#might revise later

[canine-gray]

Continuing how the qsmp eggs might look as dragons, its Chayanne and Tallulah!

[shyrule]

who is this man.

[valiantroyalty]

The royal family is directly from one of them twelve Olympian’s, specifically one of “the main three”, Poseidon. Any direct descendant of the water god has enhanced senses, water based abilities, and immortality. Immortality, at least, a very prolonged life compared to any human or any merfolk. The royal family seems “ageless”, hardly changing in physical appearance while others change drastically in a blink of an eye to them.

Due to the Olympian bloodline, this results in the fact that the royal family cannot be killed by anyone outside of the family: No humans, no other merfolk, or regular weapons could kill one of them. Wound them yes, but not actually kill.

This part goes with the fact that queen Athena is not part of the bloodline, so she’s a regular merfolk. Or rather, my headcanon that Athena originally had been a human turned mermaid after meeting and falling in love with King Triton. Her life was extended, to a degree, but that’s it. She didn’t have the same immortality as the rest of her family.

Another part of the family is Ursula. As she’s a direct child of Poseidon (along with her sisters before they died, except for Morgana), she has the same traits. However as octopi have three hearts, she transferred one heart to the eels. This would’ve prolonged her in the immortality sense: she couldn’t be killed if she’d been directly hit. Which is why once the duo eels were killed off by Ariel, it was far easier to end the sea witch (very similar to horcruxes). Eric couldn’t have killed Ursula, so it had to be Ariel. Same bloodline can end the same bloodline.

[purplepenguintime]

You know what? I like you! Transfems your Hunter:

[just-a-dinosaur-i-guess]

taixu, chapter one - leave all your love and longing behind

sources tba

[spinchip]

oh I MUST know about lloyd's crush on amara. what does he like about her (besides the fact that she's gorg ofc)

augh i keep typing and erasing

She's the only person who can beat him at poker and he learns later its because she uses her sleight of hand talents to sneak good cards into her hand.

Amara is a good person but shes got a fire in her, she wont hesitate to call people out on behalf of her friends or fight for their lives when it comes down to it. she yells at Wu. shes willing to try anything. she keeps an open and inquisitive mind so her opinions are always evolving and changing as she learns and grows. she's smart as a whip and a genuine genius when it comes to seer stuff, in a way that makes him want to sit and listen to her talk about it for hours. shes been through a lot and lost parents in a way he can relate to. as the Grand Seers granddaughter she's under a lot of pressure and expectation, another thing he can empathize with. shes down to earth and chill and tends to have an air of reassuring calm. she trusts with her whole heart.

he thinks her magic tricks are fun. she's a great listener. they have similar tastes in music too i think

augh. explodes

[faustodisco]

Actually if we want to talk about the lilienne/joyce ship I would like to bring up that it plays into the bourgeois woman’s fantasy of class dynamics in a relationship (à la lady chatterley), as well as the upper/middle class idea that their identity as women supersedes said class dynamics (and therefore they believe themselves to be in no position to oppress women of the working class) in a way that lends itself to reactionary movements like TERF ideology. As someone who lives in the uk and has been heavily affected by said ideology, joyce actually put me on high alert just by her voice and appearance.

I think it’s a mistake not to acknowledge that joyce is heavily thatcherite coded (the hair, the posh accent etc) especially when compared to lilienne who plays into the working class british woman archetype: she sounds welsh (considered a ‘lower’ accent), has young children, is a widower etc. It is fairly common to see the ‘confident mum who has to single-handedly support her young family’ in soap operas and other media, and she definitely plays into that stereotype.

Anyway, the ship is on the surface level a fun one, but let’s not overlook the framing as a one-sided and rather sinister set-up.

[greyshuhh]

“I know it’s for the better”

[hallowsden]

Devotion

Zevlor x G/N!Tav snippet

Author Notes: All I'm gonna say is this was originally supposed to be only about 500 words only for me to finally get to the part of Act 2 where I managed to save Zevlor and OH BOY- it evolved into 1.2k words. Just- I adore Zevlor. This came out having more angst than I initially thought, though, so... Anyways, hope you all enjoy it! [Not beta read]

He pretends not to see the relief in your eyes when you first go up to him after fighting the Mind Flayers and Intellect Devourers. After all, why would you give him such a look with what he's done? No, that's just all in his imagination. He knows you're aware of his sins. Then again, you always did have a habit of knowing things before anyone else does...

