#grew up but also maybe i just moved to canada

[woahajimes]

i feel such an incredibly frustriating yearn

[infiniteglitterfall]

I do realize this is a real niche post but I cannot tell you how many damn times over the past 10 months I've seen gentiles tell Jews some version of, "Your own holy book SAYS God doesn't want you to have a country yet!"

And it's such an incredibly blatant and weirdly specific tell that they're not part of something that grew from progressive grassroots, but something based on right-wing astroturfing.

1. Staying in your own lane is a pretty huge progressive principle.

Telling people in another group that their deity said they couldn't do X is, I think, as far as you can get from your own lane.

2. It's also very clearly Not In Your Own Lane because I've never seen anyone actually be able to EITHER quote the passage they're thinking of, OR cite where it is.

It's purely, "I saw somebody else say this, and it seemed like it would make me win the debate I wasn't invited to."

3. It betrays a complete ignorance of Jewish culture and history.

Seriously? You don't know what you're referencing, its context, or even what it specifically says, but you're... coming to a community that reads and often discusses the entire Torah together each year, at weekly services... who have massive books holding generations of debate about it that it takes 7 years to read, at one page per day....

And saying, "YOUR book told you not to!"

I've been to services where we discussed just one word from the reading the whole time. The etymology. The connotations. The use of it in this passage versus in other passages.

And then there is the famous saying, "Ask two Jews, get three opinions." There is a culture of questioning and discussion and debate throughout Judaism.

You think maybe, in the decades and decades of public discussion about whether to buy land in Eretz Yisrael and move back there; whether it should keep being an individual thing, or keep shifting to intentional community projects; what the risks were; whether it should really be in Argentina or Canada or someplace instead; how this would be received by the Jews and gentiles already there, how to respect their boundaries, how to work with them before and during; and whether ending up with a fuckton of Jews in one place might not be exactly as dangerous for them as it had always been everywhere else....

You think NOBODY brought up anything scriptural? Nobody looked through the Torah, the Nevi'im, the Ketuvim, or the Talmud for any thoughts about any of this?? It took 200 years and some rando in the comments to blow everyone's minds???

4. It relies on an unspoken assumption that people can and should take very literal readings of religious texts and use them to control others.

And a sense of ownership and power over those texts, even without any accompanying knowledge about what they say.

It's kind of a supercessionist know-it-all vibe. It reads like, "I know what you should be doing. Because even if I'm not personally part of a fundamentalist branch of a related religion, the culture I'm rooted in is."

Bonus version I found when I was looking for an example. NOBODY should do this:

There are a lot of people who pull weird historical claims like "It SAYS Abraham came from Chaldea! That's Iraq!"

Like, first of all, a group is indigenous to a land if it arose as a people and culture there, before (not because of) colonization.

People aren't spontaneously spawning in groups, like "Boom! A new indigenous people just spawned!!"

People come from places. They go places. Sometimes, they gel as a new community and culture. Sometimes, they bop around for a while and eventually assimilate into another group.

Second: THE TORAH IS NOT A HISTORY TEXTBOOK OMFG.

It's an oral history, largely written centuries after the fact.

There is a TON of historical and archaeological research on when and where the Jewish culture originated, how it developed over time, etc. It's extremely well-established.

Nobody has to try to pull what they remember from Sunday school for this argument.

[sleepymccoy]

Please choose your favourite of my (imo) niche star trek headcanons

Now that I'm writing these, I wonder if any of them are straight up canon that I've forgotten lol

I'm gonna further defend my headcanons under a readmore, but it's up to you if you want to read that or just vote on the summary 😘

Scotty's actor is Canadian. Also he's so Scottish? Like, he's called Scotty, he drinks scotch, he is Scottish, so on. Too much. I think he has Scottish heritage, maybe his mum is Scottish, so he knows the phrases and his accent work is comedic but solid. But he himself was born in like Quebec

I have a whole post on McCoy's ex wife being Vulcan, it rules, give it a read here

The way America crumbles in trek history I think opens them up to invasion. I don't think Russia is still in charge, I think they've moved on from that and country borders are less political more cultural in TOS times. But I think briefly Russia had everything and Chekhov is joking about that when he says shit like that saying is Russian. We know, Chekhov, everything was Russian once, get over it. His joke is less about things being Russian and more like someone making the same joke about how everything was Roman once

TOS writers had a little cheat sheet of characterisation rules I saw here once and one said that Sulu has many varying interests, so if you need an info dump that's not one of the other main guys things, use him. So I've taken that and gone with he isn't actually into plants, it was just a six month project to better learn how to take care of them. He spent a lot of time complaining about them to Chekhov. Basically a hyper fixation and once he figured it out he lost interest, but retained all the knowledge

Cos Rand has that trick of heating up the coffee with a phaser on low. That's resourceful with ship technology that uses batteries, not mainframe power. I think she knows what matters when a ship breaks, and food and comfort need prioritising cos she grew up on a ship that was always broken. Broken ships are easier to tolerate if the coffee is served hot

I think Chapel's fiance kinda sucks in that ep, even if it was just a robot copy, and I think she loves being in space. I think she feels both relieved and guilty about it all, it's bad

[lludiic]

✭ weirdo trapped in a hot body —hamzahthefantastic x oc

001 ✭ sun more often

wtiahb masterlist — next

SUMMARY: two friends, hamzah and anastasia, from a social group “4freakshow” grew closer after the “group” disbands over drama. they both starts their own channel and their fans watch them venture out into their relationship.

