operose-reblogs

[rainbow-angel110]

So it's come to this.

I'm usually nice, and I don't like confrontation but.... *sigh* sometimes you just gotta break out the all-caps, bolding, and italicizing.

CAN Y'ALL NOT POST LEAKS PLEASE?!

I've already stated this in another comment, but it is so disrespectful to the crew. They didn't want this to happen, none of us wanted this to happen after TtT got leaked a week before it was ment to be public.

Y'all.

Two weeks. Two goddamn weeks. Just wait for two FUCKING WEEKS PLEASE?!?! Before posting anything so we can't blame you for posting stuff?!

I think you can survive not posting spoilers for those that didn't ask for it?

To all of you who keep posting the first two minutes, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Yeah go on with your argument that "oH bUt yoU caN fIltEr the tAgsSs and avOid it-" SHUT UP. THAT DOES NOT EXCUSE SPREADING SPOILERS.

Nothing official has come out. If it had, and you guys were posting that, I wouldn't be making this post. Because at least that would be with Dana and Co's consent.

But this isn't.

Stop.

[halfdeadwallfly]

my favorite thing is people telling you that something isn't stressful so you should just... not be stressed. wow i hadn't thought of that.

[kasarasun]

what if I made a thing or it already was that while Airplane wrote the world, Peerless Cucumber illustrated it (only the animals. And Binghe, fighting the animals.) And then then then

He'd totally do it on an alt account, right?? Peerless Cucumber can't be seen making fanart!! (And he's good at it. Like, wiki is using his art in the monsters and beasts pages (that Peerless Cucumber volleyed for. He also separated it from the plant section.) Because 1 its good 2 the artstyle is consistent 3 there isn't a lot of monster official art, other than that one with the black moon rhinoceros python and those other ones and 4 it's really that good)

Haha incomprehensible parenthesis nesting aside, Airplane is watching the forums, right? Not sure about other stuff in canon but he looks at the forums and the fanart and the fiction and most of it is probably corn and binghe and just a little bit of mobei-jun and also the wives tm but!! There's also that guy!!! The monsters guy!! (People would probably suspect 'Drawing the Beast's Ire'- or some other sex euphemism I'm not good at making those- of being Peerless Cucumber because 1 the writing style is the same 2 Peerless Cucumber is the number 1 contributor to the PIDW wiki and a lot of it is the monsters and beasts section and it makes sense, yes??) Anyway, Airplane shooting towards the sky suspects but not too seriously suspects Mr ire of being cucumber's fanart alt but uh uh that ends pre-transmigration section

So, Shen Yuan starts running about, right? Things seem really... familiar, maybe thats the word?- for some reason. This is because every animal and plant he's ever drawn, sketched- maybe even thought about but that's a stretch?- is his design. The firefly parallels hold their forelimbs like butterflies. That is how far down it goes. Maybe it doesn't come up until later, but beasts and monsters from fanfiction get involved, oc species, too... anyway,

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky transmigrates 30 years (iirc) before Peerless Cucumber. He was an avid enough follower of Drawing the Beast's Ire to recognize that these are their designs! Here's where it gets really crazy. Xiao-Mobei comes along, and while he's still pretty young, Airplane can tell that this is Drawing Ire's design! Some aspect, maybe his ears or teeth, (this isn't a well built theoretical tangent) of Mobei isnt canon. Its Drawing Ire's. From that one Northern Kingdom collection. Whatever stretched his world building into coherence, completion, didn't just pull from fanwork, official art, whatever it could find, it went for Drawing the Beast's Ire's designs specifically. Damn that's crazy Airplane ahahaha moving on,

This is getting really long so I'll be a bit more concise, (want to know more? Talk to me. Please talk to me. I want to interact with the fandom. Ask me questions. Poke your fingers into my cage.) This all comes to head at the Immortal alliance conference. The monsters and beasts really start pouring in! And Shen Qingqiu/Yuan remembers his creations. However, he assumes that this is because like 1 other person maybe was Drawing ghost head spiders.

Hey, Peerless Cucumber really liked the monsters, right? The deadlier, crazier, more intricate, the design the better! So maybe, when he was drawing, he... added some things, really believable, logical additions, really just small creative decisions...

Anyway, the monsters that Drawing the Beast's Ire made were where it came to a head.

Lets have another Canon divergence. Maybe, during or after Binghe gets pushed in, out of the rifts comes a species that Drawing Ire created. It's beautiful, poisonous, beloved, and really quite deadly. Shen Yuan/Qingqiu, Peerless Cucumber, Drawing the Beast's Ire... realizes, quite like airplane before him, that he's illustrated, practically sculpted with his own hands, monsters from the Endless Abyss with claws and teeth and poisons as deadly as Peerless Cucumber thought that the really cool monsters could deserve. It feels like he's the one cutting, biting, poisoning his sweet little sheep. It feels like he's digging out the marrow from his little white lotus disciple's bones.

Ok it is shut up time 👍

[garlicbreadbatstarion]

Catching the BG3 Companions Reading the Quarta Sune - Gale Edition

content warnings: 18+, piv, unprotected sex, thermal play, hurt/comfort, softdom Gale, lots of vulnerable crying

pairing: f!reader x Gale, f!Tav x Gale

word count: 3400

A/N: So, it’s like a two-for-one where the first half is very fluffy and the second half is very smutty.  I put a clear break so if smut isn’t your thing, you can exit safely before the movie-rating changes! Either way, enjoy ye merry folk!

It was a rare day off from adventuring to allow yourself and your companions a day to recover from roughing it through the woods the past few weeks. You’d spent most of the day officiating a chess tournament between your companions and enjoying the spoils of an abandoned outpost with a well-stocked wine rack, together. Now, you stumble to a stand to collect more firewood as your companions roll with laughter, lost in drunken conversation. You smile warmly at your group when a small pang of guilt makes itself known in your chest.  Gale hasn’t been out all day; he said this morning he wanted to study some books you had picked up, but now that you think about it, he hasn’t so much as popped his head out all day.  You quickly walk past the wood pile and nervously continue towards Gale’s tent, and before you know it you’re standing in front of the canvas entryway.

Maybe he wants a break from everyone? From me…

Insecurity worms its way to the front of your mind as you freeze, feeling embarrassed at how anxious you feel after not seeing your wizard for just a few short hours.  You begin to turn around when you hear a familiar voice coming from inside.

“Delicious! Gah, but what flavor would she like?”

The relief you feel from hearing Gale’s voice is immediately infused with jealousy as you hear him pondering over the mystery “she”.  Before you can assess further your hand has already lifted the tent flap as you step inside and huff, loudly announcing your presence.  Gale turns in surprise before his face turns a shade of scarlet that envies the Esmeltar wine you had been enjoying with your friends throughout the day.  An embarrassed smile tugs on his lips as he steps towards you, away from the small worktable behind him full of herbs, flowers, and candles surrounding a boiling cauldron. 

“Sorry Gale, I hope she won’t mind me interrupting,” the bitterness in your voice more pronounced than you meant it to be, the wine somewhat overriding your logic.

Gale’s eyebrows knit together for a moment before he quickly realizes what happened.

“My dearest friend please-”

Before he can finish you cross your arms over your chest and inquire, “What have you been doing all day anyways?”

The wizard extends his hand towards you and you can’t help but soften just enough to accept his offer as he pulls you the few short steps across the tent to his workspace.  He hands you a small, steaming cup that smells like roses and honey, nodding towards the cup, “Do be cautious, it is very hot!”

You hold his gaze as your lips softly part to blow cool air across the surface of the tea, the steam visibly floating towards Gale as he deeply inhales the sweet scent.  You take a small sip and the floral tea immediately calms you.  It is more complex than you anticipated, tasting of rose, raspberry, dandelion, honey, and something…magical. 

“Gale…what is in this?”

His big, brown eyes grow wide with concern as his shoulders involuntarily slump, “You don’t enjoy it?”

The guilt is immediate and intense, it always is when he pulls out those ridiculous puppy eyes on you.  “No! Well yes, I mean- it is good, but why does it taste like magic?”

You scan the table as Gale attempts to stutter out an explanation, but then you notice the book on the stand behind him that he’s been concealing since you stepped in. He follows your line of sight and tries to step back in front of the book once more, but it’s too late.  You are already toe to toe and reaching around him to grab the book. 

“It is for educational purposes!” Gale cries out nervously as you look at the text in your hand; the left page has an assortment of tea ingredients and some suggested ‘aphrodisiac blends’. The right page is far more illustrative with a diagram titled ‘Threading the Weave’ with notes etched all along the side in a familiar hand.

Your breath hitches in your throat as you look at Gale miserably, jealousy and hurt taking over your wine-soaked brain that is conjuring images of your wizard and every pretty woman you’ve crossed paths with in the last few weeks.  You shove the book back at him with force, and turn to leave as tears threaten your eyes.

“Tav! I am sorry if my crudeness has offended-“

“Next time ask your secret flame to sample your offerings directly, don’t bring me into it.”

Your try to sound threatening, but the hurt in your voice is obvious as you step away from him towards the entrance as Gale sighs loudly, “You still don’t know?”

You turn back around with a glare despite the tears pushing out of your waterline, “What are you talking about?”

Gale sits down on one of the large cushions on the floor and pats the one next to him, an invitation to join.  You move slowly, eyeing him with suspicion as your mind races trying to piece together what he’s doing.

“I never have been good at this; I apologize for my poor communication. It’s just-“

“Gale I’m sorry.  You don’t have to defend your choices to me. It was selfish and stupid of me to pry into your things. You can do as you wish. I hope you enjoy your time with your new flame.” Your apology is sincere, though your heart still shudders in agony at the thought of Gale with someone else. You’ve been so focused on the many tasks at hand that you haven’t truly taken the time to tell him how you feel.  And now, you must suffer for it.

“My dear there is no new flame.”

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise so quickly that it forces a tear out of the corner of your eye as you stare at the wizard, now truly dumbfounded as he gently reaches for your hands.

“It has been on my mind for some time now, yet I was far too foolish to recognize it as quickly as I should have.  I have watched you lead our merry crew through epic adventures and have admired you from the moment I felt your hand pull me out of the portal.  Your courage, your strength, your gentleness…and the more I speak with you the more enraptured I become.  I began to worry that my humble studies have never prepared me for how to woo a creature as fair and noble as yourself-”

Gale’s nervous confession swirls in your mind as you stare at him, astonished that you never allowed yourself to see it.  You had both been so caught up in your insecurities that neither of you had acted on your feelings.  Fuck it.  You cut off the wizard mid-sentence as you lunge from your seat, capturing his mouth in a desperate kiss as your hands cup either side of his face.  He hungrily kisses back as his fingers tangle into your hair at the base of your neck and he lets out a soft groan as you both pull back for air.  Now, straddling his lap, you look at his face and see his eyes are now also damp with tears.  You rest your forehead gently against his and stay like that for what feels like both a moment and a lifetime.  A loud sizzle interrupts the serenity as you both see the tea cauldron boiling over.  Gale leaps to his feet in surprise sending you tumbling backwards onto the floor cushions as he frantically puts out the small flame heating the cauldron.  You can’t help but laugh at his sheepish expression as he glances back at you, the crisis now formally averted. 

You stand and make a few short strides over to him as a mischievous smile spreads across his face.

“Gale, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well, perhaps now that you know it’s yours anyways, would you like a cup of tea?”

You peer at the cauldron, the intoxicating aroma of rose and honey teasing your nose while the pink liquid swirls around the pot.

“Only if you will have one with me.”

a few hours later...

(also this is where the smutty part begins so if you’re only here for fluff, depart here friend!)

You lie on your side laughing as Gale animatedly recounts a story from his youth, when he stole a forbidden tome out of his headmaster’s office.

“Gale you didn’t!”

“I did! And he always suspected my classmate!”

