#and for both of them that is accepting that their paths must diverge

[boggleoflight]

In which the siblings finally part, F'yllis for Sharlayan, and F'ystran for home.

[itstheendofthegoddamnworld]

Swallowed Whole by The Flame (Messmer the Impaler x Tarnished! Reader) 1

MASTERLIST

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Summary: Tasked to hunt the demigod Messmer by order of the followers of Miquella the Kind, your purpose strays from theirs, creating a destiny you plan on executing.

A/N: I've only just started playing the DLC, but this will diverge from it and keep to a different story. One of dual pain, hardships and connection.

Your build is based on the samurai, with a nagakiba as your weapon.

Outfit: Skeletal Mask, Confessor Armor, Preceptor Gloves & Legs

A03 link

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Chapter 1: Consumed

It started with a simple task:

In the name of Miquella the Kind, find and destroy Messmer the Impaler.

A task so simple that even you believed that it could be given to one of his devoted followers. It had been Leda, the Needle Knight, standing vigilant in front of Miquella's cocoon state in Mohgwyn Palace, who had tasked you with stepping through the veil to the Realm of Shadow. She spoke of the great destiny that led you here, guided by faith. Though vague in her directions and quest, you obliged, thinking not much about what you had to do. 

Like the plague, it began with the whispering of his name.

It was the mutterings of those you vanquished - his soldiers - donned in grey and onyx - spoke his name like a curse not to be spoken. The encampments were scattered across the lands, a fire that burnt hotter than any flame you had seen before. His was brighter, bolder, harsher, casting hate and cinders to those in its path. 

You witnessed it in those who survived the crusades. It was seen in those who stumbled from crushed and burnt buildings, still smoldering as they moaned and wandered. It had been utter torment to give them mercy, for it should've been given first-hand by the tyrant himself.

What was Messmer if not a monster? If Miquella had any chance of dealing with him, how could you handle him? It did not matter what you thought; being Tarnished meant your thoughts were long forgotten and ignored. You were restless and weary from travelling, staying up as you stared into the golden hues of sites of Graces littered across the lands, thinking of what you must do.

The Shadow Keep was an ashen yet mighty stronghold, and it didn't take much to get through its walls. 

When you first caught a glimpse of the portrait that stood high and mighty in the main plaza the man himself, it had been broken and left with part of his face not visible. Torn down from the aeons, you couldn't help but notice the faint outlines of red hair that could be seen where it had been razed. It had only left you in greater agitation, grumbling to yourself that you had to deal with another redhead.

"This fucking family."

The Shadow Keep was a maze itself, with winding corridors of endless shadows and abyss. You trekked through many floors, handing fire knights as you passed until you made it to the one thing you were both loathed and pleased to see. The golden hue that encased the site of Grace in front of you told you one of many things; death loomed just in front of you. And from the site, laid the heavy doors, your path awaiting.

You camped for as long as needed, contemplating why you had decided to do all this for a demigod you did not care so much for. Miquella and the majority of Marika's children schemed, plotted and hated one another, what would one Tarnished solve?

Feeling a sense of acceptance to it all, you stood, heaving the heavy doors open as you were swallowed into nothingness.

The room was large enough, that you could only sense from how far you walked through, with no sight of Messmer anywhere. It was only when you saw the soft glimmering of embers begin to grow in size that you realised candles were being lit on their own. You marveled, before a voice cut through the stillness of the room.

"Mongrel intruder."

It stung to be spoken to like that, only did you feel your chest clench, your hand instinctively going to your scabbard, gripping it and holding your position, ready to strike if attacked first. No noise nor attack came, and when you looked around your surroundings, clearer to see through, you turned to meet the gaze of a serpentine, staring curiously back at you.

"Thou'rt... Tarnished, it seemth," the voice seemed surprised, though there was a toll of tiredness to the richness of his voice. It reverberated through the throne room and your hammering chest. "Mother, wouldst thou truly Lordship sanction," the snake pulled back from you, retreating away as you caught sight of who it was going back to, "in one so bereft of light?"

From the shadows, a throne stood, and with it, the man you were looking for.

He was larger than you imagined, slowly rising from his seat as he staggered towards you. His long arms swayed as did the two winged serpents attached to him, wrapped around him like vines. Everything to him was red, his hair, clothing and snakes, deadly and intense. "Yet... My purpose standeth unchanged." His voice was a soft timbre, albeit twisted with spite.

From his hands, came a swarm of flames, smouldering and blazing just as they did all before. You could see your hanging body through them, a vision of chaos and destruction that awaited if you did not do anything. But he loomed over you even from a height, raising his flaming hand like a trophy to behold, his other hand gripping the daunting spear with ease. "Those stripped of the Grace of Gold shall all meet death." The fire burnt in his golden eye, raging as fierce as him, full of hatred for something like you. Impure, stripped from grace, "in the embrace of Messmer's flame."

You weren't given much of a chance to pull forth your nagakiba, for Messmer had lunged high into the air, embued in flames as he spear in hand, slamming down into the ground. You had a few seconds to roll out of the way, as when he landed, flame and spears burst forth, nearly catching you by the cloth of your armour. Ash and cinders burnt into your nostrils, with no time to retreat as his spear reached towards you with such speed that it didn't seem possible. 

You rolled again to avoid his swift movements, getting caught in the final jab that caught you in the thigh. You hissed, blood sizzling, your grieves soaked with blood and fraying with burnt ashes. You took some more jabs at you, one to your side and the shoulder as you tried to stay as close in range as possible, attempting to swipe at him before he could stab back at you. He immediately took a more defensive stance and avoided your cut. You sheathed your blade, waiting for him to lunge before you leapt forth, unsheathing your blade and landing a blow he could not avoid. It seemed impressive in the seconds, a hiss drawing from his lips, eye burning furiously down towards you when his spear thrust in a flurry, giving you no time to revel in your small victory.

The heat that rolled off him had left no air to fill your lungs, leaving you panting and struggling. It had caused him to believe he had the upper hand, advancing towards you ready to strike when you rolled further back from him. When you were far back enough, you pulled forth from your pocket the grease you had found many times in your travels. The freezing grease burnt through your gloves as you applied it to your blade, shining in contrast to the barrel of flames being thrown towards you.

You rolled but you got caught again, crying out aloud as Messmer charged towards you, hand out as if ready to grab you. With enough time, you swung your blade down, catching him by the exposed flesh of his thigh and moving out of the way before he could grab you. 

With his back towards you, you swung again, hitting him against his armour and once more to get him to move away from you. You could hear the snakes hissing in pain with him, making you wonder if they shared his pain. 

Messmer pulled back, fire against ice, leaping to the air as he in time when he landed, you landed a heavier blow. The sound that came from him was garbled, stopping to look down at his arm as he jumped backwards. It had been just a win to stagger him backwards, knocking him to his knees, his spear thudding by his side. The grease had gotten him so good that it left him bleeding, but his pride had not been broken, only strengthened.

"I will not suffer," he gasped, wisps of red hair floating through his serpentine helm. "A lord devoid of light." When he stood, it was slow, painfully slow. But something had awoken in him. He may have been part God, but he was still part man, a broken man at that, tired from the throws of his mother's war. Behind his throne, stood a statue of a woman, clutching to her chest a babe swaddled in cloth. "O mother, forgive me." There was a strain in his voice, defeat heavy that laid on his shoulders.

You didn't know what he would do next except destroy you further in body and soul, but when he paused to reach towards his face, did you realise what he was doing. His eye was not real, a seal to keep something within him away. Unleashing it would would not stop anything, and draw further misery for you to deal with.