DISCLAIMER: please ignore the name😭 that was the first thing that i thought of when pondering for a name🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ ALSOO the “fc” is gonna be camille444_ on insta because the oc is described with black haired and browns eyes, she also js matches the vibe!

A/N: first chapter😈😈😈 let’s go boys🙏🏼🙏🏼

liked by enyaumanzor, hamzahthefantastic, josiah.official and 168,283 others..

anastasiapeters who are these creeps??😬

view comments..

user108 NO WAY

enyaumanzor miss you already babe

→ anastasiapeters miss you more, definitely coming back soon !🫶🏻

slushynoobz us next😁😁

→ anastasiapeters only if mandy is gonna be there ☺️

user398 ANASTASIA AND HAMZAH REUNION??

→ user284 girl they’ve been “reunited” ??

mandys_iphone please come see me i’ve had enough

→ anastasiapeters whatever mandy wants mandy gets🫡

liked my mandys_iphone, drewphillips09, west10, and 208,970 others..

anastasiapeters had fun with these fantastic guys!

view comments..

user293 we all know she did NOTT have fun..😭

hamzahthefantastic come back please

→ anastasiapeters HELL NAH BOYY

→ user208 she’s got hamzah BEGGING bro💀💀

mandys_iphone i miss you bff

→ anastasiapeters what if i just move right next to you because i miss you way more

user308 STAS MOVING TO CANADA??

→ anastasiapeters one day maybe!

→ user12 floridian stas is gone?💔💔

liked by radvxz, enyaumanzor, hamzahthefantastic, and 210,986 others..

anastasiapeters i fucking love beabadoobee

view comments…

user297 STAS IS A BEA FAN??

→ anastasiapeters always babe

radvxz i love you

radvxz let’s get married

→ anastasiapeters yes please

user279 the way bea is INNNN her comments rn😭

radvxz i have such gorgeous fans omg

hamzahthefantastic ugly

→ anastasiapeters shut da hell up

→ user444 hamzah we all know ur up in her dms😬🙄

enyaumanzor come home stassss

→ anastasiapeters COMING

[chadfallout76podcast]

"Deah Shroud!: A Nick Valentine Mystery" EXPLAINED and AMA

It never occurred to me to do this last year, but a lot of people have asked me questions about our Fallout 4 play in the last year in the Discord, so I wanted to open an AMA but also explain "Death Shroud!" and some of the broader themes involved in it.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Part 1: Pre-production

Before I get into the story, I wanted to explain how this production even came about. Over the years after working together on some official community projects with Wes Johnson through Bethesda, we became good friends. I took a couple of his acting classes and he talked about the Fallout For Hope charity initiative I started and asked for help in organizing the gaming community for his Alzheimer's Association fundraiser. The idea was to host a month-long digital event of discussion panels, game shows, improv and a play with as many different voices of video games, film and TV as we could round up. In our second year of his VoiceAPalooza fundraiser, I wanted to do an original old time radio show and see if could bring back as many of the cast that we could from Fallout 4. It was Wes who first suggested an adventure with his Silver Shroud character (that he voiced in Fallout 4's radio plays) teaming up with Nick Valentine (voiced by the amazing Stephen Russell). Valentine is, for me, one of the best written, unique companions in Fallout lore.

So, I reached out to Stephen Russell who had joined us before for charity work and he was all in on bringing Nick Valentine back to life! After that things moved fast with Bethesda's Pete Hines and Emil Pagliarulo joining us to have some fun for a good cause. We tried to get EVERY companion from Fallout 4 that we could, but schedule wrangling is tough, and some people are just impossible to track down or find. Matt Mercer would've loved to have joined us as Macready, but unfortunately scheduling didn't work, so the best we could manage would be a holotape (the only reason our snarky gun running merc had to take the big sleep in the story).

After having everyone plugged in to reprise characters, it was time to put fingers to keys and find the story...

Part 2: The Deep Lore

The origin of this story started with a thought: how would the NPC's and characters we love perceive modification of their universe by us? We, as players aren't the true creators of this universe or these characters (Bethesda is). If anything, we the players are the equivalent of "lesser gods", reshaping it in new ways, unexpected and subjective ways, and sometimes even chaotic ways (I'm looking at you avalanche of adult mods with realistic jiggle physics and Thomas the Tank Engine Vertibird).

It started with a mental image of the small ways in which we start out modding games, or even the first mods we (using the "Engine of Creation) actually create. I had a mental image of Magnolia doing her thing, singing away sultry in a crowded and smoky third rail when she looks one way, back the next and sees new curtains. A subtle thing, something a little startling, but in a universe where recreational drug use is met with a YEEE YEEEE WHEEEE...a change you simply dismiss as being overtired or a little too juiced.

I'm a sucker for old time radio. I grew up listening to classic radio horrors like The Whistler, Suspense, and Lights Out on vinyl records and cassette tapes when I'd spend summers with my grandmother on a little island off the coast of Canada. Getting the tone, feeling and sound to stage an old-time radio show was the easiest part of this whole process...it's baked into my brain lol. The key of course is finding the right narrative voice.

Enter: Bill Lobley. If you play Fallout 76, he is the announcer for the "Tales from the West Virginia Hills" holotapes, but before that he's a prolific voice actor, maybe best known for his role as the truly vile Jeremiah Fink in Bioshock: Infinite. He has a FANTASTIC transatlantic voice for old time radio and was perfect as narrator in the script.

