#would he have been quite so willing to sacrifice them if he hadn't needed to bite his own tail off to escape that coursing hound?

[acquired-elfroot]

lol, do you ever think about the fact that Felassan was almost certainly the one who talked clan Virnehn into summoning Imshael in the first place?

he had been in touch with the clan for years, he and Solas both knew Imshael from waaaay back, and Solas had specifically tasked him with retrieving the eluvian key - which Imshael knew the location of. i'm one hundred percent sure that Felassan was the one to first plant the idea for the keeper, knowing full well just how that would go.

i'm a thousand percent sure that it was Solas' idea in the first place.

and you just know neither of those ancient elven assholes would ever accept blame for it either

"I merely offered guidance" "I gave no orders" "they chose to summon the demon" "if they're so beholden to suggestion they're not so much a person as a weathervane"

i love me some amoral trickster shitheads.

[lyxchen]

Okay so I've heard this said a bunch of times and I'm gonna admit I thought like that too for a while but no, Gi-hun did not win the games because he was lucky. A lot of people think that's how he won because he never killed anybody but that's really not the point. Gi-hun won the games because a) he's smart and is able to look at things from a different angle, b) because he is a good and kind person who also believes in others and c) because of the goodness and care get got back from other people.

In the first game he survived because Ali saved him and that wasn't luck, that was Ali being a good person and helping somebody not get killed. Ali could've not caught him, let him die, he didn't even know Gi-hun at all at that point and he put himself in more danger too by having to hold on to a person while standing completely still but he still saved Gi-hun because Ali is a good person.

In the Dalgona game he quite literally Was Not Lucky. He decided to go with the umbrella which is the worst shape to pick and he probably would have died if he hadn't looked at the game in a different way and decided to change his strategy. Gi-hun is smart. He is also optimistic and so he tried something new and found a different way to beat that game.

In the third game he survived because he was smart and kind enough to listen to Il-nam. The other people in their group dismissed him as just an old man speaking but Gi-hun didn't and that way they had a good strategy to beat the other team. The same goes for him listening to Sang-woo's idea of running three steps and then stopping, which ultimately was what saved them. His group also chose him as their leader (who, as Il-nam said, needs to not seem weak or loose hope because then the whole team is doomed). His team trusted in him and his optimism and they were right to do so.

In the marbles game he won because he was once again kind and decided to team up with Il-nam and also because in the end Il-nam decided to "sacrifice himself" for Gi-hun because he showed him kindness before. Yes Il-nam didn't actually die but he also knew that Gi-hun had cheated and still let him continue on to the next game, probably because Gi-hun had been good and kind and caring towards him before, even though he really didn't have to be. Gi-hun also didn't know this but by teaming up with Il-nam he inadvertently ensured that Il-nam had a lot more fun in the games than he would have had, had everybody just ignored to "old, fragile man". Gi-hun was good to Il-nam throughout all the games and it ended up saving him in the marbles game.

In the fifth game it's only some small moments as Gi-hun isn't really involved in the game because he's the last number but still it wasn't just luck. First of all he was kind enough to give the number 1 to the player that asked him for it. Yes, that number was bad but he didn't know that and had he been selfish enough to say no to that other player he wouldn't have survived. Being the last to play in any game can end up being bad for you, still he decided to give up the number he picked because the other player asked him to. Secondly he also survived that game because Sae-byeok was kind enough to remind him of which glass tile to step on after he had forgotten which one it was. It's only small but she didn't have to tell him and still she did. Sae-byeok btw is also good to him because before that he was good to her and protected her (even though he was angry at her at first) and that way he was able to gain her trust.

Lastly he won the Squid Game because Gi-hun was kind to Sang-woo and because Sang-woo deep down was still a good person. There were probably many reasons as to why Sang-woo decided to kill himself in the end but part of it, I'm sure, was also because Gi-hun was a good friend to him. I mean Gi-hun was even willing to give up all the money and go back home with nothing gained if it meant that Sang-woo didn't have to die and would be able to come home with him. Gi-hun deserved that win and that money and in the end Sang-woo knew that. He also knew that Gi-hun would make sure to take care of Sang-woo's mother and that he wouldn't just take all the money for himself because Sang-woo knew that Gi-hun is a good person. (Gi-hun technically also won the Squid Game because he was good at it which is also him being smart)

So in conclusion and I hope y'all haven't stopped reading yet: Gi-hun didn't win the games because he was lucky. He didn't just sit around doing nothing and won anyways. He won because he was smart but even more importantly he won because of the kindness and goodness that exists in humans and that is especially present in him. He won because he had empathy, because people trusted him, because he got back from them what he gave to them first. He never killed anyone and we can clearly see that he Could Never kill anyone in those games but that's not his weakness. Just because he didn't let himself get corrupted and turned into what the games wanted him to turn into doesn't mean he won because of luck. Him not playing by those subtle, hidden rules that are made to force him to be bad, to not care about others and to give up his kindness actually means he was better than the games. He won because he didn't let them turn him into a monster. They tried really hard and they failed and that's how he won!! But also on top of that he also won because he isn't the only good person in this show. He also won because other people helped him, were kind to him and gave a shit about him. Each and every person that helped Gi-hun didn't have to do that. They all could have not helped him, Ali could have not caught him, Sae-byeok could have not told him which one was the correct glass tile, hell, she could have Lied to him about it and the only difference it would have made for the other players would have been them being one more dead person closer to winning all that money. But that's really not how humans are and act which is why all these people helped Gi-hun, helped each other in small or big ways and in the end his own kindness and the kindness that exists in other people is what lead to Gi-hun winning. That's not luck. That humans being good

[beauty-grace-outer-space]

So I'm at Versailles and it's the end of the day and I decide fuck it, lets try to squeeze in those last few fountains I didn't see, and I start wandering over to that area.

I get to one of the fountains and aw, cute, there are little baby geese swimming around in there. So I'm watching with all the other ooh-ers and ahh-ers and everyone is cooing about how cute it is when I have the realization...

These goslings are too small to get out on their own.

I watch them try a few times and listen to their chirping get more frantic and their mom and dad circling anxiously. I'm spinning around like an idiot trying to determine if any of the other five people watching this might speak even a modicum of English so I can communicate that we need to try to get them out. I determine that there is a German couple, a French couple, and a very confused Polish woman who managed to get herself locked into one of the groves but that's a different story.

I can tell that the German couple has at least kind of clocked on to the fact that the babies cannot get out and have some concerns so I immediately identify them as my allies. I'm looking around frantically trying to figure out if there's anything I could possibly use to try to scoop these babies up and out of water over the wall of the fountain and not getting anywhere because boy, do they keep it clean at Versailles.

I start racking my brain to see if I can think of any kind of German or French word that might mean hat and see if somebody might be willing to sacrifice one as a catching device to my now manic cause of saving these baby geese.

Eventually I just abandon all reason, step over the barrier, lie down on the side of the fountain, and start trying to use my map to fish them out like some sort of soggy fishing net.

At this point anyone who hadn't clocked onto the fact that they were stuck figured it out and jumped into action.

The French man has gone off to find a large stick, one of the few things to be found in a series of Gardens that may be useful in this instance, and starts corraling the babies towards my side of the pond whilst simultaneously trying to see if he can scoop them from underneath. No dice.

I am being hissed at like those geese are cursing me out.

The nice German man follows my lead, lies down on the side of the fountain, and like some sort of superhero manages to just scoop up three of the babies after a while. I got close with one but they're fast little guys.

The German man's girlfriend found a smaller board and propped it up against one of the shallower parts of the fountain to try to make a ramp for them. However, baby gees are not the most intelligent or creatures and while they jumped on top of it a few times they never quite figured it out.

On top of that, the three that had been successfully retrieved got spooked and jumped right back in.

It's at this point that the security team rolls up and my best guesses that they asked the French equivalent of, "what the hell are you all doing?" Because simultaneously it comes to my attention that would be grounds have been closed for over two hours and here we are, having illegal he crossed over a barrier touching art that we are certainly not supposed to be touching.

The German man starts explaining that there are baby geese in the pond that we are trying to get out. Security does not understand him. The Frenchman runs around the fountain and hastily explains in French. Now we've got a security team also standing watching this baby geese trying to determine what to do.

They advise that they'll return with somebody to handle it, and speed off like a bat out of hell. The Polish woman is released from her garden prison.

I stick around until I am sure that they are handling it and now I am walking the mile and a half back to the train station which should round out a nice 20 miles walked for me on nothing but a few choquette and a handful of strawberries.

TL;Dr: the goslings are ok.

[cottoncandy-cult]

Babification Pomefiore

Vil (Ft Rook)

It had been about a week since (Y/n) was brought to him, he initially cleared out 2-3 days in his calendar to stay home and watch over his little sweet potato but on day 4 he realized it may take longer than expected. So, he decided to rip the Band-Aid off, rather than risk his fans spreading rumors that he had a secret child he laid out the circumstances on magicam. He explained that the girlfriend they saw in his pictures at times had been turned into an infant due to a class accident, and so he has decided to take care of her until she can be returned to normal. The male had almost expected some sort of outlash, some fans seemed to expect him to be single forever just for the sake of their personal fantasies. Instead, he was met with a large amount of support, many fans finding his dedication to his girlfriend beyond romantic as some celebrities would have hidden the accident and had someone else to take care of their significant other. After that day Vil went about his usual appointments, though everywhere he went he took the little girl. He never let anyone else hold her, but that proved problematic as sometimes the little girl became uncomfortable with all the attention she got. Often hiding her little face in his chest, she'd cling to him and occasionally whimper when she felt crowded. Vil would often excuse himself, wanting to do his job but not willing to sacrifice the girl's comfort especially given the situation she was in. It was because of this that Rook began accompanying him, the blonde male being one of the few he'd let hold and handle the little girl. Anytime the girl felt overwhelmed, or if he needed to film, he'd hand her off to Rook who would then take her to get a snack. She was around 3 and was quite shy, hiding her face in the hunter's shoulder anytime someone approached her. He'd often take her to a quiet corner where she could still see Vil but would be more comfortable and willing to come out of hiding.

For those times Rook would dig out her coloring book and crayons from the baby bag he proudly wore over his shoulder, it was these moments that he became aware of the fact that her older self is still in there. She seems aware but unable to really do much to control herself, often trying really hard to color within the lines of her pictures while also trying not to break the crayon. That was why Rook didn't baby talk her, it felt rude since he was aware of the fact that she still had that more mature thought process even if she couldn't properly express herself. Currently the popular trio had been at one of Vil's photoshoots, today had been a calm day but the little girl had been especially needy for attention. She did her best to sit quietly, but she couldn't help pausing her coloring in order to check for Vil's location and occasionally pouted. Of course, Rook had noticed, he hadn't done anything yet because he didn't want to interrupt Vil but also found her pout the cutest thing in life. He fawned over her more than ever now, she was his favorite little marshmallow bunny. Proven by the pastel bunny onesie they'd put her in before bed.

Vil had been adjusting his pose and had turned his head towards the pair, noticing how (Y/n) stared at him with a soft pout. Sometimes he wished she'd just cry out already whenever she wanted something, gives him an excuse to take a break anyways and he doesn't mind. The photographer noticed Vil was distracted and followed the blonde's gaze to the little girl, being a father, the older man knew what the little one wanted. "You know Mr. Schoenheit; we do have a new kids line we plan to advertise soon. If you'd like to look at the clothes and bring the little one up you can, we'll give you a bonus of course since the little lady would be the one wearing them." The older man smiled kindly to Vil when the blonde looked at him, Vil thought for a moment and glanced back at the girl who went back to coloring but still wore such a cute pout. "I don't see why not; she might have some fun getting to dress up." Vil chuckled a little, following the older man to a nearby wrack of kids clothing to look for a few outfits he thinks would look cute on the little girl and would match well with his outfits. Of course, the duo had noticed when the 2 males moved to and stand by the wrack, Rook could hear their conversation of course so he couldn't help but chuckle as he moved over to kneel next to her. "What do you say we clean up and go see what Vil's up to, ok mon petit trickster?"

The tall blonde gazed down at the little girl, watching her quickly nod her head as she began putting her crayon back where she got it. She was particular in how she used them, only getting one out at a time and putting them back as she went. Something Rook felt only supported his theory that she was still conscious within herself, or at the very least she was an oddly orderly toddler. Rook held the bag open for her, letting the girl place the two items back within its confines herself before she reached out for him and made grabby hands. A gesture that never failed to make the blonde male melt, he was quick but gentle as he scooped her up and cradled her safely to his chest. Afterall his dear Vil had made his desire to see her safe quite clear when he originally ranted about the idiots that caused this problem, not that Rook would do her harm anyways she was much too cute for him to even raise his voice at much less neglect her care and safety. Vil had noticed the two when they approached, chuckling at how the little girl smiled and reached for him. "Hey there sweet potato, I need you to help me with something alright." Gentle hands swapped her between male's chests, Vil cradling her tiny body as she snuggled into him immediately. "Oh? Is our wee trickster getting a taste of the limelight?" Rook smiled curiously, looking at the small pile of outfits that the photographer held on one arm. "Mhm, I saw her pouting at me anyways." The pomefiore prince kissed the little girl's cheek, listening to her happily giggle when he'd occasionally gently blow into her soft little cheeks. "Why don't you go ahead and get both of yourselves changed, I'll adjust the lights, so we don't sweat the poor thing out or blind her." The older male passed the clothes to Vil, going to get things ready for a photoshoot Vil was actually excited about. It was the first time in a while since he's had a reason to look forward to a particular shoot, but how could he not be at least a little excited to take pictures with his baby sweet potato.

-

-

-

The first outfit Vil tried was a dark grey button up, black dress pants and a loose-fitting red tie. Meanwhile (Y/n) was dressed in a black long-sleeved romper that hung off the tops of her shoulders for freer movement, it was decorated with a cute red floral pattern on the front with matching leg warmers. Her soft baby hair was brushed back, a red hairband with an attached flower sat cutely on her head. The two were matching despite the different designs, Vil's favorite part was the little flower headband that complimented her complexion and gave her a more doll like look. The blonde was planning to save the money from the bonus for trying on the kids' clothes for her, that way when she was back to normal his sweet potato would be able to afford some good food and fix up the bedroom back at her dorm. He wanted to fix up the whole place a while back, but (Y/n) wouldn't let him spend that much money on an entire dorm meant for 2. Vil's second outfit looked similar to his dorm leader uniform, though rather than being a long robe it had been a silk long-sleeved shirt with looser sleeves that fell to around the middle of his hands. The collar was V-shaped and dipped past his collar bone, corset style strings tied neatly in the front at the bottom of the V. Meanwhile he had put the little girl in a cute violet sundress, the sleeves matched his own and beneath she wore some black lace legging and a cute pair of purple strap shoes. A wide cut gold ribbon wrapped around her waist and tied in the back; a red apple charm was sewn into the center of the ribbon on her waist. It was an outfit Vil wanted to get for her in a more adult size, despite not being part of Pomefiore he'd love to match clothes with her for the next social event or school dance.

