#cause GOD that hunt definitely exists

[camping-with-monsters]

Oops my bad for a week of inactivity! Genuinely haven’t drawn anything that I really feel like posting here ((I’ve been drawing though lol)). Here’s a shiny clip to break my posting from the drought. Almost ran right by this random encounter!

[kalims]

sugar

flushed — when you fluster them and how they act.

do you want a 'kiss' — not an actual kiss, the chocolate.

falling (asleep) — you fall asleep on their shoulder.

w/ malleus draconia

commissioned by paru !

flushed — when you fluster them and how they act.

typically if it was anyone else, they'd have a really hard time to gauge out a reaction from malleus when the most they'll get is probably a barely evident crease, or raise in his brows.

in this case tis our very lovely mc who malleus is very much already on the ground from how fast he fell. you could do just about anything, give him a rock or something, and he’ll thank you eternally and keep it in a room above the most eccentric gifts he's ever gotten.

(god forbid if sebek ever enters, and sees some random rock on a pedestal meanwhile his gifts for the master is just.. there on some table like malleus didn't even think twice to leave it there then worship that rock!)

^ well thankfully, out of respect. sebek believes that someone like him simply is not privileged enough to enter the room of his esteemed master.

anything remotely affectionate from you would definitely send malleus to cloud nine for the whole day, he's practically emitting comical hearts every second you're together. they're trailing after him as he's following you around.

so you have a variety of choices! a heartfelt compliment, a hug, maybe even a kiss. whatever you choose will only feed on the overflowing glass that's called; 'malleus' love for mc'. trust me if you think he's like 67% in love with you, you're WRONG.

it's actually 101% and it's still increasing I swear 😭 

well the glass I was talking about is probably overflowing right now, and it's also probably going to start drowning everyone.

as in… everyone's just stuck to witness malleus' insanely endearing reactions to your shenanigans. should they be scared that malleus would probably do it in a heartbeat if you asked to take over the world??

yeah they should tbh.

in this case, I believe a close hug then a whisper in his ears would really make that arrow hit straight to his heart. you can't just whisper 'doritos' though! /j but you shall instead proclaim your love for him instead with a single 'I love you'.

it's funny to see his face completely freeze. you can practically hear his brain absolutely blowing up. there's a wobbly grin stretching across his face, the tip of his ears turn a shade of pink.

he looks… shy, but oddly pleased.

hellour congratulations malleus will not stop till you're both bound for life 💀 trust me he won't take anyone else if it isn't you anymore. he loves you THAT much.

malleus is not aware of the feeling blooming in his chest, it's foreign. he could even describe it as addictive. he's clueless really, but what he's sure of is that he wonders if you'd feel that too if he did the same to you.

oh well.. you've exposed him to such a euphoric feeling. it's only natural for him to return the favor. 

so honestly just expect him to be the rizzlord for the rest of your existence, he's rizzing you up every chance he can get. and the fact that most of it is just him not trying at all, and just being himself.

which is also funny cause when he does try to 'charm' you it ends up in fail.

like who let him bring you the 'rewards of his hunt' as a courting offering.

and when he tries to recite a letter he wrote for you, it's very endearing, and flattering but he's been talking for quite a long time now and you're concerned.

do you want a 'kiss' — not an actual kiss, the chocolate.

*malleus holding a big ass bowl* yes pls

^ but that's if he knows it's chocolate, and still wants the legit kiss. in a way that's the amount he'd want if it was the real deal.

not that he does know! cause malleus isn't exactly educated in the chocolate culture. as horrifying as it sounds, i doubt he snacks on chocolate in his free time.

I guess he didn't have much time to be a child :(.

he's tasted it before though! but knowing specific brands doesn't really cross his mind. for malleus chocolate is just chocolate. 

so he definitely doesn't know that there's a brand of chocolate called kisses.

so when you ask him if he wants a kiss he's like: yes. IMMEDIATELY. 

ok maybe not immediately but he gives you this certain look, and when he registers your silence at his face he realizes that you're being serious. 

malleus rn: well I mean ur offering so 

WHEN DID HE EVEN FINISH EATING A MINT CANDY.

jokes aside it's almost sad to think how he'll react when it's in fact, not a kiss.

when you pull out some kind of thing wrapped around in some kind of foil and place it inside malleus' palm he's just confused. where are his kisses?? why are you giving him this thing??

malleus spots the 'kisses' label on it and blanks.

oh.. so that's what you meant.

okay he's happy to receive anything from you but that's foul play!

but he really likes you so he won't comment on it 😞 you didn't even elaborate so it's partially his fault for jumping into conclusions.

no one can explain, not even you when there's a visible aura radiating off malleus. something gloomy, and he won't tell you even if you point out that you've noticed him constantly glancing at your face.

well your lips but you also don't know that.

falling (asleep) — you fall asleep on their shoulder.

would refuse to move at all.

first of all, he's honored that you trust him this much to lower your guard, and fall asleep on him. malleus is aware, sorta. he doesn't stop talking but instead slows down his words.

he doesn't want to wake you up, does he?

so he just settles on rambling in hopes that even in your dreams, his voice would reach you. you'd dream of him day, and night.

but when he's done malleus makes very little movement, hyper aware that you've fallen asleep on him. so when he finally assumes a position most comfortable for you, (plus one where he wouldn't crane his neck too much to peer at you) and he just stares.

he's done this plenty of times when you were awake so he doesn't know why he's doing it now. maybe it's because he sees you awake every time, and when you were, he could see the slightest bit of exhaustion present in your eyes.

this way he can be at peace knowing you are.

he recalls your certain features, he'd love to just gaze into your eyes right now and see himself in it but the fact that he can feel all your weight on him is better than anything he's ever felt before. 

cold, rainy days in nrc are just a blessing from grace.

but you now just discover that rain here is a lot stronger than your local pour back at home. to make everything worse, you had no idea it was gonna rain this hard, and if you did you wouldn't have taken the time to visit the city on a sunday.

now you're stuck waiting under a cover outside a shop. your patience honestly starting to run thin. from your legs sincerely, you're immensely thankful for the random bench under it cause you're sure they would have been quaking from the amount of time you spent waiting.

but you do like the weather, cold weather is rare to see when the sunny days reign over many.

you should have brought a jacket or something.

"child of man?"

you blink when malleus tilts his head at you, a thin smile playing upon his lips. his shoulders seem to ease up at the sight of you. your eyes fly above him, weirdly enough it's like there's some invisible force protecting malleus from the weather so he's completely dry.

albeit weakly, you still make an effort to give him a half hearted wave. 

of which he notes.

malleus makes his way over to you, and your beloved bench you had started acquainting yourself with. "may I?" he gestures beside you, and you take that as an initiative to move over.

he takes a seat next to you right after.

"how are you faring?" his eyes crinkle, he stares deeply into you. 

you chuckle. "well I'm stuck here for a while I guess. I already miss my bed,"

the man beside you raises his brow before lightly raising his shoulder, leaning towards you a little for emphasis but you're sure that's just another excuse to take up more of your space.

you get what he's implying in a second. "oh no, no," you shake your head. that would be… embarrassing. 

but your yawn betrays you, and malleus easily coaxes you into using his shoulder. with or without your will, you can't even remember what happened until you blearily open your eyes, and realize the rain has passed by.

when you wake up you feel like you've had the best sleep in your life. but you're sure you would have frozen to death by now.

your hands feel the fabric between your fingers, previously taken over your shoulders. ah.

… as well as a pair of eyes staining into your existence.

wc. 1.5k

[seabirdtxt]

Glitch in Irminsul

The creator descends to Teyvat, but the information they know VS the information that Irminsul retains causes the tree of knowledge to glitch out and ‘branches’ the current known state of Teyvat, and the information that was erased blooms into existence once more [Blog tag] [next >]

Notes: SAGAU, Reader is the Creator but no cult shenanigans. there ARE shenanigans of a different kind though. No romantic relationships in this one despite aforementioned shenanigans

WC. 3.8k

----- ⚘ -----

“You’re just mad because I’m the Creator’s babygirl, and you’re not.”

You’ve never heard such an absurd sentence in your life, but the hands on his hips and smug expression on the Wanderer’s face is unmistakable. Across from him, just barely restrained by Lord Rukkhadevata hooking her arms under his shoulders, is an apoplectic Scaramouche. 

Nobody is entirely sure what happened to Irminsul, yet, but the Tree of Wisdom continues to cheerfully cast its divine light on the scene below without a single care for the chaos it has caused.

“Now now, let’s all settle down for a moment,” Nahida grasps at Wanderer’s sleeves, trying to pull him back from the increasingly tense situation. You can’t help but think of two dogs pulling at the end of their leashes to bark at each other. “I’m sure there is a perfectly logical reason why this is happening.”

You think it might be because of you, considering this all happened when you made your inopportune arrival in Teyvat and accidentally cut your hand on the stem of a Leyline flower, your blood glittering strangely as it was sucked into the plant. 

“There’s no way you’re the Creator’s favourite,” Scaramouche sneers, ignoring Nahida in his effort to escape from Rukkhadevata’s grasp. “You’re just a glorified errand-boy for your betters. I have the power of a Fatui Harbinger at my fingertips! Countless soldiers, ready to live and die by my whims!” 

“Ha!” Wanderer brushes off Nahida’s attempts to restrain him. He moves her to the side, far more gently than you expected him to, and strides up to where Lord Rukkhadevata is holding Scaramouche. He pokes the Balladeer’s cheek and smirks when he nearly gets his fingertip bit off. “And what has that gotten you so far? You still haven’t gotten to be a true god. On the other hand, I’m on the Creator’s main exploration team, along with the Traveler and other equally powerful Vision wielders. At least I have proof that I’m favoured.”

The light from Irminsul glints off the polished metal of Wanderer’s anemo Vision, and Scaramouche’s frown deepens.

“That doesn’t mean anything. Anyone and their mothers can get a Vision these days.” He waves his hand dismissively as best as he can. “Need I remind you of the Vision Hunt Decree project that I—oh, sorry, I mean you—spearheaded? Those things come a mora a dozen.”

“I think you’re both wrong, clearly the Creator likes me the best!”

