#indirect flow

[aquariuminfobureau]

People misunderstand flow in our reef tanks, and the needs of corals for said flow. Different coral species, and colonies, possess different needs of flow. Primarily the flow is considered in terms of powerhead turnover, although its effects are really localised throughout the aquarium, and it is inevitable that not all areas of a reef tank will receive the same flow. In all reef and fish only tanks, the turnover of the water through the pumps, should be at least ten times the total aquarium (not system) volume per hour. For the average, mixed reef tank, a flow twenty and thirty times the volume per hour is more appropriate, though this oversimplifies the very important matter.

Because it is an inexact matter, I will suggest rules of thumb, for determining how much flow a coral is receiving. Low flow would be enough, for example, to ruffle large, fleshy polyps such as those of Discosoma colonies, and the mantles of Tridacna clams. High flow would cause much swaying in soft, tree- or finger-like morphs of soft corals, such as gorgonians. Moderate flow would produce a pretty, 'dancing' effect on corals with long tentacles, such as torch corals. Despite what people sometimes think, it actually is possible to have too much flow, when stony coral polyps begin hitting their own skeletons, or simply fail to expand normally. Knowing the appropriate location by its exposure to flow, is in fact an intuitive and observational matter, not something helped by any test kits.

But what is flow to a coral? Corals are behaviorally simple, sessile animals, and they rely on their environment to bring them their foods, and remove their secreted wastes. Because corals adapt to local conditions, and this is reflected in their growth forms, the needs of a specific coral may depend more on the circumstances of its life history, or how it has grown, than its precise taxonomic identity. Though no coral is infinitely plastic, and some species are definitely more adjustable than are others. As a rule of thumb, corals such as many Acropora and Montipora species should be sourced as 'frags' to adjust without having already adjusted their growth habit to specific conditions elsewhere.

A constant and unyielding flow, or a combination of high and direct flow, can distress corals, even those favoring or demanding of high flow. It should be remembered that flow is potentially something dangerous to coral, and can tear or otherwise physically damage coral flesh. Therefore, flow should be neither too high nor too low, for even those corals regarded as high or low flow varieties. What is appropriate care may be determined by observing similar coral in aquariums where they are healthy.

The most basic form of flow is the output of standard power filters and power heads, known as constant or laminar flow. This jargon refers to the simple, unidirectional blasts of water flow these pumps produce in the aquarium. In itself this is not the most interesting, exciting, or useful form of flow for corals or their aquarist admirers. Nonetheless, it is possible to make creative flow effects, by positioning laminar pumps thoughtfully in the tank,and this can be achieved with a low budget.

Such an effect is the creation of surge flow, which is when water is moved to and from, in a semi-constant pattern - as in the effects of wave action in the 'surge zone', high on the reef slope. Surge can easily be simulated in the aquarium, by regulating the timing of pumps, positioned at opposite ends of an aquarium. Whereas gyre flow refers to robust, circular motions of circulating water, as are best provided and sustained using a special 'gyre pump', rather than standard powerhead designs.

Turbulent, random, or chaotic flow describes the phenomenon of unstable, unfixed directional flow, that is created when flow from two sources comes together. Creating turbulence using powerheads is much preferable than merely using them to create only laminar flow. It is worth pointing out the existence of so-called 'Japanese style SPS tanks', in which coral colonies considered to demand a regime of high flow, are grown in a 'low' turnover of 'only' around thirty times the tank volume per hour.

In such setups the positioning of ordinary powerheads, which generate laminar flow, is low down near the bottom of the tank. Such a thoughtful positioning of the pumps is chosen, because it optimises the turbulence of the overall water circulation, and somewhat creates a gyre-like effect. The flow is directed so as to travel up the tank walls then along the surface, before circulating through the aquarium. Thus the flow is good, without being as 'high' as it sounds, when it is measured simplistically as turnover per hour.

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

“Show, Don’t Tell”…But This Time Someone Explains It

If you’ve ever been on the hunt for writing advice, you've definitely seen the phrase “Show, Don’t Tell.”

Writeblr coughs up these three words on the daily; it’s often considered the “Golden Rule” of writing. However, many posts don't provide an in-depth explanation about what this "Golden Rule" means (This is most likely to save time, and under the assumption that viewers are already informed).

More dangerously, some posts fail to explain that “Show, Don’t Tell” occasionally doesn’t apply in certain contexts, toeing a dangerous line by issuing a blanket statement to every writing situation. 

The thing to take away from this is: “Show, Don’t Tell” is an essential tool for more immersive writing, but don't feel like a bad writer if you can’t make it work in every scenario (or if you can’t get the hang of it!)

1. What Does "Show, Don't Tell" Even Mean?

“Show, Don’t Tell” is a writing technique in which the narrative or a character’s feelings are related through sensory details rather than exposition. Instead of telling the reader what is happening, the reader infers what is happening due to the clues they’ve been shown.

EXAMPLE 1:

Telling: The room was very cold. Showing: She shivered as she stepped into the room, her breath steaming in the air.

EXAMPLE 2:

Telling: He was furious. Showing: He grabbed the nearest book and hurled it against the wall, his teeth bared and his eyes blazing.

EXAMPLE 3 ("SHOW, DON'T TELL" DOESN'T HAVE TO MEAN "WRITE A LOT MORE")

Telling: The room hadn't been lived in for a very long time. Showing: She shoved the door open with a spray of dust.

Although the “showing” sentences don’t explicitly state how the characters felt, you as the reader use context clues to form an interpretation; it provides information in an indirect way, rather than a direct one.

Because of this, “Show, Don’t Tell” is an incredibly immersive way to write; readers formulate conclusions alongside the characters, as if they were experiencing the story for themselves instead of spectating. 

As you have probably guessed, “showing” can require a lot more words (as well as patience and effort). It’s a skill that has to be practiced and improved, so don’t feel discouraged if you have trouble getting it on the first try!

2. How Do I Use “Show, Don’t Tell” ?

There are no foolproof parameters about where you “show” and not “tell" or vice versa; it’s more of a writing habit that you develop rather than something that you selectively decide to employ.

In actuality, most stories are a blend of both showing and telling, and more experienced writers instinctively switch between one and another to cater to their narrative needs. You need to find a good balance of both in order to create a narrative that is both immersive and engaging.

i. Help When Your Writing Feels Bare-Bones/Soulless/Boring

Your writing is just not what you’ve pictured in your head, no matter how much you do it over. Conversations are stilted. The characters are flat. The sentences don’t flow as well as they do in the books you've read. What’s missing?

It’s possibly because you’ve been “telling” your audience everything and not “showing”! If a reader's mind is not exercised (i.e. they're being "spoon-fed" all of the details), your writing may feel boring or uninspired!

Instead of saying that a room was old and dingy, maybe describe the peeling wallpaper. The cobwebs in the corners. The smell of dust and old mothballs. Write down what you see in your mind's eye, and allow your audience to formulate their own interpretations from that. (Scroll for a more in-depth explanation on HOW to develop this skill!)

ii. Add More Depth and Emotion to Your Scenes

Because "Show, Don't Tell" is a more immersive way of writing, a reader is going to feel the narrative beats of your story a lot more deeply when this rule is utilized.

Describing how a character has fallen to their knees sobbing and tearing our their hair is going to strike a reader's heart more than saying: "They were devastated."

Describing blood trickling through a character's fingers and staining their clothes will seem more dire than saying: "They were gravely wounded."

iii. Understand that Sometimes Telling Can Fit Your Story Better

Telling can be a great way to show your characters' personalities, especially when it comes to first-person or narrator-driven stories. Below, I've listed a few examples; however, this list isn't exclusive or comprehensive!

Initial Impressions and Character Opinions

If a character describes someone's outfit as "gaudy" or a room as "absolutely disgusting," it can pack more of a punch about their initial impression, rather than describing the way that they react (and can save you some words!). In addition, it can provide some interesting juxtaposition (i.e. when a character describes a dog as "hideous" despite telling their friend it looks cute).

2. Tone and Reader Opinions

Piggybacking off of the first point, you can "tell, not show" when you want to be certain about how a reader is supposed to feel about something. "Showing" revolves around readers drawing their own conclusions, so if you want to make sure that every reader draws the same conclusion, "telling" can be more useful! For example, if you describe a character's outfit as being a turquoise jacket with zebra-patterned pants, some readers may be like "Ok yeah a 2010 Justice-core girlie is slaying!" But if you want the outfit to come across as badly arranged, using a "telling" word like "ridiculous" or "gaudy" can help set the stage.

3. Pacing

"Show, don't tell" can often take more words; after all, describing a character's reaction is more complicated than stating how they're feeling. If your story calls for readers to be focused more on the action than the details, such as a fight or chase scene, sometimes "telling" can serve you better than "showing." A lot of writers have dedicated themselves to the rule "tell action, show emotion," but don't feel like you have to restrict yourself to one or the other.

iv. ABOVE ALL ELSE: Getting Words on the Page is More Important!

If you’re stuck on a section of your story and just can’t find it in yourself to write poetic, flowing prose, getting words on the paper is more important than writing something that’s “good.” If you want to be able to come back and fix it later, put your writing in brackets that you can Ctrl + F later.

Keeping your momentum is the hardest part of writing. Don't sacrifice your inspiration in favor of following rules!

3. How Can I Get Better at “Show, Don’t Tell”?

i. Use the Five Senses, and Immerse Yourself!

Imagine you’re the protagonist, standing in the scene that you have just created. Think of the setting. What are things about the space that you’d notice, if you were the one in your character’s shoes?

Smell? Hear? See? Touch? Taste?

Sight and sound are the senses that writers most often use, but don’t discount the importance of smell and taste! Smell is the most evocative sense, triggering memories and emotions the moment someone walks into the room and has registered what is going on inside—don’t take it for granted. And even if your character isn’t eating, there are some things that can be “tasted” in the air.

EXAMPLE:

TELLING: She walked into the room and felt disgusted. It smelled, and it was dirty and slightly creepy. She wished she could leave. SHOWING: She shuffled into the room, wrinkling her nose as she stepped over a suspicious stain on the carpet. The blankets on the bed were moth-bitten and yellowed, and the flowery wallpaper had peeled in places to reveal a layer of blood-red paint beneath…like torn cuticles. The stench of cigarettes and mildew permeated the air. “How long are we staying here again?” she asked, flinching as the door squealed shut. 

The “showing” excerpt gives more of an idea about how the room looks, and how the protagonist perceives it. However, something briefer may be more suited for writers who are not looking to break the momentum in their story. (I.e. if the character was CHASED into this room and doesn’t have time to take in the details.)

ii. Study Movies and TV Shows: Think like a Storyteller, Not Just a Writer

Movies and TV shows quite literally HAVE TO "show, and not tell." This is because there is often no inner monologue or narrator telling the viewers what's happening. As a filmmaker, you need to use your limited time wisely, and make sure that the audience is engaged.

