#in any case time to maintain the tradition

[lilacsandpetals]

Frozen Blossoms Pt. 6

Last part here.

Next part here.

Bi-Han x F! Reader

Tags and notes: Arranged marriage AU, SFW (but some suggestive themes), exploring emotions, Pre-MK1/MK1 AU

Trigger Warnings: Kidnapping, blood, and mentions of violence.

Bi-Han had gotten far too used to you now. 

Since that night when you washed his hair, the taste of your lips lingered on his. It’s as if you’d cast some spell on him. He sought you in quiet moments of the day when no one else was around but you and him. Exchanging discrete touches, stealing kisses, and nothing more.

He inched closer to you every night as you retired to bed. You opted to wake up earlier. A chaste kiss was shared before he departed in the morning, followed by a fervent one before bed each night. 

Every day that went by brought you closer to him. 

Yet it still left much to be desired. The longing for more of you was present, but it seemed all too difficult to proceed as he hoped. Something seemed to always pull you two apart. Whether it was you pulling away from a kiss far too soon for his liking or him being dragged away to serve Earthrealm. Or maybe on occasion, it was his own apprehension.

He did appreciate the kiss of goodbye you would gift him before he’d depart. Which these days, was more often than he preferred. But he tells himself that it’s not only for Earthrealm’s safety but yours as well. 

And maintaining your safety was of the utmost importance to him. He’d strictly insist that you remain within the Lin Kuei’s walls, and when he did, he could see the disappointment in your eyes. Yet it was for your own good. He was sure that you were aware of the fact that your position was highly coveted. So slowly but surely, whispers and retaliation of your marriage clawed their way to the Lin Kuei. But he would not allow anyone from the surrounding clans to advocate or force your removal. 

Still, they were becoming more of a nuisance than he had initially anticipated. 

Many clans had approached the Grandmaster with offerings of their daughters for marriage; greedy and willing to sacrifice their kin as a bargaining chip in exchange for the Lin Kuei’s protection and loyalty. Although, what right did he have to think that way? His own father had so quickly arranged his marriage for the sake of greater resources for the clan’s advancement and well-being. He knew it was tradition, and he was nothing if not a product of his clan’s laws and heritage. But still, he wondered if his mother would have made him abide by such a standard. 

Either way, when you had married there were already unhappy whispers dancing throughout the other clans. With tensions brewing he urged your instructors to intensify your training as time went on, just in case things went south. Other than the blatant conflicts they’ve had to shut down, he had instances where they’ve caught suspicious characters lurking nearby the Lin Kuei’s estate. 

He wouldn’t worry you about all that. He’d manage that burden on his own. 

Usually, he’d be eager to use the skills he has been taught. His bloodlust is greater than he’s let anyone take note of. But when it came to you, these conflicts concerned him. He found no pleasure in engaging in disputes that may put you at risk. It causes his heart to become anxious like he needs to wipe out any threat to you the second it arises. 

That’s why he is always leaving you. Your time spent together has been cut short so often because he needs to take care of you in this way. 

———————-

For now, he sits at the bedside, his body is tired, but he is eager to spend time in your company.

He glances at your flowers and gently plucks a petal off of one of them, he’d need to pick you new ones soon. These were clearly dead, yet he found it slightly endearing that you kept it around. One night he had seen you pluck some of the flowers off of their buds and place them into one of your books. He never cared for flower pressing, but he did find it somewhat gratifying that you’d preserve his gift in such a way.

His eyes then fall to the books. You had a decent stack of them resting at your bedside. You came off as an avid reader. When he’d return home from his work, he would find you engrossed with your novel more often than not. He wonders what type of books you like. He supposes that you wouldn’t mind him flipping through them. 

Oh, how he wishes he hadn’t. You had a type of literature you were fond of and he’s not surprised. Most of the women he knew of had a preference for romance. However, he did not expect your novels to delve into such explicit situations. 

What type of filth were you reading??

You often maintained such a monotone look while you read, so he never would assume you could be reading things of that nature. 

He toyed at the collar around his neck. Were those actions what you desired of a man? Did you think of anyone while you read those novels? Have you already indulged in such actions with another? Or did you want to try them at all? He was right beside you when you read in the evenings. In his opinion, you had ample opportunity to initiate anything if you so desired. However, you two never went farther than a kiss. And it has been some time now since your first one. A slight feeling of unease settled within his chest. He could be the one to advance your relationship if he really wanted to.

What was holding him back?

The distinct sound of your footsteps approaching snap him out of his thoughts, so he clears his throat and sets the books back in place as if they were yet to be touched. 

You rounded the corner with a smile on your face, as beautiful as always. “Husband, will you walk with me to the dining hall?”

He narrows his eyes slightly, “yes.” He gets up and steals one more glance at the books before he walks with you there. He maintains his regular demeanor. As you keep up the pace by his side, your hand slowly slips into his. He allows it and gently tightens his grip on your hand. You keep your eyes trained on the path ahead, but he can’t help stealing glances at you. Your hair was neatly tied back. A few strands always managed to escape but it felt fitting for you. The necklace he’d gotten you has taken up permanent residence on your neck, he knows you are wearing it before he even looks. The pin in your hair is simple, but he wonders if you’d want one to match your necklace. He’s sure he’d be able to find one with a jewel similar in color to that of your necklace. 

———————-

Dinner went as per usual. These days your father-in-law would direct his conversation to his sons, leaving you a silent listener at the table. They spoke about their missions and their current affairs. As the matriarch-to-be, you should have been attentive to the conversation. But you often found yourself zoning out. You weren’t included in conversations of this nature that often outside the dinner table, so it made it difficult to engage properly. 

But today was different. A calculated list of questions descended upon you. Inquiries on if you’ve been sleeping well and how many hours per night, how consistent you are with training, and if you’ve been eating properly. 

You were confused for a moment, you appreciated the Grandmaster’s concern, but it felt nearly invasive. Still, you don’t think much of it until he speaks up once again. 

“If all is well, I assume an heir will be conceived soon.”

You nearly choke on your food and begin to cough a bit. Tomas pushes your cup of water towards you. ‘So that was what all the questioning was about.’ You were not ready to have a child, not yet. And you were yet to even sleep with your husband. You seem frozen in place, not knowing how to respond. Thankfully your husband comes to your aid. 

“We will inform you when the time comes, father.” 

Bi-Han eyes you briefly and you look back down at your plate. That would be a different topic for you two to breach at a different time. 

———————-

You’re off to bathe before bed. The warm water is soothing in the midst of the cold weather. Bi-Han is tempted to ask if he could join you. Yet he cannot find the words to do so. Matters of the heart have bested him far more than those of the battlefield. So he finds himself in his secondary place of pain and comfort of the training grounds. More training was beneficial. Unfortunately, he hadn’t anticipated Tomas or Kuai Liang to be present. They seemed more engaged in their conversation than the light sparring they partook in. What exactly were they talking about?

“Did you see his face?”

‘Who’s face?’ Bi-Han debates on whether or not he should ask, but before he is given the pleasure of deciding, Tomas spots him. “Bi-Han! Come practice with us.”

Bi-Han rolls his eyes, but he supposes the sparring partners would prove helpful. “What were you two talking about?” Tomas shoots Kuai Liang a certain look that Bi-Han takes notice of. “Well? Spit it out.” He snaps. 

“It’s really nothing,” Tomas says sheepishly. 

“We were just speaking on our future endeavors.” Kuai Liang remarks. He debates on whether or not he should cover up the subject of conversation, or if he should test his brother’s temper and be honest. 

“As in?” 

Kuai Liang throws some hand wraps to Bi-Han, which he snatches with ease. “Marriage and its aspects of love and responsibility.” Bi-Han nearly rolls his eyes. Both brothers assume a fighting stance. As per usual Bi-Han starts on the offensive, so he throws the first kick of the match, “Elaborate.” 

“The same subject that father spoke about at dinner.” Kuai Liang responds with a punch that Bi-Han checks. He then shoves his brother slightly rougher than he meant to. ‘The subject spoken about at dinner?’ The sparring comes to an abrupt halt. “My wife?” he hisses. 

Tomas promptly speaks up, “No! Just about the idea of having nieces and nephews soon.” 

Bi-Han inhales sharply, and Tomas takes note, “I mean unless you haven’t been trying for a child yet?”

Kuai Liang shoots him a slightly amused look, and Bi-Han knows that face. It’s the same face that his younger brother would give him before he was about to spew utter nonsense. “You haven’t yet, have you?”

“Shut your mouths, you insolent fools.”

Tomas tries not to chuckle, “The more you avoid the question, the easier you make the assumption for us.”

“Neither of you is married, so do not act as if you could even comprehend such things.”

Kuai Liang respects his older brother, he really does, but right now he has to resist rolling his eyes.”Harumi and I are not married yet, but I think I’m capable of understanding such a topic.”

“You and Harumi have known each other since you were children, I met my bride rather recently. It is not the same ordeal, so don’t speak on it.”

Kuai Liang supposes his brother is correct. “You’re right in that I wouldn’t understand your exact situation. But you misinterpret my intentions.” He placed his hand on his older brother’s shoulder, “Don’t overthink it. Whenever it does happen, you’ll be fine. And I’m sure you’ll have offspring soon enough.” 

Bi-Han will not voice it, but he hopes his brother is right. 

———————-

Steam fills the room. You sink into the hot water and let out a pleasant sigh. Lately, you’ve had to increase the amount of time you spend training, and it is safe to say that your muscles still haven’t properly adjusted to the increased burden of it. Therefore, unwinding like this was greatly valued. 

Whenever you were in this tub, you were reminded of your first kiss with your husband. The memory is still fresh in your mind and it causes heat to rush to your cheeks. He had looked stunning that evening with his hair down and his demeanor relaxed. Since then you were thankful that you had gotten close enough to exchange more kisses in private. Although neither of you breached the aspect of furthering your physical relationship. Yet you did find yourself desiring it more and more often these days. Thinking of his physique had caused your mind to wander further than you would have felt comfortable admitting. 

And then it made you think of dinner earlier.

The process of producing a child did intrigue you, but the rest seemed nerve-wracking. Pregnancy was something you knew you’d have to endure sooner or later. It excited you but scared you all the same. And then the thought of raising a child in this strict environment worried you. 

But those were problems that you would address later. For now, you’d relax, and ponder the possibilities of what may have happened if you hadn’t retired to bed so quickly after your first kiss that night.

———————-

Bi-Han eventually returned to your shared quarters. You were adorned in a silk robe, relaxing in the bed, book in hand. Your eyebrows were furrowed as your eyes rapidly scanned the words on the pages. You bit your lip briefly before a small smile emerged on your face. He wonders what about the novel could have you so engrossed; was it on the same topic he had seen earlier today?

He clears his throat and you look up, then briefly down at your book again before you shut it. Your eyes lift to meet his, “welcome back”

He cracks a small smile as he walks over to his side of the bed. “You say that as if I’ve been gone for a long time.”

“It felt long to me,” you tease and lean closer to him. Your book is still enclosed in your hand and Bi-Han can’t help but glance at the novel. “What were you reading?” 

“Oh, this?” You hold up the book a bit higher and he gives you a little nod. “It’s a romance.”

You then stand up and motion to the stack at your bedside. “The majority are romance novels. I’ve read through a lot of them.”

You set the book in your hand down gently. “Speaking of which, I want to go get more.” 

He raises an eyebrow, “More books? Why?”

‘What does he mean, why?’ You think and cross your arms rather confused, “why not?”

“Do you need them?”

“I find them enjoyable, isn’t that reason enough?”

“Can’t you find enjoyment in other things?”

You scoff and lay a hand on your hip. “I know you’re often preoccupied but the home we live in is catered to the strict nature of your clan. There are not many means of enjoyment here. My days are busy and I like to read to unwind.”

“There’s other ways to unwind.” He responds, almost in a tone that merges desire with that hesitant spite, and it only confuses you more. You step closer, “If you don’t accompany me I will go on my own.”

“You will not.”

Now you are getting annoyed. “And who’s going to stop me?” 

Bi-Han clenches his jaw and steps forward, he holds your hand, “I will. You are not allowed to leave on your own.” It wasn’t safe, you’d become an object of envy for other clans. He was not going to let you out on your own. 

You fight the urge to roll your eyes, you went out on your own accord when you had lived with your family prior to the marriage. You went out during the Mid Autumn Festival. So what was the problem now? To be frank, it was getting a bit tiring. Living out a similar schedule every day, seeing the same locations on the daily. 

Before your husband can say anything else you come up with another retort, “Okay, if I’m not allowed to go alone I’m sure Kuai Liang or Tomas will come with me.” 

“No, not happening.” He snaps. Were you purposely trying to get on his nerves? The unamused look on your face clearly told him you would not be backing down. “If you desire to go that badly. Then I’ll take you.” 

———————-

Bi-Han kept his word the next day.

It was nice to get back into the village, a much-needed change of pace from the confining walls of the Lin Kuei.

You had dragged your husband along to various shops—mostly window shopping. But you eventually made it to the shop that sold the novels you had a preference for. The shop itself was quaint, and the books were located in the back corner. You make your way there and skim the shelves, with your husband following close behind, His shadow looms over you as he tries to steal glances of the books you pluck off the shelf. You can feel how close he is so you turn around, handing him the book you have in hand. “You seem slightly interested.”

He takes the book and glances at the cover, “I assume it’s a romance.” 

“Of course, it’s a genre I like. Oh and don’t put that back, I want to buy it.”

Bi-Han flips through the pages. It appeared to follow the course of the other books you had at home. 

Maybe he’d sneak a look at the book when you were preoccupied again. If you found the actions done in the novel so enticing, maybe he could use that knowledge to his advantage. Or rather, the overall advantage of your marriage. 

He continues to follow you around the shop and ends up buying the books you picked out. As you exit the shop and make your way onto the street you see Bi-Han staring at a small establishment. It was a tad far and on the other side of the road. 

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Just stay here. I’ll be right back.”

You oblige and as you squint your eyes, you notice it’s a jewelry shop of some kind. You try not to ponder, but you wonder if he was buying something for you. 

So you wait on the side of the street, pacing back and forth a bit while you wait. 

But something is wrong, bit by bit, the smell of smoke starts to become apparent. At first, you consider it nothing. Perhaps a nearby eatery had burned their food or something of that nature. 

Then your stomach drops as you turn. Without warning, black smoke erupts into the air, and hot flames lick at your surroundings. Screams and shrieks of civilians ring in your ear as you attempt to make sense of what is happening.

You need to get out of here. Where is Bi-Han? 

Your eyes quickly scan from side to side. The heat of the flames are becoming more and more apparent as your skin starts to sweat. It’s getting harder to breathe. Your sense of direction is skewed. 

You need to find your husband.

But you can’t. 

It all happens too fast. You don’t know when the unfamiliar hands grabbed you, and you don’t register how quickly the cloth covers your mouth and nose. You only realize you’re beginning to lose consciousness when it’s too late. 

———————-

Your eyes can barely open. There’s a heinous pounding in your head accompanied by stinging pain around your ankles and wrists. You realize you’ve been bound there by a rope that scrapes against your skin every time you move, leaving it red and on the brink of breaking. 

You’re unable to speak due to a cloth covering your mouth. You try to remain calm, but that’s easier said than done. Tears stream down your face and you attempt to regulate your breathing. You remind yourself that the more you panic, the harder this will be.

How long have you been here? The last thing you’re able to remember is being ambushed by men you didn’t know. With a thick cloth serving as a blindfold and being in what you assumed was a darker environment, there were limited ways to estimate the passage of time. 

It suddenly hits you. The fire must have been a diversion.

You knew something was wrong. Between Bi-Han being more protective, the rise in clan conflicts, and the sudden increase in training, you should have deducted that something was off.

