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thegnomelord · 5 months

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omg yes for the Ghost fic request you can do prompt 3 instead that would be great, thank you. some angst with a happy ending please

Sure thing dude, sorry this took so long, but a happy xmas to you lol My hyperfixation hyperfixated on this so it's a bit long and expositiony but I'm actually really happy with how this turned out :D Play the game HERE

Prompt: "Tell me how I’m supposed to un-love you, then. Tell me. Spare me.”

CW: NSFW, subbot Ghost, domtop Mreader, angst, misunderstandings, gentle sex, making up kinda, confessions, fwb turned lovers, idiots in love,

Simon's apartment is a picture of painful domesticity; your muddy boots sit neatly next to his by the door, two mugs set next to the coffee maker, two toothbrushes left on the sink only a foot away from different shower products that have long since mixed together into one giant pile, and a dozen more little things that tell anyone with a cursory glance — 'yeah, two people live here'.

When people wonder why you practically live together when you're just casual, you both just say it's convenient (and ignore how fake your answers sound).

After all; Why leave after he's ridden you to both of your completions when you can just settle on the couch and share a drink over a movie? Why should you waste money on a cab to get back to your own flat when you two can just tumble into bed? Why should Simon wake up to an empty and cold flat when he can do so in your arms, your steady heartbeat remind him you're both alive? Why leave in the morning and miss one of the few times Simon's fully relaxed when you can have a lazy morning, laying in bed and enjoying each other's company until the sun's high in the sky?

Why leave at all?

. . . Simon treasures every moment with you as much as he hates it, every second in your presence like a pretty hummingbird singing sweetly in his ear while it drills holes into his skull. Absolute Hell. Utter bliss.

He knows he doesn't deserve you. Knows you don't deserve to have a living corpse crawl back into your arms every night, nothing but a stranger with Simon's face. But you two have known each other so long it's impossible to let you go.

You met as toddlers when you'd nicked his toy, refusing to give it back until he agreed to play with you, and you've been stuck at the hip since. You two were each other's first kiss, fumbling behind the school bleachers, eager and sloppy like inexperienced lads are. First set of blooming hickeys along his collarbones, Simon's ma giving him a knowing look when she'd noticed it amongst the other bruises her no good husband had left on him. First fuck, quick and rough in a dark janitor closet during basic training, burning with need and heat. First—

. . . Simon doesn't know when the word 'Love' first registered in his brain. Maybe when you tore up heaven and hell looking for him. Maybe when you stuck by him when he did his best to scare you off, all rough words and teeth, unable to form one nice word when violence and revenge was all that was left in his head.

He doesn't know when he registered the word. Only that he looks at you whenever you do something mundane and thinks 'yeah. Love. That fits.'

But love has no place in. . . whatever this is. Hell, he's the one who'd set the ground rule when you two were young and dumb, reaffirming it after he'd come back as Ghost. And you'd never fought against it, agreeing to just be fucking casual, there's no way you want anything more than this. He doesn't want to cock it up, doesn't want to take more from you than he's already done, so he swallows all he feels and ignores how it burns his throat, going day by day like nothing's changed.

He wakes in your arms, deeply ingrained training waking him before dawn but the heat of your body keeps him rooted in place. Distantly he can still feel the cold tight confines of that coffin, of maggots wriggling on his skin, but memories of that nightmare float away before his traitorous mind can latch on to them. He lays in bed, head firmly on your chest so he can hear you, see you breathe. Morning comes too soon and you rouse awake, laying a sweet kiss on his forehead before getting out of bed to set the kettle on.

It's domestic.

It's painful.

. . .

You love how Simon looks. You especially love how he looks in his civies, freed of his armor and no longer needing to be guarded at all times, shoulders relaxed and mindlessly looking around as you talk while you browse the store. He's still gruff, and sarcastic, but you love that about him. You loved him long before he said not to tangle emotions in your meaningless bliss and long after he'd come back as Ghost, each unknown scar on his body taking a chip out of your heart.

And you respect his choice. You'll take what you can get and won't give it up even after your corpse has grown cold, hoping that will be enough to drown out the neediness of your heart. You lost him once and it had nearly killed you, you can't lose him again. . .

God, you're pathetic for him.

You meet miss Betty on your way back from the shop. She's your neighbor a few doors down, a sweet old lady who waters your plants when you and Simon are called back into action. You see her struggling with her bags so you hand your own to Simon so you can help her, "Hold this, please?"

"Only because you asked nicely." Simon huffs, but takes the bag without further complaint, walking behind you as you help miss Betty with her shopping, content to listen to you two talk about who knows what. It still amazes him how you've managed to charm all the neighbors Simon rarely spoke to.

"Oh, thank you deary." Miss Betty says as you put her shopping next to her door, holding onto your arm for support. "It's so nice to have a helpful person around here."

"It's not a problem ma'am." You say with a small smile, and fuck if Simon's heart doesn't beat a bit faster at the sight.

"You know," Miss Betty begins. "My grandson's been eyeing you up. And I can see why, you're such a strapping young man."

You feel Simon's gaze fall on you like a dagger, cold, hard, expectant. You try to think of what to say but your words fail you, because while you and Simon aren't in a relationship you can't picture yourself be with anyone else. "I-"

"Oh don't worry deary, I told him he was barking up the wrong tree." Miss Betty cuts you off by giggling like a school girl, "I wouldn't want to separate you two love birds."

The words burning on your tongue escape you before you can filter them. "Yeah, I doubt I could love anyone other than Simon." You clear your throat after, feeling his eyes on you.

Miss Betty just coos. "Oh, to be young and in love." Then she turns, waving her walking stick at Simon like he's an annoying pigeon that flew into her house. "You better treat him properly you big oaf, he's good for you."

Oh, Simon knows. Knows you're too good for him. But all he lets out is a small grunt, and you can't help the surprised laugh that escapes you.

You don't think of what you say next, so far away from a warzone your defenses are lowered. "No need to worry ma'am, he's the love of my life and I can assure you he treats me very well."

There's that word again, and the way it leaves your lips has Simon's heart skipping a beat. Fuck, Simon wants to hear you say it until he's deaf. Wants to hold your jaw closed so you don't speak again and stop making him feel this. Wants to pull you close and throw you out of the window at the same time. Wants— . . . he doesn't know what he wants.

"Oh, well I won't hold you up any more dears." Miss Betty says, patting you on the arm before shuffling back to her apartment with her shopping.

There's an uncomfortable silence between you two while you get back to Simon's flat, neither one of you sure what to say about the damn elephant in the room. You take the bags you'd given him, your back to him as you put them on the counter.

Acting like nothing's wrong. Nothing's changed.

But it has.

"An' you say my heart's rotten." Simon grunts, gruff and harsh, too many thoughts brewing in his head to properly say what he's thinking.

You turn to him, surprise obvious on your face. "What?"

"Lyin' to old ladies." His jaw is tense behind his face mask, which you note he hadn't taken off when the front door had closed, back to being guarded around you, something between Simon and Ghost. "Granted, it was convincing. What, did you take some creative writing lessons from Laswell?"

You stare at him for a few seconds, then you feel your jaw tense as well. "Christ, Simon, what are you on about?" You growl, stomping over to him.

His shoulders tense as you approach, but the scent of your cologne calms his body without his mind's input. "Can't love anyone but me?" He asks, something cold and slimy settling in your stomach when you realize he's repeating your words. "Love of your life am I?" Simon scoffs, the skin around his eyes moving in a sardonic smirk. "You're full of shite."

He doesn't know who he's trying to convince here.

You know you should brush it off, go along and say it was just a joke. Say anything that won't clue him in to your real feelings. Hell, not even saying a thing would be good.

But you just have to open your mouth.

"I wasn't lying about that Simon." You say suddenly, open, honest, your eyes meeting his.

Silence stretches long enough to have your nerves crackle with static, your body needing something instead of the nothing he gives you. Then Simon lets out a short, dry laugh, like your words are just a joke.

"Quit it." He huffs, doesn't meet your eyes because looking at you and entertaining the idea that he could have something more with you fucking hurts. "'m not up for your focking jokes." He grows, turning to leave,

Something inside you makes you move before your mind can comprehend it, grabbing his hand to stop him, "Simon I love you damn it!"

Your words are like a slap to the face for him. Simon freezes like a cornered deer, thousands of thoughts darkening his eyes, brows furrowed like he doesn't know whether to be angry or not. "But we—'

"—we agreed, I know. I fucking know." You hiss and damn it you can feel tears prickle your eyes like needles, "But I fucking love you, been in love with you for years and I know we agreed not to but—" You're babbling now, each word leaving your chest feeling raw like an open wound, the weight on your shoulders lessening but it only draws the noose tighter. "—just tell me how I'm supposed to un-love you, then. Tell me. Spare me."

Silence greets you as you stare into his eyes, that same static gnawing on your nerves the longer he just looks at you without a word, searching for something in your eyes he expects not to find.

But he does.

He spares you, pulls you by the clothes so his lips can crash onto yours, holding you close like you'll disappear. The kiss is sloppy and desperate just as it had been when you'd been hiding behind the school bleachers, all teeth and tongue and care.

Eventually the need for air breaks you two apart, but Simon refuses to let you go far. His rough hands hug you close as he rests his forehead against yours, pupils blown wide. ". . .love me, huh?" He says under his breath, as if he can't believe it.

"Yeah." You breathe out and wrap your own arms around him till there's not an inch of space between your chests, hearts beating fast like war drums but in such a rhythm you'd be fooled to think you share one. "Do you?"

Simon swallows, his throat dry, but the words slide smoothly off his tongue. "Yeah." He says, letting you pull him back into a kiss. It's sweeter this time, calmer, no longer rushing to feel the other. He melts against you, a low sound building in his throat as the sensations of you wrap his mind in silk, the taste, the feel, the scent, all of it making his mind fuzzy. All his now.

You lose track of time, stealing gulps of air between kisses as your minds drown in the other, your bodies moving on their own. You don't know how you end up in the bed but you do, your skin prickling with goosebumps as Simon's body presses against your own.

You part to catch your breath, Simon's head falling back on the pillow with your name leaving his lips like a prayer. He's underneath you, eyes hooded and short hair ruffled, and while usually he'd push you back and wrestle for control, this time he just melts into the sheets, lets you do as you want.

"Fuck-" Simon growls as you kiss down his neck, his blunt nails scratching your scalp as reward for the little hickeys you leave on his throat. Your hands roam across his body, leaving lingering trails of burning heat. "Love, please hurry up." He breathes out, cock already rock hard from just a few kisses and heavy touches.

"Right," You say, because that's all your brain can conjure up at the moment. Blindly reaching for the lube you trail kisses down his front, your lips tracing every scar along the way, his legs easily parting so you can settle between them. You can't help but look him over again, all relaxed and eager for you, chest rising and falling like he's a racehorse. "God you're fucking pretty."

A deep flush spreads from Simon's ears down to his hickey marked shoulders, a little smile tugging on the corner of his lip. "Just pretty?"

"Beautiful." You breathe out against his abdomen, rubbing your fingers together to warm the lube. "So handsome." You don't miss how his cock twitches, your lips following his happy trail. "Charming." You hum against the tip of his cock, tongue lolling out to lick at his slit. "Bloody bewitching." His hips buck into your mouth as your fingers slowly circle his puckered rim, putting just a bit of pressure at first. "Irresistible." His body yields, the tense muscles of his rim going lax and letting you slide a finger in.

A low and long groan escapes his chest, eyes fluttering shut as he savors the stretch, tight walls clenching in the rhythm of his breaths. "Read a dictionary, did you?" Simon smirks, heart warm and floaty at the way you wait for him to relax after the intrusion before you move, at the way you look at him when your exploring finger brushes his prostate and makes him moan. "Such a focking charmer."

"Just for you." You chuckle, lightly sucking on his cockhead to make him forget about the lingering pain, your ears pricked to hear every little groan and unabashed moan leaving his lips. "Can you handle two?" You ask, your second finger resting against his rim without trying to push in.

He growls like an animal and pushes his hips down on your hand, "You're sleeping on the couch if you don't hurry up." He warns at your question, his harsh glare softened by the heavy flush across his face and his hooded eyes.

"Not the dog house." You say in mock fear, swallowing his leaking cock a third of the way down in one go as you push your second finger in, your thumb rubbing the space between his balls and ass so his prostate is trapped on both ends.

"Shite-" Simon's hips twitch up, beads of precum painting your tongue as his legs spread open more. "-you wanker." His insult is light, head rolling back as he grounds his hips down in an attempt to chase after that spine numbing pleasure your fingers bring.

Pulling back enough to murmur "Love you too." against his tip you take him into your mouth again. You can't measure how good it feels to say those words honestly instead of sarcastically, your own arousal forgotten as you work him open on your fingers, the constant pressure on his prostate making a small stream of precum bead down your throat.

Simon floats in heaven for, he doesn't know how long, the pleasure making his brain melt through his dick, unable to stop the soft sounds escaping his throat. He cracks an eye open when the tightness in his stomach becomes apparent, barely able to stave off his orgasm when he sees his cock throbbing between your lips.

Your name comes out slurred as he tugs on your hair, "Need you. Now." A little bit of his usual demanding nature comes out, but even then it's born out of desperation to feel you rather than the need to be in control.

You let him pull you off his cock, placing gentle kisses on his thick thighs as you pull your fingers out of his stretched hole. "You have me."

You go to grab a condom but he stops you, too aroused to be embarrassed by his eagerness. "You don't- my physical, I'm clean. If you want, I mean-"

You furrow your brows, your chest tight with how big your heart feels. You could never hide how sick you'd feel at the thought of Simon being intimate with someone else, even when you'd never agreed to be exclusive. "We did physicals nearly three months ago, you haven't. . .?"

He shakes his head, "No," Suddenly he tenses up, his jaw tight like he's expecting bad news. "Have you?" His tone isn't judgmental, but you can hear the edge of hurt.

"No. No. No!" Quick to dispel his thoughts you lean over to kiss him like he's a bout of fresh air and you've been drowning for years. It's not too far from the truth. "You're the only one I've ever. . .done that with." You murmur against his lips, earning yourself another kiss as he pulls down by a hand on the back of your neck.

"Good." Simon tuts, proud, hiking one leg around your waist to pull you closer, your cocks rubbing together. "Fuck me already." He grumbles, his strong arms wrapped around your neck.

"Right, yeah." Despite how many times you've done this suddenly you feel like a fucking virgin, your hands trembling slightly as you lube up your cock. You press the tip against his slick hole, forcing you to bite your lip as you start to push your hips. "Just relax, yeah?"

"Yeah." Simon breathes out, feeling pressure of your cockhead against his hole. You both groan when your cockhead pops inside him, your lips on his making him forget about the lingering sting. "Shite, so good for me." Simon hums, looking at you with hooded eyes. Usually he relishes the sting and burn sex with you brings, but he's so loose and lubed the pain is barely a prickle at the back of his skull and he finds himself getting addicted to the unfiltered pressure and weight of your cock inside him.

"Simon," You say, clenching your teeth as you try to keep still so he can get used to you, holding his hips for dear life. "Can I- please I need."

"Focking move it," He nods his head, his head rolling back from the sensation of you moving inside him, your cock brushing against his walls as you push inside him inch by inch until you're fully inside him.

Your nerves a live wire from how tight and hot his hole is, forcing you to rest your head on the pillow next to his as you try to gather your self-control; you'll be damned if you cum before him.

"I'm good." Simon tugs on your scalp, your lips meeting in a lopsided kiss. You pull away to rest your forehead against his, his eyes blown wide and hooded, something about this position so intimate it melts your heart. "Hurry up, 'm not going to last long." He confesses, his walls clenching down on your length.

Words escape you so you just nod your head, slowly pulling your hips back before pushing back in, Simon meeting you half way so your cock can lay consistent pressure on his prostate. You two move like one, your senses full of sex and heat, your ears ringing with Simon's low moans and groans. Moving your hand down you stroke him in time with your thrusts, earning yourself even more moans. Usually Simon's so quiet in bed, but now he lets it all out so freely, low growls and huffs and small 'ah, ah, ah's breathed into your ear with every small movement of your hips.

