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#this is only like a 4 on the evil scale
bebop-and-oysters · 1 year
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Apparently it makes me a “super villain” and an “evil scientist” to want to use a big big magnet to try to pull the planets in our solar system out of orbit. Personally I think it’s just good old fashioned scientific curiosity but whatever
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nicastamatis · 4 months
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im not 100% on board w lrb i dooo think that in the space, bg3 is still going way farther than most in the genre & most in the genre have that same clothes dimorphism issue but also. i had not realised the difference was that bad 😬
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etirabys · 2 months
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meandering post about reading Orson Scott Card again
I've been offline starting at 9pm every day (except once. I was drunk at karaoke and asked for anons at 8:30pm) for six weeks, with the result that in befuddled boredom two nights ago I picked up Orson Scott Card's Songmaster from the house bookshelf.
I read Ender's Game and three sequels when I was a teen thought the books were mid. Since those are OSC's best works I assumed he had nothing more interesting to offer me and didn't try more of him for fifteen years, but Songmaster was compelling enough that I immediately afterwards picked up The Memory of Earth, the first book of a pentalogy.
TMoE is extremely my jam: after humanity blows itself up on Earth, AIs monitor thriving human civilizations in the planets that survivors managed to escape to, and suppress any tech that enables large scale violence by exerting low key mind control via satellites. But forty million years pass, many of the satellites break down, and the AI needs help from humans to restore capabilities. Because as its control wanes, people are starting to e.g. conceive of airplanes or bombs again, and override the injunctions against entering military alliances more than two edges of connection away.
The AI is worshipped as a god all over the planet, but the fourteen year old protagonist that becomes one of the AI's agents tells the AI from the beginning that he'll break with it if its morality seems wrong to him. I like the fourteen year old – unlike Ender or Songmaster's protagonist (adult minds piloting ten year old bodies), he's a normal gifted kid who's unpopular 50% due to his ego and big mouth and 50% because he's socially inept and offends people even when he's trying to be nice.
Songmaster is also partly about a permanent solution to large-scale violence, albeit through one guy who establishes a monopoly on violence and sweeps in pax galactica. Both it and TMoE are preoccupied with the eradication of suffering from evil / human violence, which is closer to my resonant frequency than narratives about defeating particular people or ideologies. At the moment I can't think of any other book with such an insistent focus on the matter than T.H. White's The Once and Future King. It's hard to make a compelling story out of, and I don't think Songmaster really succeeds, but TMoE's premise is well suited to explore that. (I'm also enjoying the matriarchal culture where everyone is expected to have multiple serial-monogamous marriages.) After reading 70% of TMoE last night I wrote:
Usually when I read fiction there's a small part of me going, how can I use this as fodder for my own growth, how can I remix or improve or react against this, how do the author and I measure against each other? (If the quality and content are at an anti-sweet spot, the small part becomes quite large and I feel all teeth towards the author.) But on occasion I read something so close that the absence of that measuring-feeling is its own sensation – ego departs, or at least is split across two bodies. There's just amity and recognition
And it's pretty interesting to feel this way about Card for, well, the reasons.
(If you're familiar with Card drama none of the following will be new to you; I'm coming to it fresh so the rest of this post is me going "uh... wow")
I vaguely knew he was a homophobic Mormon who'd gotten into fights about gay stuff, but I couldn't tell from the Ender books I read. But in Songmaster his issues spring off the page in such a weird way. Every fifth Goodreads review of this book is "Card, u gay?" because, well,
(One review, possibly from a fellow Mormon, that went "Card, it's so sinful of you to be this gay in your novel". Why did he write this book that would predictably make everyone mad...)
it's full of gay male desire. The protagonist (Ansset) is approximately a castrato and characters notice him sexually a lot. The first and only time Ansset has sex it's with a Kinsey 4-5 male character he loves, who's married to a woman but has fallen in love with Ansset. It turns out the drugs Ansset took to prolong his singing career painfully and only-kinda-figuratively explode your balls when you have your first orgasm and you'll never feel sexual desire again. (You'd think his loving teachers would have warned him of that, but, whatever, they didn't.) The other guy is literally castrated in punishment for inadvertently torturing a highly valuable castrato. It's pretty bald: GAY SEX IS ALMOST IRRESISTIBLY TEMPTING BUT YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT.
(Sidenote: both Ansset and the guy's wife are very close and have a "there's enough love to go around" attitude about the gay sex initially, before they go "wait Josif is a SERIAL MONOGAMIST... he can only love one person at a time... the moment he had the gay sex his marriage was destroyed". It's funny in a mildly stupid way that Card would set up this parable of homosexuality destroying lives and a marriage but almost everyone involved is peacefully ready to sail into an open marriage. I guess it makes sense if you want to say very clearly that THE GAY PART IS THE BAD PART)
which is fascinating to me, because... why would you tell on yourself like that
(81k also told me secondhand of an essay? interview? where Card openly says "we have to stand against legalizing gay marriage because everyone will get gay married and society will collapse", so that's informing my read of Songmaster as well)
I am pretty dang open about my personal life online but if I had a lot of feelings I thought were disgusting and immoral I would not write a novel dripping with those feelings before pointedly castrating the leads for them. Especially if it wasn't relevant to the actually highbrow themes of (checks notes) winning over your adversaries with kindness and never relinquishing your monopoly on violence. I would be so so so so embarrassed to let this go to print, it's so psychologically transparent, what was he thinking
(Well, I assume he's a very different person with different social incentives. For all I know, people in his church went "hey Orson we read your book and it's clear that you're gay but signaling strongly that you won't give into the gay feelings, we're here for you, it was really brave of you to publish this".)
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celaenaeiln · 1 month
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in like a one person gets one, who would dicks soulmate (platonic or not idk) be? i’ve asked this to several ppl and the answers are usually wally, donna, or jason though i’ve seen some ppl say slade, roy, and bruce.
Anon your ask has literally been haunting me at night. I thought I knew the answer but then you hit me with a Donna!! But between Bruce and Donna, I can't decide so I'll just present a case for both.
Bruce
Bruce and Dick are soulmates on a cosmological scale. The DC universe ordained them to always find each other because they're quite literally a fated pair.
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Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Issue #23
Bruce: The only regret is that I'm out there alone. It felt good having someone at my back, being part of a team...but no sense wasting time wishing for something I'll never have.
Dick: He's cool, dad...d'you think we'll ever see him when we play Gotham?
The universe literally brings them together no matter the circumstances.
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Convergence Issue #4
"The bond between you and Bruce Wayne echoes in every reality."
I don't think there's any stronger evidence for Dick and Bruce being soulmates than this.
But if that's still not enough I have more-
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The Multiversity: Guidebook
In Bruce's world he lost Dick and in Dick's world he lost Bruce, but still in the end they somehow find each other. In every universe that has Batman, if someone is his partner it's always Dick.
In the medieval ages world-
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Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table Issue #1
The world of "A Christmas Carol" with Ebenezer Scrooge -
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Batman: Noël
In a world where Bruce is a doctor at Arkham -
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The Batman of Arkham
Dick is always there as his second.
Here's another interesting but depressing fact: In worlds where Dick Grayson has died as Robin, Bruce Wayne has never taken in another Robin.
This is because on top of the fact that Dick and Bruce as fated to meet, Dick means the entire world for Bruce. Like sometimes Bruce will come across a case with a child involved and the first thing he'll think about is Dick.
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Batman: City of Madness Issue #2
Bruce's mind and life is literally consumed by Dick Grayson on a cosmologically spiritual level.
Donna
Donna is Dick's soulmate on a twin-sister spiritual level. Dick and Bruce are two halves of a whole, yin and yang. Dick and Donna though are one person. Their relationship is like taking paint and mixing it together to get something new. Like in those comics where two people look at each other and there's a "zing!" and suddenly it's an instant connection. That's them.
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Titans (2016) Special 1
additionally:
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Titans (2016) Special 1
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New Titans (1988) Issue #89
Dick and Donna have no secrets. They're like a jigsaw puzzle, their pieces fall right into place.
He's always there for her-
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The New Teen Titans (1980) Issue #38
They're so special and integral to each other that when an evil witch erases Donna from everyone's memories, there is only one focal point for her. One focal person for her throughout the years. Even though he doesn't remember her, Dick literally goes back in time with his future daughter Mar'i to help Donna, his soul-sister-
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The Titans (1999) Issue #25
In every. single. moment of Donna's past Dick appears again and again to comfort her and be her pillar from Robin to civies to Nightwing. In the "Who is Donna Troy" Arc, as the story goes from the origins of Donna to the present, it becomes very clear that Dick is her centerpoint.
They're the definition of soulmates.
She knows him better than anyone else and he knows her. She even had him walk her Donna the aisle for her wedding. He was given that honor because of who they are to each other.
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Tales of the Teen Titans Issue #42
I...
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just-
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Tales of the Teen Titans Issue #50
to love like that...
They're made for each other.
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pandoraslxna · 5 months
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Sweet like Cherry – Chapter 4
Miles Quaritch x female human reader
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Words: 6.2k
Summary: Miles has a secret admirer and apparently, she has a thing for photography.
Warnings: explicit smut, Miles pov, conflicted emotions, dirty talk, praise & degradation, rough oral (m receiving), thigh fucking, begging, virgin reader, obsession, authority kink, power play, corruption kink, brief mentions of blood from biting, (angst?)
Notes: this took me forever and idek if I like it or not🧍🏻‍♀️
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Good has always pined for evil.
Ironic, because Quaritch knows what being good meant. Or, what being a good soldier meant. He couldn't tell when exactly this happened, but the knowledge came and stayed. He killed people. Of course, when there's an attack you fight back. He killed people on command, too. Sure, there are superiors who sit higher and see farther and they get the whole picture, so no command is mindless or unjustified.
Being a good soldier meant turning your common sense the fuck off, and following commands not doubting it for a second. Not thinking about why you attack instead of fighting back, or what is the reasoning behind missions involving sudden and bloody invasions. At one point, he also became said superior himself. Gave the commands to kill. Had blood on his hands without staining them, because those weren’t actually his hands that did it.
A good soldier is a thoughtless machine, and there is some fucked up irony in not using actual machines instead of human sources in military, he thinks. They want you to be a robot, but they need you to be a human. Or whatever is close to a human. Funny, now that he thinks about it.
He didn't think that working for Ardmore was much better or more sensible than being in the U.S. Army, or even working for Parker. The only difference was wielding more information. Not that he was sure that she shared everything she knew.
So in the end, he’s a good soldier, but that ultimately makes him a bad person. Not if you would ask him, no, there’s not even a spark of regret inside him. But to people like you, to you he must’ve been the devil himself.
And you know how that saying goes? Opposite attracts. And now Quaritch wonders, what does that make you? His antithesis in every way? Yes and no.
Because, turns out, sweet Cherry is everything Miles parents had tried to condition him to want in a person when he was young. A good person.
You’re driven to succeed, he thinks, every time he so coincidentally walks past the labs and you’re there, always working, day and night it seems, not so different from himself. You’re clean, he muses whenever he sees you in ironed clothes, seams sharp and not a hair out of place. You’re polite, he's reminded every time you drop "sir" and "ma'am" like it's second nature to you. You’re overly respectful, he realizes, always watching the way your spine straightens and gaze drops to your shoes whenever a person of authority steps into your space. And you’re pure, he knows it, innocent enough that his strictly christian mother would’ve approved of you, and yet, behind that façade, you’re not so innocent as it seems. So much so, that his father would’ve given him a proud clasp on the shoulder, murmuring something inappropriate while handing him a beer that would remind him why he’s never bought any women home to meet his parents. You care for others, for your environment. You’re empathic. And you’re good, in any way that matters.
And he hates it.
He hates the fact you’re everything he wants in a person, when he really shouldn’t. Because Miles fucking Quaritch, fifthy years of age, should not fool around with such a young little thing in her twenties, fragile like porcelain and pure like a flower that grew under a glass dome. Too naïve to even realize what you’re getting yourself into. It’s not like Miles has ever cared about the wrongs and rights in life, let alone what’s morally correct. But there’s something about you that makes him… hesitate.
In the grand scale of how much things in his life had changed recently, the Polaroids were just a detail. But he found himself attached to them like he’s never been attached to anything. Found himself holding the comically small photos in his big, blue hands every night like they’re a treasure.
It still shocks him to think that this is the same woman that he had met around a month ago. Pure little cherry. He scoffs because the thought of your shaking frame, big innocent eyes not able to meet his gaze, while nervously fiddling with your lab coat, is the same one he’s looking at right now on said Polaroids. It’s ridiculous.
