#as my partner who lives on the other side of the continent does

[ndntighnari]

If this is what a cold does to me, im never gonna be able to live alone. I live w my dad and its basically the same thing as it stands, and I'm just. In bed all day. Nothing to eat. Nothing to drink. Cant take my meds bc of the previous point. Like. I feel like death but i guess thats just. Fine to my immediate family since none of them wanna "catch whatever i have" when. Again. Its a cold. I just am severely immuno compromised

[vi-fans-wall]

Theories S2 Arcane (Part 1) [little SPOILERS]

I'm going to analyse the theories that arise (my opinion) after the content that has been shown about the second season of Arcane.

I will start with the most obvious theories.

VANDER IS WARWIK

This is the truest theory of all. The vast majority of us who know Runeterra lore know that Warwick is Vander. For those of you who are only familiar with the series and know nothing about this League of Legends champion, I'll briefly discuss why we're all saying this.

If we check the character's biography on the League of Legends website (link) we can see that it describes Warwick as a former gangster who left that life to live a quieter one (as Vander did).

A little further down he indicates that he remembers a girl's voice, but does not know what it says. That little girl is probably Vi, since she was the person who saw him die. But it could also be Power, or even both.

And finally, it is known that Singed, the creator character of the Simer, is the one created by Warwick, and this has also been advanced in the series, at the beginning of the years.

JAYCE VS VIKTOR (Lore link)

Yep! Maybe there are other theories for you that are more confirmed and catch you by surprise, but this is more true than Cait and Vi's kiss in this season.

Currently the lore of Jayce and Viktor is partly different from that seen in Arcane. For example, the teacher who was with both of them at the academy was not Heimerdinger, but Stanwick, who we saw in episode 4 of the first season as Heimerdinger's partner and founder of Piltover.

It is known that as a result of an invention they both have, they end up arguing and parting ways. In the original lore, Viktor's illness is barely mentioned. It is mentioned that before entering the academy, when he was a child, he enhanced his body with pieces of metal, which we haven't seen yet, beyond the ‘enhancement’ with Simer + Hextech.

I'm not going to say too much because it would be a SPOILER, but surely, because of Jinx's rocket, their paths will separate in such a way that they will become enemies.

CAITVI KISS SCENE

Let's get down to what we've all been waiting for. The long awaited kiss (and possible sex scene) that some of us have been waiting for many (too many) years.

We know that Cait and Vi are very attracted to each other, even if Vi said ‘we are oil and water’, in her warm heart she is in love with Cait and vice versa. Partly, I think, what happens to Cait's mother Cassandra after Jinx's rocket will drive a wedge between Cait and Vi, why?

We know that Cait and Vi are very attracted to each other, even if Vi said ‘we are oil and water’, in her warm heart she is in love with Cait and vice versa.

Partly, I think, what happens to Caitlyn's mother Cassandra after Jinx's rocket will drive a wedge between Caitlyn and Vi, why?

Although right now I don't see Caitlyn as a person who thinks that for “being sister of” I hate you for no other reason, and she will want Vi by her side as Enforcer, to capture and/or kill Jinx, in case her mother dies (in my sincere opinion she doesn't die because there is still the lore with Corina), she will judge every action that Vi takes on Jinx, being this the trigger to “break” again. Recall that we have seen the emo Vi, and in the words of the screenwriters, at the Annecy festival, “what would happen if Vi has no one to protect?”. In addition to hallucinations seeing Caitlyn. [link]

The sex scene I think will be a flashback, I think they both had intimate relations at Caitlyn's house before going to the Council, that's why when they are caught by Jinx, I saw the image he has of Caitlyn, she is lying on that bed.

Piltover and Zaun vs. Noxus

I could already smell the battle. Piltover and Zaun are two cities in the continent of Valorant, which exist thanks to a pact with Noxus, since they are in its territerium, and it is a very important trading point, also with the region of Shurima.

Ambessa is uneasy. She wants to get hold of Hextech technology to defeat an enemy that terrifies her. From the lore it is known that there are two sides in Noxus, Swain, and The Black Rose, LeBlanc. We don't know which side Ambessa is on. We don't know if Mel dies or not, but from the previous season, we know she wants weapons, and she needs them now.

Ambessa is a warrior, she is a woman forged in war, and that means only one thing, control. She wants control. In the first season we saw her use that control. You have to be both a fox and a wolf. In the first season, when she was trying to persuade Jayce and her daughter Mel to create weapons, she was a fox, in this second season, the fox will show her wolf fangs. BUT. Piltover and Zaun are not Noxus. Mel (if she doesn't die), Jayce, Caitlyn, Vi, Jinx and Ekko will be in charge of preventing both cities from succumbing to Medarda's yoke.

More in part 2

[padfootastic]

hello! this is from a discord prompt by the wonderful @roalinda. it’s established (but hidden) jilypad where molly makes unnecessary comments; protective james & lily, and a sirius who gets loved & doted upon & kissed silly in front of everyone by his partners 🥰

x

“Times are grave, we must stand together and—“

James slowly slides his glasses off his face, massaging the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger in a vain effort to relieve the ache building behind his eyes. This is the fourth Order meeting of this month—it’s only the 16th—and it is shaping up to seem as pointless as the other ones.

When they’d joined the Order straight out of Hogwarts, it was with stars in their eyes and fire blazing in their veins. They were ready to fight for their lives and die for the cause. Now? James can’t wait to get out of here as soon as possible. If he wasn’t a part of this circus, he might actually have considered it a bit impressive, the way Dumbledore has managed to create an atmosphere so far removed from the terrible war being waged outside that they’ve ended up on the other end of the spectrum but alas—as it stands, James has to sit through the most boring, incompetent meetings known to wixenkind and his patience is running particularly low.

A hand coming to rest on his knee, hidden under the table, brings him out of his morose thoughts. He smiles instinctively, recognising the touch that he knows better than his own.

“I’m okay, Si,” he says, turning to his left where Sirius is looking at him, concerned. To anyone else, he’ll look exactly as he always does—blank face, hard eyes, lips in a straight line. James, however, can see the worry lining his face as if it were blaring on a muggle billboard.

“You’re sure?”

“Mhm. It’s just…y’know.” He tilts his head towards the gathered crowd, Dumbledore sermonising at the head of the table. The worry immediately turns into exasperation as Sirius’ eyes roll up slightly, making his own displeasure perfectly clear.

“—and of course, the Potters have volunteered to travel around the Continent to talk to the Giants. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why it’s absolutely crucial to the war effort that they be our allies or, at the very least, agree to neutrality.”

“Er, Professor?” Lily raises her hand like she’s still in school and James just knows he’s doing the heart-eyes thing everyone teases him for but he can’t help it. A raised hand. Merlin, this woman. “Sirius will be coming with us too, of course.”

James can—and will—kiss her soundly for phrasing it like a statement, not a question. He knows for a fact they’d mentioned this before, when Dumbledore had first called them to talk about it. Mighty convenient of him to leave it out in his official announcement now.

Sure enough, a very subtle wrinkling of the old man’s brow sufficiently expressed his opinion of the idea. “Lily, my dear, are you sure that’s—“

“Yes, of course, Professor,” she says sweetly, “We’ve made all the arrangements, you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“What use would Black be, anyway, other than partying his way through Eastern Europe?” someone mutters in an undertone that’s very clearly heard across the room. Sirius’ hand tightening on his knee is the only thing stopping James from physically growling out loud.

“I realise you’re a bit…slow on the uptake, Mr. Diggle, but I assure you, Sirius is probably the best negotiator this side of the ocean,” Lily shoots back before adding suggestively, “And that’s not to even mention all the other skills he has.”

Sirius, who stays quiet in times like these (unfortunately too frequent nowadays, with suspicion and paranoia on the rise), is giving his own impeccable pair of heart eyes to their girlfriend.

“Now, now, we are all adults here,” Dumbledore says sternly, only entering after the conflict ends per usual. “There’s no need to devolve into name-calling or taunts”—with a pointed look at Lily—“and Daedalus, I understand your concern, but we cannot stop them from taking Sirius with them.”

The condescension in his voice, the implication that Sirius is nothing but a house pet lugged around by his friends—as if he’s not the best of them all—makes James’ teeth grit. It is only by sheer willpower that he manages a, “That’s very kind of you, Professor. Thank you.”

x

Later, when the meeting is over and they’re all scattered around the living room—the three of them are in one corner with James ranting to a similarly peeved Lily and a secretly-pleased Siriuswho pretends he doesn’t care. But James knows, has seen first hand how deep the words cut into him. He doesn’t ever want to see him bleed again.

“And the sheer audacity of him to say—Si, if you hadn’t stopped me, I swear.”

“That’s exactly why I did it, Prongs.” Sirius shrugs.

“Personally, I think every one of these idiots deserve whatever James wants to do to them,” Lily adds with a vindictive scowl of her own. It’s not just him that’s fed up with the way people in the Order keep treating their Sirius.

“You really want to let a wild James Potter loose on them, Lilypad?” Sirius asks, one eyebrow arched high in surprise. “You hate them that much?”

“Oi!”

“Yes.”

James and Lily speak at the same time, words overlapping and intentions clashing, causing Sirius to break out in his signature bark-like laughter. James can’t even hold on to his indignation in the face of it, helpless to do anything except lean forward, enthralled by the way his grey eyes soften with joy.

It’s then that a thoroughly unpleasant voice breaks into their moment.

“James, Lily, oh there you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Molly Weasley calls out to them, weaving her way through the crowd. She has her signature smile on, though it falls a bit flat when her eyes land on Sirius.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course, Molly, is everything okay?” James asks. He can’t see any of the Weasley kids around her but it’s not uncommon for her to hand them off to someone or the other. James gets it, truly. Merlin knows he would’ve gone already round the bend if he had to deal with a brood like that.

“Yes, yes, nothing of that sort, just…a word?” Her head moves in a weird way and it takes him a few seconds to decipher the action. She’s signalling towards the other end of the room, though it doesn’t offer him any more clarity than that.

“I’m sure we can talk right here, Molly.” Lily, of course, is much quicker on picking up the subtext. “It’s just Sirius, no one else can hear us.”

“Yes, well, that’s the problem, isn’t it,” Molly mutters under her breath and before James can even begin to figure out where that came from, she’s speaking again. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Molly, please,” Sirius sighs, like he knows what’s coming. “Let’s not do this, not here.”

“I’m only here to talk. To James and Lily,” Molly replies stiffly, not even looking in his direction. Instead she turns to James, a painfully insincere look of concern on her face. It immediately puts him on the defensive.

“James, dear, don’t you think it’s a bit…inappropriate, the way you keep going?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice is hard, unyielding. “The way we keep going?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m only trying to help,” she waves an airy hand, unbothered by the daggers shooting out of his eyes. “I know you and…Sirius are good friends, but all this—really, you have such a lovely girlfriend, have you ever thought of how she must feel when you keep dragging him around with you?”

James’ eyes bug right out of their sockets at the sheer audacity of her words. Did she just—

It doesn’t seem to faze her, his reaction, because she’s clearly on a mission. James wonders, a little hysterically, if they had a vote for this—this intervention and she’s the candidate who won. “A man and a woman need some time of their own, I’m sure you’ll realise the importance of it once you’re older but it’ll have been too late by then.”

“Molly,” he starts, in an impressively even voice, he thinks, “I’m afraid that our relationship is none of your business. I assure you we’re doing perfectly well.”

“Oh, you don’t have to be like that, James,” she tsks, “We’re all looking out for each other here—“

“Excuse me,” Lily cuts in, her temper ice cold and chilling against James’ burning rage. “Sirius is our—“

“Lily, it’s not your duty to keep putting up with every little fancy your boyfriend has. A girl must put her foot down sometimes.” Molly’s countenance has turned sympathetic now, and it does nothing to calm James down. He can see her doubling down, knows logic and reason will go well over her head.

There’s only one thing to do then, nothing for it. He turns towards Sirius, who’s been sitting in his armchair with his back ramrod straight and eyes straight forward. His heart aches at seeing Sirius withdraw into himself—James has tried hard, so hard, but words spoken in bitterness and cruelty always have that effect on him, taking him back to a time he’s spent this whole life running away from. It’s absolutely unacceptable that it happen to him now, when he’s surrounded by people supposed to be on their side, in a place that should’ve been safe.

Lily is speaking, something about privacy and boundaries and knowing when to shut the hell up (he’ll have to get the whole speech from her later, it sounds beautiful), and he simply steps over to Sirius, bending down until he’s right in front of him, a hairsbreadth away, like he was trying to do before they were rudely interrupted.

“James?” Sirius breathes, uncertain. He knows it’s because this isn’t planned—they’d decided to keep their relationship…not hidden, but away from other people. It’s unconventional, and they didn’t want to add more complications on top of everything else. Fighting the world on one axis is exhausting enough.

“I’ve got you, my love,” he whispers before closing the distance between them. The first press of their lips and everything—Molly, the rest of the Order, even Lily’s surprised gasp—falls away until his world narrows into a single point - Sirius - as it always does. His hands are cradling Sirius’ face, fingers softly stroking the sensitive skin below his ears—a move that he knows drives him crazy.

Sirius, for his part, gets over his own shock remarkably quickly to give as good as he gets. His hands are bunched in fists in the front of James’ jumper, almost desperately, and the longer they kiss, the rougher it gets.

A delicate cough—Lily—makes them slowly pull apart, but not before James leans back in for another quick peck. Sirius’ lips are slick, a bit swollen, and it’s the most tempting thing James has ever seen. He wants to damn this place and Apparate him straight into their bedroom but he just barely stops himself.