Your pace picks up as your orgasm approaches, your cock bashing against his prostate with all the subtlety of a tank. "Shite-" Simon throws his head back to moan, leaving his throat open for your teeth to lay even more hickeys. "-I, fuck, yeah, that's the spot- just- I need-" His voice turns higher pitched and needy, his body moving with the force of your thrusts, powerful arms pulling you even closer so his teeth can clamp down on your shoulder.

Simon cums with a shout that's muffled into the meat of your shoulder, whole body shaking like a leaf in the wind as he paints both of your stomach's white with his cum, his hole clenching down and pulling you along with him. You cum inside him and moan, collapsing on top of him, completely exhausted.

The silence of the bedroom is broken up by your haggard breathing, both of your bodies sweaty and hot. You tilt your head just enough to catch the way Simon looks at you, like a content cat that knows he's safe, and shit if that doesn't melt your heart, nothing will.

"God, that was something else." You say to break the silence, trying to pull out when you feel yourself soften but your attempts are stopped quickly, Simon grumbling something under his breath as he hugs you closer. "What?" You ask.

He throws a light glare your way, but his eyelids droop with exhaustion. "Don't." He says, relaxing when you stop what you're doing. "Want to feel you." He says; it's the most intelligent thing his mind can conjure up right now.

A gentle smile tugs on your lips. "Right." You lean down to share another kiss with him, this one sweet and slow, his tongue gently liking your lips as a way to ask for entrance— why rush when you've got all the time in the world?

The exhaustion weighing on your bones and Simon saccharine kisses lull you to sleep soon enough, your body like a weighted blanket on top of him. "Love you," You mumble just before your eyes close.

Simon fights against his own fatigue for a few more minutes, relishing the feeling of being connected in such a primal way, with you in him and around him. He takes in your sleeping face with blurry eyes.

Yeah. Love. That fits.

#Gnome's Prompt Game #gnome correspondence #cod mw2 #trinkets from the hoard #male reader #top male reader #x reader #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley x male reader #dom male reader #ghost x reader #cod modern warfare #cod x male reader #cod smut

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vexwerewolf · 7 months

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I always figured the Imperials were the good guys.

Nnnnnngh… no. Imperials are the better of two bad options, and it's really muddied because Bethesda lost its good writers years before Skyrim came out. I can feel a hyperfixation coming on, so a quick TL;DR: the Empire is an Empire so it's still bad, the Stormcloaks are just racist saboteurs led by a Manchurian agent and Tiber Septim is a gigantic piece of shit who ruined everything.

Okay, so the Empire functionally lost its equivalent of the Mandate of Heaven when Martin Septim died heirless at the end of Oblivion. His sacrifice forged a new compact to end the Daedric incursions, but by that point Imperial infrastructure throughout Tamriel had been so badly damaged that it could no longer maintain order. By the time the Mede dynasty got its feet under it, several provinces had either risen in revolt against the Empire or and were busy violently settling bitter generational rivalries with each other.

Most notably, this included the Thalmor, who are openly and proudly an Altmer supremacist movement. Their primary goal is to end the dominion of Men on Tamriel and institute a second Merethic Era dominated by them. This is the most obvious reason for why they want to ban Talos worship - the idea that a Man could become Divine is grossly incompatible with their worldview. (I must note that there's also a much-discussed fan theory stating that they intend to unmake creation in its current form and destroying Talos worship is part of that, but it's partially based on sources whose canonicity is in doubt, so I'm not going to discuss it further at this time.) The Thalmor are pretty much explicitly Elf Nazis, right down to invading foreign countries and rounding up their religious minorities.

It should be considered, however, that Tiber Septim was an UNBELIEVABLY MASSIVE PIECE OF SHIT. There's credible evidence that during his mortal life he assassinated the Cyrodillian monarch to whom he had sworn fealty and then seized his throne. He had a dalliance with Berenziah that ended up getting her pregnant, then forcibly abducted her and had the child aborted without her consent. After gaining Numidium from a treaty with the Tribunal of Morrowind, he discovered that they hadn't given them its power source (Lorkhan's Heart - understandable, since it was the source of their false divinity), and so he created a new one, the Mantella, by tearing the souls out of Ysmir and Zurin Arctus, two of his most loyal companions. He used Numidium to brutally conquer the rest of Tamriel and then turned it on all the noble families in Cyrodil who hadn't supported him. His empire - as all empires are - was built entirely on murder, pillage and rape. And - as all emperors do - he rewrote his own history because nobody dared openly oppose it. If the Aedra truly did award him a seat amongst them after this (and the fact that his bloody armor counts as "the blood of a divine" in Oblivion suggests that they did), it's questionable whether any of them are worthy of worship.

Nonetheless, worship of Talos was of extreme cultural importance to the Nords, because he was considered by history to have been a Nord, and indeed born in Atmora, the mythic first homeland of the Nords (although, again, it's likely he was just fucking lying - heterodox historical accounts suggest he was born in High Rock and never saw Atmora in his life). The White-Gold Concordat was formulated specifically to provoke division between the remaining provinces of the Empire - the Thalmor correctly predicted that the Nords would never tolerate being stripped of their right to worship Talos, and would rise in revolt against an Empire that mandated it.

The specific cause of the Stormcloak Rebellion is also… dubious. During the war with the Thalmor, the Imperial Legion had all but pulled out of Skyrim. This allowed an uprising by the Reachmen, an ethnic minority within southwestern Skyrim who, notably, had been brutally disenfranchised and stripped of their land by… Tiber Septim! Thanks, Talos, you continue to be a gigantic piece of shit! Anyway, they seized control of Markarth and held it for two years, during which by most accounts they ruled it as an independent kingdom that was making overtures towards being recognised by the Empire. After the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, Ulfric Stormcloak raised an army to retake it, and was promised by the Jarl of the Reach (and, allegedly, the Empire itself) that worship of Talos would be freely allowed in Markarth. Ulfric Stormcloak then proceeded to lay siege to the city and butcher it, ethnically cleansing the city of every last Reachman down to the women and children, slaughtering any Nord who had collaborated with them and allegedly even killing those citizens of Markarth who hadn't answered his call to arms.

Inevitably, the Thalmor found out about the Talos worship anyway and the Jarl was forced to sell out Ulfric and his men. This is generally considered to be the betrayal that sparked the civil war, but at this point we must examine who Ulfric is.

Ulfric was trained in the Thu'um from an early age by the Greybeards, but abandoned his tutelage to fight in the Great War. We know little of his performance other than that he was captured by the Thalmor, tortured extensively, and falsely made to believe that the information he had given under torture was instrumental in the fall of the Imperial City. His father, the Jarl of Windhelm, died while he was in prison, and he was forced to deliver a eulogy via a letter that he had smuggled out of the prison. He claims he escaped from captivity, while Thalmor records claim that they let him go intentionally; neither source is particularly reliable.

From a sociopolitical standpoint, Ulfric is a staunch Nordic traditionalist who openly states that he doesn't believe Skyrim has had a "true" High King for centuries, considering recent monarchs to simply be puppets installed by the Empire. He also seems to be deeply racist: in contrast to his father, he banned Argonians from entering Windhelm proper, confining them to the Assemblage on the docks, and he's allowed racist sentiments towards the Dunmer residents of the Grey Quarter to worsen. Even citizens of Windhelm who support the rebellion comment that isn't doing very much governing, since the civil war eats up most of his attention.

One point I will give to Ulfric is that establishing Skyrim as an independent kingdom that can actively resist the Thalmor isn't actually as far-fetched as it seems. After the White-Gold Concordat ceded half of Hammerfell to the Thalmor, Hammefell said "how about fuck you," broke from the Empire entirely, and smacked the Thalmor down so hard they had to sign the Second Treaty of Stros M'Kai and retreat from Hammerfell entirely. This rendered the nation a haven for those opposed to the Thalmor, and they're in such a strong position that the Alik'r can actively hunt Thalmor collaborators like Saadia in other nations. Hammerfell is in a better position than Skyrim, and it did it without any Imperial aid.

(A hilarious fact about the Hammerfell situation is that the Thalmor tried the exact same thing there - inciting a civil war between the Crowns and the Forebears, two factions that have hated one another for generations. Unfortunately, they fucked it up so badly that it actually managed to end the rivalry and unite both of them against the Thalmor.)

But this is where Bethesda's inability to actually capitalize on the good parts of their writing really gets to me.

The Empire in Skyrim… sucks. Like, from your perspective as a player, the first experience you have of the Empire is "okay, so you were at the border alongside this guy and we're executing him today so I guess you get to die too." The only decent Imperial you meet is Hadvar, who makes a lukewarm plea for your life but doesn't press the issue.

All of the Imperial Jarls except for Balgruuf and Idgrod Ravencrone are dogshit. Elisif is a naive, incompetent teenager. Siddgeir is an arrogant, incompetent ponce. Igmund is a spineless Thalmor toady reigning over stolen land, having broken a promise he made to Ulfric and thus being partially responsible for the civil war. The replacement Jarls you get if you side with the Empire and conquer territories the Stormcloaks hold at the start of the game fall into two categories: "who?" and "oh fuck not you." If I say the names Brina Merilis or Kraldar, I bet you won't even remember who I'm talking about. Brunwulf Free-Winter, the replacement for Ulfric Stormcloak, has ONE personality feature and it's "I'm slightly less racist than Ulfric." But when you capture Riften for the Empire, the new Jarl is MAVEN FUCKING BLACK-BRIAR, THE SECOND-WORST PERSON IN SKYRIM.

But the Stormcloaks suck worse. Laila-Law Giver is a puppet for the Black-Briar crime family. Skald the Elder is a grumpy, hidebound old man. Korir might as well not be ruling anything at all. If you side with them, you have to sell out Balgruuf when the matter of Whiterun comes up - a man who has never been anything but helpful, supportive, trusting and forthright with you. Oh, and let's not forget that if you take the Reach for the Stormcloaks, the new Jarl is THONGVOR SILVER-BLOOD, LITERAL SLAVEOWNER AND WORST PERSON IN SKYRIM.

(There is an absolutely cursed timeline wherein during the "territory trade" at the peace talks you can hold during the main quest if you haven't finished the civil war quest yet where Maven gets the Rift and Thongor gets the Reach, meaning you have just installed the two most powerful crime families in the country into positions of executive power.)

This isn't just a case of "of course both sides aren't perfect and have issues." This is just "both sides fucking suck." A better game would allow you to make some headway in resolving the massive issues that face Skyrim, but I've already written like nine billion words here so maybe I should go into that at a different time.

#skyrim #the elder scrolls #writing #bethesda

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greenthena · 5 months

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Metatron's Tie

**Update: check the reblogs. There's a clear picture that shows the tie pattern as flowers. So, there goes my theory. Whomp whomp. Easy come, easy go, as Freddie says. @archangelween @drconstellation

People, I have been trying to get a good look at the Metatron's ding dang neck tie since September to determine what those little blue symbols are. Because, like everything in the Good Omens universe, I believe it's been put there for a reason. I also believe that God has no idea what she's doing, which is why she hired Neil Gaiman to run things for a few decades.

Despite being a so-called agent of Heaven, the Metatron's costume is coded as demonic, from his dark topcoat to the black stripes on his white shirt. The item I find most fascinating, however, is his tie. And this is probably in large part because I've had so much difficulty seeing the subtle blue pattern upon it and that has made my brain itch and made me hyperfixate. As one does.

I think I may have figured out the design, and it complicates all my Metatron theories, but here we go. The Metatron's tie is black, featuring a repeated small bright blue symbol throughout. I've guessed it could be a star or a planet. A cryptic sigil or maybe something to do with the coffee (I'm not a coffee-theory person, though, for the record.) I don't know what it is (well, maybe I do now, and I promise we'll get there in time...I'm a demon of my word), but I do know that it's important.

All the angels have references to their angelic status concealed within their costumes.

Michael is the watcher. She is the one who, in Saturday Morning Funtime, delivers surveillance photos to Gabriel. To reflect this, Michael wears a gold ring featuring several small pearls that symbolize eyes. She is ever-vigilant (hyper-vigilant, ya might say), and even has a contact in Hell (Dagon) to broaden her scope of observation. The placement of the ring in the pinky is also significant. A good watcher mustn't themselves be observed, so Michael, in her role as observer must slip under the radar. This corresponds to the pinky finger being small and quite literally underhanded, as in at the bottom of the hand.

Uriel's ring is a silver star, worn on her/their index finger, the digit associated with authority. (We call it the index finger because we use it to sort and catalog, creating meaning and order.) Uriel certainly commands authority, both in their overall calm and assured demeanor, and also in their actions. It is she who physically confronts Aziraphale prior to the S1 No-pocalypse, easily inspiring fear in the Principality. As for the symbol of the star, I believe it is a reference to modern Angelography (I might have made up that word, but I think you know what I'm talking about) which usually describes Uriel as a sun, star, or the flame of the Almighty.

Sandalphon's symbology is two-fold: a thick gold pinky ring featuring a pair of circles (kind of looks like a lego brick, to be perfectly fair) and that small gold grill he wears on his front teeth. Both these items are the most elaborate pieces of angelic adornment that we see. Sandalphon's overall aesthetic is much warmer than the other angels', leaning toward caramel and tan rather than dove gray. He's a bit of an odd ball in the host of Archangels and stands out based on his wardrobe choices alone. He's also the only Archangel not to return in S2. I don't want to make too much of this, because there are many in-universe reasons why we may not see Sandalphon again. However, in Judeo-Christian scripture, Sandalphon is closely joined with...wait for it...the Metatron, with apocryphal texts describing him as Enoch's (the Metatron's pre-angelic human name) twin brother. I take this with a hefty spoon of salt, though, since Neil definitely plays loosey-goosey with these dogmas and even the scriptures themselves are a veritable soup of contradiction. (The Bible is not a static or universally canonical text, and Hebrew scriptures, outside the Tanakh are a web of activity and debate as to what is accurate. I'm not here for the arguments today; this is not my Bat Mitzvah.)

Finally, we have Gabriel, the only Archangel who doesn't wear a ring. He does, however, wear a watch. I have two thoughts about the watch. First, clocks are thematically relevant in the Good Omens universe. From the grandfather clock in the bookshop to Crowley's elaborate wristwatch (which he has in both show and book) to the opening sequence of S1, which has far too many clock faces to count. So there's that. But holding time in one's hand (or on one's wrist) is a powerful metaphor that illustrates control and higher power. To possess a clock is to command time and space which are essentially inseparable. As the Supreme Archangel, Gabriel is nearly the top-ranking being in the universe (for a time, at least...see what I did there? pathetic laughter) and his wristwatch demonstrates this point.

If you're still with me, you're doing great. Good job.

We've got to see how important the Archangels' symbology is to their characters, I think, to really understand why the sigils on the Metatron's tie matter. So, finally to the point. Dolphins. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

To move forward, we'll need to call upon my old friend, the Tarot deck. Cards, in general, and Tarot, in particular, play a marked role in the GO universe. The Almighty Herself addresses the viewer in the opening lines of the show, "God does not play dice with the universe; I play an ineffable game of my own devising. For everyone else, it's like playing poker in a pitch-dark room, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time." As God speaks, cards appear on screen, and some of those are from the Rider Waite Tarot deck. One specific card that caught my eye in this montage is "Judgement."

This card features an angel blasting a trumpet and waking the dead from their graves on the Day of Judgement. The angel on the card is not named, as such. It's usually assumed to be Raphael, as he is the angel who is prophesied to call and raise all souls on this day. However, I've found other references naming the angel as either Gabriel or the Metatron. Now, I don't want to get overly carried away here, but in the context of Good Omens, reading the Judgement card with the Metatron as the angel pictured may actually make a lot of sense, and clarify the sigils on the Metabutt's tie. The Metatron postures himself as the Voice of God--the Mouthpiece of the Almighty. Kinda like a trumpet, yes?

Now look at the flag on the angel's trumpet. That's called St. George's Cross and it's a very prevalent European Christian symbol dating back to the Middle Ages. Like many images in the Tarot, it's a heraldic emblem that has meaning outside the deck, often associated with bravery and military might. It continues to be used in military iconography into the present day. The Judgement that the angel heralds is not peaceful. It's a call to war. The righteous will be gathered to Heaven and the wicked will be destroyed--a repeat of the first Great War in which Satan and the demons were cast into Hell. In the narrative of Good Omens, this war will bring about the end of time, the end of the world, and the beginning of eternity (hope ya'll like The Sound of Music.)

