#though most of them would be very similar

[kawareo]

what thing(s) do strike and gortash find the most attractive about the other?

They're very similar people in a way that they're both manipulative pieces of shit who are way smarter than anyone else around them and have never had anyone before that could match the way they saw the world

Strike liked Gortash since they've first met and Gortash fascinated him by being intriguing and fearless and downright insane, Strike loves that this fleshy, mortal human dares so much and as without morals as he is. Basically Strike is a homeschooled church kid and Gortash is the first person who treats him like an equal, even though he knows exactly who and what he is.

Gortash wasn't expecting that a Bhaalspawn would be anything more than a bloodthirsty maniac, so when he got an actually smart and charismatic person who could match his banter and mindgames, he was already down to fuck, but he did intend on eventually owning Strike as a pet of some sort. Then Strike almost killed him during the first time they had sex, but held back, and Gortash realized that oh is it nice when somebody likes you so much they defy their God just to keep you alive.

If you want the short answer though, Gortash loves Strike's voice and the way his brain works, and then also his ass. Strike is so insanely horny for every single part of his Banite its not even funny anymore.

[koolades-world]

I absolutely LOVE your headcanons esp the Indian ones they make me feel quite seen even if I'm from a country that have super similar cultures (Mauritius) 💗🫶

But now I have to ask, I'm the eldest cousin so whenever there's a family gathering I'm usually the one stuck looking after all of my little cousins so if I brought one of the brothers with me they would all be wondering who he is to me and would interview him just being like, "Are you his boyfriend?!?!?!"

Any chance I could get any headcanons for the brothers for this? Completely okay if you can't!

hello! yes of course :)

this request was send in more recently but I just got back from a family gathering (as of 5/25 this is very prewritten haha) and got a fresh taste of this because im the eldest cousin too! i understand your pain haha. all of my cousins are little. chasing after kids you sometimes barely know the name of in a sari, lehenga, or salwar kameez is no fun

god this will be so fun to write!! (there’s still a whole bunch of random aunties, uncles and little kids at the house so I’m hiding since I don’t get to leave until tomorrow) like yesterday, most of this was written on mobile since I’m traveling so excuse autocorrect please :)

enjoy <3

Mc who babysits their younger cousins at a family gathering w/ the brothers

Lucifer

he’s getting war flashbacks /j haha and it’s written all over his face

he left home to get away from his brothers and basically entered an environment that’s exactly the same but with easily one hundred times the people

he’s almost impressed on their ability to never shut up and now knows why you’re so good at handling his family

however, he is dadcifer™️ so he’s great with the kids, and will try his best to answer their questions, even ones regarding your relationship status

Mammon

nothing gets past kids, and they can sense his weakness when he’s talking about you. they are ruthless

before they can break him, you have to step in and tell them to pick one question each to ask. he’s not sure how you’re corralled them so well, or how you can even tell some of them apart to the point of reprimanding them for tricking him. no wonder you can keep his family in line

once he realizes your job isn’t over until the night ends and their parents come to get their kids, he tries to sneak off a few times, but he always ends up with a couple shadows and has to come back

eventually he’s resigned to his fate, and finds he much prefers the cute little babies since they’re more than happy to mess with his jewelry, and he gets to pinch their cute little chubby cheeks <3

Levi

as much as he hates it, the kids love him and whatever device he brought along to play with

after promising to replace anything they break, he sits down and plays games with them and finds out he actually enjoys it

the older ones actually engage in the game with him and ask him game related questions, which he's more than happy to answer, and the younger ones can be handed a disconnected controller and still be kept happy

this is to the point where the kids actually forget to question him about who he is, and only ask if he'll be at the next event. who is he to say no?

Satan

you’re prepared, and he thinks he is too until he gets there haha. but, he keeps it together and adapts well

you’ve thought of just about everything, from wearing extra, cheaper bangles to hand to them to keep them happy to man knowing every trick in the book to get them to finish their dinner and he can only hope to reach that level someday

he's very collected though, he tries his best to deflect their questions and keep them off that topic

however, part of him knows that's impossible and eventually he caves and just answers the questions to the best of his ability, hoping you aren't listening. never have you seen him so out of his element

Asmo

if it’s a dry event and for some reason isn’t on the dance floor, or there wasn’t one to begin with, he’s so in love with the job you hate so much haha

he’s so attentive with the kids and adores them. he’s got lots of tricks up his sleeve to keep them entertained

of course, he owns it when one kid asks if he’s your boyfriend and proudly tells them yes, he is, (even if he’s not) and answers any other questions they have even if you’re embarrassed

now, the kids look forward to seeing him and expect him everytime

Beel

he’s very chill and almost finds it enjoyable, mostly there to keep you from losing your mind

when the kids eventually decide the food they picked out wasn’t what they wanted, and instead whatever he’s eating, he’s more than happy to share with them. after, they’re you’re flesh and blood, so they’re his family too

of course he’s their jungle gym and he takes turns tossing them in the air, and giving piggy back rides

he’s not quite sure how to respond to all of their questions, but as long as you’re alright with it, he’ll answer honestly

Belphie

as a youngest himself, he’s overwhelmed. is this what he’s like?

the kids won’t let him sneak away to nap, because they’re hyper aware of everything and will catch him

honestly, he’s more annoyed than anything, but he might take a liking to a few and spend all his time with them. he feels like he’s being attacked by all the questions

he’s a lot nicer to you after that, since he realized that’s your life, and he only got a small taste of it

[coraniaid]

A random ask if you're up for it: what's a terrible take about the Buffyverse you've seen on tumblr but have not yet publicly kvetched about?

I'll be honest: this question prompted a moment of minor panic on my part because my very first instinct was to say something like "hmm, no, I don't think I've ever seen a bad take about Buffy on here I've not immediately complained about". Which is an admission that, were it accurate, should probably prompt rather more introspection on my part than I'd enjoy.

Thinking about it though, I don't think that is really true. In fact, I probably don't say anything negative about most of the bad Buffy takes I see, either because they're not particularly widespread (I try not to publicly disagree with other people's headcanons or even argue against popular posts if it would be obvious who I was responding to) or because they're about characters who I just don't talk about on here at all (either because I don't find them interesting or because my understanding of them is so at odds with the wider fandom's we'd be talking at cross-purposes).

(Or, sometimes, I don't say anything negative because I'm too busy enthusiastically reblogging the post in question, if we're being brutally honest about what counts as a "bad take".)

One concrete example I don't think falls under those headings and which I don't remember complaining about before is the way people talk about Buffy's speech in Selfless. Now, I'll be honest: I don't really like Selfless that much. It's in the top half of Season 7 episodes for me, possibly even the top third, but that's a pretty low bar. But what I do like a lot are Buffy/Faith parallels, and this episode has a big one in Buffy's speech towards the end of the episode:

At some point someone has to draw the line and that is always going to be me. You get down at me for cutting myself off, but in the end the Slayer is always cut off. There's no mystical guidebook; no all-knowing council. Human rules don't apply. There's only me. I am the law.

Obviously this reminds the audience of Faith's similar speeches in Season 3's Consequences, when she tells Buffy that the two of them are "better" than ordinary humans and then later that "you know I'm right. You know in your gut we don't need the law. We are the law."

We obviously aren't meant to agree with Faith in Consequences. (The fact that she follows this speech up by almost immediately defecting to work for the Mayor, commiting at least one cold-blooded murder, having a sobbing emotional breakdown where she begs somebody to kill her and then turning herself in to be judged and punished by the very human laws she sneered at earlier is something of a clue.)

A lot of people point out the parallel but then try to explain that what Buffy is saying is actually substantially different from Faith, and that Buffy is right while Faith was wrong. in Myth, Metaphor and Morality Mark Field (who I don't think is actually on Tumblr, technically, but who I'm referencing to avoid talking directly about the many people on Tumblr who agree with him) ties this in to the wider themes of Season 7, and describes the difference between Buffy and Faith as being that Faith is trying to avoid responsibility (for accidentally killing Allan Finch) while Buffy is taking responsibility (for doing what has to be done and killing Anyanka).

And yes, Buffy is doing something different to Faith here. She is not trying to say that she doesn't have to be accountable. She is not making excuses for her own mistakes or bad behaviour. She is trying to do (what she perceives as being) the right thing.

But Buffy is wrong as well. She is proved wrong within this episode. She doesn't have to kill Anya: in fact, she fails to kill Anya (indeed, given what we see of vengeance demons in The WIsh and in Older and Far Away I don't believe Buffy could possibly have killed Anya, but I know that vengeance demon lore is even less rigorous than vampire soul lore). The problem of Anya being a vengeance demon is resolved, not by Buffy, but by the people she was giving her speech to. The people who she was arguing didn't have a say.

Buffy is wrong, too, within the show's established lore. There is a mystical guidebook (even if her Watcher didn't have her read it), and there is a Council (even if they're far from all-knowing, Buffy could have been making use of their resources ever since she asserted her importance to them in Checkpoint, but she chose not to do this). And Buffy isn't alone. (At least Faith got the number of Slayers right in her speech!)

And Buffy is also wrong in terms of the wider season arc. Season 7 is not about Buffy saving the day by heroically taking all the world's burdens on to herself and making all the decisions. Her attempts to beat the First this way end disastrously; cutting herself off from her friends and her family and the very the Potentials she's trying to protect.

(Yes, the climatic scene in Empty Places is poorly written, but the season does very deliberately have Buffy fail to establish any sort of rapport or connection with the Potentials and spend less and less time with her friends. Buffy isn't blameless for those relationships falling apart, even if having her friends and sister kick her out of her own house is absurd.)

Instead of being the lone voice of judgment, Buffy beats the First and saves the world by not isolating herself. By working with her friends; by realizing they can do things she can't; by sharing her power with the Potentials (because "my power should be our power"); by reconnecting with Faith; by accepting help from Angel and from Spike; and by realizing that the people who "made up the rules" for Slaying thousands of years ago made a mistake.

The whole point of Chosen is that it is a refutation of the vision of being a Slayer that Buffy outlines in this episode.

Quoting it uncritically as if it sums up who Buffy is as a person is like, well, using Andrew's speech about "the Dark Slayer" to describe Faith. (Which ... oh, yeah, people also do.)