This would not have happened if you paid attention more or if you trained more. Maybe you would’ve been able to defend yourself and make it to Bi-Han in time. You knew risks came with your new status, why didn’t you take that into account more? 

You never thought it would affect you so directly, that you’d become a hostage. And worse yet, you didn’t know what these men intended to do. What if they meant to kill you? You would never get to say goodbye to your family back home. You would not get to say goodbye to Bi-Han. You wished you spent more time with him. You can feel yourself shaking, but attempt to take a few deep breaths.

You try to snap out of it. You have to be calm. Worrying would do you no good now. 

Your husband wouldn’t leave you like this, would he? He was a capable man. You know he wouldn’t just forget about you.

You will be fine. All you have to do is remain steadfast in your trust towards your husband. 

And so as time slowly passes, your breathing returns to a normal rate, and the tears do not stop, but they slow down. You lay your head against the concrete wall. Your mind runs over the same thought again and again. That BI-Han would rescue you, you just needed to be patient.

You don’t know how long it has been, but you’ve remained practically still.

The sound of a heavy door creaking open gets your attention. 

“She’s here!” 

Your heart pounds as you hear two familiar voices within ear’s reach. ‘Kuai Liang and Tomas.’ 

“Is she hurt?”

“I think so.”

Both of them come to your aid, first removing your blindfold. Your eyes try to adjust to your surroundings and the visual confirmation that your new family is present eases the tension a bit. Tears of relief leave you as they remove the cloth from your mouth. “Thank you.” You mumble. Drool pools at the side of your lips when you speak. Between that and the tears you briefly think of how much of a mess you might look like now. But the thought leaves as fast as it comes. Kuai Liang undoes the binding on your ankles, while Tomas tends to your wrists. It hurts, and you notice your left wrist has begun to bleed. Your lip begins to quiver and Tomas hastily wraps a cloth around it. “Don’t worry, the rope didn’t cut that deep, this cloth should do until we get back home.”

“And don’t worry Y/N, you’ll be home soon,” Kuai Liang remarks in as comforting a tone that he can muster up right now. But you catch the concerned looks that the brothers exchange.

You try to crack a smile, to show your appreciation at their attempts to make you feel better. But it’s difficult right now. 

Where was your husband? 

As if on cue, Bi-Han practically breaks down the door as he enters the room. “They’re all dead but one, I left him alive to question.” His tone of voice is harsh, practically lethal. 

You’ve never seen him like this. 

Blood paints his face and clothing. He is breathing heavily and you can vaguely hear it through his mask. His eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes have never appeared so cold. There’s a blood-soaked dagger in his hand. You can see it’s made of ice and he tosses it to the side before running towards you. His mask covers the lower half of his face, but his eyes have always been expressive, and you can see the hardened look in his eyes slightly soften. He bends down to your level, taking your ankle in his hand gently before you feel his arms wrap around you. He lifts you bridal-style. 

Exhaustion has overtaken you. The blood on his clothing concerns you, but it doesn't seem like it belongs to Bi-Han. Some of the blood gets on your cheek when you lay your head against his chest. You can faintly hear his heart beating frantically although he doesn’t show it. He carefully wipes a lone tear that cascades down your cheek. 

You want to thank him for saving you, you want to apologize for allowing yourself to be kidnapped. You want to scream and cry, and you want him to wipe away all the tears that threaten to spill over. But it feels as if no matter how many times your mouth opens, no words come out. That no matter how badly you want to move, your body is frozen in place. He carries you out and you close your eyes. 

He doesn’t say anything, and neither do you.

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Thanks for reading 💙

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Some of the tags aren't working

#mk1 #mortal kombat 1 #bi han x reader #bi han mk #bi han sub zero #bi han x you #bi han fanfic #I hope I caught all the typos

[writingwithcolor]

Afro-Latine Jewish woman maintaining cultural connection in an isekai comic

Anonymous asked:

Hello! Mixed Latin American nonbinary Jew here. I'm working on a, relatively light-hearted, isekai-style fantasy comic concept of an afro-latine Jewish lady who gets sent through a portal to a colorful scifi/fantasy land, inhabitated by various imaginary creatures sorta like in Alice in Wonderland. She gains magic powers and goes on adventures, working as a scientist researching the land's magical energy. (some of the local creatures she befriends are entirely original species, and some are inspired by my local folklore, but otherwise I try to avoid culturally coding the creatures since they're mostly nonhuman looking). The story isn't supposed to touch any heavy topics like antisemitism or racism, but I've read about the cultural problems in ""normie protagonist finds a new home in a funky fantasy world"" stories, f.ex. how Harry Potter's narrative basically implies that Muggleborns have to abandon their original cultures in order to successfully integrate into the very prejudiced but ""cooler"" Wizarding World. My original goal was to break the mold that escapism fantasy usually revolves around white protagonists adventuring in heavily Western-inspired fantasy worlds, and poc-coded characters are usually nonhuman creatures or racial stereotypes. However the protagonist girl in my story comes from a loving, latine-jewish human family, and while she regularly visits them on Earth instead of just staying in the fantasy land 24/7, I'm afraid that making her story be about being happy adventuring in a separate imaginary land filled with nonhuman characters might turn into an ""abandon your family and culture"" narrative. Are there any ways how I could avoid this? Maybe making the fantasy land's worldbuilding and designs more Latin American or Jewish inspired and thus resonate more with her cultural background, or making it clear that the land is not ""perfect"" and she still loves her family?

One of the first things that stands out to me is that you haven’t set her up to need to abandon her culture in order to make a life in another place. She has the ability to go home and visit her family, but I also don’t see any reason why, if she lives primarily in the fantasy land, she couldn’t be portrayed as practicing Judaism actively in her new home. It’s true that Judaism isn’t solely defined by religious/cultural practices, but it’s also true that religious/cultural practices are one of the most recognizable and most uniting elements of Jewish identity.

I think it might help in this case to think about Jewish practices in terms of communal versus personal: that is, what are practices she would need to seek out a Jewish community for, and what are practices she can do independently?

Does she control when she is able to visit her family? If so, visiting for Jewish holidays so that she can be at a family meal or holiday services seems like a way to highlight that she is just as connected to her family as someone who moved to a different city might be. If she experiences/has experienced the death of a family member or partner, going home to be with a Jewish community for shiva or to say kaddish on a yahrzeit is another touch (for readers who may be unfamiliar, Jewish mourning practices are intensely communal and are intentional about bringing the mourner into an active support system and slowly reintroducing them to the world, and as such a mourner is likely to spend this time somewhere where they can access and be supported by a Jewish community).

As far as practices she can engage with on her own in the fantasy setting, it would be nice to see her observing Shabbat, either in a traditional way by refraining from adventuring and instead engaging in hospitality and prayer between dusk Friday and sundown Saturday, or in a less-halakhic way if she comes from a Reform or comparatively-assimilated background, by marking Friday sunset with candles, blessings, and a good meal, even if she is intending to continue her research through the next day. She would hardly be the first Jewish person to live in a place without an established Jewish community, and a festive meal can be shared just as happily with non-Jewish friends if they’re griffons and fauns as if they’re Christians and Muslims.

Here’s one idea that I think would be hugely meaningful as a way of establishing both that she intends to make her home long-term in Fantasy World and that she intends to carry Jewish traditions with her into her new life: hang a mezuzah.

Think about it: a mezuzah is the visual marker of a Jewish home, as much to the resident as to a guest. When she is home from her adventures, in her garden cottage or enchanted tower or wherever she returns to between adventures to record and categorize her research, simply showing a mezuzah in the background instantly makes the point both that she is intending to stay, and that this is a Jewish space. If as time goes on she adds other Judaica items to her space, it can add to the sense that her Jewishness is present and alive in this world, simply because she is present and alive in it.

If she doesn’t have a settled space or if you’re not planning on setting any scenes there, having Jewish visual markers on and around her can help, too. For low-hanging fruit, maybe she has a silver Jewish Star or chai necklace that catches the light now and then, but since you’re going for a light, fun vibe, maybe she’s packing her adventuring supplies in a bright-blue vinyl backpack emblazoned with “Temple Shaarei Tzedek Junior Youth Retreat 1998” (am I old? I’m pretty sure there are adults reading this who were in Junior Youth groups in 2003, but I’m willing to bet retreat swag hasn’t changed that much).

I do like the idea of including Latin American and Jewish elements in the worldbuilding, especially as an intentional way to combat the cultural dominance of Western European folklore over fantasy writing, but because your character is from and has access to our world, you have the beautiful opportunity to carry real-world markers of Jewishness with her as well.

-Meir

I adore Meir’s answer, but then, I’m the kind of person to whom “enchanted tower with a mezuzah” as an aesthetic is so near and dear to my heart that I wrote a whole fantasy series about it. Couple of random suggestions: one thing I really enjoy is exposing my gentile friends to Jewish food—I love watching the absolute shock of delirium hit someone’s face the first time they taste my charoseth. Imagine this little bowl of chopped apples and walnuts, looking vaguely dirty because they’re soaked in cinnamon-infused wine, so it’s basically dingy beige slop….so that first bite of sensuous, deep sweetness is a huge surprise. Pick your favorite equivalent and imagine the first time a centaur or a winged princess or whatever other fantasy character tries it at your MC’s behest! (Feeding brisket to dragons would make a great name for…something…)

I don’t think you’re likely to do this anyway but since these are public answers: “fantasy world fun, Jewish upbringing a chore” is a narrative I would not feel at home in or care to read. But that’s a rather predictable remark from me anyway ;)

And of course I support the “the secondary fantasy world is actually Jewish” solution too, having one of my own.

–Shira

#Jumblr #Jewish #Judaism #Afro Latina #Afro Latine #Culture #Jewish culture #Jewish holidays #asks

[bleubrri]

۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ ɪᴛ’s ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ! — ᴊᴇᴀɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

༄ؘ ˑ contains: best friends → lovers , mutual pining , costumes errywhere , dry humping , m!oral , jean whining n whimpering hehe , reader bein kinda bossy >:7 , black coded!fem!reader , vaginal sex , creampie [ maybe more idk bro it’s 3am @_@ ]

༄ؘ ˑ wc: SIGH 4k :/

༄ؘ ˑ a/n: this is for the if you really think that you can stomach me collab by the light of my life @strawberrystepmom !! i wanted to post it in october but i’m useless so forgive me T^T lil talk about protection in there—communication is sexc!! also pls use condoms + practice safe sex xoxo

"these are all awful." you whine, sitting against jeans headboard and scrolling through his 'costume ideas' pinterest board.

he’s got his head underneath the desk, trying to fish out the mario kart disc thats fallen down the back, so his response is muffled. "they’re the most popular ones from the last decade!"

"jean, i am not wearing any of these."

he shuffles back out, dust covered disc in hand and pouting down at you. "there isn't one that you like?"

"not remotely."

"you’re being picky." he says, slotting the disc into the console and tossing you the player 1 controller.

"i’m being honest." you mutter, scrolling past a particularly awful rendition of a cops & robbers costume. he flops onto the bed and rests his head on your shoulder, peeking at the screen.

"y'know I worked really hard cultivating this. hours of research and painstaking decisi—hey!" his head knocks against the headboard when you yank yourself from under his weight.

"you're so annoying.." you mutter, navigating the homescreen and selecting grand prix. the character and course selection are accompanied with jeans babbling (we’ve gotta pick a good one—the standards are high! maybe i should just pick and force a decision on you—) that earns him unconvinced grunts and looks of skepticism.

the subject gets temporarily lost in the chaos that naturally ensues when jean selects rainbow road, 3 minutes of screaming and curses and shuffling onto your knees to get a better vantage point. it isn’t until the final lap when your item box is shuffling that you pipe up, “i guess we don’t have to do something matching..”

jean almost veers off of the track.

he frowns, glancing at your profile as he tries to maintain his first place spot. “…what?” he says. you’ve always dressed up together. since you were kids halloween had been your guys’ favourite holiday, and yet here you were suggesting that you break a years long (albeit unofficial) october tradition.

“i mean we could just go as separate things? if that makes it easier.” and it seems like appropriate timing when you unleash a blue shell and obliterate jeans universe.

you’re glowing, shrieking in triumph as you pass the finish line and leave jean in the dust. he watches your characters parade around the winners podium with a clenched jaw and sinking feeling.

“sure.” he agrees, tight lipped smile making you pause. you didn’t really expect him to agree—you’d only suggested it in case he had a particular costume that he was set on wearing. jean had always been the one to pick your costumes, you just went along with it, and always ending up looking decent so you couldn’t complain. he was always more into the whole idea of dressing up anyway. but you hadn’t really anticipated him ditching your thing in order to.. what, impress some new college friends?

you blink at him, a protest like the cork of a wine bottle, stuck in your throat and threatening to choke you. “cool.” you manage, “just.. let me know what you’re going as, yeah?”

“tryna scope out the competition?”

you give him a good natured shove, rolling your eyes as a smile fights it’s way across your face.

something like that, you think.

-

this was a bad fucking idea.

as the rhythmic percussion from the speakers gets close enough to rattle your bones, it starts to set in that jean was right. people have taken their costumes really fucking seriously. there are a few token stragglers: eren, in a hoodie and a purge mask and a short, raven haired senior with faux fangs and devil horns. but for the most part all you can see is elaborate sfx gore, girls in animal ears and enough fabric to border on public indecency. and everyone looks great.

you feel pathetic, turning up in a matching costume unbeknownst to your best friend. what if he’s mad? you’d gone from feeling somewhat pretty to utterly mortified in the span of a tacky monster mash-grime remix. your internal debate of whether to bolt back down the road and uber home is interrupted by connie (gruesomely accurate stitches and foam kitchen knife complementing his chucky outfit) who tackles you in a bear hug that reeks of tequila.

“y’look great!” he slurs, clinging to you for so long that he starts swaying.

stifling a laugh, you detach from him and start guiding him back inside. “thanks con, you too.” you shout over the music.

after successfully delivering connie to mikasa (in a very expensive looking black swan costume) you start to navigate the crowd in an attempt to find something to drink.

jean had been developing a steady buzz in the hour or so that he’d been here. he wasn’t having fun. you’d rejected his offer of a ride and for some reason it had given him the urge to drink his blood volume in vodka cokes. he’d made pretty good headway so far, drowning out the compliments on his frankenstein costume with deep gulps from his glass. it felt weird, not having your complimentary figure beside him to admire all night.

somewhere between the fourth beer and third shot of rum he decided that he was mad at you. but it had dissipated pretty quickly—he was refilling his glass when he caught a glimpse of you.

connie was half-slung over your shoulder (gripping you awfully tight and saying something into your ear that has jeans teeth grinding together) but he could still clearly see the monikers of your costume. white streaks in your hair. blackened stitches along your jaw that mirror his own. jean feels the air get punched from his lungs when his eyes scan over your dress. the sheer, pale fabric practically glowing in the dim lighting. there’s a white corset that hugs your waist and follows the curve of your hips that jean can’t seem to tear his gaze from. the whole ensemble.. it’s hauntingly beautiful. you’re beautiful.

jean swallows down a forbidden feeling that claws at his ribcage, tears at the flesh of his throat in its frenzied attempt to escape.

he bolts down the hall to connie’s room, shouldering past vague acquaintances and slipping into his friends bathroom. the white knuckle grip that he has on the sink isn’t doing much to help ground him. his heart hammering in his chest and his head spinning unfortunately isn’t entirely the alcohols fault. scooping some cold water into his cupped hand, jean gulps it down and tries to cool the heat painting his cheeks and swirling in his gut.

bride of fucking frankenstein. is that why you’d asked what he was dressing up as? he groans, pressing the chilled tips of his fingers into his temple, mindful of the black face-paint stitches adorning his forehead. jean has spent almost 2 decades carefully steering you towards costumes that were safe—cute and perfect for the best of friends. jean has long since had his grand epiphany, long since resigned himself to keeping it all to himself, long since mourned the loss of what might have been. but he cannot risk a lifelong friendship with you on a gamble of ifs and maybes. so he straightens his jacket, plasters on his brightest smile and heads straight for you.