The two incarnations turn toward the new voice so quickly you’re nearly afraid their heads might snap off. Picture this: you, sitting sideways across Kabukimono's lap with your arms around his neck in a hug as he rocks the two of you back and forth. You wonder if Kabukimono is aware of the effect his words have on his other selves, but judging by his ‘cat that caught the canary’ expression he most definitely is.

The look Wanderer gives you is nearly scandalized, and you can only shrug at him with a helpless smile.

“Sorry guys… but look at him! Isn’t he just the sweetest thing?” you bring a hand up and pinch Kabukimono’s cheek, causing him to giggle and kick his legs in surprise, nearly dislodging you from your spot.

“He’s kinda pathetic, really.” Scaramouche deadpans, finally having stopped struggling in Rukkhadevata’s hold, and attempts to cross his arms.

“He’s you. You don’t have to like him, but at least be polite.” the Greater Lord scolds, making him yelp by shaking him like a sack of rocks. She then changes to a more matter-of-fact tone as she shakes her hair out of her face, and adds: “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

“I agree, let’s talk this over like grown-ups, and get to the bottom of this mystery so we can send you all back home to your correct timelines!” Nahida claps her hands together, interrupting any argument that might break out at Rukkhadevata’s statement. Her smile is starting to look a little strained at the edges and you can’t help but feel a little bad for the tiny god.

“This might be the only correct timeline,” the Traveler mutters, chin resting in their hand where they sit propped up against one of Irminsul’s invisible walls. 

“That’s right!” Paimon nods and shakes her finger at Nahida. “We assumed only the Descenders’ memories would remain intact when someone erases themself from Irminsul, but clearly the Creator’s memories still exist too!”

Lord Rukkhadevata drops Scaramouche at last, letting him land on the ground with an annoyed oof, and turns to you consideringly. The taller god glances between you and Irminsul, worrying her bottom lip as she thinks.

“If that were wholly true, then wouldn’t I have reappeared in my last known state, diminished to the form of a child due to having depleted my power?” she wonders. “And for that matter, why have two versions of the Wanderer appeared, when the previous erased timeline only contained the Balladeer?”

The Traveler hums as they begin to think out loud, and your attention shifts to them when they address you. “When we found you, your Grace, you were recently injured by a Leyline blossom, correct?”

You nod in agreement, not bothering to speak as you settle more comfortably into Kabukimono’s arms, the long sleeves of his kimono wrapping over you like a blanket. Whatever mechanism is inside him causes his entire chest to vibrate against the side of your head, as if he’s purring.

“And you did mention that your blood was absorbed into the flower, which we know is an extension of the Tree of Wisdom…”

“I think I can see where you’re going with this, Traveler,” Nahida interrupts. Using her power, she draws two green puzzle pieces in the air and slowly pushes them together until one of them overlaps with the other. “If the Creator’s memories are intact, then it stands to reason that, should their memories somehow be introduced into Irminsul, then the information with the greater priority will overwrite the previous existing information.”

“That still doesn’t explain why there’s three of me.” Wanderer crosses his arms and kicks Scaramouche, who has yet to get up. The Balladeer crosses his own arms, pointedly ignoring his newer incarnation.

“I believe I can answer that, now.” Lord Rukkhadevata jerks her thumb toward the Tree of Wisdom. “Having known Irminsul my entire existence, I can sense that there have been deviations in its growth. Where normally the trunk and branches originate from a single organism, there are now several branches that seem to be… grafted, for lack of a better term, onto the main plant. Likely a result of the Creator’s mishap.”

“So instead of overwriting or restoring knowledge into the correct branches, it just got added on to the side?” Paimon asks, floating closer to the tree before the Traveler grabs her by the back of her cloak and pulls her back before she can accidentally touch any of the sprouts.

Nahida claps excitedly. “Correct! All available information is now running concurrently, meaning that all states of being have been altered to allow the five of us to exist at the same time!”

“Oh!” you exclaim, startling Kabukimono out of his contented state. “Like a glitch in the matrix!”

Seven pairs of eyes turn directly toward you, varying degrees of bemusement on each of their faces. You chuckle a bit and sink further into Kabukimono’s lap out of embarrassment. He dutifully wraps his arms tighter around you, obscuring you with his long sleeves.

“So we’re just going to let you not elaborate on that at all?” Scaramouche drawls, throwing a hand in your direction. “By all means, keep us in suspense. It’s not like we need to know what our situation is or anything.”

“It’s really not that helpful, I promise!” you tell them, muffled by the kimono’s fabric. “It’s just… a figure of speech, I guess? It’s just something we say when something unexplainable happens. It’s based off this story where, like, the world is fake-” 

At this, Scaramouche and the Wanderer share a brief glance, unnoticed by the rest.

“- and everything is programmed to be a certain way. So when something unexplainable happens, like if you see a black cat walking past you and then a minute later the exact same cat walks past you again! It’s an error, or a glitch, in the programming of the world.”

Nahida and Rukkhadevata head over to investigate the new growths on Irminsul, discussing what you’ve told them in hushed voices, leaving the Traveler to mitigate the situation with the three puppets. Kabukimono clings to you as Scaramouche attempts to pull you out of his lap, the two of them making you wince as you’re forced to withstand their tug of war.

“No! The Creator is my friend now!” Kabukimono protests. “Stop pulling, you’ll hurt them!”

“Then let go and it won’t hurt them anymore, stupid!”

“Niwa told me you have to be nice to people if you want them to do things for you.”

“I know for a fact your precious Niwa also said I’m allowed to take whatever the hell I want, so give!”

“I really don’t think that’s what he meant by that,” Wanderer interjects, coming between the two of them and forcing them apart. “Besides, does the creator call you guys babygirl? No? Didn’t think so, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Taking advantage of their surprise, Wanderer scoops you up and launches into the air, anemo power whirring behind him, putting you both out of reach. You shriek at the sudden movement, holding onto the front of Wanderer’s outfit for dear life.

“What, this again? I’m not sure if you want me to be jealous of you, or pity you.” Scaramouche scowls up at where you two are hovering. He tries to look unaffected but you can see him clenching his fists at his side.

“I still don’t actually know what that’s supposed to mean…” Kabukimono wrings his hands and looks between you and the Traveler, who supplies an explanation for you.

“It’s just a term of endearment from the Creator’s world,” they say. “You wouldn’t believe how often I had to hear it when they were possessing me-”

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

Everyone turns to look at where you and Wanderer are. The puppet is trying not to drop you while also batting away your attempts at removing the outer layer of his outfit.  

“Hold still!” you grumble. “I’m just trying to figure out if you can purr, too, but I can’t hear anything over the sound of your anemo ability.”

“What are you talking about?! I don’t purr!”

“I do!”

The four of you turn to Kabukimono as he demonstrates the ability, the mechanisms in him working overtime to produce a loud rumble from his chest. The Traveler and Paimon are particularly impressed, and Kabukimono preens under their attention.

“Cut that out, idiot,” Scaramouche smacks the back of Kabukimono’s head, successfully cutting off the noise. “You’re just going to overheat, and then we’ll be stuck carrying around your powered-down body until you start up again.”

“You know how he does that? Does that mean you can do it too?” Paimon asks, her face scrunched up at the idea of the Balladeer doing anything that could be seen as endearing. 

“Absolutely not.”

“We can all do that,” Wanderer says at the same time, earning a betrayed look from Scaramouche. “It’s not purring though. You all remember that we’re puppets, right?”

“Yeah….?” The Traveler nods along with Paimon.

“Well, the prototype machinery inside us is what makes that noise.” Wanderer explains. “We can control the speed and make it as slow or as fast as we want, so making it run extra fast makes it louder. However, it also makes the machinery heat up, and if it gets too hot then the failsafe kicks in and shuts off the entire system.”

“Does that mean the Raiden Shogun can purr, too?” The Traveler wonders out loud, successfully distracting Paimon with the absurdity of that mental image.

“What happens to you if it overheats?” You ask, wondering if you should feel bad for enjoying it when Kabukimono purred.

“It’s like fainting for humans,” Scaramouche adds. “Which is why we don’t do that. Nobody likes having to carry around a useless burden.”

“But it’s not dangerous, is it?”

“No, it’s just a lot of trouble. Same as for humans, but no. No lasting damage.” Wanderer then sighs and makes a face even as he pulls you into a semblance of a hug. “Here, I’ll allow it this time, because it’s you...”

Your eyes widen as Wanderer begins to purr as well, audible even over the sound of his anemo power. With a delighted gasp, you throw your arms around him and listen happily, unaware of the glares Wanderer is receiving from below. The Traveler rolls their eyes when Wanderer points at your back and mouths ‘favourite’ at Scaramouche.

“Wanderer, if you’re done being jealous could you please bring the Creator back down?” Nahida calls, and you peek down to see that she and Lord Rukkhadevata have finished their discussion. They wait below, where Scaramouche and Kabukimono were earlier. The two puppets are now a little bit further away, bickering while the Traveler supervises them.

“I’m jealous?” Wanderer scoffs, hoisting you up so you can rest on his hip as he holds you with one hand, the other used to gesture down at Nahida rudely. “You even dare to imply-”

“Please bring the Creator down.” Rukkhadevata repeats, hands on her hips. “Don’t make me come up there and get you.”

You have to stifle a laugh as Wanderer slowly brings the two of you back down, making sure your feet are firmly on the ground before letting you go. You don’t bother to mention how you notice that Wanderer’s body actually is noticeably warmer after purring. You smooth the wrinkles of your clothes and turn to the two Dendro Archons with a smile.

“You guys give off such mom energy,” you tell them. “So, what’s up? Did you figure out anything else?” 

“You forget that I was a queen before I was a god,” Rukkhadevata points out. “I know what it’s like to stymie conflict before it becomes a problem. Diplomatically, of course.”

Nahida nods in agreement. “Of course. And yes, Your Grace, we did come to some conclusions! Though, not all of them are final, mostly regarding Wanderer and his counterparts. There are some hypotheses we will need to investigate before we can say for sure…”

“Still kinda wish you wouldn’t call me that,” you mutter, rubbing the back of your neck. The lofty title is uncomfortable to hear, when you still feel like any ordinary person. “But let’s hear it then. What did you guys come up with?”

