#I need to play Command and Conquer 3 again

[rotten-patty]

*RTS base announcer voice* white woman manufactured

[commodorez]

What is the appeal of vintage computers to you? Is it the vintage video games or is it the programs? If so, what kind of programs do you like to run on them?

Fair warning, we're talking about a subject I've been passionate about for most of my life, so this will take a minute. The answer ties into how I discovered the hobby, so we'll start with a few highlights:

I played old video games starting when I was 9 or 10.

I became fascinated with older icons buried within Windows.

Tried to play my first video game (War Eagles) again at age 11, learned about the hardware and software requirements being way different than anything I had available (a Pentium III-era Celeron running Windows ME)

I was given a Commodore 1541 by a family friend at age ~12.

Watched a documentary about the history of computers that filled in the gaps between vague mentions of ENIAC and punch cards, and DOS/Windows machines (age 13).

Read through OLD-COMPUTERS.COM for the entire summer immediately after that.

Got my first Commodore 64 at age 14.

I mostly fell into the hobby because I wanted to play old video games, but ended up not finding a ton of stuff that I really wanted to play. Instead, the process of using the machines, trying the operating system, appreciating the aesthetic, the functional design choices of the user experience became the greater experience. Oh, and fixing them.

Then I started installing operating systems on some DOS machines, or playing with odd peripherals, and customizing hardware to my needs. Oh, and programming! Mostly in BASIC on 8-bit hardware, but tinkering with what each computer could do is just so fascinating to me. I'm in control, and there isn't much of anything between what I write and the hardware carrying it out (especially on pre-Windows machines)! No obfuscation layers, run-times, .dlls, etc. Regardless of the system, BASIC is always a first choice for me. Nova, Ohio Scientific, Commodore, etc. I usually try to see what I can do with the available BASIC dialect and hardware. I also tend to find a game or two to try, especially modern homebrew Commodore games because that community is always creating something new. PC stuff I focus more on pre-made software of the era.

Just to name a few examples from a variety of systems: Tetris, terminal emulators, Command & Conquer titles, screen savers, War Eagles, Continuum, video capture software, Atomic Bomberman, demos, LEGO Island, Bejeweled clones, Commander Keen 1-3, lunar lander, Galaxian, sinewave displays, 2048, Pacman, mandelbrot sets, war dialers, paint -- I could keep going.

Changing gears, I find it funny how often elders outside of the vintage computing community would talk about the era I'm interested in (60s-early 90s). [spoken with Mr. Regular's old man voice]: "Well, computers used to be big as a room! And we used punch cards, and COBOL!" I didn't know what any of that meant, and when pressed for technical detail they couldn't tell you anything substantial. Nobody conveyed any specifics beyond "that's what we used!"

I noticed that gaps remained in how that history was presented to me, even when university-level computer science and history professors were engaged on the subject. I had to go find it on my own. History is written by the victors, yeah? When was the last time a mainstream documentary or period piece focused on someone other than an Apple or Microsoft employee? Well, in this case, you can sidestep all that and see it for yourself if you know where to look.

Experiencing the history first hand to really convey how computers got from point A to B all the way down to Z is enlightening. What's cool is that unlike so many other fields of history, it's near enough in time that we can engage with people who were there, or better yet, made it happen! Why do you think I like going to vintage computer festivals?

We can see the missteps, the dead-ends, the clunkiness, the forgotten gems and lost paradigms, hopefully with context of why it happened. For the things we can't find more information on, when or documentation and perspectives are limited, sometimes we have to resort to digital archeology, and reverse engineering practices to save data, fix machines, and learn how they work. The greater arc of computer history fascinates me, and I intend to learn about it by fixing and using the computers that exemplify it best, and sharing that passion with others who might enjoy it.

[homestuckreplay]

Suddenly, Egg.

(page 1491-1508)

Vodka Mutini is back!! It’s super cute to just see him in the background of Rose’s panels. Especially where her sprite is scaled down so his also has to be scaled down to match and he is just a tiny black smear on my screen. <3

Rose heads back to the mausoleum, making the same journey she made in early Act 2 (p.394-399) this time under completely different conditions, but still needing the umbrella. Rose ‘wonder[ing] if this rain will ever let up’ (p.307) is hitting different now I know it rains in Sburb for her too.

We also get some knowledge about who’s controlling Rose. Whoever speaks in the zalgo cursive is familiar with Rose and with the game, knowing that creating Jaspersprite was Rose’s whole reason for playing. This is really different to WV, who knew nothing about John without help from the narrator. This future person’s editorializing with ‘A mother will do whatever is best for her children’ (p.1499) is more like WV, who also puts a lot of his own opinions into commands. This also might mean that the fourth future person’s ‘society role’ is something to do with raising children, possibly a teacher?

Page 1496 is a colorswapped and flashing version of page 840 (with bonus Mutie!) – I think I highlighted this as a cool page the first time around, and it’s cool again here. I don’t fully understand how the secret passage would have been preserved, since just Rose’s house was picked up from Earth and slapped down on LOLAR, but the tunnel was originally created and sealed by Rose’s mom, who has now used it to escape on a boat(?) so likely something to do with that.

In general, seeing Rose and Dave as Sburb clients this act really advances knowledge about what’s typical for the game and what’s specific to John. The First Gate being directly above the house seems universal, for example; Rose’s first gate is on page 1497. The entry item coming being alchemized with its precursor also happens to everyone; a bird lays Dave’s egg on page 1504. But the parent getting kidnapped by imps and taken to the dark kingdom might not be universal, as it seems like Rose’s mom has voluntarily left via this passage, put down her martini and gone sailing. Does she have some kind of plan, or does she just want to run away without Rose when things start getting dangerous?

Page 1497 sits alongside 1051 and 1395 as these beautiful vertical art pieces showing off the planets in the Incipisphere. Now that we have all these stunning locations with cool designs, it is really nice to pause to take them in, and to have art that isn’t just showing a change in state for the story, but that just looks amazing. All video games should have lookout points like this.

WV makes another town, this one called ‘Exile Town’. ‘Exiles’ is honestly a great collective name for these future folks on Jade’s island so I will totally adopt that. As well as cans, Exile Town includes mailboxes, fruits, caution tape, worms, Squiddles, a letter to Dr Brinner, the pumpkin and the oil. There is a beautiful ribbon cutting ceremony which is horrifically interrupted by a military parade.

AR thinks that ‘any town without a proper militia is as good as conquered’ (p.1501) which is stupid because there’s no other towns to do any invading!! What exactly is he trying to defend the town against? In my heart I know his logic is no more flawed than WV’s, who considers Can Town to be a bastion of democracy despite not allowing other candidates for its leadership, and that WV’s ideals of order and friendliness in the town are potentially just as questionable as ideals of might and aggression. I know all of this but I still think that WV is pure of heart and it is hard to criticize him for anything, ever.

All of a sudden there is an egg. (straight up no other way to say it - there's just an egg, and it comes out of nowhere even though a fourth exile was expected). Surprisingly it doesn’t fly in, but teleports in a burst of red lightning. Presumably the exile controlling Rose is currently inside, sending her messages before activating the homing function.

Dave’s entry item gets created with lots of time to spare on his cruxtruder countdown, and we don’t see any part of the alchemy process, which happens entirely offscreen during page 1504. The most damning evidence for moving the plot forward is Jade mentioning that she ‘was going to build some stairs’ (p.1505) and nobody making a Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff stairs joke. This is serious. Hey also, I know Dave doesn’t have any food in his fridge, but what’s wrong with him that he sees an egg and immediately goes ‘I gotta hatch this thing’?

The behavior of sprites is a really interesting unknown quantity in Sburb. Obviously the NPC knowledge and game guide function of sprites is important, but Nannasprite pranking John with a bucket of water on the door (p.417) surely comes from the harlequin prototyping, Rose tells us that Jaspersprite is acting similarly to alive Jaspers (p.1492) and Dave’s crow has rambunctiously gone to make a nest to hatch an egg. So, can this be exploited somehow? Lil Cal is the obvious second sprite prototyping for Dave, but could that be subverted to make something who’d help the group on a personality level? I am looking at Dave’s room (p.312) for inspiration and I can’t stop thinking about the signed photograph of Ben Stiller and how incredible it would be if Dave used this sprite as an opportunity to meet his hero. I actually don’t know if he’d be helpful but I can still see Dave doing this.

Anyway I really love the crowsprite’s nest of swords and smuppets, I love that all these violent and/or unsettling things from Dave’s house are now being used with more positive intent. Rambunctious Crow is personally breaking the cycle of violence one shredded puppet at a time. (Hey what happens if you prototype the sprite with the entry item? do you glitch directly to skaia?)

[natlacentral]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Officially Kicks Off Production

The war against the Fire Nation is far from over. Back in March, Netflix announced that Avatar: The Last Airbender has been renewed for Seasons 2 and 3, which will conclude this epic story. Now that process commences: production has begun on Season 2 — and Toph has been cast.

“We’re looking forward to working with all of our actors again and digging into the deeper, more complicated relationships that develop as their journey continues in Season 2,” executive producers Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani tell Tudum. “We are going to show the real-world versions of iconic scenes from the original, and explore some of the stories that the animation didn’t. Mainly — we’re looking forward to seeing our gang all together again.”

Keep reading below to find out everything you need to know about the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

What is Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 about?

The EPs are keeping details about Season 2 close to the vest, but they did tease that we will see more of the Earth Kingdom. 

“There’s no war in Ba Sing Se,” they explain, referencing a line from the original animated series. “For the Gaang, fans can expect more brilliant plans from Sokka [Ian Ousley], even more masterful bending from Katara [Kiawentiio], Appa and Momo to be as fluffy as ever, and Aang [Gordon Cormier] to learn a new bending form (or two).”

In general, Raisani and Boylan are excited about building on the strong foundation of Season 1. “We’re going to challenge our characters with more complex and nuanced obstacles as they navigate a more tactile world,” they continue. say Boylan and Raisani. “Just as the animated series matured and progressed, the live- action will also take these characters and worlds and grow them.” 

But with a new season comes the opportunity for fresh faces.

What new characters will be introduced in Season 2?

At Netflix’s Geeked Week 2024, it was announced that Miya Cech will join the cast as Toph, a master earthbender.

What happened in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1?

A live-action reimagining of the acclaimed Nickelodeon animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang, a young boy who’s the titular Avatar –– which means he’s the only one capable of mastering all four elements (air, water, fire, and earth). In Season 1, Aang wakes up after a 100-year slumber to discover he’s the only surviving Aairbender. The world is being threatened by the imperialistic Fire Nation, which wiped out every other airbender and is working to subjugate the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. With the help of his newfound friends Katara, a waterbender, and her brother Sokka, Aang sets off on a journey to restore balance to this fractured world. 

Aang and his companions achieve a Pyrrhic victory in the Season 1 finale. Sure, they were able to stop the Fire Nation — led by Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu), his uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), and Commander Zhao (Ken Leung) — from destroying the Northern Water Tribe, but it was merely a distraction from the larger war. Miles away, Zuko’s sister, Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu), conquered Omashu, one of the two Earth Kingdom cities that had managed to stave off the Fire Nation until now, and took King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar) prisoner. As if that wasn’t devastating enough, a mid-credit scene reveals that Sozin’s Comet, a rare cosmic event, is on the horizon, which can’t mean anything good for our heroes.

“I thought it was really clever of the writers to end Season 1 in that way, because you want to get a sense that the universe of the show is expanding with every season,” Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Zuko and Azula’s ruthless father, Fire Lord Ozai, told Tudum in February. “And they really did a good job of that with that cliff-hanger and also created a sense of urgency and time.” 

“Always leave the audience wanting more,” Lee added. “I just had chills seeing Lizzy as Azula. You’ve got King Bumi in shackles, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, there’s so many cliff-hangers.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I want to shoot Season 2, 3 right now.’ ” 

Thankfully, he’s getting his wish. 

Keep checking back here for more information about what’s to come for the Aang gang. In the meantime, you can watch the cast’s adorable audition tapes below. 

[jeannereames]

Two related questions :)

1. We know that over time Hephastion will become an important commander, how will your Hephastion behave as a commander? what will be his main qualities and what are the main differences between him and Alexander in terms of command?

2. I noticed that in the first book Cleitus doesn't get along very well with Hephastion, how do you see them both getting along with joint command of the most prestigious unit in the army?

For other readers, these questions are about Dancing with the Lion, the novels, not the historical people. While my characters are informed by my academic work, I obviously have to flesh them out for the books.