Shocks him more that he likes this version of you way more than he would ever openly admit. That he wishes you would’ve captured your rosy cheeks on those photos, the way you blush and tremble and shy away. How you stutter when he makes you nervous. How your breath hitches. Wishes you would include videos next time, of you begging, calling him sir, saying please, please, please may I come? So sweet, it makes his teeth rot.
He wants to watch these soft lips moving as they say all those filthy words, with that tone in your voice like it’s the first time you’ve ever said them out loud.
Staring at those plush thighs as their spread wide open on your bed, Miles realizes he never wanted to dig his teeth into something more. There’s this desire to bite you, to mark you. Somewhere, it didn’t matter, just as long as he could see it. He wants to nip at your inner thigh, or maybe your bottom lip, your throat, your cute little ass. Wants to bite and suck and kiss until it bleeds and then gently, lovingly lick away the blood, simply because he knows you would allow him to do this. Because he likes the taste of you. Because he knows it would undoubtedly make you more wet. Because it would cause your snug little pussy to hug him even tighter.
Lately, these thoughts have become a vicious circle he can’t seem to break out of. Because no matter the scenario that plays in his head, all his thoughts ultimately lead to the image of him sinking his cock into your tight little hole. Something he doubts is even physically possible, starting from the difference in size between you and him. And there’s also this tiny issue, the fact that you’ve never actually done it before. That no one has ever popped your little cherry.
But it’s an ache he has, to pin you down and make you scream his name from the top of your lungs, let all of bridgehead hear who’s pounding your cute human pussy.
And that’s really the problem, isn’t it? You’re a human. Small, tiny, fragile human. And he’s not– not anymore. What a fucked up joke from the universe, huh? Not the price he expected to pay when he signed up for the phoenix program, when he decided to direct his whole life to becoming a damn good soldier.
But there were things that did help to numb that ache, besides staring at your Polaroids, receiving new ones every couple of days to which he jerked off until his cock felt raw and hypersensitive.
Quaritch was working: doing his job, going on missions, working overtime, crawling into Ardmores ass to exchange informations, forcing his mind to block out every other thought, occupy it with what others would describe as an obsession with finding Sully. But also going to the gym and exercising with the Squad until black spots blocked his view.
Though no matter how hard he tried, that ache never really disappeared. So he decided that it was time to finally do something about this, even if it was just a temporary relief that didn’t include his own hands. Not when yours could work perfectly fine, too.
It’s been a while since he had last seen you, Quaritch realizes as he walks past the labs to find them empty.
Considering the time, it’s not unusual to find them empty, so he goes straight to your room. He doesn’t even know why, doesn’t know why it bothers him so much that you’re not opening the door, that he can’t find you in the cafeteria either, why he doesn’t just take a cold shower and go to bed, why he couldn’t sleep even if he tried. Miles doesn’t know why. It’s not like he can just bend you over and truly ruin you, stain your purity forever once he’s found you. Fuck you long and hard and good and let that fire inside him cool off for a good while.
He wants to, yeah sure, but he can’t. And he doesn’t know why it drives him so insane.
Apart from the whole logistics of being almost three times the size of you, Miles has never been one to fuck around with women like you. Women, that don’t know what they’re doing. He doesn’t know why it makes him feel the way it does when you act all shy, trembling limbs and teary eyes when he touches you, greedily asking for more because it feels new and good so you just can’t help but beg for it– for him.
He’s not a teacher for fucks sake, he just wants to fuck. Release some stress. He wants to feel good, get a pretty girl on her knees after a long day at work and then make her ride him like she’s good for nothing else. Miles doesn’t want to show you how it’s done, to waste his time teaching you what most freshly eighteen year olds already know. Not his fault you’re such a social butterfly, sticking your nose into books and studying weird plants and what not, rather than to go out, get drunk and get laid. Fucking hell, who even are you to put such a pressure on him?
But god damn, don’t you look like a tasty little treat, running on that treadmill, with that absolute peach of an ass stuffed into a pair of sport tights that hug your curves just right.
Quaritch can’t help but watch once he’s finally found you. And he has a phenomenal view, leaning against the door frame of the common gym, arms crossed over his chest while his eyes scan you up and down.
Instead of cursing you for not spreading your legs for any other guy to spare him of the misery he was now trapped in, he dedicated his mindspace to mapping out all of the dips and curves of your body. The way your breasts bounced with every step, chest heaving, the flex of your thighs and the sweat beading at your temples.
The distant sound of music reached his ear, as he stood there in the doorway. Your headphones ensuring that no thoughts had any chance to form in your head, drowning out the silence of the gym at night.
With a scoff, Quaritch then finally decides to walk over to you. There’s a prickling feeling under his skin as he approaches you, still oblivious that you weren’t alone anymore, up until to the point where he pulls on the cords of your headphones and the music suddenly stops.
"Didn’t count you as a little gym bunny", he says, grinning. His fangs poke out from under his lip as he watches your eyes widen, immediately hitting the stop button to make the treadmill come to an halt.
"Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me", you pant, clutching your chest. A little overdramatic, he thinks, raising one of his brows at the curse words falling so easily from your lips. He tilts his head slightly, looking directly at you, and you don’t even bother trying not to squirm under his gaze.
"Sorry, sir", you mumble and Quaritch doesn’t know if his eyes were just playing tricks on him, but it almost looked like you were rolling your eyes at him.
"You shouldn’t work out with your music on full blast when you’re all alone", he tells you, his eyes boring into yours like he had any right to tell you what to do. At least it felt like he did. "If I were less than a man, I could’ve taken advantage of that."
His grin widens for a brief second, but then you exhale a dry laugh, and now he’s almost certain you just rolled your eyes at him.
"Sure, I’ll keep that in mind for next time."
Feisty, he remarks, licking his lips. There’s something up with you, you’ve made that much clear. And maybe you’re not so much different from him than he originally thought. You and him, you might as well just be two sides of the same coin.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night, kid?", Quaritch asks. If you want to act like one, might as well treat you like one. He straightens up, towering over you with his arms crossing over his chest like you owe him an explanation.
"Oh, I usually don’t work out, not like, like you guys. You look like you live here." You cross and uncross your own arms, failing to mimic his confidence stance, instead tugging at the hem of your shirt. "I couldn’t sleep, so i thought i could somehow tire me out." You shrug.
"Tire yourself out, huh?" Now that piques his interest, a half smirk tugging on his lips. "You know, I came here looking for you for the exact same reason."
The way you bite your lip and advert your gaze tells him more than words ever could. His tail sways in anticipation, feeling like a cat that just trapped a helpless little mouse. Miles leans forward slightly, lips close to your ear now before he whispers lowly, "You look pretty fucking good in these gym thighs, cherry."
Quaritch has definitely been fucked with to some degree, but your response freaks him out more than straight-up mockery would, somehow. 
"Aha." Oh?
His brows rise. It’s not even a response, it’s just a noise you make. But that little noise holds so much attitude, so many emotions. Quaritch can’t help but scoff. He had to give you that, you really had some nerves for someone who normally couldn’t even get a coherent sentence out when he’s around. And that newly found boldness makes him want to dig his fingers into your hips, make your little cherry tattoo turn into a bruised plump, spin you around and bend you over his knee just how you deserve for that.
"Alright", he exhales, trying to calm his nerves, "you got a lot of pent up frustration for such a little thing, so what’s with that attitude today, huh?"
You look at him like a lost puppy and now he’s the one who wants to roll his eyes, wondering why he even keeps up with this childish bullshit. If you were any other person, Quaritch would’ve loved to show you just how far that disrespectful tone gets you with him. But you’re not just any other person.
"You didn’t…" The words hadn’t even fully left you, and your eyes were already adverting to your shoes and your lips pursed into a thin line. Before you could finish however, Quaritch lets out a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, already knowing what’s about to come. "Listen, kid", he starts and if you were any close to Na‘vi, avatar, recom or whatever, your ears would’ve pinned back against your head. Instead, your shoulders slump, your whole body language suggesting that you were mentally preparing yourself to get lectured, because you knew the answer to this already.
"I don’t know what you were hoping you would get out of this, but if you’re looking for someone to be your first, that ain’t gon' be me."
His voice had grown a tad louder, accent heavier, and he halfway expected you to flinch or even tear up. Instead, you straighten up. Your hands may be trembling, but you hide it by balling your fists. Pushing out your chest, you gather all confidence that was left in you to snap back, "Why not?"
"Why not?", Quaritch laughs. He laughs because it’s funny, really. Because he can’t believe it, can’t help but wonder where all that is suddenly coming from. He laughs because if he wouldn’t, he would make you regret this. "I already told you. It’s not going to fit."
"What if I—"
"Cherry." It comes out as a warning. Your stance falters for a second, those big, puppy eyes returning to your face where just seconds before was such a fierce expression that it undoubtedly made him want to push you further, see how feisty you could actually get. But at the same time, Miles had just discovered just how easily you could get on his last nerves like this.
"I‘ll prove it. I can take it, just let me—"
A hand grabs at your lower face, thumb pressing into your cheek and four fingers digging into the other side, with his palm closing tight over your mouth and nose, keeping it shut. Quaritch yanks you forward, forces you on your very tiptoes to get your full attention.
"Will you stop acting like a desperate little brat, jesus christ." They were harsh, bitter words, drenched with equal parts lust and anger. They were meant to scare you off, yet you looked anything but scared. You looked aroused. Tempted.
To his surprise, words were muffled against his palm, refusing to keep quiet even with a big, blue hand halfway covering your face.
Rolling his eyes, he allows you to swat his hand away.
"You… You said you also came here to tire yourself out", you say, panting slightly once you’re able to speak and breathe freely. "I‘ll help you."
There it is. That side of you that’s so hidden from the rest of the world, it’s hard to believe it’s coming from the same person.
You see, Miles figured he loves the feeling of two opposites coming together. It causes friction.
His kiss is ravenous, the force of it tilting your body to bend backwards once he had dragged you into the communal showers at the gym. He feels your legs go weak, so his arm around your middle flexes, effectively supporting your weight as he pushes you against the tiled wall. His lips coax yours open with little effort as you're hardly putting up any resistance. The flavor of whatever gum you must’ve chewed a while ago is still rich on your tongue, sweet as ever and he groans into the kiss.
Quaritch explores your mouth determinedly, taking what he believes to be his, and he doesn’t even realize that this is the first time he had put his lips against yours. Long strokes of his tongue against yours, teeth catching your lips in bites, groans and moans caught in one another's mouth and swallowed up. His thumb runs up and down your jaw, occasionally applying pressure to adjust the tilt of your head as he changes the angle of the kiss, feels your hair tickle his forehead. Noses bump and brush, he inhales your scent, groans when it’s just as sweet as you taste.
His kiss is powerful. It commands. Look at me. Touch me. Feel me. Only me. It leads you, your movements, the pace. But yours is soft, pleading and submissive. Obedient.
It drives him to near madness, teetering him on the brink of sanity.
He presses himself harder against you, towers over you like a mountain. Your hands are small, and they claw at his arms, his biceps, his neck. They pull and pull, yet he doesn’t budge, doesn’t move unless he wants to. You make a whiny sort of noise in protest and he grins. His forearm rests against the wall, tiles cool against his burning skin as he watches you with half lidded eyes.
The same red that paints his new favorite fruit taints your cheeks crimson, as you hesitantly lower yourself to your knees.
A pleased rumble left him, and his smirk curled further, hints of too-sharp teeth peeking from behind his lips, "You did that before?" He wonders out loud. There’s a suffocating tightness underneath his briefs that only gets worse once you answer him with a quick shake of your head. No, of course not. He scoffs, equally amused as he is excited.
With trembling fingers and unsteady breath, you move your hands around to unbuckle his belt. Letting it hang open, you move to the button and zipper on the fatigues, a little clumsy as you tried once, twice, three times to get the damned thing open. Miles couldn’t help but chuckle.
You looked even smaller on your knees in front of him, pulling on the waistband of his pants to get his cock out. He could just stand there and watch, torture the little thing by letting her struggle, but his impatience has grown rapidly in those past few minutes so he swats your hands away and pulls his pants down just enough.
You hold your breath, waiting. Watching. The nervous tension makes a shudder run up your spine and he smirks, once you finally catch sight of his cock.
The way your eyes widen makes him remember the first time he had stared at himself in the mirror. The first time he was alone with this new body of his, the mirrored image of what he despised most. Alien, that’s what he looked like. What he must’ve looked like to you. Blue skin and faint purple tip, small bumps and ridges around the crown, littered in those glowing freckles that made him look like a damn toy, was what he had first thought when he saw himself. And there was also his size. The root of this whole situation, the reason neither of you could get what you so desperately wanted.
