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cockatrice-writers-guild · 7 months

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this takes place in the space au

warnings: swearing, fear

word count: around 4.8k

taglist: @autism-alley , @awkwardgtace , @tripodcat-gt

T-minus 10

“Could I ask you something, big guy?”

“Sure.”

“Are there other ways you hold the planet? It can’t always just be in your hands, right? That has to get tiring.”

“…well, sometimes I kinda…cup the planet to my chest. Like when I lay down. …or just…I don’t know…whenever.”

“Dear God, you are touch starved.”

“…touch starved?”

“Mmm...it means you crave physical affection.”

“Touch…,” I can sense the wistfulness in his voice. “I’ve seen the way some humans hold each other…I think it’s called a hug? And just…I don’t know, getting lost in someone’s arms for a while…it seems…really nice. I just…I wish there was some way for me to hug you, Mia, but…well, you know.”

“...maybe there is.”

“…what do you mean?”

Lift off.

There’s a giant that lives up in the cosmos who holds the world to prevent it from freezing over now that the sun’s dead. It's literally something out of a children’s story but the scientists have been working on this long enough to know that somehow, impossibly, it’s still the truth.

Weirder still is that this giant never asked for anything in return.

Until, that is, when a particularly tired intern got the shit scared out of them when the massive cosmic entity known as Jax popped into their head to quietly ask them if it would be okay to send their cranky janitor to space. And once the higher ups got word of it, they knew it was probably for the best not to say no to the giant who literally held the entire planet in his hands and started on it right away.

Of course, they could have said no. Jax knew that. I knew that. They didn’t know that. I guess they were just happy Jax hadn’t started asking for human sacrifices or something.

So that’s how I ended up here.

I’m in a ship and a bulky suit, watching the sky turn darker and darker as I leave the Earth’s atmosphere. The constant shake rattling through the ship is horrible and the jolt of the engine separating from the rocket is even worse. The ship stops shaking soon after but gradually, I can feel the sheer weight of gravity pushing me deeper and deeper into my seat as the vessel tries to escape the Earth’s pull. It’s almost agonizing in its intensity, the sounds and sights and feelings all working together to turn my body and brain effectively to mush but then finally, finally

the engines shut off and I’m left sitting there in the dead silence that follows, still so stunned from the trip that it takes a few moments too long to even bring myself to move.

And that was the easy part.

My legs feel like jello and both my back and neck feel stiff but still I wrestle my way out of the chair to go look out the window.

And the first thing I see is the Earth, an impossible sight of blues and greens and yellows all condensed and mixing together, masses of huge storm clouds passing over continents. The backdrop of stars and darkness make it almost glow.

And then I see something else.

Something that just about makes my heart stop beating.

As the Earth slowly, very slowly, gets farther and farther away, I can see that it’s not suspended in the star filled void of space like it’s supposed to be. Instead,

something

something so huge I can’t see where it begins or where it ends, something so huge my brain can’t even fully comprehend what I’m looking at,

something rests just below the planet, cupping it, holding it up in the cosmos

something flesh coloured

something warm

I’ve seen this before, when Jax projected himself into my head or…whatever the hell he did to me but seeing it here, now

It’s too much

It’s genuinely too much

And as the Earth gets smaller and the flesh surrounding it remains the same endless expanse, I find it harder and harder to stay calm.

My brain is screaming, screaming at me to get away but I can’t breathe and

instead I choke on my own spit, staring at the view as my breaths get harder and harder to control until I finally manage to turn around, pressing my back to the cool glass and instead focusing on the dull interior of the shuttle as I try to get my breathing back under control. I’m starting to sweat again and the insulation the suit provides isn’t helping. I try to take in every single detail of the room I’m trapped in, the grooves in the seats and the dull walls, the fluorescent lights and the panels and panels of buttons lining the main console, the screens and the sensors and very very distant hum of fans and other machinery quietly working away to keep me alive.

The constant beating in my chest as it finally starts to slow

As my vision stops dancing in front of me

As my head gradually stops swimming

And then I hear it, a call so sudden it causes me to jump.

“…Mia?”

Jax.

Jax

A being so fucking huge that the world is nothing more than a marble to him. Of course, I’ve seen him so many times before in the sky, his huge face stretching across the horizon thanks to his sheer size, an eye larger than the Earth completely engulfing it when I want to show him something. Even when he holds an arm out so I can see him better, the concept of him holding the planet is still something I can’t even begin to register.

And now I don’t have a barrier to protect me.

It doesn’t take long before I can feel tears streaming down my face as I hug my arms close and then closer.

“…Mia?”

Quieter now.

I can’t stifle a sob in time and somehow, somehow, I know he hears it.

“…I…I’m sorry, M.” He sounds pained and my heart pangs even as I slowly lower myself to the ground.

My friend.

This cosmic fucking giant is my friend.

I guess on some level I just never fully thought about what I was dealing with.

Jax is a giant, one so goddamn huge that any space program that wants to send something out has to let him know in advance so that his damn fingertips don’t block their flight paths.

He’s not human. He’s never been human but

“…do you want to go home?”

He’s tentatively whispering in my head like we’re equals, asking me questions, asking me what I want to do. There’s genuine distress in his voice. He wanted this more than anything and yet I know he’d give it all up for me. He’s…

“…Jax?”

A lengthy pause on his end. Then

“…Mia?”

I take in a few more gulps of air, staring at my now empty chair before I speak again.

“…give me a moment. This is…a little hard for me to deal with right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“…alright.”

Some time passes in silence, me eventually starting to run a hand up and down the material of my suit to try and ground myself before Jax hesitantly speaks again.

“…I…actually, there…might be something I can do to help.”

I try to focus on his voice. “…and what’s that, big guy?”

