#I've started leaving those rooms and taking my chances with other groups

[thingsmysplattershotjrtoldme]

Squid bagging in the lobby seems to guarantee a reasonably tough battle with people not taking turf war too seriously.

If they don't, 87% of the time they'll just keep you in spawn and shark until you walk by trying to get to mid

[suguae]

snow on the beach.

This was a short drabble, super sorry if it's bad. I've been sick and I wanted to write something!

+ angst

"It's snowing!" Utahime runs outside, her long hair jumping with every pounce. "Wait for me." Shoko walks with hands in her pockets making sure she follows closely behind Utahime.

You turn around to see Suguru walk out of the boys dorm. Haibara running out excitedly with Kento following behind. "Morning y/n!" Haibara waves before throwing himself in the snow. It was a morning to remember.

But all you could do was watch. Today was a morning to remember, but the night before was a nightmare. "He went on a run this morning." Suguru stood next to you interrupting yourself from thinking about last night. "...good for him." You look up at Suguru and awkwardly smile.

"Maybe it's best if we see other people?" Satoru says watching every muscle on your face soften as your eyes got watery. You loved him and he loved you, but never were you expecting him to say those words. But everything happens for a reason?

"If that's what you want..."

"Shoko told me that you think he has another chick?" You sigh and sit on the front step of the girls dorm, Suguru taking a seat right next to you. "A man only says that if he already has another women Sugu..." You fidget with your gloves, the cold wind caused the tip of your nose to get red. "You are both very important to me, but I have no clue of Satoru being with another-"

The nerve, Satoru Gojo had to break up with you the night after and bring the women he left you for back to the campus. His bright smile shining as he throws snowballs at the brunette. She was gorgeous, her laugh, her smile, her looks. Straight off the cover of vogue.

"Hey guys, this is my friend...Miyu." He introduces her to the group playing in the snow. Not bothering to come near you or Suguru. You scoffed looking over at Suguru who was just as shocked as you. "Y/n I'm sorry I really don't know why he'd-" Your eyes getting all watery again, God you hated being such a cry baby. "Don't apologize for him Sugu." You get up walking back to your room.

Satoru spots Suguru sitting, quickly making his way towards him. "Hey why aren't you playing in the snow with the rest?" Satoru takes a seat right next to Suguru. Did anyone think this would happen? Knowing Satoru it was a slim chance but he loved you. Everyone saw it? So why was he already introducing all his friends to another women. "What's the purpose of this...of her?" Suguru points at the brunette who was laughing with Haibara.

"She has a name...listen people move on and they-" Satoru starts giving some lame ass excuse. "Save it for someone more gullible." Suguru scoffed walking in to check on you. Not caring if he'd get punished for walking into the girls dorm.

Your blankets wrapping around your body, the tiny window cracked open letting the cold air enter the room, the vanilla scented candle burning. Lastly, the small sniffles coming out of you. "Y/n...?" It was Suguru, how could you not give in to Suguru. Engulfing him in a huge hug as soon as you feel his weight on the feet of your bed.

The painful cries get louder and each filled with hurt and betrayal. You really loved Satoru, if he'd hurt you this much. Then again it's only been a day since you two have officially ended. Your crying slowed down as you laid with Suguru in the bed. His hand softly petting your head as your arms tightly wrapped around him. "I told you." You mumbled, finally gathering the courage to speak again.

But Suguru didn't even know what to say. Still shocked as to why Satoru would even leave you. Suguru watched you softly drift back to sleep before leaving your room. Everyone was now sitting in the snow sipping on some hot chocolate. "Why hasn't y/n come out!" Utahime asked, watching Suguru leaving the girls dorm. "She doesn't feel good."

How pathetic. Not even bothering to check on you knowing how heartbroken you were and still are. What kind of friends were they? Watching them all sit and laugh as if you weren't hurting.

-

Hours passed, "Want to come get hotpot with us?"

No, Suguru didn't. He hated hotpot, only because you hated it. He loved hotpot. "I'm gonna pass." Satoru sighed before attempting to close the door to Suguru's room..."You got what you wanted, stop moping around."

"I wanted her happy." Suguru sighed looking up at his blue eyed friend. "...And she was the happiest with you." Suguru scrolls on his phone again waiting for Satoru to close the door. Which he thankfully did, not picking a fight.

The door slightly creaked to your room, not a word was said nor could you hear footsteps. Just a sigh and the door closing again. Maybe Sugu checking on you.

-

"Where did everyone go?" You asked walking into Suguru's room. Sitting on the rolling chair to his desk. "Hotpot." He turned his phone off taking all his attention to you. "You didn't go?" Why would he? Why would he leave you here all alone?

"No, wanna go grab something else to eat?" He suggested seeing the soft smile on your face, food never disappointed you. "Let me go bundle up." You rush back to your room.

"You look...warm." Suguru fought the urge to say beautiful. It felt wrong to go after you in the state you were in. He didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of you. "I am." You smile.

-

"I would 10/10 go back." You give Suguru a thumbs up while rubbing your belly. Your eyes trail off to the side to see the beach. This was a new sight, Snow on the beach? "Can we go down?" You tap Suguru and point. "It's dangerous don't you thin-" before he could even finish his sentence you grabbed his hand and dragged him to the set of stairs. You knew he'd say something like that. So you wasted no time.

Reaching the bottom step, you slip. Your butt hitting the fluffy snow while Suguru fell right on top. You couldn't help but laugh. "What did I-" You threw a snowball at his face to escape from him. running along the snowy white shore. "I'm gonna get you for that!" Suguru giggled running toward you, which he failed due to tripping over his own foot.

You sigh taking a seat next to Suguru. Watching the steady water. "Sugu...Do you like me?" You look at him, waiting for an answer. Embarrassing if he'd say no....

"If I said yes?"

-

"Look how cute they look! I want to do that too, imagine me and you just sitting on the snowy beach?" The brunette clutched onto Satoru's arm. When all Satoru could think about Suguru's words..."She was the happiest with you."

The awful imagine in his head of you wrapped around in your blanket, the same candle Suguru saw was now dead when Satoru walked in. It was something Satoru never imagine. But Miyu made him happy, you made him happy too but he just had more stuff in common with Miyu.

"Miyu, Do you think when two people are too different, it would be hard to work the relationship?" Miyu looked away from the two on the beach. "No...I think if you truly love them, difference is what makes the bond stronger. You learn new stuff about them and they learn new stuff about you." Miyu smiled leaning her head into Satoru's chest.

ouch.

-

"If you said yes...I don't know actually." You lean your head onto Suguru's shoulder. "I love you Suguru don't get me wrong, and I appreciate everything you've been doing for me ever since...you know."

"But..." Suguru looked up at the stars getting ready for you reject him. He couldn't possibly hate you if you rejected him though. No matter what he'd still love you. Like always...."I'm not ready, but you know that."

"Give me a couple weeks, or months..." You grab his hand. "I'd wait for eternity for you y/n....I promise." He squeezes your hand, securing his promise.

-

You two are now making your way back to the dorms. It was darker and quieter. More peaceful. Satoru was sitting out in the front of the girls dorm as if he were waiting. "Clear things up with him..." Suguru whispers. How could you? He hurt you...

You walk towards the dorms, watching Satoru lift his head up at the sound of the snow crunching. "Y/n...." You stop and sat right next to him. "She's beautiful." You look up at the sky, the cold crispy wind hitting your face. "I'm just surprised that..."

"I still love you y/n...and you just won't leave my head. I think and you just keep coming in my head. Seeing you with Suguru drives me crazy and I can't see you just drift away so easily from me."

You look over to see the blue teary eyed, "You should've thought about that before you decided to end things with me Satoru." You were right. You were always right. That's what Satoru loved about you the most. The words you would mutter out would always have a strong righteous meaning.

"And you look happier with her." You wipe the tear from your face. It was true he looked happier, he felt happier too. But seeing you slip so easily ruined the happiness for him. "Maybe next time introduce me, I want to meet her." You smile getting up. Satoru also stood up hovering over you, swallowing you up in a big up. Which surprised you...by a lot.

"I'm so fucking sorry..."

-

"A wedding on the beach...not a fan of the beach but this is too cute." Shoko drops the dead cigarette on the sand, Utahime following her behind amazed at the decor. "They outdid it. I love it!" Utahime jumps up and grabs Shoko's arm.

"This was definitely all planned by y/n." Kento picks up the littered trash from Shoko and throws it in the nearest trash. "No, Suguru would never overbear her with all this work." Satoru sighed.

Much older now...Satoru understands how it felt to lose such a prized possession. The way you read your vows to Suguru and how much love and time you took with yours. He knew Suguru's had to be longer and just as beautifully written as yours. "So she was your ex?" Megumi whispered. That's the only label he had to you. "No wonder she left you for Suguru, you're so weird." Megumi disses the white haired man in the bind fold.

He sighed, "I left her...rookie mistake."

[prove-it-or-lose-it]

@wayward-wren that other post was getting to be a chore to scroll through, so I hope you don't mind that I'm moving my responses to a new one. If I've missed something you'd really like a response to, just remind me about it and I'll do my best. I think I've pulled everything that I wanted to go over here.

> Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23  "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles..." You're not alone in your skepticism, and that's why we have to rely on God.

I understand why you think that way, but my skepticism means that I can't rely on god. I can't appeal to something that hasn't met its burden of proof in order to explain other things that haven't met their burden of proof either. This just doesn't work, it's not a logical conclusion to make. In the absence of evidence for the claims, I must reject them until they can be shown to be true.

> Where does your morality come from? You can't claim God is evil without defining what evil is. Is evil hurting others? Then being a personal trainer would be evil, because exercise hurts.

This is hard to explain briefly. I mean, philosophers have been trying to nail down morality for about as long as all of written history. But what we see is that morality is an ever shifting social construct. There are things that we understand now to be morally bad which were seen as good or neutral in the past. And in the future I'm sure there are things we won't look upon favorably that are totally fine today.

Morality can't exist in a vacuum, so it needs a goal in order to sort of ground it. For me, it starts simply; the goal is to promote human flourishing and well-being while mitigating as much harm and suffering as possible. The evidence that this is a worthwhile goal is this: we, and even other mammalian species, have an awareness that individual suffering diminishes the chances of group survival, so in order to make sure we all flourish we ought to care for one another.

So I really don't believe in evil, though this might be a semantic point. With respect to my goal stated above, how can I see any moral value to a commandment that tells me that people should be used as property? This degrades and dehumanizes both subject and master, maybe even irreparably, and does nothing to promote human flourishing.

And this view is capable of accounting for nuance, whereas "don't look at someone and think they're sexy," is a harsh, black and white statement that amounts to thought crime, which is something that has no use other than to mentally dominate people and make them subservient. And for what? Thoughts like this cause no harm as long as the thought doesn't lead to any external, non-consensual action, and most of the time if not all, they're completely involuntary. It's control for the sake of control without even approaching being a moral value.

The nuance comes in as well with your personal trainer example, though I'd argue that the trainer is not harming directly but guiding a person through a process that will indeed cause some self harm, but with a positive goal. It's contractual and the recipient knows that the slight harm is to their benefit. Similarly, we consent to surgery which can be very risky harm, with the goal of becoming well. Absolute, black and white commands don't leave room for this and should ultimately be rejected in favor of a reasoned approach that takes all available information into account.