For one, Lily must’ve had a reason for interrupting; she usually enjoys watching them too much to do that. Besides, if he leaves without her, she’ll be pissed and he has no interest in being on the other end of her creative punishments. Not after the last time.

“James—you—that’s—,” seems like Molly can do nothing but splutter at his, perhaps excessive, display. Well, he maintains it was necessary. “Lily!” Molly turns to her, perhaps expecting similar shock, or anger, or hurt?

She’ll be sorely disappointed, of course, because Lily has the most predatory look out of the three of them. In her smartest decision of the evening, she decides to completely ignore Molly and makes her way over to them. A hand on James’ chest gently pushes him back, just enough that she can comfortably climb onto a now-thoroughly-shellshocked Sirius’ lap.

“What, did you think I wouldn’t want my chance?” she winks before wrapping her arms around Sirius’ neck and kissing him with no less passion than James just a minute ago.

This time, he has the distinct pleasure of being able to watch not just his partners but everyone’s reactions as well. Molly seems to have just…stopped working. He doesn’t know if it’s from the shock of both of them, in an established relationship, kissing someone; or that it’s happening in such a public setting; or, and this one comes from a darker corner of his mind, that it’s Sirius being kissed silly.

Dumbledore looks like his beloved lemon drop has gotten stuck in his throat and those in his immediate surroundings aren’t any better. Professor McGongall has a resigned, but entirely unsurprised, expression and James tips his head in an imaginary salute towards her.

Everyone else is somewhere on the spectrum between shocked and aghast. It’s wonderful. Exactly the kind of chaos James has been itching to stir up in these meetings.

By the time he completes his leisurely perusal and comes back to the scene in front of him, Lily has still not let go of Sirius. Her mouth is attacking his neck now, bright red lip stains and darkening bruises already visible, and Sirius’ hand is inching dangerously close to her neckline. Her previously-completely-buttoned-up-neckline that is now somehow half open. Funny, that.

“Oi,” James calls out, placing a warning hand on Lily’s leg, not because he’s worried they’re becoming too exhibitionist, but because he’s hard enough to pound nails right now and he would really like to get out of here and join the fun himself, please and thank you.

With a lazy, sultry smile, Lily pulls back. Her lipstick is smudged to high heaven and she looks entirely debauched and for James, she’s never been more beautiful than when she’s ravishing their boyfriend after vehemently defending him. Sirius’ eyes are unfocused, and he’s perhaps even more debauched. James can look at him like this forever.

“Like I was saying,” Lily says, all prim like she’s not sitting on one of her boyfriend’s lap while the other is possessively gripping her inner thigh, like she didn’t just participate in possibly the hottest moment of every sad sod in this room’s life. “Sirius is our partner and we very well know how to look out for each other.”

James seals the words with a kiss of his own, savouring the taste of both his partners on her lips.

[questionsonislam]

What attributes should one look for in the person he/she wants to marry?

It is very important for both sides to select the right person to marry for the happiness of the future family and for the health and a good training of children. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who advises us to be careful in choosing the candidates of brides and grooms, calls us to be cautious by saying People are like mines in terms of of goodness and badness. (1) Hazrat Umar tells these three things to one of his sons who asks the rights of the son on the father: Choose a chaste and moral mother, give him a nice name, and teach him the Quran. (2)

First of all, marriage aims to raise a virtuous generation; it is also important because it prevents man from possible sins and leads man to a decent life. If one marries for only physical satisfaction, it is bound to be a continous source of unrest in the future.

Al-Ghazali gives primary importance to two of Islams principles relating to the issue:

(1) piety,

(2) high ethics

Then (3) The compatibility/equality between the partners is of great importance to maintain the marriage. It is obvious that a pious woman and a frivolous man will not be in harmony because it is very difficult for two people of different worlds to live in harmony. Similarly, the marriage of a pious man with an irreligious woman who do not act in accordance with religious rules will bring about a lot of problems and will not last long. Thus, Islam takes preventive measures for the events and maintains the order in society.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) attracts our attention to the issue and says:

"One should marry a woman for four things: her wealth, nobleness, beauty, and her piety. Prefer the pious one so that you will be happy."(4)

Besides other attributes, looking for piety in the first place is the recommendation of the Prophet. Therefore, it is the most vital point that needs to be taken into consideration.

When Hazrat Umar asks What properties shall we possess to meet our needs?, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says: The most precious of the property is a tongue doing dhikrullah (mentioning and remembrance of Allah), a thankful heart, and a faithful wife helping her husband in the services related to Islam and the afterlife. (5)

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) regards the woman helping her husband in serving Islam among the most precious properties one can have in this world.

Our Prophet, who often warns us about marriage, wants us to be more careful by saying: "Do not marry a woman only for her beauty, since it may take her into danger. And do not marry a woman only for her wealth because it may lead her astray. Marry the pious one. Surely a pious slave woman having a partially cut nose, a hole in her ear and black skin is better than an irreligious woman.

Men are advised to marry pious women; similarly, it is also the duty of the womans family to give priority to the piety of the man to be married. If they only look for superior qualities like handsomeness, wealth and rank and do not give importance to piety, they will cause disorder in society.

When a man comes to Hasan al-Basri asking What kind of a person should I give my daughter to?, he replies To a man who fears from Allah. If such a person loves your daughter, he does favor for her; and if he hates her he does not oppress her. (6)

Badiuzzaman says Spouses should be equal, mostly in the sense of the religion. That is, they should be suitable to one another. The most important aspect of being suitable is from the point of view of religion.

What a happy man is the husband who sees his wifes firm religion and follows her and he himself becomes pious not to lose her in the afterlife. And what a lucky woman is the wife who sees her husbands firmness in religion and becomes pious not to lose her eternal friend. (7)

Both man and woman firstly should give primary importance to piety and then for other attributes in accordance with their importance. Another attribute that a woman should be preferred for is good manners and high ethics. Most of the women who are religious will naturally try to act in accordance with the rules of the religion.

The opinion of the woman about man should also be taken into consideration; it should not be neglected because marriage is a lifelong companionship.

1. Musnad, 2: 539.

2. Tarbiyah al Awlad, 1: 38.

3. Ihya, 2: 38.

4. Ibn Majah, Nikah: 6.

5. Tirmizi, Tafsir al Quran.- 48, Ibn Majah, Nikah: 5.

6. Ihya, 2: 43.

7. Lem'alar (Flashes), p. 186.

[scifrey]

NINE-TENTHS

Part Three

As soon as I shoulder open my apartment door, someone shouts "Surprise!" from behind my sofa.

"Shit!" I drop my bag on my foot in shock, grabbing at my shirt over my heart. 

The shout is followed by coughing, which isn’t a surprise. It hasn't been vacuumed back there since my roommate Katiya left on her Grand Backpacking-and-Smelly-Hostels Tour of The Continent with her fiancé. Happily, this means I get the place to myself for the rest of the year. Even more happily, it also means she's not bugging me every weekend to spin the chore wheel. 

Less happy for Dikembe, my fourth year lab partner, who is streaked with gray and crawling out from behind the sofa.

The "surprise!" is echoed from a few other hiding places around the apartment—not that there are many, it's just a two-bedroom, first floor of a crumby, crumbling row house in the student-ghetto part of downtown—and two more people tumble into the front hall. 

"This is a gross misuse of the emergency key I gave you," I say as Hadi steps out of my front closet.

"Happy birthday!" she jeers, detangling the back of her purple hijab from the Velcro on one of my coats.

"Keep your shoes on," Dikembe says. "About face." He pushes at me until my nose is nearly against the front door.

"No, no, no," I complain. "I've been on a train for five hours. I want to go to bed."

"You want to go with us to the bar and get waaaaaasted!" Mauli says, coming in from the kitchen. They're in their Party Skirt, the sparkly blue one, which means they are planning to really properly drink tonight. Shit, is that the last of Katiya's vodka swinging from their fist? 

 Dammit, I'm gonna have to buy a new bottle before she gets home. Make it an apology present to sweeten her up to the idea that I might not be moving out right away after all. The hope was that I would find a job and be outta her hair before January. But I'm starting to think that won't happen.

"It's a school night," I protest.

"It’s summer! And, you graduated a year ago!" Mauli reminds us.

"So it's a work night." I aim an elbow at Dike so he’ll back up.

Hadhirah makes a noise like an old-fashioned telephone and lifts her palm to the side of her face. "Hello? Yes? Hmmm, you don't say. I'll let him know." She drops her hand. "Your boss says it's fine."

"Har har." I let them manhandle me outside and down the grungy cement porch to the broken sidewalk. "Just don't be on my ass tomorrow if I'm hungover."

"Hey, they're not my tips at risk."

⛾

We end up at The Brass Monkey, just down from Beanevolence. My apartment is a few blocks north of the main street, where both the bar and the café are located. It’s one of the few advantages to living in a place where the smells and stains of a hundred students who rented it before me are ground into the carpets.

Hadi spends a few minutes chatting with the bartender, while Mauli opines on the wonders of microbreweries. Dikembe makes eyes at the girls at the table next to us, and tries to look as cool as he can with a Chez Levesque dust bunny stuck in his twists.

One of the other nice things about living and working within the same few blocks is that you get to know everyone else who does the same. And sometimes they give you free shit because of it. 

"Turn that frown upside down," Hadi says in a syrupy voice when she comes back with a basket of Cauliflower Bites. There's a candle in the curry mayo. "Look, on the house."

I didn't realize I was frowning. Must be more tired from the trip than I thought. I blow out the candle, and Mau and Dike pound me on the back like I've scored a winning touchdown. Our tasting flights come with an extra shot of Jaeger for the birthday boy, courtesy of the table of girls, and I tell Dike to go thank them for me. I even brush the dust bunny away first.

"You're not going with him?" Hadi asks as I down the shot.

"Nah, Too bagged. Long day, crappy travel."

I'm not… 

I'm not going to do it. 

I'm not. 

Somehow my phone is in my hand already, though, and from a distance I hear myself saying: "Rebekah usually has Mondays off. I could—"

"No!" Hadi shouts, so quick it's actually kinda insulting. 

Mau pulls the phone outta my hands. They're tipsy enough that they fumble it. If they drop it into one of their glasses, I'm going to eat their soul. But they shove it down the front of their skirt instead, right into the boxers below it.

"Don't think I won't go in there after it," I say, pointing at their nose. "You know the saying about a bi person sticking their hands in someone's pants and being happy with whatever they find."

"Buy me dinner first," Mau says, sticking out their tongue. I make a swipe for it and miss.

"What do you call this?" I Vanna White the cauliflower.

"Didn't buy it. No Gs, No Os."

"I can get my own Os!"

Hadi snorts, and I realize what I just said.

"I can do that, too," I say, leering cartoonishly. "Masturbation is a normal and healthy part of—" She shoves me. "Abuse! Abuse! This is homophobia!"

Hadi finally breaks out a real smile, instead of that tight, sardonic thing she likes to call one. Score.

 "If you can get your own, go get one from them." Mau leans across the table and flicks their eyes at someone at the bar. "They've been staring at you since we got in."

I turn to glance over my shoulder and—It’s him.

Previous Part | Next Part | Read on Wattpad

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

055 of 2023

Have you ever dated someone who was emotionally or mentally unstable?

Yeah, my first ex. It was tough.

Be honest: are you clingy?

No, I need my space. But I enjoy other people’s company, as long as I know and trust them.

Have you ever had bronchitis?

I haven’t.

What was the last thing you purchased?

Train ticket to Oostende. I travel a lot recently.

Your most treasured and precious photo? (post or describe)

Probably this one:

Have you ever had a reptile for a pet?

No, and I’ve never been interested.

Have you ever seen any of the Great Lakes?

Never been to the US nor Canada.

Ever swam in a river?

Not swam, but I was in the river.

Coke or Pepsi?

Coke all the way.

Are you afraid of the dentist?

Very much so.

Did you attend Sunday School as a child?

No, there’s no such thing here.

Have you ever smoked a cigarette?

No, not even tried.

Have you ever been pulled aside by security at the airport?

Never been at any airport.

Who was the last person you cuddled with?

My husband, but it was two nights ago.

What is your favourite seasonal candy (only available at certain times)?

I’m not a candy person.

Do you know anyone who is fluent in a second tongue?

Yeah, myself. And basically everyone who lives in this area. Our language is Dutch, but we all speak English as well, and many of us also speak French.

What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and who did you watch it with?

I don’t watch movies.

How would you feel if your significant other (or possible partner) told you they dislike having sex, but do so with you to make you happy, even though they personally think it’s a chore?

Well, I am that significant other. Better ask my husband how he feels about it :P but honestly, I’d be relieved if I wasn’t the only ace in my relationship.

What stories are an absolute must read for your children/possible future children?

Not planning any children, thanks.

What are some of your favorite monologues?

What?

What breed was the last dog you saw?

I don’t know, something small, noisy and very annoying.

If a bug is in your car, do you kill it or try to push it out your window?

I just open the window and let it fly out.

Your boyfriend/girlfriend isn’t around but their phone is. Do you look through it?

Nope, I trust him. I’m allowed to do it, but I feel no need to do so.

Who’s the biggest whore you know?

I don’t know and I don’t care.

Do people ever think you’re older/younger than you actually are?

Younger, even much younger. I’m often being mistaken for a teenager, but I’m actually in my 30s. Maybe if I grown a beard, it’d be different :P but my facial hair is nothing to brag about, honestly.

What is your current status?

Upper working class and married.

Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?

Yeah, on the right side.

Have you ever had a life-threatening injury?

Yeah, I suffered brain haemorrhage.

Do you prefer an ocean or pool?

Ocean, hands down. The sea man always returns to the sea.

Do you shut off the water while you brush your teeth?

I don’t. I should be more considerate.

Do you wish you had an older, protective brother?

