#also his touch is meant to be more paralyzing but it affects humans way more. just straight up kills them. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cute-little-spaceboy · 3 years

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♤ Bunny Hybrid! Tadashi Yamaguchi x GN! Reader ♤ Fantasy AU ♤ Pure Fluff ♤ No idea how I got roped into this, but it's for @ultimate-astridwriting's Hybrids collab. ♤ This is long as hell, I'm sorry if it's boring, I tried my best. ♤ 2431 words guys...

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The Night was young, stars just barely peeking out of the sky. An almost bluish sliver of the sun could still be seen right where the horizon lay. When the entirety of the village was just starting to turn in for the night, the ancient spirits, the Yōkai, were coming out. The first ones out were always the more predatory of the group. The foxes, wolves, bears, etc. They were the brave ones, and almost always came out first, at the same time the stars began appearing. Although they were the first to leave their dens and holes, they mostly prowled around, looking for any last traces of people that had stayed out late. Next were the insects and birds. Bird Yōkai being more impatient than others, and simply unable to wait for the all clear from the predators. They began chartering and singing amongst themselves, flying from tree to tree without a care in the world. Meanwhile the insects sat near the edges of the trees, murmuring to each other. Finally, the timid prey animals came out (Only with the confirmation from the Predators that it was indeed safe). The rabbits, mice, squirrels and such. They would come out slowly, still unsure of their surroundings. Once they deemed it truly safe, they would party just as carefree as any bird or fox. The kingdom they lived by was a small one. The village was tiny enough that everyone knew everyone and almost all of them were related, or friends. The castle was more of a mansion or extra large house. And all around the village, there was a ring of meadowy area, and then forests for miles. Forests filled with Yōkai, that is. The relationship between the kingdom and the Spirits was… Complicated to say the least. The Kingdom had said they were on "Neutral terms" years ago, but what really ended up happening was, the two sides avoided and feared each other. No one really knew why, but they feared great consequences if they interacted with each other. So the Humans in the village spent the day enjoying themselves, and the Yōkai came out at night, after they went home. The meadow was sort of like a barrier to the two, no human or Yōkai was brave enough to go there… Well, not most anyways. You had to be either brave or stupid to go anywhere near there. Tadashi Yamaguchi was neither brave, nor stupid, he was simply lovestruck. He couldn't stay in the forest with the rest of the Yōkai, not when he knew you were there. Out sitting in the meadows, staring up at the vast expanse of the skies. You were just as bad as he was, that's how he justified it. If you could go out, then so could he. Neither of you were hurting anything, you were watching stars and he was watching you. He was almost certain that you didn't see him. The grass in the meadows was tall, almost knee length. So he would crouch down and watch you. It may have been a little creepy, but he couldn't help it. You were simply captivating to him. You weren't doing anything, just sitting there. You had a lantern with you, you always did. It wasn't a bright light, casting only a faint golden light on your face. He couldn't see much, but what he could see, he adored. You looked so… Delicately made. As if every individual part of you was carefully crafted and selected from the best that the heavens had to offer. You were a deity, and he was a simple demon. He had seen a glimpse of heaven itself and now he knew it was clearly meant to be. His long, floppy ears perked up when he saw your familiar form, kneeling on the soft grass. Cotton tail wiggling with excitement. He could sit there for hours, imagining what you were like. What did you like doing? You obviously loved the stars, maybe you liked nature? If you liked nature, maybe you would like him? Maybe you were waiting for someone else? He didn't like that thought. Shaking his head, ears flopping against his face. As if he could erase the thought from his head. It was ridiculous to be this possessive over something that wasn't his, but what else could he do? You were the forbidden fruit, and he wasn't willing to let anyone else take away his beautiful

temptation. He crept closer, he didn't normally get closer than eight feet away, but he felt more confident today. It wasn't really confidence so much as desperation to get closer to you. He couldn't just sit and stare at you forever. It would drive him mad. Scooting closer as quietly as possible, the grass made a rustling sound underneath him but you didn't seem to notice. He was four feet away now, you were still clueless, and he still wanted more. So he crept closer until he was three feet… Two feet… One foot… Right behind you… It was beyond him how you hadn't noticed him. If he leaned forward, he would be pressed against your back. He could smell your natural scent, grass, flowers, and the faintest hint of general store soap. The grass and flowers were probably thanks to the meadow, but he almost melted. He was right there, right next to you. He could easily imagine that he wasn't here, stalking you, but that you were meeting in secret. That the two of you were forbidden lovers, that he was embracing you, not hiding behind you. He knew that he had gone too far, this was a major invasion of privacy and inappropriate to sneak behind someone without them knowing. But he was practically lovedrunk being this close to you, and he couldn't think of anything other than you. Would it really hurt if you knew he was there? You were already in the meadows, so you had to know that there were creatures that could be out there. It was really your fault for coming out here, he wasn't going to hurt you. He just had to hold your hand, if only for a second. Reaching out with a trembling hand, he threw caution to the wind, slipping his hand into yours. Never once thinking about how bad things were about to get. You jerked your hand away, shrieking and scrambling to your feet, whirling around to see what had touched your hand. The lantern was knocked to the ground and Tadashi's face was illuminated. He froze like a deer in headlights, his terror filled eyes never left yours. Your hands were brought up to your chest as you stared at the rabbit hybrid, equally afraid. Was he trying to hurt you? Hunt you? He was a rabbit, last you checked, those didn't eat people. But he was also a Yōkai, which meant you knew almost nothing about what he would actually do. He felt paralyzed, the only thoughts in his mind were "What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?". When you took a step towards him, his fight or flight instinct kicked in… They chose flight. He bolted from his spot, bounding for the forest. You stared as he didn't bother looking back, too scared to stop running until he was safely back in his He cursed himself for being so reckless, getting so close to you. He had completely thrown logic and possible safety to the side just to touch some stranger he could barely see. What kind of lovesick child was he? "You went out there again, didn't you?" The almost scolding voice of his friend, Kei Tsukishima, called from outside the den. Tadashi peeked his head out of the entrance, nose trembling from the dramatic situation. "I couldn't help it, Tsukki, they just…" ""Captivate You"?" Kei said, rolling his eyes. His fluffy orange tail swishing behind him. "That's what you said, isn't it? Every time you describe them, it's always the same thing." "I know, but… I can't really describe them beyond that. I know it doesn't make much sense, but I just know!" Tadashi protested. "Know what? Know that they wouldn't take the opportunity to kill you on the spot?" "Oh come on Tsukki, you know we get along just fine, they wouldn't shoot me." "Sure. Come back and explain it to me when you've actually talked to them and lived to tell the tale." Kei scoffed, turning and stalking back into the trees. "I almost got caught… Tsukki is right." Tadashi frowned, it was common sense that you didn't fall in love before a real first sight. But common sense wasn't making sense anymore, so anything was possible at this point. Even getting a complete stranger's affection, right? "This is stupid…" Tadashi muttered to

himself as he crept out of the treeline. He had no idea if he would see you again, but curiosity had gotten the best of him and he wasn't going to give up the chance to see you again. Tsukki could advise him against it all he wanted, Tadashi was a firm believer in love at first sight. (No matter how one sided this was) There you were, sitting in your usual spot. He hadn't scared you off after all, he felt relieved. But only slightly, he still had to muster the courage to try and talk to you. After all, you already knew he existed, so now he only had to make you just as in love with him as he was with you. Easy Peasy… Something odd that he noticed, was that you weren't looking up at the sky like you usually were. You were staring straight at the border of trees that lined the forest. Almost as if you were expecting something to come out. It was a little off putting, that was for sure. Were you looking for him? Was that a good thing, and you wanted to talk to him? Or did you have a hidden weapon? Okay… Maybe no hidden weaponry, no way you were that kind of person. Nobody who came out to look at stars would kill some demon they barely met, right? "Here we go…" He whispered to himself, standing upright in the tall grass to walk over before his confidence disappeared. "Or… Maybe not." He crouched in the grass again, opting to crawl instead of walk. Maybe it was because he could still back out, or maybe it was because it might make him seem friendlier. Either way, staying hidden until he absolutely had to come out, was far easier. When he had gotten close again, he didn't want to come out of hiding. He wanted to get your attention, but he didn't want you to see him. His prey instincts were kicking in and he was regretting his choice to confront you. "Hello?" You spoke… You had actually spoken. Out loud. To him? He didn't know that. "I know you're here. I saw you yesterday, and… I assume you're back now?" Were you just saying that? Or did you actually know he was here. You could have been bluffing, sure. But he had to say something eventually. So he may as well get it out now. "Yes. I'm back." His voice was quiet, but everything else was quieter, so he knew you had heard him. "I knew it." You had been bluffing… Your voice sounded too surprised to get a response. Had you been talking like that for the last hour? "How long have you been watching me?" Tadashi felt awkward now, he couldn't lie to you and say it was the first time. But he couldn't just tell you that he had been stalking you for months now. "A while then?" "No! Of course not!" He protested. "Then how long?" "Only a few months. That's all." He tried to make it sound better than it actually was. "A few months? Why? What were you even doing? Are you some kind of stalker?" "No! I'm not a stalker, I swear! I was only watching the stars with you. I… I like it here too, and when I saw you, I guess I got excited that someone else liked it too." That wasn't entirely untrue. There was silence, and he felt uncomfortable again. Had you somehow seen through his half-lie? Looking up, he saw the faint light of a lantern and your face. You were standing over him, looking down with what could have been amusement. "Y'know you could've just asked, right? I'm not gonna hurt you." You crouched next to him and he could fully see your face from here. His cheeks heated up when you set the lantern in between the two of you. "Sorry, I guess I was too scared." He muttered, staring at his feet and fidgeting with some blades of grass. "Of what?" "You… I know humans and Yōkai technically "Get Along" but everyone's still afraid of each other and I didn't really know you, and I didn't want you to think I was a creeper or anything and-" You placed a finger to his lips, interrupting his ramble. "Well you don't have to be afraid of me now. I already told you, I won't hurt you. And honestly, I was probably intruding on your stargazing place. This Meadow is more a part of the forest than part of the village. If anything, I'm the

creep." "No way! It's an in between space, you're not intruding, I promise!" He reassured, he didn't want you feeling unwelcome. "You're sure?" "Definitely! You're just as welcome to come here as I am." "Good to know someone else loves this place like I do." You smiled at the happy Yōkai. Truth be told, you knew he had been watching you for a while. You simply acted as if you didn't see him because you knew how jumpy Yōkai were. You didn't want to scare him off, so you simply ignored him. And when he had actually started talking to you, you knew full well why he was watching you. It was painfully obvious how obsessed he was with you. But for now, you would humor him. You had waited for him to talk to you, you could wait for him to confess his true intentions.

As for how you felt? You weren't entirely sure how to feel. But seeing as he wasn't very good at confessing anything, you had plenty of time to think that over. For now, you had someone to talk to, and that was good enough.

#Well aware this ending is shit...#Look #I TRIED #I dont write with other people's characters #Whatever #Yamaguchi Tadashi x reader #Fluff #Hybrid collab #Haikyuu fluff #AU

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connorandersons-blog · 4 years

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Kinktober day 11: Aphrodisiac, Convin

Heyo! This happens after day one, which you can read here if you haven’t! I don’t think its absolutely necessary but it will make more sense if you read that first.

Hope you enjoy!!

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Gavin made sure Connor was well fed. He wouldn't drink every day, no that wasn't necessary, but Gavin was very open to being bitten as often as Connor wanted or needed.

Connor would mostly bite him when they had enough time alone because no matter how many times Connor bit him, Gavin always wanted to fuck. Connor was sure he'd get tired of being biting, but after a few months he still sought it out. Connor swore Gavin wanted to be bit more than Connor wanted to bite him, and Connor was the vampire. Still, he would never say no.

Gavin had been beyond curious about The Society, and Connor shared as much as he could without outing anyone. Connor showed him his true side which had led to the two being so late that they just called in sick and took the day off.

Hank had sadly walked in on them in the bathroom, so now he knew as well. Hank had said if there was an emergency he'd give blood, but he definitely wouldn't sleep with Connor. The thought alone had Gavin's blood souring on his tongue. Now he had two humans he could get blood from if need be, but he definitely preferred getting it from Gavin. Not that Hank's blood didn't taste good, it was rather sweet-tasting in an odd way, but he didn't want to accidentally affect Hank in *that* way because of being bitten.

The two kept the secret of The Society between the three of them, and Connor didn't mind the questions. Most were from stereotypes which Connor would debunk. No, the fae were not small, no weres didn't have to turn every full moon but it did make it less painful. Witches didn't have flying brooms, and if they did they'd have to cast an invisibility spell on themselves when flying. Yes, sadly some of The Society committed crimes and that's why Connor was there, to begin with even though now he stayed because he truly loved his job and the people there.

Said job was beyond stressful currently. Another vamp had been controlling humans, which was a huge no-no in The Society. Connor could do it, was actually rather good at it, but he never did it on anyone. Well, not anymore. Before he would do it in small amounts to get access to the system to wipe records of The Society.

"Wait, wait, you can control people? Like," Gavin had brought his hands up and wiggled his fingers, doing the typical 'vampire walk'. Connor snorted and had to cover his mouth.

"Oh, nothing like that. You wouldn't even know I'm doing anything, it's more giving suggestions you can't ignore." He couldn't communicate telepathically, that was completely different.

"Do it on me," Gavin said, hands now on his hips.

"It's taboo in The Society," Connor started, ready to go into his spiel on the importance of human constant before snapping his mouth closed. He did have consent, Gavin had already given it to him. "Ok, I can, I'll make you do jumping jacks."

Gavin nodded and Connor took in a slow breath. He was actually going to control Gavin. He pushed the suggestion onto Gavin and chuckled as the man started doing jumping jacks.

He could see the brief look of confusion before Gavin was grinning. He hadn't controlled anyone after letting them know he was going to.

"Dude, this is crazy, it feels like it was my decision!" Gavin chuckled before Connor let him stop. Vampires couldn't control other vampires, and the fae had some sort of mind control as well. Those with magic often had some spell to have the same effect, but it was just as frowned on for them to use it.

Connor shook his head fondly at the memory, looking back over the case file. He could use his enhanced senses without Hank or Gavin's questioning now so they solved cases even faster. But this one was a bitch. Connor was going to have to try and find a rogue vampire who controlled humans into killing each other.

What was stressing him, even more, was the fact that Gavin wasn't at work yet. If it was a normal day he'd be a little less worried, but Connor was hungry and had fed, maybe a bit too much now that he was thinking about it. Gavin had said he was fine, he was great actually. But what if Connor had taken too much? What if Gavin was passed out on the ground?

The two had spent the night together, having become official a few weeks after the first bite. Before they had kept sleeping together until Connor confessed to having feelings that Gavin thankfully reciprocated.

With the paper in the file, mind kept going back to Gavin. He imagined him passed out on the ground, face pale and the bite opened. Gavin had been the one to ask for it to not be closed, wanting to be able and see it.

Connor bit at his lip, jumping slightly when he felt his fangs. Fuck, he was so worried he was messing with his fangs, bringing them in and out.

"Con, what the fuck is wrong. You've been looking at the same paper for an hour." Hank said, interrupting Connor's thoughts.

Connor covered his mouth, worried he wouldn't be able to control his fangs with his mind so preoccupied. "I, um, had breakfast with Gavin and he hasn't shown up. I'm worried I did something wrong and I may have eaten too much."

If Hank didn't get what Connor was saying, he'd be a shitty Detective. As it was he was one of the best and understood instantly. "I'm sure you did nothing wrong, but maybe text him?"

Connor hummed and glances at his phone. He had hoped Gavin would text him if he needed anything, but what if he didn't have the energy. It was already close to lunch break and he couldn't wait anymore.

Just as he was typing he got a message from Gavin.

From Gavin

At 12:47 pm

Help me

Connor's heart sunk and he leaped to his feet. "Shit, I have to go." He grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. It was a long trench coat, a more stylish version of what vampires wore in movies. Gavin had gotten it for him as a joke but Connor adored it, and Gavin admitted it looked really good on Connor, especially when the wind was making it billow behind him

"Is everything ok?" Hank asked, looking ready to get up too but Connor waved him to sit down. Gavin was conscious enough to send a text, Connor would help.

"I don't know, I'll let you know when I do." He jogged out of the DPD, before taking off into a sprint to his bike. You'd think a vampire would want a car with tinted windows, but Connor preferred his bike over anything, even when it was raining. He used his full speed, getting to his bike quickly.

He sped all the way to Gavin's, even running a few red lights. This was his fault. Gavin was probably on the floor, regretting ever let Connor drink from him. God, he even tried to make it feel as good for Gavin as possible. He fucked it all up.

He took the stairs up, knowing he could get to the floor faster than taking an elevator could. The door was still unlocked from when Connor left and he let his nose lead him to Gavin. But instead of blood, hate, fear, or anything like that, he smelled lust. Lust heavy enough to have Connor choking on it.

Connor pushed into the bedroom where the scent was strongest. What he saw had his breath being taken away.

Gavin was splayed out in the bed, the blankets were all pushed into the floors as we're the pillows. Gavin was completely naked, his skin and hair drenched with sweat, and there were multiple wet stains on the sheet.

Gavin whined, his hand around wrapped around himself and Connor also stared at a few sex toys that were thrown on the bed, some already clearing having been used.

Oh.

"Connor! Fuck, help me!?" Gavin humped his hand and Connor shed his jacket, laying it across the desk in the room.

He did go too far with the bite but in a completely different way than he had thought. Connor sat on the edge of the bed, not reaching out to touch just yet. He knew once he did he wouldn't stop and he needed to think clearly for a second. "How many times have you come already?"

It was definitely over five from the looks of it, which he felt a little guilty about. "Seven," Gavin managed to get out before whining and coming in his hand.

Connor bit his lip and watched with wide eyes. Gavin knew Connor could produce an aphrodisiac, but Connor was always there for it, making sure it didn't go past one or two orgasms. Connor hadn't meant to accidentally dose him, especially not this strongly.

"Ok, baby. You're a bit too far in for me to just stop it, but I can help you through it if you want." If he stopped it now the shock on the body would be almost paralyzing, but Connor could ease the pain and need a bit.

Gavin whined and squirmed on the bed and reached out to Connor, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.

"Gavin, I need you to verbally consent to this." They may be together but that did not equal instant consent.

"Yes! Yes, I want you to fuck me or for me to fuck you, please I need more. Hurts so bad." Gavin finally managed to reach Connor and crawled into his lap, hips already grinding down on Connor.

Connor gritted his teeth and grabbed Gavin's hips, trying to keep him still. "Shhh, baby. I've got you. I need to text Hank to let him know you're ok and I won't be coming back to work. Can you be patient enough for that? Then I can give you whatever you want."

Gavin mumbled and pushed his face into Connor's neck, nuzzling at it. Connor grabbed his phone and typed as fast as possible before tossing his phone away. He could read whatever reply Hank would send later.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dose you." Connor sighed, hands sliding up Gavin's back. To him, this was just another form of control and he only did it when Gavin asked. And Gavin had not asked for it this time.

"It's ok, it's ok, I want this, want you, love you so much," Gavin mumbled, and Connor froze. He shook his head, trying to get those words out of his head. This was just the aphrodisiac. They hadn't said I love you to each other yet, and Connor hated that it was forced out of Gavin like this.

"Shhh, Gavin, just tell me what you want? Want me to touch you?" He asked, letting Gavin hump Connor's still clothed thigh. He whimpered and Connor let his fangs out, grazing them over the bite mark that still hasn't closed.

Gavin's hips kept moving, grinding down quick and hard. Connor could feel tears on his shoulder and he wanted to wipe them away, to make everything better. "Please, I need to come. It hurts, feels so good though."

Connor shifted and grabbed the open lube, slicking up his hand before taking hold of Gavin. He starts slow, not sure how sensitive Gavin is. He obviously used toys and most likely came just from that, but he probably rubbed himself off the first few times, hoping it would go away.