“Just…just give me a moment.”

“Okay.”

More silence for a long long time before,

“…Mia?”

“…Jax?”

“Look out the window.”

“…what?”

“Trust me. Please.”

There’s something about his tone that cuts the tension. There’s desperation, yes. But now there’s something else too. Something that almost sounds like excitement.

I frown, staring down the empty room before finally breaking. Damn it, now I’m curious. And I did trust him at the end of the day.

I slowly uncurl myself from the floor and move to peek out the window. And I see

Jax

He’s…

Oh my God he’s so far away right now.

I don’t even know how far away he is but I know it must be a lot because I can fucking see him now

All of him

He looks like a regular human floating a short distance away from the glass. I can finally see his fucking clothes properly, some kind of weird flowing orange-purple crop top and a long flowing skirt to go with it. He tentatively waves when my eyes meet his because of course he can see when my fucking germ sized eyes meet his planet sized ones over the how many millions of miles he just marathoned in his quest to make me feel more comfortable.

And goddammit I can’t believe it’s working.

He’s just…he’s so fucking sweet. And God, the face he’s making right now is so cute if he wasn’t the size of a goddamn galaxy, I’d squish his cheeks.

A half smile slowly worms its way onto my face and after a moment, he seems to relax too.

“Are you alright?” I know his mouth doesn’t move when he talks to me like this since he’s projecting his voice directly into my head but it’s still trippy to see, especially like this.

“I…think so.”

He smiles. “So now what? Do you want to just…talk like this for a while before you go back?”

“Dude. I didn’t go through months of space training and being questioned by the feds to just talk to you.”

The man’s smile grows.

After dancing around the subject for a while, I finally bite the bullet and leave the room to go put on a space suit even bulkier than the one I’m currently in. Jax is a constant nervous chatter in my head as I check the suit over and over and I try my best to reassure him even as my own heart rate steadily rises at the mere thought of what’s about to happen.

And once I’m finally done looking the suit over and over desperately for anything I can use to stall for just a second longer, I give up and make my way to the airlock.

There’s a palpable tension in the air now. I know exactly what’s on the other side of those heavy metal doors and it takes a second to even make myself bring a hand up to the panel.

I take a slow breath in

And a slow breath out

and then I press down.

The doors open and it takes only a second for the lack of pressure to kick in before I’m all but shot out into the black void that yawns open in front of me.

It takes some time to get my bearings now that gravity’s moot and for a while, I just try to stop spinning by any means necessary. Means in this case being flapping my arms and legs around until the universe finally stops spinning. At some point I can even hear Jax start to chuckle quietly in my head and it does not help.

But once I’m finally able to place myself, I take some time to take in my surroundings. Because God, they are stunning. The black void of space completely engulfs everything around me. It’s full of stars and what has to be a few unfamiliar planets all hanging in the empty space, dotting the dark backdrop with a massive array of colour and light. It’s…beautiful. Ethereal.

Completely silent.

There’s something quietly unsettling about it all, the way it doesn’t seem to end, the way I’m the only visible living being for miles, the way the silence is so palpable it makes my ears ring. Beautiful, yes but uncaring, lifeless

Lonely.

…what Jax must go through every single day of his life.

I can feel his gaze on my back, one that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand and my latent survival instincts kick into overdrive.

The stare of a giant who holds the world.

And now there’s no magical barrier. No ship. No nothing.

It’s just me.

For a long time, I stare into the cosmos aimlessly until finally, a small whisper starts up in my head, the abruptness of it making me jump.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

I swallow, trying to find my voice. “…yeah, it is.”

There’s a long pause and I try to find something else to say to stop focusing on how hard my heart is beating.

“I…don’t recognize any of these planets. Never-,” I choke on my air for a moment but force myself to continue, “-never saw one with three rings around it like that.”

Jax is silent for a long moment.

“…Mia…you don’t have to-”

“Where are we?”

“…what?”

“I…I don’t recognize any of these planets so…where exactly are we, big guy?”

He’s quiet for a moment longer before “…I travel around, I guess. Your system is…well…it’s not habitable anymore so you guys just travel with me now.”

You guys

The entire population of Earth is just ‘you guys’ to him.

The idea is so inconceivably, horribly absurd to me that I almost burst out laughing, instead choking on my own spit as I forget to breathe for a few moments too long.

“…Mia?”

That voice in my head again, even quieter than before because, and the realization helps to ground me just a little, he’s hesitant, because he doesn’t want to scare me further or, God forbid, because my reaction actually scared him.

There’s something so undeniably human about the way Jax carries himself. In spite of his ridiculous size and the power he holds over billions of comparatively minuscule lives, he acts like a person. We’re all just ‘you guys’ to him. Equals, friends. Hell, I’m actually his friend. It’s insane. All of this in insane but-

after taking a few sharp inhales and trying to get my breathing back under control, I finally bring myself to start really looking around. Not for the scenery but for my gigantic friend.

And finally, I see him floating in the distance just as before, one of his hands cupped and the other hanging loosely at his side. I know what’s cupped in that hand but try not to think about it, instead focusing on the man himself. He doesn’t say anything but cocks his head slightly at me instead.

I quietly squeeze my hands before I speak again. “…so, how do you want to do this?”

“…you were having trouble breathing, M.”

There’s this deadness in his voice that makes me wince. I ignore him and try again, fighting to keep the shake out of my voice.

“How do you want to do this?”

“…I don’t think this is a good idea.”

We stare at each other for a long moment before I raise a hand and beckon him forward.

“You’re shaking, Mia.” He sounds close to tears, now visibly upset as he hangs in the dead of space.

“I’ll get over it.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.”

He looks like he wants to argue more but instead tries something else.

“I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“That’s great, Jax, but I want to do this.”

