#and we're only here for 2 weeks! AND there's a war still going on and the anniversary falls during our visit

[mothmvn]

fun part of being an immigrant: on top of processing grief from far away, the rare times we get to visit it all hits all over again bc now we're seeing it in person. in the meager time we have here

[bunny-1111]

Beg for it part 2 - Theodore Nott

Description: Returning to Hogwarts after ignoring Theodore all summer long, was so much worse than you imagine; Theodore was starving you of what you so desperately needed.

Word count: 0.9k

part 1 - here

...

Knocking on the door, you gently opened it, "Hey, we're out now if you guys want to go back. Sorry." You quickly apologised to the people Theodore had rudely kicked out all but ten minutes prior.

Walking back to join the others, your mind still racing, you needed to pull yourself together, but how? How long would you have to go before he put an end to this torture?

Finding your seat next to Theo, distracted by new thoughts. For the remainder of the trip, he kept his promise, he didn't even lay a head on your shoulder. As you finally arrive at Hogwarts, your friends are quick to depart, leaving you and Theodore alone again.

He let out a huff, placing a very heavy hand on your thigh, shaking it with his tight grip quickly before standing up and saying, "Come on". Leave it there a little longer, you thought.

He knew what he was doing, and he definitely knew what it was doing to you, as he smiled with contempt leading the way off the train.

This went on for three excruciatingly long weeks; teasing would be an understatement.

In class, he would pull up your skirt under the table ever so slowly, only to let go.

In the great hall, as Pansy sat between you both, he would reach over, place a hand behind your neck, and squeeze; when Pansy, oblivious to Theodore's actions, noticed a change in your expression, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"'m-fine" is all you could muster out, as he realised his lingering hands

When he caught you alone, studying in the library, he watched you from afar, waiting. When you went over to the shelves to retrieve a book, perfect, he thought as he came behind you and pressed his body behind you, his head in your neck, his hands digging into your hips, his scent so strong, you could almost taste it.

You let out a dry cry, "Stop, Teddy, you're killing me," as you leaned your head back onto his shoulder

"Mhmm, he growled as he pulled your sweater off your shoulder. Access granted, he starts to kiss your now exposed skin painfully slowly.

"Please, I've learnt my lesson, I'm sorry, stop torturing me" you pleaded giving into him

His lips left your shoulder, rising higher until he reached your ear, whispering, "Two months, I didn't hear from you. I won't let you forget."

As you turn around to face him, he turns around to leave. Watching him walk out of the library doors, carrying all your sanity in his pocket, you lean back into the shelves, letting out a frustrated groan.

This is war; you were losing.

You sat in bed when you heard a knock, Theodore letting himself in.

"Hi", you pouted, mood not improved

"I need to use your shower," he says, opening your bathroom door, he doesn't close the door behind him, instead he turns the shower on, steam filling the room, he begins to undress

"No! Use your own damn shower. You're not doing this to me today I've had enough" you almost yell, watching him from your bed

"You don't have to watch me. You need to watch that attitude of yours," he replies

You can't help but blush, so flustered, throwing your body around your bed, such a fucking mess only he could fix this for you.

Approaching the bathroom, you hum, sitting on your counter, an almost bare Theodore standing so near, you open your arms out, "At least a hug?" you beg, he gives in slightly, filling your arms with his topless body.

he hugs you tight, running his hands under your shirt, pacing his hands over your skin, "I can feel your heart pounding"

"yeah, at least something is getting pounded" you hiss

"Hey! I told you to watch that attitude of yours," he says, stepping back, letting go

You drop off your seat on the counter, let out a quiet scream, and stamp your foot on the floor.

"That bad?" he says head lowering, eyes darkening.

With a very heavy, deep breath, you reply, "Yes," eyebrows unintentionally furrowed. He was depriving you of oxygen, stripping you of the ability to live to any good capacity.

He stalks closer. Good, you think, come close.

He begins to strip your clothes off; you rush to aid him; you wanted them off, now. He slaps your eager hands. "Don't move", he warns

"yes sir", you roll your eyes

"you wanna keep being a fucking smart ass?!" he says, voice rising

you nod quickly.

He kisses your body as he takes off your clothes. You didn't know if it was the steam escaping the shower or the body heat, but you thought you might pass out.

Both undressed, you look up at him, "What now?" You barely manage to get out. If this was another teasing game, you weren't going to make it out alive. If he was done playing, you didn't know if you would make it out in one piece either.

"Get in the shower," he says, eyebrows raised

"Really?' you smile

He doesn't reply; instead, picking you up, your bare legs wrapping around him, so desperate, so starved, his hand in your hair, his tongue down your throat, his strong arm holding your body up, stumbling your intertwined bodies into the piping hot water.

taglist: @hisparentsgallerryy @slyttherwn @hoeforvinniehackerrr

bro need him so bad.

Part 3?....

Comments, likes and reblogs appreciated my loves <3

[maxtermind]

SCENE 2 :: HOW MUCH TRAGEDY ↳ you were never not mine — carlos sainz ༉‧₊˚✧

★ : pairing :: carlos sainz x reader ★ : genre :: angst; fluff separated by a hidden emotional turmoil, carlos and y/n navigate the complexities of co-parenting their twins amidst the high-stakes f1 world. amidst paddock visits and personal healing, will they go further apart or find their way back to each other? ★ : a/n :: text posts are going to return from tom till then you can enjoy this<3 taglist form is in the series masterlist btw!! HATS OFF TO EVERY SINGLE SMAU WRITER BECAUSE THIS IS SO HARD LMAO

( series masterlist \ main masterlist \ drop a request )

carlos is typing... (y/n's pov)

f1 10 mins ago

f1 LET'S GET THE EUROPEAN LEG OF THE SEASON STARTED! 🇮🇹

username oh the admin knows what they did with carlos at the front lmao username can't wait for the races! let's goooo! 🇮🇹🏁 username so excited for this leg of the season! bring it on! 🤩 username hoping for some amazing races! good luck to all the drivers! 🙌 username here for the racing, not y/n’s drama ⤷ username ugh yes like can we focus on racing and not y/n’s drama? username italy, here we come! forza ferrari! ❤️ ⤷ username poor carlos, dealing with y/n’s drama and still racing username ready for some intense racing action! 🏎🔥 username who else is here for the drama? carlos and y/n's relationship update please! 😂 ⤷ username i hope carlos and y/n figure things out. it was so nice seeing her at the race again

yn.user 20 mins ago

yn.user behind every successful man is his loving fam❤️ congratulations papa sainz

username this is a joke, right? after all the drama? lilymhe wow such a hottie and a MOM? smash! ⤷ yn.user date and time🙏 ⤷ alexalbon uhm... im right here? username weren't you just out with another man? hypocrite ⤷ username loving fam? like she didn't just get caught with another guy? 😂 username wow, pretending everything is fine now? ⤷ username guess she's trying to clean up her image good luck with that username this is so fake everyone knows the truth username acting like a loving family after everything? sure, y/n ⤷ username like who the fuck are you fooling, y/n? we know the real story username you're so pretty, y/n! i bought the tickets just to see you irl username didn't take long for the fake posts to start

carlossainz 20 mins ago

carlossainz victory feels even sweeter with my kids by my side!🏆❤️

username congrats, carlos! the kids are your ONLY real supporters. username so glad you’re focusing on the kids and not the drama. ⤷ username victory without y/n? this is peak comedy😭 ⤷ username way to go, carlos! the kids are all you need! username finally, a win focused on the right people. congrats, carlos! username oh god we really lost the great war huh username great win, carlos! the kids must be so proud. ⤷ username this is the content we love. kids over drama! username well done! no need for distractions we're so proud❤️ ⤷ username the kids are his real mvps so lol username congrats, carlos! the kids are your biggest fans.

twitter

boo is typing... (y/n's pov)

lily is typing… (y/n's pov)

yn.user 20 mins ago

yn.user as my boys said: finally a worthy opponent✨

username this is why some people shouldn't have kids. username she's a mess. no wonder they broke up ⤷ username using her kids for attention. disgusting! carlossainz so you're also bad at scrabble? ⤷ username oh shit carlos didn't come to play ⤷ username you tell her carlos!! username no stability for those poor kids with her around. ⤷ username kids must be so confused with a new man every week username pathetic attempt to make carlos jealous. GROW UP, Y/N!!!

carlos is typing… (y/n's pov)

instagram stories

©maxtermind // do not copy, rewrite or translate any of my work on any platforms.

[reality-detective]

A brief write up of my personal story. 👇

I haven't been lucky in life with getting my way, I've worked hard for everything including vehicles for myself since I got divorced in 2013 and then it got worse, I lost everything. I had 2 Harley Davidsons, a 1976 FLH shovelhead and a 1990 Ultra Classic, I had a 2010 Ford Edge and a nice house with an in ground pool (16' x 32') and a hot tub. I lost it all.

I had health issues in 2015 which damn near killed me. I continued on a downward spiral with depression and anxiety, the feeling of worthlessness, it seemed as if my life was out of control. I fell into the BIG pharma scam and walked out of an intensive care unit where I spent 2 weeks in and 3 weeks out of an ICU hospital stay with 16 different prescriptions and half were psych meds.

I fell as far as one could fall, I was contemplating suicide and then in the twinkling of an eye my life changed, I went cold turkey on all medications but one. My head lost the fogginess and I was able to think.

I went through my Dark Knight of the Soul which wasn't easy, It took me a couple of years to get through that, but I gotta say Q and having Trump as president shook me awake even more as I watched all this unfold while I fought my own demons.

I have totally regrouped my physical, mental and spiritual well-being. I'm not ashamed of the path I took because now it all makes sense and validates where I am today.

I have a small circle of friends but the ones I do have are rock solid brothers and sisters from another mother and that includes the comrades I have met from different countries throughout this war. I have excellent connections in the Netherlands, Germany, Georgia (the country), the UK, and Australia.

Anyway the point of my story is to just share more of my personal struggles, my experience, where I'm at and where I'm going. This IS a spiritual war, this IS biblical and this IS historical. It's the greatest time ever to be alive.

My life has turned a complete 180° although I don't have anyone special to share my life with I feel it is still complete, I'm happy, I have another motorcycle and a nice vehicle, a roof over my head and the blessings just keep coming. Throughout all the shit this old soul has been through I will say this: "It doesn't matter what material bullshit you have in life it's not going to make you happy if you don't have yourself. If you lose yourself, you have nothing, even if you have everything."

- My name is Terry, I was banned from Fakebook, I had a Twitter account for 6 months before being tossed off there. I had a Tumblr account for years until Trump was elected, then I was deactivated, opened another account/deactivated, so I opened another account... Boom 💥 deactivated a again. So I opened a 4th account only to be booted again but I fought them this time. As that battle continued for 8-10 months. Meanwhile I opened a 5th account which is what I use here. 10 months later I won the battle to get my 4th account reactivated which is called constantly-deactivated (now my backup account.)

Stay positive, never surrender and for God's sake... "TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF" Don't ever lose yourself, self care is important especially NOW.

