#bring back glowing pyramids

[obscuritory]

Bryce3D RULES

Yesterday I streamed myself playing around with the vintage 3D rendering program Bryce3D, and HOLY SHIT this rules. Look at that sick glowing/flaming pyramid! The marble mountains! The giant wizard model that came with the program! Everyone should play with Bryce.

[kiwinatorwaffles]

minecraft — legend of the white eyes

using the prompts in @redwinterroses’s fic writing challenge from… uh… 2021 LMAO whatever i’m late to the party but it’s ok!! i decided to go with minecraft because i love the lore :3

this is a full hotbar fic! it is exactly 579 words, as a full hotbar would have 579 items.

***

you are being watched.

or, at least you think so.

you can’t confirm anything just yet, but there always seems to be eyes on you. a quiet observer. you never see it, but you’re certain it’s there.

every so often, while mining, you pass by a three-by-three tunnel dug straight through a cave wall. you hear footsteps. when you approach, they stop. you cautiously place down a torch. there are no mobs. but there is something, somewhere, watching your every move. a chill runs down your spine as you stand still, waiting for it to appear and attack you. it never does.

each time, the mining trip ends with you digging your way to the surface as quickly as possible.

at first, when bringing it up to alex, she calls you ridiculous for suggesting so.

“of course we’re being watched,” she says. “there’s a billion monsters out there watching us every single night. that’s like saying a block is square.”

but it’s different, you swear. it’s not like any other mob. it’s something more.

“more what?”

you’re not so sure. maybe it’s the footsteps. or the tunnel in the wall. or the fact that it never attacked you. you always see a flash of white eyes. you assumed it was a stray the first few times, but you later realize that it isn’t. it always seems to be the same entity, over and over again.

but that can’t be possible. mobs despawn after time. villagers stick near their homes. you and alex are the only players.

at least, you think so.

that changes when alex bursts through the door the next day, eyes wide open when frenzy.

“you’re right,” she huffs. “there’s something out there. i saw him.”

“him?” you ask.

“i’m actually not sure. i only saw an outline of a man through the fog. but i know it looked like us.”

a player.

you both barricade the doors in your house afterwards, even though you know it won’t do anything against a player, who can destroy like you can. you’re not sure why you’re so scared. you’ve never seen alex this scared, either.

thankfully, the next day is sunny. you visit the village first thing in the morning, asking if they know anything about what you and alex saw. they can’t answer, instead referring you to the library. you spend the new few hours carefully combing through books, searching for any mention of caves, fog, or white eyes.

there’s only log recording strange occurrences in the world. trees without leaves. pyramids in the ocean. holes in mountains. but no white eyes. the sun has already set, so you thank the villagers and make your way back home. you’ll ask another village tomorrow.

the fog has settled in with the darkened skies. you quicken your pace, sprinting down the path.

you freeze once you spot a dark figure with glowing white eyes in the distance.

he doesn’t move. neither do you. he carries a glistening sword. his clothes are tattered and torn. his gaze pierces into your chest.

you barely see him, but even within the fog, you realize that you recognize his face.

it’s yours.

he says something, but you can’t hear it. a chill runs down your spine.

he steps forward. you blink.

when you open your eyes, he’s gone, like a shadow in the night.

as you stare into the empty mist, you finally hear his voice echo in your mind:

why are you here?

[korpuskat]

“I… Can’t do that.”

Ramattra says almost apologetically. You let out a defeated sigh, pressing your forehead to the cool metal of his shoulder. He never took his faceplate off, at least not in your presence. You shift yourself on his lap, his heavy hands on your thighs keeping you in place.

“Why?”

Ramattra goes quiet. He is afraid. He will scare you. You will find him disgusting. You will never just forget that he is a Ravager. The unpleasant memory of people pointing at him with disgusted eyes pops up in his HUD, he declines it immediately. You will be reminded of his inorganic form: how he’s unable to return your smile, to kiss you back, to say your name with that’s so dear to him with the lips he will never have. Not that this ceramic faceplate makes him less frightening, but he prefers to think that it does.

You look in the black slits on his faceplate. Ramattra takes a moment to admire you - he notices the way your pupils widen when you look at him. If he had a heart, it would skip a beat.

He sighs again and brings one of his hands to his head. You watch his palm grabbing the white ceramic, detaching it with a soft click.

Two grey optics, no, eyes… stare back at you. You are speechless, still not sure that you are not dreaming. His face, right in front of you. Two little red wires on each side his forehead, the pyramid of lights that glows even brighter the usual now that it’s exposed, all those little stitches… The feeling of his hair cords brushing your shoulder and his soft huff brings you back to reality: he turned his head away. And suddenly, you can’t stop smiling.

“Ramattra.”

You take his face in your hands, gently making him look at you again. Ramattra’s are no longer on your thighs, too busy fiddling the ends of your shirt.

You press a kiss to his forehead. “You are so, so beautiful,” Your lips land between his eyes. “So pretty,” Another kiss, where the upper part meets his jaw, where his lips would be.

“I love every part of you.”

Suddenly all you hear is the loud whirr of his inner workings. Ramattra immediately hides his face in your neck, the metal is surprisingly warm on your skin. Beloved hands wrap around you, cradling your body in a desperate embrace. Ramattra hopes you don’t feel him shaking, not that it matters now.

He finally found his peace.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH?????????????????????

i love him dispelling the memory and turning away and ;_;

[babygirlgarrus7]

Dust and Echos

(not my gif, belongs to @north2445 )

A/N: I watched the trailer and WOW i can NOT believe our husband is back! So I am excited to write this fic!

Ikora has asked you to come and meet her and another to discuss the next mission. Little did you know it would be an echo from the past.

Warnings: angst (TONS of it), fluff, and swearing

Masterlist

Destiny List

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

You were called to go to meet her to brief you on your next mission. Your Ghost kept going on and on about how the readings of this planet was off, which you took note of also. It was way too odd to not notice the wavelengths.

However, it isn’t the most odd. You have battled many different enemies and how the Light is becoming more and more difficult, powerful, confusing. When fighting the Witch Queen, it wavered you a bit, having to fight the enemies that you never thought of them being able to do the things you could. Even blacking the light for dark uses. You couldn’t say anything sense you can wield it yourself.

Then almost having the second collapse happen to some lunatic that the witch warned you about. The return of the Witness, which led you to a planet called Neomuna a cyberpunk feel of the city, working along with others that called themselves the Cloud Striders. It almost succeeded by one of the pyramids that come about, which wasn’t the first time that you have seen these pyramids.

You have seen it all so it didn’t surprise you about the odd readings. When arriving the planet it was sunny, green, mountains. It was beautiful, until you saw in the distance a purple pyramid shape floating in the air. You bit your lip. “That isn’t good.” Your ghost commented looking over at you.

“Yeah.” You muttered nodding your head, steering your ship to the location.

When approaching you saw Ikora standing in a mouth of a cave, you pulled up having your ghost transport yourself out, landing on the ground. She smiled before showing some nervousness. “Hello Guardian,” She said walking towards the edge. “Glad you can make it.”

“Of course.” You said standing next to you.

“We don’t know what this is,” She said facing the purple mist. “I want you to figure out what it is, you will be having some help of course.” That’s when you heard footsteps. Before you turned to face the footsteps Ikora turned to you. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. It was sudden. I was surprised as well.”

You were confused until you turned around. Your heart stopped, you wanted to throw up, you wanted to cry, yell. Cayde. Your ghost looked over at you then Cayde, he wasn’t different looking besides the light blue glow around his eyes and mouth.

“Oh no. There’s nothing I can…I’m sorry.”

His chest had a hole in it. He looked like shit, usually you would give him shit. Tell him that he would need to get some make up to slap on. This time you couldn’t muster a noise, words, nothing. Panic. Pure panic.

“Listen y/n…this ain’t on you.”

You were there when Cayde blamed himself about Andal, you watched him become bitter for a bit. He was also not happy about the fact that he made a bet to be on the Vanguard if Andal died. However, it was because he went and fought Taniks without him. Now this is you, you were going to be like him. Bitter. You can’t loose him.

“We can fix this, we just have to get Sundance pieces. Just please please stay with me.”

You remembered when you saw him after the Tower was taken over on Nessus, you ran to him and hugged him tight. Him chuckling and calling you his dove, due to you being beautiful and at the time innocent. Inside joke. Him tell you to stay with him, up until he knew that we had to meet Zavala and Ikora to fight.

“We will take the Reef by storm.”

Both you and Cayde laughed lowly when dancing on top of the tower, you both heard the towns below play some melodies, after bringing back the Traveller from the Red War. That’s when Cayde told you he loved you. Actually loved you.

“I refuse to bury any more friends.”

You carried him, he should have been heavy but it wasn’t. Your emotions were off, you couldn’t think. Just fuzz. When returning, the cries, gasps it was too much to place him on the bed, covering him with the satin cloth that had the Vanguard symbol.

“Uldren Sov is mine.”

And he was, died from your own hands, with his gun. Ironic. You held the gun looking at Uldren before pulling the trigger. After you did, you stood there for a while, watching the smoke slowly leaving the barrel. Thinking how the smoke was suppose to be your anger and guilt leaving it. But it wasn’t. He wasn’t here.

He is here. You tried to think of you were stuck in the pyramids. One of them. Maybe this is a nightmare, the Queen is torturing, she had to. It’s a spell. A lie. He is dead. He stopped inches away from you. Inches. You could reach out and touch him.

“I will leave you two at it.” Ikora spoke softly before walking up on the ridge.

Cayde carefully looked over you, barely remembering who you are. He knew the feeling when looking at you, knowing you are a Guardian that was under his command. However you were the one he loves. Loves. He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to explain.

“You’re dead.” You whispered your helmet barely making the words out.

Cayde chuckled. “I’m kind of hard to kill, you should know that y/n.”

Your ghost floated to him. “Is it really you?” You knew your ghost was making a quick scan before looking shocked. “It’s him.”

Cayde moved around to come to you, you tensed up as he came into your space. He grabbed your chin with his index and thumb. Having you look up at him. “I have been begging the Traveler to come see you again. Pretty sure I annoyed the hell out of it,” You felt the tears prick your eyes. You could feel him. Actually feel him. You focused on how his hand went to your hip and the other cup the side of your cheek. You didn’t even realize how long he was standing there waiting for you to answer. “It’s my hair isn’t it?”

You chuckled and looked down grabbing his hand from your cheek. “I missed you so much.” You voice cracked as you looked back up at him. “You died and I…” You couldn’t finish as memories came back and forth between his death and now.

“I know. I’m so sorry. I wish I could have been here. To be with you. To get out of the damn tower.” Cayde chuckled placing his head on your forehead. “I don’t know how I am here but I am now. We can do this together dove.”

You smiled holding him closer.

[dailyreverie]

Full Moon

Requested by @lavenderluna10

Pairing: Marc Spector x reader

Fall prompts 🍂 Full Moon

Word count: 563

CW: Hints of Steven x reader. Mentions of previous sex but nothing explicit. Non-sexual nudity.

(gif for vibes only, not actually set in that scene, let's all pretend the sunlight here is actually moonlight 'kay?)