He looks away.

“…Jeez dude, do you even want to do this?”

He nods slightly after a long moment.

“Then?”

“…I don’t want to make you panic again. …or you know…throw up.”

“THAT WAS A ONE TIME THING!”

Jax actually laughs a bit at that and I frown at him.

“You’re an ass, you know that? Now get over here.”

“Mmm.”

“Mmm?”

“…I don’t know…”

“Jax, I swear to God.”

He stares at me.

I stare at him.

After an unbearably long silence I just start swimming towards him and he almost immediately starts back peddling away from me frantically.

“YOU ARE AFRAID OF ME!” I yell as I keep up the pace.

“I’M AFRAID OF WHAT I CAN DO TO YOU!” he practically wails as his legs kick away from me. “IT’S NOT THE SAME!”

“IT MIGHT AS WELL BE, YOU DRAMA QUEEN! GET OVER HERE!”

I try to swim after him for a bit longer before he becomes little more than a speck in the distance and I stop to catch my breath with a sigh. Unfortunately, with that no longer my main focus, the creeping dread of space starts to get to me again. Beautiful and desolate. Completely silent.

…

My ears start to ring.

…

I only have a few small meals that were packed in case anything goes wrong. I’m not sure how much oxygen I have left but I know it’s not enough to live on.

Stranded.

The infinite darkness all around me, closing in.

Closing in.

“…JAX!”

My voice comes out a strangled cry and the pale dot in the distance immediately freezes. “Mia?” He sounds concerned.

“Don’t go. Please.”

There’s a long period of silence before he speaks again. “Oh! Oh no, I’m sorry, Mia, I didn’t mean it like...you’re not- I wasn’t going to- I’m sorry I just-” He cuts himself off, taking some time to get his thoughts in order before he speaks again. “I’m sorry, I’m coming back. I won’t leave you, I promise.”

With that, the speck in the distance slowly grows until once again I can make out a person. I can feel distant relief seeing another living thing.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers again.

“I…it’s ok, big guy.”

Jax watches me for a long moment before he speaks again. “I’ll do it.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll come over to you and we can…touch.”

“Are you sure?”

He nods slightly.

“Okay.”

And so slowly Jax starts making his way over and as the figure of him grows and grows, a distant part of my brain starts screaming and after a second, Jax stops again.

“You’re scared again,” he says quietly.

I just use a now trembling hand to wave him over and he shakes his head.

“Mia, are you sure you want to do this? You really don’t have to force yourself. We can always just talk and I really appreciate you trying like this but-”

“Jax?” There’s a shake in my voice that I can’t quite fight down.

“…Mia?”

“Get over here.”

“…but I-”

I hold my arms out to him and he watches me for a long moment before slowly he starts moving again. His figure grows and grows in the middle distance but I remain frozen in the sky, arms held out in invitation, my heart beating faster and faster and my breaths struggling to catch up.

Jax pauses again. “…are you sure?”

Unable to form words, I just nod and Jax eventually starts moving again. The movement causes me to flinch and Jax stops, cocking his head slightly.

I’m about to beckon him again but

“…you…your hair is green and fluffy. You told me it’s dyed that colour and I think it really suits you.”

He’s whispering again. Continues his approach. It takes me a second to realize what he’s doing but as soon as it clicks, I close my eyes and focus on his words, a small smile starting to grace my lips at the familiarity.

“Your eyes are brown. Kind of a dark brown like…hmm…really dark chocolate.”

That gets a small chuckle out of me and he returns it in kind. There’s a noticeable change in the atmosphere now, like I’m starting to get pulled into a gravitational field. I know what’s causing it but just try to focus on the voice in my head.

“You’re…uh…you…said I was white so…”

I cough to warm up my throat. “…you can just say brown, big guy. It’s fine.”

“Brown then! And you’re…,” he stops to think about it for a second, “…uh…kinda skinny and muscular at the same time? I can’t see your body through the suit but I’ve seen you on Earth and you’re pretty strong, M.”

“Thanks.”

He hums in acknowledgement. “I…can’t see your clothes right now either, M but your…space suit I think it’s called?”

“Yeah.”

“Space suit then. It looks…well…um…”

“You can just say it looks like shit. It’s fine.”

Jax snorts at that. “I mean…I’ve seen worse. And…right now, your eyes are closed and you’re shaking badly but I know that you’re trying and well…”

There’s a long pause before with a jolt that makes my heart jump, I can feel something plush below my feet. I don’t open my eyes just yet.

“…there we go,” Jax whispers.

And so I slowly take a seat.

Take a deep, deep breath.

And finally,

open my eyes

And now I’m here.

Sitting on what it takes me way too long to recognize as the pad of a finger so massive it dwarfs the Earth.

I can’t really make out anything besides the massive black void that makes up what must be his pupil, stretching on and on in every direction like the night sky. Every time he blinks, I can hardly understand what’s happening and on some level, I’m distantly horrified as I stare back at him, the frozen death of space warded off only by the heat rising out of the endless stretch of flesh that makes up the pad of his finger. Every single groove of his fingerprint is like a bottomless chasm to me, my legs dangling off of one as I sit partially rooted to the surface below.

He blinks again and the night sky eclipses with it.

I’m literally nothing to this man.

Nothing at all and the fear is almost enough to make me want to gag but

He’s whispering quietly in my head again too, reassurances, using a voice I can comprehend and even as I can feel my eyes start to glaze over in fear, I can’t fight the smile that’s making its way onto my lips at the familiar voice muttering quietly in my head.

Because in spite of literally everything, he doesn’t want to scare me.

I know this man and he knows me.

Impossibly, I’m safe here

I finally force myself to move and use a shaking hand to rub the surface below me and the voice in my head stops in an instant, replaced with a small sigh as the massive eye in front of me closes in contentment.