You both roll into another fit of laughter but it is soon replaced with a gleeful, breathless quiet.  The two of you cannot take your eyes off each other; a warm smile spreads across Gale’s face and soon, you’re overwhelmed by the intensity of his longing gaze.  You look to your teacup to take a sip, but hum quietly when you realize it is empty.  You stare into the shiny bottom and turn your head inquisitively towards Gale, “I don’t believe you ever answered my question earlier…why is this tea so magical? Hmm?”

Gale’s cheeks flush as his eyebrows tense with thought, but he laughs, “I can’t quite remember honestly.” And he reaches up to the corner of the table above his head, his hand searching for the guidebook.  You roll onto all fours and crawl across the short gap to sit by Gale’s side, flushing with anticipation.  He brings the book down into his lap and you glance around his shoulder, hovering so close to him you can see the chill run up and down his arm.

Sensual Tea Blend:

-8 parts water

-2 parts rose petals

-2 parts fresh honeycomb

-1 part dandelion root

-1 part raspberry leaf

-1 handful of jasmine flowers

Scribbled into the side of the list you read Gale’s handwriting:

Extract of Rogue’s Morsel to promote romantic appetite. Ergo and nutmeg to relax the body and mind!

You giggle, hearing his voice read the note in your own head before you confirm out loud,  “Romantic appetite?”

Gale looks at you wide-eyed, biting back a smile on his lips, “Well, is it working?” He bats his eyelashes playfully, but quickly adds, “For scientific research, of course!”

The tea has certainly made you feel different, and you subconsciously bite your lip and scrunch your nose trying to come up with the right description.  Gale shifts his body to turn towards you, before he gently leans you back into the many cushions before sitting next to you and beginning, “M’lady, we shall begin with a brief physical exam if I may?” He wiggles his eyebrows and you gasp in surprise at the boldness of the wizard next to you, but you concede and nod your head to begin, trying to keep the grin from taking over your face. 

“Excellent!” He smiles before holding his palm up, closing his eyes and focusing until a soft, pink light glows warmly from his hand.  He slowly hovers his hand above your body, working carefully not to actually touch you, but to remain close enough to feel your skin relax in the warmth.  He slowly leads the light up one side of you, around the top of your head, and down the other. A small sound, almost a purr, rolls from the back of your throat at the sensation, causing Gale to give a satisfactory, “I see, yes. One more quick test…”

He retracts his hand and in a moment, Gale whispers a quick spell under his breath and a small ball of swirling ice replaces the flame in his palm.  Your eyes get big as he slowly drags his hand over top of your stomach, and breath loudly catches at the cold.  Gale looks at you, quietly waiting for your approval to move on; you bite your lip and nod, pushing your head against the pillow in anticipation of the sensation. His hand hovers up slowly, as he leans in closer to see your face as the harsh cold hardens your nipple and Gale lets out a soft groan as it pushes against your sheer tunic. His hand is a breath away from touching you, but you hold your breath as he hovers across your sternum and up onto your other breast.  You whimper softly at the cold and Gale tries to stifle another, louder groan.  Your hands jump from your sides; one holding his wrist, the other gently pressed against his chest.  You lock eyes for what feels like an eternity and in an instant, Gale shakes his hand and the cold orb is gone for only a moment before he desperately palms your breast and moves onto his side to kiss you. 

You both moan like beasts, weeks’ worth of tension breaking as your hands roam as far as they will reach.  Gale slips a hand under your shoulder to hold you up just long enough for you to slip your tunic over your head before Gale’s face is immediately at your collarbones planting harsh, wet kisses across your chest.  He lets a hoarse growl from his throat as your fingers tug at his soft brown locks.  Your hands tug gently at the shoulders of his shirt before he sits up to remove his own tunic and you slip off your trousers, his eyes wide as saucers, his mouth salivating at your nude form.  He quickly crawls back on top of you, taking both of your hands and pinning them on either side of your head as he leans in so close you can feel his hot breath on your ear as he whispers, “Do you often forgo your underclothes, or is it a special selection to visit my tent?”

You whimper as he lets go of one of your wrists to tightly grip your hip as he pulled you into him, the hard bulge in his trousers pushing against your bare thigh.  His hand slowly releasing your hip bone as he slowly caresses the softness of your stomach and travels down your hips to follow the curve of your thigh in towards your burning core.  His hand stops just short of the throb between your legs and you whine, louder this time before you cover your mouth, afraid you’ll alert your companions. Gale removes the hand from your mouth and whispers again, “I made sure to create a barrier for the sound in my tent when we began; I find it easier to rest when I cannot hear the snores of our dear Karlach, and thought it could come in handy in the off-chance I would be the noisy neighbor!”

You giggle at him before he gently moves his hand so that his middle and ring finger push firmly against your clit.  You moan loudly at the pressure and gasp as he moves you in soft, slow circles while his head swivels back to your mouth as he captures you with another deep, slow kiss.  You whimper against his mouth as his fingers move slightly faster and your hands fumble out, searching desperately as you palm the large bulge now fighting against the laces of his trousers.  He groans loudly with the contact and it emboldens you to reach for his wrists, as you slowly remove his hands from your body and raise them above his head while you move to straddle his waist.  His eyes grow wide in surprise at first, but then quickly become elated as he eagerly watches you take the lead. You lean forward so your breasts are just out of reach above his arms to turn the guidebook on the floor so you can see it again. One figure sits on the ground while the other figure leans back in their lap, their legs draped over the shoulders of the sitting partner.  Gale turns his head to follow your stare and lets out another groan when he sees the diagram.

He quickly sits up, and reaches out to grab your waist before pausing, sheepishly smiling knowing he has quickly struck down your attempt to lead.  You lean back onto your elbows and spread your legs wide, revealing your core with a smirk as you tease, “It’s okay dear, you can take me however you want this time.” You bite your lip, a bit shocked at your own confidence as Gale practically growls as he stands up to shed his pants and underwear in one motion.  His cock is already damp from your teasing, the sheen noticeable even in the warm candlelight that illuminates the tent.  You practically howl, throwing your head back, desperate to feel him as your thighs involuntarily shudder at the sight of him.  He smiles confidently as he returns to his knees before reaching out to pull you onto his lap by your ankles.  You feel his member brush against your folds as he positions your legs over his shoulder and you gasp out his name. He answers with a grunt as one hand secures your thigh over his shoulder, while the other drags his cock against your entrance again, this time with more pressure. 

“Gale please”, you plead with him, his enthusiasm and charm turning you into a whiny, desperate mess.

“I’m sorry my love, can you be more descriptive?” He just barely pushes the tip of his length into you before removing it again, causing you to moan and wiggle your hips to try and find the friction again. He gives a hearty chuckle before he asks, “Darling, all you need to do is tell me, please.”

His eyes are dark with passion, and he turns to give you a wet, open-mouthed kiss on your thigh before he turns back to look at you, encouraging you to speak with a nod.

“I want to feel you inside of me, now.”

Gale grunts as he pushes himself inside you, the movement is easy with how wet you are from the very drawn-out foreplay.  You rock your hips as Gale clamps his fingers into both of your thighs, thrusting his hips to chase yours as you both whimper and moan.  His thrusts become stronger, a snarl-like sound escaping his mouth as he watches your body jiggle with each impact.  The sensation is overwhelming as you lock eyes with the wizard and hold his stare as you begin to toy with your breasts.  You feel him twitch inside you for a moment as the sound of his hips bouncing off your ass becomes louder and his hands move from your thighs to your hips, pulling you onto him so vigorously that you feel each impact vibrate in your ribs.  The knot in your stomach winding tighter as you hold against him tighter with your legs, one arm propping you up while the other travels down your body to find your clit as you let out a cry of pleasure at the double stimulation.

Your wizard is groaning uncontrollably and you whimper at the sight of him as you feel him beginning to twitch inside you again before he lets out an ecstatic groan and you feel the warm result of your lovemaking filling your core as he continues with tired, sloppy thrusts while you gasp out, “Gale I’m so close!”

He continues to fuck you, tears welling in his eyes from the overstimulation and you let out a scream when you finally feel the tension in your body release in a flood of pure pleasure.  The sensation is so overwhelming you squeeze your eyes shut and ride the feeling as you come undone, Gale still buried deep inside you as you both slow to a still.  You carefully let your legs fall to either side of him while he carefully pulls out of you, causing a small mess between your legs that drips onto your thighs as you groan.  The wizard all but collapses forward, laying on his stomach next to you for only a moment before his arm wraps around your waist, pulling your naked frame into his.  You lay together silently for a long time, until your bodies calm down and you feel sleep trying to settle into your eyes. 

“Gale,” you whisper.

“Yes my dear?”

“Perhaps we should get dressed before we sleep? This is a bit compromising don’t you think?” You look down at your bare bodies tangled together and Gale chuckles softly before waving his hand; a blanket floats from his bedroll and stretches to cover the two of you. You laugh at his solution and cuddle back into his side before floating off to a deep, comfortable sleep in the arms of your wizard.

I really hope y'all enjoyed this one! If you read the whole thing we're making friendship bracelets. If you like this kind of stuff, feel free to follow/reblog as I have plans for more in the future. Ask box is open if you have any requests, comments, or questions :)

[rewh0re]

─JULY RAINS ; NAGI SEISHIRO

-fluff fluff FLUFF, nagi realising he might have a lil crush, just nagi falling for you. REBLOGS + FEEDBACKS ARE APPRECIATED!!

Nagi was not the resident lover boy. Everyone knew that, he made sure of it. He garnered interest in a few things, video games and football being some examples. The latter, if not for his best friend Reo introducing it to him, maybe wouldn't even have made it in the list. Nagi found most of the things to be a hassle. It was a hassle to get up in the morning, a hassle to brush his teeth, a hassle to get ready and come to school and get through the day. The biggest hassle of all was falling in love and high school relationships. Nagi didn't really get the logic behind all that jazz but he did get confessions in the form of little notes and homemade chocolates. He hated it, all he wanted to do was ignore them and sleep and that's what he did.

But then Nagi met you. Standing under the shelter provided by the bus stop in the pouring rain, a wet umbrella in your hands. He ran there to take shelter from the rain as well and in the process got wet. Swatting away the water from his hair, he felt your eyes on him.

"This is why you should carry an umbrella," you said, nodding your head at him. You were clearly joking as there was a little mischievous smile on your lips.

"It's a hassle to pack an umbrella," he said looking straight, voice as flat as ever.

"It’s a hassle to pack an umbrella?" Your head rolled back in laughter as you repeated his words in a question. Your reaction achieved a pout from Nagi and you thought he looked absolutely adorable in all his puffed out cheek glory.

"My bag becomes too heavy," his explanation was dry, not providing much information.

You smiled in reply, not really understanding this strange boy who found carrying an umbrella during the rainy seasons a hassle. You let it be, deciding that it wasn't really your concern.

"You go to my school?" He looked at the uniform you were wearing and then at his as if to check if they were the same. They were.

"Yes Nagi Seishiro I do go to your school," you chuckled in amusement before continuing "we shared a class last year. I won't blame you for forgetting though. You mostly slept and I never actively socialized with any of my classmates."

"I'm sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck, as embarrassment slowly took over him. A pink hue slowly creeped up his ears. You went to his school, were in the same year as him infact and he didn't even know you existed before this.

You laughed again. You laugh a lot, he noticed.

"No, don't be. I wouldn't have remembered either if you hadn't confidently said the definition of socialism when the question was about the functions of the kidney and still topped the class anyway," you grinned at him and he muttered curses at himself as the probably unwanted memory creeped its way up to the top.

"I'm l/n y/n by the way. You know, a formal introduction since we never really met properly," you stretched your hands towards him.

"Nagi Seishiro but you know that already," he took your hand and shook it gently.

Sitting at a bench provided by the bus stop together, you did not realize when the rain had stopped, the gray clouds slowly drifting by to reveal a clear sky. Nagi told you about his cactus, choki and about how Reo dragged him into football. You learnt that most things were actually a hassle for Nagi and when he said that, you laughed again.

