#Poor Tev

[starful02]

Presenting! Fanart of the one and only super freaky Avra! Inspired by an idea from @kieranfae in the discord server! They mentioned it and I immediately set out to make it a reality, unable to resist. If you don’t already know, this chaotic disaster is the protagonist of Alexandra Rowland’s (@ariaste) upcoming fantasy comedy pirate novel Running Close to the Wind. It’s coming out in June and you should totally keep an eye out for it! You can read an excerpt of it below! I’ll be posting art of him and other characters from their other novel A Taste of Gold and Iron, which you should also read if you haven’t yet as it is absolutely fabulous.

[tev-the-random]

JIMMY DIDN'T DIE FIRST, EVERYBODY CELEBRATE!

[silovsmenot]

Foreign Language | Artūrs Šilovs (Part Three)

PART ONE | PART TWO

SUMMARY: As the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearing conclusion, the reader makes the trip to Nashville for game six. WARNINGS: Spicy make out. PAIRING: Artūrs Šilov & reader (f!reader implied). NOTES: I have written anything spicy in a while, so it's not great but hey ho! I might just turn this into an A03 book one day because I have constant thoughts. IF YOU WANT PART FOUR, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! WORD COUNT: 2724

It was a decision which you made early on, and one that Arty made no attempts to sway you from — quite the contrary, he melted at the mere suggestion when you first made it.

If this series went back to Nashville, you wanted to be there. This was his first playoffs, and if there was a chance to clutch it in Nashville, you’d be there to cheer him on. In that sea of yellow, you’d wear your 31 Canucks jacket with pride.

You’d thanked the team profusely when they’d managed to get you your jacket on short notice, Arty not originally making the poor team aware of your ‘official’ status until he noticed the other wives and girlfriends with theirs. Better late than never, you thought.

And you weren’t the only partner who wanted to make the trip — a number of the younger partners without children were quick to take up the offer of the trip to Nashville. You’d become quite close with Monique, Teddy’s wife as both Latvians were quick to find the other. You were often with Monique now.

It was a nice change to not have to kiss Artūrs goodbye that morning. To have two bags by the door instead of one.

He’d still got out of bed before you, kissing your forehead as he whispered for you to stay in bed a little longer. You watched him leave with the comfort that he wouldn’t be far away, that you’d leave your bedroom soon after and he’d still be there. The light fluttering in your chest only grew as you heard the sound of pots and pans moving upon the stove top. You knew he could cook, but this would be the first breakfast he’d made you.

Hands clawed over the side of the bed, reaching for rogue items of clothing that now littered the floor from last night. It would be his old shirt that you’d find first, worn and smelling of him. The large shirt hung from your shoulders, grazing your thighs as you tiptoed from the bedroom. You’d linger in the door frame for a moment, simply enjoying the sight of him with a frying pan in hand, not a single thought or stress on his mind. He looked so carefree, and you were swooning hard.

“Ka tev iet?” You spoke quietly, breaking the silence as his chocolate eyes would rise from the frying pan and find you. The smile broke his calm features immediately, that familiar grin that still made your heart skip a beat. And those ice cold veins of the Latvian goalie would melt in the very instant that you spoke Latvian, his toothy smile breaking free as he made no attempt to correct your grammar or pronunciation, as you’d done it perfectly.

“Labi, paldies.” He would softly reply, voice gruff and sleepy but the smile unmoving from his lips as he watched you cross the room. He always did have an infectious smile, and you quickly mirrored the grin. “I told you to stay in bed.”

You gave a light shrug with your shoulders, a look of mischief upon your features as you’d slot in behind him –— your arms snaking around his chest as you’d hold tight to him, your head resting upon the flat of his back.

“We’ve got some time before we’ve got to get to the airport, are you up for a quiet morning?” You suggested with a soft hum, words muffling into his back. You couldn’t see the smile which was constantly plastered to his face when you made suggestions like that — no motives, no ideas, just spending time together. It was simple, and it was wholesome, but he loved it. He had his hobbies, but they were nowhere near as important to him as it was to just spend time with you. Both of you sitting in silence reading? He loved it. Gaming together, even though he won every time? He couldn’t get enough of it.

But after last night, he had something else in mind…

“How about…” Arty didn’t finish his words, he didn’t need to. He turned slowly, lowering himself to press that first, delicate kiss against your lips. He couldn’t catch you off-guard anymore, but he knew how to speak without words.

You were quick to respond, your arms rising to snake around his broad shoulders and reply in kind — single kisses became longer, his tongue trailing upon your lower lip before you allowed entry. 

He simply melted into you, his hand upon his cheek as your head was tilted back to find the perfect angle against his lips. The short hairs of his moustache and play-off beard tickling against your skin with each movement. Every movement was intoxicating.

The way his hand separated from the delicate skin of your cheek, both of his hands lowering to rest upon your hips — giving them a gentle squeeze as your lips danced hungrily. There was no hesitation, or struggle, as he lifted you upon the counter, lips not breaking for a second in the motion.

Sat upon the counter, he stood tall between your legs — one hand lightly gripping your thigh while the other returned to your cheek, Arty unwilling to waste a single moment away from your lips. Fuck, you wanted him, and he wanted you.

The smirk was already at your lips as you nipped at his lower lip, dragging your teeth against it as he, ever so slowly, pulled back to catch a glimpse of your gaze. His heart racing in his chest as the grip on your thigh became a little tighter with his excitement.

You were the one to reconnect your lips with his, hand reaching to grab the collar of his clean shirt and pulling him back down to you — however intoxicated he was by you before that point, it multiplied by that single motion. His hands moved hungrily to your cheeks as he kept you close to him, lips rough and overpowering. You lightly moaned into the kiss, your fingers curled into his shirt as though you were never close enough to him at that moment.

A longing sigh parted your lips as his starved kisses began to trail upon your skin, along your jaw, down your neck — his hands pulling at his shirt upon your shoulders to reveal more skin at your collar. The goalie silently damned his own shirt for being too high upon your collar bones. Your skin was burning beneath every kiss, quiet moans and heavy breaths cascading through your parted lips with no control over them. 

“Uh — guys?” You heard the voice, but it took you both a minute to register the sound. Your roommate stood in the doorway, laughing to herself with arms full of shopping bags. Artūrs moved first, straightening up and releasing the shirt with a heavy red tint to his face, his lips parted to speak but no words came out. He simply looked at you, also pink in the face, and pleaded for you to speak.

“Morning.”

That was all you could come out with, your boisterous laughter quickly joining the sound of hers as Arty stood sheepishly between your legs. Your roommate shot you a quick wink, turning to her room with the sound of her laughter following her, even once the door was closed.

Arty turned back to you, his own quiet laughter finally falling free as his shoulders dropped. He leaned forward, his forehead touching upon yours without a sound — only the contented sigh.

“If you burn that bacon, Art, you’re in big trouble.” You whispered against his lips, hiding your disappointment behind the mischievous demeanour. 

“You’ve got it, boss.” Artūrs spoke as he planted a final, chaste kiss upon your lips. He was doing his best to not show his own disappointment at the interruption, but you both would’ve liked some extra time to yourselves.

Before long, you both sat upon the couch at opposite ends. In the middle, your legs were tangled beneath the blanket and you both sat quietly as you ate your breakfast. Occasionally you’d catch him glancing in your direction with that familiar cheeky grin. He’d quickly look away each time like a sheepish teenager, which only served to make you quietly laugh — and he knew it. He loved that sound.

The group of Canucks wags was unmistakable as the group strode, heads held high, in the team jackets. You held the sleeves of your jacket tight as you walked, watching as the eyes of Nashville turned to the group. Monique walked at your side, brow raised in bemusement.

“I’ll never get used to the looks.” You quietly said, leaning into her with a soft laugh that she quickly joined. Your place was always behind the camera, no eyes or attention upon you, and that was how you liked it. But this relationship came with something of a spotlight, especially now.

Despite the offer from management to rent a VIP box for the group of you, all opted to be within the crowd. You formed a perfect clump of blue in the sea of yellow — a clump that the players could see if they looked for it.

And all of them would look, especially those whose partner made the trip. Artūrs was looking for you before he took that first step onto the ice for warmup, and felt the familiar comfort of knowing you were there at the sight of the Canucks clump. He couldn’t tell each of the bodies apart, except the obviously different hair colours, but he knew you were there and that was enough. You all huddled close together as the puck was dropped to start the game, crossing everything that you wouldn’t be going back to Vancouver for game seven. You weren’t sure if your stress levels could take it, to be honest.

Needless to say, you were on edge for the whole game. You winced with every shot that Arty faced and every shot that the boys made on Saros. Nothing was finding the net for either time, or it was and the goalie was quick on the glove. Every save and shot came with a sound from the crowd, the wags included. There were many drinks consumed throughout the game and you were tipsy by the third period.

As the clock ticked down on the third period, overtime looked all but confirmed. All of the wags, sat together in shared stress, preparing their drinks order for the break with a healthy mix of beers and wines. None of you were calm in your seat.

You almost missed the goal — blinking to see the red lights lit and the puck in the back of the net. You could see the instant dropping of heads from all in yellow, on and off the ice… But you couldn’t spare a second.

Sutter was engulfed in arms from all on his line, the collection of partners launching upon their feet with cheers and shouts of pride, and some relief. With just over a minute left, this could be it.

You found yourself clinging tight to Monique, as she too clung to you. Both of you stared in panicked disbelief as the Predators threw everything they had in that last minute. A pile-up in the net, Arty without his stick and only five seconds left . . . And the end of the game horn would sound.

You couldn’t have cheered louder. The Canucks had done it, with Artūrs claiming a perfect shutout. 

Your arms were in the air, your body pulled into embraces each and every way by the wives and girlfriends. They’d done it, and there would be some serious celebrating tonight.

You may have a shed a tear as you watched them celebrate, quickly flicked away and denied if any would ask. Someone had pulled the helmet off your boyfriend’s head as they hugged him. His hair flicked and messed with the various gloved hands that ruffled the brown strands. 

None of you could stay still after the horn. There was too much excitement and celebration to be done — the team would have a few days off before the beginning of the second series against Edmonton. Plans were already being made between partners. No doubt none of the team, nor their partners, would be sleeping much tonight.

Within the flood of Canuck ladies, you made your way down to the team area where bodies would collide into embraces once more. Team staff who had become friendly were cheering and celebrating as you waited to see Arty emerge. And it wasn’t long before a number of them would run out, half-dressed or lop-sided with one skate on, to find their partner. Artūrs pushed his way out with his chest and leg pads removed, leaving only the massive goalie shorts which made you and a number of others laugh. But neither of you cared, you weaved through the crowd of Canucks and collided into his sweaty body within a tangle of arms.

“I’m so proud of you.” You shouted over the surrounding crowd, doing your very best to ignore the smell of all those hockey players. You jumped and danced within his embrace as the second round was confirmed, a chance at a cup remained. 

The little bar in Nashville was alive that night, more alive than it had been within recent memory of the owner. While Nashville mourned their exit from the playoffs, the small group of blues celebrated.

The wives and girlfriends had arrived first, essentially warning the bar of what was to come and they appreciated the warning once the team of Canucks players descended. Bodies collided in embraces once more, and you just couldn’t get enough of it all. You knew there would be downs with this relationship, hockey was an emotionally charged sport and that would affect your relationship — but the highs were so sweet.

Arty and Teddy walked into the bar last, arms wrapped around the other’s shoulder as they were deep in conversation. It left you and Monique, with cocktails in hand, to talk about the coming summer.

“Has Arty asked you to go with him to Latvia yet?” She shouted over the music and bustle of the bar. It was a question you’d been preparing yourself for, to a degree. Your ex may have been Latvian, but he’d never invited you out there to meet family. Artūrs was very different to your ex, and you suspect that he would.