Very much so. I’ve always wanted an older brother.

If you could seek revenge on someone would you?

Yeah, but I would use my intelligence to do it.

Would you ever get a tattoo?

I have two. I’d love another one as well.

Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now?

We’re married, so what’s the question?

Have you ever liked anyone that was in a relationship with someone else?

Kind of. But it wasn’t anything serious.

Do people ever compliment your eyes?

It’s the most frequent compliment I hear.

Who was the last person you hung out with?

My husband.

Have any of your exes ever given you roses?

No, but they knew I didn’t want it. Nielsje has given me tulips, though. It was very nice.

Do you think your last ex ever thinks about you?

I know he does.

Have you text voted for an American Idol?

Wrong continent, sorry.

Have you ever run out of gas?

Almost. We were passing Antwerp and we had to go into the city to look for a petrol station.

Would you rather have salad or french fries for a side dish?

Fries ate not French, and even though I like fries and I live in a country that is known for them, I’d rather like salad.

Ever been to California? Did you like it?

Never been to the US.

What’s your favorite thing about the town you live in?

Beautiful architecture.

Are you boobs real?

I’m afraid I don’t have any boobs.

What’s the best Valentine’s Day present you’ve ever received?

We don’t celebrate it.

Could you date someone who has been only your friend for a long time?

I’ve only dated guys who were my long time friends. I can’t do it the other way around, I don’t date strangers.

Which one of your relationships was the shortest?

My first ex, six months.

Which was the longest?

My husband, 5 years and counting.

Have any of your exes told you they regret breaking up with you?

Yeah, Nielsje. But we both know it was the only way.

Favorite boy’s name?

Joris.

Name one of your friends’ children:

Davanie and Xavi, if I remember well.

Do you know any twins?

Yeah, I have two coworkers who are twin sisters.

What’s your favorite country song?

I don’t listen to country.

What age did you lose your virginity?

I was 24. Late, but with the right guy.

How far away is the closest Walmart?

Like... the whole Atlantic Ocean apart?

Chick-fil-a, Taco Bell or McDonald’s?

I don’t know the first two, so it’s a logical choice.

Did you ever get an allowance as a child?

Yes, but very small.

Pizza rolls or bagel bites?

I don’t really know either of these.

What kind of pets does your grandmother have?

My grandparents are deceased.

What’s the last show you really got into that you have to wait for the next season of?

There was some Polish one, I’ve been waiting for season 2, but it got cancelled :(

Have you ever witnessed a car accident?

Yeah, many times on German motorways.

Sprinkles or frosting?

Muizenstrontjes all the way, but I don’t really use it.

Do you like mushrooms?

I do, but only certain kinds.

How old is your youngest sibling?

She’s 27, gonna be 28 soon.

Do you like painting?

I’m not good at it, so no.

Have you ever been swimming with dolphins?

No, I haven’t.

What kind of soda is your favorite?

Coca Cola.

Penguins or pandas?

Pandas, if ever.

What’s the name of your pets?

Victoria and Suzanne.

Regular or pink lemonade?

I don’t know either.

Does anyone in your family have a birthday in February?

Yes, my aunt who is the sister of my dad.

Are you into anime?

No, I’m not.

Pizza or nacho Lunchables?

What are Lunchables even? Never heard of them.

Have you ever been inside of a courtroom?

Yes, as a witness.

Which would you rather have, twins or triplets?

Neither.

Have you ever been in an ambulance?

Yes, after I suffered that brain bleeding.

Snakes or spiders?

Spiders.

Do you know how to braid hair?

Yeah, and a few months ago I discovered I can still do it, even with disabled hand. It was a little yay.

Do you believe in aliens?

We’re all aliens.

Did you ever catch crawfish or frogs?

Yes, frogs.

Ever drink from a garden hose?

Never, it’s ew.

What was the last computer game you played?

I don’t play computer games.

Can you count to 100 in another language?

Yeah, in about 10 of them.

Who gave you your first kiss?

My first ex.

Who was the last person you went on a date with?

My husband. Years ago.

Is good grammar attractive?

It is.

What are your full initials?

J. S. de J.

Would you ever let your grandma set you up on a blind date?

Neither of my grandmas would ever have such ideas.

Do you believe “Once a cheater, always a cheater”?

Yeah. It’s one of the things I wouldn’t forgive.

Why did you last cry?

30 years ago because I was a baby and it’s normal for babies. I hate this question.

Would you feel hurt if your last ex is in a relationship?

No, I would be actually happy for him.

[ktheist]

in another life (i would be your man)

muses. hero!yoongi / assassin!yoongi / father!yoongi / lawyer!yoongi

word. 2.5k

genre. reincarnation au

x

time and time again, you find yourselves in the other’s absolute mercy.

mercy, which both of you know, the other will not grant.

“have you any last words, hero?” the grass shrivels up around yoongi all because hot air wilts the greenest of life.

a single bead of sweat trickles down the side of yoongi’s face as he looks at you without a shred of fear in the face of death.

“all the gold you’re hoarding... does it bring you happiness?” he says, as though already finding serendipity before you can even drive your talon into his chest.

“happiness!” you roar, mockery dripping off your word, “such humanly sentiments. you forgot who you’re speaking to, hero.”

“yoongi... yoongi’s my name” he sighs softly, eyelids fluttering shut, “say it.”

it is you who fall silent this time.

to say the name of the soul who’s bound to you not for love but for destruction... have you the right?

in your last life, a good few hundred years ago, he’s the one that drove the cross into your chest.

in the one before that, you burn him at the stakes for the wretched powers he held.

in this lifetime, even the armor made of the silver cannot withstand the weight of your paw, talon digging into his chest as he lays underneath you, ready to accept the heroic death.

“very well, if not in this lifetime, then perhaps the next...”

you live for three human lifetimes as the great dragon who brought the continent together. the humans, without their hero, are mere mortals. they learned better than to put their faith in one man.

in the next lifetime, you find yourself kneeling in front of a silver haired man - what a striking hair color for someone who’s supposed to be on the low.

“my hand’s gonna slip,” that gravelly voice still sends shivers down your spine.

“what-” you breathe out, eyebrows knitting together.

he takes his aim.

but there’s something wrong.

the angle he’s pointing at will graze your cheek and ear at most.

then he shoots.

when the bullet bounces against the cement somewhere a few inches away behind you, your body moves on its own. your leg sweep out to send him tumbling down onto the ground. your thighs pin his hips down so he can’t get up and you push the gun farther beyond his reach.

“why are you doing this?” you hiss, knife against his throat.

“don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to be happy?” yoongi says simply, too complacent for a man who’s about to lose yet another life to his enemy.

“that’s not how it works,” teeth gritted together, you press the dulled side of the knife harder against his snow-kissed flesh.

“then, how does it work?” he asks.

for a moment, you’re frozen in place. then you’re taken back to where it all begins.

you were a queen who poisoned her king before proceeding to ruin the kingdom until it remains but a memory to those who’ve lived through your tyrannical era. yoongi was the crown prince from a small country who enticed you into his chambers and kept you locked in a tower like a caged bird while he went to war with the neighboring kingdom with your kingdom’s army.

“i- i hated you for seducing me and locking me up in that tower,” you murmur, breath shaky, “a- and you hated me because i-i couldn’t be killed... because i was...”

“a blood sucker.” he finishes for you.

a flash of anger crosses your eyes and paint your vision red. you press the knife harder - no doubt there would be a bruise, “no matter how immortal i was... i died because of a broken heart. you killed me!”

“i was breaking my own heart for having to keep you locked in that tower but if i let you go...” he trails off, his hand coming to settle on yours.

it’s the first time you hear him choke up.

“so many died because of our love,” yoongi’s voice comes out barely above whisper.

“your sin is mistaking hate for love,” you flick your wrist, switching the side of the blade pressed against his neck to one that could cut through clean and swift.

but before you can seal yet another lifetime of your surviving, a sharp pain cuts into your arm, forcing you to release the blade, your free hand cupping the familiar circular wound that’s gushing with blood.

you push yourself off him, going over the ledge and jumping off to your safety. and yoongi’s left in the cold, night air, the coms in his ear buzzing back to life.

it’s six months later that he finds you, dressed in deep red, smiling seductively as you cling on a man twice your age. all of a sudden, he finds himself ignoring whatever his partner’s saying in the coms and approaching you and the man.

yoongi can barely remember what he said but he remembers the overwhelming feeling of relief when the man pushes you off and march out of the room, shouting russian vulgarities.

“planting a bullet hole in my arm isn’t enough, you just had to sabotage my mission, don’t you?” you’re on top of him once again but the ground isn’t cold and hard as he’s always remembered in the series of you pinning him down in differing lifetimes.

“have you thought about what i said?” he doesn’t look like he minds it anymore.

being pinned down by you, that is.

rather, yoongi quite likes the view of your cleavage when you lean down close enough to whisper into his hears, “i reflected on my past mistakes... and truly, i wish nothing more than to have you gone from my sight once and for all.”

then his index finger ghosts over the softest protrusion of the healed up scar on your arm. and you feel goosebumps on your skin.]

you leave in the morning, slipping out of the hotel room in that skin tight maroon dress, noticing the woman in the lobby, looking like what you would’ve looked like if you were waiting for your partner who went against orders and checked into a room in the very same hotel he was supposed to eliminate his target at.

sloppy. fucking sloppy.

yoongi never sees you after that. he got reprimanded and almost got eliminated by his own agency if it hadn’t been his father, the head of the extermination department who pulled some strings and buried the matter.

it’s a surprise he’s still alive at the age of of thirty-one, owning a lawfirm of his own and living the life he’s never thought he’d have.

a normal one.

then, he spots you, walking down the sidewalk holding a toddler’s hand and smiling down at him like he’s the most precious thing you’ve ever hold dear to.

“stop the car,” yoongi orders.

“s-sir?” the driver, surprised by the sudden request, hesitates.

“pull over!” it’s the first time the young man has ever hear his boss raise his voice.

so he does just that, but a block away from where yoongi last saw you.

he runs as fast as his legs could carry him. but the sidewalk is empty of a woman holding a child’s hand.

it takes another year of him searching records of faces and names. for you have many and unlike yoongi, he’s sure you have no one to pull the strings and make one blunder disappear.

then he finds you, under a pseudonym, of a certain kim hana whose child is named kim youngsoo.

“it’s me,” he announces, stepping into the light that pours past the window and over not even half of the room.

“mommy, can we order pizza?” youngsoo’s lively voice rings from outside of the room.

“yeah, why don’t you decide what toppings you want and i’ll be out there in a sec, sweetie,” your voice sounds heavenly - none of the guarded strain that he usually hears. but your eyes, they look like the eyes of a woman who would give everything to protect her most precious possession.

“so it was you... one year ago,” you say, ambling to the dresser where yoongi easily finds out your motive.

“the gun’s not there anymore, you really think i’d break into the house of an ex-assassin and not think to look for weapons tacked up somewhere out of sight?” he hears the frustrated sigh you make before you stand with your feet apart.

looks like you believe his words.

looks like you’ve got no problems taking him on with bare hands.

“he’s mine, isn’t he?”

a scoff.

“you’re pretty dumb if you think one night’s all it takes to get pregnant with your bastard child.”

“who’s the father, then? why isn’t he around?” he presses on.

and his questions have always been intrusive but you notice the weight of his every inquiry. as if he’d drop dead right this instant if you don’t answer them.

“he walked away, couldn’t accept that we had to always be on the move just because he had a baby with a wanted woman.”

and it’s not the police that wants you.

“his social security number?” yoongi shoots you another question.

“i don’t know. i don’t remember,” you say simply, a shrug accompanying your answer.

“number one rule of being an assassin: never forget anything,” yoongi recites easily, even after five years, he still recalls the drilling his mentor forced him through, “so that leaves us with one possibility: he doesn’t exist, this ex of yours.”

“mooooom.” youngsoo calls out, sounding too close for comfort.

“just a minute, sweetie. why don’t you take my phone out of my bag and get ready to dial up the number to the pizza place?” there’s a lightness in your tone.

envy wraps around yoongi’s heart before he even realizes it. how he wished you’d speak to him in that delicate, loving tone as well.

“look, i’m tired, i’m done playing games, i’ve been done since that night. i know i fucked up and i know some day i’ll pay for it but not tonight... tonight... at least let me have one last night with my kid.”

it’s the way the word ‘my’ and ‘kid’ fall naturally off your mouth that makes yoongi realize that he’s the one stuck in the beginning all along. that he’s the one who couldn’t move on from the past even though he sought to change the present and threw your world upside down when he decided not to take the shot.

before he can say anything, you’re already out of the door but he senses no rush in your footsteps.

“do you have the pizza place’s number down?” there it is again, the soft, tender tilt in your voice.

it’s a little faint but he hears it clearly.

and it may very well just be a trick to make him sympathize but what is he to sympathize with when he’s only here to ask for confirmation?

why do you treat him like death who’s finally come to take back your borrowed time?

well, the answer was simple.

“i paid off the bounty,” yoongi meets you at a cafe where he knows you’ll feel safer.

no assassin will make a move in broad daylight, in public, with his face out for the cameras to record.

“how much?” you sound like you just got another loan tying you down.

“enough that they can’t resist,” he states.

and before you can even say anything, he goes on, “i want to see him.”

“no.” you say curtly.

“he’s my child too.” he slides the white envelope he pulls out of his pocket to you.

it contains the dna results from the hair on the comb youngsoo complained he lost and yoongi’s own hair.

