#I fully intend to expand on this thought if it proves to be of interest to you lot

[lets-try-some-writing]

Machine

There are no Primes. There haven't been any Primes since the Matrix was reclaimed by Primus. But with the war spiraling out of control and Orion Pax, the hope of the Autobots being on death's door, Ratchet had no other choice. The Autobots needed a leader, they needed a Prime. If Primus would not give them one, then Ratchet sure as Pit would.

(fair warning, this post is really freaking long)

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Orion Pax was their leader. He took up the mantle when the Autobots needed hope more than ever before. He was kind, he was courageous, he was wise and grew more so with every day. He was what they needed to keep marching forward against Megatron's forces and the slow demise that their world seemed to be dead set of reaching. He was more than worthy of being a Prime.

Ratchet never expected such a mech to fall.

Even as he sat at Orion's bedside watching his friend and leader waste away, he could hardly comprehend it. However as the army began to panic without their leader and the Decepticons grew more bold, Ratchet was forced to make a choice. Orion would not live long. His frame was devastated beyond repair and he had no Matrix to give to a successor to lead the Autobots. When he died everything would fall apart and their world would be handed over to Megatron.

Ratchet could not allow this, not when everything they were fighting for depended on the presence of a leader.

As such while there was still time, Ratchet cast aside his reservations and he began what would be considered a heretical work by any definition. He quietly began collecting scans, samples, CNA, copies of memory, and everything else that made Orion Pax who he was. He did not tell anyone what he was doing as Orion faded and he took what he gathered and began to apply it to his project. To keep the army at least semi-composed, the lie he told the Autobots was simple: That Orion Pax was being taken for emergency frame restructuring and was to be brought close to Primus's core to keep his spark stable.

He forged the studies he used to back up his claim that having Orion moved was a wise decision. And then once that was done, he took his friend from the medical bay and brought him to Ratchet's personal laboratory where he took everything he could from his friend while he still lived.

The CNA he used to begin creating a clone, one that he ensured was lifeless through a series of chemical implants. He adjusted it as needed, altering it to match his specifications and leave room for the modifications he had planned. He integrated the CNA of fallen Primes after rooting around and collecting what he could from their lifeless frames to give his creation the strength of Primes. He also altered the clone frame to have a gaping hole where its spark chamber would have been should it have lived in order to house part of what he was making. Then while the clone frame developed, Ratchet carefully began cultivating an AI which he fed Orion's memories.

He took great care with the AI, feeding it memory and coding it in such a way that it would follow his orders. He put in failsafes, integrated the ability for the AI to evolve and learn how to overcome obstacles, and went to great lengths to input an impossible to ignore urge to win the war and restore Cybertron. It took nearly a vorn of fine tuning, by which point Orion had already passed away. But when the AI was a near perfect replica of Orion Pax mentally, at least based on what Ratchet knew of his friend, he made the final piece to finish the puzzle.

His greatest creation was by far the faux Matrix. He based its design off the old texts and what images he could find. Then when its outer shell was complete, he made the greatest super computer he could compile with the aid of a few anonymous engineers who had no idea what they were making for him. He filled the faux Matrix with the entirety of Cybertron's databanks and designed it in such a way that it would run through countless scenarios and calculate the best course of action. He altered its way of giving information so that it would come in the form of old text and strange glyphs to imitate what previous Primes had said their interactions with the real Matrix was like.

He gave it the command to run through data during the artificial Prime's recharge cycle to imitate visions. He then also altered it so that it directly connected to he Prime AI and would, if all went well, regulate the coded emotional responses as the real Matrix would have done with its chosen Prime. He jumped through every hoop to make it so that his artificial Prime would be as convincing as possible, even giving the clone frame the ability to expertly control its EM field to create an aura of divinity through a series of recessive codes.

Then finally, after over a vorn of effort and just before the army began to panic again, Ratchet put together his finest creation. His perfect artificial Prime, made to fulfill the needs of the people and never to be corrupted by greed or other vile emotions. His creation would lead them onward and play the part of Prime until the war came to an end. This was its purpose, and while it was not what Ratchet would have liked, having his Prime wear the face of his oldest friend was both a comfort and a curse.

There was no time to mourn Orion Pax, all Ratchet could do was continue on pretending as if his friend still lived on in his creation for the sake of his own sanity.

A vorn and a half after the project began, Optimus Prime awoke on Ratchet's medical berth with only vague false memories of going to Primus's core to stop the dark energon from spreading. Careful to remain stoic, Ratchet explained all that had come to pass during the artificial Prime's absence and pointed out the Matrix within Optimus's chassis. It took a moment for Optimus's AI to settle and understand, but once everything clicked, the programming Ratchet put into place kicked in and the Prime was off to do his work.

It was certainly a little rough in the beginning. Optimus, despite having been cultivated so carefully was still not the best at interaction. The artificial Prime required time and lots of trial and error to have its AI grow and adapt, quickly changing to be what the Autobots needed. Before long Ratchet could even believe that his creation was a real living being with how it moved and acted, grieving over the fallen, giving hope to the Autobots, and showing courage and conviction like no other.

It was almost enough for Ratchet to forget that Orion Pax was dead.

However Optimus was still an artificial being and there were indeed signs that pointed toward its true nature despite Ratchet's efforts. Optimus didn't feel pain the same way others did, no, the pain it felt was all artificial and could be turned off if needed. During times of increadible stress or when Optimus couldn't afford to fall, Ratchet would quietly utter the command to have Optimus's ability to feel pain turned off. The ability startled the Autobots a great deal, especially when Ratchet forgot to turn the pain sensors back on, prompting Optimus to come to him in increadible worry wondering if something was wrong.

Optimus didn't know that it wasn't alive, and Ratchet couldn't afford to let his artificial Prime think otherwise.

Optimus also wasn't the best at recreating emotion, its AI simply wasn't structured with high emotional response in mind. It was meant to be stoic, unable to be traumatized but still capable of learning. This meant that while it developed and learned, becoming a better leader and responding to the emotions of others better, it had issues replicating other's emotions. It could hardly grieve, it could hardly feel joy, sorrow, or despair. The only emotion Ratchet allowed it to have hardwired was a sense of duty and failure when it didn't perform adequately.

There were other smaller signs, little things like the way Optimus would remain unconcerned by gore, illness, or death. But other than that, the Autobots accepted it, taking Optimus as their Prime without much question. The only one who suspected was Jazz, the other longtime friend of Orion. But even he, perhaps wishing for the entity that called itself Prime to really be Orion, never said anything. All the while Ratchet watched and gently directed Optimus, giving it commands veiled as suggesting and council and repairing him when required

Optimus was his machine, nothing more, nothing less... at least that was what Ratchet constantly told himself in order to not get attached. That is until Optimus returned to base with an actual sparkling in its arms and treated it with more protectiveness and love than Ratchet had ever seen his creation show before. Up until that point everything Optimus did was well within parameters. It fell within the lines Ratchet set, but as if touched by Primus, it suddenly stopped being an "it".

Optimus's AI evolved, and it, no, he changed. Ratchet could only watch on in growing fear, awe, and confliction as Optimus stopped needing him to offer quiet commands. The artificial Prime began acting like a living being, no longer confined by the coding that left him usually aloof and unbothered. The artificial Prime developed, becoming his own individual and never once suspecting a thing about what he really was. This alone nearly made Ratchet want to wipe Optimus's AI and try again, using injury as an excuse just to be sure his creation couldn't go rogue. He only stopped because of how happy Optimus looked as he played with the sparkling he named Bumblebee.

By the time Ratchet considered telling Optimus the truth if only to clear his own guilty conscience, he couldn't do it, not when Optimus believed every single false memory and lie Ratchet had ever told him. How could he destroy the artificial life he had unintentionally created? Optimus was meant to be a machine, a tool to be directed and used as required. The only reason Ratchet had made him believe himself to have once been Orion Pax was to make his acting more believable. But that one small decision had changed everything.

Optimus believed he was living, he thought he had a spark like other mecha and he behaved as such. Ratchet had to feed his creation more and more lies to constrain him and keep him from trying to create Amica bonds or other such intimate ties. He told Optimus the Matrix forbit it and even went so far as to knock Optimus offline and alter the faux Matrix's code so that it would keep Optimus from trying to connect to others too deeply.

If Optimus tried to bond with anyone, the results would be devastating. Even knowing this, it hurt Ratchet's spark to watch Optimus be forced to keep a wall between himself and the sparkling he had found. The artificial Prime still played the part of a Sire for Bumblebee, but he could never have the bond that existed between a Caretaker and their sparkling. Ratchet told Optimus this was due to the Matrix, but Ratchet knew this not to be the case.

Ratchet made a machine to lead the Autobots, but instead he had created an AI that believed itself alive. By the time the Allspark was sent away and the Autobots fled to the stars, the only thing that set Optimus apart from the true children of Primus was his lack of a spark.

No matter how much it hurt to look at the machine who wore his friend's face and identity, Ratchet couldn't tell Optimus the truth. Optimus didn't deserve that pain, not when he wept for the fallen, not when he fought with conviction, and most certainly not when he wished and dreamed with Ratchet on dark nights, imagining a better future. On such nights Ratchet liked to forget that the entity he was speaking to was one of his own make. He liked to pretend that it was indeed his friend who sat beside him and murmured softly the hopes he held of a future where their people were free.

After such interactions he often lay awake in his berth wondering if he had made the right decision and what Orion would think of him.

Coming to earth changed little. Optimus continued to act as Prime, leading them and fighting against Megatron as he always did. He took the children in with grace and behaved exactly as Ratchet expected Orion would have should he have been made Prime. But by that point Ratchet was too ridden by guilt to even dream of trying to wipe the AI that was Optimus or try again. Optimus was alive if only to the others, he couldn't risk everything falling apart because of the truth being exposed.

Then Unicron woke and everything began to crumble bit by bit.

Ratchet managed to hide Optimus's true nature by modifying the faux Matrix so that it could produce an EMP field strong enough to push Unicron back into slumber. But after the event Optimus began to suspect something was wrong with him, that he wasn't right. The abuse of the faux Matrix meant that it started to malfunction and Ratchet couldn't make any adjustments without drawing suspicions. He could only pray that Optimus remained ignorant.

Optimus was concerned, but with time he shook of the oddity of his faux Matrix and Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief... up until Smokescreen made his appearance and brought with him a container which had been welded to his back. Ratchet didn't think much of it once Smokescreen was confirmed to be from Alpha Trion. As such he removed the container and with Bulkhead's help, pried it open.

He regretted that more than anything else.

Within the container was the Matrix, the real Matrix. Every single bot in the base stood still as stone, all of them not wanting to believe it as they looked at Optimus. Ratchet wished he could scream as his creation looked the faux Matrix in his chassis and the real one in the container and passed out.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hey weird question but, with the context that while conspiracy thought in and of itself is just a sort of dangerous logical fallacy, most conspiracy theories have some kind of tie to antisemetism, are there any antisemetic aspects to gaylor theory? i can't think of how but somehow it almost always weasels in there, no matter how innocently silly something seems on the surface.

DEEP SIGH okay it's time to talk about Scooter Braun and his place in the Gaylor conspiracy

I'm not going to recap everything but will instead link you to this US Weekly article (I know, sorry) which is basically a fine summation of events despite being a bit sensationalist in calling a business disagreement between two adults a "feud"

tl;dr for anyone who doesn't want to read all of that (it's not actually that long, I prommy): in 2019 talent manager Scooter Braun acquired Taylor Swift's former record label Big Machine, giving ownership of the masters of her first six albums. Swift objected to this very publicly on the grounds that she wanted ownership over her own work and had repeatedly been denied the opportunity to buy it outright, while also alleging that Braun has been harassing and bullying her for years. ultimately, Swift has remained unable to buy back her work, leading to her steadily re-releasing expanded versions of her first six albums under the "Taylor's Version" headline.

obviously, given my stance against speculating on the personal lives of famous rich people, I'm not particularly interested in debating whether or not there's merit to Swift's accusations against Braun, although given the exploitative nature of the music industry I hardly think her claims are implausible.

regardless of whether or not Braun sucks as a person, it's important to note that he was only very briefly in ownership of Swift's discography: as the linked article above notes, he only owned them for about a year and a half before selling them off in 2020.

despite this, Braun holds what I would consider a rather outsize role in a lot of Gaylor conspiracy theorizing, with many apparently believing that Swift fully intended to come out in 2019 with the release of her seventh album, Lover, but was prevented from coming out by Braun purchasing her discography. I've seen some claim that he actively subjected her to homophobic bullying and others saying that she didn't him to financially benefit from any career boon she might have after coming out (although no one ever seems to have an answer for why she still hasn't come out three years after he sold her discography).

I can't say whether or not the majority of Gaylors, like, know or care that Braun is Jewish, but it feels tragically predictable and yucky that a Jewish man is given such a disproportional share of blame for why Taylor "can't" come out and is made a scapegoat in the ongoing effort to evade reality with "arguments" like this

(source)

... hang on, what's that?

oh man I love when a Jewish family gets put n SCARY ALL CAPS

okay so let's talk about Karlie Kloss and Josh Kushner!

as many of you probably know by this point, Karlie Kloss is the pinnacle of Taylor Swift's platonic gal pals that she gets relentlessly shipped with; I think it's fair to say that "proving" a romantic relationship existed between the two of them is the primary focus of a lot of Gaylorism.

since 2018 Kloss has been married to Josh Kushner, heir of THAT Kushner family. his infamous brother Jared is in fact Donald Trump's son-in-law and probably guilty of, like, a lot of federal crimes. that doesn't inherently make Josh a shithead or anything and he and Kloss both claim more liberal politics, although it should be noted that like a lot of rich liberals Josh does also suck pretty hard. he and Jared own a real estate management company together and were suing their tenants and evicting them during the COVID-19 rent moratorium, so that's kind of everything you need to know about him and Karlie Kloss IMO!!!

having said that, Josh being a bastard landlord doesn't make it appropriate to frame a Jewish family as having some kind of sinister interest in suppressing a queer woman's sexuality or imply that Kloss and Josh Kushner are in some kind of sham marriage. for YEARS Kloss' marriage to Kushner, including her conversion to Judaism and their two living human children, have been dismissed as elaborate turbo-bearding, with some Gaylors going so far as to allege that Kloss and Swift have actually been married for years and Kloss is just having Kushner's children for... reasons unknown... which feels like, you know. a pretty gross dismissal of a Jewish family in favor of pretending two WASPiest WASPs to ever WASP are secretly scissoring.

anyway I certainly don't think it's the most egregious or deliberate anti-semitism that's out there in the conspiracy world but are there some Gaylors blaming The Jews(TM) for forcing poor innocent Taylor to stay in the closet? resounding yes.

[airbender-dacyon]

Just some quick personal thoughts on Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender before it premieres tomorrow.

I know I’ve not been as active the last couple years, especially in the Kataang and AtLA fandom, but I started this blog for Kataang and AtLA and it will always be a blog for Kataang and AtLA. And it’s been a while since I’ve talked about my favorite fandom and ultimate OTP.

First and foremost, I think the adaptation is completely unnecessary (same goes for the HTTYD live-action movie that’s currently being filmed). The story has been told in a visual medium already through its original animated series.

That said, I feel this live-action series will be an improvement over the 2010 film, though that is admittedly a very low bar to clear.

Despite that I feel it’s unnecessary, I do intend to watch it after I rewatch the first season of AtLA. I want the first season fresh in my mind because I’m planning to do some level of a review of each episode as I watch it, if anyone’s interested.

My expectations for the show are that it will be… okay. Somewhat good even. Slightly above average.

From the trailers and clips released so far, I have hopes for some aspects of the adaptation and disappointment and irritation with other elements. It seems like they’ve handled some concepts well (set design, costumes, casting, visual effects, some character bonding moments, expanding upon some of the lore and characters, etc.) while it appears they may have failed to grasp the significance of key plot points and character arcs (Aang is a kid, please let him be a kid and have his fun; Sokka needs to grow as a person; Katara needs to relearn how to be a kid and have fun; Ozai scarred Zuko because Zuko refused to fight him during their Agni Kai, so why is there apparently a fully choreographed fight?).

I’m hoping I’m proved wrong on the rumored issues regarding plot points and character arcs.

I understand there are always differences between adaptations, but some of these things do worry me.

All of this said, please do not attack the cast and crew if you dislike the show. Criticism is fair, but do not go after the people who worked on this adaptation, no matter how much you disagree with some (or all) of the decisions.

And I think most importantly, be kind to newcomers to the fandom and if they liked the show, encourage them to watch the original animated series. We have an opportunity to show people that the original series is worthy of its praise and that any adaptation, no matter how well done, won’t be able to recapture the essence and beauty that made the original series so special.

I say this because it was only thanks to the live-action adaptations of One Piece and Percy Jackson that got me interested in the originals. It wasn’t that I never had an interest in them, but I had other shows/books/fandoms/interests that overshadowed them for literal years. Now I’m planning to read the OP manga and the PJO books once I’ve got some free time. And I imagine I’ll enjoy them both more than the live-action adaptations.

Last, but not least, I’m hoping to see some bonding between the main trio and especially hoping the Kataang friendship is strong. I doubt there will be any indications of anything romantic, but if they at least handle Katara and Aang’s friendship well, it will serve as a foundation for any romance in potential future seasons.

So, these are my ramblings.

If anyone is interested in me reviewing the episodes, let me know and I’ll try my best to write them up when I get a chance.

In conclusion, be respectful of the cast and crew, be kind to fandom newcomers (and please do not incite ship wars), be open-minded about the show if you watch it, but also do not be afraid to critique the adaptation.

[astrophotog]

Progress on your Start-Up Venture

What is working?

