#block-level backup

[subjectsix]

KIP'S BIG POST OF THINGS TO MAKE THE INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY SUCK A LITTLE LESS

Post last updated November 23, 2024. Will continue to update!

Here are my favorite things to use to navigate technology my own way:

A refurbished iPod loaded with Rockbox OS (Rockbox is free, iPods range in price. I linked the site I got mine from. Note that iPods get finicky about syncing and the kind of cord it has— it may still charge but might not recognize the device to sync. Getting an original Apple cord sometimes helps). Rockbox has ports for other MP3 players as well.

This Windows debloater program (there are viable alternatives out there, this one works for me). It has a powershell script that give you a little UI and buttons to press, which I appreciate, as I'm still a bit shy with tech.

Firefox with the following extensions: - Consent-O-Matic (set your responses to ALL privacy/cookie pop-ups in the extension, and it will answer all pop-ups for you. I can see reasons to not use it, but I appreciate it) - Facebook Container ("contains" Meta on Facebook and Instagram pages to keep it from tracking you or getting third party cookies, since Meta is fairly egregious about it) - Redirect Amp to HTML (AMP is designed for mobile phones, this forces pages to go to their HTML version) - A WebP/AVIF image converter - uBlock Origin and uBlacklist, with the AI blacklist loaded in to kill any generative AI results from appearing in search engines or anywhere.

Handbrake for ripping DVDs— I haven’t used this in awhile as I haven’t been making video edits. I used this back when I had a Mac OS

VLC Media Player (ol’ reliable)

Unsplash & Pexels for free-to-use images

A password manager (these often are paid. I use Dashlane. There are many options, feel free to search around and ask for recs!). There is a lot that goes into cybersecurity— find the option you feel is best for you.

Things I suggest:

Understanding Royalty Free and the Creative Commons licenses

Familiarity with boolean operators for searching

Investing in a backup drive and external drive

A few good USBs, including one that has a backup of your OS on it

Adapter cables

Avoiding Fandom “wikias” (as in the brand “Fandom”) and supporting other, fan-run or supported wikis. Consider contributing if its something you find yourself passionate or joyful about.

Finding Forums for the things you like, or creating your own*

Create an email specifically for ads/shopping— use it to receive all promotional emails to keep your inbox clean. Upkeep it.

Stop putting so much of your personal information online— be willing to separate your personal online identity from your “online identity”. You don’t owe people your name, location, pronouns, diagnoses, or any of that. It’s your choice, but be discerning in what you give and why. I recommend avoiding providing your phone number to sites as much as possible.

Be intentional

Ask questions

Talk to people

Remember that you can lurk all you want

Things that are fun to check out:

BBSes-- here's a portal to access them.

Neocities

*Forums-- find some to join, or maybe host your own? The system I was most familiar with was vbulletin.

MMM.page

Things that have worked well for me but might work for you, YMMV:

Limit your app usage time on your smartphone if you’re prone to going back to them— this is a tangible way to “practice mindfulness”, a term I find frustratingly vague ansjdbdj

Things I’m looking into:

The “Pi Hole”— a raspberry pi set up to block all ads on a specific internet connection

VPNs-- this is one that was recommended to me.

How to use computers (I mean it): Resources on how to understand your machine and what you’re doing, even if your skill and knowledge level is currently 0:

This section I'll come back an add to. I know that messing with computers can be intimidating, especially if you feel out of your depth. HTML and regedits and especially things like dualbooting or linux feel impossible. So I want to put things here that explain exactly how the internet and your computer functions, and how you can learn and work with that. Yippee!

[ghost-is-gone-18]

there’s something about stephanie brown being exceptionally smart that’s so compelling to me. it’s an aspect of her character i really wish the comics spent more time exploring. she was raised by a genius after all. she spent most of her developmental years exercising her problem solving and critical thinking skills. during the early days of her vigilanteism she made all her own equipment out of scraps. she’s definitely an intellectual equal to bruce and tim. hell, she’s probably just as smart as barbara too. she just hasn’t been given the same resources or opportunities as them.

this isn’t just bullshit i’m pulling out of my ass either. it’s shown in the comics. we see her track down the same case as batman and robin and do just as well as a detective. when she went rogue and started to work against batman she was always two steps ahead of him. her problem solving even shows through in the way she uses her environment to give herself advantages in fights.

steph is so smart and given the resources she can be really formidable and yet she’s always underestimated both in the comics and outside of them. i just want to see her break just once and show the rest of the batfam just how skilled and intelligent she can be. i want to see her absolutely outpace bruce on a case, or solve something tim has been struggling with for hours in mere minutes. i want to see her be the detective of the steph and cass duo. i want to see bruce or babs or hell even tim or cass realize just how much they’re underestimating her.

i’m imagining some sort of situation where she’s forced to work on her own with limited resources, maybe a hostage situation with the riddler. the building is on lockdown and steph is the only one in the building. all she has is her backup stash of batgirl stuff. coms are being blocked so she can’t get word out to anyone. the whole batfam is on the outside preparing to go in, super worried about how steph is holding up when suddenly the doors open and all the hostages flood out followed by steph holding a hog tied riddler. turns out she was able to strategically take out each unit of riddler’s crew without him realizing his goons were under attack, solve the puzzle he’d set up, and completely diffuse the situation. “what, like it’s hard?” everyone else is shocked. they’ve always been so blinded by steph’s jokey personality and lack of formal training that they never realized how competent she was. everyone gains a new level of respect for her.

i’m begging for someone to write a fic like this. i need more badass steph centric fics.

[sugrhigh]

BOY NEXT DOOR - ( c.s )

part two

summary- you and your roommates live beside a bunch of senior hockey players, one of them being the infamous team captain chris sturniolo. he’s effortlessly flirty and undeniably attractive, but he’s also a pain in your ass. you find that you have to fight between lust and hatred as you finally get to know the boy next door, whether you want to or not.

warnings- swearing, drinking, no smut (yet 😁)

neighbor/hockey!chris x fem!reader

a/n: WELCOME TO MY FIRST REAL SERIES! i have a lot of ideas for this cuz i love this trope dearly so buckle up! more parts will come soon. also working on a tattooartist!reader x matt series (thank you anons) that will also be out eventually. in the mean time if you have smaller/specific reqs you’d like to see, my inbox is open babies! and if u just wanna say hello or ask a question i’m here xoxo

the music booms over the speakers inside the house next door, just like it always does on the weekends (and occasionally on thursdays too). it always drives you up a wall, but tonight it’s particularly bad.

you sit up slightly in bed, absentmindedly wondering who the fuck is on aux. you’re not sure why the thought crosses your mind, but you know it’s not chris, because these picks are horrendous.

it’s already past two in the morning, not to mention it’s the middle of the week. you haven’t been able to get a wink of rest, even with your headphones blaring at full volume. usually they do the trick, but tonight’s party is relentless, demanding to be heard.

wine wednesday, you think to yourself sourly.

neither of your roommates are home; they’re both off with their significant others, somewhere that’s not here, listening to fuckface and his friends get drunk.

you’re usually pretty passive about the noise, because they provide free alcohol for you guys when you show up and typically give you notice that they’re throwing something.

but tonight it’s just too fucking much. you’re tired, and groggy, and very much so still in your silky pajama bottoms and oversized t-shirt, but you don’t give a shit.

you jam your feet into some sneakers and grab a jacket, clutching it close to your chest as you head down the stairs to the main level of your own house.

you pass the dark living room, shadows leering in the corners as you’re guided only by the light coming from the street lamps outside.

you step onto the porch and the cold smacks you in the face, breath fogging up the air. it’s the middle of january in boston, and the expanse of dead grass between your houses crunches under your feet as you tread toward the front door.

the rest of the street is quiet, aside from the party. but they’re all senior hockey players, and it’s the beginning of their last semester, so what else can you expect?

besides maybe some basic human decency every once in a while. in fact, you’re so frustrated that you’re going in without backup, and without a real plan of any kind.

for some reason, once you get up the three steps to their door, you pause to knock. as if anyone would hear you over the music, or care enough to open the door for someone who’s fucking knocking.

so you twist the handle next, and it’s unlocked. of course.

it opens to a hazey front hallway that you recognize, stairs to the left hand side, blocked off by a young-looking guy you assume is probably a freshman on duty.

the front area is full of people, pressed against the walls, chatting over the music. well, more like yelling over it.

you can smell weed, which confuses you slightly. you know none of them smoke, not during the season at least. they usually don’t let anyone do it inside the house, so it must be an allowance for a girl.

you’re already getting strange looks as you step inside, which is fair. your shorts are hidden by the length of your shirt and jacket, so you’re just legs and shoes. you’ve got no makeup on, and you didn’t check your hair before you came.

but you swallow the lump in your throat, because it doesn’t matter right now anyways.

you shift your way through the crowd, gaze skipping over the people as you finally reach the dark living room. multi-colored strobes flash, lighting up the hoards of tipsy college kids dancing on the soaked wooden floor. furniture is pushed aside to make room, though the championship banner from last year still hangs on the wall.

his eyes find you before yours find him.

he stares at you across the tops of people's heads, standing by one of the couches that’s shoved against the wall. one of his roommates, connor, is leaned back on the cushions, watching the two girls they were talking to pass a joint back and forth.

but he’s no longer focused on anyone else, because he’s spotted you across the room, and he thinks this is the most disheveled he’s ever seen you. your angry eyes lock in on him seconds later, and they narrow instantly.

you beeline toward him, right through a group of people that are half-dancing along to the terrible playlist.

he lifts his eyebrows at your attitude, but not in fear. he’s actually a little impressed. his friends are watching you warily, just as confused as everyone else who saw you walk in.

he can’t help but stare at your legs as you finally reach him, admiring how cute you look in your pajamas, pale pink bottoms peeking out underneath your shirt with every step. he briefly wonders if you’re even wearing a bra.

then you open your mouth, and the fantasy is over.

“what time is it, chris?” you snap at him, one hand balled into a fist, the other clutching your phone.