“Not yet, I suppose we’ll see how the next round goes first.” You replied with a large sip of your drink. At the bar, the majority of the guys stood. All with drinks in hand and arms around others. You’d say yes if he asked, you knew you would. You rarely took time off work, and you wanted to experience the whole thing.

The two Latvians were the first to find their way to a table, sloshing drinks around before they were placed upon the table with a heavy thud. It hadn't taken the players long to become tipsy, at least. Art was quick to slide in beside you, a sloppy kiss upon your cheek which you quickly, and dramatically, wiped away with a squeal.

Conversation turned to the next round, the two Latvians asking for your opinions and thoughts. Whether you thought they could do it — of course, you did. You had absolute faith in their abilities, they just had to do themselves proud. And Artūrs had to continue with the quick glove and sprawling saves that had become his trademark.

J.T made a few appearances at your table, telling you a few times about the pink shirt incident that you saw first hand. The assistant captain singing Arty’s praises in your ear with slightly slurred words. You loved every minute of that night.

“I think we should get out of here, we can finish what we started yesterday.” He spoke directly into your ear, tone turning immediately more playful.

You didn’t need to hear anymore from your boyfriend. The clock was nearing 1am and most of the guys were nearly drunk — if they asked, you both had a plethora of excuses for your leaving. None would ask, you both gave the Blugers a tight squeeze and slipped from the bar with a spring in your step, hands intertwined.

You’d get no sleep that night.

Ka tev iet? = How are you (doing)?

Labi, paldies. = Good, thank you.

[twisted-wonderland-but-gayer]

Ngl I've been thinking about tev Yuuniverse too but explicitly the part where they all eventually have to die.

Idk I may write this as a one-shot or something if requested yk?

🙋🏽‍♂️🙋‍♀️I volunteer to request

🐱

The Murder of Yuu 

I decided to cut out the opening ceremony and chandelier cause it was boring and not an interesting read, may do a part two with a good and bad ending. It's up to interpretation if Yuu dies or lives.

Tws: Gn! Yuu, Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Potential Gore Tw??, Overall angst and stuff. 9k Words

Ace’s Fireball

“Ahahaha!” The red-head’s grating laugh reverberated in your head. “Anyways, just thought I’d tease you for a bit and I’m glad I did, it’s been a blast! Unlike you two, I actually have classes to get to!” The bratty student sneered at you and your companion before walking off. You simply rolled your eyes and continued your job. You had better things to do than to fight with some snot-nosed brat.

Grim, however, had other plans. “No way you just insulted me like that, Explodey-Head!” “Hah?” The red head glared, amused. “Who’re you callin' names, kitty-cat?” “Why you—“ Grim suddenly spewed out a plume of fire right at Ace making him yelp.

“Oh you wanna play like that, huh?!” Ace yelled. He started to send a few spells Grims way, a few missing and hitting a little too close to you. Instinctively, you backed into the Queen of Hearts statue behind you. “Cut it out you guys!” “Oh shut it, janitor!” Ace snapped, Grim threw another fireball right at Ace, just for him to cast wind redirect it… directly to the statue where you were at. You stared at the ball of flames, knowing there was no way to avoid it as you covered your eyes to try and at least protect them.

“No! Wait!” The prefect yelled before letting out a deafening shriek as the flame made contact with their face, enveloping up their skin and hair within an instant. The redhead froze as a crowd gathered around the scene, horrified murmurs and gasps erupted from within the group.

The prefect crumpled, trying their best to put out the fire and suffocate it while crying out for help. Oh shit, oh shit what has he done?! No! It wasn't his fault that stupid janitor stood where they were! Ace’s mind was in a frenzy, complete panic enveloping him as all he could do was stand in watch, the thought of putting out the poor student not even occurring to him. Grim frantically jumped around them, swatting at the flames and crying out their name. Ace tried to cast a few water spells, but they were reduced to steam the second they made contact with your skin

The familiar tapping of a pair of heels approached him, quicking as they got closer. Oh fuck he was really in trouble now. None of his spells were helping. The headmage approached the scene. “Oh dear god, Yuu!” The crow said horrified, immediately running to their side and using the magic cloak he had to put out the flame. The Prefect stopped flailing and curled into a ball, covering their face as much as they could with the cloak around them. 

Most of their clothes were either burned or singed at this point. The fingers that peaked out, looked as if they were melting as they pulled the cloak even further onto them to hide their face. “Everyone dismissed!” The mage yells out with a newfound rage, scooping up the student and rushing to the nurses office. The crowd dispersed, all trying to get back to class except for two. “H…henchman… HENCHMAN!” Grim shrieked before running off after Crowley 

And Ace just stood there, the events of everything weighing in on him. He should consider himself lucky that the headmage was too busy with Yuu to even try and figure out what happened, but instead he felt sick. The students hands and legs shook as he tried to move.

He's so sorry…

Deuce’s Recklessness

“Get away from that thing!” Grim shrieks as he sprints on all fours, running out of the mine. “But the magestone!” Deuce cries out. “We need the magestone!” “We need to be alive to get it!” Ace huffs as he pulls on Deuce’s arm to drag him out of the mines.

“No, we can't give up like this!” Deuce yells out before pulling his arm away. “Deuce! What the hell are you doing?!” Yuu cried out as the card soldier ran back into the mines, directly to the strange monster within it. “Stoones! The stones are MINE!” It screeched as it sped up to meet with Deuce.

“I can't get kicked out! I need to risk it—“ Deuce desperately wheezed. He would slide between the monster's legs and back into the mines to grab that stone, even if it killed him! Deuce was so tunnel-visioned in his own plan, he didn't even see the pickaxe ready to swing down on him.

“Deuce!” Yuu cried out. It was the last thing he heard before he felt himself being pushed into the side of the cave wall. The runner’s back collided with the rocks behind him as he collapsed onto his knees. Where he sat gave him the perfect view of what was about to happen.

Yuu pushed their entire body into him to get him out of the way, making the prefect in turn take Deuce’s place in front of the blot. As they fell, Deuce realized there was no way for them to possibly avoid the attack coming down on them. He felt sick as he watched the concerned face in front of him contort into a cry, their eyes widening as the pick lodged itself into the spine of the magicless student, coming out through their stomach

The prefect wretched, gagging as they started to cough up blood. “YUU!” Deuce panicked, throwing himself over to where Yuu was in an attempt to try and save them, just for them to be dragged into the darkness of the cave. Yuu cried out in pain as the monster held them by the pick, crying out for it to stop.

“No… NO!” Deuce was frozen as he watched the silhouette of the creature take out the pickaxe, just to lodge it into the crumpled figure’s head. “Henchman!” Grim cried. “C’mon let's go!” Deuce felt Ace grab onto his arm to pull him back onto his feet and drag him out of the cave. He felt like he was going to throw up.

“Fuck…” Ace huffed, panting, staring in disbelief at the cave in front of him. Grim also stared, face completely blank as he sat where he stood, as if processing what just happened. Deuce wretched, covering his mouth. He was so stupid! He should have never been so… so… stupid! That student, who he barely learned the name of, died because of him. Died protecting him. Just because of his stupidity. 

It was all his fault.

Riddle Overblot

“Riddle…” Trey panted, brushing the hair out of Riddle’s sweat-slicken face. The clover's face paint was smeared and his hair disheveled, hat nowhere to be seen as the man adjusts his cracked glasses. This was the first time Riddle has ever seen his friend like this. He looked panicked, shaken up. 

Something was wrong. Why did his body hurt so much? Why was his head pounding?

“Trey…?” His voice was hoarse and dry. 

“What… what happened…” The last thing he remembers was being angry… “What… what did I do?'' The last line came out weak. 

Looking over, he saw a certain problem freshman approach him, shaking with rage and tears in his eyes. His mind kept telling him to stop, that he shouldn't look at what his dorm members were crowding around, but he pushed himself up on his arms.

He was immediately hit with the scent of iron hanging heavy in the air, smell making him nauseous as it assaulted his senses. As he sat up he noticed how Cater and Deuce seemed to tense up, fear in their eyes. They were completely on edge. Ace stopped in front of Riddle, opening his mouth in an attempt to yell at him before closing it as a sob came out instead.

In that moment he realized what happened. “Who did I… Who was it?” Riddle’s voice shook as Ace glared. “Who?” Trey looked away from him, Riddle pushed himself up to his feet as he saw who Deuce stood in front of protectively as the other students backed away in fear, even Cater hiding the crowd. The spade and heart didn’t budge. Even Grim stood strong.

It was Yuu. The student who has been nothing but kind and concerned over him. The one that he berated and criticized over and over. The one he was never nice to once throughout their time at NRC. Their body now impaled through a rose bush, some of the thorny branches weaving under their skin and poking out like it was growing into them. They were not dead yet though.

Their chest twitched in an attempt to breathe and Deuce held their head up for up so they wouldn't suffocate on their own spit. With his other hand he attempted a few healing spells, but each one fizzled out from inexperience. “Dammit! Will one of you just help me!” He cried out to the crowd, but no one came.

Yuu’s eyes were watery as let out a sob. “I dont…” they wheezed. “I don't want to die like this! I never…” “Shh shh, save your energy.” Ace commanded, helping Deuce with holding them up and using the tie around his neck as makeshift bandages. “I never got to see the world…” the prefect continued. “Don’t say that!” Grim yapped. 

“I don't want to die like this, surrounded by strangers! I don't want to die alone!” Tears started to fall from everyone as the student spoke manically, each word faster than the last. “I want to go home! I want to go home! I want to be with my family! My friends! Not here! Not like this!…” The prefect started hyperventilating, now in complete hysterics. “Yuu, please!” Deuce sobbed. “I don't….” Yuu’s eyes started to glaze over. “I don't…”

Riddle shook, tears streaming down his face as hesitantly reached out his hand just to receive glares from the trio in front of him. “I’m sorry…” He stuttered. “Im so sorry…” Ace suddenly seems to snap. “Sorry isn't going to do shit! It’s not gonna bring them back!” The heart shakes, hatred evident in his eyes.

He was right.

Ruggie’s Slip-up

“Get back here!” Grim yelled as Ruggie snickered, gripping onto all of the magical pens he snagged from the freshmen. Poor poor freshies, not knowing where to stick their nose. It’s their fault they got involved. 

“Dammit he's fast!” Ace wheezed. “Don't let him get away!” the spade next to him spoke, following right on his tail. Oh this was too easy! A simple turn and he's— As Ruggie turned the corner, the flash of a camera blinded him. He blinked to see no other than Yuu, ghost camera in hand. “Caught you.” 

Shit shit shit. Did they have enough evidence? Ruggie began to sweat before he lunged at the prefect, aiming for the camera in their hand. But the prefect was slick, easily dodging the attempt. Hmph, fine, what can a simple magicless human do against this!

“Laugh with me!” Ruggie smirked as he took control of the prefect's body, what he didn’t account for was Yuu’s position— and his magic was not immune to gravity. What he planned on doing was making Yuu hand the camera to them, what he didn't realize was just how close they were to the edge of the balcony and that they were still airborne from jumping away from him.  Yuu gasped as their arm stuck out behind them, making them no longer able to catch themselves as they hit the balustrade and fell off the edge down to the ground below. 

Ruggie froze. “Yuu!” A choir of voices exclaimed as they rushed to the railing where Yuu fell from looking over. He has to retreat, now, the prefect should be fine, it's not that high up! Panicking, Ruggie dropped the magical pens in an unspoken apology as he ran off. “Holy shit that's a lot of blood…” he heard one of the freshies say. Pfft how is that possible unless they broke a bone or hit their h…ead…

Ruggie peaked over the railing as he ran, though it was far away his hyena eyes locked on to the ground below. The ghost camera’s parts were scattered across the field, and blood was splattered everywhere, originating from their head now cracked open. 

Adrenaline kicked in, and Ruggie started running faster. It was an accident, he tells himself, they'll be fine, he's done some bad stuff before but he’d never kill someone! They couldn't pin it on him anymore anyways! It was just an accident. 

