#but projecting your anger about that onto them is not going to be effective

[theghostofashton]

.

[the-s1lly-corner]

WOoOoOoO SPOOKY SEASON REQUIRES SPOOKY STUFF

Anyways

I would love to request an Child ghost!reader and the gang, basically child reader got murdered when they were using the VR and their soul got stuck into the game.

Their soul being so GORY AND DISTORTED, like an arm is missing, one eye is like hanging out and their head has an hole. Reader can get invisible like a ghost and move things with only their mind, and they are very quiet and just observes, rarely get mad or anything, but when they snap (for example: Because of jax's pranks) they start throwing things around dim the lights and scream, and lets put like, Reader's screams are like LOUD as hell, basically like an ghost tantrum.

So basically Child reader is just an sad messed up lil goof who needs comfort and therapy.

Sorry if its long, i love love love your blog btw!

-🌹

TADC cast x ghost!child!reader (platonic + light found family) !

going to take a different approach to writing this one, since i feel bad about being selective of cast/multi characters today, so! rather than having divided segments like usual, its going to be a group thing! hope thats alright! going to be the last request of this batch them imma make something to eat rq for dinner then get back to writing YAHOO!

when you joined the digital circus, you were already very obviously different from the rest of the gang. even if your gore was toned down thanks to your body being digitized; the programming seemed to struggle with altering your body into something unique... strange... it also seems your body is fighting back against the programming of the world, seemingly trying to restore itself. The effect makes you almost look like you're glitching, or even abstracting

Caine doesnt immediately pick up on your presence, i feel like its in his programming to be aware when a new member joins the circus, but for some reason he didnt notice you until he saw you, or someone brings you up to him

It was Ragatha, who was trying to get answers from him. Who's kid was this? Is it really fair to let a kid be stuck here? Obviously she knew Caine couldnt do anything about it now that you were here, nor did he have any hand in you putting on the headset.

Except... you correct them and say you didn't put on any headset, you were trapped in it.

Of course you're trapped, just like the rest of us, Jax says

None of them immediately believe you try to tell them you're a ghost. Except of course, Kinger, who reasons that that's why you look the way you do; and Gangle, who in my opinion probably finds interest in the supernatural.. or maybe that's just me projecting onto her. Who knows. But the point still stands, almost everyone doesn't believe you.

Not long after, Jax accidentally ropes you into prank that was originally intended for Zooble, I dont think Jax would go as far as to bully a child.... well... actually no, he seems like the type to bully kids on roblox.

The prank wasnt planned for you, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You open a door, and are immediately greeted with a fake snake lunging out at you. You scream, more so out of surprise and fear than anger. It does turn into anger when Jax laughs at you, still finding some kind of joy from the prank getting at least someone. Your scream rises, causing nearly everyone to cover their ears, the rest were not there in the room but would come rushing to see what the hell was going on

I think it would be that instance as well as a few other; namely ones where you became invisible and started removing one of Zooble's limbs after they (unintentionally) said something a little too mean to you. The idea of you being a ghost was further cemented when both Gangle and Ragatha watched you literally phase through a wall. But hey at least someone (Jax) starts laying off of you when it becomes clear you weren't lying

There's mixed feelings, a lot negative. I mean, you're just a kid and you're. Well, a ghost. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that something happened to you. Whether or not you remember the details of your death when you became a ghost, or after joining the digital world, is all up to you

Caine, as mentioned before in posts where the reader is a child, tries to be a father figure. He's not the best, since he's programmed to be a ring master, but he definitely tries his best. I like to think he tries to read you bedtime stories when the digital world simulates 'night'

Pomni, who I totally didn't forget, tries to overcome her fear of you and your ghostly powers, ultimately becoming sympathetic you and your situation. Not only was your life cut short, but you were trapped here too, you didn't even get to roam the world in the afterlife. Interactions with her are awkward but there's an effort to try to bring you some form of comfort

Jax, after he stops pulling jokes on you cant deny that he doesnt find you creepy. I think, though, he would ask you if you want to help him scare some of the other members. Whether you be offended by the concept or not is also up to you, since I'm not sure if you wanted the reader to be sensitive regarding their current predicament or not

Ragatha goes into full big sister mode, even before it's confirmed that you're a ghost. Sure, she's a little put off by your ganky and gorey looks, but her heart aches for you. Similar to Caine she tries to do general child care activities with you, perhaps if you let her, she would do your hair and make you dresses

Kinger will take a while to warm up to you, but I think after some time would start to open up to you, usually it's best to interact with him when he's already in a calmer state. He already gives me dad vibes that I cant pin down... but he would tell you stories of his past (in house) adventures and some funny stuff that has happened over his time in the digital world

Zooble is going to need a moment to get over the invisible dismemberment thing... as well as Zooble being Zooble and needing some time to warm up to people in general... Not much to be said, yet...

Gangle would offer to lend you some art supplies... kids like arts and crafts stuff, right? Thats her logic, at least, and if it means you have an outlet for your emotions then that would be great!

Overall you now have a funky found family, so hey, at least things aren't totally... terrible.. Unfortunately with them stuck in the digital world they can't do much to get you justice, if you let them know you were murdered. But rest assured if your killer somehow gets trapped in there with them and you recognize them, they have your back

[tohisprettyc00l]

find out you get bullied

A/n: Author stops writing comfort scenrios challge (Impossible)

Amity: As a person who has been the bully she's honestly more pissed. While she knows people bully others for many different reasons she can't help but project how she was feeling when bullying Willow onto your bullies. And she does not like her past self. She doesn't know quite how to comfort you she just hugs you while rubbing your back. When she confronts them she didn't want to be too mean. But Amity also does not take others hurting the ones she loves lightly.

Luz: Feels horrible that you had to deal with that. She is also pissed at the bullies. But before she can do anything to them she has to make sure you're okay. She tells you how perfect you are and that the bullies were clearly lying. She yells at them like a lot. Depending on how bad the bullying was she either has a sore throat or completely lost her voice.

Willow: She hears that! Which made her fume. Plants slightly crack the floor when you're telling her about it as she's trying to contain her anger. Once you were done she calms herself down and reassured you that you are amazing. She soon leaves to confront them. The next day not only are they not bullying you anymore, but they are also extremely nice to you.

Hunter: The (wo)man was too stunned to speak. In his eyes you're perfect so how anyone can be mean to you is beyond him. Also, the people in the Empores Coven weren't exactly the nicest to him. So if he has even a slight idea of what you're going thru he's super upset. When he talks to the bullies he subconsciously uses some of the fear tactics he learned at the coven. Which works, to say the least.

Vee:  She feels horrible. She's not sure how to help but tells you how much she loves you and spends a bunch of time with you. She is too nervous to go to your bullies. But Masha looks suspiciously like they got into a few fist-fights.

Raine: Imdeate hugs and cuddles <3. They bring you many blankets. They don't want to yell at the bullies right away. So instead they just lecture them. It's surprisingly the second most effective tactic only second to Willow's. While it might seem kinda lame (Because it was.) But imagine getting "I'm not mad I'm just disappointed"-ed by the former head of the bard coven.

Eda: she is not great at comforting you. But she picks you up and finds your bully. She pointed to said bully and asked if it was them. When you told her it was she just straight-up hexed them in front of them. Like didn't even try to hide it. Which is made slightly weirder considering that probably would have left you alone if the Owl Lady threatened them.

Emira: Oh she is mc-fucking pissed. But before that, she gives hugs you and rubs a circle on your back. Also maybe a massage. She decides not to confront them, she uses a bunch of illusions to mess with them. Does it make them think they're going insane? A little. But they also did psychological to you, so an eye for an eye as they say.

Edric: He is very sad. He lets you speak as long as you want. Once you're done he leaves for a second and makes a call to Emira and Amity. He then cuddles and watches tv with you. He also keeps complimenting you. Once Em and Amity come back it's pretty dang obvious they got into a fight. Mainly because despite being roughed up Emira kept laughing.

The Collector: Frist of all if you bully the Collector's friend then you're the biggest idiot in the world. When Terra was even slightly mean to King They turned her into a puppet. But they bring you a bunch of plushies and play with you. Once the Collector goes to the bullies you have to tell them not to hurt the bullies. He pinky swears to let you know he really won't. Well, whatever he did it definitely worked. But just to let you know, if it wasn't for you the Venn diagram of people who are mean to you and people on the missing person list would be a circle.

Lilith: Oh no, oh fuck no. Not happening. She gets Hooty to comfort you while she leaves. Side note Hooty is weirdly good at comforting people. Any back with Lilith she is pissed and yelling at the bullies. She is not above threats. Anyway, they won't be going anywhere near you for a while.

Gus: He was also A victim of Boscha's and Amity's bullying.  Very upset. Y'know what Emira did but? Yeah, he does that but all at once. Like that one scene with Bria's illusions. Listen he is not going to tolerate any more bullying.

[imbecominggayer]

Writing Advice Part 3: Disability And Sadness

After covering infantilization(Part 1) and !demonization!(Part 2), now we are onto another way that writers and other media types mess up the simple phrase "disabled adults are adults"

Now We Are Onto:

"Disabled Adults Are Self-Hating"

A lot and, I mean, A LOT of writers tend to hear disability and think "what type of disabled are they?" According to bad representation of disability, disabled adults have two types defined by one-dimensional emotional attitudes that have an undercurrent of ableism and bad writing.

The list goes like this:

Anger

Sadness

FIRST: Anger And One-Dimensional Unlikeability

When disabled characters are defined by their anger they actually have to subtypes of existence depending on who they hate

Either they are a villain who is evil because they're envious of able-bodied people because they hate themselves and their disabled existence so much.

Or they're a one-dimensional annoying character whose anger is either sympathetic only to disabled audience members and not producers/characters because their anger comes from their boundaries being disprespected or annoying because they're just the most one-dimensional hateful person.

Obviously, making your one example of a disabled character evil is bad. I won't go into that too much since I covered that in Part 2 Writing Advice: Disability and Evil.

The problem with this narrative of self-hating existence is that it turns a complicated topic of internalized ableism as a way of making them a villain for abled-bodied people!

Obviously, when a person's only example of disabled characters is as the hateful unsympathetic villain they internalize that and project it onto themselves if they're disabled and onto others!

"But {name I don't have}, didn't you say that writing unlikeable disabled characters is good?"

Yeah but the problem tends to be that when you have an unlikeable character you either need to make them sympathetic and/or competent.

These characters aren't unlikeable because authors want to explore the internal lives of unlikeable people! They're unlikeable so that when they die/suffer, we cheer!

"When The Audience Cheers For The Death Of A Villain They're Also Cheering The Death Of A Disabled Person"

SECOND: Sadness And Self-Hating Existence

The existence of disabled characters is often marked through unimaginable hardship with disabled characters often acquiring their disabilities through traumatic accidents instead of the more common story of disease and congenital conditions.

Disabled characters are often shown being depressed and hopeless about their disabilities as they sometimes turn to villainy as an act of vengeance.

The only way they can gain happiness is through either being cured by magic/"moral eugenics" or by distancing themselves from disability.

That "distancing from disability" storyline is often demonstrated by characters becoming overjoyed at the prospect of losing their mobility aids such as wheelchairs! That's shitty.

I will adress the whole "self-hating narrative" in my conclusion since both anger and sadness are focused on the self-hatred narrative.

Firstly, don't cure characters who have incurable conditions. Because, guess what! Real disabled people with incurable conditions exist! They will still exist when your character is cured. All you've done is remove their representation and effectively said that the only way they can be happy is to not exist :) That's shitty.

Secondly, stop thinking that disabled people hate their assistant devices!

While wheelchairs might make you, able-bodied author, think of being trapped, disabled people who need wheelchairs need them in order to fully utilize their strengths. Wheelchairs are symbols of freedom!

FINAL: Self Hating Narrative

Disabled people aren't instinctively self-hating, you know? Like, if people didn't hate/ignore the existence of disabled people then there would be no problem?

