i like w,hen ......... theres a Big scaresy fantasies beast ok .... and then the big beast has a litter of babies,,,., and the babeis are veryvery small . ok
pink - commander and the leader. probably really nice and sweet
blue - probably very close to pink, is either 100 iq smarty pants but shy or very tough and cool
yellow/orange - very happy and positive. can vary from being newbie of the group to be older and mature, probably known as the beautiful one
purple - mysterious, usually starts off as a rival or joins the group later, but is definitely known to the members as another MG. Probably has a softer side they don’t show
I got and have been playing Ender Magnolia and keep getting thrown off whenever Lilac talks because her canon personality is nothing like the one I keep projecting onto her.
Canon Lilac after beating a boss that killed her 20 times: *In the sweetest anime girl voice* It's okay. I know you didn't mean to. Come here. I'll heal your pain. Tell me what happened.
My Lilac in the exact same situation: *In the thickest Scottish accent possible* I finally beat ya, ya fuckin bastard. Now what the bloody hell was your deal, mate? Why the fuck were ya hangin around this fuckin place?
Spoilers for Ending C of ENDER LILIES, and Ending B of ENDER MAGNOLIA.
It had been just over a week since Lilac and Nola had managed to vanquish the Rain of Death, and signs of revitalising have already been to show up.
Gilroy had taken to staying to himself, speaking to the other Homunculi and committing a joint effort.
Lilac, meanwhile, was currently in the Upper Stratum, soaking in her own private pool.
After everything, Gilroy had gifted unto Lilac and Nola a private apartment in the Upper layer; and, with it, a way of cleaning herself. Now, yes, she did regularly dive into the water, poisonous or clean, but that's... well, different.
Relaxing her muscles was therapeutic, the warm water releasing her built-up stress...
And then, she heard footsteps, and a familiar, quiet voice.
"Ah... there you are."
Opening her eyes, Lilac saw the Travelling Priestess by the door, hands clasped in front of her, and blue eyes staring from under her hood.
"...You?" Lilac said instinctively, but then sucked in a breath. "Wait, no, that sounded rude: it's good to see you again!"
She nodded, a small smile on her face. "I wanted to see you again, after everything had concluded... the stars are beautiful, by the way."
Looking up through the glass ceiling, Lilac gave a nod towards the starry night sky, as a star shot by. "It is... thank you."
"Hm?"
"If it weren't for meeting you in the Academy, I don't think I would have been able to save everyone, if anyone... so, I'm grateful." then, with a movement from her hand, she gestured to the pool. "Why not join?"
The Priestess looked at the pool nervously. "I would love to, but... my body..."
Lilac waved her off, gesturing to her own. "Can't be any worse than mine, I've got stabbed and burned more times than I can count or remember."
The Traveller gave a small chuckle, and then nodded. "Very well... please, avert your gaze."
Lilac moved her head back down, and closed her eyes. She heard the shuffle of clothing, and then heard the water splash next to her right.
"You may open them."
Lilac did, and was immediately greeted with the fact it was much, much worse than her's.
White hair, much like her own, but with red tendrils growing out of it. Additionally, it seemed to be faded at the roots, causing them to turn brown. Her body, from head to toes, was riddled with scars, burns, stab wounds...
"...I never got the chance to tell you my name, did I...?"
Lilac took a second to gesture to words. "Y-Yeah, but to be fair, we were in a rush..."
A tiny smile. "That's no excuse... in any case:"
"Lily. My name is Lily."
Lilac couldn't help but smile at the name. "Lilia, Lilac, Lily... I'm starting to notice a theme."
Lily gave a hum. "You're right... curious."
...
The silence was peaceful, only broken by the distant sound of speaking and machinery.
"This place is unlike any I have visited before..." Lily spoke quietly. The moonlight glinted off of her necklace, the azure gem inside shining.
"You've visited places outside of the Land of Fumes?" a stupid question, but one Lilac thought necessary to ask.
"Many. Villages, cities, kingdoms... all tainted by Blight. I do my best to stop and Purify the spread, if I can..." her hand, covered in a dark red burn mark, gently held her necklace. "The Raidiant Aegis Curio... it was an adventure reconstructing it. But, it allowed me to save my... 'mother'. And, to help Purifying..."
Lilac bit her tongue to prevent herself from asking more on her 'mother', with how unsure she sounded. "Do you... also have companions? Like a Homunculus?"
"Mm... a few. Spirits of those I Purified, immortalised in the moment they succumbed, but retaining their memories prior to their 'deaths'..."
The girl with currently-no-cloak opened her mouth, before wisely shutting it.
Lily is a can of worms... thankfully, Lilac was many things; morbidly curious, being one of them.
if you like ender lilies: quietus of the knights, or ender magnolia: bloom in the mist, please interact i need to talk about it im so normal about these games
'minion' -too closely associated with those yellow things
'goon' -linguistic drift gave her a new meaning. i hope her new life is good for her. i miss her.