[mxescargot]

Chinastuck: kids' accents/dialects/speech

most of these just correspond to where they live lmao. the rest of their typing is close to canon (emote usage etc) ill put context for how chinese texting slang works if anyone asks for it

John: the most typical beijing mandarin you ever heard. talks in a fairly enunciated manner. when typing, sometimes uses kaomoji, number abbreviations, and uppercase latin letter abbreviations. occasionally uses single tildes after normal punctuation like this!~

Rose: shanghainese + kinda accented mandarin. hears john is from beijing and is like TEACH ME HOW TO SOUND LIKE U

uses abbreviations very occasionally. will sometimes use lots of tildes after messages~~~

Dave: bro raised him primarily on chongqing dialect, and he picked up other stuff on the internet. nearly incomprehensible to the other kids when they meet irl. frequent english loanwords. types with lowercase latin letter abbreviations even though they're a pain in the ass to do on a chinese keyboard.

Jade: jin mandarin, picked up some mongolian from grandpa harley. types similar to john but more tildes and kaomoji

Jane: uses some antiquated/outdated phrases like in canon. also very standard beijing mandarin, less enunciated than john. tendency towards using multiple punctuation marks!?!?!

Roxy: what would one sound like growing up without hearing other humans. uses lots of abbreviations like in canon. mayhaps the lots of tildes is a lalonde thing~~~

with gender stuff i could see them referring to everyone as TA in writing unless asked otherwise

Dirk: again, what would one sound like growing up without hearing other humans. uses traditional and sometimes even archaic spellings, unlike every other kid (he isn't taiwanese; he's just dirk). occasional "ironic" kaomoji. semifrequent japanese loanwords, sometimes english loanwords.

Jake: uses frequent antiquated phrases like in canon. jin mandarin + mongolian. sounds and types sort of like john.

[creativehomicide]

I saw people writing doppel headcanons so I wanted to post my own, along with some drawings for how I think their anatomy works

So my headcanon for doppelgangers is that their original forms are comprised of many MANY thin tentacles that intertwine together and morph in order to take the shape of what they want to turn into. The green hands we see before a doppelganger kills the doorman aren't part of their default form, but more so one of many adaptations they can make to their bodies meant for attacking. These tentacles are very flexible and stretchy, and they can heal quickly, making it difficult to kill a doppel.

Doppelgangers are capable of shapeshifting into humans and animals, as well as more monstrous transformations, however the latter is rarely used for long periods of time due to it depleting so much energy. They don't really use it unless it's an emergency (or if the doppel is stupid and overestimates itself/doesn't think things through.)

I imagine they can also weaponize parts of their body to form sharp blades or spikes, or more advanced variations. The best comparison I can think of are the aliens from Parasyte.

It's rare to see a doppelganger in its original form since it doesn't revert back after it's killed, it remains in the last form it took before dying. Also most of the time when someone witnesses a doppelganger mid-transformation, it's from one disguise to another. Plus they shapeshift fast so if someone happens to see a doppel go from the original form to a different one, they only get a brief glimpse.

Doppelgangers are carnivorous and subsist on a diet of raw meat. While in theory it is possible for a doppelganger to survive on a human-free diet, humans are considered the most nutritious and "tastiest." The fact that most doppelgangers have a strong disdain for humanity leads to very few attempting to put that into practice. Cannibalizing fellow doppelgangers has similar benefits, however it has the potential to cause illnesses. They're capable of eating small amounts of human food but too much also causes sickness.

Alcohol also doesn't affect doppels. I imagine if the government was trying to create spies for infiltration missions, doppelgangers getting drunk would be a huge liability so they made them have a high alcohol resistance, plus resistance to poison. (Which unfortunately makes them much harder to kill)

They're also programmed to be fluent in all languages upon reaching maturity, which helps for spy missions. This can be used as a way to detect doppelgangers though. If the doppel isn't paying attention and you switch over to a different language, they tend to immediately switch over to that language as well. Granted this trick only works if you know another language and they're disguised as a person that you're certain ISN'T fluent in that language.

Doppelgangers mature quickly and reproduce at a crazy rate, which is why the doppelganger problem grew so quickly after only a decade. However, a lot of doppelgangers attempt to assimilate and hunt humans before they've reached maturity and fully grasped their shapeshifting capabilities. This is why a lot of doppelgangers we come across in the game are so bad at replicating appearances or don't understand basic human behaviors; it's because they're children and are still learning.

(You look me dead in the eye and tell me this wasn't written by a child /lh)

That's about all the headcanons I have so far. If you actually read through this, thank you and feel free to share your own thoughts in the replies or in my askbox

💜

[saintobio]

i can’t believe i caught the ask box open 🥹 first off, miss saint, sy11 had me on my knees gasping for air i kid you not. your writing is truly incredible, and i will say time and time again that you are genuinely one of a kind!

okay okay. time for theories yayay! i know heaps of people have said this already, but my delusional ass self would love to believe that satoru rly did chase after akemi only to let her down. or to hit her with the “my heart belongs to yn. it always has” line. i feel like yn might’ve encouraged him to run after akemi, since yn must’ve also felt guilty since she played a role in gojo cheating on akemi (+ she was put in a similar position so she would know how it feels). since we have four more chapters to go (minus the epilogue), i feel like yn would likely distance herself from gojo, purely bc she feels horrible and didn’t wanna do akemi like that. it was just something done in the moment. i also feel as if the miscommunication trope will still move forward, despite yn and gojo pouring their hearts out to each other at the lake :’)

i have a gut feeling that momjo is likely going to make an appearance back and cause havoc again. maybe we’ll see some parallels between momjo and eula, or momjo and dadjo (who knows). but most likely she’ll plant seeds of doubt in satorus mind by implying things like how yn might only be using gojo as a rebound to ‘get over toji’ (even though we all know the complete opposite 😭).

kinda hoping for some sachi and yn moments bc the angst is too good to be true 🤌 kinda miss their interactions i can’t lie :( sometime tells me that towards the end or during the epilogue of sy, they’re gonna have another kid again (sachiko 🥺) purely bc they did it w/o protection lmao (im going insane)

anyways, i wish i could come up with the brilliant theories that some other readers can come up with (i lack the creativity to) but once again, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you so much for once again releasing another beautifully written chapter. pls don’t mind my rambling hahah. ilysm saint <3

no no, your theories were great and i believe many woudl agree !! so thank you for sharing them and for reading sy <33 i appreciate ur kind words

momjo will be definitely back for a bit, and like i said, gen and yn’s side of the family would make an appearance too. i think you guys already have a hunch as to why :)))

as for sachi, there’s a reason why he’s not in these episodes as much. but munchkin will be back soon!!

[kaigarax]

Sometimes, All I Think About Is You

Satoru Gojo x Reader

Quote: "Openly fall in love."

First Encounters

The first time Satoru Gojo sees you is when the two of you are just kids. He’s a boy just about to attend Eton Academy and you’re a young girl who’s just begun to learn the difference between men and women.

Satoru’s parents, citing his lack of friends (his only friend being the young stable boy around his age) and hoping to acquaint him with some ‘proper’ company. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. So, being the ever doting parents that the Gojo’s claim to be they set up a playdate with the family of the viscounts that live close by.

A family of six, if Satoru isn’t mistaken.

The Viscount and his wife, two twin boys around his age and two girls about five and seven years younger respectively.

Satoru finds your older brothers awfully boring. One of them, Satoru thinks, certainly has to be the dumbest person he’s ever met and the other is the most aloof. Such a pair that Satoru is almost a little worried about what might happen next to the Viscount's family in the future and he rarely ever cares about others.

Satoru doesn’t try very hard to get along with the two boys. He lets them show him around briefly, he even plays a couple of games of croquet before disappearing into the manner with the excuse of looking for the bathroom. With any luck, the two of them might forget about him long enough for the remainder of this horrible playdate to end and he can finally leave.

Truth be told, Satoru has always been a little different from the other people around him. Always seen the world a little differently from everyone else. It was almost as if everyone else stumbled around in a world of black and white while he was the only one that could see in colour. The only person who ever came close to understanding him was Suguru Geto, the stable boy and son of his family’s butler. And while it was frowned upon to make friends with the ‘help’ it would be the first time that Satoru could just be… himself.

The young boy could barely even find it within himself to feel bad as he abandoned your twin brother to wander the house. Sure, he’d been given a tour earlier but that had mostly been a quick look around. Satoru hadn’t gotten the chance to actually look at things in the detail that he wanted to.

His eyes wandered from the old curtains, which oddly reminded Satoru of his mother’s dresses, to the long line of photos left to hang up on the wall. Family portraits, Satoru thinks. All the people look vaguely familiar to one another with a familiar resemblance in the eyes and smiles. Satoru’s own family had something similar though the paintings are ones of the patriarch rather than of the entire family.

“It took the painter three weeks to paint that one.” You say.

Satoru isn’t surprised, he had heard you come in, but he feigns surprise. Suguru had told him that it was better to pretend to act normal around other people if he wanted them to like him. He had always found that annoying and pretentious but he would do what he had to in polite society. Especially if it meant he wouldn’t have to hear another lecture from his parents.

You look to be a couple years younger than Satoru as he turns to look at you. Five years give or take one or two in either direction. You’re a small thing, well small compared to him. You’re draped in a cool summer dress while Satoru personally thinks that spring is much too early. There also happens to be pins attached at the edges of the dress reminding him of his own fitting session that he would have to attend later on in the week.

Satoru hates attending fitting sessions. Doesn't see why he always needs to be wearing clothes that fit perfectly, especially because he seems to need to head there at least once every two months now that he’s begun growing. He doesn’t see why he can’t just wear clothes that are a little too big or too small for a little while like Suguru.

You take a step towards him, your eyes never lingering too long on him. Satoru’s always being scolded by his mother for staring at one thing for too long or not keeping eye contact long enough but you seem to have mastered the timing of the gaze perfectly. It’s both polite and respectful.

It absolutely infuriates Satoru.

You regard him with a calm expression that has him forgetting that you’re the younger of the two.

“I see you’ve abandoned the company of my brother.” You state.

Satoru points his nose up, “what of it?”