Even without the tadpole that now inhabits his head like you and the other saviors, Zevlor could see through your brave mask. In those mismatched eyes he had grown fond of long before your lot had done the impossible all those months ago, he sees a mirror image of himself.

The festering fear that haunts you and everyone else like the shadows that barely stood by in this damnable land. The neverending guilt that attempts to drown you to the depths of your mind as the blood refuses to wash away from your hands, your head chanting apologies as you think about the what ifs of you have done better.

Zevlor knows that look you wore well. He's seen it in himself every time he caught a glimpse of his reflection, as of an occurrence that was... Not to mention, it reminded him of the others... The younger Hellriders especially tend to wear it more publicly, not yet developing the skills to effectively hide their inner demons yet... So many gone, just like that-...

The exhaustion you practically wore like a second skin, with bags that cling to you with a vengeance, one that came along with you before he had even met you. The exhaustion that weighed your trembling shoulders and buckling knees had it not been the adrenaline that roared through your ears-. Hell, he swears he could see some new scars marking your delicate face, even.

Has it been that long ago since he last saw you? You haven't appeared to have changed much, and yet...

And yet, as he goes on to blink, he senses it immediately as he explains himself to you. What once was the hollow void in your chest when he first met you, the one that mirrored his own so brokenly is now replaced with a bright, burning radiance of celestial strength and blessing, one that pulses to the beat of your heart.

A not so mirror image. But it was still you, nonetheless...

No longer were you a fellow oathbreaker who was ever so lost in the world and of yourself. You had what he once had, an Oath of Devotions that glowed in you but more, filling up your broken cracks like the way the false God had shown him if he just gave them his broken faith and devotion and followed what they said...

It was nothing but a lie, as his people got hunted down and slaughtered. The people he swore to protect... He betrayed them all and failed them once more.

But you're here, giving him a look of understanding... And admittedly, it confused him...

Why do you care for him, he's so tempted to ask. The moment you met him, you practically acted as if you were drawn to him like a Moth to a flame... He doesn't understand it. Why care for an old, decrepit man like him? And why did your eyes shine with familiarity when you two first met?

You saved him. And no doubt you saved the others. He just knows you did. From all that he knows about you, from word of mouth and the times you decided to hang around in his little area back in the Druid's Grove, you'd never let anyone suffer under your watch.

You were always so compassionate. He at first thought it was due to being a fellow Tiefling. Goodness, how the world already hated their kinds existence. It wasn't uncommon for Tieflings to stand up for one another. After all, who would if not themselves in the world they lived in? But no... He's seen how you work. Your heart was far bigger than the body that holds it. It was something he appreciated about you.

You were the person he once was. You were a person he wished to be once more. Brave and strong despite it all. Kind and passionate and protective even to the low lives like him.

He adored you more than he could ever realize up until now.

Maybe that's why he didn't hesitate when he hastily said "I want to help- if you let me" even when his throat burned with dryness and guilt as he spoke. Even when anxiety shot high in his blood, his tail pinned itself between his legs, feeling just how drained his body was.

He knows you have already done so much for him, for his people. But... Maybe he'll find salvation and forgiveness if he goes with you. Find redemption. At the very least, he could repay you with his services, even if it's being a meat shield as he goes to try and help out the others. He'd deserved that if anything...

Death was too good for someone like him. He deserved to be tortured for all his failures... Yet, when his eyes met yours...

... Maybe you were the angel he had prayed to the Gods for from before... Who knows? Not him. Not when he was surprised you even listened to any of his words. Not when you gave him such a gentle look, eyes full of empathy that he didn't deserve, as you asked him to join your party, another blade in the fight to come.

You... Want him by your side?*

And even when he had his doubts, not wanting to be a backstabber twice over, your glowing eyes met his as you said, "I trust you." You had said it with such earnestness, how could he deny you like that?

He could never turn you down, not with those eyes of yours... And distantly, he remembers how the other refugees would tease him upon meeting you back before everything went to shit... Admittedly, they were right. Just as you were drawn to him, he was drawn to you... Maybe that's why he cared for you more than others...

"... On the condition that if I ever freeze like that again, do not hesitate to strike me down. Better me gone than being a traitor once more." That was his only condition. And he sees you nodding, ignoring the slight hesitation you had at first.

He couldn't bear the idea of hurting you.

"Let's get you checked up and rested first, yeah? You've already been through a lot. And I need to go check for others trapped... Just follow me closely, alright?"