Part 3: What Is Going On?!?!

I had the base idea, the voices to pull it off, but what was the meaning and message of the whole thing? I always start there. From a meta experience level, the story is about dealing with subjective reality that’s being torn apart. After Fallout 4 launched in vanilla, we the players changed that world and reshaped it with mods. The small changes in perceived reality are meant for the omniscient player (us) and are not meant to be perceived by the characters themselves...and yet, what if they were? And if they were...WHY?! The answer was right in front of me: there's a difference between something born into a world and something MADE into a world.

You take someone like Magnolia or Nick, both synths, that obviously weren’t naturally born from two people. They were conceived as an idea...a human idea sure, but still they were made, not born. Without even needing to say in the script, the Trickster from the Grognak comic books who shouldn't exist yet does IS also an idea. Some MADE into a world but not born...a different world sure, but still the creation of it. Nick, Magnolia, any synth as ideas themselves would sense that the world was wrong and being changed in a way no one else would because of fundamentally who they are and what they represent.

Everything that unfolds is because Nora as a keystone event in the Commonwealth, a focal point of the causal nexus making her a unique entity in that world. A causal nexus is the link between a cause and its resulting effects and ignore the science mumbo jumbo, because here's an example of how that works:

The Sole Survivor, Nora, listened to Kent's message, chose to answer him and put on the outfit of the Silver Shroud. As a unique figure she shifted perceived reality of everyone in the Commonwealth by becoming the Silver Shroud, acting like him and making people believe that a fictional character exists.

Unfettered belief and faith in an idea = manifested reality.

Rejected belief and faith in the idea = dispels that reality.

This HAS happened before in Fallout lore in the instance of people with horrifying backstories and personal tragedies choosing to become someone else such as the Mechanist (Fallout 3 and Fallout 4) or even the Ant-Agonizer (Fallout 3). This time however it was a unique figure who did this, a figure fated and meant to reshape the Commonwealth for good, bad or ugly.

This opened a door, the door through which another figure could influence and enter a new universe provided it take the form of something already in it...a reality side-step into the form of the Mechanist. Concurrently, the moment that happened, reality counterbalanced by making the Silver Shroud who was already believed to be real BECOME real as the ying to the Mechanist/Trickster's yang.

Now at home in reality, the Trickster found himself very much alive and unbound by story but had very little power to do much at all. He needed something more, an idea and faith that already existed in the Commonwealth with the infinite universe of ideas made, but not born like himself. His goal wasn't power, it was to sow chaos, reshaping reality into a realm for any and every idea despite the consequences to reality itself.

So what did he need? The belief in the Old Gods and a focus point of belief in the idea: a staff. The universe is as adaptive as it is remarkable and where the Mechanist had its opposite: the Silver Shroud, the Trickster needed its twin: enter Sheogorath...because what better staff to tear apart and reshape reality than the Staff of Sheogorath. There is a quest added in the new Skyrim Anniversary Edition in which you can build it for yourself with a few items: Branch of the Tree of Shades, Ciirta's Eye, Fork of Horripilation. In this universe it would have to fashioned with things FROM this universe.

Two eyes were needed:

The eye of a True Believer: Kent Connolly

The eye of a True Seer: Mama Murphy

Affixed to the top of a staff of the purest heartwood from a Twice Born Tree. Living wood from Harold, born a man who eventually mutated into a living tree.

Lastly, it had to be soaked in the tears of ages end: barrels of radiated blessed waters courtesy of the Cult of Atom.

The Trickster had no magic of his own in this universe in which to act, but thankfully courtesy of some powerful allies, he was able to make contact with shadowy cults and worshippers of the old gods who gave him the name of someone truly of faith in the old magic to make all of this work: Jebediah Blackhall, who in this spin of the universe did unfortunately get his hands on the cursed book: the Krivbeknah.

Finding allies was all too easy, as the events post main quest left the Commonwealth changed. To many, the Sole Survivor and his/her companions would be hailed as heroes. To others, they would be villains, particularly in light of what Nora CHOSE to do to the Railroad to end the synth threat for good. That's a lot of blood on the hands of heroes...

As the Mechanist/Trickster, Blackall and the Lombardos began using the staff, its changes and shifts in reality rippled backwards through time, as changing one specific thing would change its entire existence. You change some curtains and the manufacturer of those curtains only every made one pattern...the world object becomes changed universally. Tapping into the Engine of Creation to make these changes, leaves anyone MADE not born aware of them as they don't fit into the design as it shifts around them. Nick, Danse, Magnolia would all feel and see it, be thrown off for a bit before settling into the changed reality state.

At the climax when everything starts falling apart and you get everyone from GlaDOS and the Joker strolling on in, the only way to end it all is to separate the Trickster from the Staff and restore the saved intended state of reality. The Silver Shroud finds himself powerless against the Trickster...only someone from this universe would be able to intercede, hard wired into the Engine of Creation itself as an existing element connected throughout its framework and history. After sending the Trickster off packing to the moon (thanks GlaDOS), but its a little too late for reality. It collapses around them, finding themselves elsewhere...the point between the mind, creation and the outcome of reality.

After the Shroud fades away, Nick has the power and choice to roll the universe, his universe back along the tapestry of choices that led him here. They all were haunted by the choices they made the first time around, something Nora couldn't live with...that ultimately led her relationship with Danse to fall apart. So Nick decides to go back further, as far back as he can go and he finds himself back in his office with Ellie waking him up.