It was just an accident!

Leona Overblot

Leona felt his head pounding as he sat up. The lion let out a groan as he rubs his head and looks around. Piles of sand surrounded him, and he sees some of the freshmen shakily get up, heavily bruised. Those damned Diasomnia dogs also stood about on their guard as the smallest one, Lilia, seemed to sift for the sand as if looking for something. Riddle himself was on his knees as he dug, allowing himself to get filthy. 

Across from him Ruggie sits, holding his arm that was dry and cracked from his Unique Magic. An attempt on his own vice leader's life. The hyena warily glares at him, more fearful than angry as he stares at something behind Leona. “Ruggie… I…” “Do you remember what you did?” Another voice cuts in, Lilia’s.

The lion looked at the fae that stood beside him, noting at how frantic the freshmen were in the background, digging through sand piles, even Jack was in his wolf form as raced around them. “I overblotted… Didn’t I?” Lilia’s gaze was unreadable, he didn’t look angry, however the neutral expression he had was mixed with pity. Ruggie pushes himself further away from Leona. “You did more than that,” he wheezes out as he scoots back, staring at someone behind Lilia. Leona turns to look only to see the lizard bastard walking through the sand, his guards on either side of them.

What happened? Why is everyone so worried? Why are those stupid freshmen digging about? Actually wait, where's that ramshackle scavenger? “Kingscholar,” Malleus paused, voice filled with disbelief, “What have you done?” What did he do? He didn't do whatever he think he did… right…?

With a wave of Malleus' hand, he blows away the sand gently, leaving behind a large pile of what looked like ash. Was that…?

Deuce immediately ran over, allowing himself to skid on the ground kicking up dust as examined the pile. Ace, Grim, Riddle, Jack and even Lilia kneeled down at it. “I feel something!” Riddle gasps, pushing off blackened sand to reveal an arm sticking out. The others start to carefully dig out the figure from the sand as Leona could only watch, unable to stand up. Malleus along with his retainers joined.

Leona could see the body emerge from the sand, their head carefully cradled and laid onto Malleus’ lap as the fae examined their tear-stained face covered in a layer of dust. There wasn't an inch of skin on them that wasn't dried or cracked, some of it completely breaking off to sand, muscle was exposed and oozed blood. “Careful, try not to touch them, they're still alive.” Lilia's calm voice leaves no room for argument. 

Riddle carefully holds his hand over Yuu’s body, warm light emanating from it to soothe the prefect's pain. Yuu lets out a strangled wheeze, and suddenly turns their head to the side and hacks up a mix of sand, bile, and blood. “Fuck, I’m sorry!” They cry out, wheezing, trying to catch their breath. “Back away. I’ll take care of it.” Malleus demands as the sky turns dark and cloudy. Everyone obeys, and Malleus gestures with his fingers, making whatever remains of Yuu float upwards.

Their clothes were tattered and you couldn’t even see a patch of skin on them that wasn't drowned out by cracks or blood, even their eyelids were cracked, making tears leak out easier. “It hurts… it hurts so fucking much…” Leona swallowed, standing up as he saw double and reaching out to Yuu in front of him.

“Away from the young master!” Sebek said through gritted teeth, surprisingly quiet as to not disturb Yuu further. “You have done enough already! Now stay back!” The half-fae scowled, eyes watery. Leona retracts his hand and stares at it, ignoring all the murderous stares sent his way.

He really does destroy everything, doesn’t he?

Jade’s Mistake

Jade was a calculating eel. Everything he does is done with purpose, from what he cooks to what he says, to what emotions he shows. Jade is aware of his strength as well.

Like his brother, he knows when to reign it in and hold back, humans are so much more fragile than mers, after all. He doesn’t need to use a lot of force with how dense his bones were from living in the ocean, still he does test out various assortments of forces on others. Everyone around him was his personal lab rat really, he's quite fine with being alone.

If anyone expected one of the twins to take it too far, they would have never expected it to be Jade. Jade could hardly believe it himself either. He was just doing business as usual. Jade simply had to make sure the naive little freshmen got a reality check. There was no way they could ever win against the contract they made. Azul sent them out to make sure of that, yet this human, a magicless one, of all things, seeks to oppose them? How utterly interesting, and here he thought the prefect was boring.

The freshmen's spells were nothing noteworthy, his brother's magic made it so that he didn’t even need to attempt to dodge. And yet, that magicless little prefect charged onwards despite having no way of defending themselves, as if they actually expected to somehow slip past him. Jade chuckled, making a show of his eel form as raised his tail and then dipped down to the sand, not giving Yuu a chance to react as his tail snatched them up, coiling around their waist and arms, binding them.

Floyd squealed with laughter as he watched his brother come back up to him with Yuu in tow as they kicked and squirmed, struggling against the slippery eel. “Hey! Let my henchman go!” Grim snarled as Jade flaunted the prefect in front of him. “I do wonder, do you still plan on attacking us when there's a possibility you can hurt your darling prefect?” “Dammit!” Jack huffs, and all the freshmen look at each other, unsure of what to do next.

Yuu however has not given up, they have a fire of defiance in their eye that turns Jade intrigue to excitement. They were smart, he noted, the prefect kept their arms out to their side in order to give them the most space they could muster, though it didn't matter much with his grip. They used their bound arms and their hands to push against his tail, in an attempt to unravel it, even twisting their body to loosen Jade’s hold. In response, Jade squeezed ever so tighter, yet they still didn’t give up.

They thrashed again, making Floyd cackle and Jade chuckle. This time the prefect was using their own biology against him, using the mucus on his body as a form of lubrication in an attempt to slide out despite the tight hold. Jade decided to entertain them, slightly loosening his hold on them to see the flash of hope in their eyes, before squeezing even tighter.

The prefect wheezed, then snapped their head down in attempt to bite him, only to have their face held back by him by yanking back their hair. “Aw, you poor unfortunate soul~ In pain, in need.” Jade didn’t bother to hide his sadistic smirk. “Let go of them!” Deuce yelled, making Floyd shriek with laughter once again. Yet despite everything, Yuu still kicked, still squirmed. Just how much would it take for them to stop? It would be a great experiment~

Jade tightened his grip, not even allowing for the slight squirm, yet the prefect continued to kick their legs out, this time more panicked. Tighter, and tighter, and— Crack!

Floyd suddenly snapped his head over his brother, looking at his prey. “Yuu? YUU!” Ace was the first to try and swim up to the tweel, not caring if he was attacked. The prefect's eyes were glossy, their body stiff, but they were alive as they writhed in pain. Jade completely unraveled around Yuu, allowing them to slip out. He grabbed at them, trying to assess the injury done to them, just for them to pull away. He assumed they were going to swim off to Ace but they didn’t.

They cough out bloody air bubbles as they hold their throat as if they were suffocating, before using what was left of their strength to swim up towards the surface. The tweels understood immediately. Jade wrapped his tail around them gently, and Floyd gripped onto him to help propel them to the surface faster, the student shivering the whole time.

Once they breached, Yuu took a deep breath of air before throwing up seawater trapped in their lungs. Jade laid out on the surface to give Yuu more of an area to work with as he tried to see what was broken. Yuu was still shivering for some reason, was it just adrenaline? 

“Little shrimp, are you okay?” Floyd asked, voice laced with panic. In the distance the other freshmen breach the surface, looking around for the tweels that blended in with their environment seamlessly. Yuu seemed to gurgle. Despite the fact they had air, they were still suffocating. But from what?

Suddenly Yuu coughed more blood, trying to choke in air as they crumpled onto Jade, smearing his chest a deep red. They shivered more and more. The realization hit Jade. “Their ribs must punctured their lungs.” Jade notes, and he tries to sit Yuu's body up as it starts to go limp. 

“Yuu!” Grim huffs as he swims over to the tweels and reaches out to his leader. “Geez, you're freezing! Come on, come on! Let's get you back to some heat!” Jade's eyes widened further as another realization hit him. Grim and the other freshmen were completely dry still from the effects of their potion. Yuu on the other hand has goosebumps all over their body and trembled. The potion must have worn off when their lungs were punctured, and now it was a race between them choking on their blood and hypothermia.

“Yuu!” Deuce cried out, “Give them back, we need to take them to the nurse!” They were practically already dead. “Shrimpy? Shrimpy? Little shrimp! Hey!” Floyd lightly shook the human. “They won't make it to the nurse. Our best bet is a mer doctor.” Jade suddenly commanded, casting a warming spell on his body. “Floyd, using a water breathing spell, hurry!” 

The freshmen cursed at the eels as they swam off in a frenzy, Yuu cradled gently in Jade's arms as the two glid through the water with ease. “Hang in there prefect, help is almost here.” Jade spoke, though for once it was more to soothe himself as adrenaline and guilt coursed through him. 

Humans really were weak, huh?

Floyd’s Mistake

As you imagine, it was during the photo heist of book 3 as well. It just so happened that this time, Yuu ended up in Floyd’s grasp instead. His slip up could have been seen a mile away. Everyone expected it, they just never expected it to be so violent. 

Floyd liked the little shrimpy! They were fun and squishy and never boring! They always got into some sort of trouble, and here they were literally signing up for it as they signed the contract that started it all. Even when he confronted them in the cafeteria, they would shy away until he started to mess with their friends, then suddenly the little shrimp became a mantis shrimpy.

To say Floyd was excited to meet shrimpy in the water was an understatement, he was elated! He couldn't wait to see how his little shrimp would fight back against the big bad eels! Would they be boring and give up? Or will they fight to the very end?

Floyd relished the panicked expression on their face when they saw the shadow of his figure in the water before he came into the view. The shock became a fiery determination that Floyd was going to have fun toying with. The annoying freshies fired their annoying spells at him that he didn’t even entertain dodging, opting to just use his magic instead.

The little shrimp had no magic, so what were they gonna do in the water? Floyd looked at the group of freshies just to see that Yuu wasn't there. Did the shrimpy decide to go back? That doesn’t seem like shrimpy though. Floyd looked around, just for his eyes to catch onto a small figure hiding amongst the seaweed during all of the crossfire. Ah so that's what shrimpy’s trying to do! What a smart little shrimpy!

The eel cackles maniacally as he dives down and snaps his tail around Yuu in a violent motion, knocking the wind out of them in one move. Floyd then swims back to Jade, showing off his catch. “Jade, looky looky~ I caught myself a little shrimpy!~” Floyd teases as he gently shakes the prefect.

“Hold your spells, they got Yuu!” Jack warned the others as they held back a spell, cursing under their breaths.  “Ahahah! Whatcha small fry gonna do now?” Floyd teases. “Floyd, you should consider binding your preys arms, you know?” “Eh but it's boring if they can't do anything, huh shrimpy?” Floyd uses the remainder of his tail to make Yuu nod before laughing again.

Yuu swings as Floyd, just for the eel to lean back. “Nice try!~” The eel's voice suddenly drops lower into a more threatening and serious tone. “You don't seriously think you're winning, are you?” Yuu kicks and pushes at the tail wrapped around them. “Okay I get we're fighting but you're squeezing too tight Floyd! It hurts!” Yuu uses their fists to pound against Floyds tail.

“Oh yeah? Really? I say its not tight enough…” “Floyd.” His brother's warning falls on deaf fins as Floyd leans in face-to-face with Yuu before squeezing tighter, making Yuu cough and tear up. Just as Floyd was about to let go, satisfied with his warning, Yuu suddenly shoves their fingers into the gills on Floyd’s neck violently gripping the slits of flesh. “Let go of me, you fucking bastard! I can’t breathe!” The prefect screams.