(My) Hephaistion is a reluctant but highly competent commander. I foreshadowed this in Rise when he takes command early in Alexandros’s self-imposed exile. Alexandros is too emotionally numb to do, so Hephaistion steps in. And he’s good at it. That’s the first hint of where he’ll excel: logistics and organization. But as soon as Alexandros is ready to resume leadership, Hephaistion is happy to hand it over. He’s simply not ambitious. People can be good at something without necessarily wanting to do it (regularly).

In the novels, Hephaistion won’t have much in the way of command initially because Alexandros has numerous older commanders who he inherited from Philippos. It wouldn’t be politically astute to just demote or get rid of these men. In his first few years in Asia, he did appoint several to fill satrapies in areas he’d conquered, men such as Antigonos, Balakros…even Nearchos. Nearchos doesn’t become his admiral until much later in the campaign when he’s recalled east from his assignment on the coast (Lycia/Pamphylia). Although in Nearchos’s case, he was there because Alexander (the historical man) trusted him. Alexandros (the character) will assign him there to keep an eye on the other powerful men who Alexandros doesn’t trust as much.

It won’t be until these replacements happen that we’ll see Hephaistion gradually move up. His first big assignment occurs in Sidon (slightly skewed in the novel from the histories, which are presented as a moral tale meant to mimic popular Roman myths of [et al.] Cincinnatus).

In general, he accepts commands because incompetence annoys him. In that, he and Alexandros are much alike. But while Alexandros will charm his way into “helping” you, Hephaistion will just rip whatever it is out of your hands and do it himself…faster. So, I don’t see him as a beloved commander, but do see him as a respected one, at least by the men he commands—who directly benefit from his competence (and fairness).

In terms of his skill-set, it’s the same as the historical man’s: organization/logistics and diplomacy. (My) Hephaistion is not, however, the person Alexandros sends when he wants to charm somebody. But he is the person Alexandros sends when he needs a commander who can effect a quick (and accurate) assessment of interpersonal dynamics and any weaknesses (or strengths) of an opponent. He’s not easy to fool.

Moreover, if he may not be the soul of charm, he also isn’t a bull in a China shop; he can be perfectly polite, if reserved. He can also be sneaky in a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-my-mouth way—also not unlike Alexandros. In book 3, King, he’ll function as Alexandros’s spy at one point, precisely because he can convincingly play pretty-but-dumb. This, again, was foreshadowed in book one, Becoming, where he tricks Kassandros at the very beginning by pretending to be what Kassandros took him for: a backwoods bumpkin. (That’s still one of my favorite scenes in book 1, and among the few I wrote way back in 1988/89 that’s still in the published version.)

Anyway, Hephaistion is diplomatic in the sense that he “reads the room” well and doesn’t often lose his cool (or his temper). When he decides to go after somebody, it will be entirely pre-meditated, and usually devastating. In that, he’s completely different from the hot-tempered Alexandros (and most of their friends). But it works well for him in command because the soldiers, and later officers, serving under him can’t easily rile him up. (Krateros is another matter, but more on that later.)

As for the second half of your question: Kleitos and Hephaistion will never be bosom buddies because they’re such different personalities, but over time, Kleitos has revised his opinion of Hephaistion. When the latter first arrived in Pella, Kleitos thought him a spoilt fancy-boy, which drove Hephaistion’s reactionary responses. At that point, he’s still young enough to be triggered. As he ages, and grows in confidence, he’s less easy to provoke. Kleitos also comes to recognize his skill as a fighter. Hephaistion will never be an especially gifted battle commander, nor is he “warm” enough that men will follow him through hell and high water the way the will Alexandros, or Parmenion, or Krateros. But he is a leader rather than a “boss,” which goes a long way. He learned that from Alexandros, and it’s also in his basic nature. He won’t ask people to do what he won’t do himself. But he also won’t chit-chat with you while you’re both doing it. 😆

Thus, Kleitos comes to respect him. At the end of Rise, note that Hephaistion has beaten Kleitos in Single Combat, even if he didn’t win overall first place. That little victory goes some way towards Hephaistion being able to let go of his long-nursed resentment towards Kleitos. He’s proven himself to himself, which matters most.

So yes, they’ll be able to work with each other later.

[fictionsoul]

The dragon who conquered the sky III

Dragon master fem!reader x Cloud controller Yesung

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5

Theme: Celebrity-fantasy AU

Synopsis: SM's Special Forces Program had demanded the presence of its best soldiers. An idol capable of molding clouds to his convenience and you, a rockstar capable of commanding a legion of dragons needed to join forces to save your world from imminent doom.

Warnings: Description of violent events, war theme (?), written with female pronouns, slight use of "Y/N", fluff, enemies to lovers, humor, slow burn.

w/c: 5k

a/n: This chapter contains two terms from Chinese mythology and culture. I apologize in advance if any of them are used incorrectly, but I did my best to research them.

The dragon who conquered the sky III

Your spontaneous laughter echoed through the rehearsal room as Yesung's arrow hit the wall instead of the target.

With that wasted arrow, the total increased to eight shots that had hit everywhere but the target.

"Maybe you should switch weapons and try something else, like a sword or an axe," you suggested, balancing one of your daggers on the tip of your index finger.

The way you handled that sharp object showed how skilled you were at such tasks.

Your training in China had been demanding.

When your powers were not yet fully developed, your mother had taken charge of your training. The weight of your family's battle style fell on you; after all, you were the only heir.

"I don't think so," replied Yesung, placing the arrow back on the bow. "I prefer a weapon which I can attack from a distance."

His voice brought you back to the present, forcing you to focus your attention on him.

The admission of his true motives was involuntary. Siwon's power continued to exert its effect on both.

You rolled your eyes and continued to weigh the dagger in your hands as you watched the singer's technique with the bow.

The lack of practice in using such devices would end up putting Yesung and even yourself at risk.

You wouldn't know if he was aiming at the enemy or at you. If he didn't receive the proper instructions on how to use the bow, the consequences could be disastrous.

Knowing in advance that you would regret what you were about to do, you directed your steps toward the idol, who still seemed to be having trouble drawing the bowstring.

"Spread your legs a little and square your shoulders," you ordered in a firm voice.

There was not a hint of humor in your tone, nothing to indicate that you were playing a joke or just wanted to pass the time. No. Your expression was completely serious.

"Hold the handle firmly with your left hand, place four fingers of your other hand on the string, and pull slightly."

The idol obeyed, trying to maintain the posture you had indicated. Tightening that string was complicated, a task that was completely foreign to him.

The string slipped from his fingers and produced a threatening buzz that left him perplexed.

"Forget what happened and try again."

Yesung resumed the posture and redid the movement you had instructed him to do, this time paying attention to every detail to avoid any possible mistakes.

"Don't stop squaring your shoulders," you finally circled around him to appreciate his technique. "Your elbow should be at shoulder height."

You pushed the singer's elbow upward with your fingers. His arm trembled slightly due to the tension of the string, but he still did not loosen his grip.

You moved around him, trying to correct his grip, posture, and technique, giving him light taps here and there.

When you reached his back, you positioned yourself behind him, your left hand closing around his to help him straighten the direction he was pointing.

Your fingers caressed his, sending an electric current coursing through his entire body.

He swallowed hard, trying not to lose his concentration.

After loosening your grip, you rested your palm on his back to correct the position of his shoulder blades.

That dynamic was driving him crazy to the point where he didn't know what he was doing there.

"Do you know how to shoot a bow, or are you messing with me?" he asked to keep his mind occupied with something.

He didn't want to keep thinking about your touch, your presence, or the absurd scent of your hair, which his brain was struggling to discern until it found every note of fragrance in it.

"I know a little about archery."

Your answer was simple and concise. You didn't want to invite any further questions, and you hoped your distant tone would achieve its goal.

"Pay attention to your elbow, you can't lower it like that or the arrow will end up causing an accident," you warned to keep his focus on what he was doing at the moment.

After a couple of hours of pulling the string and holding the handle as if letting go meant death, Yesung believed he was ready to shoot his first arrow.

He took one of the long―pointed rods in his right hand and placed the nock on the string. He pulled the bow back with force and aimed at the bale with precision, aware that you were watching him.

Like an expert in the field, he closed one eye to ensure greater accuracy. Your words echoed in his mind, "the elbow goes at shoulder height," and he corrected his grip.

From his perspective, the arrow should hit the middle, or at least he hoped it would hit the yellow area of the target.

"The string should touch your nose," you said when you saw him hesitate a little.

Yesung followed the order and finally released the string.

The singer watched the arrow fly as if it were moving in slow motion until it hit the yellow area of the target.

A cry of enthusiasm escaped your lips as you clapped happily for your teammate's achievement.

Yesung couldn't believe he had done it, not after missing all his previous shots. That hit seemed more like a miracle than the result of his previous practice.

"Thanks for the lesson," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "You're an excellent instructor."

"You were an excellent student too."

You quickly covered your mouth with both hands in a gesture of regret. You didn't know that Siwon's power included expelling those comments that ran through your mind even though you had no intention of mentioning them.

"How gratifying it is not to have to read your thoughts because you reveal them yourself," commented Kyuhyun as he entered the practice room.

Your hands remained in the same place to prevent your lips from moving. You had so much to say that it was a daunting task to stop your words and thoughts.

"Let's see, Cupid," he said, turning to Yesung, "tomorrow you have a mission on the Music Bank stage."

"Only him?" you asked, although it really sounded like a complaint.

"I didn't think it would bother you to be separated from Yesung. In fact, I thought you didn't like him very much," Kyuhyun added, smiling mischievously as he enjoyed the way your face flushed vehemently.

"Kyuhyun, focus," the vocalist pleaded, trying to hold back a satisfied smile.

"As I was saying," he resumed, "tomorrow Riize will be performing their song on Music Bank in Beijing, and you guys need to be there supporting our boys in case things get a little tense."

Both of you had completely forgotten about the male rookies, focusing instead on the activities of the newly debuted girls.

You nodded to obey Kyuhyun's order and moved away from the two of them to continue throwing the daggers at the target.

There was no time to waste. You needed to practice and make your shots lethal if you wanted to defeat the supernatural force threatening the audience.

Yesung's skills with the bow and arrow weren't the best, and you couldn't risk such an important mission for him to use it as a practice field.

Your tight-fitting suit was a blessing when it came to fighting enemy forces. It gave you enough freedom of movement to run across the rooftops of some buildings and, at the same time, to throw the daggers you held in both hands.

"If I had my abilities, I would have asked a dragon to stay under the stage in case any enemies attacked," you muttered as you crouched behind the ledge of a building.

The fact that both had long-range weapons made surveillance easier.

You didn't need to be close to the stage, and that distant position gave you a slight advantage over your enemies.

Music Bank was a highly anticipated event, with the audience waving different lightsticks in the air as the groups performed. The fans chanted the songs, performing each fan chant perfectly, as if making a mistake would ruin the idols' performance.

It was Riize's turn, and everyone got ready to cheer on the audience with Boom Boom Bass as their first choice.

Won Bin's voice echoed throughout the venue, and the audience cheered the group's name. People were ecstatic, cheering on all the members equally.

A pang of envy hit you right in the stomach.

Those screams, the way the audience moved in unison, how all the voices came together to chant ―all of that had been yours.

All the pleasure of being in front of an audience, your audience, was something you missed since you had to put your activities on hold.

Yesung was no stranger to that feeling, but he could cope with it. After all, he had been away from the stage while serving in the military. It wasn't a rewarding experience, but at least it had happened before.

"It seems like Riize is popular these days," you commented distractedly.

"They're very good and have worked very hard. They deserve the success they have," Yesung replied, placing his hand on your shoulder.

"I miss going on stage and playing my guitar while singing and giving what I think is the best performance of my life."

"Your shows are very good," he admitted, unsure whether it was his own opinion or Siwon's influence, but he continued, "I had the opportunity to attend one of them and it was… magnificent."

"Define magnificent," you murmured, feeling a deep warmth climb up your neck, threatening to continue its upward trajectory.

"Begging for compliments?" One of his eyebrows rose, punctuating the question as he smiled. "I didn't think you were the type who needed them."

"I just want to know what you think of my work."

Unable to stop your words, you pressed your lips together, hoping to put an end to the curse Siwon had placed on you.

Yesung gave you the sweetest smile you had ever seen him give in all the time you had known each other. It was a spontaneous gesture that pierced your heart as if he had shot one of his arrows into that part of your being.

Your face flushed, and you desperately tried to shake off that reaction. Deep breathing was a technique that usually helped.

"I'll be honest with you, and it's not because of Siwon's power," he raised his hand as if taking an oath. "The play of light and fire you achieve when you play the guitar is impressive. Remember the cover you did of aespa's 'Live My Life'? I bet more than half of the views on that video are mine."

The enthusiasm with which he said each of those things was overwhelming. It was something you weren't prepared for.

You were in shock.

You stared intently at your partner's face as he continued to talk and gesticulate as if talking about you was his favorite topic of conversation.

