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dduane · 22 days

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I love your young wizards books! There’s an article in the NYTs about “plumes of steam” floating up from the belly of Manhattan and thanks to YW, I know it’s just dragons. ❤️

Thank you!

...And yeah, dragons, absolutely. :) (...Well, these guys, anyway.)

Via the Errantry Concordance: the Fireworm (Lanthanodrax speleotraxis)1

(Also the occasionally occuring “sport” or hypotrophic subspecies, L. speleotraxis ignigastris.) The colloquial name is identical with that used for the marine bristleworm Hermodice carunculata, but the two species otherwise have nothing to do with one another.

The wizardly fireworm is a serious competitor for the title of “North American fauna species that has had its evolution most seriously interfered with by wizardry.”

The original species — just another small reptile, to start with, a member of the suborder Lacertilla and a distant relative of the geckos — was repeatedly mutated by the wizards caught up in the events surrounding the final fate of Afallonë. The most comprehensive change to their structure happened as a side effect of the great aphthonic intervention, the wizardry intended to save as much as possible of the unique Atlantean flora and fauna from the impending destruction of the First Continent. The rafting wizardry which was meant to simply transport a number of species to the newer continents went wrong during the final crisis in many important ways, and rampant wizardry leakage contaminated and disrupted the genetic structures of many of the creatures involved. The fireworm, already susceptible to such disruption because of previous genetic manipulation, suffered far more of it during the transport to the early versions of North America and Europe than any other creature involved in the ancient rafting project.

In Europe and Asia, the fireworm had fewer natural enemies, and grew and changed in ways which would otherwise have been impossible. Further mutations due to the accumulation of wizardly overlays in the more populated parts of Europe led to the rise of the offshoot species Draco, the “true dragons” which became famous in Europe’s medieval period for being killed by knights. (It should be made clear that most of these casualties were members of the species Draco ectenis, the lindworm or wingless dragon, an omnivore by habit and cave-dweller by preference. Even the most heavily armored knights had a terrible batting average against Draco draco europaeis, the cliff-dwelling, strictly carnivorous winged dragon, which regarded knights merely as a somewhat-seasonal comestible delicacy with a crunchy outside and a yummy inside.)

But in North America, where many “rafted” species with wizardly components survived for the next few millennia after the fall of Atlantis, the fireworm kept for some time its original Atlantean form — that of a small carnivorous reptile with a tendency to burp flammable gas as a defense mechanism when frightened or upset. (No carbon-based dragon, true or false, breathes fire: but even the smallest ones can ignite it on exhalation in one of a number of ways, usually involving chemical or enzymatic reactions.)

However, unfortunately for the fireworm, its main Atlantean natural enemy the “king-weasel” (Macrogulo gulo, long extinct and survived only by its far less assertive “family” relative Gulo gulo, the wolverine) succeeded in establishing itself in North America as it had not been able to do in Europe because of the presence of the great crested cockatrice (Cerastus baseliensis) or northern cockatrice (Cerastus scotodasos). The king-weasel nearly succeeded in exterminating the fireworm. Only the smallest members of the family survived by changing their normal above-ground habitats for an underground lifestyle into which the king-weasels would not follow them.

After some millennia spent living and rebuilding their gene pools in the natural caves of the East, the fireworms moved into the manufactured caves and underground spaces of the great East Coast and Midwest cities. (No fireworm species live west of the Rockies. Possibly due to uncomfortable genetic memories secondary to the fall of Afallonë, they will not stay in earthquake-active zones.) Regardless of what ConEd tells you, fireworms are the proximate cause of the steam New Yorkers see coming up from under the streets in all weathers — the more steam, the larger the fireworm.

They are some of the most exothermic of all Earth-based life forms, when well-fed, and the very biggest ones can prosper down in the tunnels in even the coldest weather. When exposed to further wizardry leakage, as sometimes happens in the neighborhood of worldgate complexes, the oldest and most experienced fireworms can over time acquire some telepathic and empathic abilities.2 This enables them to force the smaller fireworms, and even members of some other species, to do their will — shepherding food into their ambit, or otherwise serving their needs. For this reason, smart wizards stay out of places where the older and larger fireworms can be found, unless the needs of errantry drive them there.

Fireworms are also the ultimate source of all the stories about “alligators in the sewers.” There is a certain ironic humor to this, as wizards know there wouldn’t be nearly so many stories if the things in the sewers were only alligators.

(See also: Eldest, the: Twelve, Song of the.) (SYWTBAW)

1The taxonomy of the western European fireworm is somewhat confused. The Bestiarium Ignotum classified the fireworm as Lanthanotrops micrognotus, but this did not take into account the internal differences between the Lanthanotrops and Lanthanodrax families — possibly understandable, since Linnaeus was unable to find a dead specimen to dissect, and trapping a live one was at that point out of the question. The Acta Parabiologica‘s revised classification group places the fireworm among the various members of family Hemerothalcus, with the “true dragons” of the Draco species.

2 Because of the already-fragile state of their DNA, such exposure over prolonged periods can also result in memory loss and other neurological problems, as seems to have been the case with the Eldest in SYWTBAW.

#Young Wizards meta #fireworms #Lanthanodrax speleotraxis #Young Wizards #So You Want To be A Wizard #unnatural history

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ltwilliammowett · 5 months

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She is a bit shy in door 8 today, but a very pretty French girl - L'Hermione

Départ de La frégate Hermione Lafayette du port de Brest, Fort du Dellec, 2019

More about her here:

Hermione is the name of the French frigate with which the Marquis de La Fayette returned to Boston in 1780 to support the American colonists in their fight for independence. The ship was completed in 1779 in the naval arsenal of Rochefort in a construction period of just eleven months, based on plans by Henri Chevillard and identical in construction to three other ships (la Courageuse, la Concorde, la Fée). These new light frigates were characterised by their manoeuvrability and speed. The Hermione was equipped with 26 cannons that could fire projectiles weighing 12 French pounds "poid de marc" (489.5 g). This is where the name "twelve-gun frigate" comes from. She also carried six or eight six-pounder guns. The empty weight was 1166 tonnes, the hull length 44.2 m, the overall length 65 m, the width 11.55 m and the depth 5.78 m. A sail area of more than 1500 m² was spread over three masts.