Nagi felt a sense of pride wash over him as he made you laugh. He realized that you actually cracked very lame jokes but he found himself breaking into a small smile when you shared them anyway. It was a jolly scenario. Something in Nagi's heart bloomed when you smiled, beating a bit faster than usual.

Nagi was not your resident lover boy and in all honesty, he never wanted to be but seeing your exuberant personality made something in him glow. He found people to be a hassle, but you, with all your energy, didn't count as one, even if you officially met that day itself. Nagi didn't want to admit it was a crush just yet, he was willing to wait but when your bus came in sight, some sort of dejection took over him.

"Well that's me!" You got up from your seat waving at him as you made your way to the bus.

Just as you were about to get on the vehicle, you turned over your shoulder to look at the white haired male, who's gaze widened at the action.

"Hey Nagi, talk to me in school, yea? I'll be waiting!" You gave him a grin that stretched from ear to ear before getting up on the bus as it soon disappeared out of sight.

Your beaming smile was etched inside Nagi's mind as it sent some kind of fluttering sensation inside him. It wasn't long before he found himself smiling like an idiot while sitting on a bench in the bus stop thinking about you. He got up, his smile still intact, as he began walking towards the metro station.

"Fuck."

That was all Nagi Seishiro could think on a rainy July evening after you left, making a mental note to definitely approach you in school.

[schneiderenjoyer]

UTTU Catalogue's Categories

There's a lot about UTTU that still is unknown and they operate strangely. I've seen some conversations about it, but out of everything that's making me lose my mind is the Category Covers.

The implication of Categories creating a diverse subculture (and potentially subspecies) of arcanists within the arcane community aside, the covers literally tell us the very essence of the arcanists categorized within it are. All hidden by the fine print (seriously they're hiding the words and shrinking the letters and blending it into the colors on purpose, it's so hard to see)

The clearest one I can read full is for Arcanists; "The two-faced are among them. Born to Suffer." It's a strangely poetic way to describe how arcanists, in human society, are viewed to be ill fated people. Thus, they're born to suffer for their nature.

There's also Awakened; "Backdoor listing, welcome to the phenomenon world." Which is interesting since we know the arcanists listed in this category have a far more bizarre and even unknown way they're born and became arcanists. A form of "backdoor" approach to being born an arcanist. A Phenomenon, if you will.

The Beyond is a little hard to read near the end, but it states; "Under the surface, I know nothing but the fact of my ignorance." And who is in that category? Jessica. There's also words covered that make the word WHO and a cut off line that says "Cannot spe? spa?" Does it refer to the fact that Voyager doesn't speak?

The Mixed is even harder to really read for me, but I can make out is the half the phrase of "Where did the rationality go... -----" like it's questioning where they went wrong in the gene process to not be 'logical' enough for human society, but just 'irrational' enough to stand among arcanists yet not fully belong. A lovely commentary on mixed races.

Lastly, the reason I'm writing this whole thing, is for the Infected. Why? Well, one, we now have an official arcanist categorized to it, Ezra Theodore. (This has now been debunked and instead replaced with a far more infuriating revelation here.) And for the unofficial...

SLAMS TABLE

IT'S SCHNEIDER, YES, THIS IS ANOTHER OF MY LONG DELULU RANT ABOUT HOW WE GOT SCAMMED SO HARD DURING BETA AND LOST OUR CHANCE AT A PLAYABLE ITALIAN MAFIA GODDESS. I'M MAKING MY STANCE, BLUEPOCH PLEA--

Anyway.

The caption for this category is ominous, threatening even, being; "We know who you are and we will visit the visitors." And for those who don't know why this is important. This category pertains to one of the most fascinating cases.

Because it's for humans that can use arcanum.

Not that they have an arcane bloodline, no. They're pure blooded human that can use arcanum. And that spells a fucked up implication that could mean all sorts of things. One being human experimentation. And UTTU knows something and are making sure people in this category understood that even if they can use arcanum, they're not arcanists. Like many arcanists, they're keeping the line between humans and arcanists very clear. Even calling the category "Infected" like it's a virus, a plague. Something dirty that entered their veins.

UTTU is fascinating in this regard and I hope to see more about them in the future the more times they have these flash events and maybe even someday fully explored more in depth to its lore.

[pattywagon2go]

FixTF2: What Happened, Why Did Valve Step In, And What Comes Next?

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with neither Valve nor the people who run the FixTF2 petition. Do not treat anything I say here as any official announcement of any future plans for the movement. All my thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

As of the making of this post, the save.tf has officially closed down to new signatures, racking up a generous 343,711 total signatures. I've made my thoughts on FixTF2 clear in the past, where I said that I didn't have much hope that Valve would actually do something, but to my surprise, Valve seemed to have finally stepped in and done something about the bot issue plaguing the game for 5 straight years beyond the usual half-assed band-aid fix. In light of Valve surprising me, I want to talk about what's happened, some speculation as to why Valve is potentially doing this, and what I think comes next from all of this.

So, let's clear some stuff up: Is Casual really bot-free?

From what I've seen and heard, yes!

Starting around June 25th, multiple sources reported a massive drop in the active player count for Team Fortress 2 from Steam Charts, being around 15,000-16,000 users vanishing overnight. Many people suspect this to be a large-scale ban wave Valve enacted, and there is a large amount of evidence to support this. (More info from this video by shounic here) Since then, up until the day this post is being written (July 1st 2024), people have reported that Casual servers across all regions have been fairly bot-free, with only the occasional one popping up, a far cry from a month ago, where servers were flooded with them no matter where you went. I myself even hopped on a few games and to my surprise, there were no bots to be found whatsoever. Its honestly been super refreshing to see the game be this clean, as now its actually fun to play once again. I haven't touched the game in months, but since the bots have been kicked out for a little bit, it feels good to play once more. If you haven't played the game for a while cause of the bots, now's your chance to hop in and enjoy the game. Its actually fun to play now that the bots have been squashed. On top of that, (as of the time this post is being written), Valve appears to still be actively curbing cheaters and bots from the game, even setting up a dedicated Steam support page for anyone who gets a game ban here.

So, why's Valve doing any of this?

This is where I'm going to step into speculation territory, as Valve being Valve means there's barely any information they will share with the public, but I'll do my best to come up with some logical explanations. I would say that Valve doing a ban wave has both a short-term goal and a long-term goal. The short-term goal was Valve was always intending to do a ban wave, it just took a while to do. What I think happened was Valve took a while to collect a database of known bot accounts and (presumably) their hosters, and from there, once Valve felt they were comfortable with the amount they had collected, they pulled the trigger and proceeded to wipe them out. They obviously couldn't just outright say "Hey, we're gonna do a wipe of the bots soon" because that would have given the hosters plenty of time to set up proactive measures to make Valve's job harder. The only evidence I really have for this is the dropoff of players on Steam Charts, which shows around 15k-16k players mysteriously disappeared from the game, which seems to point to Valve issuing a game ban toward said accounts/deleting them entirely. Alternatively, Valve could have banned a limited amount of accounts, much lower than the 15-16k shown by Steam Charts, but it sent a scare to hosters who deactivated their bots and took them off the game once they knew Valve was watching them, but this explanation I don't have much evidence to prove beyond scattered Discord screenshots of supposed hosters telling people to change their bot configurations due to Valve clamping down on them. The long-term goal of this, though far-fetched and lacking evidence to support, could have to do with Deadlock, their next game, as a proactive measure to prevent these same malicious actors from flooding the game on Day 1, something many people have pointed out and what's happened to CS2 not even a year into its launch.

(UPDATE: Ok I might as well address this cause it did come up while I was writing the post, but a Team Fortress 2 DLC for an upcoming Funko Pop game called Funko Fusion was announced, and people have said that the only reason why Valve squashed the bots was because Valve wanted the game to look good in time for the crossover.

Now I am by no means a fan of Funko Pop, I think they look a bit ugly and there's a myriad of other things people take issue with, but that's all outside the scope of this post. I personally don't care that this is happening to begin with, as Funko Pops are something I routinely forget about, so as far as the DLC existing, I don't care that much. That being said, if it is true that Valve only squashed bots due to this collab happening to begin with, then that is pretty sad and disappointing to see, with how Valve wasn't motivated to fix the issue until a different company came knocking and asked them to do something cause they didn't want the DLC to look bad. But since there's no confirmation this is the case, Valve does have some level of plausible deniability here, and ultimately, something good did come from this, at a (to me, cause I couldn't give a shit about Funko) nonexistant cost so I won't complain)

So now time to return to the last part of the question in the title: What comes next?

Well for one thing, the war has not been won yet.

A big mistake with SaveTF2 was once Valve tweeted that they apparently "heard" us and were working to improve things, people largely declared victory and chose to stop there. Yet things didn't substantially improve since then, only cascading into a far worse situation. This time around, we cannot give up as quickly as last time. We are on the cusp of victory, but we need to keep the pressure on Valve. Keep holding them accountable for the bot issue. Put pressure on them to get rid of the bots for good. Don't let them off the hook and give them a slap on the wrist for only repelling the bots for a little bit, because believe me, as soon as Valve stops doing anything and slinks back into the shadows, the bots will return, and they will be far worse than anything we've seen thus far. It happened two years ago, it will happen again if we just declare victory now and go home. What Valve is doing is a great change of pace and they do deserve some praise for what they're doing, but we must make sure they stay committed to fixing the issue at hand. The best time for Valve to fix the issue was 5 years ago. The second best time is here and now. For now, hop on a few games and enjoy the (relatively) clean servers. We've earned a small break after our victory, but once you're done, make sure to grab your best bot-stomping boots, because our job is far from over.

[lovemyromance]

Stop polluting our inboxes with your posts, all the posts we've been recieving have been from your blog. you're just trying to start shit because nobody is giving your stupid thoughts any attention

And here's the drama at my doorstep!

Lovely. I had a feeling this would happen, because some people are unaware on how to exercise sound logic and reason, but let me just say this once and for all:

I don't have time to start this kind of petty nonsense. Yes, people have brought this to my attention so I am aware my posts are being circulated like this - but I am not the one responsible for it. I have already put out multiple posts asking for this person to stop and I have never even gone into the Gwynriel or Elucien tags to start any kind of drama. Every single time I have come across a hateful troll, I have called it out and encouraged Elriels to do the same. Every single one of my posts is always tagged Elriel and anti-whatever (if-applicable).

I don't know why you felt the need to come onto my blog and accuse me of something this childish. I get we likely disagree on ships - but why are y'all treating me like I'm some demon hellbent on causing chaos? It's disrespectful and honestly, a little hurtful.

My posts are public. Anyone can copy paste on the internet. Also - they are MY posts - if I was really that insistent on anti-elriels seeing them, then I would just purposefully tag them incorrectly...why tf would I waste my time sending them individually to anti-elriel blogs??

Like, I'm honestly even more insulted that y'all think I'd be inefficient like that?

But ok - jokes aside- I've literally never gone out and tried to antagonize anti-Elriel accounts - so idk what makes y'all think I'm about to start that shit now? Not sure how many more times I can say this but I am NOT. Interested. IN. THIS. LUDICRACY.

I don't know what you people even want from me? What else am I supposed to do? Launch an investigation? Delete my blog? Why can't we just see this is a stupid troll and stop acting like I need to release an official statement like I'm fucking Joe biden or some shit? its not that deep??

Just leave me alone. All I want to do is post in my own tags, and obsess over a ship in my own corner of the internet. Not asking for much here.

[1533-secrets-from-history]

Mistakes in the Magnificent Century part III

(title, ranks and traditions)

Some facts might be the same or very similar to the ones in previous parts,but they will be discussed from different angle.

1. Valide Sultan title

As I have spoken in the previous chapters, pre 1520 mothers of sultans were not sultans at all, they were titles as hatuns, though treated with utmost respect. In 1520 as Suleiman the Magnificent ascended the throne, he bestowed the title of Sultan to her mother Ayşe Hafsa, thus making her the first person in the ottoman history to become sultan from slavery. However, for Ayşe Hafsa being Sultan was not the same as the Valide Sultan that we know today. She was sultan yes, and she was the mother, so "Valide" was the proper address,from her children, as it was for every mother in the Ottoman empire, she was registered as "the mother of Sultan Suleiman", therefore in some sense, we can say she was not "Valide Sultan".