It takes a second to recognize it is Marc and not someone else looking at the sky this time, shoulders squared and eyebrows set deep, with his torso still naked and his eyes fixed on the moon as he usually is on more nights than you can count on by now; you know he can’t stay away from it, the moon summons Marc even if unconsciously, even on nights when you are far from home surrounded by pyramids and a moon bright and full lighting up your hotel room. He sits there, watching, waiting, hoping the moon won’t come alive as it had on him before.

The glow from the moon is enough for you to find him in the dark. You slide across the bed to lie right next to where he sits, “Marc,” you speak softly as your hand begins to travel to his shoulder. He finds it with his and brings it to his lips.

When he doesn’t say a word you expect the usual, his battling mind and his past of Gods and monsters keeping him awake, but when you peek over his shoulder to get a glimpse of his handsome face, you see him smiling softly without his eyes leaving the moon.

“What happened?” You ask carefully, not wanting to disturb his happiness. Little did you know you were part of it. Marc only turns his face to look back at you with his eyes shining from the moonlight. "Everything alright?"

“What do you mean?” He reaches to trace your hair with soft fingertips, traces of the shared night still showing on it.

“You look happy.”

“Am I not allowed to?” He cocks his eyebrow playfully.

“You know what I mean.” You reason, chuckling lightly when he does the same. 

“He’s gone.” Marc confesses after a beat, speaking in a low voice fearing that any louder volume would bring his past back. “I thought coming back here would somehow bring him back but Khonshu is really gone.”

“I know.” You match his volume, pushing back his curls, admiring his profile that reflects the shine of the night sky. “He is.” You promise, and you want to trully believe it, but when you stare back at the moon, it's glowing presence reminds you too of the days of fighting gods.

But Marc and the moon don’t fight, Marc and the moon are more alike than you would like, with faces and changes and dark sides that you are not supposed to see - like that night he came back with a beret hanging from his fingers and spanish coming out of his mouth: things you are not supposed to see, for his sake and yours.

“What’s with you, now?” Marc calls you back, seeing how, for a change, you’re now the one with the glooming stare. You snap out of it, embracing his shoulders as you could to bring him back to bed, because even in Cairo the nights of fall bring with them a chill breeze that he needed to cover you from.“Nothing,” you smile assuringly, hoping your lie was convincing enough, distracting him by kissing his lips softly and letting him hold you against his body once again. Nothing, you repeat to yourself, because if Marc doesn’t know and he’s finally happy, then maybe keeping that secret between the full moon and you wouldn’t be that bad.

🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙🍂🌙

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and comment if you enjoyed it!

Check out the rest of the fall prompts here!

[konggodzuko]

Look, it may be the fact that I had just watched possibly the best Godzilla movie of all time (Godzilla Minus One) and have been watching possibly the best installment of the Monsterverse (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) but when the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire trailer dropped I felt...

Deeply unexcited. Apprehensive, even.

There's some weird shit going on with Egypt as we see a portal near the Great Pyramids and then some sort of weird Egyptian chamber w/ more pyramids and I really hope we don't find out some weird ancient-aliens BS went on with Egypt.

I honestly, truly think that the new Godzilla design is terrible. His proportions seem wacky & top heavy, the shape of the spines isn't doing it for me, and the pink is obnoxious. Yeah yeah, MireGoji had some purple on her spines, but it wasn't NEON PINK. Plus all the glowing stuff is way too much. His design was PERFECT in KOTM/GvK (well, nearly perfect, his head could've been a touch bigger) so I don't know why they would change him so much.

IDK, something about the trailer made me just think this is going to be stupid. Not in a fun way, but in an obnoxious, over-the-top Bay Transformers movie kinda way. Godzilla doing an extended, arms-pumping sprint next to Kong who has a robot arm made me feel annoyed rather than hyped.

It's just... up until GvK, the Monsterverse has largely played its concept seriously. Hell, Monarch is a VERY serious show, even with it's well-done humor. But GvK was like "wuh-oh, let's get WACKY!" and writing just flew out the window and it was ONLY an excuse for monster fights, and this looks to be even more of that. The director's even said they have several minute long sequences of JUST monster stuff and that sounds EXHAUSTING.

It's also not helpful that I've seen so, so many people who're excited for this movie acting like anyone who expresses the mildest dislike of this movie "hates fun" or "doesn't understand Godzilla" or whatever.

Look, I hope the movie's good. I hope I walk into that theater and end up loving it, but man, I just don't have high hopes. I thought GvK was a franchise lowpoint for the Monsterverse and the fact that they've doubled down on it does not fill me with hope.

[PS: ALSO, WHERE'S MOTHRA???? BRING HER BACK!!!!!!]

[burgundybmw]

Munson's Mixtape

Masterlist

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Cunningham!Reader

Word Count: 3,056

Warnings: Brief slut shaming (Jason's a dick)

Summary: Chrissy has been acting weird, and like a good big sister Y/N drives to Hawkins from Notre Dame to check in on her. Only to find out she has plans to meet up with Eddie Munson. Things take a turn for the worse and now Y/N gets wrapped in to the horrors of Hawkins. Hey, at least she has the company of the guitarist she was sweet on back in high school for comfort.

Author’s Note: So I did get ambitious and managed to pump out another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Track Eleven

It took longer than Y/N would like to pack all of her things, but she was finally finished. After she the left the church she radioed Eddie and told him her plan. She didn't give him many details about what happened at Chrissy's funeral, the hurt still fresh in her mind. However, Y/N did tell him that she gave her parents a piece of her mind. Eddie said that he was proud of her, and wished he was there to see her unleash her righteous fury. Y/N glowed with the praise he gave her, and she held onto it as she packed up her old life.

She changed back into her Notre Dame uniform, most of the clothes left in her childhood home closet was formal wear, so she was left with little choice. Most of the things she packed up were more personal items, things she didn't bring with her to college. Old diaries, her old Hawkins High cheer uniform, the books she couldn't carry in her car when she first left Hawkins. Before she left for good, she took one look at Chrissy's bedroom door.

A part of her still didn't want to go in, thought it would be too painful to see her sister's room without her in it, but there were a few things of her sisters that she wanted to keep. The car was already packed and ready to go, so it would be the last time she would ever see what was left of Chrissy.

Y/N walked into the room, and it was just like she remembered last time she visited over winter break. The ornate yellow wallpaper was crisp and pristine, not a single poster on the walls. Their mother would have thrown a fit if they ruined the paper, so Chrissy put all of her photos on a large bookshelf next to her bed. Y/N took a moment to look at all of the snapshots of Chrissy's life. There was a picture of both them when they were little, Y/N burying her sister in the sand. She took in a deep breath and quickly moved onto the next one, a photo of Chrissy and Jason the night of junior prom. Y/N remembers how Chrissy called her and asked how get to birth control without their mother finding out, and she just laughed at how embarrassed her sister was on the phone. Chrissy chastised her at the time, and now Y/N just wished she could hear her voice again.

The next photos were normal for any teenage girl, pictures of Chrissy and her friends. A school newspaper clipping of the Hawkins cheer squad in a pyramid, her sister at the very top. A few polaroids of her and Jason on dates. One picture surprised Y/N, she never noticed it on the shelf before.

It was a picture of Chrissy and Y/N on graduation day. She was in her cap and gown, Eddie's mixtape in hand. Chrissy was in a blue sundress, a big smile on her face as she hugged her sister. Their dad took the photo, but what wasn't surprising was the two sisters together, it was who else was in the background. Y/N could see Eddie walking towards them, hand in the air like he wanted to get their attention. After he gave her the mixtape, Y/N assumed he drove away, but there he was. She remembered her mother rushing the girls into the car after their dad took the picture, said she wanted to get to Enzo's before the rush. At the time she believed her mother's complaint, but now Y/N thought it was because Eddie was trying to talk to her. She'd have to ask him what he wanted to say to her, if he could remember. It was two years ago.

Y/N grabbed the photo and put it in one of Chrissy's old cheer duffle bag and continued her path around the room. There was the stuffed dog Chrissy always slept with at night, a little black terrier she named Toto. Y/N knew her parents would throw it away, but Chrissy loved it, so she put that in the duffle too. She grabbed the gold locket that she gave her sister for Christmas, a small picture of them both as children inside, and she grabbed a few other knickknacks as well. Y/N found an old scrapbook they made together, and when she sat down on Chrissy's bed to go through it, a thick leather bound book fell out from under the pillow.

Y/N put the scrapbook in the duffle bag and reached for the book. It was Chrissy's diary. She knew that her mother would probably go through it if she found it, and the last thing Chrissy would want was their mother knowing her personal thoughts. Y/N was going to put it straight into the duffle, but she paused. The same temptation to read it when through her head, and she knew it was wrong when she read Eddie's journal, but Y/N couldn't help herself. She opened a random page and started to read.

February 14th, 1984 Dear Diary,

Today is Valentine's Day. Jason is taking me out to dinner later, and for once I'm really excited about it! He bought me flowers, and gave them to me during lunch. A huge bouquet of red roses! Mom gave me a vase to put them in, and they're sitting on top of the dresser. I can't wait to tell Y/N about our date later. I know she doesn't have a date for Valentine's Day, but she said she was going to the movies with her friends today, so I know she won't be alone. Nobody should be alone on Valentine's Day. I was afraid I was going to be after the fight Jason and I got into, but he seems to be over that now. I'm still a little upset with him about what he said, but he seemed sorry. So I guess everything is okay now!

Y/N didn't know about any fight between her sister and Jason back then, they were just starting out in their relationship and in the honeymoon phase. She flipped back a few pages to see if her sister wrote about it.

February 9th, 1984 Dear Diary,

Jason and I got into a fight today. He got mad at me for trying to comfort him after we slept together for the first time. I told him it was okay that it didn't last very long, and that Y/N told me that we were still getting used to each other and that's normal. Jason said that she wasn't the type of girl to be getting advice from. When I asked him what he meant he said that Y/N hooked up with Eddie Munson, so she must be easy. I yelled at him for that, and told him it wasn't true. Apparently Matthew Grayson told everyone on the basketball team that Y/N cheated on him with Eddie, and that's why they broke up. I told him it was a lie. Jason said that Eddie said nothing happened between them too when he heard about it, but no one on the team believed him. Matthew and other guys from the team beat him up after he tried to tell the truth. I told Jason he should apologize to Eddie, but he said he wouldn't be caught dead talking to the freak. That made me sad. Jason isn't a mean guy, but sometimes he says mean things. I at least told him to say it wasn't true to the other guys, and he said he would try his best. I don't want a rumor like that to spread around school about my sister. I know Y/N likes Eddie, even if she won't admit it, but she would never cheat on her boyfriend.

Y/N never knew Matthew said all those things about her. She broke up with him when she realized that she didn't have feelings for him anymore. It was a messy break up, but she didn't think he would make up lies about her. If she ever saw Matthew Grayson's face again she wouldn't hesitate to put him in his place. It was one thing to spread rumors about her, she could have handled it, but to get physical with Eddie? When he was just trying to set the record straight? He really had the worst luck with the people of Hawkins. Y/N flipped through the pages to find some of her sister's more recent entries. The most recent one was from the day she died.