Gavin whimpered and bucked helplessly into the hand, reaching back to slide two fingers into himself. Connor licked his lips and twisted his wrist just slightly. "Ah! Fuck, Con, Con, please!"

He'd need to take his own clothes off once Gavin came, knowing he'd have a few moments before it kicked back in.

He kept pumping, increasing in speed until he sunk his teeth into tense muscle. Gavin's back arched and he spilled over his hand, though barely anything came out. Connor worked him through it before gently laying him back down.

He rid himself of his clothes, tossing them to the side and moving back over Gavin. "Are you ok?" He mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

Gavin nodded, pulling Connor to the bed to cuddle against him. "Yeah, I didn't think it would last so long. I can still feel it."

Connor whined, guilt once again washing over him. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that and I should have been here for you."

"No!" Gavin says, quickly shaking his head, "no, I like it. I, fuck, I like it a lot. A bit too much." Gavin shifted slightly and winced at the stimulation. "I didn't realize how much it would hurt though, but still like it."

Connor hummed and rubbed gentle circles into Gavin's back. He knew once it finally wore off Gavin would sleep like a log for who knows how long, at least five hours. "Still, I should have had more control."

Gavin shrugged and buried himself deeper into Connor's arms, starting to trimmer. "It's ok, really. I just, ah it's coming back. Fuck me this time, ok? I want you to fuck me. Don't stop even if I ask you to."

Connor held him tightly and squeezed his eyes closed. "Remember your safeword, can you tell me it?"

"Ah, please, fuck me! It's bumblebee, bumblebee to stop." Gavin said and that's all Connor needed. He gently ran his hands up and down Gavin's thighs as it got worse. Gavin tried to jump the air, desperate for any stimulation but got none. "Connor! Please!" He begged and Connor leaned down, nipping at the softness of his thigh.

He took his time, spreading Gavin's legs even as they fell open without any resistance. "So beautiful, kitten. Are you already prepared for me? You stretched enough?"

"Please! I can take it." Gavin wiggled his hips and Connor grabbed his hips, no doubt leaving marks.

"Ok, ok baby," Connor mumbled, slowly pushing in. He was stretched but not truly enough to go in without any pain. Gavin winced but his hips kept rocking, pulling Connor deeper. "Fuck, feel so good on my cock." He pulled back and snapped his hips forward, sinking all the way in.

Gavin opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Connor kept snapping his hips forward, his own body trembling. That was one of the odder side effects. Once he touched the one he had dosed it was like he himself was affected. It was to keep them both connected and going, letting Connor feed as much as he wanted.

His whole body started to feel like it was starting to burn, something heavy deep in his stomach. "Fuck! Fuck, god, Gavin. So tight and hot, so hot. Laid out like a beautiful slut, but all for me." He rambled, hiking Gavin's legs up to rest over Connor's shoulders.

He must have hit the right spot because Gavin actually screams this time, whole body rocking with each thrust. Even the bed was creaking with how hard Connor was pushing into him.

The wet sound of flesh on flesh, skin hitting skin filled the room along with the smell of smell and sex. Gavin whimpered, hot tears on his cheeks as his eyes squeezed tight. He was whimpering and whining, shaking his head.

"Stop! Stop, Connor it's too much. It hurts too much, please stop!" He sobbed, his hands scratching down Connor's arms.

"Ow, fuck!" Connor hissed but didn't stop. He kept hitting the same spot over and over again, tears starting to come from his own eyes. The feelings were all so intense and his skin burned.

"Please stop! It's too much, please Connor." Gavin kept whimpering and Connor shook his head. He wouldn't stop unless Gavin used his safeword, and he hasn't used it yet.

"So close, you close too?" He asked, his hips jerking out of time now. He shifted his weight and took Gavin in hand again, trying to pump him in time with each harsh thrust.

Gavin cried out, back arching off the bed completely. He spilled over Connor's hand again and Connor was easily close behind, fucking his seed deep into Gavin.

He panted as his hips slowed to a stop, still leaning over Gavin. He kept clenching around Connor trying to drag out more.

Connor fell onto the bed beside him, once again pulling him into his arms. "There we go, baby. How are you feeling? How much longer?" His own skin was now covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Fuck, god, I'm so tired. I think I think one more time. I want to sleep, so tired. Feels like a fire in my stomach." Gavin whispered, his breathing slowing down.

Connor hummed and ran his hand over Gavin's stomach, the heat of his skin radiating. "Doing so well. How do you want it next? Maybe I can use my mouth if you want. Or I can fuck you and make you come by my bite." He'd do anything to finally relieve Gavin of this. His fangs were still out, not having been able to push them back in while being so overwhelmed.

"Anything, I'm just, you. I'm glad it's with you, don't want anyone else." Gavin smiled up at him and Connor felt himself melt.

He brushed a few stray hairs out of Gavin's face, pressing their foreheads together. "I don't want anyone else either. We'll have to talk about what you said, but I want you to know that I… I feel the same."

He loves Gavin, more than he thought he could. He never wanted to fall in love with someone human, someone who would only live for so long. He knew his heart would be broken eventually, whether it be from death or breaking up. He never wanted Gavin to leave his arms.

Gavin hummed and leaned up to press a kiss to Connor's lips. It was soft and gentle, so different then what had just happened. "Yeah, I'm more clear-headed now, but I meant it." The words were mumbled on Connor's lips, tongue quickly darting out to flick at Connor's fangs. "All of you, even your pokey bits. Especially your pokey bits."

Connor chuckled and reached up, gently playing with Gavin's hair. Connor never thought he'd end up falling in love at all, he thought he'd stay single. He was happy to, it wasn't like something was missing. He was a whole cake, icing and all, complete. Getting to be with Gavin was like someone giving him a free drink. Not absolutely needed but so completely wanted.

"And I for you, especially all your soft bits." Connor smiled, pressing in for another kiss. He didn't bother putting his fangs away, he knew Gavin loved it. Connor was glad to be able to be himself without any fear or doubts that it would make Gavin run away screaming. It definitely made Gavin scream, but in a very good way.

Gavin's face contoured into one of a mix of pleasure and pain and Connor tried to soothe him by small gentle kisses. "Fuck, it's coming back," Gavin mumbled and Connor nodded.

"I know, baby. Ok, one last time then I'm going to get you some water and food, which you will drink and eat as much as you can. After that, you can sleep and I'll be right here." Connor shifted slightly, pulling out just enough so he can rub himself to hardness. It wouldn't take Gavin long, not after coming so many times like this.

Gavin whimpered but nodded, his cock hard without even having been touched. "Fuck, god damn," Gavin muttered and Connor could only nod.

He had definitely dosed him quite a lot but he could have done more if it was on purpose. His venom was strong enough to get someone going all day long if need be, but Connor hadn't done that. If Gavin was in pain from half the day, then it would be agony for a full one. He knew he could probably even dose someone enough to get them going for longer than a day too.

"Alright, are you ready? When you need to come, I can bite you if you want, get you over the last ledge." He gave a grin to show off his fangs and Gavin's hips bucked up. So that was a yes. "Do you want it rough or slow?"

"Fast, please I need you!" Gavin said, reaching out as Connor positioned them again. Connor took his hand and laced their fingers together, pressing a soft kiss over his knuckles before snapping his hips forward without warning.

Gavin's whole body lifted off the bed as he screamed but Connor kept going. It would be better to get this last one over with as fast as possible. Once Gavin woke up Connor would make sure he had pain meds and anything else he'd need.

Connor bit his lip, drawing his own blood (which was actually Gavin's but whatever) as he kept up a brutal pace.

Connor wasn't too shocked when Gavin started babbling and begging to come so quickly. He leaned down and sunk his teeth in, using his venom to calm instead of adding any more of his aphrodisiac.

Gavin shook and Connor knew he was coming even if nothing came out of him. Connor rocked his hips forward a few more times before coming himself, not releasing Gavin's neck yet.

Gavin went limp in his arms and Connor hummed happily, pulling his teeth out and lapping over the bite marks. "There we go. I'm going to get you water and food now, ok? I'll leave the door open so you can still hear me." He'd walk around playing the kazoo if that's what Gavin needed, but the man simply nodded. He didn't even wince when Connor slowly pulled out, his eyes almost glassy.

Connor was quick in finding food, fruit Gavin had picked up from the store yesterday. He grabbed two water bottles before going back to the room. Gavin was still laid out on the bed and poking at his next where Connor first bit him.

"Hey, baby. Is your neck ok? I can close that one too if you need." He crawled into the bed, helping Gavin sit up before handing him the plate of food. He scarfed down almost all of it in a blink of an eye and Connor couldn't help that happy rumble at that. He hadn't talked to Gavin about it before, but vampires could take mates. It was a long ritual but one that was also quite beautiful and magically binding. When he saw how happy Gavin was and how well he was eating it seemed to spark something in Connor. His mate.

"No, I like it. Thank you for the food." Gavin mumbled between bites and sips of his water. Connor sat beside him, gladly watching him eat the rest of the food and down both water bottles.

"Good boy. Do you wanna clean up now or later?" He reached out and interlaced third fingers again now that Gavin's hand was free.

"Later, I'm really fucking tired. You'll stay with me, right?" Gavin asked, a yawn slipping out of him.

Connor scooted them down, pulled Gavin to his chest, the happy rumble coming back full force. Gavin didn't seem to question it, but he did press a kiss to Connor's collar bone with a grin like he knew something. "I'll always stay with you."

Gavin nodded and rested his head down, listening to Connor's unusually slow heartbeat. It was only a moment before Gavin was fast asleep, body completely relaxed.

The rumbling didn't stop even as Connor himself fell asleep.

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seymour-butz-stuff · 3 years

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A real estate agent might call our apartment in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston cozy with a sun-drenched bedroom. The reality is that it’s a small, cheap, window-heavy garage conversion. But it’s ours. We’ve filled it with art, good food, books, craft supplies, so many plants, dog toys. It’s our home. Now it makes my skin crawl, a reminder of how fragile these comforts often are.

There are blankets and rugs on the floors to protect feet and paws from the cold wood. There’s a pile of extra coats and sweatshirts in one corner. My girlfriend and I draped a sheet over our headboard so we wouldn’t have to touch the freezing metal and hung a camping lantern from our out-of-commission ceiling fan. Most of the apartment outside the bedroom was made useless, lost to the cold. We each keep a pile on our nightstand—a hat, gloves, and headlamp—in case we need to get up in the middle of the night and venture outside the bubble of precious heat we’ve created. None of this was comfortable, but it wasn’t deadly. At least not for us.

In Harris County, which houses Houston, at least 4 people are dead from hypothermia as ice and snow covered the streets and temperatures plummeted dangerously low. Counting the surrounding counties, at least 30 people are dead from weather-related incidents, The Washington Post reported on Thursday night. That number is sure to grow as we get a fuller account of the destruction. With each new death, Texans were reminded that asking for the basics was out of bounds. We want our lights to turn on, we want our homes to be habitable, we want our faucets to give us safe water.

The state turned away from us; we turned toward each other. Mutual aid funds populated every major metro area in Texas, giving away money for hotel rooms, food, gas, and the massive energy bills that will follow the disaster—no questions asked. Volunteers with donated water and all-wheel drive helped our elderly, unhoused, and disabled neighbors move to safer places. These groups—Houston’s alone has distributed more than $22,000 to date—became a lifeline.

It’s a beautiful thing born of an ugly thing. We shouldn’t have to donate money to keep us alive because the government is incapable of or indifferent to helping us. But every once in a while, you can see the indifference reveal a deeper contempt. Then-Colorado City Mayor Tim Boyd, in a perfect marriage of content and medium, wrote on Facebook that, “No one owes you are [sic] your family anything; nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this! … The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING!.”

Boyd started his tirade with, “Let me hurt some feelings while I have a minute!!” It’s a succinct enough expression of the modern Texas Republican Party’s beliefs as any I’ve seen. They see policies as a way of exacting pain on people they despise. When their cruelty is spelled out plainly, you’re the one who is too sensitive. They could never be the ones in the wrong. The ability to stand by that position is Trumpian, but predated Trump: Never apologize and never retreat.

The reality of a changing climate is that we will only become more reliant on each other, and we must decide what kind of world we’d like to live in as it burns—or freezes. In an interview with Texas Monthly, energy consultant and UT Austin research assistant in smart grid and bulk electricity systems Joshua Rhodes said while it’s theoretically possible that we might have avoided this week’s energy crisis, there’s also tangible reason why it happened: powerful people made choices.

“Could we have built a grid that would have fared better during this time? Of course we could have. But we could also build a car that could survive every crash you could possibly throw at it, but it would be very expensive and not many people would probably be able to afford it,” he explained. “At some point we do a cost-benefit analysis of how much risk we are willing to take. We have never had weather like this thrown at us, so it’s not surprising to me that we don’t have infrastructure that can support it.”

Rhodes continued, “We may decide now as a society that we do, but that’s a conversation we’re going to have to have with our collective self, if you will.”

But until such a time comes—and with the knowledge that the state would not provide aid to those who desperately need it—we planned for the storm to the best of our ability. My girlfriend and I were lucky: We had a well-stocked hurricane kit, snow pants from some camping trips we’d taken, more than enough blankets and coats, non-perishable foods, cash, and every lidded pot filled with water while we had water pressure. We only lost power for 36-hours, and it was after Monday—which was when it got down to 14 degrees.

But your own good luck stops mattering after a while, as your anxiety about your loved ones takes over. My grandparents, both in their 80s, lost power on Monday morning and spent the night huddled in layers in one room of their house. They would continue to do so for the next two days. Those days felt frantic. My texts to my abuela would go through green instead of the usual blue because her phone was off. I had no idea when it would turn back on; I just had to pray.

The closest warming shelter to my grandparents didn’t have transport for the elderly and information felt hard to come by—I still couldn’t figure out if they were open overnight. Joel Osteen had opened his megachurch, but getting them there would require freeway travel, which was itself extremely dangerous.

My parents live just outside of Dallas, near the airport, about five hours north of Houston. North Texas was being hit with much of the same conditions as the south, but was closer to the cold eye of the storm. They’re older, both diabetic. My mother is recovering from surgery. They set themselves up in their living room, next to the fireplace. They live at the base of a valley—all hills, nothing flat. Leaving could be deadly. Maybe they could make it to the Hyatt connected to DFW, but again that required freeway travel. I felt paralyzed: Inaction was the safest course of action.

It was hard to know what to do. We only had access to social media flooded with unverified reporting; checking the homepages of The Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, and the Texas Tribune grounded us. (It also taught me that I need a solar or hand-crank radio.) Instagram became surprisingly helpful; Austin Fox affiliate morning anchor Leslie Rangel had an incredible rundown of the terrible conditions in central Texas. Chronicle reporters filed an impressive liveblog, seemingly answering every question we had about our pipes and when the weather would let up. Despite trying our best to conserve energy on our phones, it was our only lifeline and our battery banks became precious.

By week’s end, everyone in my family had their power back. Things were thawing. We had been spared. Spared by the fact of enough disposable income to buy those hurricane supplies. By the timing of our power outage. By bodies that were able to carry us down stairs and easily move in the cold. By jobs that shut down for two days and let us focus on surviving.

Not everyone had luck on their side. Texans were already hurting because of the pandemic. At least 41,000 people filed unemployed due to Covid-19 this week. Houston only passed an eviction grace period this week. Plus, to state the obvious, homes in Houston and along the Gulf shores are not meant to protect from this type of winter weather. Even if you were only marginally affected by the pandemic, but lost power in Galveston, you were in real danger.

If I sit with this governmental abandonment too long, it makes me seethe with rage. I feel it radiate at Ted Cruz leaving us for Cancún and John Cornyn’s culture war bullshit when power was already out and Rick Perry saying people would want longer blackouts to stop regulation or Greg Abbott blaming wind power and the not-enacted Green New Deal for the blackouts. I feel this rage at the long line of Republican governors and legislators who value markets over human life.

People across my state are dead. They deserve the truth to be told about their deaths. Their government did not adequately prepare them for a climate-change disaster. Their government did not adequately prepare itself for this climate-change disaster. And there will be more storms. We’ve seen disasters that the state has turned away from, never learned anything like a lesson from the loss of life or the scale of suffering. What’s more upsetting is that Texans who have lived through climate disasters support solutions. In 2020, the University of Houston found that three years after Hurricane Harvey, people whose homes were devastated by the 50-plus inches of rain dumped on southeast Texas overwhelmingly support flood mitigation efforts, but only 52 percent are “somewhat” or “very confident” in local officials to prevent future flooding trauma. Rick Perry doesn’t know anything about his state.

The most frightening part of the experience was coming out from the fog only to realize that the machine to forget was well oiled and running. As the climate crisis worsens, we will continue to see these “500-year” weather events. What happened this week was extraordinary. It was a catastrophe. How we were treated this week was unacceptable. How Texans were treated during Hurricane Harvey was unacceptable— was also a catastrophe. How Puerto Ricans were treated during Maria was unacceptable—another catastrophe. But our political system is built around forgetting, of powerful people who would like us to turn away from the things we’ve lived through—trapped in our homes, shivering—and turn away from each other. I keep hearing that I’m living through extraordinary times, and I guess that’s true. But we know this won’t stay extraordinary for long.

#structural racism

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megashadowdragon · 4 years

Text

jaunes semblance has 7 aspects to it one for each color of the rainbow

There’s the color you think he is, the color he lives up to, it’s a lot of stuff. -Monty in Forever Fall commentaries which implys that yellow which jaune means is not his true color theme

the symbol on jaunes shield is a rainbow and the french word for rainbow is arc en ciel and jaune has 7 sisters and there are 7 colors of the rainbow

so it fits that the arc familys theme is supposed be having each members colors to one of the 7 colors of the rainbow but jaunes color is all 7 of the rainbows colors jaunes aura is white

which is the combination of all colors on the visual spectrum

consider jaunes base aura color as white ( I have to point out when pyrrha used her semblance her aura turned black

( when her aura color is red in its base state

)

and his activation of his semblance as a prism where depending on the ability he switches between seven colors of the rainbow (

so I think that while jaunes aura when he amplifies someone elses or his own aura is yellow

and it changes when he chooses a specific ability which fits with the paladin/cleric/support role

2nd semblance immunity/blocking : he and the stuff he is using as a conduit for his aura is immune to certain semblances which is meant to put a sort of status effect on him or manipulate his body like telekinesis or polarity ) or to put it another way if it begins to affect him/ if the person trys to use it on him this ability nullifys it and works passively for him where itreacts when someone uses their semblance on him unless its not meant to hurt or mess with the person like rens semblance ( given the trust jaune has in ren and knowing what rens semblance is when ren uses that on jaune he would subconsciously let it happen and not have the semblance immunity goes off for it reacts to his desire or sensing a threat ) ( even if he is unaware they are doing it ) after he awakens the ability ) or the stony glare which is meant to paralyze an enemy one they look into their eyes or emeralds hallucinations ( but neos illusions would still not apply since its not meant to directly affect him so semblances like ruby or yang wouldnt apply) or semblance nullification ( maybe) and the semblance to steal someones semblance or

think of it as him putting up a shield against effects of semblances of that type or uses of semblances of that type meant to hinder someone or indirect attack etc)

and he can put up this shield for other people (in games there are spells to prevent debuffs

the 3rd ability the ability to undo the effects of someones semblances like for mercury he could restore mercurys semblance. or if yatsuhasi wipes someones memories jaune could undo that in rpgs there are moves/spells to undo / cure status effects on someone like ( blind, petrify, stun , forget etc )

4th semblance ability to sense someones semblance being used to react to it ( a passive one ) and when he gains it the semblance blocking will activate depending on the type of ability it is )

5th aura constructs the ability to make constructs of aura like wings ( vine suggested extending his aura to jaune when he was falling I thought what did vine mean by that and then I came up with this ability because how would extending his aura stop him from falling or being grabbed )

and jaune having angel wings would make him an ARCangel (a term for angel of high rank)

it would allow him to create constructs of his aura like cinder using her semblance to make weapons ( and this will make it so that pyrrhas polarity wouldnt work against jaune (and I like that idea ) if he created weapons out of aura like cinder creating glass weapons and it will be fitting if his semblance grows to allow him to take a page from his enemy cinders

what if in the case of say jaune losing an arm he will be able to create a prosthetic made of pure aura that will work like a normal arm and after he made it it doesnt cost him any aura maintaining its existence it only costs aura to create it once he makes it it stays in existence without using up any aura (and he can choose to undo his creation at will with 0 aura cost) so while cinder has a grimm arm which would allow her to absorb the maidens power but it has a weakness of cinder being unable to use her aura on it to protect it for grimm are beings of darkness which lack aura because they have no souls jaune will have a arm made of aura where after creating it ( and its actually even stronger than his original arm ) he is able to use his aura on it to further protect and strengthen the blows dealt by the arm (like how when mercury blocked yatsuhashis sword strike it with his legs the fact that they are metal means that he doesnt need to cost as much aura to protect from his hit) and the force by the things the aura arm can bring .

and is able to cover his scars with aura construct

and what if jaune is able to make it so his fake arm made out of aura look and feels like a real arm like hisoka from hunter x hunters texture surprise

“ Hisoka can apply his aura to any smooth, flat surface, such as paper or cloth, and manifest imagery on it to change its appearance and texture for deception. He can replicate over one thousand different textures. He has tricked Nen users of the Spiders’ caliber with this ability, with none of them realizing he had used it, either by sight or by touch. Against Kastro, he utilized Texture Surprise to hide his wounds and confuse him. It can also be applied to pure aura, such as Hisoka’s Bungee Gum, to alter his own appearance. Since no aura is detectable once Texture Surprise is active, whether through eyesight, touch, or extra sensorial perception, its effects are also visible to individuals unable to use Nen, it is safe to assume Texture Surprise is a Conjuration ability, which is further supported by its requiring Hisoka’s direct action to be dispelled and by a verb used in its description.