She experienced several battles and when the First Coalition War broke out on 20 April 1792, the Hermione returned to active service under Captain Martin. From 7 May 1793, she escorted convoys between Bayonne and Brest. In September 1793, she was tasked with escorting a convoy between the Loire estuary and the streets of Brest. On 20 September 1793, she ran aground off Le Croisic. The Hermione had a serious leak in the hull and could not be refloated in the receding tide. The crew threw 12 cannons and anchors overboard to stabilise the ship. The rising sea lifted the Hermione for a while, but she was so damaged that she could no longer pump water and sank to the bottom, where her hull began to disintegrate. At 1000 hours the next morning, Martin evacuated his crew in several fishing boats that had come to the rescue, salvaging as much equipment as possible, and was the last to leave the frigate.

The court martial that followed the wreck found the frigate's pilot, Guillaume Guillemin du Conquet, responsible for the frigate's loss; its commander, Captain Martin, was honourably acquitted.

A replica of the frigate has been under construction in a dry dock at the former Rochefort naval arsenal since 1997. As the original construction plans had been burnt for safety reasons, new plans had to be drawn up. The plans of a sister ship from the British Naval Museum, the Concorde, served as a model. The reconstruction of the Hermione was financed in part by the proceeds from the survey, grants from the French government and the EU as well as donations.

After its completion, the Hermione was launched in 2014. She left her building dock in early September 2014 for initial sea trials off the French Atlantic coast and sailed to North America in 2015, where she stayed for four months before sailing back. From 2 February 2018, the Hermione undertook a second major sea voyage from Rochefort to the Mediterranean via Tangier, Sète, Marseille and Toulon.

#naval history #tall ship #l'hermione #18th century #age of sail #replica #french #advent calendar #day 8

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wilderebellion · 11 months

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Calorum Lore Shared in the Dropout Discord

Thank you, Past!Brennan.

Some of them might re-contextualize a thing or two about TRW series. Typically in response to specific questions, but I focused solely on posting Brennan's responses.

Lore on The Ravening War (from April 20, 2020 1:02am ET)

In 1188, a conflict broke out because Count Jacques Tomaté, a Fructeran noble, was by birthright next in line for the throne of Greenhold!

Culture of the Meat Lands (Feb 21, 2020)

Brennan: Meatlanders have clan delineations based on bloodline and their worship/propitiation of The Great Beasts, which is a pagan, polytheistic faith! Warfare between various clans goes back centuries and centuries, a lot like the ancient Celts, so while some Meatlanders might feel kinship with other Meatlanders over outsiders, it's just as common for a given Meatlander to feel THE MOST animosity to a member of an enemy meat clan. So "The Meatlands" doesn't really have a national identity in the same way that, say, Ceresia does, and individuals there are much more likely to define their loyalty by family, clan and faith than by nationality.

(May 18, 2020 8:14pm ET)

The Meatlanders are like ancient Celts: The fact that they don't wear shirts lets southerners stereotype them as barbarians, but their culture is equally as beautiful, ancient and complex as any other land's. Carn is a metropolis full of architectural wonders, beautiful art, etc. Meatlanders rule!!! Labeling them barbarians, like in real life, is a tool artistocrats use to breed xenophobia and hatred into their homleands population, making them more malleable and compliant

The Rocks Sisters (May 1, 2020 11:46pm)

The four sisters were the four archetypal classes! Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Rogue!

Magic Items (April 20, 2020 9:44pm ET)

Magical items aren't quite as prevalent in other nations as they are in Candia!

Amethar's Mom (April 20, 2020 1:21am ET)

Amethar's mother, before she was Queen Pamelia Rocks, was Pamelia Pomegrana, a Fructeran noble!

Magic and Miracle Workers (from April 20, 2020 1:04am, 1:06am, 1:15am)

Brennan: Just like in normal D&D, it takes SPECIFIC training or divinatory magic to tell if magic is arcane or divine, or where its power source originates from! People's reactions to magic are LARGELY based on uninformed prejudice, and aesthetic. This is how Lapin is mostly able to con people.

Even within the Bulbian Church, 99+% of its clergy CAN'T cast magic. Being a miracle worker is a REALLY big fucking deal, and almost always guarantees ROCKETING to the top of the church hierarchy

Liam's magic truly getting him in trouble depends on context! Obvious spellcasting would get him in a lot of trouble, but Candian's magic items usually get a pass from commonfolk because it would be viewed as "alchemy," which isn't seen as being heretical at all!

Leadership in Calorum (from May 6, 2020)

5:32pm ET

Brennan: Plumbeline is the Sovereign Ruler of Fructera, yes! Gustavo had to abdicate in order to become Concordant Emperor! Plumbeline's title is still Lady though, Fructera doesn't have a monarchy, it has a complex consortium of Noble Houses that rule through an orchestrated bloc of alliances, kind of an aristocratic bureaucracy!

5:40pm ET

Brennan: Dairy Islands ALSO a monarchy, just doesn't confer the title of King or Queen to its monarch (uses Prince or Princess), also Ceresia HAS been a monarchy at times, has vacillated between Republic and Imperatorship MANY times, with some dynasties of Imperators lasting a dozen generations or more!

Social Categories

Brennan: All the food nations have weird edge cases, so the delineations are DEFINITELY social and not biological/botanical. Pie people, a combination of grain, butter and fruit, are overwhelmingly Candian. In Calorum, these edge cases would be much like they are in our world, the result of historical wars of conquest, marriages, alliances, etc!

