#i guess a nicer way of phrasing it is

[fox-mulder-gets-pegged]

Uh oh! New au unlocked!

[mediumgayitalian]

Nico is pretty sure, at this point, that something has gone wrong. A chasm has opened up, a trap went haywire, an explosion went off and blew up half the camp. Something drastic has to have happened to make everyone go quiet.

But the rocks of Zeus’ fist are sun-warmed. A sweet-smelling breeze ruffles brand new leaves, musses his hair, although it’s hot enough that he’s rolled up the cuffs of his jeans and forgone a sweater. Will is on guard duty next to him, and no one has come to bother them in hours, and he cannot bring himself to care.

“Found one!”

“No way,” Nico protests, leaning over to see. “It’s been ten minutes!”

In the palm of the cupped hand Will holds out between them, held loose so as not to crush it, is a four-leaf clover. One of the more picturesque ones, too; emerald green, heart-shaped leaves, delicately crimped, and a thin curling stem tapered perfectly down the middle.

Will shrugs, smiling. There’s enough bitten-back teasing in his expression that it looks more like a smirk. “I guess I’m just lucky.”

“Lucky I don’t smite you, maybe,” Nico grumbles. “Go away. Your bad vibes are hindering my success.”

Snorting, Will does, shuffling back over to let Nico comb through the clover thatch in peace. He stretches out on the grass — he ditched his shoes and helmet and armour the literal second the rest of the team ran off, the dork — and shifts ‘til he’s comfortable, ankles crossed, hands behind his head, eyes closed. Nico pictures him with a piece of straw sticking out of his mouth and a cowboy hat resting over his eyes and giggles to himself. The image is so clear he’s half-certain it was a vision.

“Though you were tryin’ to focus,” Will mutters, cracking one eye open.

Nico sticks his tongue out. “I’m trying, derpface. All your shifting around is distracting.”

“I’ve moved maybe three times.”

“Yeah, in as many minutes.”

Will, without looking, plucks a blade of grass and flicks it at him. “Stay focused, Death Breath.” He stretches his arms above his head, sighing. “I’m gonna nap.”

He doesn’t move when Nico flings a handful of (regular) clovers at him, infuriatingly serene. He’s trained himself to fall asleep anywhere, anything to catch up on the sleep debt he’s been wracking up for years, and the sunny patch of clearing in the first they’re in is one of the nicer places Nico has found him passed out. At least here he can stretch out, sit in the sun — Nico found him tucked in between the camp washer and dryer, once, curled under a stack of laundry baskets. He’d made a valiant effort to hide himself from accident-prone younger siblings and best friends who invite mortal wrath, but his snoring had given him away. Nico’d heard him outside the building.

Here, though, no one is bothering them. Chiron’s playing field medic, the infirmary has been stocked, the Ares kids were cursed by Clovis and co. last week and have been asleep since. There haven’t been any echoing screams of agony. No desperate IMs. Nico, even, makes sure to keep his sword within reach, armour still firmly strapped, quietly on guard so Will doesn’t have to be. For once, he can take up as much space as he likes, bare skin absorbing the sun that has outshined the clouds perhaps for the express purpose of keeping him toasty even without a blanket.

Nico drags his eyes back towards the clovers, smiling. He’s cute when he sleeps. Sometimes he mumbles, nonsensical ramblings of the half-conscious, too slurred for Nico to make much sense of it. He catches bits and pieces of words and phrases as he picks through the soft leaves; lemme try, twice, as he watches a ladybug hop her way over a stone; careful with that, as he tosses a handful of regular, three-leaf clovers into the air; and notably diphenhydramine as he digs his hand through the soft dirt to yank out a worm.

Nico turns to face him. “You’re a nerd,” he says solemnly.

Will snores in response.

“Sleep quieter, why don’t you.”

The thing about Will is that he is like a tapeworm.

Nico means this in the best possible way. They start out invisible — sure, you might feel the irritation of something new burrowing its way into your person, but it’s not your most pressing concern. You’ve maybe got other things on your mind. You’re not focused, intensely, on how tiny changes are happening to you; you’re eating more, moving more, sleeping weird. Sometimes this happens. It’s nothing notable.

Slowly, though, you start to change. There’s this…cavern, inside of you, that you’re suddenly aware of. Maybe it was always there. You’re struck, more and more each day, with the need to fill yourself. To consume. You are aware, for the first time in years, that you have not had enough. There has been an emptiness inside you. And now there’s this driving force making home inside you instead, pushing you to take enough to not just survive but to thrive. You’re capable, now, in a way you weren’t before, to feel your needs, your wants. To listen to them. There is something that has worked it’s way inside you and grown and grown and grown and forced you, alongside it, to care about yourself enough to maintain its life inside you.

Will would probably not appreciate being compared to a parasite. It might be funny to tell him anyway, though. Watch his eye twitch as he tries to find a diplomatic way to ask Nico what the fuck his deal is. He’ll have to tell him when he wakes up.

A quiet groaning noise has him looking up again; the sound of rustling clothes and twisting grass.

“Y’r smirkin’.”

Speak of the devil. Or parasite.

Nico picks at a tangled stem. “What are your thoughts on tapeworms?”

“Generally bad,” Will says, yawning. He doesn’t seem fazed at all by the random question — he usually isn’t. People ask him a lot of strange things, generally. Like, how many consecutive concussions are medically unsound? (any, dude, please), or what is the recommended liquid amount of iron to swallow to fortify your blood? (none, please don’t fucking swallow liquid iron), or perhaps most notable are you up for learning how to un-do cerebral paralysis within the next ten seconds? (no, Jesus Christ, get off the fucking roof and set down the wax wings, do you people learn nothing ever).

“What about tapeworms as a metaphor for friendship?”

“…That’s a new one, I’ll give you that.”

Hell yes. Point to Nico.

“D’you find one, yet?”

Nico’s face drops into a scowl. “No.”

He doesn’t understand how Will found a four-leaf so quickly. Nico’s been looking for much longer, and the clover patch is huge — statistically, he should have found one by now, right? It just makes sense.

Will hums, dragging himself to his knees and then somersaulting over. He lands legs sprawled over a smattering of pebbles, head by Nico’s knees. Nico reaches out and flicks his temples, just to watch him wrinkle his nose in protest.

“Whattaya so bent on getting one for, anyway?”

Nico shrugs, looking away. “Luck.”

“Duh.” Will pokes his thigh. “What for?”

“None of your business, nosy.”

“Well, that just made me a thousand times more interested. I was going to let it go, before, but now —”

“You’re so full of shit,” Nico huffs, grinning. Will matches his look with a shameless smile, placing his hands under his chin in a caricature of cherubic innocence.

“Why, whatever do you mean.”

“I mean —” he punctuates every word with a pinch — “that you have to know every detail —”

“Ack! Stop!”

“— of everybody else’s lives —”

“Hey! Derek Hale! Put the claws away!”

“— at any given time —”

“I am going to scream!”

“— or you’ll die.”

He acquires, finally, to Will’s screeching and writhing, pushing him away with one last poke. He pouts, looking at Nico with round, wounded eyes.

“You’re so mean to me.”

“You invite it, honestly.”

“By caring about you, you butthead.”

Nico rolls his eyes, fighting back a smile. “Yeah, yeah.”

Looking for the four-leaf is different with Will watching him. Different, somehow, even though he’s quiet, chin resting on his knees, eyes following Nico’s searching hands. Every shift has Nico’s breath catching, fingers twitching at his minute hums, his tapping fingers. He’s distracting. If Nico was struggling to find the lucky clover before, it’s hopeless now. Will drags his attention like the core of the Earth drags everything towards it.

“Hey,” Will murmurs, poking Nico with his toe. “Take mine.”

Nico glances up to find his hand, again, outstretched between them, four-leaf clover centred in the palm of his wide hands. His eyes watch every minute shift of Nico’s form, his stuttered breath, sweating palms. Bitten lip, shifting eyes.

“…You don’t know what I need it for.”

“I don’t need to.” Blue, blue, blue eyes. Ridiculously so, really. An exact match for the sky no matter what time of day; olympic blue, now, an perfect reflection of the late afternoon. “Take it.”

He thrusts his hand out farther. Heart pounding, Nico does, lightly pinching the stem between his thumb and forefinger, keeping his hand curled on Will’s.