The photoshoot lasted for a while, Vil had chosen several outfits and they needed multiple pictures with each. By the time it was done her little tummy had started to growl, making her pout up at the male when he started giggling at her little noises. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be done. Why don't you sip on this, you can have some blueberries to hold you over until we get home." Vil handed the little girl a snow-white sippy cup that had some of the apple juice from Epel's family farm, the blonde knew how much she liked it as she would drink it in the mornings when she'd visit Pomefiore before classes as she would talk to the first year while he did his morning routine when Vil was busy helping some of the other dorm members do their own. Her cute little pout dissolving at the taste of the juice, her body relaxing against his chest as she'd occasionally reach a tiny hand into the little bag of blueberries he held while Vil discussed which pictures he'd like to post on his magicam to help with publicity. Rook smiled from the side, having snapped several of his own pictures during the shoot for the little album he had been making for (Y/n) and Vil. He had been confident from the start they'd marry one day, so he had started this album to fill with as many memories as he could for them. He was gonna be the greatest best man, and his gift of years' worth of pictures compiled into one beautiful album would be his proof.

Rook

"Wow, is that really (Y/n)?" Kalim looked at the little girl in Rook's arms in amazement, there had been a meeting for dorm leaders and their vice dorm leaders. The main portion of the meeting was already over, the little girl having napped comfortably during most of it thanks to the sleep schedule Vil helped the blonde male set up. The meeting had fallen into her usual nap time for the week, but Rook could feel his internal clock counting down as he knew she'd start to rouse soon. "Indeed, Roi d'Ore, she is quite the jolie petite fille no?" Rook chuckled softly; the sleeping infant was nestled in the crook of one of his arms unaware of the little crowd that was drawn to observe. Of course, the dorm leaders had been made aware of the situation, being reminded to drive into their underlings about not messing around in class. "She's definitely cute, her little cheeks are so red." Trey chuckled from Rook's right, several pairs of eyes looking at the little girl as they saw her stretch and yawn. "Heh, she looks just like Leona in the mornings." Ruggie snickered, he and Leona standing to directly across from Rook. Leona's ears twitched as he shot the male beside him a glare. "What was that runt?" He was softly growling his words; everyone had kept their voices down now that she was awake in fear of startling her. The blonde smiled and resituated her, holding her up some so that she was sitting up a bit more and was better able to look around. The group watched her tiny (E/c) orbs flutter over the faces before, cutely cocking her head. To some people she'd giggle, making Kalim fawn over her.

"Rook we should head back soon, (Y/n) needs to eat and its gonna get cold soon." Vil walked over, ever the mother hen. His voice made the little girl light up, her hand patting Rook's chest as if to get his attention. Making the large male chuckle, as if already knowing what she was trying to convey. "Yes, I know, our dearest Roi du Poison is here isn't he." He gently bounced the little girl, kissing the top of her head as she giggled some more. For once there was no tension in the group, an energy filled with both curiosity and fondness had started to form. "A few more minutes would be ok, wouldn't it? Our petit trickster has only just woken up." His green eyes locked on Vil, watching his house warden look back and forth between the two before sighing softly. "I suppose, proper socialization is necessary for a growing child." Vil sighed but gave a reserved smile, coming to stand by Rook as one of the little girl's tiny hands reached out to him. Vil was casual in letting the little girl hold onto one of his fingers, something the confused some people. "So, it's been a week since she turned, correct? How have you guys been handling it?" Riddle stepped beside Leona, trying to get a better look at his friend turned infant. "It's been quite easy, when you know what a baby needs it certainly helps but (Y/n) hasn't been fussy really. She cries sometimes, but it's never loud shrieking. More like quiet whimpers really, honestly it's heartbreaking." Vil smiled a bit at the thought, the first night they tried to put her to sleep in the pitch black and halfway through the night Rook woke to hear quiet whimpers from the bassinet nearby.

Luckily it had been a full moon, so all he had to do was open his curtains to let the light in. He felt so guilty, not knowing how long she laid in the dark and softly crying to herself before he woke up. He wanted to believe his sense of hearing was keen enough that he caught her at the start since they made sure she was sleeping before they shut out the light and that she had just woke up and got scared when he woke up. But the idea that it could have been literal hours made him feel so bad, first thing in the morning he told Vil that he needed to get a nightlight before recounting the events to him. 2 days later Vil was watching her for Rook while the blonde went to science club, since some of the demos had to do with potion making, he didn't want to risk another accident. Vil had placed her in a little buckle seat, having Epel gently bounce it to keep her occupied while Vil fixed her a sippy cup with some fresh juice in it. While he was in the dorm kitchen, he heard a commotion from the common room, he was quick to get there as he was the dorm leader after all but most importantly because that was where he left little (Y/n) and Epel. When he arrived, he found a couple students on the far right flat on their backs, it seemed while working on an alchemy project a mistake had been made and caused a small explosion. There was minimal mess, just a little goo here and there, it was more noise than anything. After lecturing the group on their mistake and reminding them to take such things outside he told them to clean everything up and take their project to the garden. It wasn't til he approached Epel, watching him clumsily try to soothe the whimpering child that Vil realized she had been disturbed since she hadn't started screaming as most infants would. Vil understood Rook's description now, her soft cries were somehow worse than the ear-splitting cries someone often thinks of when remembering an infant's cries. "Here, I'll take her to the kitchen with me. You go and do any homework you have."

There hadn't been any incidents since that had made her cry again, it was something they were actively avoiding, it was such a miserable little cry they'd hate for anyone else to hear. "Well, I suppose as long as she aint screamin' the herbivore aint to bad for a baby." Leona leaned forward, hand on his hip as he watched the little girl tilt her head some to get a better look at him. What nobody expected was for her tiny hand to teach out, lightly poking his nose with a soft "Bawah" sound. Ruggie had dropped to the ground near immediately in laughter, his dorm leader just got booped by a baby. Some of the others snickered, but soon everyone was laughing at her giggling shriek while she pulled her hand back when he playfully nipped at her chubby little fingers that had been in his face. Rook couldn't help but chuckle, if she was still aware in there then she was certainly taking advantage of the situation. Oh, his little trickster, no matter what form she is in she would never truly change would she?

The group had continued talking for a bit, only stopping once Vil reminded everyone they needed to get back to their dorms and get ready for curfew in a few hours. Once everyone had gone through the mirrors to their own dorms things had settled down, the little girl in Rook's arms took to playing with his hair as he walked. Both he and Vil discussing how he'd handle her during flight class the following day, Rook was confident he could handle flying with her in his arms, he just needed a suitable outfit to fend off the cold while flying that he could change her out of without problem so she wouldn't overheat. Vil had recommended a cute long-sleeved top with a bright skirt, some leggings and light beige fleece sweater that had cute bunny face buttons on the front. The two had went shopping together, wanting to make sure she would be comfortable while in this vulnerable state and to spoil the poor girl since it was the first break she had in a while since she was always working or doing something for money to live off of. He wished she'd let him help more, but she didn't like the idea of him bank rolling her because she felt that she should earn at least some of it.

They ended up settling on letting him pay for her meals and occasionally help with any big necessary repairs to her dorm, and she'd focus on paying for the rest. Granted the hunter still wanted to do more, and so he'd get her gifts that could be useful. He even got Vil to help design a new ramshackle dorm uniform so that they had an excuse to replace the scrappy one she was wearing, after all it was unfair that the other dorms received new uniform designs at the start of the year, but she had to wear an outdated uniform barely patched together. At least that was the argument they used against Crowley to get his pass on the new uniform, convincing him it was a good chance for him to show his benevolence and make up for how little he can assist her monetarily. "Roo…" Her little voice called up to him during a lull in the conversation, she had yet to speak, and they almost thought she couldn't, so it quickly drew their attention. Emerald eyes looked down at the little one's curious face, a smile crossing his own when she started giggling and gently tugged his hair. "Don't worry Mon petit trickster, we're almost back to the dorm. You wanna play with your toys for a bit before your bubble bath?" Rook tilted his head, kissing at her palm gently as her tiny fingers patted at his cheek. Her only response was a giggle before she pulled her hands to her chest and nuzzled into his shoulder, rubbing her face against the fabric of his dorm uniform as both male's chuckled at her cute antics.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Dragon Reborn! Chapter 15: The Gray Man

No, the Gray Man is obviously not the woman in the picture. But perhaps they are in the picture. You'd hardly notice them, so well camouflaged! What you will notice is spoilers, lots and lots of spoilers for The Wheel of Time. So don't keep reading if that's going to be a problem!

This chapter has the mirrored Aes Sedai icon because it's still about the Black Ajah hunt.

Think, Egwene. Liandrin would not have tried to put us out of the way unless she thought we were a threat to her. I can’t imagine how, or to what, but I cannot see how it could have changed, either. If there are any Black Ajah still here, they will surely see us the same way, whether they suspect what we’re doing or not.

Think Egwene, think!

*gestures to the sa'angreal Liandrin tried to steal*

Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power!

But seriously. Nynaeve is always good at cutting right to the heart of scheming, a lesson Egwene still needs. The real question is if Siuan overlooked this angle, mistakenly assumes that it's only because the girls are powerful, or if she's aware of the risk to the DR-associated gals but feels she has no choice anyway even though the only thing keeping the girls safe is that the BA needs to be subtle.

“You sound like Sheriam. You never have before. You have pushed every limit they’ve put on you. Why would you accept limits now, when we might have to ignore them to stay alive?”

It's fun how it's Egwene, the girl who will be the first to come back around to the Three Oaths after questioning them, who is most against them now. It's good character development how she does come to appreciate necessary limitations put on her - I feel strongly that Jordan absolutely did not intend to have Egwene come to the political solutions to the coup that Sanderson creates in his trilogy.

What special reason did Nynaeve have for wanting to learn more of what the White Tower could teach? What was it she wanted to do? Why was Nynaeve keeping it secret from her?

She wants to steal Lan from Moiraine you silly goose.

Egwene caught her shoulders and pulled her to an abrupt halt. “What—?” Something tugged at her hair, stung her ear. A black blur streaked in front of her face to clang against the wall, and in the next breath Nynaeve was bearing her to the gallery floor, behind the railing.

This is probably the closest thing to ta'veren level luck the girls have in these books, which I'm willing to chalk up to early installment weirdness all things considered. If they hadn't beaten Elayne back to their quarters none of this would have gone donw!

I told you there were other ways to defend ourselves. I used Air, to hold him with air. If it is a he; I could not see him clearly. A trick the Amyrlin showed me once, though I doubt she expected me to see how it was done.

Normally it's a bit annoying how characters might infodump to each other things they were both there for, but since it's been months since this encounter and Egwene's had her own training through hell since then I don't mind too much. Nynaeve is finally thinking like a channeler, which I'm sure we all agree is wonderful.

Sheriam Sedai stopped at the top of the ramp, frowning at what she saw. “What in the name of the Light has happened here?” She hurried forward, her serenity gone for once.

How convenient that she happened to be right here when the crime happened instead of literally anywhere else in the Tower. It's almost like Sheriam is the one who let the Gray Man into the Novices' Quarters in the first place.

The Soulless, the Gray Men, give up their souls to serve the Dark One as assassins. They are not really alive, after that. Not quite dead, but not truly alive. And despite the name, some Gray Men are women. A very few. Even among Darkfriends, only a handful of women are stupid enough to make that sacrifice.

I think part of it is that so many Darkfriend women are likely Black Ajah and it would be a waste of their actual talents to do this. I don't think it's translation convention that it's "Gray Men" instead of "Gray People" or "Gray Folk" or whatever, but a genuinely gendered term because Gray Women are so rare.

You will speak of this to none but me, or to the Amyrlin, should she mention it first.

A great way to cover things up, as Siuan will never know about it to mention it first.

Egwene curtsied, and tugged at Nynaeve’s sleeve, but Nynaeve said, “Why did you come up here, Sheriam Sedai?”

Egwene's right to point out that Nynaeve's questioning here is not remotely circumspect, but she's right that risks are necessary. Sadly, neither notices that Sheriam's refusal to answer is exactly what keeps her so suspect.

But when she reached the door to her room, the heavy bolt was gone. Only the jagged chip in the stone beside the door said it had ever been there.

Sheriam already took care of that for Egwene, and again is being bound by the need for secrecy to avoid calling her out directly.

“Forgive me, Sheriam Sedai,” she said hastily, dropping a curtsy and settling her cloak on her shoulders at the same time. “This . . . finding a dead man—a . . . a Gray Man!—it made me cold. If we may go now?”

Not the best excuse, but believable enough. Sheriam wouldn't see through it immediately except for how she's in the know.

Nynaeve rounded on her. “What are you babbling about? Have you forgotten what we’re doing?”

Nynaeve demands realistic dialogue only and will not condescend to Egwene's very forced attempts to worldbuild about how Healing works.

She never wondered who stabbed him.

Because she knows! Why are you two not more suspicious about this?????

Next time: Nynaeve kicks hot coeds out of her bedroom!