Genetic Complexity (from April 20, 2020 2:14pm ET)

Brennan: Popping in here like a goddamned troll to say that Calorans' DNA are powerfully influenced by more than just their parents genetics, but also by the geographical location of their conception, their gestation and even their childhood dwelling place up through puberty! I suspect that every question I answer only serves to raise further questions, for which I am deeply sorry!!

Other Monarchies in Calorum (May 6, 2020 5:40pm ET)

Queer Rights in Calorum (from May 18, 2020 8:23pm)

Brennan: Candia is the MOST permissive of all the nations in terms of most issues, but no nation in Calorum is openly homophobic. However, it's important to remember that archaic concepts like bloodlines, political marriage, heirs and primogentiure [sic], etc. still exist in this world, and are more emphasized and expected in nations outside of Candia, which puts a lot of pressure on the nobility from that end of the spectrum. In a weird way, that means peasants are a lot freer in terms of who and how they love and marry than aristocrats and especially royals, which there is also some interesting IRL research and precedent for!

Post-War Events (May 18, 2020 8:07pm ET)

I don't think any of these are spoilers, but Amethar and Caramelinda married shortly after the war ended. King Jadain died shortly after the war, after the establishment of the Concord!

Funeral Rites of Calorum's Faiths (May 18, 2020 8:04pm ET)

Bulbians practice burial and very formal funereal rites, and have a sharp delineation between body and spirit, so the body which is crass and material goes back into the ground, and the soul joins the Bulb. Meatlanders practice cremation, and have different beliefs based on religious affiliation, but most Great Beast faiths belief that an afterlife is EARNED through great deeds, otherwise you're reincarnated and get to try again!

#the ravening war #a crown of candy #brennan lee mulligan #acoc spoilers

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gallifreyanhotfive · 28 days

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Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 40: The Master, The Master, and The Master

oh my fucking gods how is it part 40 already....here have a lot of Master stuff to celebrate lol

The Delgado Master once allied himself with the Nurazh, a mind parasite. The could simultaneously control thousands of minds but ended up betrayed the Master because of course they did. While the Third Doctor was fighting the Nurazh, they fell off the roof of the building, causing him to begin to regenerate into his Fourth self. Trying to control the Doctor while he was technically two minds killed the Nurazh but not before they incidentally healed the Third Doctor of all his wounds, preventing his further regeneration. (Short story: The Touch of the Nurazh)

The Reborn Master was the one to disfigure the Decayed Master while working with the Cult of the Heretic. This cult then betrayed him by doing a body swap between the Reborn Master and the Decayed Master. (Audio: The Two Masters)

Missy considers the hijacking of the Concorde to be one of her least successful plans ever. (Audio: Two Monks, One Mistress)

After the Cheetah Planet ceased to exist, the Master was immediately deposited in the Doctor’s TARDIS because it was a piece of Gallifrey on Earth. He immediately stole the Identity Recognition Module and hijacked the TARDIS, meaning that the Seventh Doctor and Ace could only wait to see where the Master was planning on taking them. (Short story: How did this creep get in here, Professor?)

Scissor bugs are a common Gallifreyan pest. One time, when the Master was just a student, he watched happily as thousands of males tried to mate with a single queen, only to die because he had put the queen in a jelly jar. (Short story: The Duke of Dominoes)

In the same story, while scheming, the Delgado Master was gathering shards of the Godhead, a source of unlimited power, in Chicago. During this time, he gets mugged, works in a soup kitchen for several days, is betrayed by his allies, is chased by a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln, and is buried under building rubble. The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane then materialize in the TARDIS on top of him, take some of his stuff, and leave. (Short story: The Duke of Dominoes)

The Reborn Master once impersonated the Doctor to infiltrate UNIT. The actual impersonation bit was actually successful. (Audio: Dominion)

Teddy Sparkles appeared to be wish granting magical teddy bear, but he could alter timelines and the whole universe. Thus, Missy kidnapped him in an attempt to take over Earth. (Short story: Teddy Sparkles Must Die!)

The Delgado Master once kidnapped a pop group and used the power of music to hypnotize anyone who listened. (Short story: Smash Hit)

Julius Caesar once took the Tremas Master prisoner after he tried to poison him. Ace asked the Seventh Doctor what will become of the Master, and the Doctor is confident that his old friend would be back one day. And he wasn't wrong either - the Master did one day come back to rekindle their friendship but as Missy instead. (Comic: Crossing the Rubicon)

While in 49 BCE, the Doctor went by Septimus Doctus, which surprised the Tremas Master as he had expected the Doctor to use Theta Sigma. (Comic: Crossing the Rubicon)

While the Monk was disguised as Henry VIII, Missy agreed to marry him to call his bluff. (Audio: Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated)

While in the body of a Trakenite, the Master still possessed a binary vascular system. (Short story: A Master of Disguise)

In an aborted timeline, the final form the Master would take would be an entropy wave. (Audio: Masterful)

Also in this same aborted timeline, the Saxon Master killed the Thirteenth Doctor, throwing her into the heart of a star. He then invited many of his past selves - the Young Master, the Decayed Master, the Bruce Master, the Reborn Master, and the War Master to celebrate. Kamelion was there disguised as the Tremas Master, and when they tried to bring in the Delgado Master, they accidentally brought in Jo Grant instead. Missy also party-crashed, much to the Saxon Master's chagrin. (Audio: Masterful)

When the Thirteenth Doctor implied to Missy that she had met a future incarnation of the Master who was once again male presenting, Missy was horrified. (Novel: The Wonderful Doctor of Oz)

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aedesluminis · 27 days

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Letter from Claude-Antoine Prieur to Louis XVI on the importance of having a unified metric system in France

[The letter is dated April 1790 and included a copy of Prieur's Mémoire sur la nécessité et les moyens de rendre uniformes, dans le royaume, toutes les mesures d'étendue et de pesanteur]

"Sire,

The reputation that your Majesty has gained through his passion for sciences and the protection with which he has constantly provided them inspired in me the desire to offer him a work I have done on the necessity and the means to bring all measures of France to uniformity.