“Oh,” is all he says after a long period of silence.

“Oh?” I finally make myself ask.

I hear a small sniff in my head and after a moment, he opens his eyes and my view is replaced by a black ocean suspended in the air in front of me.

He sniffs again and in that moment I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and never let go.

Which is…beyond impossible here but still, heart pounding, I hold my arms out to him instead.

He watches me for a long time, a blink sending what must be several oceans of water floating into the atmosphere but I hold my ground until finally the man speaks again.

“…I’m…not sure that’s a good idea, M.”

I just wave my arms at him again and he lets out a watery chuckle.

“I’m too big, Mia.”

“And I’m still waiting, big guy.”

“…I don’t want to hurt you.”

He sounds a little desperate so I finally drop my arms with a sigh. “Fine. In that case just stand still.”

“…what?”

“Trust me.”

He laughs at that. “…alright.”

That out of the way, I make myself stand up and examine the massive eye in front of me for a moment longer before I kick off of Jax’s finger and start swimming through the air.

“…uh, Mia?”

“Shush. I’m trying to prove a point here.”

Jax watches me swim through the air for an impressively long amount of time before he finally speaks again. “…if you’re trying to get somewhere, I could help you out?”

I look around and see that I’m basically exactly where I started.

“…fine.”

Jax laughs. “Where are you trying to go?”

“Just…your face I guess.”

“…oh.”

There’s silence for a long moment before everything starts moving again, the giant black globe rotating until it changes to grey and then a stark white, finally settling on a massive patch of flesh that must be the skin between Jax’s eyes. He then leans forward until the bridge of his nose lays a short distance away.

“Is that okay?” he asks quietly.

And I feel my heart warm up at that. And with that I can feel my hands start to twitch. Why is he so fucking cute? IT’S NOT FUCKING FAIR. I CAN’T EVEN SQUEEZE HIM LIKE- “I…yeah, actually. Thanks, big guy.”

I hear him hum in acknowledgment and literally want to kill him. He’s an incomprehensibly huge cosmic giant and it’s not fair not fair not fair not-

I start swimming towards him almost frantically and finally, FINALLY

I reach the man’s face and all but throw myself at him, grabbing as much of his skin as I can and rubbing the glass of my helmet against him.

“You…this is more…aggressive than I thought it would be. I…,” he lets out a small laugh, “…is this normal?”

I let out a small squeak and continue squeezing him and he chuckles in response. “You alright there, M?”

“No.” I finally manage.

“No?”

He sounds a little distressed so I try to clarify. “Jax, I’m fine. I just-,” I squeeze handfuls of flesh for as long as I can manage before letting go and wrapping my arms over as much of him as I physically can, “-GOD, I CAN’T.”

“You can’t?” he sounds more worried now and before I get worked up about that too, I try to calm myself down a little.

“Jax?”

“Mia?”

“You’re being fucking adorable right now and humans do this thing sometimes where if something is too cute it makes us want to hurt or kill them.”

“…so you’re trying to…kill me?”

“…uh,” I feel my arms tingle and know in my heart that I want to punch him repeatedly and also throw him into the sun, instead settling for hugging him tighter. “…not actually but…yes?”

“…oh? You…don’t feel like you’re trying to kill me though. You just seem a little…,” he cuts himself off to hum a little when I try to nuzzle him again, “…rough.”

“That’s ‘cause I have self-control.”

“Oh.”

There’s a long period of silence where I continue trying to awkwardly cuddle Jax to death and he enjoys the physical touch. Eventually though

“…we’re still friends then? You’re not actually trying to kill me?”

“Jax, oh my God, you’re killing me here.”

There’s a long pause and eventually I just frown.

“…We’re still friends. I’m not trying to kill you,” I deadpan and he chuckles.

“That’s a relief.”

He’s humming and crying and I’m trying to tear his skin off his body when something occurs to me.

“…wait, big guy.”

“Hmm?”

“You said you wanted to hug me too, right?”

“…Mia, the pad of my thumb is bigger than your planet.”

“So? I trust you.”

“You really shouldn’t.”

“Be untrustworthy then. See what happens.”

“…hmm.”

“Hmm?”

“…maybe some other time.”

“…what do you mean by that?”

Jax just chuckles and I frown.

“Hug me, man. It’s why I’m here.”

“I don’t want to kill you, Mia.”

“Then you won’t.”

I go back to squishing handfuls of his skin together in the silence that follows and eventually I feel more than see something approaching, the way the atmosphere seems to be physically moving away from some unknown threat. I try to focus on the movement of my hands against his skin instead.

“…Mia,” Jax finally says, “Your heart is-”

“Keep going.”

Jax is quiet for a long long time and I eventually drop the skin with a sigh. “If you want to touch me, Jax, keep going.”

Jax doesn’t immediately respond to this and so I try to soothe him by running a hand up and down the mass of flesh in front of me.

And finally

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

More silence now.

I’m about to say something more when suddenly something bumps into the back of my helmet and propels me forward slightly, pressing me almost tenderly into the warm skin in front of me. Jax doesn’t say anything and for a long time and so neither do I, wrapping my arms around what I can of him once more as we soak each other in in the silence.

And as I feel the trembles running through what I assume to be Jax’s finger finally start to die down and I settle into him, I raise my head slightly and look to the general direction of where one Jax’s eye might be, trying to find my voice one more

“Hey,” I whisper to him.

“…hey,” he whispers back.

#tldr jax finally cashes in on his good boy points to launch his best friend into the stratosphere #I Was Supposed To Finish This By Like March RIP #jax and mia #space au #ocs #the rooster crows #(please don't tag as g/t or with any g/t tags)#thanks for reading!