You care so much... He didn't deserve it.

Oh, how he didn't deserve you, but obediently, he followed you with his hand clasped in yours. For you, he'll give you his devotion and faith. His everything, even. After all, you never broke his trust. You never broke his faith. If anything, you gave him what he had lost for so long. Hope.

You have given hope to him just as you gave hope to others. Maybe that's what caused you to stand out from even your group.

You deserve the world with all the good you've done. Of how you saved his people. Of how you saved him. For that, he is grateful, and he'll make sure, as long as he sides with you, he'll help with any endeavors and goals you put your mind to, knowing it would always align with that good nature you carry in your heart. To the end, he will follow.

'So he swears, so mote it be.'

[karmathenightowl]

There’s a dead palm tree outside my window that looks like a new cryptid or eldritch god of some sort...

[eirianerisdar]

A different sort of post today

Sitting in my consultation room and trying not to cry

Being a doctor isn’t money or dreams or white coats.

It’s graduating at 23 and working your twenties away. I’m 27, almost 28, and I work 5.5 days a week and see 58-71 patients a day. I used to work 100 hour weeks before. This isn’t better.

It’s having only 4 hours to see 38 patients, sometimes all of them new cases with multiple complaints which means you get around five minutes to see a patient for an average of four problems, because you also have admin work to finish in those four hours or the nurses get mad.

It’s being so exhausted you don’t see friends on the 1 weekend day you have;you just work. If you want to sleep in on weekends you don’t; you just work.

I feel a little like a ghost. I’m wasting away bit by bit and our whole cohort in our department is so burnt out we want to leave and yet our head of department says he won’t do anything about the patient quota.

At this point I think he wants us dead

[ace-of-clubs-and-diamonds]

Passion is Sometimes a Fucked Up Thing

"Don't worry," Freddy crooned. He swept his fingers against the blood staining his chin and lips and sweater – your blood, that was so much blood – and licked it off with a forked tongue. His eyes glittered with cruel delight. "I don't kiss and tell."

Rating: Mature 🔞 Fandom: A Nightmare on Elm Street Pairing: NN!Freddy Krueger x GN!Reader Word count: 1.1K Content warnings: DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT. Dubcon, making out, dubiously consensual making out, biting, gore, violence, manhandling, crying, mild torture, this isn’t wound-fucking but it IS mild wound-fingering so make of that what you will, cruelty, sexual undertones, well they’re overtones tbqh, open ending AO3 link: Here

Author's Note: BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH BLOOD FEST BAYBEE!! Week 2, with the keywords “nightmare” and “ravenous” and the prompts “gore” and “monster”. Please mind the tags on this one. I generally write more self-indulgent shit with my x reader fics, but the keywords and prompts for this week resulted in something a bit darker. But hey, this is the horror fandom. Fucked up shit is kind of our thing. As is blending the line between sex and horror lmao. Anyways, I hope you enjoy <3

It didn’t start out as a nightmare. It started as the furthest thing from it, really.

The dream was murky at first, hazy and faint as if you were trying to peek through a fogged-up window. The only thing you recognized was warmth around you. Holding you in place. Embracing you.

But slowly, the dream solidified, and you became more and more aware of the arm wrapped around your waist, the hand stroking your cheek, the firm pressure of lips against yours. Heat bled sweetly into your skin. When you pulled back, the person's face was blurry, their features out of focus. A blank space your sleeping brain hadn't bothered to fill in. Not that it really mattered. Not when this was a fantasy, not when they were holding you like this. Their thumb swept against your cheek, the touch reverent and tender. They leaned in again. So did you.

You could stay like this forever, you thought. In this gentle, loving embrace.

Their lips slotted against yours, teeth brushing your bottom lip. Scraping just slightly. You let out a sigh that might've been a moan. Their chest vibrated against your own, as if responding to you. The sound failed to reach your ears. But then their teeth were closing on your bottom lip, biting gently, sucking, and you didn't really care.

Arousal flooded your system as teeth tenderly worried your bottom lip and warm hands cupped your throat. Then the bite turned firmer, harsher. You nearly ground down on their lap.

Don't stop, you wanted to say. Please don't stop.

They didn't. They kept going, kept biting down until pleasure bled into discomfort. And until discomfort replaced the pleasure entirely and you started to squirm.

And then sharp pain shot through your lip and pulled.