It’s a lot to take in, literally, and he enjoys the fact that not even a polite woman like you could stop herself from staring at him.
A shaky exhale of air then brushes over his tip, your throat bobbing as you swallow thickly and Quaritch tilts his head and chuckles. "What’s wrong? Where did all that attitude go, hm? I thought you wanted to help me out."
Your hands are still firmly planted on your own thighs, but he sees the subconscious little twitch of your fingertips. They want to move, but you don’t dare just yet.
"It’s- no it’s just, I’m, I—"
"You didn’t thought I was lyin‘, did you? I told you it’s—"
"I know", you cut him off, your cheeks blushing, "I- I know. And I still want to…"
The grin that tugs on his lips his dangerous and his tongue darts out to lick over his pointy canine, while he gives himself a slow tug. A small drop of clear, sticky pre-cum beads at his tip.
"Then what are you waiting for? Go on", he purrs lowly, "Touch me."
You’re hesitant at first, taking his length into your delicate hands. They’re warm and soft and he hums at the touch. You can’t even close your fingers entirely around his girth, but you try your best to give him an experimental stroke, feeling his weight and the texture of his skin.
"C‘mon, Cherry", he tells you, his hand brushing through your hair at the back of your head, before giving you a guiding little push. "Use your mouth. Get it wet for me."
Not so bold now, he thinks to himself as he watches you lick your lips and shuffle a little closer on your knees. Like this, it almost looks like you’re worshiping him. It gets him even harder than he already was before, makes his cock throb, feeds his god complex in just the right way. But then you place your lips against the mushroom-like head of his cock, plants a kiss right there on its slit almost tenderly, and Miles can’t stop the groan from escaping him.
Your big doe eyes are staring up at him, piercing right through his soul, before you give a little kitten lick to his length.
"I said use your mouth, not just your tongue", he says, albeit a little breathlessly. He ain’t got time for any of this practice shit today. You offered to suck his cock, might as well do it right then.
His hips buck forward, the head of his cock nudging against your kiss swollen lips and you part them dutifully. The tip is an easy fit, tight but manageable.
You’re timid at first, barely moving further down, but your tongue is practically dancing against him, so it's not all that bad. "There you go", Quaritch groans, the hand on the back of your head holding you still, makes you take him a little deeper. A little more. Your nostrils flare wide as you struggle to breathe and you close your eyes for a brief moment. Your cheeks hollow inward as you suck him. Just a few inches, and he can already feel some resistance on the back of your throat. It’s tight and you tear up, instinctively pulling away.
He clicks his tongue, but you’re quick to put him back into your mouth, warm wetness enveloping not even half of his throbbing cock once again.
Miles fingers have formed into claws, digging them into his own palm as one arm rests against the wall, the other fisted into your hair. It takes every fiber of will within him not to grab you and just force you down onto his cock, to make you choke on it while he thrusts deep into your throat. He’s filled with the sudden, perverse desire to break you, to stain you, make you as filthy as himself. It’s only fortunate that you can’t see the way his features have twisted through the tears in your eyes, from lazy pleasure into something animalistic.
Your mouth moves slowly over his cock, sloppy and uncoordinated. Barely enough of him fits inside your mouth to bring him pleasure, more than just a teasing swirl of your tongue. There’s drool running down your chin, your jaw opened as wide as possible as you sucked and slurped on his length. But he needed more if you planned to get him off properly, needed you to take him deeper.
The hand that had been brushing through your hair grips tighter, and then he slowly moves your head up and down on his cock, using your throat like you’re his personal little fleshlight. Just a couple of thrusts, merely a few inches more, already have him in the back of your throat, and he feels your muscles constrict around him. Helpless little gags fill his ears, followed by tears running down your cheeks.
The hands that had been clawing at his thighs like he was your lifeline had began to tug on his pants, while you whimpered and whined around his length, signaling him that you needed to come up for air.
"C‘mon Cherry, how are you supposed to take all of me when you can’t even suck me off properly?" His voice is taunting, a low growl as he pulls you off of him with a wet pop. You gasp for air, panting, chest heaving and he allows you a moment to catch your breath, before he pushes you back down. He’s careful not to actually hurt you in the process, but he’s also determined to get more of him inside your mouth.

Either you didn’t hear him, or your were pointedly ignoring him. Regardless, the result is the same. You’re struggling, gagging and whining and he knows you’re trying, but it’s been fifteen minutes and you’re not making any process.
Quaritch tsks, "Yeah, no, that’s not going to work. Get up here."
You make a small sound of protest when he pulls you off of him again, and then yelp in surprise when he grabs your arm and yanks you up to your feet. Miles stares at you for a moment, breathing heavily. Takes notice of your lips, swollen, gleaming with saliva and pre-cum. You look so utterly vulnerable. And that's exactly how he wants you.
His hand still holds your upper arm firmly, and he spins you around so sudden that you had to brace yourself against the wall in order not to fall. There’s a split second in which he ponders if ripping your leggings would be a good idea, considering that he didn’t know if you had any spare clothes with you in the gym. He decides against it, barely able to think logically with all the blood rushing from his head to his cock.
Hooking his thumbs underneath the tight waistband, he drags your pants down quickly, and your underwear with them. A pleasant hum leaves his lips when he finds you soaking wet, tiny hole clenching around nothing, all too eager to be filled. Miles gives a firm slap to your ass that makes you try and fail to stifle a gasp.
"P-Please", you mutter quietly, arching your back some more.
"Don’t get too excited", he leans in to whisper against the shell of your ear, chuckling. "Close your legs." Glancing at him from over your shoulder, there’s a look of utter confusion, mixed with disappointment on your face, yet you comply to his orders without a complain. And the feeling of knowing you would do anything he says, follow every one of his orders despite what you wanted, is simply indescribable to him.
Quaritch doesn’t take it slow now that he has you like this. His cock is still lubed with spit so it’s an easy glide as he positions himself behind you and pushes forward between the soft flesh of your thighs. You gasp, feeling the smooth length of his cock drag against your sensitive folds.
"That’s much better", Miles groans lowly into your ear as he begins to thrust back and forth.
It felt heavenly— the warmth of your skin enveloping his length in the same way a tight pussy would. He could feel your slick covered lips pressed against him, your arousal smearing between your thighs and his cock adding further to the impression of being inside you.
With an increasing pace, he begins to actually fuck the space between your legs. His cock bumps against your clit over and over again, which causes you to moan along to the filthy sound of flesh against flesh.
"Fuuckin‘ hell, that’s it." His hands on your hips had began to pull you back against his thrusts, fingers digging into your skin hard enough to bruise, as he used your body for his own pleasure. More arousal oozes out of you and both of you make a pleasant sound of acknowledgment at that. "Hmm, can feel you dripping all over my cock, cherry. You like it that much when I fuck your thighs, huh?"
"Y-Yes, f-fuck, yes!" His ears perked at the sweet little whine that trickled out of you when he snapped against the back of your thighs just a little harder. There grows a force behind his thrusts, one that makes it hard for you to stay still and let him use you, he can tell. Your legs are trembling, wanton little pleas falling from your parted lips. "Please, I- I need more! Miles, c‘mon…" You push back against, rising to your tip toes in an attempt to catch his tip against your entrance. "Please!"
He could come so easily like that, rocking back and forth, his cock trapped between the plush of your soft thighs, your slickness lubing his length enough to make his movements more fluid. Yet you were nowhere near close to your own release. His touch was just barely enough to keep you on edge, but not enough to get you anywhere. Poor little thing, Miles thinks to himself with a grin he doesn’t even bother to hide.
The sound of his cock sliding between your wet thighs was downright obscene and he could practically feel your neglected clit aching for attention, warmth slowly pooling into the pit of his stomach. And with that, he angles his hips to put more force behind his trusts, his length gliding through your folds, the tip of it pressed snugly against your clit, bumping against the little nub with every stroke.
Pleading mewls soon turn into desperate moans the harder he fucks your thighs. "Mmnh– need you, need you in- inside", you begin to brabble, staring up at him from over your shoulder. "Please, Mil– sir!"
"Christ, cherry", he curses against your neck, letting the heady vibrations of his rumbling growl pierce through your neck, letting you feel his words in the most primal way. Your thighs press together. "Do you ever shut up?"
Miles feels you press back against him weakly, nowhere near strong enough to get him anywhere. "I– I can do it, just let me…"
His annoyed groan is quick to cut you off. Whatever complain bubbled up your throat was shushes with a hand clasped over your mouth before it could even come past your lips. You make a muffled sound against his palm, your eyes continue to plead for him, but he’s determined to keep you just like this.
"Don’t be so goddamn stubborn", he grits out, teeth grazing the lobe of your ear and he feels the way your whole body tense as he bites down on it. "You got a lot of learning to do if you want to be good for your Colonel."
The smack of his hips against your backside makes punched out little huffs of air escape through your nose, and it’s almost adorable.
Meanwhile you could barely form a thought over the constant throbbing between your thighs, the slaps of skin hitting skin, the whining of your body being squeezed under an intense force and hands gripping your hips and keeping your mouth shut. You couldn’t even hear the heavy grunts of the gruff man behind you as he bit the shell of your ear, whispering sweet nothings of how good you felt around him.
Fingers dug deeper into your cheeks and hips, his cock almost rubbing you raw with how fast he fucked your thighs. The cock that still rutted between your silky legs was drenched in slick and Miles felt the way you tried to angle your hips and squeezed your legs to put more pressure on your clit.
Fuck, he was so close he could hardly hold himself back.
"You want to come?", he whispers into your ear. A pleasant shiver runs up your spine that even he could feel. Your response comes as nothing more than a muffled "Mhm! Mhm!" against his palm.
"Will you be a good girl for me now? Stop with all that whining bullshit and be a little grateful for what I do to you?"
"Mhm, mhm!" Your frantic nodding makes him thrust against you harder, and he relishes in the needy sounds you make.
"There you go, sweetheart", he chuckles, "That wasn’t so hard now, was it?"
The heat from his chest begins to pool in the pit of his stomach, coiling together in a painful knot that could only mean one thing. Miles groans against your shoulder, biting particularly hard as his hips start to stutter, the grip on your waist tightening once more, leaving definite blue bruises that wouldn’t leave any time soon.
He then shoves his fingers between your thighs, tips pushing and rubbing against the twitching little nub between your folds so hard it felt like he shifted it from its original position. You wailed against his palm like a banshee as you finally came, the sudden spark of pleasure aimed just at the right place sending you over the edge as tears spilt down your cheeks, rolling over the hand that’s still pressed against your mouth.
Your legs clamped shut tighter than before, squeezing his cock that was still thrusting in and out between your soft, wet flesh.
"Jesus, fuck", he grunts, breathing heavily, "good girl, good fuckin‘ girl."
Quaritch soon comes after you, biting again, until he left a giant bruise on your shoulder. He was drinking up every sweet little moan and gasp he elicited out of you like this, groaning and lapping his tongue against your skin while he pumped his seed through the space of your legs as it spurted from his throbbing cock.
Your eyes were still heavy with tears as you blinked to clear your vision, the bruising grip he had on your hips slowly loosening as he comes down from the high of his orgasm, but then tightening again, for just a split second that makes you tense up and flinch.
Miles is almost certain that that piercing pain he suddenly felt in his chest was some sort of cramp, some fucked up symptom of ptsd or his psyche struggling to adjust to this body that still wasn’t entirely his. But then that picture perfect doll face glances up at him from over your shoulder. Your eyebrows are pinched together, hair sticking to your forehead, cheeks flushed red and glistening in a thin layer of sweat, lips all swollen red and bitten raw.
And now he’s not so sure anymore where that piercing pain in his chest really comes from…
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Kung Fu Panda 4 Review
Ok, I saw the movie yesterday and I have some thoughts. I think the film is good, but no where near the level of the first two. It's more like the third tonally. But tbf, nothing can top the second film in my opinion. KFP 2 really stepped up in its depth both in terms of its villain and message. The fourth film is very much the opposite. It's also very predictable and you can easily figure out what was gonna happen pretty early on.
What I liked: the animation is still gorgeous. Seriously, there were some very visually pleasing shots. The character models all looked great and I thought it was cool how the villain still has scales when she transforms. The music is also really nice and fun to listen to. The voice acting was also good and I thought Awkafina did a good job (major step up from Scuttle).
Po's dads were also really fun when on screen. It's nice to see them bond over Po and they do work well off of each other. They were the best part of the film, animation aside. The villain is also pretty cool with her abilities. We will talk about her more in a bit. And I did like Zhen and I'm looking forward to see what they do with her in the future. She's energetic and I did like her design.
