#good job reading all of this

[nacora-najita]

different people, same smile

[doodlefox2]

good girl

[dendrochronologies]

there's so much to read. there's too much to read. can everybody stop publishing for a few years while i catch up.

[airoarts]

Leader and deputy

[Image description: a digital painting of Squirrelstar and Ivypool from Warriors. Squirrelstar is a small dark red cat with green eyes, standing in front of the much taller Ivypool, a gray tabby-and-white cat with blue eyes and many battle scars. The background is dark blue. end ID]

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

The generational progression of team dynamics is truly so funny to me.

You have the Justice League and they're all coworkers. They're friendly and polite with each other but they don't really hang out together outside of work. Two of them might transcend the work friend dynamic and buddy up outside of work (i.e Barry and Hal or Ollie and Hal or Bruce and Clark) but you will never see all of them casually hanging out for fun.

Then there's the Titans. These guys are friends. They all have busy lives so they maybe don't see each other as much as they'd like to but they're all deeply bonded with each other. They make a point of planning big get togethers with each other unrelated to work. They know each other's deepest secrets. Their kids consider the other Titans aunts and uncles.

Last but not least there's Young Justice. Young Justice is the definition of unhealthy codependency. They're all best friends and they act like siblings but they might also all be in love with each other? Kon dated Cassie, hit on Cissie, flirted with Bart's clone and had a dream where Bart was in a cheerleading outfit and was with his other love interests and then just everything with Tim. Cassie dated both Tim and Kon, and then there's everything with Cissie. Bart admitted that Cassie made him 'like girls' (?), took Cissie to a dance, and is extremely close with Tim and Kon to the point where it could just be unhealthy codependency but it might be something more. Honestly this entire group is so intermixed and codependent it's insane. They go from 'i love you so much you are my best friend' to 'i wanna make out with you' so fast and with barely any breathing room. They are constantly with each other and hang out at least once a week. They cannot exist separately.

[theabigailthorn]

sources on what you're reading about AI ma'am please

I already posted the bibliography on twitter but here it is again

[yardsards]

i needed to express a sentiment in the creative stylings of @dunmeshiminimumwage

[luck-of-the-drawings]

"And soda; runs off into the street..." "...and soda... is totally okay!"

[ghouljams]

You are fueling something in me. You call that demon Reader Fetch and all I can think of is König saying Good Girl and patting her head when she does, indeed, fetch (I’m gonna go bath in holy water now, I am so sorry)

König doesn't know how obsessed with him Fetch is, but it's really his fault because he does do that!! He doesn't know how to act around her, he's never had a universe assigned girlfriend before...

You think König's back might be sore from carrying his team through missions. Just one demon's opinion, but you sort of wonder if anyone here would get anything done without him. He, well both of you, are on loan from KorTac to some nothing mercenary group that you didn't even bother learning the name of. They all avoided him like the plague.

"You don't think that might be your fault?" He asks, arms crossed in faux ease while he leg bounces nervously. You pull yourself from his shadow on the plane wall, just enough to rest your elbows on his broad shoulders.

"Why would it be my fault?" König doesn't look at you, you pick at the edges of his hood, making sure they're in the right place. You like how big he is, he hardly seems to feel the weight of his sins, even when they're literally sitting on him.

"You're joking." He says it like a fact, but you think it might have been meant as a question. You grin and wiggle your fingers in greeting at the soldier sitting across from König. He refuses to look at you.

"You think I'm spooky Colonel?" You ask low in his ear, leaning more against his back to feel his heart jump. You know he likes when you call him that, remind him he's got a position over the other men that isn't just your presence.

"You shouldn't scare the other soldiers," He tells you, reaching over his shoulder to grab the back of your shirt and pull you the rest of the way out of the shadow, "it's bad for morale."

You settle more comfortable against his back, or try to around all the tac gear. You hum, resting your cheek against his shoulder, trying your best to look very not spooky. That doesn't mean you don't conjure some nice shadowy bat wings behind your charge, they're just as scared of him anyway.

König threads his fingers through your hair, scratching gently, something to occupy his nervous hands. You like it when he touches you like this, without thinking about it, it makes you feel like he's really gotten used to you. In record time too.

