#that took a long time but i am really satisfied with the result!

[catthatdraws]

Elmer - Kindly Wayfarers - The Watcher

IT'S DONE!!! Elmer's official portrait is finally done!! I tried to stay close to PoE style but in the end I couldn't help myself to draw a little bit more colorful style!

[flowerandblood]

Glass Cuts Deepest (1)

[ professor! • Aemond x student! • female ]

[ warnings: angst, mention of trauma and violence ]

[ description: A female painting student is finally able to choose the specialisation she has dreamt of - stained glass. She wants to become a student of the best specialist in this field, but he, for some reason, refuses to accept female students into his workshop. She finds out that he once slapped a female student of one of the other professors. Nevertheless, she makes an attempt to find out what happened then and to convince him to teach her. Slow burn, sexual tension, dark, agressive Aemond, great childhood traumas. ]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist

_____

She remembered exactly the one sunny afternoon when, still being a small child, she walked with her father into an old, gigantic Gothic church that seemed to her to be so high that it reached up to the sky.

As they stepped inside they were struck by the distinctive smell of incense, dampness and a strange, disturbing echo with each of their steps, as if reminding them that they were in the House of God.

She remembered clearly the narrow, long windows filled with figures of saints, shimmering with various colours of glass, as if they were really looking at her from the heavens themselves. The rays of the sun shone through them like the glory of God himself, and she thought then that she wanted to learn more about them.

She quickly began to draw. At first it was just her favourite cartoon characters, but as she got older she began to take an interest in art and paintings − on all her school trips she would look curiously at the works of the old masters in art galleries and then read about them at home.

When she managed to get into a painting department at a state university, it seemed like the happiest day of her life. One of the specialisations she could choose after the first year was that of stained glass, and it made her face flush all the more because she knew who taught there.

Although there were as many as three professors in the stained glass department, only one, the youngest of them, namely Professor Targaryen was so spectacularly successful internationally, to which he also owed his quick habilitation being only six years older than her.

For all she knew his talent had already been recognised during his studies and he was now carrying out gigantic commissions for new churches built by the richest archbishops.

She had seen his work in one of the churches in her town and had to admit that he was one of the best stained glass artists of their generation.

The holy figures in his works seemed light and halting, partly Baroque and partly Mannerist, their faces expressing some kind of heavenly anticipation, wonder or melancholy, the colours of the glass he chose contrasting wonderfully under the sunlight, creating a breathtaking composition.

He was a genius.

During her first year at university, she saw him fleetingly several times during a class on the basics of stained glass design, where everyone, no matter what specialisation they wanted to choose afterwards, learned how to cut glass with diamond blades, paint it and apply patina.

They were then taught by his assistant professor, Cregan Stark, and Professor Lannister's doctoral student, Meera. Both were very warm and patient – she took great joy in these lessons and stayed after hours to complete her work.

One day Cregan stood over her and seeing her painting her saint's face for the third time, this time with satisfying results, he nodded his head in approval.

"You are very hardworking and you are doing well. You should choose stained glass as a speciality." He said softly. She blushed all over and hopped up in her chair, happy.

"I am so pleased to hear that. I would love to study in your workshop under Professor Targaryen." She said quickly with excitement in her voice, and he raised his eyebrows and laughed. She blinked, confused.

"Forget about it, I advise you well. You're a good girl and you don't deserve what would happen to you there." He said, scratching his chin, looking at her apologetically, as if he resented himself for getting her hopes up. She felt a tightness in her throat not understanding what he was implying.

"What do you mean, sir?" She asked uncertainly and he sighed heavily.

"Ask your fellow students."

His words kept her awake and made her feel very uncomfortable – she had heard that Professor Lannister sometimes liked to flirt with his female students.

Was Professor Targaryen the same way?

Or worse?

Reflecting on this, she realised as she walked past the room where his students worked that she had never seen any women.

She asked this out loud the next day to her female colleagues, who looked at her surprised.

"Didn't you hear about that incident two years ago? He slapped one female student in the face during class. And she wasn't even his student! It landed him on the rug with the rector himself and he almost didn't get fired from the university. He owes his position only to his achievements and that thanks to him our university keeps getting new assignments from the curia." Said Ellyn, and she swallowed loudly, shocked by her words.

"Is it known why he did it?" She asked uncertainly. Lysa shrugged her shoulders.

"Apparently it enraged the rector the most. He didn't explain why he did it, he just said that she deserved it and that no whore – he probably meant woman – would cross the threshold of his workshop. He has one artificial eye and a huge scar, maybe because no woman wants him he behaves this way."

She lowered her gaze, heartbroken, feeling the cold sweat on the back of her neck, her heart pounding like mad.

What kind of man was this?

Now she wasn't surprised why Cregan had told her to let it go.

However, the closer she got to choosing a speciality and a workshop, the more she felt the need to fight for what she wanted.

Maybe if she stayed away from him and just worked hard he would give her a break?

Maybe he was annoyed by the way the girls dressed or behaved?

She decided to give it a try.

Despite everyone warning her not to do so, she submitted the papers, writing his name as her supervisor, whose workshop she applied to.

She had a feeling that it would lead to some kind of earthquake, but in the field of stained glass she wanted to be like him.

She thought through how she would dress – she decided that since she didn't like women, she would try to look as neutral and bland as possible.

She put on a large black hoodie from under which neither her breasts nor her buttocks were visible, tight black trousers and trainers. She tied her hair up in an elaborate braid to keep it out of her face, applied only foundation and no other make-up.

Dressed like this, she came to the first meeting of the new semester, where students found out what classes they had and met their lecturers.

She entered the room full of men and complete silence fell; she saw that the professor wasn't there yet, so she sat down with her notepad and pen at the very end of the table to just disappear. One of the boys with dark, curly hair turned to her.

"You're brave, but I already feel sorry for you. He'll kick you the fuck out of here." He said amused, several of the other boys laughed nervously.

She lowered her gaze, horrified, beginning to regret doing this instead of going to another professor who would have welcomed her applications with open arms.

When the door suddenly opened she curled into herself, not looking in that direction, resting her chin on her hand, swallowing loudly. She heard the sound of a chair being pushed back and someone sighing, then the rustling of pages.

"I'll start by reading out the list and welcoming the new students." She heard a cold, indifferent, stern voice that sent shivers through her, felt her breath get stuck in her throat with fear.

"Allan Baratheon."

"Mark Arryn."

"Royce Hightower."

"Matthias Martell."

"Well. I welcome you and will get straight to the task ahead of you this term." He said calmly, putting down the sheet of paper – she felt the stares of all the students on her.

He hadn't read her out.

She was sure she was on the list.

She pressed her lips together lifting her gaze to the boy who had spoken to her earlier – he just raised his eyebrows with a shrug of his shoulders in an I told you so gesture.

For a moment she wondered what she should do, feeling tears of helplessness under her eyelids – still not looking at him she raised her trembling hand slowly upwards. She heard him fall silent for a moment, but then he continued as if nothing had happened.

"− I have decided to hold a competition for the best design for three window quarters with a representation of the Virgin Mary surrounded by saints. The design will be chosen by me and the bishop, who will pay for the whole order, and then the whole workshop will work together to make this chosen design. Cregan will send you by e-mail the dimensions of each window and which specific saints are to be depicted. That's all."

He said and simply stood up, taking his papers and coffee and left, not paying any attention to her or her hand. Her classmates looked at her in shock.

"Oh fuck, that was horrible. He completely pounced on you. I'm so sorry." Her year mate said, patting her on the back, and she burst into tears, hiding her face in her hands.

"Don't cry. This is not about you. Go to Lannister and don't spoil your nerves." Said one of the older students and everyone slowly began to leave the room.

She looked blankly at her notebook and decided that she would try one last time.

She would try to talk to him.

She left and approached the locked room where a placard with his name on it was posted. She heard two voices coming from it, in one she recognised Cregan.

"− she's not like that, Aemond. Really. She focuses on her work, she's diligent. Three times I made her start the same face over and she did it without saying a word. She is humble and learns quickly. It's a shame to give her up to waste to Jason or Floris −" She heard Stark's voice and felt warm in her heart at the thought of him trying to defend her. For a moment he was answered by silence.

"No. There are always problems with them sooner or later. She was almost crying by now. I don't want any weepy scenes in my workshop. I −"

He didn't finish because of the loud knock on their door. She heard someone stand up inside, then the door opened and she saw Cregan standing in front of her. He shook his head quickly letting her know that this was a very bad idea, but she had already made up her mind.

She wanted to look him in the face before she gave up completely.

"Please, find five minutes for me, Professor." She directed her words to him rather than Cregan.

He sighed heavily, stepping back and it was only then that she noticed a fair-haired man with his short hair pulled back in black turtleneck, looking at her as if he had never seen a more disgusting thing on earth.

His artificial eye was cold and lifeless, his nostrils moving restlessly, his jaw clenched tight – she thought he looked more like a sculpture rather than a human being.

He seemed empty to her, created from stone rather than flesh.

He was silent for a long time and then rolled his eyes, sighing heavily and hummed under his breath, pulling out his phone, turning on the stopwatch.

"Five minutes." He said lowly, and Cregan quickly walked out, leaving them alone, closing the door behind him. She wanted to come closer, but his voice stopped her.

"Don't come up, just stand there and talk. You're running out of time." He burst out coolly, still facing her in profile, tapping his fingers impatiently on his armrest. She swallowed loudly, feeling her throat dry up, and opened her mouth to tell him all that she was holding inside.

"I know what rules you have set in your workshop and I wish very much now that I had been born a man, but unfortunately I am not." She said with difficulty hearing her voice tremble. She glanced at him and saw that he was still listening to her, so she continued.

"I saw your artworks while I was still in high school at St. John's Cathedral, and having always dreamed of creating stained glass for churches, I wanted to be taught by someone who is such an accomplished specialist in the field as you are, sir. I know how difficult the job is and I promise to do what you tell me to do without a shadow of dissatisfaction. I will not approach you except to revise my designs or projects. I will always work at the furthest table and sit in the last seat as far away from you as possible, dressing in such a way that you do not notice me and forget my existence on a daily basis. Please." She whispered the last word weakly – she saw his adam's apple waving as he swallowed loudly, tense.

He remained silent.

"Just because you're a fan of my works doesn't make you a talented person. What good is it to me that you work in silence if none of your pieces will be at least satisfactory and your colleagues will have to correct your mistakes?" He asked dryly, lifting his stern gaze to her – she swallowed loudly, feeling small, feeling like a nobody.

She did not bring her designs with her.

"Well. All I have with myself now are quick sketches in my notebook. They're portraits of people I see travelling on the bus to my classes." She said quickly and he sighed heavily, frustrated, and ran his hand over his face.

"So you are unprepared." He summarised, and she furrowed her brow, shaking her head.

"None of my colleagues had to −" She began, but he threw her a sharp, annoyed look and she realised at once that she had to back off, had to humble herself.