March 21st, 1986

Dear Diary,

I had another nightmare. This one was really bad. I can't even look at Mom's face without seeing the monster I saw in my dreams. The headaches are worse, and I don't know what to do. I just saw an old clock in my room, and when I blinked it wasn't there anymore. I was awake. I know I was. I wanna talk to Y/N, but I can't with Mom home. I don't want her to hear me. I need something to calm me down. I tried drinking myself to sleep last night, but that didn't work. I know Sarah likes to smoke weed to chill out, but I'm not even sure that would work. I think I need something stronger. I know Sarah buys stuff from Eddie, maybe I can get something from him. I just hope Y/N doesn't find out, she'd be so disappointed in me. I'm afraid to talk to Eddie alone though. Y/N says he's a great guy, but he scares me a little. Jason says he's a devil worshipper. I don't think that's true, but you never know. At this point I'll take a deal with the devil, anything to make this stop. I wish Y/N was here. She'd know what to do. She always knows what to do. I miss her so much. I'll call her when I get to school, maybe she can help me.

Y/N could see the ink smudge from her sister's gel pen as she cried over the pages. A deal with the devil was right, she'd do anything to bring her sister back. But she couldn't, and she would never be there for her sister again. The only thing Y/N could do now was stop Vecna once and for all.

Y/N put the diary in the duffle and made her way to the car. She tossed it in the backseat along with the rest of her things and started the drive back to Rick's house. It was already dark, she'd been gone for too long. She left the walkie in the passenger seat while she was in the house. She prayed Eddie didn't try to reach her while she was gone.

"Eddie? Are you there?" She heard some rusting before Eddie's voice rang through.

"Y/N! Christ, there you are." He was whispering, Y/N could barely hear him.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" She was speeding now, desperate to get to him.

"Yes, no, I don't know, man. Jason and his posse are inside Rick's house. I don't know how they figured out where I was, shit. They've got bats, and crow bars and shit. Where are you?" Y/N slammed her foot on the gas, zipping through the back roads of Hawkins. Why was Jason after him? He was at the funeral with the other guys from the basketball team. Y/N would have liked to think Jason wasn't the type to go vigilante, but she always knew something was off about him. Chrissy's diary didn't make her feel any better either. Jason hates Eddie, and if he thought he was responsible for her death... Y/N didn't like to think about what he was capable of.

"I'm 5, maybe 10 minutes away. Try calling Dustin, maybe they're closer. I'll be there soon just hold on."

Y/N pulled up to Rick's house to see Jason and his friends walking towards the boathouse. She jumped out of the car and ran over to the group, they were still dressed in the suits they wore to Chrissy's funeral. They must have been looking for him all day.

"Jason!" She shouted. They all turned to look at her, weapons tightly gripped in each other their hands.

"Y/N? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here." Jason said with the fake polite tone he used on her parents.

"It's none of your business why I'm here. What are you guys doing here? Why are all of you carrying weapons? What's going on?" Her heart was pounding in her chest. She prayed that Eddie could sneak away while they were all distracted.

"We're looking for Munson. We just want to talk to him." Andy, Chance, and Patrick all nodded behind him. None of them looked like they just wanted to talk, they were looking for a fight.

"Talk? Do you need crowbars to talk Jason? And why are you looking for Eddie anyway?" Y/N tried to peak behind the boys in front of her, but it was too dark to see anything. She didn't know where Eddie was, and it terrified her.

"He's the one that killed Chrissy!" Andy shouted.

"No, he's not. What happened to Chrissy wasn't his fault. You've got it all wrong." Y/N tried to reason with them. She hoped they would listen to her and leave Eddie alone.

"And how do you know anything about that Y/N?" The fake polite tone was gone from Jason's voice then. He sounded sinister, violent. Like the crowbar in his hand wasn't just for Eddie now.

"Because I was there when she died. What killed her wasn't... it wasn't Eddie. Eddie and I were trying to give her an intervention that night, because she wanted to buy some Special K. I was in his room with him when she died in the trailer. He's innocent." Y/N was trying to be brave now, show no weakness in front of them. She couldn't afford to break, not with Eddie's life on the line.

"Did you see who killed her then? If you are so sure of his innocence?" Y/N didn't know what to say, what she could say. She thought they had more time to get their stories straight. She thought she could talk it over with Dustin and his friends once they had more information to go on. It was too late now.

"I didn't see who killed her. Chrissy was already dead when Eddie and I left the room." It was a half truth, but it was the best she could come up with in the moment. She hoped it would satisfy Jason.

"Oh I see..." Jason was laughing at her now, mean and cruel. "While you were busy whoring yourself out to the freak, Chrissy was left alone to die." It felt like a slap to the face. Every word out of his mouth dripping with venom as he said it. Andy and Chance were laughing behind him, as if this whole thing was hilarious.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. Leave Jason. Right now." Y/N steeled herself in front of them, sick of their useless judgement. All of the boys stayed put, refusing to back down while their leader continued his charade.

"So you don't deny it huh? Wow, turns out Grayson was right boys. Y/N Cunningham, Eddie Munson's little slu-" Y/N didn't let him finish the sentence before she punched him in the face. Jason didn't expect the hit, so he nearly went down when her fist connected with his cheek. Andy and Chance caught him before he fell, dropping their weapons in the process.

"For once in your life Jason just shut the fuck up! You talk as if you have any clue what's going on but you don't! So why don't you just take your little toys, your laughable alpha male attitude, and go... Chrissy would be mortified with your behavior right now. If she weren't already gone, she'd dump your sorry ass in a second." Jason looked like he was about to lunge at her when Chance saw something in the water.

"Look! There's something over there!" Jason turned towards the lake, noticing the ripples in the shoreline. All of them took off running, Y/N following closely behind. Once they got around the boathouse she could see Eddie peddling the small boat in the water.

"Holy shit.. Hey freak!" Jason shouted. Y/N could see Eddie twist to look at them, he pulled the oar out of the water.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jason started to take off his suit, and Patrick started to do the same. They was going after Eddie.

"Stop it!" Y/N screamed. She tried to run closer to the shore, but Chance and Andy held her back. She fought against their firm grips on her arms, neither of them possessing the gentleness Eddie had when he held her.

"Y/N!" Eddie shouted. Y/N looked up, he looked like he was about to dive into the water.

"Go! Start the engine and go! Now!" Eddie paused. He didn't want to leave her there.

"I'll be okay! Just go-" Andy covered her mouth with her hand, she bit it as hard as she could.

"Ow! You bitch!" He kneed Y/N in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She could see Jason and Patrick swimming towards the boat, what was left in her lungs she screamed to Eddie.

"Go!" Eddie tried pulling the engine cord, but it was a bust. So he started rowing further out in the lake, Jason and Patrick quick on his tail. Y/N kept fighting Andy and Chance off, but they had her arms pulled so far back she thought they would rip out of their sockets. She was stuck. Stuck watching as Jason and Patrick began closing the gap between them and Eddie.

All of the sudden Patrick stopped, Jason was yelling something but she couldn't hear it. They were too far out. Eddie stopped too, and they all watched in horror as Patrick flew into the air. His body was contorting in every direction, just like Chrissy's body did. Then just like her, he fell. His body plummeting into the water with a deafening splash.

It was happening again. Vecna's curse. He had taken another victim.

Taglist:

@imchangkyunned , @creativedogs , @nightless , @kik51199 , @thecraziestcrayon , @dabzzallday420 , @science--hoes , @efvyqrs , @justanotherkpopstanlol ,

[o-craven-canto]

Tablets found on the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea, east of Sardinia

Deep-dwelling Herdmother, unnumbered ancestors, forgive me!

Forgive me? What forgiveness? What do I need forgiveness for? I did nothing, I have no blame – strike me blind and foot-deaf if I lie – it was they, it was the apes, confound them, it was they who ruined the world! See them squirming and clambering over each other, hear them jabbering and chittering as if they've done good. And yet I gave them help. Gods of the Valley, I did! Wither my trunk, Herdmother, bind my ankles and tear out my tongue. Reach back in time, I beg you, I beg you, I beg you, and stop my idiot self from bringing about this disaster.

I feel myself suffocate – if only I'd suffocated first – if only I'd slipped into a ravine during the ascent – if only my mother, curse her bones, had purged me from her womb – I will cast myself down, I've seen the apes suffer long after a fall, but my body is heavier, and will burst on the crests before I can feel it. Here, I've drunk a soothing tisane, and will be calm enough to write.

Oh, Gods, this noise!

I am sound of mind and able of trunk, even in this unnatural air; what I plan to do will be my only sensible action in a long time. Who knows whether death will buy me a place in the cool, peaceful mud-fields below, and spare me from universal revenge? Who knows? There never was a crime as great at this, before today. I'll write this in clay, and leave it in a crevice, high enough to be spared by the end of the world. Perhaps some imbecile or scoundrel, cast out of the good lands, will read it. How fitting that imbeciles and scoundrels will be all that is left, although not me, the greatest imbecile and scoundrel of all.

I hated you then, Gods of the Valley, as I walked under your idols of glowing rocksalt, for making me restless and unhappy, and for making this world ugly and cruel. And I hate you now, for not falling from your pillars and shattering my skull when you could. The servant apes scrambled about with their baskets and amphors, some bruised and limping, some painted and perfumed. How little thought I paid them, once; they did not reach my knee, and they would take enough care of avoiding my footfalls.

I have wandered from city to city, as my father must have done in the arousal of the musth before he visited the household of my mother and aunts. What a sight was he, my mother would sigh, gleaming with copper and selenite won from so many rivals, and his tusks filed to murderous sharpness. But the musth was not for me; I briefly saw it in my brothers before they went their own way, while I should have stayed with my sisters and cousins, with the ape-swarm of our palace turning about us. We would see the sky only to visit the idols and bring them gifts of oil and crocodile skins.

The servant beasts would feed me argan branches and glasswort, peel the waste off my footpads, and rub me pleasantly with perfumed oils. I hated it, and hated them, and wished my tusks were filed and the nectar of rage pouring from my temples. Yet so sweet was their touch and so full their subjection – even when once I withdrew food until they had done bloody and unnatural things – that I found my contempt mixed with love. Their cries aroused more sympathy in me than the bellows of my sisters, who often beat clumsy apes. How could I take pleasure in them in the house that made us prisoners, with so callous a company?

***

One night I slipped under an archway and out of my natal palace, carrying as many servants as I could, scurrying around me or riding on my back. I started wandering all around the Valley, along dusty roads and canals lined with the idols of carved rocksalt. I sheltered from the sun behind towers and pyramids of limestone and saw the hazy, cloud-grazing cliffs that mark all the edges of the Valley. I would shelter with my apes in boneyards at night; I purchased them milk from discreet wetnurses, and gave them meat when a wild hippopotamus would stray into a city. How I suffered for them! I loved them, and they never loved me, cleaning me only when forced, and gulping down their bloody meals without caring if I could see.

Everywhere I saw monstrosity. One of my apes was killed by two youths for amusement, and often I had to sell their services for odious tasks. One I had to kill myself as it tried to leave, to betray me for crueler masters; the others, perhaps understanding its wickedness, refused its meat, and forced me to look for other food. Many I saw discarded at the feet of construction sites, or heaped on carts leaving a theater after a mock battle. I stomped the ground in anger and cursed the Gods of the Valley, wishing the outer gods who dwell on the vast cliffs around to bring destruction on this gruesome world.

Outer gods, outer gods, of all the desperate pleas raised from the beginning of the world, was this the one you should answer?

One morning I awoke from painful dreams while we were in the far west of the Valley. From the construction sites we stole a hundred sacks of ape-fashioned tools. We set to climb the great slope where it was most accessible, where the great cloudbanks gathered. Pushing, bellowing, threatening I drove my apes on the scorched path, through the brambles and the gravel drifts.