“well well well.” he drawls, coming up behind you as you’re mixing a drink. the sound of his voice has you sucking in a breath and turning to him with your bottom lip tucked between your teeth.

“couldn’t help yourself, huh? guess you’re just obsessed with me.”

you grin, glad that he seems like the jean you know and love. “please, this was a last minute ditch effort.” you shoot back, “i just couldn’t find anything else that looked okay!”

“ohh of course. forgive my wildly inaccurate assumption then.”

you chuckle, handing him a drink as you pour yourself another. “seriously though, dyou hate it?”

jean frowns over the rim of his cup, taking in your doe eyes and vulnerable expression that point to you being serious. “hate it? what would i hate it?”

“i don’t know.. you wanted to dress up alone this year so.. i thought you might be disappointed.” he stares at you blankly, cup hovering away from his lips. he’s got such pretty lips, you’ve always thought so. it would be.. weird to tell him that, right? though it’s probably weird how hard you’re staring at them right now and—oh god you’re staring.

“you wanted to dress up alone!” he says, confused.

“wh—i didn’t! i suggested it for you but.. i love our couples costumes.” you give him that shy smile that he adores and jean feels his insides turn to jelly. you have to know what you’re doing. you’ve baited him—hook, line and sinker and like the lovesick little guppy that he is he’s latched on and being stripped of oxygen.

“couples costumes?” he breaths.

“yeah i mean, we’re kind of like a couple.” you shrug, and jean almost faints. “we do everything together.” oh god, you need to shut the fuck up before you ruin everything. before he calls you out for overstepping and—

a whirlwind of colour that takes the form of sasha in a willy wonka costume (complete with crumpled wrappers spilling from her pockets) is suddenly ushering you both towards your group of friends before jean can respond and you can apologise. she pushes you down into the circle that’s forming, empty bottle of corona sitting menacingly in the centre.

jean groans, running a hand through his hair in a way that you can’t look at for too long or you might do something you’ll regret.

“what’re we? 16?” sasha just sticks her tongue out and slots down between macro and an on-the-verge-of-passing-out connie.

the games a hybrid—spin the bottle and 7 minutes in heaven, with people bending over the circle for a peck on the lips while the current 2 victims occupy the storage closet at the end of the hall. you find your eyes are focused on the fascinating items on the shopping list stuck to the fridge as jean locks lips with a pretty little blonde girl—hitch, you’re pretty sure. you don’t notice the glares that your best friend sporadically shoots in reiners direction when the bulky blonde kisses you for a little longer than necessary, earning whoops and cheers from your giddy friends. when the flick of erens wrist dictates that you and jean are next for the closet, the whole group groans.

“what?” floch says, clearly confused as to your apparent reputation.

“these are the worst.” mikasa deadpans, earning a playful shove from you.

“we are not!”

“what, they fuck super loud or something?” floch asks. jeans cheeks are reddening at the implication.

“hardly.” connie mumbles, suddenly following the conversation. “last time they were in there forever, found ‘em passed out after watchin’ a movie on his phone.”

you smile, pushing yourself up and extending a hand to jean. “i’m thinking insidious 2? maybe the conjuring?”

“stop. you know hocus pocus is more my speed.” he matches your smirk and laces your hands together, your friends’ booing accompanying you down the hall as you make your way to the closet.

you’re both settled on the floor, backs against the shelves and scrolling through jeans phone to find a movie. it’s dark, the only light coming from the small screen, but he can still see the outline of your figure in his peripherals, pressed up against him with your head on his shoulder, where it belongs.

“hey.” he finds himself blurting out. it’s the familiarity, the closeness that’s loosening his lips and making his iron resolve crumble.

“hey.” you smile up at him, and as he skims over your face, long lashes swept with mascara, pointed brows and lips sculpted with a dark crimson that almost looks black, jean has the startling urge to confess that he’s hopelessly, desperately in love with you.

“did you mean it? before..”

“what?”

“that we’re like a couple.” he presses.

“oh, i—” theres an apology on the tip of your tongue that somehow morphs under the intensity of his gaze, warm eyes piercing even in the low light. “i mean, we are, aren’t we? strangers always think we’re together. we’re just not, ah.. intimate like a couple.”

jeans ears are ringing. what might have been is beginning to look like what could be, what’s right at his fingertips.

“do you want to be?” it’s barely a whisper, his face so close to yours that when he swipes over his lips you can feel the heat from his tongue. your gaze flickers down, glued to his lips, and without a second thought you find yourself nodding.

“are you sure?” this time, he’s so close that you can feel the syllables against your lips.

“kiss me.”

and jean does not need to be told twice.

it’s a chaste thing, a sweet thing. just skin against skin. you both share a sigh against eachother and it’s filled with so much relief, so much longing that it’s only natural for his hands to make their way to your cheeks, coaxing your head back as his tongue starts to lick into your mouth.

wet smacking and heavy breaths are fogging the space of the closet as your hands curl around his wrists. jeans hands cup your jaw, a breathy chuckle bubbling up when he rests his forehead against yours. it’s so infectious that you find yourself giggling along with him, mirroring the shapes he traces into you on his pulsepoints.

“you have no idea.” jean finds himself mumbling between slow savours of your lips. “god, you drive me crazy.” and you do. he thinks he can feel his fucking brain chemistry altering with every brush of your tongue against his own.

it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore the desire pooling between your legs at the feeling of your best friend cradling your face like you’re made of glass and kissing you until you’re dizzy. your limbs feel phantom as you slowly push him against the shelves, your thighs finding purchase surrounding his long legs and hands slipping into his hair. his phone is still on somewhere, cool-blue light casting shadows over your figure. even straddling him, you’re only marginally taller, but jean loves it, your pretty face there for him to behold and your tits squished against the confines of your corset at the perfect level to latch onto. your cleavage being on display is more of an obvious byproduct of having breasts as apposed to a purposeful attempt at being alluring, but jean thanks whatever deity is looking over him and happily sucks a trail of bruises into the soft skin before him. he can feel your breathing increasing with every graze of his teeth, every violet mark etched into your skin. and when he delivers a particularly harsh nip, your thighs clenching around him and your grip on his nape tightening, jean thinks he has to be ascending.

the tent in his pants is considerable, poking into your core even through the whispy layers of your dress. large hands have settled on your waist when you start to rock in his lap, a sputtering groan spilling into your chest as his dick twitches in anticipation.

“fuck, jean—i need you.”

he’s frantic, bunching up your dress to expose your bare thighs and dampened panties. he perches you over his dick, stifling a moan from the pulsing heat of your cunt radiating against his bulge. the movements of your hips are aided by warm hands settled on them, grinding you against his cock as you gasp and moan at the friction. he almost whines in response, fingertips digging into your soft flesh. “don’t—oh shit—don’t have a condom.”

he can’t form a sentence, let alone a coherent thought. but like the angel that you are, you do it for him, tug his face back from where it’s buried in your neck, smiling fondly at his lidded eyes and parted lips. “i mean, i’m clean. and.. on birth control.” you whisper, as if he wasn’t nursing you day and night after your IUD appointment. tucking a strand of hair behind the reddened tip of his ear, you press your lips to the stubble that peppers his jaw. it’s rough, mildly grating in a way that brings heat to the surface of your skin and has you wondering how it would feel against your inner thighs. “and i trust you.” you smile.

a confession is dangerously close to bursting from his chest. jean might as well just plunge a fist through flesh and bone, part his ribcage and present his beating heart to you. he would do it, if you asked.

“fuck, are you sure?” he’s blindly scrambling for his phone. “i—i’m clean and everything but are you sure?” and suddenly the screen is being lit up in front of you with goddamn test results. you laugh, because it’s so sweet and so jean—giving you peace of mind despite your assurances, checking in on you again and again because he cares. you pull up your own recent results and present it to him, his eyes barely flicking over it before his gaze is relocked with yours. you chuck your phone to the side, palming his bulge in languid strokes with your free hand and shuffling down the length of his legs. “never been more sure of anything.”

jeans so hopped up on endorphins, on the taste of you and the arousal searing his skin that he hardly notices you flicking the clasp of his belt buckle. he’s shook from his stupor when he feels the cool air hit his dick, tip shiny with so much precum that its started to drip down to his balls. you weren’t sure what you were expecting, but the slight curve of his shaft, the bulbous head and mushroom tip, the length of it has your eyes wide and mouth pooling with saliva. you delight in the way his cock twitches and he shivers when you blow against his wet slit. and when you wrap a hand at his base, immediately pumping him with slickened strokes, he reels, arching into your touch and slamming a hand over his mouth to muffle his groans.

oh god, oh god you’re gonna ruin him, thumbing his slit and squeezing his cockhead until he’s leaking into your hand and planning your honeymoon. pink darts from between your teeth and you press the flat of your tongue against him, salty liquid bursting across your tastebuds that has you humming and taking the tip of his dick into the wet heat of your mouth. jeans nails are digging bloody crescents into the skin of his palm as he tries to hold back the sounds of his pleasure, but when you suckle on his slit and swirl your fucking tongue against the sensitive underside of his cock, jean feels his balls tighten and flames ignite under his skin.

“shit—shitshitshit wait!” and you’re pulling off of him with a lewd pop and a ditzy smile. there’s a string of saliva and pre that tethers him to your lips and jean doesn’t think you’ve ever looked so beautiful.

“god you’re so..” jeans panting, scouring his lust-dipped brain for a word that does you justice. his reaction has you preening, dragging down your panties and pecking his lips with a grin. “so’re you.”

your thighs return to their place around his hips, the bare heat of your sexes mingling when you press your clit into the underside of his shaft from its place against his stomach. jeans hands are guiding your mouth to reconnect with his, desire clawing at his chest. “let me taste you.” he breaths.

your pussy flutters at his request, baritone syllables making more slick ooze from your slit. “as much as i would love that,” you link your hands around his broad shoulders, pressing your weight into your knees to position his cock over your dripping entrance. you can see the beginnings of a protest shaping his pretty lips that you’re quick to silence, “i want you to cum.” and when his dick is enveloped with hot, wet softness, jean can’t do anything but gasp.

while the tightness of your cunt is threatening to milk him dry, he knows this can’t exactly be comfortable for you, the wetness of your shared arousal doing little to compensate for the lack of prep. gentle rolls of his hips accompany soft words and presses of his lips to the trail of bruises along your chest. “shh, you’re okay. it’s just me, just focus on me.”

slippery circles are pressed into your clit that have you relaxing under his touch and clenching around his cock simultaneously. “look how good you’re doing, baby.” he whipers, your hazy eyes blinking down to where you’re connected. you haven’t taken all of him, though he doesn’t seem to mind, his thrusts picking up and settling into a pace that has your toes curling. one of your hands slips from around his neck in a stubborn blur. he has to cum first. jean does more for you than he probably realises, doting on you like the angel that he is. they’ll be time for more later. but he has to have the first. your fingers trail the soft skin of his sac, nails grazing the cropped hair at his base that has him shuddering beneath you. you can almost feel his load churning under your touch when you roll the heavy weight of his balls between your fingertips.

electricity is sparking between you—it’s under your skin and in your gut and tethering the beating muscles in your chests.

“i—have wanted you—” his words are choked, impending orgasm a breath away, “—for so fucking long. i fucking—i love you. i’m so fucking in love with you.” his confession comes as he does, searing heat from his release coating your insides and splashing through the depths of your cunt. your foreheads are pressed together as you gasp and whisper against his lips, jeans hips fucking his load into you as he helps you chase your own high.

“i love you. always have.” it’s a little slurred, a little breathy. but when jean feels your pussy squeezing him in a vice, slick sounds of arousal bouncing off of the dark walls of the closet, he doesn’t think it could be any more fucking perfect.

-

reiner has his tongue shoved down bertls throat when you both emerge, blinking at the harsh light. the group doesn’t even give you a second look, at first. when reiner pulls back, leaving the brunet with pink cheeks and wide eyes, jean is the one to clear his throat and direct their attention to your disheveled figures.

“we’re, uh, we’re gonna head out.”

your hands are intertwined. which isn’t a foreign feeling at all, though his cum dripping down your thighs is certainly new.

“no fucking way.” connie seems to have sobered up exponentially, eyeing your mess of hickeys, wrinkled clothes and jeans wild hair.

“i’ll be damned.” erens smirking with his brows raised as you manoeuvre the little crowd and head for the door. throwing a quick wave over your shoulder, you flash a sheepish smile to your friends, stumbling out a goodbye as jean tugs you out the door.

“uh, happy halloween guys!”

as soon as the door slams jeans pulling you in for a kiss. his lips are quickly becoming your favourite thing so you are not complaining, looping your arms round his waist to pull him further into your orbit.

“so.” you muse, “what’re we now? like.. fuck buddies?” you joke.

jean thinks on it, dramatically squinting his eyes and humming in thought. “i’d prefer the term smash bros.”

the look of disgust that colours your face as you shove him away and head down the street has laughter bubbling in his chest and his hands pulling you flush against his chest.

“you’re so stupid.” you pout, barely masking your adorable smile. “can’t believe i slept with you. can’t believe im in love with you.” you’re teasing him, taking his lips for yourself and giggling against him. but if he’s being completely honest with himself, jean can’t fucking believe it either.

#: @luvkun4 @sheluvzeren @oxygenstarrved @wh0reforlevi

#jean x reader #jean x reader smut #jean x black reader #jean smut #jean kirstein x reader smut #jean kirstein smut #jean kirstein x reader #aot x black reader #aot x reader smut #aot x reader #aot smut #aot x you #aot x y/n #iyrtycsm collab #jean x you #jean x y/n

[tanadrin]

The Gish Gallop was a term coined I think on the 2000s internet for a rhetorical maneuver where to buttress an argument you provide a ton of low-quality evidence; that the evidence is bad means it should be easy to refute, but the very large volume means it will take much longer to explain why it's all wrong than it did to copy-paste a bunch of links, and to a certain kind of very naive onlooker, it looks like the galloper is winning--after all, the one interlocutor has presented a ton of evidence! The second interlocutor has to spend so much time bending over backwards to refute it! Surely the first guy is more knowledgeable and authoritative. You aren't going to look at all that evidence yourself, of course--who has the time?

But listening to Dan McClellan talk about the Gospel of John this morning, it occurs to me that I don't think this is disingenuous. Not entirely. I think this is just the style of argumentation a lot of Christians (of a particular religious flavor) are used to. And I'm not just talking about in non- or para-religious matters like evolution. This is how Christianity understands the Bible.

This week's Data over Dogma is about the theology of John, and why it is non-trinitarian (because the Trinity is a much later doctrine developed as a kind of political compromise, maintained only because it had state backing) and does not actually identify Jesus with God (the theological developments are more complicated here; but suffice it to say it was not at all a given that "authorized bearer of the divine name" and "actually God" were the same being in 1st century Hellenistic Judaism, and indeed the distinction between the two had developed in Jewish thought precisely to avoid the awkwardness of anthropomorphic figures proclaiming themselves God in some of the older sections of the Hebrew Bible).

The funny thing is, there are a ton of passages in John that get trotted out as proof texts that Jesus is God. There are very good reasons in the case of each one to doubt that that is actually the correct reading; but of course, if you don't know anything about Greek, all you have are modern translations produced under the assumption of the dogma of the Trinity--mostly for devotional readers of the Bible who would be outraged if the Trinity wasn't in the New Testament--and you have been raised in a cultural and/or educational milieu where it is simply a default assumption about the way the world works that the Trinity is a timeless concept that has been in the Bible from the beginning, it sure looks like one side is spinning up tendentious arguments based on silly semantics that have nothing to do with the religion you learned as a kid.

