinda way. Other humans set off danger alarms 24/7 that you only set off 11/7. It takes a good amount of time and slow buildup in exposure to combat this. If any human gets too close and doesn't hear him when he says to leave him alone(something you and him did practice) then he will fall on instincts and just bolt. So once you lay someone out in the asphalt, you gotta find the bun.

General aside, into family's. This is based around a loose idea of mother father siblings just because that's what I'm most familiar with

Absolutely prey fear in his eyes. Deer in the headlights when your folks opened the door to greet y'all together for the first time. You might have to actually carry him into the house and just sit with him for a few minutes, cuddle him a bit somewhere alone because he's in a human den of unknown humans. He needs to adjust to the many different scents and sights and sounds. And even if you vouch for them, these humans aren't you- he doesn't trust them the way he trust you and his instincts are absolutely screaming. 0/10 experience for the first few minutes.

Let him take his breaths and he'll gather his nerves to greet your family- but the best way would be to do so one by one. Otherwise it's another overwhelmed break time.

Eventually he might relax enough to rest around them, but Nyx absolutely will never sleep around any humans if you are not actively attached to him in that moment. He'll lay and lounge if he's really exhausted but will never sleep around your family or friends or any human if you aren't actively holding him or just close enough he can feel or at least smell you.

Humans are scary, they won't ever feel safe to him, that's just instinct. But you're his human, his partner. He'll sleep like a baby in your arms if it's just the two of you, and even if he wakes and has a heart attack because why are your eyes dilated in the dark and staring at him?

He's always gonna be a bunny boy. Always gonna be a bundle of nerves and hardwired red flag instincts because he is prey.

He can grow to trust and care about your family, but only really because they're an extention of you, selfish as it might seem.

[skywalking-through-life]

what ship do you hate most?

LOL, oh my anonymous friend, I wondered if anyone was going to ask me this. I'm going to try to answer without opening a can of worms about my opinions that I don't know if I'm brave enough to crack open, but we'll see where this goes. This answer - even more than usual - is probably going to be long.

Okay.

I don't hate any ships.

I know that some folks may not believe me, but I genuinely, 100%, I do not. And will not!

Are there ships I don't understand, or don't find appealing, or find disturbing? Yes, very much so! I personally am usually squicked out by ships that are incestuous, ships between an adult and a child, ships where there is a clear and dangerous lack of consent, and ships that are shipped because the person doing the shipping wants to 'punish' or bash one of the characters, so they ship them with whoever will give them the worst time. I have very little patience for stories where the people in the ships cheat on or betray one another in some way as a feature of the relationship, and tend to roll my eyes when I see people use them to vent their feelings about other people's ships. I don't like ships that feel one-dimensional, and I don't tend to like ships absent passion.

But while all of that might annoy or baffle me, dislike of certain pairings or tropes isn't hate, and is small potatoes compared to what I see as a MUCH larger issue.

And that - what I DO hate - isn't any particular ship, but the culture of extreme, sometimes violent, often thoughtless and self-centered emotionalism that (unfortunately) has always been a part of shipping. Ship wars, pro vs anti ship discourse, and the idea that our feelings about the fictional characters we love and hate should somehow translate to how we - REAL HUMAN BEINGS - treat each other; all of this worries me deeply because in this I see the REAL evils of the REAL world bleeding into fictional ones. Hate is a powerful emotion, and to see it applied to real people because of fictional interests? I abhor that - and all it has historically led to - in my very soul.

Whenever I hear about people getting death threats in their inbox for liking/not liking/not having the correct opinions about a ship, whether 'problematic' or otherwise, I genuinely feel sick to my stomach. I understand loving something so much you want to defend it against any perceived attack; I understand thinking something is so evil that it needs to be spoken up against. But I do not, and never have, understood how and why so many folks apply that deep seated anger to FICTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. Our world is a beautiful and terrible place, and is so wide and complex - wider than the margins of any book, or the frames of any film. Surely we can better spend our passions out there, on the thousands of issues that deserve our attention, our care, and our hearts, rather than in here, on each other, over things that do NOT matter at the end of all things?

And so the end - the ultimate, the core - of this issue for me is this: hating a ship, or participating in ship discourse of some kind, would require me to let fictional worlds have access to my anger, no, to my real, roaring RAGE; to the messy parts of myself and my complicated relationship to the real world that I come into fictional worlds to write myself free of. And I just don't believe there is a place for that kind of vitriol in spaces that are, for me, meant to be joyful and liberative.

[okimsimp2023]

Ok, I decided to create a mini-column for this blog, namely the personal cry of the soul of the simp, or "This character is my wife, and I'll explain why!".

