#were not going to talk about the clashing aesthetics of names

[minecraftbookshelf]

In the Marriage of State au what are the naming traditions for the different empires. Like in some cultures people are named in a set way or set time after birth and I was wondering considering the different lifespans, way of life, (and with the sea folk) way of birth, and varying different religions how that would go with the different empires

So for most of the empires I actually haven't really thought of How Names except for the ones that I have where I have thought about it In Detail.

(This is mostly the fae/adjacent people and the sea-folk)

For the Sea Folk my main thought is that, if they are the variety that only have one or two eggs at a time, they give names to the eggs once they pass a certain point in development. These names are formatted like nicknames, but are considered the infants first, official name and older family members will often refer to the individual by that for their entire life. (Lizzie's nickname for Jimmy does not translate well at all. In most surface languages it more or less directly translates to "small damaged egg" which leaves out the Oceanic connotations of "beat the odds and lived"). Some Sea Folk have much larger clusters of eggs, and a much lower survival rate of said eggs. These children generally aren't named until well after they've hatched, when they've demonstrated they will likely be surviving. Jimmy and Lizzie are actually technically closer to the second option, though they aren't quite either. However Jimmy was the only surviving egg out of the entire God Roe, so Lizzie named him partly out of spite and partly out of desperate loneliness.

I talked a little bit about Names and Titles in Katherine's How To Become an Emperor for Dummies post. The Fae collect names their entire lives, the core of which is their True Name. (Katherine's is Katherine Elizabeth). Fae are not named when they are born, they discover their names themselves. They spend their childhoods going by various nicknames, usually called different things by different people. Based off the relevant relationships. Once they discover their name they "stabilize" and it becomes very obvious to other fae that they have figured out Who They Are.

I have a sort of vague idea of Mezaleans earning a new name after passing through the Mother Tree but nothing concrete there.

Rivendell...Rivendell names are another thing I've adapted from Tolkien's work. It isn't exact but is very, very much based off of it. Elves are given one name at birth and one name before they leave the home for the first time. Their first name is usually given by the parent who carried them and is name given using Foresight (of the vaguely prophetic variety) about Who The Child Will Be. This is not a name that is shared outside of the immediate family, everyone else during this time when it is the only name the child has refers to them as "son/daughter/child of [head of household name]" (They do keep the patronyms as well, though those aren't usually used outside of official documents, once this phase of life is finished) Before they leave the home for the first time, their other parent (or one of their other parents, if relevant) gives them a name based off of observations of who the child is now. This will be the name by which they are introduced to society and the world at large. (These names are often shorthanded as Mother/Father names, though it is worth noting that these terms are more related to roles as opposed to genders, culturally speaking) Of these two names, their Mother/First name is kept private their entire lives, and functions much the same as a True Name, carrying with it a lot of the same power. The Father/Second name is less integral to their identity as a person. For example, Scott Smajor. Scott is his Mother Name and Smajor his Father Name. So Smajor is how most people know and refer to him. Xornoth is actually a bit of an outlier here, and is also the reason i have such settled world-building. Because Xornoth is not their mother name or father name. It is a name they gave themself. Their first two names are, culturally, dead names; in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with gender and everything to do with expectations and perceptions.

[starz222]

alhaitham — mahal kita

synopsis your group project takes a weird turn

contains fluff. translations are in parenthesis. not proofread. modern au

notes this lowkey short but this has been on my mind for so long

you were assigned a group project by your teacher on the cultures of various nations. it was just a matter of going to see them since there were 3 people in each group and you were placed with the other two who shared a dormitory. 

you walked over to alhaitham and kaveh's shared dorm after getting dressed comfortably for your project. as soon as you open the door, you’re welcomed with an apartment that combines two distinct styles and aesthetics.  it was a perfect representation of alhaitham and kaveh, they both stood out but clashed with one another.

“oh, you’re here.” al haitham walks into the living room wearing his pajamas. his gray hair is messy and his shirt is unaligned. “i told you they’d get here early!” kaveh shouts from their kitchen, “y/n, do you want some coffee? and i’d like to apologize on my roommate’s behalf.” he scoffs and rolls his eyes at al haitham. “sure, thank you, kaveh!” you take the cup of coffee from his hand at sit at the table.

“look at him, cutting our time shorter!” kaveh huffs, “what do you mean? i’m right here aren’t i?” his roommate speaks from behind. “can we just get done with this already?” al haitham takes the seat next to you. you begin to discuss the project with the two of them. you talk about how you can format the project and what else you should add, and speaking of cultures, you bring up an important factor in culture.

“i don’t speak that many languages,” you say, “but you speak lots of different languages, right?” you turn to al haitham, and in response he nods. you ask, "can you say something in one of the languages you know?” 

“alright”, he accepts your request. “mahal kita, y/n. gustong-gusto kita, kaya ako nalang yung dapat piliin mo.” (i love you, y/n. i really really like you, that’s why i’m the one you should choose.)

kaveh spits out the coffee he’s been drinking and looks at al haitham like he’s gone mad. what did you just say? he speaks with his eyes and his shocked look. “why? what’d he say?” you turn to kaveh, the two of them weren’t even hiding how they were practically having a conversation about what he said in front of your face. “he said that—” kaveh stops once he locks eyes with his roommate. those eyes looked like they were hungry for blood! at least, that’s how kaveh interprets it.

“nevermind– he just swore at me in tagalog..” kaveh sulks and looks away, wiping the coffee from the corners of his lips. “yeah, you’re an ass sometimes.” al haitham crosses his arms. oh, this bitch is really going to insult me? two people can play that game. he leans in and whispers in your ear, “he said that he really likes you.” and leans back to take a look at your expression. you argue, “that’s not true. he would never—”

“it’s true.” al haitham cuts you off. “i do like you. kahit di mo ko mahal, mamahalin pa rin kita hanggang kailanman." ( even if you don't love me, i'll still love you forever.)

-

truth be told, the only reason why al haitham looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep was because he didn’t. he couldn’t go to sleep as his mind filled him with a mix of emotions hitting him everywhere all at once. worry, anxiety, anticipation, happiness, you name it. he hoped that kaveh would be able to lighten the mood and make him less awkward around you than he already is. he barely got any sleep because he couldn’t stop thinking about you. 

when he saw you just standing there in his home, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. he refocuses his gaze on you, and fuck, you’re not his imagination. lucky enough his roommate helped him escape unknowingly. but then again, brought him to confess his feelings to you.

-

“....mahal din kita?” (i love you too) your entire face heats up, you look at kaveh. “did i say it right?” he’s just staring at the two of you with his mouth agape, “will he be okay?” you ask al haitham. “just give him a few seconds.”

he slams his hands on the table, “what the fuck just happened. i’ve been sitting here the entire time?!” 

[ladykailitha]

Royal Pain Part 10

Hello! So I’m wondering if people aren’t seeing my posts, I got someone on one these (don’t remember if it was this one or Roads...but they said that somehow they had missed the last three). I also noticed that a couple of the writing tags *I* follow didn’t update when they put out a new part of their story, I only noticed that they put it out because I dig through the #steddie tag several times a day.

So let me know if you’re still seeing my tags or not.

The application process has begun! Just a note on Argyle’s last name. The fandom doesn’t have one for him and they usually don’t give him one. It took a lot of research (the character looks Native American but the actor is an American born to two Mexican parents.) So after some seriously thought I landed on Rivera.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3  Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7 Pt 8  Pt 9

***

The first guy’s name was Keith Langston and he had been learning to tattoo through buying large swaths of pig skin. The guy’s portfolio was entirely of pig skin tattoos.

“Have you ever tattooed human skin or on a live person?” Steve asked looking over the portfolio turning each page slowly. “It can even be yourself. Or even just drawing on yourself?” He added, because that’s how he got into tattooing.

Keith scoffed. “That’s what I’m here for. To tattoo other people. I only go to the best to get my body tattooed.”

Steve smiled. “And who are your favorite artists?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Like only the greats. Leonard Killgrave, Ollie Peterson, Trent Sullivan. You know, those guys.”

How Steve managed to avoid wincing, he could only attest to years of customer service. Because he had never heard of any of them. And Hopper was no slouch in the social aspect of being a tattoo parlor owner. He knew most of the shop owners and good portion of the artists under them. They weren’t from Indy that was for sure.

And then it hit him. They weren’t from Indy. They were probably from Chicago or New York, maybe even Boston. This prick was traveling out of state to get his tattoos.

“I see,” was all Steve said. They talked some more about Keith’s abilities and where he hoped to be in five years.

“Well, you got to where you are in five years,” Keith sneered. “I fully expect to world renowned in that time.”

Steve’s eye twitched. “Thank you so much for your time.” He handed back the portfolio and didn’t even bother to stand.

Keith stormed off muttering about asshole douchebags who thought they were still in high school.

Yeah, Steve was not hiring Keith.

The next one was Eden Bingham. She was the Goth chick with the fluffy black hair and the piercings.

“Hello,” she greeted as Steve stood up to shake her hand.

“Hi,” he said, “tell me about yourself.”

Turned out she was Suzie’s older sister. She had moved out from Utah to get away from her strict parents and to be closer to Suzie after she married Dustin. Suzie was the one that had told her that he was looking for an apprentice and to try for it.

During the course of the interview, Steve was a little disappointed. Eden was good. Damn good in fact. And had been tattooing her friends and roommates for the last year, indie style. But he knew their personalities would clash so hard. And it wasn’t about the aesthetic. It wasn’t.

But he knew where she would flourish though and made a note to have Robin call Hop. Hop’s most recent apprentice had moved up to a chair and chose to move to Chicago to purse their career there and needed a new apprentice.

He thanked her for her time, stood up and shook her hand.

“Hey, look,” he said gently. “I don’t think you would be happy apprenticing under me.”

She smiled. “Probably not.”

“But I know someone who’s just barely had a spot open up,” Steve explained. “He hasn’t had time to put out feelers yet. I think you’d two would be a better fit.”

Eden’s eyes went wide. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

Steve nodded. “And not just because you’re Suzie’s sister, either. Because I think you’re good and deserve a shot. Even if it isn’t with me.”

“Thanks!”

He walked out with her to get Hopper’s number and address. She walked out talking excitedly to Suzie on the phone.

Robin bumped his shoulder. “That was nice of you.”

Steve blushed. “Hop will love her.” He looked at the remaining two. “Who’s next?”

“Argyle Rivera,” she murmured.

Steve turned to him. “Argyle, come on back.”

Argyle leapt to his feet. “Brochacho! I’m super excited.”

Steve smiled and led him to the back room. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Argyle handed him his portfolio. “I think it’s so cool you asked for a physical portfolio, dude. Most cats only want a link to some website.”

Steve grinned. “I don’t mind those, it’s just harder to talk while scrolling.”

Argyle grinned back. “Yeah.”

Steve opened it up to see the most beautiful Mexican styled tattoos he had ever laid eyes on in his life. Growing up in Hawkins made for a very thin Latino or Hispanic population so he didn’t see much of this kind of work, but he had always admired it.

“This is amazing,” he breathed. “How long have you been doing this?”

Argyle blushed. “I haven’t really done much. I used marker for the most part because permanent isn’t really my style, bro. But I’ve done a couple stick and poke stuff that was fun. And I am all about the fun. So a friend suggested I should try for this.”

“So you’ve never used an ink gun?” Steve asked.

Argyle shook his head. “Nope!”

Steve and Argyle talked for a bit longer and Steve was really impressed with how open and outgoing he was.

“How do you feel about doing tattoos not in your usual style?” he asked. This was the kicker for most artists.

Argyle lit up. “That would be awesome to learn how to do, dude! I love my style but branching out is what life is all about.”

“And how would you feel about starting off only doing simple tattoos, like the small ones or basic designs?” Steve asked.

Argyle’s face spread out into the biggest grin. “Everyone’s got to start out somewhere, my man!”

Steve was really leaning towards Argyle now. Which was too bad, because he really liked the spunky blonde. No, no, not like that.

He led Argyle back to the reception area and then Robin called the last out. “Chrissy Cunningham.”

Steve smiled at her. “Come on back.”

She jumped up and followed him. “You aren’t going to murder me for the no tattoo remark, are you?” she asked with a grin and a wink.

Steve burst out laughing. “If I killed everyone that thought that, Indy would be down three-fifths of its tattoo artist population.”

She laughed too. “Fair enough.”

“And since we’re on the topic,” he said, indicating for her to sit down, “you don’t look the type anymore than I do.”

She grinned. “I got my first tattoo when I sixteen. My mom didn’t want me cutting my hair so much so that I told her either let me cut my hair or let me get a tattoo, she let me get the tattoo.”