It rains, sometimes, and the great salt lakes overflow and flood the fields and towns all around. If they all overflowed at once, what a chastisement it would be for my brutish kind! I knew that there is water high on the western highlands, that the ladies of old had built a wall to keep out its tides…

Perhaps a year after leaving the palace we were up high on the far western cliff. We could see the many ramparts of cut sandstone and limestone mingle with the natural walls, dark shrubs and vines clinging to their blocks. They had been built and reinforced again and again over the generations; but what takes centuries to rise, may take a moment to fall. Is not a moment enough to slay a person, who has grown two years in the womb, and fifty outside? Is it not enough to fell a secular tree? Destruction grows from seeds, as well as creation; the ancient walls had been neglected in this complacent, gluttonous age; a modest breach in the highest and thinnest section, that would suffice.

I set my servants to work. They were of a breed created for construction work, and could brandish well hammer and chisel. They would chip at the lichenous mortar; they cleverly opened cracks in the blocks burdened with more weight, and spread them open with metal wedges. A feverish excitement made my body shiver at each directive, but I had brought with me stores of a sweet tea to calm my nerves.

For months the apes labored. They worked hard, chattering in sounds too high for me to hear. They fed themselves, mostly, by killing birds and collecting pine nuts; I still carried jars of curdled milk and dried meat, which they accessed less and less. I would sit in the shade, chewing deliciously sour branches. I slept more peacefully than ever, knowing that my anger had been entrusted to quick hands, and would soon find its consummation. A million fools, too, slept and chewed and mounted each other in the Valley; and nobody came upon us, nobody cared about the wall standing between them and utter ruin.

Eventually I succumbed to curiosity. I wished to see for myself if the lake I was about to unleash was larger than any on the bottom of the Valley. My footpads caught a slow, peaceful rhythm in its bulk. I went alone above the highest ridge, where I could see the other side of the wall, those waters that had been many steps lower when the Valley was first peopled. I broke through the last barrier of juniper and maritime pines, where I could hear the waves breaking, and smell the salt that they flung in the air.

I did not know.

***

I did not know, I had thought only another lake stood here; but the expanse, Gods of the Valley, the expanse blue and flat and bare and endless, enough to fill the Valley a thousandfold. Swarming birds screeched overhead, insulting me. All that water, released at once, ah, it can't be imagined, it would wash away everything like sand from dirty feet, overturn the hardest ground like sods behind the plough, close over the tallest pyramids and charge the farthest eastern cliff…

And still the apes labored. I raced down, but in my bewilderment I tripped on the loose stones and tangled myself in the brambles. Too afraid to leave my distant vantage point, I shouted at them to come back. For hours perhaps; and they came back to me at last, but then I could already see the dirty white of racing water project from a breach in the wall.

I hit them in blind anger, the little creeping devils. I kicked and crushed them underfoot, I flung them into the ravine and against sharp rocks; but even as they bled and died they made this shrill, revolting, panting call, which I know is a call of triumph and mockery. The remainder scattered away in the thirsty scrub, to mingle with their wilder kin – I hear them now, grunting and hooting behind the bushes. I hear them – despite this noise!

It's too late. Nobody can arrest the waterfall now, and as it pours and screams through the gorge it will only grow. The seed of destruction – I see tree-covered ridges slide and vanish in the froth, I see the cliffsides melting like wax. My ledge is already loose. The mountains shudder.

You – you little vermin – you think you've done something good? Your own kin down in the Valley – the cubs you've sired and born – your little hive-mounds and mating-coves – you will have only beastly mockeries for companions – civilize them, I dare you! No one to feed you and shelter you, you've murdered yourself, you stupid wastes of water – I loved you so, damn you all –

Unnumbered ancestors, unnumbered descendants – no – no descendants – never – no more people, not ever, only brutes and speechless cretins, cast out – cities, fields, all gone – songs and books – canals and gardens – all joy and love and glory – no more, not ever, damned outer gods, why must I know, why must I see –

Herdmother, spare me from that noise – oh, poxes, the foot-sound is so much louder and faster than the ear-sound – if there is mercy it will creep up my footpads and shatter my bones – my ledge quakes – ah! The water! I see the water! It's grand – it's beyond description – a piece of sky, falling – a mountain of glass, rolling over – a monster, all claws and coils – its shadow swallows a city – its froth rises tall as the cliffs – I don't want to see – I don't want to see – but look, it's grand – let me see

[vibratingskull]

My hand joined in prayer

Part1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Tag list

Tags : Religion, church, temple, Mass, community

FemaleReaderxThrawn

Nather brings you to a temple on Coruscant, hoping it would ease your sentiment of solitude. Unbeknownst to you, destiny is in motion.

You take a step back to have a good view.

You gulp.

The building is enormous.

In a pyramid form with steps, the building in what appears to be beige marble clashes with the rest of Coruscant. Sitting at the top of a tower of apartments and offices near Core Square, the construction of more than 21 000 meters square takes center stage of the neighborhood, less tall but more wide than the other buildings, the sun rises behind it and shines all its light on the smooth surface of the marble. Already a huge crowd is forming at its door. 

You tug your suit to smooth and flatten it. A hand appears on your backside, you turn your head to Nather who just parked the airspeeder. As always, a smile is flowing on his lips, with his hand he gestures to you all of the building. 

"Welcome, (y/n)!" 

Your gaze comes back on the impressive built. 

"What's this ?" You ask with a voice filled with curiosity.

"This is, I hope, the remedy to your loneliness! Come." He takes your hand and guides you toward a small group of people talking with energetic tones.

"Demat my friends!”

They all turn towards you with smiles on their faces. You can’t really say because they wore civil clothes but you think one of them is another governor. An old man in a grey tunic opens his mouth first.

“Demat Arzel. What a beautiful day for a ceremony isn’t it ?”

"Indeed. Let's hope the future days will be as clement. Is the beleg officiate today?”

“Oh yes! He came back last week with news of others kenvreuriezh…”

You let them talk without understanding the jargon, you just nod silently with a polite smile, not daring to interrupt them. A woman between two ages looks at you up and down and takes the floor.

“Arzel, honey, who’s that pretty thing accompanying you?”

Your lips part at the demeaning compliment, taken aback you don’t know how to respond without missing a beat. Nather flies to your rescue, pushing you slightly forward in the circle of friends.

“This is my pearl. Everyone meets (y/n)!”

They all smile at you, nod, and exclaim some welcoming formula. The woman takes your hands in hers and squeezes them as a salutation.

"So it's her? Welcome my child." she pinches your cheek like she would a baby. 

"Tell me, what did he told you to convince you to come ?" 

You ostensibly massage your cheek, still with a polite smile. 

"Huh… He wanted to present to me his friends, ma'am."

"Don't ma'am me, my child. We are all friends here, we use each other's nicknames!" You realize she didn't release your other hand, you squeeze it but she didn't take the hint. "We should find you a nickname!" Her eyes glow as she speaks. 

"That's a bit premature, no?" Nather interjects, his fan touches her hand and she finally releases yours, you quickly retract it. “This is her first time, you’re gonna scare her…”

“A nickname?” You ask. “What for?”

“Oh it’s just a silly little thing.” The woman says. “A way to strengthen ties between us. For example my nickname is Berc’hed, Nather is Arzel, this is Gleann.” She designates the old man in grey. “And you, my dear…” She takes your face between her two hands, making you look like a fish, you have to challenge all your patience to not pull them off. “You have a visage to be called Roween. Am I right?” She asks the rest of the circle. They all agree with enthusiasm.

This woman is really exhaustive, you decide. You can’t wait to be away from her, fortunately Nather seems to share your sentiment.

“Alright, that’s it. Enough!” She lets you go. “I had all the pains in the world to get her to accept and you’re gonna make her run away the first day…” He wraps his arm around your shoulders and guides you away.

“Bye Roween! We will see each other next time!” They all cheer as you walk away, you wave at them with an embarrassed smile.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers in your ear. “They tend to be a little… enthusiast when I bring someone new .“

“I saw that.”

“Come, I have other people to greet. They are more calm, I promise.” As you walk you see him nod or wave to different people, he is visibly famous. And with great people too! Other governors, commandants, even an admiral. There are some connections to make, you think. 

You both pass the door of the building to enter a large room with tapestries, sculptures, high stained-glass, a large carpet running in the center of the room from the entrance to three large wooden doors, the hall is filled to the brim with people of different ages, from toddlers to senior. They are gathered as little cells, dispatched, the sound of their conversation resonating inside the room. 

"I have something to check up on, Can I leave you alone for two minutes? You are gonna be okay?”He asks, genuinely concerned.

It makes you laugh.

“Yes, I think I’ll survive.”

“Good.” He kisses your forehead and you lose him in the crowd.

You take this opportunity to observe your surroundings, clenching your purse. You notice there is a buffet, of an impressive size to sustain such a crowd, shelves with medals and cups, and different stalls. The crowd is diverse, human and aliens, of different standing and economic background alike are mixed in a bubbling melting pot. You head towards the information stand, decided to get some infos.

“Hi! Sorry to bother, but could you tell me… what this place is?” You ask the hostess standing behind a counter with different books for sale. You have to raise your voice to be heard. The human woman looks at you with a pearly white smile, in an impeccable uniform she slightly bows before you before answering.

“Welcome! You are at the temple of the Church of Unifying White Light. Also called Heaven Hall.” 

You blink.

A church? Nather didn’t cross you as particularly spiritual. And neither are you.

“A church?” You repeat. “And what do you believe in?” you ask cautiously.

“We believe in the reunification of all the races, miss.” She gives you a colorful flier. “We are a large organization that promotes different initiatives and philosophic principles, we preach acceptance and pray for a near unification of all the sisterly species under the same banner.” She gestures to the books for sale. “But you will find everything in the books of the beleg, all our beliefs and what we stand for.” She hands you one of them that you take and leaf through.

Well, to say it surprised you is an understatement. Rare are the movements of equality under the Empire, despite numerous protests and actions it doesn’t really move the global population. And the simple fact that this church can operate questions you on its ability to fight for equality, but it's better than nothing you think. You read here they are against slavery. Eli would have liked this church, you think. But you grow uneasy, you’ve never hated aliens, but you’ve never felt comfortable near them. It wasn’t always like that, before the incident you thought of everyone as your brother and sister but since then you grow wary of the other. Standing here makes you feel like a hypocrite. You hand her back the book but she refuses it without abandoning her smile.

“The first tome is free.” 

“But I don’t… I don’t think I-”

“You’re not a believer.” She cuts you with an accomplice wink. “But that can change. Stay for the mass, speak to the people, maybe you will see the light. And recognize your fellow beings as your siblings.” She gestures to the crowd of humans and aliens, mixed as one. “Maybe you are here for a reason, maybe it is time for you to do some soul searching and extend your hand to your next one.” She looks at you without judgment, confident. 

You look at them. Could you? After what happened, could you still believe in them? 

Thrawn’s face flashes in your mind. You believe in him, despite what happened. Could this happen? A world where you could be his sibling and walk with him, even from far away?

 You want to believe it. Even if the hope is thin, you wanna believe it is possible.

And Nather is a believer of that movement, so maybe you should look into it. 