That's right, I will heartily write in posts about why I like this or that character so much! And hardly anyone will shut me up, because this world needs more posts with positive reviews about the Persians. And the first wife who will become my first post will be Jon Arbuckle from the animated series "Garfield and Friends"! I want to talk specifically about Jon from this cartoon, because he appeared in it much more often and showed a character, and I'm afraid to watch 3d animated series based on Garfield. Well, I'll also warn you that the post was created on emotions, so I'll be dumb at times.

Well, I definitely know that the simps will gather under this post… Hello people, I know you are unlikely to pass by this post, because I will lick the character. If anything, you can write your impressions about the character under this post. Maybe you want to add new things or just share your opinion.

He's cute.

Like… Both in appearance and character. He is funny, awkward, clumsy, and most importantly, he is quite a good guy. Yes, he does all sorts of shit or any nonsense, but that's what Jon is all about, half of Garfield's humor is almost based on this, that he's a loser and a hopeless romantic, and I'm not surprised anymore. But in fact, he does this job perfectly, I really love him with flaws than without them, otherwise I would not be perceived by me as a person with flaws and strange hobbies. Sometimes you look at him and think, "fuck, man, how do I understand you…". And yes, to some extent I like pathetic and nervous men, who are sometimes capable of doing crazy things (and he can also whimper).

2. Attitude towards pets.

dilf dilf dilf dlif dlif dlif dilf dilf dilf dlif dlif dlif dilf dilf dilf dlif dlif dlif-

All right, jokes aside, AHEM. But there is some truth in every joke, so he still DIL-

I like that in this cartoon he sometimes appears to Garfield and other pets as a parental figure (although unsurprisingly, Garfield in some cases behaves like a typical troubled teenager, but without whining, and I also find this charming). True, he is not perfect at all, but still he takes care of his dear boys, and in no other way! And he probably has almost the strongest patience with Garfield, lol. Because if I had such a cat, I might not have been able to stand it and would have gone to a mental hospital myself.- But okay, it's too loud about the latter.

3. Voice.

I don't know if I should mention it, but of course I will. For me personally, his voice is like that... Gentle and pleasant.

4. An apron makes a man 20% more attractive!

I don't know why, but I like that when cooking food, he puts on this little apron lol. But that's not the only reason I've highlighted this item, because I also want to highlight his culinary abilities. Because… Dude, he can cook! Forget about those words that he doesn't know how to cook, it's a complete fucking lie. Jon can cook many dishes at once! And this is just for the sake of feeding the cat.

So if you suddenly work late and come home, then you obviously won't stay hungry, because the same tired Jon managed to cook dinner (and most importantly, make it to dinner, otherwise Garfield will finish before you lol).

5. Dancing

I think it's not worth talking about it, everyone has known about this dance for a long time. BUT HEY, I'LL SAY IT. HE WAS FUCKING AWESOME.

His plastic body, smug face, movements, and this shot of him opening his jacket and a tie with his pet on his chest… The dude literally revealed his whole wonderful essence. I mean it… I am an insecure person myself. I would never go out dancing in front of people, because I can't dance and it sucks. BUT THIS LOSER MAN DID IT, AND HE GETS A KICK OUT OF IT! HE DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT PEOPLE, HE JUST DANCED. THIS IS MY HOT WIFE EEEEEEEEE-

And that's why this character is my wife. The End.

And I'm sorry that this post came out… It was enough for the little ones, although I could paint everything down to all sorts of little things like interests and other things, but I wrote everything I wanted. For me, Jon seems to have become a comfortable character, and I still don't fully understand why this is so (or is it my hyperfixation). But as long as he makes me happy, I dare not object to anything. And I lived up to the name of this blog, lol.

[lvicevlk]

i wonder sometimes if people miss that when jiang cheng says "don't make me look bad" what he means is "not embarassing me in public is the only thing i have found that gets around how my mother has convinced you that you are disposable" except when he means "if the howling mob comes after you with torches and pitchforks i'll stand with you but honestly, bro, i don't like our odds."

It has taken me forever to get to this and I am so sorry. Real life was draining me and I’ve finally got some time off to recover. Thank you for your patience.

It is astonishing to me that so many people somehow fail to understand the importance of reputation in the story. It’s a damned central theme how reputation, how what people think of you or say about you directly impacts how they treat you. It’s a presiding factor in Wei Wuxian’s downfall at the end of his first life. He makes everyone scared of him and thinks that’s going to make them leave him alone, instead it terrifies people to the point that the Jin can use a base truth, that he doesn’t have much respect any authority or boundaries aside from his own, to paint him as an imminent threat to the world. He built himself a reputation as an uncontrollable and frankly heretical wildcard and it comes back to bite him in the ass when people respond accordingly.

Reputation matters hugely to the story and to the people in it. Jiang Cheng is not wrong for trying to impress this on Wei Wuxian.  Reputation is, among other things, a currency all it’s own and, if we’re focusing on the Yunmeng boys here, Jiang Cheng spends a lot of his life shelling out cash to try and cover Wei Wuxian’s debts.