What I didn't like: too. much. comedy. Ok look, I know this is an animated film for kids, but what made the first three films (particularly the second one) so good is that the balanced the jokes with depth. This film does have some messages, but it's intercut with so many jokes during dialogue that it takes away from it. They really needed to let this film breathe and have more serious moments to just talk and let things sink in. The villain brought back the old villains and stole their abilities (this was in trailer so not really spoiler). Why don't they do more with that? There is so much untapped potential here.
And that's my other big issue with the film: so much potential. Some of the ideas in this film are really, really good, but they only scratch the surface with it. I wanted to know more about the villain. I wanted to see our fave villains interact more. I wanted to see the villain use her powers more. But we don't get that; we only get the bare minimum. In simpler terms, there's no big "wow!" moment that the other films had.
Spoilers below (tread carefully)
Why did they bring the villains back if they were going to do almost nothing with them? The climax of the film was the Chameleon stealing the villains' abilities and fighting Po but we pretty much saw that in the trailer. Tai Lung gets to do some stuff, but I wanted more. Half of his lines were jokes anyway and I didn't vibe with it. Why did they bring him back if he was just gonna comment on things? I don't remember our favorite snow leopard being this comical. He did quip, but there was still a hardened edge to him. Idk. Maybe he got therapy in the spirit realm. Shen and Kai get crumbs, but again, they could've done so much more. And wasn't Kai destroyed completely?
With Shen and Tai Lung, I would've wanted to see more. I'm glad Tai Lung did finally come to respect Po and it does make sense. But Shen? The last time we saw him he rejected Po's help. Unless he too got the same spirit realm therapy Tai Lung did, him bowing to Po does feel very OOC. Nitpicking further, why was Shen brought back anyway? The Chameleon presumably doesn't know who Po is and Shen isn't a kung fu master. With the exception of the fanservice route, this choice only makes sense if the Chameleon was aware of Shen's actions in Gongmen and thought his level of evil would fit her vibe.
Nitpicking aside, there was so much opportunity for Po to confront his villains again and have a deep, serious moment with them. Whether either side likes it or not, they're reunited for a short amount of time. Why not capitalize on this great opportunity?
Speaking of the villain, so much untapped potential. Her design is great, her abilities are really cool, and Viola Davis does a good job voicing her. So why doesn't she get to do more? Imagine a really cool fight sequence where Po confronts her, but she shifts so much that it begins to mess with his head. Or she transforms into the older villains and Po is caught off guard? Instead, we get half the climax spoiled for us in the trailer. What was really cool about the other three was that we got multiple fight scenes with them to showcase their abilities. Thus, the final battle dialed it up to an 11 and we got a truly epic finale. Here, it feels like there should've been more, but there wasn't. Even her backstory feels lacking. It's there... but only surface level. Even Shen, arguably the cruelest of them all, had nuance and depth.
Also, why couldn't we get more of the Furious Five outside of a glorified cameo? Tigress and Po friendship is truly amazing.
As much as the jokes miss, there are some good bits. Shifu trying to deal with Po's shenanigans always crack me up. I also like the bit where Po tries to meditate and his thoughts get in the way. Because hey guess what, that's what my head is like and it's really freaking hard to quiet it down. So, there's that. I just wish the writers didn't feel like they had to insert jokes in almost every line of dialogue, you know? Li and Ping dad adventures are great except half the lines are jokes about how worried they are for Po or how not tough they are. Why not have a deeper conversation? I think it would make everything feel more natural.
I also wish Po himself was a tad more mature. I'm not expecting Shifu or Tigress levels of seriousness, but I felt that he kinda was a bit too childish. Po is one of those characters who loves to have fun, but knows when he has to be serious. However, he also likes to lighten things up with comedy. In this movie, it felt like he only really leaned into the comedy side of things. He had his moments, but I'll be honest, I really missed the "the only thing that matters is what you choose to be now" levels of dialogue. The proverb joke got old real fast, ok?
Grace Randolph from Beyond the Trailer described this movie as episodic and I can see it. The story bits are very segmented between the villain, heroes, and Po's dads. The flow and pacing of this film really needed to be upgraded.
Ok, that's all I got for now. I'm sure I'll think of something else to say (aside from encouraging everyone to rewatch KFP 2 because I'll never get enough of that film).
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thecreaturecodex · 2 months
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Shobolon
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Panels from Bone, © Jeff Smith
[Sponsored by @glarnboudin. Bone is a comic series that I remember reading and loving in undergraduate. And the "Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures" were my favorite characters. They pivot from menacing to comical and back on a dime, and have a very distinctive look. Their culture (or lack of it) has some very interesting world building implications, and they're one of the better riffs on the "evil minion species" in fantasy literature that doesn't go for wholesale deconstruction. However, they don't have much in the way of distinctive abilities in the comic. So I had to do some work to ensure that they were mechanically interesting.
A word about the name. In Bone, they are only known as "rat creatures", which says some alarming things if rats are sapient and seven feet tall. The name I went with was suggested by @abominationimperatrix. It's an Eastern European rat-ogre, but information on it in English is super sparse, to the point where different sources disagree whether it's Romanian or Romani.]
Shobolon CR 2 NE Monstrous Humanoid This shaggy, bulky humanoid has wide red eyes and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. Its ears rise to a sharp point, and it walks on its knuckles.
Shobolons are voracious monsters that tend to live in large numbers. They are larger, stronger and slightly dimmer relatives of ratfolk, although the two species rarely interact on friendly terms. Their endonym is rarely spoken—most people just refer to shobolons as “rat-creatures”. Shobolons are omnivorous, but greatly prefer meat, and they don’t particularly care if their meat comes from sapient sources. They tend to fight from ambush, using their skill at climbing, swimming and squeezing into tight spaces to attack from unusual angles. They are fond of using the Intimidate skill to demoralize their foes, screeching hideously before moving to set up flanking positions or retreat from a losing battle.
Most shobolons engage in dramatic body modification. Their long scaly tails are docked shortly after birth (shobolon legends tell of these tails being used as handles by a wrestling demigod who humiliated them in the past), and their ears are cropped upon reaching adulthood in order to grant them a more threatening appearance. Shobolons do not have names of their own unless granted by a member of another species, or by their rulers as a reward for meritorious service. Despite their foolishness and lack of material culture, shobolons tend to be erudite, and like using long words in order to sound smarter (“hello, small mammal” is a common greeting/threat). Shobolons tend towards religion, and different hordes often venerate different gods or powerful fiends. Shobolons universally fear and hate dragons.
Shobolon Rulers Shobolons are very long lived, and display indeterminate growth. One that lives for hundreds of years and feeds well may grow to immense size and power. This growth is somewhat disproportionate, as their arms do not grow to scale with the rest of their bodies. A shobolon ruler often uses titles like King or Queen, regardless of how many shobolons they rule over. Such creatures are Large in size with 12 racial HD. A shobolon ruler has improved grab and swallow whole with its bite attack, gains frightful presence as a special attack and has undersized weapons as an SQ. A shobolon ruler is at least a CR 8 creature—many of them have levels in fighter or cleric beyond their racial HD.
Shobolon CR 2 XP 600 NE Medium monstrous humanoid (ratfolk) Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +4 Defense AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +3 natural) hp 19 (3d10+3) Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +2 Defensive Abilities tight fit Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +4 (1d4+1), bite +4 (1d6+1) Special Attacks startle Statistics Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15 Feats Improved Initiative,Skill Focus (Intimidate) Skills Climb +10, Escape Artist +7, Intimidate +8, Perception +4, Stealth +6, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Escape Artist, +4 Swim Languages Common Ecology Environment temperate forests and hills Organization solitary, pair, troop (3-8), army (9-24 plus 1 2nd-4th level fighter per 20 individuals) or horde (25-200 plus 1 2nd-4th level fighter per 20 individuals and 1 ruler) Treasure standard Special Abilities Startle (Ex) A shobolon can make an Intimidate check to demoralize an opponent as a move action. An opponent intimidated by a shobolon cannot make attacks of opportunity as long as it suffers from a fear effect. Tight Fit (Ex) A shobolon suffers only half the usual penalty to Armor Class and attack rolls when squeezing. Two shobolons can fit in the same space and fight without penalty.
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jolynejay · 10 months
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I think Ch. 7/4 may have just given us both Crowley's identity as well as the identity of his "dear esteemed benefactor"
Obvs. Spoilers Ahead in this analysis and speculative hypothesis (which will link the prologue to the current events in Ch. 7):
This moment is the moment that sent me down this rabbit hole:
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General Lilia essentially calling Lady Malenore Briar Country's "most evil" princess.
I went over the prologue again semi-recently to see if the knowledge we have gathered since the start of the game recontextulizes some things. And while the purpose of the analysis then was different, what I did take special note of was that Crowley is speaking to a different but very specific person. To quote the man himself (from the English version):
"Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor...
My proud, beautiful flower of evil.
You are truly the fairiest one of all."
The way Crowley addresses this person is very interesting because it at once seems very subservient and almost intimate.
But what is even more interesting is the original Japanese phrasing. I will go through the lines one by one to point out the notable details:
ああ‥‥‥愛しい我が君
"愛しい" (itoshii) is generally used to describe something that is lovely, dear. "我が君" (waga kimi) is generally understood to mean "my lord/ruler/master". The translation as "my dear esteemed benefactor" is... alright, though it does seem to detract a bit from the portrayal of this person as someone that has a lot of power over Crowley.
What I'd like to note though is that since Japanese is a very context dependent language this line might also be read a very different way: if "kimi" was used in the context that Crowley knows this person very well, being allowed to address them directly like this... then the line could also be read as Crowley calling this person "My beloved." There is still the underlying power dynamic underneath but it is more finely tuned and something that reminds me more of a pair of royals.
This would certainly not be the first way for someone to understand this line but subtext and double meanings can reveal a lot.
気高く麗しい悪の華
Notable here is mainly that Crowley is using a lot of archaic words to describe the person he is speaking to (e.g. using the kanji "華" instead of the modern "花" - both pronounced "hana," meaning flower). This may indicate that this person is of a people whose culture does not move as fast as the rest of the world's - still bound to old ways of speaking and thinking.
貴女こそが世界で一番美しい
Now, this last line is spicy. The English version of this line is pretty gender neutral after all - the fairest of them all. But what the original line makes very explicit is that Crowley is talking to/about a woman.
"貴女" (anata) - not "貴方" (anata), not "我が君" (waga kimi) but "貴女"
Crowley is addressing a noble woman directly in a manner that implies they are of equal standing. Like a husband addressing his wife.
Now let's circle back to that conversation Lilia, Silver, Sebek and co. are having about Malenore for a minute.
Because what Lilia also calls Malenore is this:
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Malenore is the only daughter to Queen Maleficia and she the ruling Lady of "Wild Rose Castle" (野ばら城). Which is known to Silver only as "Black Scale Castle" (黒鱗城).
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In other words, Malenore is one of the most powerful noble women in the Twisted Wonderland, she is strongly associated with with Wild Roses/ Briar Roses, and on top of that described as the "most evil" princess by her own general (whether in jest or not is of little consequence).
And this description should ring very familiar after going over Crowley's introductory monolog. A noble, beautiful "Flower of Evil" as it were.
But if that is the truth, then the familiar way Crowley addresses Malenore can only mean that Crowley's true identity is Malenore's husband. Who else would be allowed to speak to her im such an intimate and familiar manner.
Malenore's husband whose status hasn't actually been confirmed, other than he is missing in some capacity. And while I have seen a many transcriptions of his name, no one seems to have gotten it right yet:
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"竜眠公レヴァーン"
The Sleeping Dragon Lord Raven
And what is the associated animal of our dear Night Raven's headmaster?
A crow.
A corvid.
A raven.
Crowley did always had something of the mad hatter to him, didn't he? And he might just have something with a raven and a writing desk..
After all, a raven is nevar the same front to back as back to front.
And thus, at the end, we have the lost parents of a little dragon, summoning a human with no magical ability to this Twisted Wonderland - a human that cannot be influenced by blot.
Curious, curious...
Curious indeed...
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waffowo · 3 months
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I’m convinced that the Seventh Doctor is one of the most powerful characters in all of fiction. Not “The Doctor” but the “Seventh Doctor” very specifically.