"− I − yes, I'm unprepared. I'm very sorry." She mumbled, fiddling with her notebook in her hands, her lips tightening.

He turned his head away from her, but extended his hand towards her in a movement full of impatience. She approached him uncertainly, handing him her sketchbook without touching his skin. He sighed and began to look quickly through what was inside without interest.

She saw that he had stopped at a few drawings, depicting a young woman with a child on her lap, an old man wearing a large black cap and winter scarf, and a stooped man asleep leaning his temple against the glass.

She saw him massaging his forehead and closing his eyes, clearly fighting with himself internally. He closed her notebook and waved it in his hand.

"Three of your fifteen sketches I would consider good. Do you think that's enough?" He asked dryly, without even looking at her. She felt a squeeze in her heart and a wave of disappointment knowing what he meant to say.

"No. It's not enough."

He hummed under his breath agreeing with her opinion, and then with a light flick of his hand, he tossed her notebook into the bin that stood by his desk. He glanced at her reaction and she gasped.

He wanted her to cry, to run out hurt and humiliated, to leave him alone.

No.

"So I'll do 200 sketches, 40 of which will be good. Or 300 of which 60 will be good. I will do as many of them as you see fit, Professor." She said with an effort, trying with all her might not to cry again.

He looked at her coldly in silence, the bell on his phone ringing out like something final. She felt cold sweat on the back of her neck as he reached over and muted his app, turning his profile back to her again.

"400 sketches. And they're all supposed to be good. Without them, don't even show yourself to me. Anything else?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"No. Thank you for the chance, Professor." She muttered and just walked out, closing the door behind her, feeling her whole body tremble.

He wasn't a man, but a walking monster breathing fire.

Cregan walked up to her, looking at her in horror, clearly seeing how pale she was.

"Did he agree?" He asked in a whisper, as if he was afraid he would hear them.

"He told me to bring him 400 good sketches and not to show my face to him without it." She mumbled apprehensively, wondering how long it would take her and how she would decide which were good and which were not. Stark looked at her in disbelief.

"I know it's no consolation, but you've just achieved the impossible." He said with some kind of admiration, and she sidestepped him, not knowing if she could call it that herself.

When she got home she started searching the gossip portals in the hope of finding out something about the incident from a few years ago, guessing that it must have been a big scandal and she was not disappointed.

Admittedly, she couldn't find his statement anywhere, and the student he slapped gave a wide-ranging explanation.

Professor Targaryen showed an unhealthy interest in me from the beginning and was also unpleasant and disrespectful. When we were left alone and I went to him to ask him to proofread my work, as my professor was on sick leave at the time and I wanted to move on with my job, he rose with anger and slapped me on the cheek shouting that I had no right to enter his workshop and invade his privacy. I believe this stems from his complexes and fear of women, and I regret that no justice reached him for this. Unfortunately, in this university everyone cleans each other's hands.

She read this, and she decided that she needed to be wary of him and keep her distance, not to approach him or frustrate him.

She spent the next week from morning to night sketching, sitting in the park and looking at people passing by, but she wasn't satisfied with her results.

She recalled her sketches he had stopped at and wondered what they had in common. She thought that as well as a study of the body there was a kind of melancholy and lightness in them, a snapshot of some fragment of life and situation.

She decided to go to church.

She made sketches of figures from the paintings in prayerful exultation, sculptures facing the heavens with outstretched hands, close-ups of their faces.

She thought he meant a character study like Leonardo da Vinci did, who caught facial expressions and gestures on the fly, making the viewer of his drawings go through a thrill of excitement.

She went round all the temples in her city and ended up with 500 sketches, from which she selected the agreed 400. She decided for her own satisfaction to bring him 401 drawings, which she managed to pack into two big folders.

She did not find him in his office so she set off towards his workshop where his senior students and her year mates were gathered. However, she didn't cross its threshold but knocked on the doorframe, eager to get his attention, to get permission to cross that magic line.

He was just leaning over another student's projects and glanced at her with a sharp, disgruntled look, clearly hoping he would never see her again. She lifted up her folders showing that she had brought what he wanted – he sighed heavily and moved towards her, avoiding her by a wide margin.

"Follow me." He said dryly, so she went straight after him. They entered a room with illuminated tables on which glass was usually cut and painted.

"Lay them out here. Show me the top 40." He said impatiently, and she swallowed loudly, wondering what she should show him. Her hesitation frustrated him.

"Can't you judge which of your works are suitable to be shown to me?" He growled and she shook her head, quickly searching for the works that were most memorable to her.

The woman turning to her over her shoulder with an enigmatic smile, the angel looking up to the heavens with his lips parted, the distraught Mother of God looking at her suffering son, Mary Magdalene humbly bent over in prayer, the nun covering her face with her hand, leaning over in thought.

She put down sheet after sheet, counting in her head, but then she lost track, stood up, trying to count them all over again, her heart pounding like mad.

"That's enough." He commanded coolly and walked over to the table, this time looking at each of her works in turn.

She stood at a great distance from him, not daring to come close, his face thoughtful, sharp and tense, his brow furrowed.

She was afraid he was about to humiliate her again, start crumpling up sheet after sheet and throwing them in the dustbin. He picked up a few, however, taking a closer look at them.

"Is that a figure from the church of St Michael the Archangel?" He asked indifferently, and she nodded quickly. He hummed under his breath and added nothing, putting the piece of paper down, watching further, his hands entwined at his back.

It seemed to her that his silence lasted for ages.

"A month. For a trial. If you disappoint me, I'll kick you out." He said low and unenthusiastic, turned and walked out, simply leaving her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, hiding her face in her hands, and burst into sobs.

She had made it.

_____

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess

[robogenko]

Oh I am so BACK, baby~

After not drawing for so long and then doodling to get back in my stride, I finally feel like I'm back to business.

This is a redraw of a screenshot I took, and I wanted to try a quicker rendering technique I had learned but hadn't put to use yet. I'm pretty satisfied with the results for how quick it was to do. I'll likely keep doing this for quicker paintings, and leave my painterly rendering to projects that I can really take my time on.

I had meant to go back and add some dirt/texture and a couple details before I finished it, but... I was hasty and flattened all my layers too soon >.> Oh well....

Good ol' MacCready bringing the smolder

[biibini]

Could you possibly write something for modern mizu with a gf that bakes alot during the odd hours at night due to insomnia to past the time :^ due to this, mizu gets gifted a bunch of sweets and pastries

modern!mizu x baker!reader (request)

a/n: this is such a cute idea omg,,, personally im more of a cook over baker (my roomie bakes more than me) but i do like a good pastry. time to add my fav gif of mizu … isn’t she just so dreamy 😻

the first few times u stayed over, u were able to sleep in peace with mizu

surprisingly, ur insomnia didn’t keep u fully awake while ur gf was sleeping

feeling her warm arms wrap around ur body made u feel more secure as u started to slumber

u weren’t fully knocking out every night but it became easier to fall asleep and stay asleep for a good duration of the night

it felt so satisfying to finally sleep through most nights

as midterms became closer & closer, the quality of ur sleep began to decrease dramatically

most nights spent with mizu ended up into some

and then some nights became few

at first, u attempted to hide ur insomnia with using homework and projects as an excuse

initally, they weren’t excuses but u had played the card so much that it started to become one

It was a week and a half before midterms week, aka hell on earth. You and Mizu had just finished dinner, now relaxing on her bed. While she was busy on her phone, you were preparing to find the best way to fall asleep successfully. Staring into your laptop in front of you, you felt her get up from the bed.

She walked over to the bathroom and getting ready to go slumber. You on the other hand, are still mentally stuck on how well you will sleep tonight.

Having insomnia meant having many off days and nights. During high-school, it was more difficult to manage your sleep schedule due to the amount of extra-curricular activities and schoolwork you had to balance while growing up. You’ve found a few ways and simple tricks to fight against it.

One way that helped you calm down during high school was baking. A messy task, yes, but the end result was worth it. It had been a few years since it’s gotten this bad. Junior year was a while ago, and the thought of college during that time sent your stress levels through the roof.

Maybe bringing back baking wouldn’t be so bad…

“Hey baby?”

You snapped out of your empty stare and look up at Mizu.

“Yes?”

“Are you going to wash up soon? It’s past midnight and you have a 9 AM tomorrow.” she reminded. Mizu knew how grumpy you could be the next day if you stayed up too long.

“Yeah, um” you glance at your computer only to find a title slide on a history presentation, “I���ll sleep soon, I just want to finish my part of this project.”

Mizu nodded as she turned off every light except for the night next to you. You look up to her, a small smile growing on your face.

“M’kay,” she placed a hand on your cheek and planted a soft kiss on your forehead, “Just not too late.”

She moved to your lips, giving them a good night kiss.

“I’ll try.” You say as you reach for her face to share another good night kiss. You lower the brightness of your laptop as Mizu tucks herself in next to you.

An hour later, you end up finish your part of the presentation. You check your phone to let your group know about your completion. Putting it down, you read the time. 1:30 AM.

Fuck, you should really get some sleep for tomorrow’s lecture.

You slowly get out of bed, checking to make sure Mizu hasn’t waken up from your movement. All you hear is a turn to the other side away from you.

Whew.

You plug in your laptop quickly on the desk, making sure that all the lights in the apartment were closed. You gently tugged at the sheets, tucking yourself in as quietly as you could. As you started to close your eyes, you took a deep breath.

In. Out.

In. Out.

In. Out.

A grumble could be heard from Mizu, turning back towards you. You feel her hands try to find you, slowly grabbing what she could find. As she pulled you closer, you continued to relax your body.

Eyes closed, mind empty.

Yet, your mind does reach a thought. An anxious thought.

What if I wake up tired, like before?

You try to shake away the thought, enveloping yourself with Mizu’s presence. Forcing your eyes shut, you continue to take slow & deep breaths.

2:30 rolls in and you’re still stuck trying to fall asleep. Technically, you should be in dreamland right now instead of being awake. Your eyes are heavy but they not too heavy to completely close. Your body is still yet your mind keeps racing.

You trusted your old tricks would help you fall asleep. Hoping that they would work, your mind finally begins to clear up and rest.

as the days went by, it got progressively worse and worse

it went to the point where u were just always up, maybe spare an hour or two for a nap, and then the nightly attempt to fall asleep next to mizu

ur aware of what was happening yet ur mind wouldn’t stop running at full speed

u wish ur mind would just shut off

and if it wasn’t ur mind staying awake for once, it was ur body keeping u awake

it was so tiring to think ab peace night after night after night, hoping for a good nights sleep but to end up feeling drained and half awake once the sun rose

on nights where ur mind or body wouldn’t shut down, u ended up succumbing to ur old habits and took out the baking pan & sheets

u thought u could stay quiet like a few years before

on the other hand, mizu began to notice the slight changes in the house

whenever she would wake up for morning workouts, ur laptop would open and on ur lap

or the baking pan and whisks and mixing bowls would be dripping wet on the drying rack

once she found a new loaf of bread in the pantry, something was up

she figured u were just up cleaning late at night as a break from the late night homework grind

but with the random loaf, it didn’t quite fit the story she had in mind

one early morning, she heard a metal noise mid toilet and tiktok session in

(a/n: i’m guilty of doing that too sorry)

concerned, she went go check in the bedroom to find an empty bed

“Y/N?” she quietly called into the hallway.