Steve’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit! I’ve never heard of that. It’s hair. It grows back.”

Chrissy grinned. “Her words were ‘At least a tattoo could be covered up, I’d have to look at the terrible hair cut!’.”

“That is fucking insane!” Steve said. “Can I see it?”

She nodded and pulled up her shirt sleeve. Steve could see the nine (yes nine, Pluto counts) planets and at the top was a howling fox.

“That’s cool,” he said. “Can I see your portfolio?”

She handed it over and Steve looked at it. She didn’t seem to have a firm style yet.

He found out they had both gone to Hawkins High. “Wait, no way.”

She nodded. “We all knew who Steve Harrington was. The basketball players all wanted to be him and all the cheerleaders wanted to be with him.”

Steve blushed into his hands. “Oh god that’s awful.”

Chrissy laughed. “Well, most of the cheerleaders anyway.”

“Not you?” he guessed.

“Kind of a large lesbian,” she said with a grimace. “Makes it a tad difficult.”

Steve laughed. “Fair enough.”

He talked with her a bit and then led her out like he had done with Eden and Argyle. He said goodbye and locked the door up behind him.

He turned to Robin. “What did you think of them? Be honest. They probably said a whole lot while they were waiting their turn.”

Robin nodded. “Argyle got Eden’s number.”

Steve burst out laughing. “Yeah, okay I needed that. Did he really?”

“Oh yeah,” Robin said. “It was mildly hilarious how well they hit it off. You couldn’t find a weirder couple.”

Steve put his hand over his heart in mock protest. “Have you supplanted our relationship as the weirdest ever? I’m hurt. Hurt I say!”

Robin laughed so hard she snorted. “All right you drama queen, weirdest romantic couple. How’s that?”

Steve beamed at her. “Perfect!”

She laughed again, shaking her head. They talked about the two candidates and both were really good.  

“I don’t want to pick between them,” Steve whined, hitting his head on the desk.

“So don’t.”

Steve lifted his head. “What do you mean?”

Robin licked her lips slowly. “Steve, I’ve been doing the numbers, if we add in the potential of what they can bring in, by the time school starts back up again not only will we have enough to pay for both of them to stay on, but Erica too, and the new receptionist.”

Steve jerked back. “Wait, what?”

She nodded. “I’m not lying, dingus. I’ll swear on it. In fact, we could probably hire the new receptionist by July.”

His eyes went wide. “Really?”

Robin took his face in her hands. “You are open and friendly. First timers and people who are just nervous in general love coming to you because you put them at ease. People who just want to get a tattoo as memorial or just as a one-time thing, love coming to you. There is this whole untapped market that you accidentally slid into and made it your own. We just need more people so you and I can enjoy our lives for a change.”

Steve blinked. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Robin said. “You are so good at this. Don’t sell yourself short. You deserve this.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Let’s do it. Call them both and have them come in tomorrow at nine so that we can go over a few things and have them learn how to open.”

Robin nodded. “Sounds good.” She picked up the phone and started doing just that.

Steve watched her with a growing smile on his face. He had a really good feeling about this summer.

***

Part 11 Part 12  Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18 Part 19  Part 20  Part 21   Part 22  Part 23  Part 24  Part 25 Part 26  Part 27  Part 28  Epilogue

I figured as controlling as Chrissy’s mom was in the show about her weight, she would be controlling about the hair too. And ngl this is exactly what my oldest sister did to my youngest niece. It’s hair. It’ll grow back. Nope. The tattoo on my niece’s arm is the one I described here.

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[lunamond]

In light of my recent post about Acotar, I wanted to gush some about my favourite Beauty and Beast and Ballad of Tam Lin (and a sprinkle of Bluebeard) YA retelling.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge ❤️

This is mostly going to be a gush fest and recommendation for anyone who was also excited by the idea of meshing Beauty and the Beast with Tam Lin and ended up utterly disappointed with Acotar.

Some very mild spoilers (mostly Worldbuilding)

Cruel Beauty is a fun and easy read: YA Fantasy Romance with plenty of popular tropes and archetypes, like the arranged marriage, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, etc

This book still manages to engage in such interesting ways with the original tales it's based on.

Instead of stealing the aesthetic of the Og fairytales and other folklore and mythology like in Acotar.

Any defining fae feature of Sjm's characters is immediately removed in the very beginning of Acotar (the lieing, the iron, etc), turning the characters in what amounts to hot magic people. Even their supposed long lifespans barely impact their behaviour or culture.

Cruel Beauty continuously builts on its roots, making them an intrinsic part of its narrative.

In Acotar outside of the very shallow narrative skeleton of the Beauty and the Beast tale, you could strip away the faerie and folklore elements, and you're left with the same story. The only changes you might need to make are to find a new name for Tamlin (while not that serious, I considered it quite offensive when I first read this series as a teenager that Sjm would take that name and then turn that character into an abuser).

In Cruel Beauty, however, both the defining elements of the Beauty and the Beast story and the Tam Lin story are crucial to the development and resolution of its plot.

The Beast of the story is cursed, as are the inhabitants of his castle. Nyx, our Beauty character, is offered in exchange for a mistake her father made. As she is unknowingly about to break the curse, the Beast lets her go back, but when she returns, it's too late to break the curse.

This is when the story morphes into the Ballad of Tam Lin, and Nyx has to win her lover back from the Faerie Queen in much the same manner as Janet did in the ballad, even saving him from a very similar fate.

The Bluebeard elements, which to me always seemed more like references than an actual retelling, are still really apparent and well integrated.

The representation of the fae is also great in this book. This is especially remarkable due to the fact that the actual words fae or faerie are never used once.

Instead, they are referred to as the Kindly Ones.

However, they are clearly trickster folk who make bargains with unwitting humans that always end up going wrong in cruel ways. They are fair, never directly lie, and always keep their end of the agreement. They place a lot of importance on names, are otherworldly, eerie, etc.

Basically, they actually seem Other, instead of talking and acting like frat bros from the 21st century.

This book differs from a lot of other Fae Fantasy, however, in the way it mixes Greco-Roman Myths with more Celtic Germanic Folklore. It creates a really fun interplay between these cultures, both in-world as well as on a meta level.

First of all, there are some other (in my opinion, more mediocre books) that do throw a lot of mythologies together. CB sets itself apart with the fact that it does so with a lot more purpose than others do.

In many people's minds, different cultures and mythos tend to be viewed as very separate. However, just looking at the Greek and Roman myths, it's already pretty clear that every time cultures clashed, so would their myths and stories.

This is a well studied phenomenon. The romans especially were well known to basically mash up their deities and myths with those of every new culture they interacted with.

And CB uses this brilliantly. The story is set in an alternate timeline, in which, after the fall of Rome, a kingdom known as Arcadia was created by former Roman generals/nobility. This mirrors actual history, during which many early medieval kingdoms would seek their legitimacy in their connections to the Roman Empire (see the Holy Roman Empire aka Germany).

But in CB, the fantastical elements are meshed up in this as well. This allows Rosamund Hodge to create an interesting interplay between the Greco-Roman Mythology imported by the elite in Arcadia and the more Celtic/Germanic Folklore elements native to the land and its population.

So, yeah. Go read Cruel Beauty, please.

[slutforstabbings-archive]

now i’m super curious, what’s ur hcs for alt!corey?

Alt!Corey Cunningham HC's

prompted by the conversation started here. Sorry this took so long!

tagging @rebel-blue @nachtmahr666 @vanellygal I never know who all to tag so if you want me to tag you specifically every time, please lmk!

Music:

Corey grew up listening to the radio and whatever music Joan put on. His mom is probably in her early 50’s in the movie, and she seems like one of those people who is terrible but likes and uses sweet nice wholesome things to hide behind, so she probably only listened to squeaky clean and boring pop music, and I think that would start Corey on a path towards heavy music, distorted music, music with dark themes, anything other than what Joan liked. He finds a lot of pop music to be insincere and he hates that.

WURG seems like an oddball station from what we hear of it in the movie and what it’s mentioned as playing in the book, so Corey definitely likes some punk and metal and garage just from the radio. But he doesn’t really know that’s what it is, genres and subcultures are kind of lost on him. And he doesn’t really realize he only knows music that’s 35-60 years old.

Personally as someone who grew up listening to a lot of oldies radio specifically, I know they’re really bad about identifying old songs cause they think you know the artist and title already. So I’m gonna go ahead and say for a lot of his life Corey doesn’t know the name or artist of most of the songs he likes, and he probably doesn’t realize he likes multiple songs from the same artist, so he doesn't have a favorite band. He has to learn to dig into a catalog and listen to full albums as an adult because that was never something he was introduced to as a child.

His mom obviously put heavy parental controls on his computer time, looked through his browser history, etc so I don’t think he was really able to explore his music taste probably until he got a smart phone and more privacy in his internet usage, which wouldn’t have been until he was an adult. I think Joan would have wanted him to have a phone so she could call him but would’ve kept him with a non-smart phone with no data until it basically wasn’t an option anymore, so he got his first smart phone when he was probably like 17-19, and that’s when his music exploration could really begin.

Even pre-accident Corey is sad and lonely and angry so he’s drawn to those lyrical themes. He has very angsty taste. But he also likes interesting time signatures and weird textures. He's a math and science guy and he thinks it's really cool when musicians approach their craft in a mathematical or experimental way. Post- Michael I think Corey recedes into the heaviest and most anguished parts of his music taste. Songs that used to make him cry, songs that pump him up, songs that he used to imagine were written for people much more badass than him, whatever that might be. Devastating vocal delivery, heart wrenching lyrics, chugging guitars, all three if he can get them.

BAND LIST (trying to go with the most popular examples so you can get the gist of the aesthetic I’m picturing lol):

From the Radio - Rolling Stones, Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, The Clash, Talking Heads, all the obvious legacy early metal and punk bands. 

Pre-Accident - American Football, Sunny Day Real Estate, Hum, Modest Mouse, Smashing Pumpkins, Descendents, Brand New, New Order, Mazzy Star, The Smiths, Hella

Post-Accident, Pre-Michael - Grunge big 4, but his favorite is Pearl Jam, Pixies, Melvins, Tool, Joy Division, Deftones, Sonic Youth, I Hate Sex, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails

Post- Michael - Electric Wizard, Windhand, clipping., Lingua Ignota, Full of Hell

Fashion:

I see a lot of different ages thrown around for how long Corey's mom dressed him, but novelization canon is he started dressing himself at 13. I think it's definitely still the case that his mom buys and picks out most of his clothes for a long time, but I think he slowly wears her down on letting him pick things until his wardrobe is mostly his choices filtered through her. But because of that filter it's still never quite him.

When the other kids started getting into subcultures, Corey watched with envy. He didn't have a particular favorite style, and he wouldn't have known what to call it if he did, he just liked the idea that you could say something to the world with your clothes, and draw people who agreed with you to you and push people who didn't away. The idea that you could form a community around how you dress. All he wants is community.

Corey's never really considered tattoos or piercings because he knows his mother would absolutely lose her mind if he "damaged" himself that way. The only thing he's thought of is that his dad had a tattoo of a duck, so maybe he could get a tattoo of a duck in the same place. I think that if Corey was more interested in tattoos than that , pre-accident he would be a black linework only kind of guy, he wants to be an engineer, he likes the kind of sparse, design-y, almost technical drawing aspect of plain linework tattoos. Post-accident, pre-Michael, he' definitely an American Traditional/Neo-Trad guy. It's straight forward, it's classic, it's low-key. Post-Michael Corey is the kind of guy who gets big blackout stripes or brush strokes for the experience. Because blackouts hurt and because they make people, even other tattooed people, say why the fuck would you get that? Post-Michael Corey would also so get a prince albert sorry.

I can't see him wearing make up, even just eyeliner. Seems too pretty for him I guess, like he's an aesthetically simple guy in a lot of ways, and presents in such a casual masculine way, it just doesn't seem like him. But I can see him painting his nails black every once in a while. Not any other colors but black for sure.

[childofaura]

I know you don’t want to talk about Engage anymore and this would be a different from the typical asks you get but if you’re one of the writers for Engage how would you improve the main Lords (Alfred, Diamant, Ivy and Timerra), Céline and Alear in terms of character writing and if possible design as well?

Oh I have no issues actually talking about Engage; I’m actually happy to talk about it. I just don’t want to play it again, hahaaa… ._. I feel like I’d have enjoyed the game more if the gameplay changes were upfront.