We're nearing the end of this show and remember... 👇

Never give up on yourself, keep climbing thos stairs. 🤔

I care deeply about humanity surviving, you have no idea what you really are. You are the universe, seriously 💫

I Love you all. 💜

[ezziefae]

Thoughts on Chap 2 of The Prisoner's Throne.

"Oak takes the stairs, careful now. He has the surreal feeling of being in a video game. He played enough of them, sitting on Vivi’s couch. Creeping through pixelated rooms that had more of the appearance of Madoc’s stronghold where he grew up than anywhere they went in the mortal world. Leaning on Heather’s shoulder, controller in his hands. Killing people. Hiding the bodies."

Okay, starting off strong already. I squealed when I read the part where Oak has his head leaning on Heather's shoulder. The "Killing people. Hiding the bodies" part was an obvious reference to Oak's blood thirst.

This is a stupid, ugly, violent game, Vivi said. Life isn’t like that. And Jude, who was visiting, raised her eyebrows and said nothing.

JUDEEEEEE

a few selkies hang around at the edges, no doubt gathering news of a rising power to take back to the Undersea.

These selkies are snitches. Holly did confirm that we were gonna see many familar faces from TFOTA, so I am definitely expecting to see Nicasia or Orlagh.

But after he and Vivi and Heather had to carry bags of laundry to the basement of their apartment building and feed quarters into a machine, along with detergent and fabric softener, he realized that someone must have been performing a related service for him in Faerie.

AWEEEE! how humble Oak has become. I'm so happy we're not only getting more Jude and Cardan but also Vivi and Heather.

He feels a bit foolish as he wades into a vat, naked. Should he be discovered, he will doubtless have to play the silly, carefree prince, so vain that he escaped his prison for a bath. It would be a crowning achievement of embarrassment.

LMAO! I can just imagine how hilarious this would be.

Oak knows it’s ridiculous, and yet he can’t help feeling as though they have an understanding of each other

Oak had the bridle placed on him, he was imprisoned for three weeks, he was starved and neglected, and he still thinks this way of Wren. This boy is soooo in love.

Nor is he sure what it means about him that he finds hope in the fact that Wren has kept him. Fine, not everyone would see being thrown into a dungeon as a romantic gesture, but he’s choosing to at least consider the possibility that she put him there because she wants something more from him.

Oak is absolutely DELUSIONAL, DE LU LUUU. LIKE BOY FINDS BEING IMPRISIONED A ROMANTIC GESTURE. THAT IS VERY CONCERNING. IM CRYING

since Hyacinthe was the one who stole Damsel Fly

NO! NOT DAMSEL FLY TOOO! Oh a war is definitely coming.

Hyacinthe is now Wren’s second-in-command

oh this will not be a fun discovery for Tiernan.

Either way, he’d be free. Free to not need rescuing. Free to attempt to talk his sister out of whatever homicidal plan she might foment against the Citadel. Free to return home and go back to performing fecklessness, back to sharing the bed of anyone he thought might be planning a political coup, back to being an heir who never wants to inherit.

The way Oak believes he can talk Jude out of battling with Wren. Like does he not know his sister?

"Back to sharing the bed of anyone he thought might be planning a political coup" WHATTT!!! okay this is a huge deal, Oak has been sleeping with people to find out if they are a threat to him or elfhame. My poor boy, does oriona not watch over him??? or jude?? how did it get so bad that he had to start doing that???

Not that he knows how to stop either of them if he remains here. He’s not sure anyone knows how to stop Jude. And Wren has the power of annihilation. She can break curses and tear spells to pieces with barely any effort. She took apart Lady Nore as though she were a stick creature and spread her insides over the snow.

Yeah so when I finished The Stolen Heir, I feared for Jude and Cardan. Oak is right, Jude is dangerous and she will try to fight ANYTHING that gets in her way, but Wren is horrifically dangerous as well. I fear for both Jude and Wren. This is gonna be chaos.

Then he sees Wren, and longing shoots through him like a kick to the gut. He forgets about risk. Forgets about schemes.

OH OAKKK STOPPPPP.

“Not my future.” There is a hollowness to Wren’s cheeks, Oak notices. She’s thinner than she was, and her eyes shine with a feverish brightness. Has she been ill? Is this because of the wound in her side when she was struck by an arrow?

Oh no.

Bogdana does not contradict her this time. “You have need of my strength. And you have need of my companions if you hope to continue as you are.” Oak stiffens at those words, wondering at their meaning.

so wren is not doing so well, and bogdana hope she listens and gets help from her companions. the real question here is what is the problem?????

Mother Marrow does not seem discomfited in the least. She walks to Wren and deposits the white walnut in her hand. “Remember these words, then. To conjure it, say: We are weary and wish to rest our bones. Broken shell, bring me a cottage of stones.”

So wren can make a cottage appear and dissaper with the shell she received from mother marrow. Im assuming that this shell will be used in the story somehow. But what would get to that point? wren already lives in a palace of her own, so why give her a shell that can make a cottage house appear? will Oak use it when he escapes? will wren run away and use it???? im guessing this cottage house will be used significantly.

And yet, Oak notices that she sways a little before gripping the arm of her throne. Forcing herself upright. Something is very wrong.

Yikes.

The man steps forward. “Though I do not like to be outdone, I have nothing so fine to give you. But Bogdana summoned me here to see if I can undo what—”

So from what I'm getting, there's something more about wren we don't know about. something that's hurting her or affecting her deeply. Her power? stress and anxiety? I might need some time to crack this one.

Her eyes move restlessly under their lids, as though she doesn’t even feel safe in dreams. Her skin has a glassy quality, as though from sweat or possibly ice. What has she been doing to herself ?

I'm starting to feel very overprotective of Wren. With Jude and Cardan coming to the citadel to save Oak I fear for both sides.

But as though she can sense him, Wren opens her eyes.

SERIOUSLY THIS IS HOW THE CHAPTER ENDS??? At this point Oak is asking to be killed, he could've had the oppurtunity to escape, yet he chose to follow wren to her room. This chapter made me feel very empathetic of Wren, she looks like a villain, but she's really not. She has been betrayed, tortured, abused, neglected for many years, her actions of becoming queen and imprisoning Oak all come from hurt.

[imperatorcaesaraugustus]

the Ds are Hot. the mind has thoughts. ThoughtD: thoughts on HotD is back again for another week. House of the Dragon season 2 episode 6, here we go

they've added Storms End and Rooks Rest to the opening tapestry, that's nice. i like that

Triarchy mentioned! (for those who did not read F&B, the Triarchy is a union between the free cities of Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr that existed at this time)

man, Aemond sucks. i can't wait for all his plans to fall apart around him

you'd think someone with such mommy issues would be just a little more willing to listen to his mother's opinion

i like the choice of Darklyn as the guy who secretly has Targaryen ancestry. the marriage in question is enough generations back to have been before the conquest, a time when we don't have a very detailed Targaryen family tree, and the Darklyns are close enough to Dragonstone that a marriage back when the Targaryens were just a regional power makes sense

it makes sense that, if they were getting people back for Daemon's visions, they'd get Paddy Constantine

"did you say it" i like that, at least in this one thing, they're leaning into the ambiguity of F&B

oh my god Daemon is loosing his mind

i quite like Alys Rivers as a character

can't believe Seasmoke let this man think he was gonna ride him. what a scamp

and now that the search for dragonriders is stalling, here's Addam and Alyn of Hull!

and now that the search for dragonriders is stalling, here's Ulf the White!

if only Aemond knew what his one and only sex worker was saying about him

YES RHAENYRA SLAP THAT MAN

"it suits you" is it just me or is there, like, a sapphic vibe coming from Mysaria this episode?

damn, Larys really thinks he's smooth. "you need a hand. someone... shrewd" yeah alright my guy

they're still not shy about showing us Aegon's wounds, huh?

Aemond! get away from him! he did nothing wrong did many things wrong but he doesn't deserve this!

love Rhaena talking with little Joff. adorable

that's an enormous burn. how did they not notice that earlier?

it has become very clear now that they are, in fact, giving Nettles' plot line to Rhaena. i am incredibly disappointed by this

Alyn* of Hull is pulling an Egg, shaving his head so his Valyrian hair isn't obvious

Mysaria's plan was... a canoe full of produce? what?

MANY produce canoes??

there is war in the reach. will we see the war in the reach? will we see a certain boy riding his beautiful blue dragon in the war in the reach?

DAERON MENTION

we're learning a lot about Daeron this episode. we would learn even more if we ever got to see him no i will not let this go

and now that the search for dragonriders is stalling, here's Hugh the Hammer!

produce canoe riots

this is the second time this season Helaena has gone into town with her mom and had a horrible time. when will it end?

Mysaria lingering there with the Queen, overlooking the sea. i'm once again sensing sapphic vibes? am i just reading into this?

look Larys I can appreciate you sharing your experience with disability with the permanently injured king but for god's sake man, let him have his painkillers

the path to redemption lies through hallucinations of your dead brother grieving his wife

guys, i don't think Daemon's doing okay

"fine, i'll do it myself" - Seasmoke, on being provided with potential new riders

Mysaria tragic backstory unlocked and, uh, holy fuck

guys am i just imagining these sapphic vibes NO APPARENTLY I WAS NOT IMAGINING. this woman already fucked Daemon and now she's going for Rhaenyra, what a legend

once again, loved this episode, loving this season, see y'all next week

*edited because i cannot for the life of me remember which one is Addam and which one is Alyn (Addam is the dragonrider)

[lizz-crimson]

Oh My God They Were Roommates (Shinnok's Head x Reader Part 2)

Oh yeah, we back.

Summary: An oni interrupts (Y/n) and Shinnok's coffee break and-oh god oh fuck no--!

Tags/Warnings: Talk of dead animals, blood, silliness, not as much as last time, but it's there, combat, cheap Chinese food, the burn is starting to smoke a little, gender neutral reader (let me know if there's any mistakes!)

Words: 2733

Part 1 Part 3

----

"No," you said flatly.

"What do you mean, 'no?'" Shinnok asked in reply.

You and he stood at the entrance to a large cemetery filled to the brim with hundreds, if not thousands, of graves. Shinnok was snug inside a leather mailbag on your shoulder, peeking out of it to see

"No, I'm not raising the dead here!" you whisper-yelled at him, shaking the bag a bit.

"And why not?" he replied in the same tone.

You snap your pointer finger to the plaque on a stone pillar next to you—an American flag flapping in the wind at the top. "This is a veteran cemetery! I'm not unleashing undead World War soldiers in the middle of New York!"

"You have the choice to raise a whole army of trained soldiers to do your bidding, and you say, 'no?'"

"Yes!"

A few pedestrians and passersby mumbled and whispered to each other, looking at you with confusion and slight annoyance. You flinched under their gazes, putting a finger to your ear as if talking on a Bluetooth and jogging away from the cemetery.

Shinnok's lessons weren't exactly 'hell' as he'd described. In fact, you took to them well even with no prior usage of magic. There were plenty of dead rats in the alleyways to practice bone magic with, and you only threw up three times! Shinnok still found it amusing, but you shook it off.