“i don’t know, but i have a feeling you’re going to tell me.” he takes a sip of his drink to try and hide his grin.

it takes a lot of self control to keep yourself from slapping it out of his fucking hand, just because of how smug he looks. you hold up the screen to his face.

two twenty-two in the morning. chris almost laughs.

“the answer is way too fucking late to be having a party on a wednesday.” you reply, bringing the device back down to rest by your thigh.

“why didn’t you come? i missed you.” he pouts.

you glance over at the people on the couch, at the girls who are still making eyes at you as they converse with connor. he’s giving you a weird look too, as if no one could possibly understand why you’re here like this.

“yeah, sure you did,” you turn back to him, “now shut this shit down before i call the cops.”

chris puts his hands up in surrender, though he knows this is an empty threat just as much as you do.

“wow, somebody’s grumpy.”

you roll your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest self-consciously. “i’m serious. tell the puck bunnies to go home for the night or i’ll do it myself.”

he takes a tiny step closer, just a few inches, and yet it still seems suffocating. he looks too good, clad in a simple black tee and jeans, and he’s studying your face with the fire of a thousand suns.

“you don’t have to be jealous because other girls are here. you know you’re my number one.” chris replies easily.

even though his tone remains light, his expression is serious now. it enrages you more, that he thinks he has so much control over you.

“as if i give a fuck. i just want to sleep, so the choice is yours. police,” you wave the hand that holds your phone slightly, “or call it off.”

chris takes another sip of his drink, tipping it back so he can finish the rest of it in one foul swoop. then he nods his head, like he’s admitting defeat.

“fine. i’ll send everyone home.”

you can feel the relief creeping over you, knowing that you don’t have to actually get law enforcement involved. “thank yo—”

“on one condition.” he interrupts, and you furrow your brows.

“no conditions, chris. we’re not bartering right now.”

“come to the game on friday and we can hang out after for a bit. i’ll even give you a practice jersey to wear.” he offers, and the trademark smirk has reappeared on his face.

lights dance across his features, morphing his expression every few seconds. you just stare, because for once, you’re actually not sure what game he’s playing.

“what, can’t get a date without having to resort to blackmail?” you taunt, and he laughs.

“please, i don’t date. and i’d hardly consider this blackmail. just think of it as getting to know your friendly neighbor on a more personal level.”

there’s a humorous glint in his eye, one that’s daring you to say yes. what’s there to be afraid of? all you have to do is watch hockey, eat some popcorn from the concession stand, and deal with his attitude for an hour afterwards.

you’re still not sure what chris is getting out of this, or why he’s insisting that you need to be there, but at this point you don’t care. all you can think about is salvaging the rest of your sleep.

“alright, fine. now you have five minutes to get everyone out, and i better not hear any more shitty remixes for the rest of the week.” you point an accusatory finger at him and he shrugs, though he’s clearly content that you caved in.

“your wish is my command, princess.”

you turn on your heel to head back outside, retracing your steps from earlier as you slip through the mob. you half expect chris to follow, just because he’s annoying, but he doesn’t.

the overhead lights are coming back on now, and you can hear deep voices shouting, combined with collective groans from the crowd as they all realize they’re being kicked out.

luckily you make it out the front door first, and you jog back up the steps to your own place to get out of the cold.

you’ve only been inside for seconds when your phone buzzes in your hand.

chris

see you friday

sweet dreams ;)

[astray-anomaly]

The first Chapter of Sea Level!!

TW: Hurt, character injury, violence, mention of death and experimentation

Here is the Ao3 link, if you rather not read it on Ao3 the chapter is below the cut!

Chapter 1: A Promise

12-5-25

13:42

For two days the whole Hadel Blacksite was drowned in complete darkness ever since the crystal was taken and with that all power was gone from the site, even the backup power was now offline. Meaning that small computer couldn’t work anymore, the same computer Sebastian was now wrapping up in a waterproof crate he had found in one of the storage units. Putting all of the extra wires and pieces in place along with a few classified documents he had left. He then covered them up with extra layers so they wouldn’t shuffle around as much to avoid any damage. Afterwards he shut and sealed the crate.

He swapped out the Scrambler on his back in favor of the crate, it was a bit heavier with all the extra equipment inside but he could carry it relatively easily. He quickly checked the radio he had on him, still no signal. He groaned and shoved it back in his jacket. He needed to get it, he did make a promise to get them out of here, he didn’t want to break it. True he had no intention of keeping it in the first place but damn it, he just had to get attached to this stupid old computer in only the two months they’ve known each other. Even if he still had doubts this was possible, he had to try to complete his promise, this was the one good thing he could do now with nothing else left.

It was worth a shot to get out of this forsaken hellhole then wait to get gunned down or probably die of starvation. He knew Urbanshade would soon send down groups of their guards again to clear out the place and start to repair it despite the multiple devastating damages to the site. Urbanshade would never just abandon this place, they would eventually get this place fully functioning again so he didn’t want to be there when they arrived. It was between the chance of seeing the sun again or death. Even if he was gonna die, he wanted to do it looking at the sky one last time.

He was hoping they would be able to reach Innovation Inc. once at the surface. It was one of the rival companies of Urbanshade he had been able to contact before all the radios were cut off, none of the others responded. Maybe he could finally get them both the help they needed if he had found that company, but he has to get out of the Hadel Blacksite first.

The only guide they had now was the dimly lit esca on Sebastian’s head and his poor night vision as he started his journey through the twisted and broken hallways of the facility. More and more water had begun to leak in as the outer pile system started to implode on themselves from the outside pressure. Even though the pressure here was the same as it would be just at the surface, the facility could only take so much after the power was gone and the pipe system was the first to collapse. So the whole facility will be flooded with water, leaving everything left to rust. But he knew Urbanshade wouldn’t let that happen so he had to get out quickly.

At least now there were more places to swim than having to slither through the cold hallways decorated in broken furniture, shattered glass, and sharp scraps. Sebastian had already caught his tail on a few pieces, even though most of them didn’t cut through the hard scales a few small parts managed to catch themselves in his flesh, making him bite back a painful hiss. Still he kept going forward.

All of the docks were blocked off by now so the plan was to find Z-317’s old containment cell and follow the passageway out to the ocean. The one that Sebastian had originally opened before when releasing Z-317 during the lockdown.

If only he could get there faster but his injured tail had to drag him down, yet it was better to be slow to not alarm the other creatures still roaming the facility. Even after releasing them they were still animals, they had to hunt, no doubt they would attack him on sight if they ended up spotting him. Even if he could fend for himself, that computer on his back was not as strong as he was, one slip up and it could possibly be over. He wouldn’t let that happen.

He had already been roaming around the dark facility for what felt like hours, at this point he was convinced he was going in circles, right, left, right- crash

Sebastian froze at hearing a loud noise behind him, screaming starting to echo through the halls. He’d been here for just long enough to recognize which entity was which just by their screeching alone and out of every single creature it just had to be this one.

Sebastian darted his way to find a side room or some sort of tunnel as quickly as possible as Pandemonium’s screaming drew nearer and nearer. When he couldn’t he just punched in one of the broken doors and pulled his way through, at least the mantis shrimp DNA was useful for something. He quickly curled into one of the corners as the room started to shake.

He held his breath as the creature’s roaring passed, it was silent for moments afterwards and Sebastian started to uncurl his tail from around himself and pull himself out the corner only for the screeching to start up again. Sebastian panicked, moving down the hallway as fast as he could. There was so much rubble scattered everywhere that he had to slither around, no wonder this hall was blocked off.

Sebastian growled in pain again as something else dug into his tail, he kept his shrimp claw holding onto the crate on his back as Pandemonium got nearer. He eventually spotted what looked like a way out, at least he hoped but he couldn’t escape that easily. Pandemonium was just behind him.

“That's it you ugly bastard!” He snarled angrily, swinging his tail back to hit the creature and basically ripping his shotgun out of the hostler. Shooting repeatedly at the mutated beast's face, managing to get the two main eyes, making the creature shriek in pain. Sebastian then took his chance to run for it, even with the two main eyes gone there were still many more staring at him.

At least the shock and pain from the creature gave him enough time to make his escape into the underwater tunnels, he didn’t stop to look back, not for one second.

Eventually everything was quiet again and Sebastian could relax a bit. However when the adrenaline died down he was hit with the agonizing pain in his tail from a big metal scrap impaled in his side,painting the water red. He bit his tongue as he held back tears. The salt water just made everything sting more, still he continued his way down the tunnel, trying his best despite the excruciating pain.

He finally got to the exit, dragging himself out of the water and crawled up the ramp. He laid down on the cold concrete floor, catching his breath and coughing up some blood. He had to sit up, pulling the crate off his back and pushing it to the side as he examined his tail that was dripping in blood. He still had a medkit left even if it wouldn’t help much, it was something.

He quickly scavenged through the small kit and pulled out the antibiotic ointment and bandages. He then looked back at his tail and saw just how badly the metal had stabbed itself in there, still it had to be taken out.

He bit down more on his tongue to the point of making it bleed as he gripped onto the metal tightly. Closing his eyes as he pulled, wailing as it was removed but was able to cover most of the noise. He couldn’t alarm any more monsters down here.

He threw the piece of metal back into the water, leaning back and holding his tail while also holding back tears. He reached for the antibiotics and started to apply them to the gaping wound, not even reacting to the cold sting anymore. He took whatever was left in the bottle and applied it to the more minor injuries, he didn’t want to waste bandages trying to wrap them up since they weren’t as severe. Once the bandages were applied to the large wound he laid down on the ground, catching his breath and closing his eyes. “..Fucking hell..” He groaned, knowing he had to get back up, after a bit he strapped the crate onto his back again and continued on his way.

Unfortunately now he was even more lost, not exactly sure where they ended up after having to make a quick escape from Pandemonium in a panic. So they could have been farther or closer to their destination, Sebastian prayed they were closer as he navigated through the dark corridors.

After an hour of mindlessly dragging himself around he noticed a familiar pair of large heavy doors, this was where the controls to the containment cells were, they were closer now.