Don't let him do this. A voice in your mind was frantic, screaming at you to do something as you watched his hand draw closer and closer to his eye. Your panic rose like a wildfire in your chest before you could even realise what the words you were saying were.

"I yield." Your adrenaline was fading fast, panic pumping swiftly in your veins. You needed to say it louder, louder for him to hear before it was too late. "I yield." This time, there was a trace of defeat laced in your screams. "I YIELD!"

It had been enough to pause the Impaler from his actions, his seeing-eye peering back at you with as much surprise as you did for him. Neither of you spoke, the sounds of your heavy breathing danced along the large room. You realised in that moment from the way he was glaring at you that it wasn't that he didn't hear you, but that he wanted you to repeat it. You crumpled, your shoulders slumped, and your voice had a soft timbre. "Messmer... I yield." To further keep to your word, you threw your katana backwards from you, holding emphasis on your words if he ever did believe them.

He didn't answer you at first, and his eerie gaze had left you feeling more ill at ease than intimidated. Hatred, fascination, intrigue? It was hard to decipher what he was thinking. 

"Thee wisheth to surrend'r when thee hath raised thy blade at me?" His words startled you out of your thoughts, his voice a hiss of venom and mocking you. Your peripheral caught his two serpents, intertwining around their master like a shield, hissing lowly into the dimly lit room in warning. 

"It was hard to explain myself when you were already lunging at me!" It was a pathetic reason, and Messmer knew it as much, still as if ready to rip his eye out if you didn't give a good enough answer. Tarnished like yourself were never given the time of day for a reason. The blade was always swung first before you could ask questions, nor for a reason to side with them. A lonely life, even surrounded by others like yourself, you knew it wouldn't matter to the kin of Gods if you sided with them. 

"Thou art not the first tarnished to enter mine own halls, nor the lasteth," Messmer uttered, the grip on his spear was daunting as you stared both down. "Wand'ring through mine own keep, wishing for mercy and boons?  Bid me, which foul being hath sent thee here?" 

This was your only chance to explain yourself, and even still, you could end just the same as his enemies, spiked up for all the world to see of his terrors. "I've come to warn you. Miquella is up to something-- his followers told me to come here, to hunt you. I know nothing of what he's doing or needs, but it involves killing you."

It was at that moment that you truly sounded foolish, not knowing what Leda had tasked you with. Why did she need Messmer dead if she could not task herself or another to do it? And why did it involve Miquella?

The air around Messmer grew in confidence, and he looked all the more like a God painted in crimson. "So he sends a decoy to distract me whilst he plots?" His lips twist into a small smirk, though he looks still bored by it all. You can hear your own breathing as Messmer moves towards you calculatingly slow, his intimidating body twisted from his curse.

His voice was a mere whisper at his next words:

"Tell mine own broth'r and his devotees I shall has't their heads or I shall has't their loyalty. "

You were too taken aback by the presence of him so close to you now, concentrating on his words that you didn't notice the presence behind you fast approaching. Something smacked you in the back of your head so hard that your world spun. Your helm nearly fell from your head, but you had no time to react to it when the ground was meeting you.

Quick to the ground, you fell to a knee, trying to pull out a dagger on the person behind you, before another pair of arms grabbed you, twisting your wrist back as a scream so vicious left your broken body. Your dagger was knocked from your hand, landing inches from the demigod's feet. Messmer simply watched as his fire knights seized you, dragging you up as you writhed and struggled.

This was it, the end of your attempts and to be an enemy not just to Messmer but to Miquella for betraying him and Leda. Death had seemed to be the only you wished to welcome in these moments rather than face their wrath.

"Add her to the gaols," he spoke, spinning on his heel as he slowly walked away from you, "perhaps our guest shall wisheth for some blessings."

And so, you screamed for him, screamed for all the anguish, the misery and pain of being tarnished, lightless. The weight of something once again smacked you against your head, this time a straight blow to the side. You groaned, darkness dotting your vision as the last thing you saw was the sight of crimson, as deadly and beautiful as his flames.

-

A/N:

I realised I can't write fight scenes to save my life.

[biebuli]

MY opinion to The Chameleon

MY first version is CHINESE so I share my opinion by CHINESE. Also have ENGLISH version, BUT might not express myself well, English isn't my native language. IF you like this opinion, you can consider both the Chinese and English versions together.

the chameleon-魅影妖后

zhen-小真

其实我还蛮欣赏妖后的，除了畸形母女情戳中我的点还有一个原因是，她和其他三位的反派立意感不太一样，她面对的困境与片子里同样的学武的女性角色也不一样。

虎妞和小蛇尽管都是女性，但是一个有师傅和种族力量，一个有种族敏捷和武侠家庭背景，她们在武学这条路上社会身份（师门）和自身素质（天赋/能力）足以忽略性别（社会主流男性视角）带来的不平等，因此不会太难。从设定上来说妖后是一个没有背景���瘦弱的女性不被主流武学承认学习武术的能力和天份，所以另辟蹊径自学变形、幻术（法术？魔法？总之是魔法攻击）。三无身份不被主流接受，所以用其他方式做大做强，蜥妃回宫。如果她不是一个反派，一定会拿励志剧本的，一个从底层爬起来的女性！（这告诉我们不要在一件事上死磕，通过别的方式也能达到想要的目的，虽然我们在功夫的世界，但是我们也可以追求其他东西）

与其他三位反派相比较，妖后的设定上就会发现她其实站在一个男性（包括传统武侠）视角的对立面，她的地位在男性视角下是不受尊重的，她的身形在男性视角下是弱小的，她的性别在男性视角下是客体。一个不能被男性社会接纳、认可的女性，要么顺从社会运转的思维，甘愿成为一个客体，要么就是反抗，把自己变成主体——这样就会有两条路，要么打出专属女性的道路，要么就是变成一个拥有女性身体的男人。（我认为妖后这两条路在剧情塑造下算是融合在一块了）她攻击了每一个反派，一方面是剧情需要，另一方面算是对男性主体的世界外表层面反驳。之所以说是外表层面，因为她的变形借用其实也说明她还是认可男性主体这件事的，她没有完成真正意义上的反驳。 但这不意味着妖后这个角色很败笔，她还是展现出了其他反派相对稀缺的独立性。大龙、沈王爷、天煞将军他们其实都在复仇-获取认可，经历了他人对自己带来了巨大创伤之后做出回击，他们在情感上都有非常强烈的对具体他者的执念性。

妖后其实没有这种对具体他者的执念性，她在情感上独立，她要做的事情是来源于自我意志的，她没有上者（大龙与师傅、沈王爷与父母/羊仙姑）和同辈（天煞与乌龟）的情感纠葛，唯一有情感关系性的下者小真，也是她的自我的投射。她对小真的愤怒表层是背叛，深层是来源于自我投射的偏离。因为社会主流男性视角，习惯将女性作为客体，现代社会女性拥有了主体的权力，但客体的身份属性仍然在身上，使得女性在这样的情况下拥有主体和客体的双重视角。对妖后来说，小真作为客体是养女，作为主体是曾经的她。所以说妖后是自恋的，不允许自我意志受到外界的倾轧，她所欣赏的自始自终都是她自己。

尽管KFP4的故事不尽如人意，可是一个独立的、拥有自我意志的、自恋的底层爬起来的女性，怎么让人不心动呢？

Actually, I quite admire the the chameleon. Besides resonating with the theme of the twisted mother-daughter relationship, there's another reason: her characterization differs from the other three villains. The challenges she faces and her response to them diverge from those of other female martial artists depicted in the film.