God damnit.

You had accidentally banged the baking pan on the oven’s metal rack. You quickly slid the pan into the oven, hoping the croissants u had just prepped wouldn’t be seen. You peeked over your shoulder to see Mizu’s eyes half awake, trying to comprehend what she was seeing.

You quickly checked the time on the clock. No way it was already time for her workout.

5:30 AM.

“Morning, Mizu.” A weak smile spread on your face. You felt blood rushing to your cheeks, stemming from the embarrassment of getting caught in the act.

“I just went to the bathroom and heard a noise. What’s going on, Y/N?”

She looked down into the oven, spotting the croissants.

“Did you want a sweet treat that badly?” her voice questioning you and slightly concerned. She walked towards you and gently pressed your hand.

“No, it’s just that…”

“That?”

You took a deep breath as you glanced down at her hand grasping onto yours. You look up to her eyes, ready to tell the truth. Her blue eyes seemed more awake and ready to listen, almost glowing in the dark.

“I have insomnia.” You let the truth spill out. “It hasn’t been this bad since high school but coping with it has been a bit difficult these days. I’ve tried so many ways to shut my mind off but nothing’s working.”

“Aw, baby…”

“And the best way I managed it back when it was worse was baking. It helped me keep my mind off things and pass the time.” You took a step back to find your phone and put on a timer for 12 minutes.

“So here I am. Back to old habits.” You ended, sighing in relief. You weren’t sure of what Mizu’s reaction would be. A little part of you was frightened, anxiously waiting for her response.

You didn’t expect her next actions. She let go of your hand and headed toward the sink, calmly washing the bowls and other dishes that have collected over the night.

Stunned, you watched as she continued to wash up. You looked over to see her reaction only to find a calm face.

“Mizu?” you asked, still confused about her response.

She looked up, her hands still cleaning the mixing bowls you had used.

“Did you need help with anything else before I go to the gym? I know insomnia must be hard to cope with but if this is what helps you pass the time,” Mizu finishing the final bowl, placing it gently on the dishwasher rack. “I’d like to help out in any way I can.”

“No, I’m okay but thank you for cleaning up for me.” Coming up to her, you give her a kiss on the cheek. She smiles at you and nods.

“Anytime, hon.”

She takes a glance at the clock. 5:40 AM.

“I’m gonna get ready now. Let me know if you need anything or any ingredients.” She hurries into the bedroom, getting ready to change into gym clothes.

“Okayyy.” You say, checking your phone for the timer.

A thought comes to mind.

“Actually, there is one thing you can do.” You say, following her into the bedroom. Mizu, mid-tying her hair, paused and gave you her full attention. “You can be my little taste tester.”

She chuckled as she fixed her hair into a bun.

“I get first dibs? For lil ol’ me?”, she says playfully as she grabs one of her light zip-up jackets from the closet, completing her workout outfit.

You nod happily. “Mhm. You can even request a recipe or two.”

How enticing, Mizu thought.

if u were up during her workout days, she would always find a fresh batch of pastries sitting on the dining table

on days that her or ringo had classes, u would leave a little bag or container of pastries that they go bring to school

u would always leave a little love note with a little heart and a “To my Mizu”

mizu loved the little gifts, especially if they were at her request

one night, she asked for a peach cobbler pie

woke up the next morning to find a slice in a container and a sticky note atop reading “a request for my love ♥︎”

she placed the sticky note by her desk

and brought the slice to school with her

after her class she shared with akemi, they decided to get some late morning tea by the coffee shop nearby

mizu’s eyes widen after the first bite settled in

it was bomb

peaches were practically bursting in her mouth

she continued to eat, trying to contain the deliciousness of the pie

she would text u later ab how good it was

in full detail

many paragraphs

many positive critiques

and end with a thank you for ur baking ♥︎

[makingspiritualityreal]

Why Saturn Makes you Bad at Doing Things

Saturn in our chart is about things we don't have an instinctive understanding of. These are things we have to work hard (as in tediously, long term) to improve. Over time, we can become meticulous and more decent at this area of our lives, but it takes time for us to get there.

Example, I have Saturn in Aquarius and it took me over 10 years to get the hang of social media, and I'm still learning. Since according to Vedic classics, Saturn is "lame" by nature, these are the areas where we end up with what we feel are initially inadequate results.

What is the reason for such a situation with Saturn?

1. Karmic delay manifesting as lack of financial physical support in your Saturn area. You simply receive the necessary basic tools to be able to accomplish anything worthwhile in this given area with a delay. Example - I have Saturn in Aquarius in the 4th, and I really care about memories and pictures and organising them on socials as a sort of virtual diary. I have been a content creator for 5 years now. I endlessly struggled with inadequate technology, poor quality gear or no gear, and lower quality content as a result. Editing only takes you so far. Tools of the trade are important.

2. Lack of external support and education, delayed access to basic support and education. Noone is going to help you in the area of your Saturn, unless you have excellent synastry with somebody. You need to learn everything by yourself from the ground up, starting from nothing, feeling like you're behind your peers. You don't know yourself in that area, so you don't know what suits you and as a result you have a delayed awareness of what is good for you.

3. Which brings me to my next point, perfectionism. Saturn is what our soul wants to perfect and master, and then release once our legacy is perfected. You will not be satisfied with mediocrity there. I have heard it countless times from people "why do you care about random pictures" well because my Saturn in the 4th wants a perfect photo diary and I want it to be organized and look good. Memories matter to me so I take them very seriously. As a result, we end up being harder on ourselves there than the average person, because we want more, and we want better. If used well, as a result of this attitude, Saturn has the potential to deliver high quality results.

4. Not fitting into trends, first because of the delayed learning process, then because you skipped on major social moments. You just don't know how to be "cool" where your Saturn is placed, because it takes time to build up that ease, and it's always with a lot of practice. As a result, you feel inadequate and lonely in that area, because your difficult experience makes it impossible to connect with your peers, who may mock you over traits of your Saturn. Over time, if Saturn is strong you can become an inspiration and a trendsetter yourself.

5. And finally, and most surprisingly so, lack of interest. The mix of karma and external circumstances and understanding of futility makes us subconsciously reject deeper involvement in the karmas of our Saturn and its Nakshatras. Example, I have Saturn in Dhanishta and I simply refuse to do anything for the sake of popularity, to impress any group, or even join a group for status. I am ready to die alone in my isolated cute house (probably because Saturn in the 4th) just to be myself. Growing up, I denied all social adherence within my family, because I believed they do everything wrong. I also denied all social adherence to the most popular people in school, finding them shallow and disgusting, and throwing their life away while I put my head to my studies and focused on my goals. As a result, my personal journey is unrelatable to most people, because few have the gumption to resist their environments so completely, few are so critical of these environments, few people choose strife, loneliness and lack, because it's the right thing to do. So you can see how our Saturn makes us subversive, denying granting people any expectation in that area and doing everything "their own way".

[myr31r31]

I added another floor to my Takarazuka Revue inspired Sylvanian Families home and wanted to share <3

I started this project in 2022 and initially, it was a 2-story home.

But recently I got to update the wallpapering/painting of the original house, and add another floor, so this is the result:

The only difference to the front of the house is the signage ("takarazuka home" to "sylvania revue"). I walled off the balcony and instead put a photo of Hoshigumi's '21 RomJul there (the balcony scene, for obvious reasons LOL). The roof is orange to mimic the Takrazuka Grand Theater (it took way too long to paint but honestly? I'm glad I bothered to do it in the end).

The third floor was made in 2022, and the motif I used was Watson and Sherlock's living room in Soragumi's "Sherlock Holmes- The Game is Afoot!". I later found out that Yukigumi used the same wallpaper for Sherlock's office in "Sherlock Homes- Boiled Doyle on the Toil Trail", so that was interesting, haha.

This floor is probably the most accurate to the furnishings on the set of the play, the other floors are more inspired than a 1:1 replica. I repainted the furniture and drew/printed out the wall/furniture patterns while using stills from the play as a reference (hence why the colors aren't 100% accurate).

Details (1):

Details (2):

The second floor is a "birthday party at home" theme inspired by Hanagumi's 2016 production of "Ernest in Love" (one of my all time faves <3).

I drew the wallpaper to be the same as Ernest's dressing room in the opening scene but there's not much else besides that's a direct motif.

The first floor is a "nursery" theme inspired by Hangumi's 2023 production of 'Utakata no Koi".. specifically the Vetseras' parlor.

Aside from the wallpaper and piano there's not really any other similar props, but I spent a lot of time on that wallpaper so I'm honestly still pleased lol.

Full shot during the day (ft. my other Sylvanians incl. Gwendolyn and Ernest)!

Just to clarify- I am awful at sewing, so the clothes were custom ordered on Etsy or bought made-ready from other Sylvanian fans on the Japanese website Minne. Most of the props/furniture are either official Sylvanian items or from Re-Ment.

There's never any craft I'm 100% satisfied with (painting and coating the roof and walls were difficult..), but honestly? I'm still happy with myself for the effort I put into this one. Someday, I'd like to make a scale replica of a Takarazuka stage set instead of just something inspired by it <3

[signfromeywa]

AUNGIA TA EYWA (A SIGNS FROM EYWA)

Chapter 03: A secret message

Description:

Anastasia Novak is a behavioural scientist tasked with socializing a captive Na'vi on behalf of the RDA. The longer she works with the Na'vi and the closer she gets to him, the more she has to rethink everything she thought she knew and redefine her morals and values. Can she just carry on like this, or will she follow her heart?

Content: Rating +18, Avatar fanfiction, human x Na'vi ship, Na'vi captured

Characters: Human OCs: Anastasia Novak, Steven Turner, Patra// Na'vi OCs: Ean'tu,

Word Count: 4944

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❗️English is not my native language! I apologize very much if it reads a bit bumpy here and there.

I'm a German author and this is the first time I've tried to translate a story I'm working on into English and upload it. I still hope you enjoy it.❗

Ana stretched at her desk. Her back was aching from working at her desk for so long and it was getting late. It wasn't as if you could tell because the room she was sitting in had no windows, but because she had looked tiredly at the clock on her laptop. She had spent the whole day preparing important documents about Sky and drawing up a plan for training him. It all had to be well thought out. Not to forget, she had sent an e-mail to the contact that Patra had given her. She had been waiting all day for a reply. After all, she needed research reports and results to make her plan more efficient.

Just as she was about to close the laptop in frustration, a now familiar notification tone sounded. She eagerly raised the display again to see the message. She quickly read over the lines and her excited expression, which had just radiated a spark of hope, darkened.

"Rejected?! Excuse me?" She slumped back in her chair in disappointment.