Think about how boring it would be if a movie consisted solely of a character monologuing about what they think and feel, rather than having the actor ACT what they feel.

(Tangent, but there’s also been controversy that this exposition/“telling” mindset in current screenwriting marks a downfall of media literacy. Examples include the new Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender remakes that have been criticized for info-dumping dialogue instead of “showing.”)

If you find it easy to envision things in your head, imagine how your scene would look in a movie. What is the lighting like? What are the subtle expressions flitting across the actors' faces, letting you know just how they're feeling? Is there any droning background noise that sets the tone-- like traffic outside, rain, or an air conditioner?

How do the actors convey things that can't be experienced through a screen, like smell and taste?

Write exactly what you see in your mind's eye, instead of explaining it with a degree of separation to your readers.

iii. Listen to Music

I find that because music evokes emotion, it helps you write with more passion—feelings instead of facts! It’s also slightly distracting, so if you’re writing while caught up in the music, it might free you from the rigid boundaries you’ve put in place for yourself.

Here’s a link to my master list of instrumental writing playlists!

iv. Practice, Practice, Practice! And Take Inspiration from Others!

“Show Don’t Tell” is the core of an immersive scene, and requires tons of writing skills cultivated through repeated exposure. Like I said before, more experienced writers instinctively switch between showing and telling as they write— but it’s a muscle that needs to be constantly exercised!

If I haven’t written in a while and need to get back into the flow of things, I take a look at a writing prompt, and try cultivating a scene that is as immersive as possible! Working on your “Show, Don’t Tell” skills by practicing writing short, fun one-shots can be much less restrictive than a lengthier work.

In addition, get some inspiration and study from reading the works of others, whether it be a fanfiction or published novel!

If you need some extra help, feel free to check out my Master List of Writing Tips and Advice, which features links to all of my best posts, each of them categorized !

Hope this helped, and happy writing!

[svnriseblvdd]

neighbour! clark kent x new girl! reader

SYNOPSIS: with your friend iris in town, the two of you head to a house party, where your short dress and a game of pool send clark's thoughts running wild again.

WARNINGS: reference to perv!clark/reference to general perversion, clark thinks extensively about reader's panties, most of it's innuendo and allusions i won't lie, chloe makes a slight reference to sex on/over a table, random football player starts leering and staring at reader's ass, indirect description of a boner, clark gets a peek of reader's panties, doggy but no sex? (you'll see - they're in the position, but clothes and underwear are still on), clark is still dying for some action.

i might come back and rewrite this part at some point in the future, because i had a couple more ideas i wanted to put in but couldn't figure out at the time, and the ending falls a little flat - i knew i wanted something extra, but i think it just lacks what i wanted.

part one! part two! part three! part four! part five!

Your friend Iris is across the room while music flows through the space, loud and deep, settling into your bones. She’s flirting with a guy from the football team. You’ve already assured her she will not be borrowing your bedroom if she decides to hook up with the guy, so she might as well go home with him or just find a room upstairs to use. This house belongs to one of the football players, they’re always throwing big parties. 

Since Iris headed off ten minutes ago, you’ve been hovering a little awkwardly near the couches, except now there’s two couples making out on one of them, and then the other is filled with a group of friends you’re pretty sure are stoned out of their minds. 

So now you’re just looking for anyone to talk to or at least linger by without looking weird and lonely. Someone you know. 

Your face lights up in a smile when you notice exactly the people you need. Chloe and Lana are across the room, Chloe clearly judging people and Lana nodding her head either to the music or to Chloe’s comments. Lana smiles when she sees you, waving you over to them. 

You cross the room, greeting them both with a grin and an excited, “Hi!” 

“Hey, you look amazing!” Lana compliments. 

“Thank you! You’re so gorgeous!” 

“Is your friend having a good time?” 

“I’d say so,” Chloe says, looking toward Iris, who’s mid-makeout with the aforementioned football player. Good for her. 

Speaking of makeouts with football players, you need to find Clark. 

Clark spies you from across the room on his way back to Chloe and Lana, drink in hand. As always, he thinks he might combust. Your dress hugs your figure, clinging like a second skin, and it’s so short that if he follows the lines of your legs from your feet up, it feels like they might never end. 

And as always, his mind wanders. He thinks about how easy it would be to pick you up, wrap your legs around his waist. How your dress is short enough that it would hike up all by itself, bunching around your hips and showing off your panties. His x-ray vision means that he could just take a peek, but he refuses. It’s bad enough that he thinks about it, but to actually invade your privacy, to perv on you like that? He couldn’t. Surely not. He’ll let himself resort to his fantasies. His fantasies picture all manner of things. 

Black, like the dress - lacy, very simple and nothing out of the ordinary really, but entirely sexy. A bold red, maybe - it leaves little to the imagination, it only really covers the bare minimum and leaves the rest so plain to see. But then he pictures something lighter, a pastel pink or blue perhaps. And that’s what sends his mind into a frenzy. Delicate, soft in its colour, cotton and lace, the prettiest he’d imagined yet. Just like one he’d seen on your bed that time he came over to help put your furniture together. 

He approaches the three of you nevertheless, pushing his thoughts into the back of his mind. 

“Clark!” You greet him with your bright smile. 

“Hey!” 

“I want to play pool, do you want to join?” 

“Uh, sure?” 

“Great! I’ll get it set up, you come over when you’re ready.” 

He watches you walk away, hips swaying gently as you approach the pool table. “She’s so into you,” Chloe mutters, laughing. 

“What?” He asks, eyebrows quirked. “No, she’s not.” 

“Clark, she’s just invited you to go watch her bend over a table. Trust me, she’s into you.” 

His cheeks flush red as he shakes his head. “No. No, she’s just- she says and does things without realising.” 

“Oh, she realises,” Lana says, laughing a little. “She wants you to notice her.” 

“I do notice her!” 

“Not in the way that she wants. Not that she can see, anyway. To everyone else, it’s plainly obvious that you’re head-over-heels for the girl,” Chloe says. “Now go. She’s waiting for you.” 

He joins you over at the pool table, where you’ve set it up. It’s only now that it’s just you and him that he realises you’re tipsy. He can see it in your eyes and the lazy smile on your face, and the way you stumble just a little into him, holding his biceps for support. 

“Ladies first,” he says, watching you smile wider and turn to the table. 

You walk to the other end as Clark lifts the triangle, and you bend at the waist, lining up your shot. You split the balls, and the game begins. 

Halfway through, on your turn again, you bend at the waist once again, this time a little closer to Clark. And this time, one of the football players, Nathan, stares at your ass as you begin to bend over. Before he can see any more, Clark steps in the way, blocking Nathan’s view and shooting him a glare. 

Nathan raises his hands in surrender. “Sorry, Kent. I didn’t know y’all were like that.” And he moves on. 

Clark rolls his eyes a little. 

Right towards the end, with you surprisingly in the lead - although Clark’s willing to bet that he’s at a disadvantage, given that most of his blood is travelling in the opposite direction away from his brain and somewhere it is not currently needed - you go to take another shot. You evaluate a few angles, then decide on one. Clark is leaning against a wall, watching you move around the table with careful thought. And then you find your ideal angle. 

The best place you can take this shot from and still have a chance at potting it is by standing right in front of Clark. 

So you stand there, and bend over again. Clark hadn’t seen it before, careful to move with you so that he never had to be standing at an angle where he’d see much, if anything, when you bent over. But this shot was far too difficult to predict where you’d go, nowhere was ideal. So he’d stuck where he was and begged whatever power there was that you didn’t need to stand in front of him. But the powers are betting against him. 

You bend over, so your torso is at a parallel angle to the table, and line up your shot. And Clark doesn’t mean to look, really. But just like in the car the other day when he’d glanced at your tits, your ass is right there. How was he supposed to know that your dress was so short he’d be able to see your panties? 

The best of his fantasies are fulfilled when he glimpses your baby blue underwear, just like he imagined it. Cotton, but he can see the beginnings of lace detail. It covers you well, until it reaches your ass, where the material begins to thin, and it becomes just a flimsy thing that rests between your ass cheeks. He’d imagined the thong before, not half an hour ago. But now he was seeing it. 

You stumble a little, out of nowhere seemingly, and he’s quick to grip your hips to stabilise you. And now his crotch is pretty much against your ass. Now it just looks like he’s about to take you from behind. 

“Uh-” He lets you go. “You okay?” 

“Mm-hm. I’m about to win. I couldn’t be better.” 

“Yeah, well, there’s still time, don’t get your hopes too high.” 

Except Clark knows it would take a miracle for him to win now. His head’s too clouded with lust, his brain is so deprived of blood it should be concerning, and he’s so hard it’s painful. He thinks he might just finish in his pants any minute. And if he didn’t know better, he’d think that you’re doing this to him intentionally. But you’re too tipsy and he’s seen the way you are normally, always saying and doing things by accident or without realising the double entendre. 

Or so he thinks. 

Thing is, you didn’t really come here with a plan to try to rile him up. You know it never usually seems to work - Clark’s awkward, and far too respectful to objectify you, even if you’re practically begging him to (or so you think). You love how respectful Clark is, really, and you’re glad he was raised right, but just once you want him to throw that out the window, be as depraved as he can be, lustful and carnal. He’s so easily-flustered and touch-starved, you know that he has to have locked up all those urges and desires somewhere. You really didn’t plan anything tonight, the tipsiness seems to have done some of it for you. 

When you win the match a little later, you cheer and jump in celebration, Clark smiling at you and keeping his eyes very much on yours. You hug him joyfully, and he wraps his strong arms around you. 