There are consequences to what he's done, that he's not yet aware of, ones that will become clear in our next episode. The synths remember, as he remembers...Danse, Magnolia and everyone else remembers the fall of the Institute. They all find themselves at their starting point, moving towards their intended fated position to encounter the Sole Survivor. For Nick? He's starting down the path that will led him to be held prisoner and meet the Sole Survivor for the first time.

As he'll soon discover however, things don't play out the same way this time. Moreover, while he was rolling back reality to an early saved state, he made a huge mistake and completely forgot about something and someone so incredibly important...

You'll have to wait to see what that is...

[iwonderwh0]

Oh yeah, I didn't think about that part, yeah, it would make sense that there would still be some kind of hostility/skepticism towards androids for 10 years or more, it would just be fun to imagine Emma being among the android lovers, which is why she feels crazy not liking androids … ok it's not fun, but oh well

About Canada, I think that when a couple of years later, androids filled Canada, Caroline and Emma decided to move to a more remote place, I can also imagine that Emma was homeschooled so that she could not cross paths with androids, but these are just thoughts. Also, I believe that Caroline and Emma changed their last surnames so that they would not be recognized, so to speak, to start a new life, so when Emma grows up, almost no one recognizes her as former hostage Daniel, although there are people who somehow recognize her as Emma Phillips

Now about what Emma's job is, before I came across your blog, I thought that when Emma grew up, she would be a scuba diver (although I think due to bad associations of the pool, Emma will be afraid of the water until she processes her trauma) and will make a blog about it, but a marine biologist will also be suitable, she will make videos about different types of fish, in a simple and humorous format, so that people understand the information well (Emma will also delete comments that recognize her as a “PL600 hostage”). And about the old blog, she deleted it, maybe because of annoying comments, or she just wanted to start over, in any case, she was tired of her old blog

Also, I imagined that Emma would interact with an android who is associated with her profession, she tolerates them and talks to them on business, but gradually, it seems their relationship is becoming closer, the android is pleasant to talk to, they are really cute, and their jokes makes Emma smile, for the first time in so many years, Emma begins to treat this android more friendly, perhaps she even thought about inviting them to a friendly meeting, but … every time, at such moments, Emma remembers Daniel, and how it all ended, her brain says “all androids are dangerous, why do you think that they will be any different from him?”, so Emma begins to keep her distance, she communicates with them normally, but not as often as before, the android does not understand what’s wrong, they are saddened such behavior from Emma, ​​and they don’t understand anything, but Emma … she just can’t forget what happened to her at 10 years old. Honestly, there is no telling how long it will take for her androphobic thoughts and fear to disappear, maybe Emma will be able to overcome herself and there will be a block between her and the androids, or she will completely drown in her hatred of them

Love it

And same, I can totally imagine Emma being homeschooled (even within the game it seems possible) for a while in Canada, although maybe she'll eventually get to the regular school.

Love your take on her instantly getting wary of any closeness and desire to create a distance

They'd probably change their surnames to Caroline's maiden name

[totheseok]

home is where the heart is

Jung Sungchan x reader

synopsis: Sungchan and y/n are family friends but y/n moved abroad and they lost touch, now y/n is back in Korea for uni and it's just so happens sungchan is attending too and now he's helping her readjust and navigate through life in Korea. What could possibly go wrong?

stage four: xxxx-xxxxxxx (written + smau)

prev ☆ masterlist ☆ next

warnings: swearing 😔

Sungchan was seven when y/n moved to Canada.

She had haru to remind her of Sungchan and a handful of memories, but Sungchan had to live every day doing things and going places he used to with y/n, alone.

The first day he walked home from school alone was when it truly hit that his best friend had moved away. That evening he stood outside the empty house across the street to his, wishing a car would pull into the driveway and his friend would jump out with her Eeyore plushie and tell him all about her trip abroad.

But he knew that wouldn't happen. Eeyore was now in HIS backpack. She had haru now.

That thought was somewhat comforting to the young boy, he knew haru would watch over her and he was glad to know she had a piece of him with her.

As time went by, Sungchan's routine changed in accordance with the absence of his friend, and as he grew up he found himself thinking about her less and less. However, every time he looked out of his bedroom window, he'd see a constant reminder of her and their friendship.

Truth be told, Sungchan had never truly gotten over his best friend moving away. Even now, as he prepared to leave for university in a week, he couldn't help but hope that by some miracle, y/n ended up going to snu as well.

Sungchan's father studied at Seoul National University in the 90s and later was a professor there for a large part of his childhood. This resulted in Sungchan wanting to study there. Even at seven years old, Sungchan and y/n had made a pact to go the snu together, despite not fully understanding what university was.

Sungchan wondered if y/n decided to uphold the pact and if she even remembered it. He hoped she did, and maybe that was selfish, but he couldn't help it. Then again, what would he do if she DID end up going to snu. Wouldn't they be awkward? They hadn't spoken in eleven years. Would she even recognise him? Maybe he's just somebody that she used to know.

These thoughts had been a common occurrence for him recently and were once again racing through his head as he waited for his ramen to cook while at the convenience store. He was broken out of his train of thoughts by a vibration in his pocket.