“It was merely an observation. I meant no harm.”

He then scrunches his face up as he leans down to stare at you. He has to lean down quite far considering you’re short. Though, admittedly you are five years younger than him and he’s tall for his age.

He notices that you’re holding a book behind your back fiddling around the edges of the page self consciously. Satoru had never been a big fan of reading, especially when he was around your age. He’d rather be outside play-wrestling with Suguru or doing some other physical activity or sport. He’d always been very good at physical things.

Admittedly, Satoru thinks you're pretty. Much better looking than your two brothers. So much so that he briefly wonders if the three of you are even related in the first place. If not for the same shape of the eyes, Satoru would have been certain that you were merely children that lived in the same house instead of siblings.

He still thinks that might be the case.

You’ll probably be pretty when you grow up. Perhaps not nearly as pretty as his mother but he’s certain you’ll be… charming? Well, at the very least you won’t be ugly. Especially if you end up taking after your mother. Satoru never really cared much for how pretty other people are but he has always considered himself a good judge.

Finally, Satoru pulls away, “you’re annoying.”

“If you’re attempting to insult me you’re going to have to try a little harder,” you say, a teasing smile playing at the corners of your lips, “I have two older brothers.”

“And you’re weird.” Huffed Satoru.

Your calm smile turns from calm to amused, “so are you.” Your lips move up more and your eyes seem to linger for just a moment longer on Satoru’s own.

Satoru’s jaw is dropped before he can even realise that it has. Not only is it the first time someone has so brazenly insulted him (not including Suguru) but it’s both the first time a woman (girl) has insulted him and someone younger than him has dared to treat him as an equal. Even most adults didn’t have the guts to bring themselves up to Satoru’s level unless they too stood in the same position as his parents.

But you.

Annoying and weird you are standing there in front of him as if you’re friends joking about a funny joke you just told. Perhaps you do think it’s a joke - which would only further prove to Satoru that you’re weird.

An older woman (likely your Nurse) runs into the room, her expression worried. She quickly bows to Satoru, “sorry, My Lord. The little missy here seems to have a mind of her own most of the time.” She turns to you with a harsh look, “did you say anything to insult the young Lord?”

Satoru expects you to roll your eyes or look away like any normal child would do. Thought maybe you might’ve stomped away angrily or made a face at him when your Nurse wasn’t looking.

Instead, your eyes soften and you smile fondly at your nurse, “I wasn’t on my best behaviour,” you calmly admitted.

Your Nurse sighs as she continues to reprimand you.

Satoru, on the other hand, is left a little shocked and speechless. He isn’t quite sure what happened but the wheels in his hand do begin turning and his heart starts to beat a little faster. He wonders if you can see the colours too.

---

A Conversation

Satoru Gojo comes to the conclusion that, after a while of getting to know you, yes you do see colours just not in the same way that he does. Your skills lie not in a brilliant way to dissect numbers nor demonstrate the ability to memorize new information or pick up skills at the drop of a hat like how he can but there’s nothing about you that can be considered ordinary either.

He heads over to your house at least once a week for the next two years. Not because he wants to, of course, but because his parents have stopped with the lectures about not hanging out with Suguru when he gives into their wishes and spends time at your house. And, sure, your older brother is awfully boring and dull but it gives him the chance to get to know you better. The strangely entertaining and endearing little girl who’s intelligence rivals his own.

It sucks that you don’t actually ever linger around when Satoru is there. You obediently listen to your brothers when they ask you to head elsewhere and you rarely ever spare Satoru a second glance unless Satoru goes out to seek you himself; and even you refuse to spend time with him unless he’s entertaining your brothers.

He notices that you’re an avid reader, always holding a new text in your hand every week. Satoru just knows that his parents wish that they had a child like you. So obedient to your elders and caretakers. So well mannered and thoughtful plus you seem intelligent and well read. He bets that you would have been named heir over your two older brothers if you too had been born a man.

You’re so mature for your age and perhaps that is what Satoru likes about you best.

He doesn’t have to go out of his way to entertain you or have to explain himself when he says something strange or different.

It simply just is.

It takes Satoru exactly two years to figure out why exactly he likes you so much. To come to all those conclusions above and finally get close enough to you that the two of you can consider one another as friends. It’s unfortunate that by then his visits stop as he begins school at Eton’s Academy for Boys. Higher education where any worth a damn in high society attends.

It sucks that he won’t be able to see you much anymore but what can Satoru do against the adamant wishes of his parents?

At least Suguru will be attending with him.

Suguru isn’t you but he’s one of the only people that actually understand him so it won’t be that bad.

You make his heart race and his stomach feel all fuzzy.

But it isn’t until several years later, when you’re a debutant freshly minted and prepared for your first season, that Satoru realises why.

It had been years since he’d last seen you.

Obviously, he knew that you were going to change. People always changed, both physically and mentally, but he just wasn’t ready for how different you looked. Hadn’t been as prepared for the change as he thought he was.

He’d always known that you would grow up to be pretty but this pretty? It wasn’t what he had been expecting.

Everyone’s eyes are drawn to you.

He knows that you must be the diamond of the season. It would simply be a crime not to. In fact, Satoru himself would march right up to the Queen himself and demand an explanation as to why you were not named the diamond.

Satoru floats through conversations, half of his attention on the conversation at hand and the other half wishing he was speaking to you. You always know the right thing to say to make him smile and he never has to bend over backwards trying to charm you. He knows you already like him exactly as he is. Flaws and all.

It’s unfortunate that his conversation with you ends almost as quickly as it begins.

You’re quickly swept away by some other gentlemen - your dance card full of potential suitors.

It annoys Satoru greatly though he isn’t quite sure why. Obviously, Satoru knows that he enjoys your company and he likes being around you so he’s angry that other people are taking your attention… right? That’s the reason. What else could it be?

Satoru’s thoughts were interrupted with a sharp elbow to his side as he exclaimed quietly, “hey!”

“You were pouting.” Suguru says.

“Was not.”

“Oh, you definitely were.”

Satoru grumbles to himself, annoyed.

Suguru chuckles quietly in response.

“What do you think of (Y/n)?” Satoru asked suddenly.

Suguru ponders briefly, “she’s a little like you.”

“Really?” Satoru raises a brow curiously, “I personally thought she was more like you.”

“How so?”

“She’s good at understanding other people and she cares an awful lot more about what other people think about her than she lets on.”

Suguru hums thoughtfully, “everyone cares about what everyone thinks.”

“I don’t.”

“That’s because you’re weird.”

“Hey!”

“It’s true,” Suguru gives Satoru a closed eye smile, “you’re weird but not super weird. A little weird.”

Satoru rolls his eyes, “like that’s so much better.”

“Let me put it this way,” Suguru explains, “you don’t care about what everyone thinks but you care about the thoughts of people that are important to you.”

“Isn’t that how everyone should think.”

“Oh, most certainly.”

Satoru knows that Suguru is mostly just entertaining him at this point. His words always have some hidden meaning to them (that Satoru is usually too lazy to dissect) but there are points when he simply says something to entertain Satoru. Suguru has always been thoughtful like that; it’s one of the reasons why Satoru has always liked him so much.

He thinks that that might be why he likes you too.

You make his heart race and his stomach feel all fuzzy.

But it isn’t until several years later, when you’re a debutant freshly minted and prepared for your first season, that Satoru realises why.

---

The Moment

Satoru is surprised when he sees you sitting by yourself early one spring morning.

Staring off into the distance in the middle of a hill that floats down into a lake.

Fluffs of dandelion seeds float around haphazardly in the air. Almost like snowflakes amidst the cool spring air. The melodic chirping of birds fills the air, though Satoru personally has never been a fan. Many of his classmates had written poems about the birds before. Talking about flight and freedom alongside a musicality that comes so naturally to them compared to humans.

It’s unusual for women, especially young girls who are in search of a husband, to head outside by themselves where any man could just stumble upon them without a chaperone. Satoru bets that you had woken up bright and early just so that you might be able to have a moment alone.

He almost feels a little bad to intrude on your moment alone.

He imagines you don’t get very many.

But he approaches you nonetheless. His heart tugs him towards you much like how a child pulls their parents down the aisles of a candy store. Eager and excited.

“(Y/n)~” Satoru says your name sweetly, liking the way it flows off of his tongue so easily. Thinks that it tastes so much better than some of the sweetest things he’s whispered to others.

You don’t bother turning to look at him as you would have done if this had taken place in the presence of others, “My Lord.”

“Satoru.”

“You really do love saying your name,” you tease, as he takes a seat beside you. He makes a face as the bottom of his pants get wet from the damp grass upon contact. His usual reaction would have been to jump up and scowl. He usually hates any uncomfortable feeling and does anything he can to avoid any such sensations but forces himself to bear with it as your warm shoulder brushes against his own. Well the sleeve of your dress brushes up against the dress-shirt but this is close enough for him. Besides, his pants are already wet now so he can bear with it for a little longer.

The two of you stare off into the distance, staring at the lake.

Satoru notices that you’re still in your nightgown. It’s light and flowy, similar to the clothes you used to wear when you were young. Hot stuffy dresses are what’s most popular now in women’s fashion and being a proper lady of good origins you do your diligence in following the fashion trends. Strangely though, the thought of your subtle acts of rebellion bring a smile to his face. It’s so subtle and detached from the main parts of society yet so much louder than you’ll ever realise.

He bets that your mother would be furious if she found that you were outside and alone with an unmarried man. Furious if you came back with the bottom of your dress soaked from the morning dew and rain.

You probably don’t care though.

Your attention is much better spent on the lake in front of you. (Satoru personally thinks that your attention would be even better spent on him.)

He doesn’t bother to look at the lake he’s already seen hundreds of times in his life.

This is where he and Suguru used to play pirates. Where he’d first been tossed into the lake when the two of them were horsing around and where he had crawled out of angrily. Where he’d caught his first frog and made his first (mud) painting.

This was the lake of his childhood that he loved oh so dearly.

But right now, he found that he’d rather look at you.

The baby fat you had on your cheeks back before he had left for Eton is gone. It makes you look more mature. Less like the girl that made fun of him and more into the woman that would send light teases his way. Makes you seem less like the girl who always carried around picture books and into a young woman that reads intellectual novels that dive into the human.