But this exegetical approach (really, eisegetical) is common to many topics in traditional Christian theology. There are a ton of passages from the Septuagint that the Gospels warp to be about Jesus, even though, in their original context, this doesn't make any sense; sometimes even they're based on obvious mistranslations, like having Jesus ride into Jerusalem on the back of two animals simultaneously because you don't understand appositives. And you can poke holes in any individual bit of this exegesis, but psychologically having a ton of low-quality evidence for a thing is a pretty effective bulwark against thinking critically about that evidence; for every individual argument you knock down, the person you are arguing against is probably thinking, "yeah, but what about all that other stuff," even if they can't actually name all that other stuff in the moment.

And it's not mendacious! This is the stuff of true belief; this is how you get breathless Christian commentators saying the Bible couldn't possibly be written by human hands, because it so perfectly predicted Jesus even in the Old Testament--and the evidence they point to is, to anyone not steeped in traditional Christian exegesis, and especially to Jews who have their own exegetical traditions, absolutely barmy. Like really pants-on-head crazy stuff. But of course even now it is still being processed, in many parts of the world, through a two thousand year old tradition trying to reconcile it all and to normalize it all, and--to bring it back to discussions of evolution on the internet in the 2000s--I can't help but think of all those people who talk about the experience of thinking evolution was so obviously nonsense, because all they were exposed to was the fundamentalist strawman of it. When they finally sat down and began to read about it on their own, from unbiased sources--often with the intent of criticizing it--they realized how distorted their understanding was, and how limited their supposed outside view.

(If there are general lessons to be wrung from this situation, I think it's simply "beware of echo chambers." Social consensus in a bubble can make bad arguments feel much stronger than they really are, especially if you are not exposed to the actual opposing view. Be on guard against mistaking "quantity of evidence" for "quality of argument," especially if you're not gonna evaluate that evidence yourself. Also all religious traditions are fundamentally eisegetical, because in order to keep holy writ relevant to the community its meaning has to be constantly renegotiated. So, uh. If you want high-quality exegesis, ask an academic, not a theologian.)

[yuly]

How about Hotch who rejects reader once they confess their feelings? But later on he comes to the realization he actually loves the reader!!! And he tries to win her back?? I know you’d write this so well 🥹

→ hi lovely anon, I love this idea! I wrote this with a shy reader who works in the BAU but is not a profiler/agent, I hope you enjoy <3 

cw: mentions of being insecure and self-doubt, angst and pain, Aaron's father is mentioned

Aaron Hotchner x shy!female reader

Time and Tide

A Lifetime

That's how long you’ve been a shy, out-of-the-way, quiet creature. You’re a diligent and skillful worker, but socially awkward and prefer to keep to yourself. You’re often unsure of what to say to strike up or even maintain a casual conversation. But your Unit Chief makes it easy. Your first year working with the FBI has been rocky but Hotch has been the most supportive and compassionate boss you’ve ever had. He is welcoming, always lending a listening ear, offering you advice and standing up for you. You quickly learn that he is an advocate for every member of his team and not just the few agents he works with on a daily basis. You find yourself admiring him from afar, daydreaming about him, and committing all of your interactions to memory.

A Year

That's how long it takes for you to build up the courage to say something to him. Having now established some semblance of a friendly working relationship, you decide to make your move. That move is to reciprocate his kind gestures for once instead of crumbling at the mere sight of him and fleeing from the scene. And it works.

You develop this tradition after cases where, after the official debrief with the team, Hotch has another, more intimate debrief with you. Your presence is a calming force, a sense of serenity he craves daily. He usually sits in his chair while you wrap up your work for the day in his office, often times you’re the one talking - about your day, the work you did, the latest office gossip, and the new boots you're saving up for. You’ve become truly comfortable in his presence, and he basks in it. Sometimes he’ll indulge you in his day-to-day with his son or a story from his days as a prosecutor. You listen eagerly, with an open heart, ready for the taking.You’ve fallen hopelessly in love with him and worry if the feelings will ever be reciprocated.

An almost fatal injury suffered on a case is what pushes you over the edge. The thought of losing something that was never yours to begin with breaks your eager heart.

A Month

That's how long you spend skirting around the words that occupy the majority of your brain space. For an entire month, you show up at his doorstep, food in hand, always offering him some company. More often than not, he takes you up on the offer. Your traditional post-case debrief sessions are now spent within the confines of his home.  Aside from the physical pain in his body from his injuries and the emotional pain in your heart from loving him, nothing much has changed. 

One Day

One day you finally make your move. Sitting side by side on his couch, eating tortilla chips, watching some documentary he’s been raving about all week. You turn away from the TV screen to face him.

“Aaron, I-I like you.”

He chuckles lightly in response, and a slightly confused look sits across his face, “thank you, I like you too, Y/N.”

“No, Aaron I like you more than a friend, I...I have feelings for you.”

The silence that follows your confession suffices. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, shoulders tense, jaw set tight. The energy in the room has shifted and you suddenly feel like an intruder in his home. 

“Y/N…..that’s not going to work.”

That's all he manages to say before standing from his spot on the couch, awkwardly eyeing the door.

You lift your jaw off the ground and clear your throat, “I’ll see myself out.”

If you could have one wish, it would be for the ground beneath you to open up and swallow you whole. His rejection stings worse than any embarrassing scenario your mind could ever conjure. You feel the familiar thoughts of self-doubt and disgust begin to swarm your mind. 

⋯⋯⋯⋯⊱⊰⋯⋯⋯⋯

You keep your head down at work, slowly reverting to your old shy and insecure self; you hate it. So when an FBI tech named James begins to hang out at your desk and bring you coffee every morning, you welcome it. You view it as a chance to rebuild yourself, to rid yourself of this heartbreak over a man that was never yours. And James is good to you, he’s sweet, doting, and totally enamoured with your being. You allow yourself to get comfortable, and receive love for once. And it feels good.

Hotch has made it a point to maintain his distance from you ever since your confession. That hurts worse than the rejection itself. He never looks in your direction, never speaks your name, and never makes any direct contact with you at all. It's like you never existed.

So when he stops by your desk one evening to extend a personal invite to the team’s Christmas dinner, you’re stunned and speechless. 

“You haven’t spoken to me in nearly a year,” your words are a soft whisper, spoken mostly to yourself, but he hears you.

“That’s not true-”

“It is, Aaron. You always push people away, I never thought you’d do it to me.”

When he looks into your eyes, he immediately regrets it. The memory of your friendship comes back to him in a rush, the stories you two shared back and forth, the time you spent in his office to keep him company, all the words of advice he’d offered, the 30 consecutive days you'd shown up at his doorstep with warm home-cooked meals. All of that was your testament of love, and he threw it all away without giving you a chance.

Aaron doesn’t say anything in response. He trudges back into his office, only looking back once, desperately hoping to catch you looking back at him. Instead, he’s met with the sight of your boyfriend kissing your cheek and gathering your things to go home for the night. Your hand slips perfectly into his and the two of you walk out together. 

The sight of you walking off with another man brings back a bitter memory of his father and a phrase he would often scold him with.

"time and tide wait for no man"

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x female reader #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner angst #aaron hotch x you #aaron hotch fanfiction #aaron hotch imagine #yuly writes!

[summershouto]

baby 5 & sanji- the role of gender

I’m definitely not the first person to say this but Sanji’s women obsession is very similar to Baby 5’s need to please and I wanted to expand on it more bc the thoughts keep bouncing around in my brain 

Sanji and Baby 5 have the same core need to find love and it effects their actions- especially in matters with romance/the opposite sex. While both of their fixations are often treated as jokes, they still reflect underlaying issues tied to their backstories.

The way they act on this romantic drive is somewhat different, as they both assume the traditionally expected roles in accordance with their gender. They’re putting on a performance, behaving over-the-top in effort to please, while still varying in how they portray their love-sickness to remain a model man/woman. these differences set them apart, and I feel in Sanji’s case it can result in his behavior being brushed off as simply a weird quirk (unlike Baby 5, who’s actions remain lighthearted but are recognized as a trauma response).

They both have the same reaction to potential interest/attention, but remain strictly on the opposite ends of the spectrum of Man vs Woman in a conventional relationship. 

Baby 5 maintains a caretaking, flattering-focused obsession of the opposite sex rather than transforming into having pervy gags. She wants to be needed but she also enjoys (and sometimes imagines) being swooned over.

Looking at Sanji in the beginning, before the annoying nosebleed/creep gags became more prominent, he was also rather romance driven rather than motivated by lust. He, similar to Baby 5, saw many as potential suitors; a hopeless romantic at heart. While Baby 5 strikes at the first sign of interest from a man, Sanji equally treats every woman as someone he needs to look after . 

Baby 5 jumps into the role of a caring wife. She blushes like a schoolgirl and assumes that every man who is kind is showing interest in her. Meanwhile Sanji, filling the role of a traditional man in the relationship, seeks to provide. He wants to aid women in any way possible- whether thats with cooking or actual physical protection. His pervy gags could also be read as a way to fit this norm- as a man it’s more societally acceptable to be lust driven- (and in some cases, lust/sex is a way to “prove” ones manhood).  This is especially prominent after his time apart from the crew surrounded by people that challenged his notions of gender.

Overall their use of these traditional gender roles are safe; an easy way to get attention. People in real life often use romantic attention as means of fulfillment, and I read their actions as the same.

Baby 5 and Sanji are both people pleasers. Baby 5 is named as such, noting she can’t deny anyone anything because she longs to be needed. Sanji’s lack of self-worth causes him to always put others first, even at the cost of his own wellbeing. They see themselves as existing to fulfill a needed role, bidding their time until the moment arises. 

Other people have noted how similar Baby 5 and Sanji are in this way, joking that it’s good Sanji and Baby 5 never met because they’d get married instantly. I think it would actually be very interesting if they had met. Two people pleasers in a relationship is a recipe for disaster, especially with people as passionate as Baby 5 and Sanji. Their way of dealing with conflict would be to.. not. Neither would ever want to say the other is at fault. Their approach towards romance is seeking a sense of fulfillment, which would create an interesting dynamic with their exaggerated swooning. 

Now there are some people who truly are greatly motivated to pursue relationships, but with Sanji and Baby 5’s backstories revolving around a lack of love,  it’s safe to assume that it’s a bit more of an inorganic reaction for them. Especially when looking at the situations their love gets them into, such as when Baby 5 fell head over heels for a man because he was kind to her once despite not showing any prior attraction. 

Sanji is on the opposite side of the spectrum, finding /every/ woman beautiful and himself unworthy. Where Baby 5 aims to prove her worth from any one person and seeks a reason for her receiving kindness, Sanji places himself below all the women he meets and grovels in attempt to please as they stand on their pedestals. 

Sanji was raised by Zeff- someone who had a strong influence in how Sanji perceives and treats women. Sanji’s hunger for love was enhanced by the teaching of strict gender roles and emphasis on chivalry. While Baby 5 longs to be the helpful wife, Sanji becomes the pursuer- acting like a white knight as he sought women’s attention. That’s not to say his attraction isn’t real, but his extreme reactions to women reflect his desperation to please. 

Sanji also has the added factor of the men vs women in his life prior to Zeff, with only his mother and sister showing him kindness. Women were safer; and Zeff furthered this belief through his teachings.  

They’re both self-sacrificial to a dangerous degree. To them, their lives are indispensable; meaning if someone needs to die for the greater good then that’s the role they feel they were made for. Their life IS other people.

This is also interesting to consider in the perspective of non-heterosexual relationships. Sanji has a complicated past with gender/sexuality, so his aggressive actions towards men reflect what he feels a “real man” should be. Feminine attention is good, acceptable to enjoy, but male attention is something to scorn.

For Baby 5, we don’t really see her react to the kindness of a woman. She grew up around predominantly men and men appear to be the ones who most often take advantage of her. It’s curious to consider if meeting another woman with good intentions would allow her to be more sincere. 

I guess in conclusion I often see Baby 5’s actions being recognized as a response to her past, but I don’t often see Sanji’s explained similarly. Personally I think Sanji’s behavior is greatly effected by his starve for love, and he throws himself into it just like Baby 5. However, the way theyre perceived is greatly effected by their gender and their according behavior to fit the norms. Regardlessly, he and Baby 5 both rely on other people to find their worth- and the quickest way to do that is to turn to romantic love. 

#ok rant over #this got long damn #hope it makes sense #I just have a lot of thoughts on them #and how theyre incredibly similar #but they aren't seen in the same light because of how they act as the pursuer vs the pursued #like baby 5 pursues too #but in a more -schoolgirl blushy- fawning kinda way #sanji #sanji black leg #baby 5 one piece #baby 5 #one piece #sanji meta #sanji analysis #baby 5 meta #baby 5 analysis #one piece meta #one piece analysis #sanji and his internalized homophobia #or biphobia #however you wanna say it

[prince-liest]

love the way you explore Alastor's friendships but especially with his gal pals, which I feel like might get overlooked by a lot of people! thank you so much for the radiodiva fic. it hit me in all of my aroace feels and of course it's great to read more of Mimzy. you even threw in some Niffty (and a Rosie shoutout) that was sooo cute. truly the Al GalPal fic.

it's also super fun to compare Al's behavior with his female friends (and how much of that is informed by time period and those ideals) and how he behaves when boundaries are crossed with Vox in the 666 series. how much would you say is due to differences in power (overlord vs normal sinner) and gender perceptions? or was that something you were taking into consideration when writing?

Thank you so much! It's a really fun topic for me to explore because, as you said, those are definitely all things that I think about when I write about how Alastor relates to other people, especially people with the potential to become friends! I think it's power and gender.

This turned into a pretty long post, so: the rest is under the cut!

We definitely see in canon that Alastor has a different relationship with his female friends than he does with pretty much any male character, period. I think that his behavior in that sense is very much informed by the time period that he's from. Obviously he hasn't strictly retained '20s sensibilities (except maybe with regards to radio, haha), but I think he clearly puts some effort into presenting himself as a gentleman when women are involved in a way that he simply doesn't bother with when men are. He offers a certain amount of leeway and respect to characters like Niffty, Mimzy, Rosie, and even Charlie, who I personally think that he would claim as a friend but doesn't realize he may or may not be beginning to genuinely see as one. Honestly, the female character to get the least amount of leeway from him is Vaggie, and she's outright hostile to him on many occasions.

But... even with Vaggie, he's much nicer to her outright antagonism than he is to, say, Husk. He's still unkind when he prods her about Charlie's expectations in episode one, and I think he knows he has to maintain a veneer of decency with her that he doesn't with Husk, but I think from the way he expresses himself it's still telling that he seems more amused than irritated with her even when he's being a petty bitch about it.

He does have female friends across different power levels, and I think in each case there's a clear consideration to that aspect of the dynamic as well. He most likely owns Niffty's soul, and he gives Niffty an incredibly amount of leeway with his person and outright says that he admires her in a way. Mimzy is a sinner who runs to him for help, and he enables her behavior and attitude with fondness and, I think we can extrapolate, consistently comes through for her requests - he's also incredibly polite to her when he asks her not to, y'know, destroy the project he's currently investing so much time into. Rosie, on the other hand, is an overlord - and he still shows her a great deal of fondness, but I think it's also telling that their dialogue seems to imply that their relationship is very well-balanced by mutual favors.

And on that note, it's also not a coincidence that I tend to reach for Angel Dust, a very genderqueer character who does not personally perform traditional masculinity (and in fact puts quite a bit of effort into his feminine persona) as a member of the hotel crew that Alastor would be the most able to become friends of sorts with. Angel is, of course, also a sinner of a pretty low power level, and I think that underneath the external wildly different presentations, he and Alastor have a lot in common (namely on the topic of masking), but he's not the only character who masks around Alastor and compared to Vox or Lucifer, who are both powerful people and not particularly feminine, he's a lot higher on the "ease of friend potential" meter for Alastor.