-

"Enemies closing fast," a voice crackles over König's radio. You pass him another round, happily following in his shadow as he moves.

"Fetch," König summons, you hum in assent waiting for your orders, "time to target?"

You zip through the shadows, tripping enemy combatants as you leverage their shadows for a path. You let your connection to König pull you back. "At current speed with engagement, maybe 20 minutes?"

König hums, and you see the cold excitement of death in his eyes, "And without engagement?"

"Five."

"Good," He nods, "Let's retrieve livers this time, I'm interested to see how long it takes them to die without one."

"I'll clear the path, don't keep me waiting." You grin and disappear.

König jogs towards point, it's certainly been enlightening having you around. Your manual was comprehensive, but not as precise as your actual practice. Location and Retrieval had sounded... useful but not exactly needed when he'd first read it, but now? Now he walks over the bodies of men with holes punched through their stomachs, clawing at the dirt as they bleed out, and he thinks the uses might actually have been understated in the manual.

He's been testing the limits of your abilities, and you're proving yourself to be quite handy. Not to mention saving him a lot of time on intelligence missions. Those are tedious, he's never liked them, but with you he gets to skip the worst parts. He watches you hold a man by the back of the neck as you sink your hand into him like a knife, extracting his bleeding liver with pinpoint accuracy.

König thinks of the story of Loki and the dwarves, how they couldn't determine where the neck ended and the head started, thus delaying the God's beheading. He doesn't think you'd have that problem, as you hold the liver out triumphantly and let the man fall into a heap. Not a vein or tendon remains attached to the organ, the platonic ideal of a liver, like you'd pulled a model of it from the man instead of actual living tissue. He doesn't know how you do it, retrieving only and exactly what's asked.

"Good girl," He settles a hand on your head when he reaches you, enjoying the way you light up at the praise. It makes something squirm in his chest. He's still getting used to that part, the affection you seem to inspire in him, how giving you orders feels so much different from ordering a soldier around. "Braves Mädchen," he mumbles, feeling you press against his hand for more attention.

What had the manual said? Tendencies towards the flesh? He could do that.

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

So… An update…

(We’re watching episode 36 next, can’t recommend Toqger enough)

[lovesickeros]

can.. can I ask for an affectionate reader with characters who aren’t normally like… used to the love? like, not just through words but physical affection like hand-holding, kisses, hugs, all that shebang. probably with a few people like yelan, ei, basically any character that is either cut-off from society or seems socially distant or isolated. 😞

☆ affectionate reader with yelan, ei, & furina

[ 4.2 Archon Quest spoilers ]

× yelan

Varies between how you display your affection, to be honest. Just like being affectionate with people? She's cool with it as long as you don't pop by while she's working (mostly because she'll end up dragging you into it for a bit of fun). I don't think she's all that touchy feely herself, but she'll absolutely get you gifts instead– like pretty knick nacks? She'll make sure to snag any she thinks you might like. Like a good meal? Sure, she'll take you out to one of the restaurants in the city, doesn't matter how expensive. Her treat. If you do prefer physical gifts rather then being taken out, you'll eventually get used to the random unmarked letters and packages showing up where your staying pretty often. It's obvious to know who it came from even if she never signs anything.

Flirty reader, though? Whole nother can of worms and now it's a challenge. The more confident you are the more interested she is. The other acolytes would absolutely seethe at the idea but she has no hesitation at just straight up flirting back– she's as charismatic as they come and she's got a poker face that's basically impenetrable. She'll probably also make a bet to see who cracks first (she always wins, unsurprisingly). Probably won't get dragged into any of her schemes this way but if you ask politely maybe she'll consider it, anyway.

The smell of freshly brewed tea and the clatter of dice across wood was a common sight at the Yanshang Teahouse– less common was the woman secluded in the far corner, her lips pulled into a grin that flashed fangs and a look that would scare off the most confident of men.

She'd normally try to scope out any new blood that'd made the mistake of stepping into her teahouse and was equally stupid enough to accept a gamble against her just for the thrill of it, but she was far too absorbed in the warm body at her side, one of her die clasped tightly in their hand as she guided them through the motions– they had a knack for it, she had to admit. The thought made her preen, the clatter of the die as it rolled across the table giving her that subtle, familiar rush.