I beg your Majesty to honour me for a moment of his attention, not much for some special merit concerning my work, but above all for the high importance of its content.

It is a great and beautiful idea, the one of giving to a great people a common and invariable measure, and, even better, to make it universal. Today, the difficulties related to the lack of precision in the procedures have been overcome; what is left is just a few prejudices relegated to the classes of ignorant people, of whom the triumphant voice of reason will dismiss the prestige.

France, England, the United States of America have addressed the matter not only in their own countries, but they are in open agreement to achieve an identical result.

Savants are rather convinced of the effectiveness of this operation for the advancement of science; but how much it will reveal itself useful in easing commercial relations, from the simplest exchanges, which people’s daily needs require, to the greatest speculations!

From this double perspective of science and commerce, the States of your Majesty maintain a distinguished position among civilised nations. After all, wisdom, moderation, in a word, all the virtues of your Majesty, suggest on his part an aspiring desire towards the noble glory of being included among the benefactors of humankind. May I be allowed to say that this is a fortunate occasion to add a new benefit to those that your subject already owe you: the reunion of your Majesty with other countries to procure the same measures would be a big improvement and a favourable wish for the happiness of the people; nothing is more appropriate to strengthen in them the bonds of fraternity and concord like the sweet influence of Philosophy.

Respect has set limits that I am not entitled to go beyond. Nevertheless I thought to let truth arrive to the ears of a prince, who, because of his greatness of spirit, has always proven himself worthy of listening. To touch the heart of your Majesty, it is undoubtedly sufficient to mention a useful purpose: it will be even more touched to know that the probity, of which the operation in question is significantly the custodian, will put an end to the activities and tricks of the scoundrels.

I have persuaded myself that my disinterested homages would not be unpleasant; I am, with the utmost respect, your Majesty’s most humble and obedient servant."

— from G. Bouchard, Prieur de la Cote-d'Or, Pièces Annexées, p. 458 - 459

#if you are wondering Louis ghosted him #<- this is why Prieur became a regicide /s #louis xvi #claude antoine prieur #prieur de la cote-d'or #claude antoine prieur duvernois #metric system #prieur duvernois #history of science #frev #my translations

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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 1 year

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Bisexuality, Biphobia, and Health

This is going to be a quick run-through, but no doubt I'll return to this topic in future posts. For now:

The following are the statistically significant (i.e. strong evidence) findings of Horn and Swartz, 2019, “A Comparative Analysis of Lifetime Medical Conditions and Infectious Diseases by Sexual Identity, Attraction, and Concordance among Women: Results from a National U.S. Survey”:

Bisexual women reported higher rates of poverty (26.4%) than homosexual (18.9%) or heterosexual women (15.7%)

Bisexual women reported higher rates of asthma (18%) than homosexual (16.5%) or heterosexual women (10.8%)

Bisexual women reported higher rates of hepatitis B/C and were more likely to report having had an STI in the last 12 months than homosexual or heterosexual women

Bisexual women were more likely to report having had any form of cancer than heterosexual women

The 2016 “Comparison of Health and Health Risk Factors Between Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults and Heterosexual Adults in the United States: Results From the National Health Interview Survey” found:

46.4% of bisexual women had symptoms of moderate or severe psychological distress, compared to 28.4% of homosexual women, and 21.9% of heterosexual women

11.7% of bisexual women reported heavy alcohol consumption, compared to 8.9% of homosexual women and 4.8% of heterosexual women

Bisexual women were found to be more likely to have multiple chronic health conditions than heterosexual women

The 2016 “Intragroup Variance in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Tobacco Use Behaviors” study found that bisexual women are more likely to smoke than homosexual or heterosexual women.

“Sexual orientation health inequality: Evidence from Understanding Society, the UK Longitudinal Household Study”, 2017, found that bisexual respondents had worse physical functioning scores, psychological distress scores, and health and life satisfaction scores than heterosexual respondents.

The Oxford Handbook of Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health (Bostwick and Harrison, 2020), finds bisexual women to have worse rates of depression, anxiety, and substance use. They reference Conron et al., 2010, who found bisexual women to be TEN TIMES more likely to have considered suicide in the last year than heterosexual or homosexual women, and that bisexual women were more likely to have attempted suicide than any other group studied. They also reference Kerridge et al., 2017, who found bisexual women to have the highest prevalence of PTSD of any group studied, that bisexual people have more personality disorder diagnoses than heterosexual or homosexual people, and that bisexual women have significantly higher odds of a bipolar diagnosis. The book makes a point of noting that stereotypes about bisexual people may factor into diagnostic criteria and processes.

And just for good measure, below the cut is the entire bisexual chapter of "LGBT Health: Meeting the Needs of Gender and Sexual Minorities", 2018 - full references and digital text available on request:

#bisexuality #bisexual #biphobia

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sluttywonwoo · 1 year

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instead of you [part five] || l.mh

pairing: [best friend’s brother] lee minho x college!reader ft. han jisung

summary: you didn’t expect to spend your summer pretending to be your best friend’s girlfriend- then again, you didn’t expect to fall for your best friend’s brother, either.

warnings: swearing, mentions of sex (18+ mdni)

word count: 3.4k

a/n: revamped my tom holland series from my main blog ( @wazzupmrstark ) to try and motivate myself to finish it!! ; i know minho is the chef of the group but just suspend your disbelief for this series and pretend it's jisung

series masterlist | early access to the next chapter on ko-fi

“This would be a lot easier if any of us spoke French,” Felix grumbled, lugging his suitcase awkwardly down the cobblestone street.

“I took a couple of classes in high school,” you offered.

“Can you read this map?” Jisung’s dad asked, handing you the comically large sheet of paper.

The only reason they weren’t using their phones’ GPS was that the international data plan wouldn’t be activated until the next day, leaving the six of you to fend for yourselves without technology until midnight. It had been a small oversight, but it had left you wandering around the streets of Paris for over half an hour already.