[faerunscursed]

Normally summonings were dangerous and painful. Whatever you summoned, usually was not that keen on getting dragged into the mortal plane. Double so if you tried summoning a powerful Cambion. While she was not on the same level as an archdevil or fiend, Mizora was still more than willing to make the mortal, who was stupid enough to bargain with her, regret his choices ten times over. Partly because the winged beast did not appreciate the rude and uncomfortable pull of a summon. However, this was not a normal summoning. For one, it barely hurt. As Mizora manifested in the summoning circle, the most she felt, was a tickle as if she had put her feet into the warm, shallow end of a pool. For another, there was an almost playful melody, going through her head. It was a bit like metal rings of a decorative chain bouncing against each other. Oooohhh, puppy jingled the keys. How droll. Mizora rolled her shoulders and curled her wings on her back before her goldish yellow and red-tinted eyes locked onto the black man, standing before the summoning circle. Even now with two large horns, curving from Wyll's forehead, he chose to dress himself in almost bland and inconspicuous clothing. His red and grey striped shirt, the padded leather details, it looked far too modest for a warlock in Mizora's eyes. Though maybe that was what made Wyll so fun. That in a manner of speaking, the Blade of Frontiers was one big joke. "My, my", Mizora purred with a chuckle, vibrating at the back of her throat. She placed her hands against her hips. "It has been quite a while since you last did something like this for me, Wyll. You must be really desperate to seek an audience with me." Her gaze wandered over the bleeding gash in his arm where Wyll had run the ritual blade across. Mizora was tempted to make another mocking commentary, however, she then noticed how pale and shaken Wyll looked. He smelled worried, if not afraid. Any cockish behaviour vanished from Mizora as she stepped closer. Staying in the summoning circle, she reached forward with a wing to touch Wyll's shoulder. Her voice was almost motherly as she asked: "What ails you, pup?" @shimmerbeasts

After everything that had happened leading up this point, Wyll should have wanted nothing with that of whom bestowed his gifts. Mizora had lied to him, made him believe he was hunting devils. If Karlach was anything to go by, whose to say those she had him kill were innocent? If Mizora was just playing on his hero complex. Lord knows he was furious with her for the deceit in any case. But what else did you expect from a devil?

Regardless there was something that bound them completely to each other. A contract signed in blood by a desperate teen who would do anything for his home. A contract that ensured that he would never be rid of her. It was a consequence of his own actions, be at the sacrifice of his own freedom. Forever chained to her like a gods damned pet. However, despite all of her deceitful lies, she had been there for him during his time of need when his father had long shunned him out of Baldurs Gate.

He hadn't had friends then, his family had all but made sure he wasn't welcome in any circle of society. Friends, family, acquaintances. All of them had turned on him, treated him as if he were a devil himself. The loss of everything and everyone had shattered him and as a result he had fallen into a deep, dark depression. Only Mizora had been there to pull him out of him, had given him a cause, albeit not so noble as he'd originally believed. So, even with the friendships he had formed now, it was still a habit to call upon her in times of desperation like now.

Rumors that Duke Ravenguard's capture had been going around the lands, and despite not having spoke for 7 years, Wyll found himself desperate to rid his thoughts of his father... a distraction. So, Wyll took the time to sneak away from the camp, far from the eyes of those who could stop him, such as karlach, and raised a sharp blade to his arm. Blood dripped onto the dirty grass as he cut deep, with the blade, letting out a grunt of pain as he did so. The wound would heal.

There was slight hesitance, however he did not falter as he ran a bloodied hand to the ground, creating a summoning circle. He wiped a stray tear away as he backed away, speaking the words that would bring Mizora to the mortal plane. Of course, he did not admit to the relief he felt as she made her arrival. "My friends don't know I summoned you, Mizora, and I intend on keeping it that way...but I, needed you."

"I'm worried about my father, about what is happening to him now." Wyll spoke softly, a stone eye glancing directly up at the cambion. "My friends know not of who I truly am, and wouldn't dare come them for help. But you... maybe you can help me." He clenched his fist, knowing his father would sooner die than accept any help from his disowned son. "I still haven't forgiven you for you lies, but I'm willing to move past it, if you help..."

[wpureimagination]

ੈ✩‧₊˚·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ continued with @gollldrush from (x) *ੈ✩‧₊˚

A small smirk grazed Willy's lips at Leo's insistence. It was kind of her to think she needed to care for him so, even if a little unnecessary. He'd been doing just fine for the past few days. Although, the only reason she hadn't found out sooner is it had been much easier to hide. Now, though...Well, his body ached. And, quite frankly, he hadn't had a good night's sleep the past few days either. He supposed, though, he should have expected this to happen. Diving in the middle of 60 degree waters to collect ingredients for his chocolates hadn't exactly been one of his smartest ideas. But the colder waters were where they were the freshest! It had been a sacrifice he was willing to make, though he hadn't considered the more long term consequences.

"Thank you," he hummed with a little nod as he took the tea into his hands. The warm steam was enough to relax him just a little for the time being, a warm smile gracing his features. "The little orange man? Well...I suppose he and a few others could take over for a little while, but..." He swallowed, grimacing at the pain in his throat. Perhaps she was right...

"Well, I don't know. I can't just ask that of them..It's a lot of work to put on such a small group of such small people..." Besides that, he wanted to keep working. Making chocolates was not just a job for Mr. Wonka, it was a lifestyle. What would he do with himself if he had to stop?! Still, her words were very convincing...

"Ah, well, you are right about that..."

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

In your fic God of the Machine (the original, non spin-off one) things end horrifyingly of course (existentialist dread, woo) even post Anna's first death they uh go downhill (cheers to the sanity lost along the way!) but it was very interesting how it got to that point and easy to read. Anna's main successful change of the timeline I gather was what directly lead to her own death (... congratulations on proving how significant an impact it was) and that of most of the task force's it seems, but does Light survive it since I think it was orchestrated by Misa? My other question is if Light was aware that Misa would kill Anna that way, as in was it his plan or at least a plan he agreed was worth the sacrifice?

My other question is what on earth Non-Amnesiac Light would have thought of Amnesiac-Light's actions in the fic (both times around) if/when he'd regained the notebook?

If they're questions you're willing to answer I'd be delighted to know what your thoughts are on them, they've lingered in my brain in any case post-reading the fic.

I thoroughly believe Anna deserved better even in the alternate L's room lifetime but the tone was consistent so at least didn't expect it. Some of the alternate Light and Anna timelines were almost cheery at least (which was fun to read, they're both very well-written characters).

God of the Machine

I mean, that timeline no longer exists anymore, that's the thing. No one survives in it because it's scrapped, kaput, done. But yes, Light was going to survive there as Misa had orchestrated it. As for Light, even for "everything goes according to plan" no, he didn't foresee it going that sideways as he envisioned more or less the Yotsuba Arc where he'd have an opportunity to regain the Death Note and Misa would wait for him to make a move. He hadn't realized Amnesiac Light would be fucking useless and not remember why he was doing the things he was doing.

Light would have been quite frustrated at himself for not balancing Misa, L, and Anna the way he needed to. He hadn't realized he'd forget that much, or that his amnesiac self would have to rationalize what he'd been doing with such large gaps in his memory that his relationships became completely convoluted. He didn't see himself becoming the weak link which was the whole problem.

As for Anna deserving better... Well, yes, but that's what the fic is about really, terrible things happening and being in this horrible situation where you try to get out and more terrible things happen. Just when you deal with Light being able to discretely kill you for nothing at all, L comes around and you're imprisoned and might be left to die if Light doesn't save your bacon.

But glad you liked the fic so much!

[peachymilkandcream]

Break Me Slowly|Part 26|Yandere Levi x Evelyn

(A/N: I've been dreading making this part because I don't want to be filled with utter sadness. But the plus side is that after this is it'll go back to domestic Evelyn and Levi which I think we all (ME I DO) need. There's at least four chapters left of this series but who knows there might be more, we'll see. I skimming over a lot of the finale because just go watch it for the whole story, I'm just giving the jist as it pertains to the story. Hope you enjoy and comment to be added to the taglist!)

WARNINGS: noncon, dubcon, manipulation, domestic abuse, yandere themes, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, stockholm syndrome, violence, mind breaking, misogyny, etc.

===========================================

Darkness, cold. Is this what the afterlife was like? Like Hange was underwater, the sound of life around her muffled. She was falling, falling....

Slowly one of her eyes opened, a vastness of blue surrounding her. Light shone from above. She was certain that facing those Titans on her own had killed her.

And yet, it felt like a little strength was still in her body after all.

==============================================

There was no time for grief, the next phase of their mission was what required all focus. The plan was dropping the Colossal Titan on Eren was the last resort if reasoning and the disposal of Zeke didn't work out. Mikasa and Armin's hesitation to actually kill their friend was apparent, thankfully the rest saw the reason and that in order to save the world, sacrifices had to be made. Even a beloved friend.

The sound of the plane's engine sputtering brought them all out of their thoughts, there hadn't been enough time to fuel the engine entirely, and now they were facing the consequences of that decision. An order was made to jump out of the plane, all obeying without giving themselves time to think about how crazy this whole thing was.

Titans rose to meet them, swarming in hundreds to defeat their attackers. Forms of those who had used the Titans before, generations of destruction all on display.

Levi's hand touched the back of Evelyn's neck, knowing what was coming next. "You listen to me. If you feel threatened or in danger you come and find me. Alright? I don't care what you think or feel you come right back to me."

She nods, giving him a reassuring smile before diving away from their perch, feeling the sting of the cut in her hand followed by that blinding light. She had started this whole mess, she needed to find some way to gain redemption. Levi didn't quite know how far she was willing to go to atone for her actions.

Blood and gore painted the battlefield, the stark contrast of the white doing nothing but adding to the carnage on display. Against so many how could they hope to ever win? The more they cut down the more came up against them. Even with the power of the Titans they dealt heavy hits. At this rate they wouldn't hold out for long. Ripping Reiner and Evelyn out of their Titans and tossing them aside like dolls into the steam below. Her head knocking hard on the bones on the way down.

He caught her. He always caught her. Safe in his arms until she secured her own line. Annoyance was the prime emotion he conveyed when he was secretly worried. "I told you if you were in danger to come find me. Can't you ever listen to one damn thing I say?"

"I suppose not." Her head was bleeding, she was so dizzy, but Levi didn't mention it.

A Titan out of the corner of her eye moved, intent on making Connie its prey. Before she could react Levi sprung into action, slicing its neck, but not before its jaws clamped down on his leg, sending him falling further.

"Levi no-!" Her scream seemed more desperate than she would have liked, lurching forward and catching him this time. His poor leg battered and beaten, he couldn't fight anymore. She wouldn't let him. He had to stay safe, for her. Even if the cord was slipping out of the bone, even if they were about to be crushed. She couldn't let him go.

"Grab on!" The call came from behind her, a mass of feathers and wings catching them as they flew safely out of the skeleton. They were safe, for now.

Relief flooded them both when their untimely rescue. Her head still throbbed, and a wave a nausea threatened to take over. Levi's look in her eyes confirmed her fear, he wasn't going to let her fight anymore either.

"I'm fine."

"You're not. And you're staying here or so help me-" He cuts himself off with a sigh. "Look. You're pregnant, I'm not fucking losing you. If that means that humanity is wiped out and it's just me and you in Paradis then so be it!"

An awkward silence from the rest of those present ensues until she finally relents. "Alright. I'll stay here."

In order to make sure she didn't go back on her word, Levi held onto her belt the instant the others flew off Falco's back. It was time for them to take a back seat. Their mission was over the day they crossed the sea, they would leave it in their hands now.

They thought that the death of Zeke, mixed with a number of the Titans turning on the hostile ones would bring about the end of the Rumbling. And while the monstrous footsteps did stop their task was far from over. The explosion that severed Eren's head would not be enough, the parasite still dove for his head to reconnect it and continue The Rumbling. The only option left was Armin transforming into the Colossal once everyone got clear.

===============================================

It should have been over. That should have been it. The end should have been the embrace of loved ones over victory. No the blast of a second Titan.

Eren's founder marching forward while the parasite continued its crawl to reunite the two and finish what they started. It would only end when he was cut down. They all knew it. But what Evelyn didn't expect was Levi grabbing her hand and pulling her along onto Falco's back.

"We have to go now! The Ackermans and the Titans are the only ones immune."

Numbly she was pulled along until they boarded and took off, the sound of Pieck's sobs ringing in her ears. Staring as her comrades turned into flashes of light and gruesome faces.

It had all been going so well, now they were loosing. Armin and Reiner, overwhelmed and over-taken by their friends turned monsters. They were loosing and there's nothing they could do.

Until Mikasa stood with a determined look in her eyes. "Eren is inside the mouth- Everyone, help me reach him!"

Their descent was hidden in a veil of flames and debris. Only a glimpse was seen of Mikasa until a pause and then Eren's Titan crumbling and shaking the earth with its impact. It was over.

They had won.

===============================================

In the fall they had gotten separated but eventually she found him sprawled on the ground. Without a word passing between them she sat beside him with a sigh.

"I guess you kept your promise."

Levi raises a brow. "Which one?"

"We made it out. You promised. Now..." Evelyn tears up. "We can go home...can't we...?"

His arm wraps around her. " Yes my love. We can go home."

[aagiijxbls]

Has anyone heard the song ‘one of us’ by Creeper and thought… holy shit this is Steve thinking about Bucky? 

I'm changing pronouns in the song and swapped velvet for leather.

I'm about to analyze the shit out of this. (Well not really but it's my head cannon for this song)

So get ready for a ramble post with visual aids. If the artists (who have been credited) don't wish to have their art on this post please let me know! I will take them down.

Now, lets get into it.

-----

-“Boy, when you showed up here there was no blood left to drain”- 

‘Bucky?’ 

Steve's face when he sees Bucky on the bridge. 

When Bucky showed up Steve had already bled for all he had lost. Physically and emotionally. He had mourned for his past, for his best friend who was not standing in front of him and he froze. He completely dropped his fighting stance and stood up straight. He had already grieved and metaphorically bled for this man and now here Bucky was, standing in front of him and he didn't know what to do. 

-“We were born for dying here like snow under the rain”-

Both of them ‘died’ during World War II. 

Bucky falling from the train, thought dead only to have been experimented on and tortured. His own self dying as Hydra took his memories and made him into something so far from himself that he was essentially reborn as someone else. 

Steve who selflessly ‘died’ by crashing a plane in order to save everyone else. Only to be woken 70 years in the future to a world he no longer knew. To a world that he thought he had saved, only to find out his sacrifice hadn't changed anything. 

-“You know when they find us here, they'll kill us both the same”-

Steve, on the run from SHIELD (Hydra) trying to save his best friend. They were completely willing to kill Steve, and as Bucky started coming back to himself, they were completely willing to kill him too. 

Bucky's apartment in Bucharest. Need I elaborate? 

(As a side note/theory, this line also fits to them being together in the 40s. Being found out to be gay could very well have gotten them both killed.)

-“So for the final time, put your hand in mine and I'll kiss away the pain”-

Pushing aside the trash writing of Endgame. Head cannon here is that they finally get to rest for a while, together. They finally reached the end of the line. Bucky coming to grips with his past, with the help of Steve. 