Kids (human and goat, alike) I think those little blue sigils on the Metatron's tie are Saint George's Cross. (I'm so sorry this is so small and hard to see. Now you know my pain.)

In the Final Fifteen, the Metatron speaks briefly about the Second Coming, which is a reference to Saint John of Patmos' prophecies--you might know them as the Book of Revelation. Some Christians interpret Revelation as an upcoming final judgement for humanity. And it seems, based on in-universe exposition, certain characters view these prophecies in a similar light. In the reverse body-swap at the end of S1, Crowley suggests that the averted Apocalypse was not the end of the conflict. "If you ask me," he says, "Both sides are gonna' use this as breathing space before the Big One. [...] For my money, the really Big One is all of us against all of them." And with the Metatron acting as the Mouthpiece of God, that "Big One," that Day of Judgement, if you will, may well be nigh.

I think the Metatron sees himself as the angel who rings out the Final Judgement. He is the Voice of God, after all. But here is a worrying thought. How little he would need to shift perspective to view himself as the Word of God, as well. The Gospel of John opens, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Same was in the beginning with God." The Word of God is an epithet for Jesus. The same Jesus whose Second Coming the angel of judgement is meant to announce. So what if the Metatron just plans to consolidate these roles for himself: the heralding angel and the Second Coming rolled into one. He would become Judgement Incarnate, supplanting the Almighty once and for all. And for my money, that sounds just like what a demon would like to do.

***I'm updating because several readers have pointed out that it seems like I'm saying Metatron=Demon because Demon=Bad. Thank you for bringing this to my attention--it makes me a better communicator. I can see where it's coming from. It's not my intention. Consider this meta sort of an extension of my "Metatron is the Murder Hornet" meta, which I'll link with the tags if you're interested.

Just wanted to clarify that I think at its heart, Good Omens is thematically about rejecting the dichotomy of good and evil and embracing the messy gray space that is reality.

When I call Metaboob a demon, it's not because I think demons are evil, it's because I think he's the hornet in the beehive and we've seen that demons need an angelic escort (Crowley and Muriel) to access Heaven.

TL;DR Angels are not the good guys. Demons are not the bad guys. Good Omens is NOT about that at all.

#good omens #the metatron #metatron #good omens 2 #go metas #tarot #archangels #archangel fucking gabriel #archangel gabriel #archangel uriel #archangel michael #archangel sandalphon #good omens costumes #go costumes #youtube #metatron is a demon

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wangxianficfinder · 3 months

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Fic Finder

March 5th

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1. I’m pretty sure the fic im looking for is a one shot, but it’s been so long I can’t remember: LXC brings WWX (who he’s been teaching musical cultivation) to LQR and is like “he’s never learned this song, watch” and plays something. Then gestures to WWX who plays it perfectly from memory. LXC gestures to him while looking at LQR like “see?” and LQR is impressed

FOUND! multitude Chapter 13: good teacher lan qiren by bunny093 (bamf/genius wwx, the lans are better are sect-ing here, lightly based on a lilo&stitch scene, not yunmeng jiang friendly)

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2. Hello! Looking for a specific fic, at some point wwx transmigrates or reincarnates into the modern world where he is a ceo (?) and was trained by a teacher his whole life about sword fighting etc, and then he eventually gets his memories back and invents a way (i believe it was a device) to dimension/time travel to get back home. @vulpeculatee

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3. Hi, I'm looking for a Wangxian fanfic, where Wei Wuxian is in the Lan sect and he grows mushrooms. I just know that mushrooms were an important part of the fanfic, there was a scene where the other sects followed the Lan disciples to see where they bought the mushrooms. Thanks.

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4. hello! i just finished rereading "switched" (wwx switched with xz) but its ending was wwx finding out that he's pregnant. i remember that there's a part two of that where he gave birth in modern world, and they even cut their own hair but i cant find it. does anybody know where can i find it? or maybe im talking about two different story? im not really sure. thankyouuuuuu!

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5. good day! for the enxt fic finder, do u guys know tha time travel fic where wwx came back during the lectures then he let himself fall from the cliff where lwj was there and told him to let go? thank u in advance!

FOUND!🔒 Without end by barisan (M, 69k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, Suicide Attempt, Hurt/Comfort, Depressed WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Yunmeng Jiang bashing, Sentient Resentful energy, Medical inaccuracies)

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6. Making a deep dive into my AO3 history is an Exhausting prospect right now, so I must turn to the hive mind. Three fics I'm looking for rn.

A) Meng Yao is running an errand and finds his car beset by a swarm of bees! 🐝🐝🐝 Cue LXC to the rescue.

B) Wei Ying is out on a first date and it's going poorly. Lan Zhan overhears. Tea facts are relevant. 🍵

C) Post-canon case fic, where the case is a mysterious energy that some people can see/sense and some cannot. Can't remember whether WWX just happened to bump into LWJ+ducklings or if they were already hanging out, but the two of them figure their shit out whilst investigating. I think there was a garden involved. And energy-induced kissing (possibly even sex?). @linderel

6A)

FOUND! save the bees (ride a beekeeper) by Ariaste (T, 4k, LXC/JGY, modern, Fluff and Humor, Meet-Cute, Bees, Flirting)

6B)

FOUND!🔒 Heaven, Wait by sunflowersfield (T, 2k, wangxian, Modern, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Neurodiversity, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Happy Ending, First Dates, First Kiss, Hyperfixations, Strangers to Lovers, Meet-Cute, The bad date with the original character is brief and he never sees that guy again)

6C)

FOUND! Not What We May Be by brooklinegirl (E, 29k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Mutual Pining, Bedsharing, casefic, Hurt/Comfort, background Jingyi/Sizhui)

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7. Hi. Hope you are well.

I'm trying (and failing!) to find a WangXian fix I read years ago on Ao3.

From what I remember, Wei WuXian was a Captive of the Wen and kept in a high tower where is tortured and chained with a small window and Lan Zhan also gets captured and put in the same cell of Wei WuXian.

Lan Zhan is there when the Wen soldiers drag Wei WuXian away for torture and they bond. Later Lan Zhan finds out Wei WuXian is a Phoenix and the Wens want his tears. Wen Qing and Wen Ning are his only friends.

Wei WuXian helps Lan Zhan escape and Lan Zhan has to convince the cultivation world to save Wei WuXian but by the time they reach the Wens, they see that Wei WuXian lost control of the Phoenix and Lan Zhan calms him down amidst the fire.

I also remember the fic mentionimg that a Phoenix meant Goodluck.

Thsnk you in advance!

FOUND? a thousand hills, no birds in flight | 千山鳥飛絕 by defractum (nyargles) (E, 26k, WangXian, Mythology, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon adjacent setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort)

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8. thank u so much for all u do! i actually have two fics i’m searching for! i remember reading both in 2021 so i believe that narrows things down!

A) first one is canon divergence from qiongqi path, i remember that wwx almost dies but puts his consciousness into a paperman and his body is somewhat preserved by wen qing till they can find a way to heal him and then transfer his consciousness back but they pretend he died to the other sects (i remember they even go check his body) i remember the wen remnants go to lotus pier pretending to be related to ppl from yunmeg and jzx survives. the whole mess with mxy and the summoning array happens but it fucks it up a little since wwx isn’t actually dead and he becomes something like a spirit/ghost for a while and ends up meeting lwj by accident when he’s taming mxy back to lotus pier. they manage to heal his body and he transfers himself back in and they all live happily ever after.

B) the second one is a fic in a fic series of wangxian having more children and being very domestic that includes past lwj changing places with present lwj for a day and he basically spends the day with wwx, they go farming he helps with the kids, they see lsz for a time, unfortunately that’s all i can remember from it.

8A)

FOUND? 🔒 something like by silversshadow (T, 69k, wangxian, Major Character Death, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives AU, Temporary Character Death)

8B)

FOUND? These Two Most Powerful by stiltonbasket (G, 4k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, Married Life, Family Feels, Parenthood, Temporary Amnesia, Time Travel, it's amnesia but it feels like time travel to LWJ, wangxian have more babies, and they are the cutest buns, not your average amnesia fic? there's no drama here tbh, just soft husbands carrying on with fatherhood, And loving each other, Mild Angst, Happy Ending)

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9. Hello! I am looking for some help to find a fic. It's a story where Wei Wuxian becomes the ruler of afterlife essentially. All the characters who died before him are there but he has no memory of his past. The only way to get his memory was to go to earth and retrieve them(?). The last chapter I remember is MXY calling him, allowing him to return to the earthly realm.

Please and thank you 😊 @myblurryreality

Thank you for the suggestion but that is not it, unfortunately. The one I'm looking for starts out with Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan being in this after life city. They had to struggle for a bit because there death offerings(?) were delayed. Wen Qing was a doctor in the town and helped heal Jin Zixuan from an injury at one point. The reason everyone's offerings were delayed was because there was a new Ruler, who ended up being Wei Wuxian. He had absolutely no memory of anyone, but allowed Jiang Yanli to visit him. He would hear a song (Wangxian) played as a tribute(?) but didn't know who played it.

NOT FOUND!🔒 A Secret Never Shared by Vrishchika (T, 28k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, frankencanon, Pining, Soft LWJ, Deity WWX, BAMF WWX, Alternate Universe, LSZ is the best boy)

FOUND! A Celebration In White by Enigmatree (T, 20k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, Afterlife AU, Underworld, god AU, 13 years of Inquiry, Happy Ending)

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10. Help!

I lost a Twitter threadfic! I could have sworn I saved it, but either I accidentally deleted it or the author did. And they were about to update it too!

It was about WWX who, during the first Burial Mounds siege, was transformed into a rabbit, and now lives as an immortal bunny. Now it's modern times and he's been rescued by a reincarnated LWJ, who is about to leave for college (veterinary) and doesn't remember anything about his past life. WWX is wary of him at first (he thinks that LWJ was amongst those who led the siege), but he eventually warms up to him and manages to tell him the truth using a computer.

Please help me find this! @blueghost13

FOUND? Here's the link for the Twitter Thread And I just discovered that it got updated 2 days ago when I had expected no more, so thanks for making me check 🤗

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11. Hi! I've been searching this fic for so long and couldn't find it. As far as I can remember in this fic Wei Ying survives the siege and he goes away with Ayuan. He invents a silver core type of thing. some kind of mechanical/physical core. And later I think the jins capture him or something. Do you have any idea about this fic?

FOUND? 🔒❤️ kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)

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12. Hi. I love your Fic Finder and Recs and your suggestions have kept me busy reading for almost 2 years now 😍

I was hoping you could help me find a fic I've recently read the summary off. Something about WY accidentally domming LZ Z somehow and turning him into a sub without realizing? And I think WQ pointed it out to him? I believe it was a modern setting, and the summary sounded very light-hearted and entertaining.

I'm not sure if that's enough info to go on, but thanks for your help in advance 🥰 @papperlapapp1

FOUND! And They Were Roommates! or The Accidental Domming of Lan Wangji by DizziDreams (E, 21k, wangxian, Dom WWX, Sub LWJ, inexperienced BDSM practices, un-/under- negotiated kink, horny climbing, horny cohabitation, horny on main except by main I mean at a party surrounded by innocent bystanders, Praise Kink, Masturbation, Bondage, Lingerie, Orgasm Delay/Denial, omg they were roommates, Modern, BDSM, debatably a bit of dom drop, Public Masturbation, Edging, Getting Together, WQ has to come in and straighten this shit out)

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13. I was reading a great fic and then Tumblr updated and ripped out from me when I was only in chapter two! Devastated. Its world building at its finest, you are not folks directly what's happened or happening. WWX is the proprietor of Yiling Garden, a cafe that offers sanctuary. Mo Xuanyu arrives in the first chapter seeking sanctuary from the Inquisition. Lan Wangji arrives, saying he's sanctuary and there for Mo Xuanyu, but WWX assumed he was inquisition at first. They have not seen each other for years. Clearly something happened to separate WWX from everyone he loves except Wen Ning, who works for the shop too, and had been raised from the dead. For unknown reasons, Wen Qing is elsewhere and happy. Wen Yuan is mentioned, but WWX doesn't know what happened to him. There are phones so it's a modern au. And... That's it. Tumblr died right after Lan Wangji asks WWX out for dinner. Help! Thank you VERY much! @lurkdot

FOUND? transmuter by WithLoweredVoices (Not rated, 113k, wangxian, Modern with Magic, Magical Realism, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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14. Hi 😃 I need help to find a fic because I only remember a tiny bit! LWJ isn't wearing his forehead ribbon and LQR/Lan elders are trying to get him to wear a new one, the bit I really remember goes like this:

LQR: gives LWJ a new forehead ribbon LWJ: it's not the same 🥺🥺🥺

FOUND? A Future Family In A Broken Past by Hauntcats (T, 121k, wangxian, WWX & Wen Remnants, Jiang Family & WWX, WQ/MM, JYL/NHS, LXC/NMJ, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not Cultivation World Friendly, WWX Needs a Hug, Family Dynamics, What is a good family?, Fear of emotions does not excuse abuse, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel fix-it, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, LXC needs a hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Not YZY Friendly)

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15. Hi! Hope you are well. I am desperately searching for a fic I read once but cannot find it anywhere. In this fic WWX survives the siege and leaves with A yuan. He and a yuan live in hiding. wwx also builds a golden core-more like a silver core as he invents a physical core that works the same as a golden core. I can't remember how it finishes but I think Jins capture him and A yuan seeks help of LWJ. Hopefully you can find this!!! Thank You!

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16. Hi! This is for fic finder. Its cql post canon i think. WWX goes to some place near ocean and he resque a men who battling a ghost ship? I think he was a cultivator from a nearby sect. WWX then teach them a little bit before he continue his journey. He went to Jinlintai. In the road he met a woman who goes to the same destination as him to met her wife. They become a fast friend. Thats all i can remember. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

FOUND! Linger by the Door (I’ve Always Been Yours)by piecrust (T, 78k, wangxian, slow burn, canon compliant)

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17. Hi! I don't know if I'm doing this right bc I'm new to tumblr... I've seen your blog before though and it's so helpful! I have a fic finder request - I remember it was a harry potter au where wwx has been gone from lwj's life for 13 years. he came back (as an animagus?) as a black rabbit and lwj was a professor at hogwarts. lwj takes care of rabbit wwx and then jgy comes with aurors at the end of the fic to attack hogwarts and lwj fights him. When lwj is almost going to be killed, rabbit wwx turns back into a human and protects him. Thanks so much!

FOUND? an armful of warmth by Alaceron (G, 3k, wangxian, Harry Potter Setting) It has a sequel, too!

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18. I seem to have read a summary or a review of a wangxian fic and can't recall if it's from this blog so i am putting in a request for help in finding it so in that summary it was mentioned that wangxian had travelled to a village and met a lady on bank of the sea but she was actually a sea monster/creature don't exactly remember what and she consumes hearts of her victim and LWJ becomes her target but he distracts her by tell her his and WWX's story while WWX tries to save LWJ as the body of the victim comes to shore after a week or so don't remember much or more so I hope this suffices also it was most likely to be a multi chapter fic with less than 10 but more than 3 chapters and that it was probably on ao3 . Thank you so much for your work.

FOUND! The Eater of Hearts by ElDiablito_SF (T, 17k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, LWJ is Scheherezade, WWX and LQR speak to each other agenda, Angst with a Happy Ending, WangXian are very in love and very disgusting, Case Fic, Gratuitous kissage)

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19. Hi!

For the next fic finder can you help me with this ao3 fic, Modern Au where wwx gets kicked out of the Jiang family house so he has to stay (I think) in a shed close to his school, and also he has to take extra food from the school cafeteria and that’s how (I think) LQR finds him stealing after class

There was missing food so they also checked the cameras but wwx dodged them also NMJ in this AU is a cop and close to LXC

When they find out about wwx situation he’s taken to the lan house, eventual wangxian

And I don’t remember more

Thank you a lot for the help!🙇‍♀️❤️

FOUND? Where is home? By SpicyRamen_10969 (M, 80k, WIP, WangXian Modern AU, High School, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Coming Out, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Supportive LQR, Good Sibling LXC, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, JC Being an Asshole, Possible Smut?)