When they’re kids, it’s one thing. It’s still very not good and look, for me personally, I would not chose to spend a whole lot of time with a guy who seemed to think that violating my boundaries and publicly humiliating me was prime entertainment but Jiang Cheng loves Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian loves him back, even if they do not express that in ways that are all that healthy. Wei Wuxian teases Jiang Cheng because he wants his overly serious baby brother to relax, to smile and laugh and have fun. That’s a wonderful impulse and there are times where it’s works. There are also times where it’s utterly inappropriate and Wei Wuxian is, I think often willfully, blind to that. And worse, he doesn’t listen when Jiang Cheng tells him so. I once saw someone claim that Wei Wuxian only acts like that in public so that Jiang Cheng can look good by reining him in, which would be an interesting take if it was at all supported by the text instead of being a blatant contradiction thereof. It would require that Wei Wuxian not only listen to Jiang Cheng but do as he is asked. Which he does not at any point ever. It’s kinda a massive plot point that Wei Wuxian Does What He Wants and no one can tell him otherwise.

When they get older the consequences of Wei Wuxian’s habit of dicking around and messing with Jiang Cheng go beyond pissing off Madam Yu and become a lot more pronounced. Madam Yu’s anger is understandable even if the way she expresses it is unconscionable. She knows that Wei Wuxian’s behavior is damaging both to the Sect and to Jiang Cheng’s reputations and that it will and does actively impede Jiang Cheng’s ability to stand on the political field with the other Sect Leaders. Because when they look at him they see his reputation: the less favored child, the lesser cultivator, the Sect Heir and then Leader whose own right hand constantly dismisses and undermines him. Why should they take him seriously?

[teardrop-scales]

Matchup for @sleepingdramaqueen

I match you with...

Ao Lie!

To be honest he was the first character that came to my mind.

We don't know that much about him, but from how he was in that one episode, I think he'd be perfect for you!

You guys would be so cute and adorable together, literally the most wholesome relationship.

Ao Lie would absolutely understand your sensitivity! He is extremely kind and patient. He may be less sensitive than you, but he still seems very in tune with his emotions and a bit on the sensitive side, at least that was the vibe which he gave me.

He would never laugh at your sensitivity or call it being dramatic. Ao Lie would absolutely comfort you if you get extra sensitive, even if you don't cry.

Ao Lie is a walking green flag (literally lmao). And considering all your insecurities and everything, I think his kindness, goofiness, patience and gentleness would really help you with that and make you feel more confident and assured.

Very loyal and devoted, would do anything to make you believe that he won't abandon you. He wants you to feel safe and comfortable more than anything and I dare say he'd be good at making you feel that way.

Just like you, he is a very good and understanding listener! You could talk to him about anything and he absolutely won't judge and will offer comfort immediately if needed and will be genuinely interested if you ramble about your favorite topics.

At the same time, Ao Lie also deeply appreciates your willingness to listen to him as well. He gives me vibes of someone who can talk and ramble sometimes a lot, so I think he could also use a partner who'd listen to him.

I wish I could say that Ao Lie would help you to not procrastinate, but to be honest, he's a bit forgetful and a procrastinator as well probably. And it's not even because he's lazy, but more because he tends to get distracted too. But if you have to do something, he'll offer to help! It's always more fun and interesting to do things with your loved one rather than alone, isn't it?

Ao Lie is a clumsy dork for sure, but he also knows when to get serious if needed. He knows how you feel when someone mistakes your kindness and sensitivity for stupidity and naivity, because he probably experienced that himself many times.

If you like mythology, then you're lucky! He's literally a dragon, I bet he has some great stories to tell.

Your styles also probably go well together. Most of your styles/aesthetics are darker themed and/or with some black. Ao Lie's theme color is green of course, and in my opinion, black and green really look good together.

Honestly, I can't see him as a reading-type of guy for some reason. But if you recommend him some good fanfiction, he may give it a shot, even if just to make you happy.

I feel like Ao Lie would love to draw, like you! You guys could have doodle and drawing sessions where you would try to draw each other or perhaps choose a thing to draw and then compare your drawings of that thing. Idk, but something about Ao Lie just screams to me that he doodles a lot, especially when he's bored.

He'd also love to listen to music with you! He'll check out any song you recommend him, either on his own, or just sharing some earbuds with you or that sort of stuff and listening to the song together with you. He'd probably also show you some of his favorite songs.

He doesn't mind that you have your specific and unique hobbies, like your bird skull collecting or learning about dark entities. As long as it's nothing dangerous or unhealthy, he doesn't mind! Ao Lie feels like a person who thinks that everyone should be allowed to indulge in their hobbies and do things that make them happy, even if they may be considered "weird" by some people.

Ao Lie's main love languages are physical touch and probably words of affirmation and no one can tell me otherwise. It's perfect because those are also your main love languages, but I feel like you need both of those yourself as well. Don't you worry, Ao Lie loved hugs, hand-holding, kisses, everything! I think he'd be very touchy feely, kinda like you. Just smother him with affection, he'll love it and smother you as well.