The friendliest we see Alastor being with a male character in canon is with Zestial, whose general persona is very gentlemanly... but even then, I would call their attitude toward each other one of friendly posturing as coworkers who have an eye on each other, rather than genuinely friendly.

When I write Alastor dealing with Vox in 666: Live on Air! it's definitely with consideration to "How the hell would Alastor be more genuine, non-performative friends with an actual guy?" because, like... Vox isn't wrong when he says that he's the first dude that's earned the sheer amount of leeway that Alastor offers him, both physically and emotionally.

(Disclaimer I feel compelled to make: No, it's not because Vox is trans. Alastor straight up does not initially realize that, and even despite knowing it at the current point of the story, nothing about Vox's presentation actually reads as feminine to Alastor in any way. He's a softer touch with Angel Dust than Vox for a reason!)

What ends up happening is that Alastor... wants, even if it's largely subconscious, to behave with Vox as comfortably as he does with Rosie, Mimzy, and Niffty. But unfortunately, he runs into the issue of 1) his paranoid hindbrain is still regularly registering Vox as a power-hungry threat, at least in part due to Vox's actual previous behavior, and 2) he is honestly closer to Vox in some aspects than he is to his other friends because of the sheer amount of weird self-discovery they've gotten up to, which means that opening up the same way would be showing more vulnerability, and to a person that, frankly, Alastor doesn't feel like he has a veneer of gender role-dictated propriety to protect himself with. Especially since Vox is an overlord, and especially since a lot of the actual kinky shit that they get up to is predicated on Vox having abilities that the average sinner doesn't.

So when Mimzy crosses a boundary, Alastor accomodates her in whatever way is genuinely important to her, then gently corrects her and sets her on her way. This is just how Mimzy is, this is how their dynamic has been for a long time, and he does not register her as a threat. When Vox crosses a boundary... it's an attack, and if it's a serious enough one, then Alastor subscribes to the school of responses of nuclear proportions to dissuade any motherfucker from ever even thinking about trying again. See: the trail of dead overlord bodies left in his wake after his original descent into hell.

The turning point that leads him to make a deal to his slight but very actual disadvantage in Network 0666: No Signal is that Vox shows him some genuine upset and vulnerability. Vox has been vulnerable before this point, but he's generally been loud, obnoxious, pathetic, and over-the-top about it, and honestly often also just absolutely turned it into a sex thing. This is the first time that Vox managed, though entirely unintentionally, to find one of the heartstrings that is so much more accessible to characters like Mimzy, and accidentally tug on it. Alastor finds safety in the vulnerability of his friends, but he also likes being the powerful figure that provides those friends with help and protection, even in ways that might look like they're to his own detriment.

(Until, of course, they end up actually being to his detriment - see: Adam - at which point he loses his shit about it. But, uh, his ego makes it hard for him to see when that might actually happen!)

Anyway, this ended up a long post that could probably have been less rambling, but I hope it answered your question!

#ask #personal #Anonymous #my writing #666 live on air #t #meta

[aita-blorbos]

Am I the Asshole for Sucking People Dry?

Perhaps I should not rely on public opinion to soothe my bruised ego, but I have, quite frankly, had it up to here with the baseless accusations and slanders leveled against my respectable name, and thus I demand clarification from an objective crowd once and for all.

I (M, stopped counting at 14) happen to have inherited the legendary and historically meaningful title of the "Dark Sorcerer" from the spirit of the previous Dark Sorcerer at a young age. Of course, a title such as this bear responsibilities and expectations, namely the dedication of my life to the amassing of as grand an amount of magical power as ever possible to further the prestige and status of the title. The traditional way to accomplish this is to absorb magic energy from outside sources, an ability that is generally inherited alongside the "Dark Sorcerer" title. Now, for the most part I have always preferred to rely on helpless targets for my purposes: magical artifacts, natural nexi of environmental power, lingering magic of the deceased... But, occasionally, I have indeed, ahem, taken passing sorcerers back to my abode for a, let's say, "extraction". Not all (or most) of them willingly, of course, but it all had its purpose. The majority of them were children and young teenagers anyway. What good could they have possibly done with such impressive power on them? If you ask me, I have done them a favor for relieving them of the responsibility of such grand strength. If they do not resist it barely even hurts!

Now, one or two of them may have perished in the extraction process, but am I really supposed to take responsibility for that, when they were appropriately warned to just calmly wait in their cells? They all were aware of the dangers it entails when they began practicing the craft of sorcery, I am sure.

In any case, my collection of power progressed quite well. Until one of my vict-- I mean, targets escaped.

Let's call her "A" (F, 16+). She was a young sorceress with power she clearly was not capable of using appropriately, so I decided to swiftly relieve her of that burden. She did not agree with my assessment, humiliated me in a duel in front of the entirety of my hired staff and left, leaving my underground abode a mess. Now, as she won our battle fair and square, I would not take issue with her just having gone on her merry way until the next time I attempt to take her for my own... If that had been all she had done!

Instead, ever since our initial encounter, she has insisted on making a fool of me and spreading entirely untrue and baseless rumors about me among everyone she comes across! Branding me as a "creeper" or "skeezy" and shamefully misinterpreting my words in any way possible, just to make fun of me! Treating my every attempt to challenge her to a serious, respectable battle for her power as a joke, no, a game even! As a result, there is an entire township now where the magic-using population know me only as a weirdo and a joke and has absolutely no respect of my prowess as the "Dark Sorcerer"! I suspect A is doing this all in a sort of attempt at revenge, to make me feel as if I need to change my ways and "settle down". She has indeed insinuated things of that sort in the past. But all I am doing is living by the ancient tradition of the title passed on to me! How can she not understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with ravaging the weak if it is to maintain the ancient order of sorcery itself?

You all agree, don't you? She is being ridiculous, isn't she! I am just acting the way I am supposed to act! And I am NOT a skeezy creeper!!

I require validation!!!

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality

[biscuit-babbles]

HSR Men Omegaverse (A/B/O) Dynamics

This is entirely self-serving, but let's be honest, the HSR community is kinda starving for a/b/o content. So! I'm here to make sure y'all are fed. ♡ And if you're at all upset with the dynamics I give them, fear not! I may or may not write content in the future that will dabble in giving them other dynamics.

Rating: SFW Warnings: None Characters: Caelus, Dan Heng, Welt, Gepard, Sampo, Luka, Jing Yuan, Luocha, Blade, Argenti + Dr Ratio Summary: What the dynamics of all the HSR men would be, and how it plays into their personalities and environments.

At first, no one was really sure what CAELUS was, to be honest. The only person who really seemed interested in guessing or betting anything was March, who excitedly hoped he was another omega she could drag into her nest and gossip with. However, it wasn't long after finally settling on the express that his dynamic was revealed; Caelus is a BETA. This doesn't really affect him at all, aside from general uneducated in matters pertaining to alphas and omegas. Though, it has been theorized that this is a best-case scenario regarding the stellaron inside Caelus's body. If he was an alpha or omega, a rut or heat cycle might negatively affect the stellaron, and vice versa.

DAN HENG neither openly talks about nor hides the fact that he is an ALPHA. He's fairly quiet and keeps to himself most of the time, so it took everyone on the Nameless some time to find out initially. In previous incarnations, his alpha status helped in the efficiency and social standing of the High Elder, but that proves meaningless to Dan Heng now. All it means to him in the present is that March will steal his clothes and he has an excuse to be left alone for a whole week once every few months.

When first meeting WELT, it's almost suffocatingly obvious that's an ALPHA, from his tall stature, deep voice, and a tangible instinct to protect the rest of the Nameless. Though, once he softens up and reveals himself to be a more gentle, wise, and excitable man, he never loses that air of authority to him. Not in a governing sense, but in the same way as a calming father-figure. Welt will protect those close to him with his life, not willing to let them suffer the same as so many others. He's very comfortable in his status as well, not being afraid to indulge in things more traditionally labeled as for omegas.

The Landau family is an old, prestigious lineage, one that carries with it a lot of tradition - one that GEPARD's father tried to uphold. Despite being a BETA, Gepard has been raised and trained with a traditionally alpha mentality. His job is to protect, serve, and provide for Belebog and the Landau family. Though, he maintained his gentler demeanor in large part due to the continued presence and support of Serval and Lynx. Sometimes he feels an added sense of stress that he isn't an alpha, like his father had hoped for, but he is reminded with every passing day that his dynamic doesn't factor into his value as a Silvermane Guard, or as a Landau.

Acting as prime suspect witness to those reminders is SAMPO. Everyone in Belebog, including Gepard, assumes the slippery con man is an alpha - after all, that's how he has meticulously portrayed himself. A two-faced alpha whose only interest is in lining his own pockets. But underneath all the fake smiles, disguises, and scams is a proud BETA of the Masked Fools. If anything, this dynamic suits Sampo perfectly, as he can feasibly tailor any kind of dynamic he wants for his new persona. Need a beautiful, unassuming omegan woman? Now you have Madam Brughel Poisson. Besides, dealing with a rut or heat cycle wouldn't exactly be all that fun, would it?

Now, Belebog isn't home to just betas. Somewhere in the depths of the Underworld, LUKA is either engaged in a brawl with a formidable foe or keeping a protective watch over the kids. Dynamics aren't very important in the everyday lives of the people in the Underground, but the second he steps into a room, it's immediately obvious that he is an ALPHA. This is made even more clear in his close relationships with other alphas; his playful rivalry with Seele, his brotherly role to Hook, and his training with Oleg.

Acting as the General of the Xianzhou Loufu, carrying the lofty title of Divine Foresight, JING YUAN is the definition of an ALPHA. Every few decades, there's a few scandalous headlines that propose the rumor that he's secretly an omega due to his nonchalant demeanor and close mentorship of Yanqing, but they're quickly disproven every time. While yes, a lofty role doesn't equate to being an alpha, but it's hard to dispute his overwhelming presence. All of the staff in the Seat of Divine Foresight are witnesses to his stubbornness, his cunning, and the crackling tension that arises with the General's anger, no matter how he tries to contrast it with his easy-going attitude.

It never crosses anyone's mind to question what LUOCHA is, exactly. Not everyone's dynamic is immediately obvious, and he's a traveling merchant after all, he might come from a culture with different ideas of how to appear as one dynamic over another. Just another face and scent in a sea of faces and scents. There are very few who know that he's an OMEGA, and even those that do, they don't really care to act on that fact. Don't let his dynamic fool you - it requires a lot of audacity and righteous passion to drive one to want to kill an Aeon.

As a weapon, there is no need for such labels. None of these words mean much to BLADE anymore, even if they still continue to affect him. He never acknowledges the fact that he's an ALPHA, not finding that it swings his sword any faster or brings death any quicker. Though, he can't dispute the way his dynamic serves against his best interests, as any stimuli that emboldens that part of him typically retaliates in the form of the mara. Whenever he's able to indulge in the occasional guilty pleasure, however, he finds himself to be surprisingly tender. Kafka once caught him hoarding a few of the weighted stuffed animals she and Silver Wolf got to soothe his chronic pain, scenting them and trilling at them. Thank the Aeons it was only Kafka who found him, or else Silver Wolf would have been teasing him about it for weeks.

ARGENTI will never be one to hide any part of his identity, proclaiming loudly and proudly that he is an ALPHA serving the Aeon of Beauty, Idrila. At first, he may be met with some speculation as to whether he's telling the truth. It's not every day that you meet an alpha that smells so flowery and disarming, much similarly to an omega. Not to mention that he's just as tender, just as wholeheartedly loving as all those lovesick omegas on tv. But similarly to Jing Yuan, he has a certain presence to him that certainly proves his claim.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, regarded as arrogant, brilliant, and an all-around pain in the ass, is DR RATIO. While he will firmly assert that his dynamic has no bearing on his personality nor capabilities, he is very knowledgeable on how being an ALPHA affects his every day life. Dr Ratio takes great care in assuring that not even idiots can misconstrue his intentions, putting on scent patches and never baring his teeth. However, this has led a few to question whether he really is an alpha, pointing out that his grandiose personality may point to him trying to compensate. In one way or another, they are swiftly proven wrong, even if Dr Ratio doesn't see their 'close-minded ignorance' as worth his time nor an explanation.

#hsr omegaverse #hsr a/b/o #honkai star rail omegaverse #honkai star rail a/b/o #star rail omegaverse #star rail a/b/o #hsr caelus #hsr dan heng #hsr welt #hsr gepard #hsr sampo #hsr luka #hsr jing yuan #hsr luocha #hsr blade #hsr argenti #hsr dr ratio #hsr beta caelus #hsr alpha dan heng #hsr alpha welt #hsr beta gepard #hsr beta sampo #hsr alpha luka #hsr alpha jing yuan #hsr omega luocha #hsr alpha blade #hsr alpha argenti #hsr alpha dr ratio #biscuit babbles

[earlymornings]

regarding sumeru...

hi friends! this is my quick take on what's happening with hoyoverse, the general design of sumeru, and the stream of racism allegations that have resurged recently. i think it's worth trying to analyze why hoyoverse designed sumeru the way it looks like so far (and because i want to add my two cents to the discourse lol).

here are some context:

hoyoverse is a chinese game dev company

sumeru is inspired by the people, religions, architecture, and cultures of south asian countries (india, nepal, pakistan, etc.) and countries in SWANA* (egypt, iran, the UAE, turkey, etc.)

we are only getting a portion of sumeru and 3 new characters in the 3.0 update

here are some of the main problems players have with the current status of sumeru:

the combination of the different countries and their cultures and religions

the lack of diversity

the general lack of effort put into sumeru's design, given the release of the fatui harbingers and the outstanding quality demonstrated in the interlude teaser

in order to address these concerns, i think it's important to think about hoyoverse and the stances its employees have on this issue. this does not mean i am playing devil's advocate or excusing the company's ignorance, but i think it's critical to understand the potential root causes.

because hoyoverse is based in china, their standard of diversity is much, much lower compared to that of other countries, such as the US and canada, which experience decades worth of immigration and are known as melting pots. coupled with east asia's internalized colorism and xenophobia, mainland folks simply do not get much exposure to POC. this means two things. first, they might not understand why global players are so adamant about POC representation and diversity – the developers may not even know how to go about bringing diversity because what they think is diverse is different from our understanding. second, hoyoverse will prioritize its east asian, particularly its chinese, fanbases, and let's be real, any character that's not flour-pale will not be as popular with the latter.**

the lack of popularity then becomes a financial issue for hoyoverse. hoyoverse generates a large portion of its money from the wishing system. it's thriving because so many people whale for 5-star characters and C6-ing them. if hoyoverse's largest community stops pulling for characters, they won't be able to keep up and maintain high quality with future productions (both for genshin and other games).

i promise y'all that there are at least a few designers and staff members in hoyoverse who want diversity in the same way that we do, who want unique characters with intricate lore, and who are willing to put in the effort. but at the end of the day, they are just designers and many of them will be forced to revise darker-skinned character drafts.

besides literal money, another currency that hoyoverse is limited to is time. one thing that i think hoyoverse hasn't disappointed fans in is the consistency of the game. there is always new content, and even during its hiatus in response to the shanghai mass quarantine in may, they provided mini events and extended the banners to make it more accessible for F2P players. while having constant releases is wonderful and retains interest, that means quality will be compromised in other aspects.

in this case, it means the design and intention put into sumeru. to elaborate, by design, i don't just mean character designs (though this is debatable because the community has a pretty bad habit of hating new characters, especially 5-stars, but then growing to love them) but also the geography, architecture, and personality of sumeru.

as sumeru is marketed right now, its concept is that it is a collage of all the aforementioned countries and their respective cultures. unless sumeru is separated into geographical sections to represent the distinct cultural influences, to mish-mash these countries' religions, peoples, and traditions together is disrespectful and reinforces harmful monolithic stereotypes.***

sumeru will be a literal game-changing region because it has so much information to bring: in-depth lore, the dendro element and everything that entails, etc. this is a pivoting point, so that's why it's frankly saddening and anticlimactic for hoyoverse to not put in the effort. i understand that in update 3.0, we will only be getting a taste of sumeru, so while it's hard to judge the production of the region with the limited information we have right now, it's important to push for diversity and representation while we still can and also give hoyoverse time to make the necessary changes correctly.

to summarize: i don't think hoyoverse is being intentionally or actively racist. i think it comes from a place of ignorance, so i personally think it's better to approach this problem with constructive criticism than to send hate messages to hoyoverse staff members who work so hard regardless. if we don't tell them why and what they're doing is wrong, then the game developers won't know how to resolve the concerns. furthermore, sumeru hasn't officially come out yet, and what we have seen in the teasers will be more refined and polished in the released product. i don't think we need to panic or retaliate, i just think we should remind hoyoverse so that they don't put representation on the back burner.

as for solutions, sending messages through different media platforms, emails, etc. has worked in the past (e.g. during genshin's 1st anniversary).**** but it doesn't stop there. just like every other region released so far, sumeru isn't just limited to the 3.0 patch; we will continue getting content for it for the rest of the game, so unless we see results, we have to be consistent with the feedback. that looks like continuing to send messages until we see tangible, permanent change, not being complacent in the lack of POC representation, and more.

i probably missed a lot of great points out there, but this is all my last brain cell can come up with. please repost and add your own thoughts because the more ideas, the better! (if you want to repost this onto other platforms, just make sure you credit me!!)

hope everyone gets their kazuhas, heizous, and yoimiyas in 2.8!!!