“he’s doesn’t need a father,” you don’t even give the envelope a second glance, “if that’s all-”

“that’s not for you to decide on your own,” he cuts you off.

it’s the firmness in his tone that makes your eyebrows rise. min yoongi has always been a gentle soul. even when he was driving a cross into your heart, he’d done it with the heaviest heart.

and for him to place his foot down like this - how very unlike him.

which is why, when he pulls, you pull harder.

“if you so much as appear in front of youngsoo, we will disappear and i’ll make sure you’ll never us again.”

and with that, you take out the blank check from your purse and slip it over to him. the check and the envelop laying side by side.

money isn’t the issue, you’ve managed to wire every single penny you have to different bank accounts before the agency could even freeze the one in seoul. it took several trips to japan, hong kong and china but you eventually got enough to start a new life with your new life.

and that new life of yours is being shaken by the presence of an entity of the past.

you begin noticing the men and women dressed in plain clothing standing a few feet away from where you and youngsoo go. they’re there, acting absolutely normal which makes it unnormal. always watching, always being on guard as if their lives depend on you and youngsoo’s security.

it goes on for another three months before you finally get tired of it and approach one of them, “call your boss over.”

youngsoo’s blowing bubbles at the park when a sleek black car pulls up at the curb and a familiar face steps out.

“you can see him every week on saturdays, one no-show and you’re out. also- i decide when he finds out,” you set the rules and yoongi looks like he a little kid who’s about to perform at his school’s talent show, “do we have a deal?”

“absolutely,” he nods readily.

yoongi’s hand moves on its own and he almost hooks his index finger around your pinky finger as if asking for some kind of emotional support. but he stops himself.

he walks beside you, watching as you walk out from under the shades of the tree, your expression instantaneously brightening when the sunlight hits, “youngsoo-ah,” you wave the toddler over.

his little legs comes running towards you, curious, bright eyes staring at yoongi and right through his soul. he’s never felt so bare and defenseless.

the only thing that keeps him from running away is the fondness in your voice. and the smile on your face that he’s never seen before, “youngsoo-ah, this is uncle yoongi, he’s mommy’s friend...”

yoongi musters the best smile he can - he never needed to try. it’s the people around him that force smiles to please him. never the other way around. never him having to smile so he wouldn’t scare off his son.

he crouches in front of the child that’s partially hiding behind you, “youngsoo-ah, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Ok, basics of Soul Eater. This is a world where people can be born with the ability to transform into magical weapons, known as Demon weapons. They can come to this school called the DWMA (Death Weapon Meister Academy) and find a partner who’s able to wield them, called a meister. If their soul wavelengths are compatible, they’ll become a pair. These weapon-meister pairs are then tasked with going out into the world and fighting off kishin eggs, which are people who have strayed onto the path of evil by eating human souls. If they aren’t hunted down and eliminated, they will eventually form into a kishin – a creature of pure madness that would destroy the world.

There are also Witches, beings of magic who are kind of like a third party – some want the kishin to be revived because it causes chaos, but others are chill and actually on the side of the DWMA. Witches are important because their souls are the key to a Demon weapon awakening their true form, and gaining extra powers. Defeating a witch and consuming their soul makes the weapon into a Death Scythe, a weapon powerful enough to be wielded by Death himself, the god of the world.

For my AU, I’m just taking the premise of the world and replacing the characters with DSMP/MCYT characters, so I won’t explain much there. Great show, would recommend highly, it’s on Netflix, read the manga as well if you’re disappointed by the ending of the anime.

Anyways, I’d like to use more MCYT characters than just DSMP peeps, like some Hermitcraft folks, but I know nothing about them really, so I just have DSMP stuff for now.

Phil is Death, because I can’t help but make him immortal in every AU I make. He’s the one who determines who has started to go down the path of the kishin and makes the order for them to be taken out. (Sounds kinda intense, but in this universe souls of people like this actually look different to healthy human souls).

Dream and George are a meister-weapon pair. George is a Demon Axe, and they are classified as a Three-Star pair (the highest ranking a meister can achieve, and second only to being a Death Scythe for a weapon.)

Techno is also a three-star meister, although his situation is a little different. He doesn’t wield a Demon weapon, but instead he wields a legendary sword called Harpe, which is a shapeshifting weapon that can take different forms. (So, in the series, they have Excalibur, who is this really powerful sword that anyone is compatible with, wavelength wise, but he himself is really freaking annoying so nobody can stand using him as a partner. I wanted to give Techno something different, but I wanted to tie in his connection with Greek mythology, so I created my own legendary weapon. Harpe is Perseus’s sword in the mythology, what he used to decapitate Medusa. Harpe is the same as Excalibur in that it can match anyone’s wavelength, but instead of just being annoying like Excalibur, Harpe allows Techno to hear the voices of the dead. Wherever he goes, there are people who speak to him, and usually it’s just idle chatter and he pretends he can’t hear them, but they seem to know that he can because he always seems to attract them wherever he goes.) Harpe usually takes the form of a sword, but it can also become a trident, a spear, and a pickaxe.

Then there are the two-star pairs, who are a level above the regular students and able to take on more dangerous missions. There’s Sapnap and his two weapons Karl and Quackity, who wield fire and water/ice (not sure yet) respectively. Sapnap and Karl were partners first, before Quackity came to the school, and he was a menace. Sapnap is a very powerful meister, but also very destructive due to his partner being fire and him not knowing how to hold back sometimes. When Quackity became a student and the teachers learned that he was a water weapon, he was begged to partner with them to try and reduce the amount of damage Sap does on lessons, and generally chill them out. Of course, the teachers didn’t account for Quackity being just as chaotic, if not more, than his partners, and thus begun the most chaotic trio at the school.

Bad and Skeppy are partners, and originally I was gonna have Skeppy as the meister with a reluctant Bad who gets pulled into Skeppy’s pranks, but then I remembered that IRL!Bad is a badass who throws knives and shoots guns and stuff, so I changed it so Bad’s the meister and Skeppy’s his knife weapon. Bad still gets dragged around with Skeppy’s shenanigans though.

Punz and Ant are partners, mostly because I needed them to be in the AU somehow and they both needed a partner. Honestly don’t know much about either of them, and I don’t know what kind of weapon Ant is, but they’re strong enough to be two-star.

Then there are the one-star meisters, which is the ranking all students start as. You have Tubbo and Tommy, Wilbur and Fundy, Niki and Jack, Puffy and HBomb, and Purpled and Hannah(hannahxxrose).

To the surprise of most people who meet them, Tubbo is actually the meister in their pair. Which makes it very funny when Tommy’s being his usual bombastic, irritating self and picks a fight with another pair who they may not know, and when they get ready to fight Tommy calls over this innocent looking kid and starts glowing in his transformation, becoming a crossbow that can shoot explosive shots (like a firework crossbow).

Fundy is an interesting case, because he is actually a Witch (using the fact that Fundy’s character on the SMP is ftm trans, and because witches in this world are animal-themed and it just made too much sense with his fox connection. He has ears that he hides with a hat and a tail that he hides.) He’s partnered with Wilbur, who is a set of oversized gauntlets that have claws at the end. Yes, he gets furry jokes, no, he’s not amused, but he deals.

Niki and Jack are the weapon I’m probably most excited about. Jack can transform into a big shield, Steven Universe style, but it also has another ability. Niki can strike it with a mallet in different ways, and the sound that emanates from it has a different affect on her enemies/their attacks. She can ring it so that it resonates at a frequency that can break glass, can stun her enemies, etc. A lot of people think she’s weak or not as good as others because her weapon is defensive, but she just smiles and knows that if they ever see her fight, they’ll think differently.

Puffy and HBomb is half a joke, but also serious. HBomb is some sort of spiked whip/lasso, but many people joke that he’s a glorified fishing rod because Puffy once used him for that and he never lived it down. (Because Puffy’s a captain, but also because HBomb has his podcast and it just seemed to fit). Puffy is also a sheep witch, and bonds with Fundy over it since nobody else at school knows about their heritage (given that Witches are usually an enemy of the DWMA)

Purpled and Hannah, I will admit, are only a pair because they’re both bedwars players and it seemed appropriate? No idea what kind of weapon Hannah would be though.

Real quick, here are some other character roles. Ponk is the school nurse, Sam is a technician who is supposedly working to make sure the school is functioning, maintaining the old pipes and stuff, but he has a lot of secret work that Death has him do on the side of that. Alyssa and Callahan are a Death Scythe pair (Alyssa as a meister) who work on another continent and aren’t ever around, cause I thought it would be funny.

Ranboo is a special case of being his own meister? If anyone reading knows the series, he’s basically like Crona. But instead of madness from the black blood, it’s his enderwalk state that he eventually gets snapped out of in an epic battle with Tommy/Tubbo. He has two non-demon weapon pickaxes that he fights with, as well as the enderman powers from the SMP, and some mild telepathy.

In terms of other MCYT, I don’t know much about the hermits but most seem like they would be good teachers? The only one I was told had to be a meister was Falsesymmetry, because she’s a pvp god. And her weapon is Rendog, because I was told he’s supportive of her and also goes feral if needed? So there’s that. Ren is a transforming weapon, it’s a bow that can disconnect at the middle and become two swords connected by a magic chain that can extend as far as needed.

I have no idea what to do with Eret or Schlatt, they feel like they should have important roles but the “corrupt politician” or “the traitor who became king” bits don’t work super well in this universe. Well, traitor does, but I also love Eret and want to give them a good ending. And I could easily use Schlatt’s normal video persona rather than his SMP character, because that would be kinda funny and not something I see as often. - 🐉

Oooooooh. This is super interesting. This is super interesting. I really love this concept already!

[how-many-stars-can-you-count]

Ladynoir July day 1: Older

THIS FANFIC DOES NOT END HERE!! THE STORY CONTINUES ALONG WITH EVERY DAY OF JULY BASED ON WHAT THE THEME OF THE DAY IS!! This is just chapter 1! Enjoy!!

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Cat Noir" a breathy voice said behind the door which Ladybug opened quickly after transforming, not believing the truth of what she just heard.

She hasn't seen her cat partner in months since she moved to New York to work there. As far as she knew, he was supposed to be in Paris right now, calmly enjoying his life and waiting for Hawkmoth to make his next step... which he didn't do since, like, 3 years now. But as long as the butterfly miraculous wasn't in her and her partner's possession, there was still a risk their enemy would strike again.

"Cat Noir!"

He looked up to see her, still breathing heavily but managing to call out her name "Ladybug..."

They stood there for a moment, staring at each other in disbelief, he was wearing his Astrocat suit, she noticed, which meant he must've just arrived from Paris to her house and must be exhausted.

"Come in" she gestured to her empty living room, and he did as she asked.

He slowly sat on the couch, careful not to bring any damage to it, he was already feeling guilty for suddenly entering her home late at night, without even warning her he would - not that he himself knew that - so ruining her place on top of all that wasn't a great idea.

"You okay?"

And just like that she snapped him back into reality.

"Y-Yeah, yeah... eum... no? I- I don't know...

I'm, I'm SO sorry for bothering you, I just, didn't know where else to go, and as I was flying from Paris I remembered you and your house location and-

-Hey! It's okay! Really!" She replied, in a tender tone, emphasizing every word she's saying, to let him know she was only saying the truth...

He smiled sweetly and then took a deep breath. "I ran away from home."

Well, she wasn't expecting that. She knew it was wrong to just run away, because, of course his family and all his loved ones would be worried sick right now, but, she knew it wasn't the right time to tell him that and talk to him objectively. Based only on the look on his face, he just needed comfort, and she was definitely gonna give him that.

Besides, she's known him for so long now, he is responsible. If he ran away, then it was for a good reason. She was sure of that, because she truts him.

"You can stay here if you want...

-Really?! I- I don't wanna bother you though.. I know you have work and all and coming here was a bad idea in the first place and I should just go and-

-CAT NOIR! It's fine! It really is!! I... was kinda feeling lonely anyways, plus... I miss you a lot so... It's a win-win!!"

His smile lit up the room and warmed her heart, seeing him happy was one of her favorite things in the world, especially if he was happy thanks to her.

"THANK YOU SO SO MUCH M'LADY!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME"

He pulled her into a tight embrace and she was surprised, pleasantly surprised, to this gesture... Oh she missed his touch, companym voice so so much... Days felt empty and meaningless without his goofy smile and his presence, which is why she knew for a fact that those were gonna be the best days of her life, with him staying with her...

And, yes, maybe, just maybe, her heart fluttered when he called her with the nickname she got used to over the years, that nickname she didn't realize how much she missed...

"Wait right here Cat"

When she came back she was holding a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. God he missed her baking so much. Memories of them sharing a snack before patrol started and after it, how he would always compliment her cooking and how she wouldn't admit that it made her blush, filled his mind...

Admiration and gratitude filled his eyes as he looked up at her and whispered "thank you"...

That's all he needed after the awful day he just went through, probably the worst day of his life.

"Wanna talk about it?

-Talk about what?

-Why you ran away...

-No. Not today..

-Okay then. We won't talk about it."

She smiled at him sweetly and he returned that gesture.

"So how's Paris?

-Empty without you..."

A sad smile covered her face, she knew that he probably wasn't the only one who felt that way, after all, Paris' beloved hero didn't step into Paris for a while now... Fans were disappointed that she left, her loved ones heartbroken...

But they were still proud of her and happy to see her pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion designer, even if it ment not seeing her anymore.

"Hawkmoth?

-Still on his endless hiatus. At this point I would guess he probably quit or idk died or something..

-CAT!

-What he's not immortal!!"

They both laughed at his comment.

"I'm actually kinda sad that he's not akumatizing people anymore... DON'T GET ME WRONG! It's just that, fighting villains by your side was the best entertainment I could get!

-Oh c'mon! You're definitely still having fun with your old friends and new ones from work right?