While Tigress and Viper are both female characters, one possesses a master and racial abilities, and the other has racial agility and comes from a martial arts family background. Their social status (martial arts sect) and personal qualities (talent/abilities) are sufficient to overlook the gender-based inequalities (from the mainstream male perspective) on the path of martial arts. Hence, their journey isn't too difficult. In terms of setup, the chameleon is portrayed as a backgroundless, frail woman whose ability and talent in martial arts are not recognized by the mainstream martial arts community. Therefore, she takes a different path, self-studying shapeshifting and magic( magical attacks). With no recognized status, she seeks other means to gain power and influence, eventually returning to the palace as the Lizard Consort. If she weren't a villain, her story would likely be an inspirational script about a woman rising from the bottom! (This teaches us not to be fixated on one thing; we can achieve our goals through other means. Even in the world of martial arts, we can pursue other things.)

Compared to the other three antagonists, the chameleon characterization reveals that she actually stands in opposition to a male (including traditional arts) perspective. Her status is not respected, her physique is seen as weak, and her gender is objectified from the male perspective. A woman who isn't accepted or acknowledged by male society must either conform to societal norms and become an object or rebel and assert herself as a subject. This presents two paths: either carving out a path exclusive to women or becoming a man with a female body. (I believe the chameleon embodies both paths in the narrative.) Her attack for each villain is partly due to the plot's needs and partly a rebuttal to the male-dominated world on the surface. This rebuttal is superficial because her use of shapeshifting implies her acceptance of the male-dominated society; she hasn't truly opposed it.

However, this doesn't mean the chameleon is a failure as a character; she still exhibits independence, which is relatively rare among the other antagonists. Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and General Kai are all driven by revenge - seeking acknowledgment and retaliating after suffering immense trauma caused by others. They all have strong emotional attachments to specific individuals. The chameleon, on the other hand, lacks this attachment to specific individuals; her actions stem from her own will. She doesn't have emotional entanglements with superiors (Tai Lung with his master, Lord Shen with his parents/Sheep Elder) or peers (General Kai with Master Oogway), and her only emotional connection is with zhen, who is a projection of herself. Her anger towards zhen is superficially about betrayal but fundamentally stems from her deviation from her self-projection. Due to the male-dominated perspective, which habitually objectifies women, modern women possess the power of subjectivity but still carry the attributes of objects, giving them a dual perspective of subjectivity and objectivity. For the chameleon, zhen represents both an object (as a foster daughter) and a subject (as her former self). Thus, the chameleon is narcissistic, refusing to let her self-will be crushed by external forces, and everything she admires ultimately reflects herself.

Despite the shortcomings of KFP4's story, how can one not be drawn to an independent, self-willed, narcissistic woman who rises from the bottom?

[birbleafs]

[fic] Stasis

Series: Genshin Impact Rating: T Characters/Pairing: Kavetham. Al-Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno and Tighnari. Also, very brief mentions of Al-Haitham’s grandmother and parents. Additional Tags: Canon Divergent, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild/Bittersweet Angst (but there's a happy ending I promise), essentially a what-if scenario with the Divine Knowledge capsules. Summary: Al-Haitham and Kaveh run into several anomalies, and are trapped in a cyclic stasis. A/N: I lied, I do have a short birthday ficlet lol. Inspired mostly by that one hauntingly gorgeous fanart on twitter. The idea wouldn't leave my brain for weeks, so I had to keysmash out some feels :'') Also, happy birthday to my favouritest weirdo cat, Al-Haitham ❤︎ Fic can also be read on AO3. _______

It’s the seventh time they have walked down this narrow path through the dimly-lit underpass. The seventh time they have passed by too-familiar faces, too-cherished voices; ghostly whispers and distorted laughter that creep closer at every turn, at every flicker between shadow and light. The ceramic tiles lining the walls of the underpass are a polished bone-white, void of any pixel or colour. The overhead lamps are humming with a persistently piercing drone that crawls down his spine, prickling glass shards beneath his skin. Nonetheless, Al-Haitham doesn’t cease from stepping in just as Kaveh reaches an arm out towards the beckoning silhouettes; never hesitates to prevent Kaveh from pursuing guilt and being ensnared by long-dead memories that only mimic fleeting shadows of happiness without the warmth, always dragging Kaveh away to safety, again and again and again… even if it means both of them remain trapped in a cyclic stasis, in this repetitious melancholy of despondency.

He may not have realised it yet— (He does; he always does) Or perhaps he can’t quite bring himself to steady the tremulous disquiet within his heart. To accept and acquiesce to reason, to the unfaltering truth— (He must; this… this isn’t like him at all!) Al-Haitham trudges on, his brow creased into a barely imperceptible frown as he tightens his hold around Kaveh; presses his fingers against the pulse thrumming brightly along Kaveh’s left wrist. He’s not letting go of Kaveh again (Al-Haitham's already lost him once before; already lost Teyta… lost far too many too soon, these little pieces of his own, of home). He can’t, he won’t… “—isten, Al-Haitham! Haitham!” Kaveh’s troubled voice startles him then, breaking through the fog of nebulous thoughts, the rising surge of emotion and memories. He flicks a furtive gaze over his shoulder, head angled in confusion. Kaveh is heaving, inhaling deep breaths as though he had been running miles within the labyrinthine twist of tunnels, even though Al-Haitham is certain they had only walked less than thirty paces ahead on this one straight path. “I’m sorry, Haitham,” Kaveh says as he lifts his head; meets Al-Haitham’s perplexed teal gaze with a wry and near-despondent smile. “But I have to save you too.” The knife is already buried deep within his chest, the bitter surprise only a lingering aftertaste when Kaveh closes the distance between them in a whirl of crimson, gold and blue. “Kaveh…?” Al-Haitham chokes at the wrenching pain, unresisting as Kaveh pulls him into a stifling embrace. His vision is already flickering with dark spots, pain searing beneath his skin when Kaveh drives the sharp blade further into his flesh. Blood trails bright and crimson beneath the jewelled piercing in Al-Haitham’s chest and he relents completely, giving into the darkness.

※

When he blinks awake once more, Kaveh is brushing grime and the smudged kohl from the corner of his eyes, trembling but warm hands still cupping at his face. “We’ve confiscated all the lost Capsules and shut them off. That should've severed the link completely. There might still be some residuals, but there shouldn’t be any serious effects remaining from these forgeries.” The… General Mahamatra’s voice drifts from somewhere behind Kaveh. Another figure glances over him briefly, long furry ears twitching in concern—someone that Al-Haitham thinks he should recognise easily but he can’t quite sieve the exact name from the dregs of this mental fog. “His heart rate is a little elevated, but his breathing looks to be normal. We should still get him checked at the Bimarstan, however, just as a precaution. But it’s all right, Kaveh; he should be relatively fine.” “Kaveh,” Al-Haitham says hoarsely, when the mist gradually recedes from his mind and he finally remembers. He presses Kaveh’s trembling left hand closer against his cheek, and exhales a slow, deep sigh. “You fool.” Kaveh’s voice is low and strained, raw with the conflicting meld of emotions, even if he doesn't recoil from Al-Haitham’s touch; doesn’t release his hold. His fingers curl tight into the dishevelled strands of Al-Haitham’s matted hair, drawing Al-Haitham close to his chest once more. “You arrogant, reckless fool. It could have been worse. You could have been trapped in a coma, your mind broken forever… You could have died, Haitham, and I would have lost yo—! I—Ugh—Don’t you ever go off without me again!” For once, he doesn’t refute Kaveh’s flurry of accusations; doesn’t brush away the stray tears that drip from Kaveh’s crumbling expression to his forehead as the clouds of worry and apprehension finally burst and solace washes over both of them. “Thank you,” Al-Haitham huffs a soft, ragged laugh instead as he returns the embrace, grounding himself once more in the warmth of Kaveh’s hold. “For coming back for me. For saving me.” —End— _______ End Notes:

- Teyta/Teta [ تِيتا ] = Arabic for "grandmother". The formal way of addressing your grandmother in standard Arabic is jaddah [ جَدَّ ] but there are many variations depending on the region and dialect used. Also iirc, teyta is informal and commonly used by children. I like the headcanon that Al-Haitham likely still addresses Grandma (in his head anyway) the way he did as a child.