He promised himself. One to ten thousand chance — if he found one, he’d do it.

It counts.

“Hey, Will.”

Blue widely above him, encroached by the canopy. Blue flapping in the wind behind him, perched on Zeus’ fist. Blue on the plumes of his helmet. Blue in the lavender, in the grape hyacinth, in the cornflowers.

Blue, blue, blue eyes, meeting his, flicking down. Flicking hastily back up again.

Nico tugs, gently, on his wrist. He moves where Nico directs him. Easily.

Up. Down. Up again. Perfect rings, thinning against a growing expanse of black.

Nico darts forward and kisses him. He sighs into it, immediately, hand going limp in Nico’s hold. The clover flutters to the ground between them, disappearing once again in a sea of green.

“You didn’t need luck for this,” Will mumbles.

Nico tilts their heads to rest closer together and kisses him ‘til he’s quiet.

[astralis-ortus]

.𖥔˚ masterlist

game for two ⋆ husband!bc × gn!reader | 0.8k | fluff — guess who just got his old yearbook in the mail?

love, am i home? ⋆ bestfriend!bc × gn!reader | 0.6k | angst — how can you tell it's not simply an infatuation?

sunday, sunday, sunday ⋆ husband!bc × fem!reader | 1.1k | fluff — now, and every sundays to ever come. i want to spend them all with you.

ways to say 'i love you' ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.6k | fluff — an awkward phrase for him, so he resorts to showing his affection instead.

streetlights and warm nights ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.5k | fluff — date nights are always fun with chan.

weighted blankets and projector ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.6k | fluff — as long as you're happy, then chan is happy too.

aisle 4 ⋆ ex!bc × gn!reader | 0.5k | angst — i could give you my all and it still wouldn’t be enough.

it feels impossible (it's not impossible) ⋆ bestfriend!bc × gn!reader | 2k | romcom, fluff — 'cause you are the one i was meant to find.

everything will be okay ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.4k | hurt/comfort — everyone deserves a chan in their lifes.

safe with me ⋆ boyfriend!bc × gn!reader | 0.7k | fluff — there’s a reason you shouldn’t (or should?) trust minho.

against the world ⋆ boyfriend!bc × fem!reader | 2k | angst, fluff — for as long as i love you.

placebo effect ⋆ boyfriend!bc × fem!reader | 1.2k | fluff — maybe the actual remedy is his smile.

this lifetime ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.3k | fluff — in every dream and any reality, as long as you're by my side.

just 5 minutes ⋆ husband!bc × gn!reader | 0.4k | fluff — spend every morning with you.

tiny bed ⋆ husband!bc × gn!reader | 0.3k | fluff — spacious home sounds nice, but you're nicer.

beyond forever and eternity ⋆ husband!bc × fem!reader | 0.8k | fluff — love cannot survive on luck alone.

agent(s) of chaos ⋆ boyfriend!bc × gn!reader | 1.1k | fluff — there's a reason why you love game nights with your boyfriend's second family.

you're always enough ⋆ boyfriend!bc × fem!reader | 2.3k | angst, fluff — losing you was not an option.

care for you ⋆ boyfriend!bc × gn!reader | 1.1k | fluff — to keep you safe is my priority.

thunders of rage ⋆ boyfriend!bc × gn!reader | 1.1k | fluff, comfort — even through the worst days, you're still my priority.

a little sweet fix ⋆ boyfriend!bc × gn!reader | 0.9k | comfort — sometimes what you thought was right might not be the best way.

you are my sunshine ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.6k | slice of life, fluff — you'll never know, dear, how much i love you.

every version of you ⋆ a bang chan headcanon | 0.4k | slice of life, fluff — time could heal everything; as long as you're willing to work for it.

lifetime worth of luck ⋆ husband!bc × gn!reader | 0.3k | fluff — omelet with fries for dinner, anyone?

don't ask ⋆ 'friend'!bc × gn!reader | 0.4k | angst — pushing me further, pulling me closer, some sort of chemistry.

gummy bears ⋆ college student!hj × gn!reader | 1.8k | fluff — art school is hard—at least having a muse makes it a little easier.

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡

[byuno-o]

PLACEMENTS IN MY NATAL CHART WHICH ARE HARD FOR ME TO ACCEPT BUT I'M TRYING

Leo moon in 5th house in 17th degree:

This must come as a no surprise because Leo moons aren't the most practical person in the room, and my Sagittarius side wants practicality all the time. Since I have it in 5th house in a Leo degree, my thoughts and emotions often end up coming out very dramatically- I often appear to become caricaturistic, which often downplays my anger and sadness since I express myself so dramatically. However, the depth of my feelings and emotions often causes me to lose my footing from within, as I go haywire trying to make sense of self and pin point the part which actually triggered me. But on the brighter side, I have often been called, "creative" and my art has been praised a lot so, I get happy sometimes. I deal with the negative feelings alone, but my face and actions often give it all up. One friend of mine actually point out that no matter what, I can never hide my disappointments and judgements and jealousy because of my who demeanour changes whenever I am feeling those feelings. And "lighting up the room" expression is very true for Leo placements, for I've been told that phrase personally very much. And I brag unintentionally (like now! God I hate it.)

2) Jupiter and Saturn Conjuction in 2nd house, but both of the planets are in retrograde:

First of all, my Jupiter is in Gemini, so this year is my Jupiter Return. And boy, am I feeling it. I don't think this is talked enough in astrology circle, but for females, Jupiter symbolises husband, and once you are well aware of the seriousness of institution of marriage, your Jupiter Return may bring a strong sense of wanting to get married.(I WILL WRITE ABOUT IT SOON! I NEED TO PUT IT OUT!!!)

So, since I have my Jupiter and Saturn in retrograde, the good things this rare conjuction brings are not good things for me. Since Jupiter is in the detriment, and Saturn is, well, in a nicer sign (I am using it loosely), I often deal with financial crunches and financial abundance abruptly. It's is never a stable thing, although I think this is my lesson. I used to get lucky a lot back when I was in school, given that I have Jupiter in 3rd house, and money easily came to me. But once, I entered into the adult world, bet conjuction was not and is not conjuction-ing the way it should be conjuction-ing. Luck isn't by my side as it used to be, and proving myself in the field I work in is an everyday challenge. But on the brighter side, I was always saved in the nick of the time. And the things I need always find me at the right time, although the things that I want need me to work harder than I do. Lemme know if you have this placement, and let's connect!

3) Mars in Libra in 7th house in 25 degree:

This is a detriment that I absolutely cannot look past. Since I have mars in the house of external relationships and in Aries degree, I appear catty and aggressive even when I don't want to--it's almost inbuild. And when I try to appear nice and quiet, guess what? I've told that I fake myself, and well, I look like I am cursing someone inside. And, I think that can also be seen in the way I write, since my friends had often asked me if I am annoyed or angry after reading my texts and whatnot. However, Libra does not help me. Since I take a long time to get angry, my actions don't help me--I appear passive-aggressive and just emotional all the time. I wish to master this placement, just to save all my relationships. Bwahahahaha.

4) Lilith in Aquarius in 11th house:

I think you already know the problems I might be having with this placement. I don't think people talk about this much, but whoever has Lilith in Aquarius or Lilith in 11th house always deals with friends turning on them, and feeling, or made to feel like an outcast most of the time. The more unique you appear, the more people pull away from you. Now add this placement with my Mars in Libra in the house of external relationships and Leo Moon in the house of creativity. I have always dealt with people who constantly put me down whenever it came to my creativity and ideas. There were even times, when my most trusted friends backstabbed me left and right. But then again, I'd rather be unique and alone than follow the herd and live in the constant fear of not mixing well enough.