He used the keycard he still kept from killing that one elite guardsman to unlock the door again. The door didn’t seem to open much with the mechanism damaged so he was forced to squeeze through. The inside was a complete mess, even the control console was torn apart by one of the creatures.

Sebastian continued his way through the labs and containment rooms. Keeping his gaze down on the floor so he didn’t have to see anything that could possibly trigger his memories. The smell here already made him feel nauseous.

He counted the doors until he finally saw the one that read Z-317. The room was taken up mostly by a large aquarium where the Eyefestian would originally be kept in. Now the glass was cracked and the tank was mostly drained with water spilling on the lab floor.

He debated on what to do for a moment, instead of picking carefully at the glass he decided to punch it in. Wasn’t the best choice but it was the quickest. He shook his hand off, his ears perked up when he heard the wailing sounds of another creature nearby, Frogger.

Sebastian carefully pulled himself through the glass and dropped into the water. Swimming down before the creature could bounce back to see him. Once at the bottom he let himself relax as the cold water completely engulfed him, releasing the tension in his body. He was no longer being chased, he could finally relax for a second. They were so close to the end now. He found the doors which lead the way out of here, they would finally get out to the ocean.

He slithered through the door and continued into the dark tunnel. What felt like an endless void with only his own esca to guide him which was getting dimmer with each passing minute, showing just as much energy he had left in him.

He swam through the tunnel for minutes with barely any light. His injured tail trying to push him along as much as possible. Until he finally saw a glimpse of light up ahead followed by the sound of rumbling footsteps. He had forgotten that the Trench Bleeders were still mobile because their power was separate from that of the Hadel Blacksite, they were still being controlled from somewhere else.

Sebastian darted to the light, swimming with all his strength until he heard the wretched sound of metal bending. “Shit-“ He cursed, noticing that the tunnel was closing in on itself. He swam faster even if it hurt to push himself, the water still stung. Hearing the creaking of the metal getting louder until finally-

He shot his way up through the exit and soon fell back onto the ocean floor as the tunnel crushed in on itself. Yet he wasn’t out of his troubles yet, he had to move, he had to get up. The Trench Bleeder was right over him, the lights from underneath the giant mechanism's foot blinded his already poor seeing eyes, he was about to be crushed if he didn’t move now.

He forced himself to get up, pushing his way through the water as the Bleeder’s foot came crashing down, shaking the whole place and making Sebastian’s entire head ring. After that everything went pitch black.

12-6-25

4:18

Everything was aching when Sebastian had opened his eyes again, he suddenly became aware of every part of his body that hurt, he could barely move to lift his head. His esca flickered on as he looked around to figure out his surroundings, his eyes taking a moment to adjust. He found himself in some small cave in the ground, he took a breather and rested his head back down on the smooth rock, he was still so, so tired.

He had to remember why he was here, he had to get out of here or both him and p.AI.nter would die, or worse, p.AI.nter would be forced back to roblux mining. He couldn’t let that happen, he had to make it to the surface, he had to make it to Innovation Inc. he couldn’t just give up now. There was no time to rest, no matter how tired he was, he already got the rest he needed. The hardest part of the journey was already over.

Sebastian forced his body to move, wincing at the pain in his tail and spine. The crate was weighing him down a bit from his body being weaker. He swam out of the cave into the open water, everything was dark, the Trench Bleeder looked to be long gone by now, how long had he been asleep?

He didn’t stop to think about it, starting to swim upwards.

“Where are you going?”

Sebastian suddenly paused at the familiar voice that echoed in his head. He turned around to be met with the bright green glow of multiple eyes staring right at him. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the shining light before slowly lowering it back down and looking back at the curious radioactive shark before him.

“Well?”

“I thought you had left a long time ago, there is no prey for you here, not anymore.” Sebastian replied, staring down the creature, meeting her gaze.

“Where else would there be for me to go?” The shark circled curiously around Sebastian, moving closer.

“The surface.” Sebastian answered. “That’s where we are going, to get help.” He paused. “To go back to my home.”

“The surface isn’t where I belong, that is where you come from. I have no home to return to.” The Eyefestian responded blankly.

��Do you not remember anything?” Sebastian looked curious.

“No. If there is a home for me I doubt it would be very welcoming now. These depths are now my home.”

“You know you could come with us, you don’t have to stay in this place, with all the bad memories.” Sebastian reached out his hand, offering.

“I know you want me to, but I know you’ll do just as fine without me. Plus I’ve made some good memories down here too.” Eyefestian gently pushed her snout into Sebastian’s hand. “Go see them again..”

Sebastian just nodded, gently petting Eyefestian. He had so much to thank her for, she was there ever since the start of his experiments. She was the only creature to know what he truly looked like before and he was the first one to be able to appreciate her beauty without dying.

No further words were exchanged before Sebastian watched Eyefestian disappear back down into the dark depths again.

He wiped his eyes before focusing back on his mission, firstly making sure the crate was still fully secured before continuing up. Swimming for minutes on end as his tail guided him through the water until he felt the sudden crushing feeling of the pressure shifting, feeling like his whole body just collapsed in on itself within a second. Trying to catch his breath as his throat was squeezing and his body froze.

He was no longer in the Let-Vand Zone, he was in the deep sea now.

It took him a moment to get used to the extreme pressure change until his body slowly began to relax and he could breathe at a stable pace again. He checked the crate on his back, nothing looked crushed. The crates were very reinforced but that didn’t mean they could last long, he had to get to a lesser pressure level quickly.

It was harder to tread through the dense water, but he forced his tail to push himself through with as much force and speed as possible. Even if he could breathe normally everything still felt suffocating, making him feel lightheaded. He wasn’t even sure how fast he was moving with the water crushing his whole body.

Everything was completely black, not even his vision helped, he wasn’t sure if he was even moving upwards anymore, he could have been moving in any direction and he wouldn’t know unless he ended up hitting something or managed to breach the surface. It made him paranoid of anything jumping out at him, it was too dark, anything could come from any direction.

All he could do was hope he would run into nothing, he had to keep pushing. He was determined to get to the surface, his determination being more powerful than his own exhaustion. The more he swam, the more the pressure seemed to lift off of his body and he could finally move faster. It felt so freeing to be able to stretch out and move around without having any more worries, he wasn’t entirely free yet but he was getting close.

He swam for another hour, his tail barely dragging him along, until finally he saw an actual light reflecting from off the ocean’s surface. Dashing up to it in his excitement and breaking through the water. The smell of fresh air filling his nose, the gentle wind blowing through his wet hair, sounds of seagulls flying overhead and the gentle waves moving. He made it, he actually did it.

Sebastian smiled happily as tears poured down his cheeks. He used his hand to shade his tired eyes as he looked in the distance at the rising sun that had come up to welcome him back to the surface.

[mooningningg]

"ᴅᴀᴅᴅʏ? ʜᴏᴡ ᴀʀᴇ ʙᴀʙɪᴇꜱ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ?"

Sukuna, Toji, Nanami, Gojo, Suguru, and Choso.

Genre, Fluff!!! Notes, what a fun request from an anon, I had sooo much fun making this.

★ SUKUNA RYOMEN

He was lounging on the couch, one arm behind his head, the TV playing something he wasn’t watching. His son climbed up beside him, plopped onto his stomach, and asked the forbidden words.

“Daddy? How are babies made?”

Sukuna blinked. “What?”

“Babies,” the kid repeated innocently. “Like… where do they come from? How do they get in tummies?”

He sat up like he’d been electrocuted.

“Who the hell taught you that question?” Sukuna demanded, scowling.

“No one,” his son said with a shrug. “I just thought maybe you’d know.”

Sukuna looked around like he was searching for backup. “Shit. Why the fuck ain’t your mother here for this?”

“Is it a secret?” the kid asked, eyes wide.

Sukuna scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, the kind that ruins childhoods.”

He sighed hard, then muttered, “Fine. Babies are made when—when two people… ugh. Never mind.”

“Do you even know, Daddy?” his son said smugly.

“Course I know! I made you, didn’t I?” Sukuna snapped. Then paused. “Shit, that sounded worse.”

He got up. “Go ask your mother. Or Google. Actually, no, don’t Google. I’ll block the internet.”

When you walked in and asked what was going on, Sukuna pointed at your son and shouted, “Your spawn asked me about reproduction. You deal with it. I’m going outside to scream.”

★ TOJI FUSHIGURO

You weren’t home. It was just Toji and his son at the dinner table. Spaghetti night. Sauce on faces. Vibes were immaculate.

Until your kid slurped a noodle and casually asked:

“Dad, how do babies get in mommies’ tummies?”

Toji froze, fork mid-air.

“Uh… what?” he asked, swallowing too fast.

“Like, how was I made?”

Toji looked around. “Shit. I was hoping I’d be dead before this conversation.”

His son tilted his head. “So…?”

“Alright, listen,” Toji muttered, rubbing his face. “There’s a thing called privacy, yeah? And your mom and I—we, uh…”

He trailed off.

His son blinked. “Do you not know either?”

“Don’t get smart with me, I invented you,” Toji grumbled.

Then he leaned forward, voice low.

“Look. When two people love each other, or get bored enough, they… do a thing. A grown-up thing. That ends with nine months of suffering and one hospital bill.”

“Oh,” said his son.

Toji leaned back, relieved—until the boy said, “So like wrestling?”

“…Worse.”

★ KENTO NANAMI

He was reading the paper when his daughter padded into the room and tugged on his sleeve.

“Papa?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

She looked up at him, serious as a heart attack. “How are babies made?”

Nanami blinked slowly.

He folded the paper with surgeon-like precision. Set it down. Cleared his throat.

“I see.”

His daughter waited, eyes wide.

“Well,” he said, straightening his tie despite being at home, “When two adults love each other very much, they share a special moment. That moment creates life.”

His daughter nodded thoughtfully.

“And how does that moment work?”

Nanami stared into the void.

You walked in just in time to hear him say, “—and that’s why you’ll learn biology when you’re older.”

You raised a brow. “What did she ask?”

“She asked how babies are made,” Nanami said plainly. “And I gave her a legally sound, age-appropriate, emotionally distant answer.”