It was strange how a man so physically imposing could hold so much comfort. 

~~~ 

“So, how was your night?” Iris asks over a cup of coffee as the two of you sit in the Talon. 

You smile. “Pretty good. You?” 

“Very good.” 

Later on, when Clark arrives with Chloe, Pete, and Lana, Iris wiggles her eyebrows at you, and you roll your eyes before inviting them to join you. 

The others all take their seats, leaving Clark to sit next to you. 

He looks flushed, but you choose not to comment. 

taglist;

@artyandink

@blueeweeb

@ssnapsaurus

@i-got-a-bad-feeling-about-this

@milestellerismybf

@purple-1995

@writergiih

@elysianrosie

@glennussy

@rainwaterxx

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I stumbled on this article about 29 Western Gothic Nursery Ideas and I'm so impressed. These ideas can be used for baby, but why not for inspiration for older children's room and adult decor? You gotta see these. This one is called "Mythical Creatures." According to the article, it introduces fantastic beasts like griffins and unicorns into a nursery. Deep jewel tones mixed with soft pastels create a magical yet calming space, perfect for stimulating imagination.

Moonlit Haven brings the peaceful charm of a moonlit meadow indoors. Soft blues and silvers mimic the glow of the moon, while plush moon-shaped pillows and serene meadow-themed wall art enhance the tranquil atmosphere.

Twilight Magic captures the whimsical charm of twilight. Deep purples and blues set a mystical tone, while twinkling fairy lights and mythical creature toys spark curiosity. 

Starry Enchantment brings celestial wonder, combining deep navy hues and silver accents. Star-patterned walls and a night sky ceiling inspire dreams of galactic adventures, while plush star-shaped cushions add comfort and charm.

Mystic Moonlight creates a dreamy nursery, using pale colors and silvery moonbeam motifs. Delicate, floating fabrics and lunar landscapes inspire a sense of wonder and calm.

Gothic Grove brings the charm of an ancient garden indoors. Rich greens and earth tones, paired with floral and vine patterns, create a lush, calming atmosphere. Dark wood furniture and soft lighting enhance the theme’s historic feel.

Eclipse Dreams features a theme inspired by the mystery of an eclipse. Dark colors contrasted with gold accents mimic the sun’s corona, while celestial patterns create a cozy, restful space.

Nightshade Nursery embraces deep purples and soft blacks, creating a secret garden vibe. Subtle botanical prints and shadowy decor inspire storytelling and imagination, while plush rugs ensure a cozy, magical space.

Willow Whispers brings the gentle grace of willow trees. Soft greens and earth tones create a serene atmosphere, while willow branch wall decals sway peacefully, making it the perfect setting for a soothing nursery.

Windy Whispers captures the gentle flow of the wind. Airy fabrics and soft, flowing designs bring a dynamic element to the room, while soft blues and grays create a serene space.

Celestial Dreams brings the night sky indoors. Starry patterns and glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars create a soothing, cosmic environment.

Fairytale Dungeon offers a playful twist, transforming the space into a whimsical medieval fantasy. Castle-like furniture, dragon toys, and soft, ambient lighting create a space full of adventure and charm.

Gargoyle’s Lair incorporates mythical Gothic elements with gargoyle figurines and rugged textures. Stone-gray tones and plush gargoyle toys create a unique space. 

Castle Dreams transforms a nursery into a storybook castle with royal murals, plush thrones, and regal fabrics. Purple and gold accents add a touch of nobility.

Midnight Meadows features calming nocturnal murals. Large wall art depicting moonlit scenes sets a peaceful tone, while indirect lighting enhances the magical nighttime atmosphere.

Gothic Spires draws on cathedral architecture, incorporating pointed arches and soft gray tones for a serene, collected space. Angelic motifs and stained glass details add to the calming environment.

Enchanted Sanctuary creates a magical nursery filled with mystical books and lantern-like lighting. Soft, muted colors and luxurious textures make the space feel warm and enchanting.

Ghostly Playroom introduces playful ghost motifs that create a fun, cozy atmosphere. Soft, pale colors and plush ghost-shaped pillows add whimsy without being spooky.

Lavender Maze brings intricate patterns and soft purples. Labyrinthine designs on wallpaper or rugs add a touch of charm, while simple furniture keeps the room calm and soothing.

Wraith’s Playground is a whimsical take using light, ethereal fabrics to create an airy, magical space. Pale colors and ghostly motifs make the room playful and calming.

Shaded Comfort focuses on muted grays and soft blacks, creating a subtle, shadowy atmosphere that’s perfect for quiet comfort. Soft, plush materials provide both coziness and sophistication.

Cheerful Spirits brings friendly, playful ghost motifs. Bright accents and ghost-shaped pillows add fun to the room, creating a stimulating yet cozy environment.

Twilight Cuddles captures the soft light of dusk. Dusky purples and shimmering fabrics evoke a peaceful, twilight sky, perfect for soothing before bed.

Storybook Charm brings classic fairy tale elements. Deep colors, ornate frames, and vintage toys create an enchanting, adventure-filled space.

Peaceful Tombs embraces the serenity of Gothic architecture. Arched doorways, soft lighting, and muted earth tones create a tranquil, retreat-like environment.

Mystical Reflections uses mirrors to create a sense of depth and magic. Reflective surfaces paired with enchanted forest-themed decor add an element of surprise and wonder.

Raven’s Haven brings the mysterious beauty of ravens into the room with dark, rich colors and plush raven toys. Artwork of ravens in moonlit trees adds a touch of Gothic elegance.

Sapphire Dreams creates a Gothic nursery with deep, calming sapphire hues and silver accents. Dark wood furniture with Gothic detailing completes the serene, magical space.

Gentle Guardians softens the traditional gargoyle motif into playful, friendly figures. Stone-gray tones and whimsical gargoyle toys create a balanced, inviting space.

https://learncalifornia.org/western-gothic-nursery/

[drdemonprince]

how do you (gently) nudge someone out of catastrophizing spirals? i struggled with those myself mightily, but somehow managed to get myself to a point where i don't get swept up in them as much. mostly by focusing on the here and now, not extrapolating endlessly on what *might* be. i have no idea how to transfer that skill to other people though, and i wonder if you have any insights?

The book How to Deal with Emotionally Explosive People was very helpful to me in both developing that skill and passing it on. So are Lindsay Gibson's Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents books, in a more indirect way.

One of the rules of thumb that a lot of people suggest is to allow a distressed person to vent how they are feeling up to a point, but once they start looping back around and repeating themselves, telling them that you cannot listen to that topic any more right now, and turning your shared attention toward something more distracting. A mix of validating their feelings & listening to them but not letting their anxiety control the flow of conversation is the way to go. Don't be afraid to be a supportive "leader" of the conversation at moments, introducing new activities and topics. And you can always set your own boundaries on what you are prepared to speak about, and for how long.

[deepspacedandelion]

Kissy Face, Kissy Face (NSFW, 18+)

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

Summary: You beg Caleb to let you test a few lipstick colors on him, trying to see if they’re transfer proof, his jealousy makes an appearance, but he knows exactly how to fix it (freaky ass🤣).

Warnings: Smut (25% other, 75% smut be aware), P in V sex, cumming (male) inside (female) (wrap it before you tap it yall), fingering (fem receiving), mentions of female genitalia, mentions of male genitalia, mentions of panty sniffing, mentions of masturbation, one mention of pubic hair, cursing, a little dumbification (if you squint real hard), Lots of dirty Talk (Caleb a freak), slight yandere Caleb (if you squint real hard), mentions of jealousy, possessiveness, and indirectly mentioned manipulation.

Word Count: 4.3k (A little long? Maybe not.)

*picture from Pinterest (though I did add the kiss marks myself!), full credit to the lovely creators!❤️*

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — It’s not Caleb’s fault that he could never say no to you.

Really.

He just can’t fathom the thought of those two letters leaving his mouth and seeing the heartbreak painted on your face at the mere sound. He knows that half the things he allows you to do will always leave him with the bad end of the stick, but he doesn’t mind that.

He never does.

It’s all worth it in the end because he gets to spend time with you and hear your angelic voice as you blabber about whatever. He gets to inhale every sweet scent that flows from your frame, always seeming to float their way into his vicinity and permeate his nostrils; body wash, lotions, perfumes, shampoos, you name it, he loves it, craves it even. Every scent has him paralyzed momentarily, ignoring the rest of the world and honing in on you.

But what truly makes it all worth it is the smile on your face and knowing that smile is all his doing, no one else's. It’s one of the best feelings in the world to him. He's a fiend for seeing your teeth gleam from a smile laced with joy, so when you came to him, big puppy eyes pleading with him to help you with this trivial matter, how could he ever say no?

“Please, Caleb! Please!! It would only take a few minutes!”

His teasing nature was so irresistible, he was so tempted to say ‘no,’ just to rile you up, not because he’d ever truly mean it, just because he wanted to see your pretty pink lips pout at the utterance of his refusal.

“Why should I? I don’t think I want to sit here and be covered in your lipstick smudges, Pipsqueak. You know how long that’ll take to scrub off? Absolutely not!” He scoffs, faux annoyance playing at his words.

There it was, a 'no,' Indirect, but present nevertheless. He’d give in soon, though, the pressure simmering beneath his skin. You knew it and he knew it, all he needed was a little… push, something that would strike a nerve, and you knew exactly how to do that.

Your hand extended to the left end of the couch where, right next to it, lay your makeup bag. Reaching inside, you pulled out one of the many red lipsticks huddled in the pouch, speaking softly as you popped the cap and coated the silky red paint on your lips.

“C’mon, Caleb. I want to see which of these lipstick’s is transfer proof. I don’t want to go from Marilyn Monroe to Ronald McDonald after kissing a guy just cuz I chose the wrong one. So, be a doll and help a girl out, will you?~”

Oh, you’ve done it now. You can see the grimace that spreads across his face, the clench that positions itself in his jaw, and if you squint your eyes hard enough, you can even see the slight twitch in his nimble fingers.

Unmistakingly, Caleb loved to tease you, a little too much, but boy, the man cannot take what he dishes out. You were well aware that the fastest way to get to him, the path to the fulfillment of all your desires, was to travel through his jealous nature. He’d tried working on it, he really did, but it was futile. He couldn't bear the thought of you with another man, let alone kissing him! If another guy so much as breathed in your direction, he’d get overly jealous; why is he trying to get you to notice him? Why is your attention needed elsewhere? Is he not enough for you? Isn't your gaze only for him? His brows furrowed as his mind ran rampant imagining the sight of someone's disgusting lips kissing what is his. The thought clear torture to him.

No!

He won’t stand for it.

Your lips are only for him. No one else. His fingers curl into a fist as he caves, the thoughts brought on by the delayed approval a result of his own mistake.

“5 minutes.” His eyes burned into you, he wasn’t mad, no, never that. Just jealous beyond compare.

The smile that spread across your red lips practically split your face in half.

Bingo.

You jumped into his arms, kissing his cheek as you did so.

“Okay, so, not this one! I didn’t like it anyway, too much of an orange undertone.” You remark, noticing the reddish kiss mark on the side of his face.

“Sit,” you demand, wiping the color on your lips off with the back of your hand and fetching another out of your bag. He complies, wordlessly, eyes peering into your soul.

“That one was… Flirt Alert, nice, nice. Next one is… Cherry Pie.” You straddle his lap and coat the new lipstick on, softly planting another kiss on his cheek after your done. The jealous tension falls from his face, welcoming your lips with a newfound lax expression.

“Not this one.” You say again, tossing it back into the makeup bag.