5) Jupiter trine Neptune:

Now, let me tell you, this is one of those placements which can give you the best results only if the person can control the energy of their Neptune placements, since it is works with illusions, addiction, unbridled creativity and spirituality. And those stuff need proper guidance for successful channeling, for those are double-edge swords. So, now combining my retrograde Jupiter which is in detriment with Neptune in Aquarius in 11th house. Just know, my twisted luck is very much connected with the feeling of loneliness, but the thing is--I tend to internalise it. while I can connect with people easily, and creativity do come to me rather easily (not bragging), I tend to not connect with another soul in the level I would like it. My ramblings are taken lightly, and my ideas are often crushed. And the feeling of inferiority complex, and failure hit me harder than anything--if we combine Leo moon together with this placement, let me tell you, I tend to go numb, I even fail to speak for like days, until I isolate myself and work on my creativity. For me, I am strongly against addictions, but there was a time when I was heavily smoking, and I was kind of addicted to looking for validation from others, which only worsened my relationship with self and other souls. I hope to become a better person, though. And, this year is like a fountain of youth for me, for I feel alive again, and all the roads I've regretted taking have actually brought me to peace (that is until the next chapter of my life decides to test me).

So, that's it. I don't think any of these placements are wrong or bad or even negative. I just feel like these placements are harder for me to work with since there's many lessons associated with these, and I need to fall in order to stand up and fly.

So, do let me know what you think of this, and should I make a list of placements I love in my natal chart next? Drop by, I'd love to know more.

Also, thank you very much for the love you all are showing me. I am beyond grateful!!

[invertedheaven]

If You Really Love Nothing

chapter 6: unknown

chapter index | next chapter

“Did you know someone named ryomen sukuna?” Yuji let the words tumble out of his mouth the second he saw you, quickly regretting that he didn’t even greet you first

You opened your mouth to speak before closing it again and laughing awkwardly which prompted him to chuckle nervously

“Well if you’re asking then I assume you already know the answer” you responded while stepping aside to let him into the house

“Im sorry, I probably should’ve asked differently”

You shook your head “no its fine, I appreciate that you were at least straightforward about it”

You lead him to the kitchen as you grab your cup of tea “I did know him, I met him in high school…we used to date” you take a sip of the tea as you hear megumi make his way down the stairs

As he walks into the kitchen he greets yuji before noticing the awkwardness in the room you just half smile at him before continuing “we used to date for 3 years, we broke up shortly before he moved”

Megumis eyes widened as he realized what exactly he walked into

“Can I ask why?” Yuji asked a little to fast he realized

You shrugged “I don’t actually know, if I’m being honest… a week after my birthday he just said he was done, I couldn’t do much about that”

Yuji and megumi glanced at each other both with a face of disgust mixed with disbelief. Megumi didn’t really know the full story so this was new to him too in a sense

“What was he like?” Yuji asked his tone laced with curiosity and something akin to melancholy. He’s never felt like he truly knew his brother, the age difference and sukunas personality made it hard

You softly smiled to yourself “he was… well you know how he is but it worked well for us, I think we balanced each other out. He was funny in his own way, genuinely smart and” you trailed off for a few seconds before continuing “he was good to me… I don’t think I ever had any genuine complaints”

Yuji couldn’t help but feel angry, even after what doesn’t seem like an amicable break up you didn’t seem to be as angry as you should, or maybe you’re just pretending to save his brothers image he doesn’t really know

“Why do you ask? Just curious?” You asked snapping him out of his thoughts

“Uh yeah, I just don’t know a lot of people who would willingly deal with him so I was… intrigued I guess you could say”

You nodded in understanding, in a way thats what drew you to sukuna to begin with. There was something about sukuna that made you want to understand him, to know him. Throughout the years of being with him you feel like you got close, there were times where you felt like you knew him like the back of your hand and sometimes you felt like you were back in high school not understanding what you were looking at. Even if it ended bitterly, you couldn’t convince yourself that he was better unknown.

Sukuna was never a man who was amazing with words, he was smart but he just didn’t spend much time concerning himself with wording things in a nicer way. There was a disconnect with other peoples emotions too, not that he didn't understand them it just wasn’t something he cared to indulge in. And yet when it was you, he’d try his hardest to phrase things in a less… apathetic way and he’d actually ask how you were feeling, he’d encourage you to speak up if something was bothering you. He brought out a more assertive and less apologetic side of you— in the best ways.

All of this of course in a somewhat strained way as it didn’t seem like something he knew how to do. Because for some reason anything out of sukunas mouth sounded like teasing, sarcasm or straight up bullying. Despite his demeanor, he was always so clingy too, once he got over his pride of him being so weak around someone he would always need to be next to you or holding you in some way. You found it so endearing, it was the most affectionate he was capable of being when his words often failed him. You laugh to yourself at the memories of him following you around at parties not letting go of the hold he had on your hand.

Yuji side eyes megumi concerned as to why you zoned out and seemingly laughed at nothing before you spoke up again “he mentioned you a few times, he said you were a brat but a good kid”

Yuji cant tell if he feels happy about that or not, it’s not like sukuna ever told him these things himself. Was it really that hard? Yuji knows he was spared the unpleasantness of their parents because whatever they were like is the reason why his brother doesn’t seem to emote properly. Still, as annoyed as it made him, a small part of him feels glad that his brother thinks he was a good kid.

Megumi felt a little out of place not knowing sukuna on the level that you and yuji did so he busied himself by getting a glass of water trying to figure out if maybe you were gonna mention airi. His birthday was coming up and it would make things easier if Yuji just knew already but megumi also ran the risk of yuji never talking to him because he never said anything about airi before.

“Can I ask how you figured out we knew each other?” You asked yuji because a small dumb hopeful part of you wanted to know if sukuna had mentioned you recently

Yuji genuinely did not know how to answer that he hadn’t thought that far ahead so he decided to lie “oh well, he saw gojo pick fushiguro up at the movies a while back he told me he hated gojo but that he knew him in high school and so I guess I just assumed maybe you did to”

“Why not just ask gojo?” Megumi butted in

“Well if they didn’t like each other id rather not offend gojo by asking that” yuji laughs

You and megumi glance at each other feeling like theres not so much truth in his claim but you decide its not worth prying about considering you had something to hide too so you shrug it off “Gojo didn’t hate him, it was more of a one sided problem that your brother had” you laughed

Yuji laughed in response before clearing his throat “im sorry again, for asking and about how he ended things”

“Its not yours to apologize for but thank you, yuji”

The smile you gave yuji made him feel simultaneously sad and relieved. He still feels like you’re not telling him something but he chops it up to the fact that maybe you won't tell him the real reason you and sukuna broke up.

You broke his train of thought by excusing yourself to your room and once you leave yuji speaks up

“Did she tell you about sukuna?”

Megumi wasn’t sure how to answer that “yeah, but it wasn’t in detail I only knew they dated”

Yuji nodded his head “are her and gojo a thing?”

Megumi chokes on the water that he was drinking “no, not at all they’ve just been friends forever, I don’t know how because gojo is… truly something else”

He wonders why yuji would even care if you and gojo were together but he just hopes its a harmless question

———

The rest of the afternoon goes by as smoothly as it can despite the awkwardness and the conversation lingers in yujis mind right up until he arrives home. As he enters he’s surprised to see sukuna still on the couch eating and drinking a beer— so much for having a hangover

Sukuna eyes yuji as he enters the kitchen to serve himself some dinner knowing he just came back from your house, sukuna sees yujis presence in your life as an act of betrayal on yujis part even if yuji didnt know the full story

As yuji walked into the living room to join his brother, sukuna speaks up noticeably irritated “You didn’t eat over there?”

Yuji rolls his eyes “does it matter? Im hungry now”

Sukuna mumbles something under his breath before taking another swig of the beer

“Why did you break up with her” yuji speaks up he doesn’t even bother to say your name because who else would he be talking about

This earned an intense glare from sukuna “Thats none of your business kid”

“I know but-“

“What did she tell you about me”

Yuji sighs, agitated that sukuna just always has to be defensive “she didnt say anything”

“I don’t believe that, how did you know it was me that broke up with her?”

Yuji feels his patience snap before half shouting “because look at you!” He quiets down before he mumbles the next part “you just ruin anything good”

Sukuna feels the anger and irritation from the past days swell up in him mixed with shock that yuji would speak up against him like that “you have some nerve speaking to me like that brat”

“Can you just answer me? Why did you break up?”

Sukuna chugged the rest of his beer before standing up and walking to the kitchen to put his dish in the sink. Yuji hears his brother move stuff around in the kitchen while he stares down at his plate, upset that sukuna is incapable of functioning properly. The tv that was on in the background only grew to overwhelm yujis thoughts so he grabbed the remote to mute it before sukuna made his way back to the living room, but not sitting down

“It wasn’t gonna work out, she expected too much” sukuna responded before grabbing his phone, wallet and keys before exiting the house leaving yuji with his thoughts

Yuji cant help but feel like that was a useless answer, because it was.