Mr. Turner entered the room with two cups in his hand. "What are you complaining about? Not saved? That happens to me all the time, then I can rewrite everything."

He came over to Ana and placed the coffee cup on her desk.

"No, that's not it." Ana stroked her face tiredly with both hands. "I asked to see the research documents and that was just refused." She caught sight of the cup next to her and picked it up. Coffee, she realized as she put the cup under her nose. She wasn't really much of a coffee drinker, but she would need it. "The worst thing is, when I asked if I could apply for a security clearance somewhere and if they could send me the necessary information, they just replied that it's in vain and doesn't fall within my area of expertise."

You could hear the frustration in her voice. Mr. Turner took a sip and sat with one leg slightly on the edge of the desk, facing Ana. "I'm not surprised. I told you, it's not so easy to get records from other institutions here."

Yes, he had said that, and Patra had mentioned it too. Ana had written in the email what it was about and why she really needed these documents. But they didn't seem to care. Everything was so cryptic and complicated, no one spoke up, it seemed to Ana as if everyone was talking in riddles. Grumbling, she took a sip of her coffee. It was awful.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she grumbled quietly.

"What you did before. Just carry on. Only be more careful around him." Mr. Turner looked at her.

"Yes, I have no choice. It'll delay my work, but they don't care that I'll be much busier now."

"You'll manage, you're by far the bravest person working here. The way you dared to approach Sky after everything that's happened." He grinned.

Ana looked at him now too. He seemed amused. "Of course I can do it. That's what I'm here for and failure is out of the question." Ana said confidently.

"There you go." He seemed satisfied.

A man suddenly peered into the room. "Mr. Turner, the switchgear at the airlock is causing problems, could you come here for a moment?"

"Yes, just a moment." He stood up. "Don't give up, maybe you'll get lucky if you persevere." He winked at Ana and walked out of the room with his colleague, who was waiting for him at the door.

Ana stayed behind and turned her eyes back to the laptop. What should she do now? Maybe write to her boss to see if he could intercede on her behalf so that Ana could perhaps get security clearance for the documents after all? But what if her boss didn't react well at all? What if that made him start to doubt her competence? That absolutely must not happen.

She got up and went to the surveillance room. The room was quite dark and was only illuminated by the many screens showing what the surveillance cameras were showing. She wasn't interested in the screens, instead she went to the window that allowed her to look into the enclosure. Just like on her first day, she looked down and tried to locate Sky and this time she was successful. She could see Sky crouching on the ground in front of the tree. He seemed to be doing something, but it was so small that Ana couldn't make it out from up here. So she turned to the screens and picked the right camera to zoom in.

Sky had branches in his hands and seemed to be tying and knotting the fibers of a plant around them. Ana sat down and observed this closely. It reminded her of a basket weaving technique that she knew from some cultures. How unusually skillfully Sky did it, as if he knew exactly what he was doing. That thought occurred to her again. Sky acted so humanoid, far beyond animalistic behavior. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but more and more she couldn't push the thought away.

Another beep on her cell phone made her look up from the screen. A new e-mail had arrived, but without a sender. Extremely strange. She decided to go back to her desk and take a closer look at the email on her laptop. What she quickly realized on her laptop was that it was not her normal e-mail inbox that had received the message. She had a new program on her computer that hadn't been there before. Had Ana been hacked? Now she wasn't so sure whether she should really open the email. That even Pandora was being hacked, no matter where you went, these spam mails could follow you around the universe. Just as Ana was about to delete the strange program, she received an email from Patra.

'Good evening Novak, a confidential e-mail has found its way to you. Don't be afraid to open it. It will help you a lot,' it said. Was this a real message from Patra or just part of a really creepy hack?

Ana called Patra immediately. She answered the call surprisingly quickly. "Good evening, did you just send me an email?" Ana asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I did and I mean what I wrote. Read the email." she replied curtly.

The situation was a little strange. Something strange was going on here, but somehow she had the feeling that Patra couldn't tell her anything more. Apparently something secret was going on.

"Take another look at my email, there's something else attached at the bottom. We'll talk later when you're home." Patra smiled at Ana and then hung up.

Ana immediately opened Patra's email again and realized that the woman hadn't lied. At the bottom it said. 'Your code is: 037592649, please delete this email. Thank you.

Ana's heart began to beat excitedly. What had she got herself into here? She first saved the code in her cell phone and then deleted the email as requested. She then logged into the strange new program.

It was a simple program, it had hardly any buttons or functions, just send and receive. To get into the program, you had to enter the code. There was only one email in the mailbox. It was the same mysterious email that Ana had just received. With an excited and uneasy feeling, she clicked on the message to open it.

'Good evening Dr. Novak,

We have it on good authority that you are working with a Na'vi and have made contact to access research documents relating to Na'vis. You will have realized that the research results on Pandora are highly classified. It will be impossible for you to access this information, so that is why we are contacting you. You don't need to know who we are, but we want to help you to work with Sky. We have checked your background and know of your sincere intentions and excellent qualifications.

We will contact you again in the future, but we will give you some advice. Don't let anyone know about this contact. Don't tell anyone what you find out from us and, most importantly, don't underestimate Sky. The Na'vi are the inhabitants of Pandora, they have an enormously high emotional intelligence. They are in no way comparable to animals.

We will contact you again, until then we wish you every success with Sky.'

Ana read the words intently and almost in disbelief. Had she made contact with a secret organization and was Patra also part of it? She eagerly closed the program with the mail before anyone else entered the room and read the contents. She slowly realized that the secret contact could get her into real trouble. From now on, she had to be on her guard.

But what upset her even more than the fact that she had probably just done something forbidden was the information about the Na'vi. Extremely high emotional intelligence, they said. Something like dolphins or orca whales? Ana shook her head no. The message said that the Na'vi were in no way comparable to animals. It also said inhabitants of Pandora. That didn't sound like animals, but like a species that lived here on Pandora.

Just the thought of Sky being an intelligent sentient being, like herself, made her stomach turn. That would be a terrible realization, but it would fit with her own observations. So Sky really was trying to communicate with her, he really had been trying to tell her something. In a language she didn't understand.

That was good news, but also upsetting. But wait. Ana gathered her thoughts. It was all information from an unknown source. Who knows if it was really true. Maybe it was just a movement of alternative scientists holding on to a theory that had not yet been confirmed. So she had to verify this claim for herself. There were indications that what was said was true, and she would look into it further. If Sky had a certain intelligence that could be compared with human intelligence, she would notice it and find out. For sure.

Ana winced as the electronic door to her workplace opened. Two colleagues came in and Ana was glad that she had already closed the laptop.

"You're still here Miss Novak, are you going to put in a night shift?" It was Mr. Turner.

"Oh, no, certainly not." Ana tried not to let the secretiveness show, or the fact that she was quite frightened.

"The system at the airlock is working again, it was just a small error in the software," said the other colleague. It was the same one who had just asked Turner to help him.

"You should really call it a day now, otherwise you won't catch the last team bus." Turner smiled at her and then turned to the switchgear, which was also in this room.

"Yes, you're right," Ana put the laptop in her bag, which was leaning against the desk, and then stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm planning to go into the enclosure tomorrow."

"I'll prepare my colleagues so that you don't have to wait that long tomorrow."

"That's kind of you, then I wish you a quiet night shift. See you tomorrow." Ana waved to both men once more and then disappeared from the study on her way to the team bus that would soon be arriving to take her to her dormitory.

**

Ana started work very early the next morning. It had only just got light outside when she got off the team bus to make her way inside the base. Many of the soldiers who got off with her were still tired and didn't seem particularly motivated to relieve their colleagues on shift. Ana, on the other hand, was very motivated. She was determined to get to the bottom of the matter with Sky. What her secret contact had given her as information had to be checked out. Because if it was true, then Ana had to rethink everything she was doing here.

When she had crossed the base while thinking and now arrived in what you could call her department, a tired Mr. Turner was waiting for her.

"Good morning." Ana greeted him and placed her bag on the desk. "Shouldn't your shift be over by now? What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, good morning." The man looked up from a pile of papers, "Yes, I could be in my bed by now, but I was still making preparations with the shift relieving me, you said you wanted to go back to the enclosure today?"

Ana was surprised at how reliable and caring Mr. Turner was. Apparently he was still very worried about Ana after what had happened last time. "Yes, that's right, I'll go back to the enclosure today."

"What exactly are you planning to do? You hadn't told me that yet."

"I just want to get Sky used to my presence, so I don't have anything special planned for now. I'll probably just sit in the enclosure and watch him for a while," she explained.

He looked at her, pondering. "I don't really understand that, but all the better. Try not to get too close to him, so he doesn't attack you again. Even though we'll keep an eye on you in that regard, of course."

"I know that, but you don't need to be afraid, I don't think there will be an incident." Ana reassured Mr. Turner. How she knew that so well, she didn't exactly know herself. It was just something in her gut. After the last time Sky had been so cautious and even passive after the attack, she had a feeling they both had a chance at a good bond. Sometimes you just knew something like that and you had to rely on that instinct.

"All right, then." Mr. Turner stood up and picked up his coffee cup. The smell of coffee already filled the room. "I'll pass it on to my colleague Mr. Miles, then I can call it a day. After all, I still have a night shift waiting for me tonight."

He smiled tiredly at Ana and she smiled back. Mr. Turner always looked as if he hadn't slept for days and she slowly realized that he actually slept very little and almost always worked. In the long run, what he was doing wasn't healthy at all, but he was clearly old enough to decide that for himself.

She hadn't met Mr. Miles, on the other hand. Together, Turner and Ana walked over to the monitoring room, where a large man stood behind Gonzales to watch the screens.

"Miles, I've got our new colleague here, the one in charge of Sky," Turner announced. The tall man turned to look at them.

"Nice to meet you," he walked over to Ana and shook her hand. "You'll have your work cut out for you with Sky, and it's dangerous to say the least."

He looked at her as if he felt sorry for Ana's fate, but Ana didn't find her work terrible at all. She was apparently the only one who had no problem doing this work. In the eyes of the others, it almost seemed like a punishment.

"Don't worry, I'm well trained and qualified for this job," she replied confidently.

"Of course you are, I never doubted it." Miles raised his hands placatingly, apparently he really didn't intend it that way. "I'll support you as best I can with our colleagues, we all look out for each other here."

"Thank you, I've already noticed that. The people working here are really exceptionally reliable," Ana agreed.

"That's also essential for survival here on Pandora, especially when almost everything on Pandora is trying to kill you," he explained and then turned back to the screens where Sky could be seen. "Can you tell me what I need to look out for when you go into the enclosure today?"

Turner interrupted their conversation. "I see you're in good hands, Novak. I'll say goodbye for today then. My well-deserved beauty sleep is calling." He laughed casually and waved to both of them again as he left the department with his coffee cup in his hand.

After giving Turner a friendly wave, Ana turned her attention back to Miles. "I don't have anything special planned. I'm just going to spend some time in the enclosure watching Sky so he gets used to my presence and maybe starts to tolerate it."