If god commands us not to lie, did he know that in 1930's Germany a great number of compassionate people, often devoted believers, would hide people in their homes who were taking refuge from a fascist regime? Did he expect those people who lied to the officers banging at their door, in order to protect innocent lives, to beg his forgiveness for misleading men with murder and torture in their minds? If my friend is in an abusive relationship and they've come to my place to call for help, and their enraged partner comes to me asking where my friend is, what forgiveness do I need for telling them that my friend isn't there? I've done no wrong, but this imperative given with no caveats or grey areas allowed brands me with the title of sinner and I object. Real life application of morality is rarely, if ever, as cut and dry as these ancient edicts would imply.

> If there is a God who created the world and is so much more powerful than the beings He created, why can't he make the rules?

I don't think that there is a god, or that the world was created, but to entertain the hypothetical; of course, I'd have no choice but to accept that those are the rules, but I'd also have no obligation to follow the rules if I have the free will you say I do. I don't necessarily believe in free will, but I would never follow an immoral command. If a god told me to go and do a genocide on the Canaanites or to keep slaves, for example, I would have all the information I needed to conclude that this god is a tyrant and undeserving of obedience or worship. I'd be damned, but my conscience would be clear.

> The thing with Christianity, is it's a story of God reaching to man. Every single other religion is man reaching to God. Every single other religion is a works based religion. Every single other religion is focused on how we can be Good Enough for God.

I don't have much to say here, except this: do you know every single other religion that has ever existed? Have you studied the Vedas of Hinduism, or whatever texts are foundational to Shintoism? How about ancient religions of fallen civilizations lost to time? Is it not more than a little bit dishonest to make broad, sweeping claims about "every single other religion," especially when your own's adherents can hardly agree among one another on what the official doctrine demands? These things are complicated and we shouldn't make such generalizations given the vast amount of study one would have to go through in order to truly know what you're claiming to know here.

[fandomworld9728]

The Life of the Morningstars - Chapter 11:

As the dust settled, Lucifer looking up at the ceiling where the chandelier had fallen from. Was the wood rotting? Or maybe the chain was rusted and weak? Could it have been too heavy? He didn't wanna think about if someone, Alastor, had made sure it fell. If the sinner had been the reason for it to fall, Lucifer is pretty sure that it had been meant to fall close to him and not directly on top of him. Hands above his head to hold lighting fixture, he looks in the shocked and relieved faces of the hotel residents.

"Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine kiddo. You know it takes more than something like this to harm your old man." A wave of his hand had it fixed up. "Any chance I could help with replacing damaged areas of the hotel?"

~

After being shown around the hotel, Lucifer stood out on a balcony with Charlie and her girlfriend. "You got a great place here kiddo. Could use a little love, care, and magic to fix up a few things. I'd be happy to help with that and getting you some material to set up a better structure for your guests."

"Thank you so much dad. That really means a lot. Honestly, I didn't think you'd wanna put so much work into it. Since you don't...."

"I know. I've pretty much given up. But you're a fighter and I want to be in your corner. I love that you want to see the best in people. Even if the sinners here are completely awful for the most part. Not to mention Heaven... they don't listen. Well... most of Heaven doesn't listen." Setting a hand on Charlie's shoulder, he gave her a small smile. "You know I'd fight anyone to protect you and your dream."

"Keeping that in mind... there's something we need to ask you." Vaggie didn't know what she was expecting from what her partner had told her about her dad, but this wasn't it. She knew Charlie didn't want to ask, but this was the best time to do it. So, the former angel took one for the team. "We need a meeting with Heaven-"

"Done."

"Wait. Just like that? Dad a-are you sure?"

"Of course. Adam has to be out of his fucking mind if he thinks he can get away with this shit. I've been trying to find a loophole in the deal for Exterminations. I gotta tell ya... I wasn't in the best frame of mind when I agreed to them. Not to mention, they had me backed into a corner with it. So, now I'm going to fix it however I can. It might take me a day or two to get it set up though." 

Something shook the hotel, interrupting their moment. Looking down at the scene on the ground, the three were shocked. Loan-sharks were attacking the hotel. Running down to the main floor, they took in the chaos inside. 

"All of you, get to a safe distance. I'll take care of this."

"No, my dear. Leave it to me. It's time to remind everyone why I am here. A reminder to all not to mess with the Radio Demon!" 

Lucifer watched in horror and fascination as Alastor grew larger than the building and started to massacre those other demons. Some of which he just swallowed whole. "Charlie... you remember those protection spells I taught you?"

"Yeah! I'm on it!"

"Okay. Now let's make sure this doesn't get too out of hand." Letting his wings out, the small king took to the sky to try and assist the sinner protecting the hotel. Not that there was much he could do. Alastor was handling it all quite nicely. The most Lucifer would have to do is help with repairs.

~

Today, Lucifer had learned something new about himself. He was helplessly and hopelessly drawn to and attracted to the radio demon. Everything about him charmed and pissed the king off at the same time.

It was fantastic! He hadn't felt like this in so long. The only problem is that he was too prideful to admit any of that to anyone. Well except for his daughter. Had to keep her in the know just in case.

Retiring to his room and skipping dinner, Lucifer laid back on his new bed. He couldn't sit through a group dinner tonight. Not with how soaked he felt. That would just be downright embarrassing!

Now... what was he supposed to do with this revelation?

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[staytinyville]

Seonghwa

PLEASE REFER TO MASTERLIST TO GET FULL TAROT READING EXPERIENCE

↣ Summary: After you hear that your father has appointed you to be his heir, you question yourself if you are ready for it. Seonghwa is your long term friend and future advisor, who tell you what you need to hear.

↣ Characters/Pairing: Park Seonghwa x gn!Reader

↣ Genre: Fluff, Historical Fiction, 

↣ AU/Trope info: Game of Thrones!au, royalty!au, historical!au

↣ Word Count: 1.5k

↣ Warnings: None

↣ A/N: All I saw while writing this was House of Dragon. But I won’t add the dragons here. But I can only imagine Seonghwa as a Targaryen. OOO, on a black dragon with red eyes. AHH! Ateez needs a house of dragon!au.

THE EMPEROR

Authority, Establishment, Structure, a Father Figure

You are taking on a fatherly role (even if you are a male or female). The place you are currently at is a role that is meant for you to take the lead in situations that call for advice. You are the patriarch of the group that makes people feel secure.

You are someone who claims respect and authority towards their followers. You are seen as a leader who is just, and people will like when you are in those kinds of positions and know how to handle what people want and how to get what people need. Not only that, but you are fair in your leadership and give everyone equal chances. 

You know a lot about what you are doing and how to do it. You might have enough experience in the area and if not you are very knowledgeable in it. Because of this, you are seen as someone people look up to often when it comes to certain things.

IV THE EMPEROR

You sat with your back straight as the master read out some testaments your father already had written. While he was only in the room next door, still resting, he decided it would be best to leave a will before his passing. That way his children wouldn’t fight over what would happen to the kingdom without his true word. 

“Your father has asked (Y/N) to be named his successor once he passes.” Your head snapped up, looking between your other siblings. 

Your brother’s eyebrows raised, looking over at you in astonishment, and your sister pursed their lips in order not to say anything. Each of them didn’t dare to make a scene or argue over your father’s decision. However, you were beyond confused. 

“What?” You asked, eyes wide. “Are you sure?” You told the master pointedly. 

“That is what his majesty has requested.” The man told you softly. 

“Is he well to take visitors at the moment?” You stood up from the chair, causing all your siblings to look at you oddly. 

The old man looked at your worried expression, sighing to himself. Everyone knew how you were as a person. If you had questions, you were going to find a way to get the answers. 

“Only for a moment.” He told you. 

You both walked over to your father’s chambers, the man sitting up in bed as he swatted at one of his nurses for trying to force him to drink his tea. Your shoulders dropped at how pale he looked. His skin was sweaty and he seemed to hack after each breath he took. 

“Father.” You called softly, giving him a small smile as you grew closer. 

“Hello, Dear.” He squinted his eyes for a moment, pausing to take a look at who he was speaking to. 

“It's (Y/N).” You told him, kneeling down at his bedside. 

“Ah, my little (Y/N).” He smiled, moving to try to pinch at your cheek, but all it felt like was a grab with the little strength he had. “You have grown so big. What are they feeding you?” He asked. 

“The same as you.” You chuckled. 

“I do hope it's not that nasty tea.” He whispered to you. 

“Of course not.” You laughed, giving the nurse on the other side of the bed a smile. She rolled her eyes playfully, turning around with the cup of tea, realizing he wasn’t going to be taking it.

You sighed as you turned back to your father, trying to determine if he was good enough to speak to you on the matter of the throne. 

“Father, I've come to ask.” You started, taking a hold of his hand. “Are you sure you want me to be your heir?”

“My heir?” He immediately frowned, looking at you oddly. “I'm dying?” He questioned himself. Just as he did, he began to cough violently, gripping onto his chest as it began to hurt. “Yes, there it is.” He tried to laugh, but it sounded like more coughs. 

Once he seemed to have calmed down, he turned back to you with a soft smile. “I've had you as my named heir for ages.” He said. “Ever since Seonghwa came to me to tell me all about the time you led an army into war with invaders.” 

A smile overtook your face at the mention of your oldest friend and advisor. He had been there for as long as you could remember, always keeping you from trouble and being the one to get you out of it. Everyone always loved him–he was a people person. You worried about the day someone would come to take him from you, but to this day he always told you that you were the first person in life. 

“You've always been so kind, too. You know more than you care to admit.” Your father continued. “Seonghwa knows it too.”

You chuckled, squeezing his hand as you knew what he meant. “Where is that boy? I need to see my son-in-law.” Your father looked around the room, waiting for the man to pop out. 

“Son-in-law?” You immediately said, looking at him confused. 

“Aren't you two married?” He asked you.

“No, father, I'm not married.” You shook your head. 

“I'm going to miss the wedding!?” He shouted, causing you to flinch. 

You had been the youngest of five children–which is why it was a shock to learn that you had been named heir. Your sisters had been betrothed and your brothers had settled down. One of them already had three kids. And for each of their weddings, your father had been there; to walk them down the step. 

However, you knew that compared to all of them, you had been the closest to the king. It wasn’t because you were the baby of the family. If anything, being the baby only meant that sometimes he wasn’t able to play with you the way he played with your siblings when they were children. 

Instead, you would ask if you could sit with him during council meetings or have him read a story to you. You had always found the things that made a kingdom fascinating. So you took it upon yourself to follow your father around whenever the chance was given. It was how you knew so much about being a king. At least that was what you told yourself. 

Seonghwa was someone you loved with all your heart. And it wasn’t uncommon for you to think about him in a different way that wasn’t just friends. He was the person you could count on–the one you could tell all your problems to. 

Your shoulders dropped as you looked at your pale father. There was only so much time he had left and you wanted to make sure he saw all that he could possibly want. 

“Is that what you want?” You asked him.

“All my heart could ever need.”

You stood in front of the mirror stationed in your room. Your maids had finished dressing you in your attire, making sure everything was suited to your needs. Your hands smoothed down any wrinkles you saw–which were none, but your anxiousness seemed to make you think differently. 

While normal people would find themselves nervous for something as big as their wedding, the only thing you could possibly think of was how you would become named heir to the whole kingdom after. 

“Am I really ready for this?” You spoke out loud, turning around to face your advisor and future husband. 

Seonghwa was messing with the sleeves of his suit, looking up at you when you spoke. “Do you want my advice as your advisor or as your friend?” He asked you.

“Give me both.” You told him. 