In the dead silence of the living room, the sound his fork scraping against the plate began to make him feel even more alone than the days before so he turns to the tv unmuting it before trying to distract himself with a dumb movie. But as it played he still couldn’t keep his thoughts from wandering to all the times he’s had to do this, eat dinner alone, deal with his grandfather alone and just living life alone.

———

Sukuna decided to go for a walk because he could not stand the idea of yuji asking him more pointless questions that he didn’t want to answer. Especially since the topic of you came out of nowhere, yet he feels himself hope that you asked about him, not because he wants to see you but because he hopes that you haven’t moved on. As fucked up as it is for him to think, he’ll never be able to stop himself from feeling that.

He decides to pull out his phone and look for your social media again. He unblocked you only to find all accounts private and the profile picture isn’t there, nor did your bios say anything about you almost as if you didn’t use it anymore. He saw that you had a few posts but he doesn’t know if those were even recent and he’s briefly tempted to request you, but then he has to remind himself that he didn’t want to talk to you, right?

So he has a brilliant idea of looking for gojos social media, that wouldn’t be hard he was a social person. But all accounts were wiped of any personal information and looked like he tried to keep it professional, no doubt for his job, hell even his bio only said his name and profession. So the search ended up being useless, and he gained nothing, he finds himself getting frustrated that his curiosity is eating him alive. It shouldn’t even be a thought to him.

And he has a brilliant idea of the next time the opportunity comes around maybe he’ll give yuji a ride to your house or pick him whatever works. He can always pretend like he didn’t know it’d be you, even though at this point absolutely no one would buy that. He doesn’t even realize that he’s been planning on how to coincidentally run into you and when he does he has to reaffirm that it’s not because he wants to see you, because if he allows himself that he knows he’ll go crawling back to you.

[vodika-vibes]

The Brotherhood - Stat Wars AU

Summary: Misfit is kicked from the 501st and barred from joining Rex with the 332nd. Though, he was warned that this would happen.

Characters: Clone OC - Misfit, ARC Trooper Fives, Clone Trooper Tup, Clone Trooper Dogma, Commander Fox, Captain Rex, ARC Trooper Jesse (mentioned)

Word Count: 764

“I know you're not thrilled, Misfit-” Rex says slowly as he looks at his, very unimpressed, little brother, “But this might be a good thing.”

Misfit pulls a cigarette out of his jumpsuit pocket and slips it between his lips, though he doesn't light it just yet, “A good thing, huh?”

“You're not made for military life, vod. You've been miserable since the war started-”

“-so you're ditching me.” Misfit replies, finally pulling his lighter from his pocket and lighting the stick hanging from his lips.

“I…wish you wouldn't say it like that.”

“Oh? Is there a nicer way to phrase it?” Misfit asks sarcastically as he flicks an unkempt curl off his forehead.

“Misfit, vod,” Rex sighs, “You haven't exactly made any friends over the years. You convinced Barriss Offee to leave the order.”

“I convinced her that terrorism wasn't going to prove her point.” Misfit corrects as he blows some smoke out the side of his mouth, “Her leaving the order was just the next best thing.”

Rex is quiet for a long time, “Ahsoka tried to have you transferred to her, but the Admiral decided that you're a liability. Your drug use is rather well known at this point.” He shakes his head, “I'm sorry, vod. But there's no longer a choice. Maybe…maybe you should talk to the jedi about rehab.”

Misfit flicks some ash off his cigarette, “I'd sooner eat my blaster.” There's a shout from the doorway, and Misfit turns his cold gaze to his older brother, “Better get going, Commander.” Somehow, the rank sounds like an insult.

Rex lingers for a moment, and then he turns away, “Don't do anything drastic, Misfit. We'll talk when I get back, maybe get you sent to the 212th.”

“I won't hold my breath.” Misfit leaves before Rex reaches the door, and Rex's shoulders slump as he walks over to Jesse, who sympathetically claps him on the shoulder. 

Misfit walks through the clone Barracks, breezing past his brothers, content with them ignoring him. He turns down a side hall, goes down a flight of stairs, and kicks open a swinging door that leads to a darkened, musty smelling hallway.

The hallway leads to one place, a large room that's been ignored for years. Well, officially at least.

Misfit reaches the door and keys in the code that he was given earlier that day. The door slides open and Misfit steps into a well lit and clean smelling room.

“Do you have to smoke that in here?” Fives asks from where he's flipping a blade between his fingers.

“It's this or I throw myself off the roof, take your pick, vod.” Misfit replies.

“Put it out, Misfit.” Fox orders from where he's scanning a datapad, “I'm guessing you're here because you've been kicked out of the 501st.”

“And the 332nd.” Misfit confirms as he puts his cigarette out in the convenient ashtray. “Just like you said.”

“I'm sure it wasn't personal,” Tup says from where he's examining the blade attached to his wrist. “You know what Rex is like.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Misfit tucks his cigarette behind his ear, and drops into a chair next to Dogma, “Anyway, why am I here with three vod'e who are supposed to be dead?”

Fox smirks and drops a strange looking blade on the table in front of Misfit. It straps to the inside of his wrists, and a sharp blade pops out from the hilt as he flexes his wrist. “This is a hidden blade,” Fox explains, “perfect for assassinations.”

“Will you finally tell us what you're planning?” Dogma asks.

Fox drops in a seat, a small smirk on his face, “I'm making an assassination squad. The four of you were chosen because all four of you are quiet in the Force. According to Vos, you're force quiet.”

“Meaning?” Tup asks.

“You're force sensitive enough that other force sensitives can't detect you.” Fox leans forward, “I'm sure you can tell that there are a lot of people in the galaxy who deserve to die. People we can't touch. That's what you four are for.”

“You want us to be your personal assassins?” Fives asks.

“No, I am going to be completely hands off from here on out. You'll do your own research, gather your own evidence. Your targets are your choice.” Fox says, “Fives will be in charge.”

Fives pauses and a dark smirk crosses his face, “Palpatine will be our first target.” He leans over the table as Fox leaves the room, “Welcome to the Assassin's Brotherhood.” Fives almost purrs, as he drops a map of the senate on the table, “We're going to save everyone.”

[ddarker-dreams]

I wonder how "yan anya and yan chrollo x darling" worked out because i feel like the second either anya or chrollo say they saw someone interesting (future darling) and or started spending a concerning amount of time with someone else (5 minutes) and actually enjoy it, the other would just.....make space in their basement....Immediately taking out competition. I feel like the only way future darling can, well survive is if anya is the person that gets interested first and chrollo decides to investigate a bit instead of killing on sight, that investigating most likely leads to "Ah, now i know why anya likes her so much" and con-gratulations/dolences, darling wakes up in some unknown bedroom

tbh, anya has the highest chance of falling for the most Regular shmuck. normalcy bewitches her. so when chrollo starts skulking about, she's on high alert. you're her 9-5 not-quite-partner-yet-but-still-in-the-cards-potentially-kinda-not-really-she's-delusional. he needs to go find his own! chrollo would have to give a solid sales pitch to kick things off. specifically, the boost to your security with them both in your orbit. especially since chrollo has better interpersonal skills (he phrases it nicer than that). they smooth out the details at brunch.

your future is decided by two notorious figures in society's underground over avocado toast.

having anya thrown into the yandere mix comes with some pros and cons, notably:

+less mind games from chrollo, as anya thinks it's bad for your mental health. no comment upon you pointing out kidnapping isn't doing your brain any favors either. +anya doesn't go for threatening your family/loved ones, implicitly or otherwise. she knows that if anyone threatened ash (and estella too, depending on the day of the week), she'd never forgive them. +the cutlery wherever you're staying at doesn't magically disappear. chrollo wants to 'relieve you of the temptation' by removing pointy objects, but anya argues otherwise. their abilities should be sufficient in disarming you should you ever threaten them with a knife. if anything, she wants to encourage this instinct, so you could defend yourself in the event they're not around.

