#i've looked at a thousand different options but i just don't like anything

[eaterofman]

Yandere Coworker Harem x New Hire Reader: A Meeting with the CEO

Follow up to this post

Finally fed up with it all, you decide to leave... but you learn it may not be that easy.

Content Warnings: General creepiness, yanderes, financial manipulation, manipulation, power difference, gaslighting

AN: Holy shit the first part blew up, more so than any post I've ever made on tumblr... ever. Thank y'all, and I hope this lives up to everyone's expectations? Had to ignore a few asks since they were essentially the plot to this part, haha.

As nice as Jake is... it starts to wear on you. The seclusion from your other coworkers, Warren and Jax's constant attention, it all becomes too much. This was the easiest money you've ever made, but it almost felt... condescending in a way. Seriously, you feel like you haven't actually worked in months, just given simple tasks to complete so that Jax could praise you. Otherwise, you felt like you were just eye candy set in a pretty office. No more, you figure. You make up your mind to go back to HR, it's been a long time coming. They either fix it, or you're gone.

With your mind made up, you return to Leon. He'd been so kind before, surely he'd help, right? As you explain your problems to him, he nods and gently smiles. In your distress, you don't notice his hand moving to cover yours, massaging yours comfortingly. You welcome the comforting sensation, overwhelmed to the point of not really considering the implications. You look into his dark eyes as you finish, silently pleading with him for help.

"That really is something. I'm sorry to hear your experience with the company has been so distressing. Tell me, do you have any proof?"

His demeanor seems to shift instantly back to the colder man you remember from your first sight of him. His fingers rubbing gentle circles into your palm shift into a harsher grip.

"Proof? I-I mean, the cameras have probably caught something?"

You'd say there were eyewitnesses, but all of your other coworkers had been avoiding you. You barely even knew their names...

"Unfortunately, our cameras have been malfunctioning lately, I doubt they'd catch anything. Without any actual witnesses, I'm afraid I can't do anything for you."

"How can you say that without even looking? This place is insane- you know what? I'm just quitting. I can't take this anymore."

You try to remove your hand but he keeps it there. His gaze is suddenly ice cold. He lets your hand go after a few moments of tension, fingers lingering before you yank your hand to your chest.

"Ah, you could quit... but I'd really recommend against it. You'd of course have to pay the dues you signed in your contract, as well as any additional fees. I'm not in charge of finances, but my estimate would be somewhere around... 200 thousand or so?"

You gasp, blood running cold. 200 thousand?! You don't remember signing that, but you also don't recall really reading over the contract in your excitement. You try to think of a way out, surely there had to be some sort of loophole-

"Of course, there's always the option of asking the CEO to change your contract, but..."

You'd tuned anything after that out, insisting to meet with the CEO as soon as possible. Which, to your surprise, was almost immediately. Almost like he'd been... waiting for you? Leon himself lead you to the CEO's room, at the very top of the skyscraper your office resided in. As you're let in, you're met with the biggest office you'd ever seen. It composed of the entire top floor of the skyscraper, massive windows encircling the entire ornate office.

You really try to ignore the feeling that you're walking into a trap.

The CEO was patiently waiting for you. Like a king on a throne, he sat in the middle of the room in front of a surprisingly simple desk. You'd heard of the CEO, Kennedy Grey, but you'd never met him in person before. He had an air of sophistication around him, an older gentlemen with salt and pepper hair and a well trimmed beard. His suit was pristine and looked expensive, probably costing more than your entire yearly salary. He smiled, urging the two of you to sit. His eyes glanced over to Leon's, a slight smirk on his face as if the two were in on a joke you weren't.

"So, what brings you two here? I've heard very good things about you from Jax. Things are going well, I presume?"

You fidget, despite his welcoming tone, he felt oddly... menacing. Like you weren't supposed to disagree with him, even if he asked you a question. You begin to explain your issues, but are quickly stopped with a firm look of disapproval when you bring up the idea of leaving the company.

"Now now, we can't have that, can we? With your contract, that wouldn't be a very smart idea, would it?"

Before you can even respond, he simply continues to talk over you.

"No, no it wouldn't. And you've just been such a good worker, we'd just hate to lose you."

"Well, I was actually hoping we could talk about the contract, I just don't think it's fair-" you can barely get your thoughts out as he cuts you off again.

"Unfair? But my dear, you signed it. I'd just hate to get my lawyers involved... they're top of the line, y'know? Besides, you don't actually want to leave, you're just... stressed. What do you need, a paid week off? A bonus for your hard work?"

"No-"

"Well, now that that's done, let's get back to work, shall we? You'll have a bonus on your next pay-"

You've had enough of his condescension and interruptions, it's time for you to interrupt him.

"You know what, I'll take the lawsuit. You people are insane. You can have the money if you want, but I'm out of here."

As you get up, you find you can't. Leon has moved behind you, surprisingly strong arms holding your chair in, preventing you from moving. You look up at him in angered confusion, but he's sharing a look with Kennedy. You once again feel like you're missing an important part of an inside joke again. You try to struggle, but you're stopped as Kennedy interrupts.

"Apartment 101, Evergreen Apartments, right?"

"W-wha-"

"You know, I've been venturing into the rental market recently. Very profitable at the moment. I actually just bought a few buildings in your area, including your little apartment. Such a shame, you know you could do better, right? All you have to do is ask..."

He smiles at you as if this was a normal conversation to him, like he was doing you a favor.

"I guess that makes me your landlord now, if you think about it!" his smile turns colder, eyes crinkling like he's laughing at you, "That being said, I just don't see how you're going to pay for the rent increase without this job. I hate to do it, but it's a necessity, y'know? Cost of living and such."

He waves his hand like it's no big deal, like he isn't playing with your livelihood and threatening you.

"You could move out, of course, but well, word gets around, and I just don't know how the other investors in the area would react to your... history."

You feel dread well up in the pit of your stomach and tears in your eyes. He... has you. What could you even do? Moving out of the city would mean starting over, and that's if you could even find a place and a job to pay for said place, and paying for the lawsuit-

In your panic, you can only whimper, "I just... why? Why me? i don't understand-"

"That's the beauty of it all, you don't have to. All you have to worry about is coming in and doing your job. We'll handle all the rest."

You jump, having almost forgotten Leon was behind you in your panic. You go to open your mouth-

"Wonderful insight, Leon. Now that we're all on the same foot, let's get back to work, shall we?"

You can only numbly nod your head, too overwhelmed to continue fighting.

You're finally allowed to sit up and begin walking towards the door, trying to speed walk out of the huge room that somehow managed to feel claustrophobic. You just wanted out at this point, you needed somewhere to think.

As you step into the elevator, Leon staying behind in the office-thank god-you're interrupted one final time.

"Oh, and I meant what I said. If you ever need any assistance, anything at all, just come to me. All you have to do is ask."

[inkskinned]

oh you know it's all latestage capitalism but the thing is. how are you supposed to be a person inside of this. a person trying to be a better version of yourself.

oh, you started working young, which was kind of hard, but it's just the way stuff works sometimes. and it was 2008 and your family couldn't afford heat. but it's fine, you grow a spine and get used to the professional world and besides it was the suburbs we're talking about here, like, your life could have been actually hard, so what if your father lost his job and you can't afford to move or turn the lights back on. and once you start making money, it's good. you keep doing that. because now they're relying on you. so you have to do that.

oh you were in thousands of dollars of debt at 17 years old so that you could go to school, because you have to go to school if you want to get a "real" job. you even did it "right", you worked parttime and attended community college before you transferred to a public school. you were under so many merit scholarships.

which is fine. you pick yourself up and you say like, okay. i graduated college. i'm holding down a job. i'm doing the Adult Thing, which looks and acts like this, according to all the books i've read. you start with the shitty job and then you climb that corporate ladder.

but the shitty job doesn't cover rent and you stretch yourself too-thin so you get sick. good luck with that. the shitty job no longer pays for your meals. everyone asks why you don't just move, but there's nowhere to move to. and with what money are you going to be moving? and then the loans come back, because they were never going to forgive them, because you were 17 and trying to do the right thing, which was stupid. people are now saying you shouldn't have even gone to school.

which is fine. but because you have no other option, so you do the shitty job, and you apply every day for like 5 new ones, and despite the fact everyone says "there's no one who wants to work!" it's actually just that nobody is fucking hiring so you can either work for 13 dollars an hour in the shitty place you know (where at least you have a passingly friendly relationship with the manager) or you can start from scratch again with a different 13 dollars an hour without knowing how much abuse from the new job you'll be taking.

and if you quit you lose your insurance. if you quit you lose your housing. if you quit, you'll be another burnout kid. the lazy ones. these assholes, look at them!

and you come home to a family dinner and you hear from your father the same old thing. how he worked hard at his job and yes it sucked for a while but he was able to provide for the family and then the house and the dog and the rest of barbie's dream vacation. how the insurance did cover some of it. how you just really need to start speaking up more in manager conversations so they know you're a go-getter. you want to tell him - did you know we're actually doing more now hourly than any previous generation? - but you can't remember where you heard that statistic, and you're far too tired for the fucking argument. and then he starts in on his usual bit. where's the house? where's your kids? where's your ambition.

the same job the same money the same hours doesn't do it anymore. the same nose-to-the-grindstone now just shreds your face off. there's no such thing as upwards mobility, not really. and as far as you're aware, the money certainly is not trickling. you do the soulless stupid shit you signed up for because you fucking have to or else you literally risk your life (food, the apartment, the insurance), but it's not getting you anything. you download the stupid "save more" app and you budget and you do every right thing and then the price of eggs is 7 dollars and you say - oh great! another thing i have to fucking worry about now!

and you go to your stupid job and everyone in your father's generation just tells you to be better about being an adult. they have their homes and their savings account and their bailout and they say. well have you tried not drinking starbucks. well your generation just spends too much on clothing. well you might just be too addicted to travelling. and you - because you need the job - you bite your tongue and don't say i am being held prisoner and you're suggesting i stop pacing my cell if i don't like the scenery and you don't say what the fuck do you think i've been doing with my money and you don't say i haven't spent a cent on something nice in literally forever much less coffee you arrogant asshole. you open and close your bank app and check your loans and check your credit score and check fucking zillow and ziprecruiter and apartments.com just one time more. and still they give you that demeaning little grin and say - see, what you need is -

what you need is for your meds to stop being so fucking expensive. what you need is for the housing bubble to explode into dust. what you need is for billionaires to choke on their wealth. what you need is actual help. what you will get is more economic advice from people who are older-and-wiser.

and above you, almost in a glimmer, you can see the wedged smile of your debt getting toothier, wider.

[uraichievents]

UraIchi Week 2024

Monday, July 1st, 2024 - Sunday, July 7th, 2024

AO3 Collection

Full Prompts List Submitted This Year

(Click images to enlarge. Alt text under the cut.)