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20. There is this fanfic where Sizhuai(sp?) And Jingyi are night hunting with other Lan juniors. Nearly everyone dies, except him and Jingyi because out of desperation, Sizhuai uses demonic cultivation but he gets whipped a lot with the discipline whip because of it. Because of this Jingyi leaves the Lan sect. When he wakes up, Sizhuai is devastated. Cue angst, and Sizhuai eventually tracking Jingyi down and reconciliation. Unfortunately I can't remember this fanfic title and I would love to reread it. @andyousaidtruelovedidntexsist

FOUND? Give Me A Reason by useless_slytherclaw (M, 25k, ZhuiYi, LSZ & LWJ & WWX, Junior Quartet, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Friends to Lovers, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Mutual Pining, Minor WangXian, Minor JL/OYZZ, Aged-Up Character(s), Grief/Mourning, PTSD, Dreams and Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, Rogue Cultivator LJY, Family Feels, Demisexual LJY, Injury Recovery, Love Confessions)

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#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic finder #wangxian fic search #the untamed #wangxianficfinder #long post

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magical-regical · 1 month

Text

Continuing my L&DS hyperfixation but also because Owl City just released a new single, here are some owl city songs that remind me of each LI and Caleb

Go under the cut if you want some extremely long commentary on why I picked the songs I did. If you don't care what I have to say, please peruse this TLDR;

Xavier: If My Heart Was a House

Zayne: Car Trouble

Rafayel: My Muse, Rainbow Veins

Caleb: Hot Air Balloon, The Bird and The Worm

Ah you're still here. A few disclaimers before you continue:

Whenever I mention MC in this, I will be using she/her pronouns.

I haven't listened to every owl city song in existence and some songs didn't stick with me the way the songs listed here did so if you think my takes are garbage and I'm a big dumb stupid idiot for not considering the song you're thinking of, uh, feel free to make your own post abt it.

I know sweet f a abt music theory so I'm just going based off vibes and lyrics not composition.

I haven't read Xavier's or Zayne's myth stories to completion and haven't read Rafayel's at all.

Anyway, without further ado, enjoy my lukewarm takes.

Xavier

youtube

This song makes me so soft and it's way too easy to imagine Xavier and MC dancing to this. The first lines sound like he's reminiscing of the time he had with MC in her past lives,

You're the sky that I fell through, and I remember the view whenever I'm holding you

The sun hung from a string, looking down on the world as it warmed over everything.

Chills run down my spine as our fingers entwine and your sighs harmonize with mine.

Unmistakably, I can still feel your heart beat fast when you dance with me.

He pulls her in closer as the first pre-chorus plays. And the two pre-chorus' in this song sound like a conversation between him and his memory of past!MC.

The first one:

We got older and I should've known,

Do you feel alive?

That I'd feel colder when I walk alone

Oh, but you'll survive

The second one:

I walk slowly when I'm on my own

Do you feel alive?

Yea but frankly, I still feel alone.

Oh, but you'll survive

And then the chorus hits and the vibes are immaculate. It feels like you're floating on air and imagine how Xavier looks at MC when the last few lines play,

Risk it all 'cuz I'll catch you if you fall,

Wherever you go,

If my heart was a house, you'd be home.

Because she is the celestial body that orbits around him, his north, his guiding star, and his heart will always be her home.

Zayne

And you can't convince me this isn't one of the songs that plays at their wedding.

youtube

This is the catalyst of this post's creation. As of writing this, it's the newest single and I am obsessed with it. So strap in folks, I have a lot to say.

First of all, the first thirty seconds of this song was released as a preview titled 'Floppy Fish' that came out ten years ago and we didn't hear anything else about it until suddenly we get a tweet about it four days ago (as of writing this part) and then this masterpiece. I think it reflects Zayne and MCs relationship quite well, they were childhood friends, lost contact for a while, and now they're reunited to build another beautiful relationship.

On to the song itself, the overall song is about going back to see the person you love even through all sorts of car troubles. The car theme immediately screamed 'Zayne' to me because out of all the boys we see him drive MC around the most.

It's a very upbeat song which contrasts Zayne's stoic personality but the whole song is something I can imagine actually happening to him.

I see the first verse as Zayne trying his damndest to finish up work instead of having actual car troubles,

I've been driving all afternoon, but I hate to say it, I won't be there soon = him working all afternoon and still having to do overtime

And though I'm late you know I just can't wait to come home to my slice of heaven on toast.

But my GrandPrix broke down without fail, another flat tire and another nail = the 'tire' being the hearts he has to operate on and 'another nail' referring to his surgeon's tools (even though the nail in the song is the thing that broke the tire in the first place not the thing fixing the flat)

I miss your smile but this could take a while 'cause this 'road closed' sign says there's no way around. = he can't just ditch work, obviously.

The second verse and chorus is him actually running out of gas on his way back from Akso and just describes his situation. Walking through the rain, only stopping to buy flowers for her.

Hey, it's kinda crazy what daisies jasmines can do.

And then these lines from the third verse,

I'd hand you a coffee right when you woke up

and

... all I find is all these highways wind and lead back to my slice of heaven on toast.

are so cute. Especially the 'slice of heaven on toast' thing since I imagine a slice of heaven on toast would taste sweet.

But wait, it gets better. Because the chorus that comes after goes,

Oh would your heart kind of glow if I held your hand and I promised to stay home?

Hey, when I blow in that's the first thing I'll do

It might take me forever

But I love you forever and I can't wait to see you.

I'm dead. I'm deceased. I am a puddle of goo on the ground.

The bridge is the most upbeat part of the song and I imagine that's when he gets a call from MC because she's worried about him. Because honestly the line, 'Am I unavoidably detained or extremely fashionably late?' sounds like the kind of dry humor he'd enjoy.

And the song ends as he hangs up and continues his long journey on public transport to come home to her.

Rafayel

Now, fish boy gets two songs because I associate each one with what I like to call 'light mode' and 'dark mode' Rafayel.

I chose both songs because they had like, a lot of imagery involved in them and lean heavily into his whole artist job. So this isn't going to be as in depth as Zayne's lol.

Anyway,

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This is light mode Rafayel. The whole song is him talking to MC. He's all happy-go-lucky and filled with inspiration. With how important color is to his current career the song just felt perfect.

The chorus also adds a few nice tidbits of his character,

Cheer up and dry your damp eyes, and tell me when it rains

And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins

'Cause your heart has a lack of color and we should've known

That we'd grow up sooner or later, 'cause we wasted all our free time alone

The first two lines sound like something he'd actually say when he's trying to comfort MC.

The line 'we wasted all our free time alone' sticks out to me because you ever notice this guy doesn't have any friends? Like, Xavier has Jeremiah and the countless old people he's made friends with when they're in their youth and Zayne has his coworkers at the hospital and his old profs. Raffy doesn't really have anyone like that? Sure he has Thomas and his Aunt Talia but judging by how fast they hung up on him after barely wishing him a happy birthday, I can't in good conscience call them his friends.

So yea maybe our boy was so focused on finding MC again he wasted all his free time alone.

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Then we have dark mode Rafayel. And no I don't mean dark as in Rafayel when he's in revenge plot mode (whatever that is I don't have enough brain cells to comprehend what his plan could possibly be). I mean dark mode as in it's quite literally night time and he is left with nothing but his own thoughts. MC fell asleep at his place again and he's wistfully staring at her sleeping figure. This is the song in those moments.

Like Xavier, he's reminiscing about the past lives and past MCs. He's remembering the first time he met and the moment he decided she was the one. She was his bride. He's listing all the things he loves about her (which basically boils down to 'everything!'). She is his muse, now and forever.

And then the song ends with:

So I'll say it now before we're at the door that someday we'll walk through,

And if I'm the only one left in the room...

There's nowhere else I'd rather be than home with you.

Do you hear that? That's the sound of my heart cracking in two. He will sing you this last line as he pulls you closer, pressing your forehead against his before giving you a nice, long kiss.

Honorable mention goes to the song 'Sunburn' because it's about meeting someone, falling in love, and having to separate in the end (hence, 'she got a tan and I got a sunburn' and 'as we parted ways, she held my gaze and left an imprint on my mind'). I could go deeper and analyze each line like I did w/ Zayne but I've kept the Caleb girlies waiting long enough so we'll stop Raffy's part here.

Caleb

Caleb also gets two songs I chose two songs that have heavy 'childhood friends to lovers' vibes and fitting imagery and I told myself this one was gonna be short and sweet because we don't have as much depth abt his relationship w/ the MC compared to the current LIs but welp, I lied.

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'Hot Air Balloon' is the most childhood friends song ever. Every single lyric is just every adventure these two went on when they were children. Writing their own fairy tales, making a racetrack around the kitchen chairs, going on a picnic to a nearby lake and getting a stomachache because you drank lake water even though Grandma Josephine told you specifically not to do that, the list just goes on and on.

It's them. It's little MC and Caleb with lightning in their veins and stars in their eyes as they explore the world around them, not a care in the world because the possibilities are quite literally endless when they have the other person by their side.

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And then if 'Hot Air Balloon' was 'childhood friends—', 'The Bird And The Worm' adds on the '—to lovers' part of the trope.

I mean the entire first verse reads like the two kids playing pretend (because let's face it you've had one or two weirdly morbid play pretend sessions when you were a kid) with little Caleb saying he's the bird because of his evol and then little MC's like "then what does that make me?" And little Caleb's like "you're the worm ofc!"

Esp the part about throwing a party and greeting undersea friends (hi Raffy). I could imagine little MC telling little Caleb how she's going to invite the mermaid she made friends with at the beach to their 'party' and Caleb just not having any of it.

I'll throw a party and greet my undersea friends

(it depends)

As they arrive,

(if they arrive)

Then the chorus reads like a time skip. They're adults reminiscing about their childhood at one of the rare moments their schedules align,

You and I left our troubles far behind,

But I still have just one more question on my mind

For all my pals who live in the oceans and the seas

With friends like these well, who needs enemies?

In that moment they're back to being just MC and Caleb, not a hunter and a fighter pilot. And the last two lines sound like they're trading workplace gossip. Caleb tells her about the shenanigans his colleagues get up to and MC telling him about all the...'quirky' people she's been running into (hi Xav) and then being cheeky and going 'with friends like these, who needs enemies?'

And then you move to the second verse and it's them on a date. It's them on the most damn wholesome date you can imagine, I'm sorry I don't make the rules.

Like first they go apple picking,

If I'm your boy, we'll take a short cut we remember and we'll enjoy—

—picking apples in late September like we've done for years.

We'll take a long walk through the cornfield and I'll kiss you between the ears.

Then they come home and cook together (maybe make a pie with the apples they just picked or some other apple based dish?),

And as we twirl, the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling will shine for us

If you're my girl, swirl me around your room with feeling

As love sweeps over the room cuz' we tend to make, each other blush

(you make me blush)

They're so used to each other's presence even in a kitchen that can be considered a little cramped, they can perfectly navigate around each other.

After the two had eaten a delicious dinner, they are now cuddled on the couch with a blanket over the two of them, some movie playing on the TV. MC starts nodding off so Caleb picks her up and moves her to the bedroom, letting her snuggle against him. He brushes some loose strands of hair away so he can kiss her forehead,

"Love ya pipsqueak, sleep well."

And before drifting off he hears MC mumble a sleepy "I love you too..."

And that's how their perfect day ends.

You're the bird, I'm the worm and it's plain to see,

That we were meant to be.

----------------------------------------------------------

Author's rambling

Haaaa, I finally finished it yay! If you're reading this, thanks for reading this far! (or if you're a Caleb stan and just decided to read his part only, hello!)

I hope you enjoyed my takes. This was fun, I loved breaking down each song and just rambling my heart out over why each song gives me vibes for which character.

#xavier love and deepspace #zayne love and deepspace #rafayel love and deepspace #caleb love and deepspace #shen xinghui #li shen #qi yu #xia yizhou #love and deepspace #l&ds #lnds

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crescentroscs · 3 months

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naruto dash simulator

🍂 comrademadara Follow

SANDAIME DOWN 🦀🦀🦀

🔥 shinobifurious Follow

reminder that sarutobi hiruzen was a WAR HERO who should be remembered as such :)

👘 yukata-yuri Follow

reminder that sarutobi hiruzen was a LITTLE BITCH and that we should all PISS on his GRAVE

4,501 notes

👅 trueartisanexplosion Follow

@tobi this sake isn't doing shit get ur ryō ready

👅 trueartisanexplosion Follow

i wnr himn to imroreganate mpe

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💜 rinnegone Follow

she village on my hidden until i leave

💜 rinnegone Follow

easy website

17,280 notes

🌊 7swordswag

93 notes

🍥 orangehokage Follow

save me instant cup ramen

🍥 orangehokage Follow

instant cup ramen

🍥 orangehokage Follow

instant cup ramen... save me..

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☀️ sandkaze Follow

regardless of any nepotism that may have been involved, I just think it’s messed up that they let a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD become kazekage. not to mention other villages could take it as a sign of weakness that the most powerful shinobi we have is so young

🦝 goatedgaara Follow

idk wasn’t the yodaime mizukage really young?

⚡️ codenamekage Follow

lol you’re clearly new to kageblr. that rumors been debunked for ages, the guy was just super short

kuna1-deactivated

feels like they’re just letting anyone be a kage these days. how could tsunade be the best choice for hokage when jiraiya is clearly superior in strength 🙄

🌸 blossom-princess Follow

12 Butsuma Senju Ave, Konohagakure, LOF 118211

[This post went to heaven.]

🐸 jiraiya-updates Follow

Update on the cease and desist order from Konoha:

This blog will be deleted in 48 hours. We never considered the harm our hyperfixation could have on Konoha's national security, and for that we are sincerely sorry, both to Jiraiya and the residents of Konoha. For those wonderful people who have expressed concern for the mod team, the legal case is still ongoing but right now it's looking like a fine.

More information on the case, the ANBU incident and the situation with @orochimarupdates can be found below the cut.

Keep Reading

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🎎 fyeahhistory Follow

The Valley of the End

These statues were constructed by artist and stonemason Hikaru Aburame in 1737 KY. Commissioned by the Shodaime Hokage Hashirama Senju, the statues depict Senju and his longtime ally and rival Madara Uchiha. Uchiha and Senju were responsible for the Uchiha-Senju Alliance which founded the Hidden Leaf Village and put an end to the Warring States period. The monument, which potrays the two opposite each other forming the confrontation sign, was constructed in the valley where Uchiha lost his life to Senju during their battle a year prior.

Photo taken by Ami Sugiyama

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#naruto #unreality #dashboard simulator #deidara #naruto uzumaki #sakura haruno #hashimada #mine

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iivantablackii · 2 months

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Evermore

Chapter 1 - The Garden of Eden

Adam x Eve Story (Hazbin Hotel)

A/N: This is a story I will be writing based on the show Hazbin, as it's been a hyperfixation since even before the pilot came out. It's a combo of theories for the show as well as referencing actual biblical texts to tell what I think the story of Adam and Eve in the context of Viv's current storyline would be most fun with. I'm sorry if my formatting is off it's been forever since I've posted on Tumblr and I'm quite rusty with using its features. I will also be posting this on AO3, hope you all enjoy it!

At first, there was nothing. Existence seemed so far-fetched, what was to be of everything was not, however. And then all at once, it was.

A large explosion, light stretching far and wide, only being highlighted by the void around it. Debrises casting all around, all that was left of the bang that brought all here was a large star in the center of creation. But there was more than just this, perspectives of all realms were produced from the blast, it almost seemed like creation was almost instantaneous, and beings began to form from the stray rays of illumination. Golden dust swirled together, forming beings from these blazing embers, large feathers pieced together, stretching and fanning around their bodies. Their feet floated above the clouds around them, and what remained of the glow began to form above their heads, as if it were their own individual suns just above their minds.

The purpose was not spelled out, and yet they carried on. They all worked as if their actions were choreographed, clear, and concise at first, they knew not why they were to create but they knew they had to disregard all doubt. A hierarchy of light and virtue is what these beings began to create. Creating other creatures, ecosystems, and substance, and to hold all the most treasured of creations they made a garden.