.“

so jaune could use his ability to make it so his fake arm made of aura will look and feel like a real arm and cover up someones scars and make it look like the person didnt have any scars on their body to the point that it would feel like real skin. and after that ability is used it doesn’t cost any more aura there is no aura cost to maintaining the aura constructs existence or making it feel and look like something else.

(and being able to do this adds to jaune being salems good counterpart for she is able to give people grimm limbs which she has a connection to so jaune in contrast will be able to make limbs made of aura ( an extension of the soul)

and will be useful if someone loses a limb and they dont have someone who can make a prosthetic

(though he most likely will have to first master his aura (and will probably go to ren for training to master his aura)

6th : aura drain or aura consumption to allow him to permanently increase his aura ( if the whole theory that he is salems descendant and is part grimm is true given the theory that grimm killing humans is what lets them grow and get stronger etc ( due to humans having aura and being created by both god of light and god of dark ) if it is true and aura being sent into a grimm

or aura absorption ( think of it like a spirit ball type thing and he could do it even if someones aura isnt unlocked and they have to let him do it )

7th aura disruption or telepathy to speak with his team and form strategys ) or semblance replication to replicate someones semblance (and this is only meant to work with semblances that dont mess with someones mind or put status effects on them like yangs semblance or noras semblance or blakes semblance and bestow it upon someone temporarily to increase their fighting capabilities like imagine what ren could do with blakes semblance or rubys and in order to give someone a replicated semblance he would have a line with them to be able to do that ( he would have a line/connection with them to be able to give someone a replicated semblance ( and )

basically the gist is that jaune will have 7 abilitys one for each color of the rainbow to fit with the paladin or cleric role to increase the strength of the party and prevent debuffs or cure them of status debuffs

if you have a better ideas for jaunes other abilities tell me ( and it isnt the first time we saw a semblance which has multiple abilities ( weiss and her glyphs )

and while the arc family is meant to have a color off of one of the colors of the rainbow jaunes color theme is all 7 colors of the rainbow ( which is brought up in wizard of the oz

basically

arcpaladin-jaune . tumblr . com/post/189229474953/dustypotion-me-realising-jaune-never-had-a

#rwby #rwby theory #rwby theories #rwby meta #jaune arc #rwby jaune #jaune rwby #rwby jaune arc #jaune arc rwby #rwby theorys

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moonlightstars16 · 4 years

Photo

Chapter 8 ~ Inner Voice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The light of the warp pad lit up and soon the trio returned. Immediately Steven began to quickly stride out of the room. Connie still in his arms as she felt and heard him lowly growling, almost like an animal. His grip, even tighter than before, slightly starting to ache from the little blood flow.

"Steven?"

"Dismissed Pearl!" He spoke while bursting through the doors, the sound echoing through the rest of the castle.

"S-Steven I-I can-"

"Shut up!" Flinching slightly she gulped and bit her lip. They finally stopped when we came to a waiting room of sorts. Setting herself down on the couch before gripping a nearby chair, tossing it to the ground, letting out a loud yell as he did so. She gulped and bit her lip watching him breathe deeply and running his hands through his black curly hair. Though she was annoyed by him carrying her and the scene in the meeting before that, Connie couldn't help but feel a sort of empathy towards him. Remembering the few tears he cried from Blue's power. It was obvious he suffered a great deal.

"You were right...about the Diamonds. I shouldn't have doubted you...I'm sorry" She began, as empathy for him grew more and more. However she couldn't fathom why exactly. Especially with how he treated her. Steven's eyes shot up immediately, not expecting any sort of apology like this. With a deep sigh and eyes closed he regained a more calmer state.

"You heard him. Didn't you?" Stating less of a question and more of a statement. Connie turned her head slightly in confusion until she remembered what he meant. The voice that spoke when they were in close contact. She nodded while he opened up his suit jacket, unbuttoned his vest and shirt. 'What. The. F-' Just enough to reveal a hidden gem embedded in his abdomen. Around it was patches of pinkish red scales against his skin. "He was the one communicating with you."

"I-I don't understand-"

"Of course you don't" He said harshly, adjusting his clothing before looking back up at her. Closing his eyes briefly he breathed a deep sigh. Calming his tone to something more gentler. "This gem belonged to my mother, now it's mine. And so formed half of myself. Sort of like my other half so to speak. We co-exist together, in ways he's still me. Two halves of one full person." Connie blinked, trying to grasp what he was saying. Learning a bit of this from Pearl under the "forbidden rules" of gem-kind.'Talk about Jekyll and Hyde. ...And over explaining a tad. How can he be explaining and yet still make it sound confusing.' Running her hand through her hair, she cleared her throat.

"So are you two a fusion?" He laughed for a brief moment before shaking his head.

"I see you've learned much from Pearls teachings. However you are mistaken. For fusion to work you need two full gems- two complete beings in order to fuse. Not two halves like he and I." He paused before looking at the lit fireplace. "You heard him because when you touched my gem, he connected with you."

"You mean when you grabbed your pet back there?" Her bitter tone apparent, standing up, as her brows furrowed and hands formed fists at her sides. Though she did feel his gem (through the fabric separating them) when she was pressed up against him. It wasn't hard to miss, however not uncomfortable.

"I only did that, for you're protection."

"My protection?" Steven rolled his eyes and faced Connie completely, his cape swishing behind him for a moment.

"You're not an idiot, Connie. You heard the implying dislike of you being a member of my court from White's tone. To her you had no purpose, deal or not humans serve no function in there world." His words suddenly gained much more depth. He wasn't doing it out of spite, but to make sure she wasn't...disposed of. Appearing that his words affected her, he continued. "You have done well for the first meeting." Connie was surprised by his sudden compliment, nodding her head quickly when she realized the silence went on for too long.

"Thank you" Walking to her side he gently touched her cheek. Connie inhaled sharply as they froze momentarily while he put his hand down.

"It was a miracle she didn't harm you." His words spoke volumes as the closeness between them became more and more apparent. Then putting a hand behind her head and waist, he pulled her close. Stroking her hair as she felt her head and hands and rest upon his chest. Her arms enveloped between his. Confusion blurred the lines of what she already knew about him. He had blood on his hands... Murderous blood! And yet there he was willing to give it all up for humanity- no for her? His actions were conflicting as much as what she felt for him.

"Bring him back to the light...."

Suddenly he let go, backing up a tad, gripping his gem slightly bending over in pain. The glow coming from his gem was evident. Connie also heard the voice, but for now it wasn't important as the apparent pain he was feeling. Stepping towards him she was about to lay her hand upon his shoulder.

"No...!" He said gripping her wrist slightly, though not as tight. Hearing her gasp from the shock. He then saw what he had done and slid his hand down into hers. Shaking slightly from being in pain. "Leave...me..." She wanted to ask more, wanting to help him. But this seemed much deeper than a gem problem. No matter his past actions, she couldn't leave his side like this.

"You're in pain-"

"I'm fine!" He shouted at her whilst letting go. Catching her gaze his eyes bore into hers as if begging for her to comply. Connie never saw this side of him before. Nodding she backed away, heading towards the entrance. Once the door shut behind her, she leaned against it and slid to the floor. Thinking about what she had just heard and witnessed. 'If what he is saying is true....could it be that he's crying out for help? His gem half is still a part of himself.' She then remembered the look in his eyes before he hugged her...before she left. 'Those pleading eyes....'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night Steven sat in his chair right in front of the fireplace. His mask laying on the small table beside him. His eyes watching the flames dance before him; rubbing his temple as his inner self, his gem side, raged war beneath the surface.

'You're beginning to like her more than you think.'

'Shut up!'

'She can help us, bring both of us out of despair.'

'We are perfectly fine!'

'No we are not'

Flashes of blood upon his hands haunted his memories. They we're prominent in his nightmares no matter how much he tried to repress it. Once again they came as he groaned in frustration, trying to make it stop and failing to do so.

A beam of white pure light aimed for him as he was paralyzed in fear. Suddenly the image of one fused gem, from a Sapphire and a Ruby, jumped right in front of his line of vision. He barley had time to call out before it hit her. She cried out in pain, her visors vanished as her three eyes looked at Steven with love and sadness.

"Garnet!!!!!" he cried out but it was too late. Suddenly a hit to the back of his head caused him to see nothing but darkness. When he came too, he was in a bed of sorts, and standing next to it, a certain heart-shaped gem.

"S-Spinel...w-what happened?" her eyes were downcast as she revealed two...shattered gems of a Sapphire and Ruby. Steven gasped and began to cry out in pain. Spinel pulled him close and held him as he continued to cry out in pain. Once he had physically stopped from dehydration, Spinel gave him a small glass vile filled with a green liquid.

"Shh, here this will return your strength. You will need it soon I promise." Without any hesitation he shakingly took the glass vile, lifting it to his lips and drank every last drop. The room began to spin as Spinel began to sing softly, running her fingers through his hair, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Steven reached up and touched his huge scar, as the vision of White making him bleed for the first time right before he let Garnet... Then the beast from his past appeared. The images where too much to bear as he began to scratch his scar. His hands, normally covered by gloves, bore a similar corrupted scaly pattern with fingernails sharp and black. He scratched so much until fresh blood appeared.

'STOP! We can fight this!'

'The Pain...it's too much!'

'I know! I can feel it too! But we can't do this anymore! We have to let her help us...'

Soon he slowed down to a stop and took his hand away from his face. Seeing the blood drop from his fingers down to his skin.

"Oh Steven, you hurt yourself again huh?" Spinel's voice spoke as she stepped out of the shadows with a tray of the same elixir from his memory. The look in Steven's eyes conveyed almost no emotion as fresh blood dripped from the side of his face.

'Don't. Drink. That.'

'I- I need it....'

'NO we don't!'

Spinel put the tray down next to his mask. Letting him grab the drink as he downed it all. While she got a wash cloth and a bowl of water to clean his wounds.

'NO!!! Please! I can't take it-'

But it was too late as the elixir took it's affect and silencing the gem within himself. Spinel by his side cleaning up the blood that spilt from his face.

"There there, all cleaned up, now how about we take that anger and use it against some one else, oh say perhaps the human zoo?" Her suggestive and manipulative tone were strong and evident in her voice. But he knew the games she was playing. Even if he was in this state.

"Nice try Spinel" he spoke making her smirk disappear. "Now leave me alone before I call lion upon you." Sighing she got up and did so, still the elixir she gave him had weakened his powers considerably, it wouldn't be long before the Diamonds would realize that she is stronger than him and more deserving of being a ruler and not a toy.

After all, her gem is a perfect cut and in this world, perfection matters. Besides he couldn't resist his hidden desires for long. Each little dose was another step in bringing his true self out. Tonight was the final push over the fine line of an edge he walked. Smirking she walked out. hid amongst the shadows and awaited with baited breath.

'The truth from within you will come out... you'll remind yourself just how much of a monster you are.'