You held the map in front of your face and examined it closely, trying to decipher where you were in relation to the buildings and landmarks on the page. You knew the hotel was on the corner of Place de la Concorde, but you weren’t sure where you were.

“I know ‘rue’ means street,” you said nervously.

All of the Hans were looking at you expectantly. You felt like the responsibility of getting everyone to where they needed to be was on your shoulders now, and the pressure was making you sweat.

“Do you know what ‘rue’ we’re on?” Felix asked impatiently.

“Do you see a street sign?” you countered, trying not to come across as frustrated as you felt.

“We’re on Rue Saint-Honore,” Jisung said gently. “And the intersection of this street and Rue Saint-Florentin is a few meters in front of us.”

“Oh, then our hotel is just a few blocks up the street! We were just one street up from the one we needed to be on.”

You handed the map back to Jisung’s dad who tucked it into the pocket of his backpack and smiled.

“Perfect, you lead the way, y/n.”

“Your dad and I will be in this room, 313. Minho and Felix, you’ll be right next door to us. And Jisung and y/n will be on the end in room 317,” Nikki explained as she distributed the keys to each pair.

“You know why they put us in between them and Jisung,” Felix muttered to Minho under his breath as he made an obscene gesture with his hands. Minho chuckled quietly and nudged Felix’s shoulder with his own, earning identical glares from you and Jisung.

“Yeah, we’re the buffer,” Minho agreed, subtly sizing you up from beneath his gaze.

“Behave.” Nikki warned her sons

“No promises.”

“Listen to your mother, boys,” Dom, their father, piped up from behind his wife.

And that was it. They departed down the hallway towards their own room and left the four of you standing in the hallway by yourselves.

“Well, we’ll let you two… settle in,” Felix said pointedly with a raise of his eyebrow.

“I hate you,” Jisung grumbled.

“What are older brothers for?”

“We’re twins. And I was born first.”

Felix just shrugged. “Like I said.”

Jisung turned away from them to face you. The boys’ voices faded into the background as they retreated down the hallway to their own hotel room.

“Sorry about them.”

You smiled reassuringly. “You’ve been gone for too long. They have to make up for lost time.”

“Yeah, but I wish they wouldn’t make gross jokes in front of you.”

“That’s sweet, but have you forgotten that I used to make those same jokes about you and your exes?”

“I wish I could,” he groaned.

“Some of my best comedic work.”

“That’s not saying much.”

You ignored the jab and took the room key from his hands.

“I know they don’t mean any harm,” you reasoned. “One day, when you meet someone for real, the three of us will never give you a break about it.”

Jisung blinked. “Can’t wait.”

“Me either,” you hummed in agreement.

You turned and led the way to your room with Jisung trailing on your heels. The door unlocked on the first try and the two of you stumbled into the room together, immediately dropping all of your belongings onto the carpeted floor.

You gasped at the sight before you, barely registering the click of the door behind you.

The room was gorgeous, but you were focused on the view outside. The curtains on all of the windows were drawn and the windows themselves were ajar so that the natural light and fresh air could filter in. You had seen dozens of movies that took place in Paris, but none of them captured the true beauty of the city. Haussmanian buildings stretched as far as the eye could see and the tip of the Eiffel Tower peeked out behind the gray roofs in the distance. The entire city looked like it had been wrapped in tea-stained parchment paper, balanced on the line between film set and history. You could hear the bustle of traffic and vendors from the streets below, reminding you that this was not some sort of dream and that you were actually there.

Behind you Jisung was setting your suitcases on luggage racks against the wall, having already had his fill of the view apparently.

You threw yourself onto the bed and sighed loudly, shifting your attention onto your best friend who was organizing the contents of his backpack.

“What’s the plan?” you asked

“You didn’t read the itinerary, did you?”

“I skimmed.” He shook his head in exasperation. “You can’t expect me to have memorized everything on there!”

“No, but I thought you would at least read today’s schedule!”

“You didn’t read it either, did you?”

You both stared at each other momentarily before Jisung broke out into a grin and you threw a pillow at his head.

“I knew it!”

“We’re a mess, aren’t we?”

“I’ll look at the schedule,” you offered. “I still have the email.”

You rolled over to reach for your backpack and fished your phone from the front pocket. Jisung waited in silence while you scrolled through your inbox and read over the itinerary.

“We’re free until tomorrow morning,” you said.

Jisung’s shoulders sagged in relief and he plopped his body down onto the bed next to you.

“Thank god.” He gave you a defeated look. “It hasn’t even been a whole day and I’m already exhausted of my family.”

You liked spending time with the Hans, but you understood Jisung’s sentiment. They weren’t your family, and so you didn’t have to use much social energy or patience with them. But family vacations were familiar events to you. And there was only so much family time a person could take.

“I know the feeling.”

“I’m glad I have you with me,” Jisung admitted. “I love them, but I couldn’t spend two months alone with them.”

“Is that why you picked a school abroad?” you asked, realizing you had never really talked about it with him before.

“Kind of.” He rolled onto his side to face you. “Felt like it was the only way I could become my own person.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that, without being dramatic, it’s a little hard to escape my family’s influence- especially where we live.”

You were still lost, but your eyes were beginning to feel heavy so you just nodded.

“Have you ever felt like that?” he asked, voice starting to sound distant.

“I think so…”

It felt like you had just blinked when you opened your eyes again, but the room had turned dark. You couldn’t tell what time it was, but the moon was hanging low in the sky, casting light onto the water beneath it. Jisung was still beside you and he had fallen asleep as well. The sound of his gentle breathing filled the silence. You both had dozed off on top of the bed without any blankets which had caused you to roll yourself into a ball in your sleep. You stretched out, groaning at the stiffness in your muscles, and reached over to the nightstand to check your phone.

It was well past dinnertime by now, but you knew that you and Jisung needed to eat something. You shook his shoulder gently to wake him.

“Hm?”