“…So you avoided it?”

“I restructured it.”

★ GOJO SATORU

“Dad, how are babies made?”

Gojo choked on his juice box.

You both stared at him as he sputtered.

“Where—where did that come from? Who put you up to this? Was it Nanami? This feels like a Nanami thing.”

“Just tell me!” your child whined.

Gojo held up a finger, suddenly Very Serious. “Okay. But only because I love you and I don’t want you to learn from the internet.”

He bent down to their level. “Babies are made when two adults really love each other. Or when they make a huge mistake. Either or.”

You smacked his shoulder. “Satoru—”

“I’m kidding!” he laughed. “Okay, for real—when two people kiss real hard, and cuddle super close, a magic stork comes from the clouds and—”

“Liar,” your kid frowned.

Gojo clutched his chest. “Wounded! My own child!”

You rolled your eyes. “I’ll handle this.”

He grinned. “Please do. I'm sweating.”

★ GETO SUGURU

It was quiet. Too quiet. Suguru was sipping tea, reading peacefully, when your daughter crawled into his lap.

“Daddy?”

He hummed. “Yes, darling?”

“How are babies made?”

Suguru blinked.

Set the tea down. Smiled politely. “You know… I think that’s a question best saved for when you’re a bit older.”

“But I wanna know now,” she pouted.

He tilted his head. “Alright. Well… there’s a seed. A very special one. That’s kept safely in a… garden.”

You walked in right as he said that.

“A garden?” you repeated.

“It’s a metaphor,” he said, not missing a beat.

Your daughter squinted. “So you planted a seed in Mommy’s tummy?”

Suguru smiled. “Exactly.”

You: “Don’t teach our daughter flower sex.”

Suguru: “I panicked.”

★ CHOSO KAMO

He was lying on the floor with your kid watching cartoons when the question dropped like a bomb.

“Dad, how are babies made?”

Choso blinked slowly. “Huh?”

“I mean… where did I come from?”

He sat up, thinking hard. “Okay. You ever seen cake batter?”

Your child blinked. “What?”

“So like, Mommy and I are the ingredients. But there’s mixing involved. Stirring. Heat. A whole mess.”

“Did you bake me?!”

Choso snorted. “Kinda.”

You peeked in from the kitchen. “Choso!”

He turned. “I’m making it fun!”

Your child gasped. “Am I a cupcake?”

“More like a spicy muffin,” Choso said proudly.

You sighed. “I’ll buy a book.”

[roseypwark]

Ten | Enemy Territory

ENHYPEN Eighth Member : 지유 JIYU / 지유나 Ji Yuna

Table of Contents

//

Yuna has heard rumblings that there have been some issues with a few backup dancers getting Visas for the second US leg of the tour for reasons currently unknown. By rumblings, that of course means Sunoo gossiping very loudly at her while on the flight to America about things she honestly doesn’t care about.

On multiple occasions, Sunoo has called Yuna a good listener. She doesn’t think he realizes she doesn’t listen to him most of the time. She just nods along and makes noises at the appropriate times while working or reading or scrolling on her phone.

“—basically, there could be some dance black market that we have no idea about and the company is trying to keep it all under wraps.”

“Mm.” Yuna gives no real reaction to the ridiculous and convoluted conclusion Sunoo has drawn.

“That’s also why we’ve got that extra rehearsal tonight. It’s to orientate the replacement dancers. I think they’re from the same dance company but obviously, new people means new blocking for them to learn. I hope it doesn’t take too long. I still suck at avoiding jet lag.”

“Me, too.”

The worst thing about being an idol is the lack of consistency. Schedules are all over the place, availability varying wildly for times and places to shoot. Now that there are no minors in the group, there’s no longer a 10PM cutoff, either.

Yuna doesn’t get to have a routine. She sleeps when she can, where she can, and she tries her best not to let the exhaustion show. She doesn’t care for hotels; she sleeps better in the car with her members than she does in a hotel bed.

Planes are a no go. Too many strangers, flight attendants asking if she needs anything, turbulence or what could be the plane losing power and going into a free fall. Yuna wouldn’t say she’s scared of flying but the one in eleven million chance of being in a plane crash is still too high for her to ever feel truly safe in a two hundred ton hunk of metal throttling through the air at five hundred miles per hour.

She doesn’t mind sitting next to Sunoo for the ten hour flight because his chatter distracts her from thoughts of engine failure. Riki is two rows behind her. He and his seat mate Jay are probably both soundly asleep.

Yuna thinks she might be able to sleep on a plane if she sat with Riki. Then, she thinks that doesn’t make any sense. There’s no logical reason her seat partner would alter her ability—or lack, thereof—to sleep on planes.

//

Jet leg hits Yuna in the last hour of rehearsal. No sleep on the flight means her body thinks it’s 11AM tomorrow. She did manage to sleep on the bus from LAX to Anaheim but an hour-long nap isn’t nearly enough to get her to the end of rehearsal without several levels of exhaustion eating away at the edges of her mind.

She’ll be fine. She once stayed up for thirty one hours in a row, lost in the sauce of creation. Hyowon was out of the country for the week, so her rein of his studio was free and no one realized she’d been at it for so long.

She's only been up for twenty two hours this time, so logic holds that she can make it at least another nine.

"You look like crap."

"Thanks."

Heeseung slings an arm around Yuna’s shoulders. She might collapse under the weight of it if her resolve to appear unaffected wasn't so strong. Emotions are for the weak. Ji Yuna isn’t weak.

"Just another hour, then we can go back to the hotel."

"I know," she says.

She hopes he doesn't think she's unappreciative of his attempt to keep her spirits up. It’s ineffective. But she appreciates the effort.

Yuna blames the sleep deprivation for not noticing earlier. She doesn't want to think she's so self-absorbed to not have made an effort to look at the faces of the backup dancers until two hours into rehearsal at the Honda Center. She knows most of their faces, fewer of their names but even she can make friendly conversation with longtime coworkers when required of her.

Yuna could lie and say she doesn't reocgnize the dancer immediately. She could say she's moved on. She could say she isn't haunted by the memories of that girl. She could say she isn't ashamed of how she handled things, simultaneously defensive of herself for avoiding needless conflict.

It's been three years since Yuna last saw Oh Eunjoo.

Yuna started doing online school halfway through the 2021-22 school year. She got her GED at the start of this year, on time with her age group despite her atypical path to a diploma.

If asked, Yuna would say she switched to online school due to her schedule. She would never admit to being bullied.

It would be pointless, especially after all the time that's passed. She's never told anyone. She has no plan to.

Shame and logic entangle themselves around this embarassing piece of Yuna's past. She was a coward. She saved herself. She ran away. She removed herself from a bad situation.

She feels herself grow quiet, shrinking into herself by the mere presence of her former classmate, just like she always used to. She'll blame it on how tired she is if asked. It's not uncommon for Yuna to go nonverbal; none of the members seem put off.

Yuna can feel Eunjoo's eyes on her throughout the rest of rehearsal but doesn't allow herself to look again. If she makes eye contact, she'll be expected to speak to her.

Yuna has changed a lot in three years. She wonders if Eunjoo has, too. She's not curious enough to find out. Or brave enough.

She is silent and eyes-forward for the last hour of rehearsal. She makes sure to stick close to her members on the way to the dressing room to collect their things.

Unfortunately, her trip to the bathroom is unaccompanied due to her gender. She feels ridiculous for it but she makes sure the coast is clear before hurrying along the stretch of hallway between the dressing room and bathroom. She does the same on the way back and thankfully sees no sign of Eunjoo to or from.

It’s like she’s in enemy territory with the addition of a single girl that Yuna hasn’t seen in theee years. Which is wrong because this is her tour—this is Yuna’s group’s tour and Eunjoo is just a backup dancer and Yuna shouldn’t be scared of her anymore.

She never should have been scared of her. And now, this is Yuna’s terf.

So, why does she still feel like a scared little kid?

//

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Tag list: @pjselee @sumzysworld @aespie @d-dilemma

[bloodyshadow1]

I hate the people who say the final battle in Ragenarok was too easy. It wasn't easy, it was a hard battle, but the Bad Kids/Intrepid Heroes did everything right.

There were 8 combatants on the field at the start. 6 of the rat grinders, who had low health but the high level abilities of their classes, and 1 high level full PC, and 1 high level paladin/barbarian multiclass with resistance to everything, legendary actions and resistances, who could deal force damage.

On the Bad Kids side, they were level 14 who had just gone through a battle that exhausted a lot of resources, Fig and Fabian used a couple of spells and bardics and their limited amount of spells, Gorgug used a couple of his rages, Adaine used all of her portents and a bunch of spells, and between ice feast, healing, and removing levels of exhaustion, Kristen and K2 were love on spells. Riz was the only one who was looking pretty decent because he can use sneak attack all day, and even he used one of his 2 3rd level spells.

They were smart though, they Ice Feast was a broken ability for the final battle that Brennan didn't think through when he home brewed it for Ally. Not only did it block Porter's stun which would have been devastating, it made them immune to fire damage on a map with a lot of lava. He didn't think it through and the Intrepid Heroes used it to full effect. Still, it was good for them, but Ice Feast is still just a reskin of Heroes feast with better options but more detrimental effects.

As for the battle itself, the Bad Kids played it smart, it was only due to good initiative rolls that they managed to stomp the rat grinders so hard in the first round. If Oisin got a chance to go, if Mary Ann was outside the range of slow, things would have been different since they had low stats, but level 20 abilities and spells could have wreaked the Bad Kids. It wasn't an easy fight, but it was a fight with an intentional purpose, the Bad Kids are good at being adventurers while the Rat Grinders took the easy way out and showed the different between being powerful and being strong. They took out the primary caster first as you should do in big pc vs pc battles like this, they made sure to target groupings of enemies with AOEs and crowd control, they made sure to support each other and disrupt their enemies support. It wasn't easy, but they are good at dnd so they made it look easy.