I am pleased with the progress on the website, the overall look and feel of the site and the general direction the initial steps in this project have taken me. Quite frankly I thought these steps would be more difficult than they are proving to be with designing a site and getting it up and running and selecting and integrating a third party drop shipping company. Refining the foundation of the overall offering I have presently to align even closer with my vision for marketing is the next step.

What is not working?

I am not sure how to quantify this 100% yet, the marketing aspect is the most challenging aspect, not the business setup as I had assumed prior to this course. Understanding this more fully and creating a detailed plan that delivers in customer traffic and sales is the next challenge. I have taken some first steps on this without much movement, additional research and thought needed to make this work.

How do you feel the project is coming?

I am pleased with the project's progress so far, my understanding of how this all ties together is the biggest focus for myself. The fundamentals of a business are intact here, whether this turns into generating sales and profits for the project still needs to be seen. However, the intent behind the project was taken to heart and the efforts towards it being more than term project are intended. 

What are you learning about running a business?

The exposure to the fundamentals behind starting up a business is fascinating to me. The thoughtful planning and focus toward budgeting and purposeful investing is clearly imperative. It is easy to get emotionally wrapped up in an idea that perhaps is not the one that's received well from the public. Keeping a bit of that emotional distance and focus on the quantifiable financials and mid to long term planning is essential. Truly understanding the cost and potential profit of running any venture before you even begin can truly be eye opening!

What are you learning about yourself?

Balancing work, life, school and family is difficult at the best of times, integrating entrepreneurial endeavors into the mix is a challenge. Being interested or passionate is a definite support to being successful for the mid to long term as early results cannot be expected or guaranteed. I am also a little more creative than I gave myself credit for initially and pivoting ideas and approach to the initial business idea presentation. All of this has definitely sparked an interest in me that has me thinking and planning on how to expand on these learnings and grow the business venture further. 

[saturnsstufff]

The Empress pt.VIII

Weddings!! although I thought this was a lot apparently I was just lying to myself. There's just a lot of information I guess.

Warnings: swearing, mentions sexual activity.

   When morning rolled around you were still in Techno's arms. Your head was to his chest well his his chin rested on top of yours, sheltering you protectively. Techno knew he couldn't stay in bed with you too long. He would have to get ready for the day and go to his office for a couple of meetings. But the way you held onto him made him want to stay. His thoughts lingered to last night. He almost wondered if the emotions from the night had heightened what he felt for you.

   He couldn't help but smile to himself remembering how breathless the two of you were after kissing for so long. He was happy, knowing you were his left a warm feeling within his heart. He always had assumed from early childhood that he would end up alone. None of the court ladies would willingly go to him. Since he was a hybrid, he was just lowly frowned upon. He was always set up with girls for power, or for looks. So him knowing you willingly went to him filled him with utter pride. He knew you weren't the type to find power. You had voiced many times that you just wanted someone to call your own. Start a family and ease down in life.

   His attention was drawn away from his thoughts as you slowly began to stir. Nuzzling your face into his chest more, longing to feel the warmth he offered. His arm pulled you closer. His frim hand rubbing your back gently. You were tired. After the long night you spent together you weren't ready to get up. Your mind fell to last night and you couldn't help but go pink and wonder if it was only a dream. Techno held you so close and was so loving in that moment. Nothing went beyond kissing, but for as long as you two were at it, you had a right to be tired. You still remembered how his hand held your cheek, then the feeling of his arm around your waist. All of it was just perfect.

   You felt his nose nuzzle into your hair. His lips lingering loosely by your ear. "Good morning..." Oh he had a morning voice. His was even deeper than you could have imagined. You slowly fluttered your eyes open. Your half lidded eyes met with his gentle and loving ones.

   "Good morning..." you said softly. You felt him press a ever so gentle kiss to your ear, making you smile slightly. He turned onto his back, wrapping his arm around you. Your draped your arm over him, moving your head onto his chest.

   The rather chilly morning now felt warm and welcoming. If someone had told you months ago, you would be sleeping with the young Emperor, you most definitely would have laughed at them. Yet here you were, laying within his arms like a prized possession.

   "I'll have to get up soon princess..." he said softly. Almost like he was telling himself rather than you. You rubbed your cheek on his chest to move some stray hair of yours away.

   "Do you have to?" You muttered. Wanting to savor this moment like it was your last. A wide smile graced Techno's lips.

   "Plan to keep me here if I do?" Now you smiled wide at his words. Securing your arms around him tightly.

   "Possibly..." his hand moved from your back, up to your ear. Moving some of your stray hairs away from your face to behind your ear. Framing your face like a portrait.

   He let out a light chuckle. His hand moving to rest on your back again, continuing to rub gentle circles. "Well if my Princess orders me to stay... I mean who am I, to deny her?"

   You were back to the forge that afternoon. Hammer in hand as you worked a new sword for Phil. He had came in a while ago with one of his old worn blades. Far too weak to even be remotely saved. So with his permission you asked if you could just scrap this one and rebuild him a new one. He did stress he didn't want to over work yourself, but you explained it wasn't any bother.

   Well you were working you didn't hear the steps that approached you. Far to lost within your own work to pay mind to everything around. "Mighty blade you have there" the voice was smooth as silk. Seraphina.

   You couldn't help but jump in place. Your heart lurching at her voice. She gently chuckled at your startle. "Y...you scared me" you said turning to her with a weak smile. The sweat on your brow proved your work. Your hands, although gloved, were worn with time. Whether Sarah would admit it or not she did have respect for you, she could easily see why Techno had fallen for you.

   "Sorry to hear, I didn't intend to" She said with a soft smile. Looking over what you had just crafted. "Technoblade was right, you make some pretty amazing things. Don't you?" She asked looking to you. You went a faint pink glancing your blade over.

   "I think I do alright" she laughed, resting a firm hand on your shoulder. Her strength almost near Techno's. Almost. You set your hammer and the blade down. Removing your gloves to wipe your forehead.

   "Your to modest. Everyone in the city knows you bested others. Your regarded pretty highly little one. I wouldn't doubt yourself" you nodded slowly. A soft smile on your lips.

   "Thank you General..." her smile never faltered. She wondered about the room and leaned herself on one of the sturdy work benches. With her in front of you, you now fully realized the extent of her height. She was Tall.

   "Technoblade said you would be his plus one to my wedding I hear." She said casually. You opened your mouth to protest incase she wasn't ok with it. "Don't get the wrong idea, I don't mind you being there. I actually came to see if you would like to be my Maid of Honor." She rubbed her neck a bit. "I don't have many friends... and there all men so.. I was curious if you were interested in the position” you offered a shy smile. You where honored of the idea, but you weren't sure if you should be at her day, seeing as you don't know her very well.

   “Are you sure? that's a pretty private thing... I wouldn't want to intrude on that...” She lightly laughed. Her laugh was light hearted and soft. Showing she meant no harm.

   “You wouldn't be intruding. I promise” you nodded slowly. After a bit of silence she spoke up again. “I see Technoblade is in a awfully good mood today” You went pink thinking over last night. 

   “O-oh?” She laughed again at you, not meaning it rudely.

  “Mhn. During the war room meeting he was very light hearted” You tiled your head a bit. You knew techno had mentioned a meeting but not something as important as a war room meeting.

  “There was a meeting? W-what about” you asked carefully. your brow slightly furrowed.

   “Oh nothing important, it was just a casual meeting, we were mostly inquiring about the expansion in the north. Nothing to be worried about” you nodded slowly to her words. Trusting her on this since she had the military back ground. "You see the Empire is ever expanding, taking what land we can. There are a lot of villages out there in need of supplies. If we can reach them, we can help them." She was smiling. You nodded now understanding that the meeting was in good nature.

   After about a month the wedding had finally come. Techno and you were still going strong with a loving relationship as well. After your night with him, it had just became a default thing to just retire to bed with him. Finding comfort with sleeping next to him or sleeping with your head on him.

   It was the night before the wedding, Techno and you were lazily walking the halls together. Having just wanted to be within each others company again. Due to Techno being Emperor he still had his duties to the kingdom. Where he did cherish you, and put your well-being first. He still had to tend to his job.

   With casual steps the two of you wondered into the ballroom. The room was prepared for the upcoming reception. The normal graceful room was now decorated to the highest standard. The accents of gold and reds keeping everything classy. In the corner the instruments lay waiting for the day they are used.

   You were all smiles, the night had went perfect so far. You did mention not knowing how to waltz at dinner. Which made Wilbur laugh at you until tommy took his dinner roll. Techno and Phil didn't mind however, they said one of them could teach you if would have liked. Of course when Techno showed interest, Phil backed off.

   To which that led to tonight. The two of you smiling within each others arms. Techno had walked you to the middle of the room for a wide space. "What if I step on your foot?" You asked giggling gently.

   He chuckled amused. "Then you step on my foot, its not a problem" he was light hearted. Wanting to make the learning experience fun and gentle. His hands moved to his hair, skill fully pulling it up into a full bun. Wanting his hair out of the way completely.

   His hand came and rested on your upper back, pulling you close to his body. He didn't hesitate to move your hand to his shoulder and take your free hand within his. "The movement is simple... We'll start slow and then pick up the pace, ok?" His soft smile put you at ease. "You don't have to get it completely. But I think you will catch on quickly"

   You nodded to his words. He had faith in your learning ability. Knowing you were capable of more than you thought. He made his first step to the left. "Ease up and flow like your water" you couldn't help but look down to your feet. Wanting to make sure you didn't step on his foot. "Step forward" he said as he stepped back within sync. "Now step right... and then step back." You nodded slowly. Your eyes minding his shoes. "Princess... I would like to see your beautiful eyes..." he discarded your hand to lift your head. "Your too beautiful to gaze at the floor" with a small smile he kissed your forehead. "The dance revolves around a box step... lets try going in a fluid motion now..." He was talking slowly so you understood. Not trying to talk down and make you feel uneducated.

   The casual steps continued. Slowly picking the pace up until you two were gracefully sweeping along the floor. He kept your eyes locked within his. Once you had done the steps for a while he did become more daring. Choosing to lock you within his arms before spinning you. He had even dunked you to capture your lips into a loving kiss. Emperor or not, he was a true romantic by heart.

   Once you were slightly panting from the dancing he choose to take a spot on the piano bench with you. You leaned into his side, his arm coming to wrap around you. Rubbing your arm. You adored spending time with Techno, he always gave you a comforting feeling. When you first met him he was definitely aloof and standoff-ish but now he holds you as close as he can manage.

   The two of you sat in silence together, collecting your breath. The moonlight shown down on you both, Illuminating you two as if you were the stars of the show. You gazed down at the piano keys wanting nothing more than to pluck a few keys in curiosity.

   Techno must have saw you glance the keys over. "Do you know how to play?..." you shook your head gently. Plucking some of the low notes to see what tone they had.

   "I've never even been around one..." your fingers danced lightly. Having herd the harder you tap the louder it is. You looked up to Techno curiously. "Can you play?" You knew it was probably rhetorical, but you asked regardless.

   "Of course, my mother taught me. I haven't played anything special in ages, but I still know Moonlight Sonata, or Clair de Lune." He said casually looking over the keys.

   You rubbed your cheek on him a bit. Getting comfortable within your spot. "Could you play for me?..." he smiled lovingly before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. His lips lingering gently as he mumbled a 'Of course'.

   His hands ever so gracefully took there spots over the keys. Even without his glasses he knew where the keys were. He started a song you weren't quite familiar with, but it was ever so gentle. Everything techno did was done with elegance. Even playing the piano had you completely smitten with him. He was graceful yet he lurked with almost a unknown danger. You knew that he cared about you just as you cared for him. There wasn't a day that went by that he wouldn't ask if you were ok. He would even check to assure you were wearing your earrings, fearful that you would be taken from him too soon.

   Unlike boys within the city, Techno did keep his lingering kisses and more specific names for you behind the closed doors. Choosing to not show his gentle side to those outside his close circle. The truth was you were his weak spot. Yes Wilbur and Tommy were his brothers, but he knew Phil would lay his life to protect them. Techno knew he would lay his life to protect you.

   With the gentle tone of the music you were slowly being lulled into a ever so soft sleep. When your head rolled for a final time you were out.

   When you woke, you were back in techno's bed. Your hand lingered to his side, trying to feel for where your lover was. His side was empty but lingered warmth. With no trace of him you turned towards the bathroom door to see maybe if he had made a quick run. Instead he was looking at his mirror. Pulling his shirt up his arms. His back was on full display. Showing every lingering scar and muscle beneath his skin. When he moved his arms back, the muscles relaxed and tensed, Showing them pull against the white shirt. He must have caught your lingering gaze, because he spoke softly.

   "Good morning my dear..." your eyes flickered up to him as he turned to face you. He lazily walked over and sat on your side of the bed. With a careful hand he moved some of your hair away from your face. His fingers traced lightly down your cheek. "You fell asleep early last night... I figured you would have been more comfortable here..." you nodded slowly. Still trying to fight off the remints of sleep. "Your dress should be in your room..." the dress? You then remembered today was General Hawthorne's wedding. Per her request you were her maid of honor.

   Although you and Techno slept together, he still respected your privacy on dressing. Not only that, but what you didn't know, was that he purposefully never took anything too far for fear of rumors spreading about you. Seeing as the court would run with any sly rumor they could get there fingers on. The last thing he wanted, was to hear your name with 'Whore' or 'Prostitute' near it. If Techno choose to marry you in the future, he knew he would have to do his best to keep your name clean. Of course if you were Empress it wouldn't matter what they would say, either way your word would be law. But still, he wanted to make sure his Princesses name stayed out of other men's mouths'.

   "You should dress and go to Breakfast... I don't know when we will be eating next" you reached out and took his hand. Pulling it close to your chest. You wished nothing more than to cuddle down with him and lay the morning away in peace. He was warm, and you knew as soon as the covers were removed you would be cold again.

   Even with his hand to your chest he leaned down and smiled gently before giving you a sweet, gentle kiss. Since you were still a bit sleepy, the kiss was loose on your behalf. Techno didn't mind though. To him the thought behind it meant more. When he parted you slowly sat up, knowing it was time to start your day. You discarded his hand to rub at your face, trying to make yourself fully coherent. When you finished he gently took your hand into his.

   His sweet side was pushed away a moment for his concern to come through. "(y/n)... About tonight... Your going to meet some people from the court... You might think I'm overreacting.... But please, trust me on this... Make sure Phil, Wil, Sarah, or I is around when you speak to them..." your brows furrowed slightly as he rubbed your hand.

   "Why?..." you asked confused by this. You haven't herd much about the court besides them trying to set Sarah and Technoblade up together.

   Techno gave out a bit of a sigh. "They.. they have a way of backing people up into corners to make them say what they want. The last thing I want is them backing you into a corner. You may say one thing, and they will twist your words into something more. They live for scandals and power." With his hand moving to rest on your cheek, you leaned into it. Resting your hand on his so you could press a kiss to his palm.

   "I can handle myself love..." you said softly. Trying to put him at ease.

   "My love, you say that. But because you're so close to me... Because you sleep with me nightly... You will be there prime target..."

   With the vows having been exchanged at the church, the reception was held within the ballroom. Per Techno's request you stayed close to him. Next to the lovely brides, and the Royal family, you stuck out quite a lot.

   The buzz of the room danced between the talk of the general finally being married, and Technoblade having a pretty little thing on his arm. When Techno off hand mentioned you being a target, you didn't realize that this is what he meant. The lingering eye's, the longing stares, the pointing. It made you uncomfortable. Even with Techno holding your arm you felt small and confined.

   At the beginning you assumed the whole day would be about the brides. As it was their day. But even two hours into the reception, the glances and whispering continued. Soon it just became too much, you had to excuse yourself. Techno noticed your uncomfort, but sadly he couldn't leave. With a pleading look to Phil, he came over without hesitation.

   "What's the matter?" He asked, his brows furrowing slightly. He glanced from Techno to you. You went to say nothing, but Techno quickly intervened.

   "Could you take her for a walk for me?... She's highly uncomfortable and you know who, won't take their eyes off her" he said lowering his voice as to not perk the attention of lingering guests. Phil's eyes narrowed as he glanced around. His eyes meeting someone, but you couldn't see whom.

   "Oh great I didn't know that bastard was here" Phil seethed. Whoever they were talking about, they obviously had a high distaste for. "C'mon kiddo I'll take you out to the balcony" Phil said, offering his arm with a gentle smile to you. You nodded and changed off men. Fallowing Philza to wherever he would lead. Subconsciously you did keep close to his side. His wing hovering about you, offering almost a shield to wondering eyes.

   Once outside on the balcony Phil had sat by you on one of the stone benches. Giving you some space incase you were not in the mood for general contact. "Too much at once?" He asked softly. You nodded slowly.

   "Techno mentioned I would be a topic... But I thought they would focus more on the brides.." Phil took a chance and rubbed your back reassuringly like your father would have.

   "Sadly with you being Techno's plus one... You are a big topic" you looked up to Phil with a bit of confusion on why.

   "Why?... isn't he allowed a date?" Phil nodded and ran a hand over his hair and down to rub at his neck.

   "Oh he is. But tha' thing is Techno hasn't ever taken interest in anyone really. For every girl he was set up with he would just ignore them until they begged their fathers to reconsider. This is the first time the public, and the Court has seen Techno interact willingly with a woman." You were a bit surprised. Techno always struck you as having past relationships and having a bit of experience under his belt. But it appears you are his up to date experience. Phil slowly started again. "The Court is eager to see how your relationship with Techno evolves. And sadly my dear, your now in the spotlight by quite a bit. If you don't work out for Techno, they will be looking to set you up with someone else. They way they view it, is if you could woo the stoic Emperor, your either sexually involved with him or are just genuinely interesting." He paused to look down at you. "Techno, Wil and I know that your just a genuinely, interesting gal' with a kind heart. But the public doesn't" you pondered on Phil's words carefully.