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birdhism · 5 months

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You'll be able to learn how to draw all these birds and more in the upcoming Kawaii Birdies book. PRE-ORDER

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hedgehog-moss · 1 year

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Rooster update: he is a gentleman so far. He follows my hen everywhere at a polite and respectful distance, scanning the area for enemies. I’ve not seen him make any advances whatsoever, he doesn’t seem interested in becoming a father; either he’s too young, or still a bit stressed and disconcerted by his change of environment, or he doesn’t like Dru this way, who knows. Pourvu que ça dure...!

Maybe Dru attacked him the first time he tried something—he doesn’t seem afraid of her any more, but the first morning after he arrived, he barrelled past Dru when I opened the coop and ran away flailing his wings, with high-pitched incoherent clucking, as if he were being chased by a pack of wild dogs. Pandolf, my hen and I stood there perplexed and watched him disappear into the forest. Part of me wanted to yell “I didn’t even want you!! you’re free to go!” and go home to have breakfast, but I couldn’t let him commit suicide by fox on his first day, so I took Pan home (thinking maybe the rooster had been scared of him), took my hen under my arm and spent half an hour on a rooster hunt in the woods. Dru clucks in annoyance if you touch her comb, so I would occasionally tickle it and she’d kÔtkÔtkwÊk and sometimes we’d hear a timid kwêk? in response which helped me narrow down the rooster’s position.

We ended up finding him perched on a branch, quite high up. I poked him with a long stick and he grudgingly moved back inch by inch until he was low enough for me to go up on tiptoes and pluck him like a large fruit. Then I carried him home singing the ballad of Sir Robin. When danger reared its ugly head / he bravely turned his tail and fled—Dru actually seems glad for his company, but she doesn’t know that this anxious bird is supposed to guard her from predators.

Here’s our boldly brave sir Robin strutting gallantly (photo taken with zoom because if I come any closer he flees)

Well, Dru’s new coopmate is very good at being a rooster in one capacity and that is crowing. He starts bright and early and continues throughout the day at random times, a beautifully-enunciated cocorico (he’s french)—I quite like it! The walls of my house are thick enough that it doesn’t wake me up in the morning, and during the day it’s a pleasant addition to the soundscape.

I had lunch with the librarian today and told her all about the rooster, and how I probably won’t be able to keep him since I’ll never meet the recommended minimum amount of hens per rooster. With 2 hens I already have a dozen eggs a week and that’s more than enough for me (+ cats and dog who also enjoy eggs.) The librarian was Team Rooster and said I should get more hens and bring her the eggs. “I’ll find clients.” She was already picturing herself as the nexus of a flourishing library-based egg trade, but most people around here keep chickens so I don’t think the demand will be there.

I showed someone else a picture of my rooster at the grocery shop and she exclaimed “He’s very decorative!” which I think would have made my rooster fluff up with pride. It’s the most validating thing you can say to a male bird. After I summarised the situation, my interlocutor came to the conclusion that I should give him to the librarian so he can become the new library pet. I said “He’ll make a mess” and she said “We can put sawdust on the ground like in old-school cafés...” But then she added that her grandchildren are a bit scared of roosters since they know they can be mean, and they might become afraid of going to the library. We agreed that my rooster shouldn’t be an obstacle to childhood literacy.

#crawling along #i'm glad he's not a nuisance (so far)!#i think he's too nervous about all these new animals he's meeting to remember his rooster duties #aside from strutting and crowing he's got that covered

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prince-kallisto · 2 months

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I have to spit this theory out before I go back to sleep, but there’s an interesting emphasis about ghosts in the latest book 7 chapter? Okay not really it was just a few lines ANDJXJDJXJ but that’s not the point- 🤣🤣

Malleus rationalizes Ortho “waking up” by transferring his data and soul into a different body to being like a ghost that’s left its body to be in another vessel.

Crowley has a very fascinating connection the ghosts and the undead overall. Not only does he turn into a ghost in the prologue with the use of a transmutation potion, the manga implies that he has some degree of control/summoning capabilities of the ghosts affiliated with Night Raven College.

The first Halloween event further clarifies that ghosts are so abundant at NRC (yet still an uncommon sight to the rest of the world) because the campus is teeming with magic- to the point that even non-mages can see them. A lot of the staff under Crowley’s employment are made up of ghosts (excluding teachers and Sam)- such as the cooks, and have been implied to have been working for him for many decades now, as in Crowley’s personal story, he can’t even remember when he hired the chef from how long ago it was. The second Halloween event then directly shows how ghost possession works, as many of the students get possessed with their personalities and eye colors changing. And then there’s the whole oh Phantom Bride event in general 👀

Edit: there’s also the Ghost Cameras, which Crowley describes that people back then feared the camera because the photos seemed like ghosts when popping out from the frame. The fact that the camera can “capture” a part of a persons soul is forever fascinating and the way it’s directly tied to ghosts 👀

I’ve been wondering if Crowley so readily has ghost transmutation potions so he can regularly travel to the Netherworld aka the ghost realm. Since his ties run so close with the campus ghosts, then it makes sense that he would have these potions for the Netherworld. But now with Malleus saying this…couldnt ghost!Crowley temporarily use someone as a vessel while under the effects of the potion or (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)

…I volunteer as tribute ANDJXJDBD no but actually!! I know there’s a lot more canonical ghost lore than this and how they relate to Crowley, but my brain isn’t fully working right now 😭 But with all the latest emphasis of Crowley having duplicates- magical protections in his Special Lessons, and a virtual simulation of him in the Magic Assault Event…👀 There is indeed a slight possibility of his ghost potions returning. The scene in the prologue heavily suggests that Crowley has an impressive control over his ghost form, as Grim is shocked at how Crowley suddenly speeds up- even faster than the actual Ramshackle ghosts. I feel like *someone* in general being used as a vessel feels more plausible every day…

And actually, we’ve been seeing recent representations of the spirits/ghosts of dead, such as Phantom Ortho & Ortho’s spirit, and the Knight of Dawn. General Lilia in his dream also calls out for Meleanor and Levan, asking them if they’re watching him and if he could join them, before slipping into darkness.