“You're immature and a nuisance to everyone who is in your close vicinity.” He told you without so much as pause. 

“Seonghwa!” You gasped out, swatting at his arm. 

“As your advisor,” He continued. “You care a lot about your people and have seen plenty of politics to know how to rule.”

“The people love you and are willing to give you their respect. You will be an amazing ruler for the people.” He told you. 

“I grew up with you. I've seen you do the stupidest of things that would jeopardize your health—but I have also seen you give up so much in order to keep the kingdom alive. You have seen many things in your lifetime which have given you the knowledge needed to become king.” He grew closer to you, placing his hand on your cheek as his thumb rubbed over it. 

“As your oldest friend, I love all those things about you. You are someone truly remarkable.” He whispered. 

It was only a few days ago that you had asked for Seonghwa’s hand in marriage. The boy had looked at you oddly for a moment, but when you explained why, he understood. The only thing he said after that was that you seemed to have jumped ahead a lot of steps. He wanted to court you first, but it seemed that had to be skipped over now that you were going to be named heir. 

“And your advice as my husband?” You gave him a teasing grin. 

“I do hope you're prepared for later tonight.” 

Your eyes went wide as you went to punch his arm this time. 

The man gasped out and rubbed at the sore spot, pouting. “This is why you led an army.” He whined. “You hit like a barbarian.”

“We trained together.” You rolled your eyes.

“Yes, but you always tried harder. Try hard.” He teased you. 

You raised your hands again, lightly slapping at him. He moved his own arms to swat back, trying to playfully fight back. “No! No abuse!” He said, quickly grabbing your hands and holding them away from him.

He grinned at you, leaning his forehead against yours. “I'll be waiting for you.” He whispered, breath hitting your lips.

“I love you.” You told him.

“I know.”

Tags : @cultofdionysusnet , @wonderlandnet , @pirateeznet , @k-vanity

[siilvan]

Desideria – I

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Pairing: Yuri Volkov/Mylène "Petra" Scholten de Ridder

Summary: Second meetings and first chances.

Genre: General, light angst, light fluff, fem!oc

Warnings: Semi-proofread, cursing, references to canon-typical violence, not much going on this time tbh

Word Count: 3k

Note: I got halfway through the next chapter of Bloodsport and rewarded myself with more self indulgent oc stuff... Bit of a shorter chapter than I wanted, but oh well (●'◡'●)

As always, very special thanks to my beloveds @sofasoap, @nrdmssgs, and @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot for their endless encouragement and support <3

"Lively group we've got here." Mylène comments, her narrowed gaze slowly dragging over the other people in the room.

Gathered were the remnants of the one-four-one. All but the pair of bright-eyed, effervescent siblings currently lying in hospital beds. Everything feels darker, somehow, like the sun had been eclipsed at its peak. The thought weighs heavily on those who remain, the silence at first only being broken by the sounds of fabric shuffling as people shifted their weight and the occasional quiet grunt or cough.

"You're lookin' lively yourself, Lt." Kyle is the second one to speak up, his eyes meeting hers from his spot leaned against the wall.

The hospital was charitable enough – or, more likely, Laswell had pulled some strings to 'convince' the staff – to leave a private meeting room empty for the group to gather.

"Okay, we're not going to get anywhere if we don't address the elephant in the room." Laswell interrupts the awkward banter with a low exhale. She's stood at the front of the room with her arms crossed tight over her chest, the tension in her muscles readily apparent to the other woman. "We're not in a good position right now. We're two down, out of leads, and out of intel on Makarov's next moves."

"Very hopeful start, Laswell. You should try being a motivational speaker." Kyle snorts, silently surrendering when her hard stare directs itself at him.

"Kyle." Price's unimpressed and, frankly, exhausted voice lightly scolds the sergeant. Kyle was the most bubbly one in the room, especially given how his only competition was Laswell, Price, Simon, and Mylène – all of whom look to be on the verge of snapping for different, yet related, reasons.

"Do we have anything at all to work with, Kate?" The captain shifts his attention back to the liaison; one of their only allies at the moment.

She takes her time before answering. Her ocean blue eyes are trained on the large, wooden, oval-shaped table in the center of the space, still in pristine condition due to none of them even daring to touch it. "Minimal resources." She starts, pausing to wet her lips. "As you all know by now, we're splitting up to utilize what little we have."

"John, Kyle, you're linking up with Farah's forces to try and gain some intel from within Urzikstan's borders. Ghost, you and Riot are heading to Mexico to follow up on a lead from Colonel Vargas." Laswell continues, taking another pause to meet the remaining lieutenant's mismatched eyes. "You've got a special assignment, Petra."

"So I've heard." Mylène huffs, her tone dry as her arms lift to cross over her chest.

"One of the few leads we have at the moment is on a smuggler – chemical weapons." Laswell states.

"Connected to the agents Konni Group's been drooling over since General Barkov was taken care of?" Mylène's eyebrows knit together, trying to recall any names of known smugglers. A few come to mind, none of which were reliable or still functional, but she mentally files them away nonetheless.

"Exactly that." Laswell nods, sliding a flash drive across the table, right into the other woman's waiting hand. "We don't have a name, just locations of the trades we've been able to confirm. The contact I got this from has already agreed to help with every step of the investigation."

Mylène turns over the USB stick in her hand, eyeing it curiously. "The contact, is it Colonel Volkov again?" She asks, turning to Laswell once more as she safely tucks the flash drive away.

"How'd you guess?"

"Vrag moyego vraga - moi drug." She echoed his prior words, the ones he spoke to the two women back in Arklov Base. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The older woman lets out something of a chuckle and cracks a smile for the first time since she arrived. "Nikolai agreed to provide transport, at least for linking you up with Yuri. He'll be picking you up in about three hours."

"Three hours— why do none of you give me more time to prepare?" Mylène shoots a pointed look towards Laswell and Simon specifically and turns to walk out, but stops dead in her tracks before she can even take a single step towards the door.

"Someone should be staying with Johnny and Freya. They're still targets, even here." She says, sending the group a wary glance.

Riot was hovering over the siblings' bedsides at the moment, hence why she was missing the meeting, but she'll be leaving with Simon before the end of the day. They'll be left alone. Someone needs to stay with the two, just in case.

"We've already got that covered."

Mylène quirks a brow at Laswell's assured statement, until she hears the door behind her open and close with a soft click.

A tall, broad figure is standing in front of it, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a black hoodie with the hood lowered, showing off a head of messy dark brown curls. A set of forest green eyes stare back at her, the rich color standing out against the dark circles under his eyes and the long, jagged scar running down the left side of his face. It starts just above his eyebrow and disappears into the black surgical mask he's wearing, giving some air of mystery despite her knowing exactly what exists underneath.

Emiel Scholten de Ridder. Nightfall.

To others, he may be an imposing character, but to Mylène, he's just her little brother. Well, little in age.

"Finally staying in one place for more than a few days?" She draws him into a tight hug with a gleeful smile on her lips.

"Seems like it." He chuckles into her hair, returning the hug for a few seconds. "She decided to pull me off my last assignment and station me here to keep an eye on things."

"I wanted the best on the job." Laswell clarifies, earning a confident nod from the younger woman. "Nightfall will stay in the hospital as long as Soap and Mini are here. They'll be safe." She adds and meets Mylène's gaze once more.

"If there are no more questions, then I'll let you get prepared."

"None at all, Watcher."

⋆⋆⋆

The heavy blades of the helicopter are a welcomed sight, whipping up a light breeze that blows the loose strands of hair framing Petra's back as the vehicle descends.

She wastes no time in approaching it and sliding the side door back, stepping up into the cabin. The door shuts behind her with another heavy thud, leaving her standing in a UH-60 Black Hawk so familiar that she might as well call it her second home.

"Good to see you in one piece, Mila!" Nikolai calls out over his shoulder. Petra turns to flash him a smile, carefully setting her backpack against a wall before coming up to the cockpit.

"Thought Makarov took me out of commission, too?" She hums, calmly settling in the co-pilot's seat next to his.

"You? Of course not." He laughs, hearty and full of life. It was refreshing after spending so much time in the hospital. "I am just happy to see you doing well, my friend." He adds once the laughter dies down, the helicopter taking off just as quickly as it had landed.

Petra shifts in her seat in anticipation for the longer flight. "I'm assuming we're not meeting Colonel Volkov at Arklov Base again?" She asks with a soft laugh of her own.

"Unless you are willing to brave sarin gas, then, no." Nikolai comments. "He's in Zaporizhzhia."

"Zaporizhzhia?"

"Melitopol, to be exact." He clarifies, intentionally slowing his speech and harshly pronouncing each syllable with a cheeky grin.

"Fucks sake, I know what it is." She huffs, ignoring his amused snort as she shakes her head. "What's he doing in southern Ukraine?"

"Waiting for us, probably." He shrugs with the sarcastic response. "Did Laswell send you in with any information on this op?"

"Yeah, actually, thanks for the reminder." Petra jumps up from her seat and shuffles over to her bag, unzipping it and pulling a tablet out. She plops down in her seat again after a moment, scrolling through the pages of intel that she transferred from the flash drive that Laswell gave her before she left.

Like she said before, it was mostly locations of confirmed trades between the yet-unnamed smuggler and Konni Group. There was an attempt at pinpointing his home base, but the locations were too scattered all over the map to centralize them. Unsurprisingly, a decent amount of the trades happened in Eastern Europe – they already knew it was Konni Group's playground, though, so it gave her nothing about the smuggler himself.

"Maybe he knows something that we don't." Petra mumbles, half to herself and half to the pilot. "The next deal could be happening in Ukraine." She adds.

"Suppose we won't know until we talk with him." Nikolai comments, earning an affirmative hum from her. A second passes before he speaks again. "When was the last time you slept?"

She blinks, her gaze flitting up from the screen and landing on him. "What?"

"Sleep? The thing most people do at night?" He explains, completely ignoring the way she rolls her eyes as soon as he starts. "When you close your eyes and dream of handsome pilots who always come through to help you in your times of need?"

"Having romantic dreams about yourself again, Nik?" She quirks a brow at him. "And, I'm fine. I slept—"

She cuts herself off, her lashes fluttering as she blinks a few more times. Her eyes drop to the tablet sitting on her thighs, unfocused on the screen as it slowly darkens before shutting itself off.

"...Some time recently." She mutters after a few seconds.

"We'll be up here for a while, you will have plenty of time to agonize over those files after we land. Get some rest while you still can, Mila." His voice softens, the previous humor in it dissipating and making room for a genuine concern that she only heard in certain moments.

Still, she argues. There was just too much for her to do. "But, I—"

"My bird, my rules. Get some rest." Nikolai replies without missing a beat. He doesn't even look at her while giving the command, nonchalantly glancing over a few gauges and dials like it was natural for him. Well, it was probably as natural as breathing at this point.

With a sigh comparable to that of a child getting sent to bed, she concedes. "Fine, just wake me up before we land." Petra shifts and gets into a more comfortable position, the tablet forgotten on the panel as she semi-awkwardly curls up and eventually finds a way to drift off into a light sleep.

⋆⋆⋆

The telltale sound of the helicopter descending is what wakes her up, eventually. Petra rubs the sleep out of her eyes before it touches down and hurries to grab the tablet, maneuvering back to her backpack and shoving it inside.

"Melitopol, safe and sound." Nikolai announces, stepping out of the cockpit after shutting everything down.