A cry ripped out of you as you jerked back. Hardness slammed into your back. Pain buzzed through your spinning head, pain so intense you weren't sure you were breathing, weren't sure you could. Your lip burned with searing agony. Warm blood stained your mouth, your front, soaking your clothes and slickening your palms as you braced yourself on the floor.

They bit you. The thought rattled around the inside of your head. They actually bit you.

A scarred face leered down at you from beneath the brim of a fedora.

"Don't worry," Freddy crooned. He swept his fingers against the blood staining his chin and lips and sweater – your blood, that was so much blood – and licked it off with a forked tongue. His eyes glittered with cruel delight. "I don't kiss and tell."

You shot to your feet. Your head swam, pounding and buzzing, and the world careened. Then it sharpened into endless halls and squealing pipes and old statues and sigils carved into aging stone. All washed in red, as if the nightmare itself had been stained with blood too.

Freddy clicked his claws together and chuckled. The edge of his mouth curled up into a mocking grin. "I'll give you a head start."

You didn't hesitate. You took off, nearly crashing into a wall and righting yourself at the last moment to barrel down a random hallway. It seemed like only seconds before the hollow thud of boots started echoing behind you. A shock of fear split down your spine. So you ran.

Ran.

Ran.

Ran, breath sawing in and out in a half-sob, pain ricocheting through your gums and into your skull. Tears blurred your vision until your surroundings were just one bloody streak.

Burning metal sliced through your back and you screamed, stumbling and hitting a wall. Freddy was on you in a second. The fingers of one hand dug into your throat, his other pressing bloody metal talons against your chest. Gore stained the front of his red-and-green striped sweater. Through your tears, he looked less like a person and more like a ravenous beast eager to make his first kill of the night. The thought sent panic surging up your throat.

“This isn’t real,” you sobbed. “This isn’t real, you’re not real. This is just a nightmare. You’re just a movie character. This isn’t re–” Freddy plunged his claws into you thigh. A scream tore itself from your body. Tears spilled down your face, making your mangled lip sting.

“Does this feel like a dream to you?” he hissed. You shook your head as you cried. “No? No?” He shook you, teeth bared. “No. I didn’t think so. Here’s the thing, sweetheart. Sometimes–” He leaned in close, brushing his cheek against yours like a lover. Pivoting sharply from the violence of moments ago. You shuddered. “–Sometimes, dreams do come true.” He pulled out his claws. You choked on your own tongue. “But it’s not always the good ones.” His fingers played with the edge of your wound, coating his fingers in your blood. Slickening his movements. “In fact–” He pressed down. Blood welled and you screamed again, head thrown back in agony. “–Most of the time. It’s the bad ones that come true.” Another tender, agonizing caress. A mockery of intimacy. “Sorry to break it to ya,” he whispered, pulling away.

Your head swam from the pain, body flooding hot and cold. Something roared in your ears. Your vision went fuzzy, and for a moment you were entirely numb. Numb enough that you almost could have mistaken the punishing prodding of your thigh for a loving touch.

If you weren’t already asleep, you were certain you’d have passed out.

“Please.” The word fell from you lips unbidden.

“Please what?” Freddy jammed his fingers against your wound again. Reality – reality? – snapped back into place. You writhed in his grasp. Sobbed through grit teeth. Blood soaked your clothes.

A nightmare a nightmare a nightmare, this was all justanightmareithadtobe –

“Aw, don’t lie to me.” His lips brushed your ear as he spoke, leaving stickiness in its wake. “Don’t act like you aren’t fuckin enjoying this.”

You sobbed harder.

Because he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Even through the fear, through the pain, through the terror and agony and fucking impossibility, there was a part of you that was still stuck on how this nightmare had begun. A part of you that had latched onto the sweetness and arousal. A part of you that was all too aware of how his movements, rubbing and caressing your thigh, were so close to being something else. A part of you that knew that fear and pain weren’t the only emotions flooding your system right now.

Maybe it was some fucked up way to keep you from completely losing your mind.

But that didn’t make it any easier to admit, or any easier to stop the tears.

“Don’t worry,” he purred, all cruel sweetness and gentle bitterness. “Freddy’ll take care of you.”

[valiantroyalty]

Pretends this a better constructed hc that Snow White has a cleaning disorder of some sort.

she’s never been that interested or been forced into a cleaning role while her father was still alive. However due to the king falling ill and eventually passing from a seemingly non curable sickness when she was such a young age, she becomes wary. Thinking that because the surrounding area weren’t clean, one could get sick (hence her willing to be a maid).