Even though bone magic had been fine, raising the dead wasn't going as well. Your morals simply wouldn't allow you to disrespect the dead like that. Shinnok had suggested raising the dead roaches in your apartment, but it had already cost you an arm and a leg to get rid of those bastards, so that was a hard no as well.

You retreated to a currently controversial coffee shop a few streets away, ordering yourself an overpriced coffee and cake pop before taking a seat at a secluded table by a window. A stress purchase, you tried to convince yourself. At least the bullet hole in the window was interesting to look at while you sipped your drink.

"How much was that beverage?" Shinnok asked with a smirk on his face. He was trying to get a rise out of you.

"Quiet, head. We're in public."

Still, even if you hadn't successfully raised the dead yet, you had been doing well. Even Shinnok had to admit that. To himself, of course. He didn't know why, but ever since Raiden and Cassie showed up a few weeks ago, he'd found you much less annoying. He thought a lot about how you gave him the chance to speak his mind when he was being accused. He was grateful for that. Again, he kept these thoughts to himself. No need to let his human captor grow an ego.

"Since soul magic isn't going well, we'll return to bone magic. What is your preferred weapon, mortal?"

You were going to just ignore Shinnok out of frustration, but when your teeth scraped against your stale cake pop, you huffed.

"Staff."

"Really?" Shinnok raised his brow, intrigued. He'd not taken you for a staff user. "I have not seen a staff in your apartment."

"I keep it at Raiden's temple," you replied. It wasn't your choice to keep your weaponry somewhere else. The fact was, if other residents in your apartment complex saw you with a weapon, you'd definitely get into trouble.

"Then I'll instruct you in summoning a bone staff upon our next lesson."

"M'kay." You rest your chin in your palm, your eyes droopy. It was only evening, yet you were more than ready for a nap.

"Perhaps it's time we go home for the day," Shinnok said.

"Let's," you sigh, going to stand. You don't notice the window beginning to glow red next to you.

"(Y/n), watch yourself!"

"Huh?"

You look back just in time to see a demonic arm reach out of the window. You throw yourself to the floor, the mailbag containing Shinnok falling beside you and letting him roll free. You grab him, holding him close as you scoot backwards. Customers in the shop scream and make a break for the exit as quickly as possible.

"It's an oni; prepare yourself!" Shinnok calls.

The oni clawed its way out of the portal. Its screeching shattered glass, and vibrated the floor. It crushed any tables in its way as it stumbled to its feet. The thing was five times your size, and you didn't have a single weapon on you.

"Shinnok, I'm gonna need that bone staff!"

"Get away from the damned thing first!"

You scrambled to your feet, grabbing a hot coffee left by a customer and tossing it in the oni's eyes. A pained screeching filled the room, and you took the chance to dive behind the counter to hide.

"Now, what do I do?"

"Clasp your hands together, then drag them apart to let the magic form a staff. Quickly now!"

You inhale, clasping your hands together per Shinnok's instruction. The magic in your veins strained. Your forearms ached. You were panicking too much. The thudding of the oni's searching footsteps shook you out of your concentration, and you gasped out. Your hand shot over your mouth as you felt the footsteps halt. You could just tell the oni was looking at the counter now.

You looked down at Shinnok, who quickly mouthed 'again' to you. You nodded, removing your hand from your mouth, taking another breath, and closing your eyes before repeating the process.

The rattling feeling of bone magic cooled your veins, and as you pulled apart your hands, a long, sturdy, copper-stained bone formed at your command.

"There, now roll!"

You rolled forward, dodging the oni's giant foot as it came down on the counter, crushing it. You're quick to retaliate by driving the end of your new staff into the oni's face. It shrieked, backing up while batting at its face in pain.

Taking the chance for another strike, you drive one end of your staff to the floor and swing yourself around it, ramming your feet into the oni's chest. The kick sends the beast backwards and all the way outside into the streets.

"Don't go without me, mortal!" Shinnok called

"Fighting for my life here, head!" Still, you went over and grabbed Shinnok, awkwardly holding onto him as you ran out into the streets yourself. You needed to deal with that oni. Special Forces would take too long to arrive. Luckily, all the citizens in the area had made themselves scarce.

The oni got up on its feet again and roared at you. Even as far away as you were from it, you could still feel its hot breath. And smell it. You audibly gag.

"No time for vomiting; kill it!" Shinnok demanded.

You hooked Shinnok to your hip, then rushed up to the oni, sliding under its legs as it tried to grab for you. You drove the staff into the back of its head, and it tumbled forward. A more strategic part of your brain took over, and you drove your staff into the ground next to you, letting go of it and taking a moment to create another one. Once you do, you again rush the oni and latch onto its massive body.

You set on the oni's shoulders, wrapping your new staff around its neck and pulling backwards.

"Shinnok, be my guide! Tell me when to bring him down!"

"What?" Shinnok asked, not catching onto your plan.

"The staff in the ground, dumbass!"

Shinnok looks down at the staff you've driven into the street, the oni's shadow covering the area next to it. His brow rose. "Ah, a bit to the left, then!"

Your arms strained as you pulled on the staff, guiding the oni along with you. The oni's shadow travels over and past the staff.

"Too far! To the right!"

You curse, pulling the oni to the right. It's shadow was just about there when its arms tried to reach for you, making you tug away. The oni hasn't caught on that it could pull you down by your staff. Yet.

"Too far, (Y/n)!"

"I'm going to beat your ass, head!" you yelled. You kept tugging and pulling, trying to get the oni where you needed it.

Shinnok watched the oni's shadow cast over your staff, and he called back to you. "Now!"

The oni's hand grasped your leg just as you yanked it backwards. It flung you off of it, but tripped backwards. You land roughly on the asphalt road and watch as your bone staff pierces the back of the oni's neck clean through, breaking out on the front. Blood splattered, and the beast gurgled and flailed sporadically, and it choked to death.

"Fucking.. fuck," you groaned, standing. "Shinnok, why do you need such big demons in the Neatherrealm?"

"To tire out Earthrealm's warriors, of course."

"I'm actually going to kick your ass."

"Unfortunately, Raiden took it."

You laughed bitterly. Your chest burned; that oni was way bigger than ones you'd seen before. Rasping, you approached the dead demon and looked it over.

"Bitch," you said to it as if it could hear you or give a damn.

"Oh, I'm sure it's quaking in the afterlife," Shinnok said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm going to mount you on a stick."

"No, (Y/n). You're going to go home, order cheap Chinese food, then sleep."

You unhooked Shinnok from your hip, letting him fall to the ground.

"Ow!"

"Whoops, my hand slipped."

"Arg, you wretched-!"

The now-dead oni's body began to glow green. A bright shade of green you knew well. The whistling sound of souls echoed in your ears, and before you could blink, a small shockwave sent you skidding backwards. You tried to reach out for Shinnok, panic welling your chest. The oni's body disintegrated into a large cloud of souls that spun up and into the air in a sharp cyclone before spiraling downward directly onto Shinnok.

Your body refused to move. Was this planned? No, it couldn't have been. Right?

You really wished Special Forces would show up..

Every single soul was sucked into Shinnok's being. You watched in horror as the green glow faded away, and there, standing, was Shinnok.

He flexed his fingers, sparks of magic dancing around them. A vile smirk crossed his face, and a chuckle emanated from his throat.

He then looked at you.

Fuck.

Fuck indeed, as Shinnok raised his hand and clenched his fingers into a fist. A boney hand broke from the asphalt and grabbed you before you could do anything. You struggled in its vice-like grip, and you were pretty sure Shinnok made it do that out of spite for you.

He approached, his hands going to rest behind his back. His footsteps seemed to echo in your ears, dwarfing the sound of your own pounding heart.

"Whoops," he said, stepping up close enough for you to feel the heat of his new body. "My hand slipped."

"No, put your fingers this way, see?" You move Shinnok's fingers around his chopsticks, helping him hold them correctly. He grumbled, frustrated at how hard holding a simple eating utensil could be. "Better?" you ask.

Shinnok successfully grabbed some noodles out of his takeout box and lifted them into his mouth. "Better."

"Cool." You sat down at your side of the table to eat your own food.

Yeah, this was awkward. You checked your phone for the hundredth time, seeing if Cassie replied to your frantic message full of misspellings and explanation points. Your fingers fumbled your own chopsticks as you ate. You'd had an ancient evil in your home for around two months, but he couldn't actually do anything until now. Now he was powerful again. Able to crush you and harvest your own soul whenever he wished.

And yet, he hadn't. He was eating cheap ass Chinese food with you and seemingly enjoying it as he scarfed down his box of lo mein.

You stared a little too long, and Shinnok's eyes glanced up at you. You were quick to take a bite of your egg roll and look elsewhere.

Shinnok groaned. "I'm not going to kill you, mortal."

"Why?" you asked. Why you would ask that question was for the gods to know and you to find out, because why would you even ask that?

Shinnok didn't even answer your question; he just kept on eating. "Can you pass me one of those egg rolls?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, sure." You scoot the Styrofoam tray of egg rolls closer to his side of the table, where he takes a couple. He sure could eat.

"Appreciated."

"Yeah, no problem."

You prayed Cassie would just show up soon.

The gods, all except Shinnok, took some pity, and soon a frantic round of knocking was heard. You're quick to get out of your chair and open it, relief rushing through you as Cassie and Raiden are again waiting outside. You usher them inside.

Raiden takes a look at the scene. Shinnok sitting casually at your kitchen table, eating cheap Chinese food instead of going on a killing spree or going back to the Neatherrealm.

"Just what is your game here, Shinnok?" Raiden growled his question.

"Yeah, why aren't you like - destroying shit?" Cassie asked. "And why are you sitting back down?" she added upon seeing you slide back into your seat across from Shinnok.

"Listen, I am stressed," you retorted, shoving an eggroll into your mouth.

Shinnok chuckled, finding all of this amusing, no doubt. "Don't get riled up, Raiden. Those souls weren't enough to fill me; I need sustenance too."

"Just start talking, asshole," Cassie groaned.

Shinnok growled, rolling his eyes. He sat back in his chair. "I don't know what's so confusing. I'm just enjoying a meal with our lovely (Y/n)."

"Shinnok, I know better than to let you walk freely in Earthrealm, nor to let you return to the Neatherrealm," Raiden said. "If you think I will trust you for even a moment-"

"Shut up, would you?" Shinnok growled. "I'm not returning to the Neatherrealm. I can't."

You tilted your head. "You… can't?"

"Correct. I felt it when the souls returned to me. I am no longer master of the Neatherrealm; someone else has claimed its throne."

"Who?" Raiden demanded an answer.

Shinnok remained quiet, going for another bite of his food.

"Who, Shinnok?" you finally raised your voice.

"Quan Chi."

"…Fuck!" Cassie spat.

"If Quan Chi is ruling the Neatherrealm, then he is the one responsible for these demons appearing in Earthrealm," Raiden said.

"Yes, he was likely sending them to search for me. Hence, when (Y/n) here killed that oni, Quan Chi sensed it and, in addition, myself. So he sent the souls to me through the oni's body."

"So you have your body and power back, and you're not going back to the Neatherrealm?" Cassie asked.