He pulled out his phone to see a message from his mother.

a/n: I liked the concept for this chapter, and things are building up, but is it going too fast? or no? also could've probably written it better, but exam season is upon us 😔

taglist (open): @seungzzzz @wccycc @syupakingcowbaby @billiondollarworth

@revehosh @yyangj3lly

comment ask or message to be added to the taglist :))

[108garys]

Medicine

So for the first of the randomized smg crossover ships(If you don't count smoke as the retroactive first) I've written something involving Ellis van Huytan/Jefferson Bragg(there's a little Ellis/Bradshaw in there too)

I suppose it sort of sets the tone that not all these name spinner results are gonna be cute and fluffy and given that this is set in blackwoods sanatorium I'd say it's as far from that as it can be

Also there were parts that I took some in-game stuff from hoa and mashed it in there so I hope that works(I once again finished this off on little sleep because apparently that's when my brain figures stuff out so there's probably mistakes I didn't catch that I'll fix up when I'm more awake)

@kassiekolchek22 @delurkr @ivycross @lonnitamongus @devilinlittlehope @eddie-brii @oblivious-troll @ctrvpani @blubary @myscprin @tatjana-fantasy @ultrabananapudding

(Iraq 1948)

The sun shone so brightly that it momentarily blinded him, the painful rays alien after so long in the dark. Ellis couldn't believe he'd been underground for over a year! As his eyes adjusted he was met with the lovely sight of lady Bradshaw; she was understandably disheveled after the close scrape they'd just survived escaping the temple but as always she had a confidence that made her beautiful regardless of her physical condition.

"We did it Agnes!" he drew her into a hug, "I can't wait to share these secrets with the world!" She looks up at him with her pale blue eyes smiling sweetly before grabbing his face and pulling him down for a kiss. She was a little old for him, Ellis knew that but still… He felt there was something between them. He bent down, lost in the moment as her lips pressed against his. As they parted she moved to whisper in his ear and his whole body turned to ice…

"I don't care about the world, Ellis." he felt a sudden sharp pain in his neck, stepping back, heart beating frantically. "A-Agnes…?" she grinned ear to ear. Literally. Her face warping, twisting into something inhuman. He stumbled back as she grew taller than him, wings blocking out the sun. The ground cracks and crumbles beneath his feet. His screams are cut off as he goes tumbling back to hell…

He lands with a wet thud, surrounded by blood he tries to sit up but something grabs him. Panic sets in as the rest of the expedition crawls out of the blood calling him a traitor, their corpses ripping and biting his flesh. He begs them to stop as his intestines are torn from him, for forgiveness as he's pulled limb from limb and for an end as his heart is ripped from his chest-

--

(Canada 1952)

Ellis wakes in his room with a start, clutching his chest bolt upright. drenched in sweat, he looks around as he begins to calm… His room is the same as its always been, small, two beds, two tables, bars on the window and a door that only locks from the outside. He gets out of bed stretching as right on time Abe drops in with his breakfast.

"Hey hey champ, dreams bothering you again?" the orderly sets the tray down and looks up at him, Ellis has at least a foot of height on him… Maybe more? He sits down, to eat. He was vaguely aware that better food existed but he had no recollection of ever tasting something not brought to him on one of the sanatorium's trays. Abe takes a seat next to him looking expectantly for an answer…

"I was somewhere sunny…" Ellis looks out the window at the snow covered mountains. "We could all use a little bit of that," Abe adjusts his glasses as Ellis tries to remember… "There was a woman…" he really did try, "She was beautiful and she-"

"Woah, hold your horses," Abe put his hands out, a joking look on his face, "You remember our talk about private dreams?" Ellis took another bite of his sandwich, thinking about it… "That it's between me and Mr Bragg." he nodded happy that he remembered, Abe laughed lightly smacking his shoulder… "Well what about bat dreams? You we're screaming bloody murder." He smiled like he was discussing the weather.

"The woman turned into a bat… I think?"

Ellis reluctantly took his medicine after he finished his breakfast, Abe wouldn't leave him be until he did. "Bragg will want to hear all about it I'm sure," Ellis couldn't help smiling hearing that. Mr Bragg is so kind to him… He didn't know where he would be if the man hadn't taken him in, his memories of before were… Fuzzy. Abe left him alone and he lay down again, he always felt so exhausted after his morning medicine… The ceiling was floating away from him, his eyes felt heavy. He turned to look at the other bed… Didn't he have a roommate?

He rolled over- wait? …Wasn't he already facing the other bed? He rubbed his face as he sat up. he jumped at the sight of Mr Bragg sitting on his bed… When did he come in!? Ellis's head hurt trying to make sense of it. The old man looked at him, gentle blue eyes staring through him behind his round glasses… Something tugged at the back of his mind that told him he was in danger… But that didn't make sense, Mr Bragg had been nothing but good to him…

"How are you feeling today, Ellis?" He smiled, clipboard in hand. "Good." Ellis responded, he wanted Mr Bragg to see he was getting better… "I'm happy to hear that," Ellis fidgeted with his hands in his lap, looking back as Mr Bragg continued. "You were troubled by night terrors again?"

"A woman turned into a giant bat and then I was drowning in blood…" he felt uncomfortable trying to remember. "The dead tore at me like wild animals and… I feel like I knew them but I can't remember what they looked like or who they were…" He had forgotten a lot but not being able to identify the vengeful dead was the most disconcerting. He couldn't even tell if they were real people or something his mind made up to torment him.