Floyd lets out a strangled gasp as he coughs, the feeling of Yuus nails scratching the inside of his throat making him feel nauseous. Their other hand finds the gills on his sides and pinches them roughly. Floyd then violently digs his claws into Yuu’s arm, making them straighten out their fingers in pain, enough for him to yank them out with ease. Yuu let out a cry of pain, but he doesn't loosen his grip at all, rather driving his claws in deeper. His other hand grabs onto Yuu’s neck in effort to push them away further without compromising his hold.

“Bad shrimpy!” Floyd yells. “Floyd please, I'm sorry but I need to—“ Snap.

“Shrimpy?” Yuu was limp, Floyd shook them slightly. “Hey shrimpy! This isn't funny! Shrimpy! Come on, Shrimpy!” There was no response. “Yuu… I…” A blast of flora hits Floyd in the chest, making him drop Yuu, the prefect unable to hold up their own head. “Get them and get out!” Grim yelps as the trio of students go to grab their friend. Deuce holds onto Yuu, holding their head carefully and applying pressure to the puncture wounds on their neck.

Floyd freezes and looks at his grip on their arm. His claws threatened to go all the way through and the bones were both now broken. Yuu let out a painful shriek, but it was off, garbled. Floyd looks over to his grip on Yuu's neck, his claws digging deep into their throat.

“Guys, they aren't breathing!” Deuce’s voice is shrill with terror. “Get them back through the portal now!” Jack yells. The students all book it back to NRC. Floyd watches with Jade, before the two start to swoop in, hoping they can help the group get back faster just to have a fireball thrown at them.

“You! You've both done enough! Stay away from my human!” Grim growls. “I understand your reservations but we're trying to help.” Jade attempts to soothe. “Yeah right! Like I trust you! I don't care if I get beat up here, which I won't! I'm not letting you hurt them!” Grim stands strong, unleashing another fireball for them to dodge

"You twins wouldnt get it, you have each other! You've always had each other, a nice family, a home! I never had any of that! Then one day, BAM the nicest henchman ever appears and helps me get into my dream school!” Grim is sobbing at this point.

“And they supported me the whole way through! Even though I’m not even human! Even when I get in trouble, they still treat me like I'm the best thing that ever happened to them despite my race! And now they might..!” Grim shakes. 

“I'm not letting you near them! Not now! Not ever!”

Azul Overblot

Azuls eyes fluttered open, blurry vision clearing up to see Jade kneeling over him. “Are you up? Can you see me okay? Can you hear me?” “Yes… yes I can…” His throat hurt, his body was sore. “Follow my hand…” Jade waves his hand over Azul’s face to see if his eyes track it. Azul shuts his eyes for a moment before opening them again to look at Jade, his hair a disheveled mess. He could hear Floyd crying in the background.

“What… What happened? What’s going on??” Azul rubbed his forehead as he sat himself up. “It's Yuu! They’re dead!” “What?!” Azul snapped himself up just to hold his head in pain at the sudden movement. “Don’t say that!” Grim screeches at Floyd. “They can pull through!”

“Stop hovering!” Leona barks at Floyd as he props up the prefect on his lap. “We need to give them CPR now before anything else, they won't even be able to make it to the nurses otherwise.” Leona says as he ties back his hair. “You guys, their ribs are gonna have to break even more, prepare to heal them.” Leona presses his mouth to the prefects, blowing in air and giving rough chest but rhythmic chest compressions to them, the sound of cartilage crackling and snapping made Azul cringe inwardly as an invertebrate as he looked over at Yuu.

Their skin was paler than before from the lack of oxygen was the first thing he noticed, it was hard to really see what he had done with the amount of people crowding them. As he shakily stood up, he watched as other dorm members slowly back away from him in fear. This is what he always wanted, why does it feel wrong now?

Looking over Leona, he froze at the sight of Yuu’s body, they looked like they were stretched out, certain parts of them looked crushed or exploded. There was suction all over them, most of them taking off the skin underneath from how hard they gripped onto them. Azul trembled and he looked over at Jade, who’s expression was unreadable until he looked at him, a sad disappointment in his eyes, like he expected better.

Floyd on the other hand looked utterly distraught as he held onto Yuu’s hand, mumbling about the shrimpy staying strong under his breath. Ruggie was for once, concerned about someone else besides himself as he watches Yuu completely unsettled. 

Jack looks up at Azul before looking away as if offended to even keep eye contact with him. The others were too focused on Yuu to even notice except Ace, who had nothing but malice in his eyes. “Was anything ever enough for you?” He spat. “You had everything! But it was never enough, huh?!” “Ace not now,” Deuce nudged the red head. “Fine, but I will say that at least now people will never mess with you again! Just like you wanted, right?” Deuce nudges Ace again. As the CPR continues for an uncomfortable amount of time, Azul realizes the possibility that Yuu is probably gone for good. Azul teared up.

He always was that pathetic little crybaby.

Jamil Overblot

“Now GO!” Jamil screeched, throwing the group of mages that opposed onto the broken pillar of the dorm. He lifted the pillar up with a wave of his hand and set to aim it at the horizon, until he saw them. That damned prefect that started it all.

If it wasn't for them, he would have won, he would be free right now! His eyes darkened as he locked onto them, grinning wryly at the fearful expression on their face. He held out his hand to Yuu in a flicking motion, the floating pillar staying in place. “Yuu get out of the way!” Floyd rasped, voice on the verge of giving out from how much we was screeching.

Flick.

The pillar flew straight into Yuu’s abdomen, sending the entire squad flying way out in the distance. A sense of peace filled the young man's mind as he relaxed, allowing his brainwashed servants to care for him. The weight of what he just did not set in on him. In his mind he now won, and he remembers the weight of everything lifted off his shoulders as his reign continued.

The very next thing he remembered is his pounding head, and a muffled voice resonated in his head, his ears were ringing and everything around him was so bright. “…mil… Jamil…. Jamil!” The viper’s eyes shoot open and he takes a deep breath of air. “Jamil!” Kalim cries, crushing Jamil into a hug and sobbing.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry… I didn’t know how you’ve been feeling this whole time! If I knew, this would have never happened. We could have been best friends! You wouldn’t have blotted! And… Yuu…” The mere mention of their name, makes Jamil push himself up harshly, the blurry memory of what happened moments before weighing in. Fuck, fuck, fuck that pillar! That’s at least a broken rib, and at worst…

“Floyd, stop crowding them, they need space right now!” Azul scolds in the background, Jamil’s gaze follows the voice and he forgets to breathe. “Prop them on their side, both their back and ribs are too injured. Focus your magic on this point," "Yes, Jade!” A few of the students say. Jamil stares at the body in front of him, borderline unrecognizable. Their front looked as though it was caved in, and as they are turned to their side he saw that most of the muscle and skin looked as though it was shredded off of them, whatever skin they had left was covered in friction burns. Clothes they once wore, now scraps.

Jamil doesn’t feel relief in the slightest when he hears them let out a weak, strangled cry of pain. The fact they’re alive at all is a miracle, but death would have been a much better mercy. When they recover, would they even be able to be the same? The wary glances from the other dorm members in the room tell him they’re all thinking the same thing.

“Hey! Let us in, let us in!” A few voices ring out in the distance, and Grim perks up. “Deuce! Ace!” The cat cries out, refusing to move from Yuu’s side. The pair burst into the common room, out of breath. “Grim, we got your guy’s message! Are you okay where’s—“ Deuce freezes, trembling when he sees what the cat stood in front of. “N-no way… please don't tell me that's…” 

Ace turns his hands into fists. “Who did this?! Which one of you did this to them?! I fucking kill you!” Jamil spaces out, only able to stare at the back of his most unfortunate victim. The voices in the background of the trios arguing in the background faded as he allows Kalim to shake and hug him.

He was never going to get his freedom.

Vil Overblot

“..il…Vil!” Vil groggily opened his eyes to the sound of Rook's voice, sitting himself up as he looked around. “You’re alright…” Another voice said, but it was strained and weak. “We thought you were dead.” The leader tried to look at the source of the voice, just for his vision to blur. He blinked a few times and pinched the bridge of his nose before opening his eyes again tiredly, just for his tired expression to change to horror.

“Yuu?!” Vil boomed before letting out a cough. The magicless student in front of him looked horrible, acid burns across their arms and part of their face that burned off the first few layers of skin along with pitch black, discolored veins that surged with poison even after his blot. They had a pained expression as they panted, shaking as they stood and gripped one of their arms.

Some of their skin looked like it was already peeling. Epel had the student lean on him as Jamil casted some restoration magic on them, just for it to fizzle out or be ineffective. A frustrated and baffled expression grew on the scarabian's face. Ignoring his own dizziness, Vil stood up with the help of Rook. He approached Yuu who was on the verge of passing out.

Charging up his own curing magic in his hand forming a ball, he held it close to Yuu before unleashing it. Everyone around him looked relieved and Kalim was practically beaming. A bright flash of light blinded the group before fading and everyone looked at Yuu expectantly, waiting for their blackened veins to fade. A few seconds passed, then a minute. Nothing was happening.

“Are they okay now?” Kalim asked dumbly. “Do they look okay?” Ace rebuttals. No, something was wrong. It was his spell, his poison, why wasn’t it working? Searching through his mind through all of his knowledge of poisons, he casts another spell to try and counteract it instead. Nothing happens. Panic started setting in. His expression grew more and more concerned, making the students around him worry. 

“Good grief what happened here…” Another voice echos among the ruins of the stage. “M-Malle-“ Deuce stuttered out, unable to finish the name. “Oh, hey Tsunotaro! You… came at a bad time…” “Tsunotaro?!” Jamil, Rook, Vil, and the freshmen erupt. “Dude are you trying to get finished off?!” Ace whisper-yells.

At the sight of his injured friend, Malleus’ expression becomes shocked, then grows dark. “Child of Man, what happened?” The group all went silent, even Vil didn’t speak. He wanted to claim responsibility then and there, but he knew that right now, Malleus would only listen to Yuu. Yuu tries to speak, starting a sentence just to stop.

“I… I don't know… I don't know what I was thinking…” “Come with me, you require serious medical help.” Malleus offers his hand for Yuu to take and put their weight on. “But the stage…” “You’re concerned about the stage in your state?” “… Crowley is probably going to blame me for it…”

Malleus pauses, and raises his hand, the rubble of the stage lifting back up to reassemble itself. As the others stare in awe, Malleus leaves with Yuu in his arms.

***

Vil was about to open the door to the nurses office until he heard two voices talking. It was Malleus and some of the medical staff he assumed.

“Mr… sir… uhh. Prince Malleus, about your friend…”

“Yes? What about them?”

“Do you happen to know their blood type? We have tested their blood and it’s not like anything we have seen before, hell the dna samples we took they’re… otherworldly…”

“I see… If that's the case…” Malleus sighs. “I don’t know anything relating to their health.”

“We are trying every treatment we can for magic or poisons but none are effective, sir, they are completely… ineffective.”

“I see…”

“Um… Prince Malleus, I do not mean to be rude but um, could your magic be used to heal them..?”

Vil’s breath hitched.

“I cannot. I originally planned to use a curing spell and then take them into Diasomnia for recovery, but my magic didn't work either.”

“How…? Are they cursed or something?!

“Perhaps it is because of their origin—”

Vil felt sick. He was killing them slowly.

Grim’s Freakout

You hoped to examine that strange blot gem that Vil dropped, and made sure to take extra precautions hiding it from Grim. As dumb as it sounded, you felt as though these were important somehow, that maybe they can help you find your way home. You placed it down on the nightstand after examining before heading off to use the bathroom. In retrospect, you probably should have put it up or hid it, as when you came out of the bathroom you immediately heard the familiar sound of your companion crunching down on something. 

“Agh! Grim, no! Don’t!” Yuu rushed into the room but was too late, not even a shard of the gem was left. “Grim! I told you to stop eating those!” Grims mind was hazy as his body started processing the effects of the gem, Yuu's voice faded in and out. “I hid from you cause I KNEW… And now what?! That was my only lead… I’ve been here for a YEAR fixing everyone’s problems…. And I just want to— Grim? Grim, are you okay?”