I've seen people say, 'Brennan should have x' and no he shouldn't have. He created a hard combat encounter, but his players did everything right this season, a DM shouldn't punish or railroad their players just because their players are good at the game. No, the players stop the big bad from being released so they don't have to fight them, the DM shouldn't just make the Ancient God break through the bindings just because they planned for that encounter. The players won before it started and they should be rewarded for that.

'the rat grinders should have had a back up plan.' The Rat Grinders did have a backup plan. The initial plan to get Kipperlily fairly elected failed, and the back up plan, when that didn't work, the backup plan was to get Kristen expelled so she couldn't run. When that didn't work they sent the Bad Kids, their allies, and anyone who would vote for Kristen into the sky, flew them miles away, and sicced a horde of dragons and a goddess on them to kill them or at the very least get them out of their hair for 1 night so their plan could work. The Bad Kids beat their plans every time so no, there was no reason to have a 4th backup plan in the final battle. Brennan is a good DM, he didn't make the Rat Grinders and Porter's plan work because it was stopped before it started with the fake goddess name. He didn't punish his players for being good at the game and their strategy is great.

Things could have gone so differently with a slight change or a big change. If Fig didnt' decide to try and be a paladin on a whim, things would have been completely different, they wouldn't have had a connection with Ankarna. If Adaine didn't take Legend Lore they wouldn't have found out about Porter, maybe they would have still gotten the background on Ankarna, but not about his family revealing the Big Bad early on. If they chose to do something else with the power they got from the pride armor, they wouldnt' have the gem to free Bakur or save Lydia meaning no back up in the final fight. What if Gorgug rolled lower on one of his artificer tracks, they might not have passed the last stand. What if Fabian choose to keep pursing Ivy instead of Mazey, would have have been killed by the Rat Grinders or would Mazey have been compelled to their side if he didn't try and romance her. If Riz ran for president instead of Kristen would he have been less stressed or more inclined to focus on that instead of mystery his true love. What if Kristen didn't eat the eye of the Vulture king at the right time and catch Kipperlily about to murder Gavin forcing her to change her target to Buddy.

And it worked against them too. What If Fig didn't inspire Cassandra and knock her out leading her to become the Nightmare King again? What if Adaine didn't counterspell Grix's disintegrate on Ruben, he might have been a pile of dust that would have been hard to impossible to bring back to life disrupting the Rat Grinder's plan. What if Kristen decided to not get upset at Cassandra forcing the Goddess to recreate Kalina. What if Adaine didn't say Ankarna's name outloud the first time she saw it? What if Fig didn't make the deal to have a second chance sealing the Night Yorb? What if Riz and Gorgug did relationship tracks with their families making it harder to do their other tracks. What if Fabian cleaned his house even once and got rid of the pingpong balls that Oisin enchanted to screw them over. What if Riz had time to focus on mystery from the start instead of running Kristen's campaign for her and taking more stress.

There were so many times that things could have gone so much better or so much worse, but that's what the game is. There is no script that says the good guys have to keep losing until they win. It's decisions and dice, luck and wits that make the game. It was a very hard season, the battles were very hard, just because they made the right decisions to make things easier on themselves doesn't change that. It doesn't make the season bad. You're welcome to not like it, but nothing about it was easy and people shouldn't pretend like it was because they don't like it

[aerinfrankellove]

Ok. See I’m sure this is entirely knowable but! I’ve always wondered what would happen if two EBUGs were needed in one game. That is, both teams by whatever chance need an emergency backup goalie. From my understanding there is only one, so here’s my non comprehensive list of suggestions of what should happen in that case, in no particular order:

1. Dress a regular player as a goalie - there are varying levels of meanness to this one, you could have the player be from the team who’s already used the EBUG as a sort of payback, or have it have to be someone dressed for your team. If it’s extra mean, make it random so you could either have a defenseman who blocks so many shots he practically is a goalie or a playmaking forward who hasn’t worn the pads since peewee, or anyone in between.

2. Cabinet style order of succession - like the list for the presidency in order of murder, before each game a list of everyone present at the game for each team is generated and put into an envelope to be held solely by the assistant coach until needed. When a team needs an EBUG, but one is already in use, the envelope is opened and the first person on that list needs to gear up. Could be anyone present in the organization, from the GM themself or a random intern.

3. Hunger games reaping style from the crowd - you bought a ticket for the game? Cool you now have to pray your name isn’t called to be put in the net. Could potentially be made more interesting by a similar volunteer system to the hunger games

4. Both teams go empty net - I think this one speaks for itself. It would be entertaining at the very least

[zeroannn]

Whispers & Shadows

A yume fanfiction of

Canon "Simon 'Ghost' Riley" 💀 x My OC "Badger" 🦋

June 19th 20xx

It’s been ten days since the last time the task force was assigned on a mission, thousand miles away from their HQ. A joint force between the British Air Force and US Special Forces. The mission took place in the high mountains of East Siberia. Where an illegal mining site was informed to contain intel of Makarov’s Confidential Files. The task force had been on a recon for days before they finally found the compound.

The mission went well so far, as the team managed to infiltrate the facility without getting spotted. Achieving to retrieve some documents and DMS for their further lead. One step closer to take down the world infamous terrorist. 

“All units, we have our package secured. I repeat, package has been secured.”

A firm tone of the captain stated through the intercoms, followed by the nods of the other personnel. 

Just as they were about to leave the facility, another crackle from the radio was heard, along with a voice of concern.

“Captain, we found a room full of explosives at the lowest level. This place is a set up, we need to leave the compound immediately!”

“Dammit! How many times do we have left?” The captain responded, his senses heightened as he raised his wrist to check his watch. “20 Minutes, 24 seconds.” The other line answered. The dread on each of the soldiers' faces were painted across their faces, realizing they only have so little time to get to safety.

“Everyone move out! We have to get out of here before this place explodes!”

With his strong command, the teams started to rush to the main level, where the mouth of the exit held to the surface. 

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. The guards of the facility had already blocked some of the exit, equipped with high defenses and turrets to prevent the task force from getting out alive. As if the devotion of Makarov’s men were rooted to their heart, they were willing to sacrifice themselves inside the mining site. 

The Task force was desperate as the enemy launched a rocket, shot at their direction. Everything was a blur, a spinning rang lingers in each of the personnel's heads as ashes filled the air. Ghost, who was standing near the blast point, got flinged to the other end of the hall, with a stack of large wooden crates stuck between a wall, threatening to crush him from above.

“GHOST!” 

His eyes flickering, slowly opened to the sound of his name being shouted.

“GHOST, GET UP!”

Badger shouted once again, kneeling to his level as her hand hurriedly gripped the backstrap of his vest, forcefully pulling him out from the possible strike point of the crates. With all her strength she had, she managed to drag his body away just in time before the crates collided and slammed to the cold metal floor, a few inches away from his feet. She hauled him to the nearest cover as the enemy continuously showers them with bullets.

“Come on Ghost, I need you alive.” Badger pleaded as she sat him up to the wall. She could tell from his face that he was still dazed from the blow. “Where the hell is our backup!?” She roared, checking her magazine before peaking out of her cover, engaging a suppressive fire to the enemy.

“10 Miles away!” Gaz shouted back whilst checking through their GPS system. 

“Well we don’t have much time here, this site is about to blow! We need air support ASAP!” Soap yelled in frustration as sprayed through the enemy before rebounding to his cover. Reloading his empty magazine with the remaining ammunition in his vest. “I’m running low on magz!”

“We’re surrounded!” the other team mate was getting devastated. “Hold your ground, help is on the way. We just need to push through the tunnel!” The captain asserted, advising the task force to venture through the hindrance of the enemy. They have made it this far, they couldn’t back down now.

“7 MINUTES!”

a team member yelled out, reminding the task force of the time they had left. 

“Can you fight?”

Badger asked the skull-masked lieutenant with a fret. She checked through his body for any physical injuries. “Yeah, I still have my limbs attached.” 

Badger was unpleased by his nonchalant response, but knew better that Ghost could push himself to his limit. “Don’t bullshit me around, Ghost. You feel anything hurt?”

“Solid. No pain at all.” Ghost crawled his back behind the wall to get back to his feet. Badger gave him a helping hand by dragging him by his shoulder. When he was about to take a step, he fumbled forward with Badger catched him by his arm.

“Oh sure, Solid my arse, Lt.” 

She grumbled, leading him to lay back to the wall. “You’re not even in a good shape to walk.”

“I can still fight, this isn’t something to worry about.” Ghost repulsed, steadying his weapon to his side. “We still need to run if you don’t want your body to blow into a million pieces.” Badger argued back with a frown. Though worry could be seen through her eyes. 

“Can we save the bunfight for later? We need to get out of this shithole first!”

Soap intervened through the comms. 

The teams split into groups as they took turns to change through covers and give suppressive fire. They were able to advance a few feet closer to the mouth of the tunnel but time was running out. 

“3 MINUTES!” a member spat out. The determination in his voice began to mix with desperation. “We’re done for.” Another one muttered in distress as the rest started to feel discouraged about the situation. The enemy won’t stop spraying them with bullets. 

“I guess this is it huh? One final moment of our life?” Gaz repined, his tone filled with desolation. “We still have time boys, keep your heads up! Don’t let fear get the best of you.” Captain Price spurred bluffly, maintaining his faith to the completion of the mission.

No matter how much they tried to push forward, the enemy remained to hold the upper hand. The units were running out of bullets, some even relying only on their sidearms. They were at the end of one’s rope with each passing seconds.

Badger glanced at the lieutenant who hid behind the cover to her side. His body was already exhausted from all the turbulence of combat, not to mention he had his leg injured from the previous blast incident. Ghost could feel her eyes on him as he slowly shifted his gaze to meet hers. 

They both stare at each other for the following seconds, the jarring sound of bullets hitting through metals became a distant noise as they fade to the background. Every tick of seconds that passed felt longer than it should. 

Badger gave him a smile as she stated,

“It was nice to know you, Lt.” 

He raised one of his brows, disagreeing with the nonsense she spat out during this critical moment. “You say it as if we’re about to part ways.”