Like you, Ao Lie also uses words of affirmation. I feel like it's just so natural to him. He is a person who's pretty open about his feelings, and that concerns his feelings for you as well.

He'd absolutely love it if you play dress up with him! He'd also allow you to do his makeup and paint his nails, but only if you allow him to do your makeup and your nails as well! He'd totally want some kind of matching nail colors, patterns or whatever, just any matching will do! Only if you want to as well, of course.

All in all, I think Ao Lie is just what you need both in your life and as a partner. You guys are a disgustingly wholesome couple <3

A.N: Apologies if this wasn't the best, I feel like I'm not that great at writing Ao Lie tbh. Still, I hope you like it.

[oneatlatime]

Zuko Alone

I'm hoping for some Appa this episode. It's been too long since he's gotten any good sight gags.

Zuko is cosplaying Clint Eastwood. He's also back to being stupid pale this episode.

You know it's a good thing that Zuko's not in the Fire Nation anymore because he really would have sucked at being Fire Nation. Robbing pregnant women is probably kindergarden level stuff for them.

How is Zuko in such bad shape? Last time we saw him he had a cave full of spoils robbed from rich people. Did he not bother to pack at least some of that stuff? Actually, not thinking far enough ahead to pack would be pretty in character.

Oof that would rub me the wrong way. Not enough money for a meal, but sure, let's use totally edible eggs as ammo.

Where'd the egg go?

Who is the scarred up hat wearing vampire and what happened to the real Zuko? Imposter Zuko just elected to not be provoked into a fight. Real Zuko would already be setting things on fire.

Just a bunch of thugs. Yep. It's consistently awesome how many of the facets of war this show can cover.

Imposter Zuko and Song's horse bird just got kidnapped. Did not see that coming.

Zuko kind of has arm bandages like Sokka has this episode. Also love the character detail that the boy has scraped knees.

Is the kid's dad the same guy as the man at the store? Or maybe this is a one haircut town?

So the guy who was near to fainting off his horse bird this morning is now turning down freely offered food? Could Zuko please shelve his pride for five minutes? Kudos to the mom for accurately reading his distaste for charity and turning it into a request for aid though. Although covering for the boy's egg trick is worth at least a meal.

Tangent!

I don't get Zuko. How can he still have so much pride when he's wearing rags and starving himself to feed Song's horse bird? I'm quite shameless when it comes to accepting help and I've never, ever been able to understand the whole 'too proud to accept charity' mindset. I'm always up for some charity. I have enough manners to offer to do the dishes after, but if you're offering free food I'm eating it. And I've never been in a situation as desperate as Zuko's. So I don't get this.

ok tangent over.

Peak rich kid behaviour. I hope those nails aren't expensive otherwise Zuko doing work for food might end up with this family out of pocket.

Is the wood grain on this ladder an actual photograph of wood grain?

Zuko has more patience this episode than he had for all of season 1 combined. He's also never gone this long without yelling. Either proximity to young children activates Zuko's otherwise mostly slumbering decency, or to fit him into a Fistful of Dollars homage the writers had to make him out of character.

If I had been in this situation when I was a kid, if I had been a) this visibly bored, and b) this nosy around guests, I would have been given a hammer and a bag of nails in three seconds flat. Also, nice to see a Sokka face from Zuko.

I get that 'a man without a past' is a staple of the cowboy genre, but the boy's father bringing up the privacy of the past twice in like two minutes makes me think he's done stuff he doesn't want to talk about. Seems both the parents have read Zuko right though.

Finally! Some pretty! I have been suffering! This may be the first really good pretty all season!

Bad news for the Appa decor on my blog. He may have been supplanted in my affections.

Two things: first, Zuko is a carbon copy of his mom. Second, That is way too much forehead.

Having Zuko's mom introduce herself by talking about the lengths mothers will go to for their children is not giving me foreshadowing anxiety at all.

Azula's been a bitch since birth. Noted.

Sir, your eyebrows. Also, yeah, I wouldn't want to play with her either.

Yikes this is making my teeth itch and my skin crawl. Calling it now, she's rotten to the core.

Zuko and Azula's dad has some weak ass genes. BOTH of his children are carbon copies of their mom.

Also, I was not expecting Zuko's very stupid ponytail to be a pre-scar thing. It is much better with a full head of hair.

If I had spent my childhood hanging out with an untouchable princess who set things on my head on fire for fun whenever I involuntarily displayed emotion, I'd be gloomy and apathetic in self defense too.

Sokka in this episode in spirit, if not in person.

Seriously that's the same face three times over!

Um, no? If Iroh doesn't make it back from the front, doesn't his son become next in line to be Firelord?