He’s a little sad. He had quite a fondness for the young girl that managed to make him mad with the single raise of an eyebrow. It’s almost like the loss of someone important to him. Someone he didn’t know that he would miss as much and a version of you that he would never get to say goodbye to.

But, he finds that he has a fondness for the you that’s sitting beside him now.

He wouldn’t go as far as saying that he likes this version more than the young child you but he would admit that this version was much more… exciting to be around. Almost like a mystery that he was working to solve.

A smile pulls at his lips when he notices a book in your lap.

“What’re you reading?” Satoru asks, pointing to the book in your lap.

You brush the cover of the book gently, “Pride and Prejudice.”

“Suguru read that book once.”

“Have you?”

“No. Besides, Suguru said it was just a boring romance novel for women anyways. Says nothing that we don’t already know.”

You smile as you nudge him playfully, “do you let Lord Suguru’s opinions dictate all of your own decisions, My Lord?”

“No,” Satoru pouts, “but I’ve never liked reading much anyways. It’s easier to let him do the reading first. He knows what I do and don’t like. Besides, I don’t want to waste my time reading something I wouldn’t even like.”

Finally, you turn to look at him. To the untrained eye it would be a look of indifference. But to Satoru, your self proclaimed childhood best friend, your expression is one of amusement. From the way your eyes crinkle in the corners slightly to how you sit up more straight ever so slightly and the subtle twitch of your lips. Plus, the most obvious and dead give away to anything, your eyes. They look at him, lingering on his face for a moment longer than they linger on anyone else's as you respond with a soft, “and what do you like to read, My Lord?”

“Comedies usually.”

“Like?”

“Twelfth Night.”

You raise a brow delicately, “Shakesphere?”

Satoru places a hand on his chest, feigning offence, “are you implying that you think I wouldn’t like the works of one of the greatest writers and minds of our time?”

“Oh, I’d never, my Lord,” you eyes crinkle in the corners, “I was simply surprised. Most men I speak with prefer something more contemporary like Wordsworth or perhaps something practical and sensible like a book on agriculture or architecture. They consider things like Shakesphere to be mere entertainment.”

“So then are you implying that you think I have the taste of a woman?”

“And who would you consider yourself akin to then, my Lord? Duke Ceasiro?”

Satoru makes a face.

You chuckle softly in response, “you must admit, the two of you share a certain resemblance.”

“I am insulted on every level, (Y/n).”

“I’m sure you are.”

“I am!” Satoru exclaims, waving his arms above his head, “I am most like the honourable Sebastian.”

“Ah yes, Viola’s twin brother.”

Satoru nods.

“Well, he’s certainly an opportunist.”

“Would you not marry a beautiful woman that you just met and is seemingly in love with you?”

You hum softly as you ponder on the idea.

Satoru remembers how he had dragged Suguru to the play house that day. He had originally gone because there was a particular woman that he wanted to promenade with after but had actually found the show to be quite enjoyable. Suguru was absolutely furious with him but even he had a few chuckles at some moments.

“What was your favourite part about Twelfth Night?” You ask, leaning against him.

“The love triangle.”

“Well, it certainly isn’t the traditional kind of love triangle.”

“A true love triangle, I’d say.”

“The kind you’d like to find yourself in?” You tease.

Satoru shrugs in response.

From where Satoru sat he could see a small group of birds gathering around. They reminded him a bit of the Ton. So easily swept up into a single moment and conversation without much consideration about the world around them. Much thought and consideration is never put into everything else that this world has to offer.

“What kind of stuff do you like to read?” Satoru asks.

You smile, “you mean apart from the book in my hand?” Satoru can tell from the way you lean back away from him with a gleam in your eyes that you’re teasing him.

So he decides to tease you back.

He leans in towards you with a grin, “you and I both know you’re only reading that because it’s popular. It’s not what you actually like to read.”

“And what do you think I like to read?”

“Wouldn’t have asked if I knew the answer.”

“Alright, I’ll bite, Satoru.”

He beams brightly when you say his name.

“The last thing I read for my own enjoyment was, Thomas De Quincey’s, Confessions of an Opium Eater.”

Satoru’s jaw drops, “the drug addict poet?”

“Most writers struggle with addiction.”

“What do you like about De Quincey’s works?”

“He wrote quite a particularly thought provoking piece about the human mind. Looking into the subconscious.”

“Oh?”

“He writes, ‘dreams are the unconscious mind finishing the halted thoughts of the conscious.’”

“A Romantic for sure.”

You beam, “oh, most definitely.”

Satoru thinks that this is the first time he’s ever seen you smile in such a way. If he weren’t already sitting he would have fallen flat on the ground. His heart would have stopped in his chest and he likely would have fallen to the ground and died only then to be once again revived by your beauty.

He thinks that this is where humanity must have peaked. That there will never again be someone that looks as beautiful as you do when you’re smiling. That no one will ever hold such a place in his heart that you do.

He leans towards you with a lovesick smile, “I’m going to marry you.”

You cough a little, “excuse me?”

His smile doesn’t falter, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“Why me?”

“You understand me.”

“Hm?”

“You see the world in a way that everyone else doesn’t and you see me for who I am. Not who everyone else thinks that I should be.”

“My Lord-”

“Satoru.” He corrects.

“Satoru,” you lean away, “don’t you think you’re being a little hasty? We’ve barely even had a full conversation since you came back from school.”

“And?”

“You barely know who I am.” You look hesitant, the mask you always wear slipping as if you’ve never worn it before.

He takes your hand before you can bolt off (he hopes that it comforts you the same way it comforts him), “I know that you understand my loneliness. You know how it feels like for the whole world to want you to be a certain way. You’ve perfected the way of living from the way you move to the smile on your face to be exactly what society expects of you.” He feels as though his heart is beating a million beats a minute.

Your expression shifts a little.

Going from hesistance -

- to surprise.

And then suddenly Satoru doesn’t know what it is that you’re exactly thinking right now. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen this expression on you and it worries him a little. His heart is fluttering in anticipation.

Satoru doesn’t think he’s ever been in such an uncomfortable situation before.

Well… there was that one time where Suguru had hidden Satoru’s favourite riding helmet as payback for something stupid he said earlier. In an attempt to make it seem like he wasn’t bothered, Satoru had gone off with a different helmet and messed up almost everything. Nothing seemed right. His horse, even though it was his favourite steed that he had ridden since he was a boy, just wasn’t listening the way it usually did. He actually almost fell off his horse twice (and actually did fall off once while in the middle of getting on).

Yeah, Satoru thinks, this feeling is a little something like that.

“Satoru.” You hold his hand tightly.

“Hm?”

“Be here with me.”

“I am here.”

“Stay in the moment with me,” you say softly, “your mind keeps drifting elsewhere.”

Satoru’s heart flutters as he smiles down at you fondly, “okay.”

Yeah.

He’s most definitely falling in love with you.

No.

He has fallen in love with you.

He’s going to marry you.

Openly, fall in love.

[mochinomnoms]

I just thought of how chaotic bodyswapping with either of the leeches would be. Especially in PTM. We have Riddle swapping with Floyd which makes Riddles dorm confused and slighty scared with such a chaotic Riddle then a Floyd trying to calm him down and trying to still manage the dorm as best as he can. Then we have … Jade. I feel like he would seem pretty normal for the most part maybe mimicing Yuu as best as he can or just being very formal and polite. Nothing for Yuu to worry about until Jade figures that thus is a perfect oppurtunity to explore the human body and what better body then his mate (i can imagine this is before they get together), i can see jade dressing up in various outfits and admiring himself in the mirror and maybe even taking a few photos or two, you know for the memories like the freak he is. Not sure if he would go farther than that but I can see Yuu worrying about the possibilities and no one believeing they are Yuu until they can prove it to ADeuce and Grim (who might be more inclined to believe it if they saw Riddle and Floyd before hand). And maybe both Jade and Floyd take this opportunity to make sure they have no rivals, flat out rejecting anyone who they may know has a crush on their mate.

sorry for this long blurb just wanted to share

-🧀

Aaaah, I get iffy about bodyswaps sometimes since they can get borderline uncomfy, but I am always down for funny stories. Especially in PTM, it's so full of potential for hijinks!

I am down for bodyswaps if it happens when everyone is aware, if that makes sense? For example, Riddle, Jade, and Yuu are all in their potions class working on their in class assignment. But as we know, Floyd likes to ditch class sometimes to go hang with Jade in his classes. It's a bonus that his Goldfishie is also there, makes for a fun time!

Maybe a bit too much fun...he's knocked over the potion the group next to them had been making. It splashed over him and Riddle, who was now steadily raising his voice, and spilled onto the floor, where you managed to slip and drag Jade with you as you grabbed on his lab coat for stability.

The two of you were now covered in the potion, you're mumbling about not having enough detergent for another load so soon, and Jade is clicking his tongue as he got up. He helped you up, gloves wet, shoes grimy, and you two made your way over to the eyewash and shower station in the corner.

Riddle follows, dragging an annoyed Floyd to the station as well so wash up, the latter complaining about not wanting to get wet. Never mind that he is already wet from the potion. It's when you and Jade are stripping your outer layers to wash up, that Floyd reaches to poke at Riddle's cheek.

A small shock of lighting bounced between them, a red one crackling over Floyd and a light teal one over Riddle. Floyd jerks away, tripping over himself and falling on his back. Riddle froze, hands out and eyes darting as he stared between Floyd and his own hands. Like he was processing something...

You're watching him, a bit scared at Riddle's sudden stillness, as Jade kneels down to Floyd murmuring to his twin as Floyd looks around disoriented.

It's when you finally ask Riddle, leaning down to try and make eye contact with him, that Riddle looks at you. He's wide-eyed, and looks a bit feral, as he shouts, “WHAT THE FUCK” at the top of his lungs (eerily similar to a certain twin) that you stumble back in surprise.

You trip, feeling Jade's arms catch you, and only have a moment to process Jade's bare hands against your skin, when an electric feeling, and gray and dark teal lighting dance across your body.

You feel your head split open, and your body feels off, like your gravity of center moved. A small body in your arms groans, shifting in your grasp, as you blink your eyes open. You don't register the person in front of you at first, though they look familiar.