Steven groaned in pain as he walked towards his bed. A more comfortable position to be in than the chair. No matter the pain, he had a bet to win. He wasn't going to go down without a fight. But then his nightmares began again.

~~~~~~~~

A scream...a plea for help....a yearning for freedom......

Steven heard it all and yet couldn't care less. I'm fact caring was hardly in his veins. Not even a hint of mercy was there as he raised the weapon in hand. Watching and listening to the sweet sounds of a cracked whip. Unfortunately, gems don't bleed.

But humans do.

Lion couldn't have all the fun now right? That would be selfish of him. Especially since he wanted so much to see the suffering in their eyes. Drops trickled down skin into a pool on the cold stone floor. The site of blood is what he craved, and yet despised at the same time. It was almost as if he was a vampire. He certainly had the sharp fangs, well more monstrous than vampiric, yet he wasn't dead. Nor had the power to actually suck blood among other things. However the matter he loved it all.

A few strides closer, biting his glove and pulling out his beastly hand, he scraped the back with his index, middle and ring finger. Bringing it up to lick against his contradicting tongue. You see he can control his healing powers. But if he could heal, he certainly can destroy.

The smirk of ecstasy he felt when the taste of blood flooded his senses. He took sharp and deep breaths, smirking as he listening to the whimpers and painful moans of his victim. The sounds were glorious.

Chuckling darkly, he stepped back and raised his whip once again. Only stopping briefly in between so his victim couldn't be numb to it. Red was all he saw, red was all he desired to see. His victim spewed blood from his mouth, scratches became gashes and consciousnesses was something lost.

Was there a bet he desired to win? Oh yes of course. But where was the fun in breaking the rules a little? Besides this human was already here, it didn't count. At least not to him.

But Steven didn't care, all he saw was the blood. All he saw was his desires unfold before his eyes. After awhile he let the whip drop to the floor, seeing that the victim was nearing death. 'Oh we can't have that now can we.' So with a smirk he licked his hand, pressed it against the poor human and watched as they were revived like new.

Only to restart his sick game.

Over and over

And why stop there? For a gem their fate wasn't so satisfying to watch, but he craved it all. Picking up a few amethyst gems from the human zoo, he began to squeeze them. Tighter and tighter, hearing the cracks brush against the shards until they snapped like a rope. Steven began to laugh, inwardly until it became louder and louder.

Maniacal and full of twisted joy. No longer was he feeling the emotions of man, but a beast. The scars of his past grew more and more around him as he blacked out. Eyes shining and a full on red glow surrounded his aura. Not reddish-pink, not pink, red like the blood of his victims.

Hours passed, blood washed away from his hands, and a hungover type feeling rang in his head. Aimlessly wandering the halls as if the past few minutes were blacking out of his mind. Looking down he saw the scars, of what appeared to be gem shards and a whip handle, on his uncovered hand. Quickly putting his gloves back on before anyone could see. Not wanting to relive the shame White forced down his soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early the next morning, Connie was awoken by a loud roar outside her balcony double door window. Looking out towards the window she gasped upon seeing Steven's head lion. Gulping she froze not knowing what to do. Lion tilted his head and soon pawed at the doors making it wiggle and squeak. Connie couldn't help but be amused at the situation. 'Why your just like a cat aren't you?' she thought giggling. Deciding against fear to open the door. Lion almost knocked her down as he licked her face. A much friendlier look than he had previously shown. Laughing she gently pushed him away.

"Okay okay boy down." Lion then walked away and came back with clothes in his mouth. A blouse, a corset/bustier that is worn over a top, leggings and a midsize skirt along with knee length boots(and socks). 'So your a lion with fashion sense.... Why am I not surprised?' He dropped them in front of her then nudged it closer with his nose. The begging look in his eyes made her sigh and laugh. "Okay okay, since you are such a fashion expert." she whispered a bit more knowing others would be asleep. Going into the bathroom she quickly changed and stepped out. Lion then gestured for her to get on his back.

"Where are we going?" Lion growled in annoyance than fear. "Okay geeze hold in a minute Mr grumpy" she said sighing climbing onto him and gently grasping his mane. "Now where are we going?" Lion pushed the door open and began to walk down the halls until he reached another more hidden in the shadows door. When they went through and the door slammed shut, Lion began to leap down the winding staircase. Connie yelped and leaned forward trying to keep her balance.

Soon they found themselves in a large room filled with lit candles. The light revealed some sort of hidden armory filled with weapons. Some which hung on the walls looking worn down from battles long ago. As she looked around a faint sound of clashing swords and someone grunting echoed from a large room. As they hid behind pillars and shadows, she gasped before quickly covering her mouth at the site.

Pearl was dueling a hologram of herself. Her battle moves were strong yet elegant as she came head to head with her opponent. She left no room for anyone to take her down(which only confirmed she was doing it with the purple gem, Amethyst, on purpose). Once again she was mesmerized by her sword-fighting. Her stamina, strength and intelligence to outwit her opponent was beyond any level of skill Connie had ever seen before.

She got off Lion to get an even closer look amidst the shadows, still behind a pillar. Her eyes glued to the duel that commenced. It was as if she was apart of a great battle from long ago. The ghost of a great warrior seemed to have overtaken her. Her look and body posture so intense and focused. Soon she swung her sword as it pierced her hologram self, watching as it lowered the sword in hand.

"Defeat accepted! Do you wish to battle again?" Pearl removed the sword, taking deep breaths before shaking her head.

"Not today"

"Very well then" with that she was gone leaving just the real Pearl alone.

"You can come out now Connie." She gulped and stepped out of the shadows facing her with a mixture of guilt and wonder.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I can tell by how you were breathing." She said before putting her sword in her scabbard. "I see a certain lion has brought you here?" one glance at lion made him blink and then put his head down slightly in shame; though he still tried to look fierce(and failing since he only looked really annoyed).

"He didn't mean any harm." Connie defended as Lion stepped out beside her nudging her arm. Making her gently pet his mane.

"I know, he does things like this from time to time." Gentling her voice as she recalled some not so nice memories. "It's his way of coping from obeying Steven's orders... Before the incident Steven endured, he and lion were almost inseparable. Like trying to redeem himself from the horrible things he has to do..." Connie's heart sank and hugged lion tight.

"What incident?" Pearl snapped out of it immediately upon hearing her question. Shaking her head out of her daze.

"It's...in the past..." waving her hand she cleared her throat and stood up straighter. "Now you know where I train. I imagine you must have a lot of questions." Connie nodded eagerly, wanting to know more as her curiosity sprang back up. "Well it's a long story but in short, thousands of years ago, I was apart of a the great gem war that began era two. Which was on earth so I knew how to sense the difference between gems and humans. hence why I was able to know it was you behind the pillar."

She paused before continuing while looking around the room. "I suppose I continue to train like I do for sentimental reasons. My way from coping from the war and what happened after...." Painful memories and tears formed in her eyes threatening to spill. She blinked them away and took a deep breathe felling the handle of her sword against her fingers. "Now you know why I do this."

"Could you teach me?" Connie asked with a hope in her voice. Pearl shot her head straight up as she looked at her.

"You want me to do what?! Why?"

"Listen, Pearl I'm so sorry of what you had to go through. I can never understand that kind of pain." She paused in a way to give silent respect before continuing. "But you have an amazing skill! I've never seen anyone so talented in this than you, well anyone that is real."

"Well thank you, Connie, but I still don't see why-"

"Pearl, I'm light years away from home. In a place where I am quite literally out of my element and while I can learn all about this world; if I don't have a way to defend myself, then I'm a sitting duck!" She then lowered her voice. "I know I can handle myself Pearl. I can do this. If you became my teacher I can do more than just take notes. I can show I have a purpose in Steven's court. That I'm worth more than what they think. If I am supposed to be representing for Earth, I have to show that I'm willing to defend it! It's still my home after all. I want to protect it until it's final moments, with all my heart. And be there to defend humanity as we move to a new era for us. Please, let me prove it to you."

With a smile and tears filling her eyes, and one hand over her chest, the other wiping away her tears that had fallen from her touching declaration and desire to help. Sighing she pulled out another sword and scabbard, handing it to Connie. Just a temporary fix to see if she can really hold up to her word. If so she, then she will be on her way to earning her own sword. She accepted eagerly as she attached the scabbard to her body.

"Show me your potential in your actions. Prove your worth." With that said Connie's eyes transformed into a determined look as she faintly remembered her fencing lessons. Pearl looked her over and smirked slightly. There it was. The untapped, yet undisciplined potential.

"Good but remember everything begins with your stance"

#shatteredbloodsufau #evil steven #steven universe #connie maheswaran #steven universe future #steven and connie #stevenxconnie #connverse #fanfic #au #garnet #amethyst #pearl #greg universe #spinel #the diamonds #pink diamond #pink steven

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gayregis · 4 years

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ok also. i don't think geralt's into pet names BUT he's really just like. thoroughly physically affectionate. like he's not good with words but he knows very well just how and where his bf wants to be kissed and touched and what makes him feel good and what makes him feel appreciated both in terms of sex and in just in general and in turn jaskier is very vocal abt how good geralt makes him feel or abt how much he really appreciates him and his company and how he loves him bc They Know Each Other

in a little sacrifice when geralt begins tripping over his words around dandelion and essi... he was shortcircuiting from the pressure of having to speak in front of two poets. ... the thing is that geralt has the capability to be incredibly eloquent, but it’s only when he’s not thinking about it, and also usually when it’s about something he scorns, or a hateful situation (the nature of humanity, impending doom, the dangers and woes that ciri is facing...) ... when he has to speak about good things and love, he kind of becomes reduced to “you make me feel good in my heart :)”

i know that this isn’t the ship on the table right now, but, i mean, it took geralt four books and like what, 10 years, to tell yennefer he loved her... i feel like with dandelion, there was less, ahem, drama in their relationship (they don’t really on again/off again, it’s more of a mutual everlasting thing) so it could have gotten to that point sooner between them, but it also has to be considered when exactly it turns romantic or geralt Realizes that he’s not only capable of love but legitimately loves dandelion ... not just in a friend way...

(personally i understand the appeal of a ship that has love at first sight, but i really like the “love at second sight” dynamic in which they realize they’re important to each other right off the bat but only really realize their feelings later... also i think falling in love / realizing that you have fallen in love with your best friend is a common gay/bi experience...)

so i like to put the estimate of when geralt Realizes actually exactly at the point where dudu changes into dandelion in eternal flame. because at that moment geralt realizes that all he wanted to do when faced with dandelion is hold him, talk with him, be with him somewhere quiet, peaceful, and safe... that he loves him, even if he is wearing that stupid gaudy blue kaftan... that all he ever feels towards dandelion is this desire to be with him, spend time with him, protect him from anything that may come their way... dudu and geralt in this moment both were expecting geralt to raise his sword, geralt was already reluctant and never wants to harm innocents, but after dudu shifted form into dandelion, any kind of drive he possibly could have had for unsheathing his blade in an act of violence just got knocked out of him, blew away like the wind. (also worth noting that right before dudu shifted into dandelion’s form, he was in geralt’s form, and that only made geralt actually more OK with using violence than he was with dudu in any other form... geralt’s self-loathing knows. only a few bounds.)

the reason why i bring it back to this time geralt realizes he’s in love is because of that moment where all he wants is to just sheathe his sword, rush forward, and hold dandelion in his arms... feeling horror at the fact that his sword is glistening in his hand. he doesn’t know what to say, actually, in this moment. the dialogue becomes a monologue as dudu continues speaking in dandelion’s voice and form, and where geralt is supposed to repond, it just says: “geralt nodded reluctantly.” “the witcher said nothing.” “the witcher said nothing.” i interpret this scene as him basically being paralyzed with feelings, especially after a shard of ice where he and istredd went toe-to-toe and was told he can’t experience love because it’s a biological impossibility. he’s still thinking about this question throughout eternal flame, and it comes to a head in this scene, because what else, other than love, stayed his blade, paralyzed him?

geralt’s situation relating to his feelings and love are intensely complex. it’s not the simple “oh i have feelings for you but i’m too abashed to say them uwu,” but rather “i was born to be emotionless so i could fill a societal role and specific caste laid out for me but your presence in my life has changed everything and now i think i might be able to feel love, and i feel love for you” ... so yeah he has difficulty verbalizing all of that. especially when he hasn’t had a traditional upbringing with the presence of fairy tales and stories of love told to him since childhood, he’s missed out on a lot of “normal” societal things like this so he does not have a framework to understand his feelings through! no one told geralt that when you want to spend night and day with someone, sleep in the same bed, talk to them endlessly, and you feel like you can be completely honest and truly yourself and seen for who you really are around somebody... that’s love!

before dandelion’s presence in geralt’s life, the idea of pleasant touch was really foreign to geralt. from contracts, he felt claws and teeth and maybe the sewing of a wound afterwards. from other contact with other humans, he felt nothing except the ocassional contemptous spitting or throwing of stones (legit what it says in the last wish). the witchers in KM seem to go for that masc shit (he and eskel hug for an imperceptable moment, blink and you’ll miss it) and i can imagine witchers roughhouse for fun and stuff like that, but in the outside world, with no one who could ever understand who he is, what he is, what role he was meant to play... it’s a very isolating life.

i’m stealing an entire paragraph from this other post i wrote a while ago: “tbh there was probably an entire first week of their friendship where geralt flinched or became immediately alert when dandelion got close to him to speak, touch his arm in jest or gentle motion, or grabbed onto his hand, forearm, or sleeve in anxiety, because geralt just…. wasn’t used to anyone touching him, even in a passing or platonic manner.” geralt wasn’t used to kind touch, but he has highly trained mind-body coordination. i think in one part of tower of the swallow in a chapter prelude, witchers are called a “caste of warrior-priests” which just makes me think of the monk class in D&D... which can be a good analogy. geralt is NOT just a sellsword. his profession goes entirely much deeper, it’s literally what he was genetically altered to perform. this is why he has such a difficult time separating himself from his work, because it almost cannot be done. witchers do undergo extensive training, and especially individuals like geralt who are focused on ethics and morality take time to reconcile the physical and mental effects on their body. it’s not really just “guy with sword feels things physically bc that’s just how he’s wired,” but geralt has really tuned his soul and body together as a result of both his profession and coping with being forced into his profession.

so i think when dandelion introduces this concept of good touch to him in addition to the idea that he can be loved / deserves companionship, it’s natural for geralt as he becomes more in-tune with his emotions to feel them more physically. i ask whomstever is reading to take their mind out of the gutter bc this part at least is a nonsexual context, because they can put it straight back into the gutter later, since this post does involve dandelion.geralt’s emotions are practically on the same level of chronic pain as his shattered leg later on in the series. you know when you feel despair and grief in your chest, the tingling sensation of love in your arms and shoulders, the bristling anger on the back of your neck... it’s along those lines.

so when he’s feeling emotions very heavily, and can’t begin to craft the statement beginning with, “so, i’m not supposed to feel emotions, but...” he just acts with his body. this can actually be seen in all the times he saves dandelion, saves yennefer (debatable b/c she’s pretty badass; it’s more like he helped her), and when he just runs to ciri without even needing to say anything in something more.

in his worst times, geralt’s a man of philosophy and surmising and indecisiveness... like in baptism of fire, regis says that the cardinal directions have no meaning to him, as long as he is going somewhere... he paces around, and also like in baptism of fire, the song about the ornery wolf... look how the wolf dances in the holt / teeth bared, tail waving, leaping like a colt (...) look how the wolf is dragging his paws / head drooping, tail hanging, clenching his jaws (...)” ... but in his best times, he’s a man of action. he acts when it’s most important.

ok time to put your head back into the gutter now! i’ll put the nsfw stuff under a cut to save all of your eyes

this part can be treated like an add-on to the post. wow, all this writing just to say geralt doesn’t suck at sex... ok.

well in terms of geralt x dandelion i think that after their first time together, dandelion accuses him of lying about how many people he’s fucked, because ‘it can’t possibly be that small of a number’ because geralt wasn’t awkward. he was very emotional as to be expected, but also we know he doesn’t tend to show emotions on his face, so the intense rippling feeling of love & desire he feels when dandelion pushes his hair back behind his ear flew under the radar. which is good in geralt’s perspective, because he strongly feels that it would be embarassing if dandelion knew how much he’s affected by him. honestly similarly, dandelion who’s not embarassed by much is at first apprehensive to think about his and geralt’s relationship, because usually he can just leave whenever he feels like it... but with geralt, it became different, geralt was no fling, and realizing this very early on in their relationship was alarming until dandelion did what he usually does and just drops it and remains happy.

honestly you could make the argument (not outright STATING it... i’m not being h*rny on sideblog...) but you could argue, that geralt and dandelion have bomb ass sex because both of them are canonically good in bed, weirdly enough. geralt is pretty giving and loving in his sex scenes, even when it’s not even romantic and rather a crazed passion, like with fringilla. it’s canon that he’s a proponent of oral sex b/c he defends the concept in discussion with regis and also gives it canonically, so idk what to really say here except geralt’s a real one and sapkowski had a vision i guess for his main character.

another important thing mentioned in geralt’s sex scenes is that he’s pretty intuitive with pacing. in the last wish, he and yennefer take their time and have quite a soft and loving experience, and in lady of the lake, he and fringilla experience this more sort of intense scenario. but i think these differences are meant to speak to the differences in love and relationships between the pairings... while geralt and yennefer experience an all-consuming love of mind and body, geralt and fringilla had more of a ... bad decision. this makes us have to headcanon for what the pairing of geralt and dandelion would be like, i’m inclined to say it would be a lot like geralt and yennefer because the thing about geralt and yennefer is that they find intimacy in each other that they’ve yearned for their entire lives, and geralt and dandelion have a lot of that similar energy of finding something in another that you’ve always longed for.

especially towards the beginning of their relationship, i feel like just their abilities to be vulnerable are what drives them. of course, having emotional sex is a fireworks-type event for geralt, while for dandelion it’s more just like, 3 PM on a tuesday afternoon, so that affects their dynamic a lot, again especially in the beginning of their relationship before geralt met yennefer and villentretenmerth, because geralt really was just not sure of himself. dandelion’s very sure of himself so he kind of doesn’t realize that it’s the beginning of an Emotional Journey for geralt and not just something casual like eating brunch together. geralt becomes more confident over time though and that’s good but he still gets just regular pangs of gay love that stops your heart momentarily, from being ... in love...

as for actual dynamic during i think it would be funny and good to keep them both in-character and interacting as they normally do. cue humorous arguments with no vitriol or consequence: “stop moaning in musical scales, it’s ruining my concentration” “no— fa so!”

#ask #gerlion #homoseksualizmy

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kingdomofthelogos · 5 years

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The Pursuit of Hope & Liberty

The concepts of liberty and hope are often missing in modern dialogue. Our culture is far more concerned with talking about suffering and drawing attention to issues than it is liberating people from such places of chaos. Part of this is because powerful people have built their public influence on their ability to point at problems. They do nothing more than point at problems for two reasons: they would lose their relevance if the problems went away; also, this is because they have no power to address the true problems that affect the world. Sin is the root cause fallen creation, and sin runs deeper than what can be easily seen. If people are to ever find true hope and liberty, then it must come from God in the form of cleansing sin, for it is the curse of sin that causes our eternal souls to rot and our world to perpetually move down the chaotic line of entropy. Thankfully, Christ Jesus came that we might find true hope and liberty.

True liberty means that you are free from that which is destroying your eternal soul. When Jesus heals a paralytic He first forgives the man of his sins, and it was necessary to do so if Jesus was to bring liberty to this man. Being paralyzed is tragic, but it pales in comparison to the eternal decay of the soul caused by sin. All of our bodies will experience problems if we live long enough, but such illnesses can only harm the body. It is sin which will endure long after the body is gone. Therefore, if Jesus is a merciful God desiring to liberate people then He must free the man from sin. This cleansing is something only God can do, and Jesus desires that we have liberty and hope.

Sadly, there are many who reject the eternal hope and liberty that is found in the Gospel. As we discuss the hope found in the Gospel, I want us use three stories in Matthew chapters 8 and 9 as reference points. The first is when Jesus cleanses a leper, the second is when Jesus casts out demons, and the third is when Jesus heals a paralytic.

Matthew 8:1-4

8:1 When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; 2 and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (NRSV)

Suffering is intrinsic to life in fallen world, but we were not designed to be creatures of suffering. God did not design us to be creatures of suffering. This was not meant to be our story, and it was not meant to such a profound part of life that the entirety of our lives were shaped around our unique sufferings.

When this man comes to Jesus, he is making a profound question. He is asking something very personal to himself, as well as speaking for every one of God’s creatures who has hit the moment in life where the suffering is too great to bear. He comes before his Lord and makes this statement, “if you desire it, you have the power to make be clean.” The text contains two prominent words in Greek, “thelles” and “dunasai.” Thelles means to wish, to desire, and to want something. Dunasai has the same root as our word for dynamite, and it means that you have the power to make something happen.