What is UraIchi Week?

It’s a week-long fanworks event to promote the Urahara Kisuke x Kurosaki Ichigo ship. There’s no sign-up, it’s just for fun, and everybody can participate. Completed works and wips are both acceptable, and any type of fanwork (fanfic, fanart, gifsets, etc.) is welcome. NSFW and/or potentially trigger-y content is allowed, although please remember to tag your works properly.

The ship itself can be written romantically or platonically, as lovers or friends or even enemies, so long as it stars these two characters together in some way. Poly ships are also fine so long as Ichigo and Kisuke are still the focus of the fanwork. And crossovers and fusions are also allowed even if it isn’t one of the given prompts for the event. Basically, anything goes, and the only criteria is that it has to be UraIchi-centric.

Posting:

UraIchi Week is hosted here on Tumblr and on AO3. For posts on Tumblr, remember to ping @uraichievents and tag #UraIchi Week 2024. For AO3, you can add your work(s) to the collection linked up above. You are also welcome to join the UraIchi Discord server if you haven’t already and come and talk about what you’re working on!

Themes:

July 1st, Day 1: i've met you before / i'll meet you again / this is the first time we've met.. right?

Time Travel / Dimension Travel

Identity Porn / Hidden Identities

“I've suffered from traumatic dreams of my past lives since I was a child, and I'm just now realizing that coming up to a beautiful stranger who looks like someone I've seen die a thousand times in a thousand different ways at a bar and asking if we've met before sounds a lot like a come-on haha no wait come back that doesn't mean I'm not desperately attracted to you please kiss me again” AU

July 2nd, Day 2: It's fact that killable problems are not real problems.

Murder Husbands

Ichigo is Deadpool / unbreakable / any other accidentally immortal being who is really kind of annoyed about it (because it’s boring, and he’s still young enough to be within his lifespan, but it sure takes the fun out of fighting).

All the times Ichigo died, he ACTUALLY died, he just came back. Every time he comes back, he comes back Wronger.

July 3rd, Day 3: Things I Should've Told You / Things I Don't Tell Anyone Else

The skeletons in your closet are about to overflow. Would you like me to tidy it up?

Ichigo is experimenting with self-expression, a hobby, etc., making up for lost time as a regular teenager. Urahara is always the first one (sometimes only one) to see or hear about a new idea.

“The person I trust most is you.”

July 4th, Day 4: Sword and Shield

I am yours to command, use me as you please.

Shiba!Ichigo and Second Division!Kisuke

Summoner/Mage AU: Paired summons who are good apart but unmatched together.

July 5th, Day 5: That One is Mine

Hollow Instincts / Feral Protective

Possessive!Kisuke: He stepped aside for Sui-Feng because Yoruichi was always master first and friend second and love interest never, and because Yoruichi wanted her in a way she's never wanted him. But Ichigo is different, and everyone soon realizes that when Kisuke truly wants something, he always gets it in the end.

“Death can’t have you. You’re mine.”

July 6th, Day 6: Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are born, some are made, and some decide being a monster's pretty fucking cool.

Visored!Urahara Kisuke AU / Vasto Lorde!Kurosaki Ichigo AU

“Ichigo forges a friendship with his Hollow in the Shattered Shaft” AU

vs. Gotei 13 AU: Ichigo time travels back from a future where he was chained to the throne as the next Soul King by the Shinigami.

July 7th, Day 7: Creator’s Choice!

As always, the above prompts are all optional, and you’re free to come with your own ideas. You can also find an excel sheet with all the prompts submitted this year linked up above, so feel free to look through that if you want, and you can also make a copy for yourself.

And that’s it! We’re looking forward to what everyone comes up with!

[suzukiblu]

Would you be willing to post a snippet of think pink? It's been a while since I've seen it on here and I would love to get some think pink crumbs

welllll since you asked so nice, friend . . .

Tim hasn't told him what to do this time, but Kon kinda already has a goal in mind here, so he just grins flirty and dirty at them both again and leans forward towards Tim, giving him a wink as he wags the unwrapped condom at him. 

"You still look good in green, right, man?" he asks teasingly. Tim visibly swallows, and Kon watches his pupils dilate. 

And he feels his cock twitch. 

Fuck, Kon loves his TTK. 

"I'll let you be the judge," Tim says. "Put it on me, pet." 

Kon is very, very happy to. 

He shifts forward a little farther and reaches out, feeling flushed and warm and weirdly . . . excited, almost, to have this. To get to touch Tim this intimately. 

Seriously, if he'd had any idea this was an option sooner . . . 

Well, it sure as shit would've happened a lot sooner. 

He wraps a hand around Tim's cock because he can't quite resist the urge to; can't quite hold back when he's got permission to touch him like this. Permission and encouragement to touch him like this, even. 

Kon feels way, way warmer at that thought. 

Tim inhales quietly. His cock feels weirdly good in Kon's hand; warm and hard and a perfect curve against his palm. Kon licks his lips without quite meaning to and wonders how it's going to feel in his mouth. 

And inside him. 

Fuck. 

He squeezes, once; gives Tim a stroke. Watches his face as he does it. 

Tim exhales, and takes a picture of him. 

Kon wonders what he looks like, if Tim wants a picture of it right now. 

"Fuck, man," Kon says, biting his lip around a grin; giving Tim another stroke or two to get him fully hard. "You always this pretty when you're getting jacked off? I've been missing out." 

"He gets prettier, actually, this is just stage one," Bernard informs him, and Kon resists the urge to squirm at the thought. "Stage one" implies multiple stages, after all. And Bernard mentioning those multiple stages implies Kon being around to get to see those multiple stages. "You should see him right after he's come, when he's all oversensitive and overwhelmed.” 

“Bernard,” Tim says, his voice mostly even but a little tight. 

"Can I see that, Tim?" Kon asks with absolutely every intention of doing so. Tim's face reddens, and his eyes go heated and dark. 

“If you're good for me,” he says, and Kon nearly bites his tongue. 

“Fuck you're hot,” he mutters, immediately taking that as his cue to hurry up and get the damn condom on him already. It's a little weird doing it from the opposite direction he's used to, but it's still something he's done a thousand times, and it's not like it's complicated: he just uses his TTK to make the gesture smooth and quick and do it without having to worry about getting any air trapped in the tip or any risk of tearing or anything. 

“Kon,” Tim says through his teeth. “Did you just use your powers to do that?” 

“Yeah?” Kon says, not sure why he's asking. They both just watched him do it, after all. 

“Do you usually put condoms on that way?” Bernard asks curiously. 

“Yeah,” Kon says. “Makes sure I won't accidentally rip it. And I mean, it's not any different from using my TTK on toys or–” 

“Ngh,” Tim says, putting a hand over his face. 

“Don't take this the wrong way, because just to be clear I love literally every word that has ever come out of your mouth,” Bernard says emphatically, gesturing at Kon as he speaks. “But please stop talking and start sucking off my boyfriend, like, yesterday.” 

Kon's gut twists with heat, and this time he definitely does bite his tongue. It's fine; his tongue is invulnerable. Like. Mostly. 

Fuck. 

“Tim,” he says, leaning in a little closer than he means to and giving his cock a few more exploratory strokes as he does, and the name comes out just a bit pleading. “I can, right? You'll let me?” 

Tim exhales roughly and drags his hand down his face, splaying his fingers to stare intently at him. Kon's gut twists up even tighter. He wants to kiss him again. He wants to knock him over and touch him everywhere and stay so much longer than a long weekend and just–

“Would you like that, pet?” Tim says, and Kon feels restless and overheated and just–hungry, for lack of a better word. 

“Yeah,” he says, swallowing at the thought. His mouth feels . . . it waters, almost. Feels . . . empty, almost. Eager. 

Greedy. 

He doesn't really know how else to put it. 

“Hm,” Tim says as he reaches out with a hand and threads his fingers into Kon's hair, and then curls them against his scalp and sort of . . . scritches, like he's petting a dog or a cat or something. 

Like he's petting him. 

Kon's every single higher thought process shorts out and he feels like an electric shock just went up his spine and through all his muscles and stays very, very still. 

He wants to say Tim's name. He wants to push into the contact. 

He wants Tim to tell him how to be good. 

“You know I want to give you things you like, pet,” Tim murmurs, and then he flattens his hand against the top of Kon's head and just . . . doesn't push or anything, but . . . 

Kon can lift literal tons without breaking a sweat and take a hit from a fucking train without even noticing the impact. He can withstand gravity that'd crush an unenhanced human and impacts that'd outright pulp them. 

The barely-there little weight of Tim's hand on his head is absolutely impossible to resist.

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

Rak's Cartier Bracelets - EPISODES 1 TO 5

Hello, Tumblr. Today I hope not to be simply another Tumblrina with opinions but also a neurodivergent Tumblrina with hyperspecific interests and life history that come in handy for this particular purpose.

What interests and what history, you ask? Ah, but, of course! My deep knowledge of the Cartier Love Collection from, obviously, being a HunHan conspirationist in 2014 at the ripe age of 12.

Now, if I've satisfied your curiosity, let us begin.

So I was watching episode 5 today (don't blame me, I wanted to watch it sooner but I was on vacation bc my sister gave me a trip to Sevilla as a birthday gift) and one thing caught my attention during the argument scene.

That bad boy I very carefully (not really) identified for you is one of the most iconic Cartier products ever: A Love Bracelet™.

"Ok. Cool. But why does that matter?"

Well, for once it proves Rak is rich as fuck. Those bracelets go for THOUSANDS of euro. Like... The cheapest bracelet in the Love Collection is the intertwined rings bracelet in gold and rose gold (the white gold one is more expensive)

And it sells rn for 2120€ (2300$).

And that's for sure NOT the version Rak has!

From what I can tell, he's wearing this version:

Which is the classic Love Bracelet design in white gold.

This one is selling rn for 8750€ (9490$).

I think there can be an argument that he's actually wearing either the brushed version (left photo) or the small version (right photo)

which, respectively, are being sold for 8750€ (9490$) and 5650€ (6121$) but I think the version Rak has is

too shiny to be the brushed version;

too thick to be the small version.

Either way, it's a fucking expensive bracelet.

But this is not even why I wanted to point this out, I mean, yeah, of course Rak is rich, we are all well-aware of that.

The point here is that this bracelet is not just famous for being pretty (which, as far as my judgement goes, it really isn't, sorry not sorry). It is famous, more than anything else, bc of its meaning, which I'll let the brand tell you all about:

Which is why it caught my attention that Rak, of all people, is wearing one of these. Like... What the hell does this mean???

So I decided to investigate when did this bracelet first appear in order to have a feel whether or not this could potentially be plot-relevant, a character descriptor or simply a fashion choice. And what I found, my dear friends, is that this bracelet first appeared right at the beginning of ep.4.