"Didn't doubt you for even a second." She slips her backpack on with a slow exhale and follows the pilot out onto the tarmac.

The sun was starting to crest over the horizon, spilling a healthy balance of oranges, reds, yellows, and pink hues all over the sky above. The location they had landed at was some sort of base – not necessarily military, judging by the lack of a uniform… well, uniform, amongst the few people gracing the small airfield. Mercenaries, she assumes.

"So, where are we meeting him?" She asks, carefully examining her surroundings.

"Right here, if that works for you."

Petra turns when she hears the familiar voice, gravelly and rich, and sees the man himself approaching them.

"Colonel Volkov, always good to see a friendly face." She greets him, stepping forward to meet him and holding out her hand.

"Please, there is no need for formalities." He chuckles, shaking her hand far more gently than she was used to. "Just call me Yuri."

"Yuri. That works for me." A bright smile flashes across her face as his name leaves her lips.

It's right then and there that something in the back of the colonel's mind changes, begging him to only have his name spoken that way from now on. Spoken by her. He tries to ignore that feeling, especially as the other Russian in the group catches his attention.

"Yuri, my brother." Nikolai shares his own cheerful greeting with the man, one that’s eagerly reciprocated as the two hug briefly.

"It's been too long, my friend." Yuri comments, patting his shoulder one last time as the two part.

"You two have known each other for a long time?" Petra quirks a brow at the pair as Yuri starts to lead them to a car nearby. He fishes a set of keys out of his pocket – he’s in civvies, she realizes. Dark jeans and a navy blue windbreaker, with the collar of a simple black shirt peeking out from underneath – and tosses them to Nikolai.

"Something like that." Nikolai slides into the driver’s seat after catching the keys. The other two circle around to the passengers’ side, where Petra reaches out to open the door for herself. Yuri beats her to it, though, and he holds the door open while she slips into the backseat. He sits in the front, leaving her to lean forward and poke her head between the two men.

"So, where are we heading from here?" She chirps, realizing but refusing to admit just how much that short nap on the helicopter helped her. For the first time in weeks, she feels like she has some energy.

"South, past the border." Yuri replies, his low voice rumbling right next to her ear.

Wait, what? "The border? We're heading into Crimea?"

"I am assuming Laswell gave you the information I delivered to her." He continues, turning his head just enough to meet her confused gaze. "The smuggler working with Konni Group isn't the one we are going after, since he hardly shows his face for these trades, but the man who facilitates most of the deals should be here for an upcoming one."

She hums. "When is it?"

The car pulls onto a road after leaving the base, quiet and mostly vacant of any other vehicles as the light of the sun slowly begins to fade from the sky. Moving in the dark. It's smart. Petra had already sat back in her seat before reaching into her bag, lazily dropped next to her. She fishes her tablet out, deciding to give the information a thorough scan, unlike her cursory glance in the helicopter.

"Three days from now. Not sure what time." Yuri mutters. "I have my own contact coming into town tomorrow to assist. FSB."

"FSB? Are you sure they can be trusted with this?" She huffs, raising her brows again as she looks at the side of his face.

He makes a small sound, akin to a curt chuckle. "Trust me, he is reliable. He's bringing information on our broker and claims to hate him just as much as we do."

"Do we even have a name for our target? Laswell couldn't give me one." She blinks, wracking her brain again for any known smugglers.

He shrugs, the quiet rustling of fabric his only answer for a brief moment. "We will tomorrow."

Petra accepts his response with a nod and a muted sigh. The drive to the border would be at least another few hours, and she was sure that crossing it would end up being some elaborate scheme to avoid detection by the border patrol. In any case, she buries her nose in file after file while Nikolai chats the other Russian's ear off.

At one point during the drive, already over an hour in, the pilot was spinning some recent tale about his nebo that she halfway tunes in for. Her eyes flit up after he says something about her "kicking his ass" and, after a low snort that she denies when he points it out, her gaze drifts to the rear-view mirror. Curiosity, the instinct to check the road behind them without making a scene, some random desire to look at herself – she isn't sure what motivates her to do it, but when she meets a pair of steel blue irides in the reflection, she freezes.

Yuri, in his silence only broken by muttered "oh's," "ah's," and quiet hums whenever Nikolai badgered him enough for a response, was eyeing her in the mirror.

And, here she was, meeting his gaze and staring back just the same. They already had a moment like this once before: at Arklov Base, before the missiles hit and disrupted the meeting Laswell had stolen her away from her team for. There was some kind of energy, a spark, even, that seemed to keep drawing their attentions back to each other, even with a woman discussing a potential world war brewing or a man actively attempting to steal the show right next to them.

She would deny the faint shiver creeping down her spine, just as he would deny the subtle electricity beneath his skin forcing him to flex his hands. They break eye contact at the same time, with his moving to the road ahead as hers drops down to her screen once more.

There is one thing Petra can tell already, as she quietly raps her fingers against her thigh and attempts to distract her mind. This mission is going to be more trouble than it's worth.

Vrag moyego vraga - moi drug. (Враг моего врага - мой друг.) - The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Mila - Slavic diminutive of Mylène

Nebo (Небо) - Sky

[lgcnathan]

*guess_who's_back_back_again.mp3* hi all ! thank you so much all the warm welcome (back's) 🤍 i'm kristin / admin *, and for those of you who don't know, nathan is my previous third-turned-second muse before i dropped out of the rp completely back in may of last year. i've still been around doing graphics, but nathan has always had a special place in my heart – and i knew that if i were to return with a muse, it would be with him. so when soobin opened up, i knew this was my one and only chance !

that being said, nathan is ~pretty much~ the same but ofc different in ways. his timeline is a continuation from where he was ic-wise last year, and you can read more under the cut about what his life is like now in the post-type zero era of his career. i've also linked his previous introduction that includes more of his backstory before he came to legacy for your reference !

now, without further ado, please like or reply to this post if you want to plot ! and if we plotted before, please don't feel like we need to keep the same connection – i'm practically starting from scratch here, and i'm excited to see what the future holds for nathan + all of you !

because i am an admin, you can easily reach me here or on the main. alternatively, you can find me on twitter or discord – just ask for my username, and i'll add you !

super stoked to be back here in my favorite place with my favorite people – let's get this party started 🥳

tl;dr on his backstory is that he (1) grew up in new york city, (2) acted out a lot because of parental neglect (re: being raised in boarding schools his whole life), (3) ended up in korea because the school board threatened to expel him after a prank-gone-wrong, (4) auditioned for legacy after his npc-big brother got signed to the company, (5) stayed because it was the first time in his life he ever got praised for literally anything and, wow, very much attention and affection-starved from the get-go, and (6) debuted in type zero in april of 2021 after four years of training!

now ... where, oh, WHERE do i even begin? like i mentioned in my ooc post when i dropped, nathan ultimately left type zero because of massive burnout. at the time, he was practically hard-carrying the group's promotions with his solo activities, and the burden of maintaining type zero's 'status' in the industry was eventually too much for him.

it was a lot for him, okay. not only was he dealing with the emotional turmoil that came from being in a group with so many line-up changes and differing opinions from the public, he was succumbing to the pressure of all these expectations placed on him that he (as he knows now) never felt properly prepared for before his debut.

the first few weeks after his departure, he had an extended staycation with his grandparents in the outskirts of seoul before flying back to nyc for some much-needed r&r.

since he was still signed to legacy even after leaving type zero, he returned to training after about three months of 'vacation' – so he's only been full-time training for a little over six months now.

he's been avoiding, basically, everyone – previous managers and stylists and other staff members, other debuted idols in the company, and, of course, the type zero members.

he's so ashamed of himself, for giving something up that (as he first-hand witnessed himself!) hundreds of kids only dream of after sacrificing their childhoods, their youths, their critical developments years all for the goal of becoming an idol.

and he's embarrassed, for obvious reasons. when he left type zero, he was practically at the top of his game, but now? now he's stuck in the basement, in the hallways of dance studios and practice rooms, surrounded by unfamiliar faces that whisper and gossip as he passes by. he's visibly older than most trainees now, and his energy nor enthusiasm can barely keep up anymore.

before, nathan thought he could take the world on by storm – that no matter what problem or obstacle, he could bulldoze through with sheer willpower alone. but now he's scared, and more jaded. the idol industry isn't anything like they tell you to believe, and there truly are things you can only learn through real-life experience.

but at the end of the day, nathan knows why he's still here, why he's tormenting himself by going through this rigorous training process again. he loves it. he loves it so much, and so much more than wanting to run away from it all once again.

[starchaserdreams]

My Regency AU

*deep breaths* *please take a chance on me*

Okay. so I decided to write a Jegulus Regency AU in the style of Jane Austen (NOT as good as she would write, but in the style of, as a writing exercise), and I've started! I wrote the prologue already, and plan to write the next 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo. I'm super excited.

In case anyone is interested in what a queer regency au in her style might look like, I've put the text of the prologue below. Wish me luck as I do NaNoWriMo! It's both daunting and exciting. And also it's not what I spent all of October preparing to write, so here goes nothing!

-

Prologue

There are certain things about which one must remain silent: struggles with money, the fear of the loss of the bloom of youth causing one to become fat and ugly, and the fact that since the dawn of time, there have been men who were attracted to other men.

For James, a handsome young man of 23 who had grown up in the wealthiest of families, the first two did not signify in his life.

He only became aware of the latter phenomenon, in which he himself would not have condescended to participate, when he left home for Oxford at the age of 18.

He had long been told before leaving for university that school would broaden his horizons and open him up to new understandings of the world. This particular type of education was not, perhaps, what he expected to learn, but it was in fact a key part of the education he received.

Early in his first days at the school he made a friend with whom he would grow very close, one Sirius Orion Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. That friend, James soon learned, was open with affection towards anyone with a pulse. He had no care for sex, age, or origin, only pleasure.

James found himself surprised, but not offended. Were not the university years of young men to be spent in varying degrees of debauchery, taking in all of the pleasures that life afforded before it was time to grow and settle down? Certainly their lives would take a much more respectable turn once they came of age and moved on in life to prepare to take on their titles and sire heirs, but for the duration of their university years, they could live exactly as they saw fit. 

For Sirius, that was in sowing his wild oats wherever he was allowed, and often in ways that could sow no oats at all.

James, though he had no judgment in his heart for that way of being, could never himself live thusly. He was simply too taken with the idea of loving only one person in his life so deeply that he could not contain it.

In short, he was a romantic.

It was the rare 20-year-old at Oxford who found himself intentionally avoiding interactions with those of the fairer sex who were inclined to seek out the university students. Because while James was unusually handsome, he was also unusually steadfast in refusing any who chose to approach him. While he could have had his choice of the ladies, he did not make a choice at all. He chose instead a loyalty to a woman he hadn’t met yet, one whom he would love with his whole heart, once the time came for them to meet. 

James and his cohort of friends were well-liked among both students and faculty. Although they were well known for mischief, society at large turned a blind eye thanks to that certain fondness that they held for those young men. Were they half as handsome, they would have received half as much leniency. But James had never known a day of his life when he was not one of the most handsome in a room and these days were no different.

While James was on good terms with the whole of Oxford, it was his particular group of four friends with whom he spent the chief of his time. 

There was the aforementioned Sirius Black, who had been so close as to be a brother to him from the first moment they’d met. Sirius had introduced him to more than just the baser pleasures that a young man could want; he’d also taught James ways to communicate that James could not previously have comprehended. Sirius was both a master of words and a master of smiles. It was no wonder he had all of the young ladies and some of the young men falling over themselves to know him. 