When this creature comes before his Lord, he states the truth of reality: If the Lord desires to cleanse this man, He has the power to do so. In this moment Jesus liberates the man with a simple response saying “I desire it,” or in the Greek it is the single word “Thelo.” God wishes that we have liberty.

The man is then sent on his way to make the sacrifice, and to start a new life freed from leprosy. Jesus does not spend his time talking about how someone needs to bring justice to the lepers; instead, he does something no man can do and liberates the man, this precious creature, from its miserable prison and sets free to live a new life that is not defined by leprosy.

Matthew 8:28-34

8:28 When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. 31 The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32 And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. 33 The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. 34 Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. (NRSV)

In this story Jesus does not consult the persons whom the demons possessed. However, that does not mean that he does not care for them. These creatures are in such a horrific state that they do not really have any control over what they say or do. There is literally something else inside of them taking control over their body. This is not how humans were designed to live. God designed people in His image, that they would have will, and the ability to make choices of their own volition. Even though these people are not able to voice their pain, Jesus knows what is best for them, even better than they do. God knows what we need better than any of us. Our lives are far more complicated than we are able to analyze them, but God, who looks at us with omnipresence, knows our every need.

For whatever reason, the townspeople in this text do not want the hope and liberty offered by Jesus. They would much rather have demoniacs in the cemetery. Jesus casts out the demons, and the townspeople want to cast out Jesus. The come to Jesus begging Him to leave.

There are many people in our world who don’t want righteous transformation to come into their town. They don’t want people to actually liberated from their suffering. It is more convenient for them to pretend their designs for society know how society should look rather than God’s. The truth is this: God knows what we need, and only God can fix the problems of sin.

God did not design people to be possessed by forces that shut down their minds and make them hideous monsters. Only God can liberate people, and any solution we have for oppression in our world must begin by submitting to God’s authority to forgive sin and realize that all people, including both the oppressor and oppressed, are sinners in need of cleansing. All hope and liberty must begin with the repentance of sin and holy transformation into what God designed us to be, not what we want to be. Without this basis, any solution is doomed to failure.

Whenever we do not start with this premise, we find that we are townspeople begging Jesus to leave, because we think we know what is best for society. This is what a society without God looks like. It has some people oppressed, and some living more comfortably, and those who live comfortably beg the power of hope and liberty to leave. They beg the hope and liberty of Jesus to leave because they think they know better.

Matthew 9:2-7

9:2 And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” the then said to the paralytic, “Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” 7 And he stood up and went to his home. (NRSV)

Creation was not meant to be a place of suffering. The fall happened as a result of people deciding they could do better at determining good and evil than God. Pastor Amanda Sparrow, presented a very intriguing angle to the story of Adam and Eve. It was not that God did not want humanity to have any knowledge of good and evil, but that God wanted to sit with them in the cool of the day and teach them of as they matured. When they consumed the fruit bearing the knowledge of good and evil, they broke away from God’s design.

Whenever people think they know what is good better than God, they are setting the world up for suffering. No matter how good they believe their intentions to be, if their actions do not line up with the will of God, then they will add suffering to the world. Now, one of the beautiful ironies of history is that sometimes God’s will is carried by people in spite of their own intentions, for such was the case with Jonah.

The scribes in this text think they have a solid grasp on good and evil. Yet, God the Son is standing before them giving liberty to a man and they think it is blasphemy. In spite of their best intentions, the scribes had wildly misdiagnosed the situation. Moreover, the scribes are so absorbed in their understandings of good and evil that they cannot even comprehend the liberty being given to this man. The scribes, with their highly educated understanding of religious law, cannot comprehend liberty. It is worth emphasizing that their education is not in any generic notion of law, but in the religious law. The very people considered to be experts on morality could not discern freedom from blasphemy.

God did not design people to be paralytics; furthermore, the all-seeing eyes of God know that there is a curse even worse than paralysis: this is the curse of sin. Jesus is teaching the crowd an important lesson in this moment. If people are to find real liberty, than it must start with their soul. No matter where people were at when they met Jesus, they must have their sins forgiven and find the holy transformation that comes from God. No single man, collection of men, or any human institution in the world can provide the liberty that Christ Jesus can, for none possess the power and authority needed to do so.

An Absence of Hope & Liberty

Part of the reason that liberty and hope are missing in modern dialogue is that the driving forces in our culture have figured out that it is not easy to elevate people out of suffering. Our culture has taken notice of the fact there are differences between people, and the sufferings people endure in life seem to be too great for some people to overcome. People who believe they have good intentions look at the sufferings in our world, and decide the only reasonable solution is to level the playing field and try to make it so that all people experience the same outcomes in life. The problem with this is that people are not God, governments are not God, and if people do not willing submit to the cleansing of their sins then the only possible way to level the playing field is to reduce us down to our most carnal nature of suffering and sin. To restate this more compactly, since no person possesses the power to raise people up, our culture has determined that must do what stick together in the desperate moments of life.

Sadly, the unspoken conclusion of this sort of culture is that it remains in desperation. This is a culture without the Gospel, and it is a culture without hope and liberty, two things which necessarily must come from God. Hope and liberty must come from a power and authority greater than our own, and it must be arbitrated from a viewpoint free of human limitation.

God did not design us to be creatures of suffering. We were not designed to be creatures who identified ourselves by our sufferings and desires. God wants us to have liberty as creatures created in His image. There is no liberty without the law, as Charlton Heston says after receiving the Ten Commandments. This is not obvious to people who think that they know better than God on how to deal with good and evil.

One of the things that God wants to liberate us from is bondage to our own will and our own desire. This does not mean that we become mindless hulls, like the people possessed by demons in Matthew 8, but that we have our minds transformed away from the corrupting thoughts of sin and towards the righteous state for which they were originally meant. Sin corrupts us, and often people engage in activities that they resent. Sin blinds us from clarity.

Imagine if I were to open up a book and start reading the technical details of certain items design. Say I have something with 13 keys, 14 springs, 12 pads, 5 rings, 26 studs, some wood, cork, and glue. If you have no context, nothing to tell you what the words mean, you would likely find yourself overwhelmed very quickly. However, if I start by saying I have the technical details of a clarinet, this might all make a bit more sense. But even saying that may throw people off, because some people are unfamiliar with clarinets and others who are familiar with clarinets would say “you don’t have enough parts” because they assumed I was talking about a modern clarinet and not an old albert system clarinet. All of this turns into a mess quite quickly. Some don’t know where to start, and others know enough to criticize the details for not being sufficient. In any case, if one does not have clarification as to what they are dealing with, the situation can be very difficult. Having clarity does not make you a mindless drone, having clarity allows you to see the larger picture.

God tells us who we are, what His creation is, and how we are to live. All people are capable of missing the mark if they do not begin with God. Some are too smart to see the big picture, because they think they know better. Others might be so wrapped up in their desires, or their sufferings to see the big picture, but in the end it does not matter, because we are all sinners in need of cleansing.

Jesus does not intend for us to stay imprisoned by the sufferings of life. Rather, He came to us as one who was fully God and fully human to teach us how to live and to liberate us from the curse of sin. The curse of sin is eternal, and it is the root of all other problems. Governmental laws do not stop sin, they only give a means for adjudicating those who have broken criminal code. The only antidote to sin is the cleansing power of Christ Jesus.

#Sermon #Nazarene #Christian #Pastor #Holiness #Church of the Nazarene #Jesus #Liberty #Hope #Freedom #Salvation #Faith #Prayer #agatha christie

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notreallyuseless · 5 years

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Who’s left to trust (Part 13) END

Previous [x]

The next days went by in a flash. At first glance, everything had gone back to how they were before the whole ordeal with Anti. The house had been cleaned up and fixed, badly if you asked Chase whose body was full of scratches from all the chair he broke. Jack was still locked up in his room, Henrik kept telling the others not to disturb him as he was still recovering from his coma. Jackie and Henrik went back to leaving the house at ungodly hours once again, one saving the city and the other saving the people. As for Jamie and Marvin, they both went back to their hobbies, destroying the house a little bit more with every magic stunt they could think of even through all the lingering injuries they had. But if you looked deeper, things weren’t as bright as they were.

Three days after Anti had disappeared in thin air and everyone had thought that everything was only a bad dream, that the harsh reality fell on them. They were each in their room, Chase mindlessly scrolling through Jack’s channel to jog his memory on who he was exactly when a blood-curling scream made him drop his phone on the floor. Was Andy back? He jumped on his feet and ran toward the source of the scream, now mixed with sobs. He threw open the door to find Marvin kneeling on the floor, looking intently at his hands. The magician turned slowly his head to look at the newcomer, tears rolling down his cheeks. He dragged himself further from Chase, squeezing his hands against his chest.

“Don’t...don’t get near me! I might hurt you again!”, cried Marvin, still trying to get as far away from Chase as possible.

“It’s OK Marvin, you won’t hurt me... Just take deep breath, whatever it was, it was only a bad dream.”

He could still see Marvin’s hand trembling and fear in his eyes when he took a step closer the magician. He crouched not far from him but also not too close that he could jump to his throat. Trust was a scarce thing recently.

“What did you see?”

“I...I saw Anti again. He... He alone in a room and there was... there was you you. I’m not too sure why you were together. It didn’t seem like you guys were fighting. I tried getting closer but... I was paralyzed.”

Marvin took a shaky breath.

“I couldn’t do anything, Chase. I swear, I tried! I just wanted to reach out and get you out of here but I... just... couldn’t...”

Knowing that there was more to this story than what Marvin had say so far, Chase decided to sit on the floor in front of Marvin and placed a cautious hand on Marvin’s knee.

“What happened Marvin?”

“I’m not sure... You took a step forward and the moment your foot touched the floor, you crumbled to the floor. It was like your soul had left your body, Chase.”

Chase scooted closer to Marvin and removed his hand from Marvin’s knee to his shoulder, side hugging him.

“Like I said, it was only a dream, Marvin. Anti’s control on you, and me, is gone and Henrik is alright now. You don’t have to worry anymore. Try thinking of something else.”

“I’m trying, I promise. I just... I think with all that happened and all the hallucinations I got of you being controlled by Anti is really messing with my head.”

“You see? Your brain took the recent events and mixed them all together to mess with you!”

Chase squeezed Marvin’s shoulder a little when Marvin placed his head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, never talking, just listening to the other breathing. Everyone was on edge, so it was a blessing to have a moment to relax close to Chase, even if Marvin could feel how tense Chase was. He could only hope that things would get better.

But it was only the beginning.

After that night, half of Chase’s night were spent on the floor of Marvin’s room with a weight on his shoulder and the other half were only a fuzzy memory for him. He could hardly remember what he did each night he woke up in his room. The few times he saw Henrik, he’d ask him about his memory loss, but Henrik would always answer the same thing.

“It’s a side effect of all the time Anti wiped your memory”, he said.

But it only happened at night.

“Your drinking problem doesn’t help. You should stop.”

But he did stop. Since Anti had left, Chase never drank a single drop of alcohol. Moreover, the very mention of tea made him feel sick and whenever he saw a bottle of whiskey he’d start hyperventilating and screaming for help. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell that to Henrik. Maybe he was right, and he was so drunk that he couldn’t even remember drinking it. But it never helped the feeling that was growing inside of him.

He still felt like a stranger in the house, like someone else should be here instead of him. He didn’t belong here. Chase knew he had lost all memory of his past. Nothing the others could do or show him made him remember. It had happened once that Marvin had show him a picture of his ex-wife and kids. But he felt nothing. Not even sadness at seeing a part of his life he lost. He just wanted to break something. These kinds of things meant nothing to him anymore, he wasn’t that person anymore! It only took him a few days to find the box filled with photos of him and his “family”. It only took him 15 minutes to get rid of them all. Jackie had tried to stop the fire, but it had already burned most of them.

The others didn’t know but Chase would sometimes catch them glancing at him with a look in their eyes, like they were tired of trying to help him to no avail. Chase understood, if he was in their situation, he’d have stop caring long ago. They still tried to spend time with him though. There was a kind of sadness behind their eyes, but they still laughed and smiled while being with Chase, like in the past. But sometimes, the truth would appear behind the cracks in their masks.

Jamie seemed to be the one the least affected by the last weeks, but it was only on the surface. He stopped making sounds all together, stopped tapping on the walls wherever he went, stopped walking with shoes indoor. He’d appear in rooms without warning, which didn’t please anyone. He didn’t mean to scare the others, but if he stopped making sound, maybe they would forget about him, about his betrayal. Marvin and Jackie had told Jamie again and again that they weren’t mad at him, since both him and Jackie had made deal with Anti, but he still felt responsible for harming the others. Nonetheless, he was the one who spent the most time with Chase, never stopping to try a hundred different things to jog his memory. He was restless and Chase both loved it and hated it. He acted like nothing had happened which made Chase feel like things would go back to normal. But one time, Jamie came into his room. He had knocked on the door, which meant that something was bothering him. Chase looked up from his phone and gestured for him to get closer. They both sat next to each other on the bed for a while, none of them making the first move. Finally, Chase had enough of the silence. He needed some answers.

“How...How did you guys get rid of Anti’s corruption?”

Chase’s knowledge on sign language had disappeared with his memory so the only way the two of them could communicate was by writing. Jamie had started walking around with a small notepad in case he had something to say. By what the others had told him, Jamie’s handwriting was normally neater but the fact he had a broken arm for a long time without treatment made his arm more sensible. So, Chase tried to communicate with him not often so that his arm could heal better.

“Henrik used the entirety of an antidote he spent months working on. He’s still angry at himself for not making more, well, that’s what Jackie told me.”

Chase nodded at Jackie, a ghost of a smile on his face before he went back to look at his hands. It didn’t make sense. The whole bottle on him? But he remembered the bottle rolling next to him when he woke up. It couldn’t be this one...right? He swore he saw it full. He was lost in a spiral of thoughts and doubts until Jamie placed a folded piece of paper in his hand before leaving. It took Chase a few minutes after Jamie had left the room to unfold the paper and read the messy handwriting of Jamie.

“I think Jack has never been in the upstairs room.”

He tore apart the message before letting it slip between his fingers. He never felt compelled to tell the others about his discovery. He didn’t feel the need to, they would find out one way or another.

As for the others, Jackie still tried to be the hero, the one who would help everyone at any moment. But Chase had caught him one time doing circle in his room which had turned from a bedroom to a hideout. The walls were filled with newspaper cut-out, pictures of people and maps of the nearby cities. There was even yarn from various color connecting one thing to another from wall to wall. Even if it was dark in there, Chase was able to decipher a few of the newspaper title and photos. They were almost all about crimes or suspicious thing. And on most of them, written with a big red marker was Anti’s name. Over and over. So, it wasn’t hard for Chase to realize that the reason Jackie was nearly never home was because of his search for Anti.

The same went for Henrik. He became a ghost, almost never talking or looking at the others. They could only catch glances of Henrik since he spent half his time in Jack’s room and the other half out of the house. They understood, he was trying to help as much as he could, and he had to make a new cure for Anti’s corruption since he used all of it on Chase, they said.

But even with knowing about how they all felt right now, Chase didn’t feel anything. He just felt numb, like a piece of himself had disappear after Anti. Nothing his friends could do or say made him feel human. He felt like an empty shell, being dragged left and right to act a certain way. He started being good at pretending emotions. Joy when Jamie played board game with him. Somewhat anger when Marvin would break something. Sadness when Henrik would talk about all the sick kids at the hospital. Shock when Jackie would say all the crazy stuff going around in town. But the thing was that it wasn’t like Chase to feel nothing. He was known as the caring type! The father! The silly happy guy... He could feel nothing but frustration in those moments. He was a shadow of who he used to be. He stopped watching the videos about himself. It only made him feel worst looking at that man and knowing that he could never truly be the person the others wanted.

Finally, one night, Chase have had enough. He had stay indoor for way too long and he felt restless. He had to do something, go out, leave this place for a few hours to clear out his head. He needed some distance from the others. He needed to see faces different from his. It was his lucky night though. Jackie had left an hour ago, an emergency happening in a nearby city and Henrik was, like usual, missing from the house. As for Marvin and Jamie, they were both curled up on the couch, half-asleep, half watching the romcom playing on the TV. It didn’t take a good reason for leaving with the two men, way too dazed and sleepy to stop him. He shrugged on a jacket and left the house without a second glance. The moment he stepped foot outside, the cold breeze blew into his face and he sighed. There was nothing better than this to feel refreshed and relaxed. The streets were practically empty at this hour, Chase didn’t mind. He thought he needed to see other faces, but he realized he just needed some truly alone time.

He walked for a good hour, passing a few people here and there but the streets stayed silent. He had to stop at one point to tie up his shoelaces when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at his reflection in the windows of the closed electronic shop. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, but he felt a weight settle in his stomach. He squeezed the left side of his head, a headache slowly making him see spots in his vision. He decided that maybe it was time for him to go back home and call it a night. His walk did help him a lot, clearing up his head and taking deep breaths to relax. He started his way back home, his headache losing intensity but still irritating. Those things weren’t new to him, but it still bothered him a lot. Henrik had given him some pills to take to help with that, but it always slipped his mind to take these.

About twenty minutes later, Chase still hadn’t got home. He didn’t know how, but he was pretty sure he got lost on his way out. He didn’t feel lost, but he had no clue where he was heading now. It was like his feet had a mind on their own. He wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t for how much his head was hurting him right now. A few minutes later, he finally stopped in front of an apartment building. It looked normal but Chase felt like something big was hiding in there. The thing was, he didn’t know what. He felt torn inside. He wanted to go back home, curl up next to Marvin and Jamie and sleep the night away but at the same time, he wanted to go inside the building and maybe find the answers or even, dare he say, get some of his memories back? Curiosity got the better of him and before he even realized, he was already going up the stairs, his feet echoing around him. One second, he was putting his feet on a step and the second after he was standing in front of a door. He didn’t waste any second wondering how it happened before he placed his hand carefully on the door handle. When he twisted it, he heard familiar voices behind the door. It only pushed him to open the door faster.

When Chase stepped into the apartment, the voices stopped talking. He took some tentative steps forward, looking left and right in case someone would jump at his throat. He was trespassing. His search for the voices came short when he entered the living room. Anti was sitting on the table, his legs dangling off the side of it, facing toward Chase. He smiled at him which Chase didn’t even acknowledge. He was more interested on the man sitting in one of the chairs, facing the other way. But he didn’t need to see his face to know who he was. He took another step and the other man looked at him, raising his cup of coffee toward Chase. What were Henrik and Anti doing here, together? Why were they here? It didn’t make sense. It didn’t add up. Jackie’s clues all led to Anti being in another town. Henrik was supposed to take care of people at the hospital. Did Henrik lie to them to see Anti? Did Henrik always lie to them? In a useless attempt at stopping his throbbing headache, Chase doubled over in pain, squeezing his ears between his hands. He just wanted this to stop.

But it didn’t. He heard a chair screeching near him, way too close to his ears for comfort. He could hear Henrik and Anti talking about a way for him to stop hurting. Soon enough, voices started saying stuff in his head, voices resembling a lot like Marvin’s or Jackie’s. He could feel the headache coming back in force, the voices growing louder and louder. Why wasn’t the pain going away? A few tears rolled down his cheeks, he couldn’t deal with this pain anymore. After Chase had come to term with the fact he was dying on the floor of Anti’s apartment, his headache disappeared, and those annoying voices were drowned out by static. The static he remembered hearing when he woke up, surrounded by the others. The static he so much missed. He didn’t feel pain when he was hearing the static. He could faintly hear Henrik and Anti talking in the distance again, but he didn’t mind their voices. They weren’t loud. They weren’t painful.

Maybe if he stayed here, he’d no longer feel pain.

He stood up slowly, looking at Henrik and Anti in front of him, both smiling at him.

He sighed in relief.

Maybe if he stayed here, he’d finally feel at home.