Ok so this one’s a good question because I thought about what I would really do to modify the characters to maybe be a little MORE than what we got. Not that they were bad but more that they were lost potential. BUT I will be honest: I did miss a lot of supports between characters, so if I say something should be changed to a different thing and it DID happen in Engage, don’t be afraid to call me out on it, peeps!

Right off the bat though: I wouldn’t change anyone’s physical design except for Alear and some minor details on Ivy. Everyone was pretty much properly designed to the aesthetics of their kingdom. The only thing I’d change for Ivy is that black cover in front of her face that has a specific name I can’t recall. It was a very neat touch to show how she hides her emotions, but it made cutscenes SO DAMN ANNOYING because her face was so obscured. I’d simply give her one of those mourning veils to only go over her eyes, with adornments on the sides. That way it’s not super distracting for cutscenes but you can still hid her face. I’m pretty sure one of the mage classes in Fodlan has those. I’ll get to Alear at the end because she needs a complete overhaul.

Now in terms of character writing, I’m putting a read more because this could get lengthy.

Writing.

-Alfred and Celine

For Alfred, I actually don’t think his personality needs to be re-written, but more that his timing in the story needs to be switched and his personality traits need to be enhanced. So I feel like in Lythos Castle, instead of Alfred, Etie, and Boucheron, it should have actually been Celine, Chloe, and Louis. And have the reason for them being there that Celine needs Alear’s help because of the rise of the Corrupted making a march towards Firene Castle or something. Then once you arrive there, you’d find Alfred trying to fend off Corrupted to protect his mother, but quickly becoming winded and gasping from exhaustion (because it bugs me that Alfred seems to magically not feel the effects of his sickness until his literal shortened life-span caused by it); thus begins the level of trying to save Alfred with Celine. You hit two birds with one stone because Celine seeking out Alear shows a more protective side of taking action, and you see Alfred being hindered by his sickness. Celine as a character is fine… but if they just emphasized that she’s the one looking out for her brother more, it would have been better.

-Diamant

I do like Diamant the most out of all the main lords, but there’s still issues I would want to change when it comes to his character. I think Diamant’s problem is that he’s too perfect and well-rounded as a character, without any kind of real growth or conflict. Sure, he has a fear of magic, but it very rarely shows itself in a clear manner. It would have been cool to see Diamant rushing to save Morion from Hyacinth, only for Ivy to come in with magic and see Diamant frozen with fear. But mainly, I think Diamant should have maybe had some kind of conflict with Morion. Diamant’s shown to be much more compassionate with his relationships to the other nations, and having him maybe clash with Morion over his invasion attempts with Elusia could make Morion’s capture that much more painful for him, thinking about how his last conversation with Morion was an argument, and how maybe he was wrong about being diplomatic with Elusia. And then it would create some conflict with Ivy when Alear spares her, and then as he sees Hyacinth die to Sombron he regains some of his sympathy again.

I ended up doing a lot of comparison to previous princes like Xander, Ryoma, and Dimitri. I think if Diamant had some kind of personality flaw or some growth to overcome, he could have filled out his potential.

-Ivy

Not much to say about her, just that if they simply removed that creepy obsessive line she has with Alear when you first battle her, she’d have been better. Maybe make her more bitter about the Divine Dragon siding with the nation that keeps invading Elusia.

-Timerra

I sadly and honestly can’t say much about her. I dropped her the moment I recruited her and gave Ike’s emblem ring to Zelkov. But I’m sure she’s fine.

I think for Alear, I’m gonna tackle her character change when I make my post about Veyle. I had a huge story revision I wanted to see involving both her and Alear, while keeping their basic story points. But that’s pretty much what I had in mind for character changes.

[secret-bug-pain-blog]

hey um. i realize the moth guy in the voice loss episode is probably just an one off antagonist and really not crush material but breadcrumbs about him please? he sounds hot in a pathetic evil red flag way.

No need to apologize - it's always fun to talk about our writing! Arc is technically a shared OC, originating from a RP with @den-of-collars - he's primarily a rival idol to Mothiva. Tends to be our stock bastard, when we want to antagonize her and/or introduce extra idols to a scene (usually both).

His brand is Edgy Punk Bitch, in the palatable way that Edgy is often worn down to for mainstream consumption and he very much profits off of the "good girl/bad boy" type dynamic that working with Mothiva affords him. Earlier drafts of him were a lot more frat-boy-ish and he's still got a few traces of it remaining, but his public-facing personality's drifted a lot more towards "stereotypical punk".

For the most part, he's a common-or-garden asshole who thinks it's fun to antagonize Mothiva - the threat is from his position as an idol she has to play nice with or face massive consequences, and the fact that he sees little wrong with pushing that antagonism further and doesn't really care about the impact besides his own benefit and what reaction he can get out of Mothiva.

He's a few years younger than her, and currently in the "making a name for himself" stage of the whole fame cycle, whereas Mothiva is near the peak of her appeal and trying to struggle though the plateau in her earnings where she's more or less reached Everyone Who's Interested and now has to keep the line going up before her bosses lose interest - what's important to Arc is putting himself out there and getting an audience, and a "ship" with Mothiva is a very efficient way of getting that attention.

The dynamic itself means he's a lot more "stand-out" - he tends to take centre stage because he gets a lot more leeway for talking over other bugs and being Rude, where Mothiva has to abide with common-courtesy rules at absolute minimum, and he's good enough at turning the tables during banter that she has to censor herself in order to avoid saying anything... inadvisable.

It would be a bit more mutually beneficial, but as previously mentioned, he likes to antagonize Mothiva to the point that she'd rather gargle bees, and any integration beyond dropping hints during interviews and making the occasional hint-heavy love song would be very likely to have their brands clash too much to be properly marketable.

He's got enough in common with Mothiva at that stage that she sees something of herself in him, and she hates his guts partially because of it and partially because of the general antagonism.

Also, to be fair, it is literally his job to be hot. Part of being an idol is Aesthetic Appeal - being hot enough to sell yourself to the widest possible audience. You've fallen for the marketing tactic. Congratulations!

[cross-zmagma]

I couldn't make my usual Geats Post, College became a little more tough and needed to pay more attention if I wanna pass the rest of my classes (Already passed one, and there's 4 more to go)

But I'm making this post because this feels interesting to talk about, the Beat and Monster being Na-Go's and PunkJack's respective buckles despite not seeming to fit with their aesthetic, also the Geats X Revice Crossover movie because I can't wait to see this.

But that's the thing, they are their buckles not because they fit their aesthetic but because they fit the character in my opinion, instead of being the buckles that go well with their ID Cores (I don't know if they are actually the ones or not).

For example, Hareruya Win seems to be the typical dude who wants to become a rockstar , famous, a star, and that will be his thing, where he always tries to take protagonism and that would explain why he kept trying to attack on his own during PunkJack's first appearance because he wants to be the star of the show. Monster may not be the Buckle for PunkJack but the best buckle for Hareruya Win... Also this dude's name is amazing, who also thinks he's our next winner?

And finally, Na-Go the character who spend a lot of episodes either dancing or fighting with a Beat with Ace. And that's the thing, the Beat Buckle may not be Na-Go's best fit but it is probably the best for who Kurama Neon is as a character. I don't know, i just felt like that's where they were going, Now watch as Toei literally just never makes actual buckles for them in favor of a Gears or Tycoon power up or something.

Whatever, it just seemed like a cool detail that may be correct. Now the CrossOver Movies:

Also, The New CrossOver Movie Data has come out, Ryuki fans be Happy!!!

God, I can't wait to see this movie, they seem to be coming back to the Divide format, where the movie is actually like 2 movies, one for the previous Rider and a second half for the new one, and in the end both sides somehow get involved with each other. God I loved this format because it allowed to show some of the future of the Characters, like with Fourze, Wizard, Gaim when they finally became veteran Riders, I still think that this way of storytelling is so good because it allows you to focus more on both sides before clashing a lot of characters that may not fit with one another. Also I hope we get Sakura-Hana-Neon moments.

Also Ryuki is gonna be there which is cool because of the way they are using the battle royale aspect of Geats to bring back the OG Rider Battle royale of the franchise. Ryuki, Knight and Ouja suit are confirmed, and I think Ryuga too but I'm not sure. This movie is literally telling me I need to watch Ryuki. God, i can't wait for this to come out.

[jemeryas]

Chanel Continues to Honor Their History with 'The Button'

Chanel continues to honor their history with their recent couture show 'The Button'. A fantastical way to remind the fashion community of what makes Chanel unique in their designs. The button—an integral part for the founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and her deigns—revolutionized how women's clothes are tailored and designed. Allowing women—according to Coco—to "rid themselves of everything that had prevented them from moving freely.” This motif was showcased by the house's creative director Virginie Viard who decided that ballerina-core would be the best way to communicate this all the while giving a history lesson on the brand.

The show, taking place in a round that allowed the audience and distinguished guest such as Anna Wintour, Kendrick Lamar—who is a brand ambassador for Chanel and would preview a new song for the house—and Baz Luhrmann a good view of the parade of clothes, begins with a short film depicting a young woman—played by Margaret Qualley—on a quest to find a button that would bring her face to face first with the sage or "wise woman" of the film, Naomi Campbell, giving her a ticket to Paris. It is there that Margaret would encounter a modern Coco Chanel—played by Anna Mogulalis—and, as the film would end, find herself on the runway, giving the audience a very cheeky grin and allowing the procession of models to follow. While at first I thought this was a nod to the Elizabethan era by Qualley wearing the popular ruff, a collar that was worn by British nobility; it is clear by the fifth look that would resemble an unfastened leotard paired with the signature tweed jacket that the fashion house would become notorious for since Lagerfeld would popularize it, that ballet would be central to this viewing. However, Viard does something that other fashion houses who have attempted a ballet themed collection fail to do and that is incorporating the brand's history in it.

Ballet and fashion have always gone hand-in-hand. Fashion houses have often collaborated with the likes of The New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and Ballet Preljocaj to name a few. These collabs going back as early as 1924 when Coco Chanel would design costumes for Jean Cocteau's 'Le Train Bleu'. In 2016 Miu Miu would introduce the world to this "ballet core" aesthetic by debuting ballet slippers—retailing at just $975 in Nordstrom's if you were in the market for some new shoes—and would even re-introduce them again in 2022 for their fall/winter show. However the rest of the collection was still on par with the typical Miu Miu pieces. Pleated skirts, cut off shirts and polos; other than the inclusion of the slippers, you would've just been watching your usual Miu Miu collection. What Viard and the team at Chanel get right is taking the ballet aesthetic and Chanel-ifying it. Tulle is paired with the signature tweed jackets, a leotard goes with a bejeweled, pink jacket and skirt that would work perfectly for a show like 'Guys and Dolls' and while to the general public this may seem like a clash of colors and materials, what I have learned about the history of Chanel isn't from watching their shows or reading books but getting to visit their stores and talking with their associates who would inform me that—much like Sofia Richie Grainge's wedding that was entirely designed by Chanel—they design, not for the general public's approval, but for a specific clientele who will love their collections no matter what. It is exactly that type of dedication, from both consumer and producer, that allows this brand to continue to thrive. The show comes in full circle when the Chanel bride makes her appearance wearing a silver tunic for a dress with chiffon sleeves and a black ribbon that pulls her hair out of her face, giving access to soak in the radiance of both the model and ensemble.

It is never that a collection is bad, it just takes the right stylist—like Law Roach—to see certain pieces and connect the dots that allows the garment to shine beautifully on the right person. This show is just one of those few examples. The popularity of Chanel for this collection will take the right media outlet—much like Scream Queens did for the brand back in 2015—or the right celebrity figure to re-invigorate appreciation for the fashion house. While I may not give Chanel a ten this time around, their dedication to their history and legacy is one that I can admire and appreciate. Whether you like Coco Chanel or even Karl Lagerfeld as humans is besides the point. Focusing on the storytelling and that commitment is what makes me give this collection an eight. I appreciate a brand who knows their history and will go out of their way, regardless of public opinion, to honor it.

But as always make sure you watch the show for yourself and see some of my favorite looks from this collection.