Imagine your shock when their head turns to look at you and a familiar pair of eyes, just like yours, and blinks.

“...Floyd? Wait, no.” your voice sounds foreign to your ears, like a stranger speaking a different language. “That's—why is everything so tall?”

“Is this what it's like to be short? Oh whaaaat?” You snapped your head up to look at Riddle, or the person who looks like him anyways, as he twirled around, giggling. The tone of his voice was off, a lot like Floyd, as he grinned over at your little pile up, and skipped over to where Floyd was still on the ground, looking at Riddle with a horrified expression.

“Riddle leaned down, a teasing smile on is lips, as he cooed, That you in there Goldfishie?”

“...FLOYD GET OUT OF MY BODY!”

Floyd never really yelled, so hearing him was a shock to everyone scrambling around in the lab as they tried to figure out what was going on. Crewel, poor dear Divus Crewel, is so fucking tired.

Thankfully, he can whip up the remedy potion rather easily. Unfortunately, he has a very busy day with classes, and it will have to wait until later in the day. He sends a mass text to the faculty informing them of the accident, and advises that you all continue your day as normal.

“And please, for the love of all that is good in this world, let everyone else know. There's no reason to hide it, the embarrassment cannot possibly be enough that you need to pretend to be each other. Just, let your dorms know and continue as normal in each other's bodies.”

Despite this, hi jinks and pranks still ensue. Mostly initiated by Jade and Floyd, and mostly at yours and Riddle's expense. If you two notice that some of your peers, ones that were particularly soft on you and that others claimed had a crush, suddenly are avoiding you after the switch, the twins just tell you that they had to tell them off.

If the twins ask why one of their transformation potions are gone, you and Riddle better not tell them that you got curious about how being a merman felt like and didn't know how to transform back without using the potion. Unless you want to get teased about it, of course.

They'll find out regardless, and each twin with tease their respective human, asking them why they were so interested in the first place.

“Awww, is my lil Goldfishie interested in being under the sea? Don't worry, I'll make sure you're all prepped before taking ya back home with me!”

“If you wanted to know what being a mer is like, you could have asked me~ I'd be happy to make you a potion and take you to the depths with me. I have several lovely, private areas that I think you'd greatly enjoy.”

Maybe this is what you all needed to break the ice? Or maybe it just makes it thicker, I'll leave it up to you!

[taki-yaki]

My prompt is Tav that's a necromancer, but she's still new and clumsy and very much an apprentice. Obviously, Tav/Astarion ship.

A necromancer Tav with astarion is already an interesting dynamic but a naive/apprentice one is cute.

Astarion x Necromancer Tav

Most necromancers were always seen as those who loved to toy with the undead and raise an entire legion of undead to ravage the living. Although that is the tale that is commonly spoken about in legends and fairy tales.

But you however were different to the tales that were told, only a fledging apprentice who got caught up in the nautiloid ship, now forced to relearn your basic incantations once more.

At first, Astarion grimaced slightly upon hearing that you were a necromancer, reminding him of those similar to his old master, the type who would try to experiment with the living dead or just use them as pawns for their own goals. But after seeing you blunder some of your reanimating spells one too many, he soon deems you naive.

This soon leads to him coming on strong towards you, being so innocent in his eyes, but at the back of his mind lies doubt about you. After your first few nights together, he wonders if you fell for him purely because he was an undead creature of the night. But the way he sees you offering up your blood without a second thought for him as the first humanoid he’s ever fed from, treating him as an equal compared to the undead you would raise soon erased most doubts about you.

Throughout your travels, apart from the occasional quip that Gale gives when you attempt to practise casting your spells, he would watch from afar, claiming that he’s just watching the show. He would focus on the way you practice your necormancy as your hands twist and concord in the air to form the spells, he would then attempt to mimic your gestures, after all, if his old master had access to such magic, then why not him?

Upon obtaining the cursed book of thay, this soon leads to a bickering match later that night at camp between you and Astarion, over the ownership of such powerful magic, with Gale purely trying to play the role of the peacemaker. Soon after you both settle on reading the book together, both furthering your knowledge and bonding together as they soon become late-night reading sessions.

But, as a vampire, he does have his talents which he uses to assist in speeding up your training, going out to provide you enemies' bodies that he has drained dry for you to reanimate easier without having to resort to grave plundering or the risk of developing diseases upon you.

Still, for a necromancer, you appear to be normal to passing outsiders at first but as time goes on, others at camp soon notice the weird habit between you both. When you would lay on his chest attempting to listen for a heart that can not beat, would bring serenity among you.

Or your excitement in familiars that are abnormal, especially when you met Squire in moonrise towers, fussing over the skeletal pup, only to be forcibly dragged away by Astarion, when guards attempted to search the room.

When you reunited with Us in the mind flayer colony, you pleaded with the group to keep them, much to the dismay of some druids within the camp, though he doesn’t mind the creature much, he does prefer it in its “kitty” form hunting rodents.

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted 🌟👩🏾🎶 (Wish Reimagined)

Chapter 2: Into the Woods

Chapter 1

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

As the trees closed behind him, Flazino slowly followed the well worn path into a small community, featuring many homes that were surrounded by nature. No magic was required or allowed here, for everything was built or crafted by hand from the ground up.

(Look how beautiful these look! They would've looked so good in 2D! I haven't really seen a whole lot of art for the Hamlet concept, so for extra reference, imagine the homes looking similar to Pacha's village)

The abundance and depth of the trees in the Uncharted Forest kept the people of this haven safe from the eyes of Magnifico. Those who realized his true intentions with their wishes fled here, where they could live in peace and save their families from a terrible fate.

Although it was late into the night, the people here were wide awake in preparation for their own ceremony. Which is exactly each month the young apprentice would take his monthly trip here.

He was greeted by an old man who was holding a mandolin and a warm smile on his face. "Young Flazino! You're just in time, the ceremony will beginning soon."

No sooner had the boy dismounted from the horse, he was caught in a tight hug by the old man. Though was smaller than other residents, his heart was as big as the forest itself. Flazino couldn't help but smile back as returned the hug.

"It's good to see you again too, Sabino." He said with a laugh. He took the bags off his back and started unpacking the supplies from it: Extra clothes, seeds to grow fruits and vegetables, food he was able to sneak away from the day's meals and a few toys for the children there.

"Sorry its not as much as usual. I've been having this strange feeling I'm being watched recently, so I didn't have time to get more..." Flazino sighed.

Sabino shook his head. "That's alright, lad. Every little bit helps. You've done so much for us this past year. We can't ask for a better friend." he patted the boy on the shoulder. "Come now, you can at least stay, have some food and chat for a while before you go."

He called over two other men to gather the supplies. "Alan, Howard, would you mind taking these and passing them to others?" The men did as instructed and Flazino followed Sabino a little further into the woods where right in the center of it, people were gathered around each other while most of them held bright colored ribbons in their hands.

Flazino knew very well what was happening. Just as the rulers of Rosas had a wish ceremony at the end of each month, the people of the Hamlet had an event of their very own. In order to keep their remaining wishes from Magnifico, each resident that turned 18 or older in that month would write their greatest wishes on ribbons and tie them to an old olive tree on top of a hill. In hopes that one day they will come true, without the fear of them being broken by the King.

An older woman announced that it was clear to travel to the tree, that there were no signs of spies or guards of Rosas near. She led the young people up the hill.

As the two of them began to follow the group, Sabino heard a small, but loud, "Baaa! Baaaa!" 🐐

He looked down and saw a baby goat rubbing his head against his leg and it looked up at the old man with a smile.

"Oh! Valentino! Nice to see you too!" Sabino said with a laugh as he picked up the goat and rubbed his head. "I bet you're as excited as me, hehe."

"There you are! How many times have I told you not run off like that without me? You could've gotten hurt." A concerned voice came from the distance. It came from a teen girl, with a worried yet annoyed look on her face as she approached. It seems like her pet did this a lot.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Asha." He waved a dismissive hand at her. "He's just excited. Just like me. Isn't that that right?" Sabino said as he nuzzled the goat's nose. "Baaa!" Valentino said in agreement.

Asha gently took Valentino in her arms and (finally) greeted Flazino. "Good to see you again, Flaz. I hope that our 'favorite' rulers are treating you well." she said with a hint of sarcasm.

Sabino joined the group, presumably to have a bit of a music session with his musician friends at the top. They all shared a love for music and found kinship with each other through their passions, so it was understood.

Flazino rolled his eyes and smirked at Asha. "Oh yeah. Being a sorcerers' apprentice is great! I run errands, invite some newcomers to their possible doom, Feed a deadly feline that literally wants to bite the hand that feeds him and oh yeah, try to write another song about how great the king is!" He said the last part with fake enthusiasm. "You know he made me a write a part that said: '♬ I let you live here for free, and I don't even charge you rent!♬' ?"

Asha raised an eyebrow hearing this. "Um, isn't that the same thing?" she asked.

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID TO HIM!" Flazino exclaimed and put his arms out in exasperation.

Asha couldn't help but laugh. Given that the guy had to deal with two royal pains and their spoiled exotic pet everyday, he had to vent to somebody, and Asha was always there to listen. He's helped keep the Hamlet safe for two years, he's at least earned it. Not to mention he tries to learn to use some of Amaya's potions in secret.

Asha herself ventured regularly in her dairy. She was completely fed up with hiding from the people that ruined their lives. As a child, she did see the world with wonder, but as she grew older, Asha started to see the world outside the Hamlet a bit more harshly. She just wanted one day see the world again without fearing for her family's safety. Asha had seen the cruelty of Maginifico. When his false sincerity was gone....he was a monster.

While the two of them (and Valentino) chatted and exchanged information on Rosas, Sabino and about ten people made their way up to the hill.

(We see in a faraway shot that Sabino is actually making his way ahead faster than some of his friends in excitement, telling them jokingly to pick up their pace, only for him to have to slow down himself, out of breath.)

It was a little long, but once they saw that tree adorned with ribbons as colorful as their wishes, it was always worth it.