   "So as long as I'm with Techno I’ll be watched?..." you asked slowly. Wanting to make sure you herd his words correct.

   Phil nodded. "Watched, judged, you will become a popular topic. They will critique you until you marry him or until you fall apart." The idea of being bad-mouthed by others left you a bit saddened. "If you become Empress, they will be forced to shut their mouths'. Disloyalty to the royal family within the court is punishable by death. However, say you part off in the end better as friends, they will double their insults, or maybe lessen them as they try to set you up with others." You took a longing breath. If this is what Techno faces on the daily, you could see why he was always drained. "Luckily in your position, you have control over your fate. They cannot talk and bribe your family into marriage like the court normally does." You looked up to Phil.

   "Why is it like this?... Its wrong..." Phil gave a rough sigh. Rubbing his neck.

   "I.. I genuinely don't know (y/n)... Neither does Technoblade... Even when I was king it was like this..." the silence lingered for a bit before Phil added on a bit. "The Empire is forever growing, but its also severely flawed" you spotted Techno within the room, talking to Sarah. She laughed joyfully, as she should on the beautiful day. "Techno and I have been working with General Hawthorne to try and straighten out this mess for years. Sadly we haven't found anything yet..."

With a spurt of unknown confidence your tone changed. No longer saddened and hesitant.

"I know Technoblade will fix it. Or, he will be the one to destroy it all."

@goldensunshineshit @snobunns @olyink @lolitsellieletsgobro @jackalopedoodles @angelic-scent @coolleviauchihadreamerlove @artsimatsu @justabalroginthenet @seme1e @fangirl570 @sweeetteaa @awlawdtheycoming @idkwhatusernametohave @sugarandspicebutnonice @bambibunz @lynn-draws-blog @buzzybeebee @feathersthewinged @prefesro @astroninaaa @ravennightingaleandavatempus @lifestylesleep @straydog265 @happygalaxymilkshake @vixenfoxpup @truthdaze @alovestruck-fool @justthatfangirloverthere @itscaity-c

[glitterytidalwavedragon]

Expanding into my other Fandoms (I’m gonna have to take a stance) Read the whole thing please.

One of my oldest and most beloved anime is Inuyasha. As of late I have been binged watching the hell out of it as I am getting my BFF into different anime shows. We are really close to entering the Yashahime part of the series, and she asked if I planned to write fanfiction involving the one character which made me even watch the show as a 10-year-old.

Sesshomaru

The first episode I ever watched involved this aloof, entitled dog fighting his brother over the sword in their father’s grave. Specifically, it was part 3 of that whole episode series were Kagome pulled out the sword. I at the time had 3 dogs of German Sheppard/wolf hybrid, they were MASSIVE dogs, fell in love with the big white fluff that was Sesshomaru’s demon form. I use to sneak staying up and watch the show faithfully to see the goodest boy as it was only on at 11pm EST on adult swim. Which meant it was bad and I was breaking the rules, I felt like a rebel.

Now I hesitated answering that question. She has no idea of what is in Yashahime, she is being careful not to spoil it so I told her I didn’t know. Recently, to find out what the feel is for Sesshomaru content, I looked into the tag on tumblr…

OH MY GOD.

Sesshomaru’s tag is FLOODED with hate. Like every four post, there is hate, distain, and attacking happening. As someone who watches Yashahime, I quickly knew why.

Sessrin.

Even now I sigh. And I sigh HARD. I am not for, nor am I against the Sessrin train. Same for the Sesskagu train. I think both sides need to look at things on a logical prospective. I plan to do just that. I know I will get hate from the either side and maybe some support as well. But if I am going to do anything in this fandom (as I like doing ships and reader inserts) it will come up.

So, like my Kaiba post, and my Sebastian Heel post, I will use my research skills as well as my COLLEGE DEGREE WHICH HAS BOTH ART AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY labelled on it to explain why this progression in the story is normal to anti-Sessrin fans and why this isn’t a crime by story standards nor should we look at it as a crime.

AS WELL

Explain to Sessrin fans why it is so weird for non-shippers to see it play out and why so much hate formed.

As I let out another sigh, we shall begin. Let’s start at an historical prospective. (Links at the bottom).

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING! I’LL BE ABLE TO TELL!

~~

I will start with the information I can access right away.

While finding charts on the life-span of common folk in 1590’s Feudal Japan is rather difficult, Ancient.edu states that the average lifespan was about 50. To put this in perspective, the average lifespan of Europeans at the time was somewhere between 40-45 with the latter being rare. Since most of us reading are not from Japanese descent, I will through Europe in this first.

If we look at the same time frame of 1590, we are looking at most of Western Europe had now entered the age of Renaissance. According to sources from Learning Resources in association with the National Gallery of Art, marriage was not what TV drama’s from HBO or Hulu depicted. By today standards they would be a crime, as the average age for marriage of an adult female was age 14…

The reasoning behind the young marriage age had multiple factors. First being, females were considered an adult once they were menstruating. Birthing also proved to be fatal, and since the lifespan was at best 40 and 45 if they were lucky, there was really no room to wait. Also Europe at the time had became hugely focused on making sure blood lines were legitimate, meaning to ensure the girl was a virgin, the moment she was able to reproduced she was married off. Those they married were not young teenagers either. Most marriages, a man would be in their thirties, and had probably multiple wives as women died more than men when not counting the battle field.

To make matters worse for the Renaissance Lady, these marriages would leave many young males unable to marry and if their husband died in battle, well, unfortunately they were not seen as desirable. This was due to the idea of a ‘free woman’. Should the girl not have a father, brother or uncle to return to as they too died, a widow had her freedom. But that freedom came at a cost. She would be assumed to have slept around, and in many writings, such as the Canterbury Tales, where Geoffrey Chaucer writes about a Window on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land survived her five husbands and the men in her family. In short, she was made to be a slut and to be looked down upon as no man controlled her.

The point of talking about Europe is because that is something most of us Non-Asian or Japanese people consume and like to paint in large romantic brush strokes of knights and magic. Honestly, reading G.R.R.Martin Song of Ice and Fire, he uses this model as we see the Queen of Dragons, Danny start off at age thirteen shortly after she had her first menstruation.  

Now let’s look at Feudal Japan.

As stated before, the lifespan was around 50 years. In some populations, this was even shorter. Nagaoka, Hirata, Yokota and Matsu’ura’s on demographic data at the Yuigahama-minami area in Kamakura, Japan and found both male and female remains that suggested life expectancy to have ended around age 24-25. This was largely due to living conditions and public health. In areas like these, it would make the most sense to marry and repopulate quickly as the expectancy of life was half the national average at the time.

To my frustration, I could not find a clear marriage age for Japanese women at the time of the edo period. HOWEVER, where there is a will there is a way. I took a look at famous Lords or Daimyo’s of the time. The average age of marriage of their wives was between 12-14. Much younger than I expected, but it made sense considering this is a time where war ran the show and marriage was strictly about political gain. One of these Daimyo’s was Masamune Date, who was also 13, but then as he got older took concubines who became considerably younger than him as he became older. The goal was to have as many children as possible for hires and for political marriages to gain power.

Now lets look at Inuyasha the MANGA

Lets get the manga timeline proper here. The whole adventure took place in 11 months, a month shy of Kagome’s 16th birthday. Doing a few estimations, Rin would have travelled with Sesshomaru about 8-9 of those months. But before we get into the relationship, lets look at something the ANIME made a huge mistake with in the beginning and tried to fix as the story went on.

For some reason I could only fine gifs for the Early appearances of Sesshomaru so bear with me.

Early appearances in the manga

 ^ He was so fickle and a trickster then...

Now early apperances in the anime.

Later appearance in the manga

Laster appearance in the anime

Notice the issue here? 

Sesshomaru was CONSIDERABLY younger looking in the start of the manga. In the anime, he started off looking like an fully adult male. But as the anime went on, they tried to make Sesshomaru look younger with subtle changes to his jaw line, eye size, and his height. Yeah, his height had changed. They made him shorter.

While in the manga, we see this young-teen looking demon, slowly mature over 11 months to look like he is in his later teens and by series end, closer to being in his late teens or twenty. Yes, art changes over time, but the anime went a reverse route. I can only guess they spoke to the author of Inuyasha about her ships, as they did Drama CDs, and realized the mistake that was made in making him more mature than he was.

You can’t tell me he doesn’t look closer to his manga self in the final act, because he does.

Since we are on the topic of the anime, lets be clear. The anime timeline and manga timeline are very different. The story in the anime (in the English) suggests that OVER a year has past since Kagome started her journey. They try to fix this in the final act, but it was still so muddled as previous seasons are to be taken as cannon. This could have been due to an translation error in the early production when the anime no longer had anymore manga material to reference. But whatever the case, for English viewers the time the group spent together felt much longer.

So now we come to the heart of the issue.

Because of the mistakes of the anime, a lot of anti-sessrin see the relationship as father daughter. I’ll be honest, watching the anime and solely the anime as a teenager and as an adult (as the manga was on hold for a very long time due to author’s health. I was in college when it finished.), I too thought it was just a father-daughter relationship and Jaken the nanny who got punched all the time. In fact, the English took hard liberties with Kagura, as the English dubs often do with characters, and made it very clear her feelings for the demon lord and Sesshomaru very much recognized them (though he never responded). Even in her death scene, it felt as if he was saying good bye to a friend more than love interest. But who really knows, as there are things that point otherwise.  When another demon mock’s Kagura’s death, Sesshomaru gets super pissy.

The manga did also play with this fact when it came out in English, idk if the wording or message is different in the Japanese. Translation errors happen a lot even in todays releases, look at Kuroshitsuji.  So of course most anti-sessrin’s did not see this coming in Yashahime when Rin was named mother. In fact it felt like a betrayal as we were sure Sesshomaru had no romantic feelings.

Then there was the Kohaku/Rin mashup that was hinted left and right. The English anime, with its overly dramatic and blunt emotions made it appear one way. That in the end the two kids would probably be married. Then the anime as a whole made Sesshomaru older than intended. I can see why and understand how this became a problem.

On the other side of that coin.

If you followed the dub, seen ‘Swords of an Honorable Ruler’ and read the manga… Sesshomaru was not fatherly to Rin at all. In fact, Jaken picked up all of that leg work. Rin worried for Kohaku, but clearly loved Lord Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru cared about Kagura but he almost CRIED when he lost Rin.

We have to remember that Sesshomaru and Rin’s relationship must have been very hard for the demon. While we never see his mental process expect for a few rare times, we have to remember he hated humans. In the movie, he blamed a human for the early death of his father, Sesshomaru killed without mercy. It made sense that he wouldn’t be fatherly to Rin as her just being there should have caused countless inner conflicts. Hell, he even says his father’s weakness was humans, and look who picked up that trait.

Sesshomaru was designed to, someday, walk in his father’s footsteps. So sess/rin, not a surprise. Also when you see it in a historical perspective, Rin having kids around age 15-16, makes sense. In fact you could argue he waited too long for the time period.

We also need to look more at the manga when concerned with Yashahime. 8-9 months is all Rin travelled with him and he was like hold up, and left her at the village because he KNEW she needed to come to her own conclusion. That no matter what she picked he would live with and protect her. Unconditional love on his end. She cannon wise spent YEARS living with humans and MONTHS with Sesshomaru. Again, by manga standards of cannon.

Now I can already hear the screaming about age and what not. Some sources say Sesshomaru is over 900, by the rule of thumb, if we look at anime and movie releases, we have Sesshomaru being over 500 with no define age and Inuyasha around 270 years old being more pinpointed due to the movie. Just by going by ANIME CANNON. Kagome and Inuyasha, you have a 15 year old with a 270 year old man. If you say being pinned to the tree doesn’t count, then you have 220.

Also, here is something very interesting. In the episode where Inuyasha meets the unmother, he tells her, thinking it was his mom, she died when he was very small and we have flash backs later in the series of him being small running from demons. Demons clearly age much slower than humans, even half-demons. Inuyasha can be 270 but mentally and physically be 15, the same logic works for Sesshomaru, who in the manga is not much older than Inuyasha.

In the manga, there wasn’t any grooming, in the anime, there was a ton of mess-ups but no grooming.

Would this fly in todays world? HELL NO! NO, its gross, she’s a kid. Stop.

I know any fanfic I write will lean heavily on the side of father/daughter because that is what I grew up seeing on the screen. I can’t think of Rin as an adult because years of seeing her as a cheerful little girl. It’s like seeing G.O.T Arya about to have sex for the first time in season 8… I remember when she was a kid on the show. It was way to weird and I had to look away until it ended. But that’s my 2021 mentality.

But Inuyasha is not taking place in 2021. Feudal Japan is a whole other era with its own beliefs, morals and way of life. Those who understand this have nothing wrong with them. They just understand history.

Also, just to bang some nails in…

Anyone remember Bleach? Remember the MOST accepted couple was Ichigo and Rukia…. Rukia who was hundreds of years old and Ichigo who was 15… or Ichigo’s mom who was a teenager and his dad also hundreds of years old.

Most of this also boils down to Sesshomaru being a dude. As in reverse roles in animes its accepted and they don’t have the same historical context. Inuyasha is based off of historical context of Feudal Japan.

We need to stop spreading hate. We can’t accept some forms of literature because its European fantasy but bash other fantasy based literature for doing the same thing.

Sure, its weird for those who were use to seeing the father/daughter dynamic. Yes, there are extreme sessrin fans who post really questionable illegal content when they decide to leave Rin as an 8-year-old…

But this wasn’t ever meant to be perverted. The story was meant to make sense on a logical and historical base.

I hope everyone takes the time to read this. I love Inuyasha, I love Sesshomaru. I am just sick of seeing so many people fighting over what should be the revival of a beloved series. While yes, there is still room for sess/rin not being a thing, until it is stated otherwise, why hate each other? This fandom will only lose people by doing this. Calling people names or accusing them of illegal endorsement can hurt someone these days over social media.

Tumblr allows you to block tags. You don’t have to read anything or watch anything you don’t like. We gain nothing from attacking each other but can lose so much by doing so. Fanart, really good fan fiction, friends, ideas, sharing fond memories. Both sides have the right to feel as they feel, but no right in hurting each other.

A fandom is meant to bring people together. Not start a war…

Thank you.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.20402

http://www.italianrenaissanceresources.com/units/unit-2/essays/husbands-and-wives/#:~:text=Marriage%20not%20only%20reflected%20order,to%20ensure%20the%20bride's%20virginity.

https://www.ancient.eu/Canterbury_Tales/

https://www.ancient.eu/article/1424/daily-life-in-medieval-japan/#:~:text=Just%20as%20Japanese%20people%20today,in%20Western%20Europe%2C%20for%20example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_Masamune

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megohime

[ayamadori]

I LOVE COLA LOSERS - HERES WHY

This is a long essay-ish thing that dives a bit into my thoughts about Cola Losers, analysing the two boys dynamic and it's potential for Eduardos characterization. This is in no way linked to the actual real life people involved, but only the cartoon characters.

1. EDUARDO - PRE/POST-LEGACY

Pre-legacy Eduardo (as seen mainly in Hammer & Fail) is the perfect flat mean girls parody character. He comes off though as much more catty than your TV show bully, especially when he is constantly looking for a new way to make fun of Edds crew with his friends Jon and Mark. At the same time, he's still intended to be Edds counterpart - often seen in green and drinking diet cola. This similarity yet also laced with major differences causes ire from Edd, who views him with comedic contempt.

Pre-legacy Eduardo is a good example of Eddsworld constantly using (and sometimes twisting) well-known tropes in fun ways to generate more laughs. The neighbors fills a fun and vital role in the Eddsworld ecosystem.

Legacy however takes him into a different direction. According to the legacy documentary, Paul Ter Voorde had noticed some liking for Eduardo and chose it as a chance to expand on his character. Legacy offers us a way to view Eduardo beyond the intended flatness of his pre-legacy self, opening up a chance for a bit more nuance and depth to be added to him.

2. POWEREDD AND EDUARDOS INSECURITY

PowerEdd is the legacy episode (and probably the episode in the whole series) that focuses on Eduardo the most, especially as he features as the villain. Poweredd in my eyes delves into 2 ways to interpret Eduardos characterization (and his insecurity) here. One i'd like to think of as the "pre-legacy inspired" and the other one as "legacy inspired".

| PRE-LEGACY INSPIRED; This interpretation relies on PowerEdd being a parodic exploration on superhero tropes - Eduardos disproportionate reaction to his "backstory" pokes fun of dramatic villain backstories by making Eduardos motive for his grudge seem like a silly and small thing. The episode itself is seen here as a humorous take on the superpowers trope and fits into that framework. This view relies upon the knowledge of Eduardos role in pre-legacy.

|LEGACY-INSPIRED; This takes Paul Ter Voordes statement of Eduardo into account. PowerEdd could be seen as a genuine attempt at lampshading Eduardos insecurity and his struggle with possible low self esteem. These aspects together create a superiority/inferiority complex of the highest caliber.

Eduardos behavior fits into that idea (seeing as he acts tougher than he is now in contrast to his meeker past self, goes extremely far to protect his pride as to try to destruct the source of his anxiety, makes his peers also act uncharacteristic which fails i.e Jon etc.)

It's a rather well-known phenomena in psychology that the individual who often feels a threat towards their sense of self (and thus security) uses a illusion of a tougher, more intimidating facade in order to feel comfortable with themselves.