Snow is conflicted when a person falls ill. One hand she wants to help nurse them better but on the other it’s how her father died and she doesn’t want the same to happen to her. She even flinches at any cough.

She isn’t going to wash her hands so many times a day but it is more than the average person and why she makes sure others’ hands are clean before eating. But she needs to bathe least once a day if possible.

[bellabellaci]

wait wait wait whaaatt ok ok so I’ve been on a nostalgia kick recently and have been looking back into old fandoms I was apart of, like minecraft diaries. and I was going through the wiki to try and refresh’s myself on the lore because I don’t feel bothered to watch all the old videos😭 but but I realized I recognized some of the titles of the divine warriors! They’re also title of gods from ffxiv (the fury, the destroyer, the matron, the keeper, the wanderer)

The Matron The Destroyer The Wanderer The Fury The Keeper are the titles of 5 (of the 12) deities from ff14

both matrons symbols are the same too :D!

and! One of the other deities by the name of menphina, within eorzean mythology resides within a heaven/hell of ice with another deity by the title of the fury!

so we got another link with a divine warrior (menphia the fury)

Also excerpt from menphina the lovers wiki page to explain a bit (definitely not me being biased over my characters patron lol)

Idk if the mcd wiki is accurate/up to date or not! But I thought it be cool to share what I learned today (there’s def people who knew this b4 I just have the brain power of a shriveled walnut haha) I also do vaguely remember in one of Jess’s old videos she did say she met Jason through a final fantasy game and I do think some names and references from probably also from that game and other in the franchise but I don’t really know much since my knowledge is very surface level or non existent for most games

CICI FROM 5 MINUTES IN THE FUTURE

Yea she’s played ff14 haha! She’s posted her and her husband(pretty sure it’s him sure cus of the last name lycan) characters to twitter a few years back.. y’know I’m surprised it took me this long to make the connections because I’ve been watching my brothers play ff games for as far back as my earliest memories and even got some of their hand me down games NOT TO MENTION that their was a significant overlap in the time I lived and BREATHED mcd and would watch my brother play ff14 around the same time too?? To be fair though my brothers were going through the broody teen phase at that point too so they only really tolerated me watching them craft and gather or wander around for a bout an hour max before going to play cod or basketball with their friends😅

But back to main point I was trying to make is that it’s really neat how the series that started me creative journey is inspired by the franchise that has and is currently still fueling that drive^^!!

anyywhoosies that’s enough of my insomniac ramblings for tonight! thank you for joining me today in the cavernous maze that is my noggin🫡

I’ve got nothing else to say but look at my art if you want! and listen to dedicated to moonlight pls🌙✨ do it for me!!~ nphina💕

[lepertamar]

The Birds That Fly At Dusk 2023 Revised vs 2020 edition differences

Only one post for this because there's far fewer changes here than in Stars, just 3 scenes and a few of the epigraphs, and the changes that are here are much more minor changes too, but some stuff that really gave me a big !!!!! to compare.

Once again, new revision changes in bold and deleted old version bits in red

First, in chapter 7, "Will this angel ever stop talking?":

Revised version:

“— Still can’t believe They of all people couldn’t imagine how to fix how flaming sad Lucifer was for so long!  A couple of times I even tried to tell Them like, hey girl, I mean not really girl because You have no idea what a gender is, but girl all the same—" Something else. Anything else. That river, flowing so gentle. The feel of clay in her fingers. Softness. Softness under her feet… “—girl, there are some flaws in how You’ve set things up.  And They were just kind of like, shrugging with Their mirrors and fire like what’s better? I guess I thought that was rhetorical, you know how it is with Them and words, though of course you know me, or you’re getting to know me, so I did try to answer anyway but I guess my thoughts just weren’t as impressive an answer for Them as what Lucifer did, you know how it is with Them and arguments.���

The previous version read like this:

“— Still can’t believe They didn't notice how flaming sad Lucifer was for so long!  A couple of times I even tried to tell Them like, hey God, my man, I mean not really man because You have no idea what a gender is, but man all the same—" Something else. Anything else. That river, flowing so gentle. The feel of clay in her fingers. Softness. Softness under her feet… “—man, there are some flaws in how You’ve set things up.  And They … well, the way They are, They basically only responded by just being fire, you know how it is.