- I had actually planned to write and post a longer AU oneshot for Al-Haitham's birthday. But work has been eating my brain/energy and keeping me too busy, so I've decided to let this other WIP percolate and simmer a little longer. Hopefully it'll be ready for posting by Kaveh's birthday? Then they can both share a birthday gift fic - they’re already joined at the hip anyway lol.

- When I wrote this short fic, I didn't know anything about The Exit 8 game and have only seen different fanart versions of the redraw meme. So I wrote this from the perspective of Al-Haitham not being aware that his mind was slowly being corrupted by (seemingly) forged Divine Knowledge capsules which turned out to have residuals of Forbidden Knowledge. And of course, the plot-twist of him being saved by Kaveh instead (you save the ones you care for and are saved in return)...

- Sorry but also not sorry lol about the (literal) knife of feels to the heart :") Something something, the symbolism of Kaveh being the one to sever the grasps of Forbidden Knowledge from completely overwhelming and breaking Al-Haitham's mind. Yeah.

- Comments are always lovely; if you've enjoyed this, I'd love to hear what you think. Thank you for reading!

[amory444]

what are ur thoughts on alchemy and philosophy and how does this connect to pruaus

FUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA(I forgot the pruaus part BUT I HAVE A LONGER RAHT FOR THAT.)

Alchemy has always been connected humanitys will to imitate and to be on par with the holy. The idea that we too could purify, mold, and combine objects and elements into our will-hell even our image- is actually what we think gods and deities could do. As much as people claim that alchemy was a sort of praise and worship of god, it was also the culmination of envy for the power that one thing holds over us.

We don't like being controlled, we like free will, we also like to look at something and say "yes! Yes that is me!". That's why we said the moon was feminine and the sun was masculine, that is why we created god even. We created someone in our image, someone we consider perfect, taking each part of what we consider perfect. It is what we are, what we want, but they both contradict. We are contradictory that is our nature. We want peace yet we want power, we want freedom yet we want control, we want love yet we want revenge. Alchemy has always been about the path to become like god, to be able to purify, create, and mold. We give objects something that we can relate to, because that's only way we're able to relate, to understand. Because all we really wanted was to understand ourselves.

The goal of alchemy is to reach a greater high, to create gold or to achieve the philosopher stone. One or the other, what's important ad that we achieve. Life has always been about a path to a goal.

"I am hungry, I must eat, my goal is to find food. "

"I am bored, I must seek, my goal is to find entertainment. "

"I want to understand, I want to know, my goal is to discover. "

A life without meaning is a life without a path, humans are always looking for something this they are always on a road to somewhere both literally and metaphorically. In alchemy we have principles, principles are not the base, they are not the original, they are simply he start in which things diverge. From salt we opened the path of stabilization of minerals, with sypfur we dissolved objects to welcome a new state. Alchemy itself was a step in the direction of chemistry and logic, as opposing as logic and belief can be.

By looking at things as humans, we discover more about ourselves as we try to fit ourselves into the box of the non living. Everytime we try to understand something we also try tp understand ourselves. Humans, as much as they can understand everything around them, cannot comprehend their own sub conscious. Because it's not ruled by a law of any kind. Scientifically, our psyche was never ruled by higher beings, our likes and dislikes are not always ruled by our environments, even down to our birth we can't exactly pin point why exactly we were born to this body, to this conscience, to this shape. But a rock, a rock is built on minerals and years of reaction. It has a law to follow, and idea to uphold, something we never had.

The only true wat to understand, is to combine. To study humans non alignment with the strict following of objects. To combine the rabid constant feminine with the still and calm masculine. The conscious that we know and the unconscious that we dont. To combine, amalgamate, to mold, the point is that we want to connect

As much as we like to believe that science, feelings, objects, things, life, is separate and on its own, we also have to accept that reality will always be a culmination of everything.

Alchemy is science, if science incorporated philosophy. Philosophy is science, if there never was alchemy.

Life's goal is the path as much as the path leads to the goal. To find the path we need to connect, to find the next route, to see the differing roads to walk to achieve our next destination. We can never truly be seperate as everything connects into everything and this everything is everything, but at the same time everything is nothing. No matter what we do we always try to connect the non human to the human, through numbers and symbols, whatever.

[shrikeseams]

I think a Miriel/Indis relationship that predates Miriel's death isn't ever going to work for me (note: FOR ME. FOR ME. JUST ME. If you love that take I am happy for you and this post is not for you! ), specifically because it compounds my issue with Finwe's choice to remarry in the first place.

Finwe's choice to remarry is fundamentally selfish and self-serving. The only possible benefit to Miriel, the woman he chose to marry unto the end of Arda, is... I guess relief from Finwe and Namo and anyone else pestering her to hurry up and be reimbodied already. Finwe remarried because Finwe and Miriel have permanently diverged on life goals that they formerly shared, and Finwe, under consultation with Manwe and Eru, decided that meant it was morally acceptable to abandon the mutually binding life path that Finwe and Miriel's marriage represented, in a way that would rob Miriel of any path forward whatsoever. I, personally, cannot get past that, and it fundamentally colors my perception of Finwe in a negative way.

If Miriel already had a strong romantic, sexual, or even just platonic relationship with Indis in addition to Finwe, then... it just feels like doubling the number of people willing to abandon Miriel once she's no longer doing what society wants of her. It means that *both* of her lovers made a deliberate choice to trap her in death for their own happiness. It makes Indis the exact same brand of selfish as Finwe, which could be interesting, but (for me) doesn't make for an interesting or satisfying Indis/Miriel relationship. Or at least, certainly not a relationship that resumes once Miriel returns to life. I guess the only way that would work for me would be for them to try to find and demark their new boundaries, in light of both (or all three's) ultimate choice(s) to abandon each other. A once-beautiful relationship gone thorny and sour on all sides. A romance with no more space for second chances.

Now, I'm all for them getting close (again, in whichever way, romantic or physical or platonic) after Finwe's death! At a bare minimum I feel like they must get drunk and reminisce/bitch together once a month or so. I think they could have a really special dynamic together as people who ultimately survived Finwe. But to me, that dynamic hinges or being no more than acquaintances before Miriel's death.

[mail-forwarding]

Thinking about how Oniwaka tried to push beyond his role. How attached he must have been to Yoshitsune as Benkei (and how deeply he misunderstood Yoshitsune's core motivation, and yet how deeply he did understand Yoshitsune's circumstances and what he was like as a person), to still try to twist his Role of the Stalwart into becoming a Shield, even after his rebirth and summoning to Tokyo. Because he couldn't let go.

Thinking about how, unlike a lot of other Transients with distorted attachment to their Exile (possibly all of them? people like Makara don't count because their attachments aren't distorted), he eventually resolves his grief entirely on his own. He accepts his Role, accepts its limitations, because he needs to accept the truth of his past (he could not have stopped Yoshitsune –– he could not have saved his lord) and the reality of the present (dying together in a blaze of glory is actually really stupid, and what both he and MC want more than anything is to simply live in peace and be together, whatever form "together" takes). Yoshitsune is gone and so is Benkei, and they're not coming back. But Oniwaka is still here. MC is still here.