The main argument here is that PowerEdd is not making fun of Eduardos superiority/inferiority complex, but rather tries to lampshade it and imply that this seemingly innocous event is not the /major/ cause of his insecurity, but rather the single drop that filled the glass over. Since i dont wanna base too much on assumptions, i wont expand on what these other possible events could be. But in the end, the result is quite obvious; it makes Eduardo go in a constant frenzy to prove himself superior to Edd at all times. He projected all his insecurities into this single event where his artwork came in second place, and the person who won over him.

3. HOW THIS ASPECT IS DEALT WITH

In their final confrontation in Poweredd, Edd questions Eduardos motivation for his actions. Edd (the audience proxy in this case) dont react though with mocking this reason or laughing at it. Edd actually takes it seriously and even apologizes for what he did, realising that the seemingly innocous action ended up being part of something bigger and more harmful.

This fully throws a confused Eduardo off, who had (most likely) been expecting a offensive reaction that'd validate his paranoia. But this doesn't happen. The narrative takes his frustration seriously, which is what i find so interesting and likeable about it. This so large seeming conflict diffuses so quickly because of Edds sincerity, a underexplored yet charming quality about him.

4. EDD IS NOT MUCH OF A THREAT

What made Eduardo waver and change his mind? He reaches the epiphany that Edds way too much of a dumbass to be a threat at all. Eduardo had been trying so hard the whole to prove himself to someone, to /something/ as being the better one. However, the real fool was Eduardo himself.

Edd is the furtherest from a threat that you can imagine. Honestly, he never really intentionally targets Eduardo with malicious intent (definitely prone to teasing though lol), and it's often the result of Eduardos own actions than anything else. Edd mostly minds his own businiess, and is upon a second look a rather sensible guy.

It makes Eduardo feels stupid for misjudging him, and you know he reaches that conclusion since he goes as far as to use up his last bunch of powers to defend Edd.

5. COLA LOSERS (ENCORE)

I felt like i wanted to establish all the points from earlier since they play a significant role to the way i view Edd and Eduardos dynamic. Edds relaxed and casual demeanor contrasts amusingly to Eduardos high-strung, much more neurotic tendencies. This difference makes for a surface-level funny competetive dynamic.

However, Edd is hardly a malicious person. He's not someone who actively tries to taunt Eduardo in a way intended to cause genuine harm. He's a bit silly and stupid, and his taunting of Eduardo is more based in neighbor shenegians rather than anything else. The whole point is that Edd could actually do more positive than negative for Eduardo - he can engage in a rivalry with him, but one that Eduardos actually comfortable with. Especially since by the end of PowerEdd, you can notice Eduardo clearly has nothing against Edd anymore (though still finds him annoying lol).

Something i rarely see mentioned when people talk about these two is that if they got to engage further in Eddsworld minus the grudge, Eduardo could actually make a change for the better and get something better from it. Not to mention, it hardly has to be a full on competition all the time - they could have moments where they're more friendly only to go back to being rivals again.

TDLR: I really love Cola Losers.

[darlingofdots]

Hey Jo! I just read your fic about sex repulsed Harrow, which I liked a lot, it was sweet and so nice. And if you're ok with it, would mind expanding that thought? Like, I thought about this many times reading the books but something about Harrow's explicit desire for the Body told me she wasn't actually that sex-repulsed. Anyway, it's such an interesting take and I'd love to hear more! Thank you, and have a nice day!

Okay first of all, thank you for reading my fic! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wasn’t really sure how to answer this, but importantly this response isn’t really aimed at you, specifically, @ohlynchs, but part of a longer series of thoughts I’ve been having re: asexuality and fandom.

So I wouldn’t say Harrow’s relationship with and concept of the Body is sexual at all; she turns to the Body in moments when she is above all desperate for any kind of comfort, because it is the only “person” around who can provide that in a way Harrow considers safe. When she says “please”, we don’t know what she’s asking for! Sure, it could be sexual, but it could also just be a hug, or a pat on the head. When I think about ace!Harrow, I don’t think of the Body as a manifestation of her sexual desires. It’s also really common, especially when you’re unsure or conflicted about your asexuality, to come up with some kind of hypothetical in which you wouldn’t be but that feels safe, because it’s so far removed from reality that it doesn’t feel like a threat. No matter who or what the Body really is, to Harrow it is first and foremost a hallucination. You could also argue that she could be using sex as a form of self-harm (and the Body is already a manifestation of the time she was fully prepared to kill herself), the way you might get blackout drunk.

Secondly, I’m afraid there’s a running theme in fandom that if you say “this character is ace to me”, you will probably be asked to defend your reading. People are much happier to accept and/or claim a character is gay/bi/etc, often in spite of canon material! There’s absolutely no indication of, for instance, Camilla’s sexuality in the books, but if I’d said “I read Cam as a lesbian”, nobody would question that (in fact, one might argue that it’s a widely accepted reading in the fandom). It’s an unfortunate fact that the reasons people cite as to why they don’t think a character is asexual usually directly echo the way ace people are interrogated about their sexuality all the time: are you sure you’re not just traumatised/repressed/gay/religious? Prove it. You’ve read porn, I saw you kiss someone once, are you sure?

I don’t think that’s what you intended, or that everyone who questions an asexual interpretation is acephobic, not at all! But the effect is just so similar, and it’s so exhausting, especially in light of the rampant acephobia in recent years even within the queer community. Asexuality is complicated, has a lot of different nuances, and differs from person to person. If I say a character feels ace to me and you don’t understand why, or you disagree, that’s fine. I’m not asking you to agree with me. But please consider the effect your words might have. Please ask yourself if you would question a different interpretation the same way. There’s little enough representation for us as it is, and we constantly have to explain ourselves in real life already; don’t make us defend why we see ourselves in a character too.

[lesbiancarat]

Haha its fine! Im book anon for a reason so take all the time you need! Before I start, I wanna apologize for the possible asks you got about the merch and hybe in general. I didn't intend to cause stress and need to be careful bdjahdsj so slap me with a fish!

Onto the ask! But agreed, I mean before the big kpop boom we saw, this was very common. Build a decent fanbase and then move to Japan or China. (Of course sometimes you see INSTANT movement in other countries but that depends on the company and such but you know what I mean) but since we do have the more global kpop era, we may see more companies do America which isn't a bad thing. It makes sense buisness wise so they will jump on it after debut or something. Thus I don't see it a bad thing for kpop groups to promote in America because hey, if in Korea they do sell western artist music who also tour there, kpop groups can also do the same ya know?

Now onto the hybe comment, I will try not to speak too much on it so I will try to summarize. I think my theory is due with merch from their main artist, they think maybe it could work with svt which maybe could but svt has a different fanbase so throwing on random merch won't make fans really want to buy (not saying some won't which kudos to you! As a fan you are allowed to consume what you please except not be a bad apple about it) so thus like the infamous water bottles which was done for bts, they thought why not do it for svt because bts fans sold it out apparently for a 2nd wave of it being sold again. (Which to this day idk why someone in the hybe team thought this was smart. Like...this is just in bad taste imo) I do wanna agree that it appears that hybe doesn't seem to have a proper art team for svt because while sometimes wild, I do know for their main artist they do have thoughtful merch based around say an album concept I recall. Kf course they will make mistakes i.e. the water bottles. I do wish it can improve because even though it is capitalism, I think fans do want decent merch. We have seen interesting ideas like svt making their own magazine and selling it lol. Of course it is hard to please because some fans want subtle merch ideas while others don't mind the vibrant pastel colors we got or some want wild ideas like svt figurines or something. Overall I hope I didn't drag this too much as I just wanted to respond back to you, I agree with many points you said so yeah cx I say let's also wait as this is barely what, a year or even less of svt being under hybe properly. Especially when hybe had its rebranding and expanding so things are being changed, I know fans are worried about this which is valid but let's not panic just yet. Let's come back in a year to this and see what has improved and what hasn't. (OK but peldis sold the boys rings!? :o since when!? I haven't heard of this actually, when did this happen if I may ask?)

Oof yeah sadly with streaming, many view "oh you don't stream it means you aren't a fan" when isn't the case (which is why I personally don't like when certain companies also do "listening parties" which seems a bit ???) I do remember this popped up big in 2017 but many fans called it out so it quiet down a bit. Like we didn't see it so often where fans were causing problems over it so idk why this returned nor what the cause of it was.

But thank you!! It really was a nice closing chapter, I think when I have personal stuff settled I will try maybe get a new bunny? And oohh congrats on the album! (Note to hybe or pledis. Please make the us store a more common thing, it makes things so much easier! Am happy it was at your place quick so kudos to the us store. Oohh wonderful choices! I think for many fans anyone or heaven's cloud seems to be the popular picks? For me, I may have to say game boi or heaven's cloud as well! Those songs make me just so happy? Like game boy is just so creative with the way it was made. As a video game nerd, it is perfection. I could make an essay about this song lol and heaven's cloud is just...wow. I feel so at ease with the song, comfortable and soothed. Like you are on a cloud lol. Also that is totally fine! Rtl was a grower for me (I blame the mv, it didn't do the song jusitice) but it is a bop and can't stop humming the chorus at random moments. Overall a great summer album. Just imagine any of these songs performed live ndjansns

lol don't feel too bad about it! honestly they weren't that bad + i can always delete asks if i really don't want to answer them, i just always get a bit paranoid that things will get out of hand so i may end up getting more serious in those situations OTL

and yeah i agree! i don't think it's a bad thing for groups to promote in the US, as you said, it's similar to groups expanding their fanbase by promoting in china or Japan or other asian counties, it makes sense from a business standpoint and there's nothing wrong with promoting in different countries. i just wish that some kpop stans understood that western and/or global popularity is a bonus and not a requirement for success. while they do have a global appeal, at the end of the day kpop's main audience is korea, and groups that achieve popularity in Korea have already achieved what they set out to do. but there's unfortunately a decent chunk of international fans that prioritize western popularity over anything and can't fathom that a group can be successful without being popular in the US. or they just talk as if their groups western achievements are more valuable than their Korean ones and to me that starts to look like xenophobia... (sorry if I'm repeating anything i said before in regards to this, i feel like i am but I'm too lazy to go back and check OTL)

since you sent this ask hybe released the caratland merch which was actually really nice, and today they also announced that there will be birthday merch for cheol (and presumably all members from here on out). we don't know what the bday merch is yet but some carats are already a bit miffed that hybe is even thinking to capitalize off the boys' birthdays... i bring both of these up bc i feel like the caratland merch proves your point that hybe is capable of designing good and thoughtful merch, and honestly this does reassure me a bit. but on the other hand them trying to capitalize off the boys' birthdays also proves that they still don't fully understand carats wants and priorities as a fanbase. which, if the future of seventeens merch is gonna be quality merch with some shitty cash grabs in between, i can live with that. I'm not gonna like the shitty cash grabs and i think it would be in our best interest as a fandom to not go crazy buying those shitty cash grabs, because if we don't then hybe will hopefully stop wasting their time and put more effort into /quality/. but if we get quality merch for important events like concerts and fanmeetings, i can live with it. as you said too, it can take time for these things to change, and we should all recognize that. but at the same time merch specifically is market driven, so i don't think it's a bad thing if people like @ hybe on twt about any bad merch that comes out in order to drive that change dhfkfj

but also on a maybe more fun note in regards to the merch... with some carats being upset about the bday merch i was thinking about what hybe could do for merch instead that would fill the niche of being at intervals throughout the year that could still be limited time drops but that carats wouldn't be mad at them capitalizing on and then i was like duh! they could literally just make merch off of going seventeen! honestly I'm surprised they haven't yet. maybe not merch for every episode, but they could have a line of permanent gose merch w a basic logo or something and then release limited time merch themed around some of the more popular episodes at various points during the year. I'm actually kind of obsessed with this idea now and for once I'm like hybe/pledis please capitalize off of this!! dhfkgjg

they never actually sold them, but for seventeens 3rd anniversary, pledis planned to sell replicas of seventeens rings. after it was announced carats were understandably upset since the boys worked so hard for those. luckily pledis heard carats concerns and put out an apology and didn't manufacture them in the end. I'm glad that at least they listened to carats even though it would have been better if they had never considered the idea in the first place :(

oh yeah listening parties are definitely just another marketing technique to boost streams. i think like with a lot of marketing techniques, it just depends on the execution. imo if they're done well it can be a good way for fans to connect while listening to an artists music, which is mutually beneficial for the company, but i can totally see a situation where companies get greedy and push it too hard. i don't know anything about what happened with them back in the day, but if you're curious why SVT had listening parties leading up to your choice, they were set up by UMG, the American distributor that SVT worked with for this cb. in this case the listening parties weren't just for boosting streams, but also likely for UMG to gauge interest. SVT isn't officially signed to a US label yet, but UMG's data from the listening parties could be used to show US labels whether or not there's enough interest for them to be signed. which if that happens we'd almost definitely see a more permanent US shop!

ahh yes, once you're ready I'm sure it would be great to have another bunny companion 🥺

yes! heavens cloud and gam3 bo1 are both such feel good songs! my sister actually added heavens cloud to their Spotify after i made them listen to the album in the car dhfkf it's now one of 6 kpop songs they have saved (4 of which are SVT... my influence 💅 DHFJFH) I'm certain we'll see some of the songs from your choice at caratland this year, hopefully it's all of them but I'd especially like to see heavens cloud and wave 👀 I'm also still crossing my fingers for an i wish live performance bc i can't believe my favorite SVT b-side is one of the TWO tracks they haven't performed live not including the new album (the other one being network love, which i would also like to see live!)

[talesfromthepayload]

The Fall Part Two

A/N: Did I get totally distracted and let this take over my life? Yes, I did. Do I regret it? Only a little bit. Also, the reader’s intended age for the purpose of this fic is 23 at the start. (So yeah, there’s a bit of an age difference, but this is also me being entirely self indulgent.) This chapter is kind of heavily focused on Gabriel, but don’t worry the other two will be very involved coming up. 

Gabriel Reyes did not make decisions lightly.

Despite the fact that they seemed often impulsive or lacking certain forethought, he knew what he was doing, and he was confident doing it. Hiring you was not a mistake.

Jack had called him and Gérard in a few days prior to discuss your onboarding. He, too, had been intrigued by what you had to offer, but he’d been hesitant. They’d found an issue while reviewing your history, and it’d become clear that your file had been tampered with. If Gabriel had to wager a guess, he’d say you did it.

So, Jack hesitated. He wanted to dig around more, try and see why it needed to be tampered with to begin with. But Gabriel wasn’t going to let your potential go. He needed Blackwatch agents, had for a while, but those with the potential were few and far between.

He knew Jack was going to be pissed when he realized what he’d done, but he couldn’t quite find it in himself to be sorry. His intuition hasn’t failed him yet.

He leaned back with his feet on his desk, watching the security feed. He didn’t give you any information, a final test to see if you were as good as he thought you were.

Genji and McCree had tried to convince him to spar this morning, but he wasn’t passing up the opportunity of watching you walk through those doors.

It was seven o’clock on the dot when he saw your familiar figure. You were dressed in all black, a jumpsuit tailored specifically to that suit of armor you had built it seemed. It clung to you like a second skin, and had a deep v-neck in the front. There was a briefcase in one hand that helped you blend in with some of the higher ups.

Reyes knew the minute he saw you he was going to have one hell of a time keeping McCree away. The boy flirted with anything with a pulse. You were young, far too young for any of them to be looking at you, and pretty.

Maybe he was being selfish by bringing you to Blackwatch. They were all jaded and scarred, and you looked like you’d fit perfectly in Angela’s Valkyrie suit.

Still, a certain amount of pride swelled in his chest as he watched you navigate through the wide expanse of the Swiss base. There was no hiccup in your step, nothing suggesting you were anywhere you shouldn’t be.

You were even swiping into rooms that should’ve been entirely out of access for you, yet that didn’t stop you. It was mesmerizing, to be quite honest, the way you walked through crowds like you had every right to be there.

You didn’t stop until you were in the hallway outside of his office, and he sat up straighter to greet you. However, you paused, taking a moment to look up at the camera. Your eyes met his through the screen, and there was a pleased smile on your lips.

He echoed the gesture, letting out a few breathy laughs, before a knock sounded at his door. You didn’t wait for him to answer, instead walking through the threshold with the same confidence you had throughout the base.

“You need better security,” you commented.

Gabriel walked around his desk so that there was nothing but a few feet of air between the both of you.

“There are very few people who could do what you just did,” he said, shrugging one shoulder.

Your lips were pulled in amusement but you didn’t offer anything more on the subject. You laid your briefcase to rest nearby, and he couldn’t help but wonder what was in there or if it was just for show.

“Blackwatch, huh?” Your eyes darted around the room before they settled on him.

He found himself unconsciously standing straighter and puffing his chest out.

“Overwatch didn’t strike me as the type to have secret divisions,” you admitted, taking a few steps closer to him. “And boy do you get into some trouble.”

There was something distinctly playful in your gaze, and Gabriel thought it was more charming than anything. He’d never been a stickler for the rules like Jack, thus his relationship with the agents under him was a little more lax. You were blatantly flirting though, and he found it absolutely amusing.

He realized right then and there that putting you and McCree in the same room was a recipe for disaster.

“I’d say you do too, but I can’t be sure with that fake file you sent us.”

It was a callout- a challenge, really, and boy did you rise to it.

“We all have secrets, Gabriel,” you shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing to the door. “Like hiring me without consulting the Strike Commander.”

As if on queue, Jack shoved the door out of his way. Ana was close on his heels, like she was trying to temper the storm. Genji had followed them in, obviously drawn to the commotion. Gabriel knew that McCree had wandered off, not bothering to stick around if he didn’t need to. You had a quirked brow, and despite the anger of his oldest friend, he couldn’t be drawn away from the small smirk on your lips.

“Gabriel I told you to-”

He stopped short, his loud voice deafening instantly as he noticed your presence.