-Well I work for my father, it's... a family job, so I'm kinda forced to do it.. It's not awful! I know for a fact that a lot of people would kill for having my job, but... it kinda gets lonely and it's not my thing...

-Then why don't you work what really is your thing after the family job??

-Yeah well the thing is, I don't know what it is that I want!"

Silence filled the room for a few seconds.

"Anyway, what about your job? You told me you were going to make your dream come true!

-I am! It's the best job I could hope for! But I wish I was back in Paris... here I feel like a stranger! But... with you around, I think I'll feel like home..."

Air escaped his lungs, while happiness filled his entire body... Ah he felt like a teenager again, blushing and getting flustered over the slightest sign of affection he gets from his beloved lady... But he couldn't help it! He was stuck in this one sided love for the rest of his life!

Little did he know, this wasn't going to be the case.

A yawn escaped his mouth..

"Tired already kitty cat? It's only 10 pm!

-Well it's not you who traveled from a continent to another after having an emotional breakdown due to the worst day of your life!

-Ouch! Fair point."

He giggled and she joined him right before she went to prepare his bedroom aka the guest room. She never expected she'd use it but well, here they are!

As soon as she finished he met her there.

"Woah! Thank you LB! It looks amazing!

-I didn't do much but your welcome!

Oh! Btw you can detransform in here! I won't enter your room without permission and you won't enter mine because I probably wouldn't be wearing a red mask there!

-Yeah sure...

-And there's also some cheese for Plagg on this table!

-Thanks! He'll appreciate this so much!

-Your welcome kitty"

They stood there staring at each other lovingly until they realized that they were.

"A-Anyway good night, Cat!

-Good night bugaboo <3"

She blushed at the nickname (again) but decided to ignore it, right now was NOT the time to accept unwanted feelings towards a certain black cat...

@ladynoirjuly

Chapter 2

[verse50]

Word for the Year: Compassion

It’s been one year to the day I last traveled interstate and was in a crowded building full of unmasked people. It’s surreal, typing that. Back then I didn’t have time to think about the creeping change as my medical career shifted into quantum overdrive. This put my writing on a distant shelf, one I quietly observed and engaged with only briefly for twelve long months. 

Although I was mostly disengaged, the fans were not. During this time I discovered readers were interacting with certain older stories. Reblogs, comments, messages, hearts- it just would not quit. The same ones, again and again without fail. After awhile I noticed a pattern. These were stories with no lurid scenes or explicit dialogue. They were mostly stories of “no.” A Dom hears her safeword and stops the scene, gives her water, cuddles, and soothing conversation before a hot bath (Aftercare). A couple gears up for fun impact play but when she starts to cry he stops and asks what’s wrong? All the problems start tumbling out as he listens, puts up the toys, showers her, then whispers “I’ll take care of you” as she falls asleep (Presence). Fans were going crazy for these stories and I wondered why.

It’s because the characters were compassionate to each other. 

We all know that a safeword is sacrosanct and must be listened to without delay, then followed up with appropriate aftercare. But what is the trigger for that? A rule, a written contract? Those can be broken and ignored, especially in the heat of the moment. What is the internal trigger to stop, listen, and change behavior? It’s compassion. And for it to become a reflexive response, it must be honed, practiced, and centered at the core of the moral compass. We might encounter compassion as a child when a caregiver soothes our scraped knee or when we stop to for a hurt puppy in the ditch but in relationships? Compassion is never edgey enough to be at the top of the “must have” list. This past year taught me that we are starved for compassion. Why?

We are beset on every side by a lack of compassion eroding our intimate relationships, our family networks, careers, financial and social systems, governance, academia, and healthcare. Lack of compassion tells us to ignore problems and forge ahead as if nothing is wrong, as if American-born Black mothers aren’t dying at a higher rate than other developed countries and insulin prices aren’t soaring. Lack of compassion prevents Black communities from accessing capital for infrastructure improvements. Lack of compassion prohibits undocumented meatpackers from being Covid vaccinated (an epidemiological nightmare). Lack of compassion helps banks harvest $11 billion in overdraft fees from low monthly deposit accounts, making the owners vulnerable to account closings and subsequent predatory check cashing services. Lack of compassion divides migrant families, reduces healthcare access in private prisons, and traumatizes abuse victims who in turn victimize others. Lack of compassion makes critical infrastructure vulnerable to weather and utility breakdowns. When we look closely, lack of compassion blinds us to problem origins, ignores warning signs, disregards emotional response, and (once the problem is too big to ignore), discounts it as if it weren’t really there at all. 

For too long now, lack of compassion has been sold to us as strength and resilience when the opposite is actually true. Lack of compassion is an illusion of functionality that breaks down under the slightest test. It is the hallmark of pushing responsibility under the rug, passing the buck, and ignoring your intimate partner’s concerns because they are too much work. It comes across as dominant when it's just opportunist. It appears competent when it actually can’t produce. At the end of the day, lack of compassion wants a reward for doing the absolute minimum. 

Compassion, on the other hand, actually does the work. Compassion sees a problem, listens to the concerns, and develops solutions. Compassion discovered insulin and the polio vaccine. Compassion is World Central Kitchen employing restaurants and feeding vulnerable populations on every continent. Compassion is grassroots disaster relief for a storm-battered state. Compassion helps us recover from trauma. Compassion draws a line in the sand, listens to that “no”, and immediately changes behavior. It creates boundaries. Why is this so important?

Compassion is the most vital element to creating a functional society. It forms bonds and solves problems. Above all, it protects us from the most dangerous tendencies of our own humanity. Unmitigated, humans will run amok in selfishness, high on dopamine from their own power. Educated compassion, ingrained via authority figure examples, will veer us away from the precipice of collective annihilation. It prevents us from seeing any human as “other”, or less than- a root of abuse and eventual genocide.

You will see compassion marketed as “soft”, good for children and sick people, animals, and non-profit spreadsheets. In general, it is valued outside private sector discussions, especially finance or infrastructure. You will see it mentioned as a trauma recovery tool, but not a trauma prevention tool. Why? Compassion literally creates innovation, design, better practices, clear communication, and addresses problems in the early, manageable stage before millions of dollars are spent on fixing something spiraling out of control. I am telling you, lack of compassion is the core of so. many. issues. If Halliburton had compassion for the environment and the lives of oil rig workers, they would not have ignored the unstable cement in the Deepwater Horizon wells.

All of these compounding issues make us feel trapped in a web that doesn’t care, doesn’t listen, and never notices when we voice a concern. Those stories the fans love? They gravitate to them because finally, here is a window into the sunlight, a place where I am treated as a human being should be. I can speak. I will be seen and listened to. Behavior will change appropriately. I won’t be pushed to the limits of my endurance or be forced to lash out in self-defense.

The deepest intimate desire is not always an orgasm or kink. It is compassion. This is what people need, what they are crying out for in the rest of society. The same values that bond us intimately are the ones we want patterned in the world around us. This should be our focus after the stress of last year- how do we heal? How do we help each other survive? 

Remember, compassion always does the work when nothing else will.

This is the annual Word for the Year published originally on Patreon.

[prose-for-hire]

Love, Hate, Love: Part one

Part Two // Part Three

Pairing: Spike x fem!vamp!reader

Request: Not a Cordy request, but i dont want to forget it 😅 How about Spike and the vampire reader really disliking each other until she finds out his human "identity". And they remember they were best friends as kids and wrote poetry together and stuff and they fall back in love? That would be amaaazing😋

Requested by: @therapieliteratur​

Warning: Violence between reader and Spike. Swearing. Tiny blood mention.

A/N: I got carried away and had to split this into parts, hope you don’t mind. This is part one of three 💜

You had lived for over a hundred years. That does things, memory-wise. You were forgetful over little details, especially so of your human past. Faces blurred and voices distorted. Scratched lines of poetry lost to the sands of time. It was so long ago, your memories of that part of you were in black and white.

You were a modern woman now. You weren’t hung up on the social codes of your time. You embraced every new decade. Every style and you got a kick out of learning the slang of the moment. It was cute, you collected these phrases as if they were necklaces. Or buttons. Stamps, even.

There was never much room for amassing material items however. You found yourself moving from one place to another. Often without thought or warning, people after a certain amount of time figured out that you weren’t aging. Or that you had been to the butchers too often. You had spent a lot of time in Europe and there was still thick superstition in many places.

Leaving you being run out of different towns all over the continent. It wasn’t so much pitchforks and the like anymore. You would be hassled on the street. Word of mouth would spread and suddenly the home you had made for yourself would be up in flames again.

You had moved to Sunnydale within the last decade. A new climate, new faces. New humans to try to live alongside. You ate animal blood, you had retained a soul some years back. It had been painful and incredibly hard. You had barely got through it with your mental health intact. The guilt would always be there, but you strived to be and do better.

Which was not something you could say for one vampire you had met since you arrived. Spike. He had more cheekbones than brains and he prided himself on being bad. The opposite of how you lived your un-life.

He lived, now alone, in an underground crypt after Drusilla left him. You had actually been quite fond of Dru in a strange way. You felt a little sorry for her which she screamed at you for feeling as soon as she realised. The stars told her, or something.

Angel, an acquaintance of yours, had explained all about what it had been like with Spike and the rest in the past. He was a piece of work, by all accounts. Angel left to LA and asked you to come, he had become hung up on the Slayer and couldn’t bear to live on the Hellmouth anymore.

You declined, knowing you were meant to stay for now at least. You made a home here. Something permanent for once. It was certainly harder with Angel gone. He understood how you felt about the past, about the guilt. He helped you through it the best he could too.

But you could manage on your own. You had to. You got on well enough with the Slayer anyway. She was sweet and very good at fighting so even if you had a problem you probably wouldn’t air it.

You were sat at drinking in your local demon bar when he walked in. You scowled, burning holes into him as you watched him coming towards you from where you sat on the side of the bar.

You had wanted a break. You had almost been staked. Again. Vampires hated you for protecting the slayer and you were only allowed in here because the bartender found you attractive.

Spike saw you and smirked, ordering his drink and slinking over to you. He did this a lot, he thought you were both playing some game. He hated you as much as he found you attractive. Not that you were entirely aware of this.

“Well, well, look at who’s embracin’ her roots” he gestured around the room.

“Look who’s embracing the stake about to go in his chest” You warned, glancing at him only briefly as you spoke.

“Now, pet. Wouldn’t want to get yourself run out of town again would you? I got friends here y’know… you don’t” He warned, glad of the distinct lack of Angel about the place again, “Only one of us that’s gonna be missed”

“Stop calling me pet” You reminded him as you always had to, “Why don’t you turn around and let me rest in peace” You remarked. His eyes danced at those words, ones he had thought himself before. But he still retaliated in his usual way.

“’Cause, if I remember rightly you were the one making my affairs your business” He pointed at you, still standing over you rather than sitting, “Tellin’ the girlie my little plan”

“It was barely a plan” You spat. He was going to take poor Willow hostage. Again.

“It was a good plan. Smart plan… that you buggered up by running to slutty the vampire slayer”

“Don’t pick on the kid” you snapped, taking a sip of your drink and trying to tune his voice out.

“Oo, someone’s got a crush” He taunted trying to wind you up, “What is it about that bird, got every soul’s knickers in a twist”

“Spike, please. Just for tonight… Fuck off” You muttered, clutching your head. You were starting to get a headache. You missed the look he gave you, the hand that hovered over your shoulder for a fraction of a second before he snatched it away. Why the hell would he do that? He frowned at himself.

“Fine, I will. Gonna get me a pretty woman… none around here though” He said pointedly and you just waved you hand, uncaring, and didn’t look up from your drink. He didn’t like this, so he continued, “Yeah, I’ll shag her… drain her” He shrugged, taking the shot of blood he had ordered as it arrived. He smirked and starting to stalk off. You sighed exaggeratedly.

“Can’t let you do that, Spike” You got up from your bar stool and grabbed his shoulder to pull him back.

“’Let’” He scoffed, shrugging you off.

Spike instantly threw a punch that you caught. You twisted his arm and started to pull him towards the exit. You shot the bartender an apologetic look as you left.

When you got outside you hauled him away from you as he smirked at your face.

“If you wanted to get me all to yourself, love, all you needed to do was-” He started top purr, but became silenced by your fist against his jaw. He scowled, tensing his jaw before he smirked again, “Oh, you like it rough don’t you? Come on then, let’s see who comes out on top”

He beckoned you towards him. You saw him jumping on the spot, warming up as he did. Enjoying himself. It was a dance to him. You his reluctant partner.

But, you ran at him anyway. Like you always did. You fought equally to begin. Until he started to fight dirty. He used every trick in the book and you were starting to slow with the pain. You had a headache already and this was making it worse.

He hit you successively, sharp pains in the jaw that you could barely block as he caught you off guard. You groaned in pain, which made him cocky. He started to restrain you by your wrists, his smile wide and shark-like as you hit the brick wall behind you. Your brain rattling around your skull.

Your skull. You propelled your head towards him, hitting the soft part of his nose with your now vamped forehead. He dropped your wrists to clutch his nose and you took the chance to kick against his torso, hard. He fell back against the hard pavement. You were instantly on him.

You straddled him, pushing him back from trying to get up. You just stared at each other for a moment. In that second, had anyone looked it could have gone either way. You could have lowered yourself to him, caught his lips. Embraced him with a passion that only you (and probably any nesting birds watching from above) would know.

But you didn’t.

You were angry at him. For being who you used to be. For being someone you could understand. For being horrible. You punched him hard on the jaw instead in your frustration.

It distracted him enough for you to grab the stake out of your waistband and dig it into his chest. You gave him a look, one suggesting you were serious.

You thought for a moment, sighing at the way your guilt worked now.