“For the most part, exactly the same conclusion that we came to earlier.” Nahida says, drawing in the air with glowing green lines. She draws a tree, and then draws some branches in a different shade. “Your arrival in Teyvat brought a ‘backup’ of knowledge which, when reintroduced to the Leylines, conflicted with the current state of things and instead created additional information that now exists at the same time as the current timeline.”

“That being said,” Rukkhadevata adds her own glowing lines to Nahida’s drawing, in a deeper and more intense green. She circles one branch, and says: “I believe that this timeline’s Dendro Archon remains Lesser Lord Kusanali. Irminsul seems to have resolved this conflict by making it so that my sacrifice to eradicate Forbidden Knowledge was not my life, but rather my godhood.”

“What does that mean for you?” You ask.

“It means that I am now happily retired!” Rukkhadevata exclaims, smiling brightly. “And from what I’ve seen of the information recorded in Irminsul, I have an old friend in Liyue who also recently finds himself with a wealth of spare time. It’s been a few centuries since I last saw him, perhaps I should pay him a visit.”

“Wow, congratulations! I’m sure Zhongli would be glad for the company.” You hug her excitedly, and she returns the gesture with a bright laugh. 

“Is that the name he’s going by, now? It would certainly help to have a less recognisable name, I suppose…” Rukkhadevata ponders, and you can hear her humming as she thinks. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll just use my old name. From now on, please call me Aranyani!”

Nahida joins in on your hug, practically bouncing with excitement, and you pick up the tiny god so she can see you both. “I’m so glad for you, Aranyani! I’ve always wanted to meet you,” she exclaims with a shy smile. “I have so many things I want to ask!”

“And you are always free to share in my knowledge, little sapling,” Aranyani coos, patting Nahida’s head affectionately before you all release each other, letting Nahida back down gently.

“So what are we going to do about those two clowns?” Wanderer says and you jump a little in surprise, forgetting he was still there.

You turn to where the rest of the group is. Kabukimono seems to have finally had enough and is tousling on the floor with Scaramouche. The Traveler is attempting to haul the Balladeer away, while Paimon grabs onto the back of Kabukimono’s veil and is yanking him in the other direction. To a very small degree of effectiveness.

“Both of you, please stop!” Nahida rushes forward, and the two puppets spring apart like the other is on fire.

“He started it!” Kabukimono points at Scaramouche accusingly and the Balladeer moves to grab him again, but is easily stopped by the Traveler pulling him back by grabbing his wrists. 

“It doesn’t matter who started it,” you sigh, putting your hands on your hips. You put on a stern face and your best ‘disappointed parent’ voice. “I sort of expected more from you two…”

Kabukimono’s devastated expression is enough for you to drop the pretense. You sigh and open your arms and beckon, and Kabukimono happily throws himself into your hug. 

“Fine, fine!” You grumble, patting the top of Kabukimono’s head. “As long as you guys aren’t, like, maiming or seriously injuring each other, I guess it’s okay.”

“Yay!”

That’s about as far as you get before Nahida takes Kabukimono’s hand and leads him away, and begins informing him of the history of the world and catching him up to speed on the current timeline. Wanderer and the Traveler chime in every so often, adding in some details that the archon might have missed. Aranyani seems to have already taken her leave, leaving only you and Scaramouche behind.

You pretend not to notice as the disgruntled ex-Harbinger shuffles closer to you, until he bumps his shoulder against yours. 

“Hey,” he begins, clearing his throat awkwardly. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but all these annoying idiots kept interrupting me…”

You wait for a minute, until it’s clear he isn’t going to continue until you say something. “Yes? What’s the matter?”

He exhales through his nose and refuses to make eye contact with you. At the edges of your vision, you can see him fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” he finally spits out. “I mean, clearly I don’t quite fit in with the rest of these happy-go-lucky morons. I can’t imagine you intended for someone like me to show up.”

“Why not?” You blurt out, more out of surprise than anything else. “I like having you here.” It’s clearly the wrong thing to say, as Scaramouche begins to close off again.

“Don't bother lying to me,” he snaps, facing you with the full brunt of his annoyance. He crosses his arms and sneers at you, looking at you down the bridge of his nose. “I’m not some sad, weak little puppet who needs to be coddled by the likes of you. So save your meaningless placations for someone who would actually feel better after hearing them. You’re only wasting your time, and mine.”

“Okay, no lies then,” you nod, and watch as he braces himself for whatever you’ll say next. “I’m glad you’re here, in a world where every part of you can exist at the same time. And I’m glad I can be here with you to remind you that you’re the sum of all your parts, good and bad, and that I do want you to be here, in all your entirety.”

Scaramouche’s face is carefully blank, and you wonder for a second if he somehow shut down without you noticing. You wave a hand in front of his face, watching as his eyes track your palm. You’re about to say something else when you feel a hand come down on your shoulder heavily.

“Simp.” Wanderer states, patting you with a teasing look on his face.

“What?!” You jump away from him with an indignant squawk. “I am not-”

“Absolutely down bad.” The Traveler adds, and you reach clumsily to slap at the two of them. You miss both by miles.

“I can’t believe I taught you guys words from my world and this is how you repay me!”

“Sorry to interrupt, Your Grace!” Nahida looks properly apologetic at the treatment you’re receiving. “We were just discussing what to do with all of the new people. The Traveler has kindly offered to introduce you to their friendly teapot adeptus in order to have a realm created for you, and Wanderer’s incarnations can stay with you in the new realm!”

“That’s perfect!” you say quickly, eager to escape any more teasing from your team. You avoid Scaramouche’s probing gaze and turn your heated face away from him to look at Nahida and the Traveler. “When can we go? Can we go right now?”

The Traveler nods and holds out a thin tab of wood that you recognize as their realm dispatch. It’s strange to see it in person, for some reason you expected it to be bigger than it actually is. The entire thing can fit in the palm of one hand, like a credit card. “We can go as soon as you’re authorized, Your Grace!”

You’re giddy as you take the dispatch into your hands, rubbing the engraved surface with reverence. You feel a strange sensation, like pins and needles, as the magic in the dispatch settles over you. “This is so cool, you guys. I can’t wait to meet Tubby! Do you think she’ll make me a teapot, too, or something else?”

In your excitement you grab onto both the Traveler and Wanderer, silently begging them to come with you. Just as the three of you touch the surface of the teapot, Wanderer turns to Scaramouche with a pointed look and grins. 

“Favourite.” He says smugly as he vanishes.

[my-proof-is-you]

But God, at what cost?

Imagine: Dean helping you get through your cardio workout

A/N: Literally thought of this when I was at the gym trying to get through a workout. Pretended Dean was cheering me on…is that weird? Ha.

You were pretty sure almost no one hated running more than you.

You were a bigger person. You always had been. Plus sized, if you will. You were very strong, though. When you hunted, you held your own. 

You didn’t hate your body, either. You weren’t skinny like some of your friends were in high school. You knew none of them could do what you could on hunts, though.

Dean liked your curves, too. He always said he admired your strength and the man damn near worshipped your body in bed. 

But you knew your weakness: cardio. 

It wasn’t very often you had to run for your life. You, Sam and Dean made a great hunting team, so there was rarely a need to run away. 

When you did, though, you lagged behind. That meant that Dean lagged behind, too. He would never leave you to fend for yourself. You didn’t like it. You didn’t want him in danger any more than he wanted you to be.

So that was why you were trying to get better at running even though it was the bane of your existence. You’d been spending time in the bunker gym, using the treadmill Sam had bought for when the weather outside wasn’t conducive to his runs.

You didn’t really want Dean to know what you were doing. It was your own problem, and you wanted to fix it on your own. 

You’d run a few times on your own on the treadmill, and hated every second of it. It put you in a bad mood for the rest of the day, and your boyfriend had definitely noticed. 

You were once again trying to get a run in on the treadmill before the brothers got back from their supply run. Unfortunately, you didn’t time it right.

“Y-Y/N?” Dean asked, entering the gym. He had a shocked look on his face. 

“What?” You huffed, annoyed. It wasn’t his fault, but you couldn’t hide how much you hated what you were doing.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, coming to stand next to the treadmill with his arms crossed over his chest. 

You rolled your eyes. “Can’t a person run without getting asked a million questions?”

“A person, yes. You…no. Sweetheart, you hate running,” he said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah—well— hate—putting you—in danger—more,” you said while panting.

Dean reached over, pulling the cord that stops the treadmill. 

“Hey!” You exclaimed, slowing to a walk before the belt stopped completely. 

“What are you talking about?” Dean asked. “What danger?”

“I’m slow, Dean,” you said, finally regaining your breath. “I know I am. And I don’t want to be the reason you stay behind and get killed by a monster!”

“First of all, that’s not going to happen. And B, you are one of the best hunters I know. I really think you’re underestimating yourself.”

You sighed. “Regardless, Dean, I could be better, and I want to be.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed as he studied your face. “This has nothing to do with looks, right? Cause, sweetheart, you know I think you’re perfect the way you are.”

You smiled, despite your exhaustion. “I know that, De. And I promise, it’s not about that. I know I’m hot,” you said with a wink. 

Dean bit his lip, sending a little thrill through to your core. 

“I just want to improve is all,” you said with a shrug. 

“Well, sweetheart, you know how I feel about running, too. I hate it maybe more than you do. But if this is something you want, I will help you,” Dean said, reaching out to squeeze your hand. 

You weren’t sure how he meant to help you, but going it alone wasn’t working. You’d take any help offered at this point.

He watched your face as you tried to understand what he’d do, and he gestured for you to step back on the treadmill. You turned it back on and began jogging. 

After a minute or so, you started to get out of breath and wanted desperately to stop. You looked at Dean, who nodded his head in the direction the treadmill was facing to tell you to keep looking forward. 

“You got this, sweetheart,” he began. He wasn’t yelling it, just speaking with conviction at his normal volume. 

“I’ve seen you go through literal Hell, Y/N. This is nothing. You are so strong.”

His words gave you some confidence. It was nice to hear, especially over the voice in your head that was telling you to quit. 

You went another ten minutes with Dean’s words of encouragement spurring you on before your legs started really aching.

“It—hurts—De—” you panted.