The first person,who actually made the "Valide sultan" a thing and officially registered herself was Nurbanu. So, the first Valide sultan with its full meaning was not Hafsa,but Nurbanu, who was registered as Valide Afife Nurbanu Sultan.

2. Haseki Sultan and Hürrem's marriage.

There were more than just several miscon- ceptions about the subject in the show.

First and foremost it was created specifically for Hürrem,so neither Hafsa nor Mahidevran have ever had the title. It also brought another mistake about Hafsa,that I will explain below,but now I will just make clearer how, when and why the status was created.

It was almost definitely created in mid-1534 after the death of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan and was probably legalised by their marriage, which by some sources is mentioned to be in 1533. If this is right, then it would mean, Suleiman married Hürrem before he gave her the status of Haseki and the marriage only freed her,but the most common and for me the most logical version is that after the death of Hafsa Sultan, Suleiman married her and gave her the title.

The death of Hafsa Sultan is a crucial part in the story, nor because she had some kind of objection towards Hürrem or her promotion,but the legal status of Hürrem reached its peak of necessity after her death. As we know, Ayşe Hafsa was a trusted ally and Confidant of uprising Sultan, even during his time as shehzade, so during the campaigns, his mother was the supervisor of the capital and his family, so the sultan could go to war without worrying about what he was leaving behind. However, after Hafsa's death things changed, Süleiman lost beloved mother and most trustworthy person around him, he needed to act immediately,as the campaign was near. He needed someone,whom he could entrust Harem, Family and the capital. His children were little, Sisters(whom by the way he trusted very much) were all married and Hürrem did not have a proper rank. It is said that he also discussed the candidate of high ranking harem servants, one and most promoted one of whom, in my opinion, would have been Gulfem, but he finally found the best possible solution that would affect his empire for centuries. He married Hürrem, gave her the rank of Haseki Sultan and left her in charge of the Harem, Family and the empire.

Hürrem became the first Haseki sultan in history.

Misusage of the title did not and here and there, not only the status and function,but even relevance of achievement was changed here. In the very first episode, Nigar kalfa made it clear that giving birth to a son, was enough to achieve it however, originally only the chosen ones could become Hasekis until its relevance faded during Murad's reign and completely lost exclusivity during Ibrahim's.

Essentially, the original function of haseki sultan was filling the absence of Valide, therefore only Hürrem and Nurbanu can be considered as the "original Haseki Sultans". Later many women were given the status, however the show made it wrong. Mahidevran,Mahfiruz and Halime never held it, however Şevikar, referred as Şevikar hatun in the show, was actually Haseki Şevikar sultan, the fifth Haseki of Ibrahim, three of whom, Ayşe, Mahinerv and Saçbağli, were left out, which is kind of understandable, because they had no importance in plot, unlike Turhan, never became Valide,unlike Saliha Dilaşub and Muazzez and had no influence on Ibrahim,Unlike Şevikar and Humaşah.

Their social standing is also misportrayed in the show, where Haseki ranks below and bows to imperial princesses, while in real life it was the other way around.

3. Daughters of Ottoman Princesses

In the show, we met three daughters of the ottoman princesses: Esmahan,Huriçihan and Humaşah. They are referred to as Sultans,but in real life the daughters of imperial princesses were not called so,instead they had the title Hanimsultan and ranked even below the imperial consorts. The only exception to that was Humaşah, the daughter of Mihrimah Sultan, who received the title and prestige of the Sultan.

4. Harem Kalfa

In the show, they are just giving people the rank left and right. Nigar was already a high ranking, trusted servant of harem,but it turned out that she had only been there for 6 years. Fidan hatun was banished for attacking Sultan,but after a while she returned and became Kalfa, in Kösem melek hatun received rank out of the blue etc.

In real life, however, becoming kalfa was a long process. As we know,there were hundreds or even thousands of girls in the harem,but only a handful of them would become favourites,but what would happen to others? After ten years of being a harem resident some of them would have been transferred from harem and soon married off, some could by freedom, while others, usually the smartest and most responsible ones,would go to a special school that lasted two years, they would revive extensive training, both intellectual and physical, after that they could return in harem as teachers and overseers and if they were good enough they could promote.

There was actually quite a complicated hierarchy of harem servants,not only there were Kalfa's who had duty to supervise certain works like food or laundry(later even coffee),but there were administrative ranks, that they could achieve:

Mistress chief treasurer(Baş Hazinedar usta): she was head of the harem treasury.

Treasurers(Hazinedars): there were other hazinedars as well, who worked in harem treasury. Baş hazinedar usta was their direct superior.

Imperial Kalfa(Hünkar Kalfası): Personal kalfa of the padişah.

Lady stewardess(Kahya kadin/Kethüda Hatun): she ranked below imperial consorts,but her role raised during sultanate of women, when Gülfem and Çanfeda held the office, they were right hand women of Chief Harem managers(Hürrem and Nurbanu) therefore second in command of the Harem.

Senior Kalfa(Büyük Kalfa): Head of Kalfas, she was responsible for literally everything that was happening in the harem, sultans and şehzades treated her with respect and called "my kalfa" or "your grace"

Lady secretary: secretary of administrative organs of harem.

Junior kalfa( Küçük Kalfa): Senior kalfa was their direct superior. They had ranks within( second- ranking, third ranking, novice etc.) They were sometimes teachers and daily overseers.

Çanfeda for example entered the harem with Nurbanu, so in late 1530's or early 1540's. Nurbanu became favourite and went to Manisa, while Çanfeda remained in the old palace, in 1566 she was already a high ranking kalfa in the old palace, when Nurbanu called her. That would mean she was sent to train as kalfa in late 1540's or yearly 1550's, therefore she would have a decade or two to raise in ranks.

5. Princely harem.

In the magnificent century, prince usually gets his harem, whole in Topkapi palace, which is the lie through and through. They went even further and made up with the rule that the prince can not have a child with their concubine until they get their province to rule. Why would they be allowed to have concubines,but not having a child, when contraception is still unreliable.

Actually, their case was far more easier, princes would revive their sanjaks while still very young, their mothers, governesses and close servants would carefully choose their harem and leave the palace with their mother and full sisters. That also brought another mistake in the show. In the flashbacks, we can see Ayşe Hafsa and Hatice visiting Suleiman in Manisa, however Ayşe Hafsa along with Fatma and beyhan left for Manisa with Suleiman in 1512, while Hatice,being 4 years older than Suleiman, got married the same year.

6. Regency

They introduced Kösem's regency as something unheard of,while completely neglecting Handan and Halime.

Handan was the first woman ever to rule as regents in her son's stead. She appointed viziers, discussed political matters and built a trusted circle for her son.

Halime was not officially registered regent but due to the insanity of her son, paşas asked her to rule the state after the rebellion she herself organized.

Kösem's and Turhan's regency is well known, so I will not speak about it.

7. Kösem's wedding

Not exactly the mistake as it is not proven, but as the event is highly unlike, I'll just put it there.

In 1609 it is said that Ahmed had four children with two women,but neither of them were married to him. In the two latters, one form 1612 and other from 1616, the 1612 letter straight out mentions her as sultan's concubine, who he loves the most and in 1616 she is mentioned as juts Haseki,but nothing is said about the marriage( I am not adamant about him not marrying her,I am just saying that it's unlikely, however I admitt she might indeed was concubine in 1612 and after the death of Mahfiruz, Ahmed married her and raised her stipend),however early in Kösem's regency vencians questioned ottoman practice, that mother of sultan was honoured and even given the regency,despite not being married to his father. As we know in Venice and generaly in Europe, source of power for woman was her marriage and not just motherhood. That is a time, when it was "unrevealed" that ahemd married her before he died,(if that latter is to be believed than Kösem and Ahmed did not marry in 1613), now it was actually thought that it was false information used by Kösem to strengthen her position in the eye of Venice as they needed friendly relation with them. That is not widely accepted,but it can be strengthened by the fact that Vencians still did not believe it, so perhaps they knew for sure that it was lie?

8. The death of Halime sultan and Mustafa.

In the show Halime, like many others, is victim of making Kösem seem more powerful, while Mustafa was killed by Murad. In real life, Mustafa died of natural causes, probably because of epilepsy in 1539, he was buried in Hagia Sophia and the coffin was placed in a mosque built for him. Halime is buried next to him and no permission of reburial was asked or granted, therefore Halime was not killed by Kösem, she went to the old palace and lived a long life.

9. 1517-1540

I'll be honest, I don't remember much of those episodes, they were boring and monotonous for me, but what I remember is one part from Kösem's iconic " The state you are talking about is mine" speech. She mentioned that she took over the reins of the state from Ahmed 15 years before the event, well that is a huge lie. Though the show runners tried to make Kösem all powerful, the invincible mastermind behind every single breath people drew in the empire,but she was actually quite powerless from time to time and the period between 1617 and 1623 is one of such. She was still young and inexperienced that time and main powerhouses in the empire were Halime and Osman's faction and she was not the leading force during any of the rebellions, she was allie of Halime, who, according to many historians, had major influence that time and the great impact on Kösem. Some even go as far as claiming that she persuaded Osman to kill Mehmed, so Kösem would take her side.

In short, Kösem did not have reins of sultanate for 15 years,but only about 10.

As I said, I don't remember much about the episodes, but from what I remember, Kösem had something to do with Murad's death. I'll be short on this: that's a lie.

10. Coup of 1648

The show made Kösem something of a filicidal tyrant. However, In real life her tyrannical tendencies appeared only after the death of Ibrahim, which he had nothing to do with. The ones behind the incident were Turhan and her faction. Kösem indeed took part in the Ibrahim's dethronement for the good of everyone,but mainly because she had seen the mad sultan dethroned,but lived. Mustafa had a similar situation,he was dethroned and locked in kafe, while his mother was sent to the old palace, which Kösem was absolutely willing to do. However, Turhan made her move and had Ibrahim executed to get rid of opposition for good, or perhaps because of the old resentment. Things did not go exactly as she had planned though, Kösem became regent and visibly started to avenge Ibrahim's death, it became clear that she was not going to hand over any power to Turhan and after she started to oppose even went as far as attempted dethronement of Mehmed(however she was not going to kill him.)

Therefore the child killing monster the show made her become is straight out a lie. One of her sons died of natural causes and the other was killed by outer forces, that she tried to avenge.

[luckybyler]

So I replied to that post by Nick from @8flix that has everybody worked up:

But I want to make it its own post for visibility. So here’s my reply:

I don’t claim to be an expert on scripts and I have zero access to leaks or spoilers, but as far as I know, scripts are made for actors to know what the character is supposed to be thinking and feeling during that exact scene.

Will being “fully resigned to knowing that he’s just ripped off the Band-Aid” doesn’t mean that he stopped loving Mike, or that he has successfully moved on, or even that he has actually “ripped off the Band-Aid” for that matter. It only tells us that, as far as Will knows, there is no hope of him and Mike ever getting together. It certainly tells us nothing about Mike’s feelings. Mike has no idea that there’s even a band-aid or a wound, and he’s 50% of the Byler equation.

As for “bigger plans” (for Will), that doesn’t tell us anything about whether Byler will be endgame or not either. Especially considering that Will’s sexuality and his feelings for Mike are clearly embedded in his piece of the supernatural plot. That would be like saying that there was no time to talk about Chrissy’s eating disorder because she was too busy trying to run from Vecna: the two things are inextricably linked.

Again, I don’t know the Duffers or even the person that mops the floor at filming locations, and the Duffers can write literally whatever they want, up to and including “this was all a dream”. But logic and my experience of growing up watching telenovelas tell me that a character thinking that something is over doesn’t mean it is.

[ninapi]

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┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺╚══ Snake Pillar ╝

Premise: Love isn't always something beautiful, wanted, expected. Iguro had always been in love with Mitsuri, but that didn't stop his Tsuguko from falling for him.