You hold the book close to your heart with a newfound smile on your lips.

“I will try.”

“Wise decision.” She nods at you with a satisfied grin. “And as there is no better moment than the present to start changing, can I ask you for a generous donation for one of our causes ?”

 You’re taken aback by the sudden shift of subject.

“Huh, maybe. What are they?”

“We have different ones. There is one for the integration of the youth in our sponsored team sports or we have a program that finances the construction of schools in regions touched by the war.”

“Oh…The school one.” You decide. It will be your Good Action of the day.

You proceed to the exchange and she bows once again.

“Thanks miss, you are one step closer to the White Light.”

“Thank you. Say, I have a last question. What is it about those nicknames?”

“Once you are considered a real member of the church, you get a new name. See that as a baptism for your rebirth as a more enlightened person.”

You salute her and head towards the center of the room. You think you recognize someone.You approach the group and your instinct didn’t lie to you, there are officers of the Marine here. You recognize some. 

"... And he gave himself all the merit! I've never seen that !" Says the admiral Wiskovis.

"And who might you be to eavesdrop on others, little one?" Ask a ginger woman you don't recognize.

"I am (y/n) (y/l/n), I work in the Imperial Marine." You stammer.

"Oh really? What is your rank miss (y/l/n)?" 

"I'm a junior lieutenant." You announce with the ardor of youth. 

"Ha…" Says the admiral, already disinterested. He turns back to his group of friends "He executed this interrogation like a master, but still. Can we allow such behavior from low ranking officers?" 

"What are you talking about?" You demand, trying to create a connection. 

"We were talking about the new mascot of the marine, an alien straight up from wild space. You might have heard of him, he has a bad habit of shaking the established order.”

“I might have heard about him, yeah.” You pout.

Even when he’s not here, Thrawn makes everyone talk about him.

"Did you hear? Another person has been poisoned." Exposes a second woman with blue eyes. "The killer vanished without a trace. It's the third high ranking of the Empire to be killed like that after those two senators." She says with an air of conspiracy. 

"Bah. Another settling of score between them, it's commonplace among the politicians" Wiskovis laughs. 

"But it's a Major of the Imperial Army who died this time!" She counters. “Do you think it's connected to the robbery of slaves?”

You are losing interest in the conversation when something picks your attention.

A very specific shade of blue in the crowd.

Impossible. You think.

You go after it without thinking about it. You try and navigate your way among the sea of people, eyes fixed on the blue.

That beautiful blue.

You extend your hand and reach his shoulder.

And are met with green eyes.

Before you stand a Twi’lek with a surprised look on his face, with the exact same skin as Thrawn. You quickly retract your hand, all your senses alert.

“I’m sorry, I mistaked you for someone else.”

“No problem.” His eyes laugh “You’re new too?”

You frown then notice the first tome in his hands.

“No. I’m…” You silently berate yourself. You’ve just said you would make an effort. “Yes. It’s my first time.” You try to calm yourself down.

He nods with a shy smile.

“Me too. I wonder how it will be.”

“The prospectus said there will be a demonstration then a mass with the… Beleg?”

“You’re more informed than I am.” He extends his hand. “I’m Vez’lajui, but my friends call me just Vez.”

You hesitate a second but shake his hand with a smile you hope appears sincere.

“Pleased to meet you! I’m (y/n).”

 “Who did you mistake me for?”

“A… Friend. Yes. A friend.” He raises his eyebrow. “You have the same skin, so…”

He laughs looking at his hand.

“We indeed have a very specific shade of blue.” You nod. “ So, (y/n), what do you do in life?”

“I’m a lieutenant in the marine.”

His smile vanishes and he seems to move back.

“And you?” You try to hold him back “What do you do?”

“I’m an artist.”

“Really? My friend is a real aficionado of art!” He seems to relax a little. “What do you do?”

“I paint and sculpt. Your friend likes art?”

“Oh it’s more than just liking.” You grin. “It could be his religion.”

You both laugh, the atmosphere slowly alleviating.

Suddenly, the central doors open and the crowd starts moving inside. Away, you can see Nather waving at you, jumping on site to be seen above the moving wave of people. 

"Let's get inside !" You say joyfully to Vez.

He follows you through the crowd to Nather that seize your hand.

"Our seats are on the front row."

"Can Vez come sit with us ?" 

He looks at him up and down and shrugs his shoulders, guiding you inside the room. 

This new room is gigantic. With several floors and balconies, you estimate it can accommodate at least 100 000 people, and almost all the seats are taken. You’ve prepared yourself for cheap chairs and decolored walls but you're graced with padded armchairs and sculpted moldings on handrails and walls.  Even more tapestries are hung, in beautiful shades of red, gold and blue. A large scene with a podium has been built with a sculpture of the logo of the church hung over it in a golden material; heavy white curtains prevent the crowd from seeing what's behind the stage. Your breath is taken away. You didn’t expect such rich decor.

“Who finances the church?” You ask Nather as you take your seat. 

"The Empire would never finance a church with this ideology for now, so it runs on the donations of the parishioners and fundraising."

You whistle. It must have some generous crazy rich parishioners. 

"For now?" Inquiries Vez. 

"Well, we are working hard for it to come as soon as possible." Nather responds with a grin. 

The room goes dark as you sit down, and rhythmic music starts to rise. Everyone goes silent waiting for something to happen. The large doors open once again to let children in costumes appear, with sticks, balls and ribbons they set off on the alleys, throwing their instruments adroitly to execute a figure and catching them back without missing a beat. They walk down the aisle, human and non-human, with broad smiles and impeccable hairstyles. The audience applauds with tenderness in the eyes, forgiving the minute errors and failures of the children doing their best. Following them, teens and young adults execute pirouettes, spins, somersaults, moons and splits. 

“That’s one of the gym teams we sponsor!” Nather tells you over his shoulder. You don’t lose a crumb of the spectacle, cheering the little guys.

They traverse the hall to place themself before the scene, under the applause and the hurray they perform figures more and more spectacular in perfect synchrony, throwing each other more and more rapidly, building human pyramids higher and higher. At some point the crowd gasp as a little pantoran jump off the top of a seven meters pyramid, you grasp Nather’s arms, shocked. But she’s caught by her comrades without breaking a sweat and you can release a sigh of relief, a hand on your heart. It continues for five more minutes until it escalates to a grand finale. You applaud so much your palms burn. They bow to the audience before trotting towards the exit and the claps subside as the lights come back. 

“Well that was entertaining!" Vez exclaimes himself. 

You nod in agreement, it sure must change from those traditional sermons, way more dynamic. 

A middle-age man you assume to be the Beleg passes the white curtains on the stage, walking like he owns the place and the audience goes completely crazy. The crowd rose like one man, shouting to the point of losing its voice, chanting praises and hurrays, applauding like thunder, making the whole room tremble. The racket is deafening but you participate gleefully. 

The man wore a white and golden robe, of rich fabric and a ceremonial scarf with embroidery. With gray temples, he conducts himself haughtily. He walks with a tranquil pace, saluting the crowd like he would old acquaintances. The standing ovation continues as he walks from one side of the stage to the other, laughing as he plays with the public. He finally takes place behind the podium, inviting the public to calm down. 

"My friends! What a pleasure to see you all once again!" 

New ovation. You notice a scar running from his neck to his temples, you bend towards Nather.

“What happened to him?” You whisper.

“There has been a police raid at one of our last sessions, he refused to back down.”

"The Empire tried to take us down! But they can not defeat the truth!” He speaks with a clear and strong voice. “And the truth is : we are indissociable! United!” He welcomes the praises with open arms. “I didn’t waste my time being away, I traveled from many planets : Charros, Edusa, Sullust,… Spraying the good words of the White Light. And I command you to do the same, my friends, share the words, build bridges! Do not let people in ignorance. Every soul enlightened is a soul saved!”

A murmur of agreement spread through the audience, Nather slowly nods. Your gaze travels over the room observing the people's faces, their smile, their light applauds not to disturb the speech. 

"But before the sermon, it came to my attention that some of you brought newcomers with you and I would like to talk to them, know them a bit. See you, my young friend, what is your story?" He says designing Vez. 

A projector turns on and illuminates the Vez and a staff member’s hands him a micro. He stands up and takes a deep breath. 

"My story is quite common, bullying when I was young, little to no opportunity when I became an adult. I own a studio where I sculpt and paint, it has been sacked several times." You look up at him, feeling sorry and ashamed. "For a long time I only felt hatred, fear and anger, but it was burning me slowly, depriving him of who I really am. And recently someone extended their hand to me and showed me the way. I don't want to fear all the time, I don't want anger eating at me slowly and consuming who I really am, I want to believe in justice, so I decided to come here.”

You applaud with the audience, nodding approvingly as he sits back down. The beleg nods approvingly.

“And you, my child? What is your story?”

You slowly stop applauding as you realize the spotlight is on you, for all to see. Vez puts the mic in your hand and you turn towards Nather unknowing what to do, he simply gestures to you to get up and speak.

“I, huh-” You rose slowly from your seat “I don’t have anything to say.” You try.

“Come now.” He tempers. “We all have a story, that is why we are all here.”

“I…” You gulp. “I don’t know what to say…” You laugh nervously ”We herberged a young pantoran when I was a child, then…”

A memory flashes in your mind.

“Then…”

It imposes itself to you, replaying in your mind without your consent.

“Then I saw…”

Shut up.

“I saw…”

Shut the fuck up.

“I saw my cousin get shot… By a Togruta and a Twi’lek…” Your voice cracks at the end.

The room is dead silent, not ready for a bomb like that. You hear some gasps and a light murmur across the hall. Nather and Vez look at each other, disconcerted. Congrats, you idiot ! You’re frozen in place, incredulous that you actually said that out loud. The beleg keeps silent, looking at the floor for a split second before taking back the floor.

“This was very brave of you to say. Thank you for sharing.”

He continues to speak but you don’t hear him. Shaking all over, you give the mic to Nather , take your purse and run out the church.

Why did you say that?! You didn’t confront it for years and you drop that at a church meeting?! Trembling, you stop next to a bench, taking out tissues to dry your wet cheeks. You take deep breaths, trying to take back control when a feminine voice rises behind you. 

"(y/n)?" 

Surprised, you turn towards a young woman in clothes faded but still in good conditions. Dark rings under her eyes are the witnesses to her sleepless night. You've never seen her in your entire life. 

"You are with him, don't you?" 

"Huh ?" You sniff, not understanding a word being said. 

"Listen, I should not being here,I-" 

"Indeed, you should not be here." Nather appears next to you with an icy cold voice. 

She looks at him in shock, not expecting him. 

"Go away, Ashcorah. You've lost your privileges around here."

You watch the silent duel between the two without interfering. The gaze of the woman slides back to you, imploring. But you don't budge, still trembling. She finally steps back and runs away without any more words. Nather places himself in front of you and take your face between his hands, brushing your cheeks with his thumbs. He looks at you longingly.

“Are you alright, my pearl?”

You nod slowly, sniffing away your tears. He pulls you into a hug, you bury your face in the crook of his neck, wetting the hem of his coat. You look in the direction of the departed woman. 

"Who was she ?" You manage to ask. 

He squeezes you. 

"Just someone who doesn't believe in our values anymore, we didn't have any other choice but to shun her when she decided to go vocal after our belief in equality."

You don't say a thing, fixated on her direction. 