Steve taking Bucky's hand and leading him out of the darkness. 

(art by @ekbe-vile and @queercatcryptid)

-“Born in the shadows, to die in the dust”-

Taking this line literally. Bucky being born in the shadows as the Winter Soldier, somewhat coming out of that pain only to be snapped by Thanos. Literally dying as dust. 

-“Not like the others, you're one of us”-

Steve defending Bucky, standing by him through all of it. He's not what everything thinks he is (especially Sam at first). He's one of the good guys. He's one of the Avengers. He is one of them. He is One Of Us. 

-“No I don't sleep no more, when I did I dreamed of you”-

It would have been so amazing and heartwrenching to see Steve going through some form insomniac faze after he woke up. Being so torn apart from everything that happened to him, to dream only of seeing Bucky falling. His biggest failure and fear was not being able to grab his hand. 

-“Now the devil's at your door and there's a darkness seeping through”-

This is Bucky coming to grips with his own mind. That line in CAWS where he says “I don't know if I'm worth all this Steve.”

The darkness of not feeling worthy of salvation. Of self hatred at what he did, even if he didn't have a choice. Because “I know, but I did it” 

Look at that lip twitch... That's a man who doesn't believe what he's being told.

(Art by @mohish-ko)

-“So pretty like a dying flower in your tight leather clothes”-

Relief that Bucky is alive. But it's not quite Bucky is it? Not yet. 

It's so Beautiful yet so tragic.

Bucky is alive. But - “he didn't even recognise me”

-“So tragic in the final hour as the sun descends over fields of virgin snow”-

Steve willing to die at the hands of Bucky instead of fighting against him. 

Bucky's conflicted face as his mind races, searching to understand this man, this mission, beneath him who is beaten and bloody. 

But Bucky's body just won't move. 

An awareness is slowly rising in him, melting the ice from his memories. Although he can't make sense of why yet. 

I just... omg this song kills me. If y'all haven't heard it I highly recommend checking it out. And if you have any insights or thoughts on this, please feel free to speak up in the comments! Let's discuss!

[thesamoanqueen]

All Dat

Raiting: 18+

Warnings: Smut; errors like always

A/N: I’ll be out for a couple days since is MITB week, but I always do my duty.

She had worked most of the day, watching over and over hours of material, old edits, reading tons of interviews with all the same questions that would probably have been discarded as soon as they arrived. Working away from the creative team without being able to have immediate comparisons was complicated, but she had found a way to make it work anyway, to be efficient and always beyond expectations. She was willing to make more than a few sacrifices to keep herself independent and still be as present as possible in their relationship, especially if she was repaid with a good glass of wine and a dip in the pool with Roman. Well, frankly Roman was all she needed, but that was a whole other story and he kept spoiling her like it was his life's mission so… she could take advantage of the whole package.

-Mmh… this one doesn't get out of here – he greeted her, swimming up to her, to put himself between her legs and wrap his arms around her hips like a vice.

She liked to always look neat, look in her best shape and yes, even show off a bit. It made her feel good about herself, was a boost to her energy, a pamper to her mood and Roman hadn't skimped on compliments since they'd met. Not a single day.

She knew he said it to give her attention and that he appreciated it, but she also knew that new bikini wasn't going to show up for any beach trips or vacations really. Her big boy was possessive and jealous if someone crossed the line and the stuff she was wearing was a bit too an clear invitation to look more and more. She had bought it online, from an exclusive collection in which it looked different from what she was wearing and it bothered her a little, because making images and shots work was her job. The top was fine, it showed what it was supposed to, covered what it needed, but the bottom… either her hips had stretched out more than they should without asking permission or it was the bikini’s fault. It barely covered her under there and Roman or not, she liked to show off with class, she wasn't that kind of woman.

- I don't even know why I bough it – she admitted with a snort, feeling him kiss her stomach, stroking her back and sides with full hands, while she fixed it for the umpteenth time, the water of the pool rising between them and then ending up beyond the edge due to their movements.

- Cause you're gorgeous and you take care of me - Roman smiled amused, slipping his fingers between the aquamarine laces wrapped around her curves.

- You? Since when my bikini is yo business?

- Since everything under these tiny strips is ma business and you’re always good with me – he announced incredibly seriously, leaving another trail of kisses on her belly, to then go down a little more, dedicating himself to her thighs.

Unable to hold back her smile, Y/N started playing with his hair, quiting the attempt to put the bikini in its place to caress him, while he showed her all the attentions as always. She felt his beard brush along her skin, his full lips petting her inner thigh before biting down lightly, hands holding her firmly in place. From the top of the poolside, she watched him move slowly and inexorably in the water, the muscles of his shoulders shiny, the reflection of the lights along the edge of the pool, highlighting his dark tattoo.

- You've been home for an hour… less? – she reflected amused, already knowing how it would end up and she cocked her head when Roman undid the first knot on her hips, still kissing her.

His big hands pulled her towards him, securing her legs on his shoulders, licking a few drops off her caramel skin.

- Im thirsty - he said hoarsely, Y/N holding him by the strands on his head, feeling him go down to the thin strip of cloth that barely covered her.

- Ain't takin you a drink… - yet another mark printed between her legs, a kiss on her abused skin, fingers pulling another lace.

The already ridiculous fabric of her bikini fell off either side of her, bonding to her bare body only at her neck, but Roman left it in place just long enough to bring her eyes back to him.

- Mama taugh me how to do things, I can get myself a drink - he assured with a more deadly expression and Y/N really wanted to laugh, but he stole her breath by placing a sloppy kiss on her mouth and then slipped fully back in the water.

Y/N followed him with her eyes, delighted as always, affectionately scratching the back of his neck as he claimed his place between her legs. She brushed a strand from his face, feeling the heat building in her chest even before it got between her legs, refraining from jumping on him and kissing him for the rest of the evening, night, even her whole life, when Roman planted his eyes on her as he began his work. He pounced on her unhurriedly, spreading her folds with two fingers to give a first lick along her opening. Y/N moaned in excitement at his touch, snuggling her leg a little on his shoulder, seeing him smile cocky as he gave her yet another kiss on the soft thigh before diving into her core. His tongue was a fat pro, and each time he traced her moist contours to sink deep inside her opening, Y/N pulled him a little closer, one hand planted firmly on his head.

- Hn… like this – she encouraged him, fingers tightening in his dark hair, loosening the bun.

- It's been a long…-his mouth sucking first one fold-… day…-then the other-… I missed you – inexorable.

- … I missed you t-ah!

His beard itched against her sensitive skin, pool’s water slowly mixing with her moods each time he spread his mouth wide to eat her, dripping from his face. Y/N felt his breath against her button and belly twisting as he slowly fucked her with his tongue, the liquid heat building inexorably in his eyes and in her core. She rotated her hips instinctively trying to raise it, holding him in place with her hand, because patience under those circumstances really wasn't for her, but Roman locked her down with a gaze. Y/N saw his brow furrow and soon his white teeth slowly pinch at her knot of nerves, causing her to fall in a spasm to rest her back on the stone floor of the pool. She closed her eyes, feeling his big body come forward, pull her forward and soon found herself gasping at the slowly darkening sky. She felt his long fingers, joining the amazing work of his mouth, stroking her, rubbing against her smooth skin, spreading her folds, one hand feeling her stomach, holding her still more successfully than she had ever had with him.

For an unspecified time, Roman kept slowly to prepare her, warming her without haste and Y/N panting towards nowhere, feet now crossed behind his neck to have him close. Under her hands, her breasts naked and wet, rising chasing the increasingly hot breath, fingers that every now and then ended up on the grass beyond the poolside strip. Y/N had the feel that Roman was recharging her, licking away all the excess thoughts of her mind, stripping her of them as easily as he had stripped her of that obscene tiny bikini.

- Turn around and rise that pretty ass – she heard him order almost from afar, but when Y/N reopened her eyes and raised her head, he was already on his knees on the bench inside the pool.

His legs were half immersed, his swimsuit low to leave his hardness ready and shiny for the water. The pool’s lights gave him a dangerous look and Y/N couldn't take her eyes off him until he helped her back up, pinching her side to encourage her to do as he said. He kissed her nose, out of pure affection and she let out a languid smile, sliding her stomach onto the pool’s floor, feeling the rough ground against her nipples, moaning because of it and Ro’s hands. She felt his thighs rub against her ass, the weight of his hard cock past the curve of her buttocks, fingers dragging over her messy opening.

- Don't hold back - she asked in a cry, rocking her body against him once, before he slipped inside her effortlessly, filling her to the bottom.

- Lemme do my things - he said hoarsely, giving a long thrust that left her gasping and immediately another.

Y/N found herself resting her cheek on the ground, staring without really seeing the grass in the garden, the lights twinkling along the walkways, near the deck chairs, flickering as if she was drunk. Roman fucked her slowly and good, his movements were overpowering and for each thrust, Y/N felt his dick slamming against the bottom of her walls, in that sweet weak point that he always seemed to find in any circumstance and position. Her heat kept to build slowly, from the bottom of her belly, from his fingers holding up her hips, from the drops of water that dripped down his chest between their bodies, from the water splashing everywhere. His slow movement made her rub against the floor, her nipples harden and her moans breaking as they reached her throat. Her walls reached out to take him in until she felt completely exposed, holding on to his shaft as he mercilessly opened her, holding him as if they were afraid of him running away from her. Thrust after thrust, powerful, massive, the slimy sound of water and bodies colliding.

- Such a good girl… making Daddy hap-py – Roman growled low and Y/N nodded instinctively, quickly, feeling his hard cock throbbing inside her and the pace increasing.

- Y-yes-please yes

Roman was capable of accelerating almost unnaturally and she never resisted when it happened, begging hopelessly, slamming her hips into him for a better grip, for more even as her folds began to throb nonstop. She felt his strong arm pull her over him, pass under her stomach, to force her back against his broad chest and then come back to rest on her hip, his other hand holding her throat, kissing her shoulder.

-R-Roo ahn – the control he had over her body was almost toxic, but Y/N liked it.

She liked listening to his quicken breathing, his growls of pleasure growing dangerous, lower, synchronized with the throb of her spongy walls contracting, squeezing his full length. She adored his mouth biting her neck, her ear, fingers holding her throat without ever squeezing. She rubbed excitedly on him, fragile against his huge body, gasping as he guided them both to their climax, closer and lower, switching between the raw and slow pace to drive her crazy.

- I-im clo-se

- I know… ssh, fuck

Another kiss, more sloppy, but equally full of love, before bending her again, forcing her to put hands on the floor. Y/N let her head hang down, hair covering her face, as she gathered up what little clarity remained and then lifted it, gasping as she felt Roman give a couple more thrusts, long and confused, his hardness banging between the her walls pleading for a release. She moved back, trying to stay in place as possible and with the umpteenth hit on her sweet spot, she collapsed arching again with a strangled cry and almost immediately feeling Roman empty inside her from the spasms of her core. Gasping and rocking to the full curve of her orgasm, Y/N let him do with her as he pleased, pounding her again and again, until his cock had nothing more to give and he let go too, pulling her onto the bench inside the pool with him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face under his head, still feeling him inside her, hands still gripping her hips. They stayed like this for a couple on minutes, silence cradling them.

- Maybe I could keep that bikini – she murmured at some point, hearing his low laugh, hands caressing her lazily.

- Keep what you want babygirl… all dat stuff won’t stay in place anyway

Tag squad: @sunnyfleur23 @racerchix21 @alyyaanna @angelreigns444 @romanreignsdefencesquad @romanstheory @claymorexpunisher @keybladeofsteel @iovereigns @msbigredmachine @nayys-world @gobbersworld @utika151209 @cumxxslutt @civildawn @romanmydaddy @triscillal @papireigns-05 @helensanders92 @ichdrachenfrau @darqchilddaydreamz @meggylynnloves @unfriendly--blvck--hottie @nicolewoo @wrestlezaynia @reignsx @reigns-central-blog @kianaleani @daguenoire @extra-11 @thedonsfactory @snowpanda18 @brattyfics @mzv11 @romanreignseater @namjoonspinkytoenail @tribalchiefdaily @2baddies2furious @vebner37 @raeluvshammett @depressedneedingrevenge @cyberdejos2 @thewarlordsworld @jeonmahi1864 @jxtina-86 @harmshake @harlem11680 @joanoai @southerngirl41 @blkbutterfly816

[liptonsbabe]

The light is coming [B.W]

Bill Weasley x Lexington! reader

Chapter 1

Summary: The power of the Dark Lord shakes the entire magical community to its foundations, no one is safe as Lord Voldemort  is so strong and the boy who lived becomes weaker; The magnanimous Order of the Phoenix is in dire need to gather all its members and even to recruit wizards beyond the borders of the community.

Albus Dumbledore knows that amidst the reign of darkness, the light will return to restore all that it took and bring with it extraordinary powers, even if it leaves an aftermath that cannot be erased. The Order of the Phoenix will need all the help it can get, including the help of the mythical (Y/N) Lexington.

Harry Potter's parents were not the only ones killed by the hands of Lord Voldemort.

Word count: 1.8K

Warnings: none

A/N:Hi! A new Bill’s fanfic for you all. This story is finished so if you like this part let me know so and i’ll update as soon as i can! Again, reader’s last name is Lexington but is just for the plot of this story 

English not my mother language so please don’t kill me. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Order Of The Phoenix

Charlie and Bill Weasley had returned from their jobs abroad with the only purpose of duly serving the Order of the Phoenix commanded by Albus Dumbledore. For Bill it hadn’t been a sacrifice to return home, things in Egypt were not going at all well and he only asked for his transfer to an English office to work and at the same time help the Order. It wasn’t the same for his brother Charlie, cause he had to leave all his errands in Romania along with all his beautiful dragons.The journey to Grimmauld Place had been complicated cause, despite not missing anything from the countries they were returning from (with the exception of Charlie's dragons) they could quickly get used to the quiet, anti-Voldemort pace of life that the English magical community was vitiated by.

Both brothers were welcomed by their mother Molly Weasley, with tears in her eyes she hugged them as tightly as she could inviting them into the farthest room possible. Bill remembered Grimmauld Place very vaguely, the only time he set a foot inside the house was when Dumbledore asked him to help him clear the rooms and turn them into curse free spaces where they could quietly discuss classified Order business.