"Yes, if I went back, Quan Chi would likely force me to his will. He did not restore my power completely," Shinnok explained in full seriousness. "I will not bow to that sorcerer."

"Then what are your intentions, Shinnok?" Raiden asked.

Shinnok smirked. "Well, to stay with (Y/n), of course. They are my captor, it's only fair."

"You.. huh?" you weren't sure how to respond.

"And I would like to continue your magic lessons if you so wish," Shinnok added.

It was quiet for a bit. Everyone thinking, and Shinnok continuously smirking. And stealing more eggrolls. Eventually, Raiden spoke up again.

"Fine, then, Shinnok. You may stay with (Y/n)."

"What?!" you yell. You look back at Shinnok, who had the most shit-eating smirk on his face.

"Raiden, are you sure?" Cassie asked.

"It is best. (Y/n) has kept Shinnok in line thus far. He will remain with them until further notice."

Cassie sighed, giving you an apologetic look. "Well," she said, stealing a fortune cooking off the table and cracking it, "it looks like you're still Shinnok's warden."

You couldn't believe this. You look at Shinnok, now realizing you'd have to live with the full-bodied version of him. Now you knew how he felt when he was first forced to live with you two months ago.

Cassie looks at the fortune from the cookie.

"Hey, look on the bright side. You're gonna find love within the next year!"

"Shut the fuck up, Cassie."

---

Behold, a sequel! I was surprised at how many people liked the first one, so here we are! Its not as silly as last time, but I have goofiness planned for next time!

[marymary-diva17]

Bring peace will bring broken bonds

Female Lo'ak and sully family + the others

I wrote this Story as one shot on wattpad but decided to bring it here and make some changes to the story, there will be some edits as well but please enjoy. The war with the ash navi were still going on and all of the clan of pandora and remain humans we're losing many lives and land to the ash navi, soom there was meeting between all the clan and the leading clan of all the ash navi clans. There a deal with stuck for ever lasting peace between all the clan there was multiple deals made for peace, but all of these deal had consequences stated and some hidden consequences as well. None of the olo'eythan could agree with the deals made as none of them were willing to do that but there was one deal, all of them to agree and it had fallen upon the omacayia clan to make sure this deal happened. 

Lani " ......" lani sat there in silence as she was looking at her father and everyone else she couldn't believe what she was hearing. 

Jake " lani" 

Lani " no father please no there most be something else we can do" 

Olo'eythan " there nothing else to do child this is the only deal they had given us" 

Lani " mating with someone I don't know it mot right dad you promised me I could mate for love" 

Olo'eythan 2 " please young lady this is the only way there were not others deal given the ash clan olo'eythan, won't take anything else from us" 

Lani " father please say something speak with the olo'eythan and see" 

Jake " I'm sorry my daughter his son seems like a good man and he will be a good mate for you and it will be great for all the clans" 

Lani " father" 

Neteyam " father is there nothing else we can do" 

Olo'eythan 3 " many people are doing to die amd your daughter is deciding to be selfish and cruel all the death, that  one will be on her hands" 

Elder " she is an adult but acting like a child I hope she can rest with the choices she picks" 

Elder 2 " we can't lose many more lives families are broken now all our ways of life are being stripped from us" 

Tonowair " silence everyone we will break and call back to see what we will do" 

Jake " lani you are dismissed" lani soon left without saying anything else but she could feel all eyes on her some sympathy but with angry and upset. She soon knew the whole clan knew of what happened and were waiting to see her decision, she walked passed families who lost family members in the last battle a couple weeks ago. 

Lani " oh great mother I need your help" lani went to the spirt tree to get some guidance and help, she need someone who was mot going to yell at her or looking at her with hate or disappointment. 

Lani " if I take is offer I will be giving up everything I know and love but o can't be selfish like everyone says, lives can't be destroyed anymore we need peace ... this peace will be good for everyone and I can learn to love my future mate ... yes I have do this for the people their happiness overweighs mine I'm doing it for the people" lani soon said one asst pray before leaving she soon went back to the meeting. 

Lani " I have made my decision I will become the mate of the olo'eythan son for the peace and for the happiness of my people" soon cheers and yips had been made as everyone as soon told peace will become and end of war, as lani will become the mate of future ash navi olo'eythan. The clans had celebrated and everyone praised lani on her future relationship and future. 

The ceremony

Neytiri " you look so beautiful my daughter" lani was getting ready to her wedding to her future mate/husband her mother, sisters, and friends were getting her ready. 

Tsyeria " do you know anything else about him" 

Lani " that he a good warrior and hunter dad also said he a good man as well so I'm lucky" 

Tuk " you look like a princess"

Lani " thank you" 

Kiri " now peace will come and everyone will be happy" 

Ronal " she is ready" soon a horn had blown meaning her future mate had arrived with his family and some of his clan. 

 Neteyam " they are here sister" 

Lani " it time for me to meet my mate" lani soon got up and soon left her childhood home and started walking with her mom and sister, she soon spotted the ash navi clan members standing there. 

Jake " olo'eythan ookek here my daughter your son future mate" 

Ookek " hello" Ookek seems to not like Jake as he had been keeping some distance between the two of them.

Lani " hello" 

Ookek " here is Amoyi the future leader of the clan, and lani betrothed" soon a tall ash male navi ahd stepped forward he was taller then neteyam but a bit taller them jake. 

Amoyi " hello lani I hope I cam be a good mate for you" 

Lani " I hope I can be a good mate to you as well Amoyi" soon the ceremony had started as everyone as the tshaik do the ritual for the Union, and it was done in blink of an eye all the clans were there to celebrate and see the Union. Lani and Amoyi will become official mates later on but right now they were seen as mate couple. 

The next day 

Jake " I will miss you my daughter but we will see each other again" 

Y/n " yes father" 

Neytiri " don't worry you will see your home again you will back here soon and we will be a whole family again" 

Y/n " yes mother" 

Neteyam " I and other sibling made you something so you don't forget us" 

Jake " everyone stop worry your sister will be gone for a while but she will be home soon, we won't be apart for long" 

Kiri " well we are still giving to to her"

Ash navi " lani we have to leave the olo'eythan wish to be home with the clan" 

Y/n " yes goodbye everyone" Unknown to everyone was they this deal had consequences that were going to come back go haunt all of the olo'eythans and the clans. As ooke was a man who was smarter then everyone had thought and he knew there was something off about the whole situation, but he was going to deal with that later. 

Amoyi " you will be flying near me" 

Lani " sure" 

??? " wait lani" lani had looked back to see Tsyeria running towards her holding something in her hands.

Tsyeria " this for you a necklace with a pearl and crystal to symbolize our friendship and home"The two girls soon hugged each other and soon a parted. Lani had soon taken off from her home looking back one last time, her heart was breaking but she soon felt someone comforting her to was aymeio.

later that night

Jake “ ………”

Tsu’tey “ my brother is everything all right”

Jake “ yes everything is good … I just hope one day she will come to accept the decision that had been made and forgive me as well” Tsu’tey knew about the deals made being Jake second in command.

???? “ this will be good for all of us even lani, my children and your children will grow with our here to be there to influence them” Jake and tsutey looked back to see tonowair standing there with the other leaders.

Jake “ I hope so maybe this will be good for her and make her into a proper adult and mature, as all her other siblings and friends were doing better then her”

olo’eythans “ sacrifice had to be made we could go with the other deals, we had to do what was best for the clan and our families”

Jake “ one day our sons will rule after us what do we do next, if they find out the truth”

tonowair “ they will all understand our sons will come to terms with it, and your son neteyam will understand as well all is not lost … there just had to been a someone given over and that was lani”

olo’eythan “ we will all be well and maybe something good will come out of his deal as well”

Jake “ I hope so I truly hope so” a deal has been made with the sacrifice and marriage of one daughter, to bring peace and harmony to everyone else. Will also bring broken bones and devastation to many lives as well, with all actions made there are consequences as well. One daughter was given up for the happiness for everyone she loves and cared about, and she will changer over time. When and if the families meet again it will be a joyful moment along with many other emotions as things might never be the same again.

[curioussubjects]

Feedback Fest 2024

Since everything I've read for the past 1.5 years has been pilots, all 10 of the fics here are Kara/Lee from Battlestar Galactica. I'm only listing one fic per author, so be sure to check individual author pages if you liked their style.

(go here over on @transformativeworks for more info!)

1. In the Whole World by pennyante (M, ~80K, WIP)

Summary:

The Cylons aren't quite human, and the humans haven't quite forgiven them. Political stability is less certain than ever now that the war is over: Lee Adama finds himself up for re-election, where being defeated will mean a Gemenese theocracy puppeteered by Leoben Conoy. Meanwhile, Kara Thrace has nothing but questions about her death and destiny. The only answers available come in the form of the vision of a temple, and from her hybrid/comatose husband's cryptic ramblings about a sister artifact to the Arrow of Apollo.

There's violence in the air. Civil war looms. Can Lee and Kara save each other, and keep the fledgling colony whole?

Thoughts: The best season 4 fix-it, lives in my head rent free, rewired my brain, etc. Also I've read it, like, 3 times (and I cried).

2. We're Not Friends by ninety6tears (M, ~25K)

Summary:

When two soldiers in the middle of a war can't seem to like each other, baptism by fire is apparently the natural solution. (AU in which Kara never knew Zak and first meets Lee after the fall of the colonies.)

Thoughts: I love a different first meeting AU, and this one takes pilots on a fun rivals to lovers spin that works surprisingly well. They're still very unwell about each other, though, make no mistake.

3. Artemis Rising by clairza (M, ~11K)

Summary:

The next morning Lee makes a few phone calls, and when everything has been organized and his credit card has been used for the first time in three months, and he’s had the pleasure of telling his mother that no, he has plans this week, he tracks Kara down in the quad. 

She's lying on her stomach poking sticks upright in the grass. He sits down beside her, and he can see the tension in her shoulders.

“So,” he says casually, and he’s very proud of the way his voice doesn’t shake at all. “I hear the Aegean Peninsula is nice this time of year.”

“It probably is.”

“I’ve booked a unit.”

“Where are you going with this, Lee?” Thoughts: I have a huge soft spot for fluffy academy pilots and this fic absolutely delivers. Happy baby pilots go to the beach five stars no notes.

4. An Arranged Meeting by lark_ral (E, ~11K)

Summary: Even outside of wartime, you might be surprised by the pressures our service men and women are under. The most effective among them either have, or need a release valve. Thoughts: Lee and Kara are scene partners for years, then the Cylons come. Somehow less messy than the show, but still delicious.

5. Rota by leda13 (E, ~2K)

Summary: The days are arbitrary, in space. Bereft of the guide of a planet's rotation around the sun, they live in slices of time, stealing as many as they can. Thoughts: Emotional support curtain fic of pilots sneaking around.