-anya will not stop trying to convince you that kale tastes good so you'll eat more of the evil leaf. -they share the most horrific anecdotes with a nonchalant air. chrollo will occasionally bring up memories from his youth, whereas anya focuses on her most notable escapades. you could've gone without her account of the anti-men cult she was sent to investigate who sewed their eyes upon initiation. it ruined your appetite. -although chrollo hides it better, they're both out of touch with reality to varying degrees. anya couldn't accurately guess the price of milk and there's no convincing chrollo that killing strangers is 'morally abhorrent.'

[celticcrossanon]

Hi Celta, how sure are we that Meghan graduated with an International Relations degree? The way she dresses in this faux royal tour of Nigeria shows she lacks cultural awareness. She's so inappropriately dressed, showing open shoulders, peekaboo tummy, and slits up to there. Plus, she's wearing block colours whereas the Nigerian women are multi-colourfully bright in their traditional clothing; our late Queen would have fit right in with them with her bright colours and floral dresses!

UK royal ladies, when they visit other countries, always wear clothing that respect the culture of those countries. Just look at how Princess Catherine dresses when they visited Pakistan or Malaysia or even non-conservative countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

I guess this is the difference between class and crass. Meghan just doesn't seem to care to present herself appropriately. How can you be a royal like this? Thank God she's no longer one.

I saw a short clip of video when they were offered food on a plate by a little girl (who was part of the welcoming party I think) and Meghan didn't even acknowledge the girl or the food; she simply turned away while still holding Harry's hand, and pulling him away with her. How rude! She just does not have manners. Again, did she really have an International Relations degree? If I were Northwestern University, I would be so embarrassed to see my alumni behaving this way.

Hi Aran Pandora,

I do not know if Meghan a) graduated, and b) what her degree was. I have heard so many conflicting stories that I now need solid proof (eg an academic transcript) before I believe anything about her university education. If she did graduate with that degree, then I think we can all agree that she learnt nothing from the course.

I think saying that Meghan lacks cultural awareness is very kind of you. I agree, I just would have phrased it as 'Meghan does not care about her host country and its customs/culture/food and has no interest in learning about them'. Your way is much nicer than mine. :)

Meghan clothing and behaviour was revolting on that tour. It was clearly a trip that was all about her and how much flesh she could flash, and not an iota about Nigeria. As you said, other people on visits (royals and diplomats etc) manage to dress appropriately and behave politely, but that is obviously too much effort for Meghan.

At least the only person she embarrassed this time was herself, because, as you said, she is no longer a working royal.

[moldybonessmell]

The Umbrella Academy season 3 review post

I finally finished season 3 of tua even tho I've watched first two seasons first day they came out and oh boy do I have things to talk about-

To begin with, the things I like about new season:

- The way we finally dug into Allison's trauma and how she starts going psychotic is actually a good plot line especially the accent on how she just like any other Umbrella Academy people indulges in self-distructive behavior, she's really just like them

- Diego getting a kid as someone with the biggest daddy issues out there is a realistic plotline because having a kid (even if Stanley's not actually his) heals him in this regard tho he and Lila would get a kid anyway eventually but they really should've been more sad about Stanley thanosing out of the existence you know

- Five being the founder of The Temps Commission makes so much sense as he's the one with the power to travel time of course he's more powerful than it seemed

- Good music scenes. Music is what season 1 was incredible for and what I love about the show. In season 2 there weren't many scenes that caught my attention but in s3 it's definetely better. We got Klaus's death montage with "Crystallised" by The xx and celebration scene with "Another one bites the dust" by Queen + Luther on moon and "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure these were really nice.

- The Oblivion Hotel is such a cool location and concept (a place for everyone) I like the change of place of action a lot, but the way it's a portal is kinda overused imo

- Lila and Five are still the best characters and carried the season

- Fei is such a cool chara with a distict character design (which most of Sparrow Academy lack tbh)

Now things I don't like:

- Ben being just a placeholder character is such a bummer because instead of getting angst and drama we got a mostly one-dimentional anti-hero who has a completely different personality from Ben. We got a tiny bit of his character when he admitted he just wants to be involved with everyone but it's really minimal.

I can't believe Klaus says "He's an asshole and he's dead to me" like WHAT DO YOU MEAN fuck no Klaus would not say that shit and he would not just give up on him. Yeah Luther says stuff like "I'm glad to see you even if you're different" or whatever but it's Klaus who've spent the most time with Ben.

The way literally any other actor could have played Sparrow Ben and nothing would change is lame af I hope in next season we will see more changes

- Same goes to my dear Grace who's just a placeholder for black hole worshipper like what do you mean we just got one phrase from Diego and that's it??? This whole bit with fake god and stuff really threw me off it didn't go anywhere

- The Sparrow Academy being one-dimentional characters in general like I get producers probably didn't have enough episodes to actually develop characters but holy shit are they boring.

Even if you want to make them just antagonists we had such cool villains in two previous seasons they were original and interesting (aka The powerless podcast-fan male manipulator Peabody and The Cunty Handler)

Also the way the fisrt Sparrows who died were the most annoying and cliche assholes makes them just filler charas

- How show tried to make us feel compassion to Reginald Hargreeves holy shit do I hate this guy- After Klaus realised his father was basically killing him over and over in his childhood instead of Klaus getting mad or upset and having a breakdown we got nothing.

He even came back to new timeline Reginald who's "nicer" for this asshole just to hurt him AGAIN

- Klaus mostly being a comic relief in this season is so fucked I love this character and in previous seasons we had a great look at his life and experiences but now he's just kinda there being high and that's it

"mm I guess he died a few times it's probably enough" - plot writers

no character development whatsoever is just upsetting.

And the amount of unnecessary traumatising aka Reginald training him was really not it, even if it's supposed to be a joke.

- Reginald being a two-faced ass like holy shit is this terrifying. Pogo was the one who gave Sparrows pills and now Klaus helped him to stop taking them and this asshole is taking advantage of naive and vulnerable Klaus.

It is in fact a good plot twist but bro I really did prefer Reginald being a cartoonish villian instead of actual pure evil like how does he have shitty motivation but still does just so much shit.

- The Umbrella Academy family having no improvement in their relationship. They still don't care Klaus relapsed, they still don't care about Viktor. All they care about is their own misery which is really in character but with three seasons out of the way and only one more left I would expect at least something you know.

- Viktor is still left out. Like bro the only compassion he had is only when he transitioned but this is it?? Bro's still waiting till someone comes and cares about him but not only this doesn't happen, he even gets rediculed by Sparrow Ben for that and called emo are you actually kidding me what's with all the hurt with no comfort???

It feels a lot like when you're mentally ill and your family kinda "walks on eggshells" to not trigger you but it's in quotes because they don't actually care. They act nice just because they think you're psycho and you would make less problems if they pretend. And this is very sad, Viktor is such a tragic character.

Okay that's it for now. If you have any thoughts please share in comments!

[yellowhollyhock]

Donnie tricking Mikey into coming to see Dr. Queeze with him (no idea how to spell that)

"I'm emailing him directly into his brain" he's so excited ljhggshaha

oh he wants intelligent mutants no wonder Donnie loves him. 'intelligent' and 'mutant' in the same sentence from literally anyone besides him is this turtle's dream come true

Venus trying to guess the correct sports is such a mood (and Leo is so upset about. meathead 🩵)

aksjdjaj "Donnie Venus is good at sports" "Don't care" also a mood, I'm so sorry athletes (Donnie back on his beef with Venus 💜💚)

supportive brother Raph ❤️

you make the Mikey run? make him run like the racehorse? oh! oh! jail for Donnie! jail for Donnie for one thousand years

Venus loving sports and being good at sports and getting all the phrases mixed up and being sassy about it is so so excellent

jdjdjsjaj the music change when Mikey calls Queeze a whackazoid akdjdhs

you make fun of Donnie's hero? you call him the whackazoid? oh! oh! jail for Mikey! jail for Mikey for one thousand years

they are cats to me

oooh interesting more magic and science dynamic but with the bad guys now.

jfjshshsj Donnie doing little chores for his bros to try to get them to help them save his hero guy 🤣 (and the nice things for both Venus and Raph is to spend time with them doing the things they like 😭)

Actually tho when has Donnie ever hesitated to help y'all with things that are important to you regardless if he understands. Venus at least is like 'yeah he's probably dead by now sorry' like not exactly gentle but way nicer than the other three just dismissing him because it's not interesting enough or the guy is too weird. he was being a tad bit of a jerk at the start of the ep but this is not warranted. y'all owe him apologies (there will be fics)

the scene where he meets Queeze is horrible I love it. aww Donnie. babygirl you can't trust people just because they're scientists. but also wow imagine how much safer he'd have been if he weren't DOING THIS ALONE

Leo trying to use the computer and immediately causing sparks XD

okay they are coming to help. took them freaking long enough

Raph Venus and Leo are such a fun teamup.