Which is very suspicious because ep.3, we all recall, ended with Rak promising Mut that he'd stay on the island for a bit more.

BUT, before we start jumping to conclusions, I decided to check whether this bracelet stands the trial of ep.5 and remains until the very end which, big and revelant surprise, it does NOT.

It gets replaced, in the scene of the day after the fight by this one:

Which, I get it, it might be hard to see and identify but it's actually an old friend. In fact, it's the only other bracelet Rak has ever worn:

This has been on his wrist from the beginning of ep.1 to the end of ep.3 (excluding times when Rak was showering, sleeping or doing other activities where having a metal bracelet in the shape of a sharp nail would be impractical). And, would you look at that, if it isn't indeed: another Cartier bracelet. This time, a Juste Un Clou Collection bracelet.

Now, Juste Un Clou (literally Just a Nail), which is also fucking expensive (9500€ - 10292$ for the model he is wearing) has a bit of a different concept than Love, which is:

So what does it mean?

Well, there are some options but I'll tell you what I think makes the most sense:

Throughout the first episodes we see Rak being this person who's different from everyone else on the island. He's from the city, he's rich, he has a desk job, he even looks different from the people in the island, from what Muk says! (which, I get it, it's colourist and has it own set of issues and I don't love it at all but hey, I don't make canon, I just comment on it, so that's what we got and that's what I'll be doing)

He's also independent, he has his own money, pays for his own stuff, doesn't rely on other people. He wants to do everything alone, without Mut, even when it makes his life harder, when it's impractical, when it would be better to have help.

He also tries to be fearless, put on a front. He argues with Mut, wants to cast a shadow way bigger than himself to assert his place, wants to seem untouchable, like nothing could bring him down. We know, of course, it's not true, both us as the audience and Mut learn that through prolongued contact with Rak and exposure to his weaknesses and traumas but he still tries to uphold that image.

And, of course, he tries to be free in the sense that he tries not to create emotional attachments. ESPECIALLY not to Mut. Because he doesn't believe in love and doesn't think he can fall in love and he tries so, so hard not to let himself want and need people, he likes to act like he has no strings attached, like he can go about the world without thinking of anyone that gives sense to the word "home".

So, by making Rak wear this bracelet, what the show is telling us is essentially who Rak is or who he tries to be. These are the values that Rak upholds. In this sense, the Juste Un Clou bracelet is a character descriptor.

HOWEVER, after the most vulnerable, most beautiful post sex conversation in the history of Thai BL, Rak begins wearing the Love Bracelet. And this indicates a shift.

Now, the shift is not so much a change in Rak's personality (although there is some, he's been slowly changing since ep.1) but rather in what the narrative wants us to know now. Because, by now, we know Rak. We can discern all these characteristics, we don't need the bracelet as an identifier. What we need, rather, is to know that Rak means what he told Mut. Because he feels it.

See, contrary to the Juste Un Clou bracelet which is a bit more remarkable because of its unusual shape, the Love Bracelet seems fairly common, especially if you're not staring at Peat's people's dainty wrists. So you, much like the people around Mut and Rak, could miss the way in which Rak cares for Mut, because that love is unconventional, not bound by those traditional ways in which people demonstrate that sort of feeling (like Mut does, for example). Some could say... Free-spirited. Or, as well, because Rak himself is trying his hardest not to take note of it, burying it away and dismissing it. To no avail, however, because it is still there, as all of us can see (just like the bracelet). And, by the looks of it, will be locked there forever.

"Okay, Dante, but then why does Rak go back to the other bracelet? Is he no longer in love?"

Please have object permanence, darling, not all that exists can be seen at all times. Kkdkddjsjsks /j

Or, in other words: no, that's not it.

What it is, though, is that the narrative, once again, wants us to focus on other stuff.

As Mut tells Rak this episode (ep.5, for those in the future), he's been away, doing other stuff, buried in work... He's been complying to his duties and going back to the bad habits that cast a shadow over Rak's personality and who he really is, what he really wants.

So, that's why, when he chooses to indulge Mut and pay attention to him on his own (unlike what happens earlier in the episode, where Mut has to ask for this attention), he is back to wearing the Juste Un Clou bracelet. He's showing his colours again, of that independent person who's not just another city guy in the city but special in his own way.

It also serves to show us the subtle ways in which Rak is chaging. That free quality, for example, is slowly starting to mean not free from attachments but rather free from the chains of the trauma that is holding Rak back from forming and indulging in those attachments.

And, to top it all off, I have one smaller notice to add which is refering to the colour of the bracelets.

Now, for those who aren't familiar with jewelry metal, white gold is not white, it's silverish. And I say silverish because I mean exactly that: it is NOT silver, it's silverish. It still retains a warmish yellow undertone to it.

But I know, if you have a good eye, you can tell neither of the bracelets I showed you have a warmish yellow undertone to it. Good spot! That is because Cartier's bracelets have something that is actually pretty common: a rhodium-finish. This is what makes them so silver. And precisely why I think the colour matters.

You see... To the average person, who has no idea about Cartier bracelts and whatnot, both the bracelets might seem like a common metal bracelet. Not very valuable. And yet, they are white gold and worth a considerable amount of money.

If we translate that into the meanings I just explained, that would mean that people see Rak, this brat, spoiled, cold man and think him annoying, heartless, not worth their time. Same as I explained with Rak's kind of love: weak, barely even there, not real. Or even, if you want to interpret the Love Bracelet as a representation of Mut himself, then him as well. Judged as a simple person, boring, with nothing to offer but that is actually worth a lot. At least to Rak, who bought both the bracelet and Mut.

SO, what are the conclusions? Well...

Rak is FUCKING LOADED (and if he wants to provide for me as well, I'd gladly accept the offer, thank you);

Rak is an extremely complex character who's secrets are very much fun to uncover;

This series pays a lot of attention to small details and I love it for it!

And that's it.

It was a long post, I know so I'm sorry but I had to share my thoughts sdjkdjdkdjskdj

I'll keep an eye on this for the next episodes and if I have anything to add I'll let you guys know.

Also if you wanna add to this discussion feel free to, I'd love to hear it!!

All the love!! 💜💜💜

[isnt-it-pretty]

please only read this if you finished cyno’s story quest!

I absolutely loved the story quest and cyno’s dynamic with everyone else but cyrus left me a bit disappointed… not in his character overall but in his actions. he had good intentions but took cyno away from his origins, denied him answers when cyno asked (cyno said he asked many times about hermanubis and the temple and cyrus always avoided answering him) and since cyno suffered under hermanubis it would’ve been his right to know where it stems from since he couldn’t recall… cyrus probably did it to protect him but he cut cyno off from his culture and people. Bamoun and cyrus owe cyno and sethos a lot in my honest opinion and cyrus still kept avoiding answering cyno at the end of his quest (cyno even calls this out) which just shows me he didn’t learn anything at all from the events.

he also had the option to try and reach out to cyno’s biological parents because they might’ve given him away to provide a better life for him (but I have to say as a middle easterner I’m tired of this poor parents give their children away etc etc narrative we had the same with collei)

cyrus also didn’t feel responsible enough for sethos after taking everything away from him or even leaving him behind back then even he knew it’s bad for him.

cyno and sethos both suffered under the actions of cyrus and bamoun and deserve so so much better cyno is a perfect example of ethnic children being taken in by white people and having their cultures and roots taken away from them. not to mention we know that cyno did maybe have a better life in the akademiya but he was still surveilled and treated like a lab rat and discriminated and isolated until he met tighnari

sorry for this little rant. I still appreciate everything cyrus did for cyno but I think this is also an important part of his very flawed character and ideals. in the end of the quest it even felt like he was manipulating cyno by showing him the photos which he “miraculously” found again showing him “look who raised and took you in”

Sorry I just saw this! First, please never apologize for sending me long asks, I love them! Also congratulations anon, I successfully had to log onto tumblr on my PC to type out this response lol. This is... very long, longer than your ask. I'm so sorry, this is the first post I've made with my thoughts on the quest, so it's going to be a bit of a ramble in return and probably not totally coherent.

Okay, so, full disclosure, I am super white. I mean I look like Barbie sort of white. That means that I don't think I can have any constructive input on the trope (arguably cliché) of middle eastern and BIPOC+Asian characters giving away (or selling, in Cyno's case) their children, so I will definitely defer to your discomfort with the concept. It's definitely a pervasive trope (see: Collei, Dehya, Cyno) and not just in Genshin Impact. It's something that is absolutely worth bringing up and thinking about, and I bet most people didn't even consider it, so thank you for voicing it as something you've noticed! Because of this, I don't feel comfortable talking about whether or not Cyrus should have looked for Cyno's parents, because it's very wrapped up in the narrative vs the damage of the trope, which has a lot to dissect and would be better done by somebody more educated.

As for the quest, I think I've gotta split this into two parts to have my thoughts make sense. God this is so long.

-

First, as a basis, the whole thing with Hermanubis is actually so fucked up from the start even before we can get to Cyrus and Cyno. I mean Hermanubis was an advisor to King Deshret, right? (Also that was two-thousand years ago, but he only died five-hundred years ago? Did I misunderstand that? Was he immortal? The timeline in this game could use an entirely different post because between Cyno and the Hearth kids it makes zero sense, but ANYWAYS-). Presumably, having witnessed this, Hermanubis knows the danger of Forbidden Knowledge and fucking with things that should not be fucked with.

After the fall of Tulaytullah, the Temple of Silence moved to the rain forest but left due to corruption, right? So you'd think they would have agreed on the basic Cardinal Sins of the Akademiya. But now, four hundred years later, the Temple of Silence's attempt to ressurect Hermanubis breaks at least one of those sins (tampering with life and death), and arguably two more (interfering with human evolution and/or attempting the forbidden and fearing none.) I really can't imagine Hermanubis would be happy with their actions. This is like the Akademiya trying to ressurect Rukkadevata (and boy do I have a fic I want to write that digs into those parallels of Cyno and Nahida.)

The very basis for the experiment they did on Sethos and Cyno is so unethical and corrupt. This killed adults so they thought, hey! It's not going to kill the children, right? Lets do it on them despite the negative effects (headaches and fevers). Bamoun's children even volunteered Sethos, which, again, is so fucked up.

Narratively, the quest didn't focus on this at all. It was never framed as something negative or messed up like you'd think it would be? I imagine it's because they didn't want to paint Bamoun and Cyrus as bad people or Sethos as indoctrinated. (What's interesting to me is how differently some situation are treated vs others in different quests. Arguably, Wriothesley, Arlecchino, and Cyno have parts in common that are condemned to totally different extents depending on the character, but that could be it's own post too).