"―And on the day it rained and they almost canceled your concert in London, I saw a couple of fan cams and your performance was amazing. I mean, you were soaked from head to toe! Even so, you hit the high note at the end of "Always by Your Side." I totally get how you alone can drive your audience crazy like that."

"Wait, wait, wait. Did Siwon's power force you to say that?" you asked when he paused to take a breath.

"Some things yes, some things no. I think it's nerves about the mission."

His words hit you like a punch in the stomach. You had completely forgotten the main mission. You weren't there to make friends or strengthen relationships; you were there to protect your teammates and the fans.

Instinctively, you climbed onto the ledge and strained your eyes, waiting for things to settle down on stage.

"Be careful, we can't let them see us," Yesung warned, placing a hand near where your feet were resting, just in case you stumbled.

You nodded and continued to watch closely.

A strange movement below you caught your attention, instinctively you tried to throw one of your daggers but your reaction was too late.

A black mist engulfed you throwing your body backward, right where Yesung was standing guard.

The singer watched your body rise several meters away and prepared to catch you in his arms.

The same mist grabbed the vocalist by the waist and pulled him back to prevent him from stopping your fall.

"Y/N!" he shouted, waiting for you to react before your body hit the ground.

The mention of your name snapped you out of your stupor and forced you to maneuver in midair like a cat trying to land on its feet.

When your knees and hands touched the ground, you rolled to one side to reduce the force of the impact.

With no time to lose, you stood up and your hands firmly grasped the daggers.

An almost imperceptible flick of your wrist to throw the dagger was enough for the mist to release Yesung, who was struggling not to fall from the roof.

The same smoke came back together to form a black line.

Below, on stage, the audience's screams went from joyful to heart-wrenching and filled with fear.

You couldn't keep an eye on what was happening at Music Bank because of the problem Yesung and you had to deal with at that moment.

"I need you to see what's happening down there," you requested without taking your eyes off the column of smoke in front of you.

"And leave you here alone? Don't even think about it."

"I'm the one who doubts you can handle the problem there, and yet I'm asking you to do it," you replied, feeling anger crackling inside you.

"Let's gain some time and I'll think of a plan."

The mist advanced rapidly toward where the idol was.

It was completely useless to continue arguing. What you needed was to act in anticipation of its movements, not evade it until one of you came up with something.

Time was against you.

"Hurry up!" you ordered before launched your attack, striking with your fists and the daggers you held in them.

Yesung didn't think twice and jumped from one roof to another, hoping not to be seen by the public.

Some people had fainted on the ground, and the paramedics seemed overwhelmed.

If only he had his powers with him, he could sing to heal people, but now he was useless, nothing more than a person carrying a bow and arrows on his back that he still couldn't fully control.

On stage, the mist was thicker. More human.

The silhouette of a woman approached from behind a couple of girls who seemed oblivious to what was happening. It was logical that they didn't see they were in danger; after all, they weren't part of the program, they weren't trained to see those beings.

Without thinking twice, Yesung reached for the bow and gripped it firmly trying to remember the instructions you had taught him.

Your voice echoed in his mind, giving orders as if you were there with him. He could feel your hand surrounding his as he held the handle.

His fingers moved the nock toward the string and pulled it taut enough to hit the target.

"Damn it, just move a little to the right," he whispered to himself as he closed one eye, ensuring greater accuracy.

Finally, one of the girls crouched abruptly, and Yesung took advantage of the open space to shoot his arrow.

The carbon fiber rod evaporated as soon as it came into contact with the silhouette surrounding the small group of girls.

That shadow met a similar fate, turning into a gray mist and then disappearing.

Yesung descended from the roof and ran through the crowd looking for the members of Riize. After all, he was there to take care of them and had to deliver them safely to the SM Entertainment studios.

His gaze moved from left to right as he continued walking through the sea of people, searching for Sohee's classic hairstyle.

The task was not easy; his hands continued to tremble at the feeling of having shot an arrow that hit its target.

His body collided with some of the staff members before he managed to reach the dressing rooms. Fortunately, it seemed that no one had been injured.

Yesung paused for a couple of seconds to catch his breath. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was until the adrenaline left his body.

Finally, he took a couple of deep breaths and made his way back to the building where he had left you fighting alone.

Your hand struck the face of a beautiful woman, a charming being who would be lethal if it were Yesung fighting her.

You had met few like her, and only once had you seen someone fighting against such a being.

The memory of your mother fighting had been burned into your memory. You could remember every detail of the event.

A Chi Mei was not a harmless demon, not for someone who had seen how the spirit of a woman had swallowed up the heart of a defenseless man.

You pushed that memory to the back of your mind and concentrated on taking advantage of the moment of calm while that female figure tried to recover from the blow.

It didn't matter that your heart was racing, your hands were shaking, or your breathing was irregular. You needed to focus on your enemy.

You took one of your daggers and made a small incision on your fingertip. Blood began to flow in small drops, which you used to write on one of the daggers.

As you moved your index finger across the metal surface, the woman lunged at you, digging her long claws into your left arm.

Your hand dropped the dagger in pain, and it fell to the floor with a metallic clang.

"Give me your face, beautiful," sang that creature, digging its claws deeper and deeper.

You needed time, some distraction that would allow you to finish writing the Fulu on the dagger lying on the floor.

You tried to move toward your weapon but the claws dug in a little deeper, causing you to let out a cry of pain.

You could feel the drops of blood running down your arm, and even the fabric of your suit was beginning to darken in the area where the claws dug into your skin.

"Damn it, let me go!" you shouted in pain and fury.

You didn't think that mist would turn into a demon. You never imagined that the mission would become so complex.

The demonic woman smiled maliciously, showing you her pointed teeth and a viper-like tongue that made you open your eyes in fear.

Summoning all your strength, you swung your arm downward, and the claws had no choice but to retract to avoid breaking from the sudden movement.

A trickle of blood ran down the length of your limb before falling to the ground in drops.

Instinctively, you covered your wound with your other hand and ran to retrieve the dagger. Finishing the inscription you had started was your priority.

The demon woman lunged at you again, but this time an arrow embedded itself in her foot, preventing her from reaching you.

Without wasting any more time, you continued drawing lines that soon transformed into the inscriptions that would destroy the Chi Mei.

"Are you okay?" Yesung asked with what little breath he had left. "What are you writing there?"

"It's a spell. Get away. Don't let her touch you and don't listen to her," you ordered urgently as your finger continued to paint the metal with your blood.

"When did you learn how to do all this?"

"I said get away!" you shouted as you drew the last lines.

Your arm fell limply to your side. Your limb had become heavy and your vision blurred due to blood loss and the poison that creature possessed.

You were a woman after all, and what it wanted was your face. The only way to get it was to take your life, and it was about to succeed.

You took the metal device in your other hand and placed it in front of your lips as you uttered the prayer that would destroy the demon.

They were the same words your mother had spoken. You had learned them from that moment on, and now they were about to be used again to accomplish the same task.

Yesung watched the scene in bewilderment.

A woman smiled grimly as she tried to pull the arrow out of her foot, and you had blood dripping from you as you recited things in front of a dagger.

If someone told him that it was a satanic invocation, he would believe them completely.

Your body, growing weaker by the second, did everything it could to move toward the demon that was about to be released, but your attempts were futile; you were exhausted.

"Yesung," you called out, seeing no other solution to what was happening. "Stab this dagger into any part of her, but don't let her touch you for anything in the world." A sudden cough interrupted your words.

More blood spurted from your mouth, this time with a strange yellowish color that set off all the alarms in Yesung's mind.

"Let's go to the hospital first. Damn it, Lee Soo Man shouldn't have taken our powers away," he complained, feeling helpless at seeing you in that state and unable to do anything for you.

"Yesung, look at me," your bloody hand touched his cheek, forcing him to look into your eyes. "There's no time, just finish her off and we'll get out of here."

Yesung's hand took the small dagger you were handing him and inspected it, thinking about its weight, its structure, and the best way to handle it.

Even in the midst of the chaos, you allowed yourself to laugh at his reaction. He would never change; even at that moment, when your life was hanging by a thread, he had to come up with a strategy.

"I put my life in your delicate hands that refuse to get dirty," you murmured, smiling as you felt your legs give way under your weight. "You just have to hurt her with that."

Your knees took the impact, but you knew it was only a matter of time before your life came to an end.

Yesung took the weapon and advanced decisively toward the woman he had wounded with his arrow.

She would pay for all the harm she had done to you; she had to pay for the pain she was causing you.

His footsteps quickened until he was almost in front of her.

"Help me," whimpered the demon using your voice.

Yesung stopped dead in his tracks and turned his gaze toward you.

"Don't listen to her!" you shouted before another sudden cough fit prevented you from doing so.

The singer shook his head and refocused his attention on the woman in front of him.

"I love you," the Chi Mei tried to lure Yesung.

Your voice distracted him too much. Those words sounded like you, in the same sweet and warm tone you used to speak to your fans.

He swallowed hard but didn't back down. You had given him a task and he would fulfill it.

"Do you really love me?" Yesung asked, slowly approaching the ghostly figure who was still trying to pull the arrow out of the ground.

"Of course I do," she said in a sing-song voice. "Ever since we met at the agency."

His heart forgot how to beat for a second.

"I thought you hated me."

He took two more steps, trying to keep his distance so as not to get too close to her.

It was difficult to concentrate on the task when it was your voice calling him.

"Come and pull out the arrow, I can't do it without you."

"You're a terrible imitator. At least try a little harder if you're going to steal her voice," Yesung commented as he plunged the dagger into the creature's shoulder. "She would only ask for help if her life were in danger."

A labun howl escaped Chi Mei's mouth as she writhed on the ground.

Black water began to flow from the wound, spilling onto the ground and staining it the same dark color.

Yesung took a couple of steps back and ran toward you to get you out there.

Your skin was pale and your breathing was almost imperceptible. Too light to reach your lungs.

"What do I do now?" he asked desperately, but you didn't answer.

The idol went into crisis too quickly, but his common sense never left him. He needed to get down from there to take you to the practice room.

If he thought about it, he couldn't go to the hospital and tell everyone that a demon had attacked you in the middle of a battle. No one would believe him, and it would create chaos around the agency and the two of you.

Yesung bent down and carried you in his arms while looking for the best way to get down from there without anyone seeing you.

The tasks became more complicated the more he thought about them. But then your hand moved and you placed it on his chest, right over his heart.

Your fingers felt the fast beat of that organ, and you couldn't help but smile with relief.

"It's still there," you whispered with satisfaction. "No one has stolen it from you."

"How can you be sure of that?" he murmured, loosening his grip slightly.

His eyes scanned your body, looking for wounds and bruises that needed immediate attention.

"It's still beating, fast as if you'd run a marathon, but you can hear it and feel it."

Yesung doubted that you could hear or feel his heartbeat at that very moment, when your words had made him pause his vital function for a second.

The singer's face was painted the same reddish color as the sky, announcing the arrival of sunset.

"Could you put me down? I need to stretch these muscles if I want to go back to the building to report what happened."

Yesung gently allowed you to descend, even taking your hand so you could support yourself in case you couldn't keep your balance.

Your legs supported your weight as you did some small warm-up exercises before setting off for the SM offices.

The shouts from the lower part of the building caught your attention again, but this time they weren't the terrified voices of the audience but the excited shouts of the Riize boys.

"We'll wait for you two in the car!" Anton shouted as soon as he saw you peeking out from the ledge.

You waved goodbye and hurried toward the edge of the building, ready to jump down the same way you had climbed up.

It was a big deal for the newbies to wait for you, but it was an even bigger deal to have Yesung behind you, watching your every step as if you were still recovering.

Your footsteps never stopped or slowed down. You needed to get away from there to get rid of the horrible feeling of your body struggling between life and death.

When your steps took you to where the boys were waiting, they all welcomed you with open arms and little pats on the back to congratulate you on your triumph.

Yesung exchanged a few words with the members and congratulated them on their performance as he watched Sungchan and Wonbin entertain themselves by talking to you as they got into the vehicle.

Things seemed to slowly return to normal as the six boys talked about their performance. Stories from the past began to surface during the ride.

You laughed, clapped, and added hilarious comments whenever you had the chance. That's how it was until your energy began to leave your body and your eyes inevitably closed in search of a little rest.

Your head was resting on Sungchan's shoulder, swaying as the truck turned, braked, or accelerated.

"I'll take care of her," Yesung announced, placing the palm of his hand against your cheek to move you toward his shoulder.

"Are you two dating?" Sohee asked without warning.

The vehicle fell silent, and the six members' eyes fell on Yesung as he continued to hold your head so you wouldn't shake so much with the swaying of the car.

The idol swallowed hard before answering the question.