--

*i recognize that the name "the middle east" has colonial roots, but because the region is so popularly known as such, i'm using it so that no one gets confused. edit: thanks to @najmaviper for pointing this out, but a decolonized term that is often used is SWANA. you can find more information at the initiative's website: https://swanaalliance.com/about#:~:text=S.W.A.N.A.%20is%20a%20decolonial%20word,contain%20and%20dehumanize%20our%20people.

**this is not to say that all individuals from south asian or SWANA are darker-skinned, but it's crucial to push for change to help gamers who are tan, brown, and black. this is especially important to do with games as popular as genshin impact because it can cause ripple effects.

***here's a tweet that states this argument eloquently: https://twitter.com/timelysumeru/status/1546500639970435072

****i know another method that has worked has been leaving a bunch of bad reviews in app stores, but i don't think it's applicable right now since we know so little about sumeru. if the problem persists, sure, but i think sending bad reviews right now just antagonizes the situation even further.

#genshin impact #genshin #hoyoverse #mihoyo #sumeru #genshin sumeru #sumeru leaks #dendro #collei #tighnari #al haitham #dori #dehya #genshin leaks #genshin impact leaks #dendro archon #kusanali #genshin impact imagines #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #fatui #fatui harbingers

[ckret2]

@horridrabbitcreature said: Ok now tell us how they breed. For educational purposes

Honestly and sincerely, I do not know how Bill's species breeds lmao.

It's a problem of aesthetics, to me. A shape in the style of Bill Cipher has a simple, clean, minimalist perimeter, with perhaps only a couple of arms and legs and (in their home dimension) an eyeball on one corner.

If you headcanon they have the traditional hole or pole anatomy like humans do, it mars their nice, simple perimeter. If you come up with some complicated way to hide the equipment—something like a cloaca—that still will probably be seen on their edge, which I don't like, and anyway I personally feel like "yeah they've got equipment (it's just perfectly hidden most of the time)" is a little goofy and the coward's way out.

You could incorporate it into their existing anatomy—make up an alien way to stuff a reproductive system into their eyeballs, for instance—but I already do SO MUCH with their eye (it's for seeing AND it's their mouth hole AND they probably hear through there) that trying to find a way to shove in a reproductive system feels like too much, so I'm not doing that.* And they don't have much visible anatomical features OUTSIDE of eyes to work with.

(* "What do you mean you're not putting their genitalia in their eyes, you just wrote a whole chapter about Bill being into weird eye stuff?" The eye stuff is Bill's fetish, not a reflection of normal shapes' sexual behavior, and all Bill's shape buddies think he's a freak for it. Glad we clarified this.)

You could invent an entirely new alien reproductive method that gets around the issue, but unless how they reproduce becomes relevant to the fic I'm writing (doubtful), that's a HUGE superfluous avenue of worldbuilding that wouldn't contribute anything but pointless complicated info.

So I don't know how they breed because right now it just doesn't matter to the story I'm telling.

Here's what I do know about their reproduction:

It requires one line and one polygon (triangle, quadrangle, pentagon, etc). (This is not without purpose; I'm all for alien reproductive methods that don't involve pairing up, but in this case for "Bill keeps accidentally paralleling the human characters' experiences" reasons it was necessary to give him a crummy mom-and-dad like Pacifica, Gideon, and Stan+Ford.) Each kind of shape (lines included) is genetically a separate sex and socially considered a separate gender.

"each shape is a separate sex" actually only goes up so far. Shapes with a ridiculously high number of sides aren't naturally occurring and are the result of selectively breeding for extra sides, and often requires mutations or inbreeding. Creating a circle is like spending several centuries selectively breeding humans for polydactyly until you have a baby with thirty fingers. By Bill's time the practice of selectively breeding for sides was scientifically discredited and effectively dead.

Similarly, "each generation your angles/sides should increase" was proven to be rubbish. It's all sex chromosomes.

I've been toying with the idea of making lines a small proportion of the population rather than 50%, to reduce how much it feels like the species is a binary "50% female (lines) and 50% male of various flavors (polygons)"; but if there's so few lines then to maintain the population there might be some kind of "a line can have multiple spouses" rule; maybe a line can legally take one spouse of each shape but NOT, say, two triangles or something; but then that's verging on "to what end am I making this so complicated? What's the point? Does it have any impact on Bill's life?" so I might just chuck that idea. (A lot of my worldbuilding is driven by "Bill's species is extinct in the wild, so justify why exploring this matters?")

Similarly, I've considered maybe making the way the species experiences romantic feelings vary between sexes—like, maybe usually only lines fall in love for some reason, or maybe if there's a town that's 10% line 10% square 10% miscellaneous and 70% triangle then newborn triangles are naturally inclined toward being ace/aro to rebalance the population numbers. Sorta inspired by like how frogs spontaneously change sexes if the pond's population is too unbalanced. The reason I'm considering this is because having Bill experience romantic feelings & falling in love at the same rate as allo humans (like, what, every few years? Constantly maybe?) is just ridiculous for a character who's a trillion years old; but if I'm gonna say "oh he only falls in love once a million years or whatever" I want a good reason that isn't just he hasn't met someone ~special~ enough; and I DON'T want the reason to be "he's ace and/or aro and could reasonably identify that way" because having Bill frigging Cipher grapple with that queer experience just does NOT excite me. Basically—as an ace/aro myself, I don't want it to be possible for ace/aro-ness to be one of the reasons Bill feels fundamentally Weird. Turns me off. So I'm toying with, maybe I could build his species in such a way that, for him, being aro-ish or ace-ish would be seen as normative & expected, rather than queer; so I could still have him only wanna date once every million years WITHOUT feeling like that's a part of his identity he needed to explore at some point. But idk futzing around with how his species experiences romance might be unnecessarily complicated when I could just, like, not point out that only dating once every million years is unusual, and most readers would just roll with it without question.

So, these are the thoughts I've had about how reproduction works in Bill's species.

Still have no idea how they fuck.

#about my writing #bill goldilocks cipher #shape gender

[misshoneyimhome]

I'm so happy your requests are open again! Can I request something about Willy reacting to you wearing his necklace with some nice lingerie? Probably sounds boring but those necklaces he wears though got me thinking

No no no! Not boring at all bb - in fact, this is hot 🫠😍 God, I’d love to see his reaction 😉

I apologise, this is a bit short ❤️

Warnings; mild-smut (18+); mentions of sexual behaviour;

・✶ ｡ﾟ

I want to wear his initial, on a chain 'round my neck | William Nylander 🖋️⚡️

Music was playing softly through the air of the condo, while you took your time in the shower. You’d poured a glass of your favourite drink, put out your sexiest set of lingerie, and cooked yourself a delicious meal as tonight was your alone night at home.

William spent the entire day training and given you had a day off from work, it prompted you to indulge in a much-needed spa day for yourself.

You pampered yourself by doing your nails, shaved, shampooed and conditioning, applying your favourite hair mask, and then moisturising your skin to feel fabulous and confident.

It was an uncommon type of evening for you since you and William had moved in together. Despite his frequent road trips, you rarely found time for yourself.

Usually, your days were filled with work, William's hockey training, and/or games. And when he was away, you'd make plans with friends or work overtime to accrue enough hours for travel, leaving little time for yourself.

But tonight was different, and you’d dedicated every single minute to yourself.

Singing softly along to the music resonating through the condo, you swayed and danced lightly while enjoying your drink. Then, slipping into the delicate lace barely covering your breasts and core, you couldn't help but smile and admire yourself.

Normally, you didn't hold much confidence in your body. However, being with William for just over a year, his constant affirmations about your beauty and sexiness had significantly boosted your self-assurance.

You recognised your curves yet maintained fitness, even though your boyfriend often interacted with tall, slim, naturally tanned girls possessing undeniably beautiful faces. Nevertheless, William consistently returned home to you and lavished praise on your physique.

Perhaps it was your shared love for food that had him all intrigued. He didn’t really like it when girls held back in eating because it wasn’t very “lady like.” So when he first saw how much you loved diving in to any meal presenting itself, he immediately fell in love. Just the mere fact that you were always curious about food and different cultural cuisines had him fall deeper in love with you. Especially the first time he took you home to Sweden and introduced you to his family, where his grandmother had made a good old fashioned traditional Swedish home cooked roast, and you’d indulged with pure joy.

Likewise, you cherished William's love for food. As your grandmother always said, "the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach."

Though it might not always be universally true, in the case of William, it certainly was.

And as you strolled through the condo towards your bedroom, you found yourself sifting through your drawers, contemplating just how to greet your man upon his return from tonight's training.

Your fingers delicately explored the varied fabrics of his ties, sparking thoughts of possibly using one to tie around his hands before offering yourself to him on your knees. However, tonight was more about sensuality than playful fuckery. So next, your fingers trailed over the assortment of jewellery collected in a large drawer. And among them, one necklace stood out: a number 88 necklace purchased as a jest a few months ago in collaboration with some of the other girlfriends of the team.

The idea had been rather amusing, and William had gone completely feral over it. It had been a different kind of declaration of your love for him; showing the world that you were his, without saying that he owned you.

Then, another idea dawned on you. Alongside your collection of jewellery lay his, adorned with various rings, bracelets, and neck chains. And it struck you.

Slowly, you gently encircled your fingers around one of his favourite chains, a medium-sized one, not too bold, yet you knew it held special significance for him. It was the one he typically wore during road trips, as it reminded him of home.

And thus, you decided to drape it around your neck, feeling the cool metal against your sensitive skin. Chuckling to yourself, you glanced in the mirror, amused at the sight of yourself wearing hour boyfriend’s chain.

And lost in your own reflection, you didn't hear the front door unlocking.

“Babe,” William's voice echoed through the condo, snapping you out of your reverie.

Then with a slight smirk gracing your lips, you leisurely stepped out of the bedroom to welcome your man.

“Welcome home, love,” you uttered softly, casually leaning against the doorframe that bridged the hallway and living room, drawing William's attention.

“Shit, babe,” he gasped, struck by your relaxed demeanour, which tastefully showcased his favourite lingerie on your enticing figure. His eyes roamed over you appreciatively. “What a welcome…” he breathed out, slowly closing the distance and pulling you into a gentle kiss.

“Well, I know you’ve been putting in a lot of effort lately, so I thought I'd give you a delightful sight,” you playfully teased, meeting his gaze flirtatiously, fully aware of the effect you had on him.

His hands lightly rested on your hips as he pressed his body against yours, his head leaning in so that you shared the intimate space between your faces.

"Oh, this is more than just delightful, babe… you're incredibly hot, and you know it," William chuckled huskily, his eyes still devouring you, lightly licking his lips before focusing on the item adorning your neck. "Is this... mine?"

"Mmm," you playfully confirmed, biting your lower lip.

"Looks good on you," he almost whispered, taking a deep breath, his gaze remaining fixed, as his finger gently toyed with his own chain on you.

"Yeah, you think so?"

"Fuck yes…"

William found himself unable to contain his excitement. Although he hadn't previously considered how alluring his piece of jewellery would look on you, he had to admit it complemented the lingerie he adored so much.

And as his eyes lingered on you, his body pressing closer to yours, he felt the warmth of blood rushing to his member, an increasing urge for release slowly building up within him.

You could feel a tingling warmth spreading through your core as his broad chest pressed against your breasts, the bulge between his legs brushing against your thigh, and the grip of his hands gently tightening on your hips, his fingers pressing into your skin.

“Willy, darling,” you breathed out, maintaining eye contact through your lashes, your hands resting on his muscular chest. “Would you like to join me in the bedroom?”

Your voice carried a soft, seductive tone as you began to rub your thigh against his slowly growing length.

“Mmm,” William deeply groaned, the desire intensifying within him. “Nothing I want more.”

“Then come,” you playfully signalled with your index finger, grabbing his hand before turning around, and intentionally swaying your hips a little as you led him towards the bed, his eyes locked intensely on your movements.

#my asks #william nylander imagine #toronto maple leafs imagine #wn88 imagine #nhl hockey imagine

[idv-sunsxin3]

Pavia // Wifey Material ♡

Note// This is probably one of the requests I got so crazy about so far.../pos and idk, Pavia is a ball of trauma- he needs some love too,,,

This almost kinda look like female s/o, but I also believe in male wife supremacy or any kind of girlboss gn/lh

___

I think the practice of the woman being a housekeeper while being with a partner or spouse started to decline by the time of 1960s- but let's just say you happen to be a special case...

You're probably a bit old-fashioned- no, that's not the word.... intergrity, modesty, care, and good manners will never be old-fashioned. They are civil, and make social interactions pleasant. Which is what the s/o would believe imo.

S/o would appreciate some traditional practices. These small little things... like writing letters, make flower crowns for yourself or for anyone sitting beside you, stay indoors while watching the raindrops fog the window with a peaceful melody, and draw whatever you can think of rather than watch television... The little things they wish they can just often do rather than worry about maintaining something... maintain their life.

I can imagine that the s/o would have this charm.. a loving, caring charisma of a classical darling. They're probably one of the strangest wonders Pavia ever encounter before his eyes.

You're always seem to wear many different clothes, whatever you can afford to have in your closet. Despite not having a lot of garments, you always manage it through the multiple cominations of clothing as you took the liberty to come up with.

Additionally, there were times you even tried to dress as if you're from the 50-70s. Even wearing a more modern aspect just to make Pavia's day more interesting after probably seeing "not-so-tidy and pleasant people at work"...

Pavia would have been skeptical at first... Affection and sweet-nothings being foreign and touches of an angel almost made him hide away further to the shadows - only time made him convince him otherwise the longer you stay with him.

The time he suddenly barges in to your shared room exhausted and all bloodied, only to see you folding clean clothes from the laundry as you sit on your shared bed---

I'm just imagining him lowering his glasses just to look closely at the sight of you for a silent moment. You eventually notice him once you turn around, greeting him with a warm smile instead of an angry look. Noting how he even stained his dress shirt with blood.

"Welcome home, love." You somehow say warmly as you set a folded shirt down to walk towards the confused Pavia, helping him take off his shirt. "I've just prepared the bathtube a moment before you've arrived... Go clean yourself up before coming down for dinner, alright?" You instructed Pavia before planting a soft kiss on his chest before going back to the laundry--- But little did you know he has other plans.