No matter how many times they cleaned that place, the old house of Black would always remain with that grayish appearance and the musty smell of worn wood. Sirius didn't seem to have any intention of renovating its fallen parts - of which there were quite a few - but seemed to enjoy watching the house fall apart. Be that as it may, Bill thought that any place was a good place to plan the crazy moves Albus Dumbledore had in his head.

The room was filled with people Bill had met before through letters his mother sent him informing him of the Order's progress, Dumbledore thought the best way to gain the upper hand against Voldemort's dark army was to recruit wizards who were willing to give their lives to protect the magical community. Surprisingly more people arrived than Bill could have imagined in addition to all those wizards and witches who had already been part of the association for years.

Taking a seat by the door, Bill and Charlie recognized the silhouette of Nymphadora Tonks. Not that it was very difficult to recognize her as her short, straight, bubblegum pink hair stood out among all the others. The metamorphmagus managed to acknowledge the newcomers sending them a warm smile before gluing her gaze on the door.

Charlie elbowed his brother's shoulder

“Dumbledore and his crazy schemes making us come here just for the Order business....”

“It was necessary," Bill cut him off, looking at him out of the corner of his eye, "Do you even know what's going on with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, don't you?” Charlie shook his head “it’s a real mess and you'd know it if you didn't spend so much time with your dragons.

“Don't bring them into this”

“They're some of them now?”

“Yeah, we got a shipment of Peruvian Vipertooths in this month and oh, brother, they're beautiful!”

“Wait” Bill frowned ”Those things doesn’t eat people?

“well yes, but that's only part of their diet, they also feed on goats and cows. We keep them in a cage near the forest because that species was supposedly exterminated after being considered dangerous to wizards and muggles alike, but I think they're beautiful”

Charlie's eyes sparkled and Bill couldn't help thinking that he was the odd one among his siblings. His admiration for dragons frightened him even though he found it adorable at times.

“You know, I'm not surprised you're still single. Knowing you as i do, you'll end up marrying one of those dragons or in the worst case, eaten by one”

Charlie didn't like his older brother's comment.

“What about you? As far as I know, you're not dating someone either”

Charlie's sudden criticism made him clear his throat and settle better in his seat. When they looked over at Tonks, they noticed that she was still staring at the door. Charlie hurried him to answer his comment.

“I met someone” His brother's blue eyes widened, amazed “I mean, we met in Egypt, she was traveling and we only went out a couple of times, nothing important.

“That's what you always say, William” Charlie looked at him mischievously ”No one seems to be good enough for you, huh? Or are you still thinking about someone since our childhood?”

Bill knew what his brother was trying to do and immediately shook his head. He had had this adolescent love for a girl who had left to France without anyone knowing the reasons why. Bill was totally hooked on her, yet the disappointment of her being thousands of miles away from him had broken his heart in a way he couldn't explain. Charlie knew about it, because he was the only one of his siblings who was old enough to understand; still, that didn't take away from the fact that he made fun of her misfortune a couple of times.

“Shut it”

Albus Dumbledore brought an end to everyone's conversations after standing up and clapping his hands a couple of times to get their attention. With a sincere smile, Dumbledore dimmed the lights in the room to reveal dozens of candles levitating all over the place. Bill fell silent and looked at the man

“I know that most of you here had to pause your activities just to attend this extraordinary meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, and for that I want to thank you," Dumbledore smiled at them, "We are fully aware of what is happening in the magical community thanks to the terrible presence of Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore ignored the shrieks of amazement from the audience “That leaves me with the advantage of not having to explain what is obvious to you, so the important thing about this assembly is to make it clear that, despite the magnificent increase in our membership over the past few days, we are still in the minority against the Dark Lord's ranks”

The murmurs grew louder and louder, causing Dumbledore to ask for everyone's calm.

“This doesn’t mean that your help is in vain, what I am trying to say is that we need more wizards and witches to join the Order”

“Where will we get more people?”Asked a witch wearing a yellowish hood on her head, "People are afraid, they're not going to join the Order just like that”

“We'll try to convince them," Dumbledore said calmly. "Of course, all of those who want to join will have to undergo proper training.

“So you're asking for more Aurors?”Minerva McGonagall asked. Professor Dumbledore smiled broadly

“Indeed”

The hubbub in the room intensified for a couple of minutes before Albus Dumbledore called for silence. Bill agreed with everyone that this was sheer madness. It was practically impossible for aurors to enter something as sensitive as the Order of the Phoenix - with the exception of Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody, Bill thought those two were insane - without them reporting every movement of Order members to the Ministry. Yes, the aurors were the best trained people for this kind of work, however, they were the hardest to convince

“Why don't we just make Harry a part of the team?”Asked  Sirius from the middle of the room. Molly Weasley let out a shriek of indignation.

“What are you talking about? Harry's just a boy!”

“Molly, please, the boy knows more about this situation than any of us put together!”

“Even so, it's still dangerous for him”

“It is for everyone. I don't see what difference it makes if Harry is in on it, that way he'd have more support from the Order and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would stay away from him”

-If it is true what Sirius says," Dumbledore interjected, "It's no less true that Harry can't be a member of the Order yet. Not until he fixes the problem he has with the ministry after he used magic in front of a Muggle trying to ward off the Dementors that are getting closer and closer to non-wizards. Right now Harry should be being moved to this place to stay at least until the new school year begins.

“And in the meantime what are we going to do?” Severus Snape asked. Bill raised his eyebrows, noticing how Nymphadora Tonks raised her hand to give her opinion.

“I hope this isn't too hasty, but I've been sending some letters to Beauxbatons College in France in search of a response from the Aurors. It is well known that none of them have been willing to give us their help, but this afternoon I received a letter from one person who is willing to help us in any way she can," Tonks looked at everyone before continuing, "I know that one person doessn’t represent a great addition to our ranks, but I am absolutely certain that she is our best option”

Bill's eyes flicked from Nymphadora to Dumbledore repeatedly. He had that strange feeling that Dumbledore knew who she was referring even though she hadn't said the name yet. Dumbledore nodded a couple of times asking Tonks to continue. She cleared her throat

“She should be here soon”

“We’ll wait patiently”

Dumbledore's nod wasn't necessary cause seconds later the door flung wide open letting in the light from the main corridor. Bill glanced at the newcomer noting your expensive French clothes and your perfectly coiffed hair in a ponytail. His breath quickened as he took a close look at your face and recognized those features he remembered from when he was a teenager. A quick glance at Charlie was enough to confirm that what he saw was not an illusion.

The whole room rose to their feet, and as you entered the room raising your hands to the sky, the room was filled with a bright light that caused everyone to take cover before it blinded them permanently. Bill caught a glimpse of Tonks' pleased giggle before you reached Dumbledore giving him a handshake as a greeting while keeping the light alive with your opposite hand.

Your wand was in your jacket pocket and from your hands an endless fountain of light gushed forth, bringing peace to the members of the order.

The mythical (Y/N) Lexington didn’t needed a wand to have magic.    

[fyrbol]

[ SACRIFICE ]:     knowing that the circumstances only allow one of them to survive, the sender sacrifices their life in order to guarantee the receiver’s survival and safety.

settling dust prompts / accepting.

THEY HAD ALWAYS BEEN UNITED   in their undesirability. the role of social pariah is a cumbersome one to wield and ultimately one neither of them were willing to shed   —   in spite of and especially because   who would they be without it   ?   he had always found robin's demeanour a charm, thought that if he could find badassery in the characteristics she was so often chastised for, maybe a black boy in hawkins had a chance as well.   idols are funny things.

he was indebted to them, really   :   erica had told tall tales of their adventures into enemy lines   (   much to lucas' horror   )   and robin's strict curtailings on otherwise reckless games.   he was thankful for that.   had promised her in unspoken terms   —   promised himself, really — that he would re - pay them the favour.   name your price, say the word.

so they find themselves at the precipice together   —   robin nigh fallen, lucas holding on to their arm for dear life   —   a caricature of a cliff - edge beckoning, maw wide open and waiting for payment. as if the tectonic plates themselves had split where they stood, tearing away from one another like the parting red sea.   this is your moment.   the groans of the dead echo endlessly   :   if lucas looks down past robin's swaying shoulder he sees colonies of them climbing up from the earth's core, their eyes set on the surface. he can't afford to think about them.

he owes her.

heaving with all his might, both arms tugging on her one, his shoulders strain at the sockets. he's already slipped once, knees grazing beyond bloody recognition and embedded with stone   :   the sacrifice he makes to not go tumbling down with them. panic is surging with the growing tide, though. every passing minute, those living corpses get a little bit closer, rotting mouths wet with the thought of biting into the bait on a hook that is robin.

❛   you need a foothold, a tree root,   anything   !   i've got you   —   i'm not letting go.   ❜   teeth chew into his lower lip, brow clenched stubbornly. this, he knows.   to let go would be to relinquish her.   he'd not considered that he didn't have to be the one letting go for her to fall. they are kindred in their snap assessments of a situation, but lucas' judgment is clouded by that which he owes.   robin has to live.   they say something he doesn't quite catch nor process, and then like a stone, sudden as a violin string snapping,   she plummets.   she lets go.

he is still with the shock of it. hands still gripping to the empty space robin once took up. grasping for their presence. a phantom ache at its absence. there is no thud or splash or sound to suggest she ever reached the bottom   (   if this gaping chasm even had an end   )   and he doesn't know what's worse. the sickening crunch of certain death, or   an endless limbo of maybes.   he thinks an earthquake is beginning, but realises it is just his fingers, his wrists, shoulders, body trembling. he is wracked with the loss that simply   hadn't been an option.

the ache sets in, blurs his vision.   the best of them has fallen.   his first, immediate and selfish thought is who is he supposed to look up to now   ?   his second is how he's going to tell the others.   tell steve.

his third is to jump down with them.   pariahs be damned.

[sofiadragon]

This fic is not only complete, it is now a series!

Below is an excerpt from A Son's Burden, a one-shot follow-up in the same universe from Senku's POV.

His dad was a fucking hero of legend, no asterisks.

He'd known that, but it had only been between them. Byakuya was Senkuu's hero. He was proud of his dad. He'd always been proud of his dad. He always would be proud to be an Ishigami. It had been good luck before, to be adopted by someone so supportive of Senkuu's gifts and willing to do anything to help him along despite his faults. Now... it was an honor he couldn't quite wrap his head around. Six legendary beings fell from the stars and birthed humanity, and Senkuu was the first son of the oldest, wisest, and longest lived of them.

Dad was the paternal god of wisdom and stories, a mischief maker who glimpsed all that was and would be but didn't take it too seriously. Lillian Weinberg was the delicate goddess of artistic beauty and song, both ageless and fleeting. Darya Nikitin became the mother goddess associated with summer, both fierce and protective and willing to sacrifice all for others. Yakov Nikitin was autumn, the god of exploration and wild places, brave and aggressive when needed despite his fears and worries. Connie Lee was the shy goddess of love, youth, and renewal, who ruled the spring. Shamil Volkov was a pragmatic god of winter, punishing with his harsh standards that demanded respect but gifted with a gentle heart that melted when his wife arrived.

Ginro said it made sense that Senkuu was born in winter, because his spirit was obviously kin to his uncle Shamil's given all the grueling hard work and obedience Senkuu demanded from them. Senkuu had been in too much emotional pain to respond. Senkuu was an atheist, but he'd thank the universe for Asagiri Gen's shameless petty nature as he oh so conveniently lost his balance and jammed his uninjured and rather pointy elbow into Ginro's lower gut before the idiot could keep babbling, and then instead of apologizing he listed out all the ways Senkuu was far more like his father than some random dude he's never even met.

The grave in front of him was more of a shrine than anything, there had obviously been offerings of little carved things and flowers placed around it, and it was noticeably an odd shape compared to the other graves. Dad believed in Shintoism. Not to any kind of extreme, but they were proudly Japanese and even in the face of Senkuu's budding atheism turning devout, Byakuya insisted there was a lot of wisdom and connection to community to gain from their traditions. Dad was the only reason Senkuu dressed up for festivals, for connection to his community. After about age eight Senkuu hadn't wanted to, and he thought it was kind of dumb to dress like people from a century ago to watch fireworks and eat a bunch of junk food. Now that he didn't have that community, now that he was the only one around who looked at Gen wearing western pants and a Chinese collared shirt under a haori with the kimono on top and recognized it as flamboyant and unusual, he missed that community. Thanks to dad making him dress up every time even when dad was overseas because he wanted pictures, Senkuu was the only one who could correctly tie Gen's obi for him now that his right arm was injured. Gen had even commented on it, clearly feeling the same oddly lost way Senkuu did about it.

Shintoism... it wasn't quite the right word for how the villagers were. How can a religion survive when all its original myths and stories were replaced? But it wasn't quite dead either. Honoring ancestors and nature spirits as gods and being descended from supernatural beings who once held incredible power but became diminished the longer they spent on Earth wasn't entirely off the mark. The hundred tales was its own thing, but it rhymed. It was derivative. He could ask Gen about that later, maybe. Anthropology was his wheelhouse. Senkuu preferred fields where the correct answers could be calculated mathematically.

Senkuu cried. Properly, audibly, and without restraint instead of the few loose tears he shed while doing his best to hold it together in front of everyone. It took a while after Ruri and Gen left to start, but he'd been feeling the signs of it coming for ages now. He supposed there was no shame in it, even if it wasn't exactly news that his father was dead. A son should cry at his father's grave, right? Even if Senkuu had known dad was gone for ages now and had already had this breakdown when he was still wearing leaves and figuring out how to make a rock into a knife. There were no rules about how much or how little he should cry, and since he was alone nobody could judge him either way.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64578310/chapters/165861967

Dr Stone fic that is holding my brain hostage

I'm going to put this man into situations.

Time travel was essentially magic and therefore a completely unacceptable explanation. Unfortunately, it was the only explanation he had. Especially since Asagiri Gen seemed to have replaced his younger self. One moment he'd been laying on a concrete floor after being interrogated by a crazy American that ticked just about every box on the list of negative stereotypes, and the next he was fighting to escape fine Egyptian cotton sheets in the nine square meter high rise apartment where he lived alone.