Even if she knew exactly where it'd land.

"Six. Hm, maybe you're just lucky," She muses, plucking the die from the table and holding it up to her eye like a prized jewel, "Or maybe you're not as innocent as you'd have us believe." There's a sharp glint in her eyes at the prospect, but everyone else has the sense to keep their heads down and their words to themselves as she tosses the die herself.

"So why don't we find out and make a bet, just between you and me?"

× ei

Varies between Ei and the Shogun, because you'll probably be seeing either as much as the other. Sometimes you gotta really squint to tell who it is sometimes, but you get used to it. Both are fairly similar, though, in that their first instinct (especially in public) is to tense up like you're about to attack them or something. Difference is Ei eventually relaxes after a solid minute of trying to process your sudden affection and, if no one else is around, she might even reciprocate. Just don't tease her for being a little stiff and awkward about it, she's trying. That's what happens when your only company is a robot and uh. Nothing. For like 500 years. She's trying. Raiden, on the other hand, is just about as awkward as you can imagine. She's polite (blunt) about it because Ei is fond of you and also you are. The Creator. But she's not really built to deal with personal relationships and so she doesn't know how to deal with affection.

..Depending on what you do you may or may not blue screen Ei hard enough that she retreats back to PoE

Ei usually isn't fond of sitting still, unless it's to meditate. At least then she goes in with a purpose, something to achieve– but now, she's just focused on trying not to make a fool of herself. Her muscles are starting to ache from how hard she's tensing, though, in an effort to sit as straight and still as possible as their hands glide through her hair, weaving it into a single braid.

She can just barely hear the subtle lilt of their voice as they hum– and though it is soothing, it is also..very distracting. She can't focus long enough to try and meditate, too lost in the gentle rise and fall of their voice and the care they take to braid her hair. If she'd had a heart, she'd sure it'd be beating so wildly against her ribcage they could hear it.

But then it stops– their hands fall back to their sides and their humming falters. She freezes, too, racking her brain for any slights she must have committed. Instead, she is met with a calm, tender touch on the back of her neck, making her inhale sharply.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, Ei? You're so tense.." She has to grit her teeth to stop herself from bowing so low her head presses against the ground, her hands folded in her lap, clenching instinctively. "..No, Divine One." She answers simply, trying to contain the adoration swelling in her chest.

Yet as much as she tries to relax, to ease their worries, she finds that she cannot.

"Hm." That small murmur, a simple sound that nearly made her jump, was the only warning she got before they scooted closer, wrapping their arms around her stomach and resting their chin on her shoulder with a grin she would liken to Miko's, if she dared to make such a comparison. "Really?"

She swears she must've been feverish at the affection, lightheaded and dazed until she thought she might simply perish at the brush of their hands against her own.

Much to her embarrassment, however, she doesn't realize she's instinctively pulled back into Plane of Euthymia until she sees the familiar dull purples engulf her vision once again.

Though only a small solace, it seemed a little..brighter, this time.

× furina

Varies between pre 4.2 and post 4.2 archon quests to be honest.

Pre 4.2 she comes off as very vain– of course the most Divine would see fit to spoil her with affection! She deserves it, and is obviously their favorite! Just don't look too hard because she's terrible at hiding how flustered she actually is. Absolutely goes home right after and screams into her pillow for at least thirty minutes minimum.

Post 4.2 she's a lot more openly bashful and flustered. She's really not used to affection and even the smallest show of it has her folding immediately. Now that she doesn't need to worry about being found out she's a lot more receptive to affection. Cup her cheeks and compliment her and her knees are buckling. Like. Especially weak for compliments and praise (she deserves it. please spoil her).

She swears she must be hallucinating– she had been having trouble sleeping recently. But..no. The visage of the Creator was as real as the sweat beading on her brow as she stared at them for a long, awkward moment. Should..she let them in? But then they'd see the pathetic state she was in, and the last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of them-!

Her choice was quickly made for her, anyway, as she let out an undignified squeak of surprise when they suddenly tugged her forward into their chest, enclosing her in a hug.