He’s incredibly funny conceptually and I cannot get over it. I’m baffled by his existence. He is walking proof that The Doctor doesn’t need to be always just some guy in a box. He has 4 main enemies and none of them are iconic Doctor Who villains. His greatest foes are his own intellect, the literal embodiment of evil, an abstract bounty hunter that has reality warping powers and Thatcherism. Does he fear a God? One of his schemes against a great enemy involves weaponising RPF fanfiction and I’m being completely serious. Every Doctor references 4’s speech in Genesis Of The Daleks while pretending this little man doesn’t exist. I guarantee that if he was in Midnight, the episode ends in 10 minutes. He has either tricked the entity into combustion or has instructed Ace and Hex to batter it to death with baseball bats. The episode runs at full length only if he gets bored but instead ends with a full doxxing of its identity.
I’m not a powerscaler, but if I were, this man would not be on the fucking scale. Do you really think that most anime characters would clock him as the main threat? He’s playing the fucking spoons and tottering around, he has misdirected everyone so hard that people are just forgetting that he still hasn’t explained (I’m only at Death In The Family) why the fuck the TARDIS is in a different colour. Even if let’s say, he’s bisected by Sukuna or obliterated by Saitama, he will come back. Somehow, SOMEHOW, be it one hour or literal decades, he would have resurrected and would giggle and completely wipe your existence from History. Warping reality cannot save you, he has already won. Keep in mind that the only reason that he actually died and regenerated was because he got super unlucky, that even after getting pelted by bullets BY ACCIDENT that what took him out was a fucking defribrillator BY ACCIDENT and also somewhat BY MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE. Nobody is doing is doing it like him. As I type this, I literally cannot think of a way that my favourite characters could actually kill him permanently. Like what do you do if you see him? Why does he just…know things other Doctors don’t? What even is he?
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scentedpepper · 1 month
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Missions, Malaise and Migas Pt. I | Leon Kennedy
Pt. 2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5 Pt. 6 Pt. 7 Final Part
Fandom: Resident Evil
Pairing: Leon Kennedy x Male Reader
Summary: Leon and Y/N have some underlying issues. Ones they tried to warn DSO about.
Content Warnings: None (?) see below
Other Pairings: Luis Sera x Reader [not 'til pt. 2]
Author Note(s): Guys, let's note RE is a game where big monster throws you into wall and you eat herb to heal. This idea is very much so present here however, I wanted to incorporate some realism as well while still maintaining that superhuman feeling to y/n.
This is again targeted at male readers because they don't get enough attention BUT you can pretty much still read it despite your gender!!
This takes place AFTER the mission to rescue Ashley but not too long after.
There's pretty much no content warnings for this one other then like description of injuries.
Oh, also Luis is alive in pt.2 because I love him
You can't remember the last time in the past four months when you'd actually been able to breathe.
Every inhale had been choked with spores, filled with the odors of infection and death; every exhale had brought on chills, fearing what genetic monstrosity might rise up behind you.
You'd be a fool to think that sitting back in your cot, against a tree, some abandoned building wall or even within the warmth of DSO headquarters would grant you it. A deep inhale. A calming expansion of your lungs.
Because there was your partner, Leon S. Kennedy, butting his head. Like the virus scratching up your insides, clawing to the top until it etched its fingernails against the walls of your throat and brought upon a sharp, painful cough.
It's been nearly a year now. 10 months and a half. And you weren't sure if this was like the phase married couples went through where the adoration melted and was replaced by hot pits of lava and fire shooting out your mouth with every word or– well, there was no or. That just seemed to be where you and Leon sat, in limbo, glaring at each other from across the rope.
Only good thing about ropes was climbing them. Scaling it up to get the advantage, bring him down so you could win. Everything was a game with you two, always had been. Didn't know when it started but knew when the tension began to boil over.
Maybe you should've seen it. Hell, with the way you two complained to your superior for a partner switch –or rather no partner at all– you should've expected. Expected it like you expect a high-speed car to mangle your body after deliberately stepping into its path.
That's what it felt like sometimes with you two. A car crash.
When you first met, you were like two dull kitchen knives being pressed and sliced against each other until an edge formed. Sure, the rough, uncut, jagged edge hurt with every prick and prod but it was the start to a bond. And then you were learning to work the edges on each other's weapons to ensure a lethal and clean cut. —Until, you weren't.
He was civil enough in the beginning —and so were you.
But when things began to slip into that weird, unspoken comfortableness of having a missions partner. The one where you find yourself up shits creek together, bathing in lakes and rivers and showering under the rain together. The one where your hearts are sewn intricately within each others and the responsibility of one another's lives rest against your shoulders.
That one.
That's when things began to slowly unravel for you and Leon.
And now you were here.
Free falling from the side of a mountain.
Deeper and deeper.
Winding, swirling, spinning.
And you're grasping. Grasping for the rope like Leon is.
Your fingers graze it, trap it, and you fight to ignore the razor sharp burn of it against your palms.
But your body isn't stilling yet, and your grip isn't strong enough, and you're being slammed into the harsh rock of the mountain.
It falls again.
This happens two more times over.
And on the last, you're holding on for much, much longer and you almost believe you're stable when your eyes begin searching for your partner.
He's gone.
The ropes blowing in the wind.
He's gone.
Your eyes move rapidly, panicked but before you can do much of anything the wind catches up to you again and your body is crashing right back into the mountain side.
Upon collision, you lose your grip and you're plummeting.
You don't have time to think about your partner as your raw hand clamps down on the rope for the fourth time. Your red palms leave your life line stained and your grip slippery but the blood, or the wind, or the friction, or the speed, or even the rain isn't what sends you fumbling in the air like a baby bird this time.
There's a pop. A sick crunch.
You don't hear it over the rain and wind and the beat of your own heart.
But you feel it.
The pain isn't delayed. It's hot and sharp and sends an immediate chorus of curses from your mouth as your arm goes limp. No grip. Nothing.
You have nothing.
Your body is in gravity's hands. You can't reach the rope. And your right arm is flailing in the wind like a deflated balloon of some sort.
The trees come on quickly.
But for a long moment you stare at the wall you had so harshly collided into, disorientated, your body shifting and swaying with the rushing of the wind.
In another moment, you think there's hands on you.
Frantic and needing, fighting for balance, fighting to save you.
But they're only your own.
And you're ignoring the slight pain that slips through the pump of your adrenaline as you fight against the wind to grab your right arm and tuck it beneath your chest.
Your body curls in on itself, your head tucks into your knees and your free arm wraps around the top of your head, securing yourself into place.
For seconds that feel too long, there's nothing but the rush of wind in your ears and it's almost peaceful. Like floating, drifting, basking.
But then your body is crashing violently, violently through the trees, through a bunch of saplings. Your ears pick up on their snapping, crunching, –it's fleeting. Your body's slowing down considerably but the ground hasn't met you yet. The weight is shifting, your body is jerking and dipping destructively and suddenly, your stomach feels unsettled.
But then you go still. Completely.
The rain stops.
The wind stops.
It's for two seconds, maybe three. Then your ears cut back into reality and your eyes peel open and you find yourself on an enormous branch, right in the crook of its "elbow" so to say. Your body bounces up, nearly slips from the spot, but your left arm shoots out, tightens and your knuckles turn white.
It's not enough.
You're slipping.
Fingers dancing over the wet tree bark as you begin to lose your balance completely, unable to spread yourself out enough because of your hurt arm. You fight but you fall, landing hard on the next branch below. And the next one beneath it.
Violent coughs threaten to bubble through your throat with the impact but you push them down. Because right now pain is a good thing. Means that everything is alive.
Your back feels like it might snap in half if you hit one more branch. So you opt for your stomach and maybe then you can brace yourself, grab something, anything.
Your ribs make contact first. Your body twirls. Not an inch unscathed.
Again and again, you meet with the branches until you fear that it may never end.
But then there's warmth. It's enveloping you and for a moment you think it's your own blood. Or the air being knocked from your lungs when your body finally lands in its final resting spot.
No.
These arms...
"Reach, to the side!"
There it is.
A small bit of bark you can snatch.
You latch onto it, press yourself against the tree.
"Alright, I got you. " Leon whispers above you but it feels too far away as you allow your left arm to slacken, resting the rest of your weight on the tree.
"Shoulder?"
He's asking about the limp, near useless thing that was hanging by your side. You open your mouth to respond, not with much success. The movement nearly cuts it off.
"Yes..." The word forces itself out, strained and bitter. And then you're shaking your head and swallowing past the lump in your throat. "No, I think it's dislocated. "
"Can you manage?" His assessment of you is quick.
"I can't move it. " You spit out and your words are still breathless. Winded. With your face buried in the tree bark, one cheek against the cool, rough surface, you scoff, "Don't think 'm goin' anywhere. "
You want to laugh. But there's nothing funny about this. Just empty air and a thick heat that seems to be simmering between the two of you. The tension is threatening to spill.
"Stay here. "
His voice is too far. His weight is leaving your branch. And your fingers grab ahold of the fabric of his sleeve.
"Where're you going?"
Leon hesitates.
"Ada can help us. "
Your breath whips back into your body.
"Ada?" You question and your eyes are searching, really taking him in now. His form. The rain has soaked him. His breathing is just as heavy. His jacket has the largest tear down the side, the lining popping at the seams and tucked into his waistband is a hookshot. Adas.
"When the fuck did Ada get here?" Your tone is one of bewilderment as you stare at your partner and finally put together how he went so unscathed.
"Back on the mountain. "
"Shes been following us you?" You inquire.
"I didn't realize she was there until she was grabbing me out the air. "
"For a top agent, you got shit on her, Leon. "
It's out of your mouth in a hurry, a slap to the face. It's anger on your part. You turn your cheek against the tree and your eyes focus on the town, not Leon.
You hold grudges. Not that he knew the reason for this one.
He's silent for a moment, his anger seeping through it as he scans the surrounding area. Looking for Ada, no doubt.
But in a little voice he hums a retort.
"Could say the same thing for you. "
Your head snaps up, cheek no longer nursing the rough grooves and ridges in the bark.
"'Scuse me?”
He's quiet again.
"Oh, you don't have some bitch-ass comment to make?"
"Are we really fighting right now?" He looks at your with narrowed eyes and whip of emphasis on his tongue.
"I'm just speaking in a language I've only ever known with you. "
"What does that mean?" He says, turning his attention on you full now.
"Don't act all almighty, Kennedy. I've treated you a hell of a lot better than you have me. ”
"Oh, my bad. What am I? Your husband?" The annoyance is obvious. His voice grows sharp and jabs at your neck as if threatening to slit it. "Because the whole relationship rule to the game is when you see the one person you hate in this godforsaken town you fucking say it. "
You say nothing.
It strikes a chord in you. Rocks you.
But you light like gasoline at what he's referencing and you're opening your mouth again.
"I don't hate Luis. " You spit it out before your voice falls flat and its like a cool cord wrapping around his neck and choking him.
He makes a noise of bewilderment and his mouth falls open.
"I–" His words catch on his tongue as his adam's apple bobs in his throat.
His eyes search for yours, dark and boring into them with a burning intensity that nearly turns your insides out. Or maybe that's your adrenaline. You're not sure.
"I'm getting Ada. " It's final.
And then he's slipping down the tree without a sound. Just him. Your teeth grit into each other, hand clinging to the tree bark.
You and Leon. Tearing at each other like it's a five dollar shirt.
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romanoffsbish · 10 months
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Kate Bishop 4 . “I can’t believe that the world had infinite chances to find me a soulmate, and I lucked out and hit the absolute jackpot with you.”
Kate Bishop x Reader
A lil blurb ❤️
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Kate simply couldn’t take her eyes off of you, even though her alarm that had gone off thirty minutes ago was an indicator for her to get up and start her day. Clint’s incessant texts went ignored as well. The young archer was busy.
It’d been months since she last got to hold you like this, to feel as your warm breaths fanned across her skin. To intimately cradle your body against her very own without the blanket of sleep keeping her from seeing you. This was a nice break from her more bleak reality.
——
Kate was missing you like crazy with the nonstop flow of missions with Clint and the skilled Widows, him and Natasha were ready to pass on their mantles. Yelena seemed ready, but neither OG Avenger would leave the other hanging, and Clint wasn’t done with Kate yet.
Kate understood, Clint had a family, and Wanda and Natasha were jonesing to start their own. But she also had you to think about. Just a year ago you two were college seniors, wildly in love; now you are an official business woman, and she’s an Avenger, with no time for romance.
It saddened her to ask you to have to accept this life, but she loved you too much to have broken it off, and you were incredibly patient.
“Kate?” You whispered her name in disbelief, “You’re still here?” The sound of your voice made the woman’s heart flutter with a mix of love and guilt. It’d been weeks since you’d been able to feel her arms around you, so she felt the way you instinctively nuzzled further into her, but it was also obvious to her that the only reason you’re up at 6am is her buzzing phone that was just out of her reach. “Yeah, I’m here. I think I’m just going to blow off Clint today.”