Miles looked at her, apparently listening intently. "I'll fit you with a headset so we can get in touch at any time, I think a big radio would only hinder you."

"Yes, that's a good idea, it's easier for me to take notes when I have my hands free."

Miles nodded and then went to a cabinet. When he came back, he had a device in his hand that was attached to his ear. "Put this on your ear, we can hear you through it, Dr. Novak, and you can hear us. It's best if you let us transmit permanently. If you don't, you'll have to keep touching your ear to turn on the sound, which could prove difficult in a dangerous situation."

Ana took the small device from him. "This is where I activate and deactivate the microphone, right?"

Miles nodded: "Let me show you how to properly attach it to your ear." He approached her.

Ana let her colleague do this, a little uncertainly. It was a little unusual for everyone here to be so carefree and close to each other, but she understood the necessity and found the company refreshingly pleasant. She would certainly feel very lonely on Pandora without the friendly contact with her colleagues. Mr. Miles quickly fitted the device to her ear and explained how it worked. Ana had memorized it well so that she could do it on her own next time.

"Good, can you hear me?" said Gonzales, who was sitting at the screen and appeared to have a counterpart there.

Ana nodded. "Clear and distinct. Am I easy to understand?"

Gonzales gave an OK sign with his hand and turned back to the screens.

"Very good, then you can go straight to the enclosure. Sky is already awake," said Miles with satisfaction.

"Very well, I'll just get my things and then I'll make my way to the airlock. I assume they'll be keeping an eye on us?" said Ana as she made her way to the other room to get her things.

"Of course!" she heard Miles say before the automatic door closed behind her.

She took pens and paper from the bag she had placed on the desk. She would make any notes about Sky when she was in the enclosure, she would need all this for that. She found another clipboard in the drawer of the desk, the same one she had used before. She pinned the paper to it and made her way to the airlock. To get there, you had to leave her department again, go down one floor and then come back in from below. All the rooms in her department were connected by the large main corridors of the base.

Her colleagues were already waiting for her at the bottom of the airlock. Ana greeted everyone politely and opened the airlock with her worker's badge. The doors opened while she put on her mask and then she entered. The airlock closed, the pressure equalized and shortly afterwards she was able to enter the enclosure.

As soon as the airlock doors to the enclosure opened, Ana felt her excitement rising. To be honest, she was a little scared. She hadn't completely forgotten the memories of the attack. You couldn't just forget something like that, the shock was deep-seated. However, she tried to overshadow these negative, anxious thoughts with another memory. Sky had very gently taken her hand. She hadn't been afraid of him at that moment. Sky had a sweet side when he wasn't frightened or harassed.

She bravely went forward and immediately heard Mr. Miles' voice in her ear. "Test, can you hear me well?"

Ana activated her microphone by placing her finger on the device on her ear, "Yes, clearly, can you hear me?"

"Positive, take care, we have an eye on you from up here." Miles replied, then the contact ended.

Miles and her other colleagues seemed to be really worried about her. They were all of the opinion that it was far too dangerous to simply confront Sky in the enclosure. Ana couldn't blame any of them.

She walked on attentively, her eyes scanning the large enclosure for Sky. This time, too, she suspected he was by the tree. The thicket, which was probably planted everywhere for Sky's love, made it difficult to keep an overview. Ana nervously clutched the clipboard to her chest and carefully stepped forward.

Sky still hadn't spotted her. She brushed aside tall grass to approach the tree when she heard it rustle behind her. She immediately stood rooted to the spot. There was someone behind her and it could only be Sky.

"Novak behind you, should we intervene?" she heard over the radio.

She carefully reached for the device on her ear, "No, don't do anything," she said quietly and then turned around carefully.

Sky was actually standing behind her. He was upright, standing straight on his legs and looking at her. His face didn't reveal what was going on inside him, his expression was cold and rigid. Almost a little dismissive. But he hadn't attacked yet. That was a good sign.

Ana raised her hands to placate him and made a gentle gesture: "It's all right, I'm not here to hurt you," she said, even though she was aware that Sky didn't understand a word she was saying. Her point was that he could tell from her expression and voice that she was peaceful.

Sky's reddish eyes traveled up and down Ana as if he were inspecting her closely, then he looked her firmly in the eye again. Ana held his gaze, didn't make any hasty movements, but waited patiently to see what happened next. His ear twitched nervously and he also seemed to be waiting to see what Ana would do. When he came to the conclusion that nothing more would happen, he turned away and went to his tree, which was very close by.

Ana breathed a sigh of relief, it really hadn't escalated. "Impressive, Novak," she heard Miles say, and she had to admit that she herself was impressed by how peaceful it had been. She had hoped it would, but there had still been a slight fear that it might escalate.

After Sky had gone ahead, Ana also went to the tree. However, she didn't go to the trunk, where Sky seemed to be doing something, but sat down on a more distant rock. She placed her clipboard on her lap and watched Sky as he worked.

He had crouched down on the ground and seemed to be tying branches together. Fascinated, Ana looked closely. She would love to know why Sky was doing this and what exactly it was supposed to represent. Or maybe it even had a function? So many questions and yet she couldn't communicate with him. The secret message that spoke of high emotional intelligence came to her mind again. When she observed Sky like this, she could almost no longer deny the humanity she saw in him.

Her gaze traveled along his tall figure. His skin was a beautiful soft dark blue color with beautiful dark markings. His body was slender and yet you could see his defined muscles standing out slightly against his skin. Ana picked up her pen and began to draw him, capturing his extraordinary beauty that was like nothing she knew. He was very different from herself and yet she felt more and more that they were not so different. For being an alien, he had nothing in common with those little green men. Nothing like those horror aliens that tore you to pieces. He looked human, he had something... normal. Something she didn't have to get used to. His presence wasn't strange.

They both sat there peacefully, Ana painting Sky and he seemed to be tinkering with something. But then he looked up from his work and over to Ana. She noticed his gaze, but didn't stop. Ana wanted to give him time to take a closer look at her. 

She felt Sky's beautiful eyes resting on her figure and tried to keep her focus on the drawing and not let on that she had noticed Sky looking at her. Then she heard him move. He had gotten up and seemed to be cautiously walking over to her. Ana still pretended that she didn't notice, or at least that it didn't bother her. Which it didn't bother her. In fact, she wasn't afraid. The atmosphere was very peaceful at the moment and Sky just seemed curious.

Slightly crouched, he came over to her carefully, but curiously, until Ana could see Sky next to her out of the corner of her eye. He tried to see what she was drawing on the paper. Then Ana looked up and angled the clipboard so that he could see better without having to get closer. Surprised by this action, he looked up from the paper and into her face. Apparently he was trying to understand why all this was happening, trying to see if Ana was trying to trick him. But Ana just smiled welcomingly at him. She wasn't his enemy, she wanted to become friends with him.

When he was sure that Ana was no harm, he crouched down a little closer to look at the drawing. His gaze rested on the drawing, then he looked up at Ana and then back at the picture.

She waited patiently, giving him time to look at the drawing and not moving at all, as she didn't want to scare him off. Sky looked at Ana once more, then came very close to her and brushed his hand over the paper. Ana immediately noticed that he only had three fingers instead of four, not counting his thumb. She carefully handed Sky the clipboard. He took it just as carefully.

Both of them were very careful with their counterpart because they couldn't assess each other. Nevertheless, the atmosphere between them remained calm. Sky brought the drawing close to him to inspect every line carefully. Ana was sure that he recognized that Ana had painted him.

After Sky had looked at the picture for a while, Ana carefully took it back from him and showed him how she had added something to the drawing with her pen. Sky watched carefully. Then she held the pencil out to him. Would he understand what Ana wanted him to do? Would Sky also add something to the paper? Sky took the pencil uncertainly, his eyes rested on Ana, watchful, anxious to recognize immediately if she was up to something bad.

When he had the pen, Ana held out the clipboard for him to draw something on it. She was trying to see how intelligent he really was, she just had to be sure.

Sky took the pen to the paper and actually started to draw something on it. It was a symbol, he drew it right on the chest, from the drawing Ana had made. A real symbol. Ana could hardly believe her eyes at the coordination and precision with which he drew the symbol on the paper. She held her breath for a moment. Everything she thought she knew seemed to crumble before her eyes. The secret email, everything it had said. They were right! There was no going back now. Ana had to find out more and try to deepen the secret contact. How much more was there that she didn't know about?

Sky put the pen back in Ana's hand and looked at her as if he was waiting to see how she would react. But Ana didn't know herself yet. How should she proceed now that she knew she was dealing with a higher intelligent species. One that very probably had a consciousness.

Sky's calm, wide eyes reassured her again. For now she couldn't do anything different, now in this situation she could only work with what she had.

Ana pointed at herself with her finger and then said clearly. "Anastasia Novak."  

Sky looked at her warily. She returned his gaze and considered. "Ana." she then said, which would certainly be easier for the Na'vi if he really intended to speak to her.

Then she pointed at Sky and looked at him questioningly. She hoped he would understand what she wanted from him. But Sky remained silent. She pointed at herself again, said her name and then pointed at Sky again. But he didn't respond this time either. Somehow, Ana had the feeling that he had understood what she wanted from him, but wasn't yet open-minded enough to respond. Instead of answering her, he moved away from her again. Apparently Sky also needed to think about a few things that had just happened. Just like herself.

The worst thing was that Ana couldn't talk to anyone about it for now. Somehow she had the feeling that if the wrong people found out, Sky could get into trouble. She got up and took her things with her. She now felt strange continuing to call Sky Sky. It didn't feel right. He had certainly been given that name by a human and she was sure that if the Na'vi were an intelligent species, Sky surely had a real name, a name he had been given by a mother or a father.

Lost in thought, she walked back through the enclosure to the airlock. She wanted to find out more about Sky, where he came from, what had happened before all this. "I'm coming out now," she told Miles as she entered the airlock, which was opened for her. A lot had happened today that Ana needed to think

Tag List: @twisteduniverse5 @yukilaaw @mooniequeen (If you want to get added, comment it under the post)

[waayfo]

LET THE FEAR YOU HAVE FALL AWAY, I'VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU

ׄ     ׅ  ★̶̲ ITOSHI SAE X READER

ׄ     ׅ  ★̶̲ CONTAINS : ooc sae, pet names, hurt/comfort, fluff, soft!itoshi sae, angst, readers can draw

ׄ     ׅ  ★̶̲ A/N : this is inspired from Yes To Heaven - Lana Del Rey and please forgive me if there are mistakes. If there is, you can tell me so I can fix it.

A loud slap sounded and succeeded in making the room quiet. "Know your place! Sae is only dating you out of boredom." The words came out easily without thinking about your feelings at that time. You hold your cheek that was slapped. While your heart is filled with anger. but he didn't stop there, hurtful words kept coming out of her mouth, "You've never been good at anything, I wonder why Sae chose you over me. You can only draw. Can drawing really make your life happy? Success? This world doesn't need such talent. Which means, you are useless and so is your existence."