“Go home. Cuddle up to your loneliness” You ordered, removing the stake from his chest as he wiped his bloody nose. Deciding (seeing as he was only in dead company) to lick his own nose-blood from his fingers, “You’re so disgusting” You said hitching your nose up and getting to your feet. It was an act - it didn’t phase you. You had seen worse. But you still despised him for not having the guilt that you had so deeply rooted in your chest.

“Oh, like ‘totally’” He mocked the way you spoke. The way you assimilated. It angered him. Vampires weren’t supposed to be good. Have souls. Weren’t supposed to help slayers.

You walked your separate ways. Two sides of a coin. You could be each other, you had been each other. His ego was bruised and you had to ice your jaw. You cursed and blinded and hated him.

When Spike returned to the crypt, he felt the loneliness much more acutely. He was getting madder and madder. It wasn’t just because he had been beaten by a girl either. He had looked at you in a way he never thought he would. There had been something there tonight, behind the mists of your eyes. Something he recognised.

And he hated you for it. He swore he did. It angered him so much he was shaking.

“Bloody twat, thinkin’ she’s better than everyone just ‘cause she fought for a soul. Any bugger with half a brain and workin’ fists could go through that crap” he shouted, kicking at the gate in his crypt.

When you went home to your sweet little house, you were in the same predicament. You slammed the door closed, leaving the entire house shaking.

He had gotten under your skin. Again. Walking around as if the life you as vampires had now was better than what had been. As if killing and fucking and fighting was all that was required for perfect happiness.

You hated him. His attitude. His guiltlessness. But most of all, you hated that you could see through it. The mask. And you hated that you understood him. Could be him had you not fought for you soul to come back.

Because what had it gained you? Except self-hatred and a talent for identifying different flavours of animal blood by sight alone?

Of course, you wanted to help Buffy. The others. Save the world. But some days you envied him. The way you presumed that he could just stalk through the night and not have deep thoughts about the ending of life or anything else.

You punched the wall. Hard. Screaming in frustration, shivering with the guilt. Quivering with anger. Mixed emotions.

You both were in your own heads, emotions and thoughts flashing violently behind your eyes. Not even slowing when the light came and you had to try to contend with sleep.

That was the night that they started though. The dreams.

[dontcare77ghj]

Flying Out

Peter x reader x Shuri

Notes; Everyone is of legal age.

Warnings: Mention of injuries, single derogatory word, and some not so nice behavior don’t read if triggering.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, or something like that. Honestly, you thought it was total shit. Distance only makes you miss a person until it almost hurts.

Both Peter and Shuri would agree with you on that. Shuri especially. 

You and Peter both lived in New York. Only an hour away from each other, but Shuri lived on a whole separate continent. 

Tony and T'Challa introduced the three of you to one another. T'Challa had brought his sister to New York when he had to deal with business with your father. 

While the two of them and the Avengers dealt business, the three of you had run off together. The three of you had spent the entire duration of Shuri's stay together and were sad to see her leave.

The three of you had kept in contact. Phone calls every day, video calls whenever you could manage, and when Shuri came down next time, you and Peter asked her out.

Though the three of you couldn't always see each other, you tried your best to be there for one another. And you were always there when it really mattered.

Once a month, you and your dad had a movie night. It had been a tradition since you were a child, and you treasured the time you spent together.

"No, we're not watching Harry Potter again." Your dad said, throwing a pillow at you.

"It's a classic!" You exclaimed, blocking yourself from more pillow attacks. "Besides, I love these movies. Don't you want to make your little girl happy?"

"That is emotional blackmail." Tony pointed at you. "Who the hell taught you to be so manipulative? I didn't do it. Was it Cap?"

"Pepper." You smirked. 

"Boss, protocol 'Baby-spider Fell Out The Web.'" FRIDAY announced, causing your father to jump from his seat.

"Dad, what does that mean?" You asked, standing as his suit began to form. "Dad!"

"Peter's hurt." He said quickly. "Stay here." He added before his helmet snapped on, and he flew away.

"Dad!" You began to protest, but he was already gone. "Fuck!"

As soon as your father left, you'd patched through a call to Shuri as you opened up FRIDAY's scans on Peter's vitals.

"Y/N? You do know it's two in the morning here, right?" Shuri asked, yawning. "Not that I'm upset to hear from-"

"Shuri, it's Pete." You cut her off. "God, I don't know what's happening, but dad got an alert from KAREN, and FRIDAY says his vitals are dropping, and I'm kind of freaking out-"

"Y/N, darling, breathe." Shuri soothed. "I need you to calm down. I can't help you if you don't calm down."

"Pete's hurt." You rushed out. "FRIDAY's scans say his heart rates dropping rapidly. Dad went to help him, but I don't know what's going to happen." You said, choking back a sob.

"It's okay. Peter's going to be okay." Shuri assured you. "I'm going to board the jet, and I'll be there as soon as I can. I promise. Peter is going to be okay." 

"Dad's on his way back." You read from the screen in front of you. "He's alerted Cho and Bruce to prep the med bay." 

"That's good. That's good. I'm coming, Y/N. Pete's going to bounce back. Peter always does. Say it back to me."

"Pete's going to bounce back." You stuttered, nodding to yourself. "He's going to be fine."

"Exactly. Go be there for our boy. I'm going to be there as soon as I can. I promise. I love you." Shuri told you.

"I love you too." You said before the call ended, and you raced to the med bay.

Peter had been shot six times. He'd gotten caught in the middle of a gang war he'd been trying to stop for months. And he'd been shot.

Your father had rushed Peter to Bruce and Cho, who hurried him away. You'd been sitting in the waiting room ever since with your father by your side.

"Maybe you should try to get some sleep." Your father suggested, squeezing your hand.

"No." You shook your head, continuing to stare at the doors. 

"Y/N." 

"I want to be awake when he wakes up."

"He's not going to be awake for a few hours. Come here." He said, pulling you closer. "He's going to be okay." He said as you rested your head on his shoulder. "Go to sleep, hon."

The next thing you knew, someone was shaking you awake.

"Y/N? Y/N, it's Peter. He's out of surgery." Shuri said, kneeling in front of you.

"He's okay?" You asked, sitting up in your chair.

"He's okay." Shuri nodded. "He's still unconscious, but he's gonna be fine." 

"Thank Thor." You sighed, wrapping your arms around her. "Thank you for coming." You whispered into her neck.

"I'll always come. That's a promise." She said, pressing a kiss to your check. "Let's go wait for spidey to wake up, huh?" She suggested.

"Peter, I swear to Thor!" You shrieked, running behind his couch.

"What? I just want a hug." He evilly grinned as he made a mad dash towards you.

"You're an asshole." You groaned as Peter wrapped his arms around you and smeared cannoli filling on your face. "I'm breaking up with you and keeping Shuri."

"You love me." Peter scoffed, licking the filling from your cheek. 

"Gross." You sighed, pushing him away from you. "You're banned from the filling. I'm demoting you to clean up."

"It's my kitchen!" Peter argued as you strutted back to the kitchen.

"It's my nonna's recipe." You rose a brow. "You know you never win against Shuri or me."

"That's because I let you both win." He said, pressing a kiss to your cheek. "Because I love you." 

"I love you too." You smiled, cupping his jaw and kissing him lightly. "Now clean, or no cannolis for you."

"Yes, ma'am."

An hour later, the two of you were seated in Peter's small kitchen, enjoying the cannolis, when Peter's phone rang.

"It's Shuri." He told you before answering. "Hey, pretty girl," Peter said into the phone.

"This is T'Challa," T'Challa announced, causing Peter to squeak and thrust the phone in your direction.

"Hey T, how's my second favorite dignitary?" You asked, sounding every bit like your father.

"I was doing well until this morning." He sighed. "There was an accident in the labs today." He said, causing you to freeze.

"Is Shuri okay?" You asked, putting the phone on speaker.

"She's okay now. There was a small explosion in one of the labs today. Shuri was thrown back and has broken her leg."

"Are we able to speak to her?" Peter asked.

"She is currently asleep, but as it turns out, Shuri has already sent a jet. It's set to arrive at the compound in two hours." T'Challa said used to his sister's antics.

"We'll be on it." You said, Peter nodding with you. 

"Thank you." He sighed. "I'll be there to greet you when you arrive." 

"I'll call Happy to take us to the compound if you want to talk to May." You said once the phone call ended. 

"Angel," Peter said, kissing your temple as he picked up his phone.

Six hours later, the two of you were landing in Wakanda with T'Challa waiting for you.

"Welcome back." T'Challa greeted. "It is good to see you."

"You look tired." You bluntly stated as you and Peter neared. 

"As it turns out, Shuri does not like bed rest. I've had to force her back to bed three times." He sighed, leading the two of you into the palace.

"Makes sense." Peter nodded with a small smile. 

The three of you made your way to the hospital wing and into the room where Shuri lay asleep, her mother at her side.

"It was time for her next dosage of pain medication," Ramonda explained, noticing the worried looks on yours and Peter's faces. "It's nice to see the two of you again. I apologize for the short notice."

"Please, there's no need for apologies. We'll always come if Shuri needs us." You informed the queen mother.

"Well, a thank you is still in order. I believe seeing the two of you will greatly raise Shuri's spirits." She smiled as she rose from her chair. "T'challa and I will take our leave now, and give the three of you some space."

"She's going to be so loopy when she wakes up," Peter said as the two of you sat down. "Do you think she'd kill us if we record?"

"I think she'd kill us if we didn't." You reasoned, leaning your head on his shoulder. 

"True."

This isn't where you wanted to be. You and Peter had been planning to spend a month in Wakanda with Shuri for weeks now. The plans were all set, and on the day you were supposed to leave, you found out you had to stay.

The Maria Stark Foundation had a charity gala every year. The date always changed due to scheduling, and this year you were the only one that had not been informed that the date was today.

As it was a foundation in your nonna's name, and the money went towards people in need, you couldn't skip out.

Luckily for you and your partners, you were a Stark, and Stark's are problem solvers.

"You go on ahead." You told Peter. "I'll stay for the gala and tonight. I'll fly out first thing tomorrow and join the two of you then."

"Angel, I can just stay with you. Shuri's not going to be mad if we postpone the trip a day." Peter said, rubbing his hands up your arms. 

"No, you go." You shook your head. "We made these plans months ago, we're not all postponing because I had a scheduling mix up. Go, have fun, I'll be there tomorrow."

And that was how you ended up alone in the corner of a ballroom in an uncomfortable dress.

There was nothing you wished more to do than take out your phone and talk to Peter and Shuri, but you couldn't. Because that was somehow ruder than you standing the back, ignoring the press.

"Did you get dragged here too?" A voice said, interrupting your musings. Lifting your eyes, you noticed a boy around your age standing in front of you.

After racking your brain, you came to recognize him as the son of one of your dad's minor business partners. Jacob.

"No, not dragged. I wanted to come." You said, taking a sip of your drink.

"But you had better plans?" He guessed.

"Not better, just ones I was looking forward to." You answered, causing him to chuckle lightly.

"I get it." He nodded, stepping closer. "I've had to cancel plans I was excited about too. But what can you do?"

You and Jacob continued conversing for another half hour before the two of you decided to get more drinks.

"Would your dad kill you if we went to the gardens?" Jacob asked. "It's so warm in here." He added, pulling at his collar. 

"I don't think he would." You said, checking your phone for the time. "We've got half an hour before speeches. We should be fine."

Jacob took the drinks in his hands, and the two of you made your way out in the gardens. The two of you walked into the beginning of the maze, where a bench was located.

"Thanks." You politely said as Jacob handed you your drink.

Almost ten minutes after the two of you came into the garden, your mind was beginning to feel fuzzy. It was when you acknowledged the bleariness in your head, did a hand land on your upper thigh.

"Jacob, I'm in a relationship. I wasn't trying to give you any impression otherwise." You told him, tongue weighing a thousand pounds, grabbing his hand.

"Don't be a tease, Y/N." Jacob admonished. "You know you want this. I know what a slut you are, with a girl and boy warming your bed every night? You want this."

"Fuck you." You snapped, rising to your feet, only to fall when your knees buckled.

"I'm a businessman, Y/N, just like my father. I don't like no." He said, kneeling above you.

"Get off, Jacob, get off." You wanted to scream but could only manage a whisper.

"Just let this happen." He said into your ear before licking a stripe down your neck.

Jacob pinned you to the ground, and with your head getting heavier every second, you soon couldn't move at all.

"Hey!"

Non-reader POV

"I can't believe you put a mattress under us," Peter smirked, running his hand up and down Shuri's back.

"It's a safety precaution." She murmured. "Always have to have one."

The two were curled up on the ceiling in one of Peter's webs. Despite having full trust in Peter, Shuri had insisted on putting a mattress under the two.

Shuri let out a sleep-filled groan as her phone began to ring.

"Send it to voicemail," Peter suggested.

"Can't it's Y/N's tone." She said, answering, putting it on speaker, and sticking it onto a web.

"Shuri, are you there? Is Peter with you?" Tony's panicked voice came in before she could say anything.

"Tony?" Shuri asked, raising her head. "What's going on?"

"There's been an incident. We were at the gala, and Y/N was attacked." Tony told the two.

"Attacked? Is she alright? Are you alright?" Peter quickly asked.

"It wasn't that kind of attack, Pete. How quickly can you two get back here? Y/N won't talk to me, she's shut down. She needs you. Both of you."

"Tony, what happened?" Shuri asked, sharing a dread-filled look with Peter.

"I think Y/N has to be the one to tell you." 

Reader POV You don't remember being brought back to the Tower. You can vaguely remember being in the med bay and speaking with Cho, and suddenly you were in your room.

You remembered being alone, staring blankly at the wall, and suddenly you weren't.