You untangled from her grasp, against her groans of protests to sit up and face her. Kate saw the worry on your face, and just as she went to cup your cheek you reached to touch her forehead with the back of your hand. The woman stifled her giggle as best she could.
“Baby, I’m not sick, I just think life requires a little balance, and I’ve weighed the scales to find that you’re not being given your fair share.”
“It’s okay Kit-Kat, I get it, you are a superhero.” You shrugged nonchalantly, but with your eyes locked with hers she could see the toll her absence had been having on you. “You are fighting the evil of the world, it would be selfish of me to expect you to be around that much.”
“You deserve an attentive partner,” she fiercely challenged and you smiled softly. “I have one.”
Kate frowned, “Y/N/N, I’m hardly ever here.”
“Yet I’m never lonely,” you teased, “Every morning I find a smoothie in the fridge with my name on it. When I get to work there’s almost always something waiting for me, whether that be a bouquet of flowers, or my go to take out order arriving around lunch time. You never miss our six o’clock dinners or movie nights.”
You watched her eyes gloss over. “I still don’t think it’s enough my love, you deserve more.”
You shook your head, and straddled her lap with a loving smile. “What more could I need Kit-Kat?” In a show of dramatics you threw your arms up to emphasize the question, as if the universe would answer, then you smiled as she looked at you with a pout that you promptly kissed away. “You,” you paused to peck her lips again, “Returning home to me safe and holding me close is all I’ll ever want or need.”
Kate tackled you into a hug, her body crushing yours as she placed kisses all over your neck. “I can’t believe that the world had infinite chances to find me a soulmate, and I lucked out and hit the absolute jackpot with you.”
“I’m far from a prize Kit-Kat,” you managed to giggle out, though her unrelenting attack of your upper body with kisses was making you a bit too giddy to remain aware. “You’re insane, you my dear, are the best prize of them all.”
“I love you with all of my heart Y/N.” You smiled and cupped her cheeks as she was hovering above you, her flexed arm muscles on display. As if it was no effort to remain upright. “I love you too, which is why I can’t keep you home.”
Kate grumbled, “Which is why I’m doing it.”
“What was on today’s agenda?” You pressed, and she groaned, “More strength training.” Kate rolled her eyes when she saw your smirk. “We could go together, I can be moral support.”
“You’re a pervert,” she groaned, but it was playful. She herself was looking forward to taking a nice, long shower with you today. This really just afforded her the opportunity. “But that’s what I love about you, you’re a freak.”
You snorted softly, “Glad to know that of all my wonderful attributes that’s what you cherish.”
“You keep me young,” she said with a shrug, and you laughed harder, “You’re literally 22.”
“I know, my back is starting to kill me,” she teased, then she placed a chaste kiss to your lips before disappearing into the closet to talk to the angry, elder archer about her faulty alarm while you got ready for a day full of adventure.
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Text
Been watching the original Sailor Moon with partner (@stifledlaughterao3) and there is this character, Motoki:
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He is Mamoru's (Tuxedo Mask) genki bff and in Season 1 a crush of Usagi's, and overall is just a general good civilian friend of the whole squad and a recurring character all the way through Season 4. He never appears in Season 5 (I think) for no stated reason, presumably because that season stuffed a healthy dose of new boytoys into its ensemble and needed to balance the scales by putting some others on a bus, but anyway...
In the aforementioned Season 4, the main plot is a Snow White Queen style villain capturing people's "Beautiful Dreams" (shown as mirrors) in a hunt for magic crystal (its Sailor Moon, its always a magic crystal). Said crystal is btw protected by a pegasus/alicorn prince with whom Chibiusa fulfills the deepest fantasy of every eager horse girl in the audience:
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Get it girrrl don't let your dreams be dreams. But anyway (again)... the minions of our Distaff Evil Queen raid everyone's dreams hunting Chibiusa's beau, and I mean everyone's; at some points they are just dragging bodies by the truckful to inspect mirrors:
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Those are the mirrors - I promise you the piles of bodies they got them from are just off frame. Point is, pretty much everybody has got a beautiful dream, which is why its so hard for these minion girls to find the needle dream in the haystack, insane hairstyles or no.
Season goes on, villain finds the macguffin, fighty fighty plotty plotty and it all culminates with the villain having sealed away all of humanity's dreams in darkness and Chibiusa & Usagi calling everyone to channel the power of their dreams into a planet-wide counterspell. Or Tokyo-wide at minimum, Chbiusa speaks like God from the sky over Tokyo and huge crowds go glassy-eyed to help her:
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Even our boy Motoki's sister Unazuki jumps in to help, yelling into space as a confused Motoki tries to figure out what is going on with her:
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Which...wait a second, why isn't Motoki helping? Everyone else is! He is the only character on screen in this sequence in Tokyo who isn't helping. Its not just girls, you see plenty of guys, its not just "kids", we see a confirmed late 20's school principal for example doing it too.
I get that not literally everybody had a Beautiful Dream probably, but like everybody the main cast interacts with does! Its used frequently as like an inherent, thematic statement of the essence of humanity, and its lack as a serious problem. So wtf is going on with Motoki! Why doesn't he get a dream?? I thought this would have some like nitpick explanation, but digging in I can't actually find one, I think he just...is dreamless, and therefore by implication kind of sucks.
This is literally the last time you see him, too! Dreamless and confused. My new headcanon is this moment outed him as some form of an alien spy minion and he was summarily executed by the post-dream-apocalypse reconstruction authorities, explaining why we never see him again. Rest In Peace, Motoki - in death may the void of the universe finally meet the void of your heart.
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lizzie-is-here · 11 months
Text
lonely is a man without love
part vi- fault
“someday someone will bring the moon down for you in the shape of their love” - dikshasuman
summary: you, marc, and steven need to get their scales balanced. but marc’s hiding something.
wordcount: 2.6k
warnings: language, violence, past child abuse, wendy being a horrible mother, episode five in general, me projecting my adoption trauma on the reader character
a/n: this one took me a while mainly bc of how personal it gets. i felt like i could use my personal experience to help understand marc’s feelings a bit more, so i hope y’all enjoy! love you all so much 🫶🫶
taglist: @thefictionalgemini @ravenz-hope @undiscl0sed-d3sir3s @iateall-your-cookies @disregardedplant @sunflowers-4 @yellowumbrelllaaaa @bagsy-not-it @local-mr-frog @thescarletredwitch @jupitersmoon167 @creamecafe @stevenknightmarc @theluciansystem @kingtwhiddleston @spider-biter @mxltifxnd0m @sgt-morgan @no-dont-be-suspicious @onzayhe @namorslit @i-cant-write-for-shit @vainillasmil157 @doublevirgogirl @boofy1998 @seninjakitey @khaleesihavilliard
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Marc’s memories are definitely downers.
That’s not to say that yours are much better, between forced hysterectomies and brutal training sequences, but at least you had a few good ones.
Like late-night errand runs with Nat and ‘Lena, or cooking with Wanda. Even the chaotic braiding trains with Thor and Bucky are better than this.
You weave around the dead bodies as you watch past-Marc drag himself to a temple. Inside, he lies on the steps, pressing a gun under his chin.
Before he pulls the trigger, a familiar voice rings out.
“What a waste.”
Past-Marc freezes, calling out in the dark.
“I feel the pain inside of you.” Khonshu makes a few sounds of consideration, clearly theatrical.
The injured man whimpers. “What the hell are you?”
“I am the god Khonshu, in search of a warrior.”
“A warrior,” he chuckles. “Well, good luck with that.” More blood pools from his countless wounds.
The god never falters. “To be my hands, my eyes, my vengeance. To be my final word against the evildoers. To bind your very being to me and eradicate only the worst. Those who deserve it. Do you want death, or do you want life?”
The broken man on the steps sobs.
“I don’t know.”
Your breath stops, and you glance at Marc from the corner of your eye. He’s staring down at his past self, reliving the lowest moment of his life.
“Your mind, I feel it. Fractured. Broken. Most fascinating.”
At Khonshu’s words, you feel something shift. He talks like Dreykov did.
Insulting a person to better control them. Destroy their character. Make them unsure of themself so they lean toward the person who seems to know everything.
Then they would offer a hand.
“You are a worthy candidate to serve me during this time.”
There it is.
“In exchange for your life, do you swear to protect the travelers of the night and bring my vengeance to those who would do them harm?”
On your other side, Steven comes to the same realization that you did.
“That sneaky old vulture,” he mumbles. “He was manipulating you from the start.” You nod.
Marc scoffs. “Yeah, well, he kept us alive.”
“Marc,” you say, gesturing to the scene before you as the god repeats his question. “He was taking advantage of you.”
“Or it was just a way for me to keep being what I’ve always been. A killer.”
The Scales are slowly shifting, barely off-balance. He’s hiding something else.
Past-Marc roses to his knees, Khonshu beside him as the familiar suit wraps his body.
“Are those-“ The sounds of animals reach your ears, and the three of you bolt out the doors and back onto the ship.
“Taweret, what’s going on?” Steven asks.
“Fear is spreading in the upper world,” she says. Comets of light fall from the clouds. “Unbalanced souls are being judged or condemned to the sands before their time. Oh, this is bad. This is evil.”
“Harrow,” Marc gasps as Steven pleads with the goddess.
“You see why we have to go back?” he says.
The hippo frowns. “Even if I could send you back up there, you’d just be returning to a body with a bullet in it. You wouldn’t be able to heal.”
“But how do we free Khonshu if-“
You cut Steven off. “I have an idea. But we need to balance your Scales first.”
All three of them turn to you in confusion.
“What’s your idea?” Taweret asks. You shake your head.
“I’ll need your help. Give us a little more time!”
You sprint inside with the boys on your trail, racing through the hallways.
“Back in the house there was that bedroom that you didn’t want me to go into,” Steven chides Marc. “That’s it. That’s where we’ll go.”
“Just a second,” the other man says. “Just wait a second, just give me a second here, okay? Um, look, we don’t have to go back through it all again. We can just talk. Let’s just talk. Right here, right now. I’ll tell you everything, okay?”
Your chest aches as he grows more desperate.
“I’m just begging you, don’t make us go back there again,” Marc finishes. “It’s not worth it.”
Steven furrows his brows. “Not worth it? Marc, you’re about to lose everything. Do you understand? If we don’t get back, and Harrow succeeds, and all those people die… that’s on your head. It’ll be all your fault.”
You gently hold a hand up as Marc grows more panicked, silencing Steven. The latter casts you an apologetic glance, and you return a small smile. He was doing his best, but you know how to talk a person down.
“Marc, listen. I know whatever is back there is bad. Believe me, I don’t have to see it to know.” You hold up your hands where he can see them before gently resting them on his shoulders. “But we have to go. The other option isn’t any prettier.”
“I can’t do it, I won’t do it,” he whispers.
Breath shaking, you bite back the urge to tug him along. “Please? It’ll be okay. We’ll be right there with you.”
You blink and you’re there.
Marc still hasn’t stopped shaking, and everything about his body language is screaming that he wants to run. To bolt out the door and hide from whatever’s next.
So you take his hand, gently squeezing it as a younger version of him scrambles through the door.
The boy knocks figurines off the desk before throwing himself into the corner, breaths coming rapidly.
Behind Marc, Steven peers out.
“I don’t… this is my room,” he says. “I remember some things, but I don’t remember this.”
You flinch with Marc when hurried knocking comes from the door.
The boy in the corner whimpers.
“It’s not Mom. It’s not my mom,” he repeats to himself. You swallow down the lump in your throat.
“Marc, open this door,” the woman orders. A series of loud, frantic slams follow. “Open this door right now!”
“It’s not my mom.”
The boy's eyes roll back in his head, and you wince at what comes next.
In a British accent, he begins talking about how messy the room is, how he should clean it up. He doesn’t seem to notice the pounding sound of Wendy at the door.
“Better sort it out before Mum sees it,” Steven and his younger self say together.
The older man reads a poster in the corner of the room.
“When danger is near, Steven Grant has no fear.” The pain in his eyes is apparent when he turns to Marc. “You made me up.”
You’d thought the name sounded familiar. Turns out there had been an Indiana Jones-style series about Steve. Steven Grant Rogers. The name had rung a bell because the team had watched it on his birthday as a joke.
The door flies open. The clearly drunk woman grabs a belt from a hook, and your stomach drops.
“You’re gonna learn to listen,” she spits. You don’t have it in you to keep watching when she starts the assault.
“Why do you have to make me do this? You disgusting creature.”
You and Marc guide Steven out of the room as he tries to fully understand what happened.