"No, we're working as a team."

"You look good together. I bet no one would expect this kind of relationship. The media would go crazy," added the young man without any filter to stop him from saying the first thing that came to mind.

Shotaro cleared his throat with obvious discomfort and placed his hand on Sohee's leg to signal that it was time to shut up.

"We're here," announced the driver, and everyone hurried to get out of the vehicle.

Yesung took a moment to coordinate his movements so he could carry you without waking you up.

Your body wasn't as light as when he had picked you up at the top of the building, and your breathing seemed steady.

A sigh of relief escaped the idol's lips as his gaze remained fixed on your face.

With a steady step, he entered the SM building and headed for the area that had been assigned to the team as a bedroom.

"Do you like Y/N?" Heechul asked suddenly.

"Yes," Yesung replied, completely unable to lie thanks to Siwon's power. "What kind of question is that!?"

"One I can ask now that you can't lie," he sang smugly at his friend's response. "Does she know?"

Yesung sighed resignedly, knowing in advance that this was going to be a long and uncomfortable night with his group members.

A small reminder that requests are open, if you don't feel good sending messages in english, you cand send your request in spanish too (since I can work properly with that language).

If you only wanna fangirling or make any question my messages are open for you too

[a-student-out-of-time]

See i feel like something at play with the "writters intention vs how the character is percieved by fans" thing is the fact that just because a character is an unlikable person that doesn't necessarily makes them an unlikable character, and i feel like writters often forget about that. Like, Power from chainsaw man is a terrible person and definitely not the kind I'd want to hang out with irl, but as a character she's so funny and entertaining that you can't help but love watching what she'll do or say next.

On the opposite side of the coin, there's times where writters want to make a character liked by the audience and do so by making them pure rays of sunshine that can't do no wrong, sometimes even going as far as not giving them flaws, and this just leads to a character who's often pretty unremarkable and boring because it's no fun watching a perfect person be perfect all the time. Tanjito from demon slayer is a good example of this to me, for a while the only real flaw he had is that he would constantly break his swords, but even that the show felt like they couldn't let be and went "No that wasn't Tanjiro's fault, it was just the guy who makes them that sucks at his job".

//Yeah, I think that's a really important reason to have some secondary opinions from beta-readers. You know how you want your characters to be perceived, but that's not always going to translate into the writing or into peoples' minds 100% of the time.

//For a bit of an older example, the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation are supposed to make Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise seem enlightened and upstanding, but they instead come off as smug, condescending, callous and often cowardly. It wasn't really until Season 3 that the show began to shift into the show that would be better remembered by Pop Culture.

//Compare and contrast characters like Khan Noonian Singh and The Outrageous Okana. Khan is THE iconic Star Trek villain, a genetically-enhanced superhuman with a commanding presence and the power to back it up. The prequel novels go further in expanding on his character, and really show how this guy could conquer everything from Morocco to China during the Eugenics Wars.

//In contrast, does anyone even know who Okana is? He appeared in one episode of Season 2 and was intended to come off as this suave, dashing ladies man, and basically an expy of Han Solo. What he actually came across as was an annoying sleazebag whose charming roguishness was all just told to us, while all we saw of him ranged from boring to annoying. There's a reason he never showed up again.

//Or hell, just think about all the comic relief characters who come off as more obnoxious and annoying than funny. The ones you want to see less and less of every time the story shoves them into your face.

//Now, when discussions are made about characters who come across as too perfect or never make mistakes, the term "Mary Sue" gets thrown around, and I always feel the need to remind people that these traits don't make a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. That's only applicable when a character literally becomes the singularity at the center of the story, where everything has to about them in some form, regardless of how they're written or why.

//Perfect/flawless characters can be annoying as well, but that feels more like it's the result of, as you said, perceived fears that a character being disliked. That if they make mistakes or turn out to be just wrong about something, we'll think less of them. This is only true if these things are the result of a character being stupid to make the plot reason, rather than character flaws.

//Dynamic flawed characters are the most interesting and most engaging ones in any story, and if you're worried how they come across as, get some outside opinions and see how you can improve.

//It's not about making a character less flawed or more cool, but better communicating the details about them that you want people to pick up on.

[theuniverseawakens347]

men in their toxic fem energy call it being masculine but you act how you think a bitch act on another nigga you deem less then and you or you cheat.

yal need to get in touch w a healthy feminine energy ( then you won’t hate ur girl or a good women automatically pick on their kindness to feed ur aggression - gay issues) and count out your masculine energy as always needing to drive the boat - you lost your yin and yang… you’re stuck in one energy but saying “ when it’s good w me n my girl or another softer masculine body built bitch then I’m adapting my energy flow” - no you’re stuck in one and found someone else who’s stuck in that same one but it look opposite now.

toxic fem male says he’s being masculine picks on or easy hangs with a toxic masculine woman who’s presenting fem in clothing but got a masculine built - WHATS the attitude like.

fucking chaos you choose to force to conquer instead of running towards that space that brought you peace - serenity.

and if your peace is chaos - “ it’s too quiet I need to provoke a fight” YOU HAVE FUCKING MENTAL ISSUES LIKE UNDERLINE PYSCHO NO LOGIC SOCIOPATH tendencies

“ what if I know the background story” - are YOU IN A POSITION TO HARASS.. WHATS THE LAW.. 10 commandments .. 12 spiritual laws… GOLDEN RULE.. kill em w kindness but anyways - “ mom taught me when they hit me hit back” … okay but you lick back for eye for an eye MAKE THE WORLD BLLIND - YOU LOST YO GOTDAMN REASON AND BECAME THE ABUSER CUSS YOU FINDING FUN N BRINGING YO ABUSER AGONGY.. YOU NOT HEALING DUMMBY YOU TURNING INTO A ASSWIPE … now you take that anywhere - baby serial killer in the makings. OR you walk away and think “ we even” but DONT PROCESS YO SHIT ACTIONS IN DEPTH.. NOW YOU MISERABLE AFTER 3 days of happiness and wondering why - YOU TOOK IT TOO FUCKING FAR AND LACK ACCOUNTABILITY

then yal mad when yal kids take it out on you.. or your good friend don’t want shit to do with you. 🫤🫤 vice versa on the parents too. .. kids you mad when mommy dad reprimand you then it becomes “ you can’t tell me shit when you do x y n z here” … but them different playing fields - U MAD YOU KNOW YOU DID SOME DUMB SHIT BUT DONT WANA TAKE ABOUT ITNBC YOU SPENT ALL THAT TIME THINKING “ it’s right if how or when I do it”

I like convo and my space to heal - SEEING ALL ANGLES TO GET A CLEAR VIEW ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS MEASURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN NOT LETTING SHITTY SHIT LIKE THAT ON MY END HAPPY AGAIN - golden rule … if I wouldn’t like it done to me WHY WOULD I DO IT TO SOMEONE ELSE.

You played w my safety IM BEAT YO ASS TIL ITS RIGHT.. not til I’m satisfied I “won” - EQUAL EXCHANGE -… AGAIN A YR AND CHANGE OF MAKING ME HOMELESS TO MENTALLY HARASS ME SO YOU CAN SAY IM CRAZY …THEN PUT UNSAFE PPL AROUND ME TO HARASS MY SAFETY TO TEST “ the god in her” THEN DO MORE NEFARIOUS CRIMNAL ID FRAUD AS ME BC THE OTHER TWO POCKETS NOT GIVING THE PROOF YOU NEED TO DEEM ME UNFIT FOR MY LIVING AT AVA BEING 1000010% LEGIT LEGAL SAFE FUN N HAPPY ON MY END - YOU HATE SOMEONE ELSE TALENT DEPSITE THE GOD IN ME WAKING - THE DISCIPLINE YOU LACK TO FIND YOUR AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS THAT FEEDS YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL - healing but you the “chosen one” and still spreading the curse 🫤 DDG you look duller and duller every fucking video since starting YouTube as a hit in college - abortion x 2 MURDER.

[psalmonesermons]

The 7 churches of Revelation 6. Philadelphia

What can we learn from them?

3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David [1]. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Jesus Christ is a true descendant of King David in terms of faith and righteousness in contrast to those unbelieving Jews in Philadelphia. Jesus alone as the holder of the key of David has the ultimate executive power over all things in the cosmos with power to allow or to block as He sees fit. The key of David implies the Holder is fully ordained by God. Isaiah shows that all the glory of God’s family is vested in Him who holds the key of David, and that the Holder is like the firmly driven in tent peg that holds everything in the right place. All the honour of Father God’s household is represented as seated in the throne of Jesus Christ.

Although this church had grown weak it was still loyal to Jesus and probably had been specifically tested on this matter of loyalty to Him. Those unbelieving Jews were much more like Satan than the righteous Jews as required by the Law since they were the main accusers and persecutors of the Christians in the city. Jesus promises that one day these unrighteous Jews will need to bow and acknowledge that God loves the church members that these Jews had slandered.

The open door represents a wonderful opportunity to preach the Gospel and the tone of great comfort implies that the grace of God to empower and sustain the church is fully available. V10 ‘I will keep you from...’ is God’s promise of special protection to His church and specifically that He will in some way intervene to prevent them from going through a terrible ‘hour of trial’ that will affect everyone else alive on the planet.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.12 Those who are victorious I will make pillars in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

He comforts this church with the fact that they will not have too long to wait for His coming. Jesus admonishes them to keep their love and faith so that their rewards will be full. To those who overcome the promise is given of eternally playing a key supporting role in God’s Holy Temple i.e. the New Jerusalem. The other rewards include being given a new name.

Those who are ready and able should listen to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

The Church of Philadelphia – Further commentary from Jacky Wilson (the contribution of the late David Hilsley is acknowledged)

The Church of Philadelphia was in a centre of Greek civilisation. Founded only 189 years before Jesus, the city had a surprising influence on that area of the ancient world. This Church must have been very vital, for Philadelphia remained an independent Christian city until the close of the fourteenth century, when it was conquered by Turkey.

The message in this letter? To endure suffering, stay close to Jesus. Keep his word, and you can withstand anything.

Jesus’ Commendation Revelation 3:8 I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Condemnation: Not one word!

Counsel: Revelation 3:11 - I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that on one can seize your crown.

So who was this church? Well, Philadelphia was a strategically located trade town in Asia. It stood between Rome and the eastern world and was known as “little Athens” because of its many gods and idols.

But though it was filled with idolatry, the church remained faithful to Jesus. They had little power, as Jesus mentions in the letter.

They also faced persecution from the Jews, which we see in verse 9. But despite weakness and opposition, they trusted his word and remained faithful to him.

In a world filled with idolatry, they listened to Jesus alone, and that was their greatest achievement.

That’s our call today—listen to and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures must be the centring point of every church

Listen to how Jesus introduces himself in verse 7. “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens, and no one will shut, who shuts, and no one opens.”

We have in that single verse a four-fold description of Christ.

1) He’s the holy one. This is the distinctive attribute of God. He’s set apart, perfect, pure.

2) He’s true. He cannot lie. He keeps his word. He’s fully trustworthy always and in every way.

3) He has the key of David. Keys and locks and doors are a sign of power and official authority. Jesus holds the key not to Philadelphia but to the house of David. Remember, God told David that he would establish his kingdom and his son would reign on the throne forever. Jesus is that Son who takes the seat, the eternal throne.

4) He is the one who opens and shuts the doors. He’s sovereign overall. He’s powerful, able to open and shut.

These four marks show Christ worthy of our attention. He’s the pure one, the right one, the key to every door. How could we not listen to him?

We need this message today because at some point our faith will be tested, just as the Philadelphian church was, and when it is, we need the everlasting word of Jesus to help us stand like oaks of righteousness.

So, to that end, let’s consider three truths about the word of Jesus from this passage:

1. The word of Jesus is an open door for his humble people (v. 8). (See above)

2. The word of Jesus is a sure foundation for his suffering people (v. 9-10).

3. The word of Jesus is a promise for his enduring people (v. 11-12).

That they have but little power-that’s not an insult or rebuke. It’s just an acknowledgment that they had very little influence in their culture.

They were small. Even more, they were persecuted by the Jews who were stronger than them, as we see in verse 9. Yet in the face of opposition, they did not deny their faith in Christ.

Jesus wants them to know that the opposition was not their fault. Their suffering wasn’t a result of their lack of faith or anything else. They kept his word. They stood firm.

He knows their heart of faith toward him and their love for him. So, to encourage them, Jesus says he set before them an open door, which no one can shut.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” The door symbolises the need for a decision. It’s the entryway into Christ or the barrier keeping one from Christ. So, the door in this context seems to be entrance into Christ’s kingdom.

When suffering comes, it’s our reliance on Jesus during suffering that gives us such strong confidence in him. When Jesus is all we have, we realise Jesus is all we need.