6. Sufficient to the Day by rachelindeed (T, ~1.5K)

Summary: At the sound of Lee’s voice, she feels her stomach twist and drop. Reluctantly, she opens her eyes and sees him come to a stop an arm’s length away, settling one elbow onto the corner of the bleacher behind her. His jacket is unbuttoned, his hair mussed, jaw ghosted with stubble, and the frakking sun is rising behind him. The look on his face is casual and fond, but he breathes as if he’s been running. Thoughts: Mandatory UB morning after fix-it...sort of. I really like this one because all I wanted was for Lee to get to Kara first. Or for him to call her bluff. This fic is both. It's not a showdown on main street like I enjoy joking about, but it's quiet and it's them (so it's better!).

7. Contrecoup by Fahye (T, ~2.2K)

Summary:

Contrecoup (n): A concussion or shock produced by a blow or other injury, in a part or region opposite to that at which the blow is received, often causing rupture or disorganisation of the parts affected. (One story told right-way-up, the other told upside-down, but both in the same narrative.)

We begin at a single point in time. The present goes forwards. The past goes backwards.

The story is AU-within-canon and set after episode 1x11, "Colonial Day."

Thoughts: I can't say too much because I don't want to spoil the fic. So: a bit angsty, a lot sweet, with a side of Kara's amazing problem-solving skills.

8. Lee's Emo Coffeehouse by haycorn (M, ~2.9K)

Summary: Lee has a bar, and sometimes Kara makes his life more interesting. Thoughts: I love cute modern AUs in general, and I love them even more when there's pining involved. There's not nearly enough of this type of fic for pilots, either! Many thanks to the author for their service. Would read 100K of this 'verse.

9. Breathing Room by callmeonetrack (M, ~12K)

Summary: Kara and Lee adjust to their new, very separate lives on the Pegasus. Badly.

Thoughts: My favorite Pegasus fic! Being on the Pegasus sucks, but then Lee and Kara find each other and things get better. Chef's kiss, peak pilots.

10. And I Feel Fine by hazellazer (M, ~2.4K)

Summary:

“That was… that… why?”

Her hands stay firmly on his face, thumb brushing over his cheek. “I was just thinking—”

Cutting her off, he smirks. “You think?”

She swats at his arm, hard enough that it might actually bruise. “I thought you were dead, Lee.” Her gaze is harsh on his, voice rasping, before something softens. “And I should’ve done this the second I knew you weren’t.” Thoughts: Season 1, but Lee and Kara are together. It's nice, refreshing, and plain good.

[whateversawesome]

now I’m curious about your predictions for the spy x family ending. how do you see it going down? 👀

Interesting question 🤔

It's still early in the manga, but l do have my little predictions. Here's my top 10:

1.Twilight and Yor will fall in love. That's an easy one because they have feelings for each other already 😌

2. We'll know about Anya's past almost at the end and it'll be devastating. We'll probably be crying for weeks!

3. Twilight's dad is alive. I believe he is a spy too and my writer instinct is yelling at me he's this guy:

4. At some point Yuri is going to choose between the SSS and his family (the Forgers). He'll choose his family, but at a great personal cost.

5. Neither WISE, nor the Garden and even less the SSS are the good guys. In fact, l suspect they are all bad, but the ultimate bad guy will be the SSS.

6. Not going to say a lot about this one, because it's still not clear to me yet, but since this is a spy story, there has to be a big twist related to a double crossing or betrayal. I have my suspicions, but I won't say much until I know more 😉

7. Not everyone will get a happy ending and I'm afraid some people might die 😔 Probably one of these will be devastating for the fandom. Who? Not sure yet, but right now my guess is that it could be this person (and it will probably be saving Anya):

8. Will there be a classic scenario (many times used in fanfiction) of a physical confrontation between Twilight and Thorn Princess? Yes, I think so, it'll mirror the fight they had on episode 5 of the anime, only this time it will be for real. BUT they won't hurt each other, for obvious reasons 💕

9. At some point, we'll be in the brink of war. It'll be very close, but the Forgers and specifically Anya will stop it.

10. Yes, there will be a happy ending for the Forger family and yes, they will stay together! There will be moments when we're all doubt it and everything seems lost, but I want to believe Endo planned this from the beginning. Those three deserve to be happy 😊

What do you think?

Thank you for the ask. I had a lot of fun answering this question 😃

[stereax]

is it too soon to ask for some mock trades and analyses for Marner, Mo Rielly, and/or Tavares?

Not too soon, anon! Sorry I didn't get to you earlier, I've been working on this ask for about a week now, sorry it's taken so long! Let's take a look under the cut, shall we?

We're going to go backwards in this request - from Tavares to Rielly and last Marner. Bring up the drama and suspense, discuss what's easiest and move to harder topics later. Without further ado:

JOHN TAVARES: UNMOVABLE

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Tavares's contract is way too much money for his current production. He plays as a 2C and sometimes even 3C in Toronto's system. That's not a player you can pay 11 million dollars. Even if the "real price" is lower once his signing bonus is paid, it's still a terrible contract cap-wise. Additionally, Tavares's NMC makes moving him tough. It's been speculated that, even if him moving would benefit the team by allowing them to hold onto Marner, that he would not accept that proposition and would exercise his NMC to stay in Toronto with his family. It must also be considered that not many teams have room to add an $11m player who isn't playing to that potential.

This is probably one of the only trades I see making sense. Chicago is one of the only teams with the room to take on all $11m of that contract and not get an elite player out of it. We know they've been in the market for old men (see: the Foligno contract, the Hall contract, the Mrazek contract, the Perry contract...) and want players to play with Bedard in the short term. As such, you pay to dump Tavares's contract with Liljegren and a first. I don't think that's enough, but Toronto has no other good draft picks unless they add their 2026 1st. In both cases, you're hamstringing a potential retool at its knees.

Likelihood: 2/10. It makes sense but for Tavares's NMC. You'd have to strong-arm him to waive it. Additionally, the first(s) you give up are vital to a retool and could be used to trade for better players, not just the lack of players.

MORGAN RIELLY: UNFATHOMABLE

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Toronto needs good, puck-moving defensemen. Morgan Rielly is a good, puck-moving defenseman. Why are we trading him? What do I not see here? He has a full NMC for four more years, plus an M-NTC for the next two. Why?

Well. Um. Lemme think here.

Rielly is a left shot defenseman making $7.5m against the cap for the next six years. He's the only defenseman the Leafs currently have making more than $2m against the cap. That being said, there are questions about whether he's a true #1 defenseman or an above average #2.

To explain, let me pull up some JFresh cards of three #1 defensemen -

So we notice that Rielly is middling in EV offense WAR, bad at EV defense WAR, and very good at PP WAR. Karlsson is very good at EVO WAR, bad at EVD WAR, very good at PP WAR. Makar is middling in EVO WAR, good at EVD WAR, and good at PP WAR.

Past that, take a look at the microstats. Karlsson is only below average in entry denial rate, prevention of entry with possession, and hits; most of the rest of his stat sheet is bright blue, very good. Makar is only below average in d-zone retrievals (by one percentage point) and hits; past that, just about all of his stats are bright blue, very good. Rielly, however, is low on many microstat metrics, including primary shot assists, passes (yikes), and in-zone offense. This has led many to underline that he's not a "true" #1 defenseman in the way Karlsson and Makar are. Additionally, see the scouting report: he "plays too much" at 24:00 TOI, which is not #1 defenseman caliber.

All this being said, it still makes no sense to trade Rielly. He's your best defenseman by a country mile, you're in a contention window, and the rest of your defense isn't going to be able to replace that. The only way I see them moving off Rielly is if they pursue a top free agent #1 defenseman (Skjei, Montour) or someone who they believe can be a #1 defenseman (Ekman-Larsson comes to mind here). Unless they're going to try to trade for a top defenseman? No idea who would take that, though. Chychrun? But I doubt Ottawa would want to trade him to the Leafs.

Alright. Let's see a trade or three.

This is an idea where you're going Mittelstadt-for-Byram, Hall-for-Larsson, 1-for-1 trade. The difference between Rielly and Power is a little more significant, however; hence, I threw in some prospects on both sides to make it a little more palatable. Robertson is an NHL caliber player who's forced down the depth chart with the Leafs and could benefit from a team with fewer expectations and more chances for him to crack the top six; Kozak is a decent two-way player who could act as a third-line center; Hirvonen could probably will himself onto the Sabres' roster if his life so far has been any indication. Power gets a chance to be a true #1 without Dahlin in the way; Rielly acts as both a good "role model" and can play top-line minutes if needed.

Another 1-for-1, but one that's "easier", so to speak. Winnipeg has made it clear that Ehlers is on the trade block and that they're intending to contend for the near future. Rielly helps Winnipeg's defense, plus the term on his contract is enticing for a team that only has Morrissey signed past next season. Ehlers gives the core another top six winger to play with, one that's chronically underrated as well, and reduces the need to re-sign Bertuzzi and/or Domi. Here, however, you'd need to pursue a Montour or Skjei or other top defenseman in free agency.

This is a Gauthier-style trade that lets Toronto do what it really wants to - escape the cap hit of Rielly to be able to land a top defenseman in free agency. Attard is big, he's "offensive minded", and also he's very large. He seems to be a tweener at best from his career so far, but he may be able to thrive in the right system (and we know old-style hockey people like Treliving and Berube love their big defensemen). The picks get flipped later on for things like, you know, a goalie. Philly, for its part, picks up a player who is instantly their best defenseman.

Likelihood: 1/10. I don't think Treliving and company seriously want to move off Rielly. If the opportunity to upgrade presents itself, maybe, but I don't think Rielly is as "on the table" as they're saying.

MITCH MARNER: UNPALATABLE

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This is the big one. Marner's great. Nobody's doubting that. The problem is, Marner is expensive and projected to be expensive for the significant future. Additionally, Marner is, unlike Tavares, a player you can sell without having to pay for it. However, moving Marner means you either play Nylander with Matthews or play people like Bertuzzi and Knies with Matthews. Neither is optimal - Nylander has to drive his own line, especially without Marner, and Matthews needs a set-up man like Marner to unlock his full potential. Remember that one Quiz where they flat-out called Marner Matthews's superpower?

Let's take a look at trades before I go on too much about Marner's playstyle though. All of these will be assumed to happen after July 1, so that Marner's signing bonus can hit and the monetary payment for Marner drops significantly.

THE 1-for-1 trade. You thought the Rielly 1-for-1s were good, take a look at this. Nashville can afford the cap hit in full, would be able to give Marner top player time on a playoff team, and can move on from Saros by finally releasing Askarov from the Admirals. Toronto gets A Goaltender, specifically a top goaltender, which they are in desperate need of, with the possibility of extending him if they don't like what they're seeing from Woll or maybe Hildeby. It seems like Nashville is the foregone destination conclusion for Marner, but let's see some other ideas.

Toronto gets Binnington, who, despite being a... feisty player, is still a very good goalie, plus Faulk, who's a competent RHD to pair with Rielly, thus hitting their two biggest concerns. St Louis can clear a bit of cap here and picks up Marner, thus opening up Buchnevich even further for a trade to pick up assets. However, St Louis would have to grab a goalie as well if they intend on competing - Hofer is good, but not good enough to play 82 games a season. Maybe they can pick up Gibson at 50% retained, or maybe Martin Jones?