He was taken aback, just for a moment, though Gabriel recognized the look in Jack’s eyes. Yeah, he may have also wanted you on Blackwatch because he knew that Jack had a type, and you were most definitely his type. Intelligent, good looking, quick witted, and frustratingly optimistic- he knew that, even if it was done unconsciously, Jack would want you under his command because of it. That and the fact that he’d seen Jack spend hours reading about the work you’d done like it was the damn gospel.

“Don’t stop on my account,” you giggled, holding your hands up in surrender.

The Strike Commander blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Ana cleared her throat, shooing away Genji and shutting the door behind him, leaving the four of you alone in his office. The anger on Jack’s face was lessening, and his exterior was becoming more fitting of his title.

“Apologies, I didn’t realize you were here already.” His voice was tight, and he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Gabriel was leaning back, looking for all the world like he could care less about what was transpiring. In reality, he was very interested in how the esteemed Strike Commander would act.

“I figured,” you nodded your head in Gabriel’s direction, “Someone’s not very forthcoming with information.”

His expression didn’t show an ounce of regret. If anything, his lack of telling you important information further proved how much his team could use you.

Jack bit his tongue, and Ana piped up to fill the silence.

“You know, Jack, I think Gabriel might be right on this one.”

You sent a warm look towards Ana, and it brought a smile to his face. Ana had always had a motherly attitude about her, it made people gravitate towards her.

“I know,” Jack sighed, running a hand through his blonde- slightly greying- hair, before holding it out to you.

You took it without hesitation, shaking firmly.

“I’m Jack Morrison,” he introduced himself, gesturing to the woman behind him. “This is Captain Ana Amari, though I’ve heard you’ve already met. And that is-”

“We’ve had introductions already,” Gabriel assured him, unable to help but add on: “I hope Genji didn’t make too much of a mess.”

You shrugged, walking past him with the same confidence you had making your way there in the first place.

“I figured now that we’re all friendly we can talk about my stolen research.”

You didn’t waste any time. Gabriel moved to watch from over your shoulder when you started typing on his computer. He was a bit miffed you hadn’t even asked him, but thoroughly impressed when three beeps sounded, alerting to the others in the room that you had successfully logged on.

“What was the research on?” Jack asked. “I’ve been reviewing your other projects, but I’m assuming you kept the one Talon stole private.”

“You assume correctly,” you smiled, looking up to shoot him a wink before going back to whatever it was you were doing.

Gabriel didn’t miss the small blush that colored Jack’s cheeks.

“IPI,” you said, pressing a couple of buttons on your watch. “Access file 07129.”

“Accessing,” a robotic voice replied.

You pinched your fingers together above your watch, before expanding them. As you did so, a holographic projection jumped to life around you. Gabriel couldn’t be too sure of what he was looking at, but it resembled the watch you wore around your wrist.

“What is it?” He finally questioned.

You puffed out a breath.

“Well, it was the first trial of my experiment.” You explained, spinning the hologram so that they could see all of the angles. “When I was a kid I wanted to save my mom. There wasn’t anything I could do realistically, so I started looking at the impossible.”

You came around Gabriel’s desk to lean gently against the front.

“Two years ago I had my first major breakthrough with temporal manipulation. I used chronal acceleration to propel an object forward in time, though just by a few seconds.”

You fiddled with your watch.

“Further experimentation and research brought me to a final conclusion. Three weeks ago I solved the mystery of time travel.”

Whatever Gabriel had been expecting, it had not been that. It didn’t sound real. There was no way somebody could just travel through time, was there?

“It took a lot of time. I had to input different equations and study the theory itself, but if they decode my work they’re going to have a fully fledged time machine on their hands and the whole of history to mess with.”

The friends shot each other looks as the room petered off into quiet once more. There was an uneasy air about, and Gabriel shifted his stance.

“Let’s get to work finding it then,” Jack finally stated, a hand moving towards the communicator by his ear.

You didn’t give him a chance to continue.

“Already done,” you exclaimed. “Atleast, potential hits.”

You fiddled with the holographic interface in front of you, lines of code swirling around your person.

“I’ve cross referenced the file number I originally gave the design through every major international database, as well as a few minor ones that have had previous ties to Talon. Most of the searches came up empty, but I did find a repeat of the word ‘chronos’ in the few encryptions I could find.”

“So they named it,” Reyes realized.

The grin you gave him was dazzling and wide.

“Project chronos got a lot more hits, though the information was scattered. You see, Talon doesn’t use its own mainframe for most of their work. They encrypt data into other locations and spread them out at seemingly random, so it’s difficult to follow.”

“But you followed it?” Jack inquired, a small smile tugging on his lips. It was obvious he was more than impressed.

“Sort of,” you conceded, “Like I said, it’s exceedingly difficult to track, but I managed to narrow down the locations.”

Jack and Ana shared a look, before he leveled you with that proud commander smile he’d nearly perfected.

“Good work, soldier. Send the coordinates and we’ll get recon teams there as soon as possible.”

With a swipe of your hand, the holographic images disappeared.

“Better yet, I’ll bring you there.”

Gabriel frowned at the sudden fall in Jack’s expression. He knew that Jack wouldn’t be letting you out into the field anytime soon. It wasn’t protocol, and Jack had enough people breathing down his neck.

“You still have to finish your basic training,” Ana said softly, taking a step forward.

You furrowed your brows.

“I can finish it later.” You assured them. “This is a hell of a lot more pressing.”

Jack shook his head, trying for a more gentle approach.

“We can’t let agents into the field who haven’t finished their initial training.”

“But this is my research…”

Your eyes were pleading with the two of them. Ana looked stern, but Jack couldn’t maintain eye contact. It was clear he wanted you on the mission too, if only because you knew what you were doing. 

“We’ll send a recon team, and if you finish your basic training quickly enough, you can be a part of the strike team.”

Gabriel made the decision for them, and though you didn’t seem entirely satisfied, the answer still had you nodding. Jack gave him a look, one that told him they’d be having a long discussion later on, and turned his attention back to you.

“You’ll be reporting to me for your training.”

Gabriel wondered why he was keen on training you himself. He didn’t personally train recruits anymore- hadn’t for a while.

“As for Blackwatch,” Jack leveled Gabriel with a hard stare. “Gabriel will handle any additional training.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgement, letting the man know he understood. Jack was leaving your combat skills mostly to Gabriel. 

Jack turned his back to where you stood, effectively ending the conversation. He only made it as  far as the door before he stopped himself short.

“I did want to ask,” he began, “Why the fake documents?”

One hip was propped forward, and you looked as comfortable as could be. Your smile was a fair bit mischievous as you stretched languidly.

“I can’t show my hand before you’ve shown yours.”

Ana hid her smirk.

“Right,” Morrison affirmed, stomping away with the same confidence and authority he always wielded.

Ana was quick to follow, though her steps were quieter.

A tenseness settled in the air with them gone, and Gabriel didn’t dare to be the first to interrupt it. You were idly tapping your fingers on his desk, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, after a few moments, you pulled yourself from your own thoughts.

“So,” you drawled, siddling on up to him with your brightest, most friendly smile. “When’s the tour?”

Gabriel fought the twitch of his lips, instead giving you a deadpan look.

“Training starts now.”

It was a statement you barely had time to register before his fist was flying out. You dodged it narrowly, taking a few steps back to find a proper fighting stance.

“You sure are violent,” you muttered.

He didn’t offer a verbal response, instead going for a second strike. When you moved to avoid the attack, he changed tactics last minute, forcing you to the ground. The floor was cold and hard, leaving your back arched at the sudden sensation.

“Okay, not cool.”

“Sloppy,” Gabriel tsked from above, looking like he put no effort into taking you down.

The anger that morphed onto your face reminded him of a cat getting ready to retract its claws. Cute was a word that came to mind, though he didn’t dare say it out loud for fear of pissing you off more.

You rolled out of his reach before jumping back to your feet. Your movements were quick, but unpracticed. You definitely would be able to hold your own against your regular run of the mill civilians, but he was sure you’d need far more practice before you could start taking on fully trained soldiers.

Your eyes were calculating, and he found it a bit unnerving how you seemed to be reading him. From what he’d seen already, and what he’d found in your file, you were a genius. God only knows what you’d found on him already.

He didn’t move a muscle as you approached slowly, cautiously. His stance was firm, and he was ready to go back on the offensive should you decide for an impromptu attack. Still, he watched your body grow closer with a raised brow. Your movements were poised, an elegance not suited for a soldier.

His heart thumping wildly in his chest was the only noise as you leaned up to your tiptoes, keeping less than an inch away from his body. His fingers twitched, and he was idly aware of just how pretty you were. Dangerous was the word his mind supplied. Too pretty and young to keep his mind on more pure thoughts, and it had been so very long since he’d given into more carnal desires.

“You lose,” you whispered, the words kissing his ear, forcing a shiver down his spine.

Your proximity stuttered his system, and it took far longer than normal for him to realize what you’d said.

A questioning hum vibrated in his chest.

You pulled back the smallest bit, a wicked smile on your glossy lips that spoke of a danger he didn’t dare name. Being the devilish little thing you were, you winked, and nodded your head to something just behind him.

He tore his eyes from you, only to be met with the glowing stare of your suit of armor. It had the arm raised, the repulsor beam charged and ready to fire at a moment’s notice. How it’d managed to sneak up on him, he couldn’t be sure, but a frown pulled at his lips.

“That’s cheating.”

His voice was low enough to be a growl. He hoped you could hear the disappointment in it. (Though, if he were being completely honest, he was more disappointed in himself.)

You laughed, a light, melodic sound compared to the normal gruff voices that lingered through the halls of Blackwatch.

“Well, this is not what I expected,” a voice drawled lazily from the doorway.

Gabriel wanted to curse at McCree, but he held his tongue and glared at him instead.

“I think Clint Eastwood got lost,” you mock whispered to the commander.

His frown deepened in an effort to avoid smiling. You either didn’t notice or didn’t care, moving away to properly greet the new arrival.

“Jesse McCree,” Jesse tipped his hat, all charming smiles and vexatious eyes. Even the introduction of his name was a flirt.

“(Y/N),” you replied in kind, and Gabriel didn’t care for the way your name rolled from your tongue. It had far too many implications for one word.

“Pleasure, darlin’.” His voice was smoother than honey.

Gabriel cleared his throat, hoping to draw some attention away from the flirty cowboy and back to the mission at hand.

“I don’t doubt it,” you chuckled gently, eying him up and down before you turned back towards the commander.

“Don’t you have a sparring session to finish, McCree?” The commander bit out, crossing his arms over his chest.

His expression was nothing but intimidation, and the cowboy didn’t look the slightest bit perturbed.

“I was looking for something more interesting to do,” he explained with a shrug. “Looks like I found her.”

You puffed out a breath.

“That one usually work for you?”

“McCree,” Gabriel’s voice was venomous, and despite the cool facade on the younger agent’s face, he knew when pushing his commander was taken too far.

“Right,” Jesse inclined his head, “I’ll be off, but feel free to visit me anytime, sweetheart.”

Gabriel didn’t care to hide the annoyance on his features at the smile you had on yours. Despite McCree’s swift exit, you hadn’t made an effort to turn from where he was standing.

“You sure do have some characters,” you finally said, breaking the silence.

Gabriel blamed his anger on the interruption and useless chatter. Though, maybe it was because of the way your attention shifted so easily to whoever demanded it.

“The suit,” he gruffed, throwing an accusatory thumb to where it stood ready for an attack behind him.

The gun metal grey exterior was sleek, and the body looked almost identical to an outline of your own. Blue lights lined the feet and arms, and despite the flashy look, he knew they held purpose. Clearly, this could house you if you so chose it to. 

“The original,” you said, pressing something on the screen of your watch.

The suit operated almost like an omnic would, though he knew there was no consciousness about it. The lights flickered off, and he watched with interest as the suit disassembled itself, until nothing was left but an unsuspecting briefcase. If he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes, he probably wouldn’t have believed it.

“It’s not as high tech as the newer models, but it certainly does in a pinch.”

“And you made that?” He asked for confirmation, in genuine awe of your capabilities.

“Nearly eighteen months ago now,” you smiled, though unlike the teasing or mischievous ones, this one was genuine. “If you think that’s cool wait until you see the rest of them.”

He nodded his head in the direction of the door.

“I think it’s time I take you on that tour,” he declared, picking the briefcase off the ground and handing it back to you. “There’s a few people you might be interested in meeting, and a few places I think you’ll enjoy.”

Your fingers brushed his as you took a hold of your briefcase. The contact was fleeting, but warm.

“Lead the way.”

[piccolina-mina]

Hi, im the anon wondering about which character is the favorite. Tbh i was just curious, but i understand how that could create drama 😅 my bad. Youre probably thinking im from the rnm fandom and you would be right. I had a hunch of which character it was, but i wasnt positive. I dont really see them playing favorites in terms of writing but that might just be because the favorite character is also my favorite character. I was curious as to your opinion but I understand if you dont wanna answer

I think narratively the show favors Michael. The writers openly discuss how much they love writing for him. He's everyone's favorite. He's Carina's favorite. He's a fan favorite. And that is fine.

But I do think there are some days when it's so blatant that it's a clear flaw on the part of those creating the narrative. There are many layers to this too, some more disconcerting then others, but I'll stick to the narrative.

The fact that I (and others I'm sure) don't actually have to mention his name and people automatically know sort of proves the point.

And it's not a slight against his character or the actor, and it's not to suggest that his storylines aren't enjoyable either. Case in point, personally, I think he and Alex are having the strongest personal arcs out of everyone this season.

But then, that isn't exactly surprising is it?

More often than not, I feel like it's Liz's story in name only, but consistent, deep, gritty, well thought out etc storytelling falls on Michael. I can see and feel all the time and energy dedicated to this specific character.

That's cool, but when you have an ensemble cast, the hope is that it's spread out a bit better. The first season is testing the waters. The second season gives you a better idea of how things are and will be now that there is a rhythm.

In the second season, Liz, our lead, has gotten lost and swallowed up in the plot. Jeanine is great and has some shining moments, but she doesn't exactly have her own personal story that isn't wrapped up in alien stuff. This is where it's frustrating that ... we don't spend a lot of time with the Ortechos, something they've attempted to rectify a bit this season, but it's still mostly unsuccessful.

This is where her arc with Rosa has not been as strong as it should be and got lost in Liz trying to bring Max back. This is where I repeatedly point out the lack of focus on her relationships outside of the pod squad. Her friendships with Maria and Alex suffer a great deal and honestly with Kyle as well.

This is where all things alien consume her, and she doesn't seemingly have a life or rather chooses to expend any focus to a life outside of the pod squad and their issues.

And this is where because of all her energy being put into such a narrow focus on solely alien issues often at the expense of every other facet of her life, she often feels decentralized from her own narrative.

But we have Michael, and I do think one of many reasons he's such a favorite is because of all the focus he gets and how well-rounded and developed he is compared to the others. I mean if that's the character everyone pours everything into ... then yeah, he would be the favorite, yeah?

He's fun to play with, the witty oneliners, the bad boy with a heart of gold, the misunderstood tragic not a hero but really a hero, the lovable jackass, the endearing "screwup" so on and so forth. He's wrapped up in a bow, the catnip of all the most endearing tropes.

And they love peeling back layers for him and developing him and expanding on his background and characterization carefully and thoughtfully.

And that's awesome and enjoyable even, but when you have an ensemble cast and it doesn't begin to be spread about evenly, then it's a reasonable nitpick.

I feel like we have a better grasp on his past than any other character. He naturally was the one who wanted to go back home, but almost all of the past alien history and folklore has essentially centered him or involved him more so than Isobel and Max.

He's the one who heads to and finds out about Caulfield. He's the one who sees his mother and where the aliens were held. He's the one who watches her die in front of him. He's the one who continued to be tied into that plot while they hand waved why Max and Isobel weren't interested in learning more when they dropped enough breadcrumbs to support why they should be.

Until this season, until very recently with Isobel, everything related to their origins fell on him, he is the face of the pod squad being invested in finding out about their history. It then ties in with his tragic backstory as the foster kid who never had nor felt "home."

By spending a season and a half essentially centering him alone in a narrative that should involve all of them, it seemingly made it his plot. And that's BEFORE we even get to these recent revelations with Sanders and this implication that Michael was "the special one" not Max (which the mere idea of a special one at all was not and has not been something I particularly care to subscribe to in the first place), so it's doubling down and solidifying something they didn't need to emphasize this much.

The alien past has always felt like Michael's story and Max and Isobel are just hitching a ride. The many ways it was only tied to Michael makes it that way. It was Michael that Jesse had a file on.

It's Michael whose first love is a product of the Manes Project Shepherd element. It's Michael who gets that conflict with Alex.

The Valentis have just as much ties to that as the Manes and yet that angle is barely explored or used to add an extra layer to the tension between Max and Kyle for example.

It was just barely used to flesh out Kyle during the first season, and then seemingly dropped altogether this season when he should have just as much claim in this narrative as all three pod squad members and Alex.

Ironically, this is a big disservice to Isobel. And this is where this exclusive focus on pouring so much into one character comes at the expense of others.

Isobel, people like her and all, but when I look at the actual narrative and her place in it, if not for the fact that she's an alien, she's not a character with much purpose, and that's a huge problem.

Because narratively, outside of being used as a victim, they honest to goodness don't know what to do with her. They barely invested enough in her character to give her a fully formed, consistent personality. There's no real pull there. And as the only female alien, they could have done so much more beyond being a vessel for Noah and an abortion storyline where the only point was to make a statement about women and reproductive rights that didn't land as intended because of Isobel's privileges and access.

Max benefits from being the co-lead and being part of the primary love story. And then of course there is the eternal and patently unfair and imbalanced fraternal angst that ALSO is more often than not used to serve Michael's storyline and development.