We see in verse 9 that the Jews in the synagogue of Satan have caused harm to the church. These Jews, Jesus says, are not really Jews, but lie. These Jews didn’t love God. They loved themselves and their power and their status and their self-perceived righteousness. But these Jews didn’t trust Jesus. They, like Satan, set themselves against him. They thought they held the keys to the kingdom, but Jesus is that key,

So, church, keep his word with patient endurance because he rewards those who do. See that phrase there in verse 10? “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth”

Look at verses 11 and 12. “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

Jesus is coming soon. Therefore, he says, hold fast. Why: Because Jesus traded in the crown of thorns for the crown of glory, and he gives that crown of glory to all his people suffering the thorns of this world.

Jesus holds the keys. He is the door. “Don’t give up. He’s coming soon. Endure! Hold fast! Trust Jesus!”

Amen

[1] Isaiah 22:20-24

20 “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honour for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

[wepsi]

Guess where I'm touching next~<3-Asmo(smut)

(Not my art! Go follow @ _ivutyozo_ on Instagram!)

Gender neutral reader

Cw:Blindfold, handcuffs, spanking

Scenario: I mean it's a smut with Asmo, get ready for some kinky sex ; )

You couldn't see anything, all you could hear is Asmo shuffling around you and purring. All your senses are heightened, and you were very aware of your dripping bare sex. You were on your knees with them spread apart, and hands cuffed behind your back, blindfolded and awaiting Asmo's command.

"Let's play a game why don't we~"

You feel a cold flat object touch your ass, probably a paddle.

"If you can guess right where I'm going to touch you, you get fucked. If you get it wrong? You get spanked<3. Guess it wrong three times? You don't get fucked."

You couldn't see but you know that there was a curl on the corner of Asmo's mouth, he was enjoying himself, even excited. You hear him moving around on the bed, probably admiring your body and choosing the victim. You hear him stop moving, his hands probably hovering somewhere, it was your turn.

"Ummmmmmm, is it my neck?"

"Close but nope! <3"

You heart rises to your throat, not being able to know when it happens. Just when you let your guard down a little in confusion, you hear a swish and the paddle connects with your behind with a loud smack. It was hard to not fall over, and you yeeped from surprise, and hear Asmo chuckle from your left vicinity.

The paddle didn't hurt as much as you thought just like Asmo reassured you. But the element of surprise makes your heart race. You hear Asmo moving again, and your heart was beating in your ears. He stops moving followed by complete silence , this time you pay attention and the sound stops in front of you. Was it your chest? But that's too easy

"Is it my stomach?"

"Nice guess! but wrongggg"

Closing your eyes and wincing, this time knowing he wants to surprise you. But as soon as his sentence finishes he swings it onto you, still surprising you. The smack ringing through the room along with your whimper. The lack of touch making your sex weep, you needed to get the third right.

"Third time's the charm! <3"

Focusing really hard on the sound, you hear him moving around, eyeing up what he wanted to conquer next. You hear him stop behind you, last time you overthought, so this time it has to be your ass right? Maybe he wanted to sooth it? taking a deep breath you answer with a shaky breath.

"Ass, the next part you touch is my ass."

"Nope! But the paddle will~"

You feel your heart drop, accompanied by a third smack, your ass stinging a little more now. Your ignored sex and body making you whimper, so what now? Do we stop? You feel a hand suddenly on your back, pushing you down onto the bed, cuffed hands making you face hit the soft blankets.

"Right or wrong you were going to get fucked anyways my pretty human~"

You feel the heat radiating from his cock against your entrance, it twitched with excitement. He leaned forward and explores his hand all over your body, all the times he wanted to hold back earlier. You feel his hand all over you at a crazy speed, pinching and pulling your nipples, caressing all of your flesh and grabbing it. Reaching his hand under you he gives you the attention that you've been waiting for.

Still only being able to see the black blindfold, his hand touching your sex making your jolt. He purrs into your ear as pleases you, telling you to moan for him. He suddenly pulls away, and you feel his huge cock slip in in one go, probably due to some magic. Suddenly feeling so full you groan clenching your hands.

He goes back to pleasing you, at the same time pounding into you, as the avatar of lush this was easy to him. Normally this would be too overwhelming, but after being teased for so long you took him gladly. You can hear the squelch of wetness between your bodies, and him moaning a high pitch moan right alongside with you.

Feeling close to cumming, you feel him pick you up and turn your head to face him, after devouring your lips and sucking on your tongue. Taking off your blindfold you see his lustful eyes and flushed face, he cooes in your ear,

"Cum for me darling~ I want to see how beautiful you look stuffed with my cock."

Tears decorate the corner of your eyes, one trickles down and Asmo licks it up with no hesitation. Holding onto your chest he hits all your sweet spots effortlessly, and hitting your deepest parts. Slowing building up, you finally throw your head back in a last loud moan and cum. He strokes into you some more despite the over stimulation and cums as well, pulling out to watch it drip out of you.

Despite not wanting to, he takes out the key to the handcuffs and frees you. You massage your sore wrists from thrashing around when he was pounding you. You lay on the bed while Asmo was applying lotion to your red ass, humming to himself. When all of a sudden something hit you.

"Asmo were you going to tell me I'm wrong and spank me regardless of what I say?"

The only answer you got, and the only one you need is a wink.

..............................................................................................................................

Check out my master list for more content!

Check out my Kinktober content!

[autumnmobile12]

I want to talk about this character.  There’s a lot to unpack.  Look at this entrance.  She is fabulous.  She quieted a whole room even when Dracula couldn’t.  From the moment she appeared, we all knew she was going to be trouble.  But from there, her demeanor of power and poise began to slide downhill and rather than subtracting from her character, this adds a beautiful complexity.

Remember that line in Game of Thrones?  “Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king.”

This line by Carmilla has the same meaning.  It plays into the element of ‘show, not tell.’  The way she entered Dracula’s council was impressive and intimidating, and that is all she needed.  If she truly was a powerful, confident character, she wouldn’t have felt the need to brag about this.  By explaining her actions to Dracula, she cheapened her own tactic to mere theatrics.  With this one line, she went from a powerful woman to a power-hungry character who unknowingly displays her own insecurities.

When we hit Season 3, we see she does seem genuinely happy to see her sisters and, at first, it’s heartwarming.  However, she keeps them at arm’s length and tries to ‘control’ them as if she’s afraid of betrayal.  She is the one who presented the idea to conquer Dracula's old territories, and then she denies the credit to any of the others who made it happen. Lenore secured Hector's loyalty, Striga commands the armies, Morana developed the strategy.  All Carmilla did was essentially say, "Here's an idea, let's do it."  We can even see Striga’s anger with Carmilla for her refusal to acknowledge any of their help, especially Morana’s.

Now we see her desire to conquer the entire world.  This is paranoia.  Her need to control everything has fully manifested, and in all fairness, we get a glimpse into the reasoning.  Styria has been invaded multiple times and when the Sisters asked for allies, they went ignored.  At this point, Carmilla wants to eliminate every possible threat so nothing can ever hurt her again.  Even Lenore is alarmed by this change in her behavior here.

We also get into her backstory a bit where she talks about how men ‘took things’ from her.  For the medieval period, this checks out.  This line could mean anything.  Her father could have taken her freedom by arranging a marriage that advanced his own interests but the match offered her no form of happiness.  It could be she was the sole heiress of a substantial territory and someone forcibly married her to claim that territory.  It could be much worse.  Any of these could be the case.

And then there’s the vampire who turned her.  We don’t get much information other than he promised her everything but then ‘became mad and cruel.’  Two ways we could look at this is 1.)  Carmilla genuinely loved this vampire when she was turned and when he revealed himself to be cruel and insane, she killed him or 2.) she was already disenchanted with the idea of love when he turned her and she used him until he ceased to be useful.

And finally, she takes her own life.  She says, “I win,” but nothing can be further from the truth.  She mocks Isaac and his Night Creatures for being unable to kill her, but Isaac wasn’t done fighting.  He wasn’t mortally wounded.  He wasn’t even slowing down, he had a lot more monsters to face her.  What happened was Carmilla could see which way the wind was blowing.  She knew she was losing the battle, she could not stand the humiliation of dying at the hands of a human, a being she viewed as inferior to her, and so she took the coward’s way out by taking her own life instead of fighting to the bitter end.  And it demonstrates that she truly loved nothing, not even her sisters, in the end.  Once she sees Isaac, there is not an ounce of concern for Lenore.  She doesn’t demand to know what he’s done to her, there’s no nonverbal moment of realization that if he’s here, he may have killed Lenore first, there’s no anguish at the possibility that her ‘beloved sister’ has died.  Lenore meant absolutely nothing to her.

This is a great complement to both Isaac and Trevor’s character arcs in the finale.  Isaac and Carmilla both rose above their traumas, just in opposite ways.  Carmilla chose to intimidate and control everyone around her and never allowed herself to love ever again.  Isaac chose to let go of his anger and began a new future.  Contrasted with Trevor, Carmilla had nothing to protect and killed herself, and he put everything on the line and essentially said, “If I’m going to Hell, you’re coming with me.”

Carmilla is a tragic character and brilliantly written.

[the-hufflepuffle]

Okay so this post has spoilers for House of the Dragon, so scroll on if you don't care or don't want spoilers

Okay so I love cinematography, and looking into deeper meanings of small choices the writers, directors or actors choose to add to give the characters and story depth and House of the Dragon is a GOLDMINE. Especially episode 9 and 10.

I wanna talk mainly about the coronations of Aegon II and Rhaenyra. And the crowns.

Aegon first:

Aegon has shown time and again he was not raised to be a ruler, because his father held to Rhaenyras claim. Because of this, he was held to very little responsibility and even less consequence for his actions. This goes for Aemond as well, though it seems Aemond recognized the weight of the name Targaryen and like he said, studied the histories and philosophies.

Aegon is a drunkard, a rapist and a negligent father and husband. He cares for no one because he believes no one cares for him. This is shown when he asks Alicent "do you love me?" On the way to the Dragonpit. Aegon has never been shown the love he craves so much, until the crown of the Conqueror sits on his head and the masses cheer for him, because he was not raised with Alicent or anyone's love, but his mother's fear for his life and everyone else's assumption he will ascend the throne he has no interest in.

When the crown is sat on his head, they have to lean it back, almost to tilt it so it won't fall. The Conquerors crown is to big for Aegons head. This, to me, symbolizes a lot about Aegon.

1.) Aegon is not ready, or meant, to be the king. This is an obvious statement given what we know about him but the crown being so large on him it's tilted almost gives me the sense of a child in a crown to big. A child not ready or aware of the weight of that crown.

2.) Aegon is not Aegon. Despite what everyone says "he has the Conquerors name, his sword and his crown", Aegon is not the Conqueror. The Conqueror left large shoes for any Targaryen to fill, he conquered a continent and became its sovereign. The job of his descendants was to maintain that realm. Aegon is expected to be the Conqueror reborn, and that can be a lot for him to feel he has to live up to. More than his forefathers.

3.) Aegon is not Viserys. Viserys continued Jahaerys reign of peace and stability. And both kings, especially to a boy, left roles to fulfill he wasn't trained for. The crown doesn't fit him,perhaps because he isn't meant to wear it or any crown.

Now onto Rhaenyra.

Viserys named Rhaenyra his heir, and the future queen when she was 14 in the show and 8 in the books. We knkw that Viserys died at age 52 which means he had between 30-45ish years he taught Rhaenyra how to rule. How to be fair and just, while still commanding respect.

This is evident in Rhaenyras children as well when you watch Laenas funeral. The greens are busy being bored and blowing mouth bubbles, fantasizing about their sister, or playing on the dirt. No disrespect to Helaena I love her she deserves better. However Rhaenyras children are solemn, showing the proper respects and understanding that while they are also grieving the death of Harwin Strong, especially Jace, they put the needs of Daemon and his daughters ahead of their own.

When Rhaenyra is given Viserys crown at the funeral of her and Daemons stillborn daughter Visenya, it fits her perfectly, resting where it rested on her father and on Jahaerys before him. This demonstrates much about Rhaenyra as well.

1.) Rhaenyra was prepared to rule a kingdom. Viserys had named her his cupbearer, so she was on the small council meetings and could observe what happened and how these meetings presided. She was taught and reared by Viserys to fill this role and continue the generations of peace in Westeros, and we see this in episode 10 when Rhaenys explains the state of the war room to Corlys.

2.) Rhaenyra is the rightful heir. The crown that Viserys wore was Jahaerys before it was his, and now it's Rhaenyras. The crown fitting perfectly symbolizes that maybe not just Viserys vision for Westeros woukd be continued through her but Jahaerys legacy will continue as well. Even in episode 10, it was Aemond who officially started the war. Until then Rhaenyra had planned to be diplomatic rather than war waging which Dameon would have wanted.

