#regarding … the wards.

[moldy-flowers]

Trying to find a Sasuke x Sakura shipper that understands the complexity of Sasukes character and the trauma he went through and doesn't write him as a stone cold bad boy Is like trying to find a needle in a dystopian world in which sewing is illegal.

[haunted-xander]

Ryne and Gaia are like. Such good parallels and foils to each other it makes me just a little insane.

Like Ryne is sweet and caring and she always wants to help others and make them feel better even to the detriment of herself because she has seen and known suffering and doesn't want others to have to live like that too. If she can make someones life better, even if just a little bit, then she will. But she also puts everyone elses well-being and feelings so far above her own that she often ends up trying to help in a way that doesn't actually solve anything because it still ends up with someone hurt (such as trying to properly fuse with Minfilia knowing it might end up with herself disappearing). She's not a doormat, but she does have some people-pleasing tendencies.

Gaia, however, is the exact opposite. She's prickly and sarcastic and thinks of herself and her needs first and foremost, everyone else is secondary. It's not that she's cold or uncaring, she doesn't ignore people's problems, she just doesn't see them as her business most of the time (A product of being raised in Eulemore most likely). She doesn't consider the long-term outcome of what she does or says, she lives solely in the present and the future is a problem for when it happens.

These opposite traits also play into each other. Ryne inspires Gaia to care more about others and Gaia inspires Ryne to prioritize herself more. Gaia makes Ryne live more on the moment without thinking solely of what the future will bring, and Ryne makes Gaia think more on what her life will be going forward and to actually consider what she does and says and how that affects things. They feed into each others good traits (Ryne's caring nature and Gaia's sense of self) while also helping them deal with the bad traits (Ryne's people-pleasing and Gaia's aloofness).

Their pasts are good paralells too. Ryne was isolated and lonely until Thancred took her away but even then, he was distant and emotionally neglectful, so she ended up lonely in an entirely different way. Gaia had a family and caretakers that she wasn't particularly close to, but after the 'Fairy' started talking to her they got even further away until she couldn't even remember them, and the 'Fairy' was the closest thing she had to a friend even though it was what isolated her to begin with. Ryne had constant companionship but no support, and Gaia had 'support' but no companionship.

Even just. Regarding the whole identities thing they are just. Perfect. Ryne has lived with Minfilia's shadow on her shoulder her entire life and never got to learn who she actually is. She thought that she had to become Minfilia for her life to be worth anything, that it's the only way her existance is justified. The person closest to both her and Minfilia(Thancred) indicated(in her mind at least) that he wanted Minfilia to be here in Ryne's stead(which wasn't really the case but she didn't know that). The only way to get her out of that shadow was to remove her from the identity of Minfilia, hence why her new name is so important(as well as the hair and eyes being her natural colors instead of Minfilia's all too recognizable ones).

But Gaia didn't even know about Mitron or Loghrif until Eden. She had the 'Fairy', but to her it was just some voice in her head which was nice enough to her. To her, Loghrif is just some lady Mitron loved, she has no real connection to her. She has a connection to Mitron, both as the 'Fairy' and as remnant feelings from Loghrif, but none to Loghrif herself(aside from the obvious reincarnation stuff). Gaia has always been her name. It may have been Loghrif's originally, but she is so far removed from that identity that even for all of Mitron's effort to 'return' her to Loghrif, it'd never work. Loghrif is Gaia, but Gaia is not Loghrif. Simple as that.

Eden's story works so well because Ryne and Gaia are opposites in that specific way that compliments each other, rather than pits them against each other.

[mariocki]

Lalla Ward makes a brief appearance as Lady Augusta, intended bride to an ill-fated aristocrat, in A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Ash Tree (BBC, 1975)

[aropride]

worst part of the semester is the first three or four weeks where cis people are still memorizing my pronouns so i can't wear sparkly eye makeup or they'll get confused :(

[meredithbeckham]

when you grew up like we did, it… it impacts how you see the world. everything is filtered through a very specific lens. and ward got that.

i think it’s important to realize you can miss something, but not want it back, paulo coelho.