There was only one species left for these angels to make before they truly began their purpose, these beings would be different. They would be more potent, holding much more to them than all these angels had made thus far. Made from the residue of stardust, the same as them, they formed two beings. As if mirrors of the angels, they were still naive to what existence truly meant for them, an experiment of sorts.

Adam and Lilith.

This is where humanity was meant to start, humans were made to love and adore, not just the angels above but one another and the garden they were made to reside in. To be progenitors. To rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the heavens, all that is alive was meant to be there for them. To watch and worship. Made to be innocent, they did not know better, that would pose more of an issue than what was ever considered. The first humans did not seem to be fond of each other, both were strong-minded, and they were disharmony. Even if they were made to be equal, the two were far from the same.

Though one of the two had caught the attention of an angel, a dreamer. A young being of light with whimsical ideas for creation, he was the first to ever question, to ever doubt. But this way of thinking is what set him apart from the other luminous beings, he was the only angel who wished for more.

Lucifer, the Morningstar.

Flying down to the garden, the living star had approached the first woman. Proposing his ideas of what could be, what life would be like in his vision, and instead of calling his dreams outlandish, Lilith was the first to believe.

But this left the first man alone, too prideful to even attempt to coexist with the woman again.

Perhaps this should have been the first sign to those above. That they were not the only beings created from the explosion of life. Their existence was ordered, to create virtue, it was belief... But the concept of belief came at a price as that means uncertainty, locked away in the void, far away from it all a monstrous entity lay dormant in the darkness. And it would continue to rest, only until it was awoken by the first to ever open their eyes to all of existence.

~~~

It was darkness, the first sensation felt as if her being was underwater. Floating through nothingness, she could have allowed herself to sink, succumb to whatever lying at the bottom. If there was ever an ending to this feeling, but no- she pushed herself forward. To emerge from wherever she was, whatever lay on the other side was calling for her. Beckoning for her to come forth and open her eyes.

The first man stood there, the angels had summoned him for some unknown reason. The bringers of light had made something new, creation often was for the sake of itself, and this was no different.

“Greetings Adam, we have something for you.”

Her eyes opened, and the first thing they met were pools of blue. Made to mimic the heavens above, the first man stared at her again with curiosity. And the first thing this new human had ever done, was smile at him. Excited at the possibilities of life, where at first she had known nothing her mind was now shining with the brights of ideas and questions.

“We made her for you, a companion to explore the garden with you. We call her Eve.”

Adam had tilted his head at the new woman, there was a part of him that wished to be skeptical, but he could not be. Her hair seemed to be made of clouds, ivory strands that cast down her dark skin, an earthy tone that seemed to reflect slightly gold with the sun's light highlighting her features. The man could not help but wonder if they made her to be the perfect image of beauty.

“Eve?”

The angel nodded, observing the two as this was a delicate process. Much thought was put into Eve, made to compliment Adam in many ways as well as an attempt to steer him to betterment, being made from him to be his other half. Made pure, clean of the same imperfections as her husband, he was driven to his cause, himself. He did not know better, but they were hoping to correct this self-serving nature before it ever got truly out of hand. It was no secret that after the other woman had fled the garden their first man was growing lonely. As even if the two did not get along, he had no other company to speak to. They had tried to create more, more animals for him to seek companionship with, but it was apparent they needed another human. Eve was a cure for this emptiness at his side. She was a gift to him, and he to her.

Eve’s grin seemed to widen when she heard her name, bringing her hands to her lips almost in an attempt to hide her grin, giving a strange-sounding laugh Adam could not recognize. Not to say it was not pleasant, it was light and heavenly, and it amused him as well. It was a giggle, a sweet sound that left him wishing to hear it again.

“Now, we shall take our leave. Adam, why don’t you show Eve what you’ve discovered in the garden so far? We are sure that is an excellent way for you to get to know one another, as you will be spending eternity playing together.”

The angel spoke, her voice rippling through the air like a song, giving the two one final look, hope in the two behind her gaze. The first man and his new bride, two halves of a whole, even with the woman being made second, made for Adam. There was hope for this human to blossom in her way, made to love and adore the world even more than Adam did, they had taken their time making Eve. Women were made to be art after all, just as men were to be.

Golden ribbons seemed to swirl around the angel, helping the seemingly endless amount of eyes to disappear along with her physical form. Even with her seemingly gone, all of the heavens had their focus on these two. Humans were an experiment of sorts, made to be more than just the few numbers they currently had, made to care for the world and play in their small paradise that had been sectioned off to live in. Their little world to spend all of time in, a delicate ecosystem that needed to be preserved and the errors of what had happened with the first woman needed to be corrected somehow.

Man and woman, standing before one another, neither of them had said a thing to the other yet. Staring at one another, curiosity evident on both of their features, it was like time stopped. The world around fading away and the only things to be heard were their heartbeats.

Eve was the first to turn away, looking at the foliage around her with appreciation, she was entirely new. Not yet having the time to fully comprehend her surroundings, a soft smile on her features gave away a serene look to her. The smell of wooded lands with floral hints surrounded the area, it truly was beautiful. A museum of the most gorgeous things creation had to offer.

“Eden…that is what they call this place, yes?”

Her voice was smoother than his, it sounded like a song, melodic in a way. Lifting her head, she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath, life seemed so…wonderous. She enjoyed it, knowing there was so much out here for her to explore, after all, she had all of eternity to figure out whatever questions she had.

Adam smirked, chuckling to himself and rubbing the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly. He did not have too much experience speaking to others, the angels and Lilith were his only practice, and the latter did not end too well with him. A part of him felt almost ashamed for what he had demanded of her, he never meant to be truly rude but he would never admit that, mainly due to how the two had argued and were not resolving any previous issues anytime soon. Though he remained somewhat skeptical, were all women going to be similar to Lilith?

“Yeah, it's nice here isn’t it?” This spot was the same place he was awoken to after his creation, where it had all started and where it is now starting again, “They say I should show you around… which is fine by me, if there’s anyone who knows these gardens it’s me. If you tried to go off on your own you’d probably get lost.”

Eve gave him a confident nod of approval, “Yes, you have been here longer so if anyone could be a good guide it would be you.”

“Damn right, I would be.” His crude statement came out without him properly thinking about it, no one knew where Adam had even learned such language but he did have a brash personality it seemed. But at the very least this new woman did not seem to mind all that much, rolling her eyes but her smile gave way that she found the way he carried himself amusing.

Adam gestured for her to follow him, here in the clearing it was easy to admire the plants and animals from afar. He guided her to the forest, the vast amount of trees was lovely but sometimes it was easy to get swept away by it all and lose track of where they were. Being here longer meant he was fairly confident that he knew where he was going, but he would occasionally tear his eyes away to look back at Eve in curiosity—wishing to gauge how she felt about it all.

So far so good, while they were silent it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable. There was a small air of awkwardness, as this was new for the both of them and to be thrown together so quickly. It was all a little disorienting for them both. In ways respective to just the two of them, one was just getting used to being on their own and the other was coming to grips with their consciousness.

Adam was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat and forcing himself to stand taller, fixing his posture so he gave off an aura of confidence, “You know- they had put me in charge of watching this place?”

“Oh really now?” She raised an eyebrow at him, a playful smirk replacing the soft expression she had before, her tone even changing to something more teasing, “All by your lonesome, impressive.”

“Hey! watch it…” Adam narrowed his eyes at Eve, which only caused her to give a short laugh watching the first man become defensive. “I’ll have you know it’s a very demanding job. I have been tasked with caring for all that lives, naming all of the creatures that the angels made up above.”

That was a partly lie, nothing was demanding about Eden. Paradise meant there were no hard days here, the land and its creatures were all perfect, a controlled area where the worst this life had to offer were merely minor inconveniences. Eve was quick to catch on about that, deciding to indirectly call him out for his dramatization of what he is to do,

“Very well then, let’s see it.”

“See what?”

“See you name the beasts of these lands of course.”

Adam scoffed, her words were clearly meant to attack him, but instead of damaging his ego it only seemed to egg him on more. He almost couldn’t help the small smile stretching across his lips, “I’m already bringing you to a place I was just visiting the other day, I haven’t finished naming all the fish in that lake so we can start showing you around there.”

Guiding her closer, it was now easier to see where he was taking her. Into another clearing, it was not a plane of grass this time. There was water, it shined brilliantly in the light as if it were liquid crystal, and it was easy to see the ground beneath its clear waters. Small fish swimming gracefully in its waters, eternally dancing away with another. But there was another creature of interest, floating above them all.

What a strange creature it was, pure white it sat in the water, gliding across its surface. It seemed to love to swim, to be in the water, but it had wings. Just as the angels did it had wings folded softly at its sides, a long neck craning over beautifully. Its head was an interesting shape, the front of its face gingerish shade with a small band of black lining its beak.

Stepping into the lake, Adam began to move closer to the creature, softly moving through the cooling waters, expecting Eve to join in with him. Raising an eyebrow, he laughed a bit at her hesitation,

“You were talking so big earlier, where did all that confidence go? It’s just water.”

“I was just created, don’t act so surprised that I’m new to this.”

Eve was just careful of accidentally disturbing the fish, stepping in she shivered at the change in temperature around her legs but a small laugh erupted past her lips. It was a very strange sensation to feel any shift in temperature for the first time, but after the first step in she was quick to join by Adams's side, they both observed the creature as it drifted closer to the humans. Tilting its narrow head at the two before softly squawking at them.

“...does this one have a name yet?”

“No, I’ve never seen a bird like this one yet- normally they only fly in the skies or stay in the trees.”

“How curious…” Eve slowly lowered herself closer to the water and brought her hand out to the bird, getting close enough for the bird to take notice but not quite touch them without permission, to which the creature nuzzled its head into her hand. She looked up at Adam who stared at the creature seemingly in deep thought before humming to himself in approval.

“We will call this one, a swan.”

Eve smiled, “Swans…what a lovely little creature.”Eve stood back up again, letting the bird float closer to Adam, it swirled around the first man and made a strange honk sound at him, which caused the two to laugh at the sound. Eve gave him a playful smirk, crossing her arms as she gazed up into his eyes, “Though, I wouldn’t call this demanding.”

“It’s only easy because I make it look easy, just think about how I have to do this with the entire garden of these animals.” Adam scoffed, shaking his head at the woman as he placed his hands on either side of his hips, puffing his chest out with pride.

Eve only gave him a single look, he knew she wasn’t buying it. And it was only solidified when he watched as she couldn’t hold in a chuckle from escaping her lips, trying to politely cover her evergrowing smile behind her hands. Adam huffed, but getting an idea he bent down, dipping his hands into the water in a cupping motion as he brought his arm quickly up splashing Eve with water, and he kept up at it when he heard her laugh harder.

“Alright- alright, I’ll stop laughing- mercy!”

Her hands were up in surrender as Adam stopped, then went to wipe the water from her face, still smiling at him. Adam’s chest swelled with pride, snickering to himself as he crossed his arms.

“I didn’t say I would believe you though.”

“Oh, you cheeky little- what you think you can do it better than me?”

Eve crossed her arms as well, standing taller as she had a confident smile on her face. Her eyes challenged his own, “Of course I could.”

“Oh, you are so on.” Adam looked over to the sky before pointing upwards, Eve’s eyes following where he was directing her to look, seeing the bright sun she squinted before the man spoke again, “How it's going to work is we are going to find new creatures in the lands and sky, we yell their names out and whoever has the most by the time the sun starts to set wins the game. We will meet back here to say our number, deal?”

“Deal!” Eve said happily.

The two stared into one another's eyes, both with a determined glint in their eyes. At the same moment, they both swiftly turned to run in opposite directions, the lake splashing around them as they desperately tried to get out before the other. The water slowed them down and off off-balanced while trying to run, Eve fell into the water letting her hands and knees meet the sand below, hearing Adam laugh obnoxiously behind her she pouted, before hearing a screech and a splash. Now wheezing she heard the first man dramatically fall back and heard his struggle as he flailed in the water, they both did their best to scramble out of the lake- their forms soaked and off-balanced as they kicked off on the ground and ran for the surrounding forests.

Eve was almost out of breath her stomach had begun to ache from laughing so hard, she looked back to see Adam run in a direction not far from her, continuing forward she had found that the lake had extended into a river, and noticed two small creatures floating in the waters, holding another's hands as the current took them wherever it wished. They held their small soft paws together, laying lazily in the water as Eve was awed at the sight before she heard a voice call out from a distance away from her,

“Lions!”

She almost was distracted by it all, before clearing her throat, she did not think through agreeing to this game. Looking back at the two creatures that were tilting their heads cutely at her she began to speak without thinking, “I- uh, Otters!!”

As much as she wanted to stick around, she had to go- waving goodbye to the smaller beings she ran once again in search of more animals to name. Pushing and weaving through the foliage, her eyes began to dart around for even the smallest of critters in need of a title.

“Rabbit!”

“Boar!!”

“Tiger!”

“Sparrow!!”

“Frog!”

“Cockroach!”

“Wait, why would you name it- wow real creative!”

And this went on for who knows how long, they ran around the garden playing this game. Pointing and calling out to any creature that crossed their path, from felines to reptiles, by the time the sun was begging to set they both were out of breath and were making their way back to the lake. Eve was picking leaves from her hair as she made her way over, to Adam who was already waiting for her there.

“I got, 129.” Eve was the first to call hers out, the number had startled Adam at first, he had lost count of how many animals she called out for but he knew he got a large number as well. “Try and beat that, pretty boy.”

“Well…I got- uh.” Adam began to count on his fingers, muttering animal names to himself as he began to use all his fingers to count, after about the third pass between all 10 of his digits, Eve watched as he paused. Softly swearing to himself before seemingly restarting from square one.

Eve gave him a questioning look, Adam growing more frustrated as his face grew warm, both from his vexation and from embarrassment. Stepping closer to him she took his hands, pushing them to his sides, before taking a set back, putting her own hands up as she took a deep breath,

“The first animal you found was the lions, then were the boars, the third were the sparrows…” Eve continued to recall seemingly every animal she had heard Adam call out to, putting one of her fingers up respectively so he could visually keep track of what number she was on. It was clear that the first man was no good at math, so she figured she would do it for him.

He just watched as she spoke, his frustration melting away as she began to name everything perfectly, not even paying attention to the number she was on as he just stared off and got lost in the melody of her voice.

“...and the last animal you named were the doves. That would make you have…129-” Eve had trailed off, realizing that they had identical numbers, meaning it was a draw. But the number had snapped the man back into reality, his confusion turning into mild annoyance.

“What? No no, I got more than you.”

“Well that's what I counted to-”

“Let's do a recount.”

Adam made Eve recount the animals, twice. Every time it came back to the same number, leaving them both kind of bummed they got the same number. It was almost anti-climatic in a way, both were disappointed there was no winner in the end, not that the game was not fun and exhilarating. They both were just trying to prove a point, as childish as it all was.

That was until Eve took notice of the soft patter of something by their feet. Small clouds of yellow, they seemed like tufts of dandelions, they were so small and delicate. Eve had begun to bend down, her hands coming down to the small creatures in a cupping motion, allowing the small birds to step into her palms and steady themselves in her hands as she stood up. Shifting the three birds to stay on one hand, she used the other to softly nuzzle against their sunny heads with a single finger. Their faces almost reminded her of swans. Cooing lightly at the creatures, while they quacked back happily at the woman, and then she turned to Adam with the smuggest smile,

“I call them ducks, which makes them 130. I win.”