MC needs protection, but more than that, MC needs his companionship. One could argue that MC doesn't really need protection at all –– what they need is guarding. They need a Stalwart on their side, who will fight alongside them and stay by them, not a Shield to take hits for them or die for them. You can't guard someone when you're dead.

Post-Setsubun Oniwaka is ascended Oniwaka, Oniwaka at the height of his enlightenment. He knows his path and what lies ahead. He knows what he must do. He accepts his past and his failures and the hurt he's caused, and he's moving forward past it all. Sure, that only lasts so long as the loop does, but it's also canon that impressions linger. Maybe the Oniwaka we see in the Main Quest and in previous events has long since diverged from the Oniwaka who was first summoned. Maybe the Oniwaka we see in Chapter 3, tortured and lonely, suffered setbacks after setbacks as the Game devolved –– but how does the Oniwaka in Chapter 8 come across?

("I'll never forget you said I was wanted. So... I'd rather not do anything that would make you sad." And what would make MC sadder than Oniwaka sacrificing himself for their sake? What would make them happier than to attain that long-sought peace, to open the Gates and explore this world, together?)

[tuiyla]

What do you think brittana was like after the auditorium scene in 4x22, together and separately, during the rest of that day, what do you think was going through each of their minds etc etc

I was gonna say I swear I've covered post-4x22 but on a larger timescale not later that day so I appreciate this v much. Love me some 4x22 Brittana thoughts.

From Santana's pov I think it was a quiet "defeat" - because Brittany was going away and she looked at this as the true end of their relationship. Technically, Britt was going to be closer to where Santana is in New York but it's more of a symbolic distance than a physical one. Brittany going to MIT and now leaving Lima just as Santana did signifies the end of an era. As weird as this might sound, I think part of Santana felt like she also belonged at McKinley as long as Brittany was still there. Their breakup wasn't "official" and she kept going back whenever Finn asked with the not so lowkey goal of seeing Brittany. I guess they have the official breakup in Diva, if not sooner, but this is different. Brittany is ultimately choosing to embark on the MIT journey and so their paths diverge for real now. And Santana's happy for her, as the person who always believed in Britt and is there for her as a friend, but it must be a bittersweet feeling. I think this fits with the vibe we get from Santana at the start of season 5 and with Dani. She's come to terms with her and Britt being over (even though she will eventually jump back into a relationship with her) and this is the day she comes to that conclusion. As Santana helps Brittany up and they walk off together, it's a closing moment for both of them. Exit stage right.

For Brittany, obviously her life is being uprooted. The world is suddenly full of possibilities for someone who'd been told over and over again she was too dumb to go anywhere. And she panicked, understandably so, but Santana served as her anchor through it and so Brittany took a deep breath and decided to take that step towards adulthood. I think her relationship with Santana was part of what she was thinking about and afraid of letting go, though not all of it. In that quiet, perfect scene, Brittany sits down just after she wins her final show choir competition and looks over the stage. That was it. More than halfway through her second senior year she's finally being forced to let go and the one person who eases her into it, who non-verbally tells her it's gonna be okay is the same one Brittany had sent on her way just a couple months back. I'd wager they both briefly reflected on that moment in Diva. It's a different feeling for Brittany, naturally, and she's more focused on the bigger picture than Santana whose only point of connection to this is Brittany herself.

I'm not sure how coherent that was but tl;dr I think it's a bittersweet moment for them and scary particularly for Brittany but they look at it as the end of something old but the beginning of something new. In that moment, they kind of accept defeat in terms of their romantic relationship but 4x22 is also a great ep to showcase that they'll always be best friends first and foremost. I hope that's the kind of thing you were looking for. Also I'm not against the idea that they hooked up before they both left Lima lol.

[cinderella-ish]

Fic Recs: Alternate Universe

A Mandatory Attraction, by cithara0211 E | Kyo/Tohru | WIP | also smut High School/Organized Crime AU Government Quarantine is in effect! For 14 days, Tohru only has two things on her mind: her art and her hot new neighbor, Kyo. And Kyo has only one goal: finally making Tohru his

Always Only You, by cithara0211 E | Kyo/Tohru | WIP | also smut Modern AU - COVID Finally back after being gone from nearly three years, Kyo enters his senior year ready to fix the mistakes he made that one summer. And upon seeing Kyo again, Tohru promised herself she would stop running from her feelings. Are they prepared for the crazy new desire eating at them?

an infinite deal of something, by reconquer T | Kakeru/Kyo/Yuki | WIP Body Swap AU Kakeru wakes up in Yuki's body. Yuki wakes up in Kakeru's. Kyo is also there.

Dreams of Paradise, by Sky_Cloudtide T | Tohru/Kyo | WIP | also angst Time Travel AU The Sohma family's lives are forever changed after summer vacation. Unable to live with the guilt, Kyo and Yuki look to the past, to find a way to fix the treasure they have lost.

End of the Banquet, by AveSolace M | Tohru/Kyo | WIP World War III AU All the geopolitical tension in East Asia has come to a head. China has invaded Taiwan, and Japan is immediately drawn into the conflict. The Sohmas' lives are thrown into chaos, even as the Zodiac curse remains unbroken.

ichigo ichie, by me T | Tohru/Kyo, Akito & Haruhi & Tohru | WIP | also romance Ouran High School Host Club crossover & Your Name AU The Zodiac Curse has trapped members of the Sohma family in a cycle of reincarnation. If Tohru Honda doesn't find a way to break it, she'll lose them forever. The students at Ouran Academy have been stuck in a time loop, never advancing grades or graduating. If Haruhi Fujioka doesn't find a way to break it, she'll never become a lawyer. One morning, Tohru and Haruhi wake up in each other's bodies. Will they be able to break the cycles that keep them and their found families trapped?

I Thank My God Every Time I Think of You, by GioGioStar E | Kyo/Yuki | WIP | also angst &smut Modern Gay Scene AU Yuki Sohma was raised as a young Catholic to hate himself for his "sick feelings" while Kyo is the wild child. But when they cross paths, can they help each other in the important lessons both need or will their attempts have the ability to shatter their lives?

The Last One Cursed, by cithara0211 M | Tohru/Kyo | WIP | also romance & smut Music School AU The life of a college musician is a rough one. Add in a partially broken curse and an unexpected attraction to his new roommate, and this new semester back in Japan might be more than Kyo could have ever expected to find for himself.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Sohma House, by Geoduck G | Gen - next gen Zodiac & Akito, Kyo, Kazuma, & Tohru | Short Story | also angst The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (Le Guin) AU Most say there must always be a monster. But there are a few who refuse to accept that.

Tohru and Kyo Both Die at the End, by riceballinthebasket T | Tohru/Kyo | WIP | also angst, hurt/comfort, & romance They Both Die at the End (Silvera) AU Tohru and Kyo spend one last day together after getting their Deathcast notifications. Will either of them have the courage to tell the other how they really feel?

Here's a link to all my bookmarks tagged with Alternate Universe!

Note: I did not include canon divergence or alternate pairings; only "genre" AUs.

[morgansmornings]

Time

is one of nine Spheres of magic in Mage: The Ascension. The Seers of Chronos (now known as the Cult of Ecstasy) has occupied the Seat of Time in the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions since its founding. The Shard Realm of Time maps physically to Saturn.

It is associated with Dynamism in the Metaphysical Trinity.

Overview:

Time is known as the magic that all men know. Science and magic both agree that the flow of time varies with the observer, that time itself is hardly the constant that it initially seems. Esoteric doctrines claim time is an illusion. Even those who accept Time is forward march (more or less) still discover that the eddies, currents and branching paths of time are far more manifold and mutable than most people would ever guess.