It's about Michael working through his resentment. It's about Michael's abandonment issues. It's about Michael's battle with self worth. And 2.05 was about Michael realizing how much his brother always loved him. And him growing from that realization. And him saving his brother.

Just like now, it's about Michael protecting Max and "suffering" for it. It's about Michael being a dark horse martyr and sin eater for his siblings after taking the blame for killing the girls from Isobel and now damning himself to a screwed up life on Max's behalf.

The weight of the revelations geared toward Michael. The Sanders connection was significant and that was ushered in through his connection to Michael.

In the same vein we found out Michelle Valenti has what should be an equally as impactful and longstanding connection with Max ... but did it carry the same weight as Michael and Sanders at all even though those respective relationships have run neck in neck throughout the series? No.

We know Maria was sidelined all first season. This season most of what they've given us feels performative to address the concerns people had because of how things are handled ... with her splitting redundant narratives with side characters, having things happen offscreen, or shuffled to a side, or left on the editing floor.

And her biggest relationship all season is? Michael.

Kyle is getting sidelined this season. There's so much we don't know and could about him. His love interest storyline also feels performative and perfunctory... they didn't invest in it at all. It was like going through the motions.

Rosa's storyline hasn't exactly taken off as you'd have expected given the circumstances. And they just jumped around with key and crucial character building and meaningful moments with that too. They sailed right on past the Maria and Arturo reveals without letting them breathe. Almost like they just didn't have any strong interest in doing much outside of hitting the necessary notes: tell Maria, reunion with Arturo, save Max, overdose.

Liz's core relationships are all over the place. Maria, Arturo, Rosa, Alex, Kyle ... not enough investment in them. Not enough digging deep into them. Not enough exploration. While Max was gone most of the season. And she worked with and provided support to Michael and Isobel, hung out with Cam, but continuously neglects the aforementioned others who should matter.

But Michael's core relationships have layers and stay intact ( Max, Isobel, Alex, and Maria) and he gets substance with other ones ... Kyle ... Sanders ...

So yeah, nothing wrong with having favorites. And if that person is your favorite then maybe it's easier not to care or think too hard about it or whatever.

But the reason I dislike when you can tell when one character is a favorite is because of how it affects the narrative overall.

It seriously impacts the storytelling. It's like writing entire chunks around a character and this specific position you want them instead of writing the story and weaving in the character.

It can take me out of a piece when I can tell the objective is to get to a precise moment with a specific character. When I can tell that some of the writing is obligatory and then "the real fun" happens with X.

It's like stuffing your face with all of your vegetables because you have to in order to get to that ice cream Sundae. Like "if I get through A-W then my reward will be Z."

This is me coming from an objective viewpoint because I can separate when analyzing. I have actually enjoyed Michael a lot this season. He and Alex have had the best character growth this season, in my opinion, and I really love that.

But this is also a glaring issue, and I hate when favoritism bleeds into a series, especially an ensemble cast when it leads to issues with the storytelling.

And despite my enjoyment, that's what I feel is happening here a lot.

It certainly isn't the first and only show I've noticed this with. And yeah, I've even made these same observations and criticisms when it's my favorite character too.

It's the same on another series I watch with one of my favorite characters, and it's so frustrating except in that case, it's a character who can do no wrong even when they're wrong, and ... that's a whole other discussion.

But yeah. I don't expect agreement with this. It's probably one of those unpopular opinions or hot takes that can definitely bug people, especially those whose favorite character is Michael.

But this is my observation and why I feel that like him or not, storytelling suffers, is predictable, or underwhelming, or annoying, or jarring when you can sense the obsession and favoritism.

[josefavomjaaga]

Helfert, Joachim Murat, Chapter 7

Helfert adds a brief last chapter about what happened after Murat’s death; it is more of an epilogue, actually.

7. Murat's Heirs.

The Prince of Canosa was in Castrovillari on October 14 when news arrived from Pizzo that all was over, whereupon he changed his mind and returned to Naples. At court, too, the outcome was already known. On the evening of the 14th, the news was telegraphed to the king, who immediately went to Princess Partanna, where Count Mocenigo was visiting. Through the latter, who visited our envoy in his theatre box, Jablonovski heard about it the same evening. The next morning Circello issued a circular to the foreign legations with a brief announcement of the event, the details of which were not yet known. The news caused almost undivided consternation in these circles, but this did not prevent Ferdinand IV from holding a ball at his Favorita that same evening, as he regularly did every Sunday, and from discussing the catastrophe of Pizzo with the foreign diplomats to the cheerful sounds of music and lively dances. Truly, the peasant's son from Bastide-Fortunière had, when he was informed of the death of his mortal enemy Maria Karolina in the distant Hegendorf, shown more tact and royal decency than the purple-blooded Ferdinand at the news of his chivalrous adversary's sad end. On the 17th, Luigi de' Medici, in his capacity as temporary Minister of Police, gave a detailed report on the course of events of Murat's enterprise and on the reasons for the sentence passed against him, excerpts of which were reported to the public two days later in the government newspaper.

Around the same time, the king received an address of homage and devotion from the citizens and another from the cathedral chapter of Pizzo. They received everything they asked for and could only wish for. The town of Pizzo was given the title of "most faithful", its syndici, elected and deputies were awarded a golden medal - obverse: bust of Ferdinand, reverse: "Ob egregiam urbis Pitii fidelitatem; postridie nonas octobris MDCCCXV" - for ever. The municipality was granted freedom from all taxes and consumption duties for now and forever, its inhabitants were to be supplied with the salt they needed, and its unfinished cathedral was to be expanded at royal expense. Finally, it was decided to erect a monument at the place where Murat had been overcome and captured, which would bear witness to the event and the royal favours attached to it for posterity.

Ferdinand was not entirely without concern as to what friendly courts would say to his having taken such a decisive step without first consulting their representatives. The King and his First Minister thought they had all the more reason to be uneasy about this point, as both Jablonovski and Mocenigo made somewhat long faces, and thought their cabinets would not easily get over this disregard. The Russian envoy in particular, wherever the event was mentioned, spoke in such an intemperate manner that the King was seriously displeased. Only A'Court spoke in just the opposite sense: The case of Murat was so glaring that the proceedings of the court were completely justified; he was convinced that his cabinet would agree with him. Jablonovski, too, had to admit on the whole that Ferdinand could not have acted otherwise; that the armed invasion and the expressed intention of dethroning the king and revolutionising the country demanded strict and swift justice; he was convinced that if Ferdinand, in order to await the consent of the allied powers, had allowed his prisoner to be taken into the interior of the country, the Muratists would have mustered all their forces, would have set in motion all means to arouse an insurrection in their favour and, in any case, would have involved and exposed a multitude of persons, since, on the other hand, all further mischief was now prevented by the death of one man.... .. Nevertheless, Jablonovski, at least it seemed, was not sure how the Allies would judge the event, shrugged his shoulders at Circello, did not conceal his fears from the King that such a hasty procedure would be perceived as a lack of consideration for Ferdinand's high allies, and so on.

But the answer that arrived from Paris was quite different. It was more of a rebuke, with which the Prince-Chancellor instructed his Neapolitan envoy that he should not have become involved in this matter in the first place, but should have acted as an uninvolved observer. Attacked in His States," said the despatch dated November 4, "by a party leader whose royal dignity he had never recognised and who came bearing arms to incite his subjects to rebellion, to light the torch of civil war and to threaten the tranquillity of Italy, the King was allowed to consult no one but His and His country's interests, to which he would undoubtedly have done harm if he had first consulted with his allies as to the fate fully deserved by Murat, who, by the audacity of his punishable enterprise, had placed himself outside the law." The Austrian passport that Murat had in his hands did not therefore place him under Austrian protection; for the bearer had made a different, indeed criminal, use of it than that for which the document was intended. At the moment when he preferred to take a foolhardy risk, he had renounced the protection and the benefit which Austria had intended for him, etc. ... Since Metternich only formulated his decision after he had consulted the representatives of the allied powers in Paris, it was actually to be regarded as a statement by the latter and was addressed not only to Jablonovski but just as well to Mocenigo, and in general to all those who had made themselves important in this matter ...

Only now did King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily, or as he soon called himself following the example of the Napoleonids, "Ferdinand I of Both Sicilies", sit firmly on his throne, unchallenged on all sides. His former adversary and tormentor of Palermo, Lord William Bentinck, did appear once more in his capital, but only to collect his lady, with whom he returned to Rome. The vexatious negotiation which had taken place between him and Earl Nugent in the last days of September had been badly noted by Bentinck's ministry. The machinations and quarrels, from which he had not wished to desist even then, when he no longer had a command or an office to interfere in the affairs of Italy, had caused his government more than one embarrassment, wherefore it now sent him the well-meant advice to depart without noise from a scene in which he had made so much talk of himself throughout a lustrum.

In no. 158 of the "Giornale delle Due Sicilie" of 23. November, two decrees were published, dated the 6th, signed by the King and countersigned by Tommaso di Somma: one to Alvaro Ruffo, who was awarded the title of Prince, a seat and a vote in the Council of State, the Grand Cross of the Order of Ferdinand and a pardon of 6000 ducats a year for his persevering loyalty to life, for his many services, but above all for bringing about the Austro-Napolitan alliance treaty, "diretto a discacciare l'usurpatore Murat"; the other to Serra-Capriola, who was likewise awarded the Grand Cross and an annual pension of 2000 ducats. The first letter, which was written in a particularly warm manner, was, as Jablonovski reported to Vienna, "largely edited by the king himself", just as Ferdinand in general, ever since Maria Karolina was not at his side, intervened more in business, had especially important coded dispatches from his envoys addressed directly to his person, etc. His ministers sometimes only learned the contents the next day, whereas the Princess of Partanna knew how to find out the secret before they did. As is well known, she had to promise her royal lover, before he took her to the altar, not to interfere in affairs of state; but our envoy doubted whether this relationship would last long; in time, he thought, she would gain it over the king and break the fetters he had put on her.

It remains to add a word about the fate of Joachim Murat's companions on his last journey; one of them, Domenico Franceschetti, has reported on it in detail.

After the ex-king had disappeared from the scene, Ferdinand granted his supporters mercy for justice. On 27 October, they were taken from their place of detention to the island of Ventotiene, where they were joined by a hundred other Muratists, the crew of two other barques, who had been carried by the storm to the coast of Calabria citeriore and captured by Ferdinand's troops. On 17 January 1816, after receiving complete amnesty from the King at the presentation of the Minister of War Saint-Clair, they left the small island and, after all sorts of unpleasant perils, arrived at Porto-Ferrajo and then on to Livorno, where they appealed to the Grand Duke of Tuscany for an asylum. Count Narbonne had assured them from Naples that his king would not be outdone in magnanimity by Ferdinand IV, whereupon they sailed for Corsica. Here the Marquis de la Rivière, who had already proved so spiteful against Murat in Toulon, intervened and now received his followers only to have them arrested and put in chains. Even their relatives, especially Franceschetti's family, where one suspected hidden treasures of the ex-king, were treated inhumanely, so that in some parts of the island ferment arose and even riots broke out, which were bloodily suppressed until Rivière was succeeded by the more conciliatory Gen.Lieut. Willot. Nevertheless, the Muratists were continually treated as prisoners, brought from Corsica to Marseilles and imprisoned in If Castle, where the officers in particular, eighteen in number, had to endure a very hard time. The soldiers, on the other hand, were released from their bonds at the beginning of June and assigned to different troop bodies.

In the first days of August, five of the officers, including Franceschetti, Natali and Ottaviani, were transported to the prison of Draguignan, in the Var department, where they were to answer to the Prévôt court, which declared itself to be without jurisdiction. After many representations, letters of justification, petitions for clemency, an order from the Minister of Police, Décazes, dated 6 January 1817, finally opened the doors of their dungeons, whereupon they received permission to return home on 16 February.

And what became of Captain Barbara, who rascally or cowardly abandoned his king and lord, to whom he owed everything he was and had, in the moment of need? Franceschetti no longer mentions him, and elsewhere I have found nothing about him.

[truetgirl]

A bard girl... Angelic... I made the model while screwing around and then went to make a backstory. Figured it’d be a little nothing. I’m putting it under the cut because some unknown thing in me hijacked my fingers and this came out.

It is an exceedingly odd way to grow up, being the child of courtiers to a regional noble. You aren't really noble yourself, but you certainly don't feel you have much in common with regular commoners, so your social circle, especially as a child, is very limited indeed. It would be odd enough if you'd turned out to be a normal human, let alone if you had a priest declare after your birth that you were a gift from the gods themselves. Let alone if your parents then used that auspicious omen to climb at court. My parents, advisors as they then became to our gracious patron, never had much time to spend with me. I spent many, many hours huddled in my room or in a private corner of the library, reading and fantasizing about a life of excitement and what friendship must be like.

Eventually, I took to writing. It was a natural step once I started to run out of books in the library. I wrote simply for fun at first, poetry mostly. But, as I practiced and refined my craft, I started to wonder if maybe, one day, I could tell stories like the ones that had kept me company for so many years. I began to seek an audience, to see what others would think of my work. It took some months, not being very well practiced at the time in talking to other people and having gained something a reputation around court as the strange, cloistered girl that was apparently some divine gift, but eventually I found a few other young ladies of the court to hear my first tale. It wasn't a groundbreaking story by any means, a tale of knightly valor and the slaying of beasts, but it was, to my delight, a crowd-pleaser.

Over the next few years, as I grew into a "proper" young lady at court and honed my skills of storytelling for an ever expanding audience, I attracted all kinds of attention. My parents finally seemed to have some time for me, I made friends among the various ladies in waiting to the higher nobility, I took up work in an official capacity as a chronicler by day and entertainer in the evenings, and it seemed I had even attracted the attention of the young heir to the house, a boy about my age by the name of Lanno.

I was uneasy with  Lanno's advances at first. I'd never received attention of that variety, and wasn't sure what to think or feel. When my mother found out about the boy's interest, she began to "encourage" me to at least act as though I reciprocated. My mother, ever the political climber, clearly saw the opportunity for our family to marry into nobility. Most of my friends were no help either, seeming utterly confused that I would be unsure about the advances of a promising and handsome young scion such as Lanno. Only my best friend, Trisha, seemed sympathetic to my uncertainty.

Trisha had been a companion even in my early, cloistered days in the library. Her father, being the court wizard, had encouraged her from an early age to pursue learning in any way she could. As such, we often ended up in the library together. We almost never spoke to one another until we were in our early teens. When we did start talking, it was because we'd both eaten through our usual sections of the library and wanted advice on good starting points in the others. Through her I gained an appreciation for history, and through me she learned the appeal of tales of chivalry and romance.

We'd grown closer since I began making strides at court and she'd begun officially apprenticing under her father in the arcane arts. We found solace in one another, an understanding we didn't seem to get elsewhere. And, much as when we were children, we shared our love of learning; but this time as teachers rather than readers. I taught her about the crafting of stories and the structure of poetry, and in return she taught me the fundamentals of magic her father had taught to her. Soon I found that by concentrating as she had showed I could make objects blaze with supernatural light. Trisha was shocked, as the small spell she had shown me could do many things, but it couldn't do that. After several theories, Trisha remembered that supposed omen of divine favor when I was born, and hearing her say it I believed for the first time that it may be true.

I asked Trisha what she thought I ought to do about Lanno's advances. She was unusually evasive when I asked directly, trying to avoid the conversation and talk of other things, refusing to meet my gaze, and seeming very nervous. When I insisted that I needed advice she answered, in the coldest tone she had ever used with me, that it would certainly be a fine way to advance me standing. She avoided me for about a week after that, and I couldn't understand why.

In any event, with seemingly nobody telling me I shouldn't reciprocate Lanno's advances and so many pushing me to do exactly that, I began to spend time with him. We ate meals together, he attended my performances, we would take walks of the grounds together, and all manner of other things.

This went on for a few months, and during that time Trisha did not speak to me at all. I wondered what I had done wrong, but I never had long to myself to think on it at that point, now that I was getting properly involved in court politics through Lanno. Soon enough, his parents and mine made official arrangements for us to be married. We never really fell in love the way I'd seen so many times in stories when i was young, but I just assumed that was because the real world wasn't so pleasant as those stories.

After nearly a year of my marriage with Lanno, things went wrong. At a state dinner it was mentioned to the visiting dignitaries that I had been declared a blessed child the day I was born. One of these visitors took the statement very seriously, and demanded proof. Panicked, I produced light like I'd learned when Trisha taught me about magic, but that was not enough. The visitor, some kind of holy knight apparently, insisted that any two-bit mage could do that. With no other way to prove anything and not even fully convinced I had anything real to prove, I fled the room in shame and fear of the man's anger.

Lanno came to find me in our room after dinner. He asked why I was so distraught, and I explained how I had never really believed I could be some heaven-sent gift. He was dismayed, so I tried to make him understand, and after several minutes of increasingly heated discussion he blurted out that I had better be what the priests said or this whole marriage was a waste. I pressed him on that, and painstakingly extracted an explanation from him about how he had only courted me because he and his parents believed divine blood would strengthen their family line. He also told me that most of the other courtiers only humored me and my performances because they had assumed earlier I was likely to be the next lady of the house and now knew for sure. Feeling a pain in my chest I'd never known before, tears pouring down my face, I ran. I ran from my own room with no idea where I was going until I arrived at Trisha's chambers.

Trisha looked at first glance as though she intended to turn me away as she had for the last year, but her face softened instantly when she saw the state of me. She quickly ushered me in and sat me down. She brought me some tea and, once I had control of my voice again and could hold back the tears, I explained what had happened. Once I had finished we sat in silence for a long moment, and then she leaned across the low table and kissed me. She was gentle, calming, and the contact with her made my heart leap for joy. All at once I finally understood that love like it was in the stories did exist, I had just been in the wrong place for it.