Can you hear all the unspoken "father thinks that" and "father says that" in front of every one of Azula's opinions in this whole scene? I stand by my assertion that she's awful anyways, but she's also obviously drunk much too much of her dad's koolaid, if you know what I mean.

This kid is going to get into so much trouble one of these days. Provoking the soldiers, nagging the mysterious stranger with the mysterious past, and now taking his weapons? Kid's sweet but he really needs to learn when to stop pushing his luck.

Stabbing dead, dried wood sounds like a great way to utterly annihilate the edge on those. Hope Zuko packed a whetstone.

Where is this patience coming from? I don't understand and it's BUGGING me.

Hold on. Technical problems.

My very basic DVD player sometimes has difficulty with these disks. Whatever happened between the above two screenshots, I've missed it. So picking back up from the one on the right...

Either these soldiers are impressively cowardly (which, yeah) or Zuko's really been working on his death glare, because they've got him outnumbered and out-armoured and they still back off.

OH it's parallels! Zuko's cousin and the boy's older brother. Got it. Kind of a false parallel though. Grandson of the Firelord does not equal earth kingdom conscript.

Give the demonstrably impulsive and nosy child a knife. That'll work out just fine I'm sure. Pretty sad the kid glommed on to Zuko so quickly, but it's also yet another realistic representation of the consequences of war. This show's good.

*shudders* theatre kids.

She's tiny! Do you know how darkly humourous it is to watch a two foot tall baby spout her father's murderous nonsense? Once again, in this whole scene, not a word out of Azula's mouth is actually Azula's.

"What is wrong with that child?" Apart from budding homicidal and psychopathic tendencies? Her dad. Her dad is what's wrong with that child.

Their dad has no subtlety at all. And also no brain? You think a day after the firelord finds out one of his family died is the right time to very boorishly make a play for the crown with you daughter as a prop? Could you possibly come up with a better demonstration of why this guy shouldn't be in charge?

How did this asshole land such a nice wife?

Yep. Siding with the old firelord on this one.

Does flashback Zuko sleep in his day clothes? Because that's not ok.

I like that their mom sees straight through Azula's lying here. She knows her daughter.

In a move that should surprise no one, everything Zuko touches turns to shit, as usual.

It's the Mexico filter!

Absolute truth from Zuko in that monologue. He's got them pegged. Too bad it fell on deaf ears. It's Zuko's curse, that whenever he approaches being remotely reasonable, he happens to be surrounded by people who will react in such a way that Zuko learns to equate being reasonable with failure.

An earthbender. The bare feet should have clued me in.

Last season Zuko and Iroh laid waste to like ten of these guys. And Iroh didn't even have pants. So what gives? Is he that starved?

Ursa pulling a Mufasa.

Don't answer don't answer don't answer

And he does.

Zuko is so very good at completely misinterpreting the point.

So we can add thief to the list of things that make Azula awful. Also that delivery of "who's going to make me? Mom?" is chilling. Zuko's lost his only defender inside this atrocious family and she knows it, he knows it, hell the turtleducks probably know it.

His dying wish? You guys buying that?

Ozai. That's his name. I'd forgotten that.

So... something something dead firelord something something missing mom something something maybe Azula wasn't actually lying this time?

Final Thoughts

The title wasn't kidding. Let's rename the show 'Avatar: the Guy who's Really Bad at Capturing Him' while we're at it.

There is now no way whatsoever that Zuko is not going to be redeemed. No writing team would invest that much energy and a whole episode into a character we're not ultimately supposed to root for. So somehow he's going to end up joining the Gaang. Don't know how he'll pull that one off. He's done some pretty not great stuff. And it's not like the Gaang watched this episode and unlocked his tragic backstory.

Speaking of, what prompted these reflections? I could understand if Zuko started to contemplate his cousin and the events surrounding his loss in the war after he learned about the family's older brother, but he was having flashbacks before he even got to town. Usually when there are backstory bits, there's a good reason to show them at that time, like how the Storm prompts Aang to think about the last storm he was in, or seeing a boat from his father's fleet prompts Sokka to remember what his dad told him. So what caused Zuko's memories to give him situationally appropriate flashbacks?

Pretty funny that he found the Nice Earth Kingdom Family that Azula predicted for him. And they are really nice! Either Zuko is an open book or the parents' social intelligence is off the charts because they're giving him exactly what he needs to feel at ease after barely a single conversation.

Speaking of Azula, I'm not surprised to find that she's always had deeply awful tendencies, even as a child of (I'm guessing) less than ten. But it cannot be ignored that, from the moment her father took a liking to her (as a tool to boost his own greatness, if not as a person), she didn't stand a chance. You can tell by the number of times that the stuff coming out of her mouth is a thinly veiled repetition of her father's unfiltered opinions, that she's been spending lots of time listening to him, probably while he puts down her mom and brother and talks about how she's the special one. You know what I'm getting at. Azula never stood a chance once her father got involved, and her mom lost the ability to influence her once her father started giving Azula praise for objectively wrong behaviour. That being said, Azula is awful even when she doesn't need to be awful for her father's approval, like when she's with her friends, so it's not all her father's doing. She's not a good person but she also had plenty of help to become that.