As each individual tied their ribbon to the tree, they looked to the stars shining brightly above them if only they could hear the wishes in their hearts. There were days that it hurt to even put them out there. It was a high chance that they never get granted, but they had to try, right?

One older man was left in line, but as he looked at tree, he started to have doubts. What if it never came true? Was it even a dream worth keeping? He took a few steps back and apologized to the old woman. "I'm sorry, Germaine. I'm...just not ready." He said, with a touch of sadness in his voice.

The woman shook her head. "No need to apologize, Manuel. You can make your wish whenever you're truly ready." She said as she patted him on the shoulder.

The man nodded and proceeded back down the hill, passing by the other wishers. Sabino quickly gave him a comforting hug. "Don't be ashamed of your wish. Its a beautiful one." He whispered to Manuel.

This gave the man a bit of comfort, but he failed to realize that the ribbon he placed in his pocket earlier was now gone. Once the others had begun to return to the bottom, Sabino stayed back and quickly put the ribbon in his own pocket. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "Hehehehe! *cough cough cough* ahem..." Luckily no one saw that...

Not long after, the young apprentice knew it was time to leave. He was given the requested mushrooms, said his goodbyes and gave Achilles the signal to depart. The tree entrance once again opened to let Flazino out, he waved goodbye to his Hamlet friends and watched as the trees closed behind him.

The horse took off in a dash once more leaving the Hamlet behind. However, he wasn't quite alone. We then see a closeup on a patch of open bushes, with a pair of glowing green feline eyes peering through, watching the boy leave. A devious smile appeared below it, then the face disappears into the black.

As some time passes, we see how the people hear take care of each other and live their lives. A few of them are washing clothes in a nearby river, others are making their own flour, and later bread. Both the men and women tend to a large field, where they plant seeds of various fruits and vegetables. Many of these end up producing large harvests for the people.

(Seriously, these concepts arts are GORGEOUS. And I've read a lot of Art books, but Wish's is on a new level!)

Another scene passes and Asha is seen reading to a group of kids, as they listened in wonder about a magical fairy that loved to help others in need.

The montage then cuts to the inside of Asha's family cottage, her mother Sakina had just finished making a couple new clothes for their neighbor's young sons. "Asha, I'll be back soon to give Hans these clothes. And Saba...?"

Sabino was in his chair snoring away, when he was startled by Sakina's question. "Huh? What? Where am I?" He looked around in supposed confusion.

Sakina raised in eyebrow. She loved Sabino, but there were times he tried to be sly, especially with Asha. "Don't get into any foolishness." she warned.

Sabino let out a loud yawn that woke Valentino up, who actually was sleeping by his feet. "Oh, fine. Fine. I'll keep an eye on the girl. "Riiiiight after my nap." he said in a groggy tone. He slowly leaned back in his chair and back to snoring.

Sakina took a moment, sighed and proceeded put the door.

Ten seconds later, Sabino opened one eye and made sure the overbearing mother was gone. Once the coast was clear, he leaped to his feet and grabbed his mandolin. Valentino followed the old man curiously as he proceeded to find Asha.

"Well, goodnight Saba." his granddaughter yawned as she started heading upstairs. She stops once she hears her saba's voice behind her.

"Asha, would you mind coming with me before we turn in for the night? I'd like to show you something important..."

Little did Asha know that her life would soon change forever, thanks to one wish of her own....

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Woo-hoo! Chapter 2 is done! I wanted to wait until I finally finish "Kingdom of Wishes", so now with that read though complete, I've gone back to writing this little story/movie! This one was a little shorter, but I was able to find lots of wonderful concept art pictures from not only Wish, but also other Disney films! I even found some perfect horseback scenes added them to Chapter 1, if you'd like to check it out!

The thing I wanted to show here is that while Sabino does have wisdom, he's a cheeky old man. 😆 I actually based him off of the grandmother from Mulan, so he has that extra kick to him. We haven't really had a fun elderly man character in Disney since "UP", and I wanted to bring the fun from past elder characters into this. In the actual film, Sabino did feel like a character and I liked Victor Garber voicing him, but we never get any time towards him. His whole character was done dirty, and he's just nearly cut from the film until the very end. Disney cut out HIS OWN SONG. The ENTIRE reason the plot even started, the reason Asha wanted to get the wishes back, and THEY CUT IT OUT. FOR PETE'S SAKE, MAN—

For this story, Saba's in his 80's but acts like a kid sometimes, and just wants Asha to have that same spirit again, since she lost the fun part of herself after her father died. She can still be kind, but her positive outlook is practically non-existent.

Also, a fun bit I came up with is that everyone else in the Hamlet is named after a Disney music composer, from the past and present. Even better, Lin Manuel's name is mentioned in the deleted scene, so it fit right in!

And for those who are wondering, yes, Star will be appearing soon! In chapter 3 we're gonna go back to our favorite royal pains, see more of Asha and her family so they can be fleshed out some more and then our sparkling boy is going to appear. Plus, I really wanted to start off with only a little humor since the story is more serious at this point. But then when Star comes in, he's gonna bring in a lot more fun and joy to the table. Plus, this is the first time I'm writing a fantasy based story here. I usually write sci-fi and/or superhero stories, so I pray I'm doing this right. 😅

I love to hear your comments, so make as many as you want, and I'll see you guys in chapter 3!

Thanks for reading!

@annymation @signed-sapphire @oh-shtars @kenihewa @chillwildwave @tumblingdownthefoxden @wings-of-sapphire @emptyblog7 @lazytitans-world @mythartist21 @kstarsart @uva124 @spectator-zee

[princess-of-the-corner]

Ya know how I said Gabriel descends further into villain from Origins to Miracle Queen?

Ironically Marinette seems to go through a similar thing, or reveal more facets to her character that are less paragon but its very much by accident.

I like Marinette, but the fact this stuff never seems to get acknowledge or addressed both ends up hurting the story & in the fandom it makes it hard to discuss without being perceived as a salter or apologist, ETC.

Like, bear with me.

Season 1 Mari is basically fine, she's good, heroic, any flaws she has are fairly minor but some could be taken as 'hints' for later while still not being an issue.

Like her meticulous Adrien schedule could literally just be info she picked up associating with him that she wrote down. A little odd but not like, terrible, terrible.

Her sabotaging Bubbler's music is certain an irresponsible use of her powers but its far from the most irresponsible a hero is with a Miraculous & she is fourteen and people/protaganists can be flawed.

& her tear down of Lila, but she seemed to realize she went too far & tried to apologize. & after a point Lila staying out of school because of it starts to feel less like a Marinette issue & more a Lila (Or Gabriel) issue.

Season 2

We start to see some other potential issues emerging here, but they can still be rationalized away.

Chat being left to fend for himself is her having faith in her partner & she is going to get help.

Adrien being kept in the dark is more Fu's deal than Mari's & she is the one who presses him to bring Chat in.

Her decision to make Chloe QB again does paint a target on her back & could be tied to Adrien or rank pragmatism, but she does seem to make a genuine effort to sympathize, so at worse the target is an accident.

Less justifiable but still explain-able is encouraging Chloe's mean-ness so she can bond with her mother being a poorly thought out attempt to getting them to bond & assuming it will make them better.

The lack of follow through when the opposite happens does feel like its an issue but one can see why a kid mightn't make the connection.

Using Chloe on Heroes' Day is again, explain-able, IE it does paint a target on her back but shit was indeed dire.

The real red flag so to speak is her reaction to Kagami.

IE characterizing her as an evil witch& only stamping down on her interpretation to benefit Adrien, not because she realized that was wrong.

IE, Kagami's done 0 to warrant such a negative view of her & there isn't really a positive way to spin this one as just good intentions gone awry, someone else's fault or an accident.

Season 3

This is when it all comes home to roost so to speak.

With Kagami this comes in deliberate attempts to sabotage or even embrass and sabotage her. This continues even after Marinette realizes Kagami is actually a nice if lonely girl and befriends her.

But it gets worse because even if Kagami's ID wasn't known to the public (Though it makes sense that it is) the dialogue still acknowledges Hawk Moth knows!

She is painting a target on her friends back wile sabotaging her date!

There isn't really a good way to explain this one, which might be why I know some fics basically seem to outright pretend it didn't happen.

Meanwhile with Chloe the lack of follow through issue becomes text.

IE, she paints a target on Chloe's back by using her twice in short succession, then ghosts her even though its clear Chloe's trying to communicate with her.

Even if attacks weren't happening near her home this would be bad.

But when finally pushed into acting on this reality, the second its convenient to use Chloe in combat again she does so. Making it loud and clear to Hawk Moth that if the situation is dire, he knows where to get the Bee Miraculous & its wielder.

This is a big issue because unlike "Making Chloe a better person" which in universe is not Marinette's job. As the person who gives out Miraculous, as the leader she has in fact made herself responsible for what happens to Chloe in regards to Miraculous business.

She can't abdicate on that one except maybe to Fu who also damn well should have known better.

Which leaves the story with Marinette willingly putting two people into danger and using them opportunistically either out of rank pragmatism or for outright selfish reasons. Then just like, not acknowledging the risks or consequences, with one of these people even being her friend.

It makes her come off as ether a lot more cold, or a lot more out of touch with the consequences of her actions than almost anyone else.

Neither of which get acknowledged in the narrative so as before, it becomes hard to even talk about without being seen as smearing the character or being unfair. Or like you just need to ignore these traits even if the story no longer works because of it and Marinette ironically becomes a less interesting character.

Cos like, a Marinette who can become extremely, even ruthlessly pragmatic the moment she needs too. Or one who is genuinely that taken away with her crush that its effecting her morality to the point where she can become harmful. Those are interesting ideas to explore!

They don't make her like, more evil than Hawk Moth or whatever, & if handled well could prove really interesting. Especially as they could parallel Gabriel's behaviors in regards to Adrien and others. Thus letting him be a sort of "Oh shit, is this who I could grow into in twenty years if I had money/power & zero people to check me?" villain.

But instead even noting it seems discouraged in most of the popular sphere's, or worse and well, we know the show doesn't take issue with it.

See it's.

I do love this about her and find it fascinating! As a character in a piece of fiction, I mean. I don't /want/ her to make these decisions, but /on paper/ I'm eating popcorn as I watch it unfold.