Adam’s jaw dropped when the words came out of her mouth, “You did not just-”

“Oh, but I did!”

He couldn’t hide the laugh, he was trying too badly to be upset but it was just so ridiculous that he couldn’t hide his smile, “Our game ended when the sun was setting- and because you are trying to cheat the game you automatically lose-”

“You never said that the game ended at sunset, you said to come back here at sunset.”

“Well ducks are stupid anyways, they are just smaller swans.”

“Take that back! They are not stupid and they are different from the swans.”

They spent the next five minutes bickering about the most childish of things, one would think this was somehow negative. But no, the heavens were able to witness the two laugh despite the fighting. They didn’t seem to know how to drop the smile around each other, such contrasting souls mixing and playing off one another.

It was like the realms took a sigh of relief, a small triumph for humanity. Two souls playing in a paradise made just for them, two souls made to dance together for all of eternity, untouched by reality they were to be perfectly preserved.

It was unfortunate the way mankind was made, so easily that could they be broken and fall apart. To be corrupted meant that something needed to first be good, that is the harsh reality of life. Try as the heavens might, change is unavoidable, that is the only rule all concepts must face. And that means chaos was bound to seed its way into the most naive creatures to ever exist:

Humans.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin hotel eve #garden of eden #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel lilith #lovers to enemies #viviziepop #adam and eve #hazbin hotel oc??#the root of all evil #hazbin hotel lucifer morningstar #fluff #hazbin hotel fluff #cain and abel #hazbin hotel sera #hazbin hotel fanfic

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sectumsempress1 · 8 months

Text

Good Omens Season 3: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Sectumsempress1, Hag

Or that one time I watched Good Omens, felt the claws of hyperfixation sink into my flesh for the first time in years, re-watched Good Omens more times than I care to admit and then drowned in a mind palace of analysis and delusion, resulting in this season 3 predictions bingo card coupled with unnecessarily long explanations for each square.

I'm gonna post these explanations one or two squares at a time, and honestly my first theory (probably not mine, I'm sure others have also come to this conclusion) deserves its own post because wowee I'm insane about this one.

Let's talk about why I think Crowley may have been Jophiel or Jeremiel before they fell.

I have seen endless theories about who Crowley could have been before The Fall; Lucifer, Barachiel, Raphael, Samael... and I see some evidence for all of these. However, I raise you;

Great question babygirl.

Okay me when I lie.

Yes, I took this throwaway line and went insane over it don't worry about it. Anyway. First J angel that I think could make sense is:

Jophiel "Beauty of God"

Jophiel is described in some texts as the guardian of wisdom and a teacher of languages to souls at the dawn of creation. She is also recognised as a teacher to Noah's children (specifically Shem) by C.E. Clement, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Thomas Rudd.

And yes I am aware this is post-Fall Crowley and not the angel they were, but it's interesting that Shem was mentioned specifically regardless. Neil has wounded me so, I just feel that nothing is unintentional. Anyway, any iteration of Crowley as a teacher just feels right based on all we've seen of them.

(How he acts with Muriel, answering Jim's questions, showing Jesus the kingdoms of the world.)

Jophiel is also heavily associated with beauty and creativity.

Okay Mr. 'Pointedly Unusual Imagination.' Bit beautiful and creative of you.

Now here's where it gets buck wild. So Jophiel is not explicitly mentioned in the bible (in fact only Michael, Raphael and Gabriel are consistently mentioned) but scholars interpret Genesis 3:24 as referring to him.

"He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and aflaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life."

Yeah. It is widely agreed upon that Archangel Jophiel wielded the flaming sword and cast Adam and Eve out of Eden. Now, obviously, in Good Omens canon, Aziraphale did this. But... what if that wasn't the original plan? What if, after Jophiel and the others were cast out, the work rosters in Heaven had to be shuffled around a bit? And what if Aziraphale, having met this beautiful, curious starmaker so long ago took on their role himself?

What if Crowley and Aziraphale began the arrangement long before either of them had the words to understand what it was? All because the angel couldn't understand why he felt so drawn to the Fallen who couldn't remember.

(Edited because I've already come up with a new theory. I still stand by all of this and want it to be true so badly, but I think that Crowley does remember. I think Aziraphale is the one whose memory may have been tampered with. That doesn't change the core of the Jophiel theory, I just think that upon reflection, a personal relationship with Crowley is not what caused Aziraphale to take his old job.)

It also makes sense to then make Crowley the Serpent of Eden, if they had perhaps already planned to go to Eden anyway.

Jophiel is also widely known as Metatron's companion, which explains why he is so aggressive towards Crowley in a really cold, personal way. Yes, Metatron knows of everyone and everything so him knowing Crowley's story isn't odd in itself. But the glare...

To me, this reads as "I know you. I've known you. I know exactly what you're capable of and I will not take it. Not again. Behave." It's like a glare a parent would give their toddler for misbehaving in public. It feels pointedly personal. Almost as though they've worked together in the past in a way that ended badly for Metatron and he is on high alert to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Again here. Metatron doesn't speak about Crowley in a general 'all fallen angels suck' sense. It's personal. His choice of words, the tone, everything points to him having been personally wronged by the angel Crowley was.

Also just look at Jophiel's goddamn curly little red hair are you kidding me right now Neil Gaiman I am in your WALLS.

Also some more fun facts: Jophiel is shown as male and female presenting, leads people to a deeper understanding of the beauty of the universe, is regarded as an angel of wisdom, is known to protect those who seek truth, battles against forces of darkness and ignorance... and is strongly associated with the colour yellow.

Nice eyes babe.

Anyway, I am so delulu about this specific theory because if it is true it would show Aziraphale and Crowley's grand cosmic connection in a way that is honestly just ineffable.

But however much I long for Jophiel to be it... there is also some evidence for it being:

Jeramheel/Jeremiel "God shall have mercy"

In religious texts, Jeremiel is known as the angel who presides over true visions, often appearing in dreams and visions to bring truth. He appears to decipher Baruch's visions and give him a tour of heaven in the book '2 Baruch', and God sends him to answer the prophet Ezra's questions regarding the apocalypse in the book '2 Esdras'.

He also served as an angel of death, watching over and guiding souls to heaven and helping them learn from their earthly experiences.

This again goes back to Crowley's belief that everyone has the right to answers and being a good teacher because of that. It would make sense for them to have had this role in their angelic days as well, despite it eventually coming back to bite them.

Jeremiel is often depicted with a book or a scroll, symbolising the importance of knowledge.

Also, while Zadkiel is known as the angel of forgiveness and mercy, many people also consider Jeremiel (god shall have mercy) in this role... which would make Aziraphale's constant attempts to forgive him and his insistence that he is unforgivable even more devastating, and why I have ongoing theories about a role reversal occurring when it comes to this theme of forgiveness (more on this later).

Right. So I am obviously clutching at my delusion of it being Jophiel, but Jeremiel is a wider known angel with more canonical basis for actually being an archangel, which is why he also makes a lot of sense to me.

Thank you for joining me in this downward spiral into insanity. Look forward to part two!

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #good omens spoilers #good omens predictions #good omens season 3 #angel crowley #good omens theory

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thenanamisimp · 5 months

Text

Danmei and MXTX novels

Would you look at that, another post that's not about anime? WILD. It is about MXTX novels though so the hyperfixations continue. I'm actually in the process of planning a very lengthy analysis of all three of her series but this is a warning, don't expect too much. I was never good at those in school plus it's been almost 7 years since I've last written something like that but I feel so passionate about her works that I really wanna try to share what I thought about the novels. Nevertheless, this isn't actually those analysis posts since those are gonna be separate and will probably be written after I re-read each series. However, since I'm actually finally fully done reading all her series - including the extra side chapters - I wanted to quickly share some of my opinions and how I feel after finishing all 18 of the books.

This goes without saying but just in case - SPOILER WARNING for Heaven Official's Blessing, The grandmaster of demonic cultivation and The scum villain's self saving system novels.

First off, if you haven't read any of MXTX's work before, prepare for trauma and tragedy. Most of her characters are either deeply traumatised already or in the process of. I will always encourage people to read content warnings before reading her books.

Starting off with my favourite - TGCF or Tian Guan Ci Fu (aka Heaven Official's Blessing). This story means a lot to me. I got introduced to TGCF through the donghua before I even knew it was queer fiction and even with censorship, the closet is made of fucking GLASS so I had to look for the source material. Honestly it took me a while to commit to reading the whole series as I've been struggling to pick up books for years now but TGCF actually got me back into reading (I think in total it took me about 8 days to read all 8 volumes). More than just the story telling being good, I got so incredibly attached to every single character (except Jun Wu, he can eat shit - tho the fact I'm even saying this speaks volumes about how well MXTX can write characters. It takes a lot for me to hate a character this much).

Taking place in a beautiful fantasy world, we follow Xie Lian and Hua Cheng through tragic traumatic past and present and we learn of the horrible truths about the lives of immortal beings. We also see two idiots in love take their sweet ass time to confess. I love me a good slow burn full of longing and pining. I eat that shit UP every time and MXTX gave it to me with every single one of her series.

TGCF for me was a journey full of kicking my feet at fluff, second hand embarrassment (because xl I stg, what do you MEAN you were taught how to resist the advances of women but not how to resist hot men you gay lil shit the closet is made of glass) and honestly, lots of crying. The hundred stabs incident, ruoye's creation and hcg's last death made me sob and scream (no exaggeration, I was stomping around my room, crying and yelling GIVE HIM BACK RIGHT NOW).

Also, in a not so unpopular opinion (I think?), Pei Ming is my fave because 1) he's the no.1 Hualian shipper - check the whole Mt Tunglu adventure for proof and also 2) he's just a lil slut with a big heart. I could seriously talk about him forever because I went from hating him after he tried to throw the blame for the Banyue Pass incident on Xie Lian, to loving him after I realised that everything he does, he does because he is truly just a kind man who loves a good fight. He's so silly! Just a lil guy! Go Pei Ming go!

Fuck you Jun Wu. Again. (I hate him just as much as I hate Mahito. Maybe a little less. I really hate Mahito).

Moving on to my second favourite (but honestly it's such a close one), MDZS or Mo Dao Zu Shi (The grandmaster of demonic cultivation). Take a wild guess about how I got introduced to it... Fandom of course, because very few people talk about TGCF online without mentioning MDZS so I just had to give it a chance.

The great grandmaster of demonic cultivation has been dead for a while but when he gets gifted a new body through a not so well known demonic ritual, he runs into an old acquaintance. We learn about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's past and current world of cultivation and hear stories about messy betrayals and conspiracies. Aaaand we find out about some more trauma and tragedy because is it really an MXTX novel without it?

And talk about a rollercoaster because (and please don't hate me for this) I found Wei Wuxian annoying initially.... But it's okay now because I kin him so go figure. Tho I actually kin only his adult self, I was a very introverted and rule abiding teenager, a lil more like Lan Wangji. In any case, wwx is the same stupid chaotic bisexual that I am and he is babygurl. Yeah and what if he murdered 3000 people? It was self defense. THEY ATTACKED FIRST. Your honour, he did nothing wrong and he does not deserve to be punished!

On a serious note, MDZS explores so many themes that are personally important to me, my favourite being the power dynamics of the world. It’s truly moving that even with all the pain Wei Wuxian went through, how far in his cultivation and how powerful he got, he still couldn't protect those he loved (until Lan Wangji of course because Wangxian is perfect together and they always protect and defend each other. Wangxian my beloved). While it might be a stretch for some, it really reminded me of how powerless we are in the world. People aim to educate themselves and go on to do whatever they can to better the world in their own way and yet, it really feels like nothing’s improving sometimes. I could talk about this for hours but maybe I’ll leave that for another time and another analysis post since this is supposed to be a shorter one (lmao)

Last but not least, RZFZX or Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (honestly this one I use the english name for because I can’t pronounce the chinese as much as I try - The scum villain's self saving system or Svsss). This one I actually kinda struggled with - first of all because WHY BUGS MXTX. Not much bothers me in fiction but BUGS? Too far. Heads with spider legs? Raw flesh with maggots? Blood mites? I was out (for about half an hour and then I kept reading). Please note that it's not the raw flesh that bothered me, it was the fucking maggots. I can read about graphic murder, creepy hauntings, torture and many more but as soon as there are bugs? Nope! I’m done. People have phobias and that’s mine I guess. Enough ranting about bugs!

The story follows Shen Qingqiu, the scum villain of the hit web novel Proud Immortal Demon's Way (or PIDW for short, as it's referred to in Svsss) who is actually one of the original readers - and haters - of PIDW, who transmigrates into the book in order to fix the plot holes left by the original author. With his guide “the system” he does his best to lead the male lead of PIDW, Luo Binghe, down a better path than in the original story.

Svsss employs a comedic way of storytelling, with our protagonist being omniscient, it allows for the narration to be sarcastic and poke fun at a lot of moments that are cliche or badly written, as interpreted by sqq. Honestly, this is just a personal preference but I favour the more serious storytelling way of MDZS and TGCF (give me hurt until the very end when the main characters get together and then give me comfort).

To me, Svsss is a lot harder to analyse as a lot of its themes are unfamiliar to me, especially considering I’m the furthest from having any sort of humanitarian education (I have 2 engineering degrees). Using a story within a story, MXTX is able to deliver two main overarching themes; one about abuse and its results through Luo Binghe as well as one about the relationship of author and their readers, the feeling of being trapped by the readers' opinions and wanting your story to be liked through Shang Qinghua (to be honest, I hadn’t really picked up on this one until I saw discussion about this in the fandom).

If I'm being completely honest, I don't think I grasped this series as well as the other ones and I'm finding it hard to digest lbg and sqq's relationship. I'm unsure as to what it is that's holding me back from loving them as much as Hualian and Wangxian. I do tend to prefer tropes like theirs more than the whole "had to convince him to date me" thing which is what Bingqiu's relationship seemed like to me up until the end of volume 3. It’s also why I'm glad I actually followed through and finished the extras in volume 4 (I was really tempted to stop reading once I finished volume 3 not gonna lie). I believe those to be integral to understanding sqq's feelings towards lbh and while I understand that sqq did actually love lbh from the beginning (denial is a river in egypt and the gloset is made of glass - what the fuck is with MXTX's bottoms and the damn glass closet), I struggled to see the tipping point of where he actually understood his own feelings and what was going on in his head and that he was actually in love with lbh. Which is why I think to really understand Svsss, I would seriously need to reread it.

I also would love to eventually talk about queerness in MXTX's work because in each book, sexuality and queerness is explored and examined in so many different ways. As a queer person myself, it fascinates me as I can relate to so much of it. To be honest, I think I could write a short thesis on just this.

Honestly, while I'm very passionate about my favourite pieces of media (if you've heard me talk about any of my top 5 anime you'll understand what I mean), there hasn't been a lot of things outside JJK and MXTX's novels that have made me wanna dive deep into analysing every single detail. It genuinely makes me feel like I'm gonna implode sometimes. These 3 series have seriously reignited my love for reading. I was shown that a good book - in my opinion of course - doesn't need to avoid difficult topics. It simply needs to use them well as a means of delivering a message and a story, rather than them being included just to be included. They also reminded me that I love queer fiction and I need to read more.

I actually would really like to read Erha (or 2ha or The husky and his white cat shizun) but I've read the content warnings and I'm ~~apprehensive~~. While not a lot of things bother me, I'm not sure I want to read about that stuff (please look at the content warnings of this book, or any piece of media in that matter, especially if you have topics that easily bother or trigger you). Remember, it's our responsibility as readers/consumers to look out for ourselves first!

Please recommend any good danmei (other than MXTX) and possibly include links where they can be read! I would also highly appreciate recommendations for some good wlw fantasy fiction as I really would love to read some wlw novels - or even anime/movies/webtoons/manga. Just in desperate need of quality wlw content.

Also while I said I'd keep it short, it seems I ended up writing over 2000 words…

PS. I proofread this about 5 times and during one of them my file crashed, so if there's any mistakes or if I’m not making sense somewhere, blame my deep-fried brain, thanks

Thanks for reading my novel ramble! Enjoy reading :)

theNanamiSimp