You are writing a world that is divorced from reality. In a world where spies can dodge bullets. In a world where dragons exist. In a world where power fantasy exists.

Why, in that world, did you decide that ableism must exist?

Why can't you write a world where disabled people aren't defined by self-hated?

Why can't you check out the disabled community before you write your bullshit representation to see campaigns such as "My Face Is A Masterpiece" or "I'm Not Your Villain" that disprove your assumption that all disabled people are self-hating?

Not all disabled people are self-hating and most don't hate all able-bodied people!

Most disabled people live happy-filled lives marked by the type of struggle you, standard person, goes through.

Disability doesn't have to be the isolating, depressing, and self-hating experience you assume it is.

There are thousands of people right now who are loving their existence and assistant devices.

There are thousands of people right now working to get to that point.

You could write the story of disabled characters who are happy in their disabilities and who struggle with the problems you do.

You could write disabled characters in a way that doesn't invalidate their problems but also doesn't show disability as a death sentence.

[divaofmads]

King Baldwin IV | Childhood Love

Part I

~Inspired by history

WARNING: I am an amateur for all these and apologize for any mistakes I made as English is not my native language.

🌹🌹🌹

It was the year 1171. Manuel I was trying to return the Byzantine Empire to its former glory. For this, he had to organize expeditions and be the leader of the emperors mentioned in the Eastern Roman Empire. However, it was difficult to act alone. He had suffered many losses during his invasions. Although the future he envisioned in his mind and the steps taken towards this future were working perfectly in his imagination, the foreign policy he followed should have been much more active and ambitious.

Moreover, the Muslims were getting stronger and getting closer to the Eastern Roman Empire. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they would capture the Holy Land. The king of Jerusalem, Amalric, was able to protect his lands with the strategic planning he followed, but what about his heir?

All these ideas led Manuel to set his sights on Egypt. By uniting with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, they could lead a joint invasion of Fatimid Egypt, or at least weaken their power. Thus, Manuel took the first step towards political rapprochement by sending an envoy to Amalric, the King of Jerusalem at the time.

The Latin King was happy with his alliances. Although he knew that Manuel was not qualified to rule, he wanted to make the Holy Land impassable by adding Byzantine soldiers to his army. This required more than a political alliance.

Amalric knew that the Byzantine King had a daughter who had just turned nine, only a year younger than his son Baldwin, and that their union would be the most logical step towards continuing the Byzantine and Latin lineage.

Even though she was a little girl, Maria was more than just that. She was the princess who carried the blood of the Komnenos Dynasty. The responsibilities that were hidden like a sneaky snake behind her luxurious, rich and fairytale-like life had already begun to inject their poison into the little princess's childish soul to celebrate the arrival of the right time. While the sons of noble lineage were trained to ascend to the throne and rule their country, the most ruthless duty fell to the girls. To ensure peace between enemies or alliances, to act as a bridge. Noble girls did not have the innate right to marry the man they loved.

Empress Bertha had also been forced into one of these marriages. Although she had a good marriage with Manuel, she was afraid that her lack of choice would affect her, that she would suffer the effects of the golden collar that her noble lineage had put on her. This was the reason for her tension at dinner. Maria could not understand her mother's sudden reprimands: You don't hold your fork properly, you don't chew your food twenty times, don't get your clothes dirty, why isn't your hair in a braid?

It was obvious to everyone that the queen was not only projecting her anger onto her daughter, but also onto the servants.

The aristocratic families, lords and leading merchants of Constantinople were at the table. Emperor Manuel had asked them to come to his table to give him the good news. After dessert, he stood up and made a toast.

"My dear friends. You did not leave us alone in this beautiful night, I raise my glass to you first," he said and after he raised the glass to his lips, the other people at the table took a sip of their wine. When the Emperor spoke again, Maria was watching her father in surprise.

"As you know, the alliance we have established with the Kingdom of Jerusalem has been going on for years. However, we must protect our lands from the Muslims, prevent their advancement, and strengthen our ties with King Amalric against possible future Turkish threats. When the political strategies of the Latins and the wealth of our empire come together, we will have no obstacles to achieve our goals." The Emperor raised his glass to his daughter and showed how much he trusted her with his gaze, placing an unbearable burden on the little princess' shoulders.

"My dear daughter, the engagement of Princess Maria and the Latin prince Baldwin IV will establish insurmountable bonds between the two Empires and will finally be officially crowned."

Just this morning, the princess who had just left needlepoint class and was playing with her dolls was going to be engaged to Baldwin IV as the future Queen of Jerusalem. It sounded far away. The little girl looked at her mother. Two drops of tears flowed from her eyes and followed their paths down her cheeks and dropped onto the plate in front of her. Promise, engagement, marriage... Bertha was talking about all of them to her daughter. She had promised herself that she would marry the man she loved when the time was right. Even though she was young, Maria realized her mother's shame at not keeping her promise to her. The intensive training she had received since she had reached the age of awareness had turned her into an intelligent princess. She was much smarter than her peers and had a great ability to interpret events. She was also aware that no one would oppose the engagement. This was her fate. The ultimate end of princesses. She had no choice but to appear happy to her mother. She did not want to see her disappointed. She gripped Bertha's hand on the table tightly. The Empress looked at her daughter to understand what she had done and saw the happy expression in her eyes.

"I will be the queen of the Holy Land, won't I, mother?"

Emperor Manuel proudly answered your question that you asked with happiness.

"You will go down in history as the most talked about Empress of Rome and the Latin people." He raised his glass one last time and raised his voice. "Long live our princess!"

Constantinople was the Jerusalem of Eastern Europe. The Hagia Sophia church was the Masjid al-Aqsa of Christianity; the temple where Jesus would come to worship after being resurrected. The dress of the Virgin Mary from the Notre Dame Cathedral, the cross and nails on which Jesus was crucified, presented by the King of Jerusalem during the reign of Justinian, were reminders of his sanctity to the entire Christian world. Therefore, the Hagia Sophia church was deemed appropriate for the engagement ceremony. Of course, when the time came, the place where the relations between the two empires would be formalized was the land of Jerusalem.

That's why an invitation was sent to the land of Jerusalem as soon as possible with various gifts. A treasure chest with fabrics decorated with roses, jewelry, wines that were at least two centuries old...

Maria had begun to see changes in her life after the night her father had given her the news that he was getting married. She had never felt the benefits of her age anyway. However, now the number of lessons had increased, she had to attend banquets, and every evening she had to work on the next day's to-do list.

Maria became increasingly afraid of this marriage. When all her toys were distributed to the poor, her rag doll, which she could hide in a crack in the wall, was now her friend. Whenever she was alone in her room, she would talk to her and play games in her mind.

When her nanny knocked on the door, she would run to the crack and hide it behind the dusty stones of the wall. That's why the baby's white dress soon turned gray. Her dreams about the prince darkened as she saw the color of the dress. In her dreams, the man she would marry turned into a bloodthirsty monster. A monument of arrogance, the whites of his eyes painted red. Now she would wake up crying from her sleep at night. Her nanny would wait by her side, trying to comfort her.

The night she had another of these nightmares, she leaned her head on her nanny's chest and squeezed her arms in fear.

"Nanny, nanny; do I really have to marry the prince? I don't even know him."

"Oh, Maria! You must put this childishness aside at once. Lord Alexios' daughter took her child in her arms at the age of sixteen. Lord Romanos' daughter had just become a young girl on her first night of marriage; she was fifteen. Now you too must prepare for womanhood; stop behaving like a little child."

"They're coming tomorrow, aren't they?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

The nurse stroked the princess's hair. "They will be here tomorrow. Now rest," she said, and getting up, she laid Maria on the bed and covered her.

There was a normal bustle in the palace. The servants were running, the chefs were preparing the meals from scratch, and Lady Bertha was personally taking care of the palace decorations.

The person who was really affected by this bustle was Maria. While the servants were washing her in a tub full of water with rose petals in it, her nanny and a few seamstresses were trying to decide on her outfit.

While she was getting cleaned up nicely and putting on her clothes, there were noises coming from outside. It was too late. Little Maria was not ready. While they were putting a white silk scarf that was big enough to cover half of her hair on top of the bun they had made from braids, the nanny went to the window, pulling on the skirts of her dress.

"Jesus! Lady Bertha will ruin me."

She looked around then. Then he stopped in front of the maid who was holding the pillow with the crown in her hand and shouted.

"You are not here to be fools! God knows if I had the chance I would have chased you out of the palace long ago!" She took the crown in her hand and looked at it hopelessly. Still, the fire in her eyes did not fade. "I said the crown with the emerald stone."

Maria's awareness of the necessity made her surrender herself completely to what was to come, but she did not want to wear a crown, nor did she want to go down and curtsey to the prince she did not want to marry.

The welcoming ceremony was already over when the princess was ready. Bertha immediately went into her room and scolded first the servants, then the nurse.

"A bunch of idiots who don't take their jobs seriously!" She stormed out of the room and turned to look at her daughter. "Don't come downstairs now. I told them she was feeling a little unwell. She'll come down when it's time for the feast. If you can manage it, that is!"

The banquet table had everything the King of Jerusalem would love. Fresh venison was cooked over a wood fire, mixed with special sauces. Deer farming was not common in Constantinople, so it was brought from far away and placed in the middle on three sides of the U-shaped tables. The fish of the city famous for its sea were not forgotten, of course, they were caught in various ways and flavored with rich recipes. The wines were brought from the palace cellar, selected and served according to the King's taste.

Emperor Manuel watched Amalric's pleasure, so he didn't say much. Bertha was bothered by the queen's attitude towards Baldwin. She acted as if the prince didn't exist, and when Bertha brought up the subject, Queen Maria was quite insincere. She implied, though not directly, that her own children would make much better rulers.

"Baldwin is a very emotional boy. The Latin Kingdom did not survive on emotionalism. Amalric never gave the Muslims and Jews of Jerusalem a chance. He gave them what they deserved, not when it was necessary, but ruthlessly before it was necessary." He looked at his stepson with disdain and smiled falsely. "When Amalric leaves the holy land to Baldwin, it will be a matter of time for the Arabics to win."

Empress Bertha was so irritated by the woman's ambition that for a moment she did not know how to respond. She looked at Baldwin sadly. She could hear the conversation between his and his half-siblings, and the boy's mature demeanor for his age contradicted Queen Maria's.

"I have no doubt that he will make my daughter Maria happy. He is a clever boy and will be a king loyal to the Latin Kingdom," she said.

Meanwhile, Amalric asked about the princess. It had been a long time since she arrived and the future Latin Queen had still not arrived. Of course, he knew that the disrespect was unintentional, but he was not happy with the situation.

The emperor became angry. If he had no concern for strengthening the bond between them, his reaction to her threatening words would have been severe. However, now he saw fit to show his anger to his wife. He shouted and showed his authority. He ordered the princess to come immediately. At this moment, the door of the hall opened and the servant entered and introduced Maria.

Baldwin was suddenly distracted by a conversation with his siblings. Although he was only ten years old, he already had many criteria in mind for his future wife.

When Maria entered with her nanny, Baldwin couldn't believe his eyes. Her cherry lips shining on her skin as white as snow, her cheeks as warm as the land she was born in, her golden hair that the goddess Freya would envy when she saw it... The first thing that came to his mind was, "Is this a fairy?"

When Maria glanced around the room, looking for her future husband, she saw the boy staring at her intently. It had to be Baldwin. What should she think? He was a beautiful boy, she couldn't deny that, but would they get along?

The only couple who didn’t speak during the feast as the conversation deepened was the prince and the princess. Although they didn’t seem to like each other, they were both just shy. Maria followed Baldwin’s movements as he plucked a grape from the table in front of him and put it in his mouth, and when the little prince’s gaze turned to her, she turned her head in displeasure. A lady shouldn’t appear interested in marriage. That would symbolize her simplicity. But the Empress was not pleased with this coldness, and she knew exactly what would attract attention.

“I hope his majesty likes jousting,” she said, raising her voice.