“There’s a possibility, chances are low for us to make it out of here. Therefore, I want to thank you, for all the things that we have, everything that we’ve been through. You’re the most reliable ally I have ever known for my entire life. I just want to say that I adore you. A lot. More than you could ever imagine.”

His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden confession. He was baffled, frozen in place without a single word. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, aside from the effect of his adrenaline of course.

“You really are a pessimistic cynic, eh? Always expect for the worst.” he scoffed under his mask along with a head shook. “I don’t believe this is the last for the both of us, or for any of us. But if it does, then I will find you in another lifetime.”

Badger snorted in return, cackling to his delusional statement. “You believe in such fiction? I thought you’re the logical-type of a man.” 

“Maybe, but when it comes to you, I started to believe in fantasy.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle as she thought this stoic man who refused to even believe in dreams had gone wild in their final minutes. “At least I can finally convince you to believe in something.”

The whole forces were ready to meet their fate, as dead as a sitting duck covering from the rain shells. Alas, when hope began to fade, a loud sound of rotor blade swirling outside of the tunnel as it turned silent. The enemy finally stopped firing their firearms and turned to the swirling noise.

“Everybody take cover! Danger close!” Captain Price ordered as the chaingun of the Apache sprayed through the tunnel. Hydra rockets were fired, destroying most of the enemy vehicles parked around the tunnel. Even big trucks to carry loads of mines were obliterated.

Price turned the channel in his intercom to the Pilot of the Apache “Took you long enough, Eagle-one. Direct hit, target destroyed.”

“The mountains are not helping with the signals, Bravo-six. We have a hard time finding your location.”

“ONE MINUTE!!!” a shout from a team member dragged them back to their unresolved situation. They were still far from a safe position in the compound. The facility was only seconds away from being destroyed by the explosives planted below. The task force needed to make a run to the exit. 

Badger immediately dashed to the side of the skull-masked operator as she strapped his arms across her. Providing balance for his wounded leg. “Don’t even say anything, just run.” she refused to start another session of quarrel with him as they sprinted towards the light on the end of the tunnel

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

A blinding glow flashed through the compound with a thundering blast traveling through the air. Dust mixed with snow filled the atmosphere of the frosty mountains. The sound of cough and wails echoed as soldiers made it out alive in one piece, leaving only minor injuries from the battle.

Ghost had his body face down on the ground from the impact. Getting his consciousness back, his eyes darted around the scene, slowly finding her to be dragged a few inches away from him. 

“Badger…” he weakly called for her callsign.

“Badger, do you copy?” the lieutenant repeated, his heart pounding faster, mind already swirling with any outcomes and what ifs. He slowly kneeled and pulled himself up to stand on his feet. When he made his way closer to approach her, his intercom crackled.

“Solid.”

She replied through their channel. Rolling her body to the side, she now faced him eye to eye with a smile slowly crossed her face.

It’s a firm solid unlike yours.”

A scoff escaped from behind the black fabric of his balaclava. “Cheeky bastard. You still have the energy to goof around after all those explosions?” his skull-pattern gloved hand stretched out to her, offering to help her stand up.

“Nope, that’s all I’ve got left for now.” she accepted his aid, gripping to his hand tightly as she pushed herself off the ground. Sweeping the dust and snow away from her garments. 

“Alright ye lovebirds, can you flirt somewhere else? I need a peace of mind from all the loud noise and outbursts. I’m submitting a request for a leave right after this.” Soap grumbled as he walked past them with a light tap to Ghost on his shoulder.

“A vacation sounds like a great idea.” Price tuned in with a nod, ideas started to flow through his head, imagining the warm breeze of spring, a contrast to the frosty temperature in this site. “You approve of our leave then, Captain?” Gaz asked for the captain’s validation, his eyes already gleaming with excitement as the fatigue slowly washed away from the intriguing news.

“We can discuss it when we’re back. For now, let’s get to the extraction point. I’m sure our boys need a good rest from all these complications. Now move out, before I’m freezing my arse off over here.” Captain Price instructed as the task force strode away from the compound, walking a few more miles to the extraction point and eventually return to their base.

April 19th 20xx

Task Force 141 finally got approved for their leave and planned to take their spring vacation to Edinburgh, visiting parks and gardens to enjoy the blooming flowers and the green view of the landscapes. They go on picnic, take pictures and even run around the fields. 

After a few more hours of walking with the team, Ghost nudged his elbow to Badger as he pointed at a different path through the garden. She stopped in her tracks and looked at the direction that Ghost pointed before she shifted her gaze to him with an acquiescence nod. They silently parted their way with the rest of the team and strolled to a different area.

There, they found a beautiful, quiet place with trees lined around the area like natural fences, offering them some personal solitude. The sun ray stood perfectly just above the line of the trees, a golden tinted warmth illuminating their skin. 

They stood close together in silence, savoring the beauty that nature held for their eyes. The tranquility was cut through as Ghost raised his hand and asked her “Would you like to dance, m’lady?”

Badger had her eyes widened at his request, her heart melted by his gesture as she couldn't help but smile and placed her hand on top of his. Their palms clasped with each other as she answered, “Certainly, m’lord.”

They danced in the midst of grassy soil, each step synchronized with one another as her white cottage dress bloomed with every swing they made with their motions. The radiant glow of the golden hour casting through their stirring figures, dazzling each of their surface, enchanting the view to their eyes. 

With a round of twirls, he disturbed the silence to ask her, 

“Would you fall in love with me again?”

She chuckled, twirling into his arms and rested the back of her head to his chest,

“I will. I will fall in love with you, over and over again.”

Author's note:

Oh I love pushing myself to use 100% of my brain capacity and complete this one shot fanfic of my yume ship in one night without sleep. (Yes started to write this fic around midnight and complete it around 10 AM in the morning) (My eyes were bloodshot red but it was worth it).

This was made for a yume collaboration event on X held by a friend of mine @/ Foxyinhere with the entry of "Whispers of Springs, Shadows of War" the event was held to celebrate spring post-war (fictional one). I was originally wanted to make a comic strip but given the limited time I have and stuff I obligated to do in real life, I couldn't do much. So instead, I made an illustration of Ghost and Badger dancing at the hidden garden of Edinburgh to the first whisper of spring.

[britt-kageryuu]

I have read too many 'MC Suddenly Has Game Mechanics' type fanfics, where the MC isn't isekaied but instead has a Videogame style menu/stats screen.

I say this with LMK on my mind, but MK gaining these kind of abilities once he picks up the staff, well it doesn't kick in until after he pops out of that Stone Egg that came out of the Armour DBK was wearing. When he was getting the staff back.

I almost want to say that Sun Wukong also has a version of this, but I don't know how it manifests for him, but he will claim 'Celestial Monkey Intuition' for using an Appraisal Skill on those he's not sure about. He also got super cocky when he reached MAX Stats with his multiple levels of Immortality, thus didn't know about the Ascendant Teirs that Budda and the Jade Emperor have, until after JTTW.

Macaque might know about the Game Mechanics stuff, but doesn't fully understand or believe that it's real.

Though these mechanics don't make MKs training any easier, because he's still low leveled, and has to master the skills. Like how the Clones go haywire, and overrode some of his 'Personalized Clones' aka Porty, Art, Delivey, 'Backup' and later Ink as a corrupted clone.

And his bonuses as a Celestial Monkey are locked behind 'World Saving Quests', thus making progress take longer. And even when they do become unlocked they're still kinda restricted because of MK unknowingly putting blocks on them.

Sun Wukong can see that MK has some kind of spell/curse on him, blocking the Monkey Part of MKs stats, but can't remove it because of the Game Mechanics blocking him from doing so.

This does mean that they Both can see the [Reincarnation] status on Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy, but don't know how to bring it up.

MK has found a sub menu that would allow him to form Teams/Parties, but it may not actually give Party Members Game Mechanics as well.

If nothing else they gain an Inventory to store stuff in, that has a capacity relative to their Level, or something.

Well... have fun with this idea, my mind is getting stuck on how this whole thing would change everything everything else story wise.

[sunkissedchld]

𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃

𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔

the piles go from top left to right. so, the cartoon cat with a frog hat is pile i, the white cat by itself is pile ii, and so on and so forth.

take the time to close your eyes, breathe, and meditate on the PAC prompt, then open your eyes and let your guides lead you to the pile for you. i hope you enjoy!

PS. - this is my first PAC all on my own 😲 please let me know if it resonates with you! my ask box is open (even to anons)!

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Focus" by Ariana Grande

"Next Level" by Aespa

Signs:

9, 17, 8, the golden children, pleiades, raphael, aphrodite, pluto, demeter, sagittarius

Reading:

from my personal deck, i noticed all the cards i pulled were pink with mainly blue writing. pink is associated with traits such as compassion, sympathy, romance, femininity, and timidness; blue on the other hand deals with trust, responsibility, calm, support, and confidence. you may have a balanced feminine and masculine energy; you might also be non-binary of somewhere on that spectrum.

the second house came out reversed, but later on the tenth house came out upright; the twelfth house also came out upright. there may be an ending to a flow of money coming in or a lack of money coming in. it could have to do with self-sabotage. maybe you feel under appreciated at your job or think you need to go into a new career field as this time. water came out in reverse, which could indicate fire. maybe something sparked a shift in you to where you feel or felt the need to leave your job recently because you realized it just wasn’t for you. marigolds also appeared, which represent death and despair, but also resurrection.

from the work your light oracle, i pulled the great gathering which pictures a group of people with cloaks staring at a larger piece of nature. logically, you may be thinking that this was not your smartest decision; maybe you left without notice or without a clear backup plan, but this immediate sense of needing to leave was intentional. your guides are laying down a foundation for what’s to come. maybe you were putting this transition off; you didn’t think you were quiet ready, or you didn’t feel comfortable exploring some other option independent from your 9-5. your guides took the situation into their own hands and released your restraints. to them, now is the time for you to do what you were thinking of doing - maybe starting your own business, finally taking the time to relax, or something of that nature.