We can talk about Cyrus taking Cyno and whether or not that was a good decision (removing children from their culture is never a good thing but we'll get to that) but we also can't really get into it without first talking about how the entire thing was absolutely horrid and wrong from the start. We're starting the conversation about Cyrus from a remarkably low place.

Okay, onto Cyrus and the quest. I actually think it's okay that Cyrus is a flawed character. We already knew he was super strict when he was teaching Lisa and Cyno, and we knew he was into some unethical shit since we already knew he was part of the experiments on Cyno, albeit not to this extent. (Also Naphis knows all about this so what does that say about him? All the Sages are so sus, but, I mean, isn't that just government?)

Here's the thick of it. Was Cyrus taking Cyno to the rain forest a good decision? I don't know. We just don't know enough about why he left and took Cyno. The quest didn't frame the action one way or the other, nor did it give the reasons he left or Bamoun didn't go after him.

There's generally three ways to frame this. 1. Cyrus was a saviour for taking Cyno from an abusive environment. 2. Cyrus was awful and stole Cyno's power for himself. I don't think either of these make sense, since in either case, I think Bamoun would have gone after them. I think most likely is 3. There were conflicting needs.

The one I'm leaning towards right now is that The Temple of Silence was desperate and willing to push harder than they should, even if it was going to harm the children, so as an outsider with a different perspective and more objectivity, Cyrus stopped the experiment. He knew Sethos wasn't at risk of being harmed nearly as much as Cyno because Sethos had a family there already looking out for him. Cyno didn't. People care less about a child who isn't part of their community vs one who is. So he took the child who was far more likely to be harmed, and left. Taking Sethos would have been even worse than just taking Cyno, imo, since it would be taking Sethos away from his family, whereas Cyno was already taken from his family. Bamoun realized the same thing in hindsight, which is why he let Cyrus and Cyno go. But again, that's just a headcanon about what happened.

As for the rest of the problem. While as previously mentioned, I'm very white, I'm also Canadian (I promise this is relevant). A bit of Canadian history here for those who might not know, Canada once had something called Residential Schools. These were boarding school for indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their parents to be "educated." There was a lot of abuses in them and I cannot over represent the amount of damage it has done to the indigenous peoples of Canada and the country as a whole, but the main reason I bring it up here is because of the way the government tried to kill indigenous culture through their children. While I don't think this was Cyrus' intent at all, it is a real world example very close to my heart of the damage it does to children to be cut off from their cultures. We see it in fostering and adopting children as well. Indigenous foster children are best kept with indigenous foster families when at all possible. Foster parents are told to try their best to keep their foster children connected to their cultures in the home but that isn't always achieved, nor is there always even an effort made. Mixed race families often practice both cultures with their children because know how important it is.

The fact that Cyno was completely cut off from the desert is wrong, and it would have been very difficult for him to face the discrimination for being a race that he has no cultural connection to. It's something Cyrus absolutely should have done more about. I mean The Corps of Thirty are eremites even if they aren't from the desert! Cyrus could have reached out to them on Cyno's behalf to introduce him to people who share cultural aspects (young!Dehya and Cyno friendship anyone?). He could have taken Cyno to Aaru Village (young Candace and Cyno friendship?) or at least spent time in Caravan Ribat. The only reasons I can think he didn't is because he was trying to keep Cyno away from the Temple of Silence out of fear they'd come after him (well intentioned but still harmful), he didn't think about it (obliviously harmful), he didn't have the time (willfully neglectful).

Cyrus also absolutely should have told Cyno about The Temple of Silence and Hermanubis, especially when he got a little older (although I'm for raising children with that sort of knowledge. Secrets only hurt later). Assume best intentions, he was pprobably trying to protect Cyno, maybe because he wanted Cyno to find his own path instead of the one the Temple of Silence laid out for him, but I still think that was a mistake to keep it a secret.

Cyrus is a very flawed person, but so are a lot of parents. That doesn't mean that his actions were right or justified, but it does make him an interesting character. It also makes his relationship with Cyno interesting. Canonically, Cyno isn't angry. He's already struggled and come to terms with who he is and what his power means, but I still think he and Cyrus need to sit down and have a long conversation. Cyno deserves answers about Cyrus' motives and decisions and they need to talk about Cyrus trying to protect Cyno vs Cyno not needing that protection, ways Cyrus should have acted differently, etc. I'd love to see somebody explore it; it would be interesting to see since it's definitely overdue, but I don't think I could do it justice.

I don't think it's wrong of Cyno to forgive Cyrus. We as the outside observer can say, "whoa, that's fucked up," but I don't think Cyno is necessarily wrong in how he feels. Like I said, he's already dealt with a lot of this already and is remarkably resilient. I think the hardest part of all this for Cyno would probably be Sethos, because that's definitely going to be a ton of messy emotions, but that doesn't have to reflect on Cyrus. It could, of course, and if somebody wanted to write Cyno as being angry and fracturing their relationship, that would be a valid way to go, but like, idk, I know a lot of people who made really bad decisions when raising their kids, and their kids still forgave them. Not always, and being a parent doesn't mean somebody deserves forgiveness for their mistakes, but I think it shows how resilient Cyno is that he bounces back from this so well. It shows his strength in his how convictions and beliefs, which is really interesting when compared to characters like Sethos and Kaeya (and man are there a lot of similarities between Cyno and Kaeya).

I also don't think finding those photos was intended to be Cyrus manipulating Cyno, but I can see how it feels that way. Since the quest was about Cyno, it felt like a nice narrative way to tie it together by reflecting on Cyno's childhood with Cyrus, but I think it really depends on how you view the entire situation and whether you think Cyrus should have taken Cyno. It's definitely a valid take and something that's okay to feel uncomfortable about.

This is where people might disagree with me, but Cyno grew up loved. He had a lot of challenges and Cyrus made a lot of mistakes, and love doesn't fix how fucked up it all is (lots of adopted kids are loved and still hurt by not having a connection to their culture), but Cyno has already accepted all of this and ultimately, he has forgiven Cyrus for his mistakes. I think that's what the photos were trying to depict.

To me, the entire quest does a very good job of using Cyno and Sethos as foils of each other. They're both paying for the decisions of the people who raised them, and neither are right or wrong, just different. It shows Cyno's growth as a person vs Sethos who hasn't yet found his way. It shows that neither Cyrus or Bamuon made the right decisions, nor were they evil people. They were doing the best they could at the time, and they both fucked up, and now it's up to Sethos and Cyno to figure it out, but they both still love their family despite whatever mistakes were made.

I hope this rambling essay length response is satisfying lol

[khaire-traveler]

Hiii!

I just wanted to ask if you have any resources that could help me decipher dreams? I've been having some weird ones lately and I feel like it might have something to do with the gods.

Also is there any god or goddess who is related to Nausicaa in any way?

Ps.: Happy late 22nd birthday! :))

-👾

Khaire, 👾! Thank you for the birthday wish! I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this; my life has been pretty hectic lately. 💀

So, I had originally saved a draft of this, but since Tumblr hates me, I have to retype everything. TvT

I don't know of any resources you could use from dream interpretation, BUT I will list some deities you can contact who can likely be of help to you as well as sharing my own methods for interpretation. The deities will be Greek deities, mostly due to the fact that these are the only deities I know much about in relation to dream interpretation, but if you're looking for other pantheons, I'm certain there are other options out there!

The deities are as follows:

Hypnos - He is the first on the list because he is the one I hear the most often about. Hypnos is the Greek god - and personification - of Sleep. Within mythos, I believe he's said to have one thousand kids (can you imagine? 💀) that are personifications of dreams. They're called the Oneiroi, and you could certainly reach out to them as well, but I don't recommend doing so without being familiar with Hypnos first. Anyway, I've heard many worshippers of Hypnos describe his helpfulness with sleep quality, having more dreams, remembering dreams, interpreting dreams, and lucid dreaming. I've only ever asked him for pleasant sleep, I believe, but I trust the sources that have told me about his skill regarding dreams. I highly suggest looking into him as a first option; he is extremely knowledgeable in this domain.

Morpheus - I know I literally just said I wouldn't recommend reaching out to the Oneiroi without being familiar with Hypnos first, but Morpheus is the leader of the Oneiroi and has definitely assisted humans with this before. He is a deliverer of dreams - the personification of dreaming itself - and has been described as delivering messages from the gods in dreams. Many worshippers I've met of his are specifically looking to improve something with their dreams, be it less nightmares, dream interpretation, and even receiving dream messages from deities more often. He is a great deity to work with when it comes to anything regarding dreaming and sleep. I highly recommend him, but know that I don't have direct experience with him.

Hermes - This might seem weird and random to mention, but Hermes, the Greek god of Many Things™, actually has a domain in sleep and dreams. His caduceus, within mythology, has the power to wake people up from sleep, put them to sleep, determine what kind of death a person would have, open doors (???), bring peace between two fighting parties, among many, many other things. Being a Messenger god, there is an association made amongst modern worshippers that he has the ability to deliver or send dreams. I remember hearing of this in a historical context, but I can't seem to find the source. Anyway, many people have worked with him for dream interpretation specifically, seeing that he is a Messenger god. He is pretty well-known for helping his worshippers interpret and understand things better. I've asked him for assistance directly in dream interpretation, and he's been extremely helpful!

I hope this list is useful to you!

That aside, I'll go into the way that I personally tend to interpret my own dreams. An important note to make is that my methods may not work for you because our minds likely work differently and our dreams may be vastly different. It might be worth a try, though, if you feel you're out of other options. The way that I interpret dreams seems to be kind of different than what I often see online. I tend to come at dreams from a more psychological and literary perspective.

When I say "psychological", I mean that I look for themes relating to past traumas and and current situations. Did I experience a lot of fear in the dream? What exactly was I afraid of? What does this fear remind me of in my waking life? These questions can be really useful in figuring out what a dream is communicating, especially useful for nightmares; I've found that nightmares are often trying to get our attention to solve or address a particular problem in our waking lives. Sometimes deities will use nightmares to communicate something extremely important to us. I've had this experience before, and while it can obviously be unpleasant, these nightmares have helped me focus on the roots of problems rather than the surface level issues. Anyway, though, this method can also be useful in identifying why I performed certain actions and behaviors in dreams. Was I acting strangely? Were the people around me acting strangely? Were the actions/behaviors I had emphasizing something? Just some more questions to help clarify what I mean.

When I say "literary", I mean that I dissect dreams like a piece of writing. I look for recurring symbols or topics (butterflies, thievery, monsters, etc.); I examine the themes of the dream (what lesson is the dream trying to convey, if any? what is the overarching theme, if any?); I take note of the people/characters that appear in the dream (real-life friends vs. strangers I say are friends, the profession they have, their specific actions, etc.); I make sure to record anything that specifically stuck out to me (a seemingly small object, a specific phrase that was said, an animal in the background, etc.). I look at my dreams with the perspective that I can make sense of these symbols, themes, and people. Look at your dream as if it's a story. What do you notice about it. What stuck with you most? What is the dream about overall?