#i'm adding a lot of tags because i put a lot of effort into this post actually and i want people to see it #danmei #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #scum villain's self saving system #scum villain #mxtx #mo xiang tong xiu #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #bingqiu #luo binghe #shen qingqiu

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revasserium · 1 year

Note

comma with akaashi? i'm glad to see you're back :)

reqs are open :)

comma

akaashi; 690 words; fluff, a little experimental, stream of consciousness

sometimes, he thinks he can think about you forever. sometimes, he thinks he can think about you until he runs out of words to think, and then, he thinks he’ll think of new words, new phrases, invent new ways to think about you.

call it a hyperfixation, call it an unhealthy obsession. call it what you like — whatever you like, but sometimes akaashi wonders if there aren’t too many words in the world for the same damn thing, if people don’t just dance around the thing instead of calling it by it’s name —

the first time he says your name out loud, he thinks it kind of sounds like forever.

“see, you missed a comma here,” you point to his paper, where you’d pressed a red dot between two of his words, the tail of it hanging just below the line, almost like a question mark. a pause, he knows. a pause, a breath, and break before the next word, and still, and still —

“oh. thanks.”

“hey… are you even paying attention?”

akaashi looks up, blinks, smiles as he cocks his head.

“yes. sorry. please continue.”

he does not tell you the million and one commas he wishes he could press between the space between this moment and the next, and then the next, all the breaks he wants to take, just like this — with just the two of you, and a book between you, or tomorrows homework, or lunch, or that one kind of sponge-cake you really like from the corner store, or — he never wants it to end.

“… and i think that’s it!”

you smile up at him from over top of his now very edited essay, and he blinks again, takes his time with you, with the way his eyes trail down the length of your face, the sweet of your features.

“oh,” he says, “thank you,” he says, “that was really helpful,” he says.

you offer him a helpless laugh, served up on a red-pen dotted platter and he takes it with a smile, nodding as he tucks his essay back into his backpack. he tries to think of something to say, anything to keep you from leaveing, just one more reason to stay.

“if i write another essay,” he says, perhaps a bit too hurriedly, pausing as you look up at him, an amused smile spreading slow across your lips, and he knows — he knows — that he’s said something strange, but he doesn’t really care, because you’re still here, aren’t you? still standing in front of him, waiting — still.

“will you help me look it over?”

you laugh, your cheeks flushing the color of a sunset sky.

“sure — but… do you have another essay due soon?”

akaashi purses his lips, teeters on the edge of a lie before he settles on the truth.

“no, but…” i like spending time with you, sounds a bit too forward, doesn’t it?

“you know… we can just… hang out…” you say, and akaashi doesn’t miss the way your lashes flutter, the way your teeth catch your bottom lip just so.

“yes,” akaashi says, “we can do that too.”

he smiles, looking down at the now-empty desk between you; he takes a breath, looks back up again.

“let’s do it.”

you laugh, nodding, nodding, your laughter trickling down his spine like rose water and piano music and maybe he believes in heaven, maybe he doesn’t, but he doesn’t really care because what he does believe is the magic of this moment, the magic of you standing just in front of him, close enough to touch.

he reaches out to brush a strand of hair from your cheek, tucking it behind your ear.

your breath hitches inside your chest like a misplaced comma.

“a-akaashi-kun?”

he smiles and lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“yeah. let’s hang out.”

#akaashi keiji #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#akaashi keiji x you #akaashi keiji fluff #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #akaashi keiji imagines #akaashi keiji scenarios #floofy floof floof #sO i was watching rudy francisco the other day and there was a line that went #something like "the other day i saw a run on sentence and thought --#it could've just ended right there... but it found a reason to keep going.#and..... this made me think of that cause i fucking ABUSE commas and m-dashes and semicolons bc.... i dislike hard endings.#and for SOME reason it fits akaashi perfectly doesn't it #haiCUTIES

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what-gs-watching · 18 days

Text

If you wanna break my cold, cold heart...

It’s become very clear to me that I’m extremely lost in The Tortured Poet’s Department which I absolutely expected and it’s no fucking wonder my two hyperfixations are colliding. Because after ugly crying through it the first few handful of times about my own life, I’m now just telegraphing that emotion onto a tv character, which is super healthy.

Seriously though, is anyone else imagining Crowley somehow becoming obsessed with this album while he’s still trying to work through Aziraphale fucking off back to heaven?! Baby girl full on alternately sobbing and manically laughing in the back of the Bentley while Taylor Swift makes him feel hella seen? Compiling his own playlist of the tracks that just strip him raw?

Which, in my mind, have got to be -

“Down Bad”

For a moment I knew cosmic love… / Now I’m down bad, crying at the gym / Everything comes out teenage petulance / Fuck it if I can’t have him. / I might just die, it would make no difference. / Down bad waking up in blood / Staring at the sky, come back and pick me up / Fuck it if I can’t have us / I might not just get up, I might stay down bad…

Obvi the go-to track when he just wants to wallow in it. Just like drowning his sorrows in that pub after the angel was discorporated during the first Armageddon, ‘fuck it if I can’t have us’. Hard Crowley vibes.

“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”

There was a litany of reasons why / We could've played for keeps this time / I know I'm just repeating myself / Put me back on my shelf / But first - pull the string / And I'll tell you that he runs / Because he loves me. / Cause you should've seen him / When he first saw me…

My boy only breaks his favorite toys / I'm queen of sand castles he destroys / Cause I knew too much / There was danger in the heat of my touch / He saw forever so he smashed it up / Oh, my boy only breaks his favorite toys

I feel like this is their entire relationship; Aziraphale keeps him at arm’s length because it’s fucking dangerous but Crowley gets destroyed everytime. ‘He runs because he loves me’ - what a devastating thought. They both do, gang, and that’s so sad.

“So Long London”

And you say I abandoned the ship / But I was going down with it / My white knuckle dying grip / Holding tight to your quiet resentment and / My friends said it isn't right to be scared / Every day of a love affair / Every breath feels like rarest air / When you're not sure if he wants to be there

So how much sad did you think I had / Did you think I had in me? / How much tragedy? / Just how low did you think I'd go? / Before I'd self-implode / Before I'd have to go be free

This one has gotta be for those times that he’s ready to fight back a little bit, and feels pissed about how much he tried to keep their shit together. Aziraphale thinks he gave up, he thinks Aziraphale gave up, and sometimes he thinks about fucking off from London too. But he won’t. Hopefully?

“Guilty As Sin?”

What if he's written 'mine' on my upper thigh / Only in my mind? / One slip and falling back into the hedge maze / Oh what a way to die / I keep recalling things we never did / Messy top lip kiss / How I long for our trysts / Without ever touching his skin / How can I be guilty as sin?

These fatal fantasies / Giving way to labored breath / Taking all of me / We've already done it in my head / If it's make believe / Why does it feel like a vow / We'll both uphold somehow?

What if I roll the stone away? / They're gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me / Is actually what's holy? / If long suffering propriety / Is what they want from me / They don't know how you've haunted me / So stunningly / I choose you and me … Religiously

Baby needs a song about longing. 6,000 years of longing. And uncertainty about whatever they are. This one screaaaams Crowley’s questions about the group of the two of them. It’s so painful. Also, you know, the whole ‘sin’ thing. They spent so much time never touching, but y’all know Crowley feels that guilt anyway. Oof.

ALSO, you know Aziraphale would be wrecked by this one too. I feel like the worst part about the two of them is they're both suffering the same thing, in agonizingly similar ways. They're both carrying that horrible guilt. It's gutwrenching.

“loml”

Oh, what a valiant roar / What a bland goodbye / The coward claimed he was a lion / I'm combing through the braids of lies / "I'll never leave" … / "Never mind" / Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire / Your arson's match your somber eyes / And I'll still see it until I die / You're the loss of my life

More sadness about Aziraphale’s departure. What a shit way to end things, what a cowardly path he took (in Crowley’s mind) after poor Crowley tried his absolute-fuckin’-best to put his heart on the line. Definitely 'the loss of my life.'

“The Black Dog”

Old habits die screaming / I move through the world with the heartbroken / My longings stay unspoken / And I may never open up the way I did for you / And all of those best laid plans / You said I needed a brave man / Then proceeded to play him / Until I believed it too / And it kills me / I just don't understand

Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes / And hire a priest to come and exorcize my demons / Even if I die screaming / And I hope you hear it

This one is definitely for those times when Crowley wants to scour Aziraphale from his existence but yo, a habit built over literally ALL OF TIME isn’t going to die just screaming. If it can even die at all.

“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus”

You said some things that I can't unabsorb / You turned me into an idea of sorts / You needed me, but you needed drugs more / And I couldn't watch it happen / I changed into goddesses, villains, and fools / Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules / All to outrun my desertion of you / And you just watched it

If you wanna break my cold, cold heart / Just say, "I loved you the way that you were" / If you wanna tear my world apart / Just say you've always wondered

Ya know our boy has guilt over letting Aziraphale go where he absolutely could not follow, and I feel like he’d probably spend a bunch of time trying to change a ton of things in his life just to avoid ‘the desertion of you’ but yooo, what cuts right to the core is ‘I love you the way that you were.’ All this poor demon wanted to hear, wants to hear.

“How Did it End?”

We were blind to unforeseen circumstances / We learn the right steps to different dances / And fell victim to interlopers' glances / Lost the game of chance, what are the chances?

It's happenin' again / How did it end? / I can't pretend like I understand / How did it end?

Definitely another one for wallowing. Have I found myself screeching out ‘how did it end?!’ everytime it comes up? Yes. And I feel like a drunk Crowley would too. ‘It’s happening again’ would definitely hit home to him, how many times have they been through this?

“The Prophecy”

But I looked to the sky and said / Please / I've been on my knees / Change the prophecy / Don't want money / Just someone who wants my company / Let it once be me / Who do I have to speak to / About if they can redo / The prophecy?

I'm so afraid I sealed my fate / No sign of soulmates / I'm just a paperweight / In shades of greige / Spending my last coin so someone will tell me / It'll be ok / Please

At some point it’s likely he figures out all of this was definitely always going to happen, right? Little snake has always been at the whims of the inevitable (ineffable), and all he ever tried to do was make his own choices but he’s stuck in circumstances he absolutely cannot change. This one is all about pleading. Bargaining phase, you know. But ‘just someone who wants my company’ absolutely kills me. Somebody tell this demon it’ll be okay.

And so yeah I’m imagining the Thin Dark Duke is just playing ALL of those on repeat forever, until he finally gets to this place:

“Imgonnagetyouback”

Whether I'm gonna be your wife or / Gonna smash up your bike, I / Haven't decided yet / But I'm gonna get you back

I hear the whispers in your eyes / I'll make you wanna think twice / You'll find that you were never not mine / You're mine

Bygones will be bygone eras fadin' into gray / We broke all the pieces but still want to play the game / Told my friends, "I hate you but I love you just the same" / Pick your poison, babe / I'm poison either way

Because you know it’s SO Crowley to be absolutely fucking furious at the end of it all, but resolved to get Aziraphale back under any circumstances. I love him running around with the energy of ‘Whether I'm gonna curse you out or take you back to my house, I haven't decided yet’ but he IS resolute in seeing his stupid angel again. This is as positive as he’s gonna get, and I love that for him.

Did I spend way too much time writing this out for absolutely no reason? Yes. But gang, I have to believe Taylor Swift can reach anyone, even ethereal entities. Joiiiiin the Tortured Poet’s Department, Crowley, you know you want to…

#good omens #crowley loves aziraphale #taylor swift #the tortured poets department #sad crowley #crowley x aziraphale #crowley's sad playlist

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wanderingblindly · 2 months

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May I please have the directors cut for « choking on greatness » 🥰

omg YES!! This is actually one of the few fics that I can reread without picking it to death, so !!!!!!! I didn't expect anyone to ask about this one, but also you're an enigma so... thank you leaf!!

Hiding most of this below the cut due to discussions of cannibalism, blood, general body horror, etc.

The Origins

This fic was built on the foundations of a mild fever, Ethel Cains's Strangers on loop 300 times, and 3+ showers a day in the dark. So wish I was kidding about that.

But basically, whilst boiling myself alive in the shower, listening to a song about cannibalism (as you do when you're sick), I started like... picking apart all the different inflections and interpretations around the lyric:

Am I making you feel sick?

From there I started hyperfixating on the different interpretations of cannibalism, generally. In the song, the lyric could be aggressive (I hope I'm making you feel sick), it could be somehow still caring (regret at making him ill), or it could be more metaphorical (has the act of it made you sick).

Somewhere along the lines, about 100 song repetitions in, my mind slide towards Hannibal: consumption as a form of love, but also murder as a form of becoming.

Finally, while laying on the floor, I wondered: could a driver ever be desperate enough to want to Consume in order to Become? During the next shower, I thought of this line almost exactly:

It doesn’t taste like victory. Or maybe Charles just doesn't know what that tastes like anymore, maybe he’s forcing his body to remember the feeling. Maybe victory has always felt like death sliding down his throat, maybe it’s always sat in his stomach like poison, maybe it was always laced with fear and metal and desperation.

So that came first!

Then, during another shower, I started envisioning the entire thing filling up with blood. So. That scene came second.

My Favorite Bits, In Reflection

I don't remember actually writing this fic. However, my favorite bits, upon rereading, are:

He looks angelic, some personification of greatness. Like if he were standing an inch closer to the heavens, he’d show his wings – a god of victory.

Knowing what comes next, I enjoy the moments where Charles uses exalting yet dehumanizing language to describe Max. In a way, it kind of makes the future delusions of cannibalism a bit more of a holy experience, trying to consume the body of God as opposed to the flesh of man.

“I’m the winner,” Charles bites back, all vowels as he speaks around his red fingers, vomit and saliva and Max dripping down his wrist as he heaves it up again. “You’re not me.” “I am.” The blood must be dripping from the ceiling downstairs, greatness slipping through the floorboards of his apartment. He spits it up again, Max pushing past his fingers and falling pathetically into the split of his abdomen.

There are a few things I really loved about this. First of all, I enjoy the odd disconnect between the blood still being a source of Max's greatness, but not being enough. It's still him, but it's not referred to as "Max" like his flesh is. There's a distinction between the two, to Charles, as if swallowing down the flesh is more significant than the blood, as if Max's appearance is more important than what's inside him -- it drives home the superficial way that Charles view victory.

“Give up.” “N–” He tries to protest, cut off by another wave of vomit. Because he’s not built for it, after all – greatness. Max’s greatness, the best there ever was. His body won’t take it, spills it into the sink again and again and he reaches for it again and again and shoves it down again and again and –

I recall telling the poor, suffering souls on discord that I wanted to contrast the idea that like... Charles thinks he can't swallow because his body is fundamentally flawed, intrinsically unable to withstand whatever Thing makes Max a winner. But the viewer knows that it's just his body rejecting the most inhumane act: consuming another person.

Charles is fighting against his biology, but not for the reason he believes -- and maybe, in some way, it's his subconscious mind trying to protect him from the fact that he's helpless. He's tried all that he can, so its hyperfixating on something that can never be.

Last Minute Changes

According to my editing history, the fic almost started with the shower scene. Maybe that's because it's the first one I thought of? I'm pretty sure I changed it because I realized I wanted to create the "is this all in Charles's head?" dynamic right off the bat, and set up a slightly more "normal" Charles to highlight his descent into full delusion.

So yeah, the entire """""relationship""""" was entirely secondary to my understanding of this fic. Which I feel like may be obvious?

The very last scene I added was the small moment with Charles answering the question: "Who are you closest friends on the grid?". I wanted one true, concrete hint that the Max the reader had seen was not real, he only existed in the confines of Charles's apartment.

HANNIBAL REFERENCES

God I fucking love this show.

Originally, Charles didn't gut Max in the kitchen -- it just ended with him throwing up into the sink/that whole conversation. Then I realized I could make it worse.

With a grunt, he drags the blade across, opening Max up like a poor approximation of a mother’s scars

The Will Graham of it all, gutted by his beloved in the kitchen, a massive pool of his own blood at his feet.

There was also the imagery of Charles spitting the bit of Max up into the sink, that vaguely reminded me of Will spitting up the ear. Not as direct, but still important to me, a deranged person.

#reviewing the discord messages I sent about this.... i'm so sorry to those affected #Directors commentary #Choking on Greatness #Lestappen #ask me :)

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nobodysdaydreams · 9 months