I still don’t understand how a ghost potion actually works ANXIJDHD- does Crowley just temporarily die for a moment or is it all just the superficial appearance and powers of a ghost without actually being a ghost? 💀 But in any case, I wonder if ghosts will be an ongoing theme, as both Book 6 and 7 have been emphasizing the loss of loved ones, so perhaps there is some connection here.

Idk it’s just very twisted wonderland that these characters have been going through a journey of acceptance at the loss of their loved ones and family, and Crowley is over here having the undead under his control, and is essentially “cheating death” by just casually switching from being a ghost to being alive 💀 and if the Great Seven portraits in his office can actually talk (a portrait in the prologue claims that why shouldn’t portraits be able to speak as long as they have a mouth), it’s essentially false representations of the dead speaking to him lol. So him potentially wielding his ghost form and using someone as a vessel technically isn’t that far off from what he’s currently doing in canon- the themes of death are so integral to his character yet he simultaneously treats these abilities as if it’s trivial 🤔 Anyway Crowley cheating death is foreshadowing to levan /j 🤪

#this was really incoherent and disorganized I apologize 😭#I can hear a rooster crowing helppp 😭🤣#kallistopost #twst theory #twst dire Crowley #twst spoilers #twst book 7 spoilers #dire crowley #twisted wonderland #twst

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sweetslemon · 11 months

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misogyny in linguistics

everything containing “ 女 “ (female) in chinese character etymology means something negative, cunning, devious, dark, or to indicate a servant. studying and knowing all those characters sickens me to the core. confuscianism furthered this in east asia weakening women’s rights - before confuscianism, korean dynasties had female kings and some property rights.

though we often use different chinese characters in each cases, china - korea - japan

screenshots source

the origin of the “female” character is a woman kneeling

in other explanations in confuscian texts, it says it is an image of a person kneeling with their neck in a pillory

on the contrary, the letters for “man” 男 is a person with the power 力 to feed 10 十 (shi) 口 (gou) mouths= family

Wife as housemaid

a woman outside a home(under her husband) is not safe

women with other women are always plotting

a man is allowed to have multiple wives, especially if she does not bear children: but he does not generally need justification. a women should never be jealous, jealousy (contains chinese character for female) is one of the 7 sins that husbands could banish, or beat their wives for

women + hands = servant

add fire onto the mix of the same characters of “servant”, you got “anger”

a lot of negative emotions in chinese characters are associated with symbols of women

“Power” : women subjugated under a weapon

fraught mentions of female inferiority

남존여비 is a word often brought up in korean culture, as in males are precious and respectable “ 尊 ” and females are inferior by birth “ 卑 “ . Men are high, women are low. Gentlemen comes first

https://bild-lida.ca/educationalsociolinguistics/uncategorized/womens-oppression-and-chinese-characters/

嫌 for extreme “hate” = women

adultery = dark cunning thing that women do

not all chinese characters with “women” have bad meanings! Some have positive meanings soch as detailing women’s looks or her docility

there are few if not zero chinese characters with the male “ 男 “ used inside a character contrary to the female “ 女 “ as a descriptor.

#i wanted to put chinese idioms here but guess that some idioms are same in every country #theres the exact same word for word ancient saying in chinese #korean italian and russian #you should beat women once in a while to subdue them #if women get power the world crumbles #etc #the tidbit about hens crowing bringing the house down #(cuz roosters aka men should rule not women=hens/cats #are the same in scottish proverbs?#Asian languages on the other hand? Uh good luck understanding a single word...#misogyny #mine

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eccentrichumanbeing · 10 months

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When they steal an enemy plane:

Rooster: well we’ve managed to get ourselves stuck in an ancient enemy plane. We’re either geniuses or the dumbest sons of bitches to ever breathe air

Mav: we’ll know soon enough!

#top gun incorrect quotes #top gun maverick #tgm #bradley rooster bradshaw #pete maverick mitchell #source: six of crows

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fieriframes · 5 months

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[You know, sometimes the broth can get too much. You put jalapeño in there. [ Rooster crows ]]

#s19e06 kickin' it in key west #guy fieri #guyfieri #diners drive-ins and dives #jalapeño #rooster crows #broth

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cockatrice-writers-guild · 10 months

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Tear Stains

this takes place in the ride or die universe

warnings: swearing, emotional spiralling

word count: around 2.4k

taglist: @autism-alley , @awkwardgtace , @tripodcat-gt

I wake up to a dark room and the warm, plush surface I’m laying on tilting until I start sliding off of it. It takes me some time to place myself but the hills and grooves brushing beneath me place me in Jax’s palm. He must need to use the bathroom or something. As soon as I near the end of his palm, Jax tilts his hand further so I don’t fall off the edge, instead quickly sliding onto the noticeably colder pillow and sinking into it slightly.

That done, Jax slowly withdraws his hand and shakes the floor as he leaves the room as quietly as he can. I hug myself tighter and try to burrow into the massive pillow I’m on for warmth but eventually just sit up with a huff. I’ll wait for Jax to get back. He’s warm and soft and I’m cold.

I turn to watch the dark hallway he disappeared down and wait.

Some time passes.

Then more time.

Then some more.

I feel my brows start to crease with worry now, the silence near deafening as I start to wonder if he’s okay.

Time passes at a crawl.