[areallybadwriter]

12/26

I write this from AZ where my dad’s side of the family lives, about to sleep. I was supposed to fly back home today but my flight, along with a thousand others, was cancelled and we scrambled to find accommodations. my dad flew back to where he lives tonight and i am flying out tomorrow.

arizona has been a lot of fun and its always really good to see this side of the family as i feel closer with them in terms of values and hobbies. we are a family full of artists so its very refreshing being able to talk about art with them and also there is a common disdain for some of my fathers actions or words that i feel comfortable relating to them on. its nice to hear that others also are disappointed by the way he acts sometimes. my 87 year old grandma is also out here, who lived a great life and passed a desire for art and aesthetics to the rest of us. i don't get to spend nearly enough time with her as we live thousands of miles away so its so nice to see her and talk with her. we spent a lot of time looking at old photos of her family and my late grandfathers family (dating back to the 1800s) so that was sooooo cool and ill cherish that forever. some of the names of ancestors were really cool too and if i ever did consider having kids (unlikely) i’d get my inspiration from the registries we have. i also gifted my grandma a book that i had handmade in my bookmaking/photography course so that we could use it as a shared notebook, sending it back and forth between us. she seemed to love it and already drew something for me to “respond” to so im very excited to start that. my dad thanked me for the way i treated her which surprised me as she is my grandmother who i highly value (a trait i think he could borrow). and because she, and the rest of the family, is out here in phoenix and not the midwest anymore, i would definitely consider moving out here if the circumstances worked out. the air and the sun and the landscape help clear my head (and my skin) and i don't feel the same worries and emotional coils i do in the cold, cloudy midwest. my cousin is also getting married in march out here to the sweetest boy ever and i couldn't be more excited for them. i also love weddings and i get to bring my best friend so i think it'll be lots of fun. 

I am officially graduated from college which is crazy and it doesn't feel quite real yet. i didn't attend the graduation ceremony because i was not about to spend $100+ dollars on renting a cap and gown and dragging all of my willing family members to that in the dead of winter. i do hope i get some gifts, mostly money for traveling, but if anything it's really nice to be celebrated a little after a grueling four and a half years. now i just have to figure out what im doing and make money. yay!

I met up with ex b a couple days before i left for arizona, which i was surprised to do but it was a lot of fun. i had gotten a little wine drunk a few weeks ago and mentioned meeting up to catch up and at the time, he did not seem into it at all so i dropped it quickly. but he texted me about a week after and continued the conversation on it so i figured why not? we were both back in the hometown (we met in high school) so it wasn't the easiest to figure out what to do, especially because he didn't want to go into the city for anything. we ended up settling on a townie bar in the town over. when we showed up, about 50 carhartt rednecks stared at us intruding on their karaoke night, so we found a quiet booth in the back. i got a jamo & coke, which ended up being very strong, and he got a beer. its always very easy for us to slip back into comfortableness around each other (we did date on and off since 2017), but i was wary after this last summer. i don't remember if ive mentioned it previously on this blog but it as exes do, we were hooking up and hanging out again and it was bad on my brain. he also was going through a patch of absolute selfishness (which is ok, he needs more of that), so we were clashing pretty hard by the end of it and the fallout was messy. but, we were able to talk about all that and speak about our lives and dreams and it was really, really nice. now, i proposed it as completely platonic which is genuinely ok with me as the rest of my life is quite hard to manage at the moment but i couldn't read whether it was purely friendship or not. he touched me a lot and made a lot of callbacks to memories and things we had done during our relationship and even towards the end of the night prompted the “what now” question as we were both staying at our family homes and couldn't go back anywhere. i don't know if he meant what i thought he meant but we have plans to see each other again some point soon. it honestly was really nice and he is still one of my favorite people and will always be a great person to have in my life. we’ll see where that goes, if anywhere.

another meet up that is hopefully happening is one ive waited on for quite awhile. wyoming is home for christmas and apparently staying until mid-january. i told him that i would literally stop talking to him (we talk every day still) if we didn't see each other, as there's a lot of effort being put into our relationship, whatever it is, and i will not continue to try if there's no promise of seeing each other in person when its possible. i would say that im pretty committed to the idea - i worry too committed at times - and would try very hard to make this work if he shows that he wants it as much as i do. ever since we started talking again, i think he has shown that and has said some things i wouldn't dare to even dream of (but who am i kidding, i think about him all the time) that have urged to me to at least try. there is a promise we will see each other, but its just hard knowing whether he wants it as much and i am simply waiting for him to make the effort to plan something. we live less than a mile away from each other in our hometown so its safe to say I'll be livid if something doesn't happen. and with everything we’ve discussed up to this point, it'd be stupid not to see each other. i am scared that i will show all my cards up front, not that i haven't started already over the phone, and make a fool of myself. i know that we are better friends than that at this point and there are bigger concerns, but i think back to how giddy my 16 year old self was at the thought of him and can't say that i won't revert back to that feeling. corny as it sounds, i have never ever been so delighted than at the feeling of his hands on me. a few weeks ago, he was drunk and told me that bottom line if he felt as much as i did (the big one) that he would never be the first one to say it. as ive relished in it since we were 16, i told him i had no problem saying it first, and about a week later i did. i was also a little inebriated and absolutely terrified, but i said “i do love u” (just like that) and then went to bed. i didn't feel bad about it in the morning, no regret, and would say it a thousand times over if he wanted me to. in a way, it was nice for me to finally get it out there - it had been a thought of mine for so long that i forgot that it was real. he didn't say it back automatically which was absolutely grueling but i knew he felt the same way and was secure enough to not really need to hear it. he had shown me. but in an air of warning almost, he did say it back and basically told me he was scared to start something official as it meant losing me one way or another. i didn't tell him this, but i think not starting something also means losing me. ive kept it in so long and now ive finally said it and i feel like my heart is bursting and i just want to keep going. i said it again a couple days ago when he was driving home from wyoming (in one go, mind you) because i figured it was a hard drive and no way would i have let him get into an accident or something without saying it again. and i will say it again and again and again because i love it. and at this point in my life, i really don't care. if im going to try, im not going to half ass it or not feel it as strongly as i do. one of us could die tomorrow. so in the mean time i will say “i love you” until i can't anymore. 

gracie did in fact pass away a few weeks ago. we hired a vet who specialized in the process to come out to the house and do it there, where the puppy was comfortable and safe at home. she was scared and i think somewhat understood what was going on, as i had been coming home a lot more and goodbyes from the kids were said the night before. i don't think she would've made it through the weekend anyways. it happened on a friday at 1 pm, and she passed laying on her favorite blanket in her favorite spot on the couch. she got a brownie and a lot of oyster crackers on her way out. the worst part was seeing my mom and step dad cry, and the way the vet and my dad carried her out to the car after the process was done. i had never ever felt pain like that before and while its easy to push it away after all of the shit ive coped with, there's a twinge every time i think about her or see other dogs. it feels wrong to be in the house without her and i don't know how my parents do it. i have some of her fur and i want to have it with me in some way, maybe a locket or build-a-bear. my way of coping is to make or consume art (as well as write about it i guess) so i do want to get a tattoo remembering her at some point, but the wound is too fresh right now. where does all the love go for her? i carry it with me like a weight. 

next update will hopefully be a bit more lighthearted and will hopefully have big updates to things that ive been wanting to happen or change for awhile. 

xoxo anonymous

[spideymarvelws]

can you do some technoblade x teen platonic reader headcanons about techno sorta being the reader’s mentor and being one of the only people on the smp who could actually defeat technoblade in a sword fight?

behold... another main character

Main Masterlist / Add Yourself To Your Taglist

Warnings : Violence, Death, Some cursing

Word Count : 4.0k

The Blade and The Survivor (1/?)

Technoblade x GN!Platonic!Teen!Reader

You’ve only ever heard the story’s of the famous blood god growing up

Your brother was the first to introduce you to the legend, the legend of a man who never died

Who’s fought battles that no person could ever dream of and walked out victorious every time

The well known anarchist who’s taken down government after government

You were hooked from the very beginning and after every tail he would tell, you would beg your brother to teach you how to fight like him

While your brother wasn’t the best, he knew his way around basic weapons from your grandfather and agreed 

He would bring you out to a nearby plains biome anytime you were free and teach you all he knew

And while it wasn't much, you were grateful for every piece of information and put your all into everything he taught you

He even reenacting some fights from the stories to make it interesting for you

You would always play along, acting as the infamous blade and running around with your brother

Sometimes you would shout “blood for the blood god” while killing cows or chickens

But you refused to kill pigs.

In fact you got a pet one and named it Bladey

For your birthday your brother got you a saddle and you made a carrot on a stick using the crops he stole from the farm so you could ride it across the village

He also gifted you a wooden sword and axe while he wielded stone

for safety of course, he wasn't about to give a child stone tools

Along with a shield that had the banner of your village

But out of every weapon, you were the best with a bow

You had a natural talent for it, every arrow you ever shot always hit its target

Your brother would always ruffle your hair and compare your aim to that of the blade’s, making you beam even brighter

“Who knew we have an archer on our hands, the blade could never compare,”

But all of this was done in secret

The village you lived in was safe, small and homey

Everyone knew one another, so the possibly of someone committing crimes or turning against someone was unlikely

The villagers were peaceful with one another

And with the iron golems patrolling every corner 

you loved to give them poppies from your mother’s garden as a thank you

There was no need to learn to fight when you lived in a place that never needed it

The village ran on balance, equality amongst each person so that everyone could be amongst one another in peace

Plus, at the time you were the youngest in the village, considered a baby by everyone

And while you had the kindness and curiosity to match it, there was always something missing

Training was the only thing that fulfilled it

Your brother thought that your practises would disrupt that balance so he never told anyone about your activities

And that stayed true until your last night in the village 

You, your brother and bladey were making your way back to the village after a long day of training when you noticed thick, black smoke rising from where it stood

You both started walking carefully to the area, you walking behind your brother with the pig in your arms for comfort

In the distance, you noted the shadow of pillagers and iron ore scattered across the grounds

You went to scream as you got close and run to your house, but your brother slapped his hand over your mouth and pulled you with him behind a nearby tree

But one of the pillagers heard the noise of leaves rustling and began to approach the both of you.

Your brother was quick to take out his sword, pushing you behind him 

“Listen to me Y/n, I want you to run okay? Run and never stop until you know you’re safe okay?”

You shook your head, “What about you? What about our parents?”

He smiled sadly, shakily ruffling your hair, “I’ll be right behind you... Now go!”

The sound of swords clashing and the screams of your brother were the last things you heard  as you ran, tears falling from your face 

Bladey squealed in your arms, wiggling and turning to get out of them, sensing the danger but you kept your grip tight, following your brother’s orders and running as far as pos sible

Needless to say he didn’t follow, neither did the rest of the village that was left in ashes and ruins after the attack

You couldn't find the heart to turn back, to fight along side your brother

You fled like a coward. Guilt, pain and hatred riding on your back 

But you didn't give up hope, plotting revenge against the mobs who destroyed your home

Who killed your family

You walked for days, stopping at villages, trading with them and improving your supplies

And getting a lot of carrots

Your wooden swords turned into iron, along with the rest of your tools

Your leather helmet turned into a full set of iron armor 

But you kept your old shield, repairing it every time it lost durability

You even crafted a crossbow that you learned was the main weapon pillagers used

You dreamed of pointing it at there neck, watching the sharp arrowhead puncture their skin and bleed out on the floor

You tended to sleep through the day and fight threw the night, taking out your anger on the mobs that spawned around the wood houses you made to keep yourself warm and isolated

Times when you weren't fighting and training, you spent in the library of any village you found, learning about anything you could

It was there you learnt about the rare ore diamonds, hidden deep in caves 

You also learned about enchantments, that made your armor and weapons even stronger

Soon enough you were geared up with full diamond armor and a set of diamond tools 

But it was never enough, you always needed more 

So you went to nether after repairing a ruined portal you came across

And began exploring

Gathered potions

All the materials you could find

Along with netherite

And fighting every mob you happened to pass by except piglins

For such a young age, you were stacked, maxed out to the point of boredom that you couldn't go further

Even Bladey had his own turtle shell, adjusted slightly to fit his head and allow him sight

You often wondered if this was what it was like to feel like technoblade

And throughout your journeys, you kept the stories your brother told you by heart, learning as much as you could about The Blade

You followed in his footsteps, using his successes as even more motivation to continue on your quest

And ready to finally get your revenge

It was easy to take down the pillage post, taking the banner and making your own shield that you kept as a trophy in your inventory as a reminder of what you lost

But it wasn’t enough, the loss of your family laid heavy and your heart

So you started protecting the villages you visited in exchange for lower prices in trades

You believed that was your purpose now, you had nothing else to do but fight for the people who couldn't fight for themselves

You wanted to help in ways that you couldn't all those years ago

You would wear a black cloak over your armor, the hood covering your head and a mask concealing your face

You couldn't imagine wearing a skull mask, even if it was for the aesthetic

You looked like death itself

Death with a cute pig side kick

Soon enough, word got around of a teenage warrior roaming the lands labelled ‘The Survivor’, catching the attention of Wilbur and Tommy who had just been exiled from L’manburg

“Why would we need them if we already have techno on our side?”