“Just a little more, Y/N/N. And when you’re done, I’m gonna take you to the shower…get you nice and clean,” he said, his voice turning sultry.

“Hm?” You asked, suddenly distracted from your pain. 

“That’s right, baby. Then I’m gonna massage all your sore muscles.”

You felt even more of a blush rising to your cheeks.

“And tomorrow, when you’re all rested, we’re gonna do some cardio together.”

“You—hate—running,” you said, breathless for more than one reason.

“I’m not talking about running, sweetheart.”

You hit your goal of two miles then, and nearly leapt off the treadmill before the belt even stopped. 

“Let’s hit the showers,” you said, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the hall. 

Dean followed, chuckling. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Forevers:

@divadinag @lynne1993 @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​  @onethirstyunicorn @sammykb1994 @lilulo-12 @mellorine-paprika @tranquility-or-chaos @collette04 @hoboal87 @chevyharvelle @miraclesoflove @defenderrosetyler @babypink224221 @calaofnoldor @beatifuldisaster018 @coffeebooksandfandom @supernatural3002 @lainxcas @mylovelydame21 @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @lovely-lynns-likes @ppeachygemss @screechingartisancashbailiff @metalfangirl @vicmc624 @polina-93 @hobby27 @sexyvixen7 @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @lyarr24 @amelia-song-pond @donnaintx @spnbaby-67 @traceyaudette @gh0stgurl @fiftyshadesgrl @tapedeck-hearts @lacilou @foxyjwls007 @stoneyggirl2 @kr804573 @cumuluscranium

Dean/Jensen:

@harleycao

[v3nusxsky]

Notice me

*Authors note~ I love writing for Emily so god damn much it hurts*

Trigger warning ~ cases mention homophobia ?

Prompt~ r is a BAU member mainly desk work but occasionally on the field. Garcia is closest with her bc of the fact she's rarely on the field and she sometimes helps Garcia with tech stuff. She's got a massive crush on Emily but Emily doesn't notice her until one day she does.

Being a member of the FBI was certainly something. Not a job for anyone with a weak stomach. Now of course you hardly went out on the field, mainly you stayed with Garcia to help back at Quantico. Naturally you had become close with the quirky women. Instantly, you noted her flirty nature with Derek and often teased her about it. Although you knew they were only friends you loved to tease her.

That's why you were unsurprised that once she had picked up on a slight blush you had from the one and only Emily Prentiss, she just knew that it would be a great way to get pay back. Harmless banter and she had sworn not to tell Emily of your attraction to her. You were pretty sure she didn't even know you existed, but you couldn't help but fall for her. I mean who wouldn't? She was absolutely gorgeous, her humour was top tier and don't even get started on the fact she knows just how to wield a gun and put even the toughest guys in their place. There was just something about that women that drove you crazy, yet she doesn't even know you exist.

You worked in the background for a few months before the opportunity arose for you to be introduced to Emily. Hotch had instructed you and Garcia to grab your go bag and get to them asap. This is something you most definitely weren't expecting but apparently they desperately needed you both in the field. You got there as quick as you could, and that is when you were told the plan. You had to help be bait. Part of the strategy was to have the rest of the team set up outside ready to pounce while they wanted you at the bar they knew he would be at.

Safety in numbers, you had been paired with Emily. The nerves you felt were more from the fact you would be with Emily rather than baiting the unsub. Part of the cover was to act as though you and Emily were a couple, the unsub seemingly striking at the same sex couples that matched your descriptions. For you it was unusual to be baiting the unsub however, for Emily it wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. You had direct instructions from Hotch to follow Emily's lead, naturally your submissive nature would make that easy for you. Or well it should've.

The bar you were attending was a very local dive bar, not somewhere you would've chosen to go but this was for business not for pleasure. You choose to wear a tight form fitting sapphire blue dress that showed off just enough skin to be teasing but not enough to be slutty. And your girlfriend for the night had adorned a simple tight black dress that hugged all the right places. If you thought she was gorgeous in work attire well then now she was drop dead gorgeous. It was all finished off with raven curls and Smokey eye makeup. It wouldn't be hard to pretend to be her girlfriend what so ever.

The bar was loud and bright, packed with young adults and uni students, the perfect place to go victim hunting as most of not all were already highly intoxicated due to the cheep alcohol. You and Emily made your way to the bar and ordered a drink, just for the appearance although you both knew you could drink just one and be absolutely fine, you both decided that it would make sense to have a clear head.

Straight away your beautiful companion started to profile the people present and identified the unsub starring creepily in your direction. Only then did she realise you didn't look in love enough so she brought her hand to rest on your thigh causing you to gasp and look into her beautiful eyes. Instantly you could tell she was urging you to play along which you did as she brought her lips to yours.

The one and only Emily Prentiss was kissing little old you. And this didn't feel so pretend anymore when her tongue traced your lips asking for entrance which you gladly gave the women. Quite simply this was the best kiss of your life and you didn't want it to end but you both needed air. The unsub began to advance on you both when the rest of the team had pulled him into arrest, Emily stood up and went over to help while you sat there in shock. Weren't you gonna talk about that? Apparently not as she went outside with the others to hand the unsub over to the local police department. You quickly down your drink before walking outside where Garcia was waiting for you with a knowing smile until she caught sight of the tears that glistened in your eyes.

"Oh honey, what happened? I thought you'd be happy she kissed you!" She almost squealed trying to understand the reaction. You just turned to look at the women who's lips had been on yours as she was bantering with Morgan and Reid. "She doesn't even notice me Pen, that kiss meant nothing to her, just a rouse but to me it was everything and now I have to go back into the shadows pretending I don't know what she tastes like or how her hand feels on my thigh" you finished off with a sad sigh. Unfortunately that would be just facts you were stating before trailing off into a massive rant about how you wished she felt the same, wished she would notice you in the way you noticed her and how there would never be anyone else for you but her. No one could compare to the raven haired beauty.

If you were thinking more rationally you would've noticed how Penelope's eyes widened looking at a figure approaching behind you. "Um, Y/n you may wanna turn around" she whispered breaking you from your rant. Any words left died on your lips instantly as Emily stood behind you with her signature smirk that drove you wild and a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Em-agent Prentiss, I god im sorry" you squeaked out embarrassment shining through as you realised she'd probably heard you complaining about how your love is unrequited. The moment Emily offered to take you back to the hotel for a drink was the moment Garcia left to go and find Derek giving you a discreet wink. Holy shit you were going back to her hotel room, you had to be dreaming. Right?

Word count ~ 1176

*Author's note~ anyone want part 2 ;)*

[nocty-art]

(Tumblr gods, don't smother me please, it's nothing NSFWish 🙏)

Basically, a werewolf problems 🫴

@wh1msicallllll asked about his backstory, so I'm going to write some underneath, akhem, bare with me.

Since he was created purely for RP purposes, some details don't always apply, it all depends on the plot setting. But there are repeatable patterns:

Ren was turned against his will, at the peak of his life (solid career, wealth and family). As a novice werewolf (having a hard time containing the beast), he was no longer able to live in a society, becoming a threat to his loved ones. He willingly exiled himself, wandering, looking for cure which doesn't exist.

Depending on the plot he either finds other werewolves and lives with them or makes friends here and there, gets in trouble and whatnot, basically tries to learn to live again in peace with the beast inside of him.

He eventually outlives his wife and children. There was that one plot which had a nice Romeo and Juliet theme, in which he fell in love with a vampire (the usual vampires vs werewolves). They both became traitors to their own kind because of their feelings for each other, and were constantly hunted by both.

EDIT: What I also love about this guy is that he was a very good man, well mannered, a gentleman, patient with people, never judging by the cover. And then he was hit with a lycanthropy on the face, forced to constantly fight with primal urges to cause violence and death.

He lost an eye before turning through, this is why it never grew back.

And it's not like his life was perfect before being turned (arranged marriage, overworking, being rised by extremely strict and demanding father), but definitely nowhere as miserable as after getting bitten.

[mask131]

So…I followed your advice in researching Greek Myths and learning them via the Authors. And uhm…I was curious because something bugged me.

Now I’m bad at history, but as far as I knew, Laurel Wreaths were mostly common in Rome, rather than Greece? (I could be wrong) so I had like a nagging feeling. And found out that the Daphne and Apollo myth (And probably also Hyacinthus I’m looking into that) was told in Ovid’s Metamorphosis? I could be wrong, so far I’ve only seen Ovid as the original author.

Sorry- I saw your post about Arachne and thought about what other myths were originally purely Roman then were mistaken for Greek Myths and wanted to add this into a possibility-

A LOT of stuff were invented by Ovid! Myself I learned only a month ago that Morpheus was "invented" by Ovid and I was like... wow. (There were dream-gods in Greek mythology, but they were not singularized, and the persona of Morpheus as the individual god of dreams was invented by Ovid)

Now, I don't know much about the specific use of laurel in Ancient Greece vs the Roman empire, but if you ask about the origin of the story of Daphne and Apollo, they are definitively Greek and Ovid did not invent her (though he told the story in a very, very different way).

The story of Daphne's numerous misadventures was recorded by Greek authors - and while it was quite late records, which would make us wonder if it isn't a late development or invention, they all rely on older sources attesting a presence of Daphne's legend for quite a long time. The two major records of Daphne's legend by Greeks are Pausanias' Description of Greece (2nd century CE), and Parthenius of Nicea's "Erotica Pathemata" (1st century BCE). BUT Pausanias explains that the legend he collects has been known for a very long time in the area around the Ladon river, to the point of implementing itself within the worship of Apollo, while Parthenius begins his story by pointing out he is merely retranscribing the text of older sources - a book from a 3rd century BCE historian named Phylarkhos, and an elegiac poem by Diodoros of Elaia. But given these two older texts were lost, we only have the latest record, hence this feeling of "novelty" when the story is actually at least around since the 3rd century BCE...

In fact, the existence of Daphne in Greek mythology long before Ovid's Metamorphoses is also proven by how massively different the Greek records of Daphne's life are from Ovid's tale. Everybody knows the story of Daphne through Ovid, since it was the most popular and widespread one... But both Pausanias and Parthenius report the same legend, which is very different from Ovid's rewrite.