There was Peter Pettigrew, who had come to Oxford with an engagement already entirely wrapped up. He had no interest in the ongoing sexual exploits of those around him. He’d introduced each of his friends to his intended, one Desdemona Lewis, and James had found that she - while not particularly singular in appearance among the young ladies - was of a temperament to be a perfect match for Peter. They both needed reassurance that affection was returned, and they were sure to provide it to each other often. Sirius found it sickening, James found it sweet. 

And finally, there was Remus Lupin. He’d been the final member of their band of mischief makers to join their ranks and had not gotten to know any of them until their second year at the school. James had met him in a seminar on classic literature and encouraged him to join their meeting at the local pub one evening. Sirius, who had so wholly mocked James for his interest in classic literature and his choice in courses, sat up straight and got a rogue grin on his face almost at once when James and Remus walked in. James none too gently clocked him on the shoulder to try to discourage him from doing whatever he was thinking, but it was fruitless from the first. 

It hadn’t mattered, and it didn’t take long for James to realize that nothing could ever have dissuaded those two from their inevitable connection. 

In the earliest moments of their acquaintance, James had pretended not to notice that they often ended the nights together, but it didn’t take long for him to pick up on their very particular regard for each other. Sirius may well have continued on in his way for most of their time at university getting to know anyone who had any interest in him, but at the end of the night he would crawl into Remus’ bed. It was anything but roguish debauchery. James, romantic at heart that he was, would almost have called it love, were that sort of thing allowed. It could never be, while Sirius was the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and Remus was the only son of a very respectable - though not genteel - family. They had their roles to play in life, and falling in love with someone so wholly inappropriate could never be something that would be in the cards for either of them. 

So James looked the other way when he noticed them curling around each other, and chalked it up to a temporary arrangement that they would someday grow out of. 

James just hoped that they could all remain good friends afterwards. He knew enough of the poor - and often loud - endings of Sirius’ prior liaisons to know that there could be, at times, painful endings for those whom he had tired of. James couldn’t imagine that Remus would ever fall into this category, but he felt wary all the same. His lived experience had taught him that his best friend, while quite devoted to his friends, could be finicky when it came to lovers. Still, Remus fell into the former category just as well as the latter, so James imagined that Sirius’ loyalty to him had to be built on firmer foundation than some that to some others. Or, he hoped so, anyway.

James’ years at university were a delight for James and his friends, but they were not so pleasant for one person for whom James felt a particular fondness. 

James’ mother was proud to have raised a kind, well-bred, romantic son, and she’d taken pride in his acceptance to Oxford. He was, after all, an ideal student, son, and friend, and she had no doubt he would make a perfect husband and father someday to the perfect wife and children. Even knowing all of that, she had still found it regrettably difficult to let her son leave home for so many months in a row. How was a mother to live so far away from her son, not knowing if he was behaving properly, getting enough rest, and focusing on his studies, and in particular not knowing if he was well-fed? 

So while many of James’ friends took school holidays to travel - either to visit the homes of their friends or to go on holiday to foreign countries - James found himself shepherded home each school break to visit his parents. He cared deeply for his mother’s wellbeing and happiness, so he saw it as no burden at all, but it offered him significantly less time with his friends than the others got.

Still, he was quite sure that some of Sirius’ and Remus’ exploits in London were not of the sort that he would have been invited to join in at all, so perhaps they had enjoyed their rare chance at privacy.

But our story does not start in their Oxford University years, it starts one full year later. 

One year later, and not one of the young boys had properly grown up, despite the increasingly desperate urgings of their parents. 

Peter and Desdemona had been married for a few months, but Desdemona had not yet become with child. This suited Peter just fine; conversations about having children heightened his nerves dramatically, and while he had never had a fainting spell as a result, it had been a near thing on more than one occasion. He glorified in the early years of their youths without children to care for, and would have extended that time by years or even decades, had he any say in the matter. 

Sirius and Remus were continuing on as they always had, though with a degree more discretion than they had at school. Sirius’ parents Walburga and Orion had always been a formidable obstacle to their relationship, but they were rather too preoccupied with more pressing matters to pay any attention at all to Sirius’ personal life at all, namely that Orion’s health was failing, and the prognosis was growing darker by the day. 

Sirius, who had never much liked his father, saw only positives in the idea of his death, namely that his death would leave Sirius in control over the entire estate, and Walburga would no longer have any authority over him at all. James personally supposed that Walburga was thinking along much the same lines; it was highly unusual for her to say so little to Sirius in harsh tones, but it seemed likely that she, too, was aware of who would hold the power upon the death of Orion Black. 

Remus, who oftentimes seemed more serious than Sirius in conversations of future wives and children, had made no attempts at all to get to know any of the young ladies of the ton in the year since he’d left school. He seemed quite content to simply avoid the subject entirely, unless Sirius or James brought it up first. James wondered if he simply wished to stay attached with Sirius and no one else for the rest of his days. If that was his wish, James would pity him. It simply couldn’t be borne, however much the parties involved might prefer it. 

It would be a cold day in hell before Walburga and Orion Black would allow the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to fall to a distant cousin and out of their direct lineage. And while James knew that Sirius’ first cousins were all heavily favored by his mother, they were all sisters, with no brother among them to carry on the family name. James had heard Sirius mention a brother once or twice, but so rarely James usually forgot that such a brother existed. 

For his part, James was the lone member of their group of friends who was actively wishing to find a wife. Peter was already married and Remus and Sirius were not yet scouting for wives, but James could think of little else most days. 

He’d always wanted to fall in love, and the glimpses of it that he’d had over the years had struck him as the only thing worth wanting. His parents loved each other so deeply you could see it from down the street. Peter and Desdemona loved each other in their own way, where they met each other’s needs so perfectly. James wouldn’t have admitted it to them, but he even saw the deep love that Remus and Sirius had for each other and found himself jealous of that. Whatever they said about being casual, the love was constantly electrifying the air around them. 

James wanted that. He craved it so bad he could hardly think over it.

The season was set to start in the following days, so James made his way to London - where his family had a house that usually sat empty - and prepared to make himself known for the season. 

He wouldn’t jump at the first chance to get married, but he would dive into the festivities with open arms in the hopes of finding someone to love. 

There had been rumors already, so James knew where to start. There was already speculation as to whom the most beautiful belle of the season would be. James, as the handsomest of gentlemen, imagined that it would only be right if he spoke first with her.

So he’d learned her name immediately, with every intention of finding her tomorrow at the first ball of the season, held by none other than Walburga and Orion Black. 

She would be there, and he would find her, the mysterious beauty he planned to fall in love with: Lily Evans.

[constellariums]

FFXIVWrite Day #1: Steer & Wolchefant Week Day #1: Holiday

Rating: T

Pairing: Warrior of Light/Haurchefant Greystone

Description: Starlight is nearly upon Coerthas, and Haurchefant learns that this is the Warrior of Light's first time celebrating the holiday and endeavors to whisk her away for a celebration.

Extra Info: This is the same wolchefant as the one in A Shelter from the Storm although it isn't strictly canon for that story!

Two prompts in one!

Read on AO3 here!

It was perhaps later than he'd hoped to be leaving the city, but when Haurchefant Greystone finally escaped a series of lengthy last-minute meetings at the Congregation, shed his armor at the manor and found his way behind the reins of the chocobo carriage he'd prepared for the occasion, he still breathed a sigh of relief. The sky was beautiful this day, clear and painted in dusky tones of indigo and orange; and the crisp, clean mountaintop air of Ishgard filled Haurchefant's grateful lungs as his feathered companions carried him across the Steps of Faith, towards where the Warrior of Light awaited him outside Camp Dragonhead.

Oh, the Warrior of Light, his dearest friend, and... well. In truth she was much more than that, though neither of them had yet admitted it in public, for propriety's sake. Yet ever since her arrival in Ishgard, their meetings had predictably but regrettably become more infrequent -- far from the weeks spent inseparable when he'd had the Scions sheltered in his camp. But that made this occasion all the more exciting; a chance to see her, to be alone with her, for a full weekend at that!

Thank the gods for Starlight. A wondrous season, where even in these perilous times amidst a thousand years of war, those in positions of high command and those with family were granted a measure of leave to spend time with their loved ones. Haurchefant himself only took this leave infrequently, often taking the opportunity to entertain those of his men who didn't have the fortune of a loving hearth to go home to, but, this year...

He sighed longingly, resting his chin on his hands as he rode across the flagstone steps. Oh, this Starlight he had the most wondrous surprise planned for her, and he could not wait to see the look on her face -- to make memories with her, even start new traditions with her perhaps, though that might be getting ahead of himself... but he couldn't help it. He was always getting ahead of himself when it came to her. It was impossible not to. Either way, he dearly hoped she'd like what he had planned.

After all, a few weeks ago...

---

"Oh!" The Warrior gasped, still clad in her morning lounge robes. She stood in the entry hall gawking as a group of stewards brought in boughs of fresh pine, handing them to other workers who began to hang them along the walls. The usual floral bouquets that adorned the room had been replaced with crimson poinsettias and young saplings of pine and cedar, decorated in baubles of red, green and gold. "Is it that time of year already?"

Haurchefant had already taken an early meal and was getting ready to depart; but upon seeing her in the hall he strode over to her side, joining her in watching the house stewards decorate the place. He had to admit it did make the manor feel cozier, more welcoming. "Mmm, it surely is. Do you like Starlight, my friend?"

"I do... well, I like what I have heard of it," she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "In truth I don't believe I've ever partaken in a Starlight celebration, though I understand it has something to do with giving gifts to children in need, yes?"

Haurchefant gaped at her, utterly shocked. "You haven't celebrated Starlight before?"

She flushed a little, looking a bit embarrassed -- he nearly brought a reassuring hand to caress her arm, before remembering where they were. Right. She seemed to notice the halted gesture and looked reassured nevertheless.

"Ah, no... it wasn't observed, where I come from. These decorations are quite lovely, though, and they smell wonderful."

"I see..." he answered, suddenly in deep thought, placing a hand to his pursed lips. "Well, then we shall have to rectify that," he declared, looking up sharply and meeting her with a wide smile. "I swear to you, my friend, this season you will be shown all the delights and joys that a true Ishgardian Starlight -- we began the tradition, in fact -- has to offer."

"Oh, Haurchefant, you needn't trouble yourself--" she'd begun, but he'd waved off her polite objection.

"No, no; it will require little effort on my part, I assure you. House Fortemps has its own wonderful Starlight tradition, and I am certain that your presence will be sought after for it. But..." he looked around the room to make certain everyone was occupied, then back into her curious eyes, adding in a low whisper, "I may call upon you before then, for our own little celebration?"

She flashed him a sly grin, as quick and secretive as it was thrilling. "I might be persuaded," she allowed, reaching over to rub a mark out of his pauldron with her thumb. A casual excuse to get closer to him for a moment, perhaps?

"Splendid," he'd returned with a grin of his own, before politely taking his leave, wishful thoughts of festive celebration filling his head.

---

The Warrior of Light's first Starlight..! In the days and weeks since he'd learned of this, he'd been planning a surprise getaway, on the more romantic side of Ishgard's Starlight traditions. Charitable works were of course the heart of the holiday, and something he greatly looked forward to every year, but he had always wanted to spend a romantic Starlight night with someone he loved. And now he had not one, but two nights ahead of him to do just that.