“Because we need all the allies we could get Tommy, plus we don’t want Shlatt to get to them first.”

You would be passing by Pogtopia on your horse with Bladey tucked into you lap sleeping, following a map to another village that needed help when a tall man stepped in front of your path, making you halt

“Why hello there, Survivor, care for a little chat?” he said ominously, leaning against your horse

You payed no mind to him, hitting his hand of your horse, rolling your eyes and moving around him

You’ve meet people like him on your travels before, people who only needed you for your skills and selfish reasons

At least, that how he came off and you didn’t care to stay and find out if your assumptions were true

“Hey, hey, hey, look, I’m sorry if I came off so forward but- I need your help,”

That made you stop.

“Need help with what exactly?”

He went on to explain his situation about a place called L’Manburg, an evil dictator named Jshlatt and his exile along with someone named TommyInnit

At first you said no.

You were only interest in keeping your own kind safe, protected people who needed it

And from the looks of it, it seemed that the two men put themselves in there position so they should be the one to take themselves out

That and you had more pressing matters to attend to than government

“What do you need? What would you want in return?” he started to beg, walking along side your horse as you started to ride away

“I already have all I need,” you croaked

“Well that seems boring. Don’t you want a bit of adventure in your life Survivor? A little bit of flavour to spice up it up? It must be so boring just fighting the same thing over and over again, why not work for a group? A collective?”

You grew tired of his voice, letting out a deep breath you began to consider his words

As much as you didn’t want to admit, he was right

You had been travelling around the lands, going insane, doing the same thing over and over

And while it helped people, it was growing tiring

Maybe one war wouldn’t be so bad, and perhaps you would learn some new stuff along the way

And the alliance with this so called L’manburg would be good for the long run

“If I agree... would you shut up?” you finally cut off his rambling and stopping your horse

He blinked in surprise, “Wow! If i had known talking would make you cave in, I would've brought up Tommy instead.”

You sighed, “I’ll help you okay? As long as I get free access to L’manburg afterwards along with all the supplies i need,”

“Done, done and done.”

The first day wasn’t as bad as you expected it to be

Wilbur was actually pretty chill, letting you make a new home out of the ravine they stayed in

Niki was also really kind, bringing sweet treats from Manburg every time she visited

It was nice to settle for a while, you couldn't remember the last time you slept under the same roof for more that a day

Your horse, Jewel along with Bladey seemed to settle well along with you

You also met Tubbo and Tommy, a lively duo that overwhelmed you at first but there energy was nice to see in such a grey environment

What you didn’t expect was to meet him

You would be mining a small space in the ravine for yourself and your pets when you heard a monotone voice sound from behind you

“Heh?! Who’s the kid?” 

You spun around, raising your sword to the intruder but froze when you noticed the familiar skull mask, along with pointy piglin ears hidden behind bright pink hair 

He didn’t seem fazed by your weapon, leaning against the stone door frame with his arms crossed

“You’re- you’re him.” you muttered in awe

Before he could respond, Wilbur popped out from behind him, “Oh, yeah. That’s Y/n, Y/n, Techno. Techno, Y/n,” he nudged his side, “They’ll be helping us take back L’manburg,”

Techno only nodded, “Nice.” he tilted his head, “Aren’t you that Survivor dude? That’s pretty pog.”

Cut to you standing frozen in place, jaw dropped to the floor, eyes wide in amazement

“You- you know who I am?” you squeaked, quickly sticking your sword in the ground and leaning against the handle, stumbling slightly

An attempt to seem cool in front of your idol

An attempt that didn't really work out

He let out a hum, “Heard the name from around yeah,” he pointed to your sword, “Might not want to stab your sword in stone, It’s not that affective.”

And with that he left

Leaving you in shock

If only your brother could see you now

After that interaction, you started to follow him around like a lost puppy, watching in awe at every little thing he did

You felt like a kid again, the warmth in your chest that you lost so long ago restored because the person who tied you and your brother together was here

Because you were training and fighting along side your childhood hero

He would act annoyed at first, always shrugging you off or moving to other rooms to avoid you

You were like a parasite 

He could never shake you off

He didn’t want to grow close to anyone, he was here to take down yet another corrupt government not to look after some orphan

That was Phil’s thing.

But after time he grew a liking to you, enjoying your presence while he was farming potatoes or visiting his cow farm

You acted different around him, the hard and emotionless exterior you showed to Tommy and Wilbur completely vanished and left an innocent, happy child

He always wondered why 

People never did that with him

He was a feared name across the lands of the smp, everyone usually kept there distance and became extremely cautious in his presence

But you didn’t seem to get scared, in fact, you were a talker, constantly asking question after question even if he gave no response

It was nice not to be alone after so long even though he would never admit it 

Even the voices started to take a liking to your bubbly and curious personality

Why is she asking the same question

Maybe you should answer her blood god

She seems nice

You really do take after your father

He saw a part of himself in you

Unlike Tommy and Wilbur, you weren’t fighting for government, you were fighting because you had nothing else to do

Because you were bored with your everyday life being, essentially, an assassin 

The thought always made him chuckle

He left like he could trust you over them because your weren't driven under a government

At least that’s what he told himself

He also wanted to see why they valued your alliance so much to give up half there riches to you from L’manburg

“Duel with me.” he said to you one day, out of the blue as you both made your way across a plain biome looking to animals to kill for food

“Heh?” you said under your breath, clearing your throat while heat rose your your face at his suggestion and the noise of surprise that escaped your mouth

Techno couldn't deny that his heart warmed just a little at the small things you began to pick up from him

“Fight with me,” he drew out his sword, turning around and facing you with the weapon raised in the air, “I wanna see what you’re made of ‘Survivor’. So come on, lets fight,”

This was the first time techno actually talked to you directly, uttered words other that demands, silly excuses or grunts of acknowledgement

“I-” you let out a deep breath, shakily taking out your own sword, “Okay, okay,”

After establishing some rules, the duel began.

He let you take the first hit, barely dealing him damage but you got the second hit as well, knocking him down two hearts

He was quick to regain himself, taking three hearts with his sword and a free hit with his bow

That gave you the idea to take out your own, running a good distance away and getting three shots in

It was a close fight, you didn’t mind if you lost. Fighting Technoblade was already an honour as it was

Then you jumped of a piece of stone, landing a crit and watched his items fall to the floor

Technoblade was slain by Y/n 

You let out a short breath, eyes widening in shock that you had just won

You just killed Technoblade

“I was only going easy on you- I- What enchantment do you have on your sword? You have creative mode don’t you? Yeah, you have creative mode... there’s just no way-”

You bit your lip, trying to suppress your laughs as the blood god ran over to pick up his items with a red face

“Hey! Hey don’t laugh! This isn’t a laughing matter!”

“It- it kind of is.” you said shyly, putting away your sword and eating some steak to regain the health you lost, “If it makes you feel better, I had one heart...”

“oNe hEaRt! She had one heart chat! What is this-”

His words had you rolling on the floor, wiping your eyes of the tears falling from your at how hard you were laughing

“What- What do I have to do for you to keep this between us-” he whispered after you calmed, looking around the the space, making sure it was just you and him

You shrugged, “Nothing really- I- uh, i didn’t mean to kill you... I’m sorry-”

Sorry? Who the fuck says sorry for killing someone

Who says sorry for killing him?

If anything you should be gloating, getting a billbourd and displaying the chat message for everyone to see

He’s never been gladder that nobody else was connected to the chat at the time

“I was going easy on you.”

“I- sure, sure okay...” you thought about it for a second, “If so... then why don’t you teach me the things you didn’t try? Like techniques and stuff...”

He froze at your suggestion, “You want- you want to learn from me?”

“Yeah!” you beamed, “You were... a big inspiration for me growing up and, I would love to learn from the source and not just through tails and stories.”

He thought about it for a bit, usually he would rely on his voices but they were all just insulting him

He didn’t see the harm in it, out of all the children on the SMP, he tolerated you the most

That and you had potential, it was rare to find someone with such skills and who acted humble with them

He sighed, patting the top of your head with a huff, “Sure... Sure why not.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah sure, I mean what’s the harm in it right?” he ruffled your hair

The action made your eyebrows rise and when you looked back up at the piglin hybrid, all you saw was the smile of your brother looking down at you

“Hey, everything alright?” he questioned, noticing your sudden glossy eyes

You quickly rubbed them with your knuckles, “Yeah, yeah I- I just forgot something at Pogtopia,” you said, backing away with an embarrassed smile, “I’ll meet you back there,”

“Sure, sure... I’ll just continue hunting,”

As you ran away he let out a deep breath, taking out swords and looking down at it with a scoff

“Chat... we never speak of this... again.”

After that, the both of you were inseparable 

Going on adventures with each other, looting and exploring together

Where ever he went, you followed in his footsteps as he taught you about whatever he could

He even took you to his secret base and allowed you to help him in gathering supplies to help the fight

“What’s with the pig by the way?”

“It’s my emotional support pig.”

“And his name is bladey?”

“...”

“It’s a short for bladder...now what were you saying about poisoned arrows?”

And while you appreciated the action, your favourite times where the calm ones

When he would take you up to a hight tower or hill so the both of your could relax, maybe eat some mushroom stew as he told you stories of his own adventures 

You opened up to him as well, telling him about your family and your village, how you were travelling around with so sense of direction

It was strange how easily he trusted you, maybe it was because you had similar experiences as him

You understood him and he understood you

You also began to make good friends with the rest of Pogtopia along with everyone else who started to betray shlatt and join there side, becoming more open with the reassurance from Techno that they weren’t bad people

You fit in well, a lot more that he did

You had potential for a bloodless life, he saw that

He didn’t want you to make the same mistakes as him, he didn’t want you to live the same isolated life

And while you agreed with his thoughts on anarchy, he didn’t want to you to have any part in what he was doing.

So when L’Manburg was taken back and Tubbo was but in power, he felt a sense of dread opening his enderchest and taking out his six wither skulls

Don’t let the wither’s hurt them

You’re going to hurt them more that they are

You won’t be able to protect

Protect them at all costs

It wasn’t just the voices that felt the urge to keep you safe

Over the months he’s grown a liking to you, treating you like his own student and teaching you the things he wish he knew at your age

But he could also be the one to corrupt you.

And he didn’t have the heart to find out which way it would go

You caught sight of the skulls in his hands before he switched to his sword, a hard look on his face as everyone began fighting each other

“Techno?” you walked up to him, “Are you-”

“Yeah... yeah I am.” he puffed out his chest, pulling you the side, “Look, things are about to get messy and when they do I want you to run-”

You knew where this was going, flashbacks of your brother fighting one of the pillagers to save you as you ran away to safe yourself, sacrificing himself for you

“No.” you cut him off before he could continue.

While you knew Techno was going to come out of this alive, you had the power to help him now, to help everyone, you didn’t need to run anymore

You considered Techno family now, well the closest thing you had to it and you weren't about to loose that

Not again.

“I’m staying with you Tech,”

He shook his head, “If you do, L’manburg would never look at you the same, you’ll be an outcast once again-”

“Then do what you have to do, but I’m not running away. What happens here is because of everyone’s belief and I believe in safety and protection so that is what I’ll provide.” you took out your sword smirking, “Plus, we all know what happened last time when you tried to fight me,”

“I thought you promised to never speak of this again!”

“I’m sorry I had to-”

“Okay kid, okay...” he took a deep breath, “Just stay clear of dream and his crew... and the withers... Actually? here take some golden apples-”

“Just go be an anarchist Techno,” you pushed him forwards, rolling your eyes, “I’ll be fine.”

“Actually, take this God apple and a few more potions-”

“I already have some-”

“Well take more. And some extra armor... just in case-” he threw the items at you before running away and setting up the soul sand, not wanting anyone to catch on to what he was doing

And with one final look around following the conclusion of his speech, he placed the skulls, unleashing ultimate chaos on the land once called L’manburg

...

Sorry this took so long! I always get ahead of myself with requests and end up writing a lot more that planned but i hope you enjoyed! I was making this so long that I had to spit this into part two, maybe part three to cover the rest of the lore and to be able to develop more on their relationship besides backstory

That and i really want to write the execution scene but this was already 4k words... 

Feedback always appreciated🥰

[whump-a-la-mode]

Heyo, I was wondering, if you have time, can you please make a continuation of the “Villains did not get visitors” thing where the hero’s abused sidekick shows up on villain’s doorstep? Have a great day/night!

Another short and fluffy one! Thanks so much for the prompt, I hope you have a great day, too!