“It’s after nine, Ji,” you whispered. “Are you hungry?”

He nodded. “Is anything open?”

“I’m sure we’ll find something. Do you want to ask your brothers if they want to go with us?”

Another nod.

Fifteen minutes later, you and all three of the Han boys were downstairs standing on the street just outside the lobby. No one in your group knew Paris well enough to know where they were going so Jisung just pointed in a direction and shrugged.

“Did you fall asleep too?” Minho asked as you walked along the sidewalk next to the Seine together.

Felix and Jisung were a few strides ahead, leading the way in front of you. You could faintly hear them bickering about directions, but were trying to tune them out as best you could.

“Almost immediately.”

“Me too.”

“I wanted to get out and see some of the city today, but my body had other plans I guess.”

“You’ll see plenty of the city tomorrow,” Minho assured you. “And the next day and the next. Trust me, you’ll be sick of this place by the time we leave.”

“How can anyone get tired of Paris?”

“Once you get over the art and the scenery, you remember all of the colonization and it becomes a lot less special.”

“Well when you put it that way,” you mumbled under your breath, ignoring the way Minho laughed at you.

“It’s still a cool city. France is just…”

“The worst.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“How many times have you been?” you asked.

“To Paris, or France in general?”

“Either.”

“A few.” He said it casually, but you had a feeling he might have been lowballing it.

You were about to ask him another question when the two of you were interrupted by a man in a black vest with a stack of menus in his hands.

“Madame, vous et votre petit ami- voudrais-vous manger ici?”

“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” you said instinctively, “uh, but I guess that doesn’t matter. Do you guys want to eat here?”

It was the only restaurant open on the whole block and everyone was hungry so it was an easy decision. You let the man pull you inside with Minho on your heels and Jisung and Felix trailing not too far behind.

Once all four of you were seated he distributed a handful of English-printed menus before returning to his post outside where he could drag more wandering tourists into the café.

“Do you want something to drink?” Jisung asked you, flipping the menu over.

“What do they have?”

“Here,” he said and leaned over to show you. “They have a lot of wines, a few domestic beers, oh they have a tequila sunrise-”

Across the table, Minho raised an eyebrow and smirked at you. You averted your gaze immediately, cheeks burning.

“We can share one,” you suggested meekly.

“Sounds good. What are you guys getting?”

“Beer,” Felix and Minho replied simultaneously.

Jisung shook his head. “Predictable.”

“What about food?” Felix continued, unphased by his brother’s remark. “All I’m seeing is fondue.”

“It’s a fondue place,” Minho pointed out and turned the menu around to show Felix the title.

“Thanks, mate, couldn’t have figured it out without you.”

“What does y/n want? She’s the guest.” The three boys turned and looked at you expectantly. “No pressure,” Minho added.

“Um,” you paused and glanced over to your fake boyfriend. “JIsung knows what I like. And I’m sure he knows what you both like. He can choose.”

You mouthed a sorry to your best friend, but he brushed it off with a smile and nodded.

“I can do that.”

The food came out almost immediately after it was ordered, as nearly everything was meant to be prepared by the diners, and the drinks followed shortly after. Jisung had ordered a white wine and swiss fondue for the table along with a red wine broth to cook the meat and potatoes in.

The restaurant was relatively empty. Your party and one other were the only people in the entire place, aside from the servers and the bartender. The man who had pulled you inside was still working the sidewalks underneath the red and white striped awning hanging over the door, but the night was visibly winding down for everyone in the neighborhood.

Vendors had started folding their sandwich boards and latching their shutters. Every time you looked across the street a couple more lights in windows had gone out. Inside, servers began folding tablecloths and stacking chairs on top of each other, all while encouraging you to take your time eating. But as soon as Felix noticed the first table being cleared all four of you started shoving food into your mouths as fast as possible. It didn’t matter that everything was being doused in scalding hot liquid, you would just have to deal with the first-degree burns later. The time pressure had also caused everyone to attempt to “flash cook” their food- which just meant turning up the intensity on the Sterno and cooking everything for half the recommended time. tom

“We’re not going to get food poisoning, right?” Felix asked as he cut into a piece of what could be classified as maximum rare steak.

Jisung shrugged. “Probably not.”

“What do you mean ‘probably not’?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“You’re the one with a degree in culinary arts!”

“I don’t have a degree yet,” he clarified, correcting his twin.

“Okay, but you’re studying culinary arts.”

“Yeah, and there’s a reason you’re supposed to cook meat for a specified amount of time so let’s just not think about it.”

Felix pursed his lips, but didn’t say anything else.

“How’s your sunrise?” Minho asked with a grin. He had stopped eating just to ask you that question. You were half-tempted to stomp on his foot.

“Good, why?” Jisung answered for you.

“No reason. Just curious.”

Minho paid the bill without a second thought. He pretended not to hear you when you offered to pick up the tab while Felix and Jisung gave you dirty looks. They even yelled at you when you tried paying for yourself. God forbid you ever tried to get any of them a Christmas present. There was no winning with these boys.

Jisung held your hand on the walk back to the hotel. His entire body was warm from the alcohol, but his hands were especially warm because they always were. It was one of the little things that made him your favorite person. Whenever you were cold you could just grab one of his hands. Even if you weren’t particularly chilly, the warmth still was still comforting and familiar. Felix wasn’t wrong when he said you and Jisung were always all over each other. You were always holding hands, which is probably part of the reason so many people thought you were dating.

Your thumb circled the small scar on the back of his hand absentmindedly as you strolled along the river. He’d had it since before you met, but you knew the story. Something about learning how stoves get hot the hard way.

The walk took a little longer than it should have because you had aimlessly wandered around to find dinner and didn’t keep track of your route, but you picked up on familiar landmarks eventually and used your best judgment to lead the way. You said your goodnights to the boys in the elevator and parted ways in the hallway.

“I hope you’re ready for tomorrow,” Minho said as he held his keycard up to the sensor on the door next to yours. It sounded more like a warning than anything else.