Grim looked up at the human that was reprimanding them. For a moment, he recognizes them, their stressed and tear-stained face made him feel bad for a moment, until his vision blurred. He grabbed his head in pain and felt himself being worriedly picked up and examined. “Grim! Hey! Grim!”

When his vision returned, the world was darker, the face that was a friend now foe as it was blacked out and blurry. “Grim are you—AAGHHH! NO STOP PLEASE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS?! YOU’RE MY FRIEND!”

***

Deuce and Ace ran into the Ramshackle dorm at the emergency text they received.

> Theres aN emercy at ramshckle! SOmething happened to Grim please hirty

Yuu would never mess around like this for a prank. Something bad must have happened, they run through the halls and practically body slam into the mirror leading to Ramshackle. From there they run through into the dorm. “YUU! Hey Yuu! YuuuuUUUUU!”

Ace yelled out before panting. “I swear if its nothing…” “Come on let's go check their room.” Deuce offers, taking the lead up the stairs and wiping the sweat off his brow. “Yuu!” He calls, “We got your text…” Ace grumbled and followed Deuce, lagging slightly. Deuce reaches the top, freezing when he hears a soft sob. “Did you hear that?” “Hear what?”

Deuce sighs, a serious expression emerging as he quickens his pace to the door. “Yuu? Are you in there?” Deuce knocked on the door just for it to open as he did so. Ace looked at his friend as he made his way over. He watched as Deuce's expression become terrified before turning into utter devastation. His wide eyes glaze with tears and he covers his mouth with his hands, gagging slightly.

“Geez man what did you s—“ Ace stood next to Deuce and was immediately hit with the scent of blood and something burning, he glanced at the floor which had a blood trail coming out of the room. Following the trail slowly, he stared into the room and froze. He felt as though he was going to puke.

Blood and soot covered everything. The curtains and furniture along with the walls have scorch marks and dried blood on them. The sheets and mattress of the bed were torn up and soaked with blood, blankets still smoking from the recent flames that were put out. The mirror on the wall was pitch black. Worst of all was Yuu.

They were curled into a ball in the center of the bed, trying their best to cover their face, or what remained of it. There were claw marks exposing bones of the prefect's skull, which was completely drenched in their own blood. Some of the wounds cauterized from the flames that were blown on them. Fingers melted together. Patches of skin looked as though they were still burning, yet worst of all were their eyes.

The eyelids on one of their eyes were torn off, exposing their eyeball that stared off in the distance, and the other appeared to be soldered shut. Ace shook. “Holy shit… Holy shit!” Ace gags, and the sound elicits another sob from Yuu. “Holy shit! You're… You're alive!”

Deuce moves first, running over and cradling Yuu’s face looking for a pulse. Ace follows and reaches out before retracting a hand, not knowing what to do. “I’m… I… Cmon, let's take them to the nurse!” “On it.” Ace helps Deuce lift the prefect, pulling out his phone and messaging his Dormleader with the news, begging him to contact Crowley.

They couldn’t die like this.

Idia Overblot

Idia awoke to the sound of sirens blaring. In his tired state, he didn’t recognize what it was at first, the sirens screeching faint before getting louder. Idia jerked awake from where he was and was greeted by a sobbing Ortho who practically squeezed him. “Ortho? I… Eh… What’s going on?” The announcer on the speakers kept repeating the word “Overblot In Progress'' like a mantra, before Ortho gave the command to shut off the sound, red lights still flash and all screens on the walls keep the warning up. That was strange, he was no longer blotted, and any phantom that unfroze should have been frozen again.

Idia gets up from the bench he was laid on and looks around, recognizing that he’s in one of the many lab rooms of Styx. Many scientists hovering around the holograms projected on the table or at the computers mashing their keyboards. The previous blots, along with Rook and Epel were also hovering around the tables with wide-eyed expressions. “Ortho what's happening?”

“Shroud!” One of the scientists yells. “There is an emergency, we need your guidance!” “Wh…” Idia’s head felt like it was splitting in half. Looking around he cant help but feel someone is missing, but he didn’t have time to think about it. “Ortho, report!”

“There’s an abnormal Overblot occurring down in the phantom chambers! We have never seen anything like it before!” “Abnormal? What do you mean by that?” Epel interrupts, spitting words with a venom and letting his accent out. “It means ma best pardner who happens t' be magicless is currently filled with blot!” “That’s not possible! What do y…”

Idia pushed through the other members around the table seeing what was unfolding. A menacing figure stood in the middle of phantoms, all of which pushing and stampeding across each other to reach them. The figure looked like a huge humanoid made of ink, limbs abnormally long and outstretched reminding Idia of some beast from a soulsborne game. Its face was blank aside from two glowing eyes that keep getting brighter and brighter, within them, you can see a figure trapped within the beast.

Idia immediately started typing on one of the keyboards, attempting to input the freeze command just for it to fail over and over. He sweated as he tried to input a few others, just for the same error to pop up. “C’mon c’mon c’mon…” Idia opened the code to try and troubleshoot, if any of the phantoms reach where Yuu is—

“HENCHMAN!” Grim screamed, making Idia nearly crack his neck from how fast he looked up. The phantoms reached the blot creature, immediately being absorbed into the creature, getting bigger and bigger, inky geysers swirled around the figure, then it shook. “Readings say blot implosion is happening sir—-AUGH!”

The entire facility shook. Within an instant, the impossible amount of blot condensed and swirled into the student within the figure. A deep darkness flashed like a light, and suddenly, Yuu was suspended in the air, before they suddenly dropped. For a moment, all the alerts cleared, and zooming in on Yuu showed they were breathing. 

“Ortho can you get a scan?” “Scanning… All vitals are sta…ble…?” “That doesn't sound good…” Leona groaned. The alarms went off again, this time louder and more frequent. “Ortho, turn it down!” “On it!”  A new warning appeared everywhere. “God-Level Phantom detected.” "God level?" Jamil gawked.

“How could this happen?” A few scientists moan. 

“No person would ever do this!”

“Idia, sir! Their DNA! It matches nothing from this world!”

“sir, there has appeared to have been a significant amount of blot in them before!”

Idia paled and a realization hit him. They are not from this world, and so they would have a different reaction to being in contact with blot… They have also been the one common denominator in every blot at NRC, they were in contact with each one, no one has ever been around that many overblots in such a short period of time … That blot. It must have accumulated in them, and they never had enough time to fully heal before their contact with the next one. It must have been clawing its way into them since the very beginning.

Still, a god leveled phantom… Nothing like this has happened since the war of Gods millennia ago! There was no tech that could even handle that… Idia looked at the cameras again. Yuu trembled, before standing—no, floating— to their feet. They looked normal aside with their roughed up clothes, but something felt off. The way they stood, they way their head hung down. It wasn’t Yuu. Black smoke seemed to emanate off them, causing the NRC bunch to start yammering.

They suddenly lifted their head, making direct eye contact with the camera, eyes glowing. Ferrymen rushed into the chamber, all surrounding Yuu before firing their weapons, but nothing hit. The once magicless student just simply raised their hand, lifting everyone in a tidal wave of blot before washing them out. They then grabbed one of the men, tearing off their mic and speaking into it.

“Release us.” Idia paled. “What the hell…” Epel whispered. “Release us… Shroud…” Idia gestured for the intercom. “You know I can’t do that Yuu.” Yuu stayed eerily calm, but this time when they spoke, Idia felt sick. “Please brother… It's been years. I want to be free!” Idia and Ortho shared looks of horror as they went through the stages of grief all at once.

“It's dark down here. I’m scared.” Idia hands shivered. “I’m sorry Ortho, you know what has to happen. Please just… Don’t fight it…” Idia, this time, put in another command, finger hovering over the button. “Ortho, prepare for evacuation.” He pressed the button. The entire chamber started flooding with temperatures reaching lower than ever allowed in the facility, and in a larger amount than ever done before.

Ferrymen and scientists all started escaping and running out of the facilities, the NRC students chauffeured on the hovering vehicles Idia commanded as everyone made it for a safe point on the surface of the ocean. “I can't believe it…” Rook mumbles. “Just like that…” Riddle says in a daze.

The students were all quiet for the first time in the entire trip there. Idia could only stare at the ocean as he sobbed.

“I'm sorry Ortho… I'm sorry Yuu…”

Malleus Overblot

“Can I… Help you with something…?”

The storms over NRC have yet to fade, and each day the weather only seems to get worse. It has been two weeks since that fateful day. Two weeks when he was defeated and everyone was free for the price of them. Two weeks when one of the best humans he has ever known was taken from him.

“They aren’t dead yet, Malleus.” Lilia replied, standing in the doorframe of his room as Malleus continued to stare melancholically out the window. He closed his eyes. “I know.” “So why are you already mourning? There's still hope.” Malleus doesn't respond. “It is unfair to everyone to ruin the weather, you know?” Usually the fae wouldn’t try to push Malleus when he’s already upset, but many of the streets have started flooding on Sage Island.

Silence hung in the air until Malleus broke it. “It’s impossible. They will never wake up.” “They could. It will just take—" "True loves kiss.” Malleus finishes. “But that is impossible for them, and you know it too.” Malleus turned around to look at Lilia, it was one of the rare times you could see the ancient fae mourn as well. “But there is a chance.”

Malleus shook. “The only one that had a chance was Grim for a familial love… but the spell does not for allow monsters.” Silence hung in the air again and before Lilia could open his mouth to speak again, Malleus did. “Please Lilia, leave me be.” Lilia deflated and turned to leave. 

His fingers dig into the windowsill. “Enough!” He booms. “There is no way for them to ever get a true love's kiss in this world. Some stranger cannot develop true love for the idea of them. Every student here has not been true enough to their feelings for them in a proper way for any sort of love to develop, and there is no way it could ever be me, not after what I have done!” 

***

Malleus stood in your room, or rather, your room in Ramshackle. Around and on your bed were offerings of all sorts. Snacks, flora, cards, plushies along with an assortment of other items surrounded you from students across both NRC and RSA. It was probably the only time that foreign students were allowed on campus without issues. 

He stood over you. You are just as peaceful as ever, and the sight of your unconscious body only continues to remind him of what he did. How after you defeated him, and awoken everyone, you seemed tired. And during the brief period of celebration, the fanfare, as everyone woke up and started to appreciate you, you collapsed. 

He worried that it was from a more severe injury he couldn't see. You were a bit roughed up. Some minor burns on your arms and bruises painting your body. There were a few nasty cuts you bled from, but surely they weren't enough to cause blood loss? Students saved you from your fall, checking for injuries and using magic.

A tear fell onto you as he hovered over you, black hair forming a curtain, he didn't even realize he was crying. “Oh dear, I’m sorry about…” The fae couldn't get the words out. He gently wiped the tear off of your face as he admired it closer. You were beautiful. His breath hitched, as he adjusted your face to fit his, then pressed his lips to yours, hoping that by some miracle, it was true love. 

The fae finds it both amusing and frustrating that nearly everyone in this school seemed to have only noticed how much they appreciate and care for you, after you are no longer with them. It's not fair… It's not fair to you at all. You've done so much.

He already knew the answer though. He was one of the students that didn’t allow for his feelings to develop enough for true love. Your still-sleeping face proved that. If only we were more open, if he approached you first…

You’re gone.

[ourimpavidheroine]

So let's talk about Alexandra Rowland's Running Close to the Wind. (And yes, of course there are mild spoilers, but I'm trying to be careful with them.) I don't review books, but I do recommend them, so that's what this is from me: a recommendation.

It is no secret that Rowland's A Taste of Gold and Iron is a book I love deeply and wholeheartedly. I have gabbled on at length about it before and read it...you know I'm not sure how many times I've read it. A prince and his bodyguard falling in love is a thing for me, and the book is gorgeously written. I also love their Chant books (prepare to have your heart broken, is all I am going to say) so I felt sure, going in, that I would love Running Close to the Wind.