I start to look around, trying to find the best place to climb down the bed when finally I hear the muffled sound of water running and feel the slight tension building in my shoulders dissipate.

The bathroom door cracks open once more, light spilling into the hallway and casting a long silhouette on the wall, the man in question standing there a long moment before he finally starts moving again, turning the light off and making his way back to the bed.

I watch him as he approaches, head down, his steps quiet and slow and uneven.

I frown.

“You ok?”

Jax freezes in his tracks, taking a moment too long to get his eyes off the floor to meet mine. "I...yeah. Why do you ask?"

I was going to comment on how long he took in the bathroom but as he raises his head slightly, the small amount of light in the room glints off of his cheeks for just a second and my eyes widen slightly. "Tear stains," is all I can say.

Jax’s eyes widen slightly too but a small smile quickly spreads on his face. “...oh. I...," he laughs nervously, reaching up and touching his face for a moment before wiping at his cheeks with the heel of his palm, "I guess I missed some."

I frown up at him but after he finishes wiping his hand on his pants, he just watches me in silence, his eyes unsure. I purse my lips and try opening my arms to him but he just shakes his head slightly, taking a seat beside the bed after a moment and hugging his knees to his chest instead.

Silence as we watch each other.

"…I'm sorry for waking you," he finally whispers but I just wave him off.

"What happened, big guy?"

He looks away for a long moment before answering. "…nightmare."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I...maybe not now."

"Okay."

Silence as we watch each other.

"...it's pretty early, honey. Do you want to go back to bed?" I pat the mattress next to me lightly for emphasis, trying to be light with him.

Jax just swallows and shakes his head again, his face sinking further into his pulled up knees as he does. "You should sleep, Mia. I...I can go lie down on the couch for now."

I frown at that. "You are not sleeping on the couch in your own house. I'll take the couch. You sleep here."

He shrinks away slightly. "…the bed's more comfortable, Mia. I want you to take it."

"If the bed's more comfortable, you should take it, big guy. You're stressed. You need the rest. I'll be fine on the couch, I promise."

His brows furrow slightly as he holds my gaze. "I...can just sleep on the floor?"

I feel my own brows shoot up at that. "Jax, I don't know why you think that I'd let you sleep on the fucking floor rather than the couch but no. If anything, I'll sleep on the floor. Watch me. Just take the damn bed."

"I...I can't move you right now anyways, you know? It's better if I slept somewhere else."

“I can climb down on my own. It’s fine.”

His mouth twitches for a moment, his brows creasing further. “You could fall.”

"God, Jax, if you’re that worried then you can just sleep on the bed with me like we always do. Problem solved. There's more than enough room for both of us even if you don't want to touch me."

"But I...I don’t want you to die, Mia." His words come out with a small sob, the semi neutral expression Jax put on finally shattering as he breaks down.

I'm up in an instant, moving to slide down the pillow as he untangles himself slightly and lays his head down on the mattress to cry. He watches my approach through tear filled eyes, shaking his head repeatedly until I stop.

“What?”

It takes a second for him to form the words. “…don’t. P…please.”

“Why?”

Another sob racks through him. “…you…you’ll die.”

“I won’t die.” I take a slow step towards him, holding my hands up. “See?”

Jax’s breaths spike for a second but he makes no move to stop me.

I take another experimental step forward and Jax continues to watch me quietly. “I’m okay.”

Another step, another assurance.

“I’m okay.” Step.

“I’m fine.” Step.

“I promise I’m fine.” Step.

“…Mia.” The whispered plea washes over me and I pause.

“Yeah?”

He blinks at me, a small lake of water streaming down the side of his face as he does. “I-,” another sob. “I’m dangerous.”

“You spent like five minutes earlier trying to slide me off your hand as gently as possible so you wouldn’t wake me. So you could go cry in the goddamn bathroom for who knows how long so you wouldn’t worry me. I am not taking that ‘I’m dangerous’ bullshit from you.”

Jax blinks again but doesn’t say anything more.

And so I keep moving until finally I can brush my fingers against his forehead.

I slowly start to run a hand up and down the skin as I try to soothe him. "See, I'm okay. I'm okay. I promise I'm okay." A shudder runs through him and I brace myself against him for a moment before I continue, eventually leaning in to plant a small kiss on his head.

"I...I don't want to hurt you, Mia," he eventually whispers back.

"Then you won't."

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry."

"...for what?"

"I'm sorry."

"You haven't done anything to me. Jax I promise I-" I stop when I hear that Jax repeat himself again and again and again, tripping over his words at times as his quiet apologies fill the air and I try to hold onto him more tightly. And finally I feel the skin beneath my hands start to move almost…inward as the man starts to shrink. I bite back a tired sigh, feeling him start to slump into me as his legs leave the floor. I brace myself, leaning backwards and pulling him with me so that he lands on top of me instead of falling to the ground and for a moment I'm completely pinned under his weight, the slight rise and fall of his chest pressing into me, his shallow breaths and continued stream of apologies brushing against my neck.

His eyes are glassy.

Distant.

I take a moment to collect myself before I try to push him off of me as gently as I can, rolling away the moment I’m free to get my bearings before I turn to him again.

Jax is sprawled out now, staring up at the ceiling as he continues to whisper and tears slowly stream down the sides of his face.

I walk over to him and crouch down, collecting my thoughts for a moment before I just reach out and lightly tap his cheek.

"Jax."

Surprisingly he pauses, his grey eyes flicking to look at me again.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

"Jax."

"I-"

"Shut up. Look at me."

Jax blinks at me but luckily he doesn't say anything else.

"Are you looking at me?"

A slight nod on his end.

"Good. Can you sit up?"