His chocobos' feet touched down onto the snow-covered paths leading to Camp Dragonhead, the festive bells at their necks softly jingling with their steps, and he couldn't help but feel utterly giddy.

About three-quarters of the way down the path to their meeting place -- a little alcove in the outer walls of Camp Dragonhead -- Haurchefant passed another carriage apparently leaving the camp, some of House Fortemps' knights -- his men -- riding in the back along with the cargo, for protection.

Ah, ingredients for the Starlight feast, he thought excitedly as he recognized the look of the crates, though as he took the reins and steered to the side of the road to let them pass, he locked eyes with one of his knights in recognition -- ah, Ser Yaelle, he realized. It made sense; his second-in-command was always heavily involved in his house's efforts this time of year, volunteering for all kinds of Starlight tasks. Yet the expression on her face, looking him up and down in his alpine coat and meeting him with a grin -- what, what was that about? Surely she didn't know where he was off to --

A deafening thump sounded from below, and suddenly Haurchefant found himself jolted by gravity and flung from his seat, warks of alarm coming from both his chocobos. When he came to, he was face-first in the fresh snow, his carriage askew and his chocobos stamping their taloned feet in distress.

"Lord Haurchefant!" came the distant, worried cry of his second, along with the sound of several pairs of armored boots crunching on snow. "Your carriage -- you were unarmored -- are you alright?"

Haurchefant lifted his dazed face from the snowbank, and let the Elezen woman help him up to his feet -- he... seemed to be intact, although the impact had scattered his mind a bit and left him somewhat unsteady on his feet, adrenaline still rushing through him.

"I... I think so," he said, meeting her concerned face with a placating smile as she sat him down on a boulder, which was... much like the one he now saw that his fine carriage had apparently run into, hidden underneath what had seemed to be an ordinary snowpack. His heart sank. Even if all was well, this repair would take hours, and... and his plans with his dear Warrior...

"...Someone send for a tradesperson, and a fresh chocobo," Yaelle instructed to her knights, and a pair of them nodded firmly and ran off in the direction of Camp Dragonhead. "You have Starlight plans, yes? I have it covered, milord," she whispered to him, and he drew in a sharp breath, his eyes widening. "Are you certain you are alright? I daresay you flew."

How... how did she know? He hadn't voiced any of his plans to anyone, only announced his upcoming absence to his men -- but the knowing twinkle in her eye spoke volumes.

Well. He supposed she was certainly clever enough to figure it out, and he was more than grateful to have her eager help. He nodded gratefully, patting his body to make sure everything was indeed intact and in good working order. "I believe I am unharmed -- and if not I shall see a healer posthaste," he assured Yaelle, and the fact that he said healer and not chirurgeon seemed to make her eyes light up in knowing glee.

"That is most reassuring, milord. I am sure she -- that is to say, a healer -- could put you right in no time." She smiled at him, looking every bit a proper knight who had said nothing she shouldn't have, then turned to speak with her men, who were unyoking his birds and making them comfortable.

Oh, Halone, what a turn things had taken, he thought with flushed cheeks -- but Haurchefant yet held on to hope. It was Starlight season, a time for miracles; and it seemed the stars had already granted him an ally.

The Warrior of Light rubbed her gloved hands together to keep them warm as she waited for Haurchefant to arrive. It was a beautiful evening, but it was edging into night and she'd been told he'd rendezvous with her shortly before Camp Dragonhead's evening meal bell. Said bell had rung out quite some time ago, and she was beginning to feel a bit hungry and rather concerned. Had his business with the Congregation kept him longer than he'd expected? It certainly wouldn't have been the first time, though every time he wound up late to one of their meetings he'd always pull her aside and rather sincerely offer recompense in many kisses that left her giddy and flushed.

She could use some warming up right about now, she thought, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her winter coat. She hoped it was just a simple delay; he knew he was sorely looking forward to his time off with her, and what with how tirelessly he served his people every day he certainly deserved a well-earned break.

When she saw a pair of knights running breathlessly towards the gates, she started in alarm and thought to make her way to them -- but, no, she would be too far away to meet them before they reached the gates. Moments later what looked to be a carpenter nearly flew out of the same gate on a chocobo, and, now rather anxious, she fiddled with the sword in its scabbard at her hip. Just when she'd resolved to see if the Camp had any spare chocobos and go to investigate, she caught sight of someone cresting the hill -- it was Haurchefant, she realized, his pale hair catching the last golden rays of dusk as he bobbed on chocoboback.

"Haurchefant!" she cried out as he reached her, his yellow steed coming to a stop only fulms away.

He said her name with a tone of considerable relief, dropping down off his mount and spreading his arms wide to invite her into an embrace. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, sighing at the welcome warmth as he squeezed her tightly in greeting.

"Is everything alright? It's awfully late, and I saw a bit of commotion, and..."

Haurchefant sighed, nodding knowingly. "There was a bit of a mishap... I had a romantic carriage ride planned and everything, you should have seen my finely dressed chocobos," he laughed, though she could tell he did seem genuinely disappointed. "All is still well, though, 'twas only a minor accident and I was sent on my way. May I have the pleasure of having you ride tandem astride my -- less festive, but still rather fine -- mount?"

"Oh, Haurchefant," she sighed, reaching up to brush some of his hair out of his face -- he looked as if he felt rather a mess, although he did look terribly handsome in the fine coat he wore... this was the first time she'd seen him in proper nobleman's attire. Had he gone to all this effort just for her? "You were in an accident? Are you well? You don't have to push yourself on my account."

"I am whole and hale, I assure you -- aside from having to dig some snow out of my ears," he chuckled, and the smile he gave her put her at ease. He took her hand in his and planted a kiss to her knuckles, and she felt herself flush. "Come, my lady, your chariot awaits."

She rolled her eyes playfully at him, and he grinned and helped her up onto the saddle with him -- the bird was just large enough to hold both of them without undue effort, thankfully -- and with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, Haurchefant took the reins and they sped off together into the starlit Coerthan night.

[yourkimjaejin]

Pulling Rank

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

She is literally gonna pass out Mark thought as Moxy swayed for the fifth time, her eyes getting closer and closer to shutting fully before snapping open again.

There are few idols that go though what some of the members of NCT go though while maintaining two groups at the same time. Every now and again things get tough. The constant flights, practices, recording sessions, photo shoots can grate on you. Leaving the idol in question so tired they can't even think straight.

When Mark got into those moments, Johnny and Taeyong were always the ones to pull him out and get him to rest. When it came to the younger members, Mark took over that responsibility. And now was the best time to use it.

It had been a rough time for Moxy, she'd been in and out of planes during the American leg of AG's tour. The girls were flying back and forth for NCT Nation concerts. If SM had their way, the girls would have been at SMtown Jakarta too. Now here they were and the company was running the rapper ragged. Getting all the footage they'd need for 127's next comeback. Anybody who looked at Moxy could tell she was running on fumes and Mark felt it was on him to help.

When he saw some of the makeup and hair noonas start to back off from Moxy was when he took his chance.

From behind, Mark slipped a hand into the crook of Moxy's arm catching her mid-sway, "Noona? Could I borrow Moxy once your done?"

"Acutally you can have her now. I just finished up." The makeup noona smiled at them then walked away. Mark pulled his twin in the other direction, her feet dragging on the floor. He guided them to a more quiet corner of the palace where 127 was shooting. He turned her around to face him but kept a grip on her forearms.

"You're probably gonna hate me for this but I don't care. Code: 8299." Moxy eyes snapped open from their half-lidded state.

"Are you pulling rank on me?"

"Absolutly. I've watched you fall asleep standing up five times in the last ten minutes. You're tired and if you keep going you're gonna pass out Tay. So we're gonna go nap and you can't argue about it." While feeling triumphant on the inside, Mark didn't let it show. Moxy just huffed, knowing what Mark said it true. He used his personal code. She couldn't argue. She held out a hand, not without rolling her eyes though.

Mark just smiled and pulled her along to one of the group dressing rooms.

"You know we won't be able to sleep long."

"I'll get the hyungs to stall. They'll buy us some more time." Once Moxy was settled next to him on the couch, Mark sent out a text to the 127 group chat

From Markie Code: Stall

the duo's members proceeded to act like freshly debuted idols, not knowing how to pose. Sometimes flat out ruining shots. Their managers feigned ignorance to what was happening. Turning a blind eye to the groups chaotic efforts.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I imagine M Squared were posed on the couch like Lizzie and Gordo in the Lizzie McGuire Movie when their on the plane to Rome. Moxy's head on Mark's shoulder, his head on top of hers. You best believe the hyungs were freaking out over the cuteness.

Sorry for the delay in posts! Not only have I been working on writing my tour!angst series but also it's the busy season for my job so that takes up a lot of my time so posting may be slow but I'm still here!! Have a great day!! ~ Author Izzy

Taglist: @alixnsuperstxr / @1-800-call-ria / @sophrodite / @sunflower-0180

[pro-gamer-moves]

Hi hello! I don't know if it's bad form to make a request on anon.. sorry if that's the case.

However I've been dying for some lu Sky hurt/comfort and would very much like to request some.

No problem, requesting on anon is totally fine!

As for the prompt, how about a bit of claustrophobia?

Closing In

Tw for claustrophobia, panic attacks, and a bit of thunder.

It was nighttime when the portal opened, its eerie glow tinting the camp as the Link on watch woke them one by one. Sky had been sleeping with Fi nestled in his arms as always, only to be wrenched into wakefulness by a pinecone bouncing off his forehead.

It didn’t take long to pack up the camp; most of them had gotten into the habit of putting their things away before sleeping on their adventures, and those that hadn’t quickly picked it up. Once every bedroll was tied to a pack or shoved in a bag they joined hands and walked through the portal.

Sky liked this part the least. The dizzying sense of disconnection, like something that had always been there was suddenly missing, combined with the swirling lights he saw on the way through; he wanted to collapse on the ground of wherever they turned up even when he kept his eyes closed. He would never understand how Time and Twilight managed to blow it off so quickly.

The Hyrule they arrived in was lifeless and overcast. Most of the grass was dead, and the sparse trees that persisted had half as many leaves as they should have. At least, Sky was pretty sure they didn’t have enough leaves. He wasn’t a tree expert, especially not among this group. To top it off, the sky looked like it was going to open up any second and drench them and their equipment.

Hyrule perked up when he saw their surroundings. “I know where we are! This is close to my house!”

Oh.

Hyrule led the chain through a field or dry grass and bushes to a well-hidden cave. “Here we are! This isn’t exactly my home so much as one of the homes I have scattered about, but I’m pretty sure there’s enough room for all of us if we squeeze.”

Sky took a deep breath. Great. Hyrule lived in a cave (worry about that later), and they would all have to cram into it because it was about to rain, another of his favorite things. He could almost imagine what Fi would say: I predict a 52% chance that this arrangement will be more satisfactory than anticipated.

She was nice like that, always trying to make him feel better.

Sky realized he had zoned out, and that the others were already removing their equipment and putting it under a sailcloth to keep it dry and free up room in the cave. He set his pack with the others, but didn’t remove Fi or his own sailcloth. Nobody said anything.

The sky rumbled ominously, and Time started to usher them into the cave. Sky waited until it was only him, Time, and Hyrule before speaking up.

“Is it okay if I stay out here and keep watch? I don’t mind getting a little wet.”

Time hesitated, and Hyrule shook his head. “Sorry, I know it’s not the best place, but everyone has to be inside or the concealing magic won’t work. You can be closest to the entrance, if that helps.”