Mages studying Time magic agree that the world is full of unexpected whorls and vortices of temporal disturbance. Time contracts around some places and dilates at others, though the regimentation of scientific time means that such phenomena are not as common as they once were. In unusual circumstances, time may loop back on itself, make jumps and rifts to past or future, or diverge in multiple streams.

In order to access the Archspheres of Time, a mage has to enter a time-loop, similar to a temporal Paradox Realm, and then has to figure the entry and the return into their original timeline out by themself.

Marks:

Mages with experience in Time tend to carry a strong sense of déja vu with them. Most seem distant from the moment at hand, although their timing is usually excellent. Their manners grow strange, with their speech sliding through past/present/future tenses. Masters resonate temporal energies to the point that the continuum around them is slightly warped: causing a flower to bloom or a book to gather dust.

Energies associated with Time tend to be green in color, or simply manifest as a rainbow blur.

Limits:

Once a mage manipulates time in a subjective fashion, it is progressively harder to rework the manipulation. If a mage stretches out a particular few seconds, for instance, they may gain time to perform responsive actions at their convenience, but further time-manipulating magic must contend with the fact that they have already warped their perception of that time. More importantly, once the mage is working with distorted time, their magical energies are already tied up in the feat.

Time travel is possible for Masters but remains a dangerous and inexact field of study. Things wait in the time-stream, perhaps more incomprehensible than even the spirits that guard the distant reaches of the universe. Mages who meddle too much with time have a disturbing tendency to disappear, sometimes replaced by beings that masquerade in their place, other times arriving with full knowledge of a horrific fate that awaits them in some unavoidable time.

Paradigmatic Interpretation:

Order of Hermes: The Order of Hermes speaks of Time as the Ars Temporis. Viewing it as a force of Truth, Hermetics seek to unlock its secrets to glimpse all of Creation and experience everything in the span of a single breath. By mastering time, one masters inevitability, making one's Will the sole determinant on what has been, what is and what shall come.

Standard Powers:

 [1 Dot]

Time Sense: Allows a mage to determine the exact time of day down to the second. In addition, they become aware of distortions of the stream of time in their local area.

 [2 Dots]

Time Sight: Allows a mage to see forward or backward through time. Although those impressions are fleeting, hazy, not entirely accurate, and bound by the limitations of that time and place (that is, what a bystander in that specific time and location could sense under the circumstances), they are nonetheless useful.

Thicken the Walls of Time: Enhance the rigidity of the local Timeline to ward it against manipulation.

 [3 Dots]

Time Contraction Or Dilation: Allows a mage to alter the rate at which things happen in comparison to the "normal world."

"Bullet Time": Allows a mage to slow things down (without changing the subjective time).

Rewind Time: Allows a mage to rewind or loop time for a few seconds or minutes.

 [4 Dots]

Time Determinism: Allows a mage to literally stop time in its tracks.

Time Bubble: Allows to capture other beings or phenomena in bubbles of time.

Trigger Effect: Allows the mage to generate a keyed pause: Something that does not happen until a specific person, creature, or item comes into the right position.

Anchor Point: Allows to create temporal anchors for the mage in the case that they travel through time.

 [5 Dots]

Time Travel: With an anchor point in the present, the mage can send themself or other people or things into the near future or past temporarily.

Time Immunity: The mage begins to exist outside of the temporal flow and can pull objects into their own temporal field.

[moonset-journal]

Tonight I’m thinking about: Do we actually understand each other? 

23 Feb 2024

There’s a familiarity in human emotion. 

When they say “I’ve been there before” 

“I can understand” 

Sometimes it creates a lie. 

A false sense of belonging. 

The illusion of comfort. 

Until the differences are unveiled. 

You realize you’ve been trying to meet the eyes of someone who is looking beyond you. 

“I understand how you feel” and “I feel for you” are not the same. 

…

A bit of a pessimistic take?

Two pebbles shaped by the same waves will never look the same, but it’ll still be joyful to find someone who has a similar pebble to yours.

That hesitant offering when you both share your pebbles and their stories, in hopes of finding solace in each other. And for a moment, your shoulders feel lighter.

It’s the assumptions that their pebble must hold the same weight, the same layers, that threatens this peace. In truth, each experience is unique. We must lay down our pebbles between us, and listen with open hearts.

For in the end, understanding is not the destination, but the journey. It’s the willingness to walk alongside each other, even if the path diverges. It’s the quiet respect. The acknowledgment that their pebble, though similar, tells a story only they can truly know.

Let our pebbles be invitations for connection, not pronouncements of understanding. Let them draw paths of compassion, acceptance, and the gentle hope that one day, we might truly see each other, pebble by pebble, story by story, open heart to open heart.

Good night 🌙 -Aire

[nacricissa]

Time rules

One of the key features of my world is the system I have developed for multidimensional time travel. I've thought about it a lot. However, to understand time travel, first you must understand time.

Time is made of souls, and reality is made by the relationships between them.

The base of the system is branching-timeline. If you make a decision that changes you, but you might have made a different decision, then versions of the world where both versions of you exist are created. It can even result in more than two branches, if there are more than two decisions you might plausibly have made. However, this isn't as "infinite" as one might imagine.

First of all, there are some things that won't happen. There are some decisions that a given person would never make, like randomly pushing a loved one into traffic, or accepting a bribe, or turning down the drugs someone really cool offered them. Sometimes there was no alternative path.

Secondly, even if the world is different for you, it isn't different for everyone else. Events in the lives of average people don't tend to affect people they don't know very much, even if they're very important to them. So whether or not some American lost their wallet will change the number of souls of that American, and perhaps their children, whoever picked up the wallet, etc, but most people across the world will perceive no immediate difference, and so there will only be one version of their soul that persists. This leads to timelines being a complex of souls, with the number of versions of each soul being arguably roughly equal (most people experiencing a similar rate of memorable moments) but not in a constant ratio, and each multiplying due to different events. Only when a single event is notable enough, or cascades through the chain of interactions where no one is left unimpacted by the butterfly effect of a given choice do timelines fully diverge, and the souls of each branch no longer interact with the souls of the other.

Finally, some decisions don't matter forever. I couldn't tell you which pair of socks I wore last week, and since those decisions don't appear to have lasting consequences the version of me that wore different pairs has merged with me because our experience is indistinguishable. We might diverge again when I have to do laundry, but I am sure this decision will cause no lasting effects. This is an asymmetric effect. If one person makes an offhand comment a second person finds profound, this may cause two versions of the second soul to go on and make different decisions, but the first person is likely to forget, and only split off if their later interactions with the second person are memorably different. This effect means that the number of souls is more constant than you might think, tending to split permanently only on major fork points which are only marginally more common than full timeline splits, as something profound enough to change one soul forever are likely to echo through everyone they interact with, until the fabric of reality is dependent on which way that decision point went.

[saratogaroadwrites]

For King and Country (32/122)

For King and Country | saratogaroad rating: T total wordcount:  280,466 characters: Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Roland Crane, Aranella, Batu, Tani, Lofty, Leander Aristidies, Bracken Meadows relationships: Roland Crane & Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Aranella & Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, Roland Crane & Aranella, Batu & Tani, Batu & Evan, Tani & Evan, Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum & Lofty, Rolander other tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Mother-Son Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Place Slowly Becomes Home People Slowly Become Family, Found Family, For Want of A Nail warnings: none

Pulled from his world by mysterious powers, former president Roland Crane finds himself caught in the middle of a coup meant to take the life of the young King Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum. Joining forces with Aranella, the pair of them set out to aid Evan in making his dream of a kingdom where everyone can live happily ever after a reality.

But the road to peace is a long and treacherous one and there is no promise of success in a world where darkness spreads ever thicker with each passing day. If they are to stand a chance, they must stand together, for king and for country.

(A retelling.)