___________________________________________________

There it is guys, the end you (might have) waited for. I know i keep saying this but i’m truly sorry for the long wait between the last few parts. I’m very happy to be done with this! I really liked writing this but I got stuck at one point in writing (i don’t know if you guys realized) With this fic done, I can focus 100% on my next work! It’s going to be a big thing for me, so it might take a while before you guys hear about it. The last few parts made me feel sad when i posted them. Like yeah, they don’t have as much notes as the first one and I get it: people forgot the story or didn’t feel like reading all of it again (reminder, this thing is 28000 words long) But i came to term with it. Like yeah, notes are fun, but the thing I made and wrote for this fic changed me? Obviously, i’m not the best at writing in english, but i still think it’s understandable? It still made me more confident in my english! It also made me realize that with a little effort, I could finish a story I begin. So I don’t care about notes. I care about the small victories I won with this fic.

I hope you guys liked it and i’ll forever be grateful for everyone of you who took time to read my fic.

Thank you.

See you in another story

Tag List: @enakane, @rand0m-stufff, @chase-brody-protection-squad, @huffle-dork, @cryptvokeeper, @dragonfliesarecool, @thisrandomperson102, @1esor2, @egopocalypse, @narutofoxlover, @vity-dream, @spicydanhowell, @way-ward-soul, @brooklynthebooklover

#who's left to trust #nrunfic #my fic #nrun #chase brody #dr schneeplestein #jackieboy man #marvin the magnificent #jameson jackson #antisepticeye #thank you again

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fairietale · 5 years

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ANGELIC POWERS:

angelic energy manipulation: all angels can create, shape, and manipulate the angelic energy that they give off naturally. briar’s angelic energy is extremely bright and glittering.

superhuman strength: briar’s physical strength not only surpasses that of humans, but also demons, vampires, werewolves, ect. she has extreme control over his strength, and the amount he emits depends on how much angelic power she puts behind it.

superhuman speed: the same as above, briar’s speed surpasses all supernatural creatures. briar hasn’t tested it, but it’s said an angel can travel around the earth seven and a half times in one second.

superhuman stamina: briar rarely, if ever, becomes tired or gets hungry or thirsty. she likes to lay down and watch vienna sleep, and she eats when everyone else does, but, besides that, she only sleeps or consumes food and drink when she needs to refuel.

superhuman agility: briar is able to move with flawless grace and dexterity and balance, her reflexes are sharper than any other creature, and he can jump higher and leap longer than any other creature can, as well.

superhuman senses: briar’s senses are sharper than any other creature, she can hear a pin drop from miles away, and smell a burning house from a different city, for example. her senses are even sharper than gabriel’s, as she’s a full angel, and she can hear what’s being said in a construction zone in paris --- barely exaggerating.

supernatural perception: briar can see the supernatural things around him that most others cannot, like ghosts and reapers, and certain monsters and demons that are invisible to all but angels, fallen or otherwise. briar is able to see past the vessel of a demon, to its real visage, and she also sees vampire’s true faces when he first looks at them. briar is able to tell if a person is a supernatural creature and what they are from one glance, or sometimes, one sniff --- werewolves give off a strong scent.

telekinesis: briar can manipulate objects / matter using only his mind.

teleportation: this is called “orbing” by angels, and it is the ability to teleport from one place to another in the blink of an eye. when briar orbs, she disappears into glittering, bright, white light, and you can hear her wings fluttering.

telepathy: briar can communicate with others using only her mind, through thoughts. this is how angels communicate in heaven, they rarely ever speak out loud. this is more often than not how briar and gabriel communicate, falling back into old habits from before he fell.

hypnotism: briar is able to affect or directly influence other people's minds, forcing them to do as she commands. briar’s ability to use this power depends on the mental strength of her target, like, for example, she was unable to hypnotize viviana, a thousand year old vampire, even though she was able to possess her. but she could easily hypnotize a human or a weaker vampire. she cannot hypnotize other angels, except for fallen angels. she has yet to try this power out on gabriel because he won’t let her.

mental manipulation: briar can manipulate, modify and control the thoughts, mindsets, and upper brain functions, allowing the ability to render others unconscious, suppress their memories, and negate the use of abilities, increase / decrease mental capacity, modify minds to be agreeable, control minds, sway sensations to induce altered perception, bestow / heal mental disorders, create / penetrate mental barriers, etc.

memory manipulation: briar is able to erase, restore, alter, and fabricate memories in the minds of humans, along with weak supernatural creatures.

precognition: while not all angels are given the gift of seeing the future, the job briar had in heaven required her to have such powers, and she kept it when she went to earth. so, briar has the ability to foresee possible futures and observe what may happen. since the future is not set in stone, briar’s vision may change based on the choice of herself and others. but she has learned to remain a silent bystander when it comes to future predictions.

retrocognition: briar has the ability to discern the past and past events using various means, usually entering a trance while seeing and hearing a noted past event. while this ability usually comes to her spontaneously when she needs to know an important fact about a person or event, briar can also summon this power to a specific person.

dream manipulation: briar has the ability to enter anyone’s dream. she can also manipulate and change their dreams, controlling them and making the person see as she wishes. briar can also heal a person’s dream, curing them from present and future nightmares. she offered this to viviana when she learned she suffered from chronic nightmares, but viviana declined.

mediumship: as a full angel, briar can communicate with anyone who has died, so long as their soul has not ended up in hell. if she needs to speak with someone who’s been dead for a while, and has passed on, she must travel to their heaven. she can also see the ghosts of those who haven’t passed on, and she can help them pass on, if they’re ready.

self - healing: if briar is injured, the wound heals instantly, and she doesn’t feel it at all. but it is extremely difficult to hurt an angel, almost impossible to make them bleed. not even vampire fangs can penetrate the skin of a full angel like briar.

healing: briar can heal the wounded by siphoning some of her angelic energy, which is what keeps her strong and invulnerable, into the injured person. the injury will heal instantly.

resurrection: when god allows it, briar can resurrect those who’ve just died the same way she would heal them. but only if it is gods will for them to live.

protective charm: briar can protect those she choses from any physical harm, by placing a protective cloak around their bodies. god, along with the archangels, can, however, decide to take the protective charm away for any reason at any moment.

soul - channelling: when she is weak, briar can channel the energy from other’s souls to restore her own strength. if she channels from the soul of a supernatural such as a vampire, briar’s powers will be super - charged for a day or two.

soul - reading: by reaching into a person’s soul, briar can read their soul, and see their entire life played out before him. it also gives her a look at the person’s personality, their weaknesses and strengths, and then therefore predict how they’ll react in any situation, giving her the upper hand. note: this may severally injure the person, or even paralyze them.

mind - walking: with one hand placed on the person’s head, briar can enter their mind, and she can also see their life played out this way. but usually, the way mind walking works, is the person who’s mind she’s reaching into guides her through their memories to the place where, for whatever reason, she needs to be. note: as above, this may severally injure the person whose mind he walks, and it may leave them in a catatonic state, permanently locking them inside their own mind like a prison.

sedation: with a single touch, briar can render any creature, besides a god or a more powerful angel, unconscious, and only she can bring them out of it again.

empathy: briar feels all the emotions that the people around him are experiencing, she can even pick out who is feeling what without having to see them. se can also influence the emotions of others, be it human or supernatural, changing them. briar only uses this power to make people feel happier when they’re upset or mad because she hates to see people, the ones she loves or just someone she passes on the street, feeling sad.

weather manipulation: briar can control the weather, changing it to her will. she does not have global control as an archangel would, but she can control the weather on a much wider scale than gabriel can. she can change the weather of an entire country, or, if powered up enough, a whole continent.

immortality: though he can be hurt and weakened, briar will never die or grow old. she has existed since the beginning of time, but was born, created after the archangels, which her mother is one of.

light manipulation: briar can create and manipulate light, and even the suns rays.

light energy manipulation: briar create and manipulate light energy, which is pulled from either light dimensions, her own angelic energy, or the light energy that those who are blessed, and also those devoted to god, such as preachers and nuns, give off naturally. if drawn from herself or a blessed one, it greatly depletes their strength, but it is also harder to pull it from another dimension. while light energy manipulation can be used offensively, it is usually used as a gift, by blessing someone with knowledge or creativity, or helping someone grow and become who they’re meant to be.

ray / beam manipulation: briar can create and manipulate different rays and beams, such as, sunlight, plasma, ultraviolet, normal light, x-rays, cosmic rays, gamma rays, laser, electric, magnetic, pure energy, infrared, etc.

energy balls: briar is able to create balls of pure energy, either by using her angelic energy or her light energy manipulation, and they are used to attack an enemy.

aurora manipulation: briar can manipulate, create, and shape auroras. auroras to briar is like energy to gabriel, though she can manipulate energy, too, but not like auroras.

SEE BELOW TO READ MORE ABOUT BRIAR’S CONTROL OVER AURORAS!

omnilingual: briar, like all angels can speak and understand all languages, even ancient and dead ones. she is even able to communicate in the language of different animals, from fish to horses to dogs to birds.

wildlife friendship: briar has a special connection with any and all animals. not only can she speak to them, but she can control and manipulate them to do as she wishes, and she has a mental link with all animals, giving her animal empathy. if injured or low powered, all the animals from the surrounding areas will surround briar to protect her until she is healed.

shapeshifting: briar can change her form, either making her appear as a completely different person, or turn into an animal. she enjoys transforming into a large cat, like the ones viviana keeps as pets, or a blue bird so she can fly with her spirit guardian, who is a butterfly.

possession: briar can take possession of the body of a human for however long she pleases. she can also possess supernatural creatures, but for how long depends on how mentally strong the creature is. she is able to possess the supernatural for much longer than gabriel can, seeing as she’s at full strength. as a test, she lasted for nearly four hours in control of viviana, while gabriel is unable to possess her for more than five minutes.

astral projection: briar can separate her spirit from her body by entering a trance, gaining access to multiple planes of existence or “dimensions.” briar is strong enough to control both her astral and corporeal presences. archangels have the ability to be in multiple planes at once with control over every presence.

elemental manipulation: briar has limited control over all the elements, but has complete control over her specialized element, which is ice.

reality warping: briar is a powerful enough angel to bend reality to her will. the more powerful the angel, the greater their capability. briar can only warp reality on a small scale.

conjuring: briar has the ability to summon any form of creatures, items, spirits, demons, deities or elements. depending on how big or strong the thing or creature is that she’s conjuring, this may severely drain her of power, and even may need two angels to be done. if, for example, they were trying to summon a god.

localization: at any moment, briar knows the exact location of any humans ( or supernatural creatures ). briar only really uses this power on those she’s claimed as her own. this power cannot be used on other angels, as when briar first got to earth, she could not immediately locate gabriel using this power, and had to find him on foot.

smiting: perhaps an angel's most versatile and terrifying weapon, smiting allows briar to kill almost any demon, monster and even humans with a single touch.

wings: briarr’s wings are made physical by summoning angelic energy to form them, and she can summon them whenever he wishes. briar’s wings are shining white and the ends of her feathers look like they’ve been dipped in glittering gold. each wing is about six feet long.

winged flight: when releasing her wings, briar is able to use them to fly like a bird does. she can fly at incredible speeds, go from one end of the earth to the other in the blink of an eye.

angelic form: if anyone that is not an angel or doesn’t have angel blood, they would turn to ash upon looking at briar’s angelic form, as it is made of pure light and angelic energy.

BRIAR CAN MANIPULATE AURORAS TO DO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS, LIKE: NOTE: IF YOU BE PURE OF HEART, A BLESSED ONE, BRIAR’S AURORA ATTACKS WON’T WORK ON YOU UNLESS SHE SINGLES IN ON YOU WITH THE SPECIFIC INTENT TO CAUSE HARM. NOTE: INTENT IS WHAT’S IMPORTANT WITH BRIAR’S AURORA POWERS. IF SHE RELEASES AN AURORA BALL WITH THE INTENT TO HURT, IT WILL HURT. IF SHE RELEASES AN AURORA WAVE WITH THE INTENT TO HEAL, IT WILL HEAL THE LAND, LIVEN UP THE NATURE, AND WHOEVER HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY IT, THEIR HEART WILL BE LIGHT AND FILLED WITH JOY.

aurora ball projection: create and launch a ball of aurora offensively

aurora beam emission: releases a beam of aurora.

aurora blast: a total, powerful release of aurora over the area surrounding briar.

aurora bolt projections: releases a low powered lightning bolt - shaped mass of aurora.

aurora bomb generation: creates a bomb of aurora, which briar can set off whenever she chooses. like i stated above, the intent behind the aurora bomb is what matters. if she releases it with the intent to cause damage, it can level an entire city, depending on the angelic energy she puts behind it. an example of releasing the bomb under a good intention is if briar’s come across a patch of dead forest. she can release a aurora bomb, and it will heal the plants and trees, bringing them to their ultimatum health, and return the wildlife.

aurora breath: discharges blasts of aurora from the mouth.

aurora bullet projection: releases bullet - like forms of aurora in a fast succession, like an automatic gun firing.

aurora cutting: using aurora to cut opponents.

aurora infusion: empower and energize anything using aurora.

aurora vision: emit aurora beams from the eyes.

aurora vortex creation: creates a giant tornado of aurora for offensives or defensives purposes, and is extremely draining and cannot be kept up for long.

aurora wave emission: like aurora blast, aurora emission releases a wave of aurora, but only concentrated one way, acting like a wave, knocking back and down everything it hits.

aurora bolts, expanding: project aurora that expands rapidly on contact with an object.

aurora blast, formulated: release blasts of aurora in a form of a creature or object. briar is fond of releases positive aurora blasts in the shape of hearts, to lift people’s spirits and because she’s the cutest cute to ever cute.

aurora hand blasts: release aurora blasts through ones hands.

aurora hidden attack: channels the attack through anyone with the powers of a medium, like an actual medium, or another angel, or certain witches.

aurora missile generation: creates aurora missiles.

aurora waves, omnidirectional: sends out a wave of aurora in all directions.

aurora reflective attack: release attacks of aurora that can bounce off of any surface.

aurora scatter shot: release aurora blasts that splits into multiple fragments.

aurora sword beam: releases aurora blasts from swords and other such bladed weapons.

aurora shield: creates a shield made of reflective aurora that can be used offensively or defensively. offensively because of its sharp edges, and the blinding light it gives off.

WEAKNESSES: NOTE: ONLY OTHER ANGELS ( OR A GOD ) CAN HARM / KILL AN ANGEL

hellfire: fire from the pits of hell can severely harm briar.

heaven fire: as hellfire, the fire born at the heart of heaven can severely harm briar.

hell - forged demon blades: the blades given to all demons, forged in the fires of hell, can harm any being, even an angel like briar.

magic: a powerful enough witch, like elizabeth, for example, can freeze briar, rendering her unable to move or speak or use any of his powers to defend herself.

azazel’s blade / death’s blade: the only weapon known that can truly kill an angel.

a reaper’s scythe: blessed by azazel, the angel of death herself, all reaper’s scythes can do some serious damage to any angel.

weapons blessed by god: if god blesses a weapon, like azazel’s blade, it also gains the ability to kill an angel, but these weapons are hidden away by the archangels and hard for a regular person to come by. it normally has to be given to you, like an axe that was blessed by god was given to briar and gabriel’s elder sister, freya so that she may kill gabriel, permanently.

#* about. ❪ briar sharp. ❫#LOOK AT HOW POWERFUL MY SWEET LIL BRIAR IS #I LOVE HER SO MUCH #EVERYONE THINKS GABRIEL'S THE STRONGEST CAUSE HE WAS IN LINE TO BE AN ARCHANGEL #BUT NOOOO #IT'S BRIAR #SHE'S THE STRONGEST SHARP SIBLING #and i love her for it

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ticklish-touch · 6 years

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Name: Nikola Hashimoto Hero Name: Neuro Nicknames: Cole, Tesla, Nerd Age: 20 Height: 5'8" Star Sign: Cancer Ethnicity: Mostly Japanese Sexuality: Pansexual, mostly Aromantic Personality: Calm, laid-back, very studious and inquisitive. Comes off as very cold and intimidating to opponents in an effort to make them surrender, when in reality he's a pacifist and has no interest in harming anyone. His typical polite demeanor usually makes way for a very sly tease when he's using his quirk for ticklish purposes. On the other hand, he becomes very shy and reserved if anyone teases, flirts with or shows him affection. Likes: Learning about new technology, learning about the human body & nervous system, ASMR videos, tickling people, receiving affection, science, studying space, helping treat patients' nerve ailments, reading Dislikes: People who abuse their quirks for selfish gain, the pressure for heroes to become famous & the Best of the Best, judgmental people, hurting others As a 'Ler: Total bratty tease. Likes springing tickle-attacks with his quirk. His curious scientific mind makes him very methodical and thorough (especially when brought in as an interrogator), but doesn't like pushing his targets too far. As a 'lee: Very easily flustered by ticklish attention, as he's not used to receiving it. Highly enjoys it, just shy to admit it. Ticklish spots: More sensitive than average because of his quirk. Belly, ribs, hips & armpits are his worst spots. His scalp is super sensitive & ticklish and is the best way to make him instantly melt~

Quirk: Synaptic Discharge (Aka Nerve Control, or Neuron Pulse ) Cole's hands are able to release visible electric signals emitted from his own nervous system. By touching someone with this energy, he can create any sensation he wants within an opponent's nervous system: Pain, paralysis, ticklishness, pleasure, soothing relief, even the illusion of temperature changes. He can also use it to cause or repair nerve damage. He can't use this quirk for more than 2-3 hours at a time, or over too much surface area, before totally losing all feeling in the nerves in his hands/arms anywhere from several hours to a few days. His toes and tongue are also able to emit this energy, but he has much less dexterity & control over it than if he were controlling it with his hands. He can use his Quirk on his own body to disable pain, or decrease / increase sensitivity, but to a much lesser degree than he can with other people. Other: Neuro originally started as an X-Men character idea, but after becoming quickly hooked onto My Hero Academia, I started to realize that I could develop a background for him that I felt was more suitable. He's actually pretty inspired by Shinsou Hitoshi, one of my favorite characters in the series. I really like the idea that, despite having abilities that can be seen as villainous, he still strives to use them for the greater good. I also headcanon that Shinsou uses his mind control to be a terrible Tickle Monster His wrist cuffs & chest plate are meant to resemble Tesla coils. He and his family are huge fuckin nerds hence him being named after one of the most famous scientists ever. His casual outfit can be seen here:

Biography: Ever since Cole was young and first discovered his Quirk, he wanted to be a doctor and help people who have suffered nerve damage or struggled with chronic pain. Unfortunately, he learned early on just how dangerous his quirk could be. In middle school, there was a quirkless, but very big & tough student that nearly everyone hated, since he openly sexually harassed female students and bullied anyone who tried to stand up to him. In a fit of rage, Cole lashed out at him and accidentally paralyzed his legs, rendering him crippled and wheelchair-bound for a long time to come. Many students after that kept their distance, afraid Cole would do the same to them if they got on his bad side.

Despite his loneliness and guilt, Cole used his down time to study hard, promising himself and others that he'd only ever use his abilities to help and heal people. He also got into the habit of wearing Rayon gloves, which could block his quirk, as a way of showing others he meant no harm. With the rise of criminal and villain activity, Cole's parents put a roadblock into his studies by insisting he join the U.A. Hero Academy, despite him having no interest in directly fighting crime. They argued that he needed to at least have some of the experience. They also felt it could teach him better control of his Quirk, boost his confidence, and let him start fresh to gain a better reputation for himself. At first, it seemed like things would be no different; When students learned about his quirk and the incident from his past, they kept him at a distance. But over time, Cole had discovered a very cheeky, playful way to show his peers he meant no harm: Using his quirk to give quick, ticklish bursts. Before long he became the school Tickle Fiend~ He came to enjoy the company of other heroes, though he still intended to become a neurologist. He barely graduated from the academy; He was exemplary in all of his written studies, but showed little aptitude for actual combat, apart from being quick and strategic on his feet and using his quirk defensively to temporarily stun opponents. On his graduation day, he declared that not everyone with a Quirk should feel required to use it to be a superhero or risk their lives - They, like anyone without a quirk, should find a way to use it to help people in a way best suited for them. He continued to intern at the academy while balancing his studies in neurology, and is still sometimes called into hero work as support or defensive backup, able to disarm, stun & apprehend villains. He is also called in as an interrogator on occasion, and despite being told he could use any harsh method that his quirk would allow, he sticks to his favorite method by finding out just how ticklish his targets are~ Superhero Suit: -Neuro's under-armor is able to amplify his quirk, allowing him to use it longer and send it farther without losing too much sensation in his hands & arms. The cords attached to the back of his neck and wired through his hair amplify his brain waves, in turn amplifying the effects of his quirk. Detaching them causes no harm to him, but may temporarily disorient him. -His visor allows him to be able to see weak points in an opponent's nervous system. -The coils around his wrists help channel his quirk more accurately into his fingertips, and serve as recoil buffers in case a villain were able to make his quirk backfire against him. -The plating on his chest and semi-translucent undergarment on his torso serves as protective armor. His lab coat isn't just a regular coat: It's totally weather-proof, fire-resistant and insulated against electricity. He could even pull it over his face to protect from poisonous gases. -His pants are just for looks. :D

#OC #My Hero Academia #BnHA #hero #superhero #superpowers #tickling #original character #OC profile #character profile #TTprofiles