3.) Rhaenyra is ready to rule. Viserys death was something people had been prepared for for years, but as someone who was prepared for a death since the fifth grade onky for it to happen 4 years later, no amount of preparedness will ready you for the pain. Rhaenyra really only had Viserys for much of her life, and the crown fitting to me symbolizes that not o my is it time for her reign, but that she is ready despite the grief.

All in all I loved house of the dragon and can't wait for season 2. Let me knkw what you think, I'd love to have a conversation!

[beyondspaceandstars]

Around You Neck

Bonus: Part 3

Relationship: Helmut Zemo x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: SMUT, NSFW, penetrative sex, fingering, dirty talk, exhibitionism, voyeurism, slight degradation, choking, slight metal arm kink - 18+, minors DNI Summary: Something was sparked inside you after Bucky let Zemo watch you two. Now you want to take it a little farther with Zemo but you also want Bucky there as a bit of a...guide. A/N: this was actually requested (see below)! I never, ever thought the original Around You Neck would be taken this far but it certainly has gone on a journey. You don’t technically need to read each part to understand this one but if you’d like to see the progression, please feel free. I hope this lives up to any and all expectations!

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2

As much as you didn’t totally want to admit it, you couldn’t stop thinking about Zemo. 

Ever since the sexual ventures you had partaken in with him and Bucky, your opinion on him had...shifted. While, no, you weren’t looking at him as some sort of romantic conquer (you were still very much dedicated to your boyfriend) you couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like for him to join again. Maybe this time a bit more...hands-on.

Truly, though, you never thought you were actually going to act on these ideas. In fact, you figured you hid your wandering mind pretty well. Some sneaky glances at Zemo and brushes of hands weren’t much to raise any alarms, especially when you were constantly in close proximity with said person. It truly didn’t get closer than being in their literal home. But you forgot to take into account the fact Bucky wasn’t exactly of normal human nature. His senses were dialed up to eleven - especially when you were in the room. 

Your shameful confession came out one afternoon. Bucky had heard you giggle at something Zemo had said and nearly punched a hole through the nearest wall before grabbing your arm. While nothing crazy, he did throw you into the nearest room with some force, anger practically emitting from him in waves.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He asked once the room to the door was shut. You backed away, quite surprised by the outburst, as Bucky stalked towards you, seething.

“W-What?”

“Don’t try to blame dumb with me,” he scoffed, arms folded with a pointed look on his face. “Why are you making googly eyes at Zemo?”

“Googly eyes-,”

Bucky cut you off. “And laughing like he’s the funniest fucking person on the planet? What game are you playing here, dear?”

That goddamn nickname made you cringe. Ever since Zemo restored to calling you that during the intimate encounter, Bucky hasn’t let it go, using it like some weapon. 

You shake your head, trying your best to play this off. Sure, you had some words of explanation for your boyfriend but you didn’t want it to come out right now. “I-I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” Bucky raised his brows in surprise. “So, you haven’t been shooting little glances at him? Or how about when your hand just so happens to end up on his shoulder? That’s definitely my favorite.” His tone was so lifeless. You gulped.

An awkward pause settled as you tried averting your gaze anywhere but at your annoyed boyfriend. This task proved to be impossible. “Bucky, please-,”

“You want to be with him, don’t you?” His question filled the room. “God, I knew this was going to happen. I never should’ve…”

You began shaking your head furiously. “Not in that way.”

“Not in that… Well then in what fucking way?”

You looked down at your hands, fiddling with your fingers anxiously. You took a deep breath. “I think we should… We should bring him into our, um, activities again.”

The silence that followed your confession was nerve-wracking. You didn’t have the guts to look at Bucky, just standing there patiently waiting on his response. The longer he stalled the more foolish you felt like you had actually cheated on him when that wasn’t anywhere near the truth. 

For a moment, you thought he wasn’t going to say anything, just storm out or something, but instead, he let out a nervous cough and asked, “In what way would you- would you want him to join us?”

You slowly gather the courage to face your boyfriend again. He looked genuinely curious, lacking any sort of rage you had assumed would be present. No, instead, he appeared interested, not even mocking you in any way. This all made you feel quite more comfortable about the truth getting out. You took a moment to recollect yourself and get your pounding heart under control.

“Well… I can’t deny that I want to sleep with him.”

“I knew it-,”

“But,” your voice raised, cutting off Bucky, “I want you there to sort of, like, l-lead him.”

Bucky cocked his head. “Lead him?”

You nodded, taking a few steps closer to your boyfriend, practically as close as you humanly could. “Tell him what to do, how to please me. Only you know that, honey.” You chuckled, placing a light hand on his chest. “Picture it: Another man wants to ravish me, but you… Only you know how to get me going. Only you know what I want, how to make me squirm. Only you can teach him and wouldn’t that just be…” Your words trailed off as your eyes fluttered shut at the thought, a soft moan leaving your lips. When you opened them again, Bucky was searching your face with great intensity. 

“You really want this, don’t you?” He asked. You shyly nodded. Bucky took a moment before continuing, “You want to be watched while you get fucked again?”

“Bucky…”

He let out a dangerous laugh. “My naughty little exhibitionist,” he shook his head, a knowing smirk playing at his lips now. You couldn’t believe he was coming around to the idea but the fact he was made your core already so wet. “Okay, doll. Let’s see what we can do.”

***

Bucky had decided to take the lead when it came to bringing this up with Zemo. Still ever such the dominant figure in your relationship, he instructed you to wait in the guest room you had been lent while he approached the Baron. 

Amazingly, you didn’t have to wait long. Within moments, your heart was dropping as the door to the room was pushed open by Bucky. Zemo followed swiftly behind with an unreadable expression.

Both men stopped at the foot of the bed, right in front of you. You looked up at them, curiously.

“So - So did you explain…”

“James did enlighten me with your...desires,” Zemo said, a little smirk playing on his lips. “I must say, dear. You are quite the little minx.”

Your jaw went slack at his words, unsure of what to say. Only Bucky liked calling you that. But you certainly didn’t hate it rolling off Zemo’s tongue like that. 

“Maybe you should cool it with the pet names,” Bucky snapped. 

Zemo glanced at him. “I don’t know, James, she seems to enjoy it.”

You clenched your thighs, unable to deny it. Bucky didn’t miss that little movement but chose to not acknowledge it. 

“I’m taking the lead here and if I say no pet names then there are no pet names,” Bucky said, his voice slow and serious as he stared down Zemo. “Got it?” You couldn’t believe the sight in front of you. Nothing had even explicitly happened yet and there was already a puddle forming in your panties. 

“Very well,” Zemo eventually agreed. Slowly, right in front of you, he began removing articles of his clothing. This was happening. “How would you like me then?”

“I-,”

Bucky cut you off. “When you’re done, undress her.” Zemo didn’t say anything but just nodded, stripping down until he was in all his bare glory right in front of you. You tried to not stare, focusing instead strictly on his face which held the tiniest smirk, as he began teasingly running his hands under the fabric of your shirt. 

You couldn’t believe how hot you were finding this. Your control was pretty much gone, all solely in the trust of Bucky and Zemo. A diabolical pair. You obeyed when Zemo motioned for you to lift your arms. Within no time, you were totally open and bare in front of the men. 

Zemo’s hand lingered on your face, stroking your cheek softly. You gasped at the motions. He came close to running his thumb along your lips but then Bucky spoke up, “Enough. Lay her down.” 

Zemo didn’t waste another second pushing you back onto the bed. He was crawling on top of you in no time, not waiting for another command before capturing your lips with his. It felt like a brand new world. His movements in the kiss, deep and powerful, were so unlike Bucky’s. Bucky’s had meaning, years of love behind them. There was nothing like that with Zemo, just the understanding of what you’re here to do. It took your breath away. 

Bucky scoffed when you two pulled apart. “I’ll let that slide for now. Start warming her up, touch her. It won’t take much, though. Can already see she’s dripping onto the sheets.”

Your cheeks burned at the borderline degrading words from your boyfriend but Zemo didn’t look phased. Instead, while one hand was planted next to your head, his other began running up and down you. His fingers were so light and teasing. They ran over your breast, pulling lightly at your skin, earning a surprised gasp from you. Zemo looked quite pleased with himself as he continued, his hand now making its way lower on your body. He stopped just above the apex of your thighs, hovering temptingly.

“Touch her,” Bucky commanded, his voice strained and...needy? You didn’t have much time to think too hard about it before Zemo was plunging two fingers right into your core, the wetness allowing the easiest of access. You cried out in surprise earning a low chuckle from Zemo. He seemed quite amused by how vocal you could be.

“Feel good?” He asked, mockingly. His fingers curled within you as they pumped in and out, your walls clenching around them desperately. You nodded weakly. 

Bucky groaned. “Touch her clit. Now.”

Zemo happily complied. The palm of his hand began pressing against your clit with every thrust, forcefully. At one point, he stilled his fingers in you, giving your clit his full, undivided attention. You yelped, twisting at the overwhelming sensation of the fingering and circling. 

Pleasure was running through you at an almost unbearing amount. It all escalated when your head lolled to the side and your eyes fell on Bucky. He was leaning against the wall across from the bed, hands fisted at his side, erection clearly pressing against the fabric of his pants. His gaze was hard, his pupils wide. He was watching so intensely yet with just the littlest hint of wonder. It hit you - Bucky was starting to actually enjoy this.

Zemo, on the other hand, wasn’t happy he lost your attention. A rough hand came up to your neck, forcing you to look back at him. He roughly pressed his forehead to yours, not letting your eyes wander even in the slightest. All you could do was stare back at his eyes while he fucked you relentlessly with his fingers. 

“Eyes on me,” Zemo gritted. 

“Watch yourself, Zemo,” Bucky snapped back.

Zemo’s grip on your neck got tighter and you were done for. That fucker really knew your weak points. The fingering was skilled but the grip on your throat... your body couldn’t take it all. You yelled out as your orgasm ran through you, your body jerking in response to it all. Zemo didn’t lighten anything up, though, forcing you to take it all until you were practically clawing at him, begging to stop. 

“That’s enough,” Bucky shouted. Zemo gave a dangerous chuckle before removing his fingers, licking each one as if they were a meal to be savored. But Bucky wasn’t close to being intimidated by the other man as he continued his commands, “I’d fuck her now if I were you. She’s getting antsy.”

“I think she’s always antsy,” Zemo sneered. “Maybe I want to make her wait a bit longer. Make her really cherish it.”

Your eyes were still forcefully locked on Zemo until Bucky stomped towards the bed and grabbed the man by the back of his neck, hoisting him away from you. His hand left your throat unwillingly. 

In a chilling tone you don’t think you ever heard from Bucky before, he whispered in Zemo’s ear, “I’m making the calls, Zemo, remember? You’re obeying me. If I say fuck her, then you fuck her.” He pushed the man back down, his head falling to the crook of your neck. When he regained his strength, Zemo pulled away to look at you. An unsettling smile played on his lips.

“As you wish,” he muttered and, in one swift, he entered you. Fully. No true warning. You gasped in utter shock at the boldness. You hadn’t expected it to take a moment or two for you to adjust to him. He was different from what you were used to with Bucky. Bucky had the length, but Zemo had the girth. He was stretching you in a whole new way and once you were past the shock, you soaked in all of it. 

Zemo just halted inside you, waiting for you to face him. You hadn’t even realized your eyes had closed until you were being forced to reopen them. Once you gave a little nod - your way of begging at this point - Zemo began moving in and out. His pace was strong, so determined.

He must’ve seemed like a man deprived because Bucky barked out, “Slower. Now you can let her wait for it. Let her feel it. She gets so needy sometimes she just has to be taught some patience.”

Reluctantly, Zemo complied, slowing his motions. You couldn’t even imagine the power-high Bucky must’ve been on at that moment. But you didn’t have much time to think about it as Zemo began dragging his full length out of you and reentering slowly, just as instructed. You moaned loudly as the pleasure built. 

“You like that? Huh? Sure sounds like it,” Zemo grunted in your ear. “You make the prettiest little noises.”

Your eyes fluttered shut once more as you weakly nodded. But your chance to get lost in the sensations was interrupted by Bucky. Suddenly, he was at the side of the bed, his metal hand coming around your neck and turning your head to face him now. 

“Use your words, doll,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving your worn-out expression. Your body jolted with each of Zemo’s thrusts. Bucky paid no mind to the other man, keeping his focus on you and continuing, “Tell him how you’re feeling. It feels good, doesn’t it? Do you like having another man fuck you while I watch? I gotta admit, when you first brought it up I was hesitant but you’re right. There is something about knowing what you need. What makes your little pussy all fucking wet. He may be on top of you but I’m the one controlling your pleasure. You scream for me.”