“How about… Vampira?" Absentmindedly, you pull the collar of his shirt to use as a rag to wipe off the Cherry Pie that's on your lips, an odd habit for you, but he doesn't object, opting to stay quiet as he studies every ethereal feature on your face, especially as you coat the Vampira on and lean to the side to kiss his jawbone. "Ooh, bold, I like it! But, unfortunately, she's another dud.” Much like the previous two, this one transfers as well. Caleb tries, but his mind can't seem to focus enough to be a good little guinea pig for your experiment right now, too hazy after inhaling the sweet smell of your perfume. To out of it after feeling the soft sensation of your kiss, large hands resting snugly on the small of your back as you shift through the makeup bag once more.

“Wine stain?” You ask, holding it up for Caleb to see. He hums, hearing your words, yet unable to decode their meaning. His eyes softer now, staring at you with an unknown twinkle glimmering in his irises. The twinkle thats doing it's best to conceal the tent pitching in his jeans, his tip chafing against the soft fabric of his briefs, creating tiny shocks of pleasure that make him grow.

That’s right. Caleb is loving this. Why wouldn’t he? You’re right above him, so darling and beautiful, kissing his cheeks, his jaw bone and littering kisses along his neck. He’s trying his best to hide it, carefully adjusting the uncomfortableness in his pants every time you look away to grab another lipstick, but it’s getting too much to handle. He’s so close, yet so far, from feeling oh so good.

“Too purple under-toned.” You say, wiping off the Wine Stain on Caleb’s shirt. “Hey,” You call, noticing that you’re beginning to run out of space to litter more kisses. “Take off your shirt, I need more space. We still have a lot more to go.” Your fist thumps playfully against his chest, a silent urge for him to follow your command.

A devious smile overtakes his features. “Just kiss me on my lips then.” He uses the index finger of his free hand to tap twice on his bottom lip, his tantalizing stare enticing you and sending a tingle right down to your core.

“N-no,” You can’t help that your confident demeanor falters, he’s just so… bold and so… handsome. You’d never admit it out loud, but you never noticed it much until now, his large frame under you and his face so close to yours. “That’d make it too weird…”

“Oh and me stripping down and you kissing me so softly doesn’t?” He doesn’t mean to inch his face closer to yours or to inch closer to making his feelings known, he just can’t hold back anymore. He’s waited so long for you… to be this close to you. Waited so long for your kisses, and your touch. It’s making him… feel something.

You don’t answer, instead, you use your finger to trace over the toned muscles of his torso. He’s so… sexy. You can’t even meet his eyes again as you paint on the fourth lipstick; Seductive Scarlett.

It’s a pretty, ruby red. Not quite the look you’re going for, but when you kiss him again, it’s pretty flush against his skin. You can’t help but plant a few more kisses down his body, you just want to feel it a little more, to get the tiniest hint of what he tastes like.

He’s relishing in the tenderness of your kisses, smile and boner growing. Using his free hand, he reaches over into your makeup bag and pulls out a tube.

Bringing your face level to his, he cups your cheek, tauntingly waving a lipstick in front of you. "How 'bout… Candy Apple?"

Goodness, he’s so sexy. You can feel a warm sensation pooling between your legs, the soft friction of your panties teasing you as they rub against your sensitive clit.

“O-okay… yeah, let’s try that.” Is all you can muster up as the pad of his thumb swipes across your lips, removing the previous lipstick. He paints the new color on you so gently, holding your face as he does so. Oh, how he wants to ravish you in this moment. You look so pretty, all dolled up, just for him.

“Kiss me on my lips this time,” He whispers, his breath hot against the skin of your neck.

You want to hesitate, to think to yourself ‘No! This is Caleb, my best friend since childhood!' but that doesn’t come. All that sits in your brain is the sight of his pleased face as your lips crash against his.

The taste of his lips is sweet, like apple flavored chapstick. They’re so soft and malleable as you bite down lightly on his bottom lip, eliciting a low groan from him.

His hand pushes your body towards his, and you moan into his mouth as the tent in his pants grinds against your covered clit.

Oh, how he loves this, his hips bucking up in between your legs as he moans in your mouth.

You thought about kissing someone else tonight? No, no, no, dear. You’re his to kiss. Only his.

He holds your body tight against him as he flips you over, your back hitting the couch and him hovering above you, ravaging you with his kisses.

This is what you wanted right? To make him jealous? Well they’ll be no more of that. He’s determined to show you why he’ll never get jealous again. He promises this time. Because, why would he ever be jealous again when he’s going to make you his? Right here, right now. No more following you around like a little puppy, waiting for you to see that he’s the right one—no, the only one— for you. No more giving random men the scare of their life if he so much as catches them with you—no wonder none of your dates ever texted you back. It was all his fault—. But you don’t need to know that, a secret just for him.

His kisses trail down your neck and collarbones, imitating the way you did him earlier, leaving the pretty red lipstick that you so generously left on his lips decoratively over your skin. His soft fingers hook into the thin straps of your dress and glides them down your shoulders, bunching the floral fabric of the ensemble at your waist. His bulge is in between your legs, grinding oh so deliciously right where you need him most. Straightening his back, he takes in the beautiful sight of your desperate form. Don’t worry, he’ll give you just what you need.

“You know,” He begins, swiping his thumb across his lips to remove the remaining lipstick. “Candy Apple is so perfect on you, baby. I think that’s your color, yeah?” His vocal tone is so taunting, knowing exactly how wet its making you.

Half of you is screaming, 'What a slut!' As the wetness between your legs drenches the midsection of your panties, but the other half of you is so desperate to feel him inside you. This is what you wanted. Your plan, albeit a bit unpredictable, worked. You’d riled Caleb up enough, feigned innocence at the mention of kissing another man, knowing that would be just what tipped him over the edge. There would never be another man. How could it when someone as perfect as Caleb was relentless about you? Pining after you day and night? But you couldn’t dare to give in too easy, you couldn’t let him know just how much everything he did affected you. Because then, then he’d have won. No can do, you needed to be the winner of this game. You needed to get him to break first. And who knew, with a plan so simple, you'd do just that.

“Caleb,” You call, urging him on as you place your hands on his toned biceps.

“I know, baby, I know,” He coos, unzipping his jeans and taking out his erect cock.

Oh my, it was so fucking pretty. Just the perfect length and a perfect width, accompanied by a small patch of short, wispy, black hairs resting at the base, scrunched under his tensed hand that smeared milky pre cum from his muted soft pink tip all the way down his veiny cock, only making your pussy wetter.

“I’m gonna fuck you so good, hm? You want that, don’t you, Pipsqueak? That’s why you’re soaking wet for me, yeah? I can tell.” His head cocked to the side as he poked the tip of his length right at your clothed entrance, rubbing it so slowly up and down your sopping cunt. Oh, he was such an asshole.

Your cheeks burned in embarrassment. Yes, fuck, yes, OF COURSE, all you wanted was his pretty cock to fuck your brains in, since you must’ve been out of your damn mind mentioning another man around him. But dammit, you didn’t want to give in, give him the upper hand at teasing you. But that’s too bad, cuz that’s exactly what he wanted. He would stop being jealous, he promises, only, ONLY, if he could make you his. And what better way to do that than to fuck your pretty pussy full of his cum. Surely that’d be good enough right? Good enough to remind you who you belong to? Who you’ll always belong to?

You tried to turn you face, avoid his eyes, but he roughly cupped your cheeks before you could, ensuring your eyes met his, filled with malicious intent.

“Go ahead, ask me so sweetly, baby. Ask me to fuck your pretty pussy so good, and I just might, yeah? I just might let you cum all over my cock. Make it yours, hm?”

Shit.

How could you resist? A pulse of ecstasy washed over your clit, causing you to gush out another wave of wetness. You needed him. You needed him inside of you now.

“Please, Caleb, please fuck me. Please fuck my pussy so good.”

That was all the confirmation he needed; you wanted this just as much as he did. A proud grin flashed across his face as he slowly peeled off your panties.

Fuck him and his stupid snail speed.

But don't blame him, he needed to savour this moment. If it was gone too soon, where's the fun in that? No, no, no, he can't have that.

His fingertips dance across your stomach, tracing intricate patterns as they made their way down, halting at the top of your thigh. He watches you, like a lion watches a gazelle, making sure your eyes are fixed on him as he brings his middle and ring finger up to his mouth. His fingers push past his lips, slathering them with a large glob of saliva. Slowly, he slips them out and lowers them down to your clit, careful not to waste a drop. Your breath hitches as he plunges his saliva coated digits in your slick, rubbing it up and down your pussy, mixing it so lewdly, getting it so messy for him.

"You're so pretty, you know that? Your pussy's so pretty." Oh damn, his voice was so low and sensual, reverberating straight down in your core.

You nodded your head, reeling from desire and embarrassment. You tried to trail your hand down to direct his hand, to silently urge him to touch you more, make you cum so hard, but he stopped you, interlocking your fingers with his.

"Tsk. No, no, baby. I’ll make you cum soon. Right when I want you too.”

Feather light circles were traced on your clit, over and over, making your head spin. It was so subtle, not enough to make you cum, but just enough to get you wetter for him. He enjoyed this, seeing your body unravel before him.

It’s only right.

Your body is his and his only.

Carefully, his middle finger slides down from your clit and penetrates your entrance, enticing a loud moan of yours to fill the room.

His fingers feel so foreign, yet so familiar.

Did you fantasize about him when you masturbated, dreaming that his hand could replace your own and get you off at lightening speed? Of course, but you never thought that those fantasies could come to life.

Warmness trickles down your spine and engulfs your wet cunt as he adds another finger, your pussy squelching loudly at the intrusion.

“Hear that, baby? She wants me. That why she’s so fuckin’ wet for me. She wants me to fuck her like she deserves. She's such a pretty pussy.” The lewd way he personifies your pussy turns you on even more, practically making you cum on the spot. But you maintain your composure, you have to, you have a reward to claim; Caleb told you that you could cum all around his cock, ‘make it yours’ he said. And that’s exactly what you plan to do.

He curls his fingers inside of you, fingertips grazing the soft sponginess of your insides, lightly presses against your G-Spot, causing your body to tremble. All the while, he never takes his persistent eyes off of you, maintaining deeply intimate eye contact as he watches your face contort in pleasure.

“Fuck,” You breathe, eyes screwing shut at the waves of pleasure that roll over you. “When are you gonna fuck me, Caleb?” Your voice is delicate, laced with pure need. You don’t mean to be so direct, so adamant about what you want—no, what you need—, but it just feels too good. If this is the way he makes you feel from just his fingers, imagine how good his cock would make you feel. He can sense it. It’s so evident; how you want him to ravish you in a way only he can. He absolutely loves it. This is way better than jerking off with your panties, stroking his cock so achingly slow as he draws in a deep exhale, chasing your scent. It always made him cum so hard, the dulled scent of your pussy like a pheromone to him. But now, he doesn’t have to do that anymore. Now he has the real thing, the real scent, the real taste of your pussy as he slowly pulls out his fingers and sucks the wetness from them, eyes practically rolling back in his head at the taste, sending him into a frenzy.

Fuck. This was so much better, a thousand times better than sniffing your panties. This was you, the real you, and that’s exactly what he needed. He can never go without it again.