When we, much to my disappointment, pulled apart, she leaned her forehead against mine and confessed that she had been in love with me since she was old enough to really understand what love was. That she loved my stories and my poems and my fierce love of learning and my laugh and my eyes... That she hadn't been able to stand seeing me with Lanno, no matter how good for my future it would surely be. I could hardly think, but I felt myself say that I loved her too, and then leaned in for another kiss, drawing her into an embrace.

For a few perfect moments we sat there in each other's arms, but the moment was shattered as Lanno opened the door and found us there. Believing that I had been putting on a show to break things off in favor of Trisha, he called for guards to seize us both. We were accused of carrying on an affair, and while Trisha's father managed to use his considerable position as the court wizard to save Trisha, my position and that of my parents was greatly diminished, and they could not save me from being banished from court.

My marriage dissolved, life in tatters, and my best friend... Possibly the love of my life? Now out of reach, I set off. I've wandered ever since, performing stories for coin anywhere that would take me and discovering new ways to leverage the tiny bits of magic Trisha showed me via my creative flow. I have no idea where I'm going with this life now, and I cannot imagine it will ever be fulfilling without her...

PERSONALITY TRAITS

I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick.

I’m full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion.

I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can’t help it—I’m a perfectionist.

IDEALS

Generosity. My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world.

Aspiration. I work hard to be the best there is at my craft.

BONDS

The world is full to bursting with history and stories. If I can contribute to that great canon, then my life was worth something.

One day, somehow, I have to see her again.

FLAWS

I suffer from great anxiety both about my work and because I believe nobody could possibly respect me.

I'm good at appearing sociable but don't really understand the finer details of how it works.

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 111

SYNOPSIS: As Sun Yee Lok waits for his daughter’s arrival, he contemplates the outcomes of his interviews with Jonathon Randall and Wang Yu.  Meanwhile Murtagh is distressed at Claire’s condition but she is only worried about Jamie.

Chapter 110 and all other chapters can be found at … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

THANK YOU all for reading my story and I hope that it provides some enjoyment during this time. Stay safe everyone.

CHAPTER 111

  Sun Yee Lok sat back in his chair waiting for his daughter Karen to come and speak to him. As he waited for her arrival, he contemplated the outcomes of his interviews with Jonathon Randall and Wang Yu. Their responses had been most enlightening. The triad leader was certainly not disappointed with the information about what had happened at the monastery when he’d interviewed the two men earlier this morning. His daughter Karen was yet to have her conference and her meeting had been scheduled for late this afternoon. Looking at the clock on the wall he noted that she wasn’t due for another hour. Sun Yee Lok needed some fresh air after spending the last couple of hours in interviews with the two men. The triad leader got to his feet and walked to the open French doors that lead onto the large tiled terrace. Negotiating the steps that led from his office he walked out onto the terrace and felt the warmth of the late afternoon sun on his face. With much on his mind to think about, he exhaled a sigh, then stared out at the dense woodlands that lay beyond the property line. Both men had praised Karen’s part in events at the monastery stating that his only daughter had performed with level headedness and composure even in the face of adversity. She’d taken risks and taken control of the situation at the monastery. Her leadership capabilities had been sorely tested but Karen had come through with flying colours. It was she who had been the instigator to trapping Jamie and Claire when they tried to escape, although it was Jonathon who had been the one responsible for interrogating, torturing and killing the prisoners. As a consequence of her leadership, Karen had been responsible for turning the triad’s fortune around. The Rising Dragons' mantra had finally been fulfilled and because of her, the triad had sought its retribution at long last. Their enemy had been eliminated, the unsolved mysteries with their hierarchy had been resolved and now the Rising Dragons would once again reform and regroup better than ever before. They could only go from strength to strength. Wang had confirmed that his daughter had the situation at the monastery well in hand, was steadfast and unflinching in her decisions and had shown little emotion in the face of her own grief when Andy Ma was killed. Making his way back to his office Sun Yee Lok poured himself a drink from the crystal decanter then relaxed back into the comfort of his chair. His thoughts once again turned to the time Jonathon Randall and Wang Yu had spent with him one on one. He couldn’t help but mull over in his mind what had transpired with the two men at the monastery with Karen. Their responses had been most informative and he was extremely satisfied with the triad members’ reports. They had delivered excellent news. More than that though, he was pleased ... very pleased with the results they’d achieved for the good of the Rising Dragons. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jonathon Randall had carried out his leader’s orders with diligence and achieved the result that the triad needed and wanted. Sun Yee Lok had nothing but praise for the way he had handled the torture of the two captives, James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp. Vengeance really was sweet but nothing was as sweet as the death of the two people who had caused his triad such grief. By all reports the two adversaries had put up an impressive fight and were defiant to the very end. The qualities Fraser and Claire Beauchamp had exhibited had shown they truly were worthy opponents. Nevertheless, the two were doomed from the beginning. No one was capable of bettering the might of the Rising Dragons … many had tried but failed in the past and had only met their demise at the hand of the triad’s enforcer Tony Wong. If this had been a test of Jonathon’s suitability for advancement, he would have passed with flying colours. At long last Sun Yee Lok knew he may have found a good man in Jonathon Randall to fill the place of his deceased extortionist. On a personal level, Jonathon had also managed to have retribution for the atrocities at his nightclub. Although the blame for the firebombing had been laid at the feet of the Black Panthers and Red Lanterns’ triads that had managed to infiltrate his birthday festivities that night, many of the actual fatalities had been at the hands of Claire Beauchamp and her consort. Having the two people responsible for the loss of life of his men and triad members eliminated had seen his honour avenged. Furthermore, Jonathon’s cover as a legitimate businessman in Hong Kong was still intact which bode well for the plans Sun Yee Lok had in mind for him. Jonathon Randall had spoken to his leader of his planned vacation time in Macau. This could prove beneficial. Once he was rested the triad leader saw a perfect opening for Jonathon in his master plans for the triad. Although he wanted to rebuild his nightclub in Hong Kong, with worthwhile incentives, Sun Yee Lok was sure that Jonathon could be persuaded to expand his business ventures elsewhere … preferably where the triad leader saw the greater benefits to the Rising Dragons. Macau would prove to be more lucrative and could be a far better proposition than reconstruction on the mainland especially if his plans for Karen were taken into consideration.  Jonathon could be instrumental in what he had in mind.  Not only that, but as an extra inducement, his reward for a job well done would be an honourable position within the triad befitting his expertise and worth. Having sown the seed of interest, Sun Yee Lok had achieved the result he’d wanted by putting this proposition to him. On the other hand, Jonathon had been most enthusiastic to hear what his leader had in mind. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Sun Yee Lok’s interview with Wang Yu had been on a completely different level. The triad leader was more interested in hearing his comments about his daughter Karen. As a result of what he’d said, the triad leader had taken pride in what Wang had said about her. Like Jonathon Randall, he had also been most insightful about his observations of Karen’s performance at the monastery. He’d followed his orders explicitly and although his brief had been to watch over and protect Karen, this apparently had not been necessary. She had proven to be more than capable of looking after herself. He’d also sought Wang’s opinion in matters that had perplexed him about what had taken place at the monastery. Sun Yee Lok had sought the counsel of his wise perception and his faith in his old friend was rewarded. Wang Yu had been able to shed some light on the question that had puzzled his leader for some considerable time. How had these two people … James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp … been able to inflict so much grief on the Rising Dragons and its members? Unexplained and suspicious deaths had resulted in turmoil within its organisation and hostilities with other triad groups had impacted on the authority and influence of the triad. However, knowing where the two protagonists had come from explained a lot. The triad leader was now wiser.  Section One and its two operatives had been responsible for nearly bringing the Rising Dragons to its knees, but since their elimination this threat had come to an end. Finally, the triad could regroup and return to the stability they had enjoyed before. The triad had taken revenge and triumphed over its adversaries. It was stronger and wiser because of it; hence Sun Yee Lok saw no problems in payback from Section One in the future. It would take some time for Section to regroup with people of the same calibre as Jamie and Claire … and even if it did, then he was confident that the triad would be more resilient to withstand any assault. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Thus, with matters brought to closure with the two triad men, Sun Yee Lok’s mind became consumed with thoughts of his daughter Ka-lin. It was a heavy weight that the triad leader intended to lay on her shoulders, but given what he had learnt about her efforts at the monastery thus far from the two men, he was definitely swayed that his decision was the right one. Wang Yu’s and Jonathon’s words of praise about Karen’s capabilities under pressure were most pleasing. Their summations only further cemented in his thoughts that Karen would be pivotal to what he had in mind. As the Rising Dragon’s leader, but also as her father, he had specific plans for her future and that of the triad. Karen undeniably possessed the intellect required to continue his life's work and the triad’s expansion clearly lay in her capable hands. This was her heritage … the future for which she was destined. Karen was young, but he couldn't deny that she showed strength of character … perhaps too much at times. However, although Sun Yee Lok had all but made up his mind, he would still need to asses Karen’s merits for his plans when he spoke to her. Looking at the clock in the room, he realised that it was nearing the time for his interview with her and he was fully prepared for what he would say to Karen. 

A change was definitely coming for the Rising Dragons.

Meanwhile back at Medical …

Returning to stand at Claire’s bedside, Murtagh swallowed a lump in his throat at the sight of his Sugar. Evidence of Claire’s torture was clearly prominent as she lay beneath the glare of the stark fluorescent lights that Bóinne had switched on. His eyes travelled over her then up to the IV-line shooting fluid into her body to aid her recovery. Everything that could have been done had been done. The two friends stood in silence for a few moments. Fergus was lost for things to say and just stood by Claire’s bedside in quiet support. He cast a quick glance over to Murtagh for inspiration, but he merely shrugged his shoulders also not knowing what to do. In mutual agreement they came to the same conclusion … sometimes silence was the best option. Claire was in good care, nevertheless his voice still caught when he finally spoke to his buddy. Sounding like a concerned father he asked, “Any change?” Fergus looked at him; he could see the worry in Murtagh’s face. “No … She’s been asleep ever since I came in. I didn’t have the heart to wake her.” Leaning down Murtagh smoothed the hair back from Claire's forehead and softly whispered her name. “Claire.” He took hold of her hand and gently cradled it within his old wizened one. His thumb absentmindedly glided back and forth over her skin; his eyes were focused on her alone. She didn’t respond, so he said her name once more.

“Claire?” Suddenly she stirred and slowly opened her unwilling eyes. Awakening from her slumber she felt woozy from the effects of the drugs she’d been given. A little confused, her surroundings blurred before her eyes. Not realising just where she was, she tilted her head back on the pillow. Then slowly looking up, she found a face gazing down at her with fatherly concern. When Claire saw who was standing next to her bed, she focused her eyes on her friend.

“Hey!” Her breathy response was followed by a tentative smile. Murtagh smiled in return, the corners of his eyes creasing in pleasure at seeing her awake. “It's alright, Sugar. Try not to move.” Fergus spoke to her as well. “It's nice to have you back. How are you feeling?” Claire moved restlessly on the bed. She turned her head in the direction of his voice, looked at Fergus then turned her head away again. Suddenly a bolt of pain shot through her body. She sucked her breath in with an audible hiss and shut her eyes tightly. An unexpected rush of thoughts of what had happened to her and Jamie at the monastery with Jonathon Randall entered her mind. Tears suddenly beaded on her cheeks and rolled down her face. Seeing her reaction to Fergus’s innocuous question Murtagh chipped in with his own request for information. “Are you okay, Sugar?” Claire nodded her head in silent reply. Noticing her tears he gently brushed them away. “It's okay...the pain and memories will be gone soon.” He fluffed her pillows to make her more comfortable so as for her not to see the concern in his eyes. Claire was thankful for her friend’s kindness and the few seconds to compose herself. “Oh, I’ll live,” she finally replied adjusting her position and gingerly sitting up a little more in the bed. She gave them both a little smile. “Jonathon Randall didn’t get a chance to do any real damage.” Unaware of Claire’s distress, Fergus standing on the other side of the bed stated candidly, “I don’t know about that. You were in a pretty bad way.” Section’s training had taught Claire to suppress her discomfort and pain. Drawing on that training she didn’t want to alarm the young man. Lightly running her fingers over her split lip, she turned to look at him and responded dismissively. “I’ve been in worse situations.” “Yeah? ... Name one!” Murtagh blurted out. “I’m fine Murtagh ... I’ll heal.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Although Claire’s two best friends stood by her bedside, she may as well have been alone. Thoughts of Jamie filled her mind as she wondered about his wellbeing. Even though Murtagh and Fergus hadn’t said anything to the contrary, she didn’t even know if he was alive or dead. Surely, they would have said something to her if he was dead … but then again, they might think it too distressing to tell her straight away.

All of a sudden Claire shook her head as new tears unexpectedly crept down her cheeks. Less concerned with her own condition she looked up at Murtagh. He watched as his Sugar bit down on her bruised bottom lip. Her eyes held his in anticipation. He could see that she was struggling not to say Jamie’s name while at the same time desperate to ask the questions that were on the tip of her tongue. How’s Jamie? Did he pull through? Is he alive?  Suddenly she grabbed Murtagh’s hand; she squeezed it tightly as her eyes searched his intently looking him square in the eye. She laid her heart on her sleeve. With her voice raspy and soft, Claire asked the probing question she ached to know the answer for.

“Have you seen Jamie yet?” Seeing the concern and vulnerability etched on Claire’s face he smiled at her in an effort to try and assuage her concerns. “No not yet ... but I’m sure he’s doing fine.” “Are you sure?” she appealed hoping that he would give her the answer she longed to hear. “He didn’t seem to be okay when we were rushed to Medical? You wouldn’t lie to me Murtagh ... would you?” Murtagh tried to hide the unease he had for Jamie’s safety from her.

He wanted to protect Claire for she had her own recovery to worry about. There was no need to make her distressed about Jamie unless it was unavoidable. He couldn’t tell her that there may be a problem with his blood supply and that Dr Foster had confided this in him last night. It would only worry her more if she knew. He would only tell her if and when he needed to, but at the moment until he saw Jamie for himself there was nothing more he could say. “Trust me Sugar ... I’m sure Jamie is going to be okay.” Claire nodded at his answer then raised her eyes once more. “When can I see him? I want ...” she hesitated catching her breath. Soulful eyes implored his in entreaty. “… I need to see for myself that he’s okay.” “You’re not strong enough yet, but as soon as you’re given the all clear, I’m sure they’ll let you see each other ... but I’ll see what I can do to speed things up.” Her eyes locked on his as she spoke. “I need to know how he is. Could you check for me please?” “Sure. I can do that. No problem.” Claire closed her eyes and sank back into the pillows. “Thanks, Murtagh.” Fergus and Murtagh shared a look. The one thing they wanted above all else was that Claire would pull through and be okay. They still had the added problem of Jamie’s health too but until they saw Dr Foster they would have to sit tight. He concluded that Fergus wouldn’t be here unless he had made some headway into solving the mystery of Jamie’s blood type. He obviously had things well in hand ready to activate his plan if needed. They would bide their time then seize the moment. Even if the Intel wasn’t required, they might still access Jamie’s file just to protect him if such an occasion ever arose again. That would also appease Murtagh’s stickybeak curiosity at the same time. As they were talking, Bóinne returned to the room to check that Murtagh and Fergus were not overstaying their time. “Sorry boys but I think you should leave now. Dr Foster will be making his rounds again soon and Madeline is expected before too long. You don’t want to be here when she arrives.” Murtagh motioned to Fergus that they needed to leave Claire to convalesce. Taking the hint to leave Fergus said his goodbyes. “Take care Claire.” He then left his friend alone with her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Fergus headed towards the exit where the female medic stopped him as he was leaving. Although he’d been at Claire’s bedside when she’d gone on duty she hadn’t really spoken to Fergus. Consequently, she thought it appropriate to formally introduce herself to Murtagh’s best friend.

“Ah, you must be Fergus Claudel.  Murtagh’s told me all about you. ” They shook hands. “Really? Everyone calls me Fergus.” “I’m Bóinne, Bóinne Rivière.” “Nice to meet you.” She smiled at him. “I haven’t made it to Comm. yet, but I hope when I do, you have some time to show me around.” “Sure ... anytime.” Fergus replied suddenly enamoured with the woman whose kind eyes grinned at him. “As you must know we’ve been kinda busy here in Medical ….” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ While Bóinne and Fergus were talking Murtagh stood at Claire’s bedside by himself. He smiled benevolently down at her, his eyes radiating with concern and love for his special friend. “Now try and get some rest and see if you can get back to sleep, okay? Leave the worrying to me, hmm?” Gently he patted her hand in compassion. “We’ll come back again soon,” was his promised reply. “Okay.” Claire shifted on the bed and buried her face in the pillow trying to get comfortable ... but sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Her softly spoken reply echoed in Murtagh’s head as he made his way over to the medical station where the nurse was quietly talking to Fergus. “Hey Bóinne.” “Murtagh.” She smiled evocatively at him then turned to face Fergus. Despite some palatable sexual tension between them, he’d held her gaze to the very last second. When she looked away a guttural sound nearly echoed in his throat. However, suppressing it, he composed himself and looked at his friend too. Unbeknownst to him, when he turned around Murtagh had a silly expression on his face. “So you’ve met Fergus?” “Yeah … we are just getting properly acquainted.” The young techie glanced from one to the other realising that there was an obvious connection between the two. Was Murtagh flirting with her? Fergus suddenly felt like the third wheel. “Well ... I better get back to Systems. I’ll see you both later.” “Sure.” He turned to the medical nurse, “Nice meeting you Bóinne. Take good care of Claire.” “Yes ... I will ... Bye,” she replied acknowledging his retreating statements. Once he’d turned away, the flirting between his buddy and Bóinne continued as Fergus walked towards the way out. He was nearly at the exit when Murtagh called out after him. “Hey wait up a minute Fergus!” Facing the cute medic, he gave Bóinne one last cheeky grin before hurrying to catch up with his friend. With one last look back at the patient, the two friends then quietly slipped out of the room leaving Claire to rest. They both knew that she would need all her strength for when Madeline paid her a visit. Plans to check on Jamie however, needed to be put on hold until after Madeline had left Medical. In the meantime, Murtagh wanted to see if Fergus had come up with any Intel concerning Jamie’s medical records and while Madeline was occupied with Dr Foster may be the perfect time for them to go searching.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued on Friday 3rd April

[kevindayprotectionsquad]

the ‘oh shit’ when either jack or matthew realized they were in love/had a crush on the other person?

thank you for sending anon!! i took this a different route than i originally planned, but i think it turned out pretty good. i hope you enjoy it!!