Mikeyyy saving Donnie yayay 💜🧡💜🧡

Venus figured out the bowling word 💚

ajdjsja Mikey gonna save DonDon but he's gonna make fun of him while he's at it

Donnie still didn't give up on Queeze. That's precious and infuriating. Splinter cutting right to the heart of the issue as usual

But what didn't happen at the end of this ep is a much needed apology. Which I knew would not happen but I did hope

[crepes-suzette-373]

What if Sea (Prism) Stones are organic/biological matter?

So, the Japanese name for the Sea (Prism) Stone doesn't really mean anything. 海楼石 Kairouseki translates to something like "sea-tower-stone", and that just makes no sense.

But, we know that there's a lot of puns in One Piece. Zoro's attack is named Onigiri (riceballs). It's written in fancy kanji that changes its literal meaning, but it still sounds like "riceball". And the regions in Wano that are homonyms for various food (Ringo = apple, Kuri = chestnut, etc), but written in different kanji that looks nicer.

"Kairou" happens to be a possible alternate reading for 海老, which means lobsters. Normally 海老 is jointly read as "ebi", but if you read it kanji by kanji 海 can be read as kai and 老 is rou. The same "kai" kanji is preserved in Kairouseki the stone, and an example of the "rou" reading is in words like 不老 fu-rou.

*) The "ebi" that means the small prawns is written differently (「蝦」「魵」「鰕」). 海老 is lobster.

Another word choice prooftext is that Pagaya explains that the component of the Kairouseki, Pyrobloin, is a "keratinous/corneous particle" 角質の粒子. Kakushitsu 角質 in general refers to "crusty organic substance", usually related to humans or animals, not plants or trees. It includes keratin, but not necessarily that specific substance. Kanji just tend to have broader range of meaning.

Either way, I've not seen the term 角質 used for rocks or metal either as far as I know.

What the biological matter is, I don't know. 角質 as a substance can refer to a lot of things, like skin, hooves, horn, etc.

Even if the kanji 海老 can be read as "kairou", I've not necessarily seen the term 角質 used to describe lobsters specifically. I've seen it described as a component in a tortoise shell, though, or insect's "shell"/skin. Both tortoise shell and insect skin/shells are included in the broad category of "exoskeleton" along with crustacean carapace, so it's still related in a sense.

I have some guesses, but it's still conjecture with no real solid proof from the series that I can really point to.

Conspiracy theories below:

Possibility 1: Kairouseki is the shedding of some kind of lobster shell. Or the fossil of a ridiculously gigantic lobster.

Taking the direct analysis of the 海老 kanji.

Kairouseki originates from Wano. I mentioned that Wano seems to have connection to the moon, and I know that some people have made theories about the lobster image in the ancient wall painting in the moon that Enel saw.

Might they be related?

As explained above, 海老 "ebi" means lobster. The express lobsters on Skypiea are huge. We don't really know yet if the size indicate different species, or if they just grow bigger and bigger as they get older. Maybe there's an ancient lobster that's monstrously huge, which is the source of the Sea (Prism) Stones.

Lobsters in real life was said to never stop growing, after all. Maybe the Sea Stone lobster is an ancient lobster, and it's since grown humongous.

Possibility 2: It's the shell of a giant tortoise

The counter to the magical moon lobster would be the description that Sea (Prism) Stone is "the sea in solid form", which is why it could block Fruit powers. If this is actually a moon/sky animal, then why does it have the property of the seas?

Then maybe it's just something from "Earth"/inside the sea.

The kanji 海老 originates from a phrase that translates to "old one of the sea", so it's possible that within the world of One Piece, Oda-sensei intends to twist the meaning a little into a different creature and not lobster.

A tortoise has been for a long time described as a creature that represents longevity in Japan, and it's true that tortoises can live for very very long time (the oldest tortoise in the world today is currently some 190 years old).

As mentioned above, tortoise shell has been described in scientific literature as being composed of 角質.

The map of Wano actually somewhat resembles a tortoise as well.

The current Wano is newly built on the side of Mount Fuji after the old one drowned, but perhaps the Wano people who made the new Wano created the new land in this shape on purpose as a hint/reminder of an ancient secret of the land.

Another slight reach is that the Koudzuki family crest appears to be based on the Japanese crest that represents "crane". Crane and tortoise are symbols commonly paired together, making a symbol of longevity. The shogun with the crane symbol, and the land itself the tortoise symbol.

What's this all about, then?

This is a bit of a reach, but I mentioned in the moon theory post that Koudzuki family narrative seems to allude to Susanoo, the god of the sea and storms.

Susanoo was a god who descended from the "heaven" to "earth". Similar to the Kaguya legend of a celestial entity descending to Earth and residing there.

It might be a hint, at least, that there's a connection between "the moon" and "the sea". The "sea" that hates the Devil Fruits (possibly representing "the sun") does not seem to dislike "the moon".

It bolsters my budding theory that there is a "triumvirate" of the Sun, the Moon, and the Sea. I still need more info, though, so this "triumvirate of powers" theory is something I need to shelve for later.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tags @halfbakedspuds @honeybewrites @leahpardo-pa-potato!

OC Origins Tag

Rules: I want to know how you came up with your original character’s names and personalities. Are they based on people in your real life? Are they straight from your brain? Are they a mix of several people?

Sorry to all the people who tagged me, but I think you're gonna be a little disappointed by my lack of reasoning in my oc choices lol

Izjik:

I picked her name because I wanted something alien sounding as heard by human ears. Her personality is vaguely based off my old boss, except she's nicer than he was.

Sepo:

I picked his name (as will become a common theme) because it sounded cool. His personality was based off the desire to have a foil for Izjik and because I thought a mute, aroace, siren man would be ironic.

Twenari:

I picked her name because it sounded cool! Originally, she was sort of based off Omega from TBB, but her character has evolved quite a bit since then.

Djek:

I picked his name because it sounded cool :)

I can't really say where his personality came from, I just wanted a shitty sorcerer.

Astra:

As ironic as her name is given my setting, I just picked it because it was fun. Originally, she didn't have a name, as I was going for more of a nameless samurai/cowboy wanderer archetype, but I decided to change that. I kept the cowboy, just gave her a personality also.

Mashal:

Guess what, I picked his name because it sounded cool. It's kind of a coincidence that it sounds like martial. His personality is very much based on the literary knight archetype.

Ivander:

No thoughts went into his name lol, but I changed his surname from Montare to Montane once I realized Montare rhymed with DuClaire. His character was vangely inspired by the leper gunsmiths of Princess Mononoke.

Elsind:

No thoughts went into their name either. She's kind of based off of one of my old dnd characters, who was basically just Elsind but older, alcoholic, and had kids and a mortgage.

Avymere:

Their name was (trying to find new ways to phrase this) picked because it sounded cool. Their personality is very much based on Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.

I'll leave this as an open tag :)

[invisiblewashboard]

Small Child's Thoughts on "A Long Expected Party" Part 1

I made the decision to begin reading FotR to my oldest this September. When I read him “The Hobbit” over the summer, he would frequently interrupt me with his thoughts or commentary, and I enjoyed it very much, and found much of it to be very amusing. I’ve decided to record any commentary he has on LotR as well. We’ve made the choice to split every chapter in half. Most of my reading aloud will be done to him during our homeschool day, and because we have limited time to complete other schoolwork, this is going to work best for us. So, if any of you are interested, feel free to come along with Small Child on his first journey from the Shire to Mount Doom!

Is his adventure the same one that we read in “The Hobbit?” Oh. That’s cool, I guess. Are there talking animals in this one? I didn’t like the talking animals.