“You’re so impatient, baby.” He chuckles, sliding the head of his cock up and down your slick cunt. He leans in close, covering your face in butterfly kisses as he lines the tip up with your hole. If this is what you want, he’ll give it to you. He’ll be the only one to give it to you. “Don’t worry, baby,” He says, pushing it in so slow, stuffing you full of his fat cock, your mouth parting in ecstasy. “Fuck, I am too.” He tries to keep a gentle pace for you, he can’t fuck you too stupid yet. No, you’re not ready for that. But it’s so difficult to keep his promise to himself; the promise that WHEN—not ‘IF’, but 'WHEN'— he finally, finally got to fuck you, he’d take it so painstakingly slow. Draw it out so long, cherish every second. Spend hours and hours making you feel so good, make love to you. But damn, was that difficult. Right here, in this moment, on this couch, all he wanted to do was claim you as his.

He gives you the quickest second to adjust to his length, stopping momentarily after pushing in inch after inch until he bottoms out, hips reluctantly stuttering to a stop. He just has to catch his breath for a second, get used to your tight pussy sucking him in, clenching around him and begging to be fucked, any way he likes.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” He groans, panting into the crook of your neck, littering kisses and red and purples flowers along the area. His hips rock steadily into your squelching pussy, and goodness, does he moan like a pornstar.

He doesn’t care who could hear him, all he cares is that you hear him., loud and clear. Hear how good you’re making him feel, how good he’s making you feel.

Your nails claw at his broad back, trying hard to restrain yourself from letting your orgasm take over. You just want to feel him for a bit, let him fuck your pussy real good, like she deserves.

Missionary is a favorite for him, seeing your pretty face as you try so hard to contain your pleasure, but it’s not his absolute favorite.

No, that comes when he places his large hands on the back of your thighs, pushing up until he’s sure your knees are touching your shoulders.

His teeth gleam under the dim lighting, he’s such a smug bastard about this.

“Just wanna get as deep as I can, baby. You want that right?” His veiny cocks pushes deeper into you, stretching you out oh so good. The feeling incomparable to your own feeble attempts at fingering yourself. His hips take on a faster pace, thrusting into you with impatient desire.

He tried the best he could, to at least try and slow down, but he just needed to cum as soon as possible, needed to make YOU cum as soon as possible.

He loved teasing you, but while doing so, he was indirectly teasing himself.

Your legs, knees still hunched up to your chest, were thrown over his shoulders, his body weight pinning you down, making sure your tight pussy can’t escape the brutal bullying of his needy cock. He couldn’t have that, no, not after you begged him so sweetly to fuck you so good.

His fingers interlocked with yours, pushing them above your head.

Even his lips were pinned on yours, nipping at the soft flesh and moaning into your mouth, raspy, desperate moans.

“Fuck, ‘m gonna cum. Feels too good baby. Your pussy's so fuckin' good baby.” His cock pulsed inside you, stroking your soft walls with the strained flesh, alerting you to his forthcoming release. You felt so full, so cockdrunk as he pounded into your cunt, claiming it as his once and for all.

“Tell me it’s mine and I’ll let you come,” He panted, over and over. His jealous nature slipping through the cracks, but you didn’t care. This is what you wanted. You wanted him to stop all the bullshitting. Stop all the restraining and fuck you dumb. Any girl in her right mind knew that lipstick was going to transfer. The only way to be sure to get a set lip color, one that wouldn't transfer, is by using a lip stain, that way, you can kiss, suck, and lick all you want and still have pretty red lips at the end of the night. Every girl knew. But not Caleb. No, he didn’t know that this was all part of your plan. All just a scheme to get him to lose control of his jealousy and fuck you like a man, and that he did.

“Yes! Yes! It’s yours, Caleb, this pussy is yours,” You moan, your orgasm bordering on the edge, and when you feel the thick spurts of Caleb’s cum painting your walls, your body trembles uncontrollably as a powerful orgasm rips through you. Your toes curl as you finally get to cum around your new possession. The arch in your back is almost painful the way he has you cumming so good. Deep, guttural groans from him sing in your ear as your tight pussy clenches and pulses around him, sucking him in deeper and claiming what’s yours.

Chasing the aftershocks of his orgasm, his hips rut into you, determined to pump you full of his cum, careful not to spill a drop.

“You know, baby,” Caleb begins, running a hand through his ruffled black hair that had fallen over his face in the heat of your passion. He pushes against the couch, drawing away from your body, yet he doesn't pull out. Why should he? When he's nestled deep in what's his, plugging it full of his creamy, possessive cum. Beads of sweat form on his forehead when he raises himself to hover above you. He reaches just above your head, picking up the lipstick tube that rolled over to the corner of the couch and twists it around in his fingers, examining the design. “I think we have a winner.”

Unbeknownst to him, they were all winners in your heart.

Stepping stones that brought you to this moment.

“Candy Apple it is,” You pant, breathlessly, as you prop yourself up on your elbows and take the tube from him.

— ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ — ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ —

Caleb's too freaky, I thought of at least 5 other freaky ideas to write about him just writing this. The freakiest of the 5, fr. Anyways, sorry if there's any spelling/grammar errors, I gave up trying to find em halfway through, but you get the gist.

Next up is either Zayne, Rafayel or and OT5 reaction/headcannon!❤️🫶🏽

Please feel free to send requests!💜🫶🏽

[winstein-nin]

Dichotomy of the Elements

Coming up with the actual elements are easy and difficult. Some, they were easy like Fire, Ice, and Bubble because they were obvious, but I had to crack my head for the next two, Electric especially. Spring was one of the ideas I had, but I didn't use it because of time constraints, and I noticed that Mario probably didn't enjoy being bound by a coil.

I did not intend to have Mario and Wario have indirect interactions, yet the cartoon very clearly makes it easy to assume that the interacted. So, like Mario looked like he's blowing bubbles and then Wario's caught in one of the bubbles. If I were to make them interact, things would've looked different, like maybe Wario facing the other way when he's burned, and Mario's perspective wouldn't be viewed as an above shot. I guess the outcome is a happy accident, since it makes the cartoon better that way. 

Thank you for reading.

Bonus panel:

Originally, the sequence was reversed. As in, it was originally Wario asking Mario if he could allow him to be in his games before fainting. This is one instance where I found that the other way around fits the sequence better, but there is a remnant where you might be able to see the original flow, which is basically Mario's posing. Were I to originally plan this sequence from the start, Mario would've faced Wario.

[impishjesters]

Quiet morning together - Jax x Reader

CW(s): suggestive talk, indirect implications towards the two of you being nude but left up to your decision, same goes for any hanky panky the night before, soft fluff A/N: I want to write so many things after these latest episodes but nothing has sparked in my mind and I'm sad... so have this random soft moment together that I've forced myself to write to try and get the creative juices flowing. (I haven't written in so long, I'm so rusty...)

Neither of you has ever been a morning person but unlike a certain someone. You can push through it and get yourself out of bed in a timely fashion.

Except today.

Today is one of those days… Jax’s arms wrapped snugly around you, barely giving you an ounce of space to yourself as his long leg is draped over yours, keeping you trapped in bed. The soft fur from his face tickled your neck as he nuzzled closer, burying his face into the junction of your neck and shoulder. One of his ears flopped over your face like an eye mask.

You don’t have the energy to say anything, nor do you make any attempts to move even if your arm is falling asleep under his lithe form laying on it. This scene has happened enough times for you to know that Jax is awake and doing this on purpose to keep you in bed with him—luckily for him, you have nowhere to be today and no rush to get out of bed.

Despite the tingling in your arm that he’s lying on, you raise your hand far enough to brush your fingers over the nape of his neck. The warmth of his soft fur radiating against your fingertips, it’s something you still don’t understand but you’ve learned not to question it by this point.

A quiet purr makes its way out of Jax as you run your fingers through his fur, your fingers knowing just where to scratch to relax him. And of course, in good Jax fashion, he can’t let you get the one up on him. Jax tightens his hold around your body, pulling you impossibly close like he’s trying to fuse the two of you, and presses the weight of his body halfway onto you.

You let out a quiet grunt at his weight and tangled your fingers in the fur of his nape, giving a brief tug. “Jax…” There’s no venom to your words if anything, his name is just a sigh on your lips and Jax greedily soaks up his name from your mouth.

Jax mumbles your name in response, a soft breathy yawn leaving him right after as he affectionately nuzzles his forehead close to your ear. The leg draped over yours shifts, his calf and ankle hooking around your legs to pull them closer and tangle between his legs.

“How long do you plan on keeping us in bed, cottontail?” You can feel where Jax’s nose would be scrunched up against your skin. Despite his protests of the nickname you can’t help but feel he’s come to like it—at least from you.

The lithe rabbit man lets out a pathetic, dramatic whine right into your ear before responding. “C’mon… who cares if we waste the whole day here? Oh right,” he pauses and feigns a panicked tone. “We’ll miss work! Can’t have a cut in our paycheck, how will we ever survive?!”

Even if he can’t see it, you roll your eyes and pinch his ear. A soft yelp leaves him as he brushes your hand away from his ear and finally looks at you with his usual shit-eating grin. “Oh, right. We don’t need that here.”

His tone is soft and playful, but you can hear the underlying sadness in his voice. You reach up with your free hand and pet the fur on his face in different directions, letting you see his full, unobstructed face—shit-eating grin and all.

Jax lets out a soft hum, accompanied by a faint purr as you brush his fur in place. “Look at that, personal grooming and I didn’t even have to request it.”

His tone was smug as you finished grooming his face, your hand lingered on his cheek as a grin made its way to your lips. “You know most animals only let others that they are close to or trust a lot to groom them.” Jax goes stiff in your hold, refusing you meet your eyes. “So it’s good to know this little bunny trusts me so much to groom him.”

He lets out a soft snort and shoves his face into your chest, rubbing his face left and right as you laugh, chest rising and falling as he tries to undo all your hard work.

“Hey! Now I have to do that all over again, brat.”

You push his head away and manage to slip your arm out from under him, using both hands to keep his head still as you redo all of that hard work brushing his fur neatly.

“Oh, boo hoo.” He says sarcastically, though this time he doesn’t try to stop or impede on your mission of fixing his fur.

At some point the two of you shifted, your hands brushing through the fur of his face to working on the rest of his head and down to his neck and upper chest, taking care of any miraculous tangles that formed through the night. Jax now lies on his side, head propped up with his hand as he stares at you focusing so intently on the fur of his chest. Several dirty jokes bounced around his head but he kept his mouth shut—for once—and simply relaxed under your touch.

Your legs were still tangled with his as you moved alongside him to lay on your side, the blanket slipping down to your hips as you worked. His hand eventually found a home on your hip, keeping the blanket from slipping further but also keeping you in place close to him.

“Any lower and that’s gonna be a whole new “waking up”, toots.”

You don’t have to look at him to know he’s got that smug grin on his face and give the fur on his chest a sudden sharp tug. He hisses and reaches a hand up to pull yours from his chest and holds it. “Ouch, not so rough in the morning.”

“That’s not what you’ve said before.” You grumble softly, already tired of his shenanigans and the two of you haven’t even gotten out of bed.