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pinkletterday · 6 years

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Carry On

Fandom: Arrow

Pairing: None. Gen.

Rating: All Audiences

Characters: Oliver Queen, William Queen

Warning: death, violence, Oliver Queen's never ending trauma conga line.

Summary: Oliver's favourite Christmas movie is It's A Wonderful Life. But not for the reason anyone would think.

A/N: I know gen fic and character studies aren't very popular but this is still one of my favourite works.

Read on AO3

Everyone jokes that Oliver's favourite Christmas movie is Die Hard. Only Thea knows that it's actually It's A Wonderful Life.

Beause not only is he a secret cheeseball and a sucker for domestic tradition, but also the idea of your existence meaning so much to so many people, touching other people's lives without ever knowing it, has always called to him.

As the Queen heir he'd been given so many speeches about expectations, responsibility and leadership and none of the direction that should have accompanied them. Which meant he had grown up floundering with a paralyzing terror of fucking up completely and being a disappointment. In typical Ollie fashion he had coped with this by deliberately becoming a disappointment and screw up. Failing by not trying is always much more comforting than trying and failing, because then you'd have to deal with proof of your inherent inadequacy. But then you also have to deal with the fact that you aren't doing much good in the world and the resultant complete lack of self-esteem.

So Ollie, every Christmas, would pretend to be humouring his Mom or Thea but secretly love watching the old black and white movie.

After he is shipwrecked, the island doesn't offer time or room for existential crises beyond "are you going to live or not?" All he can think about is coming back home.

And he does - in secret, with Amanda Waller's gun to his head, and it's the nightmare cousin to the movie. Not a world aching for the void of his existence but one left uprooted and devastated by its sudden end and the choices that led to it. It's a hell of a way to realize his life has always had value simply by virtue of continuing in the world. Because a dead man can't affect anything, whether he is a saint or a sinner, but a living one can seek redemption. Mistakes can be learned from, relationships can be rebuilt. The value of a life is in its living, not in an arbitrary scale of cosmic judgement.

That is the second turning point in Ollie's life.

The third one is little Akio dying in his arms. He has finally given his all to one purpose and failed as shatteringly and absolutely as one person can possibly fail. His worst nightmare come to fruition.

Yes, Oliver Queen, sneers the universe. You are fundamentally a fuck up.

What then is the point of continued living? Of trying to go home? Of doing anything? He had chosen to survive. For what? All he's good for is fighting and fucking up. Why is he not dead? Because he's just lucky and there's no real reason for any of it?

Amanda picks him out of the gutter he had drunk himself into and drops him back in hell for the second time. And suddenly, he discovers slavery, magic and a flame-slender hope in Taiana. Not only is the world a whole lot bigger, deeper and more unfathomable than he had ever believed possible, but while he was fucking around trying to find reasons to continue, there had been people gripping the tether of life with both bloodied hands and snarling defiance at pure evil. And those people were being cut down. Taiana, with her gentle hands and fierce hope, begs for death at his hands, and as her neck snaps so does something inside him.

Fuck good and evil and fuck reasons.

He wants blood.

The thing he turns into in Moscow should have scared him shitless. It doesn't. There is an exhilarating freedom in becoming this single-minded, lowering beast that can kill without second thought or remorse. There is only Kovarr and his promise to Taiana, there is only the face of evil and his determination to end it. And if he fails again, well. He and Taiana are both dead anyway.

He is completely at home in the freezing cold, the human scum and the blood and bullets, exchanging favours with the Bratva. His heart is quiet and his mind is alive. Oliver Queen is dead at the hand of Kapushin and it feels. So. Good.

He doesn't realize that this too is childish arrogance. The life of a beast is simple, but man always triumphs over even the most dangerous fangs and claws nature can create because man thinks. Oliver tries to be a beast to end a beast but Kovarr proves to be very much a man and brings Oliver under his heel.

But Kovarr is a man and therefore arrogant and sadistic. He lets Oliver escape.

He has tried being a hero, he doesn't even have to try to be a fuck up and now he realizes that he definitely is not cut out to be an animal. What is he supposed to be, then?

Talia Al Ghul answers. Be a weapon.

A weapon only has a target. A mission, an objective and an end result. Good or bad is not the point, but the fact of its completion.

The rush of endorphins that accompanies each kill bears no relevance to his skill as an archer. The desperate pleading in a man's eyes has no bearing on doing what needs to be done. Failure simply means refocusing his sights.

Accountability, responsibility, initiative. The Queen family name. The sins of his father burns a hole in the notebook against his breast as he leaves Kovarr's corpse behind on the island and swings back to Starling, purpose burning in his eyes.

He has a mission from his father. And finally, after a foolish misspent boyhood and incompetent, selfish youth, he finally has the direction he needs.

He is going to make a difference.

He doesn't watch A Wonderful Life that Christmas. It means nothing to him.

He learns some important things that year.

First of which is that a man is not a weapon. He can be like a weapon. But there is a significant difference between the two.

A man can be hurt when the woman he loves looks at him in fear.

A man can be faced with equally dire choices and still choose wrong.

A man can fail so horribly that he lets a city collapse on top of a thousand people.

A man's heart can break when his best friend dies in his arms.

It is only his bow that does not weep.

Lian Yu is a harsh refuge, but it offers no more answers than it ever did. He's kind of sick of himself by the time Digg and Felicity parachute in to confront him. And they're right. He has to go in some direction from this point on, since going back seems to be going nowhere. He comes back to the city, tries to focus on his family, and the city sucks him back into its greedy maw.

He watches the movie that year, haunted by Shado and Sara. Haunted by himself, really. There was a reason his younger self loved this movie. Who was that younger self? What had it been trying to tell him? Everything seems imbued with meaning and frustratingly elusive.

His mother dies. He's tired. He would like to follow her now. But they don't let him.

They win the city. They lose Sara. Barry wakes up with powers and he suddenly realizes those unfathomable forces he had glimpsed in Lian Yu are about to crash upon the world in his wake like a tsunami, devastating and changing the world order.

And every Christmas he watches It's A Wonderful Life almost religiously, clinging to it like a tether to - what? He doesn't know. The memories of his parents snuggling on the couch beside him, Tommy sprawled at his feet and little Thea on his lap? But Robert had been cheating on Moira even then, Thea had been conceived of Malcolm and they had been plotting terrible things, unbeknownst to him and Tommy. Was any of it ever real?

After the island blows up and Samantha dies, William comes to live with him. That Christmas it's just the Queens in Oliver's apartment, even Raisa having gone home for the holidays.

Oliver is watching his favourite Christmas movie alone in the living room, Thea's head in his lap. She's sleeping, fresh from the hospital and still needing rest and care. But they had gotten a small Christmas tree, despite William's lukewarm interest and there are some presents under it.

Oliver hears the soft pad of his son's feet on the hardwood but does not turn around. He continues eating popcorn and watching Clarence and George Bailey.

"What're you watching?"

"Hey, buddy," Oliver carefully turns around. "Can't sleep?"

William shrugs. "You like old movies?"

"Just this one." Oliver waits for William to tentatively sit on the edge of the couch near Thea's feet. "Ever watched It's A Wonderful Life?"

"Nah. Mom said it was too cheesy."

Oliver huffs a laugh. "I guess it is, a little."

"How come you like it?" William looks at him, bemused, as though he cant imagine Arrow Dad liking saccharine Christmas movies.

"Well, I used to watch it with my parents and your Aunt Thea when I was a kid."

"You're not a kid anymore," William observes.

"No," Oliver says, "but the message is still important."

"What's that?" His son's young voice has no business being so derisively bitter. "Be glad you're alive?"

"That," Oliver says steadily, even as his heart aches. "But also -"

The words come gently, as though the knowledge had been safely stored inside him until just this moment.

"It means don't be conceited. That no matter how much you may have fuc- messed up - you still matter. Your life isn't about you - or not just about you. It's about how by just living, well or badly, you change other people's lives. Sometimes for the worse," and Oliver can't help the stab in his heart as he looks at William, "but sometimes you can turn even that around for the better."

"It means everything you do matters," Oliver says, and then forces himself to relax when his son startles at the sudden vehemence, "to other people. And to think about them means to think about yourself too. It means that you matter, William," he has to swallow past the lump in his own throat as his son's eyes begin to shimmer. "You will always, always matter."

He reaches out a hand but William ducks under his arm and buries his soft head in Oliver's shoulder. Sitting under the glow of the tree lights, his son's tears on his neck and Thea's head heavy on his lap, Oliver feels his loves, past and present surround him, the ghost of the boy he was fading into the glowing memory of a Christmas fireside. And something in his heart finally loosens, lightens and tumbles free.

End

#arrow #oliver queen #william queen #character study #gen fic #christmas fic #violence #death #grief #myfic #fanfic

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sanctferum · 7 years

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Dangan Ronpa V3: Chapter 4 Class Trial

Last time, we investigated Miu’s death and temporarily recruited Monotaro. Time to start the trial!

Monokuma’s still super low on energy.

Kokichi asks what happens in case of the votes resulting in a tie. Apparently, as long as one of them is the blackened, it’s fine.

Himiko’s really changed. She’s determined, and willing to exter energy, and wants to survive. Monokuma says that she’s lost all of her unique character traits.

We attempt to begin, but Kokichi immediately accuses Kaito of being the culprit. Even if we trust Kaito, that doesn’t make him not the blackened. Shuichi trusted Kaede, after all…

I don’t understand what I’m doing in this nonstop debate at all…

A bunch of lost health later, I accidentally hit the right answer. Apparently, Miu wasn’t killed via poisoning, because her eyes weren’t bloodshot. But, in the picture shown, we don’t have a good look at her eyes, so how would we guess that?

Anyways, the poison wasn’t relevant. It was placed there for the purposes of misdirection. Miu’s real cause of death was a fatal injury to her avatar.

Gonta still doesn’t understand what the virtual world really is, but Maki thinks explaining it to him would be a waste of time. So next question is: what was the fatal injury that killed Miu via her avatar?

Tsumugi offers to explain to Gonta what went on, while also going over the incident again with everyone.

Two groups. One searched the mansion, and one searched the chapel. And Miu took fatal damage in that latter group.

Miu was grasping her neck when we found her body. And Shuichi has no idea, but we, the player, saw Kokichi mention strangulation right before logging out. Was she strangled? If so, it couldn’t have been by Kokichi. His avatar would’ve been paralyzed if he tried.

But then, if she wasn’t dropped off the roof…or, was she dropped off the roof after she was already dead?

All the avatars were equally as strong as each other in the Virtual World. How would someone overpower her? How would she be unable to fight them off? There wasn’t a rope somewhere that she could’ve been choked to death with, so there must have been something else used as a makeshift rope. If no object can be broken, then she could have been choked via something that we wouldn’t have thought of due to its real world flimsiness. Toilet paper.

Gonta disagrees, but only because he doesn’t understand the virtual world. Objects in the Virtual World are not breakable.

Himiko says that death by toilet paper was a fitting end for Miu, and boy, she isn’t wrong about that.

As for the toilet paper being near the mansion and Miu’s avatar being at the chapel…it’s odd. And if Miu was strangled, what’s with the hammer? If the toilet paper was the blackened’s weapon, then the hammer must have been Miu’s weapon. And if Miu had a weapon prepared, that means she planned to kill the blackened, but was killed instead.

No, that isn’t it. Miu intended to kill someone, but that wasn’t the blackened. She planned to meet up with Kokichi, and we know that she modified Kokichi’s avatar to cease movement when touched by her. If Kokichi had been in a struggle with Miu, he would have become unable to move. It’d be him who was dead.

Miu planned this meeting with Kokichi even before everyone went into the Virtual World. Keebo overheard the plan, but at that point it was just confirmation that the meeting was gonna happen, and details on where it was going to be.

So Miu tried to meet up with Kokichi in secret, so that she could kill him. And she left the bottle of poison on Kokichi’s seat to make it look like he’d been killed in the real world. Sure, she didn’t log out once she logged in, but she had a few minutes in between everyone else logging and herself logging in.

And if everything that we’ve said so far is correct, then it makes sense that Miu logged Kaito out. She was gonna pin the blame on him.

The only person who could’ve set all this up was Miu Irum-

…instead of her memorial portrait being crossed out with an X, it’s crossed out with three. XXX. Very funny, Monokuma. Anyways, I just noticed that. I haven’t had a chance to get a good look at Kiyo’s portrait yet, though.

Kokichi had this all figured out from the start. He only insisted that Kaito was the culprit to try and get him to understand the rules of the game. A killing game has no room for trust, or for defending others. But it’s fine if Kaito thinks that way. It just makes the game more interesting. Right, Monokuma?

Monokuma mumbles something groggily. Monophanie and Monotaro discuss his sudden lack of motivation. Monotaro is worried that if his father slacks off, Mommy will have to do all the work. Then he becomes confused about why he thought he had a mom all of the sudden.

If Miu had succeeded in killing Kokichi, all the clues Kokichi would provide us would be hidden away by the blackened, Miu. She would have told us that deaths in the virtual world don’t affect bodies outside of the virtual world. And we’d have no idea that that wasn’t true.

Himiko was right from the start. The whole idea was fishy as all hell. Miu wasn’t planning to save us at all. She wanted to escape the school into the real world, not into some virtual reality simulation.

She was our friend, as annoying as she was. We felt sad when she died. And now, we learn that she intended to kill us all.

Kokichi is thrilled by this exciting turn of events, because of course he is.

Gonta is scared of Kokichi. He’s sounding more and more like Monokuma by the day. Kaito agrees. Both Monokuma and Kokichi are cowards. Lying, hiding their true faces, smiling, putting on a mask, never saying what they really think. But Kaito? Kaito is done with his bullshit. The “game of suspicion” is bullshit! Kaito will find the truth not by suspecting his friends, but believing in them.

Kokichi warns he won’t win the game like that. But Kokichi is the only one here (besides the blackened) that still wants to win.

Kokichi is currently the main suspect. But he couldn’t get to the roof to meet up with Miu. The door was locked, and his lockpicking tools were in the real world. And he never went to the roof anyways. Huh? Then how did he know the door was locked?

But back to Miu’s avatar. There were some strange circumstances surrounding her death. Specifically, her avatar being nowhere near the mansion’s roof. But, Tsumugi definitely saw Miu near the mansion.

So, there was some other method Miu had access to that let her go between the two sides of the river. She dropped the bridge into the river so that Kokichi’s murder happening at the mansion would supposedly make it impossible for her to have committed it. The only way she could have gotten across is by being classified as an object, and going through the wall.

Kaito claims that Miu wasn’t an object, which makes this whole scenario impossible. Shuichi explains that Miu changed her own avatar’s setting from human to object.

Kokichi keeps ragging on Kaito, but Keebo tells him to shut up.

Miu did say that past the wall was the end of the world. Nothing. She must have lied about that too.

Kokichi again bursts in with the insults, and also that he agrees with Miu having lied.

Monotaro promptly regains his memory of Miu supposedly being his mom, and lets Kokichi have it. And lets slip that there’s no hidden passageway in the Virtual World. Monophanie chides Monotaro, accidentally confirming that what Monotaro said was an important hint.

Miu needed to change the program so she could go through the wall. And that had to have a reason. C’mon, I figured this out ages ago, guys.

The mystery of the Virtual World begins with the loud sound Shuichi and Tsumugi heard in the kitchen. The kitchen of the mansion, supposedly across the world from the chapel, where the people there also heard it.

Sound can’t go past the map loading point. True, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t come from the chapel.

The sound was something hitting the chapel wall, and then Keebo yelled in dismay, and we heard that sound too. And something else was strange. The signboard bridge was dropped in the river, which flowed towards the chapel, yet the sign ended up upstream of the river fork.

Psyche Taxi time…with moving letter cubes. When will I be freed from this hell.

We’re pretty close to figuring it out now. The wall that only objects can pass through. It’s true identity is? ISSSSS? Come on, I know you know it. How there’s two walls, but only one was added.

Kokichi certainly knows. He’s even giving us a hint! Stop trying to use common sense in a Virtual World.

That’s right. The river feeds into itself. Which means…come on, come on!

Finally! The “two” walls are one and the same!

When Kokichi said everything was connected, he didn’t just mean metaphorically. He meant literally as well. The Virtual World is a loop.

The edge of the world, the true place the loop starts, is the loading point. And the black border wall was at the center of the world. In truth, the chapel and mansion were right next to each other.

Miu’s trap began with the maps she showed us. The map showing the mansion and chapel being on opposite ends of the Virtual World.

Kokichi seems to be steering everyone to praise me. Is me solving the mystery part of Kokichi’s trap?

We figured out everything about the Virtual World, except for what the secret of the outside world is. But we still don’t know who killed Miu.

And Kokichi is definitely still plotting something. He’s praising me and prodding at Kaito, and it’s in service of some goal. What kind of trap has he set for us? And why?

I guess we’ll find out next time…

#Dangan Ronpa #Dangan Ronpa V3 #Danganronpa V3

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comic-book-reider · 7 years

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Shance Fluff week Day 1 blue / black

“What. the. Quiznack.

They weren’t even on a mission. Hunk was cooking, Pidge Coran and Allura were all asleep after fixing some major problems with the Particle barrier, maybe now it can take more than 3 hits before going down and putting the last two alteans in existence in danger, Haggar gave up her identity as Altean when she betrayed them for the Galra. Keith and Lance were training by running a combative maze back-to-back. Lance was confused by the cargo ship that passed the window.

That confusion only lasted until keith passed out, Lance could smell the gas and held his breath. Two masked figures walked into the room, Hunk over the taller ones shoulders and pidge hung limp on the small figure’s frame.

Lance got a shot off in the small stranger whom had put Pidge in danger, before he also fell from lack of oxygen . The small one fell revealing the face of Haggar, bleeding out.

“ My son! Help your mother! Do not forsake me, Lotor!” Haggar cried, reaching with her free hand, holding Pidge over her wound. The tall galra hybrid dropped Hunk and kicked Haggar.

“ Witch! Your mother privilege died the day you left me on Karanax , now you can die here, today. Things might have been different if you were Galra…” Lotor grabbed lance and keith, leaving the rest to the sentries.

When everyone woke, they were chained to the floor in Galra main command. Lotor stood before Allura, pulling some kind of liquid into a syringe. Lance saw an opportunity and took it. He grabbed a sentry gun and shot the chains from his friends, all the while tackling Lotor to the ground.

Lotor snarled at Lance when he realized that the syringe was empty and stuck in his neck. “This was not meant for YOU!”

“Get to the lions! Tell blue I’ll get to her after I wipe the floor with this guy!”, Lance yelled, more to Keith than anyone else. Keith led the team to the hangar where Shiro and Matt had apparently been coordinating an attack through the lions. An attack that Lance had been leading apparently, having the strongest out of all the lion bonds, having reached out with Blue and Black to find Shiro.

Shiro, Matt and Keith all snuck back to the main bridge where a horrible sight unfolded before them, Lance vomiting multiple times, and blood spewing from his mouth. Lotor kicked him again and again while he fought for breath, until he stilled and quieted.

“ It’s funny, the virus I was going to inject into the Altean, only affects Alteans; right now, your response to it, confirms my suspicions. You… Are… Part… Altean… it’s your human side that makes you so weak that it’s only killing you that much faster… It would have infected Allura, then Coran, from there it would evolve and start hunting your fellow paladins before it began killing. Now, you will introduce it to both species, well done my little half-bred carrier… Wait, don’t die yet… you’re missing something,” Lotor chastised Lance as he picked him up by the face” I know what it isss!” Lotor sang in a childish way that made keith and shiro’s stomachs churn. He dug his clawed thumbs into Lance’s cheeks, blood slowly dripping to the floor.

The sight of Lotor laughing as he carved into the blue beauty’s face sealed the deal. Matt was half-way down the bridge before Shiro noticed that he had gone, “ TUCK AND ROLL, BITCH!” Matt screamed as he used his staff to throw Lotor into the lower deck, smirking when he heard him go splat against the metal hull of his ship.

Shiro ran to Lance as he once did cycles ago when he was almost blown to bits. Lance used what little energy he had to drag himself away from shiro, inch by bloody inch.

“ Stay… Awa- … ay, Shii- Hirro. Let… me… di-hiii… here. “ Lance wheezed, pushing Shiro away, to the best of his highly impaired ability. Well push isn’t the right word, more like gingerly touched Shiro’s helmet, before his arm fell to Shiro’s side. Lance’s breathing grew even more faint and laboured.

Keith watched helplessly paralyzed as Blue ripped into the bridge and pitifully roared at her motionless cub before she told Shiro to get out of the way. Blue did something almost unthinkable… she froze Lance… she then lay with her maw open so Matt could drag the Frozen body into a real cryostasis pod somewhere inside of her mechanical body.

Shiro yelled for Keith to get to Red. The two ran to their Lions, both trying to get the image of a practically dead Cuban out of their heads… it was twice as hard for Shiro, he saw every detail: the blood beginning to dry and turn brown crusting his jaw, which hung horrifically slack yet firm, his half lidded glassy red eyes that filled with tears; he didn’t want to go, he wasn’t ready, he still had, no has, he’s going to survive this, he still has too much to learn and see and do… his eyes have seen some of the worst that the universe had to offer, but he still looked for the best in people. God… he’s too young, they’re all too young… none of them have tried alcohol or even their first cigarette… has he even kissed anyone outside of family? They’re all just so young, 19 is too quiznacking young to carry the weight of the universe on your shoulders if you ask Shiro. “ Let me die here” he was delirious from the blood loss, he didn’t actually want to die…. But Shiro knew the feeling from his time in the ring, the beg of the weaker defeated opponents, they had been through the wringer so many times that they begged for death…. He spent many sleepless nights questioning the morality of it; was it too cruel to try and save them? Or did killing them make him a monster?

He didn’t want to think about his sins as Lance lay dying. God, why couldn’t it be him? There were plans in place in the likely event that he died. Black was reluctant to let Keith pilot her when Shiro was gone, would Blue ever let anyone in again if anything worse happened to Lance. Lance, his sharpshooter, his friend, his confident, his partner in crime when it came to sleepless nights roaming the halls…