[pcktknife]

listen to eternity ward and lollyland tour by angelbrained

not my style but quite crunchy and i can respect a crunchy song👍🏾

[moodr1ng]

i dont usually talk about this bc of The Shame but when i was a kid getting abused by my stepmother some of the ways she was fucking me up was that i was essentially not allowed access to the rest of our apartment outside of my bedroom and the bathroom (which i went in when the coast was clear). i was not permitted to eat meals with my family and had to eat in my room. i could not wash my bedsheets or my clothes as i didnt have access to the room in which we had the washing machine. i had piles of dirty dishes in my room bc i had to wait for my dad to take them out and wash them as i didnt go into the kitchen for fear of running into her. and my stepmother took to hiding the body wash and shampoo (presumably in their room?) after she was done showering, so the only thing i had to shower with was gel hand soap. i was sleeping in months old bedsheets that never got washed, on two moldy pieces of foam one could reluctantly call a bed, with bugs in my room, my hair was matted, my clothes smelled, i smelled. whenever i went back to my moms (who didnt know any of this as i was forbidden from talking about my dads home with her) she would yell at me and berate me for how disgusting and lazy i was.

i still feel dirty. i think ill feel dirty for the rest of my life. in my mind i am covered in some invisible layer of grime and stink that i never can really wash off. no amount of scrubbing can ever make me clean again. my relationship to hygiene has never healed from the abuse. i have entirely integrated the idea that i am a fundamentally dirty, lazy slob and that everyone can tell, everyone can smell and feel it on me and is just too polite to point out how disgusting they think i am.

i say this cause i really want to make it explicit where i stand on shaming people for their personal hygiene. at points in my life even when i had the opportunity to shower comfortably and regularly i didnt, bc after years of miserable conditions it felt so fucking daunting. id have to get in the shower and scrub myself until my skin was raw and stung under the water to even feel like the washing was actually doing anything. and the second i stepped out of the shower and started to dry myself i felt like the invisible film of dirt was building back up, like it was oozing out of me constantly and the only time i could hold it in was when i was actively cleaning it. pair that with the long despondent depressive phases of bipolar disorder and, yeah, i havent always showered regularly even when i technically could.

i dont fucking want to hear about how disgusting and gross you think i am/was or people who have similar issues are. so if youre gonna reblog a random ass poll i made keep your shit off my post. do not say anything about how disgusting you think people are if they dont wash themselves to your standards. just shut up ok.

[handgiven]

if works of clay could speak to the hands that cared for them, crafted them, molded them, soothed their edges and found beauty in the ones that survived the firing process. if bees could apologize for every sting against the hands that hold their home together, praise them for their good works with use and reward their endless labor. that is what he does when he tries to come in quietly after a drunken night, stands in the kitchen at ungodly hours checking tea to steep it just so, just right. when he argues and questions em's thoughts and plans and intentions with furrowed brow and flaring eyes but his hands are tucked in tight to his sides like if he doesn't hide his worry it will be all that he is. when the sleeping fallen wakes with phantom fingers through his hair and a blanket drawn up high and tucked in tight. when things like seashells and fridge magnets and goofy tourist kitsch accumulate on counters and plant pots and door frames. when prayers start to sound like ones to god and not to mercy, or maybe both, because there has never been a mercy like em or a faith like john's in his, and it is fragile and it is stained but he is smudging paint off a little pot he made just for the flowers that em will grow, and he is hoping it's enough, or nearly. just enough to repay it all, everything. just maybe.

make emmanuel feel loved !!🥺 / @talentforlying

if works of clay could speak to the glue that holds them together, even as ancient pressure pulls them apart, gilded seams mended with rough hands and a gentle heart. if the beekeeper could reliably convey his thanks to the bee for the way it recognises him every day, over and over, even as he's changed atom by atom into somebody else, sometimes multiple atoms at a time. if there was a way to simply speak the truth that speaks itself through wandering and finding oneself again in the other's proximity, upon his couch, underneath his blanket, with his hand in one's hair. or drinking his tea. or arguing with him over one more righteous thought. or welcoming him home after a while apart, after a while of worrying and not much else.