"Your time as a soldier still weighs heavily on you." The older man said sympathetically as his pen scratched away at his clipboard. That's one of the few things Ellis knew for certain about his past, he'd fought in the war and his experiences had infected his brain like a disease, his illness locked away his memories. He looked down at his hands, it took him a moment to recall why his knuckles were bruised. "Is Joe mad at me?" He asked after his roommate, he couldn't really follow the order of events but he knew it started with a bat flying past the window and ended with both in the infirmary. "I'll have to ask when he's awake." Mr Bragg brushes off the severity of the man's condition moving things along. Ellis awkwardly asks the question that's been in burning in the back of his mind since he woke up. "Why bats?" he knew the man didn't have an answer, he'd asked before and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything significant from before that had involved bats. He looked at Mr Bragg desperately hoping for a different answer this time.

"I don't know but I'm sure we can unlock those answers together." he responds optimistically, getting up and leading Ellis out of the room. Ellis walked behind the older man through a hallway with bright lights that flicker just enough to give him a headache, that strange feeling tugged at the back of his mind again as they made their way through the sanatorium, he pushed back on the sense of unease, getting better was bound to come with a level of discomfort…

Despite his best efforts he was on edge as he sat down in the chair. A nurse strapped him in, gently reassuring him that it's for his own good. He flexed his fingers, looking at his bruised hands before turning to look as Mr Bragg touched his shoulder, his hand slid down Ellis's arm as he walked around him. Holding his hand as he took a seat in front of him, he looked into Ellis's eyes reassuringly. "I'm with you every step of the way."

Ellis's body tensed as a clicking sounded from the equipment the nurse was setting up, his grip on the old man's hand tightened as he felt a familiar sharp sensation. A black substance moved steadily through his blood stream. His vision becoming hazy, Mr Bragg remained in focus as the dim room melted away, his words not making any sense as he too faded away…

"…Monitor the subject's heart rate carefully, Victoria, we can't afford anymore mistakes…"

-- (???)

[The bones of this temple are drenched in blood]

Ellis fights for breath as his pulse races, the dead hold him down as he struggles to free himself!

Blood fills his lungs as he's submerged in the darkness…

[We have set foot on an uncharted shore and roused something ancient and wicked]

He walks numbly through the halls, a light flickers above his hands drip red onto the tiled floor…

[A blasphemy that comes in indescribable shapes and forms]

He hears a familiar voice, a man speaks to him as he writes, harsh lights obscure his features

"…some have reported odd visual effects…we have attempted to secure additional samples of the black saliva present on the maw of the creature… I and others who smelt the substance have experienced heart palpitations and a heightened sense of fear…analysis of blood sample shows high density of adrenaline… Does the organism feed on fear?"

[For eons we've lived as children in this world]

An unholy shriek tore through the air-

He tried to be quiet, to be hidden. "are you feeling alright?" The man crouched down to look at him, his eyes filled with concern, didn't he understand they had to be quiet!?

…Why couldn't he just-

[Unaware of the horrors that slumber beneath our feet]

…Forgive me… I have sabotaged my colleagues… Lady Bradshaw was right to bring me here… There are secrets here that could allow humanity to reach across the stars. Perhaps even achieve immortality itself… Please…. do not think badly of me for what I have done. I only serve the future…

[Now we have blindly thrown open the gates to madness]

"I don't care about the world, Ellis."

-- (Canada 1950s?)

Ellis caught his breath as he came back to himself, his heart rate slowing down. He felt like he didn't fit himself, just a centimetre out of frame… His mind was blank as he looked around the brightly lit room for any sense of familiarity, feeling relief at the sight of an old man in round glasses. His mind put together that he's in the infirmary, Mr Bragg was monitoring his condition, scratching away at his clipboard. He was so kind to Ellis, he cared about him and wanted him to get better and Ellis was grateful…

[in-a-lot-of-fandoms-i-lost-count]

| OC: Original Characters |

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Soooo I gave in and thought sure I’ll add OC to Roleplay with. I usually do OTPS but maybe can try OC with your OC / otp ?? Like mix? Idk never really tired but might be fun to try.

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Full Name: Cameron Dean Hart

Age: 30

Nickname: Care Bear (only Alex calls him that and it’s most of time when Alex is drunk…)

Pronouns: he/him

Status: Single

Sexuality: Bisexual

Alive/Deceased/Unknown, etc: Alive (or sometimes not if write as fantasy plot then vampire.)

Nationality: Canadian Mom + Greek Mom but grew up in both places so calls both home.

Height: 6’1

Weight: Not important

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Dark Brown straight, beard also dark brown, and has few grey hair in beard.

Likes: Adventures (car or plane rides), Being outside doing anything outside activities, baking desserts, writing books and eating all different foods.

Dislikes: Loud chewers rather he is eating or not hates the noise. His twin brother when he takes the shirt he wanted to wear.

Species: Human.. but again if any fantasy type au vampire. I did * by the vampire info on him.*

Birthday: June 1, 1990 | June 1, 1960*

Occupation: Writer has written mostly about traveling as he works at a travel book store.

Hobbies: Baking desserts, writing, traveling and getting up early.

Family: Twin brother, Alexander —Cameron is older by three minutes—, Mom Cora from Greece, and Mom Eleanor from Canada.

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Face: Jensen Ackles

*Vampire: Cameron been vampire since 1960’s in Canada where his two mom’s and twin brother lived. His mom’s didn’t know the night the twins left and went to a bar. That night changed everything. Both men turned into vampires that night and their life was never the same. Everyone aged included their mom’s but they didn’t. So once their parents passed they packed up and moved to Greece but the sun kept giving them headaches so they moved back to Canada.*

Full Name: Alexander Buck Hart

Age: 30

Nickname: Buck

Pronouns: he/him/they/them

Status: Single

Sexuality: Bisexual

Alive/Deceased/Unknown, etc: Alive (or sometimes not if write fantasy plot then a vampire look at * for his vampire info.)