His heart sank. He had known it was a long shot, but still. “Yeah, thanks Traveler.”

Time looked between him and Hyrule, then nodded and ducked inside the cave to join the others. “Let us know if you have any problems. We can all deal with getting a little wet and a couple of monsters.”

Sky nodded as Hyrule followed their leader, but he knew he wouldn’t take Time up on the offer. They could all handle being in a stupid cave, so he could too. He wasn’t going to risk their lives just because he was uncomfortable.

Sky squeezed himself into the cave next to Hyrule and closed his eyes, leaning onto the wall. It wasn’t that bad, he reminded himself. It’s not like the other caves, there aren’t any monsters. It’s like a sleepover, and everyone is sleeping on the floor. You can even feel a bit if wind from the entrance there, this don’t so bad.

Then Hyrule closed the door.

Every trace of the outside was cut off; all he could smell was dirt and sweat, all he could hear was shifting fabric and the complaints of Wind and Legend as they fought for elbow room. His eyes were closed and he kept them that way because he knew if he opened them all he would see was the walls and the ceiling and the stifling closeness of it all.

Outside the rain started. Sky could hear it thudding on the wooden trapdoor, feel the coolness seeping in through the cracks. He tried to focus on it, to convince himself that this was just a crowded sleepover and it was raining outside but it was safe and warm in here with his brothers.

One of them must have noticed how tense he was, because he felt a calloused hand grab his own and squeeze it softly. It helped, having another thing to focus on. He squeezed back and huddled further into his sailcloth. He could do this. All he had to do was fall asleep, and he could wake up when it was safe to leave the cave. Eyes closed, brothers gathered close, the soothing sound of rain… perfect for a little nap…

The sound of nearby thunder shattered his serenity. He reached for Fi before he could think, he had to redirect the lighting before it was too late, but it was too close in here, too small no room walls ceiling sky gone stone all around growing smaller collapsing unyielding—

There was a hand on his face.

There was another on his knee.

Over the sound of rain and thunder he could hear a low voice talking softly.

“Are you okay Link? Do you need us to open the door? Nobody would mind, we’ve all been wet before. I spent a good amount of time underwater when I was on my adventures, a little rain won’t hurt me.”

Time kept talking in the same soothing tone until Sky felt his body relax. For the first time, he opened his eyes. The cave was cramped, as he had expected, but it seemed like the idea of a sleepover wasn’t far off. Twilight’s lantern had been lit, and it filled the area with a warm glow. Wild was passing around fruit to anyone that wanted some, but most of his fellow heroes had made themselves comfortable and were trying to fall back asleep, using each other as pillows and blankets as they saw fit.

Sky looked back at Time, who still had a worried look on his face. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Do you want me to open the door?”

Sky actually considered it this time. “Nah, leave it shut. Wouldn’t want to let all the cold air in.”

Time smiled. “Sure thing. Get some rest while you can, okay?”

“You know me, I always do.”

Sky shuffled closer to the tangle of Links and pains his head on a nearby shoulder, draping his sailcloth over himself and anyone nearby, and drifted off to sleep with a contented smile on his face.

AN: this is only my second one-shot, and I’ve never written hurt/comfort before, but hopefully you liked it! Let me know if it was too long or anything, I’d love some feedback.

[repetiita]

While they weren't friends nor colleagues, there was a distinct comraderie amongst those considered 'cards'. They weren't entirely human. Nor were they bore of Pride; but they were chosen. Noah, the bleeding heart and child of a glutton stood, his arm occupied by a smitten child, Nunzia. Smoking near a window in comfortable silence sat the dancer, Camilla, the doctor, Kaede and the police officer, Samuel.

A mood killer; that is what king Nado was. A nameless husk, shambling in with a faux crown upon its head.

No more quiet chatter, no more boisterous laughter. Just complete silence each time it appeared. No matter what body it latched onto, no matter how polite a smile it wore, the rag-tag team of 'humans' looked at it as it was. A usurper.

"I'm getting the distinct feeling that I am not liked by you all."

"This in itself is fine, however, I wish you all remember that I am your leader. Ignoring my orders is not an option."

Within the blanketed silence, a single hand raised. Like an owl, King's head turned, wide eyes landing on the only human with the gall to openly oppose it's whims. Perhaps it noticed the colour in Nunzia's face drain when it decided to turn its body to match its heads position. Or how Noah tensed as it moved. Operating a human was a challenge.

"Respect is earned." As always, Queen spoke without permission... Nevermind her tenure in this little group; Pride seemed to hold a soft spot for her. Rendering her untouchable. Pompous. "And to be frank, despite joining us recently, you assumed a RECENTLY VACANT position. One held by someone we all cherished. If you allowed us the chance to grieve before waving authority, your transition would be smoother, Second."

There it was. Vitriol and spite dripped from her tongue whenever she called it that. Taking on the label of King did nothing but twist the knife.

Imitating it's environment, it asked a simple question; speaking her true name. ". . . Did you love the First, Camilla?"

"We all did." Noah spoke through grit teeth, though fear held him still, he stood with Camilla. Respectable, while Nunzia hid behind him, her hands trembling. It could practically hear the chattering of the siren's teeth.

Once more, an uncomfortable silence took the room. Even Samuel, whose lungs could barely take the dust, lacked the gall to cough and clear tarred airway.

All is silent until the door slams open by the grace of Peter's foot. The life of the party had broken the only door still on its hinges, his wide grin fell, smelling ROT before seeing it standing before the others. Its body turned to the two, for behind Peter stood their lucky charm, Marissa, unshakable in her faith.

"Fuck, we already bullyin' the new guy?"

"Correcting, Jack..."

"I see it as bullying, Camilla."

CLAP ! Loud and oddly piercing, Marissa clapped. Once, twice-- a total of four claps. Like a teacher commanding the attention of a room. "That's enough!" Her small body bounced as she practically skipped between the two faux monarchs. "No fighting!"

"And King, you know not to use our real names when we meet. One more infraction and--"

"Understood. I've attended this meeting and shall be leaving early, is that alright with you, Clover?" Without waiting for Marissa to stammer an 'okay', the King made itself scarce, shambling out of the dilapidated bar without a second look.

Perhaps next time, it will try a different approach.

". . . Good riddance."

As if time resumed, noise seeped into the atmosphere. Starting with a single cough.

[tsunamiscale]

I haven't had time to incorporate the stuff from the snapshot yet , but figured now would be a good time to post my take on the minecraft lore! I've always favored a more tragic story, so here we go

There once was a race of builders, of people, of scientists and explorers and mages. They kept up relations with the Piglins of the nether and built wonderous temples of stone to worship their gods. After all, they had all the time in the world

And suddenly the didn't.

The magic that powered their tools wasn't as strong, crops didn't grow as fast. The monsters that had always been around started showing up in greater numbers. The rumors came next. A disaster of epic proportions, the kind that causes extinction events. Disease and destruction. The civilization didn't panic though, not yet. They sent out sailors first, outfitted with some basic rations, paper to record their journeys, and a bit of treasure in case of emergencies. Those ships never made it far as seas were rougher than they should have been. The coastal settlements started noticing the water rising more and more each day. They took everything of value and ran. Some managed to make it to other villages, but most didn't. When word reached the inland settlements they started to panic just a bit. The world they had come to rely on was no longer friendly.

They tried settling in the nether next, building great fortresses in an attempt to withstand the hostility and heat. But the disaster affected that realm too. It took just one animal to bring a disease through and it ran through the realm in no time. Members of the once great civilization left in a hurry. They built portals wherever they could to return to their home realm, chased by the Piglins who they had brought disaster upon. They were running out of ideas at this point. Tensions were high, and time was rapidly counting down. Soon two factions arose. One would go to The End, the mythical dimension that only the bravest of warriors went. They would bring seeds, tools, armor. Enough to make a last stand and hold out, and maybe one day return to the sunlight

But it wasn't enough. There was no way to grow their seeds, and the denizens of the land did not want them there. No one knows how long they lasted, but they never saw sunlight again.

The other group knew they were only delaying the inevitable and so they prepared. They let loose their animals to give them a chance to survive. They packed up their music and books and everything left behind. The fighters and what remained of the sailors had already left so they took the best and brightest; the redstoners and builders. They decided to dig Deep underground, farther than they had ever gone, to where silence was key. The skulk wasn't as bad in those days, you see. The monster it summoned when threatened was passive enough as long as you didn't harm its charges. And appeasing it often made it leave faster. So they did what they did best, and built a fortress of stone hidden far away from the surface. They used every technique they could to blend in, hoping the disaster would pass them by. Hoping their neighbors would tolerate them. They used their precious wool to dampen the sound of walking, they built cold rooms to preserve as much food as possible. They built a great shrine to the protector, the Warden. Over time it accepted them, and protected them too. But even that wasn't enough. Disease and destruction inevitably found them. And as they fell, their skulk neighbors fed on what was left, as there was no sense in letting anything go to waste.

Time passed, long enough for the very land to shift. Long enough for an entirely new intelligent species to evolve. The villagers are doing remarkably well for a sentient species living amongst the ruins of a former world. In time, they may become masters of building and magic as well. But for now they are simple craftsmen and farmers, unaware of the true damage haunting their world. The Piglins, only just beginning to recover, their ancestral homes fallen to ruin as they struggled to survive. The End, full of buildings with no Builders to be seen. And the Deep, adamant to protect what remains of their friends from anything seeking to harm them. By any means necessary.

[your-divine-ribs]

I’m With the Band Part 9

Words: 2k

Those smutty merch boards make an appearance… 🤭

I’m With the Band Masterlist Main Masterlist

I linger around the bar area whilst the band are setting up their kit. The drink choice in here is pretty dire and I end up reluctantly ordering a lager.

"Hold on... make that 6 pints actually," I tell the bartender, with the lads in mind.

"Now there's a welcoming sight!" Johnny smiles as he sees me making my way across the room, awkwardly carrying three pints which is as many as I can manage in one go. "Here... let me give you a hand..."

I thank him as he jumps down from the stage and rushes over to the bar to grab the remaining plastic pint glasses. "So... have I converted you to lager then?"

"It's not like I've got a lot of choice in here," I start to grumble, about to go off on a rant, but then I check myself. I really don't want Johnny to think that I'm fussy and difficult. "But it's not so bad," I add quickly. "Maybe I'll get even more used to it when we're on tour."

This comment raises a joyful smile on Johnny's face. "You know I'm so glad you're coming with us, I'm really looking forward to spending more time with you."

The feeling's mutual, I think, but I don't say it.

"I'm sure it's going to be loads of fun," I reply as I reach the stage and Johnny boosts himself up and reaches for his guitar. "Hey... maybe you could teach me how to play the guitar or something while we're on the road."

I don't actually mean it, but Johnny's eyes have lit up like I've suggested something truly amazing. "You know, that's a brilliant idea. I'd love to! I'm a really good teacher... I'm very patient."

Van's adjusting the height of his microphone stand and he looks up when he catches the tail end of my and Johnny's conversation. "What are you pair on about?"

I don't get chance to answer as at that precise moment Larry strides in, his voice loud and booming. "Here it is lads!"

I turn to see him carrying a large board with handwritten scrawl all over it. "This is the best one yet, I'm telling ya!"

"C'mon then, let's see!" Van shouts, excitement in his voice.

Johnny shakes his head but he's smiling nevertheless. "I swear you guys are gonna get in trouble for this one day. Someone's gonna take offence ya know."