"There she is." Peter waterily smiled. "You with us, angel?"

"When, when did you get here?" You asked, looking between him and Shuri.

"Not long ago," Shuri assured you. "Your dad called us, told us you needed us."

Memories of the gala pushed their way to the forefront of your mind, causing your eyes to sting.

"I'm sorry." You whispered, squeezing your eyes shut.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Peter said immediately.

"But I-"

"No, we don't want to hear any of your reasonings. Nothing that's happened is your fault." Shuri cut you off. "Nothing at all." She repeated firmly.

"Can you handle touch? Can we touch you?" Peter asked you.

Your hand lightly tapped the bed beside you, and both your partners slowly climbed up next to you.

"You're going to be okay, angel." Peter promised, his hand hovering over your back. 

“We’ll be here with you, every step of the way.” Shuri added.

Though the three of you couldn't always see each other, you tried your best to be there for one another. And you were always there when it really mattered.

Taglist is always open, as are requests. I do get your requests and I am trying to write them all I promise.

Taglist

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@imnotasuperhero​

[hw2rosewar]

Currently in Development - Helix Waltz 2: Rose War

Source: https://www.taptap.com/app/225105

(MTL) Translation:

Dynamic dress up to create a gorgeous look [Pic 1]

Hundreds of characters to create a social circle in high society  [Pic 2]

Interwoven light and darkness with a complicated plot  [Pic 3] Renovate the mansion and regain its former glory [Pic 4]

Game Synopsis (About section on TapTap page)

My dear girl, how shall I introduce you to the others?

To those who are spies, to those who will fall in love with you... and to those who are still on the fence, betting on both sides.

Shall I describe your character?

Do you detest betrayal? Do you sympathize with the weak? Do you want to be gentle yet strong?

Or should I describe your closet? …Don’t be shy, it’s a beautiful collection. I can tell them about your beloved lace dresses, your cherished pearls, the crystalline perfume bottles you tuck away in your handbag...

I can also tell them how beautiful you are, how stubborn yet clear your eyes are, how your smile always makes people forget what to say, how you--

Ah, I know. I’ll introduce you like this.

“This is Kalia Rovella, the queen who will rule over all of you.”

Game Synopsis (cont.) (Notes section on TapTap page)

Here we find a city full of stories. It is called Rosara, which in the ancient language means "the place where the rose blooms." It is the capital of the powerful, glorious Holy Kingdom of Vrsava (also known as the Rose Kingdom), the center of the royal court and meeting point of all desires and powers of the world. The aging Louis Anna de Sarafosa IV, the twelfth legitimate ruler of the Holy Kingdom, is known as the White Queen and the most powerful woman on the continent. She is surrounded by nobles who want to share the wealth of the Holy Kingdom... And right now, her eyes fall on a young girl who's just coming into her own. 

Besides the White Queen, there is another ruler who is sizing up the young girl. Few people know the identity of this person, but it does not matter. Her subjects and her enemies understand how powerful she is. The mysterious ruler who lives under the gaze of the Rose Court, she and her secretive, powerful clan are trying to find the cracks in the White Queen's rule, like shadows seeping into an old window... We can't say much about her, but let's call her the Red Queen for now. She's spying on you and wants to know if you'll be her pawn...

But you would never accept that fate, would you?

Kalia Rovella, that's your name. You've been pulled out of a broken life and shoved into the high society of the Rose Kingdom. You're going to learn how to be a lady, how to be a hostess, how to be a duchess -- and how to be yourself. Even if the storm gathers at your feet, even if there are lies and intrigue around you, even if the gifts of fate have an expensive price, you refuse to compromise. You never give up the right to judge, and you stand in the midst of turbulent rapids with your head held high, facing the storm.

Fortunately, you are surrounded by friends, partners, and followers who have delivered their destiny into your hands. When you are too tired to dance, someone will bring you high-quality black tea. When you are tired of wearing high heels, someone will get on their knees to bandage your feet. When you want to talk, he who lurks in the shadows will come to you. God knows how long he has been waiting... And when you want to sing with joy, the sun will be there. The fact is that you will be able to get a lot more than just this. You are like the sun and moon. You are important, brilliant, and irresistible to those people. 

Now, please be patient for now. Go practice the foxtrot with the noisy crow. Let the reluctant Balandon teach you more ancient languages. Try on a few new dresses and think about how to decorate your parlor in the future...

You won't have to wait long, my dear mistress. I promise.

T/N: Done via machine translation. Translations are not 100% accurate.

[awesomerextyphoon]

A Warrior’s Heart

Prologue 

Main Paring: Stucky x Black!OFC (Ifekerenma ‘Ife’)

Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence, War Crimes, Corruption, Smut, Mentions of Anxiety, Depression, and possible Panic Attacks

Rating: 18+/Explicit

Word Count: 1,461

Summary: Ife didn’t mean to have her employers be the subject of a hostile takeover by Stark Industries. She just held up the city of Novi Grad long enough for the Avengers to defeat Ultron. So naturally, Tony finds and blackmails her into joining the team. No good deed goes unpunished, huh?

A/N: This is my first long form (12+ chapters) story. I’m including characters and/or aspects from Disney’s Atlantis: the Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch, Big Hero 6, Gargoyles, Inuyasha, and Toriko. Furthermore, I will be including elements of Netflix MCU and Agent Carter as well. Special thanks goes to @jtargaryen18​ for the title. Reposting on any site without my permission is strictly forbidden. Reblogs are welcomed! 😊

Series Masterlist 

Main Masterlist

Just keep the lie going.

That’s the line many of us have to repeat every day, and by us, I mean Non-Humans. Throughout history, humans have created myths and legends about us; some are true, others complete nonsense, but most are somewhere in between.

Let’s rewind a bit, okay?

Life on Earth lines up with most of what the textbooks say until about 5M BCE. Beings that would later be called gods and goddesses start to form with Mother Earth (the Amazing Gaea) as the focal point with other beings such as dragons, elves, and giants start to show two million years later.

The Celestials (sanctimonious assholes) came to Earth to see what’s happening after hearing about various fantastical anomalies (or that they were just bored). Gaea encouraged some (about 30K) of the human ancestors (Homo Erectus) to ‘the Space Gods’ direction. It took a few months, but they were able to create the species that later be known as Eternals. They also did some other shit but Gaea kicked them out when they wore out their welcome.

Around 200KBCE, the Kree (galactic genocidal nationalistic maniacs) happened upon a group of Eternals living on Uranus and traveled to Earth to ascertain whether other beings had similar potential. They experimented on a good number of early humans (about 150K survived) thus creating the first Inhumans (Inhomo Supremis). Several members of the Kree expedition tried to turn the Inhumans into weapons of the Kree Empire but were kicked off the planet by remaining Eternals and Non-Human factions.

Ten thousand years later (190KBCE), other early humans congregated around ‘magical hotspots’ which led to the births of the Homo Magi, Homo Superius, and Homo Animalis sub-species.

Soon after (okay, 15,000yrs later. Leave me alone.), the Mother Crystal (a semi-sentient comet, or Matag Yob) descended onto the island continent of Atlantis, imbuing the human inhabitants with longevity, knowledge, prosperity, and protection. At its height (around 55KBCE), Atlantis became the technological/cultural center on Earth (besides the Eternals).

It didn’t last long, though.

Five thousand years later (50KBCE), the first (and hopefully only) Pantheon War broke out. What exactly happened is lost to history (none of the people involved will fess up.), but what we do know is that shit went down.

Hard.

All that is known (admitted) is that almost all of the pantheons got into a Pantheon War (probably over some dumbass reason), a failed invasion by the Kree (really?), and the whole continent of Atlantis ‘sank’ into the sea in the span of three years (though some escaped).

Neat.

Fast-forward about 38K years (yeah, we’re making some jumps here) to the beginnings of the three most technologically advanced human nations of Earth: Wakanda, Sypavê, and Fetuilelagi; each with their own extraterrestrial metals/minerals.

Earth was pretty quiet until the ‘Christianity Dilemma’. So around 90CE, several ‘deities’ from the Greco-Roman, Norse, Germanic, and Celtic pantheons called for a Council of the Godheads’ to discuss ‘the ‘threat’ with Archangel Michael. It worked out well enough (no one wanted another Pantheon War).

Most of the world was in a pretty good state with a few ‘hiccups’ until the Bubonic Plague aka ‘The Black Death’ hit in 1346/7. It ravaged Eurasia and North Africa killing at least ½ the population and was seen as the start of non-belief in Europe. Worse, it was the beginning of Non-Human persecution and discrimination. You see, while the Black Death took out humans left and right, the worse a Non-Human got was a two-day flu. Many started to return to their respective realms once the Plague subsided and their once friendly neighbors started to accuse and persecute them.

The feeling of unease did not end but rather subsided. A tip from a Non-Human in Queen Isabella’s court alerted several groups in the Pre-Columbian Americas. Genocidal rapist, sex-trafficker, and all-around monster, Christopher Columbus does make it to the ‘New World’ (people were already there, dumbass) and devastated the indigenous population for centuries to come. By the time Columbus was executed in 1498, it was too late.

As many as 40 – 70% of the indigenous population was wiped out due to ‘virgin soil epidemics’ such as smallpox and influenza. Pantheons from negatively impacted areas called for a Council of the Godheads and demanded the ‘deities’ of the colonizers take action.

It went about as well as you’d think.

Earth was about to be embroiled in another Pantheon War until a few ‘level-headed’ individuals struck a bargain. No one was to interfere with human affairs whether it be good or ill. It was later amended to not have any ‘divine’ intervention (Sure). So by 1593, they had ‘bowed out’ of Earth affairs outside of their respective demi realms.

Outside of the matters of the ‘gods’, the rest of the world was dealing with its own problems. Tensions between humans and non-humans grew since the immediate aftermath of the Black Death. The Age of Enlightenment had started to pop up in intellectual circles across Europe around 1647. It focused on reason and free-thinking (Neat), but it also stoked up fear and anxiety towards Non-Humans (Boo!). Things came to a head in the 1670s. It got so bad that the Inter-Realm Parliament ordered all Non-Humans that weren’t exiled to return. They later founded the Bureau of Non-Human Affairs, BNA, in 1692 to deal with such matters in the future.

Two white-passing Non-Humans, Marcus Ashton and Jakob Schwartz founded Ashton & Schwartz Inc in 1809 along with a private partner. The company made waves in biomedical, chemical, agricultural, and climate science (they had to explain it to the populace) as well as pollution cleanup/prevention. One of their biggest inventions was a truly biodegradable plastic-like substance called biokivó̱tio or biokivo for short. The company made an even bigger impact with Non-Humans by solving issues pertaining to agriculture, large scale portal creation, and maintenance.

When the founders’ private partner decided to shut down the company in 1928, Ashton & Schwartz were a household name (especially since all major fossil fuel investments ended in 1900).

Barely ten years later and the threat of World War II rocked the planet to its core, especially the dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The war Council went behind current President Henry Wallace’s back and had them done on the same day,  August 7, 1945.

Well, that got everyone’s attention.

The Inter-Realm Parliament issued an edict that every one of ‘age’ (biologically 18+) would have to spend at least five consecutive years amongst the humans. It didn’t take long for BNA to lay the groundwork.

Wakanda, Sypavê, and Fetuilelagi (who will now be known as The Unconquered Alliance or UA.) saw this as a ‘we need to end this’ type of situation. Within three weeks of the bomb dropping, they formulated a plan and got to work kicking the colonizers out of Africa, starting with Belgian-colonized Congo (80% of the uranium used in the bombs were mined from there). They also made a deal with British-colonized India.

Once they were successful in their test run, The U.A. moved forward with similar models until they were to liberate the continent in 1955. Meanwhile, Sypavian forces kicked out most of the Nazis that fled to South America and ended US/European influence in Central and South America.

The United States tried to play it neutral until The UA (mainly Fetuilelagi) freed Hawai’i from US occupation in 1951. The war was sold as “We must fight to preserve our freedom!” (Keep telling yourselves that).

Once both South/Central America and Africa were liberated, other colonized nations asked for their aid. UA agents/dignitaries offered to relocate Black people from the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. As many as five million African-Americans took the offer, including former Howling Commando, Gabe Jones. By then the US was clamping down domestically through the FBI and local/state police.

Irked by the knowledge that the UA had satellites, the US jumpstarted the Space Race (they had more than a few satellites, but good for you).

As with most wars, both sides partook in some ‘questionable actions’ (i.e. Syria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Cambodia, and Laos).

The war climaxed in 1977 when a UA (Sypavian) agent discovered plans for a super-weapon in the US. A Special Ops team led by N’Jobu realized that the weapon was a mega bomb that would’ve wiped out the African Continent.

After weighing their options, The UA came to an agreement with BNA: BNA would gather their most powerful Homo Magi and cast a spell to erase the memory and evidence of the war from every human outside of the UA in exchange for letting some Non-Humans live openly in UA borders.

They shook on it, unaware of the chaos that would follow.

Next>>

---------

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[fantasyinvader]

So, what about the endings? Let's just start with what Silver Snow's means compared to Crimson Flower's, because that might get my mental ball rolling.

We know why Edelgard is supposed to be the villain of the game from the developers. She's supposed to be the Hegemon archetype, someone who not just takes absolute control of Fodlan but dominates it. Basically she has all the power, she chooses who gets power and who doesn't, she invaded two nations to do so and even took over the Church afterwards. Overtly, this is being played as a positive thing but the route is underscored by the theme of ignorance. That there's a whole other side to this that you don't know, and what's more you've actively turned away from.