I guess Zuko and his mom are Fire Nation anomalies? And maybe Iroh has become that since his son died and he lost the war?

How on earth did Zuko survive as long as he did in the palace without his mom to protect him? What a no-win situation to be in. The only person in a whole nation with empathy.

This episode does makes Season 1 Zuko make more sense. He's been larping his dad as a defense mechanism for surviving the Fire Nation/probably a very futile effort to earn his approval. Although Zuko doesn't seem to care much for his dad if the tone he takes with him by the turtleduck pond is any indication.

Being banished was the best thing that ever happened to Zuko. The more distance between him and his remaining non-uncle family, the better. Between prioritizing his crew over capturing the avatar in the Storm, releasing the Avatar in the Blue Spirit, and now defending a random earth kingdom child this episode, it's hilarious how much Zuko HASN'T learned the lesson that Ozai banished him for not knowing. Don't get me wrong; that's a good thing. This episode plainly shows that behaviour that pleases Ozai is behaviour that should be unlearned as quickly as possible.

Zuko completely missing the point of his mom's last instruction is delightfully on the nose. But it also makes sense, which I may talk more about later.

How did Zuko hold on to his temper (and his volume) for a whole episode?

How did a show named after the main character get away with an episode that doesn't feature him at all? As a concept, this is such a strange episode. The writers were like "how can we kick start the woobification of Zuko? I know! A Spaghetti Western!" and it worked. Who comes up with that?

I now want at least as much, if not more, of Sokka and Katara's childhood via flashbacks. And more Gyatso please. If they can devote a whole episode to the childhood of a guy who isn't even a team member yet, they can show me some Sokka childhood shenanigans as a palette cleanser.

I really don't know what conclusion to draw about this episode. The writers have given me a massive backstory/trauma dump and I'm honestly like:

[bredforloyalty]

could you possibly elaborate more on how you found that ao3 fic that was previously deleted? i’ve lost soo many memorable ones over the years & if there is a way to find them via backup it would be such a game changer

of course!!! i don't know how you are with computers, i feel like tumblr users in general are pretty good at tech stuff or whatever and people in my circles are within the age range that uses computers or learned how in school so,, forgive me if there are too many details and you feel like i'm talking to you like to a toddler hdsgxy ((my sister, who's only a little younger than me, for example is very very online but not on her laptop and the lessons at her high school weren't very helpful, so she's just not very good at computer. so i tried to be thorough and make this friendly to someone who doesn't torrent, doesn't use excel, etc) <3

first, if you still have the link to the deleted fic (like, say, from a fic rec post or a forum), you can try searching on the wayback machine, but you probably tried that already! or you don't have a link! i just didn't want to leave it out ^^

so what actually helped me is there's this post, that uh i got this from, take a look at it, it might seem long or intimidating but i promise it's not complicated! BUT in case this helps, i'll also write down roughly what you need to know here (and then you can maybe read or skim that post looking for this info if you want): there is an archive of text files from ao3; the zip files of many many fics come with two sqlite files of metadata, basically databases that you can download and view/search with the appropriate program (db browser for sqlite is what op recommends and that worked just fine for me). and what you will be able to see, if you download the metadata, is whether the particular fic you're looking for is in the archive at all + where exactly you can find it in the zip files (so,, which batch of files has the file you want)

then op says that once you know which zip you need, you can download that and extract only the fic(s) you want. but this isn't always necessary actually, more on that in a second, it's just the general idea. i mean the idea is: get sqlite browser → download one of the sqlite files (takes time) → open it in the browser (file → open read only) → filter for whichever column you want to find what you're looking for (you can do the author or the exact title or a relationship and just browse too, ofc) → look at the first column that shows the path, this is where you can find the fic → download that zip (takes more time) → use winrar or another compression program/extractor to get that file and voilà

ok so, when you click on "show all files" on the internet archive, you'll be able to see that 'ao3_old_files' is 6.5 gigabytes, while 'ao3_current' is 18.3. if you're looking for a newer fic, it should be somewhere within the latter batch of zip files, which is hmm not ideal because it took me a while to download just 6.5 gb lmao so i don't know how much time 18 would take.. however !! if you look in the replies, you'll see op (and others?) helping whoever doesn't have the storage space or the stable internet or the time or patience to download bigger files. it's definitely worth a shot to ask them personally to look for what you want (unless it's vague, bc then it might be too much digging to ask a stranger to do but yeah otherwise op seems to have ao3_current.sqlite3)!