Jax lets out a musical hum in response as he pulls the two of you closer and guides your head to his rest on his chest. “Touché.”

The two of you lay like that for god knows how long, simply basking in the artificial warmth of one another, your head slowly bobbing against his chest with every unnecessary breath.

[vivmaek]

MARS SIGN OBSERVATIONS

♂ Pisces Mars - I think Lennie Small from “Of Mice and Men,” would have this placement. This is a person who is seemingly harmless, and yet they still managed to cause harm and destruction through indirect action. When looking at someone with a Pisces Mars, their innocence and an assumed lack of strength is noticed first. These are kind people. They would rather harm themselves over another person. Their first instinct isn’t to attack, but to defend. When angry, they appear to be caught up within a panic. A Pisces Mars is driven by their big dreams. They might not always know what they want out of life, and their goals and ambitions may change frequently. This does not mean that they are incapable of finding success. If anything, their unwavering belief in themselves and their ability to achieve the impossible is what takes them to great heights. Hope is everything for someone with this placement, it’s what gets them out of bed in the morning. 

♂ Aquarius Mars - It's hard to pin someone with this placement down. Their actions don’t make sense to other people. Aquarius does a good job showing its eccentricity through Mars. The rules of society and the opinions of others do not dictate their actions. These types are constantly surprising people, and they like this. The public will often speculate about those with an Aquarius Mars. Theories are formed about them, no one can guess what they’re going to do next. In my opinion, this is the most rebellious Aquarius placement. They live their life in a manner that is truly unconventional. People with this placement are not aggressive, but they are clever. They like outsmarting people. A sense of superiority can sometimes act as a driving force. They go out of their way to make the people around them feel stupid if they’re in a foul mood. Their need for independence will never be forsaken. 

♂ Capricorn Mars - Hard work doesn’t scare these people off. They’ll put in whatever energy is needed to complete a project or endeavor. A strong sense of ambition and an excellent sense of focus are traits commonly seen with this placement. They’re quite secure in themselves and exercise self control through all their actions. Discipline motivates them. They take their responsibilities seriously and expect others to do the same. A Capricorn Mars goes above and beyond what is expected of them. They do this through a step-by-step process and practical planning. Cutting corners or taking the easy way out is something you’d never catch them doing. These types want to maintain control over every aspect of their life. They become angry when plans are thrown into a disarray through unexpected events. “Going with the flow,” is not a strong suit of theirs. Their need for security is what motivates them. 

♂ Sagittarius Mars - People with this placement are incredibly restless. They lack patience and need many different outlets to pour their energy into. They are easy going but are also quickly overtaken by passion. Crossing their moral beliefs is a good way to get them riled up. They like to believe that their opinions are more intellectual than they are emotional. When angry they like to get up on a soap box to lecture people. When people don’t agree with them, it can sometimes feel like criticism. They also don’t consider how their tendency to dish out brutal honesty may actually be more hurtful than it is impactful. They often act as a spark that ignites fire, in both a positive and a negative way.

♂ Scorpio Mars - The definition of “moving in silence.” Lots of people claim to do this, but a Scorpio Mars wouldn’t be caught making such a claim. They’re smarter than that. They know that hardship and struggle are inevitable. This does not scare them, but they also don’t fight against the natural currents of life. During certain points, their sense of ambition is so relentless that it becomes obsessive. But, this can only last so long. Rest and recuperation is a process they embrace. After acting on an immense level of concentration for a long period of time, they will need to take a step back to reassess goals. Rather than just accepting things for the way they are, a Scorpio Mars would rather make changes. If they feel that a path is ill-suited for them, they’re not afraid to change directions. Starting from zero is not discouraging and it is something that motivates these types. They have the power to turn nothing into something great. 

♂ Libra Mars - Mars is uncomfortable being in Libra. People with this placement often struggle with taking action and are as indecisive as they come. They get caught up in what's fair and what isn’t. They have a strong need to strike equality and want every situation to be as balanced as possible. Some might be surprised to know that the ultimate desire for these types is to garner a sense of peace. They might unintentionally stir the pot through their inability to take a strong stance on something. They want to weigh all the options possible and can become stressed trying to do so. Being passive-aggressive is also something that's frequently seen with this placement. These types think they’re being nice when in reality they’re making people uncomfortable through their fear of being direct. They’re sneaky when faced with conflict but also good at leading people into a resolution. 

[rixsjwb]

geto sugurus the type. drabble

sugurus the type to: stares at you lovingly while you bicker with friends, he's manspread on the couch while you and gojo argue about stupid things but he can't help but stare at you while you argue.

sugurus the type to: put his large hands on the small of your back to navigate you in a crowded area and to gently move you from being in people's way

sugurus the type to: play with his hair when he's stressed, if his hair was flying freely he'd run his hand throught it when somethings irritating him.

sugurus the type to: get you your favorite fast food without you knowing, and he gets it when you crave it the most so you always end up so happy when he comes to your apartment with it in his hand.

sugurus the type to: help you with any science related subject because he's so good at it somehow.

sugurus the type to: not care about a so called 'indirect kiss' he'll drink from the same can as you, bite the same food as you off the same spoon or fork even if yall were friends. (But if he was in his villain era, he'd probably chop you up real good cause he doesn't wanna kiss no monkey😋)

sugurus the type to: hide his feelings when he's down, and he's really good at it, but you're even better at detecting even a slight change in his mood.

sugurus the type to: get matching earrings and tattoos with you if you have any.

sugurus the type to: indirectly put you in some intimate positions even when you're both friends, he'd lie his head in your chest or stomach while on your phone or

he'd be the type to: cage you into a position with his hands leaning on a desk that your back was leaning on and his hands are located near your waist leaving you with no room to escape.

sugurus the type to: notice any slight different change in your body, like many you suffer from seizures or fainting, it's like he has a 7th sense and can tell when somethings off about you.

sugurus the type to: have a period blood tracker on his phone to track your flow and bring you food that could help ease the cramps.

sugurus the type to: read a bedtime story to you and you'd fall asleep immediately.

sugurus the type to: hate going to bed after a argument you and him had, he overthinks too much so he just can't go to sleep without making things right between you two.

sugurus the type to: flirt and tease you if you easily get flustered but doesn't go overboard with it.

sugurus the type to: occasionally text you, check up on you, and over all know of your well-being.

sugurus the type to; play roblox with you and help you harasse and troll little kids

sugurus the type to:walks on the outside part of the sidewalk while you walk on the inside.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: cave fish

Prepare for a deep dive today. Not because I'm going to be more in-depth than usual, but because we're talking about caves. Which are deep. In the ground.... Yeah, you get it. Today is going to be a bit different from my normal WBW posts. Instead of going in depth on a particular species or group of related species I'm going to discuss common adaptations fish evolve to live permanently in caves and then go over a few species I find interesting. Let's get spelunking.

(Image: Typhleotris madagascariensis, a typical cave fish. It is a small fish with an entirely white body and smooth skin where the eyes would be on a normal fish. It is resting on rocky sediment. End ID)

Caves are not an easy place to live. There's no light, limited food, often low oxygen levels, and the threat of collapse or rockfall. Cave-swelling animals (collectively called troglofauna) need a number of special adaptations to survive and there is little room for error. Troglofauna that are strictly aquatic are called stygofauna. Troglofauna and stygofauna can be divided into three groups based on their life history. Troglophiles and stygophiles complete part of their life cycle in caves and part outside of them. A classic example of this is the many species of bat who seasonally inhabit caves to give birth and mate. Trogloxenes and stygoxenes are animals who will visit caves, but do not require time in caves to complete their life cycle. An example trogloxene would be a bear who takes shelter in a cave during winter. Finally, troglobites and stygobites live their entire lives in caves and never leave. The fish I discuss today are stygobites. Because troglobites and stygobites generally will die outside of their caves, they have very little opportunity to disperse. As such, many cave fish species are found only in a single cave or cave system and are entirely dependent on the health of their homes to survive.

(Image: two cave catfish sitting next to each other on a rock. They are white with elongated anal and rear dorsal fins, and no eyes. End ID)

Many cave-dwelling animals develop a set of common adaptations called troglomorphism. Cave water is often high in minerals but low in oxygen and food content. To survive, the fauna develop very slow metabolisms, allowing them to last a long time on limited resources while slowing down movement and other active systems and increasing age. These species are also typically smaller than their epigean (above-ground) relatives, further reducing their energy requirements. Slowed metabolism results in comparatively slow development. Cave species take much longer to mature and reproduce then related epigean species. Many species further decrease their energy consumption by moving as little as possible. Many species of cave fish are able to last long periods of time between meals without negative impacts to their health. They will binge eat whatever they can find and then subsist on fat stores while food is scarce. One test in captivity showed that a Phreatobius cisternarum (cave catfish) could go a while year between meals and stay healthy. Cave species are usually opportunistic generalists as they can't afford to pass up resources. Much of their food will originate outside of the cave, either directly or indirectly. Water flow into caves brings in algae, bacteria, plankton, and other food sources. Other more indirect methods of introducing include bat feces. While the fish may not eat the feces directly, other species may do so and potentially become prey to the cave fish. The feces also introduces nutrients from outside the cave that encourages the growth of other food sources like bacteria, fungi, and planktonic animals.

(Image: Amblyopsis hoosieri, the hoosier cave fish. It is a very simplistic fish with no eyes or scales. End ID)

Life in a cave comes with a different sensory requirement. The complete lack of light makes vision useless. You don't know dark until you've seen cave dark. Fun fact: caves are so dark that sighted people can start hallucinating in them because our brains aren't evolved to handle zero visual stimulus and will start making stuff up to fill that gap. As a result of the utter darkness, many species of cave fish are blind. They either evolve to completely lose their eyes or have the eyes considerably reduced in size and function. Eyes take up a lot of energy to maintain and in caves, there is a lot of selective pressure to get rid of organs that aren't useful there. Despite the blindness, many species retain some form of photosensitivity and will flee from light. Cave species also often lack skin pigmentation. Skin pigment has two primary uses. It protects the skin from ultraviolet light in sunlight, and provides skin coloration that can be used for camouflage, displays, warnings, and so on. In an environment where there is no ultraviolet light and everyone is blind, skin pigment serves no real purpose and is lost. As a result, most cave species are white or translucent. The lack of pigment may be a reason so many species remain photosensitive. Without pigment, they would be highly susceptible to sunburn or skin cancer from ultraviolet light. Caves also have a sound dampening effect that makes hearing less valuable. Reduced eyes and pigmentation is also seen in deep sea fish that live too deep for light to reach. Even those species still use visual curs more than cave fish due to the abundance of bioluminescence in the deep ocean.