"What is it?" I ask, intrigued.

Larry's grin gets wider if that's even possible as he turns the board towards me so that I can view it properly. "Made us our own special merch board to put behind the stand. We do one for every gig!"

My eyes dart over the board which is advertising all sorts of lewd services, each with a price. Notable mentions are 'signed titties £2', 'cum shots £3' and a 'catfish special' which would set the lucky purchaser back... yes you guessed it... £69.

I feel like I've been transported back to secondary school amongst a group of pre-pubescent boys the way they all start sniggering at my look of disgust.

"For fucks sake Larry!" I groan. "How old are you? 15? Please don't tell me you're actually going to display this!"

"Larry... I told you to leave me out of this!" Bob suddenly stops laughing as he notices that he's got a special mention on the board. "If Lucy sees it she's going to go mad!"

"Kate's not going to be happy either," Benji adds, but then he reads a line marketing Larry's services and his face creases as he can't hold back a laugh.

"Come on Bells, it's dead funny, and no one actually takes it seriously," Larry says, then he gives me a wink. "Hey I'm sure Van'll give you a discount if you ask nicely!"

The guys erupt into laughter again, and I try to keep a straight face but actually, I'm starting to see the funny side. I'm not sure whether it's because I've just spotted 'Exorcism by Van £25' on the board, or the fact that as I stand there with the lads and watch them laughing and joking with each other I'm suddenly struck by how daft and down to earth and just... plain normal they all are.

They're not like the boys from back home at all. They're not like Dominic who threw a hissy fit when I got lip gloss on his dad's Porsche's leather seats, or Oscar who would rather bore me about the size of his trust fund rather than actually listen to what I've got to say. In fact they couldn't be more different. And I'm growing to like it in spite of myself.

"I can't believe the small print!" I giggle as I read it out loud. "'Orgasm not guaranteed due to small penis disease!' I mean, you're not exactly selling it are you lads? You should be 'bigging' yourselves up, if you know what I mean!"

This comment earns me laughs all round and various other suggestions for the board are bandied around which have us all cracking up until we're clutching our bellies and have tears rolling down our cheeks. I can't remember the last time I just let go and laughed so much.

"That's nothing Arabella," Johnny grins. "You should hear what Van tells interviewers about his... errr... bedroom skills!"

"Yeah!" Benji chips in, looking at Van. "What was it you said at that interview last week? Oh yeah, that's it. 'I'm so, so, so bad in bed!'"

I look at Van too, raising my eyebrows with a smirk. He just looks right back at me, mirroring my smirk with one of his own, shrugging as he speaks. "Well? Never had any complaints, have I? Must be 'cause I'm incredible with my hands!"

I've practically drained my second pint of lager by the time the lads are ready to properly soundcheck, and I'm having a great time. I'm flitting between the boys, getting to know each of them better, and my London friends and all the parties that I'm sure to be missing out on couldn't be further from my mind.

"Are you ready then Bella?" Van says, giving me a look which makes my belly flip and I nod, jumping down from the stage and taking a spot right at the front with a perfect view of all the boys. If only the venue could remain like this for the whole evening with me as the only audience member.

Van turns to the other band members and they discuss what they're going to play, deciding on a couple of old songs.

The first thing I hear is Johnny's rousing guitar riffs, followed by Benji's bass and then Bob's drums kick in. The music pumps adrenaline straight into my bloodstream, and I can feel my body responding. I'd dance if I was in a crowd but I feel self-conscious on my own so I just nod my head and sway slightly to the beat.

Then Van starts strumming and he steps up to the mic, screwing his eyes shut as he begins to sing.

“She lights a cigarette in my face

And says let's get good and lost for a while

'Cause I can't stand the people round here”

Wow...

His voice is the perfect mixture of smooth and gravelly, and I find myself instantly hypnotised. I'm just glad he's got his eyes closed as I realise that I'm staring. Like properly staring. Fuck... seeing him up there on the stage is making my pulse start to race.

His eyes flick open and lock right on to mine as he sings the next line.

“The things that I do

Just to get you out of those clothes

Because they love my floor”

I never usually blush but this makes warmth instantly flood my cheeks. Van doesn't take his eyes off me for the rest of the song. He knows exactly what he's doing.

As soon as the song comes to an end, Van nods to Johnny and they immediately launch into another. Van's got that smouldering look in his eyes again as he starts to sing.

“When her mind's corrupt

She'll ring me up

And say baby I'm alone

And I've got ideas

Won't you please come and pick me up?”

He's got ideas? Well... I certainly have...

In fact if he doesn't stop looking at me like that I'm not going to be responsible for my own actions.

I eventually wrench my eyes away from Van to look at the other band members. Bob's totally immersed in the music, looking a million miles away from his shy self now, flinging his head around as he pounds out the beat. Benji's focussed, keeping his head down but as I watch he looks up to give me a sweet smile. My gaze travels to Johnny, and he's looking at me too. I watch his fingers fly effortlessly up and down the frets. He's absolutely mesmerising to look at... but still I find my eyes straying back to Van...

“I just want to know, how you feel, about us

And I, just want to know where you spent last night

'Cause I just want to know how you think about him when you're with me

Like you do with her, she said, please honey save it”

As the last bars of the song play out I begin to clap loudly. "You guys were pretty good, I'm impressed!" I grin at each of them in turn.

"Wait till ya see the real thing!" Van calls out, and I nod, then turn swiftly and make for the toilets.

What is it about musicians? I knew I had a weakness but these guys are going to get me into trouble, I just know it.

I finish up in the toilet and look at myself in the mirror. My cheeks are still a little flushed and my eyes are sparkling with excitement for what the rest of the evening will hold. I hate to admit it to myself but sending me to stay with Larry is turning out to be one of the best decisions my parents ever made. I pout at my reflection and push open the toilet door with force. I hear a loud "OOF" noise as the door connects hard with someone who's standing directly behind it.

"Oh my god I'm so so..." I begin, until I pull the door back to reveal Van standing there, grinning at me.

"Oh... it's just you..."

"I know you're pleased to see me really!" He smirks.

I don't say anything, just go to push past him but he steps in my path, barring my way. "So what did ya think then?"

He looks expectant, like he thinks I'll start simping on the spot, but I don't want to fuel his ego. "You were pretty good... like I said. I've only heard a few songs though."

"Maybe I wasn't on about the music..."

I can tell exactly what he's insinuating by his wolfish grin. He stands there, hands outstretched to the walls on either side of the thin corridor, like he's offering up some kind of irresistible treat to me just by being there. And the infuriating thing is... he actually is...

Don't give in Bella... play hard to get...

"God, you're so full of yourself!" I say, crossing my arms across my chest in a defensive pose.

Van just raises an eyebrow. "So you don't fancy me then?"

"Actually no I don't!" I retort. "Just because the fans are all falling over themselves to shag you, doesn't mean I am too! I have standards."

Van's grin grows even wider, clearly enjoying winding me up. "So if I went to kiss you right now, you'd stop me?"

I'm used to guys being upfront but Van's cocky brand of confidence is on a whole other level. And what's more, as maddening as I find it, it actually makes him even more tempting. I find my gaze dropping down to his lips which are slightly parted. They look soft and full, and very inviting...

I fix him with a seductive smile, looking up at him through my lashes. "Well, why don't you try it and find out...?"

[isleofdarkness]

1) I’ve never heard hope punk used before and I’m taking it because i love it

2) we have the same political ideology! Do you get as much shit for being “too optimistic” and “believing in a system that will never work because of how it’s been executed in the past” as I do?

3) fucking. Yes. To everything you said.

I am sorry this came out so rambly, I'm just particularly eager to overthrow the government after working for seven hours on the day I specifically requested off.

I haven't talked about my beliefs since I was in high school- being called a libtard once kept me from saying anything in real life again. That argument was against someone who believed humans aren't good- not that we're born evil, just that we aren't inherently good and also that we aren't a pack species. I was not going to win that one.

I haven't even really talked about it online, other than talking once about humans being inherently good, and that post only has twenty notes, so no real room for people to find it and fight me. I'm openly a socialist online, but I don't have the following for someone to come and fight me about socialism. I haven't actually talked about what my anarchist beliefs are, or the reason I carry what beliefs I do talk about. I think that's why I completely went off in your last ask- I've never really talked about it and then I accidentally started by explaining the Isle and I forgot to stop. Thank you for giving me a chance.

As for "it would never work," it already has. Humans never would have survived the first few millenia without helping each other, asking for nothing in return, sharing, cooperating, and all that stuff. Early humans saw every life worthy of preservation- even the disabled, even newborns, even the elderly,- even if that person couldn't contribute by hunting and gathering and the other stuff they did. When someone was different, they worked with it to the best of their abilities. Those behaviors are what kept us alive as a species.

The thing about humans is that we're naturally a pack species, similar to wolves. We evolved this way- we come together, that's how we thrive. It's so ingrained in us that isolation actually causes us a massive amount of damage, even with all other needs met. And the thing about packs? They don't leave a member to die without trying. If your buddy is mauled by a saber-tooth tiger, you don't just leave him, you fight the tiger, try and get him medical care and, if his wounds are lethal, you stay with him and care for him until he dies. I swear I have more cohesive thoughts on this, I'm just super excited.

Also, to the unnamed anon who told me to keep my politics out of fandom... sweetie, this series is about ab oppressed group of poor prisoners banding together to overthrow a totalitarian regime. It's a dystopia, and dystopia is always inherently political. There is no keeping politics out of a dystopia work. I'm laughing so hard because you're basically saying "keep magic out of the fantasy genre." Mate, you can't do that. It's what the genre is.

[team-pokefriends]

where do those stairs lead?

[Sophie] "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I'm guessing they go to your room or somethin'?"

[Xerneas] "Actually, down there dwells a dangerously powerful Pokémon. The opposition to my powers of creation, they are the reaper of life, known to absorb one's energy and turn them into stone. That, is where Yveltal lives."

[Catherine shivers a little as she hears Xerneas's explanation.]

[Sophie] "Wait, like, they actually petrify them?"

[Xerneas nods.]

[Xerneas] "I've seen it with my own eyes. They once terrorized the land, flying the skies and decimating anyone that opposed them. Their strongest attack, Oblivion Wing, was no chance for their competitors."

[Sophie] "Okay, but did no one use a Stun Seed or a Stayaway Wand or anything?"

[Xerneas] "They've tried many things, but nothing could make them stop for even a second."

[Sophie] "Then, how did they stop them?"

[Xerneas] "Two brave heroes did something no other Pokémon had tried... They talked to them."

[Sophie and Catherine were surprised to hear Xerneas say such a thing.]

[Sophie] "Wait, seriously‽"

[Xerneas] "Yes."

[The large deer turns their head to look at the stairs.]

[Xerneas] "Without their bravery and commitment, we would've never learned the reason for the attacks."

[Catherine] "What was the reason?"

[Xerneas looks back at the duo.]

[Xerneas] "To put it shortly, long ago, they had a group of friends they would hang out with, but as time progressed, they started running out of energy to stay awake. We don't gain energy by eating food, but rather from slumber, or in Yveltal's case, by taking the lives of others. They didn't want to leave their friends behind, so they did everything they could to stay in that time for as long as they can."

[Xerneas] "They eventually realized they can't stay with their friends forever, and they had to say goodbye. Now, they stay below my quarters. They haven't left my chambers since then I moved them there, but I try to keep them company whenever I can."