She knew your name. 

“It was so brave of you to share your story!” He cradles you. “You know, we all have a story here, but we are here to grow. Together, hand in hand.” 

He parts and wipes a tear of your cheek.

“Will you think about it?” He whispers.

You nod once again, putting your head on his shoulder.

“I wanna go home” You sigh. 

_________________________

You stand before the door, apprehensive. You turn to admire the blue trees and their chanting birds. 

How many years since you came here ? 

You barely remember anything. 

The door opens behind you and you turn towards a woman of approximately 40 years. 

"Yes ?" She asks suspiciously. 

"Hello ! I'm (y/n)." You extend your hand to her with a polite smile. 

 She opens her eyes wide open like saucers and shuts the door right into your face. You stay speechless, not knowing what to do. You hear ruckus behind the door, like someone failing to speak with a low voice and another one surexcited. 

The door reopens to an old woman and the same woman. They look at you like they saw a ghost and you do not dare to move. 

“(Y/N)!” Exclaims the old  woman, pulling you into a bear hug.

“Yes… that’s me.…” You manage to say, without being strangled.

“I’m your grandma!” She parts with you, holding your face. “Oh dear Maker, you’ve grown so much! But you surely don’t remember me, you were so young when I last saw you” 

You search in your memory, deep down, and vaguely remember an already old woman inviting you for an after-school snack on her lap when you were maybe three or four.

You smile.

“Yeah, I remember you.”

“Oh Maker. Look at you! You’re a full grown woman, now!” She gasps with emotion. “You must see your grandpa! He will be so happy to see you!” 

Without any warning she pulls inside the house. Damn! For a frail old woman she sure does have some strength! Your parents would choke if they knew who you were.

You arrive in a well lit room with an old armchair near a window, in it seats an old man, eyes lost in thoughts. He barely reacts to your arrival.

“He had an accident last year and has been let diminished since then.” Says your grandma with a pained expression. “But go see him, it can only do goods.”

You carefully approach, trying to catch his attention.

“Grandpa?” 

He doesn’t react, eyes lost fixed on the void of the window.

“Grandpa, it’s me.” You try, delicately taking his hand.

He slowly turns his head towards you, staring into your eyes without recollecting who you are. His eyes are void of anything. You barely know this man but it still pains you to see him reduced to this state. You turn towards your grandma with pleading eyes, she just gestures to you to try again. 

“I’m (y/n). Do you remember me?” You squeeze his hand.

To no avail.

You’re about to get back to your Grandma and your aunt when you see something clicks in his eyes. He slowly brushes your cheek with his hand. You see his eyes getting wet.

“Of course I remember you.” He simply says.

Your aunt gasps with relief as you put him into a hug, relieved to see him out of his coma state. You would lie if you said it didn’t pinch your heart. 

You appreciate having him in your arms before remembering why you were here for.

“Grandpa, I have a question.”

___________________________________________

“That’s all I could find.” You send.

“That is plenty, it will be useful to me. Thank you for your cooperation.” Thrawn replies.

“Take good care and make the most of those infos, I had to deceive my grandparents to get them.”

This time his response is slow to come.

“I am truly sorry to hear that. I will make the most of it, I promise.” 

You stare at his response, you feel guilty for having to mislead in such a way your own grandparents, all bandits they might have been in the past. You’re pulled out of your thoughts by a message in the loudspeaker of the Zephyr.

“Junior lieutenants (y/l/n) and Norcaus, you’re awaited on the bridge.” The message ends in statics.

You sigh. Another day, another crisis, you think. You take your cap and head towards the bridge, ready to hunt down pirates.

@Bluechiss, @justanothersadperson93, @al-astakbar

[bracketsoffear]

Abarat (Clive Barker) "Candy lives in Chickentown USA: the most boring place in the world, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future may hold. She is soon to find out: swept out of our world by a giant wave, she finds herself in another place entirely… The Abarat: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of the island of Midnight, ruled by Christopher Carrion. (…)" Half of the islands in Abarat are night islands and most of the main bad guys work for forces of darkness trying to bring eternal monstrous darkness to all islands. Spoilers under cut"

The Night Land (William Hope Hodgson) "The Sun has gone out and the Earth is lit only by the glow of residual vulcanism. The last few millions of the human race are gathered together in the Last Redoubt, a gigantic metal pyramid, nearly eight miles high, which is under siege from unknown forces and Powers outside in the dark. These are held back by a shield known as the "air clog", powered from a subterranean energy source called the "Earth Current". For thousands of years vast living shapes known as the Watchers have waited in the darkness near the pyramid. It is thought that they are waiting for the inevitable time when the Circle's power finally weakens and dies. Other living things have been seen in the darkness, some of unknown origins, and others that may once have been human."

Can't speak of it in detail cuz I have not read that part yet, but the bad guys apparently succeeded in bringing forces of darkness to the islands.

[helenadurazzo]

The Gorgon Statue

Welcome to a rewrite of In The Shadow of the Relic. As always this is meant to help rework Sebastian’s character and story and this particular quest rewrite will have some major changes so keep that in mind.

Trigger Warning: Death, Imperius Curse, Misunderstandings, Angst

“So what was it you wanted to show me?” Phineas asked with curiosity as he followed Sebastian to the ruined castle on the hill not too far from Feldcroft.

“I found some runes that I’d like to see if you could decipher on the castle’s walls.” Sebastian explained, “I found a lead that Salazar Slytherin might have worked with a previous lord of this very castle back in the days of the founders to work on how to manipulate dark magic. Whether that manipulation was meant to cure people afflicted by it I’m not sure, but perhaps I could reverse engineer it.”

“Was this why you didn’t want to bring Ominis along?” Phineas asked.

“No,” Sebastian assured him, “I know he’s worried for me and he means well. It’s just that this place can be dangerous if you don’t know your way around. I have moved my studying from the catacombs to here after my uncle found me reading the spell book over the holidays, he was insanely furious with me. I just wish he knew I only want the best for Anne, he isn’t doing anything to help her other than acting content with what has happened, I can’t live with that.”

“Just don’t go too far Sebastian.” Phineas warned him, “The further you get from shore, the more likely you are going to drown.”

“Is that some riddle Marie taught you?” Sebastian smirked.

“Perhaps.” Phineas couldn’t help but smile and kept it as he looked at the ruins. The castle walls were made of stone that managed to persist and even the sights of a once flourishing garden was present, along with garden statues. However, many were quite off putting, especially one with a snake haired woman.

“She’s a clever one.” Sebastian noted, “Yet always seems suspicious of me.”

“She just likes to stay out of trouble.” Phineas assured his friend, “However, as much trouble as you get in, I will admit you know how to properly prepare.”

“At least someone does.” Sebastian grinned, “Thank you, Finn.”

“Of course.” Phineas happily replied, “However I thought you were focusing on that pyramid you found in the catacombs, have you already moved on?”

“The guy from Hogsmeade said it would only worsen the condition so I had to find another solution.” Sebastian explained. “It’s another reason I moved my studies to this location, it’s the next oldest place in Feldcroft I could think of, and it should be a while before my uncle manages to rage in here acting like he can control me as if I’m his little puppet.”

“I know your frustrated with him.” Phineas inferred, “But I’m sure he means well, he has kept a roof over your and Anne’s heads for all these years.”

“I suppose so.” Sebastian sighed, “Still, it feels like he’s never actually been there for us, more like a ghost than an actual person. I know he is mourning the death of our parents, he lost his brother after all, however if he truly loved us, he would find another way to help Anne. Her health is already declining quickly as it is, she won’t have much time I worry. She’s withering away like a flower in winter…I can’t bear to lose her…”

Phineas nodded, “Now what did you want me to examine for you?” He asked, hoping to get Sebastian in a better mood

“Right here.” He said motioned to one of the walls.

“Hmm…fascinating.” Phineas remarked, “I can see the traces of where ancient magic was once here, and the symbol of the keepers. And it looks like the runes you saw were only part of the message, half of it is glowing showing it has been created using ancient magical techniques…”

“You mean that drab group of folks who talk about history only slightly more interestingly than Professor Binns?” Sebastian asked.

“I wouldn’t describe them quite like that,” Phineas admitted, “But yes.” He turned his head back to the runes, he tried to read it and decipher it in a notebook he had and scribbled down the translation; Enhanced gazer of enchanted stone awaken and reveal the secrets of old. He wasn’t quite sure what it meant, perhaps Sebastian could figure it out by cross referencing it with his research, yet before he could convey the message, the rustling of bushes caught him off guard.

“You heard that too right?” Sebastian whispered to which Phineas nodded and suddenly figured out where it was coming from when they were quickly surrounded by none other, than the gang of Victor Rookwood, of course, he simply had to pop up at such a time.

“It is nice that you boys do all the hard work for us.” Rookwood charismatically smirked as he brought his dark and sinister gaze toward Phineas, “Hand me the notebook boy or else”.

“Or else what?” Phineas snapped back.

“I believe you know.” Rookwood snarled, “Give it willingly.” He added as he pulled out his wand, “Or I will take it by force.”

Sebastian suddenly stepped in front of Phineas, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, we defeated you back in the catacombs and we will do so again. DEPULSO!”

It was the first spell of many in the fight, Phineas managed to get upper ground by climbing up a staircase as it’s steps crumpled below him, reaching on of the towers of the ruined castle. He watched the fight as it rages on below him, assisting Sebastian by bringing rocks to drop on the unsuspecting dark wizards below him, however it seemed like they had grown in strength and number since Phineas and Sebastian last confronted Rookwood and his cronies back in the Catacombs. It was true that they also had Ominis with them, yet it seemed that as quickly as they were knocking dark wizards off their feet, they were popping back up like daisies in spring.

“Expecto Pataronum!” Phineas called out, clinging to his notebook to make sure he didn’t drop it, and from the tip of his wand, emerged a relatively calm boar that was colored in a pastel blue, he pointed toward Feldcroft and as if it was a pet following orders, the patronus obeyed his instructions. Phineas watched as the boar became smaller and smaller as it went into the distance until it became unnoticeable. He knew full well they needed backup, yet he couldn’t leave Sebastian, he’d be killed for sure. Yet perhaps someone would see the patronus charm and come running.

However, his flow of thoughts were broken into a million pieces as he heard one of the dark wizards yell out at the top of their lungs, “CONFRINGO!”

The blasting curse demolished the tower and Phineas tumbled to the ground, succumbing to the force of gravity and getting closer to the spiky rocks below him that seemed to grow in number. However, his fall was softened by Sebastian who managed to turn the rocks into a series of pillows and cushions.

Despite the pain in his arm from the awkward landing, Phineas satisfied himself in the fact that at least it was his non dominant arm and he was able to cast spells back and forth with ease. He was also thankful that he was still able to run as if he hadn’t fallen from such heights, as being stationary on the ground would be disastrous.

Phineas cast a few more spells, using rocks to practically control the movements of dark wizards and try to get them within the confinements of the castle. He assumed that then he could cut them off by trapping them within the ruins, it would certainly make the dueling much easier, however he still had a long way to go, yet he figured he would get there, with Sebastian by his side.

“LEVIOSA!” A new voice yelled out, levitating one of the red haired dark witches off of the ground and spinning her around like a top before letting her down, allowing Sebastian to use a summoning charm to disarm her of the wand that fell out of her hand.