He grab onto your arm before pulling him towards him so that you ended up getting pinned on the bed by him. You didn't have the time to wonder what just happened before seeing his fluffy hair bounce by the impact. Seeing him with this same grumpy frown before he suddenly drops his head on to his chest gently, catching you off guard once more---

"I want kiiss..." His voice muffled as his arms were circling your torso.  You could only laugh softly by how "cute" He is acting, brushing his hair back to plant more kisses on his forehead.

"Here you go..." You whisper with that same gentle smile while holding him as if he's your whole world. "I love you... I love you so much."

These words are one of the things he longed to hear from you.

Seeing you doing many chores at your shared home, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry... yet despite how exhausted you may seem, you never fail to give that same feeling of delight whenever seeing him coming back by the door. You're always found preparing a warm dinner and along with a bath waiting for him after a long day.... As if you're already pleased to just be with him for tonight.

This tender feeling he has on his chest... is indescribable to him back then.

But well, he won't pay much in mind about it for now... He'll rather focus on getting his job done so he can quickly come back to his wife much early, rather than spending a second thinking about it/ih

Pavia indeed has an ego, I'm really debating if he would treat his s/o as his trophy wife--- but I like to think he just spoils his darling whenever it seems Iike something is coming to a shortage--- like you're running out of a new batch of clothes, running out of money to buy cleanings products or groceries or you seem to be worn out from the constant cooking... he would be there to help and sometimes wishes he can just keep you around the house without laying a finger DBDBDBDB;;;

He just wants to treat you better unlike the time when no one was there for him when he needed someone... Now that he eventually saw you as someone to rely on with his vulnerable side, he's not afraid to be there for you either. You were with him for this long...

there's no way he can just let you go after, wither because you know too much... or because he wouldn't want to move on like that.

Why does this keep reminding me of hubby headcanons- sometimes, Pavia is just going to call you "wife" teasingly, even if it may sound sincere and affectionate---

Ever calling him "husband" would make him get a lot of ideas - that I don't know where to start NDNDNDND- but well, not ingenious ideas surely/ih

Pavia be finding his way to put rings on your finger before kissing it whenever he sees the opportunity- seeing you fiddle around with rings on your finger makes him feel satisfaction and a sense of comfort that you appreciate things gifted by someone like him. His ways of getting rings are mysterious questions to fond out for another day - yey he would quickly know right away if a ring he buys is shady, cursed... maybe even dangerous. He'll immediately get rid of it it in the spot before it does anything to your beautiful finger-;;;

He'll absolutely call you by so many affectionate nicknames along with "wife", sometimes is either he cam just verbally express his affections or he wants to see you get flustered with whatever he would whisper on your ear as you hang clothes.

He'll often hold you as if you're really his woman, that even people around would mistake you as a real married couple--- he is not ashamed of PDA, so you'll often see how he would have an arm around your neck. Making the metal of his ring lightly brush on the nape of your neck. There are even times when he'll hold on to your waist from the side and pull you close to him so that you can feel your back touching his chest.

He'll give you a lot of kisses in so many ways- often greets you with a cheek kiss, kissing the back of your hand when holding it whenever you guys go out, kissing your neck when saying good night as you're both in bed, he'll even capture those lips of yours passionately just from craving yadditionally after going through awful stuff in life-- he's finally in a haven, it's almost like an addiction.

Pavia tends to notice how you don't usually vacuum the house or make any noise while doing chores when he's around, you at some point explain that you simply don't like disturbibg his peace when his daily life may not seem a quiet one. Give him a place of comfort to take a short rest.

That's it, I think he's already planning to put a REAL ring on you;;;--- Where have you been all this time, how come the universe didn't let you find him????

Man, he's mad, happy, and so in love.

"Oh Amore mio- Dove sei stata tutta la mia vita?" He be having this grin playing around the edges of his mouth as he says it, his cold rings creeping through your skin as he caresses your cheek with his knuckles.

There are times Pavia would take you on a day-off date where he can pamper you with a lot of food at a luxurious restaurant, buying anything you desire at some mall as well, whether you like it or not--- if you are the type to prefer quiet places- i don't even know how you even tolerate Pavia's nature as his lover- but i guess abandoned parks would do the trick for a picnic/ih

I feel like besides helping you financially, I like to think outside the box and consider... Would he like to spend time with you as he does house chores with you during a day-off?

I feel like he'll really have fun cooking with you. While you do prepare the stove or oven, I wouldn't be surprised if he is very good at chopping ingredients, cutting vegetables, tenderizing meat with a hammer, or make ground beef with the meat grinder as you watch him with a concerned smile...;;; He definitely would look like he is enjoying it too much-/ih

It would be endearing if he somehow manages to know recipes that he can teach you during his free time- maybe  like pasta.

If you happened to come out to find an interesting Italian ice cream recipe and ended up mastering it, Pavia would be looking like this boy peeking and lurking from the table counter as the mom is making some dessert- you sometimes have to gently get his hands off the pre-made Gelato so he doesn't try to taste it when it's not even frozen yet DJDBBDBD-

"Come on, mio amore- just a-one finger scoop-"😈 *gets his pinky swatted gently once again. "Bellaaaaaa-"😩

Pavia is the type of domestic partner who is a gelato connoisseur- like he literally suggested(well, more like complained...-) you once to buy a new fridge because he doesn't like the way how the refrigerator made the ice cream frozen hard instead of keeping the soft creamy texture--;;;

Over time, he starts to crave your attention and presence around him - often finding himself looking forward to come back and just eating dinner with you.... and well, watching you do things.

When he doesn't have to go to missions, he spends most of his time reading magazines, such on lollipops, and play with the wolves WHILE lurking at you quietly brushing the dust away from furniture, cleaning tables, knitting and mending clothes... and even in your sleep.

Sometimes he is weirded out whenever you sleep- yet he feels some tranquility from seeing your sleeping face... trying to not get too worried as he doesn't like the idea of people staying in a coma for 8 hours or more--- would be freaking waiting during those hours just to see you wake up confused as he asks you to make him coffee/ih

____

{Spending time with the Wolves... the children 🥺}

The moments where Pavias comes back after a mission, he finds it very heartwarming when watching his s/o  also pampering and cherishing the wolves as well.

When feeding them, you seem to keep this habit of waking up early to prepare breakfast for Pavia and the wolves. Including lunchables before hand so you can quickly catch Pavia to give him a lunchbox before he departs(Pavia be teasingly thinking you'll cry if he could leave earlier than you can come prepared- but man, isn't that so cute of you???).

You always have a notepad where you jot down Pavia's preferences and each of the wolves' eating habits and whatever food that seem to intrigue them positively.

You never forget to clean the 5 children, even if the first attempts may be unbearable to handle--- you still manage to make them squaky clean at the end of the day for Pavia's surprise. Along with making sure their fur is brushed, get disgnosed indoors and learning how to give each wolf a good healthcare service as long as they're at home...

You and Pavia still wonder what makes Andrea have the tendency to drool everywhere, though--

You learn to love being active, which goes hand in hand with playing with the wolves... It's always having morning jogs with them-(well more like is for your leisure). For their leisure, you always make sure they don't fight each other when playing, so they get their turns when playing catching the disc/stick. Sometimes, even pass the ball together or have a dog walk....

Imagine having these late night walks. Your friends be wondering why you be walking at such late hours, until they realize about your canine companions your lover raises alongside you--- (technically having leashes on 5 huge, sharp-teeth wolves in hand, walking beside you and making any red flag strangers sweat in bullets- how fun/lh)

Pavia always reminds you to have at least 2-3 of your shared children with whenever you go out- "just to be safe"..-- no buts. 😭 At least he cares... in his own way 🥺🥲.

So yeah... Grocery shopping with Peter, Maleficent, and Tonika are usually calm and smooth - the others were also behaving like sweethearts in public places too, of course! These 3 just happened to be more memorable for certain reasons...

Meanwhile, Leon and Andrea are very good companions when doing very active trips like mountain climbing or hiking - I'm not sure if you're the type for that. If not, there's also strolling at the park or at a long bring as one option!

Knowing how you seem to call the wolves as "children" and even sure that they view you as a mother figure would get him to a heart seizure from the serotonin--- the family is whole now;;;; 😭🥺

But well I let you guys read at the end with one funny cute imagine; you all at a car ride to the beach. 5 dogs sticking out their tongues through the windows.

Look, if you both ever visit Italy with (Pavia as the impatient tour guide) that's what the road is like. Even if like 10 percent of Italians wear seat belts, Pavia rather keeps his sweetheart intact from any accidents;

Pavia be putting a lot of seatbelts on you and giving you lots of kisses on the forehead(as if assuring--) before DRIVING SO FAST OMG--- PAVIA, SLOW DOWN???;;;/ih

"Hold on tight, Bella- this will be a bumpy ride!!!" *cackles as he freaking takes sharp turns---*

Yep, you're definitely living a household with a pack of giant puppies wolves---

#r1999 pavia #r1999 x reader #r1999 #reverse: 1999 #pavia reverse 1999 #reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 x reader #pavia x reader

[redpandaramblings]

Like Caramel For Chocolate- An Omega Bakugou x Alpha f!Reader fic. Part 11

Part 1 Here

Masterlist Here

Content Warning: Negative headspace, omegaverse, self deprecation, depressive thoughts, pushy parental figures, ambiguous omegaverse reproduction, non traditional A/B/O dynamics, unhealthy relationships, relationship that could be easily fixed if idiots would use their words and communicate, Shinso/Denki side relationship, Bakugou is a dumbass but so is y/n

Where we left off-

“Denki Kaminari. You are an absolutely amazing omega, and my very dear friend. I think we could have been good together. But what I want the most is for you to be happy with the alpha that makes you happy. You deserve the world, Denks.”

“Well, so do you.”

You smiled at each other, still holding hands and just basking in the comfort of each other’s presence. That is until a pair of fists slammed down onto the table with enough force to upset the cups sitting there. You jolted in shock as you looked up to meet a pair of angry, ruby red eyes.

You and Denki watched the liquid running off the table with wide eyes, before turning your gazes back to the enraged man before you.  His tall, bulky frame blocked you from the rest of the restaurant, leaving you feeling trapped and vulnerable.  His shoulders heaved as he took deep breath, trying and only partially succeeding in calming himself.

“What the FUCK do you two thing you’re doing?”

You swallowed, unable to speak as two ruby eyes seemed to sear their way into your soul.

“It….”  Denki stuttered, nervously shrinking into his chair.  “It isn’t what it looks like?”

“And what exactly do you think, I think this looks like?  Because to me, it looks like you two are slinking around in dark little coffee shops getting cozy while my best friend is curled up at home is his nest, practically catatonic from your shit!”

It was hard to maintain eye contact with the redhead, but you felt you had to.

“What Bakugou does isn’t my concern anymore.”  You spoke lowly, an eerie calm to your voice.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?!?!  And you, don’t think you’re going anyway, either!”  Denki sunk back into his seat, his escape attempt thwarted.  Kiri’s raised voice was drawing a few glances and murmurs.

“Look,” you sigh as you catch the looks coming your way “can we do this somewhere else?  Anywhere else?”

Kiri looked around, his cheeks tinged pink as he caught on to the attention focused your way.  He nodded once.  “Agency.  Now.”

You shared a glance with Denki and nodded.  It took a few moments to gather your things and settle your bill.  Kiri glowered from the door when he noticed you paid for both yourself and Denki.  The walk to the agency Kiri worked at seemed longer than it was due to the heavy silence.  Denki wrung his hands, trying to catch your eye, but you keep your stare straight ahead, not really focusing on anything.  Your brain picking at the bits of information Kiri had inadvertently thrown your way.  Bakugou wasn’t doing well?  He was nesting outside of his heat, which was unusual.  Or was it?  The dark hurt part of your brain whispered to you that you didn’t know because you’d never been allowed to see any nest.  Kirishima was actually visibly pissed, so it had to be serious…  Or maybe this was just what the first part of What Kiri and Katsuki getting together would look like.  Katsuki actually letting someone in.  Kiri being allowed to show the protective alpha side you had always been forced to repress.  Half felt like this is exactly how things were supposed to be.

But if that was the case, why did it hurt so much?

You continued to brood as the looming building of Kirishima and Bakugou’s agency got closer with every step.  Knowing that this would be the first time you were going to be allowed in didn’t help your mood in the slightest.  Kirishima led you and Denki down a side alley and through an unassuming back door.  A few turns down a hallway, and you were in a small workout room, by the look of it.  Kirishima locked the door behind you before whirling towards you and Denki, eyes blazing.

“Now, you two are going to tell me exactly what the FUCK is going on here!”

Denki cringed, half hiding behind you.  Your own nose crinkled from the strong angry scent pouring off of Kirishima.  And frankly?  It was starting to piss you off.

“Well you see,” you drawled as you glared right back at Kirishima, “my friend and I were enjoying a nice peaceful afternoon snack, when suddenly a huge stinking pheremoned out alpha came, knocked over our drinks, and started yelling at us.”  Your own scent was turning burnt and acrid as your volume increased.

“Jesus Christ, y/n…”  Denki threw up his hands, and backed away from you.  He could see where this was going, and he made sure to put some of the weight lifting machines between himself and the two angry alphas in the room.  Kirishima took a small step back, momentarily startled by your reaction before rage filled him stronger than before.  So you wanted a fight, huh?  Well, good.

“You know what I mean!  You go off in the middle of Bakugou’s heat.  Then a few weeks later, he’s damn near working himself to death, and when he’s not working, he’s curled up in his nest, refusing to talk to anybody!  And you’re nowhere!!!  Your omega is in pain, and you’re nowhere!”

The two of you had begun to circle each other slowly, glaring at each other.  The burnt smell of your combined anger was clogging the air.  Denki was covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve to keep himself from gagging.  You weren’t going to back down, though.  Why was this red headed rock sticking his nose into your business?  Hadn’t he got what he wanted?  Hadn’t Bakugou gotten what he wanted?  You were so tired of people telling you what to do, what’s best for you.  You were tired of being viewed as nothing but docile, someone who would just take what was given and not complain.  Well, you still were an alpha.  And you had had enough.  You could feel your fangs dropping down, the sharp tips nicking your lip.

“He’s not my omega anymore!”  You hissed at Kirishima.

“Why not?  So you can run around behind his back with his fucking pack mate?!?”  Kirishima roared back at you, inching closer with his teeth bared.

You laughed mirthlessly.  “Oh, please.  I just gave him and you exactly what you wanted.”

Kirshima shook his head, momentarily confused.  “Wait, what?  What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

As Eijiro’s anger cooled, yours only burned hotter.

“You heard me!”  You snarled, stepping closer until you were right in Kiri’s face.  “I.  Just.  Gave.  Him.  What.  He.  Wanted.  And he doesn’t want me.  Hasn’t for years.  All yours now!  Take him!  You were always going to anyway!”

Kirishima stared wide eyed, confusion having replaced all of his anger.  “y/n, what are you talking about?”

Maybe it was that your mood was running hot.  Maybe it was the stress.  Maybe it was because you had chemically suppressed your ruts for the last decade.  Maybe it was because you had been suppressing your alpha instincts for just as long.  It could have been any combination of those things.  But for whatever reason, that question from Kirishima was the thing to snap your teetering control.  With a frustrated scream of alpha rage, you swung, aiming at Eijiro’s jaw.  Your fist connected.  Unfortunately for your hand, years of hero training meant that Kirishima had hardened the area out of instinct.

“Fuck!” You yelped as you felt the bones in your fingers crunch.  The pain mostly brought you back to your senses.  You took a few steps back, sinking to the ground and clutching your injured hand to your chest.  Denki hurried up behind you, hovering and worriedly asking you questions that you didn’t really hear, let alone respond to.  Kirishima hesitated a moment before kneeling in front of you, his worry evident.  When he went to take your hand to look it over, you let him, the fight draining out of you.  He gently poked and prodded, as your breath hitched from pain.  Denki rubbed your back trying to sooth you.  After a moment, Kirishima spoke.