I do also have some commentary on how to tell if a dream is from a deity. Typically, the more comprehensive a dream is, the more likely it is to be from a deity. This is obviously not always true, but I find that deities will often have a specific message they're trying to convey, even if it's just "hey, I want you to work with/worship me". I also notice that dreams from deities will often include their sacred symbols or give off a general vibe of "[insert deity here]'s presence/energy". I find that dreams from Loki, for example, have a more chaotic, fast-paced energy to them along with featuring funny situations or serious situations with strange/funny parts to it. Dreams from Athena, however, tend to have a more serious tone with a lot of hero imagery/implications or having some kind of objective being worked towards. Another pretty obvious way is usually when a deity is explicitly featured in a dream. Sometimes they're mentioned by name while others they just make a guest star appearance. I'd say it's usually pretty obvious when it's just your brain being silly vs. when a deity is making an actual appearance. Typically, silly brain will depict deities in super strange ways (doing weird ass things that make no sense, looking like stereotypical media portrayals, saying the most random shit ever that has absolutely no meaning, etc.), but sometimes it can be tough to tell (deity is depicted in a way they usually appear to you, deity is saying things that make sense, deity is being silly but not random, etc.). My advice, regardless of whether you're sure you've had a deity sent dream or not, is to always contact the deity directly afterwards to see if you've had a dream and what it's meaning is.

I'm not sure if my methods will be helpful, but I hope they can at least give you somewhere to start. I also hope you find my list of deities to be helpful! Take care, Nonny, and good luck!

[yellowhollyhock]

vent post got long

there have been different experiences throughout my life that can make it hard to talk

difficulty with volume control. especially as a little kid (3-5); yelling when I meant to talk, talking when I meant to whisper, whispering when I meant to keep the thought in my head. I'm sure my memory is skewed but it felt like I was always in trouble for it, from peers as much if not more than adults

fast forward a few years, and for the biggest chunk of my childhood, it's thinking I'm projecting when I'm really not. No one can hear me. People are constantly frustrated with me for not speaking up. It's easier to just not speak.

theatre classes helped a lot. I started to love public speaking. Even started to not hate socializing quite as much.

then had to go to college. all the skills I'd built up for years seemed to disappear for no reason. looking back such a big change in all my environments and routines would of course cause skill regression. but I didn't understand anything about myself at the time, I thought I was just stupid. And everyone still expected me to be smart. When I tried to ask for help they'd remind me how smart I was.

and then recently, somewhere in the middle of all that--a string of roommates/co-workers/felt like everyone around me with no escape, had this attitude of perfectionism.

Sending a text? there are a thousand ways to make the person on the receiving end immediately assume you hate them because you didn't follow their made-up rules about emojis and punctuation (I would try to explain that not everyone is like that, and if someone misunderstands you can always clarify, but being surrounded by people who were in fact looking for reasons to assume your text had ill intent made it harder and harder to believe)

Making cookies for a friend? Well don't bring them over on a paper plate ugh if someone did that to me I would feel so insulted. We need to actually put effort in so they know we actually care.

Literally walking back to the apartment looking at the moon together, completely relaxed until suddenly I'm in trouble for apparently not being emotional enough about it? sounding bored or something? got teased about it for weeks, at least it seems that way when I try to remember.

Those are real literal examples. It was like that all the time I thought I was losing my mind. Reinforced a deep mistrust of my peers that I thought I had grown past (that I worked really hard for years to grow past in spite of being treated badly because I believed things would get better and that at least part of the problem was my attitude). I think some part of me expected that it'd get better because my peers had become adults. Stupid assumption

Had one roommate early on who wasn't like that. Fell in love with her--didn't know I liked girls before that--transferred schools (was going to anyway), lost touch

Writing is a coping skill I've relied on since I could write. Volume isn't a factor. How long it takes me to put together my ideas isn't a factor (in texting it sometimes is, but expectations are also lower for how coherent my ideas are--unless someone raises them again). Figuring out when it's my turn to talk is much less of a factor.

For the past like 3ish years I don't think I've ever had less than 50 unread texts. College and other experiences surrounding it absolutely destroyed the things I used to love about myself. I'm building back up. But it's hard. It's hard that everyone else perceives dropping out as the big problem when it's actually the first decision that felt like mine in a long time and the only reason I was able to start writing again. And start speaking again. I have shorter non-verbal periods and usually am able to string together adult-sounding sentences (I hate describing it that way but I don't know how else to explain. In college I would have a really hard time getting words out but didn't feel like not talking was an option, so I'd skip pronouns and prepositions, my pronunciation was slurred and my volume control was out of whack. This also only happened sometimes, and was really humiliating to get stuck in in front of people who were used to hearing me talk 'normal') (giving myself permission to use what my mom use to call 'baby talk' has been one of the hardest things and also one of the most helpful)

Anyway when I take forever to respond to messages I'm not ignoring and I'm not mad. it's probably because I've forgotten how to make feelings into words. It helps a ton that on here I'm talking about things I choose with people who are nice to me, but it still happens where I just get stuck thinking that anything I say will be taken as an insult and scared that I'm gonna sound stupid

[snowdropluck204]

You're My Prize - Shoto Todoroki x Mafia! Fem! Reader

Hello my lovelies! I have seen a few mafia AU fanfics, but in all of them, it was the reader who was all weak and helpless but no more! I hope you guys like this, it was just a random idea I got when I was listening to music! Enjoy!

As always, the tip button is at the bottom of the post, obviously it's completely optional but it's always appreciated!

Todoroki might seem a bit out of character, I assure you, this is on purpose!

Shoto pov

Restful sleep was not something I was massively used to, but this was relatively peaceful, at least it would have been if I wasn't moving around so much, 'Why am I moving around so much?' I thought to myself, trying my hardest to open my eyes only to wind up with a headache.

'Why? Why won't you open?' I cried in my head, starting to get frightened, my own body wasn't listening to me, I wanted to get up!

As I was thinking this, the rocking about began to soften, whatever I was moving in was coming to a slow stop, giving me some time to think properly. From what I could tell, I was in a car, but was I alone? I was warm, like someone had wrapped me in blankets and now that I was coming to, I could feel someone's arms wrapped around me, carrying me… Somewhere…

I don't know how long it had been since I felt myself being taken out of the car, but I was finally able to open my eyes, they were blurry and I somehow still felt tired but I tried to focus as I looked around the room I was in.

It was beautiful! I was shocked, I was unconscious, moved to an unknown location and now I was in a room that looked like it came directly from a fairy tale! I was lying in a four poster bed with the most comfortable sheets I've ever felt, clean white sheets. I moved to stand, beginning to look around more. The room was painted a pale blue colour, the floor, a plush white carpet, felt incredible under my bare feet.

I was so lost in where I was, I was startled by a gentle knocking on the door, rushing to lay back down in the comfortable bed. It was rare that anyone but Fuyumi knocked on my door, not after Touya came home… I tried to answer, or invite the person in, purely to sate my curiosity, but no words came out, my throat was sore and dry.

Luckily, I didn't have to say anything, the knocker came in anyway and I was immediately in awe. She was gorgeous! (h/c) hair that had a subtle shine, (e/c) eyes that glistened with a thousand different emotions, (s/t) skin that seemed to be completely flawless to me. Who was she? Did she bring me here?

She seemed to have not noticed that I was awake so I took some more time to observe her. She was wearing simple clothing, practical but cute, she was carrying a tray with some food and a jug of water, along with a glass. She wore a gentle smile on her face, she looked so calm and I couldn't help but want to reach out and touch her.

I was still stuck in my trance when she finally turned around to look at me, she jumped slightly, letting out a light laugh, before placing the tray that she nearly dropped on the bedside table next to me. She pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed, she was quiet for a while, before beginning to speak in a voice I would hear in my head until the end of time.

"I'm glad you finally woke up, I was getting worried, how are you feeling?" She asked me, I was touched, she didn't know me, or at least I didn't know her and yet here she was, trying to make sure I was okay. I nodded, not really giving a straight answer, instead staring longingly at the water I was too nervous to ask for.

The mystery woman seemed to realise what I was looking at, "Aw I'm sorry sweetie! I should've taken care of you as soon as I came in, here you are," Once again, her kindness made me feel warm and tingly. She poured me a glass of water, which I chugged down in a very messy way, if I wasn't so thirsty, I would probably be incredibly embarrassed, but I couldn't care less right now!

"Poor baby, you're parched huh?" She asked with her honey voice, she gave me the food she'd brought and I was so busy eating and drinking, I hadn't noticed her fingers running softly through my hair. She was obviously trying to soothe me and it was working, god it was working! I was unused to the affection even before Touya came home, but after that it was almost like I didn't exist.

When Touya, or then known as Dabi, returned to the family, our father realised just how powerful he had gotten, preferring to continue training him than me, at first, I didn't mind, until I realised the only reason he was relatively nice to me was because I had something to offer… I was completely abandoned, it would have been better if he'd left me on the streets! I'd become nothing more than a servant to my father and brother.

Once I'd finished eating, I was tired again, the feeling of soft skin against my scalp, the warmth through my hair accelerating my slumber. I looked up at the woman, she was smiling gently at me, I smiled back, it was almost a compulsion, I had to smile back. "I- I'm Shoto…" I whispered, hoping she could hear me, she seemed to.

"Hi Shoto, my name is (y/n)," Once again, her voice was intoxicating and her name… (y/n), beautiful.

(y/n) got a notification from her phone, pulling her hand back to check, I was almost ashamed with how I followed her hand, not wanting to be separated from her just yet, I had never felt this close to someone, I had also never blushed this much before. (y/n) sighed, staring at her phone before moving her enchanting gaze to meet my eyes again.

"I'm sorry honey, I've got to go, business." She didn't seem like she wanted to leave, which made me very happy, I wanted to spend more time with her too, but she had to go.

"Could I come?" I asked, trying not to seem too eager, I don't think I succeeded…

(y/n) chuckled softly, furthering my blush, she shook her head gently, "Not today baby, maybe next time, stay put, okay?" She spoke to me as though she were talking to a frightened child, she was babying me and I wasn't mad about it, it actually felt quite nice. I was curious to see what she did for a living. I personally thought she would run a flower shop, or a cat cafe, you know, something sweet and cute.

(y/n) left my side, after another ruffle of my hair and a forehead kiss which left me processing the event for another twenty minutes.