“Yes, Bucky, yes” was all you could chant as everything began boiling up inside you. 

Here you were screaming one man’s name while the other pounded you. There was the hand on your throat - the metal hand. Zemo taking his sweet time delivering his thrusts. The little pressure on your clit every time he’d push in you. Both of the men were only paying attention to you… It was so much at once yet exactly what you needed. Within seconds of Bucky finishing his little monologue, you were cumming hard around Zemo’s cock. It must’ve triggered something in Zemo as well because he wasn’t that far behind. 

“Faster,” Bucky suddenly demanded. “Until she can’t take it anymore.” 

Zemo sure wasn't hesitating on this one. You felt him fill you fully while his thrusts didn’t falter. He was making sure you two were fucked good. You clawed at Bucky’s arm, wanting something to hold onto as you rode out the orgasm. He kept his grip on your throat tight and careful, watching you with those overwhelming eyes as you came on another man’s cock. 

After a couple more weak thrusts, Zemo gave a final strong one before pulling out of you completely, making you whimper. Zemo gave you a soft smile before placing a kiss on your forehead. Once calmed down, he turned his serious self once again and began reclaiming his clothing items. You couldn’t believe how he could just turn it all on and off with a flip of a switch as if you weren’t lying on the bed fucked out mostly because of him. But that was what you had felt from him. It was all just about finding pleasure. And you both were successful.

Bucky didn’t pay any attention to the other man’s actions. He was still locked on you. His hand had left your throat now and was now caressing your cheek. You giggled at the softness, such a stark contrast to just moments before. 

Fully dressed now, Zemo cleared his throat, pulling you and Bucky’s attention away from one another. You glanced over at the man. He nodded to you both. “Thank you for the...invitation,” Zemo said. “Better than I could’ve ever imagined.” With that, he promptly exited as powerful and bold as he had entered. 

You were alone with Bucky now, unsure of what to actually say. 

“Did you enjoy yourself, doll?” Bucky eventually broke the silence. “Better than you could’ve ever imagined?”

You playfully rolled your eyes. His little tinge of jealousy was coming back despite being thoroughly turned on. Which reminded you… 

“I did enjoy myself,” you confirmed. “But I think I could have just a little bit more fun.” Regaining your strength, you shifted to a kneeling position on the bed. Your hand began creeping its way up Bucky’s jean-covered thigh to where his erection was still being strained against the material.

Bucky let out a low chuckle as your hand pressed over his covered cock. “You just don’t know when to quit, huh? My insatiable little girl.”

You blushed. “I just want to make sure you enjoyed yourself.”

“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea.”

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: A being of one made of trillions

*wheezing*  ..... *wheezing* ..... *cough*  ...... ...... ...... *Sound of a door opening*  ...... *two pairs of footsteps entering the room*  ..... ..... *wheezing continues*  ...... ...... Apostle: He continues to resist us. Interrogator: Indeed, but he will break in due time.  *Apostle kneeling down, grabbing chained humans face by chin and observes it coldly*  Apostle: Strange that such a frail species could resist our link.  Interrogator: I assure you, the mind melding device is working perfectly.  Apostle: *scoffs*  Apostle: If it had been then I would not be here.  Interrogator: ...... *Apostle continues observing human*  Apostle: Why does it not react to my touch?  Interrogator: It slumbers.  Apostle: It slumbers?  Interrogator: Yes; it has taught itself to sleep through anything during our processing.  Apostle: *Observes human wheezing more carefully*  Apostle: You allow it to learn to best us; even when it is our prisoner? Interrogator: Their species is unlike any I have seen.  Interrogator: It sleeps as if it’s flesh was not being carved and mind probed daily. Apostle: *Let’s go of human head as it falls lazily back down, and back hands Interrogator*    *Interrogator tumbles into a nearby metal bench scattering the tools resting atop it.*  Apostle: Their people are conquered! They do not deserve such praise.  Apostle: *Motions for mind meld* Apostle: I will show you how easily they can break.  *Interrogator hands Apostle the mind meld head piece, then attaches nodes to human.*  Apostle: You failed to break their body, so I will show you how to break their mind. 

Apostle: *Breaths slowly, deeply. Rhythmic pattern building with each inhale as it matches the thrum of their heart beat.*

Apostle: *Closes eyes as mind meld device activates*  ....... ....... ....... ...... Apostle: *Opens eyes* Apostle: *Sees an endless void of shifting colors swirling around their floating body.*  Apostle: *Laughs*  Apostle: A strong body, yet such an empty mind.  Apostle: *Waves hand and colors disperse.*  *Void shifts and reorganizes itself into a room. Every wall covered with blank tv screens as the Apostle stands in the center under a single light.*  Apostle: *Waves other hand and the tv screens turn on one by one.* Apostle: Surrender your secrets. *TV screens begin playing specific memories..* *A meeting at command*  *Orders from a general* *notes scribbled in a notepad* *Charts hanging from a wall*  Apostle: *Watches each moment on different screens* Apostle: *Passes a black screen and stops*  Apostle: What have we here?  Apostle: *Observes black screen*  Apostle: *Waves hand*  *No reaction.* Apostle: *Waves hand again*  *Still no reaction*  Apostle: *Grunts in anger and moves on to next screen*  TV Screen: Who......are you?  Apostle: *Stops and turns back*  TV Screen: Who are.....you?  Apostle: I am an Apostle. TV Screen: Aposssssstle?  TV Screen: Apostttllllllle?  TV Screen: Apppppppppppppppostle?  Apostle: Apostle.  *Silence* TV Screen: Not welcome.....leave.  Apostle: No.  *White snow flickers across screen.* TV Screen: Leave, now.......not welcome.  Apostle: *Booming voice* Only after i have taken what I need, and flayed your mind raw with anguish, shall I leave.  *Silence*  *Silence*  *Silence*  TV Screen: hehe.... Apostle: *Raises eyebrow*  TV Screen: *Flickers with more static snow*  TV Screen: Is that.....best you...have?  Apostle: *Smashes fist into black screen*  *TV screen shatters on the impact, glass fragments falling to the floor but disappearing before they ever touch the floor*  Apostle: *Moves to next screen.*  Apostle: *Studying map of human systems when screen goes black*  TV Screen: Try....harder.... Apostle: *Smashes new tv screen ant the glass shatters again.*  *TV screen to the right of Apostle goes black*  TV Screen: Again.  *Apostle smashes TV*  *TV screen to the left goes black*  TV Screen: AGAin!  *Apostle jumps sideways and smashes screen with armored foot*  *TV screen behind apostle foes black*  TV Screen: AGAIN! AGAIN!  *Apostle leaps backwards and smashes tv with fist.*  *More and more screens begin turning black as the Apostle continues smashing them.*  *Shattered screens begin belching a mocking laughter which grows with ever shattered face.*  *The laughter continues to anger the Apostle as they let themselves become enraged. Their fury carrying them to each blackened screen like a hurricane as the roaring laughter grows and grows.*  *With each shattered screen the glass begins to fade less and slices into the Apostles hands, bit by bit*  *Only after realizing they could no longer move their hands does the Apostle look down to see the bloody stumps they have become*  Apostle: ENOUGH!  *The laughter instantly dies and the screens reset.*  Apostle: *Looks down and inspects newly healed hands.* *A single screen turns black in front of the Apostle*  TV Screen: Drowning...isn’t it?  TV Screen: The voices.....the chorus....the chaos.... Apostle: If your point was to annoy me then congratulations, you have succeeded in gaining my ire. TV Screen: Not annoy......teach.... TV Screen: Do you....know what the.....human soul is?  *The Apostle stopped inspecting their hands and looked puzzled at the screen*  Apostle:  A religious superstition your kind carries about your individuality. 

TV Screen: Not superstition.....reality.... *Additional screens begin turning black*  TV Screen: The....human....body.....is made....of trillions....of life forms.. *More screens go black*  TV Screen: Each one....alive....eating....breathing....dying..... TV Screen: Trillions  speaking.... all at ......same time... *Apostle observes that the black screens have stopped blackening and have formed some sort of outline on the wall*  TV Screens: The soul.....speaks....loudest..of all.. *Room light begins flickering* TV Screens: It drowns out....the rest.... *TV screens spark*  Apostle: It shall not drown out my voice.  TV Screens: It speaks..above all others!  *The black screens no longer glass, but a thick black goo that oozes out of the tv sets.*   TV Screens: It controls all life inside by rising above... the chaos!  *Apostle steps back as the goo slowly forms together to form an outline of a man pushing through the wall like a specter.*  *Specter takes one step forward as the black ooze continues to swirl around its silhouette.* *Apostle sees with each swirl the shape becomes more defined, more clear, as if a they were watching a sculpture being carved in real time* Apostle: What madness consumes this mind?!  *Silhouette stops swirling and the figures is finally revealed.*  *The prisoner who was beaten and slumbering mere moments ago now was standing before the Apostle.*  Prisoner: No madness, only reality.  *Prisoner puts hand on Apostle’s shoulder and smiles*   Prisoner: You can try to poke around my head as long as you want, but it won’t matter. Prisoner: My voice, my soul, must be heard above the trillions of others inside my body. Prisoner: One more voice inside my head is nothing to me.  *Apostles sees black ooze slowly begin pouring between the pearly white teeth of the prisoner.* *Without warning every screen in the room shatters inwards unleashing a torrent of black ooze that fills the room.* *The Apostle tries to wave their hand and clear away the mental projections but finds his hand is now being consumed by the ooze.* *As it rises over their eyes they see the haunting face of their prisoner as ozze slowly pours out the corners of his eyes.* ........ ....... ....... ........ *Seeing the readings spiking the Interrogator rips off the mind meld device and catches the Apostle as they collapse to the ground.*  *They are clawing at their throat as if drowning and the guards outside were quickly called in to carry the Apostle to the medical bay.*  *As the Apostle and their guards left the room, the interrogator turned back to the prisoner. One eye was wide open and watching them as the prisoners lips slowly parted to reveal a bloody smile.*  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello everyone,  hope you enjoyed the story :3  For a while now I’ve had this idea that an individual's soul or consciousness at the very least is the by product of either the collective will of the trillions of organisms living inside the human body.  Sort of like the soul is the “State” of a communist country and the organisms inside all contribute to it or a chaos god from warhammer 40k who is created from the collective subconsciousness of all living creatures.  I have no facts to back up this idea, but the story above is meant to show how powerful you as an individual are even if you don’t know it. There is no one like you on the planet and even if you don’t see it your body is filled with trillions of lifeforms and yet your personality reigns supreme. :3   

[booksrbetterthanpeople]

Artist Family Values?

Everything is calm. Marinette, Alix, and Rose are playing funeral in the backyard; Felix is helping Juleka write a love note to Rose, confessing her feelings; Nathaniel is arm wrestling That and losing

Marc: Nathaniel, wonderful news. My mother is going to have a baby and she wants us to have it... Right now.

*Several hours of excruciatingly painful labor later*

Little girl: And then mommy kissed daddy, and the angel told the stork. The stork flew down from heaven and left a diamond under a leaf in the cabbage patch, and the diamond turned into a baby.

Marinette: They had sex.

*Later*

Rose: Nathaniel!

Juleka: What news?

Marinette: Nathaniel, what is it?

Nathaniel: It’s an Artist!

The baby’s name is Kiran. He has black eyes and was born with fangs

Marinette and Alix immediately hate the baby and do everything they can to get rid of him. Guillotine, shooting him, dropping him from the roof

Marc: Mari. Alix. Why do you hate the baby?

Alix: We don’t hate him. We just wanna play with him.

Marinette: Especially his head.

To keep Kira out of trouble, Marc and Nathaniel hire a nanny. Lila.

Juleka immediately hates her because of how she’s taken a liking to Rose. Little does she know that she isn’t in love with the blonde. She’s a black widow out for their fortune.

Noticing that Marinette and Alix are onto her, Lila makes it seem like they wanna go to summer camp so they’re not in her way.

Nathaniel: *Disgusted* Fresh air. The scent of pine.

Chloé: Hi. I'm Chloé Bourgeois. Why are you dressed like that?

Marinette: Like what?

Chloé: Like you're going to a funeral. Why are you dressed like somebody died?

Marinette: Wait.

While at camp, Marinette and Alix make enemies of the popular bratty rich kids and allies out of the outcasts (The Akuma class)

Marinette finds herself glaring at a certain boy from America who glares right back at her... It’s Damian.

Back at the Artists’ home, Rose finds herself falling in love with Lila, much to Juleka’s anger but no one seems to notice

Marc and Nathaniel invite them to a gothic bistro

Lila: I just can't tell. Does she like me at all?