and if you want to look in 'ao3_old_files', i have that so obviously i'll check for you! and let's say i check and i find the fic you want. then i can do this

so the zip file (a bunch of excess data) doesn't even have to be downloaded. it just opened the fic in plain text for me 👍 unfortunately i don't know if there's a way to skip steps with the zip files that are queues, as in the ones that contain current fics and mainly epubs.... sorry </3

i hope you can find what you're looking for!! let me know if i can help with anything

[radical-revolution]

"Impermanence, the Buddha said, is the source of all suffering. Therefore, if you can stop the source, challenging times take on a whole new reality. But how do you do that as a lay Buddhist? During a challenging time, we need to have three things: faith, effort, and practice"

Impermanence can cause intense suffering when we lose our loved ones, financial security, our homeland or inner sense of security, our joy etc. Impermanence can also bring relief when we know that our problems are impermanent and that mistreatment will sometimes come to an end. Of course, we can't take away impermanence, we can only remove our negative perspective towards it and fully appreciate the present moment as it appears, seeing it as an opportunity for spiritual growth and development.

It's easy to think that it would be better if we didn't encounter those people who direct negativity at us, lower our self-esteem, want us to feel bad with, for example, nasty comments and gossip. However, a wise, mature individual understands that no one really wants us to suffer, even if they cause suffering. They themselves don't want to suffer, they escape their bad feeling by wrong means or are temporarily ignorant and therefore self-centered. It is wrong and also sad for us all and for themselves.

Growth includes great understanding about impermanence, cause and effect, forgiveness, understanding that everything we've experienced has shaped us. Everything experienced makes us stronger, we understand ourselves and others better, we love stronger, we learn forgiveness, humility, tolerance, patience, great compassion.

We can truly care about all sentient beings and their well-being. I experienced that already as a child when I had to face many difficulties.

We must also care about ourselves and understand that individual who talks bad about us, lies or otherwise hurts us is not right, we are not what he/she claims. We ourselves know what we are, we will continue progressing steadily forward with loving kindness. Loving yourself is certainly important, but loving others is even more important, (Bodhicitta).

Maturity is facing things with compassion and never with rage and gossiping around even when others are gossiping about us. If we don't regret our own wrongdoings, we don't improve. If those who do not correct their wrong actions towards us continue to do so, they may not have time in this life to correct their karma. So instead of holding grudges or seeking revenge, let's have compassion. One must see deeper into the true nature of things, phenomena.It also dispels the emphasized or clinging thought about oneself and others so that the experience of oneness is strengthened.

We can walk away or stay, it depends on the situation and the seriousness of the matter but it also depends on the extent of our compassion, on our ability to tolerate some unpleasant habits that sometimes appear in others, just as we hope others will tolerate if we have a bad day or something in another's behavior triggers us (e.g. because of our past, karma or his karma ) and we don't behave, act as we normally do. It's a different matter if we ourselves have a habit of overreacting, it can create unnecessary discord in our lives and in the lives of others. If someone e.g. comment on our words, our new clothes, our our preferences regarding food, lifestyle, travel, our bad habits etc. surely that's not a reason to label him/ her an enemy, gossip by labeling him/ her as bad person. That would be very immature. There are really serious things in the world that many struggle through. Maybe someone who is used to have mainly small problems continues to exaggerate those small things. Others go through real difficulties, fight for their lives when experiencing diseases, hunger, oppression caused by others or by karma, conditions.

The ego does not really understand what is serious and what is not. The ego gets hurt, gets angry at everything connected to it's self image and finds it all serious, wants others to believe that a serious wrongdoing happened. There is imagined grave injustice and real grave injustice. If someone destroys your/our good reputation with their gossips it is a serious injustice, as well as if they hurt you physically, threaten your life, drive you from your home, steal your property or something else that we generally understand as serious. However, egocentric individuals maintain the idea of ​​wrongness which is not true but mainly created by their delusions. In their opinion, you can only praise them, the rest is injustice. I have to ask: How do anyone learn anything other than to grow their ego if they are only praised? One might do wrong to others, such things that they themselves would not want to experience, if we only praise and support, we also encourage or allow that behavior to continue. Especially if we allow ourselves to develop like that, we will not develop.

Of course, loving yourself is very important, but

we can't just focus on self love and forget the unfair things we've done (if there are any) and continue doing so. It would be the opposite of growth, as well as if others do so in relation to us. We wouldn't call it growth. Growth is bearing responsibility, it includes correcting one's own behavior and understanding things holistically. A narrow-minded person sees the mistakes of others, labels others, gossips about others and brazenly continues with his/her own negative patterns of behavior. It is not growth by any means.

We grow with mindfulness, mind training, great effort. It does not focus on shutting out things and people for insignificant reasons, but above all on shutting down one's own overreacting behaviors. It is meant to really transform us into better versions of ourselves without any arrogance, blaming others or mocking with wrong definitions. If we continuously behave badly like that, others will certainly behave as well, but even if we only want good for everyone and behave well, someone will behave badly towards us, maybe because of karma, maybe because of their bad mood, or because of their ignorance. We can always bear our responsibility and do/ behave better.