Continued from here.

CW//Possible referenced child abuse (character can be interpreted as a minor), starvation, food, injury

“Villain! W-What the hell are you-”

“Language.”

“What are you doing here?!”

“Well, for one thing, I live here. For another, I brought you breakfast.”

For a long few moments, Sidekick blinked. Their mind felt to be rolling its way into a reboot cycle, memories fighting for prominence among half-realized dreams and fully-realized nightmares.

When they, at long last, landed their spaceship firmly within reality, the world around them at last seemed to make sense. Well, in a physical way, it made sense.

The room was relatively small, perhaps fifteen feet even in either dimension, though the pair of floor-to-ceiling windows gave it a sense of the slightest grandeur, even as they were covered tip-to-toe in matching orange curtains. The rest of the chamber was decorated in a similar, warm color palette; sunny beige walls curling about a pair of identical nightstands, and, of course, the single bed, settled in the middle of one wall, opposite the dull red door.

Villain served as a terrible clashing of aesthetics. A black, shimmering uniform against a bedroom that had stolen its hues from the sunset. Yet, there was no elaborate costume in sight, nor a singular weapon.

The night prior rushed back to Sidekick’s mind, alongside a new flush of pain to the slice along their forehead. A hand shot to the wound, only to feel the soft, scratchy texture of gauze.

“I said I have breakfast for you, kid. Are you hungry or not?” Sharp as the words were, the tone that spoke them had no such air. There was an oddly... parental aura to it, though the idea of such a voice coming from the mouth of such a terrible villain made the sidekick shiver.

Evidently, there was no lie in their tone, either. Within Villain’s outstretched arms was held a platter, its ceramic clearly well-used, but in no way damaged nor dirty. Precariously piled atop sat a feast of morning morsels: Waffles laden with whipped cream, scrambled eggs shimmering with salt and pepper, and, Sidekick’s favorite, bacon.

“That’s for me?” They asked, unsure whether to hate themself or their voice for the shuddering of their words.

“Do I look like I’m eating it?”

“Uh- I- I guess not?”

“Then that’s your answer. Unless those drugs ruined your appetite?”

“Drugs?!” Their voice burst from their throat in the form of a yelp.

“Yes, yes, the doctors insisted upon a clotting agent. Said your head was bleeding too much, didn’t want you to get too dry, I guess. Look, this food’s getting cold. You hungry or not?”

The very idea of accepting the offering felt awfully strange to Sidekick, even as they simply mulled over their potential response in their mind.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t expected food. Sure, Villain was evil, but they weren’t cruel, at least not in this particular sidekick’s experience. 

They’d expected a cell. They’d received a bedroom.

They’d expected gruel. They were being offered a feast.

Sidekick had come to Villain to be taken captive, not to be taken in as a guest! And yet...

“Please.” The young sidekick managed, dipping their head respectfully. The platter was shoved into their hands. And, yet, they did not want to seem rude by starting a meal in the middle of a conversation. “Thank you, Sir.”

Villain cringed, face screwing to a mask of discomfort.

“Don’t call me that.”

“O-Oh! Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.”

“What would you, um, what do you want me to call you?”

“I do have a name.”

“You really me to just... Call you Villain?”

“That is how names usually work, kid.”

“Oh.” Sidekick gulped. “Okay, Villain.”

The villain’s brow furrowed, eyebrows scrunching. Once, they clucked their tongue against the roof of their mouth, before they began a slow movement forth, to the side of the orange-blanketed bed upon which the sidekick was seated, still half-buried beneath comforters and duvets.

“Is, um- Is there-” Sidekick began, before being interrupted halfway through a syllable:

“They need to change your bandage.”

“What?”

“On your head. Can I- Is it alright if I touch?’

“Um-” They hadn’t expected to be asked for permission, especially not for something of such simplicity. A right any captor should have over a prisoner. “Sure.”

Even with permission granted, Villain’s fingers barely ghosted over their skin.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little.”

“Hm... You should be going back to see the doctors, anyways. They can give you something for the pain. But first, you need to eat.” They backed up. “I can count your ribs, kid.”

Sidekick averted their gaze, the slightest flush growing upon their cheeks.

“Sorry...”

“Sorry?” The villain nearly sounded offended. “I’m not gonna get mad at a kid for being skinny. Eat, eat.“

If anything, their hurried tone only grew the sidekick’s whirling nausea. The smell of the meal alone threatened to make drool dribble from the roof of their mouth. And, yet, their appetite refused to awake from its slumber.

As they spoke, they stared firmly at the warm bedding burying their lower half.

“Sir... Why are you being nice to me?”

“Nice? I practically kidnapped you. And don’t call me Sir.”

“Sorry.” They bit their lip. “You didn’t- You didn’t kidnap me. I came here to be captured and... And now you’re giving me breakfast.”

“You-” The villain’s tongue seemed to stall. “You wanted to be captured?”

“Mhm.”

They snorted.

“We’re going to have a long, long talk about this later. For now, you look like you haven’t eaten in a week. Eat your breakfast.”

Sidekick glanced to the food laden upon their lap.

It had been more than a week.

[sunflowersteves]

meetings || s.r.

summary || steve had a meeting and you had a mission to ruin it. 

prompt || “Come here and sit on my lap.”

author’s note || I just realized I’m posting this on Sunday lmao oops? Congrats again to @aesthetical-bucky​ on 1K! That’s a huge milestone and I know you haven’t been as active but i hope you’re all good! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

warnings || smut with no plot (pls wear protection), daddy!kink, cockwarming, vaginal sex, public sex, daddy!steve, a bit of overstimulation, squirting, creampie, this is very filthy i ain’t going to lie to you guys

Masterlist

Steve pushed up the glasses that were falling off of the bridge of his nose. Warm, fresh coffee and vanilla flavored creamer lifted up into his nose. It smelled like pure bliss and he smiled just a bit as he knew who was making the batch. You were always the last one to wake up in the morning, most of the Avengers were morning people.

The smile spread wider across his face at the thought of you lurking around the kitchen with bedhead hair and one of his oversized t-shirts. He turned back to his stack of reports on the table and tried to concentrate on getting them done. In about twenty minutes, there was going to be an important meeting with everyone in his office and he wanted nothing to do afterward but spend the rest of the day with his girl.

His heart couldn’t help but palpitate as he could hear the soft pads of your feet hit the hardwood floors, trotting quietly over to his office. He tried to concentrate on the work in front of him but his mind couldn’t help his mind going into thoughts only about his infatuation with you.

You peaked over into his office and saw him intently working on some paperwork. You stood there for just a bit, contemplating going into the room further to bother him but before you could speak yourself, his gruff voice stood prominent in the spacious room. “Come here and sit on my lap.” You tipped a smile and slowly walked over to him, placing yourself into his lap.

His beard tickled your neck which made you slightly giggle. His strong arms wrapped around your torso and your back hit his chest. He tried to go back to his work, he could feel your eyes on his hands which made him silently chuckle. You had always loved his large calloused hands. You loved watching them flip the pages of books or grip an iced coffee or grip your neck.

The deep, warming smell of your arousal made his heart thump and stomach flip over. He could hear your fast, steady breaths, and rapid heartbeat that made his mind feel fuzzy. Before he could do anything your voice flooded through his ears. “Can you put your cock in me, daddy?” 

He practically groaned at the soft innocence caressing the squeak of your voice. He knew the little game, and you were very much not innocent. But he wanted this as much as you did. 

“Of course, babygirl.” He lifted you up for a second to take his cock out and then he sat you back down, opening your folds with the tip of his cock. The oversized t-shirt spilling all around his thighs, the two of you were groaning quietly.

He had filled you up so perfectly, his length and thickness had touched you in all the right places. The two of you just sat like that keeping each other warm and fuzzy. He continued doing his work, occasionally writing on the pieces of paper and putting them on another stack of papers.

You had whined into his neck a couple of times when he would shift his body a little bit. He chuckled and told you to wait which of course you obeyed. You had gotten punished last night, and the teasing was relentless so you were determined to behave. The feeling of his hard cock resting between your aching pussy made your heart swoon. Your daddy knew exactly how to take care of you and what you wanted. It was almost soothing, the teasing of his tip sometimes going into just the right place and your walls keeping him heated.

His eyes widened a bit as he looked at the clock on his desk and sighed. “What’s wrong, daddy?” He took the pair of glasses off of his face and placed it on the desk. “I have a meeting in two minutes-” 

“Oh, I’ll just-” You were about to stand up and get off of his lap but he grabbed your hips and pulled you back down. “Don’t, babydoll. There is no way in hell I’m letting those idiots take away our time.” You smiled and nodded, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

He shifted your body so that you were now facing him, your breasts pressing firmly against his broad chest. You placed your face into his neck, occasionally pressing some kisses. His body froze a bit as the first person arrived which was Sam, Bucky, and Wanda.

“Why is y/n here? Is she okay?” Steve’s heavily laced innocence made your eyes widen a bit. “No, she says she’s not feeling well. She thinks it may have been the food she ate yesterday. She wanted a bit of comfort.” His salty voice was tied with concern and sadness. Damn, he was good. You could practically picture his creased eyebrows and pouty lips.

The rest of the Avengers and some Agents had all arrived and the meeting began. He and the others started talking about some plan with destroying Hydra but you were barely listening. Your ears were ringing at Steve’s even harder cock pressing up against that savoring spot. You bit onto his neck, trying to restrain yourself from moaning for everyone to hear.

Your juices started running up and down his cock, making him slick and wet. He could hear your small, tiny whimpers that escaped your throat occasionally. He had to close his eyes for a second in fear that he would stop everything and take you right here. You wanted him so badly and he wasn’t even moving. You wanted him to the point of it sounding like you were in pain from the loss of friction.

You bit your lip as you just couldn’t take it anymore, your pussy was pulsating at this point for anything to happen. “We’ll have to infiltrate-” You started to move your hips slightly, making dure to get the grinding you needed but not enough to get caught. Your movements had made Steve completely stop his sentence and he had to cover it up with a cough.

“Oh, shit. Are you getting sick too, old man?” He shook his head as he took a deep breath and glared at Bucky’s knowing look. He could hear and smell the two of you, making him roll his eyes as he walked into the room.

“I’m okay, Sam. Thanks.” He continued to try as hard as he could to not make any movements to give away that you were slowly riding him. Your mouth pressed small kisses up and down his neck, it was agonizingly slow so the spit of your tongue wasn’t too loud. His hand moved slowly, moving your skirt up so he could fit his hand inside.

You had to bite your lip even harder at his hand circling your clit and folds. He groaned very loudly at your wetness covering his whole finger. He wanted to be proud, his babygirl was getting all riled up at just his cock being inside of you but then he froze at the realization. Everybody was staring at him, wide eyes at his groan almost sounding animalistic. Luckily though, Bucky was there to explain.

“I think even Steve may be getting sick. Maybe we should have a meeting another time.” Everybody packed up their things and left the office without another word. Bucky quickly mouthed ‘you owe me’ while smirking and walking out the door, shutting the door behind him.

Steve halted your movements, making you gasp. He harshly grabbed your cheeks, pulling your face towards him. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You wanted Daddy to take you in front of everyone, want them to know that you’re mine.” You yelped in surprise when his hand came in contact with your ass, slapping it harshly. Steve took you immediately off of his lap to your dismay and cries but he surprisingly then pinned you onto the desk. The ruffling and crinkling of the papers were sounded as they hit your back.

“You want daddy’s cock, don’t you, babydoll?” You nodded vigorously as he leaned a bit closer, his prominent now clothed cock pressing up against your wet pussy. “Then daddy’s going to give you what you want.” Your eyes widened at the sound of his buckle hitting the floor. Normally, you would be punished for this kind of thing but Steve seemed to give you what you wanted this time. He was lightning fast, his lips connected with yours. The kiss was rough and passionate with teeth clashing and his tongue fighting against yours. 

“Since you love disobeying me, This time, I’m going to give you exactly what you want.” He didn’t even pull your skirt down before ramming his cock between your folds. It made you cry out so loud, you thought the whole compound heard you. He moved your legs so that they were wrapped around his hips.

He inserted his cock again, going at a very fast and hard pace, not taking any mercy as his moans filled the air. “You wanted daddy’s cock so badly that you disobeyed me. I’ve told you before that you don’t move unless I tell you to.” Your back moved back and forth on the large desk and your whimpered cries were loud. You barely nodded at him and his eyes were only trained on you.