"Of course," the king replied and continued. "The jousting in this city is done on horses, much more brutal. It's exciting."

"I hope one day my daughter and your son will duel each other. I'm sure it will be much more exciting," he said and sipped his wine.

The king could not hide his surprise. He frowned, thinking he had misunderstood.

"Is what I heard true? Does this naive princess know how to use a spear?"

Manuel looked at his daughter with pride. "She is still in the training phase, but she is quite talented. If she is going to be a queen who will make a name for herself in the future, she must be good at everything."

Queen Maria looked at him with a look of disdain. Yet she did not lose her hypocritical smile. "I suppose you take the Turks and Norse as an example."

"Of course. You will take the good aspects of your enemies as an example, so that they will have less leverage against you."

That day, the two betrothed hardly spoke because of the princess's secretive attitude. The prince began to think that he was not loved by his future wife. Until he started playing in the garden. While Baldwin and his brothers were playing in the garden, Maria preferred to stay with the two queens. While they were sitting in the palace garden overlooking the Bosphorus and having an evening tea, the voices of the children reached her ears. She heard how cruel the real children of Queen Maria, whom she deemed worthy of the kingdom, were. When she turned her head and looked at them, they would unknowingly use violence on Baldwin, and then call him a spoilsport so that the little boy would not complain. Even though Baldwin knew how bad they were, he had to get along well. Because Amalric adored his wife and therefore her children.

Maria could not stand it any longer and took the first step to defend her husband. She called out to her nanny, leaned in to her ear and said that she wanted to play with the children. Although her outfit was not suitable for playing with wooden swords, she allowed it in order to escape the princess's insistence.

"Okay, but I'll keep an eye on you, my lady. If you take the slightest hit, I'll bring you to me." The princess raised her eyebrows in a knowing manner. She looked proud. "Agreed," she said and got up from the chair and walked towards the children. In the meantime, the three brothers were arguing with each other. They were claiming that Baldwin cheated, even though he had won the sword race again and again.

Maria suddenly spoke up. "Why don't we do this duel as a group. Two on two."

Theo spoke up without waiting for his siblings. "You're a girl. Why don't you go have dessert and chat with our mothers like a lady?"

Maria replied with a smug air, her tone unmoved. "Is that another way of saying you're scared?"

Theo remained silent. He had nothing to say to Maria, for every word would be returned as a positive answer to the question he had asked.

Maria addressed Baldwin's tutor. William of Tyre was Baldwin's tutor and was always by his side; like a nanny.

"I want a wooden sword!" Then she looked at the three brothers and said, "William will be the referee and swear that the race will be fair."

Of course, her partner was Baldwin. Theo and Niko had taken their places, waiting for William's signal to start. Niko was looking at the princess with hostility. But he didn't know how good the princess was at observation. He had noticed every evil she did while fighting Baldwin.

When the duel began, Maria was swinging her sword with calm but rapid movements. Only when Niko would treat her badly would she defend herself harshly and quickly, taking the little devil by surprise. William of Tyre was one of those who did not like the queen's children, of course. It was a great pleasure to see Maria defeat him. The little brat had started to whine because of the wood that had hit his arm.

Baldwin laughed. "Niko, will you stop that? It doesn't suit you at all."

The moment Maria returned Baldwin's smile, they got closer.

Meanwhile, the two ladies watching them did not agree. Bertha was saying proud sentences about her daughter, and was constantly defending that she was the right wife for Baldwin. But the one who was not happy with this situation was the queen. The fact that her child was defeated by a little girl had stimulated her ambitious side, causing her to finish her glass of wine in one go.

The prince seemed to be inspired by Maria to defeat Theo. Now he had someone else besides William who loved and supported him. Your presence gave him confidence.

The defeat of her second son drove Queen Maria mad and she did not forget to scold William while shouting at the children to go to bed.

The prince and the princess had just found the perfect time to get to know each other, but it was not possible again. But the Empress called Maria and Baldwin to her side as if to oppose the cruel lady of the Latin Kingdom.

"Theo and Niko should listen to their mother, but you have much to talk about. Why don't you take a walk in the garden?"

The queen was angry, but necessity pressed her not to show her true face. She spoke through clenched teeth. The smile on her face was so forced that her facial muscles trembled.

"I almost thought you were against me, Lady Bertha."

"Of course not. It would be impertinent of me to interfere with your own children, but when I consider the blood relationship and the engagement ceremony of the two children, I conclude that my say in Baldwin's case is superior. I am sure you will understand."

The queen smiled and nodded with her uncomprehending personality. Her soul was too filled with arrogance to respond to the empress. Yet if you could hear the voice inside you, you would hear the shrill, mad woman's voice screaming.

Baldwin nodded to his mother-in-law. “Thank you, your majesty. I would like to inform you that your daughter is safe with me.”

Bertha smiled and returned the prince's respectful gesture with a slight bow of her head.

"What doubt is there?"

Baldwin pulled his fiancé by the hand. The two children began to run. They ran and ran until they were out of sight... Finally they came out onto a stone path surrounded by stunted trees. The path ended at the seaside, and it seemed they would have enough time to get to know each other on the path that stretched that far.

The princess avoided being the first to speak. In fact, she followed the rules in this period when neither palace etiquette nor men were given priority. But she was no longer sure of her feelings. Every question she would ask the prince was a step towards getting to know the man she loved. But would the prince be attached to her with the same feelings, she was not sure.

Things were not going so normally for Baldwin either. The reason for his silence could be that the princess did not like him or that he could not speak out of respect. Still, as a man, he had to have the first say.

"Tell me, princess? Are you afraid?"

Maria paused. "I think you can call your fiancé by her name."

The boy stuttered excitedly. "Of course I am, I'm just respectfully..."

Maria cut him off. She seemed pleased that Baldwin was excited around her. She smiled and continued walking. "No, I'm not afraid." She continued walking ahead. Baldwin increased his speed as he got closer to her so that she wouldn't see him smile.

"So when I think of Theo and Niko, you're different from them. That's good."

Baldwin got used to Maria as he was alone with her. He was no longer timid to keep up with her steps. He stopped the princess suddenly by grabbing her arm.

"You know, I was very scared. The first meeting of a couple is very important and determines how they will spend the rest of their lives. My fear was the moment I first saw you..."

Maria was about to hear things from the prince that a nine-year-old child would be ashamed to hear. So she interrupted him with a mocking look. "In which book did you read these words?"

Baldwin could not hide his surprise. He answered, avoiding her eyes. "Actually, it is not a quote from the book, William warned me when I came here."

Maria grinned happily this time. "I guess William likes to talk complicated with you."

While the prince looked at his fiancée with pride, Maria seemed lost in his proud gaze. No matter how quickly the harsh lessons he had been exposed to in his noble life had made him grow up, at the end of the day, she was still a nine-year-old child. Although her mind was well-developed for fancy speech, it would take her a long time to learn how to hide her emotions.

Maria sighed as she looked at the child's glowing skin. "You are so beautiful."

Baldwin was surprised to be the recipient of one of those compliments given to girls. Shouldn't he have thought of it?

"I don't understand, my lady."

Maria, confident, forgetting that she was breaking God's prohibitions, approached Baldwin and put her hand on his cheek and caressed it. Then her hair. As if she were playing with a rag doll.

"I've never seen a boy as beautiful as you. You really do remind me of the Greek gods I've seen in books."

Baldwin took a step back, away from his fiancée. He lowered his gaze and frowned.

"No, my lady. You deserve the compliment. Forgive me for not telling you in time."

Maria was as open and honest as ever.

"I don't care if you compliment me or not. I know you like me but what I said about you is true. You are beautiful."

Baldwin wasn’t sure if he was embarrassed or uncomfortable with the reversal of their roles. Still, he was flattered to be admired so much by his fiancée. The eyes that had looked at him with such admiration had last been his mother’s, and now his future wife’s. How could he ever forget the passion hidden in those eyes that had managed to fit every lake and forest in the world?

“Forgive me for interrupting, my prince, but we must return to the palace now.”

The two betrothed were embracing each other when William suddenly appeared behind them. He was happy that the prince had met such innocent love. That was why their childhood love was sacred to him.

The two children separated but did not let go of their hands as they turned to William. Baldwin held his princess's hand tightly. The night was long and they did not want to spend hours apart from each other.

Baldwin began. "The Empress has given us permission to be alone, Will."

"I understand, your majesty, but that was an hour ago." Then he looked meaningfully at Maria. "It is by your mother, Lady Bertha's order."

The little girl bowed her head helplessly and approved. Baldwin did not let go of his fiancée's hand. "Don't worry, my princess, when we get married, we will never be apart." Baldwin held Maria's hand tightly neither when he went to the queen nor when he entered the palace. But when the time came for them to leave and they went to their rooms, neither of the two children knew that it would be their first and last happy moment.

🌹🌹🌹

Maria stood in the middle of the apse with her fiancé Baldwin, listening to the priest's words from the Bible. Everything was perfect, and miraculous. Their people looked at them with envy. After all, even if they were not heirs, they were upper class people and had to marry men or women they did not want in order to make a deal or have better conditions. Everyone Maria and Baldwin had chanced to see in church was unhappy in some way or had cheated on their spouses, but the prince had held his future wife's hand tightly and promised to be by her side before presenting her with the priestly decorations brought personally from the Pantagrator monastery.

Maria knew how upset the Empress was. She was against political unions. She wanted to believe that her daughter truly loved the prince, but her logic believed that the happiness in Maria's eyes was just a mask she had developed for what she had to do. Yet her only daughter had acquired the most sacred feeling God had ever created at such a young age; what a great honor and a proud opportunity!

The princess raised her head towards the Empress's lodge and looked at her mother. She was aware of the embarrassment she was trying to hide behind her despotic gaze, and she was mature enough to smile confidently so that she would not feel guilty. Although Bertha did not respond to her daughter, she was pleased with her happiness.

At that very moment, little Maria noticed movement on the ceiling and turned her eyes to the seraph fresco. She was looking directly into the princess’s eyes from between her wings; the expressionless face she remembered had been replaced by sadness, and she could have sworn to swear by the two tears that were flowing from her eyes. Of course, it was impossible to hide her surprise at the sight she saw. Moreover, the princess’s reaction had attracted everyone’s attention, and a few curious people had fixed their eyes on the ceiling. They wondered what had affected the princess so much. Or would the sacred temple that Justinian had given to Jesus collapse again?

The priest had to nudge the princess with his words: the dynasty rings would be worn.

The priest presented them with the rings placed on the purple pillow. Baldwin reached for the ring first. The emerald stones, which were the companions on both sides of the diamond, were placed on the gold ring. The details were carved with Nordic shapes. However, when Baldwin put the ring on the beautiful princess, the drops of blood that hit the stones splashed and stained her finger red. The princess first pulled her hand away harshly and then looked back up at the frescoes on the cathedral ceiling. Everyone was surprised, unlike the priest. Because he had also witnessed what the princess saw when she looked at the ceiling. The ceiling was cracking insidiously, blood was gushing out from between the cracks, staining the temple. However, the guests were not aware of what was happening. Even Baldwin, despite being face to face with the princess, did not see or notice anything. He was only saying her name.

"MARIA, are you okay? Maria?"

The half dome almost collapsed on their heads. As the cracks widened, the blood flowing increased in intensity. The blood branching from the stained glass windows prevented sunlight from entering the church. The priest grabbed Maria by the arm and started pulling her away. It was as if red rain was falling on the cathedral. The nobles' expensively woven dresses, their bearskin furs, their crowns decorated with jewels could not be seen because of the blood. Despite this, everyone was calm, continuing to look at the apse. As if they were enchanted, as if everyone had entered a vegetative state.

While Maria was screaming and trying to run towards Baldwin to get him out of this pool of blood, the priest had already taken her to the second narthex. The little princess was struggling and begging the priest to let her go. The priest said that he could not do this, otherwise she would be one of those who drowned in blood.