Phineas turned and smiled at Ominis, “You came!” He explained.

“Anne spotted your patronus, sensed something was wrong, figured out you were here based on the direction the patronus came from, and sent me here while she went to get more help” Ominis explained so quickly that it was hard for Phineas to keep up, “Help is on the way.”

“Good to see you mate!” Sebastian smiled as he fired a couple more spells at the dark wizards.

“Can I leave you two alone for five seconds without you getting into a duel?” Ominis remarked.

“I guess not.” Phineas laughed lightheartedly

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE BOY?” The familiar booming voice of Solomon Sallow ranged out.

“Uncle! It isn’t what it looks like!” Sebastian pleaded.”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” He yelled as he stood in front of statue of the lady with snake hair to get in a good position to fight against the dark wizards and witches, “Get out of here! All three of you! I am ending this now!”

Ironically it seemed like Rookwood ended the raging exchange of spells and curses with the raise of his own wand. It appeared that he was surrendering peacefully yet the exhausted Phineas knew from the scheming look on Rookwood’s face and his stereotypical smirk, that this battle was far from over.

“You all are foolish, all of you.” He mocked them, “Must I remind you that you are in the lion’s den, and you aren’t even lions. NOBDOY MOVE OR YOU WILL PAY.” The statement confused Phineas but not for long as he noticed Rookwood look towards his right hand man with the bowler hat, Theophilus Harlow

Harlow pointed his wand towards Ominis and harshly yelled “IMPERIO!”

Phineas watched in horror as his friend was struck, he supposed it was better than the killing curse, yet the glowing eyes of his friend, symbolizing that he was nothing more than a puppet, simply unnerved him, and by the look on Sebastian’s face, the feeling was mutual.

“Take the notebook from the black haired boy.” Harlow ordered Ominis, “Go stand next to the the Gorgon statue, and read out the translated runes in parseltounge.”

“Ominis don’t-“ Sebastian tried to stop his friend yet it was clear that he had no mind of his own, not any more.

It hurt Phineas to see his friend speak in the language of snakes that he hated so much as it reminded him of his family. Back when they searched for the scriptorium he only did so to help keep them alive, yet now, him doing so unwillingly, was almost too much to bare.

Phineas watched with wide eyes as the statue came to life. It’s eyes glowed green as if it was about to admit the killing curse. However, he supposed it was the next closest thing because it became a repeated beam that shot at whoever it needed to, friend or foe. Rookwood watched the scene, not caring if his own allies were attacked yet only a couple were strike, along with Sebastian’s uncle, who was the first to turn into a statue of stone at the hands of the Gorgon.

“CONFRINGO!” Rookwood called out and destroyed the Gorgon statue, allowing its spree to finally end.

Phineas looked at Sebastian his eyes were just as wide. He knew he didn’t agree with his uncle, yet seeing him as a statue seemed to bring some new feelings into Sebastian that Phineas couldn’t quite decipher as easily as runes.

“Leave boy, go back to Hogwarts and don’t turn back.” Harlow ordered.

“Yes sir.” Ominis obeyed, still as helpless as a puppet and hurried off.

One by one, Rookwood and his cronies apparated, taking the stone sleeping statues of their colleagues as they went. Soon, only one remained with the Phineas, Sebastian and the statue of Solomon Sallow. A man with long red hair and a left blue eye and a right grey eye. Phineas recalled someone refer to the man as Loki Godfrey. However, just as Phineas got a good look at the man, he transformed into a new form, looking practically identical to Ominis Gaunt.

In near perfect timing, Anne came running towards the castle, gasping at the sight of Solomon, “What happened!”

“It was Sebastian.” The fake Ominis assured her, “I tried to stop him but he was out of his mind, I am afraid your uncle is practically dead.”

“He’s lying!” Sebastian pleaded to his sister, “That’s not Ominis, Anne you have to believe me! Please!”

“I have heard enough!” Anne snapped, clutching her side as Phineas assumed another series of pain coursed through her body. She seemed to spot the spell book Sebastian had been studying, which miraculously had escaped the battle unscathed, however, Anne changed that fact with a simple spell, “Incendio!”

“No!” Sebastian yelled out as the ancient spell book burst into flames, he attempted to extinguish them, but it was too late, the pages, already weak due to the passage of time, had turned to ash.

Anne walked closer to the statue of Solomon and placed her hand on his stone face with a melancholic look and seemingly trying to not express any tears as she glared at Sebastian, “You made your choice Seb, stay away from me!” She ordered as she clung to the statue and apparated away with it, and not too long after, the imposter of Ominis seemed to run off to join his colleagues on the run.

Phineas was brought back to reality when Sebastian placed his hand on his shoulder, “Come on, we need to find Ominis, he is the only one who can talk sense into my sister.”

“But your spellbook.” Phineas reminded him, “All of your research.”

“I don’t care about that anymore at the moment.” Sebastian assured him, “curing Anne will mean nothing if she sees me as nothing more than a monster.”

[anarchyincarnate]

My Take on SAGAU;

It was created under the guise of "Self-Aware" AU's that you might be familiar with.

The self aware tag is pretty self explanatory, which is characters [mostly games] suddenly becoming aware of them being part of a game.

Of course, this can lead to them questioning everything. Like what was the purpose of their suffering? Is it all for someone else's entertainment?

My take on the move to Creator/cult thing is that it's the "Ancient Aliens" theory.

"Where thousands of years ago, an ancient civilization of aliens came to earth and built the pyramids, sparking the human concept of religion and gods as people back then couldn't comprehend it."

And since religion can be used to bring meaning to life, they would start to see it that way. You might be mistaken as a god due to your guidance [you helping them with story quests], your kindness [helping Traveler find their sibling], your blessing [You ascending them, thus making them stronger], and so much more.

The noticed the unfamiliar face of Traveler suddenly popping into Teyvat. Of course, they claim to be from another world, and they can survive a lot of things.

It started with a glow radiating from the Traveler, which was odd, but they didn't question it. Until, a few of their own began to glow as well. [Starting with Amber, Kaeya, Lisa]. Thus cementing that something is definitely going on.

Of course this is just my take on the subject, and I tried my best to make it make sense so yeah.

@totally-original-artist

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Blood Brother: Final Part

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.4k

Warnings: canon angst and violence

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. Any and all comments on these are appreciated.

You look at Dean and see him with blood on his face and clothes, and you're brought back to Purgatory once again.

"What the hell do you know about the value of life? You're a vampire," Dean snaps at Benny.

"Yep, and I think we both know which of our kinds kills more humans."

"Well, statistically speaking, that'd be your—"

"Yes, thank you, Cas," Dean glares at his angelic friend.

You put a hand on Castiel's shoulder as if it would bring him some kind of comfort.

"I get it. You're worried what I might do if we make it topside. I'll start eating your little piggies. I already told you, man, by the time I got iced, I was strictly on blood transfusions—donated blood. Not donated to me, I'll give you that, but I paid good black-market scratch for it."

"Why not go to a hospital and steal almost expired blood? It's not like they have any use for it," you shrug.

"I'll have to remember that for next time."

"If you even get a next time," Dean says. "So, what is that? Like the vampire zone diet?"

"Look, all I'm saying is I started seeing something in humanity, okay? Something that shouldn't be taken. I drink blood. I don't drink people."

"Why the hell should I believe you?"

"What does it matter what you believe? You got your head so far up your ass, Dean, you don't even realize we're already done for. The angel knows it. We are never gonna make it with him next to us glowing like a beacon."

"We're not leaving him," you say sternly.

"You're pregnant, Y/N. I can hear the heartbeat. You really want to stay here with a baby?"

"Do I need to remind you of our deal? Of what you committed to?" Dean steps in.

"He is gonna get us killed."

"We may get to test that theory," Castiel sighs.

"More monsters?" you groan.

"Leviathans."

"Great."

"Why don't you blip out of here?"

"They're too close. I can't run."

"Come on, we need to save Benny," you say.

You rip off a piece of cloth from a vampire's jacket and hand it over to Dean who wipes his face clean of any blood. He cleans his machete and slides it into the holster, motioning for you to follow him. You two sneak back into the main part of the house carefully. You believe you got all the vampires but Sorento and Andrea, but you don't know if either vampire was made aware of yours and Dean's presence.

The closer you get to the room Benny is in, the more you can hear their conversation.

"I suppose with you coming back from the dead--well, that's the definition of mutiny, isn't it? All of this has me feeling so tired," Sorento sighs.

"You should have let me go."

"Benny, I don't let things go."

"Really? You lived so long, how is it you have so little, hmm? Nothing but a beat-up old harpsichord and nest of hyenas."

"I have the sea, and I have Andrea."

"No. You don't have her." You peek inside the room to see Benny holding up a pair of handcuffs that Andrea must have taken off him. "At least that much I know."

"Oh, that dumb bitch. You're right, Benny. I've been here so, so long, seen all the outcomes, and all the patterns a trillion times. It all means so little. This universe is a pyramid of despair, nothing else."

"A little dark, don't you think?"

"I am evil, after all. At least I've had that much to keep me cold at night. You never had that, did you? Everything had to be thought about--considered."

"You know what Socrates said about a life unconsidered."

"Yes, but the thing we have in us? Benny, that's not life. That's what you still don't get. That's why it's always been so hard for you, my poor Benjamin."

Benny growls and lunges at Sorento, shoving him into a glass pane and causing it to shatter.

"Get up."

"This is the one last thing I can take from you," Sorento laughs with blood trickling down his nose.

"No. You try, damn it. You try and kill me again," Benny dares.

"This is my story, you gnat."

"Get up!" Benny screams.

"It ends the way I choose, not you."

Benny hauls Sorento to his feet by his collar.

"Well, at least I can finally show you something new, old man."

Benny uses his sharp nails to cut Sorento's head off. The older vampire didn't actually think that Benny would do this to him, which is why he wasn't prepared for it. You gasp and cover your mouth to silence yourself. And then there was one left. Speaking of Andrea, she comes into the room with a look of uncertainty in her eyes.

"The old man is dead. Let's go," Benny says and offers her his hand.

If he thinks she is coming back to the mainland with you and Dean, then he is sorely mistaken. She takes his hand, but she doesn't move from her spot.

"Where, Benny?"

"What are you talking about? Anywhere." Andrea looks down, and Benny realizes what she is trying not to say. "You're not leaving here, are you? You never were."

"We have everything we need right here. The operation is still perfect. We can ride the high seas and plunder together. We can have the life we always wanted."

"What I wanted was to leave a burning crater behind. I wanted to put your memory to rest."

"I'm not a memory. Benny, I'm right here."

"What I loved isn't here anymore. It was snuffed out a long time ago by monsters like me... like what you've become."

"You think you're better than me now?" she grows subtly angrier.

"No. I think we're all damned."

Andrea snarls just as her fangs descend. You rush into the room to save Benny, drawing out your magic like a sword. She is going to kill him if you don't do anything. You swing your sword like a baseball bat toward her neck, slicing off her head as cleanly as possible. Her body and head drop to the floor with a loud thud, and Benny stares at her.

"She was going to kill you, Benny."

"I know," he sighs.

Dean walks into the room with a tired look on his face. It's time to get off this island and face the wrath of Sam. There was no boat to take Sam to the island, so you know he will be waiting for you when you get there. You three walk out of the house and back to the boat. Dean helps you inside while Benny reaches for the rope.