(Image: Sinocyclocheilus longicornus, a recently discovered species. It is a fish with translucent skin, revealing the skeleton. It has a long shout with two pairs of barbels. Emerging from the upper back is a horn-like protrusion. End ID)

With vision off the table, cave fish rely on other senses. chemoreception through taste and smell are strongly selected for as traits that can direct cave animals toward food or away from threats. Another sensory system fish have is the lateral line. The Lateral line is an organ system found on each side of a fish where modified skin cells called hair cells detect motion in the water. The lateral line allows fish to sense movement in the water around them, informing them of water flow and the movement of food and threats. Cave fish typically have a well-developed lateral line system that compensates for the lack of vision. Many fish perform displays for various reasons, such as attracting mates. These displays are typically visual, but in cave fish, that isn't an option. Instead, their displays are more focused on moving the water in ways that can be detected by lateral lines. Some species of cave fish maintain additional sensory abilities from their epigean ancestors. An example of this are cave catfish, who retain the barbels and electroreception common to their kind.

(Image: six Phreatichthys andruzzii. They are long, eyeless, white fish. The blood-filled gills are visible through its translucent skin, seen as a large red patch on the head. End ID)

Before moving on to specific species, it should be noted that cave fish is not a taxonomic category. Cave fish come from many different lines of descent and independently evolved similar adaptations to cave conditions. These similar adaptations are seen in most cave fauna, not just fish, and are collectively called troglomorphism. There are about 300 species of cavefish known to science.

Ophisternon candidum, or the blind cave eel, lives in north Australian caves that are connected to the ocean. Because these caves intake salt water, the pools and streams within them can become very salty, resulting in the eels developing a tolerance to a high range of salinity. They are rare, having been spotted under 40 times since 1959, and thus little is known of their lifestyle. We do know they burrow into sediment and secrete mucus to keep those burrows stable. Males seem to build burrows to woo females. They have been bred in captivity for use un laboratories. At up to 40 cm long, they are huge for cave fish and used to hold the record for the largest species known until another species was found that's even bigger.

(Image: an eel with translucent, pink skin, no eyes, and ribs visible through the skin. It looks somewhat like an earthworm. End ID)

The actual largest known cave fish is Neolissochilus pnar, which gets up to 40 cm while being more massive than the eel. They are found in a single cave system 100 meters underground in India. The primary food source in the cave appears to be debris from the nearby forest that is washed into the cave during seasonal flooding. The fish may have been known to locals well before it was scientifically described, as there are stories of white cave fish going back over a century in the region.

(Image: a small fish with no eyes, white skin, and a long snout with barbels on it)

The Alabama cave fish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni) may be the rarest species of freshwater fish in the world. They live exclusively in key cave, Alabama, USA and no more than 10 have ever been seen at a time. The population is estimated to be under 100, below the generally accepted minimum viable population for a species of 200. Fittingly enough, this means a species only found in Alabama may be severely inbred. They are believed to be triggered to mate by seasonal flooding and may be mouth brooders. Climate change-caused changes to flooding and toxins leaking into the groundwater from sewers are currently threatening them with extinction.

(Image: a long, white, eyeless fish with an elongated snout. Its skeleton is visible through its skin. End ID)

Typhliasina pearsei, the Mexican blind brotula or dama blanca ciega (blind white lady), lives in the cenotes of the Yucatán peninsula. Cenotes are sinkholes filled with groundwater and the ones in the Yucatán are often connected by underground caves, rivers, and aquifers. The fish are apex predators who eat shrimp and mysids and are known to coexist with other cave fish in part of their range. As with other brotulas, they are a rare example of a bony fish that gives live birth. Because of how interconnected and numerous the cenotes are, this species has one of the largest distributions of all cave fish.

(Image: an eyeless white fish with a long tail and elongated rear dorsal and anal fins. It is next to an orange rock. End ID)

Cryptotora thamicola, the cave angel fish or waterfall climbing cave fish, is the adrenaline junkie of the cave fish world. Most cave fish live in slow-moving or still water, but this daredevil lives in rapids. But just living in rapids isn't extreme enough, these guys climb waterfalls. Their large fins with hooked fin rays let them cling onto the rocks while facing into the current. They then allow food to flow right into their mouths. Unlike other walking fish, the waterfall climbers have a well-developed pelvic girdle and walk in a style very similar to tetrapods, with front and back fins alternating strides. This has made them very interesting to evolutionary biologists studying the transition from fish to tetrapods.

(Image: a typical cave fish with very large pectoral and pelvic fins. End ID)

The Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus) is an example of a handful of fish species that have a cave form and a non-cave form. Most Mexican tetras are perfectly ordinary tetras, but one population has adapted to cave living and has developed trogomorphic traits. The cave from lack pigment, has tastebuds on its head, lacks eyes, and can store more body fat. While you would expect such radical physiological differences to mean the two populations are different species, they aren't. The two populations are fully capable of producing fertile offspring and do so in the wild. If you've ever seen a cave fish in person, there's a good chance it was one of these as the cave form has entered the pet trade and they do very well in captivity, making them the most studied cave fish.

(Image: the non-cave and cave forms of the Mexican tetra seen next to each other for comparison. The non-cave form is a fairly typical silvery-green fish. The cave form is slightly more robust, white, and eyeless. End ID)

Because most cave fish are found only in a singe cave or cave system, they are fully dependent on the health of that cave. Caves tend to be very stable environments, which results in the inhabitants being pretty bad at adapting to change. Changes in water flow, introduction of new species, and pollutants can seriously harm or wipe out whole species. Many species of cave fish are rated as endangered or critically endangered based on their low populations and vulnerability to change.

[heartfullofleeches]

All I could picture was Brie having never smoked before meeting Stoner Darling. So you just get

Viewer: Wait you smoke!?

Brie: *High off his ass* I do now!

Plus Brie only ever getting stoned after he met up with Darling again, so it just becomes their thing. He gives them cum laced food, they give him weed.

Brie's probably tried it once or twice at parties, but never thought about it outside of those occasions. After accidentally serving someone a pizza topped with his "secret sauce" poor boy is in need of a little medicinal relaxation.

-

"So you're a virgin, huh-"

Brie chokes on his spit.

"M-me?!"

"First time smoking? Least with another person. You used that blunt I gave you the other night, didn’t you? Lucky for you, you're in the hands of a professional. If you green out at any point I got some milk in the fridge. Does better for you than water."

A blessing. What Brie had written the worst night of his life turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. Who could've guessed a wrong address would lead to him to doorstep of someone like you. He's never felt this was about a crush before and he hasn't even known you long- Brie almost couldn't belive the promise of bringing more free food was all it took for an invitation into your humble abode.

On today's menu was a basket of wings and fries coupled with some ranch to dip them in. You had already cleared three of small cups in between rolling a blunt for the two of you to share. At some point, you skipped the chicken entirely in favor of scrapping your fingers around the rim of the plastic. Brie's heart nearly stopped in his chest when you asked him to bring a full container of the stuff the next time he stopped by.

Doing that kind of work for his fans had always been a hassle, but he'd do anything to see you again.

Wipping your mouth with a napkin and taking a few swigs of the water bottle on the table, you seal the roll before offering it to Brie along with a lighter. His shorts shrunk a little watching your skilled tongue flow across the paper.

"You want the first hit?"

Brie's eyes remain glued to your lips. With all he's done by now an indirect kiss shouldn't mean that much to him... Still...

"Uh... I don't mind waiting. It's your weed afterall."

"Aren't you sweet. Suit yourself."

Easing back against the couch, you place the thinner of the blunt to your lips - lighting the end as you inhale. You take a few puffs before passing it off to him. Brie breathes deep as he holds it to his mouth, though there's a different type of high he's chasing as he closes his eyes.

Looks like his fans are in for another surprise stream soon as he gets home-

[mufos-photo-album]

(Transcript at bottom of post.)

Dark plants are a relatively new addition to the Kingdom of Sky, appearing some decades after the disaster at Eden. Like other plants, dark plants need light to grow. However, their leaves are too dark and thick to perform photosynthesis, and too much light delivered directly can cause the plants to burn and shrivel. Instead, dark plants absorb the light captured by dark water — water which has been contaminated by dark sediment, the byproduct of darkstone production.

[ID: A diagram showing the flow of light from creature to dark plant. When creatures of light come into contact with dark sediment, the sediment drains their light. The sediment, now charged with light, is dispersed through the water and soil, which is then absorbed by dark plants.]

In most cases, dark plants pose no direct harm to beings of light. In areas like the Hidden Forest, where dark rain commonly pours, dark plants take on indirect predatory behaviors. Especially in wet environments, dark plants will produce a sticky dew from their leaves that tends to attract butterflies. This dew contains trace amount of dark sediment which dulls one's senses when consumed. This leads to butterflies resting in the rain for longer than they usually would, leading to death in some cases. Dark plants have also been seen ensnaring mantas. This happens when mantas, exhausted by the dark rain or other factors, fly into the brambles of a dark plant, holding them in place as the dark rain saps their light.

[ID: A drawing of a manta caught in the brambles of a dark plant. It is raining.]

Fully getting rid of a dark plant can be difficult. They can be burned down using fire or a candle spell, but even if all the stems and leaves are burned, the plant will begin to regrow some time later. To truly destroy a dark plant, it needs to be uprooted, and the roots burned with the rest of the plant. Dark plants can also spread fairly easily, as they can reproduce asexually.

[ID: A diagram showing the 3 ways dark plants can spread -- via their roots, via cuttings, and via seed nodules. Mufotsuki is standing in front of the diagram, holding a seed nodule. She states: "The seeds are the easiest part of a dark plant to break off. Never leave them unattended for too long! Sometimes I collect them for my sister. She does experiments on them."]

Despite their mutual association with darkness, not many, if any, dark plants grow in Eden itself. Although Eden is abundant in dark sediment, the weather conditions are too violent and destoys most varieties before they can properly root.