The priest had finally managed to get out of Jesus' house with the princess. Now they were watching the nobles drowning in blood from afar. The two Houses were dying in agony along with their other nobles. There was not a single drop of blood leaking out. You were wondering what was going on inside, and you were crying out the prince’s name.

The priest tried to calm you down, but as the level of the red liquid seen through the windows increased, your ravings turned into pleas. The priest was begging you to be quiet. It was too late now. For the entire kingdom, for Baldwin.

“Maria! Maria! Maria!”

When she looked up at the sky, she could swear that the sun was practically calling her. Was it a divine call?

"Maria, please wake up, your majesty!"

When she opened her eyes, her heart was beating rapidly. It was hard to breathe as her chest rose and fell violently. She looked around with astonished eyes, straightened up, took the glass her nanny had handed her and drank a few sips of water. One of the maids was trying to clean the drops of sweat running down the girl's neck with a wet cloth.

The nurse asked, "What were you seeing, princess? I called out to you for minutes, but your moans did not stop."

Maria was still in the grip of what she had seen and was having difficulty regulating her breathing. The candles burning in the room, the high ceiling; none of them relieved the feeling of being trapped in a tiny box.

"I must speak to the father."

The nurse stammered. "For a nightmare? That doesn't make much sense. We must not occupy His Holiness unnecessarily."

The little princess stared at the woman and repeated her words harshly. The nanny, not knowing what to do, snatched the glass from the girl's hand and bowed respectfully to her, saying that they could go to the palace priest tomorrow morning after breakfast.

"Not the palace priest! We will go to Hagia Sophia. I am telling you this is important, are you really that stupid!"

This was the first time the nanny had seen the princess behave so disrespectfully. But this did not calm her anger. She clenched her teeth. How dare she criticize her intelligence? What she really wanted was to grab the princess by the arm, shake her, demand an explanation, and then beat her; unless she wanted to die in the dungeons with her skin flayed by the Pope right after doing so. Now all she did was to bow her head, holding the glass in her hand in front of her, and assure her that she would fulfill her request.

In the morning, the Latin Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire took their places at the breakfast table. The food did not only include products grown on the Empire's lands. Sugared almonds, cherries and citrons brought from overseas were another way of showing the guests how rich the table was.

The emperor and the king could not help but talk about their strategies even at the breakfast table. There were political implications and metaphors behind every word they used to describe how happy the entire Empire was about their children's engagements.

The two women, overwhelmed by their husbands' passion for work, had turned the conversation completely to the day they would officially become a family. The Empress turned to her daughter at one point and expressed her displeasure that the food on her plate had still not been eaten. Of course, Baldwin, who was standing right in front of her, could see that Maria was behaving differently.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go to church after breakfast."

Bertha looked at her daughter.

"what's this all about?"

Maria didn't want to talk about the dream she had. When she glanced at her father, she knew that he seemed to be interested in state affairs. She knew very well how obsessed the emperor was with dreams. He would definitely jump on her and make things worse.

"I just want to do a prayer of gratitude for my engagement."

"No way, you have a geography lesson after breakfast. After that, you will personally announce your engagement as the future king and queen. When you return to the palace, you must attend the banquet."

Maria pressed her lips together. She had no answer to say. The to-do list her mother had given her was endless. Besides, that day was her laziest day. No one but Baldwin had noticed her discomfort at not being able to go to church. She would use her intelligence to save her only love from the situation.

"I thought God's word ruled in Byzantine lands, your majesty."

Manuel stopped talking suddenly and looked at the little boy with a frown. He caught the attention of everyone at the table by banging the rings he wore on his five fingers, each set with a precious stone, on the arm of the chair. Baldwin's accusation was very bold. The tension between the two kingdoms was at its peak now. When Amalric tried to silence his son, the emperor interlaced his fingers at chest level without taking his elbows off the arm of the chair.

He looked very calm. This was an attitude that would never suit the emperor. Everyone knew very well how ruthless he could be.

"Tell me Baldwin, why did you say that?"

Baldwin, unlike the others at the table, was very relaxed.

"I apologize if I was misunderstood, your majesty, I just wanted to express that worshipping the god is much more important than lessons. She is trying to raise the princess in the best way possible, to make her like you, but this should not be a reason to delay her worshipping in Hagia Sophia. I am sure you think the same way I do.

The Latin king was still nervous. Queen Maria was pleased with Baldwin's impudent attitude. She could trick her beloved husband and get him the worst punishment. A good start to discredit his son in his father's eyes.

But the emperor answered the prince with a faint smile on his lips.

"Your apology is a part of your humility, a symbol of your lion-heartedness in defending what you know to be right. Very good Baldwin."

Then he glared at his wife.

"And my dear wife, I do not want to believe the idea that I have not attained the reason of a ten-year-old child."

Then he turned to his daughter.

"What is it that makes you want to go to church so badly?"

The princess lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"Your Majesty, all I want is to go to church and give thanks. If you will allow me."

"Get ready after breakfast," the emperor ordered.

Maria looked at Baldwin from below and smiled coquettishly in thanks. Baldwin, however, continued to focus on the plate in front of him, without losing his haughty gaze.

When the princess and her servant arrived at the church, the priest was surprised. He had never been here before except on special occasions. Although he was sitting in his office working on state matters, he left his work unfinished. He went down the stairs and approached the princess standing in front of the apse. He was aware of the strangeness in her attitude. Maria was looking at the stained glass windows, the windows where she had witnessed blood choking people. She continued to look until the priest spoke.

"My princess, welcome."

When the princess turned to the priest, she felt uneasy as if her nightmare had come true.

"What brought you here?"

Maria swallowed. "I had a dream, Father Antonio. I wouldn't have come if I didn't think it was a dream worth listening to, but I think it's worth it."

The priest was aware of the fear and despair on the girl's face. He put his hand on her back and guided her to the pews in the nave.

"Come, my child, let's sit down and talk."

In fact, the priest was prejudiced against the girl at first. A little child could have been affected by a terrible dream. What she was going to listen to now could be complete nonsense. But at the end of the day, she was the princess and she had to listen.

Although the priest's face was so gentle when Maria started telling her dream, what she heard later in the dream frightened her. While blood was bad in itself, the fact that there were people drowning in it, and moreover, inside Hagia Sophia...

The priest asked, trying to control his excitement. "Were you among those who drowned in the palace?"

Maria answered, "No," and was about to continue her dream when the priest stopped her.

"No, my child, you don't need to continue because what you saw is just your fears." Even though he didn't want to lie, it wasn't right to tell a little girl what had happened. He had to talk to the emperor directly.

He continued, stuttering as if he knew he was lying. "Now return to your palace, my child. It's normal for you to be worried about the future because of your engagement ceremony, but there's nothing to fear."

Antonio accompanied Maria to the first narthex. No matter how comfortable she seemed, she now knew that the two kingdoms had heavy penances to pay. Moreover, this was much closer to home for the Latin Kingdom. Very soon, problems would arise in the holy lands, and she would be dragged into an impossible path.

Thank God, all these negativities would strengthen the little princess, and her suffering would grow her.

But what really frightened her was the fact that the third Crusade could resurrect.

[rdhadastroke]

So this straw-masked dumbass decided to do a thing and share some personal tips about writing fanfiction/writing someone else's character/writing in general!

Please keep in mind that I am a hobbyist writer, not a professional! These are just suggestions/things that help me that may or may not work for you, please feel free to correct me or add your own anecdotes :)

Tips for getting ready to write:

Make sure that you're in an environment where you can concentrate.

Whether that be in a quiet room, a chatty café, or blasting your eardrums out with music, whatever gets you in the groove is good. Not everybody can focus in the same environment, so your choice of surroundings for when you right aren't going to be the same as everyone else's. I (personally) listen to long video essays, my current favorite song on loop, or a playlist about the story/characters.

Clear a space for where you want to write.

Clear the space of excess clutter and keep only what you need. If what you need to write is a lot, that's fine! Having too much going on at once in your writing space can overwhelm and/or distract you. I know from personal experience.

Have all of your materials at hand.

Character sheets, previous stories, note paper to jot down ideas, rough environment & scene sketches... Whatever references and tools you need, keep them with you! Also, keep a glass of water or some other drink nearby. Hydrate or diedrate, my friends.

Make sure that you won't be interrupted while you're writing.

This may not be an option for those of you living with your parents or a roommate, but it's ideal for your creative flow to go undisturbed, uninterrupted, and unwatched. Is your father really watching you write your fanfic? No, probably not, considering that he's snoring. But it still feels weird to write when he's sitting in his armchair right behind you. No, I am not projecting my experience onto the reader under the cover of an absurd joke, why would you say that?

Now that setup is out of the way, let's go over some actual writing stuff:

Always, always, always block out what you want to write before you actually write it.

By "block out", I mean give a basic summary of the events you want to take place in that chapter or segment. I usually do this event-by-event because I struggle to carry on a story without an outline, but you can do it by chapter or by paragraph if you'd like. Make jokes in your mini-summaries, and phrase things in wacky ways (that convey things to you effectively)! You don't have to be too serious about it. After all, if you're in a lil silly goofy mood, you can get an epic sentence like this:

If you get stuck on a part of a story, move on and save it for later.

If you're anything like me, you understand the screaming, crying, pissing, pants-shittingly frustrating experience of not knowing how to describe something or figure out what should be said next. As angering as it is, it's okay. Just write a mini block-in for what you want to happen, want to describe, or the general tone of what you want to be said. Or use a keyword that you can Ctrl+F for to finish those pesky scenes when you're ready. If your writing software can do it (I have no clue if any one program does this, I only use Google Docs), mark the spot for review to return to it later. If you're one of those frighteningly powerful people who write stories by hand, highlight it and paste what you want to go there over it once you're ready. If you aren't familiar with this infuriating part of writing, you're a lucky bastard and I envy you immensely.

If you have writer's block, there are 8 potential strategies (that I can provide) you can use to alleviate it.

These are NOT surefire fixes for writer's block and are EXTREMELY subjective and results will vary from person to person, but they can potentially help you.

Read a book. Sometimes reading how another author writes (dialogue, scenery, figurative language, etc.) can help you get a better grasp of what you want to write, and how you want to write it. You might even get inspired to make a different story, which bleeds into the next point.

Work on/start a different story. (This isn't always the best way to get out of writer's block, so if you can't get a word down, this probably won't help.) Sometimes changing what you're working on can free up the ink clogged in your pen, for lack of a better phrase, and give you an, "aha!" moment.

Eat and drink something. Brains don't work when they don't have fuel, so feed your machine. Frequent maintenance keeps an engine running smooth, so occasionally get a snack and make sure to keep hydrated.

Take a walk and get some fresh air, and touch some grass for the love of god. Jokes aside, getting your body moving can excite your brain into working and clear some brain fog, since exercise gives your brain a dose of serotonin. As silly as it sounds, sitting in the sun and touching some grass can actually make you feel nice and rejuvenated, it helps me a lot. Even if you don't go outside, moving around is a good way to give your brain a break.

Talk to a friend and get their input. Their ideas can get you through a tough spot and inspire you to get writing again.

Look at pretty pictures and distract yourself from what you're doing. I have pictures of art pieces and doodles I like hanging in front of the desk where I write, and losing myself in pretty stuff helps me work through what I'm struggling with.

Jot down notes by hand on what you're trying to do. Planning things out on pen and paper, despite being tedious, imprints information in your mind and can be useful to your writing needs

If you're writing a fanfiction, look at the source material. Chances are, there's something there that could help you along.

If you don't have the motivation to write anything, don't.

This isn't the best advice for someone who's on a time limit, but works wonders for passion projects and fun stories. Very few do their best work when they force themselves to do it. Besides, there's no point in having a hobby if you don't get joy out of it and overly stress over it.

Writing someone else's character? No problemo, here's some fanfic help:

Always look at the source material, and don't be shy to explore new territory with the character.