Being reminded of our own responsibility is not blaming you/us for anything. One must know the difference. The Buddha also did not blame when he reminded, Guru does not blame, I do not blame. I repeat the reminders of the Gurus. It is part of the mind training, mindfulness practice.

Let love, let the truth win, never the distortion of things. May we never listen to those who talk, gossips about other people's motives, wills, essence as if they know better than we know ours. Everything is impermanent, and no one can define others permanently. No one else knows who we are better than we know.

I believe you are good. Don't let anyone take away your belief in yourself. When our will is good, our faith is firm, it creates miracles around us and liberates. Impermanence is a comforting, beautiful thing when understood correctly, when living as a conscious, loving being in this moment which is Now. To truly understand impermanence is the key out of suffering, into deeper happiness.

May all mother sentient beings be happy, Mother Tara bless you, protect you 🌟

Om Tāre Tuttāre Ture Soha

***

[ask-afoxesshadow]

you know what an ask blog is, why else are you here.

I wont be starting with character fluff, ill put that at the end, so read it if you want a visual understanding of who your talking to and how they will talking.

Warnings

I am an adult [by definition], and since i have little knowledge on who is on the other side of the screen, this space will be treated as an adult area. posts are subject to include the following:

suggestive descriptions and intimate innuendos

descriptions of violent acts or bloodshed

blunt and brutal honesty, because patience and kindness is a resource i spend at my discretion

scariest of all, many posts will contain the horror that is "roleplay"

excessive sarcasm

"Rules"

asks that are directly nsfw in any form [sexual, graphic or otherwise] will be ignored, so don't even bother

generally speaking, if you are blatantly disrespectful to any particular group of people, you will be ignored at best, blocked at worst.

asks that attempt to get the character to enter a relationship with any other reoccurring character will similarly be ignored

new "rules" will be added at mod discretion, if and when i see fit.

Notes

the person who runs this blog, me, has almost no idea how to properly format tumblr posts, neither do i care to learn, so everything will be done on a whim

additionally i have a total of 0 (zero) art skills, so the only picture that will be shown, unless someone else with free time and an interest in this character and decides to make art [which would be awesome], is the picture used as the blogs icon, the mask seen in which is from here.

all of this is done for fun and to entertain the person behind the screen, do note take anything here too seriously, because i sure am not

i have decided I'll go by "tome" as how you talk to the mod directly. why? because like a tome, i have an ungodly amount of knowledge regarding what is happening in this group of ask blogs, so it felt fitting

Character/roleplay information

the shadow will speak with basic text, while occasionally having changes to their text to show things such as emphasis, or acts such as whispering/speaking under their breath, and to indirectly refer to another person through the use of color and emboldening.

-the characters actions are depicted through use of text surrounded by hyphens, shown here-

[mod talk, from i, the guy who made this blog, is contained within square brackets]

(context, narration, and important notices are contained within parenthesis)

reoccurring characters can be found in the 'following' section, please treat their mods with respect.

The "residence" of the shadow is similar in nature to that of Clauneck or Chemach's, allowing them to hide in plain sight, or let those they wish find them with ease. the area itself is decorated in a style foreign to the area. [think the decorations found in the pilgrim pack]

can, and will, do things anonymously, a man's got to keep their image straight you know?

Character description

the shadow is a creature who's form is crafted from a pitch black substance that seems to hover around the sublimation point, often times acting more akin to a gas than a solid, seemingly at the will of the shadow itself.

standing around 6'1", they have no obvious gender, with all features being vague and hard to identify, or exceptionally androgynous, additionally having a pair of pointed canid ears sprouting from the top of their head, and several large fox tails trailing out behind them. [for visual aid, think any media depiction of a nine tailed kitsune.]

their attire is made mostly of muted colors and dark tones, similarly to their shadowed form. covering their face, they don a handcrafted mask made to resemble a red fox, despite their other canid features suggesting them to be one. covering their upper body is a large and baggy grey shirt with torn hems, a deep blue cloak further covering their form, with a light grey scruff, held in place by a broach depicting a red flower with five petals, white semi circles between the petals of the flower, all encircled by a ring of gold. their arms seem to have a bright red string wrapped around them, looking very out of place among the rest of their muted clothes. the attire for their lower body is rough and simple, consisting of a pair of baggy red pants, with several roughly sewn patches made from fabrics of various materials and colors, and a simple pair of black boots.

Final notes

this character exists for the soul purpose of interacting with ask blogs revolving around the game "cult of the lamb" [but if your here you probably already knew that], so while some of the statements of the character might break the fourth wall in the context of the game, that wall has already been removed by the other blogs, so i care not about its existence

the flower depicted on the brooch is not a Camellia, neither is the character a follower of any of the bishops.