A soft knock echoed through Jack's room while he was changing for bed. He quickly pulled his nightshirt on and made his way to the door. He could only guess who would be bothering him this late in the evening.

“Jack,” Nina whispered, peeking her head through the cracked door, not bothering to wait for him to answer. “Can I come in?”

Once again, she did not wait for his reply, and let herself inside, gently closing the heavy oak door behind her, trying not to draw attention to them. She was dressed in her nightgown, her braids pulled up out of the way, she looked as exhausted as he felt.

“Do I get a say in the matter?” Jack asked, not bothering to put any heat behind it. He had grown quite fond of Nina in the few months he had known her, and was one of the few people he would allow to interrupt his nightly routine.

“No,” Nina smirked at him before sheepishly averting her eyes to her feet.

“I didn't think so,” Jack remarked and fell on his bed. Something was obviously on Nina’s mind, but he had learned not to force people to talk. He of all people knew that finding the right words took time.

Nina took a moment to stare at him lying in bed before making her way over as well, standing at the edge as if to wait for permission to join him. He wiggled to the opposite side of the bed, opening up plenty of space for her. She gladly took the invitation and laid on her back next to him, leaving just enough space so they weren’t touching. Jack tilted his head to look at her, but she stared intently at the brick pattern of his ceiling. After a moment, Nina flipped on her side, propping herself up on her elbow to look down at him. He gave her a questioning look, waiting for her to open up why she needed to hijack his bed.

“You have known Matthew your entire life,” Nina said, not a question, but a confirmation.

The statement took him aback. He tilted his head in response, not understanding what she was going for. “I have known him for as long as I can remember,” he told her.

Nina just nodded, her eyes wandering around his room. The soft yellow light of the candles around the room reflected in her eyes. “How did you know you wanted to be more than close friends with him?”

“What is this about, Nina?” He questioned, unsure of why she wanted to know. The entire kingdom knew he was unofficially with Matthew at this point, but his true feelings for him were a well guarded secret he intended on keeping. Many thought he was just with the blacksmith to prove a point, and rebel against his title, and he was happy to let them continue to believe that.

“I am simply curious,” she admitted, but Jack knew there was more to it. “You're the only person I have ever known that has truly chosen their person, and not had them chosen for them.”

Jack pondered for a moment, searching her face for clues. She averted her eyes from his gaze. “Is this about Skylar,” he questioned, narrowing his eyes at her.

Nina ducked her head into her shoulder, attempting to hide. “Perhaps,” she mumbled.

Of course it was. Jack had seen their hushed hallway conversations, and the way they both got embarrassed when they saw him. He had seen Sky teach Nina to fight, saying she was doing it because no princess should be labeled helpless, but the way she always let Nina win told him otherwise.

“I already told you to just tell her how you feel,” he rolled his eyes. “I know she feels the same way. She is actually pleasant when you are around.”

Nina let out a dramatic sigh. That was obviously not what she wanted to hear. “That is what I wanted to ask you about. How did you know that's how you felt about Matthew. I want to be sure before I tell her.”

“I can't tell you how you feel, Nina,” he told her. “That's not how that works. Only you know how you feel.” Which wasn't necessarily true, as both her and Sky were painfully obvious about their feelings toward each other.

Nina gave him a pathetic, pleading look as her reply, and Jack rolled his eyes. He knew she wouldn't leave without him giving her the answer she was looking for, which was easier said than done. His relationship with Matthew was in the making for their entire life, and was never something he thought too hard about. Everything seemed to happen when it was supposed to, making their progression to their current relation seem simple. The most turmoil their relationship faced, both as friends, and as partners, was simply growing up. There was no uncertainty they wouldn't be in some sort of platonic or romantic relationship, and neither of them went searching for labels. They instead just let friendship progress into much more.

“I am not sure what to tell you,” Jack admitted. “Our situation was different from yours. One day we were friends, and the next we were more than friends. It just happened.”

“How did you know you were okay with being more than friends with Matthew,” Nina asked. Jack knew she wouldn't be satisfied with the answer. “There must have been a point when you realized there was a possibility there was more.”

Jack rubbed his eyes, too tired to fend off her questions, and searched his memory for the earliest feelings of Matthew. His memories of being a young adolescent were not his most fond, and were the most difficult to dig up, even the ones surrounding Matthew. There were so many emotions swimming around his head at the time that many memories were forgotten, but finally settled on one he was comfortable sharing.

“I remember asking my mother for advice once,” he started, unsure how to navigate the memory. Nina perked up, her eyes full of interest, ready to absorb every detail he was about to offer. “I must have been around thirteen or so. I was beginning to notice girls my age, and how they looked and made me feel.”

Nina let out a short giggle, not even attempting to hold it back.

Jack glared at her. “That was normal for a boy of my age,” he remarked before continuing. “Matthew made me feel the same way. I was genuinely confused why he made me feel that way as well. He was my closest friend, and I felt guilty thinking of him in such a way.” Nina nodded, letting him know she was still listening. “I didn't want to lose our friendship, so I went to my mother for help.”

Nina raised an eyebrow in question. “Your mother? Really?”

“Yes, my mother,” it still embarrassed him to think about. Now, he would never dream of going to her with something so personal. “I know it is hard to believe, but we used to be close.”

“What did you say to her,” Nina asked. She knew him well enough to know he almost never told the complete truth to his parents.

“I asked her what you're asking me now; how she knew she how she felt about my father.” At the time, Jack didn't fully understand royal marriages were often made out of treaty, not through feelings of fondness, but his mother understood what he was looking for. “She assumed I was asking because of a girl.”

Nina laughed again. “I am sorry,” she smiled. “I simply can't picture you noticing a girl, or speaking to your mother about your feelings.”

“That's because you know me now. This was before my parents lost all hope for me, and I wasn't going to correct my mother and tell her I was asking because I felt that way about Matthew.” It was hard for Jack to remember a time where his relationship with his parents wasn't stained, and where he wanted to do as he was told. As he expanded his relationship with Matthew, the less room he had for pleasing his family. “She told me she knew she had feelings for my father when she saw him and felt flutters in her stomach, and she couldn't help but smile. She felt safe around him, and could trust him with herself. She said that if someone makes me feel like that, then it is a sign they are possibly more than a friend. The next time I saw Matthew, I thought about what my mother said, and realized I felt the same way about him. I still do.”

“Ah,” Nina nodded, processing what he said. “Sky gives me stomach flutters, too. I feel comfortable when I am with her. I can trust her.”

Jack gave her a half smile, only confirming what he already knew. “Then tell her. Don't do what I did and hide it until it was unbearable. I know she feels the same way.”

“Did she tell you,” Nina asked, barely masking the desperation in her voice.

“No, but I am not blind.” He rolled on his side to mirror her. “It is just painfully obvious.”

“I know,” Nina rolled her eyes and groaned dramatically. “How do I even go about telling her, though?”

“Any way is better than what I did,” Jack admitted.

“Oh?” Nina questioned.

“Yeah,” Jack had been trying to block the memory out of his mind since it happened, but Matthew made it impossible by bringing it up every time he wanted to embarrass him. He never thought he would bring it up to embarrass himself. “Matthew loves to use it against me, I am surprised he hasn't told you.”

Nina shook her head, “He hasn't, we don't generally talk to you.”

Jack pretended to be hurt, “Well now you can ask him about this. We used to have a spot near the creek behind the garden walls. We were talking one day, and I just told him I wanted to kiss him, but instead of waiting for him to react, I ran back to the castle.”

Nina’s eyes widened, and she let out a piercing laugh. “You ran away,” she exclaimed.

Jack tried to shush her, suppressing his own chuckle. “Yes, so as long as you don't do that, you will be okay.”

“Knowing that, I feel a lot better,” she admitted and let herself fall back onto her back.

They laid together silence for a moment before Nina sat up and kicked her legs over the side of the bed.

“Where are you going,” Jack inquired, even though he was sure he knew the answer.

“To go see if Sky is still awake,” she looked over her shoulder at him and smirked. “I have to tell her the story of you telling Matthew how you felt about him.”

“I am glad my pain can bring you comfort,” he remarked, but returned the smile.

He watched her make her way to the door, opening it carefully to check if anyone was in the corridor. When she was satisfied there was no one watching she stepped out.

“Good luck,” Jack called out to her before she shut it again, though he doubted she actually needed it.

[ninjakittenhaswords]

Prequel: Lab Accident

White lights flared to life when the levers got pulled down by the man's hand. One by one the lights turned on and the energy generators roared to life. The hallways were pristine white with matching tiles and a black line trailing the floor and splitting into other hallways like the street lanes that were far above this place.

Footsteps echoed down the now lit up halls. "Another day in the lab." A man spoke up. He had dark hair and eyes to match, looking like he was in his mid to late twenties. He had a white lab coat with a blue shirt and black work pants. He had the intellectual ability to match the other people that worked but he was still so... soft when the situation didn't call for emotion. The man next to him had grey streaks coming in and cold eyes. He wore a matching lab coat but had all black underneath. He hummed a response. "Mmph." He held a clipboard out with his pen already scribbling something on the sheet of paper. It was probably something about the novice still trying to make small talk with anyone there when there was no use anymore.

They went further in and they separated, the elder went to see another person at a station of vials with chemicals that were brewing since the latest of hours. The young man wondered what that was all for, but his work wasn't there. He had somewhere else to be. He went down the halls and turned left to another group. "Got lost?" A blond-haired man smirked at him. He looked to be one of the newbies much like himself. They had only started their work just a few weeks, maybe a month ago.

"Nah. Just the usual route." Though something inside made him think that this wasn't going to be a usual day much like the others.

It was about two hours later when it happened.

"Sir! Something is wrong with the water supply!" The man with grey streaks had run up the steps with the chemical specialist at his side. "What is it?" The specialist spoke again. "I was researching what it was and it turns out to be a mutating agent of sorts." They pulled a capped vial out of their inner pocket and preceded to hand it over to their boss. The substance glowed a typical green and it pulsated with life.

"Interesting.." The boss started, looking to the person who handed the vial to him, "Did you say it got into our water supply?" He stared at them. They nodded in confirmation. "Affirmative, sir."

"If it is a mutating agent then surely we must see how it affected our subjects." He pulled the vial into his fist and went forward. "Get security ready." "Sir?" "I have a feeling we'll have trouble with a few of those animals. As I said, inform the security to stand by."

He went down with a team of researchers, a few of them being recruits who were entrusted with the task of being on the lower, more secretive levels. The young man with dark hair was one of these recruits. He followed the group until they went into an area with... test subjects. Most of them were animals but he had heard there were people even further beneath these levels. He was too apprehensive to ask about what happened to them, but it didn't concern them too much.

He looked up from the clipboard after reading it over. It was a set of copied notes from the chemical specialist. Something about a mutating agent slipping into the water supply and perhaps the possibility of that said supply affecting a few of the subjects. He did a double-take, looking from the clipboard to the animal subjects.

He was surprised at them. These animals had grown in size. The containment units were burst open, cages were shattered apart and laying beneath their bodies, or the subjects were pressed hard against the plexiglass doors, possibly suffocating from no air. The subjects were calm. 'Possibly because the alarms hadn't gone off yet.' The man thought to himself.

"We'll have to sedate them before we can relocate them." One of the researchers spoke to the boss. "After the relocation is done, we'll get the containment units repaired and expanded for their new statures." The leader stared around at all of them. They grew in size as the reports said they would, but nothing else interesting yet.

"Do what you must and don't waste time. We have a schedule to follow through." He ordered. "Yes sir." They began moving the newly formed creatures out. Those that freaked out were knocked unconscious with a silent dart gun. The effects were slower due to the new mass and the type of darts they had but it made the mutated animals unconscious.

And then... there was the one that gave them more trouble than they intended. A large lizard mutant refused to move from her containment unit. She was once a small little gecko that used to squirm in a few select hands and bite and scratch at any exposed fingers and palms. Now here she was, much bigger than before. She could meet a Komodo Dragon in size. Of course, her ferocity grew as well. She hissed louder at an approaching armored guard and stomped around.

The leopard gecko kept up with the stance until one of them got too close to her unit. She turned fast, leaping towards the man, and chomped her jaws at him. The lizard caught him by the arm and proceeded to use her weight to push him down. The man was lucky to have layered up in case of any... potential dangers. Unfortunately, it didn't help with him now being weighed down by the layers and a big lizard pinning him down.

"Quit standing around! Somebody get a tranquilizer!" The boss man yelled his orders. "Right sir!" One of the security members answered back and readied their aim. The gecko began thrashing her head around before pulling the man beneath her back up and tossed him into the shooter's direction. 'It's acting on instincts but.. it seems the mutation agent has also doubled on intellect. This may prove useful.' The young man with ebony hair thought.

He watched as the lizard looked around, watching the men carefully before concluding that none of them were going to come forward and turning herself back around to her containment unit. She sat before it but still kept her eyes on all of them. "She doesn't want to leave." The security guard stood up and helped the armed man up. "We still need to relocate her with the others so these can be repaired and expanded."

The boss stared back at the female gecko who only rumbled lowly at him in a threatening manner. "Then find a way to handle her. Security will deal with the reptile while everyone else handles the rest. I will be supervising the situation." He looked to the young man in ebony hair. "You're to observe the lizard and note anything else suspicious as to why she'd behave this way." The man looked up to the boss than to the enlarged gecko. He couldn't disobey even if it meant he'd be in danger. "Yes sir." He responded quickly.

"Good." The glasses glinted in the lighting when he pushed them back into place.

The younger recruit looked to the enlarged gecko while the more experienced security officers got her trapped in a catchpole. The loop was quick to tighten around her neck and she hissed and pulled and tried to use her front claws to get it off, but to no avail. Other loops went around different limbs like one of her front legs when she lifted it and the guy timed it right to catch it and pull to the other side of her body, making her cross-legged upfront. The lizard backed up before getting her back leg caught and pulled out underneath her.

The enlarged leopard gecko thrashed and hissed at the armored men, swinging her tail. "Hold her!" "Someone get the tranquilizer!" One of them yelled. A man responded by quickly taking the shot, hitting her in the side close to her belly. The lizard was quick to stare towards the shooter and charge at him, pulling the other men behind her.

This was the wrong move.

In a state of calm panic, the man quickly reloaded the tranq with a larger dose and shot the lizard, much closer to the center of her forehead. The lizard hissed at the shooter and kept her angry stare but she slowed down. Her steps grew slower and slower until finally...

She stopped almost too suddenly.

"YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU KNOW THESE TYPES OF TRANQUILIZERS ARE MEANT FOR SUBJECTS BIGGER THAN THIS LIZARD?!" One of the researchers yelled at the man.

Meanwhile, the young recruit circled the scene to investigate why she was behaving this way. "She's practically poisoned to death. Now we can't even conduct our research on her." The boss sighed and pushed his glasses back up. "No matter. We have plenty of other subjects. This is just one loss. Let's not make any more."

The security staff was left to details of moving the rest of the subjects. Janitorial duty came to clean up what was left. "Sir!" One of them yelled out to the scientists. The recruit was the first to get on the scene. "What is i— Oh no..." He stopped when he saw what the man was holding.

"She was.." The scientist covered his face and let out a heavy sigh, looking to the body bag carrying the now enlarged leopard gecko. "Now her behavior makes sense." He looked back to the makeshift nest with seven other eggs laying on their sides. 'She was being protective over these eggs.' He took note. 'Why though? Most small lizards would hide their eggs and run. They don't typically protect them and the gecko we've worked with never shown a bad attitude before... So why? Did she grow this "mother's instinct"? Is the mutation agent the cause?'

"Get rid of them," the boss ordered, pointing at the eggs. "We don't have time to play baby sitter." The young recruit stood up to him responding with "Could we at least see if they're fertile?" The boss snapped back at him. "What use would they be?"

"New opportunities sir. We saw how fully grown adults reacted to the substance that slipped in our water supply. Perhaps something's different with these eggs. They only look recently laid and it's possible that they got mutated just like their mother, but they would grow into it. Do you not see it? They're something new. They could be exactly what we need." The young man held a good point. "We can't waste an opportunity like this because we won't know if it'll happen so soon."

The boss looked down with a hand on his chin. "Fine. If you're so attached to the idea already, then we'll keep them for the time being, but if anything goes wrong, then there's to be no evidence of the mistakes. I already have the financier breathing down my neck." He mumbled the last part to himself. The young recruit nodded to his words. "Yes sir!" He was so excited to be involved in the newfound project, but unfortunately, he was none the wiser to the consequences that would happen later on.

He didn't know any better. He didn't know the tests would become more dangerous and surely he didn't know that he'd be the one to get far too attached to the last leopard gecko egg that hatched.

He didn't know any better.

None of them did.