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Since posting on the potential for the Sequel Trilogy (especially in regards to Leia and Ben's arcs between TLJ and TROS), @myfairkatiecat has asked me for my thoughts. I apologize in advance. There's so much I don't even know where to start. I suppose the best place to start is my thoughts on TFA and TLJ:

I liked the force awakens. It was the first Star Wars movie I'd ever seen. I wasn't planning on getting into Star Wars, because like most people who didn't grow up with the movies, I still knew all the twists, all the memes, and all the quotes. What was the point in seeing it? I knew it was good, but it was hard for me to feel the magic of seeing it for the first time when I'd seen so much out of context already. But the force awakens was new. I know a lot of fans at the time were like "this is a cheap new hope remake" and sure, it had a similar plot structure, but it also introduced a lot of new ideas, characters, and concepts, and I think it succeeded in it's two goals: 1) Offering the beginning to an excited new story that could go in a number of interesting and cool directions. 2) Capturing what was so good about Star Wars in a way that would bring in new fans. It not only succeeded, but it completely knocked it out of the park, at least for me. I remember sitting in the theater, before the movie was even over, and thinking to myself "Dang it. They did it. I didn't think they'd do it, but they actually did it. This is the start of another hyperfixation. Maybe one of the worst I've ever had." I knew 100% that the moment I had free time that this was going to take over. And it did. I appreciated the other movies so much more after having had the experience of watching a Star Wars movie unspoiled that captures that feeling. This brought me into the fandom. It might not be everyone's favorite movie, but I loved it.

The Last Jedi was actually good, but it made one fatal mistake. Two if you count the fact that they skipped all the Ben and Leia stuff, but I forgive them for that because it's not like they could see the future and knew Carrie Fisher was going to pass away. If they knew that, I think they would have written a different script. But I liked most of it. The force dyad stuff was incredible. I was in that theater completely in awe because I gotta hand it to them: I would never in a million years come up with the force dyad stuff, and it's better than anything I could have thought up with on my own. 1000/10. Amazing. Fantastic. So what then is my problem with TLJ? Finn. Especially because he was right where he needed to be. They could have even done his arc in a lazy way, and I would have still accepted it. All they had to do was have him panic and rescue Rose from Hux, accidently connecting him to the force, and then he could suddenly be like "woah I'm force sensitive." All they had to do was have him find some files on where he came from and info on all the stormtrooper brainwashing so that we could continue to explore the mystery of his past instead of pretending like it doesn't matter. For heaven sakes, he was right there on the ship. We saw a hologram of child Finn in Force Awakens when they were going over his file. Phasma could have offer him information about himself or his past in exchange for his freedom or betraying the rebellion. Not to mention Finn's discovery his force sensitivity would have parallel Rey discovering she's a dyad AND her not receiving any answers about her past, which would that tied the movie together thematically. That plotline was right there on a silver plater, it was the obvious choice, the easy part, it baffles me that they fumbled it, especially when the stuff they did with Kylo and Rey completely knocks it out of the park. I've probably watched the scene of the two of them fighting in the throne room the most of any Star Wars scene. But I don't think I've ever gone back to rewatch one of Finn's scenes from TLJ. But I could have and that frustrates me so much. I left the theater of TFA being like "Dang. They got me. I'm hyperfixated now.", and I left the theater of TLJ feeling kind of conflicted. On the one hand, the force dyad stuff was one of the best things I'd ever seen. But on the other hand, I wanted more out of Finn. The Rose and Finn kiss came out of nowhere for me, and it made me worried they were gonna waste time in the third movie with an unnecessary Rose, Rey, Finn love triangle then ended with Finn and Rey together (turns out I did not need to worry about that. They had plenty of other ways to waste my time. But I'll put my thoughts on the romance plotlines in another post because...romance wasn't the biggest draw for me anyway, and my takes on it are a tad more nuanced than "love it or hate it with everything in my soul" which seem to be the only two options). But my other worry was that they didn't seem to know what they were doing with Finn. They also have a lot of "Main characters" to keep track of now. The OT trilogy had the classic "Leia, Luke, Han". Now we have Rey, Poe, and Finn, but Rey and Poe didn't meet until the end of the second movie, and also we have Rose now, and then we have Kylo/Ben and his whole dyad bond, he's much more of a main character than dark mysterious villain. In the OT trilogy, was Vadar conflicted? Sure, but we as the audience didn't fully know that until the end, we didn't need to spend a ton of screen time following his internal journey. But we did need that for Kylo/Ben because of everything they set up for him. With all of that, plus Carrie Fisher dying (which would likely force them to rework a lot of their plotlines), I did have concerns going into TROS. But, since they blew me away with the force dyad stuff, I held out hope that they wouldn't fumble it. Sure, I saw the negative reviews. But everyone was crying about TFA and TLJ too, and I enjoy those. So I held out that hope until the end.

And...well... I have thoughts on TROS too. But I'll save those for another time. Also: I know things can get heated in the star wars fandom, and while I welcome engagement and it's totally cool if you hated TFA, loved Finn's TLJ arc, and hated the force dyad, (different opinions are fine!) please don't hate on my posts and please be respectful. Thanks! 🥰

#Bods Star Wars Sequel Thoughts #More to come #star wars #tlj #tfa #the force awakens #the last jedi #Long post

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the-flaming-nightmare · 4 months

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Okay, so a couple days ago I rewatched the S3 episode of Lone Star where TK is in his hypothermia induced coma and we get to see what's going on in his head, and oh my GOD did it give me SUCH an amazing idea for an agere mulit-chapter fic!!!

Remember how in TK's coma dream he's back in his dad's house but with his mom and they bake cookies? And how TK tells Gwyn he'll always be her little boy, that he still is? Well Goddamn did all that get my writer brain going!

So, what if both Owen and Gwyn were there in TK's dream, and they were treating him like he was still a little boy? The way I'm picturing it is kind of like that episode of SPN when Sam and Dean go to heaven together and see each other's versions of it, and Dean has that one memory of Mary from when he was 3 or 4–dressed the part and being treated like a little boy despite him still looking and acting like his adult self to Sam and the viewers. That's how I imagine this going with TK.

He still looks like an adult and feels like one, and is incredibly confused by what's happening at first, but quickly begins to enjoy all their attention and babying. And soon, begins to feel like the little boy their treating him as. Like in the episode tho, it's Carlos speaking to him that still inevitably brings him back to waking reality.

However, almost as soon as they get the tube out of him, he's still panicking and begins to tearfully call for his mama and daddy. Carlos is freaking out but doing his best to calm him down before the nurses have to give him a sedative, reassuring him that he'll call and get his dad here as soon as possible, but in the end TK is too disoriented and scared, and at the doctor's order one of the nurses has to give him a mild sedative.

Carlos calls Owen as soon as TK is fully under the drugs affects and tells him he needs to get to the hospital quick, that TK woke up and was asking for him. By the time Owen arrives, TK is beginning to fight his way out of the sedative's clutches. As soon as he lays his eyes on Owen the waterworks start up all over again and he desperately reaches for him. Owen, while bewildered and worried, just rolls with it and does what any good father would: give his kid as much comfort as he needs.

Owen ends up climbing nto bed with TK (cautious of the cords and tubes still attached to him, of course), and TK eventually cries himself into an exhausted sleep in his arms. The doctor ends up making a return not long after that (Owen still in the bed, not daring to move and disturb his son's rest), and Owen immediately asks the burning question on both his and Carlos' mind; did TK suffer brain damage? The doctor tells the two of them that they can't know for certain until they run some tests on him, leaving Owen and Carlos to stress over the potential answer they'll receive in the next few hours.

As they'll soon find out, however, this has nothing to do with any physical damage to TK's brain, but instead has everything to do with his psyche.

I'm thinking that TK would probably stay regressed for most of the duration of the fic, but that even once he does start to come back to himself, he'll realize that while everything that's happened during that time feels embarrassing as all hell, it also feels right. Like something he's needed for a very long time, but just hadn't known until he got it.

Wow, hyperfixation really said, "Bitch you will write this shit. You may not know when, but you will."

Yet another idea saved in the backlog I keep in both my phone and brain lmaoooo. 😅🥲

#9-1-1: lone star #tk strand #owen strand #owen and tk #age regression #agere fandom #fic thoughts #thekingspeaks

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ruibaozha · 1 year

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GREETINGSE i was wondering if you could tell me (and the rest of tumblr) more about Nezha's artifacts/weapons ? He seems to have. a lot of them and I'd like to know more !!!

You have a very cool blog btw !! Thank you for sharing stuff about Nezha it's very interesting and fuels my hyperfixation 😌✨

Hello hello!

I'm sure items like Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels and Flame Tipped Spear are well known iconography, but in the spirit of over-explaining I would like to describe where these weapons came from among others within his arsenal. This post will overlap with a handful of points I had been saving for a post describing Nezha's military career so I apologize if anything stated becomes redundant.

Did you know that Nezha's conflicts with Ao Guang and the Lady Rock Demoness pre-date the publication of Canonization of the Gods? These stories appear elsewhere succinctly within the Ming-period encyclopedia The Grand Compendium of the Three Religions' Deities which record the careers of more than a hundred divinities, like Guanyin and Mazu (1). One of which described is Nezha. The translated description of his strength is as follows:

Nezha was originally a great arhat-immortal in the service of the Jade Emperor. He was six feet tall, his head crowned by a golden disc. He had six heads, nine eyes, and eight arms. He puffed out dark clouds. He stood on a large rock. His hand weilded an instrument of the law (falü). He roared loudly, summoning clouds and rain, shaking Heaven and Earth. Because the world was full of demon-kings, the Jade Emperor ordered him incarnated on earth ... The demons were all subdued by Nezha: The Bull Demon King, the Lion Demon King, the Elephant Demon King, the Horse-Headed Demon King, the World-Devouring Demon King, the Mother-of-Demons Demon King, the Nine-Headed Demon King, the Tārā Demon King, the Brahmā Demon King, the five-hundred yakshas, and the seventy-two Fire Crows all surrendered to him. (2)

And this reputation as a devout acolyte of either the Buddha or the Jade Emperor depending on which era you are drawing upon is something to be elaborated upon later. The very difference between it being the World-Honored One or the Jade Emperor sending Nezha to quell these demons is worthy of it's own elaborations, however we are here to discuss the two iconic stories that lead to his eventual suicide. Even within the pages of The Grand Compendium he could not escape his own demise:

When he was five days old, Nezha went bathing in the Eastern Ocean. He trampled over the [dragon king's] Crystal Palace. He somersaulted straight to the top of the Precious Pagoda. Because he had trampled over his palace, the infuriated dragon king challenged him to fight. By then, Nezha was already seven days old, and he could overcome the nine dragons. The old dragon had no choice, except complaining to the [Jade] Emperor. The General [Nezha] knew of his intention. Intercepting him by Heaven's Gate, he killed the dragon. Mounting the Jade Emperor's altar, Nezha took the Buddha's bow and arrows. He shot an arrow, unintentionally killing Lady Rock's son. Lady Rock raised an army to fight him. The General [Nezha] took the Demon-Felling Club from his father's altar and, fighting his way Westwards, slew her. Considering that Lady Rock had been the demons' chief, Nezha's father was infuriated. He worried lest his son's killing her would provoke the demon hordes to war. Therefore, the General [Nezha] sliced off his flesh and bones, returning them to his father. Holding fast to his inner soul (zhen ling), he hastened to the Buddha's side, pleading that the World-Honored One make him complete once more. Considering that Nezha could subdue demons, the Buddha snapped a lotus flower. He fashioned it's stem into bones, it's roots into flesh, it's fiber into tendons, and it's leaves into clothes, giving life to Nezha once more. (3)

There are of course similarities and differences but I mention this as it sets forward a number of precedents. Established is the moment Nezha is bathing in the river, the conflict with the dragon king Ao Guang, the presence of a bow and arrow, subjugation of a rock-spirit, and introduction of his iconic lotus motifs to name a few. But more pressingly it helps set the stage for what is perhaps the earliest known documentation of these tales.

Between 1228 and 1250 the Quanzhou Pagodas were constructed, the stone monuments depicting 80 Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, saints, and guardian divinities. The ground floor features ferocious martial gods protecting the stupa's gates so it is not a surprise that Nezha is found here protecting those behind him. Within the southest corner of the Eastern Pagoda's ground level, flanking both sides of the ornamental gate, are the tablets showing a benign and wrathful Nezha.

Notice the dragon beneath his feet, the belt made from it's tendons in his left hand and the divine bow in his right.

Notice the six arms and three heads. Alongside holding a sword, Nezha is also holding both a sun and a moon which was typical of many Tantric deities (4).

I only look so far back to help establish the image of the Nezha I am about to describe. The Song and Ming periods had a penchant for depicting Nezha with a fire-emanating wheel and/or fire-emanating ball such as within Hong Mai's Record of Hearsay (夷堅志). The story follows a Jiangxi ritual master named Cheng who was attacked by a strong stone spirit, he recites the "Spell of Nezha's Fireball" to summon him.

Cheng anxiously recited a spell and walked the Big Dipper Outline. The prodigy showed not the slightest fear and gradually pressed in against his body. Cheng realized that this was a stone spirit. Consequently he recited the "Spell of Nezha's Fireball" and, forming a mudrā, recited: "Divine General! Can you tolerate a wang-liang demon obstructing my way? Expel him forthwith!" Suddenly a fireball emerged from behind Cheng's body and struggled with the black lump. After a while a noise burst out, like clashing metal, and the black lump disappeared. The fireball made several revolutions around Cheng's body and also vanished. (5)

The Ming-era fiction, theatre dramas and overly-flattering literature largely named Nezha's fiery weapon as a Dharma wheel, a fire wheel, or a golden wheel. Within The Grand Compendium Nezha is using the Dharma wheel, in Zhu Youdun's The Bodhisattva Manjusri Subjugates the Lion Nezha is using the golden wheel against the fearsome animal, and the 1592 edition of The Journey to the West describes his "lightning-propelled fire wheel"(6). The presence of the fire wheel is not completely unique to Nezha though as it is an ancient emblem of Buddhist law, a similarly Ming-era mural within the Beijing Fahai Temple showing a Tantric deity with six arms and a weapon held by each. The flame wheel is also present here.

The flame wheel was not alone though, often Nezha would have an embroidered ball accompanying it. The Journey to the West would explain it's use in conjunction with the flaming wheel: "The lightning propelled fire wheel was like darting flame; Hither and thither the embroidered ball rotated"(7).

Even Nezha's golden brick has it's roots. Mark Meulenbeld has argued that the golden brick used against his brother Muzha within Canonization of the Gods has origins in Ming Daoist scriptures. The ritual compendium The Daoist Methods United in Principle, which predates Canonization by over two centuries, recommends the use of golden bricks for locking demons in bottles (8).

Equally an argument can be made that Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels and Flame Tipped spear have roots within Daoist exorcism with Buddhist overlap. By the fifteenth century edition of The Daoist Methods United in Principle Nezha is described weilding the golden brick, a golden spear, and riding fire wheels(9).

This answer has already gotten quite long, so I hope this was sufficient thus far. I would be more than happy to elaborate on this topic further if there is interest for it. Thank you for your question!

Citations:

(1) This compendium survives presently in both a Ming-era edition titled Sanjiao yuanliu shengdi fozu sou shen daquan (三教源流搜神大全) and a Qing-era edition titled Huitu sanjiao yuanliu soushen daquan (绘图三教搜神大全).

(2) Within the Ming-era edition this description is present on pages 326-327. Within the Qing-era edition, 330-331.

(3) Within the Ming-era edition this is described on page 326. Within the Qing-era edition, page 330.

(4) It is worth saying that this well may not be Nezha. The pagodas lack cartouches. Within Twin Pagodas of Zayton G. Ecke and P. Demiéville cite a local tradition to identify the three-headed six-armed guardian as an asura demon and the opposite image as the dragon king Sāraga. However a proper association between the images is never made and both the bow and tendons are unexplained.

(5) The translation used here is by Edward Davis within Society and the Supernatural on pages 47-48. Within Hong Mai's Yijian zhi the original is on pages 1429-1430. Davis identifies Cheng as a village ritual master and thus distinguished from Daoist priests. However, Li Fengmao's Wuying xinyang on pages 573-574 highlights the orthodox Daoist elements within Cheng's performance.

(6) It may be worth comparing editions here. Take the Ming and Qing era editions of The Grand Compendium page 326 and page 330 respectively against Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West 4.44, translated by Anthony Yu on 1:129.

(7) This is also Anthony Yu's translation within 1:129.

(8) Daofa huiyuan, DZ 1220, 240.11a, 138.13a and Fahai yizhu, DZ 1166, 15.17a; Meulenbeld's chapter 5 of Demonic Warfare.

(9) Daofa huiyuan, DZ 1220, 138.13a.

#li nezha #lmk nezha #nezha #the legend of nezha #nezha reborn #dislyte nezha #nezha 2019 #monkie kid nezha

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