He slapped your ass harshly, pain, and pleasure all blending into one. “d-daddy!” He could feel your walls clenching already and he smiled a bit. “P-please, daddy!” He grunted and continued at the fast pace with his cock touching your sweet spot. You tried to hold it in a bit, not wanting Steve to be mad if you came too soon. You never wanted to disappoint Steve but his facial expression seemed to swell with satisfaction. “Daddy, can I come? Please?” He grunted as the click sounds of his cock going into your pussy was luscious and mouth-watering.

“Yes, baby. Don’t hold it in. Come on my cock.” You screamed out his name as loud as you could, your body convulsing at the pleasure Steve was sending you to. That little bundle of nerves your belly had locked in had fully made its release and you were seeing stars.

However, Steve never halted his movements, he was still pounding into you, hard and fast. You had just come so the sensations of his cock started to get a little too much.“Daddy, I-I can’t-” He shushed you gently, but the two of you knew that you could. You could never get tired of his cock pleasuring your holes. “You can, baby. My sweet girl can come all over my cock again, can’t she?” You nodded and gasped, gripping the sides of the desk harshly.

“D-daddy I-” His forehead connected to yours as he whispered sweet nothings and praises into your ears. Your orgasm never wasted time again, that sweet knot came undone. But this time you squirted all over his cock, rushing water released all over him. His eyes snapped towards yours and his mouth was agape. You were almost embarrassed, you hadn’t meant to come so hard that water gushed out of you. “Look at you, babydoll. Daddy’s so proud.” 

However, unbeknownst to you, Steve had thought it was the hottest thing he had ever seen. He thought about your sweet wetness that was all over his cock and even a little got onto his shirt. A large grunt left his mouth as he came into your pussy. His come was deep inside you and dripping out from your beautiful pussy. His cock was sheen looking from your juices spread all around it. He looked like he was glowing with pride which made you swoon. 

However, that all halted when his eyes became dark and solid, a prominent smirk caressing his features. “You’re going to be punished, you moved without asking. But don’t worry, we have all night, babydoll.”

~~

Permanent Taglist: @captainchrisstan​ @angstysebfan​ 

[cassandraclare]

Hi Cassie, ever since I started reading your Shadowhunters books I've loved the world you created and I'm amazed at how you manage to build it out more and more with every book you write. Do you have any tips or tricks regarding worldbuilding? How did you go about creating this amazing world?

I could write a whole book about world-building — in fact, there are lots of books about it! Every book, even contemporary fiction, requires world-building: you are always creating a sense of place, time, and character in a story, which is essentially what world-building is.

Obviously fantasy has specific elements of world-building that other genres don’t have, so that’s what I’ll talk about — briefly — here. These are a few steps you need to consider when you’re building a fantasy world, be it an open world or a closed one.

1) What’s your normal? 

You’re always going to establish what the norm is in your world before you do anything else. You don’t have to get into the nitty-gritty, but set your basic ground rules. Is there magic? If so, what’s the cost of magic? (Power is never free — it always costs in effort, knowledge, body parts, etc.) Does everyone know about magic (in which case yours is an open fantasy world)? Is it a secret (closed fantasy world)? What’s your time period? Tech level?* What are the major antagonists of your world? What are the biggest dangers? And finally, what’s the main thing your character wants? That may seem like character work, but it’s intrinsic to world-building. If your character wants above all other things to be King, for instance, then you know you have a monarchy. 

*Remember Clarke’s First Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In other words, you can usually have magic or super-advanced technology, but not both, because they do the exact same thing in a story. Location spells are pointless if you have GPS tracking devices implanted in everyone. If you are going to have both, you have to figure out how what they do is different. Otherwise you are giving Spiderman the power of flight, thus rendering his web-slinging useless. So give it thought!

2) Make your rules.

Otherwise known as internal consistency. Our world is governed by natural laws that determine what people can and cannot do. A world you make up must be the same. What if only some people can do magic? Then you have to figure out who they are, why they can do magic, what rules govern the practice of that magic, how the rest of the population feels about them, and what that magic is based on. While you don’t need to — and shouldn’t — explain every detail of these rules on-page, your characters have to abide by them. We need to believe these are real people who are governed by an internally consistent set of strictures that shape and define their behavior. If your main characters live in a walled city that closes at night, show us that by having them worry about getting back before the gates shut.

3) Break your rules.

Half the reason you established your normal is so you can fuck with it. Stories are about conflict. They’re about the moment things go wrong, not about things going right. They’re about things suddenly not conforming to expectations. If you have a land ruled by a benevolent King everyone adores, assassinate him. (Even better if your main character does it.) If you have a world where women can’t do magic, you need a badass sorceress to rise. If parabatai can’t fall in love, make sure two of them do. If Shadowhunters are the descendants of angels, what happens when one is a descendent of demons? Once you build your world, your first question should be, What is this story going to do to change it?

4) Everything hews to a theme.

Think about the thematic implications of your world. If you’re building a low-tech, high-nature faerie world, think about the way not having tech, and having nature magic fill a lot of those uses, will influence the way the characters talk, the expressions they use, what they wear (nothing with zippers, nothing mass-produced) the way they live their day-to-day lives (alas, no flush toilets). For instance, the thematic character of the Shadowhunters books is defined by the overarching mythology of angels and demons. Seraph blades, which have to be activated by speaking an angel’s name, hew to that theme. Everything the Shadowhunter characters do is defined by their belief that they have angel blood (or fear they have demon blood.) Whenever I build new mythology into the Shadowhunter world, I have to think “Does this fit with who the Shadowhunters think they are, their priorities, beliefs and history? Is this something that could or would happen in this complex, small, militaristic society?” 

It can help to think of it as an aesthetic, as if you were putting together a house. Does this piece go, or does it clash with everything?

5) Small details. 

Little pieces that feel unique and true help build out a world. Rather than spending your time detailing the entire history of the Royal Family for a thousand years, create a room in the palace where the faces of royal enemies are dried, stretched and mounted in glass. Now we know the Royal Family is creepy, which is more interesting than knowing everyone’s grandparents’ names. Stuff that isn’t momentous is fine if it’s interesting. Random stuff I know about Castellane, the city in Sword Catcher: interior light comes from carcel-lamps, dentures are made from the teeth of dead soldiers, the Queen loves kalamansi fruit, and if you fall in the bay, a crocodile will eat you.  Think of the big world-building details — names of countries, the type of religion, the way magic works — as the walls, beams, and floors of your house. The small details are your paint, wallpaper and furniture. One is a structure; the other is the sense and character of that structure.

There’s a lot more to say about world-building, and I’m always happy to answer writing questions. It offers me an amazing opportunity to procrastinate. :) Good luck!

[bakubabes-and-ramble]

Headcanon: The Gundalian culture is based on individualism, the Neathian culture is based on collectivism

Race interpretation part one: Neathia

Summary: The Neathian culture is built on the core values of communities and collective thinking. While conformity within the society is of a high level, they pursue a 'closed gate' diplomacy towards other races - resulting in a 'bubble' phenomenon and becoming vulnerable to losing their sense of belonging. Centralised urban system, with regional reciprocity and redistribution, whereby the Queen plays a coordinator role, and exists as a unifying symbol along with the military.

(Wall-of-text warning ; with block-breaker illustrations, but a huge amount of information ahead.)

Okay, this topic is something I was thinking about for a long time, and I finally hit the point to collect my thoughts and write them down. I've seen a lot of people trying to build up/further and enrich the cultural and social-political features of the alien races we've seen in the series (namely Vestals, Neathians and Gundalians), and I felt some inspiration to put my take on these things into words.

It's not only intriguing to try one's hand on the world-further-building, but I felt, I have to explain how I imagine the build-up of the Neathian and Gundalian culture and society to make the story of the 'Neathian Special Squad' ('NSS') more understandable 'symbolically' and from the aspect of a 'cultural clash'. /For those, who follow the NSS: This is something that definitely happens later on, you just don't know about it yet./

I have to put a small disclaimer here: This entire piece of writing was conspired out of fun and passion towards the series. It was not meant to be a 100% professor approved scientific research, but a seemingly logical untangling of my personal train of thoughts concerning the fantasy creatures of the third season. And this means, there is going to be some personal opinion mixed in as well (especially at the rewriting parts).

I wish the readers to enjoy reading it regardless. You are always free to disagree or not to take it seriously. :) To me, headcanonizing and imagining things always meant to be fun.

Side note: I'll add canon elements as examples or refer to the events of Gundalian Invaders, although I have to admit, I'll do this mostly from memory. So If I get anything wrong, or just remember incorrectly, you are welcome to add-in or correct me! :)

Season: Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders (and Mechtanium Surge)

Language: English dub

Okay, let's go!

Gundalian Invaders - Slightly rewritten

The first and foremost reason I actually started writing this post, is because I had some issues with the characterisation of the Gundalians and Neathians in the third season. One side is depicted blatantly, purposelessly and one-dimensionally evil, while the other is portrayed to be the goodie-two-shoes victims with no backlashes. I wanted to swing over this simplicity and make an attempt at explaining, how I imagined these races to function. These interpretations were explored with the intention of both keeping the main features of the races, staying canon-compliant where possible, but change canon elements/propose ideas to turn the races into interesting (and on a theoretical level functioning) societies.

For these added or assumed ideas to work, some lore elements have to be changed or removed: For example the way Bakugan got to be on the planets. For this explanation see: a further point below.

This post discusses only Neathia for now. (Gundalia will probably get it's own post, as there is much more canon-divergence to be talked about.)

Neathians

1. The beginnings and core values

Due to the power of the Sacred Orb, almost the entire planet have relished in a lush fertility since the beginnings. (And this is why there are huge plants in their jungles. The wildlife also experienced a great upsurge by the life-force of the Orb.) This prosperity quickly enabled the Neathian race to organize into a peaceful and sharing society, because the wars over resources became redundant and unnecessary. The established racial mindset reallocated the focus from the individual needs to the communal efforts, and gives a ground for the Neathian values and collective thinking up to even the days of the season.

Neathians think mainly in groups: Let those be pairs (e.g. Fabia and Jin as fiancés; Linus and Neo Zipperator as brawling partners), teams (Neathian Special Squad; Friendship circles), communities (Castle Knights), and the biggest of them all, their entire race. These are all bigger or smaller communities within communities, and they play a major role in how Neathians perceive the world and themselves. Being in these relationship structures defines their place, grants them their basic mental frame, which they are able to think in, and not only their resources, but also their goals are shared with each other. This kind of goal assimilation is what makes them really efficient team players, and also provides them a strong social support from a mentalhygiene perspective. This important role of the sense of belonging makes Neathians both empowered while being in close social constructs , and extremely susceptible to losing these connections.

Thinking like this, when Fabia lost her fiancè or Linus lost Neo, their grief extended further than their deaths or the traumatic events. Losing strong bonds like these put Neathians in a technical identity crisis, as it is a part of their personal perception and mental frame which were dismantled through these events. We have seen Fabia going to extremes to retrieve Aranaut - and to retrieve that part of her, which was lost with Jin. Just as when Rubanoid was handed to Linus, a new connection was formed to either replace or continue the old one in a different form. Fabia's communal bonds were successfully restored, when she also became a member of the brawlers.

The Neathian society is based on caring and cooperation to achieve a collective well-being. This is why communities play such a major role in their self-perception and world-perception.

2. Open-sources, but enclosed diplomacy

For most part, I've always imagined the Neathian race as an although proud and generous, but closed society. They share commodities with each other - within their society -, but it is very important, that only within it. The outside world (meaning outside of their habited planet) is fundamentally shut out of these transactions.

I often refer to this phenomenon of enclosedeness as the 'Neathian bubble':

Not only their mindset operates in closed communities, but their diplomacy too. They are generally passive towards other races, missing trust and a reason to pick up the communication /Up until the Gundalians came and the war started/. This perspective could be applied to understand, why could they be more insistent on and better at operating defensive mechanisms (layered shield generator), than initiating communication with the rest of the universe (Unlike Gundalians, Neathians have no ships or bigger means of transportation. Yes, teleportation is accessible for them, but I don't think they use it that often outside of Neathia.)

I treat this as an explanation for why Neathia had only asked for outside help after the second shield generator went down - the situation became desperate and already being involved in the conflict, it was time to try and reach out for aid. According to these headcanons, I also think, Serena wasn't putting - or at least shouldn't have put - faith in the Brawlers so easily. The reason they weren't tested to prove their trustworthiness further than one question, is because she trusted Fabia's judgement. Without the support of a Neathian, outlanders are almost automatically dismissed. Their (or their Queen's) empathy and compassion may overwrite this code, but even by then they have to be made certain by proving the cause.