Speaking of dark plant varieties...

Tree: Common variety which tends to grow tall and wide. Known for trapping mantas.

Bush: Another common variety of dark plant which tends to grow wide, but not very tall.

Moss: Uncommon variety which sprawls over flat surfaces. Difficult to truly get rid of since moss can grow into hard-to-reach places. Can cause man-made mechanisms to seize up.

Urchin: Uncommon variety that tends to show up in saltwater environments. They have many spines tipped with dark sediment to absorb ambient light in the water, but also to absorb the light produced by other plants.

Lilypad: Uncommon to rare variety that tends to show up in polluted freshwater environments. Problematic for other plants since they can blot out sunlight.

Floater: Rare variety of plant that comes from Eden. They take advantage of the terrible weather to spread their seeds across the realm, but mature specimens are rarely found in Eden.

[ID: Various drawings depicting each of the dark plant varieties, one for each.]

[dioslesbianwife]

Hello, I love reading everything on your blog and was wondering if I could get the Bucciarati gang with a reader whose stand name is " Illusionary Heart " with her ability being able to create an invisible field that allows her track and manipulate her enemies making her the strategist Bucciarati gang.

hi, ty! and sure, i hope u enjoy and thank you for requesting <33

Giorno

He’s instantly impressed- you think in patterns, probabilities, and traps, which pairs beautifully with his own calculating nature.

You’ll be deep in a strategy meeting and Giorno will lowkey get this shiver watching you calmly explain an ambush plan, like:

“Set the trap here. He’ll step on it within four seconds, then I’ll destabilize him. Mista, you shoot at his lower limbs.”

He’s like ...Her mind is terrifying.

Loves sparring with you in private just to see how you think. Tries to out-plan you and never wins.

“Your heart guides ours,” he once whispered, holding your hand after a mission. “And I trust it.”

Bucciarati

TRUSTS YOU WITH HIS LIFE. Literally treats your word like gospel when it comes to battlefield decisions.

The way your Stand works reminds him of a heartbeat in the chest of Passione- it ties the whole crew together.

You once manipulated an enemy mid-fight to stumble into his zipper trap and he called it “divine coordination.”

He’s constantly defending you when rival Stand users call your ability “creepy” or “indirect”- he knows better. He’s seen you change the whole flow of fights.

“You’re the pulse that keeps us alive,” he told you once.

Fugo

You two are brainstorming buddies.

You’re one of the few people he can have full intellectual debates with and not lose his temper.

(Although if someone talks over you, he will go off on them.)

The logic behind your stand fascinates him- he wants to diagram it, measure the field, test variables.

Gets flustered when you tease him for being so “obsessed” with you under the guise of studying your stand.

“I’m just trying to understand its vector spread!”

Abbacchio

At first? Grumpy. Calls you a “control freak.”

After seeing you dismantle a threat without lifting a finger, he starts calling you “freakishly effective.”

Secretly impressed but won’t say it out loud- he shows respect by listening to your advice and following orders.

Will literally grumble “Fine, you were right,” after every successful tactic and stomp off to light a cigarette.

The type to walk into your room late at night like, “…Explain again how you knew that guy would fall for the bait?”

If he ever loses a teammate (even hypothetically), he always goes to you first. You’re his reassurance.

Mista

He doesn’t get all the technical stuff you explain… but he gets that you’re cool and that’s enough for him.

Constantly says “She’s got a sixth sense!” about you even when it’s clearly your stand’s ability.

Loves showing off for you in battle- “Watch this, you’ve got the plan, I got the guns!”

Gets super excited when you include him in plans like “YOU WANT ME TO SHOOT THE GUY YOU TRIP? HELL YEAH.”

Very physical. Throws his arm around you, always wants you sitting near him during team debriefs.

Narancia

Thinks you’re the coolest person alive and tells everyone.

“She’s like a ninja! She doesn’t even MOVE and the enemy falls over!”

Asks you to teach him how to “feel” the field but gets bored halfway through.

You two bond when you prank Mista using your stand- Narancia SCREAMS laughing when you make him stumble over nothing.

Gets embarrassed when you praise him for following plans right. Tries to act tough about it but his ears go red.

“You think I did good, huh? …Cool. I-I mean, yeah. I am the coolest. Heh.”

Trish

Your stand is +aesthetic soulmate energy+ to her.

She’s obsessed with how elegant it is- she says it’s like a ghost ballerina or a heartbeat that wraps around the world.

You and her develop amazing combo attacks- her using Spice Girl to soften parts of the battlefield while you trip and manipulate the enemies.

She helps you with skincare routines. You help her refine her moves. 

“I like that you don’t have to shout to be powerful,” she says one day, fingers brushing yours. “You remind me I can be soft and deadly.”

She totally makes you matching outfits for when the gang goes undercover.

[exitwound]

How can we use [Deleuze's] philosophy in everyday life? Does he supply new or preferred ways of not only thinking but being? In other words: if I was looking for philosophy to guide me ethically and aesthetically, how does Deleuze show me how to live? Danger warning!  Deleuzian ethics are unconventional in ways that tend to piss people off, especially Marxists! Prevailing wisdom would suggest that opposition is essential to change.  Put in Hegelian terms, a thesis meets its antithesis in order to create a synthesis.  Tit for tat.  Action is met with reaction. For example, the government or big business or whomever does something you dislike, so you protest.  They throw a punch, so you throw a punch.  Back and forth.  Eventually, this way of thinking tries to convince us, the tides will change.  Eventually my punch will be the knockout punch, and those aggressive forces that pushed me to react will meet their doom.  (“And the meek shall inherit the earth.”) This is, unfortunately, a fantasy.  Action will always prevail.  Reaction will always fail. (Did protest end the war in Vietnam?  Did protest stop the war in Iraq?  Did protest stop the destruction of collective bargaining in Wisconsin recently?  — No.  It did not.  Why?  Because protest is reactive, not active; it is negative rather than affirmative; it assumes the subordinate position “I am against X!” rather than the dominate position “I am for X!”)  It is the myth Nietzsche exposes in his groundbreaking and devastating Genealogy of Morals, a book that is central to my understanding of Deleuze’s ethical applicability.  For Nietzsche, Deleuze, and myself, direct engagement is a mistake.  Diffuse or indirect engagement is preferable.  Diagonal rather than horizontal or vertical attack.  Non-Euclidean game plans. Rhizome rather than root, molecular rather than molar, dynamic rather than static: reroute the flow of power toward new creative constructions.  Think of it like a tug of war: the opposition relies on your engagement, on your antithesis.  Without it, they would fall on their butts in the same way a person would fall on their butt if you were playing tug of war and suddenly let go of your end of the rope.  By engaging with the opposition you merely serve to validate and empower that opposition.  The only form of power one can truly wield is the power of action, of affirmation, of creation.  Let go of the rope!  You’re tired of going to the grocery store and finding fruits and vegetables from overseas, which have been treated with cancer-causing chemicals?  Don’t bother fussing with the management or writing a letter to your congressman…let go of the rope and go build an organic community garden. Action.  Creation.  Do not be duped into thinking that you can win a battle against the powers that be – they are the powers that be because they took action, because they created something.

Christopher Higgs in an interview on Ken Baumann's blog

[karusthings]

.⋆˚࿔ b l o n d e - k. nanami ࿐˚⋆.

ꎫ──[ coworker au ; drabble ]

character dynamicꎫ── coworker!nanami x gn!reader

summaryꎫ── after asking for ages -strictly for work, obviously- you finally get your coworker to have some free time and grab coffee with you. he buys the excuse at first… until your curiosity totally gives you away and you end up embarrassing yourself. luckily, he finds it kind of cute.

content warningsꎫ── kinda fluff, non-relationship, a bit flirty, rainy day.

wordsꎫ── 670.

¡! ❞ masterlist jjk.

"So, since depreciation is an indirect cost," he said, looking at the cash flow chart and the quarterly expense report you brought. "It doesn’t affect real cash flow, but it does impact fiscal balance.”

You weren’t going to lie, your eyes couldn’t look away from his hair. You couldn’t even focus on the rain, as you usually did, because he was simply stunning.

"Are you actually blonde?" Nanami looked up at you as you talked. That could've been the first time someone left him speechless.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" He asked back, trying to focus on what you just said instead of the papers in front of him. He looked so cute, narrowing his eyes. "I… I must have misunderstood you."

"Oh, sorry– I didn’t explain myself properly. I meant, are you naturally blonde? Or do you dye your hair?" And that only seemed to confuse him further.

But he smiled at you anyway, like he always did.

"Oh, it's.. It is natural." And he took a sip of his coffee, letting the moment settle and savoring it calmly before continuing to talk. "I've never used any product to change its colour."

“It looks really good on you.”

Nanami certainly didn’t know how to react. He just nodded softly, murmuring a few words. “It’s… much appreciated. Then…”

But when you saw him glance at the documents again, you knew you had to speak before he could go back to his business talk. So you mentioned, “And your eyes are brown.”

That’s when he seemed to realize this wasn’t going to be a work conversation. He folded the papers and handed them to you. For a moment, you got a little scared, thinking he might leave, but instead, he just looked at you.

“They are.”

You watched his shoulders relax, and with them, so did your heart. His posture eased from its usual stiffness, and he sighed, letting himself sink into the back of the seat.

“You know… if I had known earlier that this was merely a casual meeting rather than a work-related one, I would have gladly accepted any of the previous ten invitations."

You blinked, genuinely surprised, before blurting out, “Oh, would you?” Your voice carried nothing but sincerity. You saw him nod, with his eyes closed. And when you thought he couldn’t look better, he slightly reclined his head back.

"It’s exhausting to always be working, and my schedule is pretty restrictive." The man looked at you again, his lips drawing a calm smile that was almost a part of him by now. "I don’t like working in my free time, but I’m always up for a coffee."

“Sorry about those dumb questions then, Nanami.”

“Kento, please. We’re not working right now.” He drank a bit, looking at your half full cup. “They weren’t dumb, anyway. They were curious.”

The sound outside grew louder, and so did your excitement, as it seemed. Nanami tried to hide the subtle twitch of his mouth as he fought back a grin.

“You really love rain, don’t you?”

“What?” You seemed just as confused as he had been when you had asked about his bright hair.

“You always get so excited when it’s raining. At the office, you look out the window with a big smile, and everything around you just… seems to fade away.” And he was completely right.

“How do you–…”

“Your smile just got wider as the rain started to pour harder. And you began covering your fingers with your sweater, just like you always do.” He explained, his smile never leaving his lips.

Well, only when you’re around, you wanted to say. Only when the only thing better than the rain stands right in front of me. But, of course, you kept quiet.

“You’re pretty expressive.” He concluded.

“And you’re pretty cute.” You said quietly, finishing your coffee as you felt your cheeks flush.

“Well, look who’s talking. I must say, your hair questions are… quite charming.”

Then, the two of you shared a laugh.

¡! ❞ masterlist jjk.

¡! ❞ little note; Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great day (or night, idk). This is my first official project posted, and I really hope someone likes it around here! Enjoy your reading. (Please let me know if you see anything misspelled, English is not my first language).

ꎫ¨.｡ © I have full credit on every artwork in my profile, all rights reserved. Please, do not repost, edit or use any of it.

ꎫ¨.｡ © 2025 all rights reserved, karusthings on Tumblr. Please, do not repost, edit, use or translate any of my projects.