You turned back to Jisung. “It won’t be that bad, right?”

He shrugged noncommittally and squeezed your hand. “It’ll be fine.”

“How do I look?” you asked and turned away from the mirror to face Jisung.

It was the next day, and the sun had barely risen, but everyone was scheduled to be downstairs at 7:00 for the days’ activities. Today was the first day that you were required to wear a matching shirt with the rest of the Hans and while you hadn’t been excited about it, it wasn’t so bad now that you were actually wearing it.

Jisung’s mom had designed shirts for each leg of the trip, which had taken up a considerable amount of room in your luggage but saved you the hassle of having to pick out an outfit every day. Today’s shirt was a bright red, Nikki’s favorite color, and it had a picture of the Eiffel Tower on the front. On the back, it said ‘HVC’ which apparently stood for Han Family Vacation. The shirt was a little big on you so you had tucked it into your jeans so that it wasn’t completely swallowing your figure.

Along with your t-shirt and jeans, you were also wearing… Nikes. The tennis shoes and jeans combo really completed the tourist aesthetic, but you were taking comfort in the fact that everyone else would be wearing the same thing too. You’d tied a red bandana into your hair to keep it out of your face which made you look kind of like a Girl Scout, but you already looked like an elementary schooler with your ensemble so you figured you might as well keep it.

“I feel like this is a trick question,” Jisung admitted.

“Wrong answer.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We’re all wearing the same thing, y/n, we’re all going to look stupid.”

“Yeah, but I still want to look cute!”

“You always look cute.”

You gave him a look. “You know what I mean. I’m supposed to look girly and feminine and put together!”

“Says who?”

“I just… assumed you would want me to,” you said with a shrug. “I thought you’d want me to be, you know, cutesy and- for your parents?”

“When have I ever been into those kinds of girls?”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh right, I forgot you have a ‘not like other girls’ complex.”

“You know what I meant. I just want you to be yourself.”

“I don’t think you mean that.”

“Well, the PG version of yourself.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

“You’re already acting like you’re in love with me, I don’t think your talents extend past that.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m just saying, our entire act would fall apart. You’re barely believable as it is now-”

“What part of ouch did you not understand?”

“Sorry.”

You blew out a breath and put your hands on your hips. “Should we go downstairs?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Nikki and Dom were already in the lobby when you and Jisung got down there and Minho and Felix followed shortly after. Everyone looked blindingly bright with their matching shirts on and you were already getting looks from other guests.

Dom announced that everyone would get breakfast somewhere close by on the way to the sights so that you’d save time. No one was in much of a mood to talk since it was so early, so you just followed Jisung’s family quietly as they made their way out of the hotel together.

The sun was peeking out from behind the skyline now, casting a soft glow onto the cobblestone streets. The park across from where you were staying was already bustling with the day’s activity. Nearly all of the benches were occupied by people enjoying pastries or coffee. Picnickers were speckled throughout the grassy areas on blankets they had brought from home, some reading books, some playing fetch with their puppies. Others were busy walking their dogs or going for their morning runs.

Observing everyday life in the places you visited was one of your favorite things about traveling. Inserting yourself into the rhythms and routines of each city, watching small interactions between strangers, something about it made you feel at home even though you were an outsider.

The feeling crept up on you as you watched a jogger stop to pet a dog, calling it by name and bending down to scratch it behind the ears. Jisung had resorted to pulling you by the hand each time you got distracted, tugging whenever you paused for a second too long so that you wouldn’t lose his family walking ahead of you.

You thought he must be getting annoyed with how many times he had to remind you to keep moving, but every time he pulled you caught him smiling at you out of the corner of your eye. He’d shake his head in exasperation or make a point of sighing loudly but kept whatever he was thinking to himself. It was weird not to be sharing every little thing you were thinking with each other, but you had the feeling that you’d have to get used to that from now on.

iou tags: @sluttywoozi @gimmeurtmi @phobia0325 @fwess @hipsdofafangirl @galaxleeknow @urmomma0324 @bangmechanpls @102598s @farfromsugafanfic @ritzy-roo @dimpledsatan @bvselines @wonderfulshinee @imwithurmother @smollquokka @rosexjimin @skizzel @endzii23 @lady-lena @kwanisms @ch4nniebang @lilramennoodle @babyphotos0325 @kpflyn @dearalice @sojohns @mistlitmoonlight @yoontaethings @babebatter @mal-lunar-28 @shy-kisu @zerefdragn33l @downbadreading @sana-within-you @saquso @bunnispaces @reianagarcia @hyunehans @imtoooyoungforthisshit @i8rsie @honeslykindahorny @214racha @hgema @chillllllli @vixensss @smhlino @feiyaa @borahae-reads @bigbearenergy @hoodiesandicedcoffee @darkacademic2512 @y00nzin0

add yourself to the taglist here!!

#instead of you skz #iou skz #stray kids x reader #skz x reader #stray kids x female!reader #stray kids x fem!reader #skz x female!reader #skz x fem!reader #stray kids x bi!reader #lee know x reader #lino x reader #lee know x female!reader #stray kids series #skz series #lee know series #lee know fanfic #stray kids fanfic

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mylordshesacactus · 11 months

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As someone who inhaled Cool Pirate Facts as a kid and still have a massive soft spot for stories about seas and ships, I'd love to hear more about why Queen Anne's Revenge deserved so much better than what Blackbeard gave her! Never heard of that before and now I'm extremely intirgued : D