In Ovid's tale, Daphne is said to have been Apollo's first love, and that the god's feelings were caused by Cupid as a way to take revenge after being mocked (Apollo, as a talented archer-god, mocked Cupid's own archery talents). Cupid shot a love-killing arrow in Daphne's heart so that the nymph would reject all forms of love, and she became "like Diana" - by refusing any form of marriage or romance, and fleeing the company of men and rejecting all her suitors, preferring the loneliness of the woods and the pleasure of the hunt - her father, the river-god, insisted on her giving him a son-in-law and grandchildren but she insisted she wanted to remain endlessly virgin like Diana. Meanwhile Apollo had received a love-inflamming arrow, one that not only caused a deep desire and mad love within the god for Daphne, but also made this attraction stronger and more obsessive each time the god saw the nymph. As such, Apollo tried all he could to please her and woo her and seduce her, but each time he tried the love-repelling spell on Daphne caused her to flee in fear and disgust and terror ; and the more she fled, the more Apollo found her beautiful and desirable, thanks to Cupid's curse ; and thus he followed her, but the more he pursued and insisted the more she fled. Their respective love and hate kept growing and growing until Daphne, exhausted and not wanting to flee anymore, stopped by the shore of her father the river-god and begged him to transform her so that her beauty would be gone, and she would not be loved anymore. Her father turned her into a laurel-tree, but it was no use, as Cupid's power as too strong: Apollo was still in love with the beauty and radiance of the tree, and he could feel Daphne's heart beating in the plant; and similarly Daphne's hate still lived on, as when Apollo embraced the tree and kissed its branches, the tree shivered and was repelled away from the god's body. But Apollo ultimately decided that if she could not be his bride, he would make Daphne his official tree and symbol - and to this, Daphne actually agreed as she offered her "leafy branches" to the god.

That's the Roman story of Daphne invented by Ovid. What is the difference with the Greek story he took inspiration from? (Because it is very clear that Ovid's source was the story twice told by Pausanias and Parthenius ; and told by others before whose name were lost...

1: In Ovid's story, Daphne simply admires and imitates Diana's behavior. In the Greek legend Daphne was ACTUALLY one of the huntresses of Artemis. Or to be more precise Parthenius explains that Artemis found Daphne "dear" to her because she shared the goddess' life-choices, refusing to live in cities, not hanging out with other girls, hunting in the mountains with a large pack of hounds... And Artemis loved Daphne so much she offered her a gift: she would always shoot straight at her target and never miss.

2: There's no Cupid/Eros in the Greek legend. Daphne is not Apollo's first love, she is not cursed with rejecting all love, he was not cursed to love her to insanity - this whole episode was invented by Ovid. Apollo is still in love with Daphne in the Greek legend, but it is just a regular love.

3: The Greek legend has a character that Ovid completely erased. Leucippus. Leucippus was another man who was in love with Daphne but knew that she was a lonely huntress closely linked to Artemis... Understanding he could not seduce her in a conventional way, Leucippus put up a convoluted plan to win the girl's heart. He dressed himself as a woman and created for himself a female persona. He approached Daphne and pretended to be a fellow huntress ; Daphne agreed to let her join her hunting party, and she soon grew to admire this bold, strong woman so unlike the other girls of Greece and whose strength and hunting talents far surpassed those of a common maiden... In fact she grew such affection and admiration for the fake-huntress that Daphne developed a dear and solid friendship with her: it was said she was always by Leucippus' side, refused to let Leucippus away from her, and kept embracing him/her and clinging to his/her body. However, since Apollo was also in love with Daphne he grew both jealous and angry (since, as the god of truth, he knew of Leucippus' deceit), and decided to reveal the truth. He implanted in Daphne's mind the idea that she had to bathe in a given stream: she went there with her "attendant maidens" and female servants/fellow huntresses (Daphne is never said explicitely to be part of the huntresses of Artemis, but she herself lives in a group of "wild women" very similar to Artemis' huntresses so... it is strongly implied she is one of them, especially since she literaly lives like the goddess and has been gifted by her). Leucippus of course refused to bathe, despite the other girls' insistence, and since he refused still, they tore his clothes away from him... discovering he was a man all along. And since this group of women act on a Artemis' huntress logic, they did what seemed the most reasonable thing to do... kill Leucippus by plunging in his body all of their spears.

4: The Greek legend does agree that Daphne begged a third-party god to turn her into the laurel tree to escape Apollo's love-hunt, but the details are different from Ovid's tale and the story is more lacking in explanations... All we know, from Parthenius' record is that Apollo appeared to Daphne right after Leucippus was killed. Why? We don't know, but he clearly came to profit off the fact his romantic rival had been killed in shame/crime, and that he had a part to play in the "reveal" of Leucippus' deceit... But all we know is that Daphne fled Apollo, and he pursued her, and to avoid being caught by him she begged to be hidden from his sight, and thus she was turned into a laurel tree. But in the Greek legend she doesn't beg her father the river-god... she begs Zeus, and he is the one who grants her request and protects her from his own son.

Things are even worse in Pausanias' record, since he stops after Leucippus death and there is no story of Apollo hunting down Daphne in any way... He doesn't even speak of any metamorphosis ; and yet he does mention that Daphne was associated with the laurel, and that the heavy use of laurel in Apollonian rituals and games was because of the god's love for Daphne. (But from yet other sources contemporary to Pausanias' writings, such as the "Life of Apollonius of Tyana", we know that the story of Daphne being somehow "replaced" by a laurel-tree was well-known, though it wasn't always said why such a thing happened)

In conclusion, as usual with how Ovid tweaks the Greek legends, it is interesting to see how he shift the character and what the character is supposed to be about. Thanks to Ovid the image we keep of Daphne is the one of a victim fleeing in fright and fear, and her relationship with Apollo is depicted as a frightening and cruel tragedy orchestrated by Cupid... And yet, we do know that Daphne started out as a badass huntress of Artemis, and that her original story was about a man changing his gender in hope of winning her heart - to the point the involvment of Apollo was seen as a side-detail that could be omitted (Pausanias even claims that Apollo's involvment in the legend was an addition by the priests of the god, and not present in the main folktale)

Mind you I am not at all an expert on Daphne's character or story - and I am sure others are more informed than me... But that's the few things I know

[hunt-me-sergeant]

Hi, it's me again with another theory cause I'm an overthinker ! Phee theory it is.

Let's put all the Tech and Phee situation aside. I personally have nothing against the ship and Phee. She's an amazing character and a boss lady. Tech deserves happiness. I enjoy her character as much as I enjoy Cid. That's why she's intriguing to me.

However, I don't trust neither of them. I don't trust anyone except for Rex when it comes to The Batch.

I just feel that the writers are trying really hard to misdirect us. Away from Cid and Phee's true intentions.

So let's compare. We have ☯️ situation here.

Cid

From the start, she was shown to be kind of mean, dislikable, morally grey character and all she cared about was her business. The subject of "trust" has been mentioned many times between The Batch and her and we know it's definitely not there.

In the episode (that people call a filler episode) "Faster", we had a chance to see more of Cid. We found out she has a low key dark past. We heard Millegi's advice to not trust her.

With her The Batch was always busy, going on missions with their guard up. They were always ready for a fight.

Now we see they decided to cut ties with Cid due to her denying them help on Makko.

Phee

When Phee was introduced, we immediately fell in love because we met a cool pirate lady, who doesn't take anyone's shit and she gave all the deserved attention to our man Tech. She's doing God's work.

Another filer episode "Entombed" where Phee taking them on a mission to look for a treasure. We could see more of her and her amazing stories. Omega absolutely adores her, she's like a cool aunty. She's all smooth and awesome. Sweet.

Now we have her helping The Batch. She took them on Pabu, where she made them feel safe and relaxed. She showed them a place to stay.

What a nice contrast, isn't it?

Also quick note : Those "filler" episodes are not fillers in my opinion. They had a purpose – to mislead us even more. See how all the fillers were connected to Cid or Phee?

But as I said in my Cid theory, this show taught me to pay attention to every detail and every little word.

And what made me go "hmmm" was Phee's "makes you wonder, doesn't it?" When Hunter asked why did she bring them on Pabu.

I dont trust both of these ladies, but while everyone thinks Cid will be the traitor, I think it's Phee whom we should worry about.

The writers seem to try to make us see Cid as a bad person. While with Phee, we are totally sold to the vision of her being a friend.

The moment when Phee heard they cut ties with Cid, she immediately took them on a planet that is a secret sanctuary and that Cid doesn't know about its existence.

She took them on Pabu, saying this is a place to stay. When Hunter asked her if she meant them staying there permanently, she didn't say simple yes. She used Hunter's weakness - Omega, "She seemed to like it here."

And Hunter was sold. They are now thinking of Pabu as a potential home. They are safe, relaxed and what's the more important... they lowered their guard.

Let's look at this from the "If Phee is indeed the traitor" POV. She took them on a secret planet. No one now knows the batch's location except for Phee. They don't suspect anything bad happening. So...one signal sent to the Empire, and they have the batch on a golden platter.

You'd ask, "If it's true, what does Phee gain from betraying the batch?". Maybe it would be an exchange for freedom of Pabu? Maybe some ancient good or someone of a high value to her that the Empire now posses? Treasure can be many things right?

It's true that she would endanger Pabu but Shep said they don't have any reason to come on Pabu since this planet has no valuable resources and even if they come they will be manage, whatever that means.

We all know that Pabu being the silence before the storm is a fact. Funny enough, the whole episode looked like a foreshadowing of it.

The Empire is looking for Omega. We will probably see Crosshair being sent for the hunt. He needs some information about where she can possibly be. Cid doesn't know about Pabu's existence, so she can't be the traitor, even if she wanted. She has no location to give the Empire.

Some may think my theories about Cid and Phee are too complex for this show. But are they? Meanie becoming a hero and sweet soul turning out to be a traitor is one of the most basic tropes in both kids and adult shows. Also if you think I'm reaching then scroll away idk 🤷🏽‍♀️.

At the end of the day I really hope both, Cid and Phee turn out to be the batchers' friends and will help them escape the Empire for good. But you're lying if you say theories aren't fun 😌

[therese-lokidottir]

Can we agree that sylvie is the best Loki it was because she rejects herself as Loki and hate being Loki it's so stupid?