Nationality: Greek Mom + Canadian Mom … calls both places home as he’s grew up at both places a lot.

Height: 6’2

Weight: Doesn’t need to know

Eye Color: Blue + Left eyebrow has birthmark

Hair Color: Medium Blonde with curls yet no beard and no gray hair like brother.

Likes: Adventures (plane or car), drive in movies theaters, being vegetarian, art in any form from drawing to photography/videography.. and sleeping in.

Dislikes: Fake people, meat but on occasion if feels up for it seafood but very small chance, and his twin brother when he eats his food he was saving for later and later is here and he shrugs it off.

Species: Human .. but again if fantasy au then a vampire I added * by vampire info ones.

Birthday: June 1, 1990 | June 1, 1960*

Occupation: Illustrator, self help books for any ages. Just started drawing ones for young adults.

Hobbies: Photography, Videography, and drawing.

Family: Twin brother Cameron—he’s younger than him by 3 minutes—, Mom Cora from Greece, and Mom Eleanor from Canada.

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Face: Oliver Stark

*Doesn’t remember the night in 1960 when him and his brother became vampires. Yet their creator changed them and left without teaching them anything. Cut to once their mom’s pass they move to Greece. Yet the sun gave them headaches so they moved back to Canada.*

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Won’t really write as these two but to show the face to their names ..

Mariska Hargitay as Cora Hart, Greek, Art Teacher, who fell in love with a Canadian. She carried both twin boys and is still with her wife.

Lana Parrilla as Eleanor Hart, Canadian, Owns queer bar, fell in love with a Greek. She was supportive when her wife carried their twin boys and is still with her wife.

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Sooo yeah that’s all I can think of adding? I don’t know what else you would need to know? Just ask if any questions? Guess if interested message on here or dm. Who would the oc be paired with? They not picky honestly just like my other pinned post I won’t write R.pe, d.ugs, in.est, swearing, anyone under 18.. sorry so be 20+, no Discord or anywhere else just on Tumblr sorry! My swearing is like sh t. So I read it fine but write it like that. So you can write it I don’t mind haha.

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Thanks if you read this far? Haha sorry for ramble but yeah thought try out this oc rp style. Have a good day. If this isn’t your style hope you find what you were looking for. Byeee.

[violet-fire-cat]

So many Etho’s. Yes this is all Etho! Doesn’t really look like him in some of them does it, but it is! Vampire Etho is two hundred years old, he’s been around a while! And I wanted to play with designs a bit, figure out how he might have looked like over the years. And of course, how he looked when he was human!

These were a lot of fun and I’m really happy with them! And there’s some of my ramblings, info and stuff under the cut as well if you’re interested!

1820s - Growing up in a little rural town somewhere in Canada in the early 19th century, Etho, then known as Edward Stone, was set to live a pretty ordinary life. Until a stupid mistake and a bit of bad luck left him being attacked by a vampire. After fleeing his home town Etho was on his own, left to figure all of this out for himself. It was hard, and he spent much of his time as a fledgling half-starved and somewhat wild in the woods, only venturing near humans to hunt and feed. No longer effected by the cold, what he wore wasn’t much of an issue and running around barefoot was fine. New, less tattered clothes and a haircut would be nice though. Maybe a bath too. And a hug (but he might bite).

1880s - After sixty years Etho’s an experienced vampire who knows how to navigate the world. Still very solitary though, and mostly keeps to himself. Other vampires were usually dangerous so it was easier to be alone. A little bit wild even now, he’s not the tidiest guy around in how he dresses, but he doesn’t really care. It’s enough to allow him to move through towns without drawing unwanted attention to himself, and that’s all he needs most of the time.

1940s - Oh he looks quite smart here doesn’t he. Now living in the UK with Xisuma’s Court, it’s surprising what a bit of stability and support can do to a mans presentation. Life is definietly easier here, despite the less than ideal state much of the world is in right now. Etho’s happy though, he has friends here. Somewhere in the last sixty years he’s obtained those distinctive scars across his left eye, I wonder what happened there...

1980s - Now he’s starting to look a little more like the Etho we know! He’s left the Court by this point and is living on his own in the city, but he’s still friends with them and hangs out with them a lot like he does in the present. Fashions are changing rapidly, which opened a lot more opportunities for clothes, and he seems to have embraced that a bit! Grew his hair out for the first time, decided he liked it long and was never cutting it short again. The scarf would often get pulled up over his face as a makeshift mask and he realised it worked well for hiding his fangs and he kind of liked that. That coat has a maple leaf on the back as well.

1990s - Etho has discovered hair dye! He’s got a proper mask too! He also started going by the name ‘Etho’ at some point in the 90s, exactly how that happened though I’m not sure just yet. More than once he’s asked why he’s dying his hair blonde when he’s already blonde. He just shrugs and says he likes the brighter colour.

2020s - And here we are at the present. Etho as he is now, how we know him! Fluffy hooded coat, bleached white hair, and all! He’s definietly changed a lot over the years hasn’t he. But, two hundred years is a very long time, so there’s bound to be a lot of changes!