Lance was rushed into a healing pod for the time being, to keep him in cryostasis and to heal as much as it could.

They put Lance next to Haggar; who was apparently Coran’s wife, eons ago, in cryostasis. When her wounds were sufficiently healed Pidge threw her into the airlock for interrogation.

“ Antidote. Now.” Pidge hissed at the Altean witch. Haggar never said a word, she just struggled against her restraints.

“ Start talking or start bleeding, Isasdejo… your druids broke easily, just a couple of shocks from my Bayard and they hummed like baby klanmeurls . They told us everything that they know, but you kept the antidote from them… Coran is so disappointed in you” Pidge said softly, caressing Haggar’s face, after back handing her cheek. Haggar looked severely distressed and Pidge smiled even as her lips trembled. “ If you don’t start talking soon, I’ll have to switch to some of the less savory methods…. Let’s stick to water techniques, it is Lance, CORAN’S FAVORITE PALADIN, who’s dying of your virus… let’s see, there’s …. The classic waterboarding… even more classic, Chinese drip torture… a tide chamber would work wonderfully. Any thoughts or suggestions sweetheart? “

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Get this crazy girl away from me though, Coran! CORAN! COOORRRRRAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!” Haggar screamed and shrieked. Keith high fived Pidge on his way into the room.

“So about that antidote, what do we need to save Lance? “ Keith said in a low gravelly growl.

Haggar hung her head as she explained the potion to Keith who began to write everything down on his hand with a small blade, he wasn’t actually trying to hurt himself,he just didn’t think anything through and he kinda figured that if he carved into himself in front of Haggar she would be less likely to lie to him, “ pure quintessence, liquid scaultrite, the blood of loved ones, tears of those who hate you… and a kiss. You can’t just swig the potion either; he has to have one spoon full at a time, he must swallow every drop of the last before he can have the next dose… he has to drink the whole thing. Someone has to stay with him and keep his temperature up as he’s taking it, he can’t stop until the bottle is finished”

It took a while to collect the ingredients but in about a week it all came together, minus the blood and kiss. There was a thirty minute debate about whether or not they were close enough to give the blood and Haggar was no help, the bickering continued until Lance fell out of the healing chamber screaming and writhing in agony as his ears stretched to about twice their original size and black marks spread from the deep scars on his cheeks. Shiro dug his cybernetic arm under Lance and stuck out his flesh arm, “Coran, we don’t have time to get blood from his family, we’ll have to do,” Shiro hissed after kissing Lance’s temple,” he’s burning up, hunk, go fill the largest bowl you can find with cold water and ice, pidge, there are cloths we can use as compresses in my room, go get those, Keith, Matt, make sure Haggar doesn’t use the chaos to escape, Allura, infuse the potion with quintessence”

Lance began thrashing around like a fish out of water and screamed in Spanish, loud enough for the whole ship to hear, “ LO SIENTO MADRE, NO PUEDO TOCAR LAS ESTRELLAS PARA TI, ESTOY CAYENDO. AYÚDAME MADRE!”

Everyone’s blood made it into the potion and a spoonful was given to Lance, the results were not what they expected by any means…. His fever dropped drastically, but he started gagging, and his hair was starting to turn white at the roots. Shiro couldn’t help but cry as he helplessly shoved spoonful after spoonful of the concoction into Lance.

The 19 year old was a coughing shivering mess, once again trying to squirm away from the 26 year old.

“ C'mon buddy, just a few more spoonfuls, okay? You can do this, please don’t make me.explain to both your mom and Blue why you aren’t coming back…. Tell you what, if you can get better, we’ll go back home to Earth, we’ll see family, have a fiesta, how does that sound?” Shiro cooed and pleaded with Lance. Lance opened his mouth a couple more times before he mumbled out a faint,”Salve María llena de gracia, el Señor es contigo, bendita eres entre las mujeres y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre Jesús. Santa madre de Dios ora por nosotros pecadores, ahora y en la hora de la muerte amén” After finishing the prayer he managed to find the strength to open his eyes” Por qué … ¿por qué es tan brillante? Está haciendo que me duela la cabeza. Alguien por favor, apague el sol” Hunk shifted so he blocked most of the light hitting Lance’s face. “ Muchas Gracias, amigo… waiiittt” Lance moaned bleary swiveling his head unsure of his surroundings now that he had finished the bottle of straight up nastiness” Estoy con los vaqueros del espacio” Hunk snickered at the nickname, Kalteneker was somewhere around the castle, they would have to take a picture with her now, dressed up like cowboys, on top of their Paladin Armour.

“You going to be okay, Lance? Let’s go ahead and put you to bed, we can go home when you wake up…” As Shiro rose from the floor with Lance in his arms Pidge took polaroid after Polaroid.

When Shiro was about to leave Lance all rolled up in blankets like a burrito, Lance reached out and dragged him into his bed with him

“Stay… please… I’m afraid of not waking up again.” Shiro nodded and cradled his head. Both he and Lance has been strong enough for the whole team for too long.

When Lance woke up Shiro was snuggled into his chest, listening to his heart beat with his flesh hand resting on his collar bone, double checking Lances pulse. Lance kissed the metal arm he was clinging to for dear life. “ Thank you, I thought for a while that the safety I feel around you was the dream, and I was going to wake up alone at any moment”

Matt shoved his head through the door,” yo, lovers! I mean, losers! Wait, no I don't… nevermind… listen, we have to try to explain what happened to the Garrison before we can go anywhere..”

Before they entered Earth’s atmosphere, Keith tried to take a moment with Lance, “ Hey, if you ever need to talk about, well lineage, I guess.. I’m here for you… if you need to talk” Lance started to almost panic. “ Keith I get what you are trying to do, I really do. But we come from different backgrounds, you knew for a while that your mom, who you hardly knew, was Galra. Your dad explicitly said that your mom was ‘ simply out of this world’ where else could you take that, especially after finding out that you’re Galra?! I knew every aspect of my family, not one of them has done or said anything remotely Altean… for all I know I could be adopted… all I know for sure now is that my life so far has been a lie. I don’t even know if any of my siblings are my real siblings, or my parents” Lance fell to his knees and sobbed unconsolably for 20 minutes. He stopped when they landed in the Garrison launch pad.

Once the awkward, “ yes, we fly giant space lions and ended an intergalactic war that’s been going on for the past 10,000 years without you having a clue.” Speech was concluded, there was a brief momentary address to the president, lead by Lance.” Mr President, we have seen the worst there is in space, I nearly died about three times in the span of a week, and so, I have lost all sense of censorship or formalities and I’ve come to say this to you, right here, right now…. fuck you, you egotistical dickwad” the president hung up the video call, remembering that the whole conversation was televised. Lance dabbed. “ I’ve been wanting to say that ever since he got elected, no sexist racist pig is going to live and not get an earful from me!” , Lance somehow managed to say between giggles and high fiving Pidge.

Eventually they made their way to Lance’s home in the pampas, Lance sitting in the backseat, teaching coran and allura the lyrics to don’t cry for me Argentina, grabbing a desert Rose on the way.

“ I’M HOME!” Lance called out. Hunk dragged everyone about six steps back as a swarm of young kids enveloped him. Hunk did a headcount and paled, “ shit! They shipped in the extended family! Everybody back!” then Lance was bombarded with aunts and uncles and sisters and brothers and cousins. The assembly completely blocked the door until his mother walked through the parting crowd.” Mi precioso hijo, qué te han hecho … nunca debiste haber ido a ese maldito lugar, oré por ti todos los días … ¿sentías mis oraciones?” Hunk fawned over the stocky woman’s words from a distance, Lance teared up when she placed her hands on his face, fingers in his mostly white hair with brown tips, and thumbs over his scars. “ Sí Mamá, sentí tus oraciones, me salvaron la vida mientras estaba tocando una estrella para ti mamá. Y mira, por todos mis problemas, la estrella me tocó de nuevo. Ja, ja, tengo amigos ahora mama. Conoces a Hunk y Pidge, conoce a Shiro, Keith, Matt, Sam, Cora-” Lance’s mom interupts his introductions by throwing her arms around Allura and Coran. The real shocker came when she began to shift form.

She had much darker skin, long flowing blue hair, and was incredibly tall.

“ Mum, you were here on Earth this whole time? I thought you died on Altea, decaphebes ago… wait, you came here to earth and joined a new family, did you ever think about us?”, Allura asked hurt by her eyes which betrayed her, spilling tears she never meant anyone else to see.

“ Oh, darling… I thought about you every day, I had to start this family to keep myself and Akatanine alive here on Earth, we lived with her human mate and child for a while, until the government came around looking for us. We had to leave them, she was crushed. Then, I met Antonio and he really helped me get over the loss of Altea, and Akatanine’s family and sanity. I never once stopped thinking about you, your father was a fool, prompting fighting between Zarkhan and Dossantos. It cost us all so many dear friends… “ a face appeared in the attic window, the Asian-hispanic woman looked like she had just been woken from a cat nap by all the commotion. Lance tapped his mother on the shoulder and took Allura by the arm to face her,

“ ¡Espera … quieres decirme que he coqueteado con mi hermanastra! ¿Quién es este Akatanine? Es que Rosita Flora Pequeña? La loca borracha que vive en el ático? ¡Quién salta por la ventana, Dios mío!” Lance screamed as Rosita jumped out of the window and stuck the superhero landing, turning purple and furry as she ran to embrace Keith. “ You know what, now all the drinking and the crying and the babbling at small purple things makes sense”, Pidge mumbled as Akatanine nuzzled her face into Keith’s hair. Poor Keith was stunned, the half Galra teen couldn’t move a muscle.

“ Mother used ‘cuddle’. It was effective.”, Shiro snickered.

Lance walked into the house with his family and almost screamed again seeing all the prayer candles lit in the living room/ common bedroom. Each candle had either Jesus, Guardian Angels, or the Virgin Mother; as well as Lance’s name and picture taped to them. Shiro smiled when he looked at some of the low, lit candles. The ones his mother had lit all had different baby pictures.

Lance only now got a good look at whom he had thought his mother was. Her long light blue hair reached her back, her skin was about three shades darker than normal, and her arms legs and cheeks were more defined and adorned by dark blue marks, much like his were adorned by black and white marks.” Let’s see, hunk is clearly Yellow’s new Paladin, Green must have chosen Miss Pidge over there, cuddly over there looks like a red Paladin, tall, strong and posterboy must be the leader here… and my lance doesn’t belong to any of them but Blue… How accurate am I, spot on, right? I was the Blue Paladin first, so I know our ladies fairly well!”, Lance and Allura’s mom elbowed Shiro in the ribs lightly.

“Actually we kinda switched up after Shiro disappeared, I was the Black Paladin for a time and lance piloted Red for me and Allura took Blue on the rare occasion we needed her to form Voltron.”, Keith spoke up from the swarm of Lance’s sisters and occasional brother who were all cuddling him,” It was kind of scary, his bayard went from a gun to a huge battle axe, we had no idea how calculated his every move was until he abandoned that to be the impulsive instinctual Paladin Red needs.” Mama looked like she was about to cry,” That was a mistake, Allura should have taken Red, Blue Takes the most empathetic and strategic Paladin… That’s what kept Lance in America while all of us were deported.. He was a strategic genius.”

“Well he was really brash when we got here, too! He even told off the president on live television. See,” Pidge sat in front of Mama and opened the video

“ Mr President, we have seen the worst there is in space, I nearly died about three times in the span of a week, and so, I have lost all sense of censorship or formalities and I’ve come to say this to you, right here, right now…. fuck you, you egotistical dickwad” the president hung up the video call, remembering that the whole conversation was televised. Lance dabbed. ‘ mmmm whatchasaaaayy’ played behind Lance’s smile as someone dropped the deal with it shades on his smirking face” Mama’s hand rose and was promptly filled with a flip-flop from one of Lance’s brothers. “ Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggh, la chancla !!!!!!!!!” Lance yelled as he ran to the far side of the house, the rest of the family, including the Paladins almost died laughing.

Marina; Lance’s older sister, who had perpetually red hair, due to being full Altean, as it was later revealed, felt it was necessary to embarrass her brother further and took a large cardboard box full of junk by the couch, his full length Kerberos Mission™ poster strategically placed so that Shiro’s face encircled with red lipstick was visible to the pilots on the couch.

“Hey, guys, I’m burning Trash, anything you want to get rid of?”

Lance lunged for the poster, knocking it into Shiro’s hands.” Not that, Space Baby.” Lance deadpanned. Shiro unfurled the long glossy paper, careful to not smudge the lipstick that formed a heart around his face.

“ I forgot that the Garrison made these! Oh God, this is adorable… is it okay if i keep this?”, Shiro asked in between chuckles,” So… lance, ummm, there’s a feminism march going on tomorrow at the capitol building, I was going to… ask… You to uhhh… maybe… iffff yoouu wantedtoo maybe? Hopefully? “, Shiro covered his eyes, he was struggling with one of the easiest things in the world” GOOUTWITHMETOIT,LIKEONADATE! dear god that was a disaster.” there are no words in the room. Shiro, fearless leader, just got so flustered he almost screwed up asking out lance… oh yeah and he just asked out lance! “Sure, why not?” lance chirped nonchalantly, trying to hide the circles his head was running in.

Oh, my God. the whole thing was a glorious disaster. Shiro had painted white streaks everywhere Lance had black and white streaks. Lance had his mother and his sister hoisted onto his shoulders, Shiro supported Pidge and Allura as they stood in the palms of his hands, the show off. Everyone in the rally aside from the Paladins and family wore blue shirts, sweaters, binders , and sports bras with the caption “ Fuck you, you egotistical dickwad” inscribed in black curly letters. Lance wore a black “I’m with the gay space ranger “ crop top showing off every dash of sharp contrast on his skin. Shiro wore a blue, get this, mesh tank… remember the 90’s? Now you do. With “ I kissed a hero” hand embroidered onto it; Keith suspected Galra arm use. Pidge wore a “ Kick Ass, Go to Space, Piss People Off Because I’m Aro/Ace” sweatshirt, it’s freezing out here, dammit, Lance. Keith rode piggyback on Hunk, not cuz he’s gay or anything though, no, no ,no, it’s just… his legs are too short, there it’s been said… he wears an unironic “ I want to believe “ shirt. Hunk is wearing a cute red Magic School Bus tank top, that came right out of his closet. Sophia wore a Carrie Fisher tee shirt and Marina wore a “ Don’t Make me overthrow the feudal system that you call government” dress. Allura wore a dress that Lance had knitted for her all in one night and looked like she could snap a man in half and they would thank her. Coran wore a denim jacket with “space uncle” and a moustache on it’s back. “

“And that is how the most favorable outcome of this situation plays out”, Slav says as he closes the hologram projection of the best possible reality. “ I cuss out the president…” Lance said with a worrying amount of glee. “ Dude, you almost die, like three times in the best scenario… that doesn’t phase you?” Keith probes, quite concerned. “ Nah, I almost die every time I walk out of my bedroom… that stopped phasing me after I got blown up… I’ve accepted the fact that not even death wants me… but that asshole deported my family before the Kerberos mission… I’d love to cuss him out! I actually have been plotting with Shiro and Matt so things might work out in our favor if we stick to the script… C'mon buddy, let’s go train so I can be a badass.” Keith wouldn’t tell anyone just how terrified he was… of seeing Shiro in the blue mesh tank again.

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New Post has been published on Biology Dictionary

New Post has been published on https://biologydictionary.net/prosthesis/

Prosthesis

Prosthesis Definition

A prosthesis is an artificial device that can aid or even replace an impaired or missing limb. The field of prosthetics has experienced a rich and storied evolution, dating back to Ancient Egyptian peg legs and hand hooks (circa 1500 BC). Though prosthetics have come a long way since, what remains is their impact.

The word “prosthesis” itself is rooted in the Greek words “pros” (in addition) and “tithenai” (to place). Prostheses are either placed externally or are implanted within the defective body part. Typically, a team of healthcare professionals chooses the “right” prosthesis and guides their patient through a rehabilitative phase of learning how to live with their new artificial device. Each patient’s reason for needing a prosthetic may vary, but it could involve:

Birth defects

Trauma (i.e. auto accidents, military combat)

Cancer

Circulatory problems from diabetes or atherosclerosis that culminate in an amputation

Modern Prosthetics

The process of building a customized prosthetic limb has become increasingly refined over the years. Tailoring a prosthetic device calls for careful consideration of the patient’s body measurements, muscle / bone remnant (if any), lifestyle and activity levels, and the overall level of impairment. Since prosthetic limbs are often left to assume the complex roles left by missing muscle and nerve, scientists are tasked with creating more innovative prosthetics.

New prostheses have become so advanced that we are now able to implant a tiny device into the brain of a paralyzed patient that sends thoughts and messages via email. It is no surprise that brain-computer interface (BCI) has become an area of interest for creators and patients, alike. A recent neuro study involving rhesus macaques inserted microelectrodes into the primary somatosensory cortex of their brain. The microelectrodes were able to record the activity pattern of their neurons and transmit to prosthetic sensors that guided the motion of the prosthetic hand. Studies with human subjects take a longer road, but with the announcement in May 2017 of a bionic hand that “sees and grabs” objects automatically it seems we are headed in a very positive direction.

Finely-tuned sensors are the new field of interest within prosthetics. Much of the research in this area has focused on using EEG signaling to perfect sensory feedback in BCI technology. For example, its goal is to not only send a signal from the brain to the robotic arm but also from the arm back to the brain.

Prosthesis Materials

A variety of materials can be used in the making of artificial limbs. Much of this depends on their destined function(s) and placement. Wood is the most popularly used material, globally, as it is accessible, light and resilient, and easily shaped. Aluminum alloy is used when lightness is desired, metals for reinforcement and control, and plastic is valued for its flexibility. Silicone and polyurethane are also commonly used.

When crafting prostheses that will be placed near a patient’s joints (i.e. knee), another consideration to make is the effect surface, shape, and geometry will have on the coefficient of friction of the artificial implant. This is an important element to account for because joint mobility (the space where two bones meet) relies on smooth, frictionless movement to protect our highly-innervated bones.

Depicted in the picture is an AP view of a total knee prosthesis.

Powering the Artificial Limb

There are several ways to power artificial limbs. Most are powered by the muscles remaining on the residual limb, which are strengthened through physical therapy. Strength training may include springs, straps, gears, locks, levers, and hydraulic mechanisms. Other times, prosthetic limbs can be externally powered with motors. The patient can move his or her prosthetic device around by toggling switches. Alternatively, a more advanced way to control a prosthetic limb is through myoelectric control. Because muscles generate small electric signals each time they contract, their contractions can be detected by electrodes that then control the prosthetic limb. When a prosthetic arm has several joints, each might need to be controlled by the same switch or muscle. This can be accomplished with sequential control methods that allow one joint to be positioned at a time (i.e. a patient may need to contract a muscle or use a switch for the prosthetic limb to bend the elbow joint, that then signals the prosthetic hand to close and grip the object).

Examples of Prostheses

Prostheses come in all forms and are really customized to meet each patient’s needs. While neural prostheses may be indicated for patients with spinal injuries or paraplegia, others may need prosthetic knee systems or feet. We will discuss a few topical examples of prostheses.

Penile Prosthesis

Penile prostheses are indicated for patients with erectile dysfunction. The simplest type contains malleable rods that are implanted within the erection chambers to assist with penile erection. Newer options include hydraulic inflatable prosthesis that allow an erection that is more natural and easier to conceal.

Breast Prosthesis

Breast prostheses are commonly used by patients who have had mastectomies. Unlike penile prosthesis, breast options can be less technical. External breast prostheses can be as simple as using cotton or silicone gel padding in mastectomy bras. Transgender patients that are pre-hormonal are also known to create the illusion of breasts with skin fleshed padding/prosthesis. Likewise, women with asymmetric breasts or tubular breasts may incorporate teardrop prostheses into their wardrobe. Of course, a common type of “prosthesis” are the saline and silicone breast implants that are used for cosmetic enhancement.

Ocular Prosthesis

An ocular prosthesis, or “artificial eye,” is a type of implant that is recommended following evisceration (the “jelly like” contents of the eye and cornea are removed) or enucleation (removal of the entire eye). Though it is traditionally referred to as a glass eye, ocular prostheses have a convex shape. Some reasons for why an eye may be removed is due to injury, glaucoma, severe eye infection, or eye tumors. Unfortunately, prosthetic eyes do not restore vision so they are mainly used to improve the appearance of the affected eye socket. They are generally made of hard plastic acrylic.

Quiz

1. Which of the following is the best definition of a prosthesis? A. A device meant to provide electrical input to move existing limbs B. A device meant to reduce swelling in infected limbs C. A device meant to replace missing or impaired limbs D. A device that can only replace missing limb

Answer to Question #1

C is correct. Prostheses are designed to either replace or improve the function of impaired limbs. In essence, they are custom built to supplement whatever remnant of a limb is available, if any.

2. The transition to using a prosthetic device is closely supplemented by which medical field per the article? A. Emergency medicine B. Rehabilitative Medicine C. Radiology D. Nuclear medicine

Answer to Question #2

B is correct. Rehabilitation is a very big part of the transition into using prosthetics in a daily capacity. Learning to use a prosthetic as a limb after injury takes time and effort, and an entire team of health care staff.

3. Define enucleation? A. removal of the skin of surrounding the eye B. removal of the “jelly like” contents of the eye C. removal of the entire eye

Answer to Question #3

C is correct. Enucleation refers to the removal of the entire eye. It differs from evisceration, which removes the “jelly like” contents of the eye. Both of these processes precede the use of an artificial eye.

References

Australian Government Cancer Australia. “External breast prostheses.” Affected by Cancer. Retrieved 2017-05-12 from https://canceraustralia.gov.au/affected-cancer/cancer-types/breast-cancer/treatment/breast-reconstruction/external-prostheses

Bollinger CT (1999). “Prosthesis: indications, contraindications and follow-up.” Rev Mal Respir. 16: 665-72.

Botelho A (2013). “Monkey feels touch with prosthetic hand.” News Scientist. Retrieved 2017-05-14 from https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24401-monkey-feels-touch-with-prosthetic-hand/

Medicine Net (2017). “Erectile Dysfunction: Penile Prosthesis.” Medicine Net Sexual Health. Retrieved 2017-05-12 from http://www.medicinenet.com/penile_implants/article.htm

Norton, Kim M (2007). “A Brief History of Prosthetics.” Amputee Coalition. Retrieved from 2017-05-13 from http://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/a-brief-history-of-prosthetics/#.WRnreVPys1g

WebMd (2017). “Prosthetic Eye.” WebMD Eye Health. Retrieved 2017-05-12 from http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/prosthetic-eye-ocular-prosthesis#1

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