It had been two weeks since he had been captured, and Stanley's reports weren't making Dr. X happy. The painted-on petrification scar had washed off when the unreasonable scientist became fed up with using the makeshift lie detector and let one of his buff lackeys convince him to switch to dunking Gen's head into a bucket to make him talk instead. They checked him all over after that, found only a body showing every sign of the years of labor and crafts he'd done, and freaked out. Gen named the village that was the capital of the Kingdom of Science accurately, honestly explaining to them that Ishigami village was named after one of the international space station astronauts who weren't petrified, but he wasn't believed. Dr. Xeno instead made a cascade of increasingly paranoid and incorrect assumptions about how Gen's kingdom was clearly founded by Ishigami Senku a generation ago and that Gen and the rest of the Perseus crew had been specifically selected and trained to use against Dr. X to take him down.

It occurred to him that he had probably been tortured to death, though that didn't explain why he was alive in the year 2020. Petrification and revival may have fixed him right up, but in that case he'd be waking up after Senku recovered and preserved his fresh-enough corpse, then later found a new medusa to petrify and revive him. He should be with the Perseus crew celebrating his undeath and not in his old apartment freaking out. It could also have just been a dream - a nightmare - but in that case he was staring down the barrel of a serious mental health condition. No sane person would dream up years of struggle to rebuild society, and all the people! All the details! Dreams just weren't like that, he knew far too much about psychology to think it was a particularly vivid dream.

His memory for dates was excellent so long as those dates were important, but after waking up in May of 2020 he realized he'd forgotten most of the lead-up to the end of the world. It had all been so ordinary for him at the time. Routine. He hadn't known anything strange was going on at all until he was petrified mid-performance.

He was able to pick up his life without too much trouble, but little conveniences he used to take for granted kept startling him at every turn. His electric toothbrush felt weird after years of chewing a bit of bamboo into a brush to clean his teeth. His clothes felt strange, especially the polyester costumes. He was more likely to try to make or go walk to get something he wanted than to order it delivered, he simply didn't think of it as the first option anymore and on top of that being a famous magician walking to get some ramen was very different from being one of the five generals of the Kingdom of Science walking through the village. He'd just about forgotten how to use the kitchenette, or more accurately had never really learned to cook more than a boiled egg from scratch until he only had campfires and wood fired stoves to work with.

He knew he wasn't doing things exactly how he had in what he half-hoped was an extended period of altered consciousness brought on by some crazy fan attempting to drug him. His manager was worried about how easily spooked he'd been that first week, and made some changes to Gen's schedule to give Gen full day off thinking he was merely in need of some rest. Gen went to the spa his manager booked and let himself be pampered in the morning, then loaded up a bunch of podcasts and spent the day filling his brain with all sorts of things he'd wished he knew a little more about at some point in the stone world. It was beyond strange how soft his hands were.

He'd found himself going on jogs because he felt too sedentary with all the modern comforts. His manager calling a car to take him everywhere he needed to go no matter how short the distance made him uncomfortable because he wasn't used to city traffic anymore. Everything was loud and bright. He found himself visiting a temple just to sit quietly in the garden and think, and couldn't resist fancy coffee or chocolate treats after so long without what he now recognized as exotic imported luxuries. At least the food was incredible.

In the beginning, his manager thought he was working out to keep his figure in line and look more toned on stage, so he warned Gen not to lose too much weight since Gen was already slight and nagged him about proper diet more than usual. After it became too obvious that Gen was anxious about something, and Gen had gently persuaded those who were most worried to blame a creepy fan that got under Gen's skin, his manager set up a weekly self defense class and canceled some of the morning interviews and rehearsals so Gen could work his anxiety out by literally working out. Gen was able to keep his cool through the show where he met Tsukasa and performed flawlessly both on television and off stage, convincing everyone that he was doing better.

In truth, he was less stressed because the schedule changes opened up the opportunity to act without anyone he worked with noticing he was suddenly stalking a boy four years his junior. He'd used every trick in his arsenal to get the information he needed to find Ishigami Senku without alerting anyone to his sudden interest in a nerdy schoolboy. The pictures he found online were mostly of an adorable chibi version of Senku that Gen had never really thought about, but must have existed at some point in the past. Senku hadn't sprung into being fully grown with encyclopedic knowledge of science like a god born out of stone, even if that was the literal meaning of his family name. It was also good that he could visit a jeweler without someone hovering over his shoulder. He'd have a hard time explaining the purchase if nothing happened, but better to cross that bridge when he came to it.

Then the swallows fell out of the sky, and he wrote a letter.

Well, to be perfectly honest, which he tried to be to himself even if his livelihood was based on illusion and misdirection, his first reaction to the swallows being petrified was to vomit and have a complete meltdown where he lay shivering and sweating on the bathroom floor of his small, posh, high-security apartment for an hour. That was good in the sense that he was found by his evening meal delivery and everyone thought he was severely ill and feverish rather than having a panic attack. An illness creeping up on him fit into the odd cravings and behavior he'd had since waking up in a 19-year-old body that had never seen a full day of hard manual labor, especially since Gen had "clearly been threatened by someone badly enough to be overstressed by it. I wish you would have given me the letter or email or whatever it was so we could chase them down; even the most angry fans tend to calm down if the police pay them a visit. We can dye your hair back to plain black if you want to be less noticeable, but we've put a lot of marketing money planning to unveil the two-toned look since you decided to accept the poliosis. This building has good security, so just relax and get over whatever cold you've caught quickly."

He was as ready as he could be when the birds fell out of the sky. Once he'd cleaned up the mess he made of himself while freaking out and convinced a doctor he was only mildly ill, he wrote a very odd letter. Thanks to his sick day, he could hand-deliver it to the office of Senku's school the very moment there was enough information available online to make the lies in it remotely plausible. Knowing the future certainly helped with crafting an iron-clad story.

--

To Ishigami Senku;

This is about the swallows turning to stone. For the love of all you find sacred, destroy this letter once you read it!

I am taking a huge risk sending this to a fifteen- year- old. I hope your reputation is accurate and you are intelligent enough to understand the stakes involved. I can't reach anyone else quickly. My specialty is the soft science of human behavior, psychology in all it's forms but also behavior analysis, and I freely admit I make most of my money off the shallowest of applications of that soft science. I finished school early because I had a chance to get a job that would eventually make me enough money that I would become free to do whatever I wanted with my talents. A lofty dream many who go into the entertainment industry share.

I'm certain someone like you has looked down to see who sent this letter already. You've either recognized me from my books and performances or not. If you have, you probably think what I do is stupid. However, my profession and greed are only important because of the position they put me in when I put on private performances for people with more power and money than good sense.

I apologize if this alarms you, but if you have any way of contacting your father you need to mention nital to him urgently and as swiftly as possible. Even if it is wildly out of context. Perhaps especially in that case, so it is more memorable.

Due to my profession and stage personality I am occasionally disregarded while people have important phone conversations they really ought not to allow to be overheard. The swallows? Military-minded people are considering it a terrorist attack, and there is a whole range of theories both online and among those people who really shouldn't be letting classified conversations get overheard. It covered the entire world. All of it! Every single patch of sky, tree branch, and even sheltered nests were unsafe. Every swallow in the world turned to stone, their interior structures preserved as can be seen with advanced imaging. People are talking about nitric acid and nital, but those experiments haven't begun yet. They want to set up some bunker somewhere, and there is the usual government bureaucracy requiring people to stack paperwork to the sky and stand on ceremony before anyone can start doing things. The people who have done the preliminary work are all individual curious people like yourself, and their work is being interrupted by being scooped up and shipped off to wherever their country's military thinks is safe. There may even be someone on the way to talk to you, which is why this letter cannot be found on your person!!

I may be panicking over nothing, I sincerely hope I am, but if everyone on Earth is in range of whatever it was that petrified all these swallows, and there is even a hint of a possibility that this could be tuned to affect humans, then there is only one group of people safe from a misfire and they need to know about possible reactions with nital and nirtic acid. The ones on the ISS orbiting high over our beloved blue marble. A message to them would be the ideal failsafe in case of the worst.

I feel the need to put great emphasis on this point: Everyone involved in national security and even international collaborations against terrorism thinks whatever did this was a test of something that could affect humans. No, I'm not writing down how exactly I know that, I don't need our military asking me rude questions. I'm just saying nobody is suggesting this was a mistake or natural phenomenon. While it might not be fired off with the intent of destroying humanity I have met some really, really intense eco-minded people who think all meat and fur is murder and that humanity is vastly overpopulated. I know exactly the kind of mindset that might drive someone to make something like this for destructive purposes, though of course it could also be a malfunction or mistake made while trying to do something altruistic. Humans are nothing if we aren't fallible, after all, and the same science that created the nuclear bomb can generate the power running an intensive care unit.

Even if you don't trust me on that: Given the probabilities, can anyone assume that whoever has this thing, whatever it is, is completely sane? That they have made no grand error or that nobody will spill cola on the controls?

In hopes this reaches you in enough time to matter,

Asagiri Gen

--

He didn't remember how long there was between the swallows being petrified and when humans were. He had been far too busy to even hear about them the first time around. Gen made it to the school and convinced the school secretary to deliver the letter to Senku before 10am and the green light came for them all the very same afternoon, which was disappointing. At most Senku would have had a few hours, and there was no guarantee the letter was passed on immediately. He was in his apartment when he was petrified this time, and he knew his face had frozen in a look of pure terror despite his best efforts. He hadn't noticed the light soon enough to suppress that instinctive reaction before he froze, and was stuck in an awkward pose as he re-dressed after doing some yoga.

After that, his life was a rerun for a long time. A long, boring time encased in stone. There was a lot to think about. A lot to plan and pick apart. It kept his mind active to re-run through all the details of his first life, looking at the cascade fo cause and effect and the webs of interpersonal connections he'd danced through. He also considered the difference between the showman's 'tada' stance he'd been frozen in before and the rather... suggestive pose he'd been in when he was petrified this time. When Tsukasa revived him, the first words out of Gen's mouth were a lie he'd crafted over centuries of planning.

"I said don't touch me!" Gen screamed as soon as he had the ability, and sucked in air like he'd been running for his life as he folded up to hide his most delicate areas. He'd never been terribly comfortable with nakedness, so it didn't even take much acting. Just a conscious decision to not hide that he was uncomfortable without clothes on. The petrification was explained, and Gen was sure to act suitably relieved and grateful.

"Was there an overweight older man near me?" Gen asked with nonchalance so false Tsukasa was sure to clock it.

"No, most of the people here are younger and in good shape. Was he important to you?" Tsukasa asked, the danger in his tone perfectly obvious to Gen.

"No, no, my manager had scheduled a... a private performance, is all, and... it doesn't really matter now, does it? One very long nightmare I'm glad to have awoken from," the implications clearly came through without him needing to say anything in particular more than that, and Gen's characteristic shallow showmanship as he helped Yuzuriha make his new clothes ensured that he wasn't interrogated about it afterward. The lie also biased everyone who heard it to believe that Gen would approve of Tsukasa's plan to smash all the older people.

It hurt his pride a little to imply he'd been petrified while he was being taken advantage of in such a way, but... well, it wasn't like it hadn't been tried, even if it had always been caught and stopped. He'd started performing quite young, and there were plenty enough creeps in the world. His manager had been better than that, but only just. He only kept Gen safe because Gen was a commodity that made him money and damaged goods didn't sell well. Still, Gen felt a bit bad when Tsukasa rewarded the way Gen had effortlessly started settling disputes and cutting down the amount of infighting among the first wave of revived athletes by bringing him to where the smashed statues were dumped to witness a very special smashing. Gen watched as his manager, who Tsukasa had somehow found, was broken into bits. He was glad it was easy to hide one strong emotional reaction with another more acceptable one.

"Thank you so much, Tsukasa," Gen said with relief and gratitude dripping from every syllable, because that was what he was expected to say. Ukou seemed to know what they had gone to do when Gen came back, and said a bunch of quiet things trying to comfort them both without letting on that he was a pacifist. His words amounted to how they would make their world a safer and better place where such things were unnecessary. Gen ended the conversation by physically turning Ukou and pointing out a particularly muscle-covered brute pressuring one of the revived ladies. Thankfully, she was strong enough to push him away, but the pea-brain didn't take the extremely unsubtle hint. Senku may believe every death was a tragedy, even enemy soldiers during a war, and Ukou was the same, but Gen felt no grief when that particular problem died in the war between the Kingdoms of Might and Science.

"Ukyou, you are a good man with strong morals, and I'm a petty creature just trying to survive, so neither of us believe a word of what you just said, do we?" It was a risk, but well calculated. Ukou didn't have anything he could say to that, and then Gen went to buzz like an annoying fly and distract the oaf so the woman could finish with the laundry she was doing and be free to leave.

Only a few hours later, ostensibly to give him time to process his own emotions after the death of his 'tormentor,' Gen was sent to see if Senku was really dead just as in the first go-around. He worked very hard to seem normal about it. Not too eager, not too resistant. He chose to do things much the same way as before. Both because it had worked and since he couldn't think of anything better. The ramen was worth the cost he knew he'd have to pay, anyway, since helping to make the iron would give him an in for more interaction and therefore more trust with both the village people and Senku. He mentioned wanting a cola to go with it, and was immediately held at spear-point. Nothing seemed out of place, Kinro even had his golden spear.

"Do you know this man?" Kohaku asked Senku.

"We never met for even a nanosecond, but I recognize him all the same. This is Asagiri Gen, a magician who wrote trashy psychology books," Senku identified him.

"Oh, you've read my writing? I'm so happy, though calling it trashy hurts. Surely you understand that not all of what I wrote is worth talking about with everyone. Some of it was only meant for a very particular audience, after all. Unlike this ramen, not all the things I made were intended to please the masses," he answered, and the brief moment of shock on Senku's face melting into understanding was so worth it.

"Not one millimeter of what this magician wrote was worth talking about, that's for certain," Senku said dismissively, but there was something playful in his tone already. Oh, Gen missed their banter so much!

"Oh, so harsh! Call me a mentalist, please. I'll gladly apologize for taking the ramen, so would you lower your weapons? I'm so scared I'm trembling," he said, babbling about the delicious scent and how he couldn't resist and how difficult and lonely life had been since he woke up. Kohaku, just as before, knew he was full of shit. That was fine, the only way to gain real trust was over time. Depending on how Senku saw things, Gen had started building trust with him three- thousand- seven- hundred years ago. Talk about playing the long game!

"Sure, whatever, I'll take your word for it," Senku's dismissive words cut off Gen's rambling, "but there is no such thing as a free lunch."