Marc: Of course she does. She pulled out her hair at the sight of you.

Marc and Nathaniel perform the badass tango from the movie

Meanwhile at the cemetery, Lila and Rose get engaged surprisingly quickly

Rose: Good news! I’m engaged!

Juleka: What?! *Felix pats her back for comfort*

Lila: *Shows the ring*

Marc: That ring.

Nathaniel: It was my grandmother’s. She was burried with it.

Lila: *Holds up a shovel*

Later that night at the camp, Alix and Marinette attempt to escape with some help from Damian, but are caught by the brat campers and are forced to sing Kumbaya

Damian and Marinette find themselves becoming closer

Damian: You know... I’m pretty good with a knife myself.

Marinette: ... *Holds Damian’s hand*

Escape attempt #2 is a success. When they hear about the wedding, Marinette and Alix have to go and see if it’ll be a train wreck. Of course, Marinette invites Damian as her plus one.

It’s surprisingly pleasant. Everyone’s dressed in black, the flower girl is tossing dead petals on the ground.

“I do.” “Ditto.” Marinette catches the bouquet.

Damian: Now you have to get married.

Marinette: It’s not binding.

On their honemoon, Lila attempts to kill Rose by dropping a toaster in her bath. Unfortunately for her, Rose is immune to death by electrocution

Needing a new plan and for the Artists to stay out of her way, Lila forbids Rose from seeing or speaking to em ever again.

Meanwhile at camp, Alix shoots an endangered bird!

Camp director 1: It’s a white tailed eagle!

Camp director 2: Aren’t they endangered?

Marinette: They are now

Juleka is sulking after receiving a letter from Rose, saying she can’t see them ever again.

Juleka: Have I done something, said something? Why does she despise me?

Nathaniel: Rose adores you.

Juleka: I'd do anything for her. At her request, I would rip out my eyes. At her command, I would crawl on my stomach through hot coals and broken glass.

Marc: ... You’re in love with Rose?

Back at camp, the directors announce that the campers will be performing the poorly written and quite racist play about the first Thanksgiving

Chloé will be playing Sarah Miller, the outcasts will play the Native Americans, and Marinette will be playing Pocahontas.

Marinette passes out at the announcement

Meanwhile, the Artists visit Rose and Lila at their pristine white mansion.

Juleka: So these are the gates of hell.

Lila forced them to leave, and Rose, out of fear, backs her up.

Marc: I see Lila that you have placed Rose under some strange sexual spell. I respect that. But please, may we see her?

Lila: No!

Marc: You have gone too far. You have married Rose. You have destroyed her spirit. You have taken her from us. All that I could forgive. But, Lila...

Lila: What?!

Marc: ... Pastels?

They leave, but not before Juleka curses Lila.

They try to go to the police, but they won’t take them seriously, and Nathaniel makes the following announcement

Nathaniel: I shall not submit! I shall conquer! I shall rise! My name is Nathaniel Artist, and I have seen evil! *Juleka holds up Kiran* I have seen horror! *Felix waves* I have seen the unholy maggots which feast in the dark recesses of the human soul.

Marc: They’re at camp.

Speaking of camp. The main 3 attempt to escape again, but are caught by the other campers and are soon forced into the Harmony Hut where they’re forced to watch Disney Movies.

Hours without food or drinks later, and they come out looking pale and traumatized

Marinette snaps out of it and traumatizes them back by smiling

With the Artists, something horrible has happened to Kiran. He blonde and has blue eyes!

Marc: My brother!

Nathaniel: *Faints*

Juleka: *Reading from spell book* “Infant possessions. These terrifying changes are most often the result of a troubled family life.”

Marc: Rose!

Juleka: If we don’t get Rose back, we’re talking dimples.

Nathaniel: Not in this house!

Juleka: He could stay this way for years. Forever. He could become... A lawyer.

Nathaniel: No!

Juleka: An orthodontist.

Marc: Juleka, please!

Juleka: ... Mayor.

Nathaniel: NOOO! TAKE ME INSTEAD!

It’s the day of the highly offensive show that portrays Native Americans as uncivilized people.

It goes off well until Marinette flips the script.

Marinette: You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now, my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the road sides. You will play golf and enjoy hot hors d’oeurves. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will drive stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said, “Do not trust the pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller. And for all these reasons, I have decided to scalp you, and burn your village. To. The. Ground.

The outcasts burn the camp to the ground and attack the brats while the main 3 escape in a canoe.

Meanwhile, Lila tries one last attempt at killing Rose, knowing this won’t fault. A bomb.

When it goes off while she’s out, she’s expecting a blonde corpse. Not Rose holding a tray of cupcakes and a warm smile

Enough is enough.

Lila: *Aims gun* I tried to make it look like an accident! I tried to give you some dignity, but, oh, no, not you!

That shows up to save the day by hitting Lila with his car and helping Rose escape back to the Artists’ Home,

*Now for the best scene*

Marinette: I may never see you again.

Damian: I know.

Marinette: There are forces tearing us apart-- Gary, Lila, tenth grade.

Damian: I'll never forget you.

Marinette: *Touched* You won't?

Damian: You're too weird.

Marinette: We'll always have today and camp

Damian: And this. *He holds up a retainer*

Marinette: What is it?

Damian: Chloé’s retainer. *Drops it to the ground* Meyn ziskeyt.

Marinette: Mi querido.

*The two kiss through the fence before pulling away and wiping their mouths*

Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s lost his mind.

Nathaniel: *Lying in bed* Swing low... Sweet chariot... Coming for to carry me home.

Marc: Oh, my sister is ill and my husband is dying. Juleka, what am I gonna do?

Juleka: Well, you already have a black dress.

Rose returns, apologizes for abandoning them, reconciles with her friends

And at that moment, Marinette and Alix return from camp. They all group hug, and Juleka is about to tell Rose about her feelings for her, until...

Lila: In-laws!

Down in the dungeon, the Artists, Felix, and That are strapped into electric chairs while Lila tells them the story of her life... Through slideshow!

She burned her house down with her parents still in it because they gave her Malibu Barbie instead of Ballerina Barbie

Marc: *Disgusted* Malibu Barbie. The nightmare.

Nathaniel: The nerve.

Her first husband the heart surgeon could never make it on dates, so she committed axe murder.

Juleka: Aw, an axe. That takes me back.

Husband #2 was a Senator who wouldn’t buy Lila that new, expensive car because they had to set an example. She ran him over.

Lila: So I destroyed one innocent life after another. Aren't I a human being? Don't I yearn and... ache and shop? Don't I deserve love... and jewelry?

Marc: *nods* Adios, mi querido.

Nathaniel: Zay gezunt, meyn tayer.

With some encouragement from Felix, Juleka uses her last few moments to confess to Rose

Juleka: Rose, night after night, I have desired you. I would worship every pale, lifeless limb on your body, die and kill for you, love you even after my dying breath. Rose... I love you.

Her confession leaves Rose in tears.

Rose: I love you, too.

Lila: Oh, barf! *Grabs the lever* Goodbye, everyone! Wish me luck!

Artists: Good luck.

Right as she’s about to pull the lever, Kiran, back go normal and by some miracle drops down from the ceiling and switches the wires, making Lila electrocute herself to death

*One year later*

Juleka and Rose got married! Also, it’s Kiran’s birthday! And Damian’s invited!

Rose: And to think I might have missed all this. What was I thinking?

Marinette: Physical pleasure.

While the others are celebrating, Marinette and Damian hang out in the cemetery and talk about marriage. Which Marinette doesn’t want

Damian: But what if you found a man so devoted to you, who worshipped you, that he’d be your eternal love slave?

Marinette: I’d pity him

Damian: *Looks at Lila’s gravestone. ‘Friend, Family, Killer* Damn. Lila was sick.

Marinette: She wasn't sick. She was sloppy.

Damian: What?

Marinette: If I wanted to kill my husband, I'd do it, and I wouldn't get caught.

Damian: How?

Marinette: I'd scare him to death.

Damian: *Scoffs* Sure. *As he goes to lay a flower on Lila’s grave, her hand pops out of the ground and grabs him, making him scream.*

[fringe-weaver]

Interests (Long).

These are hardly exhaustive, but in the event that you’re looking for commonalities between our interests, hopefully you’ll find something here.

Sciences:

- Physics. My degree is in astrophysics, and my friend and frequent collaborator Astrid is a mathematical physicist, but my own research tended (and occasionally still tends) to be very multidisciplinary in practice. I'm interested in a wide array of fields.

- Religion, and the social sciences which go hand-in-hand with it. I've a MA in Religion, and it's currently my most-used degree. I'm an ethnographer, but being effective at that means I need a good grasp of philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, and linguistics. It's impossible to be an expert in every field at once, but I'd like to learn as much as I can.

- Others. I can't claim any knowledge of other disciplines beyond a surface-level understanding, but I'm always interested to hear more. I like hearing people talk about what interests them—just expect that I may have to ask for clarification, or take some time to look things up myself.

—

Games:

- Strategy games, primarily. This is a broad genre, so I'll break it down further.

Turn-based tactics. XCOM, FFT/FFTA, Fire Emblem and the like. Generalizes to most turn-based RPGs and similar games, e.g. Final Fantasy, Library of Ruina, Darkest Dungeon, and Divinity to give a broad spectrum.

Collectible Card Games. Legends of Runeterra, Yu-Gi-Oh, legacy formats of Magic: the Gathering (I haven't played in a good while), some experience with Hearthstone, new interest in Flesh and Blood. Limited competitive experience in some of these, including a few regional tops.

MOBA. Largely League of Legends. Jungle main, though I can play most roles. Peak D2 with 58% WR, might have been able to push higher if I devoted more time to it.

RTS. Older titles, mostly. Warcraft 3, Starcraft: Brood War, Command & Conquer.

4X. Civilization, Endless Space, Stellaris. Also 

I find chess boring, surprisingly enough. I'm okay at it, but I can't bring myself to learn how the game operates at a competitive level. I guess the monkey part of my brain just likes flashy effects and fantasy too much to enjoy strategy when it's boiled down so brutally to its barest form.

- RPGs. I like classical RPGs the most, games in the style of Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium, Baldur's Gate II, and Fallout 1/2. I’ve enjoyed the aforementioned Divinity (and other RPG titles), as well as other stylistically dissimilar titles like the Mother series and its consequences (Undertale, LISA, etc). I like them best when they’re mechanically intensive and challenging, but I can appreciate a good story.

- Action games. I've a limited interest in action games, but some have managed to grip me through other means, e.g. Dark Souls with it's aesthetics and narrative.

- Visual Novels. Not as much experience with this space as I’d like to be, but I did enjoy Va-11 Hall-A (my blog name is a reference to it) and Doki Doki Literature Club. I’d appreciate recommendations.

- Anything interesting. If a game does something interesting or compelling with its narrative, aesthetics, or mechanics, I’ll likely at a bare minimum appreciate it.

—

Sports:

Soccer/football is my favorite, followed by American football and hockey. Overall, though, I’m not picky. Get me in a crowd, or a bar watching a game, and I’ll get swept up in it by the time it’s over. I don’t have regional players or teams that I tend to root for. I’m a bit of a traitor; my allegiances lie with whatever team I feel has the most interesting style or systems, or has the most compelling ‘narrative’ surrounding them that particular season.

I occasionally watch the NFL and NHL. I’ve got a friend who likes the Bundesliga, and we watch the Champion’s League together. Obviously, we watch the World Cup, as well—but who doesn’t?

I also enjoy esports, including esports for games I don’t myself play much, if at all. League of Legends, DOTA2, CS:GO, Starcraft II, R6, etc. Once again, regional allegiances mean little to me. I root for teams with the most compelling styles.

—

Movies and Television:

I find most Hollywood movies passable, enjoyable with company, but otherwise unremarkable. There are a few exceptions; I liked The Shape of Water, for instance, as well as a handful of other films. I tend to enjoy “arthouse” films more, if only because profit motive tends to water down any message a movie could have. Beyond that, I actually have relatively little preference for any sort of movie. I enjoy good technical filmmaking, flourishing artistic expression, and narrative nuance—and more to the point, experiencing that with someone ‘nerding out’ over said filmmaking is charming.

I don’t watch much television, but I’m eager to watch anything of quality.

—

Surely, there’s more—music, nature, hiking, exploration—but I’ll add to this at a later time. For now, this is likely sufficient, hopefully to be a conversation starter and not...ender.

—

// Note: There’s some overlap between Diana’s interests and my own, if only because it’s easier to write where there’s common ground, but it’s definitely not 1-to-1, and Diana is undoubtedly extremely passionate about things that I don’t myself engage much with! Like movies, and sportsball! I may have to look some stuff up.