"Why'd you do it, Dean?"

"Do what?"

"Resurrect me. You could have drained my soul into any culvert, and no one would have been the wiser."

"What the hell are you talking about?" When Benny doesn't answer, he turns to him. "Hey, are you good?"

"Man... I don't know what I am," he sighs.

Benny doesn't say another word as he unhooks the rope from the wooden pillar. Everyone else piles inside, and you set off back to the mainland. The entire ride is spent in silence with the occasional grunt coming from you due to being uncomfortable. Once you can see the shore, you spot Sam standing there with an angry look on his face. Joanna is in his arms and Zeus is sitting by his side.

Zeus sees you and Dean, and he wags his tail and barks happily. Dean throws the rope to Sam when he gets close enough, and Sam wraps the rope around his hand to hold it steady. You toss the bags onto the dock while Dean jumps out. He grabs your hand and helps you up, and you greet your daughter with a smile.

"Hey, baby girl."

You take her out of Sam's arms, and he ties the rope to a wooden pillar to stabilize the boat.

"I'm Benny." Benny offers Sam his hand, and Sam takes it. As soon as he does, he knows what Benny is. "Heard a lot about you, Sam."

As if he's moving in slow motion, Sam undoes the cover of a knife holster at his side. You immediately shake your head and touch his army to prevent him from harming Benny.

"Don't do it," you whisper to Sam.

"I can see you three have a lot to talk about," Benny says and lets go of Sam's hand.

Benny pats Dean on the arm as if to say goodbye, and he gently squeezes your shoulder. He steps between you and Sam before heading to his pickup truck. You and Dean look at Sam who has the worst bitch face he's ever given you two.

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[noelcollection]

Tree Lighting & Ceremonial events

This week marks the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on LSU Shreveport campus, while it is not common for Louisiana to see snow or skate on frozen lakes, we still celebrate the coming holiday season in many ways. Our campus hosts a large tree at the front center portion of the campus that greets late fall and winter visitors and the week before Thanksgiving and the Advent season we allow the community to gather to witness the lighting of the campus’ Christmas Tree. While some homes and businesses may have already begun to set-up pre-lit trees, garland, and wreaths; the LSU Shreveport campus waits until the autumn daylight savings to bring extra light to the campus. The annual tree lighting allows the local community, current students, alumni, and campus personnel to gather with hot drinks in hand and wait for the tree placed in front of campus to emit a soft white glow. The Christmas season is steeped in local and personal traditional that have been immortalized in print through text and illustrations. And for the students on our campus, the Tree Lighting marks the advent of the Thanksgiving break and final exams.

Besides being housed on LSU Shreveport’s campus, how can a ceremonial holiday tradition be tied to the James Smith Collection? For this we look to T.S. Eliot and his 1956 publication of The Cultivation of Christmas Trees which is a long poem contained in an illustrated 8-page volume. This particular publication of Eliot’s was a contribution to a series published by Faber & Faber Christmas pamphlets. Eliot’s poem deals with the need for childlike wonder in adulthood. There is no better subject to discuss childlike wonder for adults than Christmas. Even with all the holiday shopping stress, this can be something magical about fir trees decorated with colored ornaments and twinkle lights. The tradition of the Christmas tree originates from Germanic traditions, in the form that we are familiar with it, but the use and importance of evergreens in culture has been traced back to Egypt and Rome. The earlier uses of evergreens in homes during the winter season was to ward off illness, evil spirits, and the like. The Egyptian god Ra was celebrated during the solstice with green palm branches as Ra’s triumph over death. The Roman festival of Saturnalia for the god of agriculture used evergreen boughs to decorate homes and temples. Even the Celts and Vikings used evergreens to represent everlasting life.

It is 16th century Germany that is credited with the traditional Christmas tree. It rose from 16th century Christians that brought trees into their homes and decorated them during the winter solstice season. Some families would create wooden log pyramids and use evergreens to decorate them. Over time, candles would be added to the decorating style. So how did this tradition migrate from Germany to America? It was not as simple as families migrating from their native countries and bringing their traditions with them, it would seem that many American families found the Christmas tree to be strange in the 19th century. Though there were some seen in the 1830s with German settlers in Pennsylvania which can be traced through various Pennsylvania German settlements as early as 1747. This is because the Christmas tree was seen as a pagan symbol and was not commonly accepted by most early Americans. 

Though it is commonplace now, there was a period of dispute regarding the Christmas trees, carols, and joyful expressions which were voiced by Oliver Cromwell. The General Court of Massachusetts passed a law observing December 25th for only church service and would fine people for hanging decorations in 1659. This stern objection to seasonal decor stood through the 19th century until the increasing number of German and Irish immigrants brought new religious practices and traditions. However, with the influence of her German husband, Queen Victoria was sketched in the 1846 publication of the Illustrated London News with a Christmas tree. It would not be until the late 1800s that the use of ornaments from Germany and Christmas trees were gaining favor in the United States. While Europe favored smaller trees that were about 4 feet tall; the Americans preferred taller trees to adorn their homes.

As technology developed, so did the elaborations of the Christmas trees, the use of candles on limbs became strings of lights as electricity became commonplace. The early ornaments were homemade from natural materials such as apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Though this also changed to colored popcorn garland with berries and nuts. It was more than homes that Christmas trees would be centered in home during winter, but also town centers; the most famous being Rockefeller Center in New York which dates back to the Depression in 1931. However, the use of the Christmas tree has become a global phenomenon with its own local decorating traditions.

The Christmas tree can have many meanings for all people and communities beyond Christmas, for some it is a time of stress and stretched pockets and for others it is a chance to visit family. The use of evergreens during winter has spanned through various cultures throughout human history, though the most common is to represent a sense of immortality, a remembrance of life. 

Eliot, T. S. (1956). The cultivation of Christmas trees. Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. https://bit.ly/3TvEYs0

Reitmeyer, R. (Ed.). (2009, October 27). History of Christmas trees. History.com. Retrieved November 17,             2022, from https://bit.ly/2FyMfGL

[my-brothers-corrupted]

This seems like a big endeavor Quintrell. Are there more people helping, or just you two? And forgive if this is prying, but considering JJ is already a powerhouse, what magic are you bringing to the table?

"Oh," snorts Quintrell, with a sudden laugh, a noise that seems out of custom for her, the sort of laugh that's likeable because it's so ugly. "You're teasing me? No, I don't bring anything like that to the table. I'm his informant and not much else. As for others involved, I don't know if he's alone or not, other than me."

"But you are a magician, right?" asks Chase, frowning at her. "Come on, now you have to tell us."

"It's worth very little in most circumstances," she sighs. "Just translation."

Marvin gapes and throws his hands onto the table, deeply offended. "Translation? That's brilliant. Of anything?"

"No, it's not brilliant," she protests, though now she grins, revealing these over-sized canines between the rest of her teeth, less like a vampire's and more like something her dentist has probably had to shave down. "Because - oh, say something in another language."

Marvin says something in Spanish off-handedly. The moment she turns her attention to him, her eyes light up with a ring of bright gold, the same way Marvin's glow blue and JJ's shine silver. Her magic smells like dusty wood. With her white hair and her eyes alight, she's suddenly elfin, and maybe even a little ethereal.

"Can't do that in my day-to-day life, can I?" She shrugs. "I can only translate with other magicians. Forget making translation my profession or working in the refugee camps where they speak fifty languages or anything like that, I'd be glowing all day long. Even translating ancient languages - I'd have no proof of anything! Sure, I can read anything you could find in the pyramids, but what am I going to tell the archaeologists when they ask me what code I used to crack it?"

"But you can talk to JJ," Jackie reasons.

"Yes, we can communicate just fine."

"Hm." Jackie sits back, re-appraising her. "Okay. So you became allies."

"Right."

[brideofkylosolo]

Writer Wednesday Week 35

Writer Wednesday is up

Tagging @writer-wednesday

Writer Wednesday Week 35

Doorway to Our Fate

Ben Solo X Aria (OC) (Star Wars ST)

While on a mission, Ben gets a glimpse of his and Aria’s future.

Warnings:

      Missions in the Resistance were a given for anyone.  And for Ben Solo, this was no exception.  Despite being the son of Leia Organa, he was treated like just another member of the Resistance, and to everybody, that’s what he was.  He was equal to everyone else.  And he liked it that way.

     While he was happy to most times to go on missions with his two close friends, Poe Dameron and Cian Lyons, he especially loved it when his longtime bondmate Aria.  And that was exactly who was able to go this time.  Arai had been spending the better part of her time training with Ben’s uncle, the famed Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker, and hadn’t really had the chance to go on a mission with Ben.  To say that the couple was glad and excited to have some time alone was an understatement.

     The couple’s assignment was fairly straightforward.  Find an old weapon from the early days of the Clone Wars and bring it back for spare parts.  Easy.  Of course, said weapon was hidden in some ancient temple on an Outer Rim Planet that was notorious for being very easy to get lost in, even for a Jedi.

     Of course, Ben and Aria weren’t normal Jedis.  They were a life-bonded pair, a Dyad forged by the force itself.  If anyone could find it, it was them.

     “Think this is it?” Aria asked as they stood in front of a large stone pyramid.

     Ben nodded.  “Think so.”  He was pretty certain it was but something about it felt off.  There was an uneasy feeling he couldn’t quite shake like something was going to happen to him or Aria.

     Still, he knew his mother and the Resistance needed to find the weapon before the First Order and the Knights of Ren did so he pushed that feeling aside.  He had to do what he had to do.

     The couple entered the large temple and down a long hallway to the center of the sanctuary.  Before long, they reached a large oval room with a line of doors along the wall.  Neither of them was expecting that.

     “Which one?” asked Aria as she looked around the room at each door.

     Ben raised his hand and closed his eyes, his mind reaching out with the Force.  He found it.  “There, the third one on the left.”

     Ben walked to the door, Aria trailing behind him.  He reached for the door handle.  This was easier than he thought; it was almost too easy.  I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

     He started to open the door and a light began to glow from around the edges of the door.  As he opened it wider, the light grew, fully enveloping him.  Before he had a chance to make sense of what was happening, he felt his body lift off the ground and get pulled toward the space beyond the door.

     Ben tried to scream out but no sound came from his lips.  He turned his head to look at Aria but his vision blurred; he lost all sense of time.

     When Ben came to, he was sitting in a clearing in the woods.  Off in the distance, he heard voices.  He stood up and cautiously made his way toward them.  He stopped short of the tree line and looked out into a much larger clearing.  His jaw nearly dropped at what he saw.  Parked in the center was the Millennium Falcon, his ship.

     “The hell…” he muttered to himself.

     Ben started to venture further into the clearing when he noticed a man and two kids walking into the clearing.  And the man looked very familiar.

     Wait a sec, that’s me, he realized as the other Ben put down the basket he was carrying.  And those are my kids.

     Just then, a very pregnant Aria came walking down the ramp.  The two kids ran up to her and hugged her followed by the other Ben.

     Those are our kids.  Ben smiled.  This is my future.  Our future.

     Suddenly, he felt his body jerk backward.  He felt himself fall and landed hard.  He felt arms around him; it was Aria.

     “Thank gods,” she said as she hugged his neck tightly, obviously glad he was ok.      Ben returned the hug, rubbing her back in reassurance.  He was ok.  And his future was going to be as well.