~ Two Hours Later ~

I know (y/n) told me to stay here, but I was getting bored! I wanted to explore and I didn't hear (y/n) lock me in here, so she was probably expecting me to leave…

I opened the door, trying to be as quiet as I could, I didn't know how many people were here and how dangerous they could be, I mean, even the hallways were huge, there were hundreds of different rooms! Surely (y/n) didn't live here, or own this entire building, she would have to be one of the richest, most powerful people in Japan!

I'd found a bunch of cool rooms, they were all gigantic! I saw an indoor pool, next to big windows showing an outdoor pool, there was a bathroom that could have been a spa directly across from the room I was left in and I managed to find an office that may as well have been a library!

I was used to living in a fairly luxurious home, but this was a lot to take in! I managed to finally find the staircase that led downstairs, if you could call them stairs, marble steps, extravagant banisters and lush red carpet spread all the way down. I was still barefoot as I was heading down the stairs, the marble giving me goosebumps.

As I was making my way through the hallways downstairs, I heard voices, some rather concerning voices. I heard a calm man's voice, seemingly reciting a list of actions another person in the room had committed.

"Mr. Fujima, you asked Mistress (l/n) to loan you a significant sum of money over a year ago, she agreed on the soul instance that you pay that money back plus interest, in the span of six months." The man's voice was cold and uncaring. 'What was I listening in on? I don't think it was safe for me to be snooping…'

There was the second voice, another man but not calm or cold, he was desperate and frightened, I assumed this was Mr Fujima, "Please! I'll have the money soon, I'm so close!" The man sounded fairly young. I managed to find the room the people were in.

In the room, I could see the face of Mr Fujima, kneeling on the floor, his hands together, begging forgiveness, I wasn't sure who to yet. I saw he was kneeling in front of a large chair, almost a throne in the centre of the room, but the chair was facing away from me, so I couldn't see the mysterious person sat in it. I could also see the broad back of the man who spoke earlier, he looked almost like a butler, wearing a long tailcoat and white gloves, standing next to the chair.

The cold man spoke once more, "Mr Fujima, if you respected my mistress, you would have paid back that money six months ago, instead you asked for an extension of time, that ended today. Instead of paying it back now, you ask for yet another extension. Mistress (l/n) is a patient woman and give second chances, but never a third."

The atmosphere in the room was tense and dangerous, I was scared for Mr Fujima, whatever was going on in there, seemed almost like someone borrowing money from the Yakuza… Was this beautiful building owned by mafia?

The person in the throne shifted, they let a dainty, black gloved hand into my vision, pausing the sobbing of the man in front of them. They began tapping on the arm of their chair, as though contemplating the man's fate.

"I don't give third chances, goodbye, Mr Fujima, your family will be cared for." They were a she, hence the dainty hand I suppose, but I know her voice from somewhere…

Whoever she was, she stood and got closer to Mr Fujima, two large men in suits grabbing him from behind and lifting him into standing, even from behind, the woman seemed very familiar, but I couldn't make out anything specific in the darkness of the room.

As she got closer to the weeping man, pulling off one of the gloves, she placed her hand against his chest. My eyes widened as it seemed to melt into his chest cavity, causing pained gasps to leave Mr Fujima. When she pulled out her hand, she had his heart contained between her fingers, which she began to squeeze until it became dust.

My Fujima's lifeless body fell to the floor. The butler man was immediately behind the woman with a handkerchief, removing the silver dust meticulously.

"It's such a shame I had to do that, but he was nothing but a scummy gambler, he could have paid that money back by working hard, instead he's a disappointment to his wife and children." The woman spat, even with the venom present, her voice was still gorgeous.

I was so entranced by her voice, I hadn't noticed my grip on the door slipping, I fell forward and into the room, the door creaking as though mocking my lack of stealth. The butler and the suited men shot their heads in my direction, leading to my body freezing in fear.

The woman turned to face me and I could finally see her from the front, if I wasn't already frozen, I would have been now. "(y/n)?" I stammered. It was her, she was wearing something far less simplistic than earlier, a suit and tie, minor jewellery and the gloves. But it was definitely her.

She gave me her sweet smile and, as much as I didn't want to after seeing what she had done, I felt my heart melt and my cheeks flush. "Hiya baby, now what are you doing there on the floor?" She asked, coming over to me slowly, as if she was trying to calm a fawn.

I was still stuck staring at her eyes, her beauty, she got close enough to place a hand on my face, softly cupping my cheek, I leaned in to her warm skin desperately. "You're mine now sweetie, I'll take good care of you." She whispered into my ear, I could feel her smirk against my skin as she left me there on the floor with the butler, but not before giving me another kiss, this time, a soft peck on the lips.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

_______________________________

I hope you guys like this! Let me know if you want a part two! And let me know if you want me to re-post this chapter in both male reader perspective and gender neutral!

[nonbinaryresource]

hmmmm not sure how to phrase this exactly, but I've been looking through the questioning tag and thought I could try just asking specifically. (Sorry it got quite long!)

I'm pretty sure watching too many trans tiktoks did not make me nonbinary, but it sure brought up questions. Mainly, what if relating to nonbinary/trans experiences in my case is just that, relating? I'm thinking I might be nonbinary or trans, all because I suck at almost everything considered my gender, from looks to skills and so my "disphoria" is me not liking how others see me, rather than it being my body. I don't want to be my body to people first and then my person, besides I get the feeling top surgery would make me look and feel aesthetically cooler lol but that's just me

Is that a thing or I'm just extremely in denial?

Not sure if you caught the study we were just reblogging on how dysphoria and transness is not caused by "social contagion" like tiktoks, but if not, it feels relevant to link.

Researchers from the Fenway Institute disproved the theory of "rapid-onset gender dysphoria" (RODG) and determined that "social contagion" does not influence gender identity in the largest study of its kind, published earlier this month in Pediatrics journal.

"The hypothesis that transgender and gender diverse youth assigned female at birth identify as transgender due to social contagion does not hold up to scrutiny and should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for adolescents," Dr. Alex S. Keuroghlian, the study's senior author and director of Fenway's National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, and the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Gender Identity Program, said in a statement.

But I'm gonna focus on the idea of "what if I just relate to trans experiences but aren't trans?"

Okay.

So.

What if you do?

What?

Then what?

You...find out more about yourself?

You...discover new things about your own feelings and comfort?

You...consider all of the options and come to decide on which label is best for you to adopt?

I'm not seeing a downside here. I'm not seeing anything to panic about. The transphobes have turned exploration and experimentation into the boogeyman. Life is about exploration and experimentation. Capitalism has absolutely ruined us. It's ridiculous to expect children who aren't even done psychologically developing yet to know and pick their life path and dedicate the rest of their life to it, including going thousands of dollars in debt to get a degree if necessary. It's ridiculous to expect people to not explore and experiment and have some damn fun in life, whether that's trying out 60 different jobs to find something that they want to do or discarding and picking up a new hobby each every single week to find what they actually find enjoyable or playing around with genders/sexualities/names/pronouns/clothes/etc. to figure out their feelings and better get to know who they are.

There is nothing - NOTHING - inherently wrong, bad, or immature about exploration and experimentation in life period.

So what if you relate to trans experiences but are actually cis? So what you identify as trans now for whatever length of time and change how you label later? So what?

I am so tired of the idea that anybody knows what they are doing ever. Nobody knows! We're all just making it up! The imposter syndrome we're putting everyone through for every aspect of their lives - from their jobs to their hobbies to their genders to their sexualities - is out of control. The society we have built is not meant for people. And that's incredibly, incredibly heartbreaking.

People should be allowed to play and explore and experiment!

People should be allowed to grow and change!

People should be allowed to be confused and unsure!

People should be allowed to not know!

People should be allowed to try on identities like we try on clothes at the store!

Fuck the self-gaslighting society is pressuring you to put yourself through.

I don't care what you know for sure. I don't care if you're going by a label you're unsure of. I don't care if you're going by a label you know is technically not the most accurate. I don't care if you stuck up a bunch of identity labels on a dart board, threw a dart, and decided to identify as that one. I'm here for you. The messy, confused, complex, hard to understand you. The real you.

Could it be a thing that you relate to trans experiences, don't really relate to cis experiences, and yet are cis? Sure. (Slightly tangential, but I think you might get some food for thought out of this piece of writing.)

But don't sit here thinking you have to identify as cis because you don't have "proof" of being trans. That's not a thing. It's just what the transphobes want you to think. You can identify as any damn thing you want (let's avoid cultural appropriation, though!), even if you're only 0.5% thinking you might be that thing.

If you think you might be nonbinary, practice not giving into the thoughts like "but I can't really be nonbinary because I'm only just now thinking about it". Practice letting yourself try out being nonbinary! For at least several months, unless it's just too terrible and you realize right away that it's not right for you. Don't debate on this or put yourself through a court of law or beat yourself down. Just let yourself be nonbinary. In a couple months, then come back to the questions of "is this right for me?".

And there is no "right" or "wrong" reason to identify with whatever identity. Some people identify as nonbinary because they have a very specific, pinpointable, non-binary gender. Others identify as nonbinary because they're not really sure but nonbinary makes them the most comfortable. Others identify as nonbinary because they want to be nonbinary. Others identify as nonbinary because they don't relate to or don't understand or don't want to identify with the binarily gendered structure of our society. Whatever your reasoning, it's both valid and nobody else's business (though ofc you can tell anybody why if it's what YOU want to do).

~Mod Pluto

P.S. If anything in this ask comes off as angry or frustrated, it is not with you. It is towards society and bigots who purport attitudes that harm people, even if in seemingly "little" ways like making them feel like they can't trust their own feelings.

[amphiptere-art]

My God the doomsday carousel drawing is finally finished. I know I feel like I'm going to see a thousand of these little pop-ups. Which honestly look minorly terrifying.

Anyways onwards to the point. Holy crap the just take me a bit. As you guys know I usually don't shade. And when I do shade it's with my sketchy look. I rarely do lighting. Maybe glowing but not lighting. And this whole piece is lighting.

Sure I could get away with it for a little bit with the fire. I just made the fire globe by doing my standard of blur and then layer. But then I had to go to Jack o moon. Who is literally surrounded by fire, and if he has any shading. They are the darkest pits of hell. I knew shading wasn't an option. I had to do lighting.

And oh boy did I do lighting. Over and over and over and over again. Multiple layers of attempts and fails. I had at least five different versions of lighting that I did. And there is no way in all hell I'm counting the amount of layers they still take up. I honestly need to clean that work file now.

But I'm just happy this came out all right. I'm happy it actually looks good. I loved the pose and I loved the idea. Honestly I was extremely worried to be put on the back lot of things I just couldn't do. It happens with a lot of things. And but I decided fuck it. I'm going to draw Jack o moon in a firey tornado of a carousel. And I will keep trying until I get a success. An old boy was it a success.