SHE WAS NOT DESIGNED TO HOLD THAT MANY CANNONS AND SHE COULDN'T HAVE CLEARED THAT SANDBAR EVEN WITHOUT THEM

ALSO RENAMING A SHIP LIKE THAT IS INCREDIBLY BAD LUCK

TAKING A SHIP NAMED FOR THE VIRTUE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL HARMONY, NAMING HER SOMETHING POLITICAL AND BLOODTHIRSTY, AND THEN USING HER AS A SLAVE SHIP IS OBSCENE IT'S DISRESPECTFUL IT'S STRIPPING HER OF HER IDENTITY AND TWISTING IT INTO SOMETHING FOUL

in strict fairness it was not blackbeard who committed that specific perversion, Concord was already entering a death spiral from the cognitive dissonance by the time she fell into his hands

but like a competent hand on the wheel and a modicum of moral fiber could have righted course and NOPE. NOPE. LET'S JUST CONTINUE THE UNSPEAKABLE HORROR AND ALSO STRIP HER OF HER SOUL AND ALSO PILE TOO MANY FUCKING GUNS ON HER AND THEN GET SHITFACED AND CRASH HER INTO A SANDBAR--

#RENAMING SHIPS CAN BE DONE BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE WITH RESPECT AND INTENTIONALITY #edward teach fucked around and found out with that poor ship

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imminent-danger-came · 6 months

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So. MK being a very identity centered character right. You don't have a character say "Until I know what I am, what my destiny is? I can't risk hurting the people I care about, the one's I have left", who constantly compares himself to his predecessor, without that being one of the character's main conflicts right. And I've talked a lot about MK and labels on this blog, and I think as part of MK's s5 spiral we can expect a loss of his sense of self. 100%. Like that's where this is going right. We dipped our toes in in s4 and now we're going into the deep end. They never resolved his monkey identity. "Who or what you are, even I do not have the answer." Like they literally answered neither of those questions! Who is MK! What is he! What plans does fate have for him! How will MK feel about and respond to those plans, especially in conflict or concordance with his title as the "Plan Man"! In conflict or concordance with his identity as MK! As the Monkie Kid! I am eating the drywall over here

#just why did the s4 special set things up like that. why.#dragons don't look this TOTALLY has nothing to do with our discord convo ahahaha #I just maybe also agree that a loss of sense of self fucks severely. And I have brainworms #anyways #*shakes lmk* WHAT IS HE. WHAT IS HE!!!!!#I have been asking this question for 11 months since my lmk descent began. Screaming. Shaking. Crying.#lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk theme: identity #lmk MK #lmk rant #what i am #rarely get to use that tag that's pretty exciting

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yourlocalabstraction · 7 months

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your soul design is so yumilicious I need all the details now on my dinner plate

fr tho I want to know all the soul design lore how did you create such a creature /vpos

OKOKOHHHHHHOKOK BUCKLE IN. YOU’RE GONNA GET THE FULL DESIGN PROCESS

I struggled the most with Soul ngl. I couldn’t really think of anything I could add that would differentiate him from the fanon standard. I’m a lil upset I couldn’t think of something more original, but nonetheless he turned out quite lovely !!!

I started with the color picking. I was very insistent on making everyone’s colors proportional to eachother. The main colors should have (about) the same saturation/brightness, contrasting colors that are the exact opposite hue of the main color, respective black/grey/white values (soul’s ‘grey’ color is more teal bc color theory but yea), shit like that i guess. The final palette is on the right, it’s what I use today.

Soul never got fully fleshed out concept sheets like the other two. I guess my brain just filled in the rest of the gaps without having to draw them. (I apologize for never finishing these btw. It’s been months man. I hope the blorbo doodles in the corner make up for it) The second image was done a lot later than the first btw. Idk if that matters but I’m bringing it up anyway.

His fit inspo came mostly from Pinterest. I just compiled a bunch of shit I think he’d wear. Plus a majestic cape because it makes him look plenty more epic.

OK MOVING ON. I decided that his main gimmick would be my take on his shaded side. The idea was to make it represent dissonance, and how it affects Soul. The shadow is basically just this fuckin void. It has no physical form, and you can just stick your hand in there if you’d like (he sometimes stores the trident there). However I wouldn’t recommend it. The feeling is indescribable, but very uncomfortable. The void has a life of it’s own in a way. It does not stay confined within the Soul’s physical form (or in my case, his lineart). When conflict is at a high, like, tridential regicide level high, the void will get very close to fully overtaking him. It only fully disappears once true concord is reached, and starts reforming when the next cycle starts.

Also, the mask !!!!! Throughout cacophony, Soul is having a huge fucking identity crisis and shit. He doesn’t really have a physical organ like the other two. He doesn’t know why he’s here, or what he did to deserve this, or why nothing he’s trying works, and just. What is he if he’s failing at his main purpose???? I think because of this, he doesn’t like showing his face around the other two. He needs to assert is power, and thinks that showing his face will make him come of softer and less of someone to obey, if that makes sense. He only really takes it off when he’s alone in his room or pocket dimension (still trying to decide if they have a mock ‘apartment’, or ever did at one point). But once he has the character arc in Two Wuv, it permanently comes off !!! Wahoo!!!!!!! If only the next cycle weren’t to start, resetting his newfound self image to its previous state !!!!!!!!!!

Ok this is getting long im putting a read more thing

This image was very helpful for designing the tine shapes!! Guess which one is Soul’s !!!!!! (Spoiler alert, im pretty sure its either the 2nd or 6th ones in the 2nd row. However i genuinely dont remember. This may not even be the right image)

Soul also has a strange tie with eyes. If the halves have pissed him off to the point of no return, he does this fuckin analog horror stare that freaks the shit out of them (although heart cant see he remembers it very well. Plus, he just k n o w s that extra eye is there). I haven’t really played around with this, but I like the idea of a freakishly absurd amount of eyes hidden within the shadow. I should maybe like. Draw that sometime.

Also, expect a Soil patch update in the future!! I’d like to make his fangs more deranged, and maybe add an earth pattern to the cape. Right now, he has no symbols on him that represent him in the astronomy metaphor.

Uhhhh i hoped this helped??? If i missed anything you were hoping to know about, do let me know !!!!!!!

#i need a tag for posts like this #i shall call it #design lore #cj rambling #chonny jash #cccc #chonnys charming chaos compendium #taps asks #cj soul

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