Word Count: 3686

Warning: Main character death, spoilers of the main manga timeline.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Spring, everyone’s favorite season was now here.

The Sakura trees were in full bloom in the capital, the streets filled with beautiful petals flocking around the chilly wind.

Animals and humans alike were now getting intimate to bring new life to this world.

The perfect season for demons to go rampage in town.

After a two weeks long mission along the fire pillar, you were summoned by Oyakata-sama and his wife, the reason was unknown to you but the messenger didn’t seem to be carrying bad news.

“(Y/N) my child. You’ve proven to be the best of your generation; we’ve both been talking, and we think you should be upgraded to Tsuguko. I believe you have the potential to be our next pillar.”

That caught you off guard, yes, the mission was very intense, but if it wasn’t for Rengoku-san you would have died, at least four times. You considered yourself just one more of the bunch, nothing special, besides your bond with the fire pillar that is. You both got more than along, were in complete sync, and everybody knew about this, even your master.

“That would be an honor, Oyakata-sama. If I may ask for something selfish, is it possible to…”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The pillars were summoned for a brief meeting a few days later, the crows didn’t elaborate on the reason, but it didn’t seem urgent, so they all arrived at their own pace.

Once Oyakata-sama arrived, they all took their respective place around the leader, excited to see their master.

“My beloved children. Sorry to call you with such a short notice, I have some good news that wanted to share with you.” this didn’t happen often, usually the meetings were about important upcoming missions or bigger troubles, but he looked awfully calm this time around.

“(Y/N) has proven her worth in countless missions and the last one was her last trial; she will be officially our new Tsuguko starting tomorrow.” Rengoku’s smile was so bright even Gyomei could feel it. He was radiating fire at this point, as proud as one could be.

“Sanemi, I think you’re the perfect match for our little (Y/N).” this caused said smile to drop to the floor in seconds, he was sure he would be the chosen one.

“With all due respect, Oyakata-sama. I can see the logic behind it, she does have great wind affinity, but I honestly don’t think she can withstand my harsh training, wouldn’t it be better to send her over to Rengoku?” Ah... Shinazugawa…such a lovely man, thought Rengoku as his smile was slowly returning to its rightful place.

“Yes, I thought so too, they do have amazing chemistry. But you know I always listen to my wife; she insists she’d be better off with you.” that left Sanemi speechless and a little bothered, he really didn’t want to train a little spoiled brat, he was already busy at it is.

“I can sense your discomfort, Sanemi. And let me lift those worries out right now, even if we both agreed you should be the one, (Y/N) herself came to us asking if it was possible to be trained under Obanai’s lead, she didn’t even know who she would be sent to by then, but she made her preferences known, and I respect that.” Iguro had a coughing attack at the news, having to place a hand on the ground to recover.

“She did what?” Rengoku was beyond heartbroken, he even forgot Oyakata-sama was the one delivering the news, he would never disrespect him in any way, but this was shocking.

“Rengoku.” Himejima clapped his hands loudly, making Rengoku realize what he had done, throwing himself on the floor at once. “I’m sorry for my behavior, Oyakata-sama. Are you sure…she said that?”

“Lift your head Kyojuro. She did, it sounded like she had a reason though. Why don’t you try asking her?” with a short nod, he went back to his seat, crestfallen.

“Obanai, I know you didn’t want a Tsuguko. But she’s the best we have right now, please make sure to train her properly and don’t be too harsh on her, she asked nicely, must really want to be under your care.”

Iguro was losing his cool. He wasn’t only getting a Tsuguko against his will, it was a girl at that. And not just any girl, the girl majority of the guys around the corps had a crush on, even the almighty fire pillar. He didn’t want this, not in the slightest.

“Iguro-san, Iguro-san! (Y/N) is so, so, so, cute! You’re so lucky! I envy you so much!” Kanroji was pulling from her braids in despair, she had been begging for a Tsuguko and had wished for a cute girl to dot on and talk about boys, you were the perfect candidate.

“Oyakata-sama, as I’m sure you know, I’m not good with girls. How can I have a female Tsuguko?” his breath was ragged, his head was spinning, he really didn’t want any of this. “Can’t you give her over to Kanroji?”

“My children,” his tone wasn’t as loving as it usually is anymore, sending chills down everyone’s spine, “This is not an auction, Rengoku and Kanroji might want her, I wanted her under Sanemi myself, but she wants you, Obanai. I’m being as fair as I can be, she’s the one who must be trained by you, the one who will suffer the consequences of this decision, and it has been made, there’s nothing more to argue about. You are all dismissed.”

They all got up from their seat, walking out to the garden as soon as he spoke, Sanemi collapsing on the floor with a satisfied long sigh, “Safe.”

Rengoku on the other hand was quietly sulking behind a wooden post.

Iguro was just there, trying to regain some air back to his lungs and to process what had happened, his loyal friend hissing on his ear trying to offer some sort of comfort.

“Iguro-san! Don’t doubt to call me if you need help! I’m a girl too, we get each other. Maybe I can even steal from time to time and smother her with love after your harsh training! Ahw! So exciting!” Mitsuri was swaying on her feet, daydreaming happily of who knows what atrocities.

“Will do….” his voice was nothing but a whisper, his feet safely guiding him back to his state. Life wasn’t on his side, he’s always been aware of this since he was a child, but this, this was just too much.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You were in the serpent state with your bags by sunrise, ready to fully immerse yourself in the experience, a bright smile on your face.

Iguro, who just woke up was definitely not ready for this, not even saying good morning he jumped right into the matter that barely allowed him to sleep last night, “(L/N) why did you ask to be my Tsuguko? Wasn’t Rengoku a better fit? I’m sure we can get Oyakata-sama to reassign you if we both go toge-“

“I want to be trained by you, Iguro-san. Is that a bad thing?” your eyes were glossy, disappointment painting your features. He wasn’t trying to make you cry, he was just not the right man for the job.

“Why would you want that? You know my training is rough right? I won’t slow down just because you are a girl.”

“I am not expecting you to slow down. I just thought Tsugukos were chosen by affinity. I think you are the coolest Iguro-san…I would like to inherit the snake breathing techniques one day…” this was the first time someone called him cool, this was specially surprising coming from someone who’s been near Rengoku for the longest time.

“Not everyone can do this. You have to have a connection with the species-“ your eyes were glued to the beautiful snake around his shoulders, a childlike expression on your face. “You just want to touch Kaburamaru, don’t you?” his eyes were full of realization, he caught you.

This made you giggle, the snake skillfully wrapping around your arm on its own, quickly enamored by you. “Maybe…”

The ridiculousness of it all made Iguro accept his fate, his snake friend seemed comfortable enough with your presence, he is always friendly but not to this level, you probably had potential for his breathing style by the looks of it, he had to give you a chance to prove yourself.

“Go drop your stuff in the empty room by the entrance, I’ll see you in the training grounds in ten.” He’s never seen such a bright smile before, Kanroji had the most beautiful there is, but your smile was different, it felt warm, you were probably rubbing on Rengoku for too long, it had to be that.

Throwing it to the back of his mind, he moved on with his day.

He had a Tsuguko now, training would be his priority for a while.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Rengoku was still in shock, even if an entire day had gone by. He was sure you guys had a thing, or was it just his imagination?

You don’t just hold hands with random people, right? He wasn’t the most experienced in the love department, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t just him, the longing in your eyes each time you saw him, the way you smiled at him so brightly, so tenderly, it couldn’t be all in his head.

He wanted to see it with his own eyes, so he headed to Iguro’s training grounds, he needed to hear it from you, the reason why.

You were exhausted, panting on the floor after a very long training morning with your favorite pillar. Kaburamaru was laying on you, sunbathing on your belly, making you giggle as you caressed his beautiful scales. Iguro was watching the interaction from up a tree, you didn’t know he was there, but you knew he had to be close otherwise the snake would have left after him already.

He was about to leave when Rengoku arrived, his worried expression made him want to stay a little more. In all truth, he was still wishing you would change your mind and go with the fire pillar, but after training you all morning he wasn’t as discouraged to train you anymore, you had more than enough potential to be a pillar and Kaburamaru loved you, it wasn’t easy to find someone so compatible with his own skills, it would honestly be a shame, even if he didn’t want to accept it.

“(Y/N) dear, is your training for the day over? I wanted to have a word with you…” getting up gently, you set the little snake down on a patch of grass before heading your way over to him. “Sure, Kyo-san. What’s up?”

“I…I was wondering why you chose to come to Iguro instead of being with me. We have such an awesome connection, having you teaming with him instead will be devastating for me.” he was more heartbroken than anything else, he couldn’t care less for the missions, he could do it all by himself, he just enjoyed them so much more since you started tagging along, he misses you already.

“We do, yes.. I just…well you know how everyone’s scared of him? I just think he deserves a chance; nobody wants to be his Tsuguko and I think we could potentially get along one day, he’s great with animals, and so am I. Don’t you think I could be a good serpent breathing representative? I don’t think I could do cool things with fire like you do.” your heart was so big, it was one of the things he loved about you, he couldn’t be upset anymore after hearing your reasoning.

“And what about good old Rengoku? He needs a Tsuguko too you know? I will miss you…” his voice dropped along with his hand which now rested on your waist.

“Good old Kyo-san has a cute little brother that will eventually come to be in his care, he doesn’t need me.” your cute giggles were music to his ears, he really did like you, a lot.

Iguro on the other hand felt uncomfortable watching this whole thing. So you felt pity? Was that it? You wanted to be with him so he wouldn’t end up being the only pillar without an apprentice? He didn’t know how to feel about this, it didn’t feel good, but it also made something fuzzy bloom in his chest.

“Oh? So he’s cute, huh? Is he cuter than me? Am in troubles?” a low chuckle rumbled in his chest, his hand tugging you closer to him.

“You might be~” poking your tongue out at him in a teasing manner, you ran away from him and headed inside the serpent state, “Gotta take a bath, see you later Kyo-san!”

Iguro came out of the tree to pick sleeping Kaburamaru up, Rengoku glaring in his direction. “Didn’t peg you as a stalker, Iguro.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but this is my state. Now, I would like to make it clear from the start that I expect you to stop clinging to my Tsuguko. She needs to train hard; distractions are not welcomed.” he didn’t know why he was saying all this, words were just coming out of his mouth on their own.

“Weren’t you into Kanroji? Why does it matter to you if I cling to her or not?” raising one of his intimidating eyebrows up, he scoffed. “I well, what? No, I’m not. But she has nothing to do with this. I just don’t want you parading around my state all day, that’s all.”

“I’m not here to see you, so I don’t see why it bothers you this much. But ok, I will leave my time with her reserved for after training hours, then I get to have her all to myself.” without another word, he headed to his own state, his heart felt a bit lighter now that he cleared things up with you, but he’s never heard Iguro talk this much, it was a bit concerning.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

One thing about Obanai is that he wakes up early every morning, even before the sun’s up.

The reason why being he just didn’t want anybody to get a the slightest glimpse of his unwrapped self as he takes a bath, other members of the corpse share the space and he didn’t want anybody to be even more on edge because of him.

You were the contrary, always late, falling asleep was your worse flaw and he hated it deep down in his guts, but he was glad in a way as he never had to encounter you bright and early when he is most tense.

That was until this day.

You weren’t what you would consider ‘early’ you just didn’t sleep at all, there were a lot of things in your head and coming from a difficult mission with lots of death plaguing it would of course cause you to lose sleep. So you decided to take a bath and start stretching while you waited for your training session to start.

You bumped into him on his way out of the bathing area, making both of your towels fall to the ground. Crouching to pick both up you apologized profusely. “I’m so sorry Iguro-san, I didn’t know there was someone in the bath already!”

He was paralyzed with fear, his face out in the open for everyone to see.

You tried not to stare, but this was your first time seeing his face properly. “Don’t look, I’m hideous…” he tried to cover his face with a bucket nearby, your hand reaching over to stop him from doing so.