I don't think I'll be doing anything like this soon. Hell I think I need a art break. Plus with May coming around I want to focus on safe waves. But now that I've completed this mini quest. I'm really happy I went through with it.

[deathbirby]

What does Sothis's dragon form look like?

Title speaks for itself. I'm here to speculate what Sothis's dragon form looks like.

These posts come from my Reddit account! I'm reposting them here. However, I'm also editing these posts with newer information. You can consider these to be the "final" versions.

Let's unpack!

Surely you can't be Sirius

In a post on reddit, I talked about how Sothis could be connected to the wolf-beasts that guard the Blue Sea Star. Why?

Sothis is the Greek version of the Egyptian goddess Sopdet, the personification of the star Sirius.

What's so special about Sirius? The Blue Sea Star is likely meant to be the star Sirius. Sothis's special in FEH is called Sirius. Seiros is an alternate name for Sirius. Rhea's theme is called Gazing at Sirius. It could not be more obvious.

There is one small issue with this: Edelgard's note in the advice box. She says that it's been calculated that the light of the Blue Sea Star would take million of years to reach the planet. MILLIONS. Sirius is like 9 light-years away from Earth. Sure, Fodlan could just be on an entirely different planet, but that's boring. Sirius isn't going to be the brightest star in the night sky on just any random planet. Not that it really matters if Fodlan is on a different planet.

So, I did a little bit of digging, and Edelgard doesn't say millions of years in the Japanese version. Instead, she says it takes the light tens of thousands of years to reach the planet. Looks like it's just a translation issue.. Moving on.

What's so special about Sirius? It's known as the dog star. A good boy, if you will. Now here is where it gets interesting. Aelfric says that the Ashen Wolves got their name from the beasts who guard the Blue Sea Star. Rhea named the house herself. This could just be Rhea making up some random bullshit, but I'm gonna take the plunge and say that she's speaking some kind of truth here.

Sothis is Sopdet, the personification of Sirius, the dog star. The Ashen Wolves get their name from the beasts who guard Sirius. Beasts that look like wolves. Dog Star. Sopdet. Sothis. You get it. Sothis is connected to these beasts in some way. She could be one of them, or she created them and then went off on a little adventure.

All of this leads me to believe that Sothis's dragon form has canine features. If you're still not convinced that Sothis is a doggo, then take a look at this:

They're the same picture

Going back to the OST for a moment. There is a track called Scales of the Goddess. SCALES! Alright alright. We're getting there. Sothis's dragon form also has scales. We've got more of an image here. The Goddess's true form has canine features and scales.

...Would her transforming in her amnesiac state result in a puppy dragon?

Oh my god. We need more information!

Your momma so fat, she created Fodlan just to sit on it.

So, how big is her dragon form? It can be anything ranging from the size of the Immaculate One:

Exhibit A: Immaculate One concept art

To the size of a meteor:

Oh man, that star is getting real close

Exhibit B: Opening cutscene flashes (Seasons of Warfare Collectors Edition)

To the size of the fucking planet:

Exhibit C: Ashen Wolves banner

So... pick one of three! Option B is the most obvious one. She's called the "Fell Star" by the Agarthans. That could mean that she's evil as in the "Fell Dragon", but it could also mean that Sothis came to Fodlan as a falling star (a fucking meteor).

Still, a planet-sized wolf-dragon sure is an image. It would put Grima to shame and adds a whole 'nother meaning to Sothis saying she cannot reveal her true form in Askr.

But what else do the Agarthans say about Sothis? Well...

DAMN, that's an ugly sonofabitch!

You might have read the book in the Shadow Library called "Romance of the World's Perdition". If you haven't, don't worry. I've got this post that translates it from Japanese: https://www.reddit.com/r/FireEmblemThreeHouses/comments/hd82ec/jpen_translation_comparison_of_the_abyss_shadow/

Here is what it says:

In the land of Thinis, where the old god(s) was/were supposed to have lived, at last the one who is not god awakens. The grotesque monstrosity resurrects to sink the world to watery depths.

The book is presumably from an Agarthan's perspective. It says that the False God is a grotesque monstrosity. Are they talking about Sothis's human form? Hell no! Have you SEEN mural Sothis? Anyone who calls her a grotesque monstrosity is in denial. 99% chance they're talking about Sothis's dragon form. Of course, you can't ignore the fact that the Agarthans are EXTREMELY biased.

One more thing to add to this. Remember how Rhea goes absolutely batshit in the ending of Silver Snow for some unknown reason? Yeah. Her dragon form is burning from the inside out and she's covered in vines. It's fucking horrifying and disgusting. But what does the game say?

"This child of the goddess, revealed in her truest form, possesses power beyond humanity's understanding."

That is Rhea's truest form.

Another piece to the puzzle! Sothis's dragon form has canine features, scales, is most likely the size of a meteor, and is grotesque to (some) onlookers.

What else?

Exteeeeeeeeeend

We've all seen the Sword of the Creator. It's made out of Sothis's bones and looks like a spine, but some speculate it's made out of the tail.

It can also extend... I guess that means Sothis can just stretch out parts of her body REALLY far? Huh, no wonder the Agarthans call her an abomination.

There is also the possibility of her being an Eastern Dragon! They do have long noodle-bodies. Personally, I think she's some weird eldritch being, but you can always come up with your own theories!

I can paint with all the colors of your wardrobe

COLORS ("COLOURS" if you prefer it that way)! What about the look?

This is where it becomes 100% speculation. There is no information here. None. She can have natural colors like her children (brown/yellow, white, grey), or look like she fell into a bucket of paint.

Obviously, I'm picking the bucket of paint option. The Immaculate One is white, right? Her Japanese name is "The White One". Is there white in Rhea's design? Yes! She ALWAYS wears white. So, the outfit might give a hint to the dragon's colors? Quick! What is Sothis's color scheme?

Purple/dark blue, black, pink, white, and gold. There is also green, but we're ignoring that because none of the Nabateans have any green in their dragon forms. All the green goes straight into their veins when they transform.

So, Sothis's dragon form has a mix of purple/dark blue, black, pink, white, and gold. I guess that makes sense? Sirius is sometimes called a rainbow star because of how it shines with different colors. All of the colors I just mentioned are colors that have been observed in Sirius.

Guess we cracked the code.

TLDR: Sothis's dragon form is wAIT

WAIT

HOLD ON, I JUST FOUND SOMETHING Y'ALL. SOTHIS'S TRUE FORM HAS CONCEPT ART! AND THEY HID IT FROM US.

I'm gonna find it. I'm gonna find it and...

Oh dear god

[restlessreveries]

choosing violence: 8, 9, 10, 19

Oh boy, alright let's see...

I think I'm gonna have to roll 8 & 10 into the same response MOSTLY because I don't really know what to put on 8 exactly but I also feel like 10 kinda applies to it?

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about/10. worst part of fanon

BUT YEAH, it's the fandom's insistence that Sol is miserable/bored/apathetic and desperate to get out of the time loop (or whatever you call this not-loop arrangement). I swear, if I see another fic that has Sol feeling like shit because of the time loop thing I'm going to... not really do anything. Except maybe scream really loudly internally.

It's not like they're re-watching the same movie a thousand times and we only really see a small sample of the infinite possibilities they have on hand, but people are so fond of the despair over time loop thing and I kinda hate it.

9. worst part of canon

That we don't get a "I was a 20-something exocolonist" Continuation? No? That's cheating? Okay, let's see...

This is actually a tough one 'cause I've got several small annoyances but I think the big one is that no matter what you do, nobody will believe Sol about the visions or aliens (Like FFS even Dys can be the person who triggers Sol getting sent to be lobotomized). And special shoutout to that one event on the ridge where Utopia is more willing to believe that Dys has a secret older brother (SHE SPENT 20 YEARS ON THAT SAME SHIP! D8<) than that Sol is telling the truth about Sym being an alien. And then when you talk to the council at the end they go "Yeah no, lol we knew there was an alien presence out there". I get that Sol probably does a lot of faulty predictions too, but I just wish there was a golden route where people started trusting them if you somehow managed to mysteriously be in the right place at the right time to keep saving people's lives. Or something.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Vace would be the easy answer here but I'm actually not picking him for this. No, I'm gonna pick the other guy who I don't exactly like as as much as I kind of appreciate in terms of writing and find fascinating.

It's Lum.

It took me many months to actually start thinking about this guy more than writing him off as comically inept space dictator-wannabe. But when you take a step back he's actually kind of interesting. I think I'll put why under a readmore tho, 'cause while my earlier responses has some spoilers this goes into more important events.

Basically, I think Lum is interesting because he looks so dumb and inept and comically evil at first glance. But once you learn about the earth fleet, things start to look a bit differently.

Him being so rough with Utopia isn't just him being over the top evil for the sake of it. He's on a major time limit to get this planet into what the earth fleet considers shape, (with the "or else" option being them glassing the place) and Utopia confronts him in front of the entire colony, questioning his leadership and putting him on the spot. So he thinks and acts fast and brutally to force things back under his control 'cause he really can't risk losing that.

And when you think about it, a lot of his decisions are in the same line. Poorly thought out ways to handle the immense pressure he's under. He's not well suited for this, was probably never taught to handle these kind of decisions. The Helios supposedly got there in about 15 years and Lum is listed at 25 at the start of the game (30 on arrival), so he got onboard of that military ship when he was 15, grew up with a very limited worldview and was suddenly put in command of the entire operation. (he was like, second in command of communications before?) With the earth fleet threat breathing down his neck.

This isn't me excusing his behavior by the way. He did things that range from extremely shitty to horrifying. But part of me can't stop thinking about how much more chill he seems if he gets kicked from the leadership role, and that one Glow attack where he recklessly used himself as bait to lure the two faceless.

Basically, if Vace is the guy I want to put in a hamster ball and kick down the stairs. Lum is the guy I'd like to put by a pool and give a gym membership to in the peace ending, and then come back ten years later to see if he's turned into the himbo I suspect he could potentially be.

[purplekoop]

A letter to an old friend:

To Wilderoad,

How's the lonely dirt road been treating you? Up to anything fun? Can't imagine it's anything that'd beat what we've done on jobs together, but knowing you, you've probably made a thriller out of whatever sob story's got you denting heads nowadays.

Well... can't give you too hard a time for leaving now, since I decided to bail too. Yeah, the boss lady and I had a falling out, disagreed on too much. Don't think I'm a total sap like you yet, but some of these things... you gotta put your foot down, y'know? Gotta think about why you're even out there in nowhere-ville if it's not to stand for something people actually believe in that isn't just power. Yeah yeah, sappy, I know, don't laugh. Well. Not like you would even if you could. But I know you'd give me that slightly different stone-faced stare.