The woman left you speechless. She also closed the door with a bang. While you just sat limp in the chair. “Is this talent of mine useless… ? Am I really that useless?" No matter how hard you try, even if you give up your health, people will never be satisfied with the results you give. They keep making fun of your hard work without seeing and helping your struggle. "If so, do I deserve to be happy and have Sae?"

If I'm useless, then I don't deserve to be happy. Such thoughts keep running through your mind, until you don't realize that you are pushing yourself too much. And of course your actions are realized by Sae.

"Hey, what's wrong, babe? Are you okay?" You show a surprised expression. You notice me. "Of course I'm fine." Sae let out a sigh. "I don't like it when you lie to me. Honestly, are you in trouble?"

"No? Who dares to find trouble with me who is Itoshi Sae's lover?" You said proudly. "You're right. But your recent changes say otherwise. You always skip your meals and choose to continue with work. I also often see you staying up late or until the morning for work. And I also rarely see you draw, usually you always draw something that's around you. I won't be mad, maybe I can help you."

You just stay silent and stare at Sae without expression. "That means there really is a problem, huh?" Sae sat next to you. His hands cupped your face and played with your cheeks. "Tell me. Please?" "Promise you won't be angry?" "Uh.. yes?"

You took a deep breath before recounting the incident from the beginning. Without you realizing it, tears keep falling from your eyes as long as you tell it. Until finally forming a puddle on the floor. Your voice broke from holding back sobs. Sae's hand is now stroking your back to calm you down, and you know Sae very well. He couldn't calm anyone down and didn't know what to do. So when he does that, you feel touched and appreciate Sae's efforts.

"Sae, do I... deserve to be happy? I can do nothing but draw. I can't help you or anyone else either. All I do is mess up. And also... do you really love me and not kidding? This keeps haunting me when I'm going to sleep. I want to be the best for you and othe—" your words stopped because Sae kissed you suddenly.

"My love, I'm glad that you are willing to tell me all this when it is so excruciating. Let your fear go by telling me everything. you deserve to be happy And don't let that fear take away your happiness. It's okay even if your only talent is drawing. Every painting you make is meaningful to you and to me. Your talent makes many hearts move and gives peace to anyone who sees it. I am at this point because of your presence, your smile, and your paintings which always make me calm. I will always love you; anywhere, anytime, and even if it means giving up my life just to be able to meet you and be with you forever. And wherever I am, whether I'm in a crowd of people, my eyes will always be on you."

"You are a precious person for me. You are a star for my moon that is always together. If you want, I can give you many reasons why I love you so much." Your tears broke again. Now are not tears of sadness, but are tears of joy. You are truly grateful for having Sae. Every action and word he does to you always manages to make you fall in love with him again and again. Makes you even more reluctant to let other people take him from you.

"I love you," Your hug is getting tighter. "I love you more."

"By the way, my love. What's that person's name?"

"Why?"

"Just curious."

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

r/AmITheAsshole: Mahabharat Edition

AITA for taking revenge for my friend's murder?

Act like you're the reddit comments, go!

Bonus cookies for guessing everyone's identities correctly.

This AITA text post is created by our lovely server member @warriorbookworm. We remain in awe of him.

-Mod S

[Image Description: A dark mode reddit screenshot that reads-

"Hi everyone, long time lurker first time poster. I wanted some clarity on a horrible dilemma I find myself in since due to circumstances I will describe (my friends being murdered) I am unable to ask them for guidance.

I(M54) had 2 close friends since I was quite young. My father taught one of them(let's call him S) and the other was his friend(Let's call him R). We enjoyed a lot when we were young but S got caught up in an inheritance battle which kind of put a strain on our relationship. S wasn't aware of the existence of his cousins, so them coming to his place was kinda a surprise. With more kids, his grandfather decided to get a good private martial arts tutor apart from the one their family had already employed for general teaching. Here's where my father and I come into the story. My father favoured a cousin of S'(let's call him D) and he was my father's favourite student. Meanwhile, S had a similar skillset to D's brother(Let's call him V), and they became really bitter rivals. We then met R at an archery contest that my father had organized. D refused to compete with R because he wasn't of the same birth so S decided to give R his own estate and they became really, like, *really*, close after that, if you get what I mean. Now S's uncle and father wanted him to get the inheritance and spoiled him a lot. Finally the estate ended up getting split between S and his oldest cousin, Y. S' maternal uncle, G, was not satisfied with this outcome, and so we all planned a game where Y would be forced to bet the estate. Y lost the game, which led to the cousins having to leave and exile themselves for 13 years(one of the conditions of the game). At the end of the thirteen years S and R tried to trip them up but their grandfather, who had always sided with the cousins didn't let us do that.

D's boyfriend then tried to trick us into giving the cousins their estate back but S wasn't having it. What happened later was nothing short of a bloodbath where P, my father, and many others were killed. I am honestly feeling the angriest about my father who was unfairly disarmed by D's BIL and beheaded in cold blood. I feel sad about his death even though he never really approved how close I was with R and S. but he was still on our side since he was employed by P. He has voiced his disapproval many times when R was in our bed and didn't let him make any decisions regarding this conflict. It was only when my father died that R could step into a leading role. Finally after like 16 long days R was unfairly murdered by D and his boyfriend H while V broke the rules of the wrestling game and murdered S on H's instructions. This made me really mad as my two best friends were gone. With their family's tutor, K and another commander, (H's cousin.) I went to their camp in the middle of the night and set fire to it. I wanted to kill Y, V, D, and their brothers but instead killed their sons(S' nephews) in their sleep. I also gave blunt force trauma to their BIL and idk if he's alive or not.

H called me a heartless monster who killed his nephews in their sleep and took away an implant I had on my forehead(it's supposed to be for my brain) and also gave me a deadly disease. I asked him if he was entirely fair in how my father, R, and S were killed. He said it was the result of their past actions but I don't really see it.

So, people of reddit, AITA for taking revenge for my friends' murders?"]

[genericpuff]

And with that, 2000 years of history and 10+ years of an animated adaption later, Attack on Titan is over.

I wasn't planning on making an essay post about this but like all of my essay posts, it got crazy out of hand, so here we are. I have a lot to say on it and the more I wrote, the more I realized exactly what the Attack on Titan finale was about. It's cathartic. It's also kind of a big shitpost but not for the reasons you might think.

Spoilers for the Attack on Titan finale ahead! CW: DISCUSSION OF WAR AND GENOCIDE AHEAD!

Now for anyone who knows what I'm about to talk about (and anyone who follows my stuff here), I'm sure you're wondering , what side do I fall on in regards to Attack on Titan's ending? Am I about to talk shit about it? It's very divisive and somewhat inconclusive. It followed the exact ending in the manga which, while expected, was still disappointing to many who had hoped the anime would take some other path.

But I have to ask, could there have been any other way?

Eren committed mass genocide, bordering on extinction of the entire human race. There was no way that he was gonna come out of it redeemed or as a hero, and he knew it. He went straight up Walter White core here and like Walter White, he is not a hero.

The fact that the Marlayans have been constantly going to war with other countries using Eldians as their personal soldiers goes to show that for countries that seek out conquest, there's no target too small or insignificant that can't be marked as an "enemy", and we see that reflected in Eren as well, in his pursuing of "freedom", an ever-moving goalpost that can never truly be satisfied.

The Jaegerists were hellbent on creating a new empire on the bloodshed of Marley - 'an eye for an eye', so to speak.

Nothing was ever going to truly satisfy either 'side' in the conflict of humanity vs. Eldians because such conflicts' origins have been obfuscated in hundreds of years of history, propaganda, and generational trauma that has repeated itself for so long that many don't even know what they're fighting for anymore, aside from one thing - that they don't want to suffer, that they shouldn't have to suffer for the actions of their ancestors, that they want peace and happiness but don't know where to start with taking the first step.

I think people are disappointed in this ending because, let's face it, it's anime, and it's an anime adaption that took years to finish. We always want to see some kind of vindication from stories like these, but I think in having vindication, it ultimately removes the point altogether of what's being said.

As much as we may try to fight it, try to deny it, the course of human history travels in a circle. Conflict will always arise. History is written by the victors, and those victors will be seen as heroes by whichever side they're fighting for regardless of what heinous acts they may have committed to justify their salvation. And after all of that conflict, regardless of the result - time goes on, and new conflicts arise.

But I don't think that means we have to succumb to grief and suffering and that's a point that I'm seeing missed in a lot of the discussion around the finale. There's a very powerful scene between Armin and Zeke, in which Armin talks about how he was born to run up the hill with Mikasa and Eren. He recognizes fully that if his life isn't meant to be long, he can still cherish those small moments that he thinks back on fondly, the moments that defined his life with the people he cared about.

And that's really all life is. Small moments and experiences that stick with us until the end. The very act of being born in and of itself is a cosmic miracle that gives us the chance to experience things that bring us joy and stay with us forever - however short or long that 'forever' may be. We take these small moments for granted when we're comfortable, but we look for them the most when we're suffering.

If I can relate all this to another piece of media that says the same thing - albeit with a much brighter ending - FF XIV: Endwalker also asks a similar question to Attack on Titan - is the only meaning in life to suffer and die? Of course, by its end, we learn that while death and suffering is an inevitable part of life - not something that should be avoided - it shouldn't persuade us to give in to fear and despair as a constant state of being. And I think Attack on Titan goes for a very similar approach, albeit slightly more as a cautionary tale - a nihilistic reminder that ultimately, the losses and victories we find in our current point of history are still just that, a single point, a blip that will be forgotten until it's ultimately repeated, and there's no escaping that.

It cautions us that freedom cannot exist without constant vigilance for war and conflict. It cautions us that our values and core beliefs for attaining freedom, love and happiness can be twisted into a weapon to cause harm, vindication gained at the cost of another. It cautions us that when left in the wrong hands, power can and will be abused by the ignorant while propagandizing itself as "the greater good".

So why not just find the joy that we can? The friendships, the little moments, the things that bring us happiness even if only temporary. Conflict is inevitable, suffering is inevitable, but that doesn't mean life isn't worth living. "Happiness" is not a tangible end point - it's the side effect of living a meaningful life that's true to yourself.

Attack on Titan is over. Some will argue the ending was the only way, others will argue that there could have been another way and that the anime adaption had the chance to change it but still didn't for reasons beyond their comprehension.

But isn't that the whole point? We'll argue. We'll bargain. Many of the arguments made will reinforce our own beliefs further rather than sway us. Many of us will insist there had to be another way, just as Armin insisted that this couldn't have been the only way, that humanity must have had another option. Meanwhile, many of us will acknowledge that at the end of the day, this is the story Isayama wanted to tell, and regardless of whether or not it makes him an idiot toying with his audience and admitting defeat by lampshading it in the penultimate scene of Eren admitting to his own idiocy, this was the power given to him and he used it in the best way he knew how.