=

In the darkening hour of twilight, Evermore was quiet. Most people had retired to their homes, the mouthwatering smells of their evening meals wafting through open windows into the streets. Evan’s stomach grumbled as he walked, tail casually waving behind him. It was the only thing casual about his bearing.

Rubbing his forehead, Evan sighed heavily.

“Hiiig,” Runcible crooned from where the little higgledy was perched on his shoulder. He had accompanied Evan out of the castle in his search for fresh air and seemed to be in no hurry to go anywhere. Evan smiled at him.

“I’m alright,” He said as they walked past the last of the houses on the north side of the town. It was only open farmland from here, the fields of Hearty Wheat and Loonycorn whispering in the soft, warm breeze. Though there had been precious little time to do so over the past few weeks, he loved coming out here when he needed to be alone and think for a bit.

Evan heaved another sigh. The inner Cabinet had been working on finalizing the Declaration of Interdependence all day, and only now were they coming up with something remotely acceptable and attainable. He’d be lying if he said that his pride wasn’t the slightest bit stung from Nella’s gentle yet stern rebuke that they weren’t at a point of being able to provide a living stipend for everyone who’d become a citizen of Evermore, especially If Goldpaw joined the Union when they were ready to take that step. Everyone had liked the idea, and had agreed to table it for an amendment when they were more financially stable, but for now it would have to wait.

He hadn’t realized just how complicated this was all proving to be. Shaking his head, Evan looked out at the fields of grain. They had a surplus that they could offer, to help Goldpaw stay on its feet, and Batu had offered the Sky Pirates as a labor force to help rebuild any part of the city, so they had things to trade to—as Roland had put it—sweeten the deal, but not being able to help as much as he wanted chafed. The world was in such a messy state of affairs that he needed to do something, but…he couldn’t do anything without putting his own people at risk, too!

Ugh! This was all so frustrating!

With a furious hiss, Evan kicked at a loose twig and sent it skittering away, stalking off down the packed dirt path further away from the palace. His stomach grumbled at him, the long golden shadows of twilight proving just how close to dinner time it was, but he ignored it and pressed on. Picking up his pace he started to run, Runcible squeaking and grabbing onto his shoulder with both his stubby hands as Evan’s cape flared out behind him. Leaving the road, he dove into the field of Loonycorn stalks and kept going. The tall stalks of green loomed over his head, bending as he ran through them at full speed and bouncing back up in his wake.

He ran for nearly the full length of the field, almost until he could hear the river, and finally he had to stop. He bent, hands on his knees and side aching, his breath coming in harsh pants. Sweat rolled down his face, plopping into the soil at his feet.

“Hig!” Runcible scolded him, lightly tugging on a lock of hair. Evan chuckled breathlessly.

“I know,” he panted, “I should have warned you first. I’m sorry.”

“Piggle hig.” Runcible accepted his apology with another tug, a wordless “don’t do that again” that was easier to understand than his few spoken syllables usually were. Taking a deep breath, Evan stood up straight and brushed the sweat from his forehead. In the near-distance, the river burbled. The wind rustled through the stalks, the corn cobs thumping against one another.

In the natural white noise, the sudden scuff of a boot somewhere behind him was too loud. Evan quickly turned around, half expecting to see Roland or Batu picking their way through the green after him, but…

There was nothing. No one there. He narrowed his eyes and turned in a slow circle. He knew what he’d heard, and it wasn’t a Greenling!

“Hiiiiiig….” Runcible said very quietly, his tiny voice barely more than a breath by Evan’s ear. Both of his ears twitched this way and that as he strained his slightly better hearing as far as he could. All he could hear was the wind and the moving stalks. Evan frowned.

“I know,” he whispered, reaching up with one hand to steady Runcible. “I heard it, too.”

But it was gone now. Taking one last look around, Evan started back the way he’d come. Walking on the balls of his feet to avoid making too much noise, he kept his ears pricked. He was probably making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe a Sky Pirate had just come by to filch some corn for dinner? Some of them still liked to do that, still liked being Pirates even if all they took was the odd ear of Loonycorn or handful of Awwberries from a field about to go to harvest.

Yes, that was probably it. It may have even been Munokhoi, just checking on the crop! No reason to be concerned!

From behind him, the noise came again. Evan jerked to a halt, ears twisting back.

“Hello?” He called into the stalks of Loonycorn. “Is there someone there?”

There was no reply, but the fine hairs on the back of Evan’s neck stood straight up even as he shook his head. Gosh, but he was too on edge these days. Making a mountain out of an anthill. Taking a deep breath, he started forward once more.

Another boot scuffed behind him. Evan inhaled sharply, looking wildly around, but all he could see was greenery. It gently swayed in the wind, stalks moving off to the side and—oh. Oh, no. Those were being bent by a person!

Without waiting to find out who it was, Evan took off running back through the field. The leaves slapped at his face as he bolted through them, Runcible squeaking as he held on to Evan’s shoulder for dear life. The run that had taken so little time on his way in to the field felt like it lasted an eternity, and it was with a stitch in his side that Evan finally burst back out of the Loonycorn, scrambling back to the packed dirt path. He whirled around, looking at the field, but there was no one there. Heaving giant gulps of air, Evan bent over.

"Your Majesty?" a voice suddenly asked. Runcible screamed in Evan’s ear as the young king yowled, leaping a good foot straight into the air. His fluffy tail lashing behind him, he whirled around, only to come face to face with—

“Jack!” He almost shouted, the man having the decency to look chastised, “You startled me!”

Jack smiled politely, his green eyes dark. “My apologies, your Majesty. I only saw that you appeared to be frightened.” He tilted his head, brushing away a leaf caught in his hair. “Is everything alright?”

“I…thought someone was following me,” Evan looked back at the field. There was no one there, of course. Everyone had returned home for the evening. He sighed quietly. “I suppose the wind must have been playing tricks on me.”

“Perhaps,” Jack said, his voice as polite as his smile. “Would you like me to escort you to the castle? I’m headed that way myself.”

Evan grinned. On his shoulder, Runcible made a quiet, unsure noise. “I would appreciate that very much, thank you!”

The two fell into step on the packed dirt road, Jack walking a single deferential pace behind Evan with his hands behind his back. His boots thudded on the pathway, but otherwise they walked in an almost uneasy silence. Slowly, the farms began to give way to the first of the residential areas, the flags of the palace waving in the wind ahead.

“You know,” Jack said suddenly, his voice oddly quiet. “You truly ought to be more careful. Evermore isn’t as safe as it appears.”

Evan frowned, brow furrowing. “Wh—what is that supposed to mean?” He asked, confused, “Surely Evermore is perfectly safe! We have the walls, and the gates, and the guards and—”

“All meant to keep people out,” Jack returned. “But they don’t do a thing against people inside the wall already.”

Evan’s heart skipped a beat as Runcible suddenly screeched in his ear. Evan whirled around, hand coming to his arms band, but Jack had somehow disappeared! Evan took a step back, looking around wildly.

“Jack?!” He shouted, heart beginning to race. The air smelled of metal and water, the scent of lightning filling the air despite the cloudless red sky. Evan’s tail fluffed up. “Where did you—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish. Without warning something slammed into him from behind, knocking him off his feet and sending him falling into darkness.

Runcible’s scream was the last thing he heard.

[patrickajohn]

Discovering About The Book Regent Alpha Part Two By Jakcub Anthonnie Young

In Regent Alpha Part Two by Jacob Anthony Young. It is a story about two brothers, Jackie and Hendrix, whose lives are very different. Hendrix is stuck in a terrible cycle of abuse, but Jackie is liked and accepted. 