Reject yourself is not make you be better version of yourself, being the best version of yourself is meant accepting everything about you, the best and the worst, take responsibility all your actions and be better or not getting worse. That is meaning the best version of yourself.

And sylvie is not the best Loki, she literally definition of the worst version of loki (it's has nothing to do with gender) . Let's recap so called superior loki, she's not super smart, she's not powerful she's not kind and polite she's not mischief, she's not chaming, she's not even trying be better for herself.

And no no no, don't justify 'she hard life ' so? She not event trying behave , she no want take responsibility her actions and make it worse she keep blaming everyone even that is problems he cause. So is that called superior/best version of Loki?

And for record it was okey being mean and selfish character but the problem is that showrunner keep shoving to our face that sylvie is the best and she hero while the whole scenes showing that she's nothing and the worst uninteresting character ever made.

Make me really questioned why she exist in first place anyway? When she end up like this

What is frustrating is that it doesn't make sense, or at least it is never given a solid reason why Sylvie would reject being Loki. What is the concept of being Loki to her?

Loki does have a concept of himself as a figure. He is recognized as a god on Earth, and he has legends and stories about him. He has a reputation on Asgard itself and he is aware that people perceive him in a certain way. But Sylvie doesn't have that, she was taken as a child and never would see the impression she got in others' eyes.

The only negative perception of being "Loki" would be coming from the TVA, the fascists who are tormenting her. Why would she care what they thought? Moreover, they're hunting her because of a variant, not because she's Loki and she still calls herself the goddess of mischief. She rejects Loki while still claiming the moniker of Loki. That be like if there was a Peter Parker who said his name was Joe, but he was still Spider-Man and still defined himself as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Sylvie is just rejecting her given name, because…. But her story isn't rejecting being the villains in the story or rejecting traits people attribute her, she just doing stuff and doesn't care about anything but her own personal goals.

So, there is no in-universe reason to reject being "Loki" while still acting the way she does. The explanation is that out of universe reason, the creators think "Loki" is something bad and to be rejected.

[nomsfaultau]

Hello, the asker from the last time here again asking about the lucky charm the Blade once again.

Can I use that ability to like. Get good grades on exams. For example if I say that whoever gets a perfect grade on this specific upcoming exam loses then am I guaranteed to get a perfect grade? And no killing me wouldn't work because well. I can't get a perfect grade if I'm dead.

Could they theoretically use it to get foundation off of their tails? Like what if the rest of the fault crew challenges him individually that like "If foundation forgets about my existence, all files on me dissapear as if they've never existed and the foundation never hunts me down again AND I don't die in the process then I lose". Would that work? Can they also just like change their lifespans like that? Like let's say that someone's dying and they say smtn like "If my wounds magically heal right this instant then I lose" would that just. Happen? That's incredibly op.

Grades: Not likely. (1. The Blood God wants his vessel to be the absolute best. Failing a test doesn't really do that, and he thinks trying to pull an 'opposite day' thing is absurd. He's not obligated to take on every challenge posed. (2. He could just take the test normally, make an imperfect score, and not lose. There isn't particularly cause to make your score better, since his success is not dependent on your loss. The Blood God could perfectly well kill you, or would, but since he wouldn't see this as a real challenge he wouldn't be around to it. The Blade however would be hella stressed about a random exam he didn't study for, since that's textbook nightmare fuel.

As for getting rid of the Foundation problem...It's not a real challenge, is it? By design you're just trying to get The Blood God to help you. Being clever about it, sure, but by it's nature it's not actually something antagonistic to The Blade. It's not a sincere challenge, and so the universe would not twist itself to ensure his victory.

Technically once (chapter 23) we see The Blade in Fault use his power in a wily fashion to force Wilbur to fall asleep safely. That works because Wilbur is resisting, is posing a challenge, and ultimately told The Blade to his face that he was too weak to fight the Foundation alone. It was an actual opposition, and The Blade kinda forced The Blood God to show up, who grumbled and accepted because hey it meant The Blade stopped chaining him to the bottom of a mental ocean for a few minutes. Plus the insult that The Blood Muffining God couldn't withstand pitiful siege warfare.

Still, The Blade isn't keen on using it with his friends, because it does require marking them as an enemy, which is dangerous with as creative as The Blood God can get. Very monkey's paw type situation.

Now.......did The Blade try to bait a few professors in college into swearing up and down he would fail their classes since they directly were the ones who decided his success? Definitely. Did it work? Probably only like. Once. With a prof that loathed his guts and actively was trying to get him failed. Because like if the prof is just warning him that he needs perfect grades on the next exam, and is trying to help that happen, they're allies, not enemies. So battle luck doesn't work.

Yes, the power is very OP. But it's reliant on (1. The Blood God perceiving a threat/trying to get control of The Blade (2. The challenger being sincere in their threat (3. A very direct threat, since the power operates on the individual level otherwise the entire Foundation would be dead. He's ultimately a war god, not a wish god.

Plus, from The Blood God's perspective...yes he doesn't want The Blade trapped in the Foundation. Sure The Blood God liked in there, the constant violence, how worn down The Blade's mental barriers became. The Foundation was the most active The Blood God had been in years. But no, it was really bad for The Blade, humiliating and traumatizing, and The Blood God rescued him over and over because really he does care.

...But also getting constantly attacked by the Foundation (By The Blood God's logic, which is severely flawed) forces The Blade to get stronger through combat, allows The Blood God to actually y'know slaughter people since he's a god of slaughter, and prevents The Blade from trapping him permanently in the voices. In a paradoxical way the Foundation allows him to be free.

To The Blood God, struggle is what defines you. It is through fighting to survive that you truly live. Why would he ever rob The Blade of that?

[ikamigami]

What irks me so badly is that the whole situation with people blaming Sun is nothing new, people often blame the victims and not perpetrators when it comes to situations like this, especially when its family, and especially if the perpetrator is their favorite character, their blorbo, or whatever, completely ignoring the fact that said character is doing awful things, literally they invented the character of Hatsune Miku to make fun of fans like that, who blame Sun for the bad stuff that happens to Moon or OG Eclipse despite the fact that its not Sun's fault, at most Sun makes mistakes because he's often left without help and is so thoroughly traumatized by everything he can't think straight, and I do emphasize mistakes since when has he ever done something out of genuine malice? The closest we get is him hunting OG Eclipse, but Eclipse was a genuine threat gunning for the star, which would make him a god, and who was at-large, needed to be stopped, and Moon…You know, the one solely responsible for Eclipse's existence and if anybody is responsible for Eclipse's treatment it would be Moon…Not taking Eclipse as seriously and not fixing the issue earlier or even following Sun to prevent what ended up happening, and Sun killing Moon was a freak accident that he's only partially responsible for, it's so clear through flashbacks and visits to other universes how utterly broken Sun is compared to his old self, that all this trauma and abuse has turned him into a husk, but he still tries so hard to do the right thing even though nobody helps him or respects him, look at all the times Sun tried to peacefully talk Moon down, support and show his love for Moon, forgive Moon for things he really shouldn't forgive Moon for, try to reason with OG Eclipse, and give it his all trying to be good and prevent disasters that Moon or OG Eclipse were usually the cause of, and yet he's blamed for it all instead of the characters, Moon and OG Eclipse, who caused the disaster to begin with, and blame him for the actions of Monty, Foxy, and Puppet, when Sun spoke out against what they were planning for Moon and those three did it anyways without his consent despite trying to force that choice on him, how can somebody look at a character who's life has been mostly, mostly as there have been good moments but that's the exception not the rule, horror show from the day he came online and has been all but powerless to stop, who despite everything never stops trying to do the right thing even though he has no idea what he's doing and never once used the excuse of "snapping" to act greedy or hurtful, and go "it's their fault" and "he just didn't try hard enough"? And people love to say "Earth disowned Moon" which just isn't true, but Sun was still there trying to convince Moon after that to stop what he was doing and refused to make the decision to end Moon's life even when Puppet threatened him, he even decided he was willing to try this one more time when the old Moon returned! After ALL of this! Also wanted to point out that Sun realizing his relationship with Moon was not great and that he doesn't have to be okay with Eclipse is a good thing, he's finally starting to realize he never deserved being used as the universe's chew toy and that he should not be obligated to adhere to that "blood is thicker than water" nonsense considering how badly he's been treated, it should be celebrated that he realizes after all this time that he wants to not be hurt anymore and doesn't deserve to be hurt anymore, and still note how he still doesn't abandon either Moons, even after everything, despite having every right to never want Moon near him again, he still chooses to stay and try again

You're absolutely right, dear anon.

Sun is always trying his best despite everything he went through and is continuously going through.. and also with the knowledge that he has..

If Sun had better idea to how to stop New Moon he'd definitely do it..

No one helped Sun to deal with New Moon's situation..

When Jack was still looking for New Moon.. Sun went to Monty and Foxy but their ideas just weren't helpful.. this whole idea with Bloodmoon attacking Sun to snap New Moon out of this state was stupid and later ideas of Sun and Moon's "friends" were even worse..

But at least they were trying to find Bloodmoon.. so we can't say that no one was trying to do other things.. but also Sun had to find New Moon so 1) he wouldn't be first to find BM or Ruin and 2) he wouldn't hurt himself because there was a high chance that it could happen..

Another thing is that I don't know if the way NM was locked in that cell can count as a solitary confinement.. but if it is then there's much more bigger issue that people forget about because it's not about their favorite which is..

How NM was treating both Eclipse and Ruin.. especially Ruin who was locked similarly to how Old Moon trapped Sun in magic box - they could'nt move at all - but for far longer..

If fans don't consider Ruin's situation as being in solitary confinement I don't see any damn reason how New Moon was in solitary confinement when he's situation was the best out of the three (counting with Sun)..

New Moon's mental state didn't seemingly worsened.. if showrunners wanted to show how NM's state got worse after being locked they did a poor job with that one.. at least with Sun we saw how much worse his mental state got after spending time in magic box..

Even Sun trying to kill Eclipse I personally don't consider as done out of malice because at least to me Sun was very detached from reality due to major psychotic episode..