A lot of this does stem from Marinette's black and white mentality and overall being naive. Everything is all or nothing with her.

Sometimes this comes across in her thinking of people as good or bad. While she tries, it's hard for her to think of Chloé as 'good' and it's hard for her to understand that even if Chloé wants to change, it takes a lot of time and isn't just flipping a switch.

And while there's past precedent with Chloé, this shows up again with Lila. She never entertains the idea that Lila may just be lying for attention because she's bad at making friends. Lila is lying and lying is bad so clearly she's a manipulative bitch that deserves to be publicly humiliated! Like with Chloé, she may back down for a moment when called out like what Adrien did, but it doesn't last long.

Kagami is the eventual progression into twisting things. She's not overly friendly and sweet and social, but she /is/ in competition with Marinette for Adrien's affections. So she twists the idea that Kagami must be an awful person, despite doing literally nothing, and deserves what Mari does to her. And while she does befriend Kagami and feels some guilt, I think a combination of 'this is for True Love™' and not wanting to admit that she was a jerk and wrong makes her keep sabotaging her.

And it's a similar thing with her actions as Ladybug.

At first it's things that make sense: trusting Chat to do what he can on his own with little information, just like they've been doing for all of Season 1.

Then she gets Fu telling her that things are too risky for anyone else to know. So she doesn't tell Chat things. Because Fu is an Adult™ and their guide in all this, so ofc he's right even if Marinette thinks otherwise at first. And this is hammered in with Chat Blanc and Ephemeral. If Chat knows more, things get fucked.

And then we get Marinette justifying keeping secrets for the Greater Good™. Whether it just be not telling Chat anything, or lying to all of Paris to make sure Adrien never finds out his father is a complete fucking asshole. Secrets are good. She's doing the right thing by keeping them so that it doesn't hurt anyone. If he knew things would go to hell.

In theory I find all this fascinating! But while there's been a hiccup here or there, usually caused by Adrichat going 'girl what the FUCK?!', on the whole the narrative chooses to see this as the good and right thing rather than a flaw that Marinette needs to overcome.

[an-angel-in-the-garden]

If you’re familiar with the games and their lore; if not I’ll happily settle with Fem!Siren or Fem!Dragon Reader; could I have some headcanons for Fem!Dovahkiin Reader x Aizen, Dottore, and Pantalone?

So I don't really know about skyrim but I did a little research to get to this, I hope you enjoy some dragon born reader!

Aizen

As with most things involving Aizen this started as scientific fascination He saw a use in you, a weapon to bend to his will but it only takes a few months for it to become something more

Your fighting spirit, your will that commands respect and your ability to communicate with not only hollows but those of dragon kind is simply stunning

He takes his time with courting you, gifts and sweet words in hopes of having you willing fall to his side

Aizen would wants to help you cultivate that power, let it grow and burn bright so you both may rule together

Nothing but praise once you start dating, he needs the world, all three worlds to know just how powerful you are

Any draconic features you might have must always be on display and he'll make sure the outfits for you proudly help show you off

By the end everyone will see how powerful you are and how much he's willing to do just to keep you around

Dottore

Dottore in a very similar way sees a scientific value in you but for him its becomes obsession quickly

There's no doubt that he wants to take you apart at first and he fully tries more then once

All the segments know to keep an eye on you and make sure you can't stray very far

He wants to tie you up and keep you forever close to him but he knows that wouldn't be very fun for either of you

That won't change how possessive he gets, Dottore wants to keep your background a secret, something only he knows

Of course that doesn't mean he won't help you control it but it does mean freedom is limited

More than anything Dottore's love is hard to bear but he knows you can handle him that you're willing to fight him on things and that only makes him more in love with you

Pantalone

He had no interest in what you were, ones background matters not to him but your strong will has always stood out

Pantalone is more interested in your work then you but business deals soon tip into lunches then friendship and finally real affection and love

The strength you show, the skills he sees you work hard to better, it all matters to him and leads him to trusting you over time

Truly being a dragonborn person really doesn't mean much to him it what's you do with said skills that matter, are you ashamed? Proud? No matter, he's here to support you and remind you blood means nothing

The most independent partner, his work and you will be kept separate and he prefers it that way once you start dating but if you ever need his help he's willing to lend it

A power couple in the sense that people fear you but Pantalone still takes the time to show you off, lots of public dates to remind both you and the public that nothing will stop him from loving you

Though he doesn't care much about your background he won't deny when he wants to learn more. If you know things, how you learn them, if you're interested in it then he also wishes to join you in finding out more

You will always just be yourself. No matter your looks, history or skills in his those things change nothing what matters is the here and now and for that he loves you

Not gonna lie this isn't really a dragonborn reader and I am sorry about that. It was really hard to make it work since I didn't know how far I wanted to take it and that led to it being very vague. I hope you still enjoyed this and thank you very much for requesting and reading. Have a good night or day~ Lilly

[qeireinier]

I think what Original Luo Binghe did to Shen Jiu parallels what happened between Wei Wuxian and Wen Chao. Let me yap.

Look this might sound stupid to you but I just rewatched MDZS and I JUST saw some similarities with PIDW. After coming out of the Burial Mounds, WWX literally tortured WC before his death. The Burial Mounds is a place of literal torture and WWX went through HELL in it without his golden core. Because of what? Because of WC, he's the one who threw him into there.

It's an eye for an eye. WWX must've gotten his organs rearranged, bones crushed by constant attacks from walking corpses, eaten corpse fingers to survive, and many other horrors MXTX didn't mention. So WC SHOULD feel all of that, as payment for his sins to WWX and all other people he inflicted.

With LBG and SJ, the Endless Abyss is almost no different than Burial Mounds except it's festered with demonic instead of resentful energy (I think they're not really the same type?) and various types of beasts iirc. So even with his golden core, it's still harder for LBH because he barely knew how to avoid or fight them, where their weak spots are, etc. And instead of 3 months, it's 5 YEARS so it's enough time for his hatred for SJ to fester like a fairytale witch's soup. In the very beginning, he must've also gone through hell. Maybe the beasts ripped his limbs apart, stabbed his eyes, pulled his tongue out and only because of his Heavenly Demon blood that he recovered himself back (probably). It's very different from running away from resentful corpses because you KNOW just how to fight them off, even though it's just impossible for their number.

So, seeing LBH making SJ into a human stick doesn't surprise me too much. It's the case of an eye for an eye. No, it's still wrong, I'm not justifying it. I'm just making my analysis. THAT'S why it reminds me so much of WC's death.

Even both of the MCs have a demonic object in their hands, the Stygian Tiger Seal and Xin Mo. Both are untamable and capable of driving their holders insane. What differs our MC however—is that WWX has things to lose, and that's why he's often shown to be holding himself back from a killing spree. Hell, he's even the actual most righteous character in the novel.

While LBH doesn't have anything left to lose. He doesn't have a family, friends, all these wives and servants probably don't mean much on him. Also, his demon blood affects his mindset, giving his brain more "predatory instincts" as I'm gonna call it. Added with the fact that he spent more time in the Endless Abyss and how his mind had been corrupted by Xin Mo, LBH would pull a "No More Mr. Nice Guy, Heh >:)". That makes him not so kind as to give SJ the mercy of death. He probably wanted to keep SJ alive for 5 years or maybe forever til his brain finally decides "yep, that's it, go die or whatever idc anymore". Yeah, until BingggeMei extra happened and we could probably assume SJ's death is never gonna happen, but that's for another story nevermind.

However, it does mean that the latter won't hold himself back. The point where he crosses the line is when he burns down the CQMS, kills the Peak Lords, and even went so far as to merge the demonic and mortal realms. That's what differs him from WWX, so much. It's literally canonically said that he's not the nice kind of protag.

SO in conclusion—when I see people talking about how "SJ didn't deserve all that", I'm between agreeing and disagreeing. What LBG did to SJ is terribly inhumane, but that's to be expected from a demon emperor like him. Hey I'm a SJ stan, it doesn't mean my views are completely biased. Especially considering what LBG possibly went through in the Endless Abyss for five years as a mere disciple without a sword like Xuan Su.

I think this is why PIDW readers rooted for LBG, because the story was from his POV. Tragic MC, thrown into the pits of hell by his cruel master. Our perspective is widened through reading SV and we can see the tragic POV of SJ and so we start to root for him too. No, it doesn't mean that either of these 2 are completely right in their choices, the both of them are very flawed and they're trapped in this cycle of abuse, very harmful to the surroundings. We can't fully fault or justify them. Yes, they need therapists, perchance one hidden behind a very powerful barrier in case any of them decides to attack the poor therapist.

But this realization—the parallels between LBG&SJ and WWX&WC—just kind of amazes me. Okay, ted talk ends, thank you for surviving through, if you don't have any nice words to say please scroll away :(

[amethystfairy1]

Heya! This may be a bit of a long ramble, so take as much time as you need for this! (Or just don't read it, I think I just need this off my chest)

I absolutely love TTSBC, and I've heard about OC's in the world, and I kinda went wild with my personal Minecraft OC.

However, before we get into them, I do not believe that Allay hybrids have ever been mentioned in TTSBC? I, a self-proclaimed allay lover, kinda thought of some ideas?

I guess I'm mainly sending this to you for inspiration(?), or to see if it all checks out in the world. That, or I just like rambling, I don't know.

But allays! In Minecraft, they're small, carry around your things, reproduce using amethyst (hehe) and music, and they're all around very cute! They're often found trapped by pillagers, stuck in cages most likely. They flit about like little fairies (oh my goodness)

Soooo, how would Allays fit into TTSBC? Well, I think that, as a species, they'd remain in the under city. With their blue skin, pure white eyes, and wings that don't fold into one's back properly (more in the next section) it'd be hard to glamour over. Also, I kind of headcanon allay hybrids with tails, long with a frayed/hooked end, which would also be somewhat hard to hide.

Their wings sort of stick out of their backs. They don't have actual muscles in the wings like avians, they are mainly controlled using one muscle connecting it to the back. They flit from exuding straight from the back, to the side, laying more flat against the back instead of each other, but they don't fold into themselves, if that makes sense.