It's important to stay true to the personality of a character when you're writing someone else's creation, but don't be afraid to throw in some headcanons and artistic flair. Remember, there's a difference between writing a character unrealistically (pertaining to personality, likes, interests, and universe/world/time period) and changing the circumstances of the original story. Characters are people too, and people react differently to the same thing depending on the world around them. A character may not have [x] trait if [y] event never happened, likewise [y] event never would have happened if this character didn't have [x] trait. Take into consideration the people around the character, as well, as they can also affect what the character does and how they develop. Change up small events in the original source material's story to get a different story and a different reaction out of the character. Experiment, and have fun! It's your story, write it your way!

That's all the advice I have for now, and I hope I was helpful! :)))

[disruptivevoib]

I want to talk about the mirror.

So this is about Twine and all the mirror stuff

That being said this involves some.. intense? things. I will explain them as lightly as possible, but a CW: Suicidal Ideation is definitely something that goes in here.

Twine and the mirror kick back actually way to the beginning of the chatroom. Its very interesting how long Twine was gone, which was about 2 months?

But he left initially after a culmination of frustrations and a lot of projection from himself onto Coda (VoR) Soul. I can't go into every intimate detail as to what led up to Twine's mental break, but Coil, failure, realizing how fucked up he'd been towards Yarn, anger ( a lot of that ), and just. Yeah. Coda.

Silence {Ouroboros Soul} (@rosy-fox-art) eventually told Twine to take a break and consult with or be there for his sides. Which is incredibly hypocritical but that is unimportant. Twine in his infinite frustration and also a longing to.. just be better for Mind and Heart fucked off and made his own room, of which he did not previously have.

This room had a computer and a mirror.

An important side note is that the Sun Down thirds can summon things specific to themselves and have properties projected onto them. Think artifacts from TMA if you must, but usually, that projection comes from a mentally ill place.

This being said, the mirror is exactly that. And at the time, Twine was incredibly self-dissecting. I think of Soul as Self-awareness, which can lead to over-analyzation of your wrongdoings and past mistakes and even possible future ones.

The mirror only ever projects back what it is given, however much you give into whatever you see. Twine saw a host of things over that long period of time standing and staring. Because yes, for two months, he stood and he stared and he just sort of tore himself to shreds.

A lot of it comes down to Twine seeing his past self, his Whole, and a couple over visions regarding the ideation of a rope. If you will. As unhealthy and self-destructive as this was, to some degree, a part of Twine was trapped in that mirror, thus he couldn't leave. And it would have changed him, though not for any kind of the better.

He left once, initially, when Ozzy (Voice of Reason Heart) (@agent-8449) showed up. They had their beef. Which I won't get into, it was not pretty. Twine is an asshole, Ozzy is also an asshole. However, he wound up leaving again to return when Yarn left to the Voice of Reason Psyche in a mixed attempt to help Tinker and keep Ozzy from being sent back.

Coil and Ozzy would later (I can't even say if it was hours or a day) find Twine and I cannot say get rid of the mirror, Ozzy did break it and Coil did throw away *most of it.

However by now, Twine was pretty out of it. Distressed and crying then fully dazed and out of it. He came back from that very quickly when Ozzy, *still mirror-possessed, was trying to essentially link with Coil and eat his thoughts. (Won't go into it.) Which he did indeed skewer Ozzy like a kebab for.

Notes:

"Most of it" as in he kept one piece in order to try and understand what it was for

"mirror-possesed" as in Ozzy ate the mirror. He ate the glass. He was eating glass.

Also, Twine's trident is obscenely hot, however, while not immortal, the Sun Down Thirds are immune to the effects of temperature in terms of harm. They can feel it, but they don't get frostbite or spontaneously combust. Mainly because they absorb energy a lot, or are functionally energy, and thus because the Psyche isn't /real/ in terms of the body... yeah, they just. don't take damage. (poorly explained. Apologies, its 4:30 a.m.)

[ellieellieoxenfree]

22, 24, 25

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

canon is not always great at doing this either, but trauma and disability. i look at some of my faves — rita farr, josee, vegas theerapanyakul, ai di, hartley rathaway, teresa mendoza, rita west — and they’re fucking absolute messes, all defined by some brutal shit. their respective canons have handled this with varying degrees of sensitivity (you know exactly who i’m subtweeting) and i don’t participate in all of the fandoms for these pieces of media, but i turn into an absolutely wild beast when people gloss over that because it’s too much of a challenge to include. people who faced years of childhood abuse or who were suddenly confronted with an unexpected, uncontrollable loss of autonomy are going to struggle with those things. one of these characters got shot multiple times in the abdomen, for chrissakes. and people are like ‘idk i guess he can have a marathon fuck sesh it’s cool this won’t interfere with his life in any way’ like YES IT WILL YES IT IS FUCKING PERMANENT, DIANE. there are physical effects and limitations that never go away. there is an ongoing, volatile sense of loss that will body you over and over again for the rest of your life. i love josee for tapping into the anger of disability (you know how i feel about my best girl) but i also love characters whose canons force them to grapple with a reality thrust upon them at a point in their lives when they can draw a clear delineation between Me Before and Me Now, rather than those who have never known the grief of your bodily function being ripped from you unexpectedly. and that isn’t just disability. that’s betrayal and abuse and loss of security and stability and identity. and if you can’t actually deal with the whole of a character’s raw ugly misery and anger on top of the fun fluffy bits to read or write then MAYBE the messes are not your arena.

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

ooooh i’m gonna get canceled for this one but i will block people who get into internet slapfights about gender and sexuality. i’m an old shithead so i find the trend of needing to affix 500 microlabels to every character exhausting, especially in canons where none of these people would have the remotest fucking idea what you’re banging on about. and further, i find it extremely off-putting when a male character expresses traits that aren’t in lockstep with stereotypical or toxic masculinity and immediately gets painted as trans. i see one of these essays where you spend 10k assigning things to a character that are really just you projecting your own identity onto your fave and onto the blocklist you go. some of y’all make me miss fucking kinnies.

i also cannot fucking abide ship wars, because i came from a fandom where people got so mad about a pairing taking up too much screen time they engineered a plot to ruin a real person’s career over it (that was wave one of the bullshit, but i digress). i have watched that shit happen for years and years and yeaaaars — usagi/mamoru and seiya/usagi fans used to throw temper tantrums at each other like they were getting paid to, way back in the day — and it has never gotten any less noxious. it has, in fact, just gotten fucking worse with the increasing curdling of twitter and stan culture. it was bad enough when it was just screaming at each other over which boring girl harry potter should bone but now people have let that shit spill into the real world. now it’s just a normal thing to try to affect someone’s careers, or discuss your rpf ships in front of the people involved. FUCKING BOUNDARIES. LEARN THEM. RESPECT THEM. what the fuck is wrong with you people. stop sharing your fics with them or tagging them in your art. and yes, that even goes for bryan fuller. just because he’s a freak who probably beat off to all the hannibal/will art you sent him doesn’t mean you should have sent it in the first place.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

since you’re my BTS buddy…i wish for a meteorite to strike everyone who identifies as an army because if i’m stupid enough to go into the tag, 99% of the posts are ‘hybe/bighit is out to sabotage (fave’s) career’ or ’this is why (ship) is the only truth and everyone else is a dirty sinner going to hell for wrongthink’ and holy shit TAKE A MIKE’S HARD LOOK AT YOURSELVES FOR FIVE MINUTES. if you are so deeply invested in the sex lives of some random korean guys that you are getting legitimately angry at other people on the internet about them not thinking your preferred boy is making the sign of the two-backed aardvark with your other preferred boy, log off. go the fuck outside. i’m not above cracking jokes but some of y’all are rolling out the murderboards and obsessively documenting every single moment their faves happen to be in the same area of the stage to explain why one of them moving their little finger an inch to the right means he’s gonna get his ass eaten after the show.

the career sabotage shit i don’t even know, understand, or care to know. i see it in the tag fucking constantly and it exhausts me. i need to not engage in baseless conspiracy theories. i’m not here for this. just like i’m not here to figure out who in the group is taking a ride on the humpatron 3000, i’m not here to go through a million posts on 50 social media sites every day combing every single word choice for evidence that my faves are one wrong step from being put to death by bighit management. i just want to enjoy myself for five goddamn minutes.

as a very casual new fan, my experience has been 1% gifs of people whose faces and talent i enjoy and 99% screeching harridan drama whose point entirely eludes me. i hate all of these people. i hope they fall into the ocean. maybe the fish will be a more receptive audience than i am.

[romac-and-cheese]

DUNGEONS AND DIRECTORATES

Entry 1: HELLO? CAN I SPEAK WITH YOUR MANAGER?

(Profile pic by Vitaly S. Alexius)

___

The air was bitingly cold, as usual. I struggled to run through the snow. Just a moment ago, I had caught sight of Seven entering an old office building. I didn't know where my other 'compatriots' were, but nevermind them. I had to reach Seven!

Zee had just stepped into the manager's office when I reached the building. I clung to the doorway, struggling to catch my breath.

"Capt- I mean, Seven!" I corrected myself, "I must speak with you! Immediately!"

"IF YOU NEED SOMETHING, ASK MY ASSISTANT!" Seven called from the office before slamming the door shut.

To the side, two green lenses slid into view. Pilot was behind a desk, typing rapidly on a keyboard while somehow balancing three phones against his head.

"Y-"

"OOOOOOOONE MOMENT!" Pilot shouted, before pushing a button on one of the old phone receivers, then frantically scribbling something on a piece of paper, all while STILL tapping away at the keyboard.

"This is-"

"SHHH!" Pilot held up a finger, "Uhuh? Mhm?" He spoke into one of the phones, "Sorry, I'm NOT INTERVESTED!" He slammed a different one back onto the reciever. "Your Call is Important to Us, Please Hold." He spoke with a nigh perfect American accent into the third.

This was ridiculous. Why was I waiting on him? I would try to talk to Seven myself, but I had no doubt that zee's lackey would be ordered to manhandle me. He might possibly even throw me out the window. Sure, we were on the ground floor, but broken glass is dangerous! And I didn't want to be thrown.

"Wut are youuu HERE for?" Pilot finally asked, waggling a finger at me.

"I must speak with Seven!"

"Zee's most divine, opulent excellency is busy. Have a nice day!" Pilot waved me off.

"What?! Seven is not busy!" I argued across desk.

"Bup-bup-bup!" Pilot silenced me as he picked one of the phones back up. He then proceeded to go into a long sales pitch for trash can lids as an effective and cheap pie-tin alternative.

I stamped my foot in anger. I HAD to speak with Seven... But it seemed I would first need to distract zeer contemptible second-in-command.

"Pilot!" I shouted, and the man went dead-still. He slowly, eerily turned his head to look at me. I realized that I had gotten ahead of myself. I had no lie prepared.

"There's, ah..."

The green goggles were unwavering, bug-like... There was no telling what went on behind them.

"There's a fire!" I lied, "And all the, ah...puppies and kitties in the building are going to be burned down! Unless you save them!"

Pilot turned to look out the giant, broken glass windows.

"I sees no fire." He muttered.

"It's, ah..." Damnit! This is when having Snippy around would have come in handy. I was loathe to admit it, but that man was much better at improv than I.

"I'll be right back." I left.

___

"PILOT!" I shouted, "There's the fire!" I pointed at the building in view which now had smoke pouring from it's windows.

"Oh noes!!!" Pilot lept up from his seat.

"Yes! There are baby cats and dogs in there! They need your help!" I goaded him on.

"I'll save those cool cats from their melty demise!" Pilot shouted as he lept over the desk in one swift movement, then began to sprint towards the burning building at a frightening pace.

Seeing how quick he was made me think twice about my plan- but no! I had to act now! I steeled myself and marched through the office door.

"Seven!" I called.

"AH, ENGIE!" Seven responded from where zee was reclined in a chair, legs resting on the manager's desk, "HOW GOES PROJECT 'TURN ZEE MOON INTO AN INSIDE-OUT DONUT'?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about. Now listen to me!" I pulled out a map and held it up, "I have uncovered something dreadful!"

"OHO?" Seven replied interestedly from zeer chair.