Sun wasn't aware that what he was doing was and will cause a lot of harm.. New Moon on the other hand was aware that what he was doing was and is causing a lot of harm..

I mean I get it that he was more aggressive but at the same time NM trying to kill Earth isn't justified at all.. like if you're lashing out and hurt everyone because of your mental issues that's a you problem not anyone else's..

I'm tired of people who justify every awful action just because of mental issues and "scary disorders" because this is what further stigmatize mental disorders.. I wish people aknowledged their shit and own up to it and not pretend that they're the victim in every situation even if they were the one who caused the problem in the first place.. and the worst thing is that we're talking about damn fiction.. about damn fictional characters..

I wish that people who suffer from mental disorders stop excusing everything and blaming everything on their mental disorders.. cause most of the time the real problem is that damn egoism.. and damn egotistic personality.. not mental disorders..

Like I think that New Moon's main problem is his selfishness which caused most of the issues in the first place.. not his mental issues..

I hate when people confuse these things.. like NM isn't egotistic because of his mental issues.. like he was always like that.. but people refuse to aknowledge his flaws.. and treat him as if he was saint before he snapped..

Also another important thing is that NM thought that he's treated like a villain due to the fact that he was treating villains very awfully.. but ofc he didn't learn damn thing from it and he didn't think that maybe he was in the wrong this whole time.. but he had to keep going further this stupid path despite knowing that what he's doing is wrong.. he had to decide that he's the villain because he's stupid egotistic asshole..

New Moon didn't even hacking try to fight with himself.. he gave up so quickly because trying very hard to do good thing is hurting him too much..

But let's look at Sun who like you pointed out, dear anon, despite being hurt by most of characters and suffering from depressive psychosis (if you disagree then at least from a mental disorder) still tries to do a good thing.. even if doing these good things and being a better person always cost him more than many would consider it being worth it..

But maybe that's why people blame Sun so much and are often angry mostly at him.. because he's still trying to do good, he doesn't constantly try to find excuses for himself, he always admits to his wrongs, he always apologizes even if he doesn't have to, he gives another chance after another chance despite many broken promises and broken trust, he still feels bad when someone gets killed even if it he's enemy someone who hurt him badly, he still couldn't and didn't give up on any of Moons even if he has every right to and he blames himself for every bad thing that happened even if most of it (almost all of it) isn't his fault at all..

He lives with guilt without shouting out oh how much bad he has and how such a victim he is even if he is a victim in most of these situations.. but doesn't have a victim complex..

And also people like to say that New Moon was learning from bad examples.. but I wonder why they don't apply the same logic to Sun who had only bad examples on how to deal with things.. but apparently only Moons can be excused from anything and Sun can't..

And you're right, dear anon, that it's something worth applauding that Sun is finally realizing that he was in toxic relationship with Old Moon.. that he was hurt even when he didn't do anything to deserve this.. that he deserves to stand up for himself and stand firmly with his boundaries.. and yet like you said.. he still gives another chance to Old Moon.. even if he's still afraid to make Moon angry on accident..

Because sadly I think that Sun blames himself too much for everything (due to his delusions - again you can disagree) and thinks that he deserves to suffer through those bad things, through bad treatment because it was his fault he brought it on himself and everyone else.. he's bad so what good he deserves?

I hope you don't mind, dear anon, things that I added to what you said. I completely agree with you and I wanted to add a few things ^^

[tamaruaart]

The Vengeance AU

Hi y'all- okay so damn, I have been holding this one off for QUITE a while- I've had this idea in my head for a bit but I never made full AU out of it, but before that I guess I should give a "heads up" of sorts?

I already have a post about Zhao's family tree. And there you can see she had two siblings, Mao-Yin and Syaoran (who were actually twins)

Something I try to make clear is that Zhao (As well as Quanshuǐ and Yue) is not only an OC for Lego Monkie Kid, but also for the original Journey to the West book. Though her role is fairly minor. And in her JTTW book version a lot, and I mean a lot of things are different than in LMK.

Like for example in JTTW her orange hair was actually a punishment, while in LMK it's her natural hair color. Or how in JTTW Quanshuǐ was one of Zhao's temple maidens while she was still living with her family. And also in JTTW Mao-Yin and Pangfua (Zhao, Mao-Yin and Syaoran's mother) committed a suicide in a river while in LMK they just kinda disappeared.

(However all of the JTTW lore about Zhao and her family is canon in LMK in this AU)

I'm trying to write LMK!Zhao as if she was an actual LMK character. I'm changing things I think the actual writers would have changed to fit the tone of the show.

One thing to mention in the JTTW version is that Zhao's brother Syaoran was actually killed via homicide by a few soldiers, and there's a lot to say about that but I'm not going to get into it (this is changed in LMK where he's still alive). Anyways, in JTTW he had a child with one of Zhao's late flower maidens who's name was Měi Lán.

The child's name was Yuǎn'ān (far & safe/far from danger). Basically at the end of jttw yadayadayada zhao wukong argue wukong kill zhao yadayadayada yuǎn sad and angy. And that's basically his JTTW lore /j

He's honestly such a minor character I don't think he would appear in LMK at all. He probably wouldn't even be a canon LMK character at that-

But then I was having a brain rot and thought "What if I made an AU where Yuǎn'ān is a canon LMK character and he was a villain trying to kill MK as revenge so that Wukong can feel the pain of having to lose someone so close to him. Because he knows he can't harm Wukong as Wukong is immortal... but MK isn't" ?

And now we're here! So, enough chitter chatter time for Yuǎn'ān!

(He takes after his father. A LOT. Also if you point out how wonky the feet look I'm throwing you into the dumpster)

General Premise:

In the vengeance AU Yuǎn'ān is one of the main villains. In short, word got around about a certain "Monkie Kid" and a certain "White Tiger" heard about it. He could never forgive Sun Wukong for what he did, but even then he can't do anything to Wukong because he's immortal. Unfortunately, or well, fortunately in Yuǎn's case... The Monkie Kid isn't immortal. Forever grieving the petty loss of his aunt, he sets out to "get rid" of MK, and maybe then Wukong will finally know what it feels like to lose someone oh so dear... Or maybe, just maybe.. he already knows?

Personally:

Yuǎn'ān is... Not exactly an optimist to say the least. He's extremely devoted, salty (this whole ass AU is just him holding a grudge) and a biiiittttttttt passive aggressive. You could say he's a sort of He-Wolf. Also he's a literal copy and paste of his father smh (ironic 'cause he never even met him-).

Not to mention stubborn, oh my god this man listens to no one-

However, deep down he doesn't have the guts to kill someone, like he could definitely injure you (he's got the hunting spirit after all) but not... To exactly murder a person.

Yet, only destiny will determine if he'll end up listening to his gut, or to his head...

Anyways, this is cringe but idc TRIVIA TIME MOTHERFUCKER >:D

Q&As:

How old is he?

Ageless. But mentally I'd say around his early twenties (Maybe 23-24)

Are Quan and Yue also going to be in the AU?

Quanshuǐ doesn't appear in the AU. Yue exists but we don't really see him.

Does Yuǎn have orbs for hands?

No I was just being lazy when I drew him :(

Did his earrings belong to Zhao?

Yeah :)

What are his pronouns and sexuality?

He's demisexual and pan, pronouns are he/him

Any funfacts about his appearance?

He gets his eyes and freckles from Zhao. And his hair is from his father

I don't see his freckl-

LOOK CLOSELY AT HIS FACE AND SHOULDERS.

Are any canon key events and characters changed/removed in the AU? And when does Yuǎn'ān appear?

No. No events nor canon characters are removed. Yuǎn gets foreshadowed sometime during the end of season 2. Then he gets fully revealed in season mid-season 3 and starts his whole "IM GOING TO FUCKING KILL Y-" thing.

Will he be redeemed?

We'll see. (probably-)

Does he have any OC x Canon parings?

For now, no. And honestly I'm not planning on any because I don't exactly see him as the romantic type. I'm open if any of my tumblr friends/moots would be interested in Oc x Oc crackships with him tho, heheh! 👀

Can he also heal like Zhao can?

Eh, I'm still debating but probably not

Will you be posting a lot about this AU?

Probably not a lot. But I'm sure you'll get some content of it from time to time.

Why is he so salty??

That's just the way he was born man 😔

Anyways, yeah! That's basically it, thank you for reading! If you have any questions about this mf feel free to ask :D

Ba-byeeeeeee

[ink-flavored]

4 & 19 for xinya and yvonne? then 19 & 20 for you! :D

for mEEEeee :3cc plus the correction!!

4. Is your oc's environment supportive about their identity? How does this impact them?

Xinya's identity in my mind is "some sort of sapphic" and maaaaybe demi-romantic? Haven't fully figured it out yet, but she's definitely sapphic In Some Way.

Overall, that's fine. It would be more noteworthy for her to marry a commoner than it would be for her to marry a woman. The craziest part of Yu-Qi's existence is that She's Uh A God-Dragon, despite Xinya trying to keep that as much of a secret as possible (Yu-Qi is not helping this cause).

I think if I do make her demi-romantic or on the aromantic spectrum in some way, that would be the most contentious part. Not only because Yu-Qi literally married her and is obsessed with her in a romantic way, and Xinya wouldn't really be able reciprocate until Yu-Qi gets her act together, but also because as a queen, she's expected to have an heir. Whether it's a biological child or a spouse or some other family member, she's culturally expected to have some kind of successor, especially because her mom is dead, her dad isn't able to rule, and she has no siblings. Being in her 30s and unmarried would definitely be something other nobles would side-eye, to her eternal frustration.

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

As a centaur, Yvonne lived almost her whole life in a herd of other centaurs in close proximity and in a semi-nomadic society. They were always moving between a few remote locations, sharing everything along the way, and only able to take with them what they could carry on their saddlebags. There's a huge emphasis on mutual aid and community support, including the support of trans centaurs along their transition journeys as best they can.

Yvonne's herd was super supportive of her being trans, but the way centaur herds live, she would have had to be okay with very limited access to Magic HRT—she would have had to carry around a stockpile of prescription pills/injections/etc., learn how to brew potions and constantly be on the hunt for ingredients, or have a wizard from her herd learn the ritual HRT spell for her (since she doesn't have magical ability of her own). Some centaurs live this way and are cool with it, but Yvonne elected to leave her herd and move to the city for more consistent care. She was sad to go, as was her herd—the only family and home she'd ever known—but everyone knew it was the best thing for her.