With that he was back. Back where things felt normal again, despite the world having ended. This was the sort of thought that should send any sane person directly to therapy, but sadly there weren't any qualified people available to help with Gen's obvious brush with insanity. It was nice seeing everyone again, even though they didn't know him. Thankfully he was skilled at keeping track of what information he'd given out and who he'd gotten it from. 

Senku asked how Taiju and Yuzuriha were doing while Gen was pumping the furnace, and Gen thought he'd lasted a bit longer than he had the first time before his exhaustion became obvious. Not that a month of slightly increased exercise did much, but more that he was better at pacing himself and paying attention to his breath and body after so many grueling days of hard work. As before, Gen pointed out the attempted manipulation before reassuring Senku that his friends were fine.

"The tides have certainly turned now that I've seen this," Gen said later, after Senku poured out the iron bar. Then, he made the first major change. "I'm a shallow man, and I like to be on the winning side of any game. You have the sweet reward of ramen and science, but the work is grueling. Under Tsukasa the food is simple and work is easy, but I can relax with a harem after reviving some adoring fans. Additionally, you don't trust me, but Tsukasa is completely certain of my loyalty because he killed my manager for me."

"He murdered someone at your request?" Chrome asked, slack jawed. Kohaku raised her spear.

"No. He just... assumedyay that I would want that manager punished," Gen said delicately.

"What's a manager?" Suika asked, curious as always. "Was it a bad person?" Gen gave her a genuine, warm smile. Teaching Suika and the other children basic things like Morse Code while they were working as part of the craft team had been a genuine pleasure, even if he often complained that he wasn't a babysitter when they left him alone with the kids.

"A manager is someone who tells people what to do to complete a job. They tend to have multiple people they manage. You could say Senku was managing us during this project by telling each of us what sort of things we need to work on, but of course he is also educating you by explaining the why and how of it all so he is giving you something in exchange for your work. A manager usually just tells you to get it done, and they keep telling you what needs done for months or years to optimize how much you can do. Where you should go today, what is the highest priority, what I am allowed to eat, how to maintain my adorable body, who to talk to or not to talk to..." Gen trailed off, changing the pronouns as he listed things off and noting the reaction was exactly what he needed. Suika's curious smile had flipped to a frown despite her innocence, and even Kohaku looked a little sympathetic.

"Did you want it done?" Senku asked bluntly, cutting straight through Gen's misdirection.

"Not exactly," Gen said shortly.

"That's not an answer," Kohaku pressed, predictably.

"There are some oh so cute ittlelay earsyay here," Gen said, bringing his sleeves up to cover his mouth and turning away from the little girl toward Kohaku to emphasize that he wouldn't speak in front of Suika. "I met Tsukasa on a television special - that is, while I was doing my day job - back before it all. He knew the man's face and mine very well from that encounter, and my manager was an older man. That seems enough for Tsukasa, really, he doesn't want to revive any elders. He truly believes he is making the world better by killing the older, corrupt, generation that he blames for all the old world's problems." Gen was so focused on Kohaku, Ginro, and Kinro he missed Senku moving closer. He nearly jumped when he turned to see the boy was so much closer. He was so... small. It was weird to think that Senku had grown significantly during their acquaintance, but then he'd met Senku at age sixteen and it had been over three years, hadn't it? He'd gotten a fair portion of muscles from all the work, and a noticeable amount of centimeters in height, and filled out all around into a handsome man by the time they started sailing to America. The four-year age gap they started with was down to three thanks to Senku's earlier revival and even just the year he'd spent in the stone world had aged him quite a bit from the baby-faced photos of the obviously rich, spoiled science club president Gen had found online all that long time ago.

At the moment he looked mostly like an underfed boy, because that was exactly what he was, and Gen needed to remember that.

"Suika, can you bring some more water to drink? Can't have everyone sweating away to dehydration or they won't be able to work," the scientist said.

"Sure I can!" the excitable child said before rushing off. Senku stepped up close to Gen, deep into his personal space in a way that was incredibly uncharacteristic. Senku wasn't exactly touch-adverse, but he wasn't a tactile person and usually kept himself outside of arm's reach. What was this? Why the change? Gen found himself leaning away to give Senku space.

"What wouldn't you say in front of her?" Senku demanded, fire in his eyes. Senku was the pragmatist he claimed to be, but no matter what front he put on he was also deeply kind and had a moral compass as reliable as his sense of time. The reaction to Gen's suggestion was therefore also reliable enough to set his watch by it - if he still had a watch, that is.

"Private performances aren't always safe to describe around children," Gen said plainly, a tremble in his voice he couldn't quite iron out. It really was a distressing topic of conversation. He covered it the only way he could, by pouting and exaggerating his tone as he continued his explanation and obscuring his meaning with a lot of unnecessary things. "Clients don't always treat the merchandise gently. It's so rude! I'm delicate, you know, and the things I used to perform my illusions have to be perfectly maintained. Any little scratch or crack could ruin the entire performance. Glass and mirrors and precision designed mechanisms that ensure the audience never catches on to how I do any of my tricks. Why, I don't even know how long I'll take to recover from all the work you've made me do pumping that furnace! Such a slave driver, I'll develop calluses."

Senku's expression was wide-eyed, and the silent moment crystallized as fragile as a glass figurine. Gen couldn't help it, he trusted the man this boy would become with his life too many times to hold in the rest. He needed to smash this fragile vulnerability into a billion pieces, to master this moment and ensure they all understood he had no loyalty to Tsukasa's cause even if he shouldn't admit that directly just yet.

"I was - still am I suppose - nineteen. I'd been performing at least part time since I was fourteen. It's a cutthroat business, and what can you expect when something ettypray is put on display, but that people will want it. To own, to touch, to use... I'm told my statue was posed like this when Tsukasa found me, with a most unbecoming and terrible expression I certainly won't try to recreate." Gen mimicked the pose he'd been frozen in, pulling his leathery almost-kimono shut tighter and dropping down to sit properly with his legs under him, looking up with a mild and expectant expression as he gripped and shifted within his clothing to suggest he was fighting to keep it on. Gen didn't dare look away at Kinro, Ginro, Chrome, and Kohaku. Whatever their reaction, it wouldn't matter as much as Senku's, and if he looked away it would seem less honest.

"So he smashed the statue of your manager, because he was disgusting," Senku said, looking a bit pale.

"I don't understand," Chrome said.

"The village has some pretty strict rules," Senku continued, giving a slantwise answer when Gen didn't move a muscle. "That sort of thing has always been a crime."

"I think he was hurt by someone," Kinro whispered delicately. "Something well outside the old world's rules."

"Crimes happen all the time, it's naive to think making a rule forbidding something prevents it from happening entirely. You'll have to forgive me for not being reassured," Gen said seriously, but then softened his voice to something far more playful and silly as he stood. "At least being treated like an object for sale is something I'm well acquainted with, and I am currently up for sale. My job is to investigate and find out if you are dead or alive. You do want me to go tell Tsukasa that you are dead when I go back, don't you?" Senku would never get quite as tall as Gen, but at the moment the height difference was much more obvious and a tool he could use to his advantage since Senku kept getting so close to him. "All I have to do is say I didn't find anything threatening, just a primitive village, no worries, no rush, just enjoy ourselves as we stock up enough for winter that we can keep reviving statues! If I say something like that you'll have all the time you need to prepare. Or I could tell him the truth and the entire village will burn or bend knee to his army. Of course, if I don't return the second option happens in a week or so anyway."

"What's your price?" Senku asked.

"Something to spill on the controls," Gen gambled, then quieter. "Proof my trust wasn't misplaced."

"There wasn't time. I'd only just started experimenting on the swallows I found," Senku bit out through gritted teeth. It was quiet enough Gen wouldn't have heard him if he wasn't leaning close, quiet enough that even Ukyo would have to be listening carefully to overhear from any distance. "The letter was given to me at the end of the school day, and I went directly to the science lab to test it. I'd set up to make some gasoline from plastic earlier, so I didn't have what I needed ready in time."

"Did it make any difference at all?" Gen whispered, hating how vulnerable the question felt coming out of him even if he was able to keep his expression and posture casual for the audience.

"It was a good clue. Sped me up a bit, maybe, made me just that single millimeter more certain of my deductions when it counted." Gen could read between the lines. When Senku had been frustrated and alone, when his experiments failed, when he needed to dig deep and find the will to go on, Gen's hints had helped keep him motivated. Senku would have kept at it anyway, he was that kind of tenacious and he'd done it in the first timeline, but even the most dedicated people needed a bit of moral support now and then to keep them at their peak.

"For what it's worth, you make an excellent birthday present," Gen said cheekily, and louder. The others, especially Kinro and Ginro, very clearly did not like that they were speaking so privately. They liked the possessiveness of Gen's loud declaration even less.

"What?" Senku exclaimed, also disturbed by the phrasing as he took a defensive step back from their familiar proximity.

"April first, 5738! My three thousand, seven hundred and thirty-seventh birthday," Gen chirped, waving his arms dramatically as if throwing confetti he didn't have. "I saw the carving you made, and the house you built. Tsukasa wanted me to profile you based on what you left behind and talking to your friends, since there is no logical reason for me to know about you before. It was all very impressive for being on your own for most of it, and Taiju described what parts he helped you with after he woke up. A quaint tree house built sized for three people from the beginning, that's very telling Senku," Gen said playfully, moving with the aim to distract and dazzle as he often did on stage, glossing quickly over the hint of deeper meaning without dwelling on it. Thank goodness Senku was smart enough to realize Gen wanted exactly nobody to know about the letter he sent. The boy laughed at Gen's antics, the mood shifting away from such serious topics.

"I can say this for certain: you are an expert in your field. It is honestly terrifying, since our lives are now in your hands," Senku said. Gen very, very deliberately made sure not to look around, but he noted the reactions he could see in his peripheral vision.

"Tell me, what do you plan to do with those iron bars now that you have them? Swords? Shields?" Gen changed the subject. "Is it something the shallowest man alive can take comfort in?"

Senku had only just started explaining what they needed to make the generator when the thunderstorm started. Thankfully Suika had come back with water so Gen could again ask her for some flowers. He dazzled Magma when he came running as he had before to defend them from the superstitious idiots who thought the storm could be stopped if they kill the 'sorcerer' that started it. Gen did slip up a little in the rush to get things set up to make the magnets. Badly enough that Chrome noticed that Gen understood what Senku wanted done before Senku had completely finished explaining, but then they were all so excited by catching a lightning bolt and Chrome was suitably distracted.

Later that night, when Gen was trying to remember where the most comfortable places to sleep rough were, Senku caught his attention. This was new, he remembered having to eavesdrop on them as Senku explained who Tsukasa was and what his goals were in greater detail to Kohaku, Chrome, and Suika.

"You aren't on Tsukasa's side, not by one millimeter," Senku accused, not even bothering with a greeting.

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Gen said, considering how wet the moss was under the next tree.

"You are afraid of being overpowered, and want a life of luxury. You're in good shape, but among Tsukasa's people you're probably on the wimpy side of things. He'd be reviving people he remembered from professional fighting and sports first, am I right? So a bunch of modern-day gorillas who had the privilege of modern society so they could spend all day training. No breaks to work or do any of the thousand little chores the villagers have to do since they don't have meal delivery apps or running water," Senku explained. "All the luxuries of modern life you crave are in the Kingdom of Science." Gen didn't turn around, continuing to look for a decent place to sleep. With everything soaked from the rain, there weren't many good options.

"Trust is a delicate thing. It can be easily broken, but to grow it takes time. I've told you what I want from you, Senku-chan," Gen said, bending his tone to emphasize the childishness of the honorific this time. "Tsukasa thought he could capture my trust quickly by using a shortcut, but he did something repulsive in the process. Don't skip steps in the process, that is as true as when making some crazy machine that reinvents seven different scientific principles as when building relationships between people."

"That doesn't mean you are on Tsukasa's side," Senku pointed out.

"Not wanting him to be the dictator in charge of the rest of my life doesn't make me your most loyal follower. I've made it clear: I'm the most superficial man on earth, I only care about what benefits me. Do you want to know what I saw when I looked you up before the world ended? What I thought of the person I sent that letter to?"

"What?" Senku asked, put off balance by the sudden shift in topic. Shit, Kohaku was right there. Gen could only just make her out against the starlight. Senku didn't seem to have noticed her, but she'd certainly heard everything. Well, too late, he'd have to deal with her knowing that Gen had been in contact with Senku in the old world, but he would also have to give the answer that sounded as if she wasn't here that also accounted for her listening in.

"Spoiled rich child, given anything he asked for without hesitation and left alone to play with expensive toys, and later ridiculously valuable equipment going by your father's social media feed," Gen said harshly. "Tenacious, and sure of his own intelligence, and because of that likely egotistical to some degree, but with an unknown potential and unknown flaws. The trip to help fight diseases in Africa was sudden and confusing enough to those around you that I have to question the altruism a little, even if it was an inherently good and noble thing for a young man of means to do. That you faked your death to protect your friends says a lot about what you value, and my opinion of you has improved as I have learned more about you, but that first impression wasn't exactly stellar. I was a nervous wreck asking you for help, and if I'm not wrong about how you answered earlier you didn't even try to do the one thing I told you was of critical importance. The one thing that would have given us insurance."

"It's not like I could just call my dad up on a whim," Senku argued. "He was in space!"

"If you sent an email, or made a social media post, he would have gotten it eventually. Even if you were already petrified, he could have gotten it. How long do you think it took for all the power plants to explode or burn out? How long before the internet shattered? How long would their electronics have worked even after that? How many times would he read and re-read your last message or listen to your last voice mail?" Gen attacked Senku with everything he had. He needed to make this point now, to lay out Senku's actual flaws, few though they were, and then help him tomorrow anyway. "How long until they risked using the shuttle without ground control to guide them home?"

"I... I wanted to have something more than a guess. Dad probably... I should have sent the message. One of them might have figured out how to make it with a hint that clear. My dad wasn't who you think he was, he was just average, but that many scientists working together would have figured it out," Senku said, and Gen's soul was surely damned for making someone as stoic and cool as Senku choke up.

"I tried to gain your trust all at once and without a lot of time or effort, and see? It didn't work. Even with my best effort and all my magical tricks working in full force," Gen said, turning to face Senku. With only starlight peeking through trees he almost couldn't see each other, but the gods hated Gen enough to let him see the glint of a tear he'd pulled out of the young scientist. Time to say something entirely for the eavesdropper. "Ishigami Senku - named a god of stone under a thousand skies, you know so much but intelligence and wisdom are considered separate stats for good reason. You are not infallible. I am not infallible. We are human and all of us are similarly imperfect, just with different flaws. You will fail, as we all do, the question is only how often, and how quickly you can course correct after a major misstep."