Now here's the deal. RCttW is a hands down, knocks you on your ass hysterically funny book about pirates. I found myself laughing aloud many times during reading it, disturbing my cat and at one point, laughing hard enough that I woke up my kid. (Sorry about that!) It's advertised as being funny, and it delivers on every single count.

But also? Underneath all of the madcap hilarity it has some scathingly pointed things to say about religion and capitalism. There is a speech that one of the three main characters gives in the end of the book that is absolutely breathtaking in its fury, and by breathtaking I do mean that literally. It took my breath away. I read it; took a very deep breath and read it again. And then I read it aloud, just so I could hear the words.

Those of you who have read A Taste of Gold and Iron (as well as the recently released novella Tadek and the Princess, and how very dare you, Alexandra Rowling) know about the Mahisti Dynasty and its ruling sultans, descended from merchants. RCttW picks up pretty much where AToGaI left off; however, it is about pirates and none of the characters from AToGaI are in this book. (1) That does not mean, however, that the Mahisti Dynasty is not a part of this book. Because it is. It really, really is.

Most of the reviews I've read about this book focus on the humor. And as I said, it is brilliantly funny! That being said, Alexandra Rowland cited the late Sir Terry Pratchett as an influence, and honey, they were not kidding. If you know anything about Pratchett's work you know that he never missed an opportunity to really skewer injustice to the wall, and Rowland lives up to his legacy here. In other words, come for the wickedly funny and terrifyingly lucky little queen Avra Helvaçi and stay for the savage roasting that follows.

So let's talk about Avra Helvaçi, shall we? Avra is a dubiously (yet also mystifyingly) successful spy, in his mid-thirties, who takes partial retirement in the beginning of the book due to just a little spot of treason. I mean, it's really TREASON but Avra wasn't really trying to be treasonous, he just got bored and wondered if he could maybe, you know, get away with it? (All of the ADHDrs out there, raise your hand if You Know.) Avra cannot shut up and stop whining for the life of him, can't stop poking at people and walking the fine line of will I fuck him or murder him? (keep that hand up, ADHDrs) and is incredibly lucky. Weirdly lucky. No, really, how the fuck is this guy, this lackluster spy, this inveterate reader of his universe's version of the Tarot, this man who hides on top of wardrobes when things get dicey, this lucky?

Then we've got Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār, on-again/off-again lover of Avra, pirate extraordinaire (okay, okay, okay, maybe a little cash poor at the moment), terse and out to prove themself, constantly simmering with anger, refusing point blank to let anyone else care for them. It takes awhile to get into Tev's backstory, but what we do know right away is that despite Tev's rather intimidating façade, they care very deeply for their crew and will do just about anything for them, including a whole lot of personal sacrifice that seems to go pretty much unnoticed by just about everyone (except the dubiously successful spy, see above).

And lastly we have Brother Julian, a smoking hot 12/10 monk and brilliant scholar, an alchemist, a revolutionary who has taken a vow of celibacy but who can't keep his eyes off of Avra. We all want to fuck Brother Julian, even those of us who actually don't want to fuck him. Yeah. He's that guy. Blond hair to his knees and wicked ass and all. Brother Juuuuuuuulian.

Before I move on to the plot I do want to give a shout out to all of the secondary characters. They are written with so much love as well. They are all characters in their own right, all of them unique in their own ways. That's not an easy thing for a writer to do, but Rowland succeeds brilliantly here. All of their secondary characters have backstories that I, for one, would love to read. It's rare to get that kind of depth to a character that only gets a few mentions, but Rowland's character work has always been exquisite, and only gets better as they keep writing.

But on to the plot! The comedy really pays off here. There's a cake baking contest towards the end of the book that had actual tears in my eyes. (When I was six a seagull snatched an ice cream cone right out of my little hands, so let me just say that I heartily approve of the seagull security part of the contest.) But trust me when I tell you, the book starts off funny and is funny until the very end. I don't want to spoil too much here, but there is a beginning, middle and very satisfactory end to the plot, so rest assured it succeeds.

The book is also cheerfully, filthily sexual, with mentions of well-stocked dildo boxes, blowjobs (I HOWLED at a particular image of pythons), a cabin on the ship formerly housing a spooky dentist (2) but now reserved for nooky, friendly prostitutes and a queer-normative world that doesn't include either homophobia or transphobia. (There is no actual sex on screen, however - so for all the verbal smut, there is a fade to black way of handling sex.) Listen, if you can't appreciate a well-crafted dick joke, then this probably isn't the book for you. The rest of you, however, will love it.

Underneath the humor is where this book really gets you, though. The politics! The mental health issues! The PTSD! The desperation of poverty in the face of capitalism! The lingering impact of restrictive religion! Motherfucking colonialism! Why does Avra hide? Why does Tev constantly resort to anger? Why does Julian, who took a vow of celibacy, torment others sexually? Yes, it's funny. Until it isn't. Until characters have to take a step back and realize that they are causing harm to others because of the harm that was done to them. Oh yes, my friends. It's there, hidden under the dick jokes. Rowland wants you laughing, they delight in your laughter, but they are going to stab you when you least expect it. (Ow, okay? Ow.)

At the same time, however, there is a deep and achingly sweet exploration of a threesome, of how a fraught relationship between two people can be healed and made whole with a third person who completes all of them. It is so very rare to see a true threesome explored this way, where it's not purely a sex thing (3) but rather how a real relationship, a supportive and healthy relationship does not always have to follow what we as readers consider "normal".

The thing is, though, that there are probably a lot of readers who are never going to register the revolutionary heart of this novel. (And that includes quite a few of the reviewers, yeesh.) They will come for the dick jokes and the fast-paced humor and miss out on what Rowland is actually trying to say here. Because Rowland doesn't hit readers over the head with said revolutionary heart. There's no heavy-handed obvious lecturing here (save the monologue I mentioned above); Rowland doesn't hold your hand or shove it into your face. It's called subtext, friends, and Rowland is a master. It's there. But you have to read a little deeper. Rowland expects their readers to find it on their own, much the same as Pratchett always did. And I am here to tell you, FIND IT.

I don't think it's a bad thing that folks aren't seeing past the dick jokes in terms of book sales and Rowland being able to pay their bills, but I urge all of you to read it twice. Read it the first time for the humor, for the madcap adventures and the dirty sea shanties and Brother Julian with his shirt off. (Please read it for that.) But read it again, for all the things that Rowland has to say about these very human characters of theirs, and the flawed world they live in. Because I promise you that Rowland has so many good and important and yes, decisive things to say about it.

Go on now. Go and buy it. (Or borrow it from your local library.) Read it. Have some cake while you're reading. (Be aware that the US and UK covers are very different, so don't get confused and then pissed like I did for a hot minute when my pre-order arrived in Finland with the UK cover and I thought they'd sent me the wrong book.)

(1) There is a mention of the Sultan. Which made me laugh so hard my asthma tried to kick in.

(2) We never meet said spooky dentist, but it's Rowland's genius at character work that makes us really, really, REALLY want to meet the spooky dentist.

(3) Not that there's anything wrong with the sex thing, just ask them.

[hyperionwitch-art]

Poor Dren be like "what i gotta do to get the smooch?" While Tev is just trying to manage a metaphysical identity crisis in the background.

Dren suffering in silence sarcasm because the Nerevarine Problem is a bigger deal, I guess. Tev in the "don't think about it don't think about it" zone.

The fun thing about the kids is that all my posts are a terrible hodgepodge of different time periods, so I very nearly considered posting something set much later with a more "tee hee you had a crush on me" "Dren, we're married" kind of vibe.

[laufxsons]

Another moment during our second DnD Session. Sadly Tev's opinions of what is and isn't legal valid documents wasn't too appreciated by local police and their low charisma resulted in getting handcuffed. As seen above, he didn't really take it well and a poor villager was thus being rudely hissed at. Poor girl!

[elegrow]

Partial Discharge Testing: Need, Testing, and Addressing Defects

Did you know that more than 85% of disruptive failures in MV (medium voltage) and HV (high-voltage) equipment are related to partial discharge (PD)? This is why partial discharge testing is crucial for early detection and to keep your electrical infrastructure in good condition.

Studies have proven that PD activity can deteriorate assets, resulting in insulation being unable to withstand electrical stress. Over time, it can lead to flash-over and equipment failure. Testing is conducted to analyze the health of electrical insulation.

One of the effects of flash-over is the high-frequency current pulse traveling through the insulation’s capacitance (C1 and C3). The short, microsecond duration makes it a low-energy pulse, but it negatively impacts insulation and eventually results in catastrophic failure. Partial discharge breakdown also produces heat, light, sound, smell, HF electric current, and electromagnetic waves.

Understanding partial discharge

PD occurs when an aspect of an insulation system fails to withstand an electrical field it comes in contact. It is typically the result of poor workmanship or design, aging, contamination, or defective materials. Of all the available methods, partial discharge testing is the widely recognized practice for analyzing the health of electrical assets.

How is it done?

Online non-destructive and non-invasive techniques for surveying and monitoring are proven to deliver sufficient details for condition assessment without interrupting system operations. Modern techniques make it easier to test a wide range of assets from 3KV to 700KV and greater.

Partial discharge testing can identify all types of PD:

Surface PD – The most common phenomenon that occurs across the surface of the insulation. It is affected by humidity and salt air.

Internal PD – This occurs in voids, cavities, or defects within solid insulation.

Corona PD – Occurs in gaseous dielectrics with inhomogeneous fields, usually from the conductor, directly into the air, and in outdoor electrical assets.

Professionals can test air-insulated assets, GIS switchgear and busses, extruded cables, and paper-insulated cables online without causing an outage. They use various techniques, such as ultrasonic technology, HFCT/RFCT online cable testing, and transient earth voltage (TEV) methods. Some companies can perform partial discharge testing using UHF for non-contact detection with electromagnetic PD signals in cable systems, open terminal switchyards, and distribution networks.

About the Company:

Elegrow Technology is eminent for providing international standard design and technical assistance in the field of electrical, mechanical & power systems with utmost professional transparency.

[texasacandheatingexpert]

Air Conditioner / Heat Pump Inspect & Repair

1. If your air conditioner or heat pump system isn't operating, the fault might be with the thermostat, a power outage, or something as easy as a flipped switch. For assistance in diagnosing and correcting the problem, go to Air Conditioner Won't Start.

2. If the blower/fan on the interior air handler would not start, see Blower Fan Operation & Testing.

3. If the air handler unit blower starts, but the airflow is poor, the issue might be as simple as a filthy air filter, collapsed ducting, or an ice-blocked cooling coil. Go to A/C Flow Is Inadequate.

4. If the interior air handler blower turns on and there is excellent airflow, but the outside compressor/condenser does not turn on, the supply air at the registers will be warm. Navigate to Compressor/Condenser Diagnostics.

5. If the interior air handler and the outside compressor are operational and there is enough air flow, but the air is not cool, you should contact a service specialist.

He will look for issues such as lost refrigerant or a clogged refrigerant metering control (thermostatic expansion valve or TEV)

Thermostatic Expansion, Gauge, Refrigeration Pressure Test Tev Valve Installation, Diagnostic, And Repair.

6. Go To Noise Air Conditioner / Heat Pump if the air conditioner or heat pump system is functioning and the air is chilly (in cooling mode) or warm (in heating mode), but the system is producing unusual sounds.

7. If steps 1-6 do not explain your A/C or heat pump issue, visit our more in-depth step-by-step A/C or Heat Pump Diagnosis at Diagnostic Guides A/C / Heat Pump.

HVAC Service Technician Certification

Some states and municipalities require heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers to be licensed. Licensing requirements vary widely; however, all states or municipalities that need a license have a test that must be passed.