The Magic HRT does function a little differently than it does on humans, since she's going through Horse Changes along with her Human Changes, but there's not a ton that's like... physically different. She takes the Magic HRT and it Has Effects!

19. Do you have preferences about depicting homo/transphobia in your stories? What, and why? Does it vary by story?

It depends on the story. Since I write mostly fantasy, I like to craft worlds in which homo/transphobia don't really exist, and whatever setting the story takes place in has a more accepting and fluid perspective on gender and sexuality. It's just more fun for me to think about how a society so different from my own would function and also it lets me have a built-in excuse for making everyone some flavor of queer (not that I need one, but still)

In stories that are set in the real world like, Pride & Justice, I will like... allude to homo/transphobia, showcase it very briefly, or make a statement on it through symbolism, but I'm not super interested in writing a story that wholly focuses on it. If there is homo/transphobia, it's in service of creating stronger and more defiant queer joy.

20. Have your ocs helped you in self discovery? How?

Yes, absolutely. The best and most recent example is actually Pride, since I was developing him before I was on T, I was considering whether or not it was even worth it for me, I was nervous about such drastic changes, etc. etc. I was deep in the Gender Contemplation Sauce.

I gave him a lot of traits that I was nervous about happening to me if I went on T and then gave him a love interest who intentionally and deliberately likes all of those things, to like... practice enjoying it? Practice the idea of these things happening to me, but also to dip my toes into the idea that other people could like it too? I didn't realize what I was doing until much later, but I do think it was a genuinely huge help in coming to terms with the idea T would make me happy. And 2 months in, it is!

[send me a pride themed ask]

[thebloodymutt]

This original was posted on amino non-human community but I feel it's now important to post here. This isn't just towards non-humans but also anyone who alterhuman. Watching out for toxic and cult like packs is something everyone should do. So please if you see a toxic pack, stay away from it!

table of contents

What are packs?

Pack myths.

Healthy vs toxic packs

Cults.

Should you join a pack?

what are packs?

The definition of the word pack is, "a group of wild animals, especially wolves, living and hunting together". Packs are where people come together to be a family, be friends, protect each other, and many more. Everyone knows what a pack is but there is a lot of misinformation. Which causes a lot of harm. 

In these packs, they do have names like "the moonlight pack" and in these packs. They have roles "Alpha, Beta, Gamma". There are so many that it is truly hard to find the meaning of some. 

Here is an example of just roles.

Packs myths.

There is a difference between therians/non-human packs vs true wolves packs. In real wolf packs, there is no Alpha, beta, or Omegas. It is only a mating pair and their pups. Usually, when they are 2-3 years old, they leave to go start their own. The whole alpha thing has been completely debunked. While it is understandable to have roles in therian/non-human packs. 

No, there are no natural-born Alpha Red eyes wolves. While yes someone can be born more of a leader, a wolf cannot have red eyes. Wolves can appear to have red eyes when the light is just right, but they do not appear red permanently. If we werewolves did, we would be caught so easily. We have to blend in naturally, meaning we just look like the regular wolf. 

Another important thing to even mention is the topic of packs. If any pack claims to follow the Wattpad "mate ball" or "mate run" things, stay far away from them. That is a very creepy thing to even think is real.

healthy vs toxic packs.

Most times toxic packs will follow the Alpha, beta, and Omega rules. I'm not talking about packs that have the roles, I'm talking about ones that are using it to be power-hungry. The Alpha and Beta view themself on top, they don't care about their members, and they view omegas as the weakest of the pack. They follow the Alpha and beta eats first and omegas get the last tiny bit of food. Not only this, they will treat "pups' ' in a weird way. There was this one pack who got mad when a "pup" was talking in a different chatroom. They wanted "punished them ;)" and the pup role was for minors.

Any pack that is teen or adult allowing anyone under 12 to join is a red flag. The same with people who join packs, thinking they will run away and survive in the wild.

A healthy pack would throw ranks aside, would care for its members, and treat everyone with respect. The roles are there just for fun. The alpha is just someone who created the pack and helps mod. The beta is just the mod. That is all you would truly need to have happy members. There is no need for roles like this.

Cults.

Most toxic packs are like cults. These people will force you to believe in what they believe. They only want like-minded people, they don't want anyone who believes differently. They will force you to call them alpha and even ask for money. An example would be, "Give money only to Luna". They will try to make you stay away from friends, family, and much more. As long as you see them as god, the more people they will hurt. As said early, they will have a plan about running away into the forest.

Should you join a pack?

No, you don't need a pack to feel happy. You don't need a pack at all. This is why these communities exist. These communities are supposed to make you feel at home. You are not alone, you can make friends here. This is a place where you can learn and grow. Fuck packs, all you need is a little friend group to not feel alone. Being in a little pack teaches you nothing, while non-human communities can teach you so much more.

[beigetiger]

I wanna say some stuff about the Valley Twins, so I’m gonna do that now. Another long lore post for whoever wants some food.

So, Sah and Mek. The seemingly youngest (and definitely most immature) elders who rule the Valley of Triumph. They’re fascinating to me.

I think that the two used to have different names, and were the Priestess’s kids. I also like to believe that Teth was their other parent, which is not canon but I choose to think it anyway.

I imagine that before they ruled the Valley, it was ruled by Priestess Sahmek, who was incredibly beloved and an excellent ruler. But she didn’t take well to Resh’s treatment of the light creatures and they got into arguments a lot over this topic, which eventually led to Resh quietly murdering her and then telling her family that there was an unfortunate accident as she was trying to get home from Eden.

I think that Teth is very harsh and cold towards the Twins now, but didn’t used to be. It was Sahmek’s death that hit them hard and caused them to become much colder towards their own two children who reminded them of their mother.

Now, I like to think that the Twins were late teens/young adults when their mother died. Capable of taking care of themselves without Teth’s help, but still young and in desperate need of emotional support and guidance from a more trusted adult. Tsadi stepped up and managed to provide this as much as they could, but they were a soldier at heart, and one who worshipped Resh like a god. They tried to keep this away from the Twins as much as possible, but it did leave the young twins much more open to emotional manipulation from Resh, who had still managed to hide that he was the one that killed the Priestess.

Now, since Sahmek had died, someone needed to rule the Valley of Triumph, and the obvious choice was Sahmek’s kids. The Twins ended up dropping their individual names and identities to try and each become one half of their mother, which I think stemmed from a sort of inferiority complex of “it takes two of us to equal one of her”. Dropping their individual identities and leaving behind anyone who had mattered to them previously was very hard on the Twins, and their first couple years of leadership were super rough.

But eventually it got better. As time went on, the general public’s memory of the Priestess faded, but Sah and Mek were still viewed as two halves of one person, which they would keep for the rest of their days.

Did they ever find out who killed their mother? Maybe. But it would have been a long, long time after her death if they ever found out at all.

So eventually, most people don’t remember Sahmek’s existence because she’s been dead for a few hundred years, and Teth still doesn’t really acknowledge their kids, which leads their kids to resent them.

I think that Sah and Mek would’ve been something like aunt/uncle figures (we need a good gender neutral alternative for that goddamnit) to the people of the Valley, and loved engaging with their subjects, e.g. teaching kids how to play certain games, watching people perform in the music hall, having friendly conversations with random passersby.

They were also pro-hunting of light creatures due to some very questionable manipulation from Resh, and would organize efforts to trap and possibly kill herds of light creatures.

Now as I said, I think that Sah and Mek viewed everyone as their kids, in a way. Which made the first person to die from a krill attack hit hard. As in, “we’re going to hole up in our tower for a week and rethink every decision we have ever made” levels of hard. The guilt of feeling like the people of the Valley’s deaths were their fault (which is partly true) stills haunts them today. But these people dying did eventually help them turn against Resh, and they were some of the earliest people to suggest the idea.

That’s all I have for now, I just want to say that the Valley Twins are utterly FASCINATING to me and I really hope that we get to see them outside of their cutscene in The Two Embers.

[quintessential-candles]

Okay I’m learning u a thing (with lotsa spoilers) First arc: main issue? Our main character is rusty! We love Rusty. Nobody else alive loves Rusty. Except for Smudge, the other baby who lives with people. Smudge is headcanon gay for Rusty but the books won’t acknowledge it. Rusty doesnt notice. Sad!

Rusty likes to hunt! He isnt allowed to hunt because he runs into some wild cats known for their brutality. He’s scared! They say he can’t hunt because its not his land. Turns ou tthe guy that beat him up is also a child named Graypaw, and Rusty is just unlucky enough to meet Bluestar, their old leader who is secretly divorced with estranged children (but they dont know that! Xenophobia says her marriage was null.) Bluestar sniffs Rusty and noticed he still has his balls! A miracle! Because he isnt fixed he can be a murder battle cat too! So she drags his orange highlighter little chil dself to her camp, unofficially says this is her kid now, yay! Problem!

Rusty is a kittypet or a housecat! WE HATE KITTYPETS!!!!! RACISMYAY!!!! This weird edgy man names Longtail says NO IM RACIST HE CANT JOIN US I WONT SLEEP NEAR A BABY!!! HIS BELL WILL SCARE AWAY PREY! and Bluestar just lets this grown man try to murder her new son by strangling him but it fails cause Rusty’s collar breaks! YAY! This is obviously a sign! Rusty is renamed Firepaw. Definitely because he’s orange like fire and not at all because we’re about to shove this kid into a prophecy of unknown origin (is it from the dead guys in the skin who are pseudo-all-powerful? Is it from God? They have no god btw. DOES IT JUST EXIST?? WE NEVER FIND OUT.)

Firepaw proves xenophobia wrong! Everyone grows to love him he’s literally their religion’s specialest boy everyone knows about. He’s the exception to racism. They continue to be cat racist for the next 20 real life years and still are, as the current plot problem is a racist maga cat group throwing a coup to murder all the authority in one camp which they did by grooming a child and murdering her mother and then trying to kill her. Yay!

Hi Bee! WHAT!!