This is a fun one - Marner becoming the face of Utah Hockey. Toronto picks up a good offensive defenseman in Durzi and a solid, cost-controlled winger in Crouse, as well as what may be a near-first-round caliber 2nd and their own 2nd back. Utah is closer to contention - or at least wildcard playoff losses - than many of the non-playoff teams in the league. If not for that 14 loss streak (you know the one) they could have ended within striking distance of a wildcard. Marner might be what they need to get them there and is a clear upgrade on Crouse. Durzi's loss is compensated by the ability of Lamoureux to crack the lineup in a significant role.

Likelihood: 5/10. This seems to be what Treliving would want - to trade Marner off - but I'm not sure how feasible it really is. If I had to guess, I'm betting it's to Nashville, but the Utah idea is growing on me. It all depends if and how Marner waives his NMC.

Well! There ya have it, anon! Mock trades and ideas for all of Tavares, Rielly, and Marner. Sorry it took so long, again, and I really hope this answers your question!

If you enjoyed, drop a like, maybe reblog? It's up to you, though. Thanks for the ask, I really enjoyed working on it!

[footemoji]

FOOTMOJI DON'T YOU EVEN DARE IGNORE THIS

This will be about the Pro-Israel thingy

1.First of all:

-no I'm not "Friends" with 404.

since when I found a post exposing them with screenshots that we're about them on discord sexualizing the TD cast (as far I can remember they we're doing that) I never interected with them again.

2.Second of all:

-About the pro Israel account...

Until I say anything about this topic, I need to tell y'all that I'm Brazilian. And on here is not very common to see people talking about the Palestine vs Israel war. And at that time I didn't knowed about what to do about when someone that was pro Israel liking my posts

So when that happened I was confused "should I follow them back? Should I just block them? Should I just ignore them?" So then I followed them back.

Until I go to the next topic, I want to say that I'm not Pro Israel or something. When that account started liking my posts I just followed them back thinking it was alright because "oh they're being nice so it's nice to follow them back"

But then, after some days that I followed the account @ferocioustrout Sended me a adm with a Discord post talking about me, Skunkbutts and the pro Israel account. After some minutes of Pine explaining to me why that happened, I went to the account and unfollowed & blocked it. She told me that it was all okay now and that she already explained to your server that it was all a misunderstanding then it all got back to normal.

And also... THAT PRO ISRAEL DRAMA THAT I WAS ON IT WAS ON FEBRUARY, WE'RE CURRENTLY ON APRIL. WHAT HAPPENED TO I STILL HAVE CALLED YOU GUYS ATTENTION ON SOMETHING THAT I AM NOT ANYMORE??

My apology was "quick" because I was desperated of someone start to treat me or make a group of people get against me. At that time I was confused of what to think about the pro Israel account

And no, i don't and NEVER interected with other Pro Israel accounts

Please answer this ask

I WILL NOT ACCEPT ONE OF YOUR FOLLOWERS ACCUSE ME OF SOMETHING THAT ALREADY STARTED AND ENDED

“So when that happened I was confused "should I follow them back? Should I just block them? Should I just ignore them?" So then I followed them back.” is fucking wild ngl !!!

a few things i wanna address:

1.) ur so rude oh my god turn it down a few notches, and this is why my response is gonna be rude just tryna match the energy in the room

2.) its not a war its a genocide

3.) the pro israel account followed me a while back too guess what the first thing i did after seeing the words “pro israel”. i BLOCKED THEM!! and even if i didn’t block theres no chance in hell i would’ve followed them back! cmon!! use that little brain of yours !!!

4.) i find it insane that it only took someone calling you out on following the account to unfollow and block them too

5.) february was 2 months ago you dont get a magical baptism every week

anyways free palestine🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[starset21]

When to Let Go

Standard disclaimer: I do not consent to the posting, translating, or publishing of my work to any 3rd party site, the only place it may currently be found is on tumblr and Wattpad under the name @.itswildflower

A/N: Here's pt. 2 to Going to War!

Looking for more? Chicago Fire Collection Masterlist 

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: cannon typical depictions of fires/accidents and injuries, medical inaccuracies?

“Pop tried to play the hero. He forgot he was in his 60s with a bum ticker,” Jay huffs. “Yeah, well. This is your fault to begin with. Stick me in that fire trap,” Pat Halstead coughed. “Pop, stop talking,” Will tells him. “You said you liked the place,” Jay reminded him as he pushed Will and the Nurse away, insisting he didn’t need this. “Paramedics said you were complaining of chest pain. Did you forget you had a quadruple bypass a few weeks ago? Come on, stay still,” Will huffs. “Hey, if it isn't my favorite patient. How you doing, Mr. Halstead?,” Connor greets. “Fine,” the older man grumbles. “So you felt some tightness in your chest, huh?” Conner asks. “It's nothing.” Jay gives him a look. “Well, you might be right. I don't see any ST elevation or depression. No left access deviation. Looks like a strong and healthy heart to me.” Pat sighs. “Oh good. Are we done?” he asks. “Nope, not yet. You still have a pretty nasty inhalation injury. Can I get a CBC, CMP, and a carboxyhemoglobin? And add a full cardiac workup,” Rhodes tells the nurse. “Dr. Rhodes, you’re needed for a consultation,” Maggie pops in and tells him. “Yeah. Mr. Halstead, a pleasure as always,” Rhodes tells him before leaving. Will stops him for a moment, “Thank you, Connor.” Connor nods before heading to his consult. “I don't need all this,” Pat huffs again. “Calm down, you're getting yourself worked up,” Jay tells him. “What do you know? You're no doctor,” Pat grumbles. “Pop,” Will warns. “Forget it,” Jay tells him, turning away for a moment. “You had no right to sell my house,” he shouts. “You want to talk about this again? It was a wreck. You couldn't take care of the place,” Jay tells him. “You just wanted my money,” Pat throws at him. “Hey,” Will tries to intervene. “You don't have any money, you thankless old prick,” Jay says before walking out. 

“Hey, how are you guys doing?” Maggie asks the 4 firefighters standing just outside Dani’s room. “Choi kicked us out,” Kelly tells her. “Yeah, he needs room to work, Kelly. Try to be patient,” Maggie sighs before moving on. Kelly watches as Choi and the nurses move around Dani, tears lined his eyes again but he didn’t allow them to fall. “Get her on the vent and make sure she's 100% oxygenated,” Choi tells April. “Right,” she responds, beginning to prep things when Dani starts sputtering and coughing, trying to sit up. “She's waking up. Push 4 milligrams of midazolam,” Choi orders. “Whoa, easy, easy. Easy, easy. All right. - Easy, Dani,” the nurses and Choi try to soothe her. “BP and heart rate are stable. She's settling down,” April tells him. “Draw a blood gas with carboxyhemoglobin,” Choi tells them before stepping back and discarding his gloves. “Hey... what's happening?” Kelly asks as Choi steps out into the hallway. “Her vitals are holding, but she's in pretty bad shape. We're running some tests and should know more soon,” Choi tells those gathered outside her room. An alarm begins going off in her room. “Blood pressure and sats are dropping,” April calls out and Choi rushes back in, accessing her. “All right, she's bleeding in her airway. Hang a unit on the rapid transfuser, suction her ET tube, and get a chest X-ray,” Choi orders.  “Blood's coming too fast. Every time I suction the tube, it fills back up again,” April sighs. “Hang another unit and just do your best to keep up,” Choi tells April. “Where’s the X-Ray?” Rhodes asks, walking in. “Here you go,” A nurse told him as soon as they had taken the image. “She's got a massive hemorrhage in her right lung. It's impossible to say where it's coming from. All right, call the blood bank, trigger the MTP,” Rhodes orders. “Can you find it?” Kelly asks, looking from Dani to Dr. Rhodes. “First I've gotta find it. Let's set up for a bronchoscopy, someone fill in the Halstead brothers please.”

“Jay!” Matt calls out when he finds the detective. “Casey?” Jay asks, turning around. “Is Dani ok?” Matt shakes his head, walking up to him as Jay furrows his brow. “What’s happened?” he asks. “She ran out of air, she had a pulse but wasn't breathing, they had to intubate her, she’s down in the ER with Choi and Rhodes,” Matt tells him. Jay’s breath hitched. “Does Will know?” Jay asks. “Someone should be telling him as we speak,” Matt reassures him. “What are we standing around here for? Let’s go,” Jay tells him and the two of them take off for the emergency room.  

“She's lost a significant amount of blood. Unfortunately, the only way we can be sure to completely stop her bleeding is to remove her entire lung,” Rhodes tells him. “What?” Kelly asks. “Kelly, it's the best chance we have of saving Dani's life,” Choi tells him. “She can't be a firefighter if she only has one lung. There's gotta be something else you can do. April?” Kelly asks his friend. “What if we tried Ekmo? It would rest her lung so we have enough time to locate the bleed…” April trailed off. “No. We'd have to give her anticoagulants to keep the lines open,” Rhodes tells her. “Isn’t it worth the shot?” April asks. “It would make her bleed even worse. She's too unstable,” Choi tells them. “Believe me, Kelly, this is the best course of action,” Rhodes tells him. “Sounds to me like you've thrown in the towel before you even tried to save her lung. Being a firefighter is the only thing Dani cares about. I'm not gonna let you do it,” Kelly shakes his head. “I'm sorry. But it's not up to you,” Choi tells him. Will and Jay come quickly around the corner with Matt and Stella. “What’s going on?” Will asks. “She’s losing blood from a massive hemorrhage in her right lung. The only way we can be sure to completely stop her bleeding is to remove her entire lung, but of course the ultimate decision is yielded to the family,” Rhodes tells him. Will looks at Jay who looks lost and unsure. “She can't be a firefighter if she only has one lung,” Kelly tells them, practically pleading with them to tell them to do it some other way. Will looks at Dani laying on the bed, intubated with machines hooked up in the trauma bay. “Do whatever you have to to save her life, but if you can, save the lung,” Will tells him. “Get her upstairs,” Rhodes tells them quickly before starting to walk away. 

Kelly sent Will a grateful look before walking off with the other firefighters. “Dr. Halstead, Mr. Halstead, there was a problem with your father,” a nurse comes up to them. As if the day couldn’t get any worse for the Halstead family. “How long before sinus rhythm was restored?” Will asked. “He was down for around five minutes,” the nurse who had helped with the code tells him. “Well, that's consistent with what I'm seeing. Almost no EEG waveforms,” Dr. Abrams speaks up. “Are we not seeing some brain activity?” Jay asks, wiping a hand down his face. “Artifacts. Distortion, interference. Dust on the window,” Abrams tells him. “Okay, I am... I'm not following,” Jay tells him. “Your father's brain-dead,” Abrams tells him simply. “So he's just not coming back? Like, you... you're saying that there's... there's no chance?” Jay asks. “If I had to calculate the odds, I'd say 1,000 to 1 against. This vent could be put to better use,” Abrams says, turning to Will. “Are you serious?” Jay asks. “Jay-” Will tries to calm him. “The hell is wrong with you, man? Are you kidding me?” Jay asks. “We'll talk about it. Thanks, Sam,” Will says with a firm nod. Abrams narrows his eyes and nods before leaving. 