The substance of these examinations varies by state or region, with some demanding a considerable understanding of electrical regulations and others focused on HVACR-specific information. Completing an apprenticeship program or having 2 to 5 years of experience is a frequent prerequisite.

Furthermore, all technicians who buy or operate refrigerants must be qualified in their safe handling. Technicians must pass a written test about the sort of work they specialize in to be qualified to acquire and handle refrigerants.

There are three potential certification areas:

Type I—small appliance service;

Type II refrigerants are high-pressure refrigerants.

Low-pressure refrigerants (Type III). Exams are given by organizations that the US government has authorized. For example, trade schools, unions, contractor associations, and construction groups are examples of organizations that work with the Environmental Protection Agency.

A/C and Heat Pump Diagnostic Procedures.

Failure to turn on an air conditioner, loss of air conditioner cooling capacity, reduced air conditioning output temperatures, loss of cool air supply, or even complete loss of airflow can be caused by a variety of problems with one or more components of an air conditioner or air conditioning system.

Electrical issues with HVAC systems: Keep in mind that, despite the technical data provided here regarding all components of air conditioners and heat pumps, most service calls for non-working air conditioners or heat pumps reveal an electrical fault.

So, if your A/C system is just not functioning, be sure to first verify all of our electrical and control configuration tips.

Mechanical issues with HVAC systems often fall into one of four categories: refrigerant leaks, unclean condenser coils or units, dirty evaporators or cooling coils, or burnt-out (or difficult-to-start) compressor motors.

[mhmains]

Abandoned supercollider texas

The project was cancelled in 1993 due to budget problems.ĭuring the design and the first construction stage, a heated debate ensued about the high cost of the project. Louis Ianniello served as its first Project Director for 15 months. The project's director was Roy Schwitters, a physicist at the University of Texas at Austin. Its planned ring circumference was 87.1 kilometres (54.1 mi) with an energy of 20 TeV per proton. The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) (also nicknamed the Desertron) was a particle accelerator complex under construction in the vicinity of Waxahachie, Texas, that was set to be the world's largest and most energetic, surpassing the current record held by the Large Hadron Collider. Superconducting Super Collider (Abandoned) Chemical company Magnablend bought the property and facilities in 2012, against some opposition from the local community Collider Data Center has contracted with GVA Cawley to market the site as a data center. The property was finally sold in August 2006 to an investment group led by the late J.B. However, in 1993, Clinton tried to prevent the cancellation by asking Congress to continue "to support this important and challenging effort" through completion because "abandoning the SSC at this point would signal that the United States is compromising its position of leadership in basic science"Īfter the project was canceled, the main site was deeded to Ellis County, Texas, and the county tried numerous times to sell the property. Many factors contributed to the cancellation: rising cost estimates poor management by physicists and Department of Energy officials the end of the need to prove the supremacy of American science with the collapse of the Soviet Union belief that many smaller scientific experiments of equal merit could be funded for the same cost Congress's desire to generally reduce spending the reluctance of Texas Governor Ann Richards and President Bill Clinton's initial lack of support for a project begun during the administrations of Richards's predecessor, Bill Clements, and Clinton's predecessors, Ronald Reagan and George H. The project was cancelled in 1993 due to budget problems.Ĭongress officially canceled the project Octoafter $2 billion had been spent. Its planned ring circumference was 87.1 kilometres with an energy of 20 TeV per proton. The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) was a particle accelerator complex under construction in the vicinity of Waxahachie, Texas, that was set to be the world's largest and most energetic, surpassing the current record held by the Large Hadron Collider. Please do not visit without express permission from the land owner.

[starful02]

Finally colored what I lovingly call The Page of Avra. I haven’t ever done something like this but Avra compelled me to and who am I to refuse this chaotic disaster? For those who don’t know, Avra is the protagonist of Alexandra Rowland’s (@ariaste) upcoming comedy pirate novel Running Close to the Wind! And I absolutely adore him. The novel comes out in June so keep an eye out for it! You can read an excerpt of it in the link below!

[tev-the-random]

Evil Sausage is so incredibly deranged. Man's got a grand total of zero marbles left, I love him so much.

[anyu-blue]

Well I was hoping to get up and shower or eat or something (cuz eating even a small cup of mashed potatoes took me an hour yesterday)... But this is my lap right now.

[corvusyn-archived]

@thedovahcat oh my god if Cel does somehow drain Tev's bank account he'll be pissed off cuz THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY. JUST GONE. NOW HE'LL HAVE TO WEAR HOBO CHIC ALL THE TIME

[metastablephysicist]

hi!! i recently saw a post on here saying that the goal of alchemy has been fulfilled, because scientists have hadron colliders now and you can turn a fraction of lead into gold on a thin top layer of lead. is that true and if yes, how does that work? i hope it's not too much, thanks a lot and have a great day!!

short answer: this is technically true, although you're not going to make much gold in the process.

the details: for lead, specifically 208Pb, to be made into gold, you need to take away 3 protons. for the gold to be stable (so that your gold doesn't decay into something else) it should be 197Au, that is, you also need to remove 8 neutrons. I would say that the LHC operates at too high of energies (2.76 TeV per nucleon!!! that's SO MUCH energy!!) to make such large nuclei. the beam reactions are incredibly violent, tending to rip apart those poor nuclei into their littlest pieces. the product is generally a hot soup of quark-gluon plasma (QGP for short) because the pieces are called quarks and gluons. this is getting away from my ballpark but you can read about it here (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-nucl-102711-094910#_i2 note: I would just read the intro and the conclusion unless you're familiar with/super interested in high energy physics).

so instead of lead ion beams, let's say you have a lead target instead. and you're operating a small(er) energy scale accelerator, in a range of 100s of MeV to 10 GeV per nucleon. you could probably make gold with a proton/neutron beam by causing spallation, which is when a heavier nucleus gets hit with an energetic particle and "spits out" some of its nucleons as a result. I'm not sure how to calculate the likelihood of a reaction where the nucleons being spit out are our specific number of protons & neutrons (I unfortunately don't know a ton about beam chemistry yet!) but I can guarantee you that there's a way.

it would be easier to cut the lead out of the equation, like Glenn Seaborg did in 1980. he made gold starting from bismuth nuclei, which you can read about in his paper (http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1981PhRvC..23.1044A/abstract). let me know if you can't access this and I'll send you the pdf :)

another thing to consider here—this is the bad news part—is that you aren't going to make a lot of gold this way. and it's really expensive to run an accelerator, so it wouldn't be practical and you won't earn any money by selling the atoms of gold you made. but it sure is fun to think about!

[storyknitter]

A King’s Knight

Okay, so this medieval/fantasy AU is pretty much all @starknstarwars ‘s fault, but I don’t regret it in the least! Enjoy!

————————

A horse and rider raced down the road towards them at a tear. This section of the road was flat for miles; not only had Vassanna and her charge made good time without pushing the horses too hard, but she could also see approaching travelers well in advance. And this traveler, barreling towards them at top speed, put her on guard; from what she could see, they didn’t wear the livery of the Sentinels. Was this someone searching for Tev or was it simply a messenger they happened to be passing? The second option seemed too unlikely, but even so, she didn’t want to draw the attention of the Shadow King’s people; being caught with a Sentinel like her would be a death sentence to Tev. Even if they were able to fight their way out successfully, they would be hunted mercilessly.

“Do you recognize the rider heading towards us?” she asked with forced nonchalance; no need to frighten or worry him if it was nothing.

Tev squinted, then shook his head. “I can’t quite tell, their hood is in the way.”

Sanna hummed, debating their choices. “Well then,” she said, “ensure that your face is hidden and I’ll take the lead.” Casually drawing a dagger from its sheath on her thigh, she rested it in her lap, obstructed from view by the reins. Luckily for them, spring hadn’t yet descended upon the country and her cloak concealed the armor beneath, giving her at least one advantageous surprise.

“Is that truly necessary?” he asked, gesturing to the weapon.

“Possibly. I’d rather be prepared than not, in any circumstance.”

“Wait,” Tev said. “I think I recognize...” He trailed off as he stared at the rider. “Yes, that’s Eli— er, Lord Tarnis. I’ve known him for years, decades even.” He spurred his horse forward, but Vassanna caught his reins, halting them.

“I am here to protect you,” she hissed. “That means I can’t just let you run off to greet every person we come across, sir. That is why you hired me, correct?”

By now, the rider had nearly reached them, the horse lathered and panting, the rider not looking much better. She didn’t like this. How had this stranger known which road they traveled? He had run his poor horse into the ground to reach them; was he based nearby or—

“Elias!”

Sanna nearly groaned in frustration, biting her tongue as the friends exchanged pleasantries, practically shoving her to the side. Something was wrong with all of this, but she couldn’t put her finger on why.

“My Lord, alas, I bring unfortunate news of your mother,” Tarnis said; Tev froze in his saddle. “She was recently poisoned by the King’s people and has lain unconscious this past week. I’ve not received an update in days, since I went searching for you, and she may have worsened since then.”

Her uneasiness grew as they continued their conversation.

“Where is she?”

“Not far, my friend. She is resting at Thul Castle, not half a day’s ride from here.”

“No,” Vassanna said sharply, and both men turned to her as though they’d forgotten she existed and she had mystically appeared from the ether. “That place is not friendly to... outsiders.” She’d almost said “to me and mine,” but if Tarnis hadn’t yet recognized her as a Sentinel, she wasn’t about to inform him.

“You must be mistaken, my lady,” Elias said with a slimy grin. “Lord Nefarid is a most generous host.”

Lies, she thought, though she schooled her features into a serene and calm expression; Orgus had spies with proof that Nefarid was in league with King Tenebrous. Perhaps this Lord Tarnis didn’t realize the two were linked.

Perhaps he did.

Tev glanced between them, weighing who to trust. His old friend Elias won. 

“We go to Nefarid’s home. It shouldn’t delay us too much.”

Vassanna didn’t entirely blame Tev—he’d only met her a week ago—but she was frustrated nevertheless and bit down a retort. “Yes, my lord,” she said instead, following the two men into what she was certain was a trap.

——

Two and a half hours later, they had made good time, despite allowing for Tarnis’s horse to rest and recover a bit. A stream followed the road they had taken and, up ahead, a small copse of trees and shrubs grew in a bend.

“Perhaps we can pause a moment up there,” Tarnis suggested, pointing to the trees. “I do believe my horse could use another drink after our race to find you.”

“Of course,” Tev answered; a prickle of fear ran down Sanna’s spine. She couldn’t see anything in the trees up ahead, but she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that they were being watched. Resigning herself to either being horribly wrong or having to fight their way out of things, she shifted instinctively  toward Tev—just in case

Sanna closed her eyes, and brought her attention inward, focusing on her breathing, the motion of the horse beneath her, the warmth of the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. There was powerful magic held within the natural world, and if one was careful and well-trained, this magic could be used to amplify one’s own abilities. Use too much or pull from the wrong sources, well... that was dangerous.

Tev’s horse startled, bumping into hers skittishly as he pulled in the reins. She opened her eyes. Half a dozen brigands emerged from the trees, weapons drawn. Sanna let out a small, battle-weary sigh; fighting their way out it was, then.

“Elias?” Tev asked, confusion and horror on his face. “What is this?”

A wicked smile curled across the man’s face as he gestured to the brigands. “Oh no,” he said sarcastically. “It appears you’ve been set upon by highwaymen. How dreadfully unfortunate for you.”

“Where’s Satele?” Theron snarled, his hands tightening on the reins.

Satele? It wasn’t that common a name, but she couldn’t possibly be the same...

“I have no idea.” Tarnis shrugged. “Nor do I particularly care. She was simply a convenient ruse to lure you here. And now, instead of taking you to see your dear mother, I’ll send you to meet your ancestors, my king,” he said, contempt dripping from his words.