the feeling is that whatever you felt the need to do needs to be done because it’s bigger than you and/or apart of you. maybe you need to heal your inner child or help others to do so. either way, there’s a major emphasis on healing and allowing yourself to feel vulnerable. now is the time to peruse whatever you thought of when you read this. go do it! your guides have already (or are working on) pushing you to do so, therefore it only makes sense to go ahead and follow through fully on your own terms.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Blue Hour" by TXT

"Day I Die" by DeathByRomy

Signs:

2, 7, 9, aries, saturn, heavy 2H placements - maybe a stellium in that house or taurus

Reading:

mercury in reverse but jupiter upright. you may doubt yourself or have trouble voicing your thoughts, but luck and higher opportunities are quickly on the way! i also pulled the fourth house, which leads me to believe you need to be focusing on self care and your emotions than you do right now. you might feel unstable or insecure right now, but in the near future you will feel secure and know what you’re meant to do.

right now, you’re not aligned in some way. maybe one or a few of your chakras are blocked. i kept sneezing a lot, so maybe it’s your throat or crown chakra? either way, you need to activate them and work on becoming more open and honest with yourself. furthermore, i’m 99% sure you know what you’re supposed to be doing. maybe you keep doubting it by thinking you’re not enough or playing down your self worth. this is your warning to stop. it’s not helpful, and it’s also not true. you’re unconsciously (and maybe even consciously) dimming down your talents because of this lack of trust. you are meant to be a leader or bring new ideas or consciousness to wherever you feel inclined to. prepare to be the leader you wish you had or want to be.

it’s not quite time for this transition into leadership to happen. as mentioned before, you’re not fully aligned and are still doubting your self, but as you work on those things, become more in tune, aware of, and honest with your emotions, and align your chakras, your guides will tell you little by little when it’s time. good luck!

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐈𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Aurora" by Ateez

"Adore" by Ariana Grande

"Everyday We Fight" by Day6

"You Can't Win" from The Wiz

Signs:

3, 5, 7, 9, 9, 1212, orion, hadarian

Reading:

your guides are mad talkative lol. i feel like whatever is next for you is life changing. the houses that came out were the tenth, twelfth, seventh, and fifth! whatever your guides are planning will bring forth recognition, status, relationships (possibly even marriage), romance, and fun. although all this good will come through, it will only happen if endings, healing, and closure come before. there is a need for you to let go of something and be open to the new, even if you don't know the play-by-play of what's going on. i also think you don't need to search out these advantages that will come after some losses; it will automatically come to you as a result. there's a high emphasis on focusing on your goals. you may need to speak out about what you want as affirmations or manifestations. the universe needs to hear you.

the path set out for you is one where you need to take the lead in initiating it. the card i pulled literally says "if you knew you would be supported, what would you do?" your guides and ancestors are watching over you and guiding your success. you have absolutely nothing to worry about. please just go for whatever it is you want. i don't know how else to say that it's already yours if you desire it. i get the feeling whoever picks this pile is a starseed and/or more closely connected to their ancestors than most people. you might be an artist or a creative ad maybe want to work in the entertainment industry. go for it, babe!! go, go, go!!

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐕

Shufflemancy:

"Scars" by Stray Kids

"Can't Stop" by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

"Just A Dream" by Nelly

"A Little Space" by Pentatonix and Ateez

"Queen" by Charm La'donna

Signs:

3, 4, 5, 9, heavy water placements, scorpio, cancer, virgo, capricorn, saturn, hardian, orion

Reading:

it seems like whoever chose this pile is in a lot of pain. some important phrases kept coming through: "i've cried hundreds of tears over you. i won't anymore - i refuse."; "i forgive you"; "it's okay to hate me for what i've done"; "watch out". the eighth house popped out, so maybe you recently lost someone or experienced a major change that you weren't expecting. i get the feeling you need to talk to someone. black came out in reverse, so maybe you've recently felt betrayed, pessimistic, or depressed. you may be feeling hatred towards whoever left, but you may also feel lost without them. similar to pile ii, i keep sneezing a lot, so maybe you need to properly align your throat and/or crown chakra.

although you're in pain, this situation of loss, betrayal, and pessimism is to help you vocalize your emotions and feelings. stop stifling your voice or allowing others to do it for you. you deserve to have your voice heard - to be recognized as a full human being like everyone else on this planet. take care of yourself. take a steaming bath, go get a massage, rest, sleep in. you deserve the same caring treatment you give to others, so give it to yourself.

there's also a feeling that you're ignoring something or it's unconscious to you for now. this is possibly another starseed pile. you're a born leader and deal with it in an unconventional way. i get the feeling you pour a lot of time and energy into others and because of this, there's a lack of boundaries that are severely needed. this may be the start of you notice the need for these boundaries. this is the time to learn from whatever loss or betrayal you've encountered and learn to not only place care into yourself, but also recognize when to pull it from others who take advantage of you.

read piles ii and iii if you feel drawn to either or both of them.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐕

Shufflemancy:

"Hallelujah" by Pentatonix

"Note To Self" by J. Cole

"God's Menu" by Stray Kids

Signs:

2, 5, 7, 9, libra, strong first, fourth, and eleventh house placements, moon dominance, neptune dominance

Reading:

two colors came out in reverse: blue and purple. with blue reversed, you may not currently feel protected or calm. maybe you're at a point in your life where things are sort of chaotic and therefore you feel vulnerable. with purple in reverse, i feel like you may feel as if things may be revealed even though you do feel this way. the color green came out upright, which means you may be feeling envious or judgmental as a whole. maybe you feel that you yourself are inadequate in comparison to others. i think you'll be figuring out who you define yourself as soon, and you may be making new friends because of this. raphael popped out, which indicates happy meetings. metatron came out too, so those two may be guiding you or trying to reach out.

there is an awakening coming up for sure. as opposed to the other piles, i think you may already be on your path, and now you're just tuning up things in order to be the best version of you. there's a calling to release the old version of you; maybe the envious, judgmental, chaotic person mentioned in the first half. of course, it's okay to express yourself and your feelings, but not everything others have is for you. you need to stop being so focused on the material things, on the small details, and instead think about the bigger picture. you already know that you're a leader, but you need to wield your leadership and power correctly or else it will backfire. overall, be more humble!

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐕𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Water Me" by Lizzo

"If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys

"Answer" by Ateez

Signs:

2, 7, 8, strong jupiter and mars placements, possibly twelfth house placements

Reading:

your guides are also talkative lmao. something new is coming. although you might feel scared or unprepared, your guides are right with you (4/44/444). both demeter and uriel came out which leads me to believe you're in a period or about to be in a period where you're planting the seeds for your future. your guides are providing you with guidance, wisdom, and creativity that will be beneficial now and in your future; "is that what i taught you" popped up, so be sure to take mental (or physical) notes on things you feel strongly pulled to. with ares and violet upright, i get the feeling this new adventure will be something you'll go at with tenacity. you may not even know why you're doing it, but it will come to you naturally. it will be like your eyes are being uncovered to something you'll feel like you should've been doing your whole life. i get the feeling you may ignore important messages though. like in pile i, every blessing comes with a loss before or after. you may experience some sort of pain directly before or after this new revelation; don't let it sour your spirits though, just listen and talk to your guides about it.

your guides are really emphasizing the fact they are helping you to train and therefore, you need to listen. this is something you need to experience in order to get to wherever they need you to be. whatever it is may be karmic; it might also have to deal with your mother or the female figures in your life. this is somewhat confusing because there's so much news about new things and wisdom and protection, but there also seems to be a lot of talk about conflict and possible pain. i pulled the card "wait", so maybe you'll feel like you need to jump start whatever this new beginning is, but your guides are telling you that this is being run on divine timing - not yours. overall, have trust in them through the easy and tough times. they have the answers. i think they want you to reach out personally.

look at pile i also if you felt drawn to it.

[envysparkler]

Big Bad

Damian was not lost.  He wasn’t.  If only the streets of this filthy, putrid city did not look identically degenerate—

He wasn’t lost.  Unfortunately, his grapple gun was no longer working—shoddy workmanship, if it fell apart after being used as a makeshift club twice—and on ground level, all of Gotham looked the same.  His pursuers were catching up—Damian was fast, but no matter how fast he was, he was still eleven years old and his legs weren’t long enough to outrun adults.

There was an alley up ahead and Damian took the turn, searching for the fire escape so he could scramble back up to the rooftops and figure out where he was—but the escape was rusted through and hung three levels off the ground, and the alley was a dead end.

Damian strangled the urge to rant about proper fire code and turned to face his opponents.  There were six of them, fanning out to block his escape, and Damian drew the knife concealed in his suit.

“The little boy thinks he can fight,” one of the men sneered, raising his gun.

“I can certainly fight better than you,” Damian sneered, “Not that it’s difficult to be better than a pack of drunk, washed-up lowlifes.”

There was a hiss of fury threading through the pack.  Good.  Anger would make them sloppy.  Damian shifted in preparation, fingers tightening on his knife.

One of the men stepped forward.  The ringleader, presumably, glaring at Damian and the R on his chest.

“Do you know why they call this place Crime Alley, kid?” the lowlife asked, holding his gun like it was a toy and not a weapon.

“Do you?” a harsh, mechanized voice retorted.

Everyone looked up.

Damian took advantage of the confusion and lashed out, snapping one kneecap with a vicious kick, and disfiguring another thug’s face with a slash of his knife.  The crack of gunshots echoed around him, and when Damian turned away from his downed opponent, the alley was full of groaning bodies.

“I did not require your assistance,” Damian snapped, tilting his head back up to stare at Hood.

The older boy gave a half-shrug, still leaning over the edge of the rooftop, “Who said I was assisting?”

Damian glared and stalked out of the alley.

“Take a left, pass three blocks, and take a right,” Hood called out, “You’ll end up back in the East End.”

Damian ignored him, and took a left.  Five minutes later, he was back on more familiar streets, and he gave into the urge to look up.

There was a glint of red on the opposite rooftop and, as he watched, it turned away.

~#~

Steph had maybe possibly not thought this one through.  The warehouse she’d crawled into was empty, all locked up for the night, but she could still hear footsteps echoing around her and her vision was starting to get fuzzy around the corners.