“There’s no such thing as a hideous person, Iguro-san. I can understand you being self-conscious about the scar, we all obsess over something in our body, I personally don’t like my thighs, that’s why I cover them, but people say they’re nothing out of the ordinary, even if to me they’re awful.”

Mumbling behind his sleeve, he peeked one eye out to look down to your succulent thighs, “They’re fine…why would you hate them?”

“And why would you hate your beautiful face? Makes no sense to me~” giggling past him, you went inside the bathing area, needing to hurry as your trainer was up already.

“B-beautiful? What-…” scoffing, he headed over to his room, quickly wrapping his face away from the world as he usually does. You were indeed a weird one, always seeing the best out of every situation, it was honestly refreshing, but difficult to handle for someone like him.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Time skip~

You’ve been under Iguro’s care for over a year now. You’ve perfected the first three breathing techniques, surprising him with your progress.

You were good, he was even fearing Kaburamaru would leave him and become your partner full time. Who can blame him though? After all this time seeing you around every day, he gets now what people see in you. Not only were you pretty, but you were strong, considerate, kind, selfless. Definitely a match for Rengoku, not him.

You were now sure of his undying love for Kanroji, she would visit him often, eat lunch together, he even bought stuff for her constantly, it was painstakingly obvious they both liked each other. As it was how much Rengoku liked you.

You on the other hand had mixed feelings.

Of course, Rengoku is lovely, he wanted to pursue you officially, but you had a hard time accepting his feelings. You spend all your day with Iguro, you’ve got to truly see him for what he really is, learned to accept him, entertain him, be in sync with him. You now made a great team. It was him you thought about before going to bed and as soon as you woke up. It was him who you wished to receive praises from, it was him you wanted to make proud.

Even if he was clearly in love with someone else, your feelings shifted his way without anyone’s consent.

The way he would bring you a cup of tea after a harsh training routine, the way he would sit quietly next to you eating sweets peacefully, you’ve seen his face already and wasn’t disgusted by it, he could eat around you comfortably.

The way he would let you hold onto his arm if the missions were tough. The way his eyes soften now in your presence.

You were deep in love with a man who’s heart belonged to someone else…

A mission came around for you two, a particularly tough demon had come out very near a village booming with tourists. It needed to be contained and destroyed as fast as possible.

You’ve seen the way his demeanor towards you had changed every time you talk, you know he didn’t think of you as a nuisance anymore, but you also knew he wouldn’t accept your feelings, and as hard as that might be, you decided to keep your feelings to yourself and treasure the relationship you currently had with him.

The demon was tougher than you two expected, even with a pillar there you were having a hard time killing him. Three women had already lost their life to his rampage, you needed to do something.

Since he seemed to like killing women, you were trying to devise a plan to lure him in and give Iguro time to cut his head off, but your head turned blank when you saw the demon sneaking behind Iguro and about to stab him right through the heart.

Panic surged through your body, inhuman speed possessing you as you rushed to his aid, receiving the blow instead.

Iguro saw it all in slow motion, how you fell to the ground, covered in blood, how the wound had pierced a vital organ dooming your recovery. His rage served as the means necessary to cut the demon’s head and send him to oblivion. But the cut was too deep, he didn’t know how to help you.

You could barely keep your eyes open when he gathered you to his chest, tears unexpectedly coming down his face slowly, one after the other, “(Y/N), no, why? Why?? You’re so stupid, how many times have I told you I’m stronger than you? I can take a blow like that! But you….just look at you….why, just why would you do this…?” your hand reached over to his face wrappings, undoing them so you got to see a glimpse of his face one last time.

“Because I love you. I couldn’t just let you die Iguro-san...” his hand came over to stop yours from fully removing the wraps, his entire being too shaken by the situation to comprehend your words.

“C’mon…let me see your beautiful face one last time…I don’t have much left…” your soft smile and trembling hand made him forgo his stubbornness, letting you remove the wraps.

“Thank you for letting me be your Tusuguko…even when you didn’t like me.” you chuckled slightly, coughing out blood while doing so, alerting Iguro and making him tighten his grip around your faint body. “I know you don’t like your face, but I will always think of it as the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I hope you felt loved while being around me, even if it was just a little…” he nodded, collapsing to the ground fully with you in his arms. He really liked Mitsuri, everyone knew about this, but you had loved him like no one else had, openly, abundantly, and he couldn’t give you any of it back.

“Would you…remember me…?”

“Of course I will, what are you saying…you’re my only Tsuguko, I will never have another one, the techniques will die with us…” nuzzling his chest, you gave one last shaky breath, “Thank you…Igu-….” Leaving this world in the hands of a loved one has no price, makes time living among others worthwhile.

With a smile on his teary face, he bid goodbye to his only apprentice, the woman that loved him to her own demise.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The serpent state was never to be the same and he made sure of it.

He made everyone leave and remained there on his own, never taking another Tsuguko as he promised he would.

He likes Mitsuri, everybody knows that, even her, and he did till his very last breath, but he always carried with him the load you left him, the unshared feelings, the overwhelming amount of love you had towards him and Kaburamaru and always lived within him, being his companions until his arrival in the afterlife.

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Masterlist

[kerubimcrepin]

An Afterword: talking about Welsh and Shedar

While we are done with the movie and the show, it cannot be understated, just how much we still have to cover. Both in terms of canon, and things out of the realm of canon.

And this includes interviews, and things that never got made.

[source]

The thing that often bothers me, is that the creator of the franchise that my most favorite cartoon of all time is a part of, probably despises said cartoon.

I can't not think about that, when I see Simone and other Aux Tresors characters reused in Wakfu season 4 as background character assets, or when I think about how every show except Aux Tresors has had an OST released, or how the only Aux Tresors companion in Waven is Lou. Though I know, logically speaking, that it's more likely because it's just not very popular.

Funnily enough, I personally, and rather selfishly, think that Welsh & Shedar's demise is probably the greatest fortune to happen to this franchise. What was one of the worst things to ever happen to Tot was one of my greatest fortunes. (I would not care about Joris as a character, had Kerubim never existed. The cartoon, and their relationship, mean a lot to me, for personal reasons.)

To Tot, the thing that I love the very most has cannibalized one of his life's dreams. Starting with the resources, and ending with character designs themselves. Even the character design of a fucking cat??

As an artist myself, I can't even begin to imagine the horror of that, and yet... I feel nothing but joy. It's quite weird, how life works.

The good news is that Welsh and Shedar has been resurrected by Ankama (watch as it gets a full artbook and an OST release before Aux Tresors, an 11 year show that still doesn't have those, yes I am bitter), so, it is mostly water under the bridge. We will hopefully get to enjoy both, in a couple of years.

[source]

But I feel like it's very likely, that a lot of Aux Tresors and the way Tot may feel about it, was influenced by this disaster, and I couldn't begin this post without addressing that.

So, what was, or could be in the future, Welsh and Shedar?

A plot summary from the youtube trailer's description, just as filled with Tot's overwhelming sadness as everything else relating to W&S's cancellation, man, goes as follows: "Here is the trailer for an animated series project launched in 2012 which has very little chance of arriving on your screens. The story is that of Welsh, a young boy forced to fight for an inheritance he never knew existed: that of the throne of the Kingdom of Bonta. Ankama’s “animation” department has plenty of ideas behind its graphics tablets: series, special episodes, films, our brains are always buzzing! However, not all projects are lucky enough to reach you…"

So basically, it was/is/will be a story about a young man, or boy, who finds out he is the next in line for Bonta's throne, and is taken there by Joris. How all of this happens is rather murky, AKA:

Anyway,

Tot has reported that his idea for this series was quite similar to the anime "Ranking of Kings", which I had sadly not watched. Make of that what you will.

When does Welsh & Shedar take place?

Firstly, I will say that, because of how much Tot loves this series, for years it was in a state of vague canonicity. AKA "it did likely happen, but it has never been produced so we don't know WHAT it is, that happened there. There sure was a guy named Welsh at some point."

What points to this is 1. Khan's old man design still being canon,

And 2. This usage of Welsh & Shedar-era Joris in an official timeline. It says that Joris would have been 60 years old, in this series.

Obviously, this timeline is subject to change, if/when Welsh & Shedar becomes real, and there are a lot of things we don't know!

Some curiosities...

Funnily enough, there exists this image, which was leaked by a French site when Aux Tresors began airing, — mistakenly used as promo for the series.

It could be depicting some other draft of W&S where Joris is a kid. Or, it could be depicting something between Aux Tresors and W&S, from when Ankama had to make something new up to take W&S's place.

It yet again makes me yearn for an Aux Tresors art book. Because seriously. What does this even mean.

Anyway thank you france for killing W&S, making Aux Tresors (the PEAK.... the SLAY.....) real, and now resurrecting W&S. We truly do live in the kindest timeline 🙏

[total-drama-brainrot]

Owen vampire anon here! Thanks for replying

I do like the idea of a whole horror concept of Owen, might like to play into that scenario one day. But i feel like it would be way more funnier and just...more Owen if it was kept in a more comedic light.

Hear me out on this scenario, everyone knows well enough that Owen might be a vampire. (People got this idea from some of the ideas you listed, and maybe the fact that Owen has mistaken them for food way too many times to be suspicious). But Owen is convinced that no one knows, so in the confessional he's just like "no one must know" dramatically

And then Noah walks up to the confessional like "My best friend might be a vampire. Crazy shit i know right?"

Also it would be really funny if Owen is convinced Izzy is a vampire too due to all her biting, when its really Izzy just doing fun pay back for all of Owen's blood sucking.

Yes! I adore fun light-hearted AUs, and having the vampire Owen AU focus mostly on the hijinks he gets up to in order to protect his "secret" (despite everyone knowing there's something up with him) is so fun. So good. 10/10 concept - especially since it plays into is canonical inability to keep a secret.

I think the initial misconception that Izzy is some sort of supernatural creature would be really funny; a fellow vampire, some sort of werefolk, a zombie(?). Anything known for being as feral and bite-happy as Izzy tends to be. She'd absolutely try to play into the idea, but I can't see her being very convincing at all despite her abilities as an actress - thus she'd be outed as a normal(ish) human being pretty quickly.

Though she'd be more than contented to be Owen's main bloodbag. Izzy's absolutely the type of person who'd have a weird fascination with the supernatural (her actions in the Egypt episodes of World Tour attest to this) and being the primary foodsource for a vampire would be right up her alley.

I see their relationship playing out a lot more vaguely than it did in canon - neither would ever cross the boundary of confirming whether their relationship is official or not, and (if we're getting a little angsty with it) Owen's happier living with their indeterminate situationship than risking asking Izzy to be his girlfriend, only to learn that she barely tolerates the company of a "monster" and doesn't share the sentiment. Or worse. Of course, that's pretty out of character for Izzy, but she is fairly unpredictable and Owen's got good reason to play his cards close to his chest when it comes to his "condition".

I didn't want to talk about Noah in the OG post since a lot of my blog in practically centered around him, but I did have an idea for a scenario where Owen is convinced that Noah is also a vampire, hence why he befriends him so quickly and easily. Because Noah's got pretty much all of the characteristics; he's cold to the touch, generally avoids sunlight and going outside, his footsteps are feather light to the point he moves around silently, he sleeps a lot during the day, ect ect.

To Owen, the only logical conclusion is that Noah is also a vampire who's really bad at masking it. In actuality, Noah's just kind of a weirdo. And anemic.

So Owen's fairly open about his vampirism to Noah, wholly convinced that they're both in the same boat. And Noah takes it in stride because he ran out of fucks to give the moment he arrived on the island and, in all honesty, Owen's pretty good company.

Then you get a scene like the one you proposed - Noah goes into the confessional, says something along the lines of "So my best friend is a vampire. I didn't realise reality TV shows cared that much about their diversity quota, but here we are." And plays off the whole situation in his usual unflappable and snarky way. Did he just have his perception of the world as he knew it shattered under the news that vampires are real? Yeah. Does he care? Not really.