“I wanna see what she did,” he grunts, fighting Marc’s grip.
The latter sighs. “You do not need to see that. You’re not meant to see that, that’s the whole point of you.”
The punch that Steven throws hurts Marc more mentally than physically.
“The point of me?” he asks. “What? To be your stress ball? All this time, I thought I was the original. But I’m just something that you made up.”
“You’ve got to live a happy, simple, normal life. You understand?” You stand to the side as they argue, hoping that this evens the Scales.
“But it was all a lie, wasn’t it?”
“So what? What does it matter? What, you wanna remember the truth? That you had a mother that beats you? That hated you? That made your life a living hell?”
“You’re lying, you’re just trying to upset me.”
“You’ve gotten to live thinking that she loved you. That she was kind. That she’s still alive!”
You know whatever is said next won’t do you any good, so you reach for the nearest handle and slip inside.
Thankfully, the memory isn’t yours. But it seems to be exactly what Marc was talking about.
He’s standing outside of his old apartment building, wearing a yarmulke and holding a flask.
You watch as he mutters to himself, pacing and absentmindedly taking swigs of what you can now smell to be whisky.
“God, why am I even here?” he whispers. “I don’t owe her this. I don’t owe her shit.” The immediate regret on his face tells you more. “But she’s my mom,” he says, softer, sadder.
Marc treads this line for a while, rapidly oscillating between loathing the monster of a woman whose shiva is right inside and missing the mother he had before his brother’s accident. He’s like a metronome, ticking so fast you’re afraid he’ll break.
In the window, his father beckons him in. All he can manage is a solemn shake of the head.
Slowly walking away, you follow behind him. You’re not surprised when you see present Marc and Steven waiting further down the road.
Past-Marc continues to mumble to himself until he breaks down crying, falling to his knees and yanking the yarmulke off his head. He hits it to the ground a few times before the same regret from before returns. He cradles it, apologizing until all of the pain becomes too much to bear.
His eyes roll back, almost painfully so, and when he refocuses, Steven is in his place.
“What?” he yelps loudly. “Where am I?”
Your heart shatters as you watch him “call” his mother, and speak to her as he stumbles down the street, not knowing he’s walking away from her very shiva.
Finally, Marc speaks.
“This is it. Mom’s death and shiva two months ago. This is when our lives started bleeding into each other.”
He takes a deep breath.
“I just couldn’t… I couldn’t face that again. All the things I’d done…”
Steven, more determined than ever, turns to Marc.
“Marc, all those horrible things that she said to you, she was wrong. It wasn’t your fault.” The conviction in his tone makes pride well in your chest. He’s sure, without a hint of doubt.
Marc huffs. “I shouldn’t have brought him in that cave, I shouldn’t have brought him in the cave.”
“Hey. You were just a child. It wasn’t your fault,” Steven says. The softness of his words draws you in.
Marc finally nods, hugging him. But you can tell he still has lingering doubts.
“Marc, she was wrong,” you begin. “I understand how you feel, but nothing she said was true.”
Through the sea of emotions, Marc furrows his brows.
“What do you mean, ‘you understand’?” he asks. “I… I thought you didn’t know your mom.”
The words hold the tiniest bit of bitterness and doubt, but you ignore it, searching for the right thing to say without exposing your innermost hurt.
When you can’t find anything, you resolve to being completely honest. No better time to get a weight off your chest than when the fate of the world is at hand, right?
“… I don’t know her. But that’s what I mean,” you begin. “Some girls in the Red Room are stolen from their families, but so many more are abandoned. That was me.”
“You hear these stories all the time about mothers doing incredible feats for their children. Lifting cars off them, crossing war zones, hell, killing for them. And… I wasn’t even worth keeping around.”
Marc and Steven watch the way your lip trembles, how your eyes grow glassy.
“It fucks with your head. It makes you feel like something is innately wrong with you. That it’s your fault that you never received the love you want.”
You turn to both of them.
“But it’s not. It’s not your fault and it’s not mine.”
In an instant, Marc falls into your arms and holds you tight, so close, you think you feel your back pop. Steven joins in, resting his head on Marc’s shoulder.
“Сейчас все в порядке [Everything’s okay now],” you whisper. “Все в порядке, и я люблю вас обоих очень, очень сильно [It’s okay, and I love you both so, so much].”
Steven quirks an eyebrow. “What was that?”
You gesture down the street like you hadn’t just confessed. “We need to get moving. We don’t have much time left.”
All three of you run down the street, the boat reappearing in your vision.
“Taweret, what’s happening?” Steven asks.
“I’ve never seen the gates to the world above so close,” she huffs.
Marc stands next to you. “How do we open them?”
You freeze at the sad look in her eye. “I’m so sorry. Your Scales never balanced.” She turns to the three of you. “Our journey’s come to an end. I cannot stop the inevitable.”
“I was really rooting for you guys, but the unbalanced souls of the Duat must now claim yours.”
A surge of energy rushes through you. Maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s knowing that Wanda will kick your ass if you stay dead, but you spring into action.
“Thanos said he was inevitable too, and look where it got him,” you joke. “Listen. Taweret, if you let me temporarily become your avatar, and I return to the living world, you could heal me, correct?”
She nods. “…Yes, I’d be bending the rules a bit far from childbirth, but I could.”
“Send me back,” you plead. Turning to the boys, you glance to the sands. “Hold the souls back, and I’ll get Khonshu freed.”
Steven steps close first, looking like he has something to say but not really sure how to go about it. You know what he’s doing before he even starts talking. What you’ve been waiting for.
“Uhm, before you go, I- Well, we, kind of want to…” He blushes, stammering. With a smile, you gently pull him in.
His lips are unfairly soft. That’s the first thing you notice. He’s unsure and warm and holds you gently. Not like you’ll break, but like you’re more valuable than anything in that tomb.
“Yeah, that,” he says when you part.
Your grin makes his stomach flip, and you shoot a sidelong glance to Marc.
“Well? Gonna give me a kiss for good luck?”
This time, it’s him that tugs you in, and the difference couldn’t be more clear. The kiss is almost desperate; you can feel how long he’s been waiting in the way he pulls you ever closer with a hand on the back of your head.
The one thing both of them have in common is that they both leave you dizzy and wanting more, but there’s no time for that.
“Go,” Taweret urges. “I’ll heal you when you wake up.”
Steven brushes off the fluttery feeling and nods. “Free Khonshu-“
“-Then we’ll kick Harrow’s ass,” Marc finishes.
You smirk, face still flushed, and salute the boys.
“Copy that. Good luck.”
The souls of the dead start climbing onto the boat as you shoot your grappling hook onto the mast of the ship, taking a running start as you swing from the deck.
You circle around once before releasing the hook, hitting the sand and rolling into a crouch. Brushing off the grains, you walk towards the glowing gate.
The massive doors open as you approach, spilling golden light. You disappear in the haze.
And you don’t look in time to see Steven fall from the boat.
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absolutebl · 10 months
Text
This week in BL - I am all over the place, But Laws of Attraction is Phenomenal af
July 2023 Wk 2
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.
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Ongoing Series - Thai
Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat iQIYI) 1 of 8 - Icky picked it up but it’s not airing for me until Sundays so I held this post specifically to watch and talk about this show. Stars the pair from To Sir With Love with the same production team. IT’S SO GOOD Y’ALL. A morally corrupted trickster lawyer with a tragic past, sad eyes, and a beautiful smile that he uses like a weapon. Meets paladin martial arts instructor from other side of the tracks (who is out, at least to his baby sister). Corrupt police. Spoiled rich kid evil. Ambitious politician. Tragic death. Terrible subs.* This show is very like Manner of Death but so far it is a much better/tighter story. It’s NOT BL but it is fucking phenomenal. And you shoudl watch it. Not wait to binge it. WATCH IT. On a global scale this might be the best thing currently airing featuring gay romantic leads. Its really fucking good. It’s Lawless Lawyer but more complex character motivation and gay af. Fuck yes please and thank you. FINALLY. Triggers for violence, beatings, death & torture depicted on screen. Like MoD they are not holding back.  (* A lot of the familial names they are using are not gendered in Thai but translated as such, like “nephew”. This one is gonna go down a lot easier if you know some Thai.)
Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 12fin - 2 years pass and no one’s hairstyle changes? Srs. Them meeting again = hella AWKWARD. Both still pining & hurt. NO SINGING. The reconciliation scene was great. I enjoyed that on the “do over relationship” they went with phi/pom (instead of the super formal khuns). So cute and so much more relaxed. Also lots of neck kisses! Charming final ep. It’s only flaw being they dropped the side couple, but I wasn’t really into them anyway. Ultimately? This is what Boss & Babe should have been and could we please have Up lead out another BL? I miss him and he only gets prettier. Full review below.
La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 12fin - I adore the tiny little baby GL thread that we almost got. And I wish we had had more of it throughout the show. The side couple turned out to be good too. Emotional crying kisses are my favorite. Sunshine netted himself an earnest serious romantic boy, we likey. As for the main couple? Well... Tai’s search story arc was dull and dragging in a final ep and it felt bloated and slow as a result. It was a good confession reunion with Tai figuring all of his shit out, not surprising but fine. Kind of a a weak final ep. Full review below. 
Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - JoonDunk are back and we have all seen this a million times before, but Thailand never executed a successful formula it didn’t want to repeat a million times over, drunk bathroom and everything. Welcome (back) to Thai BL (and back and back and back). Basically they just added glasses, a new 1-shared-brain-cell friendship group, and different uni departments. Ah GMMTV, forever trying to recreate the magic of 2gether. But also I’m enjoying it. I’m a simple person. (Hi Jamie! Still in college since 2018 I see.) Anyone else notice that Chinese phrase that they did not translate for us? Mmm hum. Cute. Still... NO SINGING. 
Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 8 - Thames is in coma and getting slagged off on the socials. It’s moving a bit slowly but the premise is interesting despite the poor quality of the execution. 
Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 8 eps - Major trigger for self harm depicted on screen in part 2/4. I skipped it. Then there is assault and verbal abuse. I told you Ultimate Troop is NOT to be trusted. 
Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 2 of 12 - Look, I don’t really mind this show but I also don’t like second hand embarrassment and I sense a metric butt ton incoming.
Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - I was not best pleased with this episode. Ya’ll round the tumblr-sphere seem to be enjoying it but I have officially hit the wall on Kawi. There is not enough booze for me to cope with his shizz. I may be alone in this. But gotta say how I feel... Unlike him. Trash watch here.
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Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Poor Ren, he feels compelled to take on the burden of protecting everyone from sexual assault because he blames himself. And he can’t even talk to his boyfriend about it. Oh fuck me the pair of shoes at the door. And neck kisses? TOO MUCH. Argh. Japan. Why must you hurt so good? 
Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 3 of 10 eps - It’s a very cute show. All the tropes and archetypes with no fuss or attempts to be clever, just executing them (sometimes over and over again). Even hiccoughs as a result of flirting! I haven’t seen that one in ages. The show feels old fashioned as a result. Nostalgic. I’m good with that. 
Tie The Not (Pinoy YouTube) ep 6 of 8 - Sad boys still sad now drunk. (Noooooo shoes on bed! Argh.) Finally kisses! Also good ones for a large portion of this ep. Plus hair pulling. And verse rep! And after sex convo. Then side dishes have a whole proper gay ax covo about top/bottom. Everyone say thank you Philippines! get down with your queer selves! 
Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 6fin - I believe this was the final episode. It was cute. This is a standard sort of semi-crappy VBL high school drama. Enjoyable in its floppy friendliness, weirdly like a queer after school special promoting education. Dead fish kisses but fine for what it is. 7/10 
Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 2 of 12 eps - Activate cohabitation trope. They okay bfs. Minato not as frustrating this week, but still frustrating for me and Shin. Next week = cute outfits and dumb miscommunication yay!
Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 11 of 12 - again it didn’t show up on my dash in time for this. I’ll pop it into next week. 
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It’s airing but ...
House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.
Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.
Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.
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Ended This Week
Step By Step Series Review  
This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk. And that authenticity added tension to the narrative and character development (how novel). Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). I also really enjoyed the brothers’ relationship, and kinda wished they hadn’t attempted (and failed) to give said brother his own side BL. That one flaw made it a 9/10 for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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La Pluie Series Review
This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. By activating + examining the soulmates trope this show is challenging a foundation of romance: the idea that there is one person meant to be your one romantic partner all your life. This means that we, as viewers, spend much of the show worried about it having a happy ending, and that’s the source of both its brilliance and tension: would the narrative have the strength to truly challenge its own romantic core? But, ultimately, all this elevated complexity was executed in a somewhat shaky manner with the narrative derailing into some serious pacing issues and characters manipulated by miscommunication. However, with good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn a 9/10. I enjoyed it even as it made me think, so despite its flaws: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Next Week Looks Like This:
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Starting:  
7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL side dish? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not? That is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts. Trying to decide to trash watch or not... 