She kept her arm pressed against the slash in her thigh and tried to breathe through the pain.  She’d been in the Bowery when she’d gotten tagged, and tried to lose her pursuers in the streets, unfortunately ending up very far from backup.

Everyone knew Batman didn’t come to Crime Alley.

Steph inhaled slowly and shifted up—Red Robin was coming from the other end of Gotham, at least ten minutes out.  Leslie’s clinic was a full six blocks away.

Footsteps.  Loud and deliberate.  Too heavy to be Tim, too brazen to be Batman.  Steph grabbed her taser and waited.

She registered the red helmet a split second before she pushed down on the button, and Steph exhaled in a rush, slumping back to the ground.

“Couldn’t announce yourself, asshole?”

~#~

“You must be ten kinds of stupid,” someone said as they moved to ring him, “To run straight into our territory.”

Dick kept his good leg straight and tried not to shift, lancing pains shooting up his broken leg.  “But this isn’t your territory,” he smiled, and tilted his head up until he could catch a glimpse of red at the corner of a rooftop, “It’s his.”

The Red Hood straightened from his position.

~#~

Turned out that body armor was not much help against armor-piercing rounds, and that someone in Crime Alley had finally grown a brain.  Jason limped through the alley, keeping to the shadows, one hand pressing against the wall as he struggled to stay upright.  His stomach was a mass of fire that tugged at him with every step, his breaths growing harsher and harsher.

He didn’t need to check the wound to know that he was losing blood alarmingly fast.

He could maybe make it to the clinic.  It was another two blocks over, and the world was growing hazier at a constant rate—he’d probably be able to knock on Leslie’s door before he passed out.

If it weren’t for the voices behind him.  Two, maybe three—or was that just the ringing in his ears?  Either way, the street was blurry enough that Jason didn’t trust his aim, and if they made it into grappling range, he wasn’t sure if he’d win.

But he could make it to the clinic.  Could stick to the shadows, ignore the splatter of blood he was leaving behind as a trail, suppress the shrieking agony and crawl to safety.

On the next step, a piercing sensation tore through his side, and Jason staggered.

Okay.  He couldn’t make it to the clinic.

[heaven-s-black-box]

Backup- Jing Yuan x fiancee!fem!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: December 18th, 2024

Description: Hello, I saw that your requests were open and I was just reading your Dan Heng x fiancee reader story and I was wondering if you could write a different version with Jing Yuan

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions. Hopefully this is similar and different enough

Word count: 973

Back to directory

Jing Yuan really didn’t think he was being cocky when he assured Y/n he’d charm her parents. He’d been sure it was just nerves, ones that would settle as soon as she saw how her parents at least tolerated him. There was no way everyone would like him, but from a superficial standpoint he was sure he could win her parent’s approval. He was the general of the Luofu, he was respectful and hard working, and he loved and respected Y/n. If he had a daughter, that would be the least of his expectations for her partner.

When the day came he brought a nice gift, nothing too expensive because he didn’t want to look like he was buying their approval but… he could tell something was off the whole time. Her father, who she’d mentioned wasn’t around much when she was young, couldn’t tell him a thing about her. Her step-mother kept passing thinly veiled insults and scolds, insinuating she was too picky for not eating the food, while her half-sister only showed up halfway through dinner with friends who all joined the table. It was baffling that they could care so little about meeting their daughter’s partner, and know her so little that they hadn’t realized she wasn’t eating because of nerves.

He had been planning on sticking it out, not wanting to look like he was running away, but Y/n looked about ready to break. So, using all the tact of a military general, he excused them and they left.

“We don’t have to do anything like that ever again,” he whispered, holding Y/n against his chest a few blocks away as she let out shaky breaths. “I’m sorry I didn't completely believe you.”

And they’d returned home, and that was that.

“General!” Yanqing’s voice carried through the seat of divine foresight, though the man in question did not raise his gaze from the paperwork he was doing. He let out a quiet hum of acknowledgment. “General!”

“Yes, Yanqing?”

Though the boy sounded frazzled, whatever had him concerned couldn’t be too severe as he would have received a transmission. That or Yanqing would be on site and it would be a Cloud Knight coming to him.

“Jing Yuan!” The Lieutenant slammed his hands on the general’s desk.

Both the action and the use of his first name had him looking up to find Yanqing far more dishelved than he expected.

“What’s-”

“Y/n’s been kidnapped!”

The next few moments are a blur, and Yanqing finds himself falling behind the general as he stands suddenly and rushes out of the seat of divine foresight.

All of Yanqing’s questions were met with silence as Jing Yuan gets on a starskiff, and gives the pilot an address Yanqing isn’t familiar with.

He’s sure there’s only one person, or he supposes two, that it could be. Though he does send a message to Madam Fu Xuan asking her to send out a few Cloud Knights to try and track Y/n down. There is always a chance he could be wrong, and it would be irresponsible of him to overlook a threat to the Luofu due to personal grievances.

The starskiff docks a little away, but the crowd and yelling assures him he’s on the right track.

Yanqing reaches for his sword, and Jing Yuan motions for him to stand down. He takes a deep breath, trying to approach the situation with a level head, and moves forward with his Lieutenant on his tail.

The crowd is gathered around the same house he’d gone to for dinner nearly a month ago, and he recognizes a few people in the crowd as the half-sister’s friends. They part as soon as the first person notices him, and he thinks there’s a hint of shame on the faces he recognizes. 

He reaches for the door handle and finds it unlocked, and when he opens it he’s greeted with an unfamiliar yell.

Unfamiliar, in the sense that he’d never before heard-

“Was that Y/n?” Yanqing asks in disbelief.

“It seems she’s finally at her wits end,” he said before mumbling, “I can’t blame her.” As the two entered the house and closed the door behind them.

“I said I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me! I either leave now, or when my fiance shows up!”

“Honestly, do you think this will last?” Y/n’s step-mother smeared. “You’re hardly a  good daughter, what makes you think you’ll be a good wife?”

“She’s right-”

“Oh what would you know? About me being a good daughter or how to be a good partner? And you might be right, maybe I’ll be a shitty wife, but he makes me want to be better!”

“General,” Yanqing whispered, “shouldn't we hurry.”

“Nothing we do will make this better, all we can do is back her up.”

As if on cue, they reached the top of the stairs and the door at the end of the hall slammed open.

“Hello my love, are we pressing charges?”

Though they were far away and partly shielded by Y/n, Jing Yuan is fairly certain her parents have finally realized exactly who he is. Or maybe they’d just realize there was more to the dozing general than the moniker.

Y/n took a deep breath.

“No, as long as they stay. Out. of. My. life.”

“A fair trade.”

Jing Yuan reached out and pulled her into his side, and that was when she noticed Yanqing.

“What are you doing here?”

“You were kidnapped!” He exclaimed. “I found the general’s place a wreck!”

“Oh right, we were supposed to have lunch… Can we reschedule? I’m not very hungry right now.”

“Are you okay?!”

The three made their way back out the starskiff and Y/n sighed.

“Ask me again once the adrenaline wears off.”

[perplexingluciddreams]

My noise cancelling headphones are dead (AGAIN). It is the same crackling noise in one ear that happened last time. They are Bose QC-45.

Last time died soon after I got, so I got a replacement (of same Bose QC-45, just a new pair). This time it took longer to die, but still under a year. Mum says for the price they should last longer.

To be fair, I do wear/use them all day every day. I have extreme sound sensitivity. And other very severe sensory issues, so the only thing that prevents immediate crisis all day long at anything bothering me, is the headphones. They are on my head all day long (from 9am until whatever time I manage to sleep, sometimes it is as late as 4am). So any headphones I get will die probably sooner for me than someone else who wears/uses it less.

I am now using the backup headphones - Bose QC-35. These ones lasted way longer, I had them for a decent amount of time before I even got the Bose QC-45.

But they feel different and not as nice on my head. And the sound is a bit different. And noise cancelling slightly less good. And it hurts a bit with my glasses.

I am really upset because it is different. Change is hard. It is Very Bad with hot weather AND dead headphones stacked on top of each other.

Anyway, Mum says we should get maybe a different brand of noise cancelling headphones for the next pair. Since they broke so fast both times.

Question: Does anyone have recommendations for good noise cancelling headphones? Especially ones that feel really comfy and have a high level of noise blocking. They have to be over-ear (not earbuds).

The last time I asked about this on here, someone mentioned Sony... but I can't remember the exact ones.

I just want to know information about options - especially with details like how they feel on the head and sound quality and level of noise blocking.

If anyone can help, I appreciate it!

[justabigoldnerd]

Thank you so much @pippinoftheshire for the tag!!

Here's some more from that still-unnamed Hostage Situation Gone Wrong fic!!!

This level of support from an agency is something Solo is still getting used to. Waverly never hesitates to send backup when it's needed, sometimes to the point of beating them to the punch. Illya had hated it at first. He thought the Englishman believed they needed to be supervised, or that they were incompetent, or not to be trusted, or all of the above. Then Gaby and Solo had gotten themselves ambushed and imprisoned by an organized crime syndicate. Leading the charge to save his partners with an entire army at his beckon call started to change Illya's mind about the concept. It still makes Solo's skin crawl. It's uncanny. Like they don't exist. He doesn't care for feeling like a deadman walking. By the time they make it up to Illya and Gaby's apartment, Solo feels like he has concrete blocks tied to his limbs. Gaby carries Isabella to one of the bedrooms, and the only thing stopping Solo from b-lining to the couch to sleep is Illya's eyes boring into him. He sighs rather dramatically and faces his Goliath, attempting to force his features to display boredom. “Okay. Let's get this over with.”

No pressure tagging @huggiebird @happybean17 @falling-into-peril @heytheredeann @bighandsforabigheart

@kcscribbler @mybelovedillya @cha-melodius @the-golden-comet @thattripleabattery

@too-young-to-fall-in-love @times-up-alone-tonight @vnyu73 @nicijones @prettyboynapoleonsolo

@fandom-meet-fanthem

And an Open Tag for anyone else who wants to join!!! 💕💕💕