What does “inexhaustible” mean? Oh. I wish we had inexhaustible wealth. (Same, dude.)

Why did Bilbo adopt Frodo? Oh, his mommy and daddy died? When he was still little? That is really sad. I feel bad for Frodo. (Just wait, my guy. Just wait…)

111is way too old, mom. 

I don’t know why the Old Took kept turning years and years old. 130 is too old. What was his birthday?

33 is also old, but it’s not way too old.

Drowning doesn’t happen to me, mom because I’m very good at swimming.

Pushing is not nice and you should never push on boats. That is very dangerous. 

I don’t think even Bilbo’s house is big enough for a party to invite everyone. (It will be an outside party, I explained) Oh. What if it’s cold? (It won’t be.) I like outside parties. Will it be an outside party like we had at 4th of July? We had fireworks then. But they were from Uncle J, not Gandalf.

I don’t think I would like a party with hundreds of people. That sounds actually wholly unpleasant. 

Are the hobbits going to go camping for Bilbo’s party?

Kitchens don’t go outside! (This was very confusing for him)

Well, if it rains, they’ll just have to have a smaller party inside. But I think that would be nicer for Bilbo anyway and then the cake won’t get all wet. 

Oh dear, the rain went away and now Bilbo must have everyone come.

I think it’s nice that Hobbits give each other presents on their birthday. I don’t think I will do it, but it is a nice thing to do.

I don’t really like fireworks or people so I don’t think I would have liked Bilbo’s party very much.

Fireworks don’t do any of those things. Why did Gandalf make them do that? They’re just supposed to be like noisy stars, not trees or dragons. 

We were derailed (ha) for a bit upon the “express train” phrase. Small Child is autistic, and trains are most certainly his special interest. He was quite disappointed to find that there are in fact, no express trains in the Shire.

Yeah, I’m not allowed to call Smallest Child gross unless she is really messy or pooped in her diaper. That’s gross.

Ew! Get your feet off the table, Proudfoot!

111 is too old. Why is he that old?

I like double birthdays. We have lots of those in our family, don’t we? But I don’t get to share mine.

I think that’s ridiculous too. Don’t call people gross.

Is he talking about things that happened in “The Hobbit?” Why is he doing that? He should talk about now.

I don’t like him saying “eleventy-one.” It is not correct.

(We also got derailed by the phrase “in bad taste.”) “You can’t taste people!”

I would like to leave a party like that too. 

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Rating: General Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: Gen Fandom: Tortall - Tamora Pierce Characters: Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, Delia of Eldorne, Maura of Dunlath Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Frank discussion of treason, Truce for the sake of the traumatized child Word count: 6625

Summary:

“This is Maura of Dunlath,” Sir Alanna says. “She wanted to talk to you.” Delia can’t quite keep her surprise from her face. “Is that so?” she asks. “My sister Yolane was executed for high treason three weeks ago yesterday,” Maura says, and Delia blinks. “I wanted to ask you some questions.”

Oh hey, were you expecting literally any of the fics I've been posting about for days now? Too bad, you get this instead! The ten-years-on discussion between Delia, Alanna, and Maura of Dunlath that I didn't know I needed until yesterday and have now written. Enjoy!

Excerpt:

Lady Delia of Eldorne does not receive unexpected visitors. The Hag-Daughter comes twice monthly, to instruct her in matters of faith and hear her confessions. In years past, the Lord Provost’s agents at Eldorne called upon her regularly, to ensure her continued good behavior and impress upon her the mercy the Crown had shown in permitting her to live. Now, with over a decade gone by and Delia having long since come to terms with her lot in life, the Provost’s agents have been reassigned elsewhere. Her own family visits rarely, generally only once a year during Midwinter, and she is permitted the company of neither personal friends nor admirers. (Upon first hearing her sentence read out, Delia raged at the phrasing, assuming the King was rubbing salt into the wound that was her failure to find a husband at court. With the benefit of a great deal of forced reflection and perspective, she wonders if it was the King’s awkward attempt at guessing her interests.)

She spends her time reading and working on embroidery. With good behavior has come the right to send and receive letters – combed through by the Lord Provost’s agents and probably others besides – but she has few correspondents. She never had many friends, and what few she did have abandoned her long ago, terrified that treason might be contagious. A great deal of her time is spent in prayer and reflection – the letters she does write are primarily to the Hag-Daughter – and in sanctioned artistic pursuits. Delia never used to be artistic, except in matters of her own presentation, but a decade of enforced solitude and idleness has introduced her to many new ways to pass the time. 

It is a monotonous life but not, as she is reminded near-constantly, a bad one. It is a far nicer life than she deserves. She tries her best to be grateful for it. 

She has been imprisoned for eleven years and four months when a knock sounds on her parlor door and Rodwin the guardsman announces that she has visitors. Delia sets down her embroidery, a slight frown on her face. It is too early in the month for the Hag-Daughter and the wrong time of year for any of her relations to undertake their once-yearly pilgrimage to gawk at her.

“Enter,” she calls, and it is all she can do to keep from gawking herself as the door opens and in strides in Sir Alanna the Lioness, looking like she would rather be absolutely anywhere else. 

[tanoraqui]

S&D Tier fic inspired by this video. unedited.

“Kiddo, we need to talk about something,” Alex said, and thought, Oh god, I’m turning onto my father. Parenthood was a mistake. I should scrap this all right now and pretend it never happened.

But Hawk was already abandoning its legos and scurrying over to where Alex stood in its bedroom doorway, looking up at them all expectant and a little nervous. (It didn’t project except deliberately; Alex had given themself zeranid-specific telepathy during the space war, for army-directing purposes, and only ever partly turned it off because being able to read your kid’s moods was really helpful in parenting, especially when your kid was an insectoid war machine that didn’t visibly emote like a human).

(Yeah, it was way too late to scrap this all and pretend it’d never happened. It’d pretty much been too late since Morgan first phrased “keep an eye on my core hivemind war machine” as “babysitting.”)

Hawk had scrambled up their body to perch on their head and peer down at them through bent eyestalks. It loved doing that with Alex, because most people couldn’t hold forty pounds of chitin and lethal claws on their head without wobbling.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re adorable.”

Alex patted it on the shell, then walked over to its bed, gently pried its claws out of their hair, and set it on the skateboard-patterned duvet beside them.

“Now, I know you were eavesdropping on my call with Diego earlier—”

I wasn’t! Hawk insisted, projecting innocence and injury.

“I’m an expert eavesdropper and I saw one of your spy drones in the vent,” Alex retorted. “Learn to spy better if you don’t want to get caught!”

Hawk drew its limbs in a couple inches, sulking. Alex scratched the base of its eyestalks reassuringly. This was why they planned on leaving this sort of Real Conversation With Our Kid mostly to Morgan—Morgan was better at reassuring! But obviously, Morgan couldn’t take this Real Conversation…

“I’m guessing you didn’t hear what Diego was saying too much, though?”

They kept scratching as Hawk begrudgingly shook its head.

I could hear her being angry. Do I still get to play with Ducky today?

Alright, time rip off the bandaid.

“Yes,” Alex promised. “But— Listen, you know how Morgan woke up screaming in the middle of the night last…7am today?” Which was like midnight for Morgan; even parenthood hadn’t changed that.

Uh-huh, said Hawk.

“And you know how you showed them that cool trick with the squirrel a couple days ago, you know, the one you told me about over dinner?” While Morgan looked faintly queasy and didn’t finish their food, man, Alex was kicking themself now; at the time they’d been too busy laughing and enthusing at the gory details and the little dance Hawk did to show how it had puppetted the squirrel corpse.

Yeah! Hawk’s limbs stretched back out and its eyestalks waved excitedly. I’m going to show Ducky at our playdate! I’m going to make one do the Macarena. That’s Ducky’s favorite dance.

“That’s hysterical,” Alex informed it. “Okay, but here’s the thing: you can’t let Ducky’s parents know, and you need to pay attention to if Ducky is getting scared while you show him—you remember what people are like when they’re scared?”

Hawk rolled their eyes both internally and externally. They smell nicer and I want to kill them more slowly.

“Hel– heck yeah,” said Alex. “So, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if Ducky is getting scared, you should stop your super cool squirrel trick. Even if you haven’t made it dance yet. Because otherwise, Ducky might be the next one waking up with screaming nightmares, and then Diego really would cancel your next playdate, instead of just talking sh– trash.”