7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT! So excited for this one. 
2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)
THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS
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FYI roselle juice is made from hibiscus (a flower) so technically neither a tea nor a juice. (Hidden Agenda)
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Tie the Not = all the verse rep this ep. I love this for them. 
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The giggling was SO DAMN CUTE (Step by Step, na?) 
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We all guessed it but it was still fun. (Stupid Genius) Also miracles of miracles, two actors who actually look like they could be brothers play brothers. 
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First time I’ve seen faen translated as significant other. (Laws of Attraction)
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THE PAIN! (Tokyo) 
(Last week.)
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allfortheslay25 · 11 months
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Please tell us your merman au world-building!!!!
I love your art man it’s fucking gorgeous to look at and that comic downright made my day <3 <3
I love talking about my world building so thank you 🙏
I write sirens and mermaids as two different but similar specifies in most of my worlds. Depending on which world ur looking at, these attributes can vary. But let’s look at the one for the AFTF au I made
Sirens are assumed to be evil, flesh eating, inhumane creatures. Most people and merfolk believe them to be unintelligent with just the need to kill
Mermaids are considered beautiful singing seducers who can grant you wishes
Most of this is true. However sirens do sing to lure humans to feast on but it’s only for the need to live and eat. Mermaids drown people for fun.
A sirens diet includes humans, large fish/sea creatures, and sometimes each other or merfolks. Sirens are somewhat naturally bewitching and beautiful. They have natural singing voices and can camouflage, make illusions over their bodies to lure prey, and shapeshift slightly (can change color, size, sex)
Mermaids eat normal sea life like fish, squid’s and even some ocean plant life. They don’t have natural singing voices (some mermaids cannot sing but can imitate the sounds of sea life) they tend to be natural beauties but not in a magically alluring way that sirens are
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Sirens tend to be skinny, lean, and small. However not all of them are this way. There are few sirens who can have longer and thicker tails.
Their petiteness is usually to help them swim away fast. Being smaller than most of their prey they need to be able to get away quickly.
Mermaids tend to be thicker, broader, with larger tails. Some mermaids can be small and petite too.
Since they do not have sharp enough teeth or fangs, nature provided their heavy tails to defend themselves and to kill prey. The tails can crack open a head under water within seconds, all it takes is a flick of their tails.
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Sirens have retractable claws on their usually bony webbed fingers. They can lengthen at amazing speeds and are used to kill prey
Mermaids have blunter nails since their appearances are very human. Their hands aren’t always webbed, some mermaids have webbed fingers some don’t
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Sirens have gills in four sets of places; the neck and ribs. Being deeper sea creatures they require the extra gills to breathe.
Mermaids only have the two sets on their ribs. Mermaid gills close and seal when out of water. Mermaids can breathe above water so once their gills touch the air they seal so their noses can do all the breathing instead
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Mermaids have normal human like teeth with slightly sharper canines. Otherwise their teeth are flat, meant to grind plants.
Sirens have at LEAST two rows of teeth. Their teeth are razor sharp and can be jagged like a sharks. Sirens can have up to 4 rows of teeth at max. After the first set, their teeth get smaller in their mouth
Their tongues can be forked, tendrils with suction cups, or just normal human looking.
More facts:
Sirens tend to make their scales sparkle to attract prey.
They mostly live in the dark and their eyes adjust depending on the light around.
Sometimes a Sirens sclera (white of the eyes) turn black. When this happens it heightens their sights to recognize heat signatures instead of images.
Sirens are intersex, born with either male or female reproductive organs. They tend to value reproduction since their species is prone to dying so easily.
Sirens can be clingy when they have children. They value being with their children more than hunting and will prioritize their young over anything. Sirens rely on a mate at this time to do all the hunting so they can stay with their child
When a siren reaches a certain age their mothers (not only female presenting) lose interest and abandon them
Sirens don’t always form pods and are usually solitary creatures. Pods are either formed by family, mates, or the strong
Mermaids are lazy. They spend all their time grooming themselves, playing, and sunbathing
They care too much about their looks
A mermaids tail can be decorated/decorative which a mermaid takes pride in. They use them to attract mates. A mermaid will beat a big sea creature to death to prove their hunting skills and groom their tail to show their allure
Mermaids mate for life. Sirens do not. They also don’t breed as often as sirens since they don’t die as easily
Mermaids mostly form pods. They value strength in numbers. There is a hierarchy system in their pods (sirens do not have a hierarchy system but they can if they choose to do so)
Mermaids are social creatures
Mermaids can mimic the voices of humans. Sometimes they mimic the voices of sailors loved ones so they can drown them. It’s like a game. Mermaids love games
Mermaids can partially control the ocean; create whirlpools and summon sea creatures. Some powerful mermaids can summon storms and cause tsunamis but it’s rare
Mermaids tend to be attracted to shiny things
If there are any follow up questions I’d love to answer !!!
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Text
Lore Concept: 'An Empire of Dreams and Illusions'
[faerie prince au!ateez]
Faeries
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first faeries were created from the purest kernels of magic
physical appearance ranges from almost human-like features to having animalistic features like horns, tails, wings, scales, etc.
every faerie possesses at least a small affinity for healing magic, if nothing else
their power elements are usually nature-inclined but some tend to deviate towards the 'unnatural' elements
every faerie can sense at least someone with similar magic as themselves
some faeries possess an animal form, which differentiates from faeries who are shapeshifters and can wear any skin
all faeries possess better senses than humans- which includes heightened vision, hearing, and smell
a few faeries that share darkling blood may possess darkling characteristics as well- physical or magical
Darklings
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first darklings were created from the darkest (but not evil) kernels of magic
physical appearance is just like faeries- what sets them apart is the darkness of their aura and magic
but dark does not mean evil- just like all darklings are not inherently evil, all faeries are not inherently 'good' as well
also possess healing magic
their power elements are usually the 'darker' aspects of nature, hence more dangerous than faeries but that's debatable as well
just like faeries have elemental magic, darklings also possess elemental magic but their difference is in their wielding techniques
most of them can shapeshift into animals
also possess heightened senses but they can sense danger better, and can sense the unnatural better than faeries
their wings usually resemble bat wings
High Healers
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the elite class of healers who work for the royal courts and reside in the castles to serve their ruler
they are usually born with major healing magic which is why they choose to excel in this field
however, someone with another elemental magic but a good affinity for healing may also choose to direct their energy and power to become a healer
usually rely on their magic but also depend on natural remedies
make sure the course of nature is not changed as they heal
create the medical records for the library
some work solely for research and advancement in the field
when healing is their major focus, they can sense ailments and disorders
can 'unheal' as well but that's the dark side of their magic
The Panthers of Soca
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ancient creatures, forgotten with time
helped in the creation of faeries and darklings, raised the first of them as well
strive for balance and harmony in nature to maintain the natural time flow
can travel between dimensions through portals
speak a language that is no longer understood by anyone but themselves (except the 'bridge')
shifted to Mirinae but in an alternate dimension, way before faeries ever shifted to that same planet
appearance is feline with yellow or green eyes that often glow, wings huge and either batlike or with feathers, pointy claws and tail. often possess scaly skin
their dimension is mostly smoke and ruins and they feed on the energy of the nature itself- they're immortal
if someone messes up with the flow of nature, it is their job to make things right and choose the best possible path for the future
Mirinae [Geography]
[parts of worldbuilding were inspired by Dreamcatcher's Deja Vu!]
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As of the first book in this series, Mirinae dates to be only two decades old since fairies started inhabitating in it.
The planet Mirinae was made to look as much like planet Earth as possible, with its geography and land and seas and oceans, lakes and rivers, the plants and animals, the weather, etc.
The technology is mostly magic-fueled hence lack of pollution.
There are 4 continents- Aries, Scorpio, Leo-Gemini and CaLiSa. Fomalhault is considered more of an island than a continent.
There are 7 kingdoms named after the stars of the princes and the princess. The Kingdom of Aries is shared by Seonghwa and Yunho. The Kingdom of Gemini is split into two states- Castor and Alhena- for Yeosang and his twin.
There are 7 seas named after the birthstones of the princes and the princess (ex. diamond for seonghwa and yunho). The stones can be found reflecting in the sea.
There 2 rivers in Mirinae- one in the Kingdom of Scorpio called River Noor (meaning 'light') and the other flowing through the three kingdoms in CaLiSa called River Al Ard (meaning 'of earth').
There is only one desert which is in the Kingdom of Fire, stretching from Denebola to Algieba.
There are 3 mountain ranges- one in Bharani in Kingdom of Aries, one in the Kingdom of Scorpio stretching from Jabbah to Antares, and one situated where the three kingdoms in CaLiSa meet. Bharani hosts the highest mountain range.
There is one volcano range in a small island near Regulus in the Kingdom of Leo.
There are 2 suns in Mirinae- the purple sun often called the moon by the Princes and the orange sun. The orange sun resembles the sun from planet Earth and it shines during the day but dims during the night, letting the purple 'moon' take over and cast a purple but dark glow in the sky
The weather is controlled by a group of faeries in every kingdom specifically working to maintain a suitable climate for their kingdom.
Currently, the animals and birds inhabiting the planet were 'exported' or manufactured from the planet Earth.
Mirinae [Magic and Facts]
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Apart from the major 9 elements of Dark, Light, Water, Space, Spirit, Earth, Fire, Air and Nature, there are a number of 'minor' elements and powers unique to their users.
Among them are shapeshifters who can shift into any skin, healers whose sole purpose is to heal through a variety of means, etc.
Reproduction/fertility rate is low for faeries compared to humans.
A daughter is rare. Identical twins even rarer. Fraternal even more. Fraternal with one son and daughter? Rarest.
The royals who hold power over one element hold a wide range of magical variety, some of which is left unexplored too.
Darklings are dark in nature but not necessarily evil, though they have no one but themselves to blame over their bad reputation.
Each of the castle built for the royals is unique to them in its decor and layout, reflecting the vibe of the owner and containing secret passages and rooms known only to the owner and their trusted few.
The system of monarchy currently runs the planet but rebel groups exist as well.
Much of the court system and laws are influenced from humans though some laws are unique to the faerie-kind. For example, necromancy is forbidden and punishable according to the gravity of the crime as judged by the courts created to deal with this nature of crime.
The currency is gold, silver and bronze coins and is universal.
All faeries are considered to be equal despite their age, gender or position. However, discrimination may occur at certain ocassions (turns out faeries aren't all that different than humans).
The favoured means of travels is through carriages or animals mixed with a little magic to increase efficiency.
Communication occurs the same- fire letters, water messages, telepathic signals.
Educational institutes are found in every city with studies focused on magic related subjects, history, running-the-kingdom politics, etc.
Again, most educational, religious and cultural aspects the faeries brought to this planet are the ones they once shared with humans since two decades ago, faeries, darklings and humans coexisted on planet Earth. But in the end, the faeries unite because for their existence, they have to depend on each other and function as one, putting aside any differences.
Naturally, the languages are human as well, depending on the faeries birthplace, but the faeries are able to understand a multitude of languages through magic.
Glossary
[the scenes that directly inspired the beginning of this lore- from Dreamcatcher's Deja Vu!]
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Original Dimension - the time-space the story takes place, the 'real' time-flow
Alternate Dimension - a layer over the original dimension with different time-space properties
The 'Other' Dimension - The one Yeosang and the royals casually refer to when they address the dimension of Yeosang's domain, the one where souls come to before moving on or deciding to stay
Portal - a gateway to a different time-space, where one or both could vary
Anti-nature - the term ateez use to refer to Gaeul's magic that literally seems like anti-nature since it turns into ash and does worse than kill now, even burning souls and sucking life out of the living things
Anti-magic - another term ateez used bc they're confused lol
Black hole - a mass of energy created due to an event that does not flow in its original time-space flow occurs
'Glitch in the matrix' - an irregular occurence
'Water has memories' - a 'vague' concept of certain memories linking to the water bodies they occur in so they can be accessed by other water users
Yin-yang bloodline - the prestiged bloodline of Nature users, kept secret. They are able to access an element other than their original nature element, usually earth since it's the closest in its properties. Some can access even 2 more. The yin-yang users can connect with their soulmates to access their element as well.
Cold fire - perhaps an element of its own, resembling fire in its original plasmic state and ice in its colder temperatures. Can burn like fire but with its extreme cold temperatures. Can also manifest as ashes resembling snowflakes
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