I pointed at the map,

"The recent gravitational anomaly caused pieces of the dead zone to fall into the city," I tapped one spot highlighted in yellow, "We are here," I circled the multiple purple spots on the map, "And these are the misplaced deadzones I have discovered!" (-and some that Snippy had reported, but that was extraneous info)

"We must leave this part of the city before we get boxed in by dead zones!" I finished.

"HMMMM." Seven arched zee's fingers, leaning forward in zeer seat, "AN INTRIGUING PROPOSAL."

I lowered the map, anxiously. There was no doubt in my mind that we would all perish if we were trapped by the deadzones... Even if Seven's luck were to extend to those near zee, there was no telling what would happen if we got separated -and that had been happening a lot as of late.

"OKAY!" Seven finally announced. I let out the breath I was holding.

"HOWEVER!" Zee stood up and gingerly took the map from me, "WE MUST FIRST CHART A COURSE! AND I KNOW JUST HOW TO DO IT..."

From above the top edge of the map, purple lenses peered at me, piercing like needles into the very fabric of my being.

"...AND YOU ARE GOING TO HELP :) "

[cosmichighpriestess]

Friendly reminder, you don't have to go to any holiday gatherings with your family. Embodying high frequency doesn't mean you have to automatically segregate yourself from your family either, but it does mean that they may never understand you and they may never accept you fully and may not wake up in this lifetime. It's important to remember that was their choice from a higher level and while they may never accept you, you can accept them and forgive them for yourself in an act of self love for yourself. In the grand scheme of things, what really matters? Why can't everyday be about loving your family and celebrating life? Is it worth your sanity, making a huge dent in your finances, and high exhaustion and stress levels just to see them treat you the same way they always do? If you do decide to participate this year, If you feel any type of anger or resentment towards your family remember to neutralize the effects of anger and to take a step back, breathe and be nonreactive to it. Instead of engaging in the flaming energy, you become an impartial observer. Nobody makes you angry without your consent. Your peace is your number one priority. You don't need permission from anyone to do what's best for you.

Understand that it was not their words that caused your anger, but your reaction to them. Remember, If they can't love themselves, they can't love you period. So examine your relationships, ask yourself what is the true meaning behind these holidays, and is it worth breaking your back for the same people who will never truly accept you or love you? Instead adopt a peaceful, loving attitude for yourself and put an end to any petty squabbles, and it's their choice what they do with your loving attitude, they can either continue to judge you and hate you for what you are or they can put everything aside and choose peace for themselves. Don't be loyal to abusive people, be loyal to feeling love and peace for yourself, and honoring yourself. If seeing you hurt by their actions and words does not affect them and does not hurt them, they simply do not care about you and they do not love you. But remember whatever they choose has nothing to do with you and everything to do with their state of consciousness. Never take anything personally. Don't make others comfortable at your expense. People don't see you as you actually are, they see you how they see themselves. Take your power back, and do not let them project onto you.

They can choose oneness or separation. It may take some time for them to come to these deeper realizations. Inequality has resulted in difficult relationships where those holding the power have laid down the rules for the family. The need for honesty and openness is needed to create good healthy relationships. Relationships are not meant to be traumatic. Our people of Earth are One, and the ego must be set aside so as to allow good sense to prevail so that you can advance in a unified manner. You are being trained for a new way of living, so it's no coincidence you may not resonate with the old third dimensional concepts like the man made holidays for consumerism. Earth is an illusion in the overall scheme of things. This is why you feel deep longings for the deepest parts of yourself, that is your soul trying to communicate with you and send you signs to wake up to the truth that you are love.

Love is the key to everything. The intention of your loving words emits higher vibrations, which heals the world and Earth's spiritual world is of huge importance. You have free will, you can choose love. So enjoy your holiday's if you want to, enjoy the light holiday music it brings, that heals nations, enjoy helping others in service, in an act of love, enjoy giving and receiving presents if you feel like it. Remember that you are defining everything you see. Fill your hearts with gratitude as you receive your blessings this winter season. Remember that spirits in the spiritual realm are lifted when they see tree's lit up with lights and holiday decor. It's not all as bad as it seems. Your perception of being stressed, overwhelmed, in fear or being harmed can be changed with love. All is love. Love yourself. Be unconditionally loving, focus on helping others, and your problems will disappear. Everything you do returns back to you. Wish the highest good for all beings. Old energy is clearing. New energy is coming. Remember you are moving at the speed of love which is faster than the speed of light and this Holiday season love is the only thing that matters.

[m1dnyt3-w0lf]

The Day They Met

Turquoise Team Origins

Jade carefully removed the vent cover and placed it beside him. He looked down at the room he was about to enter. It was a wide room with multiple artifacts in glass cases. His eyes went from one to another until he found his prize, a bracelet made in complete black material save for green knobs and a green line going around the bracelet. He quickly grabbed a spray can from a bag next to him and shook it. He pointed it outside the vent and sprayed, doing as wide a sweep as he could. He watched carefully for some time. When nothing happened, he breathed in relief. He didn't have to worry about lasers, just as the Buyer said. He pulled out some rope and a pulley system attached to a large suction cup. His hands moved quickly as he attached the rope to himself and the pulley system. Then, he stuck the suction cup against the vent wall, an echo sounding down the vent shaft. He huffed, knowing he'll have to move quickly. Without a moment of hesitation, he fell out of the vent shaft and began to lower himself down to the floor below. Once firmly on the floor, he detached the rope and hurried to the bracelet, double tapping a glass panel that sat below the glass case. A holographic screen projected from the glass panel asking for a code. Jade pinched the bottom of the screen and pulled toward himself, effectively pulling out a hidden keyboard. He typed the password the Buyer gave him and hit enter. The screen flashed red.

"Fucking prick!" He shouted under his breath as alarms sounded around him. Jade didn't have time to react as the doors to the room broke open and many armed guards rushed in, followed behind by several scientists and the Buyer. Jade glared at them all, his green eyes boring into the deep brown of the Buyer's.

"Excellent job, Neo, if that even is your real name. You truly have made a breakthrough in the name of science." The Buyer said. Jade frowned deeply.

"Whatever. Just give me my money and I'll be out of here." He said coolly, keeping himself on guard. The Buyer smirked.

"And let you have another chance to steal from us? I've read your file, Neo. You're the most skilled thief in this city, and from what I see, there's a hefty bounty over your head." Jade's calm expression turned to one of anger as his brows knit closer together, and a snarl turned his lips down. The Buyer, however, wore a shit eating grin. Jade knew the Buyer thought he won, and, for a moment, so did he. He looked between every armed guard and scientist, attempting to plot his escape. He thought of every bit of information he was given and researched about the place and the bracelet.

"What's so special about a bracelet?" Jade asked.

"It's not just a bracelet. It's a highly powered piece of tech." The Buyer responded.

"Isn't everything else in that facility?" Jade had already decided to fluke out on the mission.

"This one is different. It's practically an entire army against your wrist! It has the latest in impenetrable armor and claws sharper than razors. Night vision, thermal, trackers, you name it!"

"Whoop-de-do-da. What are you paying me?" Jade didn't bother to look at the Buyer. He seemed too occupied by the throwing knife he was twirling around.

"Five million." Jade's movements stopped immediately, giving the Buyer a side glance.

"Five million? Must be an important anniversary with the missus." He dryly jokes. The Buyer simply kept that professionally strained smile. Jade looked back to his knife, twirling it again.

"I'll do it."

"Good. Now, before we get into details, I have to warn you about it."

"And that is?" He found it annoying when his clients would dramatically pause.

"You can not let this bracelet touch your bare wrist."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"It'll latch onto you and won't come off. Scientists there haven't created an off button in your terms."

Jade's eyes shifted to the bracelet. If what anything the Buyer said was true, it had to be that. His eyes met the Buyer's. Time to play a little game.

"Alright, you've caught me." He said in a bored tone. Jade took off one glove and tossed it on the floor.

"The greatest thief of all time bested by a scientist. Whaddaya know, logic does beat stealth." The Buyer chuckled, the joke making no sense to Jade. He decided to play it up.

"You're right. I was such a fool to think I'd ever outsmart such a smart man." He tossed his other glove and slowly started to roll up his sleeve. The Buyer gloated in the praise.

"And here I thought it would be harder from everything I heard about you. I suppose everyone else was simply incompetent." Jade blew some of his hair out of his face, completely failing as the hair barely moved.

"Right, you are." Once his wrist was completely exposed, he smirked. "Although you forget one thing."

"And what's that?" Jade met the eyes of the Buyer again, his gaze no longer showing anger but determination. The Buyer's eyes widened.

"You never see stealth coming." Jade stiffened his arm and swung it hard against the glass. Surprisingly, it shattered upon impact, but Jade was sure he broke his wrist when he hissed upon impact.

"Fire! Kill him!" The Buyer shouted, moving the guards into action and letting loose a deadly rain of lead. Jade hit his wrist against the bracelet, unfortunately taking a few shots into his legs and lower back as the bracelet began to expand and crawl against his body. The bullets began to clang and ricochet against the expanding material until it completely coated Jade, temporarily locking him in darkness.

"Hold your fire!" The Buyer yelled, muffled by the suit. Jade's breathing was quick and shallow, hissing at the pain of his shot wounds.

"Beginning healing protocol." A robotic female voice spoke clearly in his ears. Jade didn't even have the chance to react when a cooling sensation filled the areas where he had been shot. They became numb before a sudden, heated pressure dug into the wounds, making Jade cry out. Just as fast as the heating sensation came, it left, leaving Jade feeling as he did before the wounds.

"What the-"

"Voice recognition applied. Host found."

"What?" His question was left unanswered as a screen in front of his eyes brightened up and showed him the outside world. There stood the scientists and guards in front of him, staring in awe and uneasiness. Jade slowly stood, the metal somehow feeling lightweight. The surrounding people stumbled backward, making them even more uneasy.

"Eighteen hostiles counted. How do you wish to proceed?" The woman's voice spoke into his ears. There was only one thing he wished to do at this time.

"Escape."

"Flee protocol activated. Finding the best route." Next thing Jade knew the suit was moving for him. He couldn't resist even if he tried. He was forced to run full force towards the exit.

"Fire! Fire at him!" The Buyer yelled as him, the rest of the scientists, and some of the guards dove out of the way. The remaining guards rained fire on Jade as he ran, the bullets ricocheted with ease, shooting off into the floor, other cased items, the walls, and the remaining standing guards. Most were shot, and some stopped shooting and dropped to the ground. Jade managed to escape into the hall. The suit didn't stop. It kept forcing Jade to run.

"Approximately five floors to the nearest exit. Calculating the best possible route." The woman's voice said calmly as the alarm in the building rang.

"Search faster!" He cried out as guards began to fill the end of the hall.

"Calculation complete." Suddenly, the suit skidded to a stop and jumped with enough force to destroy the ceiling above, landing Jade into a vent. A map appeared in front of his eyes.

"In five feet, take a right." The woman said calmly as the vent was suddenly showered in bullets. Jade did his best to crawl as fast as he could out of harm's way, despite knowing the suit was impenetrable.

"No need to tell me twice." He muttered. He continued through the vent, following the woman's instructions and eventually escaping the line of fire. It was then that his thoughts finally caught up to him. There wasn't an off switch to this thing. That's what the Buyer said. How was he going to get it off? Was it like a parasite of some sort? He was going to have to worry about that later.

"Drop from the vent in three feet." She said calmly. Jade approached the vent and peered through the slats, only seeing glimpses of lab equipment.

"I think that GPS of yours is wonky." He muttered.

"Nonsense." She replied. Suddenly, the suit forced him to punch the vent cover out and drop in. He gasped, bracing for impact. He felt himself land but not the shock of impact he should have felt. He looked up, seeing the vent twenty feet in the air. He should have felt the shock, or at least some pain. What the hell is this suit? No time to think about that now. Later. Jade tore his gaze from the vent and looked around the room. He was right about all the lab equipment, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the glass chamber in the middle of the room. Inside the chamber was a wash bin, a toilet of some sort, a bed, and a girl. Jade couldn't help but freeze, staring right into her terrified eyes. When his gaze finally broke away from hers, he noticed the animal ears where human ears should've been. What the hell is this place?!