Cue shennanagins where the rest of the Island knows that Owen is a vampire... and maybe they even think he turned Noah? And our favourite idiots are completely unaware and trying desperately to keep Owen's vampirism a secret.

I think it'd be really cool to have someone else on the island be a different type of supernatural being too, and have them work as an antagonistic force towards Owen in this AU. Or have someone be well versed in the occult and, using their knowledge, act as a de facto vampire hunter in a cartoonish game of cat-and-mouse between them and an oblivious Owen. Cough cough Gwen cough.

[alienaiver]

now that its cold again and i am, once again, too cheap to turn on the heat in my apartment, i am back in my allen era...

"but why won't you turn on the heat?" he asks, confusion laced into his question. it's not out of place, his inability to understand your logic.

mostly because you don't want to tell him your plan.

hanging out at allen's small apartment is always cold and you always sneak in a way to have his arms wrapped around you. but lately, ever since his stove stopped working and the landlord's taking his sweet time to fix it, you've been spending time at your place.

allen's not good at initiating cuddle times - it's awkward and straining for him to ask for the affection you'll freely give and you can be stunted too, in making the moves that are sometimes needed to push you both.

so, after lavi's suggestion, you decided to let the heaters stay turned off, because this will make sure that you're cuddled up for warmth shortly after dinner. it's a secure deal.

except, allen won't stop asking questions.

he does it out of worry. are you short on money? did the heater break and you dont know how to fix it? are you suddenly self-conscious about his choice of letting it stay off for as long as possible? should he take an extra shift at work to help you replace it?

you try to shrug off his question again, wiping down the countertop after dinner and deflecting, "should we continue 90 days fiance tonight?"

(allen's official stance will always be that reality tv like that is staged and shallow - but that won't stop him from being dramatically invested in the bad choices of these people desperate for love.)

he huffs out a breath and lets his shoulders sag. then, he shakes his head and reaches out for your hands.

with both of his. a recent development you've been more than thrilled about - yet you're too afraid it will make him uncomfortable to mention it.

you squeeze his and muster up the most nonchalant expression you can before you lean in close and talk before he can ask another question, "we can bring the duvet and bedcover into the livingroom with us."

if you think it's rude that he rolls his eyes at you, you don't say it out loud. instead, you inhale sharply before you kiss him. he grunts unexpectedly - he loves kissing you, feeling the shape and warmth of your lips, but he's not used to it yet.

he sighs and locks eyes with you, "you promise everything's okay?"

you laugh and swat his shoulder, "yes."

he eyes you for a moment like he sometimes eyes kanda when his definitely-not-friend-but-also-close-friend says something suspiciously kind to him.

you kiss him again, "it's embarassing to say out loud but i promise that my intentions are good and that there literally isn't any issues. can you please be a good boyfriend and come cuddle with me now?"

he thinks it's underhanded, how you use the term boyfriend, fully aware of how flustered it makes him. you smile victoriously before you grab onto his left hand and drags him into the living room, caressing his scarred skin with your thumb all the way. you can't wait to be covered in blankets, duvets and the scent of him for the rest of the evening, listening to him revert to his rude speech pattern as the people on screen makes the worst choices or says the worst things publicly. it's still early, but you think you love him.

[a-d-nox]

a review of my 22nd solar return year

about a year ago, i made a predictions post for my year ahead and now here i am updating y'all with what actually happened as i previously suggested that i would! so let's jump into it - i pasted all my previous predictions in to this post for your reading ease!

1H IN LEO AT 3°

predictions: adventure, appearance, death of an aunt or uncle, grandparents, health, nation and its health, arrogance, bets, fainting spells, heart disease, politics, president, romance, royalty, social affairs, accuracy, activeness, anxieties, authors, books, logic, manuscripts, mentor, whispering, and wit. FINALLY SOME RECOGNITION! i feel like i may have some anxiety struggles and continuing health issues (i did get better this past year and i am still working on my health) BUT i have some hope that this may be my year. i have been trying to publish my manuscript since 2020 - i finally have found an english professor that actually wants more of me and my writing (he actually gave me a creative writing award before i graduated) and literary views so with luck i will have a mentor and a published novel. i also feel like i may be a bit popular this year (to say the least - yes; literally everyone wanted to talk with me after class, sit around me, do thinks over summer, etc.). the sun square as aspect still indicates me being me though - i'm abrasive (someone literally told me that i was intimidating and they thought i was plotting their murder before they actually got to know me) and literally only socialize when i must (bent my rule for sure). venus square asc too i don't feel like my first impression are gonna be that great or charming BUT THATS LIFE LOL. the pan sextile as is giving public panic attack vibes and i am not here for it... lastly that paris opposite asc - am i helen this year? possibly? if i decide to date, will people be unable to look away - DEFINITELY (literally so many people asked me if i was dating the dude that i was interested in because we were really close friends as well)! mostly because i never date (still don't i guess because it wasn't official) and everyone always "assumes that i'm already with someone." so it will definitely rock the boats.

what actually happened: this past year i feel like everyone was a bit more aware if my health - both mental and physical - and they were more understanding of my situation, thus more willing to help me. i feel like people liked me because of my openness and realness of my situation (though sometimes they found my irritability of the situation and my current feelings to be an annoyance). i was able to go out and do my thing and my friends were understanding of the locale choices and my limits there. i eventually had the ability to overcome my social anxiety a bit by presenting a paper i co-authored with other friends. it didn't get published but by the end of the school year i had all the english departmental awards - one of which was for creative writing. i did have a bit of a "dating or not dating" scandal where everyone was asking quite often if he and i were together too.

2H IN LEO AT 23° (contains abundantia)

predictions: budget, cash, voice, bets, courtship, astrology, society, and home. i feel like i never truly content with the 2h *shrug* - the fact that i have some aquarian influence with that degree feels like the universe giving me back up. it doesn’t matter what i do so long as i am happy - money matters but at the same time i’m young and stupid so it doesn’t matter. i sense having a lot of spare change and having a roaring 20s type of time - just fun and games. if the group is happy so am i. i feel like whatever it is i am doing to get money positively effects my home and societal status BUT it feels pretty up in the air as to how it will effect my social and romantic realm perhaps i will be paying for others giving abundantia’s presence here (kinda in the same vein were people feel awkward when a friend pays for your things or your lover takes you on a date and you grab the tab before they can? ya know?).

what actually happened: GUYS I'M ON BUDGETTOK!! i love budgeting and cash stuffing. i even have a google sheets for money tracking. the money is flowing in and it all started here when i started paid tarot readings, which then became paid astrology readings, and then became finding a part-time job (then i got a promotion there). money is good and all but as long as i can get what i want (like that tarot set that we did the dessert games with) i am cool with what's up financially! i do/did make people uncomfortable with how giving i am with the money i make (like i am buying christmas presents already and i am like "i'm almost done with your gifts" and everyone is like STOP WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALMOST).

3H IN VIRGO AT 18° (contains midas)

predictions: written agreement, savvy, dictionaries, novels, rumors, signatures, first aid, fingers, food storage, nerve specialist, and uterus afflictions. i feel great about the book indicators but horrifying by the health omens. not to mention the ruler being sickly virgo with abdominal issues and me having possibly DIE. seems like a hot and cold era. socially, i feel uprooted in terms of midas being here maybe as though i will be doing a lot of “short trips.” also as though socially i will receive both hate and adoration.

what actually happened: reading is nothing new for me, but this last year i was very technical like the virgo 3h would suggest (lots of tabs and even more footnotes). when i started working i had some hand/finger changes - bumps, calluses, blisters, pains, etc. (i feel like that a midas virgo thing?). but otherwise my abdominal/uterine pain was well managed with medication. i did go on a few shorter trips with friends - all the friends are nonexistent existent now though just like i predicted unfortunately.

4H IN LIBRA AT 19° (contains sun, mercury, venus, ambrosia, and aphrodite)

predictions: agriculture, ground, homestead, uterus, womb, art, love, music, poetry, unions, weddings, dead, reproductive systems, research, copper, surgery, ambition, power, wisdom, authors, book, confession, limericks, novelist, public speaking, companion, hope, hobbies, honeymoons, ovaries, and suitors. just wanna say could this be the year - a libra house with venus in it?? could i possibly be dating someone?? that would be a first. i feel like for sure i’m going to start gardening that’s the vibe of fourth house ambrosia - you are like a naturally a green thumb i have never gardened before but i already have pepper seeds!! i also have a weird feeling that maybe i won’t be publishing the book i thought i would but instead i will be publishing poetry (mercury conjunct venus, mercury 27°, and a heavy lean on libra energy for this house) which is not necessarily shocking. not to keep harping in “non-medical” houses but this one is the womb - i wonder if (sorry if this is over sharing) my gyn is gonna tell me i have to be on birth control and i get a cooper IUD (copper is venus and libra ruled). that would lowkey piss me off but ambrosia here makes me think maybe i’d feel better. aphrodite here makes me think with balanced hormones i’d be hot lmfao - or this could be another romance symbol with all the libra and venus energy going on.

what actually happened: i did indeed start my garden - AND IT FLOURISHED!!! i learned a lot about my garden and what i need to work on to make it better next year. but there was no wedding or death and the uterine problems were solved with little white pills and now i feel okay - but have some suspicions... on another note there were a lot of confessions from the person i thought would be more and those confessions did make it seem like he would be more at times. i even got confessions from others that were QUESTIONABLE.

5H IN SCORPIO AT 25° (contains moon and frigga)

predictions: magic, pelvis, poisonous plants, surgery, inflammation of womb, inflammation, pregnancy, romance, babies, breasts, childbirth, and fertility. i read this a part of my chart and go hm - pregnancy scare? endometriosis? raspberry leaf tea? endoscopy?? any way i cut it it seem sus??? or this could have to do with me writing poetry again considering the moon’s presence. frigg here makes me think of pregnancy because she’s the mother. but it could also suggest romantic promise!

what actually happened: i definitely went through some romantic fluctuations given the moon - BUT i would like to note that oddly he was a cancer (so is there a correlation between planets placed in the 5h and who you date that year? possibly? idk). i did have to deal with my fertility and start a birth control because my suspected DIE was causing me to be forced into stay home too often. when i got started on this birth control i did notice a lot of breast pain (scorpio is mars ruled and the this house starts at an aries degree - so i would think discomfort is pretty common). i am okay with it for now; as the alternative, it was suggested to turn off my hormones entirely which would force me into a pseudo-menopause... i do worry slightly after visiting my eye doctor in july that my taking a progesterone only (the only type of birth control i can really take) is causing PCOS (he found a cluster of blood vessels and said some scary things but among his list was pre-diabetes and PCOS often is due to increased testosterone and not enough estrogen which causes increased insulin (which is connected to pre-diabetes))... on a lighter note, i did have some poetry published this year and i did start writing more poetry again!

6H IN CAPRICORN AT 2° (contains pluto and huitzilopochtli)

predictions: doctors, healing, order, ashes, black, clocks, contraction, depression, limitations, politics, profession, beauty, copper, profit, voice, bladder, regeneration, and sex organs. i feel like this is like the last opportunity sign from the universe. i can get my shit together now and become my best self OR get really bad lol. it’s funny but it’s not because huitzilopochtli is just so energetic meanwhile we have contemplative, semi-hustler capricorn and slow moving pluto here - so this could go either way. given the ambrosia square saturn my best bet is likely food/diet. the square may indicate that i shouldn’t take it all upon myself to figure it out sooooo NOTED.

what actually happened: i saw a few new doctors this year (i even got a mineral hair test) all of whom are looking out for me - some say some scare sh!t though (thank you, pluto in the 6h). but generally this was a better year for me health wise - i didn't have as many mysterious leg bruises, i didn't feel like i gained or lost weight, i didn't have prescription change, etc. i did feel energetic, yet tired all year though with huitzilopochtli and capricorn in my 6h. i do feel like i am doing a lot of planning and such in my day to day life - like i have now started drafting and queuing posts for the month a month in advance and i also glammed up my google calendar - i do feel like my natal virgo mars still wants to keep plotting and planning though.