"I get it, alright. I fucked up big time," Senku's voice in the dark was sharp with anger covering his hurt.

"No." Gen ensured his tone was firm with no room for argument. "You did what was logical, according to the facts you had. Would it have been better if you contacted your father as I asked you to? Possibly. We have no way to know what happened. Speculating would just waste time and energy. Passing on that information was a gamble I made. Doing it the way I did was my error. The information was helpful to you, which means the information the Americans had was accurate, but they clearly didn't have time to do anything with that information either or we'd have woken up under vastly different circumstances."

"The Americans?" Senku asked.

"That phone call, overheard while I cleaned up after one of my private performances. Some NASA doctor was being collected to head a team looking into the petrified swallows, worried that humans would be next. If you didn't do better than Dr. Xeno or whatever his name was and his team, that's certainly no great failure. With the time zones, they had a head start for certain and they didn't think to tell the astronauts about nital either, did they?" Gen said, trying to be as comforting as he could be now that what he'd needed to say was done with.

"You did." No. No, no, no. Impossible. Unthinkable! Senku couldn't possibly think of Gen so highly, it would be a disaster.

"Don't pretend to be a child throwing a tantrum about this when I know for a fact you are mature enough to understand this concept forward, backward, and inside out," Gen snapped, venom seeping back into his voice. "I'm me, and you are you. The venn diagram of all people to ever have my kind of specialty and people with hard science specialties like yours is practically two circles," Gen said with a chuckle. "You say science pushes humanity forward, and I agree, but it wasn't all lone geniuses pushing things forward. It was also people coming together in a push for shared goals. People with different talents and skills working together to solve problems and compensate for each other's flaws. You, your oaf of a best friend, and the crafty girl he really ought to propose to if only to keep the brutes Tsukasa keeps reviving off her. That's the sorcery I'm most familiar with, the weave of human relationships."

"Heh, I guess I am being unreasonable," Senku said. "No cheat codes, no shortcuts. Just hard work and perseverance."

"And no gods coming down from on high to give us advice. We poor mortals have to figure it out on our own, as usual," Gen agreed.

"Where are you sleeping?" Senku asked.

"Probably in this tree," Gen supposed, gesturing vaguely to a random one. "A bit of rope makes it safe, and the ground is too wet."

"Now you're the one being childish. Come on, Chrome's collection shed has room enough for one more exotic lump," Senku said, picking at his ear. "You're delicate ass will catch a cold out here and then who will get Tsukasa off mine?" Gen laughed at the crass language.

"Lead the way, though I reserve the right to change my mind if it's too cramped."

[cinnella]

Name: Libelle Abrams (chosen name); Varda Lesedi (birth name)

Age: 22 years old

Sex: Female

Sexuality: Demi-homosexual

Zodiac sign: Libra

Birthday: October 7th

Patron Arcana: Justice (Major); Queen of Swords (Minor)

Occupation: Magician, healer, painter and gardener

Height: 5'9" (1.76 m)

Weight: 194 lbs (88 kg)

Relatives:

Briella Lesedi - mother (deceased)

Abanus Lesedi - father (deceased)

Gushvin Basu - distant family friend

Origin: Born in the Catclaw Desert, grew up in Vesuvia

Race: African-American

Powers: White (purification) and healing magic, as well as telekinesis and precognitive dreaming

Intelligence Level: On a scale from 1 to 10, she's a strong 8.5

Backstory:

During the beautiful sunset of the Catclaw Desert, little Varda was born not far off from their home, where her parents had built their sculpture selling stand.

About 7 months later, while they were enjoying their time at home, their friend, Gushvin, hurried to tell them that an unexpected aggressive sand storm started heading their way.

They made sure to give Varda to him as he was faster and went ahead of them. They tragically got swept away by the storm and inhaled too much sand. They were found without breath or pulse hours later.

As selfish as it was of him, Gushvin didn't want to take care of a child, so he made sure to find someone willing enough to do that, soon running into a person who said they specifically searched for orphaned children that needed care.

After a couple of days of traveling, they arrived in sunny Vesuvia, where Varda was brought to the orphanage in the South End. There she was cared for and raised like promised.

She grew up to be one of the sweetest but most naive kids there. One day during lunch, she noticed a kid was sitting alone at his table, sulking and not eating. She approached him and offered to eat with him.

He had silverish eyes and ash-blond hair and the kindest smile she'd ever seen. She'd heard the adults call him Lucas and she knew he was kind of a troublemaker, but he seemed so lonely. They became best friends almost instantly, and always spent time together.

Some years later, when both of them were around 5 years old, they befriended three other kids, all significantly older than them. She learned that their names were Eris, Syro and Morana, and immediately became worried.

They were the biggest scoundrels in the entire orphanage, and quite honestly, all of South End. But Lucas insisted that they join their group. And she trusted him.

She didn't think that these four kids would become so important to her, that they'd become her family. But they did, and she couldn't be more thankful.

When it became clear enough to the adults that they couldn't raise nameless kids, the more capable ones took to teaching them the importance of knowing how to read and write and then they could choose a name for themselves, on their 7th birthday.

Soon enough, her sweet 7th rolled around and after months of searching, she found a name that would complete her.

And so, Varda Lesedi became Libelle Abrams.

Lucas, not much later, also changed his name, to Calyx. Libelle thought it was such a beautiful name for him.

Many years passed by with the four causing as much trouble as possible, to her unfortunate luck. But once she approached her preteens, devastating news came with them. When they'd reach the age of 17, they would need to leave, one by one, and search for a different home.

They discussed about it, made plans and set goals to find their homelands, their roots and possibly their families.

Obviously, Eris was first in line to leave as the eldest between them. Then Morana with Syro. It was only her and Calyx left. She made the promise to not abandon him there and take him with her when the time would come.

And she did. After celebrating her 17th birthday and talking with the one that had found her so many years ago, they set out to travel towards the Catclaw Desert. The journey was a couple of days long and it took them almost as much to find the one who knew about her parents.

Gushvin was sat on the bench in front of his home when they approached, and when Libelle called out to him, he recognized her immediately. There was some confusion with her name at first, but they quickly caught onto everything.

He told her everything that had happened the day she became an orphan and although he was hesitant, he confessed how selfish he'd been back then, something he regretted deeply and hadn't let him sleep properly since then.

All of the discoveries shocked her beyond belief, so much so that she wanted to go back to Vesuvia right away. After a while of mulling over everything she found out, she decided to focus on helping her best friend.

Luck had seemed to smile upon them, because Eris insisted on tagging along with them. After all, they had to travel across the sea all the way to the Macawi Port.

After even more shocking reveals about Calyx' parents, none of them wanted to know anything more, so at dawn they started back home.

Now, Libelle could focus on the things that she wanted to do most. She learned how to become a professional healer and magician, so she would help people in need. Around that time, her secret powers slowly surfaced as well.

She realized she could move objects with the will of her mind and at night, she would have visions and dreams of the future. After consulting with an expert in healing magic, she discovered that most people have these gifts and adviced her to learn to control them.

Everything was fine in her life until the Red Plague rained upon them and they each made the decision to leave Vesuvia. Well, all except for Eris. She wanted to help the doctors with the dead, confided to Libelle that she'd taught herself necromancy and wanted to reverse their deaths.

Eris had been too stubborn to listen to reason, so they had no choice but to leave her behind. Syro and Morana left for the Southern Spines, while Eris specifically told Libelle and Calyx to go to Venterre and find her brother, Sethos. He would shelter them until the nightmare would be over.

So they did, they took the first boat straight to the west coast of Venterre, where they ran into the young man in question.

When they finished explaining everything to him, he insisted they go back and get her too, but there would have been no use in doing so. His sister would have been way too stubborn to listen to anyone.

Days later, a letter arrived in their mailbox and all three were devastated to find out Eris died from the plague. Libelle and Calyx were sobbing messes and Sethos almost thrashed the room before collapsing too.

They informed the other two through a letter as well, but they figured there would be massive delays because of the distance, so they didn't expect an answer right away.

Suddenly, about 6 days later, Libelle had a dream, of Eris being alive. It had felt so real she woke up in a cold sweat and with tears in her eyes, she went to wake up the other two, shaking them hard.

She couldn't form clear words but Calyx caught onto it right away, and while with shaky hands, Libelle explained that she could sense Eris' aura and presence in the real world.

Although Sethos was very skeptical about it, he would have rather held onto the tiniest string of hope that she was indeed alive than live with the thought of losing his sister a second time.

So they wrote another letter to Syro and Morana and immediately packed their things and headed back to Vesuvia in plain midnight.

True to everything Libelle said and sensed, Eris was alive. How, they didn't know, until they spoke to Asra, one of her older friends and apparently, the one who brought her back. She was shocked to find it involved a deal with the Devil. She'd heard of the sacrifices needed to make such deals.

After about 3 years of total absence, Syro and Morana also arrived in Vesuvia and the shock cycle began again.

Not much later, when Eris got assigned to solve the mystery of Count Lucio's murder and catch his fugitive murderer, everyone offered to do something to help her out.

Though she was shy about it, she could sense that the Countess, Nadia, needed help as well. So Libelle suggested assisting her in whatever Nadia would need.

She didn't expect to catch feelings, but she didn't complain either.

Personality: shy, sensitive, kind-hearted, gentle, imaginitive, creative, generous, loyal, honest, trustworthy, observant, reliable, cheerful, too forgiving and sometimes naive

Interesting facts:

Although it isn't very noticeable, she does have a white lotus tattoo on her left middle finger.

Her wrists are littered with past self-harm scars, which the others love to kiss just to make her feel better about them.

She is very insecure about her body, but she has the others to lift her moods up when she's down.

Has an entire collection of earrings, but her favorites are the peacock feathers.

Even though she wakes up early in the morning, she usually takes a nap in the afternoon.

Her thighs and hips are full of stretch marks.

Has the biggest sweet tooth in the world.

Can play the clarinet, but you would have to really indulge her to get her to sing on it for you.

Appearance: Dark espresso skin tone, neck-length curly chestnut brown hair, dyed periwinkle blue halfway down, jade green eyes, chubby slight hourglass body shape, D cup breasts

Familiar: Lumi, a cute and sweet stoat but a sneaky little thief all the same

Voice claim: Dana Gourrier

Full sprite:

WOOOHOOOO I FINISHED ALL MY MCS' BIOS AND I'M SO HAPPY!!

My girl turned out so damn beautiful too and I'm just hhnnnnn- 😖💜

PLEASE SHOW HER SOME LOVE AS WELL!!! ✨

[naga-raja-suresh]

Truth. But also not surprising. No 'good men' lived so long. Suresh was not morally good by any means. But he was a good leader. And Good leaders were rarely good people. The no angel remark made Suresh flash a wicked grin at the witch. "You'll never know just how lucky..." Power required sacrifice, keeping power required generous donations of more blood and pain. That was just the nature of power and control. What he had done to individuals, families, whole cities over the course of his long long life wasn't something he needed to speak about. But no, no angel.

It was entirely possible that Corvinus could have just come and gone without notice. But he hadn't. And there were any number of simple or complicated reasons why. But Suresh dealt in the facts he knew. Corvinus had come deliberately in search of Suresh. He had attempted to hide what he was. He was very powerful. And he was being, mostly, charming and polite so far. Which meant that Corvinus wanted them to get along for the time being. And Suresh was willing to get along. Until provoked. So much was still hidden. Small hints at what really lay under the surface, a soft ripple of still water and the true horror that lay beneath.

A reiteration that Corvinus would not be in town long. A few weeks. A month. Not more than two and a half. Tolerable for the time being. Suresh nodded his head. The little barb about far more interesting places to visit made Suresh giggle at the sheer backhandedness of the remark. "Cunt." But the word held a tone of near endearment in it. That strong urge to laugh and to slap the witch, something he hadn't felt quite like that in a long time. "That's how I've always felt about Ireland. You can keep your rainy little island."

Suresh nodded at the response to his warning. Whether or not Corvinus actually did avoid those things or not was solely in his own hands. The Naga just offered the advice. He looked as the witch bent over and picked up the jacket, allowing himself to admire the well cut clothing on the body he now knew much more intimately. His eyes slipped back up to the witch's face. Smiling as he tilted his head to the side. His voice full of amusement, "I'll put your name on the list for security to walk you up... If I happen to be here when you come back." His golden eyes became more focused as he looked at Corvinus. A small breath of magic in the room as Suresh was suddenly wearing black pants and shoes under the robe, even though he hadn't moved. "It's been a distinct pleasure to finally meet you, Corvinus. Stay out of trouble will you?"

"I'm a deplorable man, what can I say?" Through and through, centuries of bloodshed soaked his hands and left a trail of countless corpses in his wake. He would never claim to be a good man, at least not when he was being any version of his actual self. Aliases and false identities, those were totally different. "But I daresay that you're no angel. I'm just lucky enough to have charmed you." Sure, there were possibly some ancient creatures that were innocent for the most part, but to gain power? Oh, that often required heavy sacrifices of the moral variety and he had simply become numb to the atrocities committed over the centuries.

It wasn't the first territory he had crossed in to where it was held by another entity. Often times, he went unannounced and slipped in and out with little trouble. In a crowd of thousands, what was one face? Had Corvinus not approached Suresh, he could have likely slipped by for ages...but that wouldn't be very productive. Not when he could get closer and learn more. His eyes moved to the tie and reached out to take it though the silky fabric didn't slip through Suresh's grasp so easily. He raised a brow, meeting the other's gaze. "Oh, I don't plan on my visit being that long. As for three hundred years, I had far more interesting places to visit." The only reason he was there now was due to the deal with a certain god or else he might have still found no interest in the city.

Bayou. Deathrunners. Cemeteries. Lightless. Kind of him to warn him of territories though he was sure those weren't the only reasons Suresh advised so. Pulling his tie free and beginning to finish dressing, Corvinus gave a shrug. "Bayou...not my style. And I have no dead to visit here." Jacket, where was his- oh, there it was. Corvinus found it discarded on the floor, quick to slip it back on. "I'm sure I can find some time to come back again soon. Do I need a security pass for next time?"