Think of it like this, your choices don't really matter in CF. Sparing Lysithea will net you an extra soldier, but what it won't do is unlock Ferdinand's paralogue nor does it change the story. Ditto any other recruit. Spare or kill Claude, Almyra attacks the following month and Edelgard's claims about how the Empire and them will get along because they don't believe in the Goddess don't hold any weight compared to Cyril/Hilda's paralogue. Nothing changes if you spare Flayn and Seteth outside of a cutscene, and Dimitri still dies even if you jump through the hoops to get the alternative death. And finally, your decision to side with Edelgard?

Fodlan is under the control of someone who wants to impose her ideology onto others (again, takes over the Church), who takes power for herself, who spreads false information and shifts the blame onto other parties. Again, Edelgard is supposed to not just rule but dominate the continent. She doesn't give up the job like she said she would, she's given no thought on how to give power to the masses, and instead elects to just purge the nobility of anyone not loyal to her. Edelgard is everything you were told you were fighting against after you chose to fight for her.

Now, you compare this to Silver Snow. You don't get the same kinds of choices in Silver Snow. The route will default there, you can't join Dimitri or Claude at Gronder, and at the end Byleth will choose to take up leadership of the shambles that is Fodlan. So, do choices really matter in this regard?

I think it's a matter of whose choices. We know that without player input, Byleth will automatically take up arms against Edelgard. And that's the point, and I'm going to swear I'm dead fucking sober writing this.

Silver Snow is about Byleth's character. It's their decision to fight against Edelgard, not ours. Hell, even the choice to go to Enbarr with her is framed as a change to the story. It's not supposed to happen, just like Byleth siding with Edelgard is not supposed to happen for that same exact reason. It's Byleth that's going to prove their worth by defeating the Empire without support from the Kingdom, Alliance or Almyra. It's Byleth who plans to use Imperial uniforms or sneak troops to Enbarr. It's Byleth that ultimately decides to lead Fodlan. Whomever had your support during the game will live, those you rejected or couldn't support die. Even if the player is ignorant of Fodlan, Byleth isn't and they'll be the one leading the continent after the war instead of us. The devs confirmed that the world was built to support Silver Snow's story, and the Edge of Dawn's three verses reflect the story of Silver Snow best of all.

Compare this to Byleth in CF. How according to Edelgard, they become distant and how someone pointed out they had the least amount of emotional actions in this route after the events of White Clouds saw them becoming more emotional. Not to mention how they liked teaching, only for Edelgard to marvel at how thoroughly she destroyed the Academy. How Byleth would allow Hubert and Edelgard to kill them if they can't “remain human.” It's not just them not ruling Fodlan afterwards, they have no place in Fodlan after the war other than taking out TWSITD, with their partner deciding what Byleth does outside of that. By siding with Edelgard, we the player took away who Byleth was.

We took their life away so that they could be OUR avatar (though one without customization). We DOMINATED Byleth because we WANTED to walk with Edelgard. Not Byleth, us whenever we choose that option. Even if you choose Claude or Dimitri, Byleth will still be Byleth. They'll still keep the stone that serves as their heart, not lose it like they do in Crimson Flower. They aren't us, we aren't them, so why do we try to make them more like us? Why do we want to pick out their hair color, or give them our birthday? Because rather than let them be themself, players want Byleth to be them.

Even if that means blindly supporting a tyrant because they don't know better,

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Not like this.”

Hope you guys all have a great day :) 

Hijan was sitting on a patch of red moss staring out at the red sky over the distant volcanoes. A dull ache rose up in her carapace, though it was one she could mostly ignore. It was going to rain later, that much she could tell from the red of that distant sky.

Upon her lap lay a long spear chipped and worn with age, though its point was still as sharp as ever.

She heard the footsteps while they were still a ways away, below the bluff. SHe didn’t bother to look up knowing who it was…. The sentinel, her only son: Hasan.

He walked over to where she was standing, but did not sit with her.

She looked up mildly confused.

His face was somber.

“Hasan, is something wrong.”

He bowed his head to her, “Mother, there has been some… news.”

She stood, not liking the sound of this. Her joints were a little stiff, but she managed just fine, “What news?”

Hasan lowered his head, “Word was brought by messenger early this morning. The Drev counselor for the GA is calling the Drev war clans to arms if they would be willing to fight.”

He tapped her spear against the stone, “And how does this concern us?”  her son had always been a believer in the old ways, and was generally not interested in the outside politics of non-drev nations.

He lowered his head, “Mother… I… we received word. He’s dead.”

Hijan crossed her arms, a little habit she had picked up from her other son (adopted son) a human, “Who?”

“Tanan…. Uh…. Tsata, he’s dead.”

A quiet crept over them. Tsata: the name of that very same adopted human, the small helpless, squishy human she had helped turn into a warrior. 

“What?”

“They were attacked by an enemy called the Burg.His ship was destroyed, and he was lost.”

Hijan blinked, staring at her son. Something about this didn’t seem real. Perhaps it was the way that her son talked about the outsider, in a way of respect she had never seen. How he lowered his head at the mention of his name, “Was his death honorable?” She finally wondered.

The pause grew even longer and she saw the answer in his face before he spoke, “The burg tricked them. They distracted the rest and set up a machine to do the work for them….  Their tactics were dishonorable.”

Hijan felt her hands clench, but she did not go to move, instead stepping forward slightly. She rested a hand on the shoulder of her son, “Thank you for bringing this to me.” She said softly, “I know my love for him has always confused you.”

Hasan shook his head, “No mother, I understand .”

They didn’t say more than that, and hijan moved quickly back to her hut.

She stood in the open doorway for a long moment before moving inside and picking u her things, pulling on the old armor crafted for her by her father once long ago. She picked up her battle partner’s old spear and rested it against her shoulder before turning from the door and stepping outside.

The horizon was warm to the east, and she began to walk.

SHe was alone for only a few minutes before the clatter of armor followed after her.

She turned , surprised to find,rows of drev warriors following her from the village interior. Even the children came confused their heads turned towards the village.

She paused as Hasan walked over the stone looking regal in his armor, and powerful with the cape billowing at his back.

“What are you doing Hasan?”

“Taking up the call to arms.”

She shook her head, “But our village.” “Can be retaken.”

“Why?”

“They have killed a member of our clan, thus declaring war on us. We will answer the call.”

Hijan was quiet for a moment, then lowered her head in deference to her son thankful, and proud.

He walked past her towards the front fo the column and barked the orders to head out.

***

Eris floated absently from one room to the other. Voices echoed to her from all sides, and she based quietly in the glow of freedom. Floating, she let her hands trail out to the sides ribbons billowing at her back, dark hair rolling around her waist. She was letting it grow out, she thought it made her look nice.

“Give it back!”

“No!” “Its not fair!”

She cracked an eye and floated into the next room.

Glados and Hal were facing off against each other crouched low to the ground, now as big as large dogs, the two of them could cause some mess when they got into a fight.

“WHat is going on here.” She asked 

Hal turned, “She stole it and she wont give it back!”

She frowned turning to look at Glados hearing the choleric voice inside her head as she denounced her brother for being a tattle tail.

“Glados, give it back, you have toys of your own.”

“But i WANT that one.”

“We don’t always get what we want gladoes, and we certainly don't take from other people.” Glados sighed but gave it back apologizing only grudgingly when she was ordered to by Eris. Hal stuck out his tongue and scuttled away.

Eris shook her head, Glados was getting better, but her first year of life certainly had not helped her. Living aboard a ship, being raised by a dog, and a struggling human who wasn’t ready for parenthood could do that to a person. Of course, not to say that their father had been bad, he was just…. Young and inexperienced, too much love and not enough discipline for the young spiderlings.

She smiled at the thought. He would probably half freak out if he knew she considered him a father. She had never had one, and he was as good a man as any to pick. She didn’t ind that he couldn’t fulfil that roll, it was more about the knowledge that at least someone cared than anything else.

She sensed rather than saw it coming.

She could hear the internal voice, feel it’s nervous sadness. She owned and made her way over to the facility door pulling it open well before their guests had arrived. She peered outside and as soon as the door was out from between her and the visitors, she froze in shock and horror.

Two people stood before her, a man with spiked green hair, and a tesraki, friends of their father’s, from the LFIL

“No…. no no, it can’t be true.”

The human reached out a hand and gently put a hand on her arm, “I’m sorry.”

“No… no…. He can’t be I… he just can’t.”

Hearing the distress in her voice hal and Glados came scuttling towards the door as did the other hybrids. Glados growled, knowing Eris was upset but not sure why. She put her head in her hands tears rolling down her cheeks, “No.” How was she going to tell them that he was dead? She didn’t believe it herself.

***

Krill floated high in the air.

He hated this, he hated this, he hated every single last moment of it. He hated the big tree things, he hated the animals, he hated the strong breeze, and he certainly hated the pack of roaming land shark things circling below him. Ten days on this planet, ten days in hell where he had been hunted, hounded, and nearly killed repeatedly and to his great and everlasting displeasure. He had looked for the commander but found no sign of him, knowing that it was more than possible they could have landed on different continents.

Krill was pretty sure he was going to die here, and that was not a thought that he particularly enjoyed, but was slowly resigning himself to. HE floated off in the other direction, leaving the circling predators wandering in confusion below him and moved off in another direction.

He was high up now, kind of towards the top of the trees, where he could see large red fruits dangling from their very tops. He had seen red debris on the ground below some of those trees, implying that to spread their seeds they dropped those massive fruits from a few thousand feet like a fruity nuclear warhead.

Not a great way to die, being smashed by giant space fruit in the head.

He sighed.

He was up there for a while before it happened, and watched as a small black dot broke off from the top of one of the trees, at first he assumed it was just something falling to earth, but when the thing picked up on a gust of wind and began heading towards him, he got a bad feeling.

He pushed in mid air doing his best to try and get a better look at whatever it was.

He didn’t like what he saw, as the giant razor beak flying creature winged all the way towards him. He hoped it wasn’t coming towards him ,but was proven wrong almost instantly. He turned around with shock and horror and began floating in the other direction.

It made a loud cawing noise.

It was getting closer 

Krill was ongoing to be able to outlast this thing. He turned to factit, watching as the massive creature grew larger in his vision. He was almost upon him now stretching out its talons.

Krill deflated his helium sack, plummeting out from between its grasp and towards the earth.

The creature flew in a  confused circle, and krill flailed as the wind shipped past him and the ground rose up to meet him. A sudden burst, and he inflated just before hitting the ground landing with panic and shaking looking around for preditors he was sure had come looking for him.

HE frozen in shock and fear, eyes wide.

***

I sighed and set the radio down. It had been more than  a long shot. The radio was pretty strong. Back on earth it could have gotten a message out from the middle of BFE, but it was unlikely to make it very far off an alien planet. I sighed and stowed the thing back in y bag. I knew it had been a long shot for sure, but a gun cn hope.

Besides, I had planned to come up here, on top of this hill anyway, to get a better look of the land. At my side, I carry a large stick, and at the head I have managed to slot a pretty well crafted spearhead into a slot.

It was the only thing Hian had been able to teach me to make.

As it turns out I am horrible at building things.

Like seriously.

I am super shit at it.

But a weapon was better than nothing. Spear in my hand, knife at my belt, and a backpack made out of plant material over one shoulder, I headed down the hill feet shuffling softly through sand. The plant matter slippers I had made weren’t great, but you now what sucks more than Biblical Adam’s wardrobe? 

Being stabbed in the foot by a rock.

I am still walking down the hill wondering just how much cancer I am going to have from all this sunlight on my bare chest and back when I hear it, a soft thudding noise, growing louder and louder by the second. I drop my pack and spin around spear at the ready. The ferns behind me rattle and sway, and a moment later a creature comes bursting through the trees heading straight for me.

A surprised scream breaks from my lips as I dive to the side.

The creature lets off a gurgling bugle noise and rushes towards me again. It ahs bright shimmering blue skin and a line of spikes down its back. Two large claw pincers hang at the front of it’s body, and it runs on two back legs. IT charges at me again, and this time I can’t run. It swipes at me with one of its claw things, but I catch it with the edge of my spear.

The wood sends a painful shock wave up into my arms.

It screams and I scream back kicking at it.

I catch it in the stomach and it jolts back, but that only seems to piss it off. It races for me again and I am just barely able to hold it off as it scrambles over sand. Dust is kicked up into the air around us.

I pull away and stab at it with the head of the spear cutting straight into one of its joints and pulling out with a sickening crunch. It screams and lunges for me. I slip on a fallen fern, my leg sliding to the side.

It catches me high on the chest, and a gout of fire seems to erupt from my torso.

 I scream in agony and hit my back hard.

IT jumps forward on top of me now its teeth snapping at my neck.

I stick the spear in its mouth.

Its back legs kick and beat my thighs gouging open my left leg.

A burst of agony rips through me. It backs up trying to get the shaft of the spear out of its mouth. In that time I reach down, grab my knife and sit up driving it once, twice, three times into the thing's neck. It staggers back and I leap forward tackling it to the ground and repeatedly stab it.

Over and over and over again.

My teeth are gritted.

I scream like an animal and continue to stab even long after it has stopped moving. Exhaustion overtakes me. I am lying on top of its corpse bloody hand still gripping the knife buried in its neck. My body begins to shake, I am breathing hard. The pain hits me in rolling waves as I look down at myself covered in blood.

I am gasping forehead now resting against its shoulder 

I am dead.

I know it 

I scream through the pain as I roll to the side leaving great drops of blood behind me. I grab my spear and my knife clawing my way to my feet. I am dragging the bag behind me.

I stagger over the stone.

Ten days

Only ten days.

I limp forward 

Trip to my knees blood dripping onto the sand. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

I look up at the sky my vision beginning to fade, and then when I look down my eyes go wide and my heart stops.