it's easy to feel like he doesn't do enough. it's easy to slip into that thought because it has been his home since the dawn of time, the driving force underneath all of that glorious need for kindness. g-d is away from his mind, yet the gift from him remains, and remains in emmanuel's hands and so he is still driven to do more, to be more. john can barely comprehend the reach of loyalty so divine. the reach of adoration without pedestals, without bowed heads, without mighty voices, -- and yet so great. so ethereal. yetnemmanuel does not ask him to comprehend. he asks him merely to stay and withstand it. every day, every moment he sees him. it might be too great an ask of a man who was once just human.

it's not spoken, however. none of it is ever spoken. what if one or the other should flee at words too clear? gestures and reliability is where their love resides. warmth and forgiveness. tending and being tended to. knick knacks upon the window sill. one doing his best to build off the other for the both of them to prosper, or at least survive another day. – it doesn't take long for the flowerpot to find its purpose among it all, small seedling of basil opening up more and more of its leaves over the few painted fingerprints left behind by a man too eager to try if the paint job has dried down yet (it hadn't, and so they stuck, forever).

[dancefloor]

i may need to re-enter my grippy socks era

[luciddreamslikeelectricity]

he's going to be fighting a bunch of these things on his own, huh?

[izayoichan]

He still wondered what his punishment had been, but he would wait to ask, or see if he would tell him without him asking. He said he wasn't a dragon, but he didn't yet know why. He decided however to be truthful about what he had done while Emil had been missing. 

Flynn: As you were gone, I did what everyone told me to do. I dated other people, and I almost finished my veterinary degree with just one year of mostly practice left, but the one person I wanted to share my time with, share my future with, wasn't there. Every date ended the same, me apologizing and saying that I sadly didn't feel that way about them. -he could feel himself blush slightly.- Neither of them was you. My family is doing good, my twin is here hoping to save his heartlight, and I am here to hopefully bring you home. 

Emil: Would you want me, even damaged as I am?...

Emil stared at Flynn with disbelief. No. They knew Flynn was being fully honest and truthful, yet they couldn't understand why. Emil certainly did not see the things about them that Flynn said. They had no pride left, with their horns sacrificed and their wings ripped, second heart stolen. They were barely a dragon. It would be a shame for them to even show their dragon form, probably misshapen by the amputated wings and horns. 

Emil: Even if I...

Beginning - Previous - Next

[kariachi]

Random: I haven’t mentioned what it’s like when a necromancer controls someone who hasn’t been warded, at least not in anything that’s gotten posted, so, fuck it, it’s passed midnight why not.

It’s really, really... calm. Kind’ve. The necromancer laces magic into a command and the body follows as simply as if it was your own choice. You’ll probably feel the magic in it, it’s not a subtle art, at least not towards the target, but whether you can do anything, well, that’s up to the command.

And that’s part of what makes it a terrifying power, makes Erinaens put hard and species-wide rules regarding warding people you’ve brought back, is how... quiet it can be. If you’re told to sit down? There’s no sudden movement, no jerkiness, you simply sit. Smooth, easy. If you’re told not to show fear, or anger, or confusion? Your body language will not convey them. If a necromancer wishes it, all bystanders will have to go on is the symptoms of a person unwarded.

A suitably powerful necromancer can even fuck with an unwarded individual’s head if they want to, not enough to control it but enough to make it, slippery. To impact the ability to hold onto thoughts and ideas. Thankfully this isn’t a common ability, restricted to the most powerful of necromancers. Unfortunately it’s the most powerful ones that are the biggest bitches to get rid of.

Being warded immediately breaks the hold a necromancer has over a person. The magic in an order fades over time on it’s own if it isn’t released. A necromancer can dispel another’s hold over a person if they have more power than was poured into the order available.

I’ve mentioned before that unpleasant things tend to be done to necromancers who don’t ward their patients, and repeated failures to ward and acts of control are both on the short list of things that can prompt greater scale violence in Erinaen colonies.

It’s not unusual for a necromancer who’s found to be controlling unwarded individuals to die for it, and for people to make damn sure they won’t come back. Those who don’t are often either lucky, slippery, or in at least one case too damn powerful for anyone’s good.