What?! Hawk reared up in dismay and affront, hissing in the way quadrillions of people on thousands of worlds had learned to fear. Why?

But it was a smart kid, so it immediately connected the dots—the really important dots in this conversation; no offense, Ducky. It curled back in on itself unhappily. Did I make Morgan have a nightmare?

“Yeah,” Alex said bluntly. “And Morgan is never, ever going to admit it, because they love you so, so much, and they’d literally rather die rather than make you feel bad about anything you can do or want to do.”

Don’t kill Morgan’s parents, they reminded themself reflexively, to counter the other reflexive thoughts. Do not kill Morgan’s parents, do not kill Morgan’s parents, do not—

They gathered Hawk onto their lap and booped it just above the mandibles, to remind it that it was cute and loveable and to make sure they had its full attention.

“Morgan is stubborn like that, but Morgan is also squeamish,” they explained, in terms suited to a six-year-old. “Literally and morally. That means that when they see too much blood or wiggling internal organs or corpses used as toys or…any sort of killing, really… If they see that stuff up close, they start to feel sick. It’s very lame, I know it’s very lame, but that’s just how they are. So, because we love Morgan, there are rules of thumb—rules of claw, for you, I guess.”

Hawk projected rapt attention. Alex had noticed at some point years ago that every random monster they manifested now—not a power they used often, but it could be fun, eg, for space armies—instinctively adored Morgan as a default feature of their existence. It wasn’t a feature they felt any need to change.

They enumerated on their fingers.

“One, try not to take more than about fifteen seconds to kill a single living creature in front of Morgan, and no more than a minute for a group. If you want to take longer than that, or if it seems like you need to take longer than that, either drag your victim out of sight or drag Morgan away and come back later.

“Two, don’t play with or otherwise weaponize corpses for more than, like, casually throwing them at your enemies, in front of Morgan. Otherwise it’s fine! And Morgan doesn’t even mind if they’re watching you fight on tv. It’s just when they have to see it up close that they start to feel sick.”

I don’t want to make Morgan feel sick. Hawk wasn’t quite at the stage where a human child would be in tears—they were a ruthless killing machine, albeit one who was functionally a six-year-old with an increasingly healthy upbringing with loving parents. But it radiated distress, and hid its face in Alex’s midriff like Alex could shield it from every possible bad thing in the world. Which Alex could, obviously.

Can’t you just make them not get sick?

“Believe me, I’ve thought about it.” Alex sighed, and scratched it gently between the eyestalks again. “But then they wouldn’t be Morgan, you know?”

No! said Hawk, confused and annoyed.

“You will when you’re older,” Alex promised, with another mark on the Turning Into My Parents list.

Hawk critter-grumbled against Alex’s stomach. And Ducky will get sick, too?

“He might, he might not,” Alex said truthfully. “He’s pretty young, so he probably can’t conceptualize that you’re killing people yet, defiling their corpses, all that stuff. In which case, it’s way better to show him now, so he’ll get used to it early!”

Hawk sat back on Alex’s lap with a thoughtful twist of its eyestalks. And I can still show you, right?

“Oh fuck yeah!” said Alex. “I can’t believe you haven’t shown me yet! I love flesh puppets! No matter how your playdate with Ducky goes, you and I are going to the park again tomorrow so you can kill as many squirrels as you want.”

Hawk brightened even to the non–zeranid-telepathic eye. It mentally ran through the list of people who were in on the secret of their identity.

Can I show Barnaby and Ohio?

“Totally,” said Alex. “I want to watch you show Barnaby and Ohio. Please let me be there.”

Okay.

“Okay!” said Alex. He scratched the base of Hawk’s eyestalks again, briskly. “Good talk, champ.” Oh god, that was a pure Mom-ism. “By the way, Rule Three is all bets are off if you or Morgan, or Ducky, is in real danger. Then you should kill whoever and however you want until you’re safe—and full! No skipping meals!”

Hawk both telepathically projected and physically dramatized the rolling of eyes again. Alex and Morgan were raising one sarcastic kid. To be fair, the idea of skipping and not skipping meals did come up a lot in their household.

Speaking of…

“Speaking of, you’d better eat lunch before you go to Ducky’s, or Diego won’t get you guys ice cream at the park.” Alex scooped Hawk up in their arms and headed toward the kitchen. “How’s raw hamburger sound?”

Hawk chittered. With the blood of my enemies!

“Absolutely not,” said Alex. “And don’t try to tell me Morgan lets you drink that stuff—even they wouldn’t give Red Bull to a six-year-old.” Plain coffee, maybe, but not that monstrosity.

Yes they do! Hawk insisted.

“No they don’t.”

Yes they do!

“No they— This is a stupid argument.” They planted Hawk on the kitchen counter and spoke firmly. “You can have chocolate sauce on your hamburger, but no caffeine until you’re older.”

Okay! Hawk wasn’t the least bit dismayed by this result. In fact, it was outright satisfied.

Alex hid their proud grin by turning toward the fridge, wherein lay meat and chocolate sauce both. Their intuitive talent for slaughter and Morgan’s cunning—even if its best friend was a baby hero, their kid was going to fuck up so much shit!

[ijosijen]

Head Parameter Thoughts

I'll probably explain wtf my metadata model is in a future post, but the broad strokes are similar to the minimalist program.

Okok? Cool ima talk about the three biggest word ordering paradigms through the lens of head parameter.

First off, metadata syntax assumes that movement isn't real - there's only projection - and that a phrase's head directionality is information stored in the word class, which is itself a probably a sub-morpheme of the head. (a.k.a metadata on said head)

What's also stored in the head's metadata? Subject and object assignment. No such thing as a subj/predicate here. The verb heads all of its arguments, which means that VO and OV word orders are literally all that there are. Or, rather, if we call an Arg "A" (for now), then the word orders are AA...AV and VA...AA. etc.

The VP is itself going to be headed by a finite marker F. Which is to say that the predicate was real the Whole Time !! i'm sorry,,,,

Inside of the VP, our head verb is casually tossing out theta roles. The exact function of the argument vis-a-vis the verb is - you guessed it - determined by the verb's metadata, which chooses certain arguments as its agents and patients etc etc.

How does it choose them? Speaker choice, though information transfer likes its topic prominence, so let's say that the earliest arg gets subject, other args object, etc etc. As it's assigning these platonic roles, a verb may also literally be assigning marked cases. The subject is basically always there so that's usually pointless, but maybe an accusative. Maybe a dative for a generic indirect object. Maybe other args came with a case, PP or whatnot, so it doesn't really have to worry about those.

Or maybe your lang is ergative and considers a a patient more topical. So the verb's first marked one will be your agent. if you wanna do that. for some reason. Most sentences involve an agent, though ig a few involve a patient -- a situation common enough that it's mostly solved through passive voice. The dative being the most topical element is kind of insane though, and nobody would do this. Very few "topical dative" sentences.

Let's get back to the role'd out VP. it's doing pretty great! Alas, your only two word orders are now SOV and VSO.

This runs into the fundamental issue with how we (humans) like to order things in terms of their topicality. Head initial as a base structure is nicer for our brains because we have to keep less information in the working memory, but it renders a word order that puts the verb (comment-ass information) at the front.

SOV, in exchange for the slightly heavier memory load, is having a topicality party up in here. But enough languages in the head-initial camp figure the subject (the agent) to be so important and topical that they'll take the extra effort to project it up and out into the jacketing tense clause. Most of the metadata (including the phonetic realization data lmao) gets beamed up and out, creating a holographic initial subject nonetheless tethered to its trace inside the VP.

But the SVO was worth it. Like sure it's a bit of a trainwreck and the projection is expensive and now your arguments are separated from one another (bad unliked) but at least the subject is topical, the head-initial order is easier for the listener, and you don't really have to rely on overt nom/acc case markings anymore, with the verb in the way of the surface forms.

These are still three rather goofy options, but from start they're the compromised choices that most languages have gotta and then do end up making. As for our weird ones (VOS, OVS, OSV), i mean. I dunno. But in my eyes they're doing similar gymnastics as the more common orders except it makes things less simple/topical. But there's research to be done there obv.