Their lives cross, which makes Jackie want to get back at Hendrix for supporting their father. In this big fight for the throne, themes of bravery and forgiveness arise. The main character, Jackie, is a strong woman who deals with her problems. Also, he doesn't try to avoid her worries by running away. 

Young makes it easy for readers to connect to his characters, so they can understand what they are going through. But the author shows important lessons about being strong and how actions have consequences. Regent Alpha Part Two is a well-written work with a story that makes people want to read it immediately.

The Siblings' Divergent Paths

In Regent Alpha Part Two, the characters' lives are shown to be very different from each other. Because they grew up in different places, their upbringings are very different. 

Jackie was raised with love and respect, but Hendrix was hurt physically and mentally repeatedly. This difference makes it interesting to examine how people's surroundings and upbringing affect their lives and choices.

Fate Intervenes

The story's turning point is when fate brings the boys back together during their parents' last violent fight. 

It does change the story because Jackie vows to get revenge for her mother's death and faces Hendrix for standing by their abusive father. The Regent Alpha Part Two is one of the best books to read in 2023.

Fight for the Throne

As the title suggests, Regent Alpha Part Two is about a fierce fight for the throne. Politics and problems with the family are both part of the story. The fight for power makes it harder for the characters to reach their goals and do what they must. It also makes the book more than just a story about family rivalry.

Themes of Perseverance and Forgiveness

The main character, Jackie, is strong and determined. It is one of the major ideas of the book. Her story shows how important it is to keep going even when you want to give up. 

The Regent Alpha Part Two also examines what it means to forgive by showing how the characters deal with what they have done or chosen in the past. Readers learn from Jackie's story how important it is to forgive oneself and be kind to other people.

Relatable Characters and Life Lessons

Jacob Anthonnie Young does a good job of making his characters seem like real people. Their troubles, feelings, and complexity make it easier for readers to relate to them and get into the story. 

The things that happen to the characters teach important lessons about being strong and not giving up. The reader is told that everything they do has an effect and that being responsible for their decisions is important. But it's important for growth and getting better as a person.

Exploration of Complex Relationships

Regent Alpha Part Two examines how difficult family and other ties can be. The book does a good job of showing how love and betrayal complicate relationships between brothers. It clearly shows how the characters' feelings go up and down. 

The readers see how Jackie and Hendrix's relationship changes, from being apart to fighting to maybe getting back together. It looks at what people do and why they do it. Through these well-developed connections, the story digs deep into how people feel and how strong family bonds can be.

Conclusion

In the end, Regent Alpha Part Two by Jakob Anthonnie Young is a trip that is interesting and makes you think. Through Jackie and Hendrix's different paths, fate, and the fight for the throne, this book looks at themes of power, vengeance, and the complexity of human relationships. 

This book takes the reader into political intrigue and mental turmoil. This book is a great piece of writing because of how well Young tells stories and how much readers can connect to the characters. While we watch Jackie try to get justice and make things right. 

Exploring difficult relationships adds to the story and helps us understand our lives and feelings. Regent Alpha Part Two has a great lesson to remember when things are hard.

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How to End a Relationship With Someone You Still Love

Breaking up with someone you still love is even more painful than breaking up with your partner. Every day, it feels like your heart is being ripped out of your chest. You can put it off for as long as you want, convincing yourself that things will improve if you just wait it out, but you're only making things worse for yourself. I'd like to say that once it's over, you'll feel better, but healing takes time. In the meantime, there are some things you can do to make things a little easier. Here's how to end a relationship with someone you still love and deal with the fallout.

1. Accept that love isn’t enough

Isn't it like getting sprayed in the face? In my own case, I was young and naive. I assumed that love would be enough to solve our problems, but instead, they grew worse. A relationship can't always be saved by love. Just because you love him does not guarantee that it will last forever.

2. Realize it’s not your fault. 

I wish I had done this or that. Did I not love them enough? Stop placing blame on yourself. It's not your fault (or the fault of anyone else). Sometimes couples' paths diverge or their initial chemistry fades. In any case, the relationship is no longer working.

3. Think about what’s best for you. 

Is it really best to cry yourself to sleep at night? No. If you're this unhappy, it's time to call it quits. You'll get over it. You may even realize one day that there is a love stronger than what you are experiencing right now. You must look after yourself, even if it means breaking your heart.

4. Build some support first. 

I made the tragic mistake of not discussing the breakup with my friends and family. I severed things and had never felt so alone. Let your friends and/or family know what's going on, and make sure you have at least one person to talk to before calling it quits. You need help both before and after to ensure that you are not going through this alone.

5. Set aside some post-breakup time. 

I understand how difficult it is to think about life after a breakup. The one thing I got right was thinking about what I should do next to help me heal. I rearranged my schedule so that I could isolate myself and play music for several days. You can take a vacation, visit friends, or simply take a few days off from work. Set aside some time to deal with the initial wave of emotion.

6. Grab some tissues and have the talk. 

I don't like crying, but when I broke up with the guy I was in love with, I burst into tears. It was also the first time I saw him cry. I couldn't even say "we need to talk" without my voice breaking up. But don't give up. Say what you need to say while remaining respectful. It's okay to cry because this is hurting him as well. Through tears, say your goodbyes.

7. Be honest and direct but not cruel.

You know the relationship should come to an end. Don't beat around the bush or prolong the discussion. Be open and honest about your desire to end the relationship. Explain why you're leaving, but don't point a finger or blame them. Also, don't let them persuade or guilt you into staying. Your decision should be irreversible.

8. Stay away as much as possible. 

I was desperate to check on him. I knew if I did, I'd do something stupid like rekindle our relationship. Of course, even seeing him in passing was excruciatingly painful. Avoid following him on Instagram and hanging out in the same places. Simply stay away from him and give yourself time to get over him.   Read the full article

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Title: When I Get That Feeling

Author: Redamber79 (@imbiowaresbitch)

Artist: Sidewinder (@hawkland)

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Dying in the barn from a stab by the Michael Spear, Castiel confessed his love to the man he knew to be his True Mate. But at that moment, grieving the imminent loss, Dean couldn’t accept his words. He turned away, leaving Cas’ words unacknowledged. Miraculously cured of the wound, Castiel returned to the bunker with the Winchesters. And yet the rejection ate at Castiel’s grace and vessel, until he lay dying once again. This time, he knew it would be for good, for no angel could survive without their True Mate.

Determined that Cas must live so he can have the chance to return the words, Dean begs Gabriel for help, only to be told that he alone can save Castiel.

And that it’ll take a very special kind of feeling, a particular kind of healing to bring him back from the edge of oblivion. A trip back in time shows him the way. Dean commits an act of desperation to save Cas, miscommunication and misunderstandings drive them apart, and regrets harrow the star-crossed lovers, leading them both down dangerous paths. Each fears they’ve lost the other, perhaps for good.

Warnings/Tags: Omega Dean/Alpha Cas. Bottom Dean/Top Cas, Canon divergent, hurt/comfort, angst, illness, wings, Fuck or die, dubious consent, blowjob while unconscious, kissing while unconscious, feral Alpha, biting, rough sex, anal sex, grace bondage, grace tentacles, grace-powered orgasms, grace facefucking, grace sounding, knotting, forced bonding, misunderstandings, vomiting, pining, rejection, abandonment issues, alcoholism, miscommunication, depression, self-worth issues, transferred pain, grace removal, suicide attempt, car crash, I’m sorry for what I do to Baby, hospital, apologizing, reconciliation, love confessions, first kiss, mpreg, enthusiastic consent, explicit consent, rimming, gentle sex, love making, grace sex, inappropriate use of prayer, Gabriel is so done, Sam is so done, toddler Jack, happy ending, dead dove: do not eat

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