7H IN AQUARIUS AT 3° (contains saturn, amalthea, arachne, and paris)

predictions: art, boyfriend, books, communication, debates, intelligence, journalism, proofreader, studies, writing, cramps, freethinker, friends, society, ambitious person, blindfold, doom, doubt, long lasting friendship, ink, jealousy, monogamy, loneliness, possessiveness, cold, time, tragedy, tradition, and winter. the ruler is in the house :) perfect a relationship that is either gonna last or be toxic af considering it’s saturn lol. but we have to giggle little at this description he’s like paris - i’m the prettiest girl in his eyes, nurturing like amalthea, and talented like arachne. I KNOW WHO HE IS LMFAO - it’s the guy who sits next to me in class i am half curious if he is an aquarius. we are both nerds - he asked me to write a scholarly article with him. lol is that getting asked out? part of me says this connection is likely to further mature as winter sinks in.

what actually happened: there was no boyfriend, just a boy that took up the emotional real estate of what would be use for a boyfriend. we did communicate a lot and at the end of the day he was like we are just friends (thanks, aquarius 7h). he introduced me to the world of journalism though - as the editor he was very active. i wrote 5 articles in the 4 month span. while it was doomed from the start, he awoke something in me that i could have more and i could do more than what i was doing, so at the very least i can thank him for that. but i do feel like it was a bit convenient... we were around each other and he was curious of what i could be to him and by the end of the school year he was like "ehhh i don't want you, like you want me" - the summer was rough with the loneliness i felt after he stopped reaching out (immature it may be but i always take it intentionally when people don't reach out to me).

8H IN AQUARIUS AT 23° (contains kleopatra)

predictions: inheritance, occult, sex, sex organs, surgery, astrology, blood and circulation, cramps, and spirituality. kleopatra huh??? *smirk* looks like an intimate relationship. i don’t really feel like i need to say the stuff i have said before as i see similar words arise in this category/house.

what actually happened: nothing happen. i just got emotionally and mentally intimate with him.

9H IN PISCES AT 18° (contains jupiter, neptune, and chiron)

predictions: counselors, education, philosophical societies, long distance travel, university, writing, advisor, celebration, education, honor, luck, recommendations, writing, aesthetics, delusion, fantasy, fiction, mythology, poetry, editing, satire, studiousness, fictitious name, and self-undoing. this is my year - i’m gonna graduate, jupiter 0° is 100% the vibe. but as for the rest neptune could be writing now that i am in the english program it could be telling that i am getting into it-into it. refer to 7h i really am working with him to create a scholarly paper so :) it’s doing somethin’. the self-undoing may be my own fault in terms of anxiety :/ OH WELL WHAT ELSE IS NEW - i kid you not i’m not like “i have butterflies in my stomach” anxious i am “i skipped class tuesday-thursday this week because i got paranoid that i was going to vomit in my class in front of my peers and i wouldn’t recover from that” anxious.

what actually happened: i did graduate. and now i am on educational break (which i think is neptune and chiron involved - i think that it would be good for me to get a certification, a masters, or my MFA but i need to be more grounded than i currently am about getting any of those things). graduation was not the best, which i suppose is the chiron influence - there was a fair bit of drama (looking at you, neptune) about who was going and who i disinvited for my day. things got settled though and i got my awards and now i am free from the educational system in the first time in my life, considering i grew up in / going to daycare.

10H IN ARIES AT 19° (contains uranus and north node)

predictions: achievements, authority, career, cramps, curiosity, change, freedom, freelance, romance, freethinking, shock, writing, courage, energy, affection, companions, friendliness, partnership, and poet. i’m not getting a traditional job - i’m taking 6 months off to do whatever i want and that likely means freelance which is uranus vibes mixing with the libra degree. the freelance stuff could be very critical to me as a person as well as the forward movement in my careers to come. whatever it is has me talking and writing A LOT given the tight orb between the ruler mars and the planet mercury.

what actually happened: this is my freelance domain here - i opened readings - i have made since starting in july, around 500 USD which is pretty decent considering i do not charge a lot, nor do i offer readings consistently. i did not take off as much time as i thought i would because i had too much time to myself to think about what everyone who is still at my university is doing without me... i did not get a full-time remote position unfortunately though. but i do a lot of communication because i am a supervisor, so i am guiding people who i work with as well as customers (which is the house ruler aspecting mercury).

11H IN TAURUS AT 25° (contains mars, agamemnon, odysseus, and pan)

predictions: acquaintanceship, companionship, working ability, adventure, aggressor, ambition, challenge, chemistry, contest, fearlessness, fights, inflammation, love/passion, men, participation, courage, dancing, wealth, and voice. it’s gonna be an odd friendship year seems competitive given mars, pan, and agamemnon - all of these objects are competitive or have critical competitions within their myth. odysseus could indicate some travel with friends or becoming the last man standing - we should recall that odysseus came back home and only had two people who he could actually trust and having zero crew-mates left. given this is societal interaction house of things this could be a romantic or passionate light for me to stand in given - mars and taurus. the ruler in the 4h could indicate me being a hostess and opening my doors to others.

what actually happened: in terms of friendship, it has been a very challenging year. very quickly i learned that some of my "friends" weren't friends at all; perhaps we didn't know each other at all. i had a friend confess her feelings for my situationship then later say that a toxic part of her wants (inadvertently) him to be obsessed with her. i fell in love with my best friend (mars moments... and how still miss him despite the months of no communication). i had a group toss me out of their chat because they thought i did something i didn't even do. then attempt to immaturely defame my character. i feel horrible that they continue to seek out my downfall as they sometimes talk people into sending me screenshots of them bullying me in that chat in hopes of triggering me into responding. i hope all of them finds happiness one day, instead of trying to bring others down. i feel like the competitive/offensive nature was tangible in all these situations (shoutout to agamemnon and pan)... but more so i felt the odysseus placement here. i felt one thing after another lead me to realize that all i can trust is a very select few. and beyond that i can really only trust and rely on myself. a lot of people didn't have the best intentions towards me, nor did they really want to be my friend. their preference was to be intolerant of me and my personality (i'm not an easy person, i'm not perfect, but i'm not a monster and i am certainly not the snake some people believe i am).

12H IN CANCER AT 3°

predictions: anxiety, books, breathing, literature, manuscripts, restlessness, homemaking, and uterus. health anxiety. and escapism via reading, writing, and cookings lol YEP THATS ABOUT RIGHT LOL.

what actually happened: social anxiety is big for me lots of people don't take it seriously when i say i have it because i manage it well, but i found a great number of people who understood me this year when i said i have it... i was also an escapist writer this year, i often wrote when i was sad or mad instead of saying what was really going on and what i was feeling out loud (cancer / moon 5h vibes).

that's all for now!! keep an eye out next week for my newest set of predictions for my 23rd solar return year! are you interested in a solar return reading? consider purchasing a "sunny d" reading; read more about the reading and it's cost here!

click here for the masterlist

click here for more return chart posts

want a personal reading? click here to check out my reading options and prices!

© a-d-nox 2023 all rights reserved

[wrongcaitlyn]

hi tawny!!! loved the magnus chase chapter 🫶🏻 alex and magnus r so cute. I love magnus’s backstory/how you adapted it!!

ok so today is my bday and I was hoping you might be able to share a snippet from the upcoming tgol chapter🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 no pressure tho!!!!

HI OMGSDFKJDSF FIRST OF ALL HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I HOPE THAT ITS STILL YOUR BIRTHDAY IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO GET TO THISJSDF!!!

i HAVE written a bit of the next chapter but unfortunately, it is solely tweets, and the tweets are all without users at the moment bc i always add the users at the end. SO. im gonna post a good majority of those tweets here as your excerpt and update it when i eventually add the users and let you know!!! and as a special treat if you'd like to choose one of these to be under your user, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL ADD IT :)))

hope you have had an absolutely wonderful day!!!

guys i dont think u realize how crazy this is for apollo to be working with another artist. like we all accepted nico was an exception bc like he’s will’s bsf and stuff but apollo apparently REACHED OUT to sadie. and they’ve been working together on an album. under apollo’s own label.

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genuinely hope that sadie becomes crazy popular like nico and that delphi records gets bigger than ****’s

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honestly i def think it’d happen. karma at its finest

so as an angel what’s the sadie lore anything we should know?? bc she’s abt to become my third fav artist

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who are the first two?? sadie’s AMAZING

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nico and alex fierro duh

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so your music taste is nico di angelo and his openers

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yes exactly

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Sadie currently has an EP out (Worst of You) that you should definitely check out, it was produced by her and her brother as an indie artist! As for background, she’s from London and her parents are pretty big in the archaeology world. She started putting out covers on YT when she was 13, and eventually started [1/2]

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writing her own songs. She uploaded a lot of unreleased songs to YT (they’ve since been deleted but they’re also on SoundCloud), and put out her debut EP at 18 and recently got signed to Apollo’s Delphi Records (technically second official artist signed, if we’re including Nico) [2/2]

still processing graveyard bc what does he MEAN by directly referencing how apollo “took his money and dignity and got the hell out” and thinks “i understand it now” and “i think you got it right.” nico please don’t disappear on us.

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i blame munich

i ship

[ two images attached: The first is a selfie of Nico di Angelo, Apollo, and Sadie Kane taken by Sadie. The second is the same photo, zoomed in on Sadie and Nico. ]

THE MYSTERY OF NICO’S SKULL RING: A THREAD

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Sep 27, 2015: the skull ring is first seen, albeit blurry, in jason grace’s vlog around his school, in which nico is sitting in their school cafeteria. it’s on his right ring finger, as it always has been (that we know of, logically he may have worn it on his middle or index finger when younger) 

[ two images attached ]

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May 21, 2016: it’s once again seen in nico’s first appearance on apollo’s insta, before we even knew his name. during this time, nico had been working on ‘haunted’ with apollo, and was already known as his insta user “the ghost king,” which ties into the skull/ghost/death theme

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[ one image attached ] 

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June 18, 2016: the skull ring is on the back cover of ‘haunted’s vinyl and its tracklist. it’s pretty much the centerpiece of the image, with his hand mostly covering his face.

[ two images attached ]

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There are several more appearances of the skull ring, he practically never takes it off. It’s seen in his pictures at the AMA’s, VMA’s, Grammys, and pretty much every other public appearance of his from 2016 - 2018. 

[ four images attached ]

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During the haunted acoustic shows (July 2017), he’s seen wearing the rings in all of the shows. 

[ four images attached ]

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Even the design of the doomsday world tour poster is based on the skull design in his ring, as well as several other merch pieces.

[ four images attached ]

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August 26, 2018: nico is wearing the ring in the official pictures from the first night of the doomsday world tour (and from various fans’ pictures)

[ three images attached ]

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But on the second night of the doomsday world tour, nico is seen without a skull ring. 

[ four images attached ]

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Since then, he hasn’t been seen wearing the ring ONCE. Several other rings take the place on the right ring finger, but the skull ring’s pretty identifiable - and the ones he’s worn since are noticeably different. so, that leaves the question: what happened to it? why did nico stop wearing it? 

[ four images attached ]

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more pictures of the other rings he’s worn since

[ four images attached ]

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ummm maybe. hear me out. just a possibility. his ring size grew? being a living growing teenager at the time

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okay but it is interesting how it happened right after the first night of tour. and its not like a normal piece of jewelry, right? the skull ring is one of the first things we even knew about him, its basically like a logo. dating all the way back to apollo’s first post signifying haunted? it must have meant something to him if he wore it for at least three years (1/2)

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even at award shows and red carpets and all that fancy stuff. putting the exact same skull design on tour merch, etc… it’s just strange that it disappeared all of a sudden, despite nico still going on with the death/skull aesthetic in graveyard. if he just lost it or it broke/stopped fitting, wouldn’t he try and get another?

this fandom belongs in an insane asylum