But I'm out on the road now too. Got all my gear loaded up in a wagon and I'm working wherever nobody's gonna shoo me out. Trading my craft for whatever supplies and good favors it'll get me. Actually is kinda nice, just helping out without some ulterior motive. Again, I can imagine that look without you being here to give it. I've met some good folks though. Met one rather nice bot who's crazy enough to have decided to join me on the road. She's a metalworker herself, but she's taken to driving the wagon so I can work on the go. Wouldn't mind if we could set up permanent shop together one of these days, but knowing the boss there's a good chance I'm gonna get dragged back if I don't stay on the move.

Speaking of company, I've given Heracles a few revisions since you've last seen him, but he's still the same old lug bug you know. Feel like he'd be happy to see you again. But with him in good shape, I've finally been starting to make good progress on the other models now that I have more time on my hands. Nothing's gonna top my finest work, but it's nice to have options.

How's that six-shooter of mine been treating you by the way? Gotta admit, still proud of that goofy little number. Packs more heat than anything without gunpowder should, but I somehow managed. Of course, wouldn't be good for anything in anybody else's hands. Not quite sure how you do some of that showboating nonsense. Maybe I'd be a decent shot too if somebody welded my big trap shut.

Actually... I've been dancing around the point here. I heard what happened to Haven 2. I know you probably have too, but... it's a lot to think about. Part of me still wants to just gloat over the low-lives I left behind there, but a thousand times as many bots down there didn't deserve it. Not like it makes any sense to feel guilty about it, but... part of me's thinking that way too.

...yeah yeah, get it out of your systems again, "look at her having morals all of a sudden", whatever.

Anyways, all this to say I'm making my way back west where I last heard some whackjob like you was on the frontline of this whole fiasco, of all things. Not to say we will or won't cross paths, but it sounds like a good place for some honest business. Can't say I'm thrilled to be working for those big Haven goons, but I think I can bury my pride for just a moment. Though I gotta admit, I've got a sharp-horned bug and an itchy trigger finger that both could use some action. Knowing my luck, probably gonna end up running into you whether I want to or not. Or whether you want to or not, so there's your warning.

See you on the road

-Your old friend

[starwalker03]

I realized WMLP Dick’s position in that army unit is similar to his early experience with the team. He’s the youngest has a lot of experience and skills his squad mates don’t, among peers for the first time in a while, hiding his true identity, gets pushed out of his comfort zone by the people he was with. Expect this time is was true war. And he came away without bonding with his team and looking down on them. Would this experience effect how he views his memories of The Team?

Huh. Actually that's a good point.

It would definitely make him remember how unprepared they were for That Whole Situation, just thrown into missions having never worked together except for the Cadmus mission which ended with an exploded building like. Bruh. I know they weren't giving the league many options but also what the fUCK guys y'all just sent them off on their merry way like that. The fact they didn't die in episode three is a miracle.

But then also he's so aware of the difference between working with people who are fighting because they're genuinely good people with a desire to help others, as opposed to... Well. People who wanna shoot guns, had no other options, want the military to pay off their degree, et cetera et cetera so on so forth. Like this team is so different to his old one it's almost distracting. It's almost problematic. It's almost enough to snap Dick out of the constant unrelenting need to do as he's told and question Slade because 'uh hey yeah what the fUCK is up with these people'

Dick has to force a level of indifference between himself and his new team because if he doesn't he can't focus on the task at hand. He can't help but think about the fact that these people should not be running around armed with thousands of lives in their hands.

It doesn't help that they're all unaware of half of the shit that goes down in the world. Even Dick's superiors have only the smallest understandings of figures like Count Vertigo and Gorilla Grod and none of them have any idea who Vandal Savage is. Queen Bee? Uh you mean the dictator of that small kick of desert in the middle east?

(CW for conversations about the "war on terror" ahead)

Oh my god. I didn't even consider that if Bialya and Qurac are middle eastern countries they're surprisingly close by during the wars of the early 2000s. Like I've hand waved and said 'yeah going off timeline Dick probably got sent around the middle east' but completely failed to realise he might have even been in Bialya or Qurac for missions.

I wonder how those countries engaged with wars in the area in lore. It's apparently north of Saudi Arabia and Iran in wider DC lore? But YJ isn't specific?

Here's a Reddit thread I found where people start getting into nitty gritty details:

Essentially they're depi ting Bialya and Qurac as west and east Iran, respectively. And also offering theories as to how those countries could have come to be.

If I continue to use Australia as the example (which I suppose I should cause I've essentially canonized it in the fic at this point), Australia was only particularly involved with Afghanistan and Yemen I believe, but I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge.

Bialya and Qurac could, possibly, border operations in Afghanistan. Young justice lore states that Bialya is a part of the UN and therefore may not be particularly open to military operations but very well could have housed a few bases on the borders.

Jesus. Getting this into the lore of YJ feels so strange and I'm honestly not sure if it's inappropriate or not. I could believe Queen Bee being involved with the war on terror, whether it's a part of Savage's plans or not, just because she enjoys conflict. Moreover it helps with the anti-Quraci thing she has going. From what I can tell of the show, Qurac seems to be a majority Islamic country? So I could see her manipulating the image of things to benefit her attempts to take back Qurac.

Well this spiralled. Uh I might end this answer here actually.

[babybatscreationsv2]

Marked ch2

Marvel | Starker

When Tony's soul marks first appeared he was afraid he wouldn't be good enough for his soulmate. When Peter's marks appeared he was afraid of what the blood and bruises meant. Now they're left dealing with consequences of a dangerous lifestyle and a lot of distrust.

As requested by the beautiful and brilliant Aech <3

Warnings and tags below

Warnings/tags: mafia au, soulmates au, referenced violence, bruises

Peter hurried down the crowded sidewalk pushing his way through irritated New Yorkers. Anxious dreams had caused him to sleep through his alarm and now he had no choice but to run across the city to get to Mr. Octavius's studio. He had been Otto's apprentice for almost two years and in that time the man had come to expect his tardiness, but that didn't mean Peter didn't try his best.

He ran in through the door and the smell of acrylic paint hit his nose. He spotted Otto at his easel by the window and grinned.

"Good morning, Mr. Octavius!" Peter called. He dropped his bag beside his desk.

"Good morning, Peter." Otto turned and gave him a smile. Then he looked back at his painting and sighed. "I hate acrylics."

"And yet you continue to try," Peter laughed.

"They won't get the best of me, Peter. I've won awards! I've sold paintings for thousands of dollars!" He waved his hand and a fleck of wet paint flew from his brush onto the wall. He scowled at the little blue dot.

"You'll figure it out."

"It doesn't do anything I want it to," he pouted.

Peter rolled his eyes. He crossed the room to stand behind his mentor. "I think it looks great." Otto had certainly painted a masterful piece. Central Park, but with a somber tone. Deep shadows beneath the trees suggested something sinister under their branches.

"You think everything I make looks great. That's what I like about you, Pete." Otto turned on his stool. His smile fell as he saw Peter's face up close.

Peter blinked. "What is it?"

Otto shook his head. "Those soul marks of yours." Peter groaned and turned away. "When I find out who keeps bruising you up like that-"

"They're not bruising me, Otto-"

"No, but clearly this person is a lot of trouble. They're out there running around with a black eye and now you've got one to match. They're clearly some kind of criminal. What else could they be?"

Peter shrugged. "A champion boxer? I don't know. That's the whole problem."

Otto scoffed. "Not much of a champion with a black eye."

Peter shook his head. "Your paint's drying."

"Don't I know it," Otto grumbled.

Peter walked back to his desk and sat down. He pulled his sketchbook from his bag and a pencil. His hand moved over the paper in messy lines. The pictures in his head were foggy now, but something in his dreams had been so familiar. If he could just get it out before it faded away.

As the clock ticked on, he filled page after page with sketches of a man with dark eyes and a chin strap, but the features were different on every face. Peter sat back and stretched his cramping shoulders. Who was he? He was so familiar.

Otto had walked away from his painting a while ago and was working on a sketch at his desk. Peter looked at the clock. It was a little early for lunch, but he needed to clear his head.

"Hey, Mr. Octavius?" Peter stood and stretched again.

"Yes, Peter?" He didn't look up from his work.

"I'm gonna get us some coffee. You want anything?"

"I'm alright. Thank you, Peter." Otto glanced his way. "And take your time. Stretch your legs. You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"Maybe it's the black eye," he grumbled. He grabbed his wallet and left the building. The street was about as empty as it gets during the day and Peter followed the flow of traffic without paying much attention. The idea that he had a soul mate out there haunted him. He'd never considered himself much of a romantic, but now that the option was there it was consuming him. Not to mention the nightmares. His dreams were full of violence and he often woke with the burn of alcohol in his throat. He was starting to find scars as well. A few little ones on the backs of his hands, a deeper one on his palm, a mark just below his ribs. It was a horrifying thought, but maybe Otto was right. What if his soul mate was someone dangerous?

Something hit Peter's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. He drew back with a gasp and an apology already on his lips, but his eyes went up from the coffee stain in a man's crisp navy suit to his face and words escaped him. Those eyes, that face, but most notably the black eye that matched Peter's.

They stared at each other. The other people on the street moved around them.

The man grabbed his hand and turned it over. There was graphite staining his palm. He hadn't even known it was there. Peter yanked his hand back.

"Sorry," he said quickly. He rushed off, pushing through the crowd. The coffee shop was just a few steps away. It wasn't too crowded and the bathroom was gracefully empty.

Peter gripped the sink and stared down into the basin. What was that? Who was that? He should have gotten his name. What if that was...

He looked up into the mirror and touched the stain around his eye. Like a bruise but painless and too pale. Not like that man’s bruise had been. His was real. He looked at the mark on his palm. That man... he had guessed it was there. Maybe he was looking for a different mark. There had to be more than one guy in all of New York with a black eye. Fights happen all the time.

Peter shook himself off and grabbed a fistful of paper towels. He wet them in the sink and dabbed at the coffee on his arm. His skin felt sticky underneath so he took off his shirt and there on his chest was another mark. Pale brown something was spilled across his skin. He scrubbed with the damp paper towel, but it didn't so much as fade.

Peter balled up the towel and tossed it in the trash. It couldn't be. As much as he wondered about his soul mate, he was only curious. He wasn't sure he actually wanted to meet the guy. For starters, he clearly lived some sort of dangerous life, but more importantly what if he didn't like Peter? What if he wasn't enough? He was just an apprentice barely out of college. His income barely covered his third of the rent. He was just Peter.

And that guy... he was gorgeous and clearly wealthy and he probably hated him for spilling his coffee like that.

Peter looked at the mark in the mirror. That wasn't just a soul mark. It was a mark he made. He put that on him. A little thrill went through him at the thought. He could belong to someone and that someone could belong to him. The trouble was, as much as he enjoyed the idea it was terrifying.