"Take the exit on your left." The woman said calmly. Jade looked to the left, seeing double doors. He looked back to the girl, she seemed almost feral but he was sure it was the fear. He's seen the same look many times. He sighed and walked closer to the glass. The girl quickly scuttled backward, pressing herself against the opposite end of the chamber. Jade took in the glass, giving a small knock. The glass sounded with a dull thud, a clear sign it was thick. Jade recalled how the suit broke through the ceiling and vent with ease and figured thick glass shouldn't be a problem. He pulled his fist back and punched as hard as he could. His fist punched through like he was punching paper. The entire glass chamber started to shatter but didn't break apart. Jade withdrew his fist, seeing pieces from the edges of the break fall out. Experimentally, he pushed the edges and watched as they broke apart with ease.

Fascinating. He thought. He then dug out a doorway through the glass and entered the chamber, the fallen glass making a satisfying crunch under his feet. He approached the girl slowly, lending out a hand to her as he crouched.

"Let's get you out of here." He told her, hoping he sounded as kind as he meant. Fear still showed on her face before her head suddenly tilted to the side. Jade waited patiently, knowing he was equipped with the most powerful piece of armor in the lab. He was worried for the girl who now placed her hand on his own. He had never put someone else's life under his care. He had always worked alone. He didn't even make friends within the Clan of Thieves, but something told him he couldn't leave this girl behind even if she wasn't human. So with one swift movement, he had her in his arms bridal style and ran out of the chamber and towards the doors. He burst through them and came upon an office of sorts. The alarm was blaring, and the desks that filled the large room were empty. He felt the girl shivering and looked around before he spotted a blue pull-over jacket laying over one of the chairs. He set the girl down and handed her the jacket.

"Put this on." She nodded and did so with no resistance.

"Okay, where to next?"

"Huh?" She asked, confused. Her voice was soft and hesitant, as if she was afraid to even speak. What the hell did these scientists do to her?

"Take the stairs down Hall B." The woman said.

"Which way is Hall B?" He asked, the girl still looking at him in confusion. Jade's vision was filled with a bright red and flashing arrow pointing to his right. He turned his head as the arrow vanished, a sign reading "Hall B" above a hallway that led out of the office area.

"Oh." Then he scooped the girl back into his arms and ran, glad the suit was no longer directing his movements. He shifted his hold on the girl to ensure she stayed in his arms and had no danger of falling. He followed the instructions the computer lady in his suit told him, taking detour after detour when guards would appear until he was finally cornered in another large office area, windows spanning from floor to ceiling. He held the girl close as the Buyer suddenly pushed his way to the front of the army of guards.

"You've got nowhere to run now, Neo! Give us the bracelet and the girl, and you'll be on your merry way with your money. No need for this to get bloody." He called out. But Jade spent ages learning people's body language. He learned to notice weak points and when the perfect time to steal would be. This was one of those times.

"How high are we from the ground?" Jade muttered quietly. He noticed the girl's ear twitch but didn't respond.

"Approximately forty-three feet." The woman replied.

"Chances of survival from that fall?"

"There is a one-hundred percent chance of survival."

"The girl included?" Her ear twitched once more.

"Come on, Neo, do the right thing." The Buyer said as the guards moved closer.

"Affirmative." The woman said, making Jade smile.

"Okay, you've caught me. Again. I'll do the right thing." His grip tightened on the girl, then he shoved himself backward into the window with all his might, enhanced by the suit. The window shattered, and the girl in his arms let out a loud scream as she clung to him tighter.

"Initiating height protocol." Jade felt things shifting behind his back and hoped the protocol was a giant bouncy castle.

What he didn't expect was to hover.

Several inches away from the ground, their fall had stopped completely. Jade wasn't sure how it was possible, but he was able to safely get on his two feet. He looked up to see the Buyer and several guards at the window. Jade immediately started to run, the suit forcing him to change course when he ran the wrong way. Bullets began to whiz around him, striking his back or the ground around him. The girl jumped at each impact and tried her best to minimize the small screams that tore out of her throat. Jade swiftly made it past the gates enclosing the facility of Florset and kept running until he found a safe spot within the town a couple miles away. It was in one of the back alleys that he finally set the girl down and leaned against a nearby wall to catch his breath. Never in his life had he ever run so much, the stitch in his side that stabbed straight into his heart a clear indication he pushed himself too much. The girl simply watched him, eyes wide with curiosity.

"You have successfully escaped. Mission accomplished." And just as quickly as the suit had enveloped him, it had undone itself back into the bracelet that now sat snug on his wrist. This was the first time the girl was able to see the boy in front of her. She had never seen such a person before. The scientists were always well groomed and stoic, while the mysterious boy who had saved her seemed a mess. It took Jade several minutes before he had properly caught his breath and was able to speak again. He looked at the girl, sizing her up and furrowing his brows.

"What's your name?" He wasn't sure if the scientists even gave her one. She stood silent for a few moments, eyes seeming to go unfocused and focused again on him.

"Midnyte."

"Midnight?"

"M-I-D-N-Y-T-E. Midnyte." He had to admit, he was surprised.

"Huh." The girl hesitated before asking.

"A-and yours?" She asked. Jade gave her another once over, the visible eye narrowing slightly.

"Neo." She nodded.

"Thank you for saving me."

"No problem." He looked around for any passerby who may be going down the alley. When the coast was clear, he looked at her again.

"I'm going to find you some clothes, stay here until I return, got it?" She nodded. He nodded back and pulled up his hood before walking out into the street. He'd never needed to take care of anyone but himself, so the fact he was now walking about, stealing a pair of pants here, some shoes there, for someone else was insane. He looked down at the bracelet, watching as one of the green knobs gently glowed the lime green color it was adorned in. He might have bit off more than he could chew this time.

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged/untagged for future OC works!

@symmetricalkazekage @post-apocalyptic-daydream @raphsmuneca @thelaundrybitch @eveandtheturtles @scholastic-dragon @tinkabelle19 @miss-andromeda @leosgirl82

[sotisha]

Tonight is the Full Crow Moon also known as the Worm Moon and the Sap Moon. Called the Crow Moon for the cawing crows around this time that signal the end of winter. As the earth thaws worms start to appear. And it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins.

The Spring Equinox will be in a couple of weeks, when both day and night are at equal length we are reminded to find our own inner balance. focus inward toward inner wisdom and self-analysis. This Full Moon is in the sign of Virgo, this will give us a keen eye for detail, we will see things and people and situations in our lives with crystal clarity, a light will be illuminated allowing us to see beyond the shadows. This is a time of cultivating and growing, just as the Suns energy and nature is doing at this time. Plant the seeds of new ventures, plan for the future, think about what it is you want and need and set about putting a plan into action. Use this energy for your own personal transformation, rebirth and regrowth.

Tonight's Full Moon illuminates our inner feelings and desires, so emotions can be quite raw and enhanced. The Virgo Full Moon means we may be over critical of ourselves and of others, try not to see the bad in everything instead look for the good. The Virgo sign is a very hard working and practical sign so use its energy for getting jobs done that you have been putting off for a while. Virgo is not scared to face deep issues so tackle any problems and bring them to an end.

This Full Moon brings light to whatever was hidden in the darkness or buried within the subconscious such as emotional pain or our deepest desires, but once awareness happens you are able to make realistic changes. Our emotional levels move like strong turbulent waves in the ocean during high tide for some during this Full Moon. Emotional reactions may be strong, energies may feel irritable or uptight. We are amidst great times of transformation which are heralding major new beginnings. Change isn't always easy or comfortable and it’s constant, so we must strive to keep our balance during these changing tides.

The world as it stands is challenged by many opposing forces now. We feel them both personally and collectively, pushing against our own will, raising difficult questions, triggering issues we would rather avoid. How we keep our own balance of light and dark and manage our own inner conflicts largely dictates how we manage outside ones. If we struggle with our own anger or hatred, telling ourselves we shouldn’t feel this way, we will struggle to respond effectively to the anger of others, allow yourself to feel angry or upset, but don't let it take over, keep a balance. If we fear our own power, preferring to see ourselves as victim rather than creator we may succumb to the power wielded by others, adopting their thoughts and priorities, behaviours and lifestyles without discerning the right path for us. If we refuse to acknowledge our own inner selfishness that demands its own way no matter what, we may project it onto the world around us, pointing the finger of judgement and even becoming a bully. Don't suppress your feelings, embrace your light and your dark sides as one cannot exist without the other. We need both. Let go of guilt and allow yourself to feel what you're feeling without self-judgement.

Let the energy of this Full Moon wash over you and cleanse your spirit, use it to heal you both emotionally and physically. Let the moonlight bathe and sooth you mind, body and soul. let the earth element of Virgo take away negativity. Stay away from self-doubt. Seek a balance of light and dark and see the truth in your life however much it may hurt, only then can you do something about it and begin to heal.

Have a blessed Full Moon, may the Goddess watch over you.

[yanlei-a]

"Is there a reason you feel the urge to threaten me when I have not once offered any hostility towards you? Is it because you acknowledge that I am a threat to you and yours goals? Or is it because I have insulted the Order's honor by defeating your apprentices and sending them back to your doorstep? Or are you projecting something onto me?" "I do not care for the roots of your anger, I only care to pluck the weeds before they grow out of control. I can 'see' what goes on beneath the surface, Zed. Consider my offer for conversation, before you find it too late."

"Until then I will remain an unwilling opponent to the Order, so long as you send your people to locations they should not set foot in. I stand with the Vastaya and the First Lands."

— @ionianelder

"You stand with the Vastaya — the same Vastaya that watched and stepped aside when our land was invaded, that deemed it beneath them to act against the foreigners." A scoff; the yánléi does not hold back hostility, unmoved by the monk's words. "When they didn't join hands with the noxian dogs."

"Isn't that enough reason for my hostility?" Zed says nothing about the defeats; hindrances, yes, but failure could be an effective teacher, albeit a harsh one. He does not expect perfection. He isn't so impatient the results need be immediate. Their goals will be realized, one way or another; and if he is no longer here to see it, Zed trusts Kayn to see it done.

"I have no interest in keeping the peace with those unwilling to do what is necessary for our homeland to thrive, Lee Sin. Nor am I some frightened boy you can threaten into submission. You cannot contain the shadows. My Order will go where it pleases — this is our land. And we will take whatever we must for Ionia, monk."

[miraakulous-cloud-district]

PREPARE YOURSELF, HERE THEY COME: 👊 PUNCH - are they quick to violence?

☕️ HOT BEVERAGE - do they prefer hot or cold drinks? what is their favourite drink?

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

🍼 BABY BOTTLE - what are their thoughts on children?

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

All these for the loveliest bard of our hearts, Ravonna!!! <3 <3 <3

Thank you so much for these! I love this ask game so much!

👊 PUNCH - are they quick to violence?

Not really. She generally resorts to violence only in self-defense or if someone pissed her off really bad. She loves to talk shit and destroy someone with words, in true bard fashion, be petty or write a song/poem about someone who really angered her and spread the art throughout all of Tamriel so that everyone knows that person is a jackass!

☕️ HOT BEVERAGE - do they prefer hot or cold drinks? what is their favourite drink?

As a nord, she does prefer colder drinks. She doesn’t mind hot tea or coffee, but nothing compares to the beautiful simplicity of nord mead, and its effects upon her! Sujamma also always comforts her, reminding her of simpler times at the inn that she grew up in, back in Morrowind.