“I don't like that guy, man. I want a second opinion,” Jay tells Will when they were out in a hallway. “He's our top neurosurgeon,” Will counters. “So all your degrees, all that money, all those years in school, this is the best you can do?” Jay nearly shouts. “Jay, Dad almost died two years ago. He's been living on borrowed time,” Will tries to reason with him. “Abrams didn't say Dad had no chance,” Jay huffs. “1,000 to 1 is no chance. I'm trying to be realistic. I've seen a lot of patients in his condition,” Will tells him. “There goes that doctor's voice,” Jay says sarcastically, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I'm sorry, but I am a doctor,” Will tells him, crossing his arms. “Yeah, don't worry, we got that message,” Jay scoffed. “And Dad knew you thought you were better than us. We always came in second, you weren't there, and now you want to decide what happens?” Will runs a hand through his hair. “That is not true, Jay, you know-” he starts to tell him. “There you are,” a woman comes up to them. Will sighs and turns to her. “Ms. Garrett, this is my brother, Jay,” Will introduces. “Yes. I'm the hospital's COO. I heard about your father. I'm very sorry,” she tells them. “I want you both to know that there's no hurry in making any decisions about Mr. Halstead. You have the full support of this hospital. And we will provide your father with any and all resources,” she tells them. “I appreciate that,” Will tells her. “We take care of our own. This... is my cell phone. You call me if you need anything,” she tells Jay, handing him her card before walking away. “It's decided. We're not giving up. I’m going to go see if there’s any news on Dani,” Jay stated with a finality before walking away.

“Dani’s still in surgery last I checked,” Jay says as Will first walks into the room, not even looking up from their father’s face. He had come straight back after he hadn't been told of any updates to Dani's condition. Will decided to file that information away for now, focusing on this and the information he had just learned. “Hey, Jay. We gotta take Dad off the vent.” This causes Jay to look at him. “No, no, no. He… I've been sitting with him, and he blinks his eyes. And I grabbed his hand, and he squeezed my hand. He squeezed my hand.” Will looked at his younger brother with sympathy. “Those are just reflexes. They don't mean anything,” Will tells him softly. “I'm telling you, man, he knows that I'm here,” Jay insists looking back at their dad. “He doesn't. He can't,” Will places a hand on his shoulder. “We can't. He's… He's gotta come back, man, 'cause... that can't be the last conversation I ever have with him,” Jay tells him, wiping his eyes. “Look, whatever regrets you have, you're not gonna resolve them here. You just gotta accept that.” Jay glares at Will. “Don't tell me what I got to accept.” Will was trying his best to keep it together. “Jay, the reason Gwen encouraged us to take our time with Dad? His bypass was 29 days ago. If he dies before 30 days are up, regardless of why, it's a fatality for the hospital. So Gwen's just trying to keep Dad alive for one more day so the hospital doesn't take the hit,” he explains. “I get it. You feel betrayed but I don't care. I care about Dad,” Jay tells him. “And you think he'd want to be kept alive to buff some numbers?” Will asks. “You need to get out. You gotta get out, man,” Jay shouts. “They're using him,” Will tells him calmly as he steps back towards the door. “That's your problem,” Jay seethes with anger. “Jay, he's gone,” Will finishes before leaving. 

“You guys put me in a terrible position. But... we were able to isolate the bleed, and we only had to take out a portion of her lung. It was a thoracoscopic procedure, minimally invasive. That's all to say that... she should be back to work in no time,” Rhodes tells the firefighters from Truck 81 gathered in one of the waiting rooms. “Oh, thank God. Dr. Rhodes... you're the man,” Herrmann tells him, shaking his hand. “Yeah, you guys are okay too,” he chuckles before turning to April, “Go find Kelly, let him know, I’m heading for Will and Jay.” April nods before walking off. Matt shakes Connor’s hand with a firm nod before heading down the hallway with Sylvie, Stella and Herrmann to go tell Boden and the others.

“Kelly. She's awake. Wants to see you,” April calls into one of the various waiting rooms. Kelly let out a sigh of relief, thanking whatever higher power that she made it through ok. April nodded her head to the door, silently telling him ‘let’s go’ and he stands, following after her. He stops for a moment in the doorway, simply taking her in. Dani turned her head and looked at him, she was a little groggy but she smiled. Kelly smiled too, moving to her bedside and leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. He pulled a chair closer and sat down, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. “I’m so glad you made it,” he tells her. “Of course, I’m always going to come back to you,” she tells him quietly, her throat still a little bit sore. “Come here,” she tells him, and he leans over, laying his head in the crook of her arm to which she wraps around his head and plays with the short ends of his hair, pressing a kiss of her own to his head. Kelly shudders a little and Dani knows he’s probably crying again so she continues playing with his hair and holding him the best she could.

[bowloflentils]

I'm a few days late sharing this on Tumblr, but I posted an update for the Sakura Wars 2 fan translation on behalf of the team on Twitter this week.

Here are the contents of the update for anyone that isn't on Twitter:

On behalf of the whole team, I'm sharing an update on our current progress with the Sakura Wars 2 fan translation. We've been hard at work since January, so we put together a short video showcasing our current build followed by a summary of what we've accomplished this year.

The English script for both the adventure and battle sections of SW2 have been patched into disc 1 and we're now trying to iron out bugs. We're also in the process of implementing single-byte text encoding which has remedied some of the script size issues we’ve been running into.

The translation for the ADV section was completed in 2022 and this year we finished translating the remaining text files for the “Long Day in the Theater” mode as well as the battle sections. This was a massive task as the battle scripts were divided up into over 400 small files.

In terms of editing, the ADV script has received several editing passes this year and things like minigame titles, special attack names, and battle unit labels have been finalized. Battle dialogue has also received its first editing pass and other system text has been unified.

We’ve gotten a lot done this past year but we still have a ways to go before the patch is complete. We're not sure when everything will be finished but here is a short breakdown of what still needs to be worked on:

-What is left to do- Many of the in-game menus and graphics still need to be converted into English, and solutions need to be found for several technical issues we’ve run into with our current builds. Specifically, we are experiencing quite a few bugs in the battle segments at the moment. Also, we currently only have disc 1 up and running in English. That means that the script will continue to be polished and edited as we see more of the English text for disc 2 and 3 in-game. And once everything has been implemented, we’ll still have to do an extensive amount of testing, especially since the game is three discs long compared to SW1’s two discs.

---

Thank you to everyone in the team that put in so much work this past year:

Project Lead: NoahSteam.

Programmer: TrekkiesUnite118.

Translators: MattoBii, CrouchingMouse, Natsume38.

Graphic Artist: Joqu.

Editor: Bowl of Lentils.

And all other contributors.

See you next time!

[kaija-rayne-author]

Is Solas neurodivergent?

Of course, unless Weekes confirms one way or another, we'll never actually know. But I'd like to point out a few things.

Firstly. I'm autistic/ADHD, so are my kids and I've been an advocate for invisible disabilities, especially those two, for almost a decade now.

I offer an option on my Patreon for parents (or even just people) who need or want advice.

I have a little bit of a clue here. (More like a massive clue by nuke, but I digress 🤣.)

Why I code Solas from Dragon Age: Inquisition as neurodivergent.

1. Mentally ill fits under the neurodivergent (ND) umbrella. There's no way on Thedas that Solas isn't mentally ill.

(Yes, it really does fit. I'm not going to entertain arguments on the topic. It originally meant 'autistic' it no longer means that and hasn't for a long while. Neurodivergent brains = brains that work in any way other than 'the average'.) The antonym is Neurotypical. I tend to abbreviate them. Neurodivergent = ND, Neurotypical = NT.

At the very least, he likely has survivor syndrome. I'd wager on Depression and CPTSD too. (I have these conditions and am comfortable with saying he has a lot of the traits.) The guy was the leader of an enslaved elves rebellion and a war against the Evanuris. In his own words, he got his hands bloody.

No matter who you are, violence, whether you're the perpetrator or the victim, causes trauma to the psyche. And it went on for actual ages. An Age, in The Dragon Age franchise, is considered to be 100 years, so for hundreds of years, if not thousands, this dude has been fighting. Humans can get CPTSD just from a bad childhood. There's no way he hasn't developed it too.

Survivor syndrome is the response of a person when they believe they have done something wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not, often feeling self-guilt. (Can we classify Solas clearly with this? Yes, yes we can.)

He wakes up in a world so horrific to him that he can't even conceive of the people as people.

That's a type of disassociation, which is a symptom of many mental illnesses. Depression is the most obvious. He fucked up, he knows it, he's now trapped in a hellscape. (Heeee, we're all trapped in a dystopian hellscape right now and Depression is on the rise, the correlation is there.)

Disassociation is feeling disconnected from yourself and/or the world around you. For example, you may feel detached from your body or feel as though the world around you is unreal.

There could be a few other things there. He'd be a classic case for Disassociative Identity Disorder, for instance, but given the shit rep on the topic, I'm not going there.

2. ADHD

ADHD is still not very well understood by the average person. Sometimes people think it means we can't hold still. But a lot of the time, the H-Hyperactivity portion is only evident in our brains. For me, for instance, I have to constantly be feeding my brain written stuff or I get very antsy and uncomfortable. (ADD no longer exists, we're all ADHD now.) It's why i developed the habit of reading encyclopedias for fun. (Yes, I really do this.)

Solas is constantly reading, or studying, or thinking.

He shows a pretty typical type of temper for an ADHDer several times. Our tempers can be hot, flaring up suddenly for seemingly unexpected reasons. He absolutely does that. Now, there's always a reason for it, but few people on the outside of us will be aware of whatever the issue is.

ADHDers can also experience incredibly fast (compared to neurotypicals) shifts in emotion. Solas does this. Especially in the after the well of sorrows/pre-breakup scene and the break up scene itself. He see-saws emotionally a lot.

He's incredibly creative. He paints (and probably draws at least a little to paint the way he does). So many neurodivergent people are incredibly creative.

Snark. Many ADHDers tend to be snarky or sarcastic because of, well, everything that usually happens to us in life. The snark and salt simply spill out of Solas. Especially on the 'make him hate you' route through the game. Or any time he's around Vivienne.

Finally, ADHDers very frequently have a deep seated drive to change the world and make it better. Stares at Solas. Yup!

3. Autistic

So, firstly, let me say that most people don't understand what autism is or what autistics look and act like.

As an autistic/ADHD person, my experience of life is completely different from a neurotypicals simply because my brain is wired differently.

Reminder that you can't see autism or ADHD. You can sometimes see common comorbids, but without a brain scan, you cannot see autism or ADHD.

I connected and empathize so heavily with Solas because he's a well written, complex character, and because I love anti-heros.

But also because he's exhibits the exact same type of autistic/ADHD traits that I have. (Both autism and ADHD come in different flavours.) Seeing that rep in a triple AAA game was an incredibly powerful experience.

Even though, given Bioware's absolutely shit rep re: disability, it had to be accidental. I credit Weekes with that rep. I read on Twitter they were recently dxd with one or the other (ADHD or Autism, I honestly can't remember which. And up to 80% of ADHDers are also autistic.)