INSANE how massive a difference just a few lines makes!!!! The insufferable dehumanization (de-personing?) and 6,000-year-long stagnant incuriosity about another thinking being that Jibril displays in the first version mostly vanishes, replaced by the poignant and knotty small tragedies of miscommunication in hindsight, and more interesting/evocative, stuff to chew on. foreshadowing Lives of course, but also just generally affording G-d the dignity of personality (desire for arguments pushing against them, unsentimentality, impressedness at dramatic and prideful actions rather than useless verbal platitudes) and internal experience, and plans that change and progress linearly when They learn something they didn't know before. And the change from 'man' to 'girl' -- just a little clever jarring of expectations that defamiliarizes from the pickle juice of dominant culture.

Second, in chapter 12, "One way to change":

The interaction between Yairen and g-d is subtly different:

“Their wheels are twisting oddly, Their wings pointing to another thousand mirrors, blinding in their fire-upon-fire reflections—though not blinding enough, Yairēn can still see her room just fine—there’s people, there have been so many, saying Them and touching Them and dancing Them. Dancing? She doesn’t see how anyone could dance a person but here God is showing her images of those who have, their legs catching fire or crisping or both, the burn of Them in each cell, the nerves lit and— And that’s what she’s supposed to do, then? That’s what They’re telling her? She stands—she doesn’t know when she fell—and… and laughs, hoarsely. Because this is one more thing she can’t do, isn’t it?  A different wing-twitch of irritation as if this burning, shining, searing person is hiding Their face from her. If that’s not what They meant, then what is? Tell me, she begs, show me how to let You make me better. Or haven’t They already? She should what, stamp her legs—no, that feels wrong, it’s all wrong somehow— And there's wing-pressure and fire-twitches and then there’s… words. Words from God, who almost never thinks in words. Make… you? Make? You? Make? You? Make you? [...] “Make…? Being, being, being, They are-are-are—are remembering the creation-of-expansion-of the universe and it’s—and it’s singing-so-loud-it’s-screaming like a thousand points of light all at once and she’s holding her head but her eyes work and her ears work so this isn’t her becoming Holy, this is an explanation, but of what—yes, They made that, that’s what she said—just like They made those Holies, right? Made like… being, wanting, bursting, exploding, being… yes, that’s— They shake Their head though of course They do not have a head—at least not one that contains anything other than wings and eyes, so many eyes—all shaking, eyes and flames twitching until those flame-twitches become words, words it feels like They can reach easily because they’ve been said so many times, words quoting Them: I the flame know not… But that’s why I’m telling You! But it’s like hitting a hard wall, Their wings crossing Their wings crossing Their wings into a thousand X’s meaning no— What is she not understanding? And another thought, an infinity of flame filled with chimes that feel like the meaning of two specific words, over and over again, I am, I am, I am—and how those chimes, that flame, that person, can be… brought? Called? Opened? They are, They are, and maybe They're trying to say that that’s… all it is? That somehow she was asking for more? A nothing-person and still presumptuous about what she deserves, she can’t help but laugh— A rush of wrongness and anger, wings beating out a long tumult of images that finally resolve into more words, clear as if They’ve also had to say these ones before: not-Me, not-Me.”

This is also really cool, in the emphasis on the difficulty of communication, and the subtlety of the way g-d understands holies and dislikes Yairen's inaccurate request, but most of all what hit me in a surprising hurt is the -- implied to have been repeated many times -- statement by g-d that They are being misunderstood and are having words and ideas put in Their mouth.

Third, in chapter 25, "Planning to stick around":

“You’re not completely wrong, but then, some of us never did play much to begin with, so they never got good. Speaking of Lucifer, though… I almost regret that xe fell before some of the really cool games got invented, xe was always a great opponent. It’s too bad, too, that seeing what xe once was still bothers xyr so much. Even just a chat is basically impossible, even if I made something like that manifestation I gave Celyet and gave it to xyr and talked from really, really far away—how could I be absolutely sure that a bit of God didn’t wander in, into anything I make? Then again it’s not like xe even answers letters from me, so.” Jibril sighs. “Maybe someday.”

HOW COULD I BE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT A BIT OF GOD DIDN'T WANDER INTO ANYTHING I MAKE!!!!!!!!!???????????????????