Her first reaction was to freeze– her second was becoming absolutely flustered, her cheeks flushing a soft pink and her mouth closing and opening as she tried to find her words.

"I– ah..um." She stumbled over her words instead, floundering like a fish out of water. Yet she felt a distinct sense of emptiness wash over her when they finally pulled back, looking a touch sheepish. "Sorry, sorry– you just looked like you needed a hug."

The silence spoke for itself, her shoulders tensing slightly. But the way the concern and affection bled through their voice made her waver, her hands trembling as she let out a shaky breath that almost sounded like a sigh.

"It's..It's fine! Fine, I'm fine." She repeated, trying desperately to ignored the way her voice cracked and how hot her face felt– though it was more an attempt to affirm herself that she was not thinking about how warm they felt, how much she..actually enjoyed the hug. She wasn't thinking about it all! Absolutely not!

..Maybe a little.

"Just warn me next time, please?"

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

I've been reading Exodus lately and I've just gotten to the portions where God gives the first commands to the people via Moses (twice), and then goes on to give detailed instructions about the tabernacle and how it should be built, and I'm just... we think art is unimportant?? we think things only mean as much as their functionality?? we so easily fall into the trap of believing that beauty means nothing, that it's cheap and only worth whatever mindless distraction it brings, that it's barely more than a cheap sensual thrill, that buildings should just be practical and plain and cheap, that everything should be functional but ultimately disposable, that paintings and dresses and mugs and curtains and carpets are just pretty but have no real value, that beauty is fleeting and vain and therefore shouldn't be thought about too much, if even looked for at all... we fall into these traps so easily, and we forget that there are chapters upon chapters of painstakingly detailed plans to build one portable worship tent, and those plans have been handed down through thousands of years of human history, because beauty and art and skill in craft is important

[legovasavouchi]

chillin

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Lmao Frank would absolutely keep a list of everything they tried to do to fix this situation. He has his work cut out for him with poor wally as well. Does he know what happened to Sally?

Frank does know what happened to Sally! ofc he caught his first glimpse of her when he sorta woke up, then after he Actually woke up, Wally made sure to sit him down and be like "she will kill you if you go near her <3"

still, Frank didn't really believe Wally. so Wally showed him proof:

and Frank quickly changed his tune.

and honestly, it's more like Wally has his work cut out for him with Frank lmao. cause by the time Frank fully wakes, Wally's pretty much given up. and rightfully so, there's... not really anything he can do except protect his sleeping friends.

so Frank's initial attempts to make a plan kinda went like:

Wally is very earnest about saying "that's nice". it is nice. it's refreshing to have someone around that still believes something can be done, however futile that hope is. Frank will catch on eventually.

[theroundbartable]

After watching Bridgerton season 3 part one I have taken to read the accommodating novel as well and find myself befuddled with how strongly the language has affected my own writing. It may be noticeable. Don't worry, it's a fleeting affliction.

Anyway. I really liked Polin this season. Ignoring Season 2, I found Penelope so captivating and they really teased us with that final smile of hers, didn't they? That was perhaps the only real smile she's given is in 3 entire seasons. That was radiant, I tell you. I like that her book version managed to make her own fortune but the whole Stunt with defending her legacy was very reckless. She's smarter than that.

Now, Colin Bridgerton... I definitely prefer show Colin. He's awkward and a little confused and very much an oblivious puppy. He's trying to fit in but never really does and never really wants to either. But he's a little guy and I can't actually be angry with him.

Book Colin - that's a feral cat, if not a literal racoon! What happened?!?! He was so sweet in the beginning I wanted to punch him in the face and then he turns all possessive and jealous of her and physical and my mind went from awww to "red flag, red flag" in an INSTANT.

Very worth the read, but I honestly don't get what she sees in him. Racoon! Possibly with rabies.

I saw a post here recently, saying that show Polin realised that we think consent is sexy. And yes, that. Definitely that. I'm very worried about book Penelope.

[deoidesign]

IF YOURE LOST YOU CAN LOOK AND YOU WILL FIND ME

TIME AFTER TIME

IF YOU FALL I WILL CATCH YOU ILL BE WAITING

TIME AFTER TIME