Solas practices esoteric arts. It's a common thing for many autists & ADHDers to learn and practice arts that just aren't as common anymore. Mine? I spin with a spinning wheel, drop spindle, or Andean hand spinner. I make maps. There's several other strange hobbies and skills I've picked up along the way too.

He shows hyperfocus several times in the game. (Hyperfocus is a trait of both ADHD and Autism.)

He stims with his hands a lot. Especially in the kiss scene. I don't recall seeing any of the other characters do this. I'm not talking about the 'dry hand wash' movements most of the characters do. Solas does a thing I do, taps the tips of his fingers against each other. Whoever did his modelling (is that the right term for making a game character?) understood neurodivergency or are ND themselves. Whether they know it or not.

You could even call his painting a type of stimming.

Stimming is where someone will use repetitive motions or sounds to self-soothe. It's really bad to prevent an autistic/ADHDer from using their stims.

I used to have to have a book on my person at all times. I'm late diagnosed, so I didn't know I was using the books as both a stim and a comfort item.

Solas has something autists call 'flat face effect'. Basically, his face is a bit masklike. He doesn't show emotions strongly on his face or in his body language (unless you make him angry 😅 which is also pretty typical for many of us). I've seen rather a lot of discourse about how emotionless Solas appears. I can read him easily, the emotive cues are there, just subtle, like they would be in an autistic & or ADHD person.

He's a decent actor. Now, most autists will agree that we're not innately good at lying or acting. But we're also really good at acting, at least, many of us are by the time we're adults. It comes from having to mask (autistic masking) almost every second of every day just to survive. Masking kills us. So it's not good that we are forced to do it. But it does make many of us incredible actors.

Anthony Hopkins is argueably one of the best actors of the past several decades. He's openly autistic. And he's spoken of how he got to be a good actor. Dan Ackroyd and Darryl Hannah are a couple of others who are out about it. I code a lot of other creatives as being one or the other, but it’s considered rude to assign a diagnosis like that to a living person. That's for them to do.

Solas managed to stay hidden as a 'unwashed apostate hobo' for however long the Inquisition took to fix things. I've seen estimates of 18 months to 2 years. That's a looooong time to be acting like something you're definitely not.

We see in Trespasser that he's not like that at all. But he still sold it so well his reveal at the end of the game shocked many people.

He's a nerd. An absolute nerd about the fade. Nerdery isn't solely the domain of autistics and ADHDers, but it’s a really common trait.

He's stand-offish.

Many autists and ADHDers are rather stand-offish with people for a variety of reasons.

1) We've been hurt so many times because of people refusing to do half the work of communicating with us. (Trust me, autistics and ADHDers are trying ALL THE TIME to communicate with neurotypicals. Y'all could pick up your part of things, y'know?)

2) We've been rejected so often for a genetic condition(s) we can't change. But accommodations for us, which are usually pretty simple and often help neurotypical people too, are considered 'too much'. There's something called RSD that most, if not all, autistic and ADHD folks experience. Rejection Sensitivity Disorder is a bitch kitty and there's no dealing with it well. It hurts.

3) We're often stand-offish while we try to figure out whatever social rules exist in that space/time. We often warm up when we know (or think we know) the rules. Or once we get to know people.

4) Solas is often alone, he's rarely pictured as being with anyone else other than Cole and the Inquisitor. NDs often end up either pushed to the edge of the crowd, or we choose to stay distant as a preventative measure so we aren't rejected.

Food sensitivities: Solas utterly loathes tea. There's a whole cutscene about it. (Fun fact, Solas doesn't like tea because Weekes doesn't.) But that extreme reaction to a relatively innocuous drink is a classic example of a food sensitivity. Most autistics and ADHDers have food or texture sensitivities or both. I can't abide raw tomatoes, and I'll get the urge to cry if I touch corduroy fabric.

Sensitivities can really be anything, but if you know someone who has them, please understand we're not trying to be difficult or to ask for extra attention or to make trouble. The modern world is frankly hell for most autistics and many ADHDers. Brain scans of us when we’re exposed to our sensitivities show that they actually are causing us physical pain. Pain centres in the brain light up like a Yule tree.

Solas is quiet, until he's not. Then he'll talk your ear off. This is pretty common for many of us too.

Solas and the fade. Special interest, anyone?

Special interests: Most autistics and ADHDers have Special interests. It's something that can utterly enthrall us. We tend to want to learn everything we possibly can about the subject we're fascinated with. And we love to share that information. In something called 'infodumping' we're trying to connect with other people. It's one of the ways many of us say we care about someone. By sharing our favourite things. We're also deeply penalized for something we can't change, there, too.

We deeply enjoy the thing and want to share our enjoyment with people we like/love. This can utterly backfire on us, but it doesn't change the urge to share. Often until our audience is giving us the 'dead fish face'. It's where the person's eyes are a little glazed over and they look a bit concussed. Anyone who has ever taught a class of students or is a parent or child caretaker, or is autistic/ADHD knows the look I'm talking about.

I'll stop blabbing for now, but those are most of the reasons I heavily code Solas as autistic/ADHD/mentally ill. Or, in another word. Neurodivergent.

Thanks for reading! If you have the wherewithal I'm a disabled mom of two disabled kids and a tip would help more than you can probably understand. Another way to help is to become a patron. My work of words is my only income and we live well under the poverty line. Like a lot of other neurodivergent people do.

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[artemistorm]

Avalanche rescue pt 5

Haha JK this isn't the last chapter in this story XD, got at least 1 more cuz I had to split this chapter up.

Tw - hypothermia, mention of blood, unconsciousness

Other parts if you haven't read them yet:

[Pt 1] [Pt 2] [Pt 3] [Pt 4]

******* (947 words)

Dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig Wolfie and Bunny pup quick dig around Special Cub, but cub buried deep. Cub tried help dig, but hands shake, too cold. Wolfie mouth-grab spade, took away.

“Cub no dig!” He woofed.  Wolfie borrowed blanket from blanket pile around Smallest pup, gave to Special cub. “Cub be still, warm up!”

“Th-thanks Wolfie.“ Wild said taking the blanket and wrapping it around his head and shoulders. ”I can still help be part of my own rescue you know. My hands do still work.”

“Too slow! In the way!” Wolfie told him. Dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig--

 “It's not like you were making very much progress on your own with that tiny spade,” Legend said. “Don't worry about it; we got it.”

Dig dig dig dig... sniff sniff listen... noisy snow-walking noises, big Hylian smell... rest of pack coming!

“Here! We're HEEEERRREEEE!!!!” Wolfie howled, tail wagging. Pack almost together again!

Wolfie took off chasing the smell and the noise. Bring pack to camp-den.

“I smell you! Come here!” Wolfie called.

“There's Wolfie again, we must be almost there!” Wind exclaimed.

“Hi! Hi! Hi!” Wolfie rubbed against Baby pup. “Come on!”

“Yep, there they are!” Hyrule pointed. “Come on Sky, we're almost there.”

“Heyyyy! There you guys are!” Legend smiled as the rest of the Chain emerged from the trees. “Are you all okay?”

“No major injuries, but Sky's having trouble breathing again and Wars is probably hypothermic,” Hyrule reported importantly. “Are you guys alright?” He glanced quickly from Legend to Wild to Four sleeping in the ground, his eyes lingering on Four.

“The two of us are just peachy,” Legend answered. “Four's had a rough time of it, but he'll be fine with some rest and potions.”

“Give me a minute... to catch my breath... but I've got some digging mitts... I can help dig up Wild,” Sky huffed.

“Nope!” Wolfie yipped. “Sky pup rest!” Wolfie block Sky pup and lean into legs. “Sky pup sit!”

“Wolfie!” Sky teeted against the weight pressing against his legs before falling back into the snow.

“Hehehehe Wolfie says no,” Wind laughed. “Pass me your mitts! I wanna try them out!”

Yes! Baby pup use digger claws to help dig up Special Cub!  Wolfie quick-lick Sky pup's face, went back to Special cub.

Hole around Special cub deep and steep, hard for Wolfie to get in and dig around. Front legs tired from deep-snow running and dig dig digging. But almost done. Only Special Pup left stuck. Wolfie rest soon but not yet! Time to dig!

Dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig--

“Hyrule, why don't you start making a pot of something hot to drink?“ Time said. ”Warriors, do you mind checking on Four? Make sure he's warm enough?”

“Sure, I can do that,” Hyrule said cheerily.

“I have ssome safflina in my pouch you cann use,” Wild said patting his belt pouch. “Just unburied.”

“Nah, I have some I stole from you last week while you were sleeping,” Hyrule dismissed him.

“I'll do it, but I see what you're trying to do Old Man,” Warriors said.

“You should change out... of your wet clothes,” Sky said, his breathing starting to calm down.

“You BOTH should,” Hyrule said.

Pack work together to dig up Special Cub--Bunny Pup and shovel, Old Father and extra shovel, Baby pup and digger claws, and Wolfie digging paws. Special Cub wiggle wiggle wiggle and Wolfie dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig--knees free!

“I'm going to lift you out, okay? Try to slip out of your boots,” Time said.

“Okay.” Special cub nodded, held up his arms to Old Father. Old Father grab Special Cub around middle, lifted and pulled. Wolfie grab Special cub pants and pulled too! Together pull Special Cub free!

Old Father carried Special cub to other cold pups. Wolfie stayed right beside. Old Father set down cub on blanket.

“Yay! Yay! Special cub free!” Wolfie whined, rubbed against Special cub sides and back, licked face.

“Wolfie, he'll be fine,” Old Father pulled Wolfie away. “The others are taking care of him. Can you help me get his boots out of the snow and fill in the big hole?”

“NoOoOoOo,” Wolfie whined. “Fine. I help,” Wolfie huffed. Wolfie wanted to snuggle with cold pups. Wolfie was tired puppy.

“Wolfie's done a lot for us today. Why don't you let him rest?” Sky said.

“I'll take over for him,” Warriors volunteered. ”As long as there's another shovel somewhere.”

“You should be warming up near the fire,” Time shook his head. “You were buried for a long time.”

“I've changed clothes and the physical labor will warm me up,” Warriors said.

“...alright then. You hear that Wolfie? You're off the hook.”

“Just take it easy with your bad shoulder,” Hyrule told Warriors. “Don't make me heal it again.”

“It's fine, Rule, don't worry about it.”

Wolfie curl around Special cub, nuzzle hair, lick cold ear, happy whine and tail wag.

“Thanks for digging me up Wolfie,” Wild grinned and leaned into Wolfie.

“Let's get you out of those wet clothes,” Sky said. “Wolfie why don't you go sit with Four for now?”

That's right! Smallest pup hurt cold. Need Wolfie to lick face and wake pup up. Wolfie went to Smallest pup, curled around head, lay down. Feel good to lay down, rest tired limbs. Slow sniff Smallest pup fur--blood and snow and wet fur and healing light. Fur messy. Pup need grooming. Lick lick lick lick lick...

To be continued! Almost there! :D