[sayruq]

Close to four months since the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023, participants in the demonstration in Hiroshima's Naka Ward called to "free Palestine." More than 50 people, including members of a citizens' group that stands daily in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome demanding an end to bloodshed and attacks, walked down Hondori street shouting "Stop the massacre" and "Ceasefire now" among other slogans. They then held a rally in front of the A-bomb Dome.

A farmer in his 30s from the Hiroshima Prefecture city of Shobara commented, "No matter how hard a day I have (here in Japan), it would probably seem like paradise to the people of Gaza. We must take action beyond calling for a cease-fire, to bring the occupation to an end." A woman from Algeria, which was under French colonial rule for 132 years from 1830, said she came to the event because she felt that Palestine was suffering the same fate as her country. Participants also voiced anger and questions about the Japanese government's decision to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Hiroshima City Council's lack of resolutions regarding a cease-fire and other issues.

[buttercupblu]

Satoru's Psyche|Teaser

"Now…would you say that human nature led me to this? Or am I a product of the cards I've been dealt?"

🗂️Patient File: Patient Gojo has been admitted to a specialized psychiatric hospital following a compulsive massacre and assault on the city of Shibuya|Causes/triggers that led to the patient’s mental decline and subsequent carnage in Shibuya are currently speculative; however, they are suspected to be linked to a prolonged period of confinement within a cube-like structure. Information regarding the mechanics of this structure and the patient’s history remain undisclosed to the ward and the public.  🩺Job Description: You are the only nurse in Tokyo—specifically assigned by an unknown secret society related to the patient—who is able to manage and care for patient Gojo. His violent and erratic behavior has left multitudes of staff members in shambles and disarray as he quickly disposed of them one after another. But for reasons unknown—a complete mystery to yourself as well—you have somehow managed to cross Gojo's barriers and earn his approval to be his one and only caretaker. Your duties include: daily routine patient care, observation and monitoring, therapy, adherence to protocol, and thorough documentation to be directly reported to the Director at the end of every shift. Be wary: Patient Gojo exhibits characteristics consistent with an extensive history of manipulation, obsessive behavior, and charismatic engagement. The patient's ability to charm and manipulate requires that staff be particularly cautious about their own psychological well-being. Exercise heightened emotional regulation and remain professional at all times to ensure that personal feelings do not affect judgment or quality of patient care. 📋Length of Admission (w.c): 10 unpredictable intervals 💊Intake Chart (tags): Patient is prone to: sporadic fits of violence; manipulation; flirtatious conduct, verbiage, and assault; over-obsessive tendencies; fluctuating attachment styles, narcissistic dialogue, and an insatiable compulsive urge to [REDACTED]. 🏥Orientation: August 14, 2024

doctor's angel's note: - Check the acknowledgment box (like) - Forward your copy (reblog) to accept this position. - Sign below (comment) to subscribe to the patient's weekly updates (tag list). S/O: @blkkizzat for the teaser inspo|Check out their teaser of the juicy, delectable Yakuza!Toji x Reader story that I cannot wait to get my hands on, The Nursery

[merchantziro]

DP x DC Writing Prompt: Phashpoint's Phantom

If you were to ask Barry Allen on his opinion regarding young Danny Fenton/Phantom, he could talk for hours about the young Halfa and his happy family of Ghost Hunters.

The boy saved the entire planet from the Disasteroid and became one of the Young Justice's most powerful supernatural hitters while his female clone, Dani, also proved to be a valuable asset to the Teen Titans as well.

When Barry returned after the events of Flashpoint, on an Earth that was similar but different to the one he left behind prior... Barry was devastated and believed that the duo of Halfas were gone alongside many other young heroes.

But that was until a few years later when now Flash looked at the screen with disbelief after the League was contacted by a government branch known as the Ghost Investigation Ward.

According to them a dangerous ecto-entity they had contained has recently broken out and are now considered a threat to the entire planet, they are to be recaptured at all costs.

Flash had a bad feeling the entire time he stayed silent, but felt his fears were confirmed when the picture of a familiar face appeared on screen, attacking GIW bases.

"...Danny?"