Still, allay hybrids don't necessarily have the best time, especially in lower levels! See, while Allays in Minecraft don't give off light, they are still super luminous! You'll see them a mile away! They're also sky blue, the closest thing to the sky down there, which is an incredibly dangerous combo (not as dangerous as golden glowing things, but that's besides the point.) I don't know where else to put this, but they're also smaller than average, maybe 4'10", 5' at the highest?

They also heal very quickly, (2 hearts a second!) so that could also play a role in how they're used. With their relative strength (they can pick up whatever you give them), it could be that, especially in lower levels, they'd often be forced to work in hard conditions with very little consequence on the people employing them. They are passive mobs, so I think of them as glass cannons, somewhat. Strong, but easy to overwhelm. I also like to think their blood has healing properties (more about that later...), so that could be something interesting...

In higher levels, if they're more respected, they'd probably work with health facilities. I think they'd mainly flit about rooms, working as caretakers. Though, I think that any kind of job that requires moving a lot of stuff easily or anywhere they'd flit about is probably a good place for them to work. Restocking shelves, providing organization, etc.

However, because Allays reproduce/replicate (asexual reproduction?) using amethyst shards, I like to think that they naturally reside in rocky amethyst geodes in Minecraft, but were taken by pillagers. Similarly, Allays prefer darker, rockier, moister environments. For some, maybe a few glowberries would be best for them. Maybe the redstone lights of the higher levels is not the best for the allays, preferring the dark. Due to their luminosity, they may even be able to see in the dark, which the lights may overstimulate. Also, because of the amethyst shards, I think their makeup is more similar to a crystal than anything like regular flesh.

Rather, I think injuries tend to "chip" away, or, should the flesh be squishy, be tougher and more similar to the glowy, liquid filled balls that you could probably find in the dollar section of a Target, or similar to nanotape. Because crystals need to be heated and then cooled to be solid, they likely run very warm. However, should they need to, they can focus a little bit of glamour into their environment to cool themselves or warm themselves up if need be. If they bleed, often times, the blood with crystalize once being oxygenated, the outside world being cooler than their body, and would likely heal the wound bleeding easily. Should anyone need any healing from Allay blood, they would either need fresh Allay blood, or blood that has been warmed to prevent it from crystalizing immediately. A bit of a play on "healing crystals". Do you think that Scar'd purchase one if he ever went under?

I think if they got their arm chopped off, the wound would immediately close. Using limited glamour and a LOT of time, perhaps they could cool their environment slightly enough to move blood more outward from their wound to slowly build their arm back.

Let's talk about mating rituals now! I think gift giving is a big one, especially since they love collecting stuff. Gems or cool rocks would probably be the main one. Spending quality time with their mate with some music also probably sounds nice, too. Because of their crystaline biology, I like to think that their vocalizations sound like windchimes.

I don't know if these work completely, considered how fast I came up with this, so do let me know how you'd change things up if you want.

This is a long one, but I hoped you enjoyed? If you did bring up Allays, then WHOOPS, this is a whole lotta nothing, so please ignore if you'd like.

Still, drink water, eat and sleep well, and remember to take breaks!

I LOVE THE RAMBLES

GIVE THEM TO ME

Ok first of all they sound so pretty? Like SO pretty? I love the idea of them using gemstones in their courting rituals because that is such a lovely concept? Just so beautiful to imagine? And that they're all little fairy-like people, such cuties! And you totally built in the darkness of the under-city considering how folks like that would be used for their specific abilities, especially their fragility combined with their strength being above average. And the glamor heat regulation! That's such a nice detail! I wonder if they would be able to share that sort of regulation with others? And if thats their glamor ability or maybe they're like voidwalkers wherein they use glamor for survival necessity but have a glamor ability on top of that?

I love long thoughts like this! Please send them my way, it always makes me so very happy to see people getting creative and feeling inspired by my AU! Thank you for sharing! 💖💖💖

[autismserenity]

I'm so fucking done right now

I have a friend. We're going to call her "AAAAAAA!!!!"

AAAAAAA!!!! and I have been friends for more than twenty years. LONG before I started converting to Judaism.

She grew up in an area Jewish enough to get the high holy days off. She has as many Jewish friends as I do. She is more knowledgeable about Jewish stuff than anyone else I know who isn't Jewish. To the point that I've sometimes thought about asking her why she doesn't convert.

Sure, she's a staunch atheist. So nu?

I don't think we'd ever had occasion to talk about I/P politics before a couple of years ago. We immediately discovered we had uhhhhh. Very opposing views. We both backed off of what was clearly going to be a charged and messy discussion.

I didn't know enough yet to try anyway. All I knew, mainly, was that (1) Jews are the indigenous people of Israel and (2) both Israel and Palestine have Done Bad Shit!

That's a very, very, very inadequate understanding. But I did feel pretty confident that point #1 contradicted her apparent stance, which was more "Israel is the one that has Done Bad Shit."

We backed off for a couple of years. She would occasionally mention how much she wished I would read Edward Said, so we could talk about him.

She is, to her credit, totally against Hamas's attack. But we conflict on most other issues. And they're so charged for her that we can't really talk about any of them.

It turns out that the reason they're so charged is that her niece got yelled at and called out for "being an antisemite" for supporting BDS in college, and it was traumatizing for her.

In other words, she and her family stopped at "I had really really big feelings of shame and fear about this," and chose not to see "and I tried to find out why this marginalized group was saying that" as an option.

And also, AAAAAAA!!!!'s sister, a local elementary school principal, went through a stressful time recently for similar reasons: Jewish families were accusing her and/or her school of being antisemitic, and one (1) family left.

AAAAAAAA!!!! set the boundary, with me, that we should not talk about the definition of antisemitism, or antisemitism related to the protest movement, after I posted a list of things on Facebook that the ADL is charging the Berkeley Unified School District with.

Including that K-12 students have been saying and/or writing, "Kill the Jews," "Jews are stupid," "Of course it was the Jews," and telling Jewish peers, "I don't like your people."

My friend is angrily convinced that "such accusations are a flood of SEWAGE smeared on protesters, professors, etc. I am not saying there is no antisemitism, though Berkeley is a very weird place for it to crop up in the from-zero-to-a-thousand way it is described. Of course there can be a) isolated incidents that hit fucking hard in these circumstances, and b) deliberate elisions between, again, being against what Israel is doing, and having that portrayed as being antisemitic."

/looks at the camera/

All of this is just context for what I came here to say 😅

I WAS TONIGHT YEARS OLD WHEN I FOUND OUT WHAT EDWARD SAID WROTE, AND WHAT THE ENTIRE FUCK. FUCK THAT DUDE TWICE.

Constantine Zurayk's fiction that the “Arab nation” suffered the Nakba didn’t survive for long. [By 1967,] the meaning of the Nakba had already changed as Palestinian activists and historians began depicting the events of 1948 exclusively as a tragedy for their own people.

...The most influential of those [new books that framed it that way,] particularly for audiences in the West, was Edward W. Said’s The Question of Palestine, published in 1979.

Said, a popular Columbia University English professor [OH HELLO] and a member of the Palestinian National Council, was something of an icon in liberal intellectual circles because of his earlier book, Orientalism. In that work, Said framed the history of colonialism in the Arab and Islamic world within a system of Western racialist thought.

I'm just gonna guess that he didn't go back farther than 50 years. Because before that point, you get 1,300 years or so of Arab and Islamic colonialism, and I don't know how it would make sense to frame that within a system of Western racialist thought.

In The Question of Palestine, the author argued that the game was stacked against the native Palestinians in favor of the white Zionists, because of the same dominant racist ideologies.

THAT'S HIM, OFFICER. THAT'S THE GUY.

That's what my friend has been trying to get me to read for three years? An ahistoric mess that pretends Jews were actually white supremacists at the time that white supremacy was actively trying to wipe us out?

I'M SO TIRED, YOU GUYS.

Said denounced “the entrenched cultural attitude toward Palestinians deriving from age-old Western prejudices about Islam, the Arabs, and the Orient. This attitude, from which in its turn Zionism drew for its view of the Palestinians, dehumanized us, reduced us to the barely tolerated status of a nuisance.”

Yeah, THAT'S what happened.

“Certainly, so far as the West is concerned,” Said continues, “Palestine has been a place where a relatively advanced (because European) incoming population of Jews has performed miracles of construction and civilizing and has fought brilliantly successful technical wars against what was always portrayed as a dumb, essentially repellent population of uncivilized Arab natives.”

This was a harsh and distorted view of the Zionist movement.

I said I was so fucking done, and what I MEANT was that I was so fucking angry, and NOW I'M TEXTING HER SUPPORTIVELY ABOUT OTHER STUFF WHILE I WRITE THIS.

I just.

Please drag Edward Said for me or otherwise Go Off. Thank you

[delphi-dreamin]

hi Delphi!! <3 what do you and Lucifer like to do to relax and unwind?

-@levi4thans

Hi Gray!! 💖💖 I'm so glad you stopped in!

Let's see...to relax and unwind...

First thing's first: Getting comfy. Especially if it's been a long ass day, first thing when we get home, I'm changing into comfy clothes and making Luci change too. That...may or may not mean undressing him myself. 😏

Once comfy, putting on some music in his office is a must. Maybe a glass or two of demonus for Luci? Tea for me, iced or hot depends on the day. But curling up in his lap with my tea and listening to music until dinner just makes all of the stress of the day melt away. Maybe we'll chat about the day, maybe we'll just chill, but either way this step is essential.

The rest is all conditional. Sometimes things.

Taking over the common room to curl up together on the couch and watch a movie (we take turns picking)

When my pain levels are a bit much, he'll draw a bath for us to get in together and he'll massage my joints and back.

I like dragging him into the planetarium to lay down with me and stargaze. He pretends he only does it because I force him to. He actually really enjoys it.

Preening his wings!!! Even if he doesn't necessarily need it, just combing through his feathers with my fingers, straightening and smoothing them, and massaging his flight muscles...It turns him to putty in my hands.

I swear to his Father, if this man gets a day off work, I will take him on a factory tour. Just the two of us. I'll put his brothers to work cleaning the house top to fucking bottom and we will bounce. Because I want him to get his factory tour, dammit.

And then, I mean...there's the obvious...😏😏