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

The very first think I decided about her was that I was finally going to make a mage character after modding Skyrim thoroughly so that the magic system would be cooler. I made her and played around with the racemenu until I got exactly what I wanted, which was a sarcastic black-haired, green-eyed nord! It was also the first time playing Skyrim as a nord, and it felt so right to make her my canon Skyrim oc, which was going to end up with Miraak anyway, because I could never kill him! I got the Lucien and Inigo mods and was absolutely obsessed with Rumarin at the time! It was also at this time that I made my tumblr account to consume even more TES media :)). I was reblogging lots of stuff and then someone tagged me to make a picrew of her, and I did! And when I tried to describe her my hand slipped and made an entire backstory for her! After that I got tagged in another tag game, I believe it was a wip Wednesday sort of thing, but the problem was that I had no wip! So I opened a word document and started typing, and I couldn’t stop! I was listening to this song and I kept imagining stuff and banter with the fellowship and them singing the song! I love sea shanties and decided to project this love of mine onto her, so then I made her a bard! And I thought that she has to be funny and jolly and not very serious! And so the very beginning of my fic came to be! With them singing, drunk in a dinghy searching for treasure, at the dawn of a new day, because it marked the dawn of this wonderful adventure I’m having right now, writing and sharing it with you all and meeting other wonderful, wonderful people in the TES community! This is already a huge block of text, so I should stop, but I’m very emotional and nostalgic about this question because I love my Ravonna and everyone in this fic dearly! So the bottom line is... tag people in stuff, make your own tag games, you never know what kind of spark you might start in someone!

🍼 BABY BOTTLE - what are their thoughts on children?

They’re okay I guess… from afar, and when they already grow up and aren’t children anymore… yeah maybe she doesn’t like kids that much. She grew up in a tavern, surrounded by adults, and only left for the guild of mages in Vivec when she was a young adult herself. It’s not that she hates kids or anything, she’s just not that kind of person. She definitely doesn’t want kids of her own. A mother is the last thing she sees herself as.

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

OOOH BOY, I LOVE THIS QUESTION! In a modern AU? She would definitely be a metalhead. In the world of Skyrim? She has a whole notebook that is split in two: one half with favourite collected songs. I see Tamriel bards sharing songs with each other so that more people get to hear their compositions, so long as you give proper credit. But if you don’t give credit, you’re considered dishonorable, and you’re not worthy of the ‘bard’ title. She hates people who don’t give credit with a passion and is sure to rat them out every time. The other half is with her own songs, written and composed by her! She’s definitely that person who would stop in a fight and scribble something in there if that’s when inspiration strikes! It’s not easy being a bard and saving the world…

Her favourite artist, or bard is, of course, Hjaldir. She grew up with that man. She fell asleep to the sound of his singing voice, she learnt to play so many instruments from him, she listened to so many amazing and captivating tales from his pirate days, they sang together so much! She looks up to him and wishes to be as successful of a bard as he is! Being an ex-pirate, he is very well known throughout the whole continent. His shanties are sung in countless inns! And people know of his tales and shenanigans. Something tells me that she will be just like that by the end of the fic, even more than that 😉

I’ve associated my girl with lots of different songs! From 'This Wandering Day', to 'The Wizard', but lately this song (I also imagine her voice sounding something like this) has stood out, because I’m thinking of incorporating this song in my fic, as if she wrote it! The lyrics make lots of sense with what I want to do in the story, but essentially, she had a bit of a warning, or a spoiler, if you will, about the whole ‘Dovahkiin’ prophecy when she was little and had a weird dream. Akatosh works in mysterious ways, but you’ll see what I’m talking about when we’ll be several chapters deep in this fic!

And since I’ve already rambled so much, what’s a little more? Especially when talking about music. I associate ‘Follow You’ with the whole fellowship, as they would follow her through hell and back, no matter what. I also see ‘So What’ as a Ravonna song! She is a rockstar.

Thank you so much for the ask, and sorry for the HUGE block of text that turned out to be my answer! I'm always extremely grateful for these, and you have no idea just how helpful these are about the whole writing thing!

[thespacelizard]

sweet like chocolate

@fluffbruary day 23 - i am back again with my one-man mission to wax lyrical about how good Glasya/Fierna is. up on AO3 here.

In which Glasya and Fierna share a sweet treat.

Glasya lay curled against Fierna’s side, tracing the glowing stretchmarks decorating her stomach—little embers danced in the wake of her fingers, enough to sting but not to burn. She sighed.

“I’m hungry.”

“What for?” Fierna’s claws scraped idly up and down her back. Glasya purred at the attention, and thought. She wasn’t really hungry per se; Archdevils didn’t get that way, not for food at any rate. But she had the kind of idle craving that accompanied the pleasant boredom following several hours of enjoyable exertion. She wanted to sink her teeth into something, wanted decadence on her tongue, wanted to devour something precious just because she could.

She wanted chocolate. Specifically, she wanted Neverwintian chocolate, because they’d finally started making it there again, and there was something about it that satisfied in a way mortal food usually didn’t.

“Fifi, do you still have that Aspect on the Material Plane?”

“Not since I brought you back the Staff.”

“Ugh, and those precocious mortals destroyed my summoning circle in Neverwinter Wood. It’ll take too long to get my Material Aspect back there if I recall her.” So many irons in so many fires; she really ought to delegate more. Glasya flopped onto her back with a huff.

“What do you want from Neverwinter?”

“Chocolate.”

“Don’t you have that chocolatier your Adorants found for the Masquerade down in the kitchens still?”

Glasya let out a squeal and flung herself on top of Fierna. “I completely forgot! Fifi, you’re a genius!”

She planted a kiss square on Fierna’s mouth, tasting brimstone, then sprang to her feet. “I’ll be right back.” She flicked her eyes lasciviously over Fierna’s naked form. “Don’t go anywhere.”

It turned out that the chocolatier was having some sort of crisis about how effective the Infernal ingredients Glasya had supplied her with were—and had apparently been working through said crisis by baking non-stop. Glasya’s pantry was full to bursting with chocolate in dozens of forms, several of which might have been considered war crimes on the Material Plane. She piled a copper tray high with treats, and skipped, delighted, back to her chambers.

“Mm, these are good.” Fierna popped another of the small, round chocolates into her mouth. “What did she make them with again?”

“Pure agony.” Glasya bit into a caramel with relish—the reddish filling oozed across her tongue with intent. “From Minauros.”

Fierna scowled, the flames of her hair flaring to blue-white heat. “You know that mine ought to be in my territory.”

Glasya patted her thigh. The action seared the skin off her palm.

“The borders might shift,” she said. Her skin healed with a flicker of copper sparks, and a sly grin curled her lips. “You know. When I’m done with my project.”

Fierna’s smile returned; her flames dimmed to their usual low burn, all anger extinguished on the turn of a moment. “Well, that’s alright then.”

“You know I’d never forget about my sweet little Fierna.”

“Little?” Fierna grabbed Glasya by the waist and hauled her into her lap. “Bold words for the Archduke who made herself bite-sized this millennia.”

Glasya wrapped her legs around the soft expanse of Fierna’s waist. There was just so much of her in her current form, it was positively delicious. “Does that mean you’re planning on eating me?”

In reply, Fierna seared a blazing lip-print over her pulse. Glasya gasped as her skin sizzled, and let Fierna push her down onto the bed. The remaining chocolates scattered to the floor, forgotten in the wake of far sweeter tastes.

[evilbutcutetho]

To elaborate we were together, went on vacations together and she was literally everything I could ask for. We went on vacation together and neither of us wanted a label. We went to cute restaurants, planned museum dates, and other things we both enjoyed. Through all of it though I was still fighting PTSD I was hiding from my previous relationship. In that relationship I was verbally abused and caught in a living situation with the person.

They repeatedly invalidated my opinion. Put down my interests and made me really cater to their wants and likes. So at the end of that relationship feeling trapped I just lost myself to try and make myself perfect. She gaslit me and turns out she had been cheating for about half a year despite going after me about every little thing.

When I met this new girl everything was great, but slowly those fears crept in. Things felt too good and I ultimately let my fears of losing her take over. She was away and I hadn’t seen her for a month, and I felt depressed. I drank way too much and accused her of not loving me. Even though my insecurities really had nothing to do with her. She never even hinted she wanted to be with anyone else. In fact she wanted to have me in her life in an important way. Needless to say she thought I was different from any other guy she had been with. After that she pretty much pulled away and coupled it in with the negative experiences she had with others.

When she got back she wanted some space, we still saw each other and it was weird. My trained reaction was to try and be perfect and do only what she wanted to do and pursue what she liked. It backfired heavily because she liked I was passionate about my interests and I came off like I was simping and appeared bland. All in all I was afraid and held on way too tight. Unfortunately it happened with someone I never wanted to lose and she had voiced the same sentiment when we met. In the end I fought to try and fix things while needing to do a lot of work on myself.

The last conversation we had she kind of through the relationship that gave me PTSD in my face out of anger and questioned its validity and said if I smothered her like I was doing to her she understands why she left. I told her that wasn’t the case and I legitimately had trauma. She questioned if I could actually change and we haven’t talked since.

It wasn’t until I got the help I needed that I saw how big an effect my ex I was living with caused me. I saw how it affected my relationship and conditioned my responses. It legitimately took away the mix of things that made me who I am. The sad part is this girl I met saw all of my interests, hobbies and light and loved me for it. She wanted to engage in my interest and enjoy them with me. As I said I let my fears destroy me and what we had. She even told all of her family about me and wanted me to meet her extended family.

My friend wants to reach out to her to try and bridge the gap. To let her know I got help and that I perused the help I needed and made real changes and see if she’s opened to getting coffee with me.

I just wanted your input because I respect your opinion. I know I messed up. I own that and I really did conquer the pain I still had. I just hope I get another chance. Even if it’s just as friends.

Alright thank you! It's very good and important you've come to realize that you needed professional help and actually reached out for therapy.

So i think first of all you should be sure about your intentions of reaching out to her. Does it come from a place of feeling the need of making peace with yourself about this situation? do you project something onto her without really knowing her on a deep level (i couldn't tell whether you and her have been close for a very long time or if your time together only happened in a timeframe of a couple months) or does it come from genuinely wanting to be with her specifically?

Before i tell you what i personally would advise you from the information i have about the situation, i also wanna say this only applies if there has never been any form of abuse in the connection between you snd her. I just wanna mention this because coming from abusive relationships and/or abusive homes, sometimes the victims subconsciously start showing abusive behavior too or - the exact opposite - they often don't recognize more covert forms of abuse because they are so desensitized to mistreatment. So if there has been any abusive behavior from either her or you, i'd probably advise you to not reach out for the safety and wellbeing of both of you

Anyways, if you're 100% sure you love her and it's coming from a genuine place then i think it's worth a try to reach out to her. But you really need to be confident in the stability of your progress, don't expect yourself to be fully healed and free from unhealthy patterns if it's "only" been a couple months or a year of therapy. It takes a lot of time to not fall back into old habits and it also needs being confronted with your triggers again and again. You have to take in consideration that your healing process in theory will always be way ahead of your healing process in practice. Your head might have already changed and understood but your body's reaction to being triggered is another thing.

That's why oftentimes people feel calm and balanced while they are single but start feeling stressed and confused again when they get close to someone they like. That's nothing unusual or bad, it's just important to be aware of and prepared for. it's normal and you need confrontation to learn to cope healthily and get more secure. You can't fully heal without being in a situation where you need to actively put in work to stand on business while being triggered.

I don't know her side of the story and how she experienced all of it so i can't tell you how she feels about you reaching out to her. Just make sure to not pressure her and not guilt trip her into feeling like she owes you a conversation, make the step towards her but let her decide whether she wants to shut it off or keep it going. If she doesn't wanna talk, you'll be okay too. It might hurt but you'll know where you stand and you'll find peace in moving on.

But on the other hand, if you never tell her how you feel about her you'll probably always wonder how things between you and her could have been. It's better to tell her now then to wait forever and then be sad you never tried. Waiting too long also comes with the risk of the other person starting to move on, would be sad if maybe she's been secretly waiting for you to change and you'd miss out on your chance because she's done waiting and hoping

Either way, keep on finding back to yourself and the core of who you really are. Gaining back your true identity, your personality, your hobbies and interests and everything that defines you is beautiful