Flash knew a lot of his friends had changed after the incident... But he didn't want to believe if the young Phantom truly became a villain or not. He wanted to believe in the boy who was ecstatic when he first set foot on the Watchtower for the first time, but... Could he?

(Or... In the Post-Crisis Era of DC Pre-Flashpoint, a Post-Phantom Planet canon Danny became a member of the Justice League but was missing in the Post-Flashpoint Earth. However Danny was in his own rebooted history where things turned out differently in his life, with a life more like most fanon Danny incarnations where he is contained by a more competent GIW until he escaped.)

(Up to you with where Dani is during all this and if Danny is the same and remembers the last world because of some Clockwork related bullcrap or not)

[flickering-nightfall]

Playing with some ideas mostly regarding gender/reproduction in RW, and slugcat colonies.

Full transcript under the cut!

Creatures in Rain World are typically simultaneous hermaphrodites but require partners to reproduce, with either individual capable of being a genetic donor or carrier. Alongside what we are familiar with, this has lead to interesting reproductive strategies such as rotating donor/carrier roles, or dual/simultaneous genetic swaps.

Rotating donor/carrier roles - A K-selection reproductive strategy. One partner carries the first child, the other partner carries the next child, and so forth. Allows each partner to recover from the demands of childbearing.

Rain Deer aren't quite monogamous, but they tend to choose the same breeding partner whenever mating season rolls around. They serve as a donor one season, then bear and raise a child the next. Calves are raised away from the rain and worm grass, in places that have less food but more safety. Calf wool is softer, not yet gunked up by the dirty rainfall. Their legs are sturdier as children, allowing them to run for cover while the parent wards off threats.

Dual/simultaneous genetic swap - An r-selection reproductive strategy. Parents fulfill the donor and carrier role for each other. The more children you make, the more likely some are to survive!

Multiple batflies lay thousands of eggs in a single "blue fruit." Several eggs congeal and become nutrient paste for the surviving eggs (and for hungry slugcats). Like some plant seeds, batfly eggs that are consumed before pupating can survive passing through the digestive system. Ew.

Ancients also fell under this umbrella. Their genders (and the genders of iterators by extension, who have no sex anyways) could have been determined by a variety of other factors, such as societal role, donor/carrier preference, or simply different categorizations of personal expression.

It's difficult to say how well their common pronouns would translate to ours, but it seems they can translate to an extent, given what Moon and Pebbles use canonically.

Slugcats, like real slugs, can have children with a partner or self-fertilize. Unlike real slugs, they are often known to adopt.

In the case of self-fertilization: children who are born from one parent may display a large amount of genetic diversity despite the circumstances. Maybe slugcats have some sort of... genetic reservoir independent of their own genetic code?

Slugcats live 20-30 years on average... if they manage to reach adulthood. Their mortality rate is sadly rather high, especially in pups. If they were to develop as a civilization, it's likely their lifespan would increase dramatically.

Slugcats in a colony are more likely to have more children, and to successfully rear those children to adulthood, than those who wander alone or in small groups. The safety and stability of a colony cannot be understated.

Colonies either have a set, cycling migration path, or wander continuously. Survivor and Monk's tree home was a nesting site that their colony frequents about once a year. So it's likely that they'll see their family again!

...also, the strength of large colonies are why scavengers are likely to become the dominant species. In the time of Saint's era, continuous migration has become more of a risk, and it has become more difficult to support large populations. Slugcat populations have shrunk back to the more forgiving equatorial zones.

Saint's tongue is pretty unusual and probably unique to them, or to a small population that they hail from. Fur (of varying thickness) is much more common.

Meanwhile, scavengers are bulkier and covered in thicker insulating fur. They:

have seemingly massive populations

have a burgeoning society (the existence of merchants, tolls, bartering, elites and leaders)

are adept at communicating (non-verbally)

manipulate their environment

can build structures (scavenger-made structures were a scrapped idea from Saint's campaign)

can create complex weapons and tools

may have agriculture behind the scenes (unsure if scout parties prioritize exploration or hunting)

I would wager on scavengers developing more quickly than slugcats, but it would be nice if there was a future where both could co-exist.