“Well, you broke it.”

You nodded with a snort.  “Figured.”

“Feel better now?”

You gave a sad half smile.  “I mean, my hand is killing me, but yeah.  Sorry about that.”

“Well, sorry my face broke your hand.  But seriously.  Just… What is going on, Y/N?  Because right now I’m really lost.  You and Bakubro love each other.  I know you two do.  But now he isn’t talking and what you’re saying is making exactly zero sense.  So can you please just walk me through it from the beginning?  I promise to hear you out.”

“God,” you sigh, tilting your head back.  “I don’t even know where the beginning is…  This whole shit show has been a long time coming.  I guess the most important thing is Bakugou and I broke up.  He’s very obviously wanted to for a while.  So he’s finally free to date you.  Then Denki and I were engaged though that was mostly our family’s fault for setting us up on a marriage date.  Then Denki got bonded, but not to me.  And then you showed up and I punched you in the face.”

You blinked up at Kiri as if that explained everything.  Kirishima looked at Denki with hopeless confusion.  Denki sighed.

“Come on.  Let’s get her hand looked at and then go to your office.  I’ll tell you as mush of everything as I know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were sitting on the couch, nursing your bandaged hand as Denki was wrapping up.

“... And then Shinso and I ended up bonding after the hospital let me go home.  Y/N was just taking me out for a celebration lunch when you showed up.”

Kiri leaned back in his seat, letting out a long breath.  “Okay.  Right.”  He said.  “That explains a lot.  Not everything, but a lot.”  He sat up again and looked directly at you.  “Though I want to know where the heck you got the idea that I want Bakubro as an omega.”

You couldn’t quite meet Kirishima’s gaze as you replied.  “It’s not a stupid idea.  He’s comfortable around you.  Much more comfortable around you than he’s ever been around me.  He lets you scent him.  He calls you his pack.  He not only lets you see his nests, he lets you into them sometimes.  I barely am allowed in his apartment, let alone being able to see his nest.  We haven’t scented each other with any regularity since high school.  You see him so much more than I do, and you understand him and his job in a way that I’ll never be able to.  You look good together.  He doesn’t mind when you act like an alpha with him.”

Kirishima blew out a breath.  “Okay… Okay, I can see what you’re getting at.  But seriously.  Bakubro is a bro.  I’ve never thought of him like that.”

You nodded, looking at the floor.  “Okay.  If you say so, I’ll believe you.  But it doesn’t change the fact that Bakugou has wanted out of the relationship for a while.”

“And did he tell you that?  Like actually tell you that?”  Kiri asked.

“He didn’t have to.  He made himself very clear.”

“And when was the last time you two sat down and seriously talked?”

You didn’t have a reply.  Kirishima sighed and rubbed his eyes.  “I don’t get paid enough for this.” he mumbled to himself.  “Alright!”  He said, clapping his hands together and standing up.  “You!” he said, pointing to you.  “You’re coming with me.”  And you!” he pointed to Denki, “You’re coming with too to make sure she doesn’t try to get out of this.”

You and Denki looked at each other in confusion, as you both stood up slowly.

“Where are we going, exactly?” Denki asked as he followed after you and Kirishima.

“To do something I should have done a long time ago, but I thought the two knuckleheads would be able to sort things out for themselves, without outside interference.  Guess I was wrong in that regard.”

He ushered you and Denki into the back of an agency car, before getting into the driver’s seat.  You questioned where he was taking you, but Kirishima just shook his head and kept driving.  It was a surprise when you ended up in the parking garage of your apartment.  Kiri got out, and opened up the door to the backseat.  “Out!”  He said.  You only hesitated a moment before you slide yourself out the the car, Denki following close behind.  Understanding was starting to creep across Denki’s expression.  

“Eiji, what?” your question was cut short with a yelp as Kirishima threw you over his shoulder.  He strode quickly to the elevator, Denki following close behind.  You beat your good hand against Kiri’s back as you tried to squirm your way out of his grasp.  Denki hit the elevator buttons, knowing what to do without being told.

“Eijiro Kirishima, you put me down!  What the hell?!”

Kirishima shook his head.  “Nope.  Not til we get where we’re going.  Consider this payback for the punch.”

The elevator dinged, and Kiri was off once again.  He fished in his pocket and handed a set of keys to Denki.  Denki run ahead and began unlocking a door.  Seconds later, you were landing on your butt, having just been unceremoniously chucked through the doorway.

Kirishima stood blocking the doorway.  “I’m not going to let you leave until the two of you actually talk.  I’m not letting anyone in my pack ruin their lives because they can’t put on adult pants and have a proper conversation.  And for the record, y/n?  You’ve always been pack.  You always will be.  Now go talk to your damn omega!”

And with that, Kirishima slammed the door shut, leaving you sitting wide eyed and shellshocked on the floor of Bakugou’s apartment.

Hello everyone! I'm well aware that It's been a while. Very sorry for the delay. Lot of life stuff. I hope that this in small part makes up for it. Ended up having to radically change my plans for this bit, but I'm pretty sure I like how it came out. Enjoy!

TAGLIST- @yzviea, @not-a-pushover, @thelilypieforever, @kumihayu, @aomi04, @ladybakugouu, @luajosephdun-blog, @hakunamatatayqueen, @my-thoughts-are-weird, @left-alone-yuki, @officialtrashbusiness, @lonelyheart-clubband, @katsuki-cait, @moonwritters26, @animexholic, @kyrah-williams, @emilymikado, @wolvesblaxe360, @ficklemcselfish, @helena-way07, @fandomsaremylifesposts, @baby-bakuhoe, @sukeraa, l@ucypevensie11, @idk-sam, @katsuki-cait, @weirdestlove, @sasa-slayer, @anime-for-live, @kaidousimp, @bluesdustyflames, @vitheria, @milktea0208, @maristaymulti, @whatdidshesayyy, @memesbyeloise , @fandomsgotmefucked, @killmehe, @shy-panda02 , @skylan666, @missmolliemoo, @misssugarless, @arcticsakura, @queenondeezmatatas, @lordmypantsaresocool, @bluesdustyflames, @am-198, @hornelittleweeblet2, @joonie-centric, @sunascrew, @etainstreams, @shadoweepingscream, @midostinny, @superblyspeedydragon, @lostinbooksblog, @moonroyalt, @superladypeach, @bandaged-despair, @shslcheshirecat, @idkdude44, @the-shota-king-masayuki,

@sup-zfam, @bitchyzombienacho, @roku-for-the-win, @veeasmo, @notsiva , @faresestrada, @concubus143, @auroramae0, @star029, @sleepy-frenchvanilla, @imatrisk, @adventures-in-a-heartbeat, @heirloom09gem , @thisuserlovesyouandyouandyou @nothing2113 @bokutojuicyass @reallysparklychaos @katbug37 @faerikitty, @horivl, @crazytacokoala, @mata0-0mata, @ember1205, @meinu-m, @minori-taiga1, @saturn-falls, @dmn-fields, @enchantark, @kjjkn

Just a reminder, if you want tagged make sure you have the ability to be tagged turned on; and I’d have to be informed if your blog name changes! Cheers, Darlings!

#reader insert #bnha reader insert #bakugou x fem!reader #bakugou angst #bakugou x reader #reader insert angst #bakugou katsuki #katsuki x reader #omegaverse #omega bakugou #alpha reader #multi part fic #denki #fake dating #fake engagement #like caramel for chocolate #part 11

[swan-codes]

Thinking of switching careers to IT? ☕

This guide discusses the learning options: bootcamps, schools, or self-learning

Note: this guide may be a bit lengthy, so I suggest taking your time to read it thoroughly. Just a heads up, I haven't included specific program names or detailed IT roles info here. Instead, the focus is on guiding you to make a well-informed decision for your career transition. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and dive into the guide at your own pace ☕

So which option is good? Any of those options is fine. It's all about what works the best for you. Consider this: your ultimate goal is to secure a job once you've successfully completed your IT studies, right? From the perspective of hiring managers and recruiters, what they care about is your resume, experience, and skills. They will assess whether you are capable of fulfilling the job requirements. Your attitude and personality can also play a role in their decision-making process, which is a topic we can explore another time.

When it comes to switching careers, acquiring new skills is a logical step. Now, the question is: what is your preferred learning style? In the STEM field (specifically IT, in this case), it is so important to be able to consume information effectively as you study IT!

If you find that you learn best with a structured schedule, where you don't have to rely solely on self-discipline, then enrolling in a bootcamp or school is recommended. Note: Even during your studies at a bootcamp or school, you still will need to engage in self-teaching. It's a *MUST*, good practice to maintain this mindset even after you secure an IT job, especially if it involves a lot of developing or deploying. [ Bootcamps & Schools Options ]

There are a few factors to consider: - Costs Generally, bootcamps are more affordable than traditional schools. However, both options may offer scholarships, so it's worth exploring those opportunities. Look into third-party scholarships that may be available. If you have a disability and reside in the US, it would be beneficial to speak with a counselor from Vocational Rehabilitation. Non-profit organizations can also provide support and assistance to individuals interested in returning to education. Studying abroad is another option worth considering. Personally, I chose to study abroad in the UK due to the significantly more affordable tuition fees compared to the US, and because I had a desire to obtain a master's degree in another country. - Instructors' teaching styles It's important to note that not all IT instructors excel at effectively communicating with new IT students. To avoid encountering this issue, do some detective work. Find out who will be teaching you and check out their lectures. Don't hesitate to ask the program manager if you can meet your potential lecturer (ideally before making a decision). Prepare a list of questions to ask your potential lecturer during the meeting. Pay attention to how they explain concepts. If their technical jargon is difficult to understand, they may not be the right instructor for you. Remember, this doesn't reflect your intelligence. It's a matter of their self-awareness. I strongly advise against choosing this kind of an instructor from my experience. - Lessons There are numerous IT job types available, and in a bootcamp, you may not have the opportunity to explore all of them. Bootcamps often focus on specialized programs, sometimes even covering less popular technologies (yes, this is definitely a concern). So you should research IT fields, and once, you've decided on a specific field, take the time to research job titles and similar roles on LinkedIn. Pay close attention to job descriptions and requirements. Create a list of the high-demand skills for those positions. This will help you narrow down your choices when selecting a bootcamp program or school. Look for programs that teach the skills you need based on your research. [ Self-Teaching Option ] You are your own trainer, and you get to design your own personalized learning experience. This option is great if you do not have the luxury to pay out of pocket for a program. It is absolutely not looked down upon by employers. In fact, it is considered one of the essential job skills that employers typically look for in a job applicant. To make a solid entry into the IT field, I highly recommend obtaining certifications and undertaking project-based learning. It's important to focus on certifications and projects that align with the specific roles you aspire to have. Take the time to explore different fields within IT to discover your interests, and then compile a list of relevant learning materials or bookmark tutorial videos. Please be sure to verify that the resources you choose are up to date and not outdated, as IT is always evolving. "Wait, but what about a degree?" This approach is really just aimed at fulfilling the job requirements. Many IT candidates have successfully passed interviews without possessing a degree. Many hiring managers prioritize your ability to learn and apply the required skills. Showcasing your projects on your resume or demonstrating your skills during a technical interview holds more significance. Even if you don't possess the exact skills they're seeking, emphasizing your transferable skills will show interviewers that you are capable of learning and adapting.

#coding #programming #career change #career switch #codeblr #studyblr #education #bootcamp #bootcamps #school #schools #IT career #IT jobs #if you have questions #don't be hesitant to ask me! #swan

[whencyclopedia]

How the World Was Made: A Cherokee Creation Story

How the World Was Made is a creation story of the Cherokee nation, which, like many such tales of the Native peoples of North America, begins with a world covered by water from which dry land is formed and natural order created by beings of a higher realm. The story explains why things are the way they are.

Like the Lakota Sioux Creation Story and the Cheyenne Creation Story, among many others, How the World Was Made begins with a world of undifferentiated chaos out of which the animals of Galun lati (the higher realm) bring order. As the story unfolds, explanations are given for why there are valleys and mountains, why the crawfish is red in color and why the Cherokee will not eat it, why the sun moves across the sky as it does, how animals came to have certain characteristics, and why women can only give birth to one child a year.

The story was first translated into English by the American ethnographer James Mooney (l. 1861-1921) who lived with the Cherokee and recorded their lore and legends, compiled in his book Myths of the Cherokee (1900). The story may be hundreds or thousands of years old. There is no way to date the piece as it was passed down through oral tradition by Cherokee storytellers long before Mooney heard it told. As he writes, concerning the dating of such pieces:

As our grandmothers begin "Once upon a time," so the Cherokee storyteller introduces his narrative by saying, "This is what the old men told me when I was a boy." (232)

This being the case, the tale assumes a timeless quality in keeping with the Cherokee understanding of time as cyclical and unchanging. Events differ year to year according to human understanding but, to the universe, any given time is all time ever since the creation of the world.

Cherokee Beliefs & Storytelling

The traditional Cherokee understanding of the physical world, at the time Mooney came in contact with them, was that it was a middle land between a higher realm of benevolent spirits and the great Creator, Unetlanvhi, and a lower world of dark spirits who brought disease, disorder, and death. Humans, in this middle world, were tasked by the Creator with maintaining balance between worlds, in their own lives, in the life of the community, and between humans and the natural world generally. Humans were not seen as superior in any way to the earth, plants, and animals but were understood as stewards who were to maintain created order.

The stories of the Cherokee consistently express this view, not only by explaining why things are as they are but also by emphasizing one's role in caring for the world. In How the World Was Made, this is only hinted at in the last paragraph where the people are depicted as reproducing too quickly. A new child is born every seven days, and the people lack restraint, so the beings of the higher realm place restraints upon them, decreeing that women will only be able to give birth once a year.

This decision was made to maintain order and people were then expected to recognize and maintain said order throughout their lives. Other Cherokee origin tales also touch upon the peoples' responsibility to a given place while, at the same time, explaining why a stream or river runs as it does or a certain rock formation has its distinct features. Mooney writes:

As with other tribes and countries, almost every prominent rock and mountain, every deep bend in the river, in the old Cherokee country has its accompanying legend. It may be a little story that can be told in a paragraph, to account for some natural feature, or it may be one chapter of a myth that has its sequel in a mountain a hundred miles away. As is usual when a people have lived for a long time in the same country, nearly every important myth is localized, thus assuming more definite character. (231)

In the case of How the World Was Made, this "definite character" is global. The entire world is as interconnected as the aspects of one's own land, and what one does with that land affects other places miles and miles away. In the same way, as the animals work together in the creation of this world (inspired or guided silently by Unetlanvhi), so should people work together in maintaining it. Balance was – and still is – a central value of the Cherokee nation and so became, in fact, one's purpose in life: personal balance reflected in communal and, by extension, global balance.

This concept is clearly explored in the Cherokee tale The Origin of Medicine where humans are depicted as having lost balance. The people in the story have forgotten what is due to the natural world and its non-human inhabitants, and so the animals decide to destroy them. The plants, however, side with the humans, providing them with the "medicine" to cure the ills the animals have chosen to unleash. The story, then, explains how medicine came to be and why but also highlights the importance of remembering one's relationship with the natural world and one's obligation to care for it. How the World Was Made provides a model of cooperation among the animals – as well as their failings – to encourage proper understanding of and interaction with all of nature, whether in one's own community or elsewhere.

This same theme is famously dealt with in the story The Origin of Game and Corn in which the two young boys serve as balance to the two parents. According to some scholars, the concept of balance is also at the heart of the game chunkey, played by the Cherokee, Pawnee, Lakota Sioux, Chickasaw, and many others. The two teams in chunkey can represent opposing spiritual forces, and balance is maintained by their respective wins and losses.

Continue reading...

#History #Cherokee