Clarity burned through the shroud surrounding her patron. Satele Shan—sponsor of the Sentinels, Vassanna’s occasional mentor, and the deposed Queen of the land of Coruscant—was Tev’s mother. Then, oh gods, the truth hit her like a ton of bricks:

She’d been trusted with the task of protecting not a minor noble loyal to their cause, but the true king. 

Vassanna didn’t have time to process her discovery. A stream of arrows streaked toward them, hurtling through the sky at a deadly rate. She reached out, pulling at the magic in the air, forming it into a shield around them, and the bolts bounced harmlessly to the ground. Leaving Tev in the protective shield with an order to stay put, she charged forward, taking the fight to their attackers. She hurled her daggers with deadly precision at two of the archers and leaped from the saddle, letting her years of training take over.

Long moments later, she was down to one opponent, her muscles and lungs burning with exertion. The clang of metal drew her attention and she cursed when she saw Tev facing down Tarnis, his sword on the ground and arms held out peaceably. Why hadn't he stayed within the shield?

Sanna rolled forward, grabbing one of her used daggers and flinging it at Tarnis in one smooth motion. Her focus was drawn back to the enemy before her and she could only hope she had delayed the attack on Tev for long enough. Blocking and dodging the swipes of the blade, she built up a power reserve from each rock and blade of grass her boots touched. Thankfully, an opportune moment presented itself and she took full advantage, releasing the magic she’d built up and knocking her opponent to the ground with a heavy thud. 

They didn’t move again.

She’d have rather used the magic against multiple enemies, but that ran the risk of hurting Tev as well. Brushing aside the lost opportunity, she turned and sprinted towards her charge, only to see him blasted across the clearing by a bolt of purple to the chest—straight from Tarnis’s hands.

“No!” she screamed as Tev flew backward, his chest shimmering with purple light. Before he landed, she shifted the air shield to cushion his fall and launched herself at his attacker.

Vassanna tried to disarm Tarnis, to restrain him, but he made it clear that he would rather die than submit. An unfortunate development, as she had ever so many questions for him, such as how he had found them.

Barely dodging a stream of the same purple flames that had hit Tev, she ended the fight and Tarnis fell to the ground, dead.

Spinning around to look for Tev, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw him sitting up, but the relief soon turned to concern: he was gasping like a fish out of water, panic clear in his face. She’d seen people get the wind knocked out of them many times; unless he had hidden injuries, this seemed to be his problem now.

“Tev,” she said sharply as she approached, “look at me.” When he met her gaze, she gently took his face in her hands and spoke soothingly. “You’ll be fine, I promise. I just need you to take a nice, deep breath for me, okay? Breathe with me now.” She took an exaggeratedly large and slow breath, then another, then a third. He nodded, trying to match her pace and keeping eye contact. “Just like that,” she said. “You’re doing great.” The panic faded from his features as he was able to breathe easier.

His gaze flickered past her face, eyes widening. Sanna turned to find the sharp blade of an ax swinging in an arc to meet them and instinctively lifted her arm, pulling from her own magic and the strength of the ground beneath her feet to form a protective barrier. The ax bounced off her magical shield and both she and the attacker recoiled. Cursing herself for not checking to ensure each of their enemies was no longer a problem, she leaped up and met the edge of the ax with her swords. Pivoting as she struggled to parry the large weapon, she led the attacker away from Tev to give him as much a chance to recover as she could.

——

Theron watched in shock and awe as Dame Nabeshin fought a Houk brandishing an ax bigger than his head. He’d seen many fighters in his time, but her skill was unmatched. All of her accolades made perfect sense as she twirled and parried, performing a complex dance around her adversary.

As impeccable as her form was, she’d been fighting hard for some time now. He could see her tiring, especially with all the magic she’d used. The Houk was still attacking ferociously and she barely dodged a swipe of the ax, coming back up with blood streaming from her forehead, near her temple.

That was far too close.

The blood on her face snapped Theron out of his enthralled trance. He struggled to his feet, shaking, and staggered over to the knife she’d thrown to protect him. Ignoring the hurt in his heart over Eli’s betrayal, he picked up the dagger and crept towards the battle.

The Houk forced her backward and she slipped, dropping to one knee, her crossed swords the only thing keeping the ax from cleaving her in two. Her gaze never left the weapon, but she nodded slowly.

Why wasn’t he surprised that she’d seen him approaching without giving that information away?

Before it was too late, Theron tightened his grip on her dagger and slid it with all his might into the space between the Houk’s armor: under the arm, and up. At the same moment, she spun, twisting her swords and disarming their enemy, dancing out of the way just before she would have been crushed by the falling body.

——

Sanna barely paused to catch her breath before she turned to Tev— no, his Majesty. “Are you all right?” she asked, her eyes scanning him for injuries. “Are you hurt?” She gently patted his chest where the bolt from Tarnis had hit him and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t flinch or wince; no obvious wounds there, at least. She looked at his face, truly looked, then dropped to one knee. “My liege—”

“No, no... get up. Please,” he said with a sigh. “I’m the same person I was an hour ago, truly.” He gave her a rueful smile and gestured for her to rise. As she stood, he pointed to her face. “You’re bleeding,” he said softly.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal. “Are you in pain anywhere?”

“No, I swear—” He stopped and glanced down at his chest, brows furrowed. Her gaze followed and what she saw stopped her heart.

His tunic was smoking, smoldering. What had Tarnis done?

“Get it off!” she cried. They rushed to remove the tunic, only to discover that the chain mail beneath was glowing purple-white.

This was not good.

He met her gaze, eyes wide, and they struggled to get him out of the chain as quickly as possible, hands made clumsy by panic. An eternity later, the hauberk fell to the ground, tossed a couple of yards away, and she then stripped him of his scorched gambeson and undershirt—just in case.

A small whoosh caught her attention as he struggled out of the undershirt: the mail hauberk on the ground went up in flames before their eyes and became ash in seconds. A soft curse slipped from her lips—had things gone differently, her king would have been wearing that. She shuddered, trying to ignore how awful a death that would have proved.

“Well,” he said breathlessly, “I didn’t really like that hauberk anyway.”

Vassanna couldn’t help a small snort; this was decidedly not how she would have reacted, but she had come to enjoy his flippant comments. He chuckled in return, and they soon found themselves in a fit of adrenaline-fueled giggles.

Once their laughter had run its course, he walked over to his horse, digging through one of the saddlebags. He returned moments later with a folded cloth and pressed it to her forehead. Instinctively, she hissed in pain and recoiled, but he followed, keeping the cloth in place.

“Fine,” he said, a smirk forming on his mouth as he lifted her hand to the gauze, “hold it yourself. I need a new shirt.” He gestured to his naked torso. “Clearly.”

“Clearly.” Despite her teasing retort, Sanna hadn’t quite realized that he was shirtless until that moment. Her eyes were drawn to his bronze skin; heat crept into her cheeks as she noted what looked to be old scars on his surprisingly well-toned chest, muscles shifting as he—

She tore her gaze away, looking at the ground and scolding herself: he may be rather attractive, but he was to be her king. Despite her best efforts, the flush in her cheeks crept upward, flooding her ears. 

A hand came into view and she looked up. 

“Theron Shan,” he said, “son of Satele and Jace, and rightful heir to the throne. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She stared in confusion before she could hear her beloved uncle’s voice in her head: He is your king, silly girl. Do be so good as to remember your manners.

Vassanna reached out and took Theron's offered hand, surprised by how warm it was, before bowing low and pressing her lips to the back, as was proper. His calloused fingers twitched around hers before she stood and released his hand.

“The honor is mine, your Majesty.”

He was staring at her mouth; were her lips dry and off-putting? She licked them nervously without thinking—a lot of good that would do her now—and he startled before meeting her gaze.

“You don’t have to... um, with the ‘Majesty’ thing. It’s not necessary.” He shifted in place awkwardly, clearing his throat.

“Then why the formal introduction?”

“You deserved a proper one.” He almost looked shy as he spoke, looking everywhere but at her face. “You’ve been kept in the dark from the beginning.”

Another flash of understanding as memories settled into proper places.

“Orgus Din knows who you truly are,” she said and he nodded. 

“He thought it best to use a different name, especially as we met in a tavern.”

The wind picked up at that moment, cold from the north, and Tarnis’s cape fluttered on the current. It served as a reminder of their precarious situation, and she sighed.

“I will take care of the dead,” Vassanna said gently. “You should finish getting dressed, my lord.”

Silently, solemnly, she approached each of their vanquished attackers, murmuring a small prayer to whichever gods would listen as she closed their eyes. Her small ritual complete, logic and practicality took over: she removed and consolidated their coin purses into hers. The weapons—minus the bow and arrows taken silently by Theron—were hidden in the copse of trees for some random wanderer to find or to be buried by time and nature. Everything else was left lying where it fell. Theron had watched her quietly, his frown growing with every passing moment; she could feel his eyes following her around the clearing. 

Her preparations complete, Sanna knelt and placed her palms on the ground. Her eyes fluttered shut as she reached out to the magic within the earth, requesting its assistance in burying the dead, returning them to dust. A deep breath in and, on her exhale, the ground acquiesced, trembling open to absorb the bodies strewn around before closing once again, as though the last few hours had never happened. She offered her thanks in a whisper, leaving a small portion of her own magic in return for the favor.

Gods, so much wasted life.

She stood, swaying as the world spun around her. Oh. Perhaps she’d used too much magic after all.

A hand clamped around her upper arm, steadying her. She turned to find Theron next to her, stone-faced. Once she was certain her legs wouldn’t betray her, she nodded and he released her, walking away to inspect his new bow.

A few more tasks—tethering Tarnis’s horse to hers to trade at a later date, referencing her map to plot an alternate route now that they were found—and they were on their way. Aside from a brief question from Theron at the crossroads when she led them on a new path, he was silent, taciturn. She would even go as far as to describe him as “brooding.” Brushing aside the uncharitable thought—he had just been betrayed by a friend a few hours prior—she took a quick cat nap in the saddle.

They rode without speaking until their arrival at the inn after dark. Vassanna arranged for a small meal—bread, cheese, stew, and ale—and they sat before the fire in their shared room. Again, he remained silent, though he had kept lively conversation the past week.

“So,” she said, interrupting the now-unbearable quiet, “why the name ‘Tev Fith’?”

A little smirk, an affectionate chuckle. “To annoy an old friend.”

At least his frown was gone, even if she didn't understand the joke. She nodded politely.

“Teff’ith,” he said. “That’s my friend’s name. I was young, needed a cover before I entered a large city, and well... ‘Tev Fith,’ ‘Teff’ith.’” He shrugged. “I thought I was being clever; she disagreed.”

“It’s a shame she disagreed. It would be an honor to lend one’s name to you.”

He snorted. “Yeah, Teff’ith isn’t like that.”

Vassanna took a sip and decided to speak her mind. 

“I’m glad you’re talking again.”

The constant frown from today found its way back onto his features. “Well, I hadn’t expected a betrayal from my oldest friend and closest confidante.”

Her heart ached for him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize quite how close you were.”

“No,” he said, his voice colored with a trace of bitterness. “How could you have known? It was my fault alone, to be so trusting. I must simply be prepared for treachery from everyone going forward.”

“Surely not everyone, your majesty.”

“If I couldn’t even trust him, then who can I trust?” His face was hard in the firelight, though his eyes betrayed the hurt in his heart. 

Without conscious thought, Sanna reached out and took his hand in hers. “Me,” she said simply. “I’m with you, my liege. You know that, right?”

He met her gaze, skepticism plain on his face. “Yes. Until we take back the throne from the Shadow King, I do believe that you’re ‘with me.’ But for how long afterward?”

In truth, they hadn’t known each other long and he was right to distrust—especially after the assassination attempt this morning—but oh, it hurt more than she’d expected to find he had so little faith in her.

“Until the end,” she whispered.