'henchman' -too gendered. can be shortened to 'hench' in a pinch, but lacks punch.
'servant' -too domestic to apply to all those who serve evil.
'underling, subordinate' -this one only works if they get off on being beneath you and/or you don't properly pay your workers.
'associate' -this one's good for grizzled mercenaries or lone agents but doesn't work good for broad swathes of an organization.
'slave' -same as underling but more intense. really fun for some of the group. unsavory for others in a way that limits the scope of the thing.
'thrall' -only really applies if you're brainwashing them and that's not something i've learned how to do en masse yet
'flunky, toady, stooge, lackey' -these are just insulting, and that isn't conducive to a healthy work environment. imagine going to work and your job title is 'stooge'.
'acolyte' -works for those that worship you, but again. lacks the scope.
'supporter, follower' -unspecific and vague
'assistant, helper, aide' -not sinister at all. just means you're doing things for me. swagless in this manner. could be good if used to describe someone who's so clearly more that as a way to emphasize their obedience via understatement, but that's only useful for a few members of the organization. and even then, 'associate' works better.
'cohort' -untested in the field. suggests an equal footing in the affair, ideal for post-structuralist evil organizations with a bottom-up power structure that's held in the hands of the evil workers themselves. perhaps we'll explore it together?
may I suggest: 'grunt' – time-tested by crime bosses with a variety of goals and organizational mandates. implies a subservient position with none of the innate baggage of lackey et al.
For years after 9/11 we were constantly told “NEVER FORGET” and the idea was basically “keep feeling sad and afraid and especially ANGRY forever; don’t let time dull your emotional response like it’s naturally supposed to; continue to justify the injustices by feeling this way all the time.” And the 3000 deaths were constantly pointed to as this huge deal that justified any lengths to go to.
And then Covid hit. And there were several points during the height of the pandemic (because fun fact, according to the actual definitions of a pandemic, *it’s not technically over yet!* ) where we were having a 9/11’s worth of deaths every week or so. And suddenly 3000 deaths were not a big deal at all. Instead of being enough reason to go to war far away and strip us at home of many rights too, they weren’t even enough justification to make people wear a damn piece of fabric over their face.
3000 people died once and now the government can legally wiretap anyone without a warrant, and hold people at Gitmo under suspicion of terrorism (no need for due process)… 3000 people dying every week but we should all still be going out to brunch and concerts and who cares about the disabled and immunocompromised?
Something in me broke. Make all the 9/11 jokes you want.
okay so, guy at work, who i find out afterwards is famous at this place for being a sex pest, comes up and starts with what i also learn is his favorite opener to conversations where he’s going to be a sex pest, namely: “Do you know where the term ‘blow job’ comes from?”
and here he made his first fatal error. his moment of hubristic sex pesting. because of course i know where the term blow job comes from, i love learning about sex and the history of sexual terms! i know so much about oral sex that i could write a book on it!
his second error: approaching a little autistic freak with what he intended to be an uncomfortable sex question that would make me feel weird and gross. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I Have Never Misjudged A Man’s Intentions So Incredibly In My Life. because i did not realize he was trying to harass me. because i love talking about sex facts, albeit not usually at work. unless. someone prompts me. my coworkers are the kind of people who are generally online enough to know terms, but not exactly what they mean, and they realized they could ask me a while back and get good answers without the resulting awkwardness because i do not experience shame. i am primed to answer questions like the one he has proposed.
So I Answered It.
and well, really, what happened is that I began answering it, then realized the answer required a bit more context. I mean, you can’t just say “oh, well, the term first appears in writing in the 1940s” without first explaining that ‘blow’ by itself already had sexual connotations for centuries, and then, really, are we talking about the origin of the term or the origin of the act. and well we have a ton of literature and art depicting fellatio throughout human history, did you know a lot of it was men performing it on other men? oh, that reminds me, there are a multitude of latin words for oral sex performed on penises, and hold on let me quote you the entirety of catullus 16 from memory and explain it’s fascinating insights into the roman world of homosexuality-
i do not know how to turn any of this ^ off, by the way. i’m sure some people out there have a switch that disables their infodumping mid-speech. i do not. and i also didn’t realize he wasn’t looking for a real answer until my other coworker explained so hours later. he could not excuse himself from the conversation he started, and i made a conservative man at least 30 years older than me to listen to my catullus recitation. i will sodomize and facefuck you, indeed.
anyway, i think i got a bad grade in being sexually harassed. my pro tip is maybe don’t start with what a very autistic individual will misconstrue as you earnestly asking them to explain sex to you. the special interest shield will cause splashback damage.