I offer a hand and Jax just stares at it for a long moment, his shallow breaths filling the air before he slowly starts to get up. And once he's up, he pulls his legs together to sit crossed legged in front of me, hands clasped to his lap as he stares down at the bed.

"...can I touch you?"

A swallow. Then finally a small nod.

I nod back before leaning forward, cupping one of his cheeks in my hand for a moment before I start wiping away at his tears. And once that's done, I cup his other cheek too and gently tilt his head up so he meets my gaze again, squishing his face slightly to try and ground him.

"I'm fine, honey. I promise, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry then what am I?"

Jax's eyes widen slightly at that and a small, surprised laugh escapes him.

I knead at his cheeks with my fingers and finally he blinks a few times like he's trying to clear his vision. His irises start to dart around and his breaths finally start to slow. I feel the motion of him clenching and unclenching his jaw a few times and use my thumbs to wipe at his tears again.

I give him some time to look around before I speak.

"Where are you right now, Jax?"

"I...I'm...this is...my bed, right?"

I nod. "How many fingers do you have currently?"

"...huh?"

"Just answer."

"I...ten...last I...I checked anyway."

"Okay."

I squish his cheeks for a moment before pulling away to sit down in front of him. "Are you looking at me?"

He swallows again. Sniffs. "...yeah."

I reach over to him. "Here. Give me your hand."

Jax complies after a moment, placing his hand on top of mine and then looking up at me expectantly.

I lace my fingers through his and squeeze his hand. And after some silence he squeezes back.

"Jax."

"...Mia?"

"You might notice that I'm still completely fine despite being in your presence."

Jax looks away at that, though he keeps his hand in mine.

"It was a dream. A horrible dream, I can imagine but it wasn’t real."

"...but-"

"But the government's been fucking with your head since you were a baby. They're so scared of you that they made you scared of yourself. You understand that, right?"

"...yeah but-"

"But you're not some kind of evil monster that needs to be locked away. You're not whatever horrible thing your brain concocted from all the lies you've been fed. You're Jax. You're a person. You're my friend."

"But I..."

I frown and start pulling his hand towards me, the movement causing Jax to finally fucking look at me again. "Yeah?" I prompt.

He tries to regather his thoughts even as he watches me, visibly puzzled as I start spreading out his fingers. "I...I'm not..."

"Uh huh," I prompt again, grabbing onto his index finger and leaning towards it.

"I'm...they say I'm...” he trails off for a few seconds. “…what...what are you doing?"

"Ignore me. Finish your sentence."

"I..."

I wait patiently and Jax finally drops his gaze again.

"I'm a monster, Mia. I’m not-"

Jax's words cut off as a small, surprised shriek escapes him, this being caused by the pain of my teeth biting down on his hand.

Jax pulls his hand away and holds it to his chest, staring at me wide-eyed. "You bit me."

"I...I did, yeah."

"You…you bit me." He's starting to sound and look more visibly upset as he repeats himself and now I find myself starting to backpedal as I try to diffuse the situation.

"I...I'm sorry, I-"

"You BIT ME," he full on wails before starting to sob again.

"Oh, honey I-" cut myself off as I instead lean forward and wrap my arms around him, squeezing him tightly as another big sob shakes through him. And almost immediately, he wraps his arms around me too, pulling me closer and burying his face in my shoulder.

"YOU BIT ME ," he cries again between sobs.

"I…I’M SORRY I-"

"WHY," another sob, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"

"FUCK MAN, I WAS TRYING TO PROVE A POINT!"

"WHAT POINT COULD YOU P-" another sob, "-POSSIBLY PROVE BY BITING ME?"

"Get fucked."

Jax snorts at that, choking on his own sob for a moment before he starts to giggle into my shirt, his laughter getting interrupted every now and then by another sob and soon I find myself laughing a little too.

"…my point, Jax, is that if you dehumanize yourself ever again, I am literally going to kill you. How's that?"

"There's," he wheezes into me for a moment, "better ways to prove that, Mia!"

"Well, I was also getting frustrated so-" I shrug.

He coughs between chuckles for a second. "…yeah."

And as his laughter finally starts to taper off, he leans away from me for a moment before pressing his forehead to mine, the small vibrations of slowly dying giggles shaking through both of us as we sit there.

I rub my head against his and he does the same, the rooms finally fading to silence besides Jax's breathing and mine.

He eventually starts humming to fill the silence and so after letting him get through an annoying ad jingle or two, I finally speak.

"So?"

"How’re you feeling?"

"Bad."

"Mmm, yeah that makes sense."

"Yeah."

"Some rest might do you good."

"…mmm."

We untangle ourselves after a moment and Jax moves to a spot farther away from the edge before he lies down and I follow suit, getting more comfortable beside him before I wrap my arms around him again and he does the same.

I reach up to brush a few strands of hair out of his eyes. "...you know there's enough room on this bed for a certain giant I know."

He looks away for a second before turning back to me. "...tomorrow. I promise."

I wipe some stray tears out of his eyes and feel him lean into the touch slightly. "…okay."

#SORRY FOR NOT POSTING I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH IT #Anyway This #jax and mia #ride or die verse #ocs #the rooster crows #thanks for reading!

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seabeck · 10 months

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If rooster crowing annoys you that’s fine but maybe consider that before adopting a set of roosters and maybe also don’t give it half a day to adjust

#I have 4 roosters on my property and I don’t even notice the crowing #my neighbor has several and so do people the next street over

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rainbow-rooster-fr · 7 months

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I really wish we could stack items in the cauldron or items in the dig sites. I’d be fine if the time was a cumulative of all the items used and such, but as someone working FT it would be nice to set stuff in for like 10 hours and then when I’m home again collect them all at once. Waiting 10-15 minutes each time to collect something to put in one more item just feels so tedious.

#flight rising #rooster crows

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