Much like in any conflict, there's one thing that unites both sides - the human need for joy, connection, and freedom.

We might not agree on how Attack on Titan ended, but we can agree that it was a hell of a ride, and I hope we can all agree that it was worth riding, even if it wasn't satisfying for everyone in the end. It brought many people together regardless of their backgrounds, experiences, and differences, and connected them through something they all loved for over ten years. And despite how big a part of our lives it was, life will still go on, and we'll move on to other things to watch, enjoy, and argue over. Isayama will move on to whatever awaits him next, knowing fully well that his choice was his own, that he created the series he wanted to create regardless of how people feel about it. We'll all look for our own forms of joy and happiness as life moves on around us, as conflicts come and go.

Isn't that really what freedom is at the end of the day?

[festivating]

hi!!!! absolutely LOVING attrition, I wanted to ask about your writing process...

how long have you had the idea for the story? what's your outlining process like? how big of a backlog did you have before you started posting?

your dedication and committment to this fic is incredibly impressive and i am astonished (and grateful!!!!) for the consistent weekly updates and fr i just wanna know how you manage it all... (speaking as someone who has been working on the same 40ish chapter fic for over 5 years lol....)

keep up the fantastic work!!

Omg hiiiii friend thank you for the questions I LOVE talking about writing!! I usually start writing long stories after I get an idea for a particular scene, and then I heavily outline around that scene and I plan everything down to the smallest detail, but for attrition I just.... didn't plan at all, that fic spawned to existence out of pure whimsy and happenstance. It was supposed to be a ONE SHOT 😭I started writing it in May of 2023 after I read the first book and I was like mm wouldn't it be interesting if Glinda found Elphaba at the convent surely this won't be longer than 5k words...

I am a severely delusional person.

By the time I hit 20k words I realized perhaps it would not be a one shot lol. I didn't really have an outline I just kept throwing ideas on the page thinking eventually I would just run out of things to say, but it actually took a very long time before that happened. The backlog is pretty much the whole fic tbh, I finished it all and sent it to my beta reader (who was horrified because the whole thing was one massive document not even divided into chapters) and then we went back and forth for months while I polished things up, tightened loose ends, added foreshadow, cleaned up the prose and things like that.

I'm still working on revising the final chapters, but the fic was 80% done before I started posting in November! I am truly more of an editor than I am a writer, the first draft of this thing was finished very quickly and it was very rough, so it took a lot of revisions before I was satisfied.

But anyway, yeah! I may not be the best person to ask how to manage it all because my process is weird I write super fast very unpolished first drafts then spend two lifetimes editing and revising. Mad respect to you and other writers who are able to write exactly what they want from the start and post that to incredible results!!

[woodsfae]

B5 S03E22 Z'Ha'Dum previous episode - table of contents

Flashback central - Anna talking about signing onto the Icarus. Kosh saying "Z'Ha'Dum," Delenn and Sheridan talking about the Icarus landing on Z'Ha'Dum, Morden being a dickbag. 

Anna doesn't seem very sincere, and I don't buy her "I'm an open book, but DELENN didn't tell you...no, I shan't say..." schtick. 

I know I made all those predictions about how this will play out, but I really don't know how this is going to play out. Will the future be subverted and the prophecies less than self-fulfilling? I don't know! 

Partner: "Do you think these guys did like, late-night interviews in the 90s or was it not popular enough?" Me: "Hm let me consult my extensive memories of being 0-6 years old in an anti-technology cult in the 1990s." 

Anna: "I'm your wife." Dr Franklin: "That's your wife." Sheridan: "If that's my wife, then what was all my years of grief-processing for?" 

Excuse me Sheridan, take your hands off Delenn. Don't shake her just because you're emotionally overwrought. 

I am on Delenn's side in this argument. Delenn said clearly that anyone who wouldn't have served the Shadows would have been killed. Therefore, Anna was either dead, or completely opposed to the life and wellbeing of every living thing in the galaxy. 

yeah yeah Sheridan, you have big emotions. But don't be a dick.

Londo's political maneuvering has resulted in a promotion and he's bummed because he can't be satisfied with anything. He's a voracious pit of longing that can never be filled. When he's made an ambassador, he rages because they're sending him away. When he's given a prestigious advisor position, he's mad because he deserved it twenty years ago. 

Mr Morden Jr is here. Sounds like there's about to be an attack on B5. 

Looks like Dr Franklin just found something in his scans on Anna Sheridan. 

Anna is refusing to answer any questions about anything unless John goes with her to Z'Ha'Dum to hear the answers there. Not even why she stayed and let herself be declared dead and all her loved ones grieve her death. 

Aaaan he agrees to go to Z'Ha'Dum if she explains why she stayed. Against future!Delenn's pleas. 

Anna says - IPX found a Shadows ship buried under the surface of Mars. As soon as they unearthed it, it sent a message. IPX took some parts and put a homing device inside. When another ship turned up and took the first one, they tracked it. (didn't the second ship also kill a fuckload of people? She doesn't mention anything about that.)

The Icarus went to the coordinates and found the Shadows. In a pit. Very foreboding. She says it was an accident that the crew was killed, and also destroyed the comm system. She says they portrayed themselves as vunerable coming out of hibernation and cut a deal that they could stay and study their tech if they didn't try to contact their homeworld(s). 

It would be a cool plot twist if Anna was telling the truth and he really was about to find out he's been on the wrong side this entire time. However, I don't think that's the case. The Shadows haven't been taking out governmental heads, they've been displacing populations, causing genocides, anmd spreading suffering. 

I do wonder what this secret task he's given Garibaldi is. 

It's incredibly foolish to run off to the ACTUAL HOMEWORLD of your mortal enemies. But there goes John Sheridan! trot trot. Well, they did hit him where he's most vulnerable. The wound of losing a loved one never really goes away. 

They're taking the White Star - what a fucking security vulnerability! Also, so funny that Sheridan is taking the White Star when he's only SEEN the Minbari pilot it. Aviation law must have gotten lax in the future. 

Z'Ha'Dum doesn't have a breathable atmosphere. He goes off, alone, with his formerly-dead wife. To the enemy's planet. With no breathable atmosphere. And just nods and hands over his gun. And doesn't even keep his oxygen mask at hand! 

Dummy.

And Morden's here. AND Anna gives HIM John's gun! goddddddddddd

Poor Delenn, she looks wrecked. John's message to her talks about his time jump and Delenn's plea to not go to Z'Ha'Dum. He says he went because maybe in that future, he listened to her and DIDN'T go, so he's going in case it changes the future. 

Well. 

ok

Justin on Z'Ha'Dum says that most of the higher races left this part of the universe, and the Vorlons stuck around to be parents. Clean your room, behave, etc. The Shadows, though, want to release their potentials...through conflict. "Those who survive are strong, better," Justin says. And Morden says if you knock over an anthill, the future generations get better at building anthills. 

hm. 

"...but I love my mom and dad," - noted parents-guy John Sheridan, hopefully. 

"A few get lost along the way," Justin says. Yeah. Like the Narn got directly targeted and attacked repeatedly until they lost their telepaths, then almost lost everything? Literally they were T A R G E T E D. It isn't a neutral "they got lost," they were pummeled into near-oblivion. 

Oop, the Shadows have arrived at B5. 

Morden would have us believe that sonnets came from wars. Bullshit - sonnets came from the Italian courtly style and was developed in order to flirt better.  (per Partner's masters of poetry)

Ahhh, the Shadows are hanging out over B5 as the hammer over Sheridan's head. Sheridan's too good at diplomacy, so he's preventing the species' growth through warfare. boooooo.

I could go through and rebut the things they're saying point by point but ehhh. It's a lot. But it's 99% bullshit and 1% mispresented.

Sheridan drops a bomb: Anna has been altered in the same way as the people who were being sent to become components in the Shadows ships. 

Whoop, Shadow incoming. And gun incoming! John Sheridan had TWO GUNS. badadadada

oof, poor Sheridan. He's arming the White Star to detonate, and Anna's turned up saying that Anna is dead, but she can love John as well as Anna ever did. 

"I want you to know that I love you, Delenn. Bye." he says, in the video message. 

And there's the Kosh fragment! Sheridan jumps into the pit of doom in the center of Z'Ha Dum as the White Star bursts through the central dome. 

Anna didn't like that!

Kosh said he couldn't help Sheridan if he helped then. And then he helped anyway. lol

I like the G'Kar voice-over. Andreas has such a marvelous voice and he really knows how to use it. 

One of the fighters is missing - piloted by Garibaldi! And the marvelous CGI depicts it floating in a Shadows ship. Well. At least we won't run out of plot anytime soon. :P

season 4 awaits!

[quannaix]

What is your experience with Animal Crossing?

Okay it has been literally over three months since you sent this so I apologise I just have a lot to say and wanted to enjoy going on about Animal Crossing.

My first was Animal Crossing Wild World, which I saved up for and bought, even pre-owned it was expensive for primary school me. I did not know much about the game and it was years before I realised that the copy hadn't been wiped so I'd walked into someone else's town. I'm guessing someone called George, since my town was named Egroeg. But by that point I'd been playing for so long I didn't want to wipe my progress. Also by then I had realised that he had upgraded Nook's to the highest version, which would have been hard for me to replicate because it involved playing multiplayer and I only had one other friend with the game. I really loved ACWW, and I spent lots of time playing it even though I definitely didn't understand a lot of elements of the game. My friend and I spend loads of time imagining things we'd love to add to the game, like if you could get a job (paying that loan off in shells is hard!) and I thought it would be cute if you could drive around in a little car that had a boot for extra inventory space (backpacks fill up a lot when things don't stack). I became best friends with Kiki in this game and when she moved I was so sad that I planted a tree where her house had been thinking that would stop another house taking her place (I was wrong, but it's the thought that counts).

I did get AC Let's Go to the City for the Wii, but never racked up many hours on that because being console based I'd have to find time when the family wasn't using the TV. I definitely prefer it as a handheld game.

I got given Animal Crossing New Leaf for my birthday when it released and I maintain this is best AC game. I still love it so much. I love that they introduced the mechanics of town design, most notably that Roost was a stand alone cafe and you got to choose where to place it!!!!! I think this might be around the time I first started following you (saxyplaya hehe) I assume because I found you from looking for QR codes for designs. I am still obsessed with so many of the QR code dresses people came up with. I think ACNL had the best balance of effort to output. Like it had these town design features but still took ages to do things. You had to grow trees from scratch and grow them again if you placed em wrong. This made everything feel more satisfying though, imo. You really put in the hours, and days and weeks, so the results would make me feel proud. I love that there are so many fruit tree varieties, I love visiting the island, I love that you CAN work at the Roost and that Brewster would give you coffee rewards. The updates they made with Happy Home Designer and the campsite, including adding the 'god mode' furniture design thing did make things a lot easier. But I like actually that to see anything you have to actually put it on/put it in the room, in your cupboards everything is just the generic category icon. I still have not caught all the bugs and fish in this game. I THINK I have all the fossils, but I think it makes it more fun for longer if it's not so easy to catch everything. I love the shopping street, and slowly unlocking the buildings. I love that little bench at the end of the street looking out. I think the music in this game is so lovely too, and one of my most favourite things is walking around on a rainy day in my town. I also actually loved that it was always the opposite weather hemisphere-wise, often I'd log in in irl winter so I could feel warm and vice-versa.