Just as when Fabia accepted Ren, because she had seen how much he tried to prove himself. Winning Neathians’ trust is supposed to be a big and determining moment, because they ‘internalise’ you into their scoiety.

Neathians are capable of empathy and kindness (this is something they actively practice among each other), even towards outsiders, they just need time and proof to accept them. Trust is just not automatic towards them, and even so they keep their distance until they get used to it.

3. Personal paralel counterparts - Night elves and the Highborne of WoW

When I think about Neathians, I often put them into paralel with the Night elves and the Highborne from World of Warcraft. For most part, I use their artistic motives, architecture, fashion and cultural approach as an inspiration for Neathians, as they are recognised as 'The pretty space elves' in my book too.

Beside the above mentioned, what could be imported from their WoW counterparts is a rather matriarchal social apparat. For example, Neathians traditionally having a Queen, and women being present in the military or in higher positions, playing important roles. //Just as by the Night elves leadership, religious and military roles being traditionally occupied by women (priestesses, wardens, sentinels).//

Another elven impression, which is more or less universal, is their sense of pride (I like to say it as the expression of 'Neathian pride '). Highborne in World of Warcraft are a quite prestigious race and are usually said to be a little 'aristocratic'. I can imagine the Neathians being lightly less, but somewhat similar on these terms, when it comes down to interacting with their own or other races: For example being proud of their appearance (Emphasizing their unique V-shaped forehead with adequate clothing and accessories), structuring buildings and constructs based on aesthetic instead of real functionality (using diamond as the main material of construction, structuring buildings with elegant but futuristic shapes), or being confident and showing immovable standing and opinion on things (towards outsiders).

As far as I know, the Warcraft elves used to be similarly passive and uninitiative - even mistrusting - towards other races too. And in this, it played part, that they also had exclusive access to a powerful source of power and prosperity, the Well of Eternity (an almost one-on-one counterpart to the Sacred Orb).

While the half-tribal connections of the Night elves derive from their ancient bonds with nature and druidism, the Neathian society feels more likely being based on a futuristic envisionment of these social relations. A civilisation that perfectly blends technology (teleportation technology, communication devices) with classic fantasy elements (knights), while still remaining tribal in the core (shared communality is just put into a modern environment). /Although I like to lean more into the fantasy setting, the technical advancement is undeniable there./

4. Overall economy

If we wanted to negotiate about their economy, I would say reciprocity and localised redistribution are the dominant mechanisms of it. The basic definition of economy builds on the premise of distribution of scarce resources. In this case, resources are not scarce, in fact, due to the Orb they are very much prosperous and renewing. This accessibility discounts the value of the traditional market trading, and supports the establishment of semi-centralised recollection and redistribution. The semi-centralisation here means regional production and consumption, whereby the accomodation of the population happens mainly territorialy, but these regional centres still have a connection to each other and the capitol. This economy is based on caring and well-being, and the high level of conformity and trust within the collective society results in a lack of currency usage (so, my headcanon is basically, that they don't use money).

5. Urbanisation and territorial layout

The reason we talk about a more physical apsect of the planets, is because the core values of the races both play a role, and mutually affect how I imagine their civilised hubs being developed. Communities form hubs and cities with strong connections - just like their society!

When I mentioned localised redistribution, I was also refering to the urban structure of the Neathian planet. Important to note, that Neathia is not just a city, or a country - just like Gundalia, it's the entire planet. What we've seen in the show is the capital of their urban system - which makes sense to be technically built around / in the immediate enclosure of the Sacred Orb, for it's the source of the relishing power. Assuming this, along the capital there could be a centralised territorial layout with rural areas (cities, villages), and untouched wilderness (due to the overflourishing flora and fauna; the urbanisation doesn't affect the entirety of the planet, there are a lot of uninhabited/uncharted areas).

Here is a simple schematic illustration of the above.

The rural hubs not having physical connection with other centres due to the dangerous and untamable wilderness (see: Giant plants in the show) could have lead to the advancement of the teleportation technology. The cities are connected through this port-system, and also with the capital, which serves as the centre of the network.

6. The role of the queen and the military

The main purpose of the current Queen is an overall governance with the direct help of a council consisting of the local leaders of the hubs. The queen bears not only a political, but a symbolical importance to the people. The concept of the Queen is a unifying symbol, someone who watches over the nation. The Neathians can stand behind her and being represented by her. But it's important to note, that her status is not as glorified as to be a despotic being, and her power is not extending much further than overall policies, diplomatic representation and helping the transactions of the local leaderships. There is much more power and independence shifted into the regional governance, rendering the Queen's position to be an effective coordinator between them and unifier, who keeps the nation together. /Still thinking about the way the queen is chosen/comes to the throne, but I had the idea of the next Queen being elected by the current Queen, so the order of succession is not based on the Queen’s family, nor being a community vote of the people./

The peace-oriented existence in itself doesn't require a military to exists, therefore I treat the Castle Knights as a mainly defensive organisation. This military serves as Neathia's defenders, bearing symbolic and community building purposes. Among the Castle Knights - just as the name itself suggests - the traditional medieval knight values show up primarily, such as loyality, humility, courage, faithfulness and the act of mercy. In their comprehension, being a Castle Knight is an act of service towards their country and the Queen, and is not mainly for warfare reasons. (To some extent, I assume martial arts and other forms of fighting - even brawling - is essentially a spiritual activity, which they pursue in order to keep their inner- and physical balance.)

As we've seen it the show, I assume the Palace also functions as the military's operation base. The head of the military is the current commander (formerly Jin, recently Elright), and under them operate several divisions with captains as division leaders. The separate divisions are Physical Fighting (both with weapon, like those defensive shock-sticks the guards are using - formerly offensive melee weapons until the fall of NSS - and hand-to-hand combat, e.g. used by Fabia), Technical staff (operating the shield generators and overseeing their areas) and Bakugan Brawling (this headcanon part is still under construction, but Elright used to be the former leader of this, and the reason he was promoted to commander after Jin’s death, is because the Neathians' realisation of the war swinging in favor of the Bakugan fights, so it was logical to put him as the next 'general leader'). /There may be other divisions outside of these, I just put out some ideas here./  Every guard receives education to some extent in all of these fields, but they end up specialising in something.

//The Neathian Special Squad (NSS) had it’s own divison under Captain Pyrehart, they were a special strike team with a unusual task: Staggering, forcing back or just divide the Gundalian leadership’s attention from focusing on their assault. Basically poking them with melee weapons until they either go away, or can’t concentrate on helping their Bakugan on the field and their monsters get defeated. According to the story - made up by me of course - after a tragedic mission this unit wasn’t restored, and the war effort shifted onto long-range fighting with Bakugan, Gear and Bakugan Assaults.//

7. So...where are the Bakugan?

They have been mentioned here and there, but I'm sure, whoever made it this far into this theorising information dump, may wonder at this point: 'But what about the Bakugan?'

My simplest answer is, that I firmly want to believe, both Gundalia and Neathia had a civilised and established culture before the Bakugan appeared there.

According to the original lore, Bakugan existed on the planets since almost the beginnings. Now, this is part of those lore bits I would definitively change during a rewrite: I want to believe, Bakugan only appeared in their very recent history, almost as recently, as on Earth and Vestal itself.

Perhaps a Bakugan lore- and GI rewrite explanation deserved it's own post, but for the further understanding allow me to explain here a little: A similar event of raining cards - what the first season started with - occured on Neathia and Gundalia too, caused by the dimensional boom of Michael Gehabich and his transporter. The twist on this - and the effective solution to the problem of possible timeline inconsistencies - is that although the explosion caused this interference at one point in time, across cosmos and universes time flows differently. So technicaly the result of it - the raining cards and Bakugan being transported into the particular worlds - could happen at different point of their relative times - even years earlier or later! On Neathia and Gundalia it could happened a few years before on Earth, which covers most of the questions of the timeline-consistency /such as Ren being assigned to watch over Linehalt as a child etc./

Bakugan coming to these places has only an added effect: Just as on Earth, they are not (yet?) integrated into the society and culture of the planets so deeply to be any kind of pillar of their existence or basic civilisation. There could be a start (as having specialised researches, technology revolving around Bakugan, taking part in the war,..) regarding this internalisation process, but it still runs on the surface, and not in the 'veins' of the culture.

I hope this breakdown made sense in some form or another. I just felt an urge to pour out the content of my head. Looking back,this became longer and more detailed, than I originally intended, while also surely missing things because there is no worldbuilding without holes or further questions. The attempt to lay down the basics was made regardless haha!

As always, feel free to disagree and follow your own visions concerning the races and worldbuilding. :) This post was made to reflect back my personal interpretation of Neathians - just for fun and thinking out loud.

For the very end, I leave a disclamer here, which was supposed to go at the beginning, but it felt redundant to put there, so here it is:

I tried to approach it from a more sociological side, as focusing on a bigger, overall picture, common features, than create exact statements. (I would rather call this a speculation regarding the features of the races themselves, their core values, common attitudes, mindset - and this doesn't mean other questions are fully out of the picture. We are just discussing things, which can be derived from the features of the society itself, and make up a more or less coherent chain of thought for now. Other 'for fun' or miscellaneous headcanons, like fashion or physical traits will be covered another time.)

Thank you for coming to this TED mambling!

[vinyls-and-valentines]

Okay but now it's your time to tell us more about your thoughts on emo Party Poison and scene Jet Star Mx. vinyls-and-valentines, don't think you'll get away that easily/lh

- Joy 🕸️

Why, there's no need for me to evade the topic, for you see: my canon Jet Star and Party Poison are both scene and an emo kids at heart! Also music-wise. Really, all they're missing is the well-defined aesthetic, which is partly because the fashion associated with midwestern emo is so Battery City, and because clothes don't tend to stay unscaved for long, so sooner or later everything ends up looking like it was lifted off a crust punk's bedroom floor.

Party Poison's love affair with emo started one faithful evening, when au and Dr. D were alone at the station and the pre-teen ventured into the recording booth to find D doing one of his bi-yearly record sorting sessions. When the Doctor notices aum, he of course asks if au wants to help him sort through the records whose covers are far too faded to be discernable anymore— "it's a mindless task, but it's got to be done sometimes or I wouldn't hear the end of it on air!" Not having anything better to do, Poison accepts and together they go through quite a few records, labeling them until Poison lands on a record from the 90s— not emo, but post-hardcore— which ends up becoming the gateway to aum getting into proper emocore and its dissolution across multiple branches of punk music.

Fashion-wise, black simply is Poison's color of choice because blood doesn't stain it easily, and because it is a form of going directly against BL/i dress code as much as wearing all neon colors. In Battery City and most neutral towns, dark colors are seen as somber and only fitted for formal wear or officials in positions such as exterminators, whereas light colors are seen as uplifting and appropriate for everyday wear as they encourage positive thinking and productivity. When Poison first came into the Zones most everything au knew about killjoys was what au was told by BL/i or the people in aur neighborhood (so nothing good) and so aur first instinct was to reject the color, but the white was also no longer safe, so au turned to the color black— doubling down on it to the point of having aur entire wardrobe be black as you'd expect someone at aur age at the time to do.

Jet Star's introduction to scene was at an after party at the Nest, where most people who were not quite old enough even by Zone standards to partake in certain activities or were just sensitive to strobing lights and such gathered outside and played cards/watched others play cards/bet who'd win at cards, while passing around a hand-held stereo to anyone with an 8-track or compact disk on them. As Star didn't quite have anything to his name yet other than kandi bracelets (which are a part of Zone culture as PLUR was kept alive through the live music scene) and a half-dead novelty lighter, he watched from the sidelines, commenting on the different matches with other joys and just soaking in the music playing and how it kind of clashed with the bass and fragments of other tunes from inside the Nest itself. The music played was purposefully shit, no matter how much the person who put it on talked about it like it was the coming of Destroya, but Star still found himself enjoying quite a few of the neon pop and techno and industrial-influenced tracks, which is where his whole music sense really stemmed from.

Fashion-wise, Star simply really enjoys "proper" killjoy fashion that is usually worn out at bars and concerts— brightly colored and pattern-heavy, layered in uncommon ways, but still very much oriented towards easily-readable and clunky shapes, with complex hairstyles and accessory combinations. It is hard at times to draw a line between his more glam rock inspired looks and the proper scene ones as they overlap in certain areas aesthetic-wise when Star is the one pulling them off, but then again, what is Zone culture if not genre (and gender) anarchy? He's also really into Gloomy Bear merch and the whole creepy-cute aesthetic, and has many many Gllomy Bear, Sanrio and rhinestone sticker sheets in one of the drawers in the garage