Okay and now the epigraph changes:

Chapter 6, the epigraph about the messenger roles of angels has been deleted and changed to: “We must stop assuming the moral superiority of demons. They may be innocent victims, and they may have done countless good works, but they are still only human. —Ārpela Rel-sä, principal of Ākal-ne Northmost Secondary School, attended by some demons”

I FUCKING. LOVE DEFAMILIARIZATION. there's a similar casual one in the revision of Stalking that tickles me to an insane degree. Obviously 'demons' are those morally superior child-rescuers who run orphanages in the woods. duh!

Chapter 8: there is an entirely new epigraph that, because i guess the author likes to overachieve, a full ghazal about genesis chapter 1 from the pov of the navigationally-impaired spacefaring angel Mikha'il (previously written as michael, the english rather than arabic form of the name):

In the beginning who asked, I am?, just invited to be? You, expert here, told me there was me, You, excited to be. Even today we scream in wonder: where did You reach, with what, to call us all, so brightly not-You, here, incited to be? So distinct, I and You: such made distance clear. Time, You defined as the gap between I and am; so You, delighted to be. We were tongues to speak the concept of tongues, breath to make the air. To leave the sky caused the sky (and ground, once alighted) to be. I am became name became what’s yours? Mikha’il, I said, but You overflowed each name You chose, You, You recited: to be! —the angel Mikha’il, And It Was Good”

It's more pat than the more uh, ambiguous jewish and japanese buddhist/taoist inspired poetry in Stars but also an ideal islamic ghazal form, LMAO.

chapter 17: an epigraph from later in the book is moved to earlier, and expanded:

“A soul is easily shown to be infinite in at least complexity. But then there is the world, which each soul interacts with, and in the world, each other soul living at the same time. What is, then, the sum of infinite complexity interacting with infinite complexity—interacting with any of hundreds of millions of such other infinite complexities? And what, then, is the sum of each of these infinities changing each other as they interact? A mirror catches the light and reflects each other mirror which reflects each other mirror which reflects each—what becomes of the light? —Metinian the Old, Signposts”

this purely epistolary "Metinian the Old" figure has no autobiography, but the couple of times they've popped up in epigraphs seems to echo a buddhist type of worldview, emphasized by the fact this appears to be a clear reference to the brahma net metaphor (but additionally interesting due to the way it seems to clash on the face of it with the conception of souls laid out in Stars and Birds so far, and certainly with common in-universe cultural understanding).

chapter 19: the epigraph about Lilith's motives has been replaced by another, better epigraph about Lilith's movitves:

Interviewer: Why did you do it? Lilith: I wanted to. Interviewer: Because you wanted to help the children with no one to turn to, or because creating the first city wasn’t enough, or because becoming a more regular type of Holy wouldn't be enough, or…? Lilith: Yes. —Excerpt from the radio special Lilith Tells All!, with the demon Rihat Lilim interpreting for Lilith

(the 'i wanted to' echo of Tamar in in Stars is T_T)

[ur-favorite-puppyboy]

this is a bit of a rant, so if u don’t feel like reading it just scroll

lately i’ve been feeling tired of this blog, or like i don’t have the same interest in it as i did when i first started it; i was struggling to pinpoint what exactly made me shift the way i interact with it (probably because there’s multiple reasons), but im starting to think that one factor is every interaction i have here/with people from here being exclusively sexual

and i get that this is an nsft blog, so those interactions are expected, but i think it’s gotten to a point where it almost feels like a chore, like people expect me to perform sexuality and kink for them whenever they feel like interacting with me

it’s even more exhausting when it’s from people that follow me or i’m mutuals with, given i’ve written on my pinned post (that i assume they’ve read) that i’m not comfortable with any private conversations being immediately sexual and that i’d prefer having regular interactions before anything else (mostly so i can decide if they’re someone i’d even be interested in having that kind of conversation with)

more importantly as someone on the ace spectrum that goes through periods of time where my sex drive/interest in sex is nonexistent, it’s even more frustrating to get on here and have the first thing i see in my notifications be a message from someone i’ve never talked to before, and the first thing they decided to say to me is some kink fantasy they want me to fulfill

i don’t expect people on here to want to know about every single second of my day, obviously, but at least have the decency to check whether or not i even feel like engaging in the first place

and i’m not oblivious (to this, at least), i know this is something a lot of people also deal with here, because i’ve seen their posts about it, so i know im not special for this, but i’ll still complain anyway

just because i let u follow me doesn’t mean you’re entitled to my attention and time whenever u want (or at all, even), and if the only thing you’re capable of coming up with for ur first message is to demand i satisfy u sexually this isn’t the blog for u and you’re better off not following me, or even blocking me