I also just love the graphics and look and feel of the game. The characters are still sassy and have a lot of personality. I always think fondly of my neighbour O'Hare, because his birthday is two days after mine. Now I could wax rhapsodic about ACNL al day but I should move on!

I freely admit I did obsessively play AC Pocket Camp for like a year or two when it came out (maybe longer??) to fill the void while I waited to see if there would be a Switch game. My partner also got me the original GameCube Animal Crossing for Christmas, which I played a little, but we don't usually have the GameCube set up and see above my preference of handheld play for AC. Still, a very cute present that I love having.

The second they Switch was announced, I said that I would be holding off on buying one until I saw if they put out a new AC game with a console to match. And I am SO glad I did because I was able to get the console and the game when they came out and I think the console is sooooo pretty. ACNH is really fun as well, I do like the addition of terraforming, being able to place furniture outside, and that they went really ham on the graphics. While I think I still have more of a soft spot for the older graphic style, I love things like the raindrops on the windows and the furniture blowing as the fan goes over it, etc etc those little tiny additions really melt my heart. I do feel like they smoothed out the characters too much, they don't have as much personality as they used to. And as much as so many things are easier (changing clothes, furniture, moving trees and plants, catching all fish/bugs and fossils) I think I preferred it when it was a bit more challenging. I wish the Roost was separate still </3. I loved the addition of Island Designer, I find that so fun, and I love the glowing moss furniture, and being able to design villager's houses (given that sometimes they start to look really dogshit after I've been gifting them my garbage furniture sorry guys). I don't send letters as much in this game as I used to, idk why exactly it just never seemed as fun or important in ACNH. I like the addition of cooking, more just because it tickles me personally. I'm back and forth on the crafting mechanism. I think overall I like it, and in many ways it's a return to the challenging aspects I just went on about loving in the previous game in terms of it being an involved process (esp if you want to change the colours), but I think that tools breaking SO fast annoys me and that even gold tools break annoys me heaps. Overall I do still enjoy ACNH, and I'm actually glad that it introduced the game to a whole lot of new people because it's widened the audience of people I can ramble about AC to. I do wish I had gone with the other hemisphere weather, I went back and forth on that and I discovered I actually prefer it NOT aligning with my real life weather so it can serve as an escape.

Thank you for asking me this question, in case you can't tell I love talking about Animal Crossing it is definitely one of my favourite game series of all time <3

[workersolidarity]

Anti-Communism is something bred into Americans from the time we are children. We are taught how anything related to Stalin is automatically bad and anything involving the Soviet Union is inherently secretive and authoritarian.

This bias is so deeply ingrained, that, having finally after years of Marxist and Geopolitical study, I've finally reached a point where those little anti-Communist tropes and sound bites inserted into our political conversations catch my attention automatically.

Now this took a really long time to reach. Anti-Communism is so deeply ingrained in our society, so embedded in our information space, and this completely by design, that we don't notice it in our everyday lives. We're not meant to. We're meant to internalize these stereotypes until it affects every aspect of our political thinking.

And I'll give you an example of how even the most obscure media consumption can result in our exposure to anti-Communist propaganda.

So I'm watching one of these obscure science channels on YouTube, being interested in the science behind nuclear criticality. So in the first video, which is about a famous incident in which a Russian scientist was exposed to a particle beam in an accelerator that resulted in serious injury but he survived. And at the end of the video, they start talking about how he really suffered under that awful Soviet Bureaucracy when he was denied his free government healthcare in 1997. 🙄

I seriously face palmed on that one.

But then I'm watching an entirely different science video on an entirely different nuclear accident. This one the only fatal Nuclear reactor accident in American history.

So I get to the end of this video, they've done a great job at really helping you understand the science behind what triggered the accident, and I'm really satisfied with the video, and then, right at the end they throw this little tidbit of information out as though it too were a statement of fact:

[Speaking factually about the fatal design flaw responsible for the US accident in 1961 that was also present in the design of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986]

"When we don't learn from history (deeply accusing stare at the Soviets) it tends to repeat itself"

Ugh!!!!!!!

🤯

Okay, so basically he has to throw in the insinuation that somehow the Communists are even more deeply responsible for Chernobyl than the Americans were for SL-1, the destroyed US nuclear reactor from 1961.

Now on its face, most people aren't going to think twice about such a statement. It is meant to evoke a response inside you of "ugh those Communists were just terrible to see our mistakes and repeat them anyway!" without ever giving any kind of critical nudge at the thought whatsoever. After all, we Americans all know how evil and awful Communists, and especially Russian Communists were.

And that's supposed to be the end of that. Two science videos, both ending with throw away lines of anti-Communist propaganda, both meant to leave me feeling superior as an American and especially an American Capitalist!

But the reality exposes the absurdity of American anti-Communist propaganda!

How would the Soviets have known about the US design flaw years earlier?

Am I just mistaken and it was common practice from the 1960's to the 1980's to share our nuclear trade secrets with our greatest adversary??? To share nuclear designs with the great evil empire the USSR at the height of the Cold War?

Please. How the fuck could the Soviets have known the details of the SL-1 design flaws?

But that's not even really the point, because in the end, it does not matter how ridiculous or absurd or counter factual US propaganda becomes because the public is just so deeply propagandized, so well trained, and so peppered with this kind of subliminal propaganda all day every day.

And it truly took years for me, not just to be able to recognize propaganda anyone can do that, but to really begin to understand the depth and nature of which we are being saturated in this constant stream of pro-Imperialist, pro-Capitalist, often conflicting narratives that are intended to make us accept without ever critically analyzing what "approved" sources tell us.

I cannot stress enough the importance and personal responsibility of every worker to educate yourself on the nature of advertising and propaganda and their relationship to Capitalism and Imperialism.

It is so important that we understand how Wall Street, the Big Banks, Big Investors and Big Corporate bosses, how they use the tools of the media and internet to control and maintain the information available to us and how they use that control to maintain the myths of Capitalism, Neoliberalism and an Imperialist Foreign Policy, as well as maintain the myths of "authoritarianism " and "human rights violations" maintained around US Adversaries like the Soviet Union and now Russia, Iran, Cuba, DPRK, Vietnam, China and on and on and on.

[fakesimp]

hear me out on ver x gn!reader baking together

reader has at most watched one minute of five youtube videos on how to cook, and ver’s baked for years

im sorry if this req isnt v interesting its like 3:32 am when im sending this and i pulled this idea out of my ass

Baking, With Ver Vermillion

Warning !

Fluff ; Slight Crack ; Established Relationship

A/n !

Why are you awake at such hour.

➶◜◝➴

"Ver! Let's try baking today"

"... That's so random of you, I thought you're just gonna lay in bed reading like usual"

"Hey, don't call me out like that. I want to try something new"

"Hm~ okay okay, let's try baking"

. . .

That's how it started, but then you realize you've never got an experience with baking before, or perhaps you did but not really doing that much.

And now that you're in this situation, where you and your Beloved Kaichou, baking together.

He had way more experience than you, the way he moved around the kitchen to find what things you need to make this certain cake you wanted.

"Okay so, ..Jagiya, Do you know how to bake" He rolled up his sleeves and put on an apron on him, then on you. "No..." You can hear him stifling his laughter behind you as he tie your apron, "H, Hey! Don't laugh at me," You scolded him. Earning a small apology from him, though he's chuckling as he did.

"How about you?" You asked as you look at the preparation in front of you, a bowl, a whisk, ..other basic baking stuff that you need is displayed in front of you and him.

"I've learned about how to bake years ago, since, you know. I'm a sweet tooth, and I prefer not to spend money on them. So.." He looked over at you smiling, "So you decided to learn how to make them yourself" He smiled wider and nod his head, "Yes that's correct" he said as he now grabbing a scissor to open up some ingredients.

"Okay then-" You took a deep breath, "Teach me."

. . .

It's only been 10 minutes in, you, learning how to bake not only from Ver, but also watching videos about them.

You, kinda doubt yourself if you could get a hang of it, but Ver reassured you that it'll go well, he'll help you.

And so it began, you both started mixing the ingredients, as you whisk them, Ver went to grab the tray.

After you're done, you helped Ver pouring the dough on the cake mold. As you wait for the cake, you both decided to make icing for the cake, after you're done making the icing, you tried to grab a taste.

Ver beat you to it, before you could put your finger in your mouth, he grabbed your wrist and licked the icing off your fingers.

"Tasty~" He said and let your wrist off, pretending like he did nothing at all, "Y, You-!" You glared at him as he smiled teasingly at you. "Me?" He repeated, You smacked his arm, making him laugh as he brush his hand on your reddened cheek.

"You're so unfair." You pouted, but then laughed along with him.

. . .

After who knows how long, both of you finished making the cake along with applying the icing. You stared at the cake in front of you, nothing too much but it looks simple and it actually taste good.

You shared a plate with Ver, eating the cake together, satisfied with the result.

"Maybe we should do this more often" You said as you glance at the cake and then looking back at Ver, "I don't mind, it's fun to do it together"

You smiled at him, "Okay then, next time, we'll try to cook some food then"

"Can't wait"

©fakesimp . 2023

A/n !

I hope you like this anon ! Even though you just pulled that idea out of your ass, I still manage to write a fic about it.

Anywho, thank you for requesting !

( 7/10 )

[a-s-levynn]

gang we are making progress! really fucking slow progress but progress none the less!

but i need a break so this is it for today

this shit is hard. i'm doing legit comic style for the first time and man i cannot even begin how alien it feels right now. but it looks so satisfying so far. to me at least.

i'm gonna try to get to finish this as soon as i can because this is really exciting to me and i don't want to abandon it.

anyway the weekend is sadly almost done but it was a fairly productive one, even if you haven't seen much of my anatomy practice. but basically i only stood up for food, toilet and i went into my workplace yesterday afternoon for a bit. Other than those, i drew almost nonstop and that was quite meditative.

i'm trying so many new things lately and enjoying it more and more. i am finally starting to see the result of the past 10 months worth of drawing.

Some of you remember that i started to draw regularly past november with the small offering series (still to be finished) and ever since i barely stopped. And i think i am seeing results finally. Not just got back to the point i was before my years long break but actually grew past it.

i still have a very long wa to go but can do things now i never before could even think of and that's just infinitely electrifying. if i could i just skip tomorrow's work and continue on this vessel piece.

also kinda funny how saying i will step away from ST fanart and the main fan space and whatnot and it took off some unknown pressure and i'm again enjoy doing it. ST fanart i mean.

anyway i rambled on long enough.

be good, love each other and i hope your day is being kind to you ♥