[slytherinshua]

random 1 am thoughts about zanna’s life experiences, maybe I’m a little emo, and maybe I should get some sleep

sometimes I randomly realize another effect of being a third culture kid that i haven’t acknowledged before. I see a lot of my friends being “patriotic” ig or very connected to their country. to them, it’s all they’ve ever known, and probably for a lot of them, it’s where they’re going to spend the rest of their life. even if they do end up moving to somewhere else for university or just life’s unexpected adventures and callings, where they grew up from birth to adulthood will still feel like home to them, and I crave that. I always forget how truly disconnected I am from any country that I’ve lived in until I see other people. I’ve been uprooted so often and starting so early on in my life that I don’t have a singular place to be connected to. sometimes I feel like I should be more connected with the usa cause that’s where I was born and someone’s birthplace is often where they feel connected to as their “home”. but I can’t really feel connected to it because I moved away from it when I was so little and barely have memories of it. at the same time I can’t feel connected to any of the asian countries I lived in because my mindset while living there was already changed to view it as a temporary stay. there was always a departure date in sight, whether it was years later or months later, nothing was permanent, nothing was forever. so, naturally, I should feel connected to canada, right? it’s where I’ve lived the longest and what I say my nationality is when I introduce myself… but I still don’t feel like that, because I can’t seem to change my mindset back to being permanent, back to being “forever”. everything feels temporary to me now and it’s kind of strange. canada feels like the place I spent my teenage years in, but not my home. not somewhere I feel connected to. it’s just another temporary stay where I make my memories for a few years, only to move to someplace new afterwards. maybe it’s because I don’t have friends or places I’m particularly attached to, or maybe, even if I did have that, I still wouldn’t be able to feel a connection because I can never change my mindset from viewing everything as temporary. I don’t know if any of these feelings will be resolved later in life, or if I’ll always feel like this. it’s not really a bad feeling, it just feels distant. a lot of times I wished I had a “regular” or “conventional” childhood, living in the same place, growing up with the same people with the same surroundings. I feel like that would have brought me more comfort and less hardship. but I can’t change the past, and I can only look to the future and reflect on how my feelings might change as I progress into adulthood. life is kind of strange, and the emotions one feels with moving to different places is also strange. all that is to say… I just wish I belonged somewhere, I wish I had a home base to return to, I wish I had somewhere to call home.

[sy5starplaty]

Ted Lasso 3.10 live blog...

Ooh, I knew Nate would lose something with that choice to defy Rupert... has he departed on his own terms or was he fired?

Love Sky Sports doing the exposition, though.

Ted: "Bumbercatch, you're Swiss?" Moe: "Yeah, look at me."

"Godspeed, or whatever your deity chooses to self-medicate with." - I'll have to remember that one.

LOL... Dani is a completely different person when he's playing for his country. Love it.

tedbecca... NOT talking about periods. :D

Oh, there's added Trent, who is excellent at girl talk.

DON'T BE INVOLVED IN A SUPER LEAGUE! IT'S WHAT DESTROYED AUSTRALIA'S RUGBY LEAGUE CODE!

Rebecca has Rupie down as "The Devil".

Nate: "Am I an idiot?" Jade: "Sometimes, yes."

Oh, he quit. Good.

And... yep. Jack's revenge or something. This has been a let down of a storyline for Keeley. Only good part of it is Barbara.

Why you wearing red again Ted? Is it another String of Fate episode?

Go away, Rupert!

YAY PHOEBE'S MOM IS THE SAME DOCTOR AS FROM "MAN CITY”!

And... wait, Jamie's here? Oh, Roy talks about him all the time?

Wait... the shirt is tiny. Did Roy just fill out more? Or was there laundry-related shrinkage involved?

Honestly, I do love seeing Roy dumbfounded.

Jamie: "Your sister is fit." Roy: "I will cut your eyes out." *Jamie laughs*

Edwin Akufo does revenge too.

Billionaires be crazy.

Aw, Keeley... going through the motions of losing your job. 

Higgins with the hot tea in his lap again... I don't think he's having any more kids.

A Mae & Keeley scene. We've never had one of those before, have we? Ooh, this is quite interesting. And informative... and this is the last season or is a 4th likely? Because I needs me some more Mae&Keeley time.

LIGHTNING, YOU SAY?

ROY'S WALKING IN WITH HIS SHIRT FROM PHOEBE, ISN'T HE? BRILLIANT.

Laughing Liam!

Text from Rebecca: "Are you alive? Text 'no' if dead." IDK but that sounds like a thing Ted might say.

Mexico vs Canada... Dani, wow. I hope you're super apologetic later.

WELL... THERE'S THE CLEAREST SIGN I'VE EVER SEEN. GREEN MATCHBOOK AND GREEN SOLDIER. I think we were right tedbecca fandom... *squees*

Roy's had enough of the tie-dye now that Keith is sporting one too.

Hey, now. You don't just ditch a Phoebe present. There's a good lad. Come back for it.

Rebecca gearing herself up for this meeting, and... little girl! I wonder if that's the "Dutch girl" from the callout being re-used for a much better purpose.

Roy wearing Phoebe's shirt at her school.

Ms Bowen: "I like cleaning up a mess. Hope it didn't cause too much damage." Roy: "Fuuuuuudddge."

Barbara in casual wear. "Juicy"... Now I really want my crackship of Jamie/Barbara.

60 quid snowglobe? Keeley.

Nate's... searching for who he used to be?

And Roy's buying something?

Oh... violin, Nate? I could never do the shaky hand thing. I was in an orchestra that had concerts - I was in first violins too! But I grew to hate playing it, so I stopped at 13yo. Moved onto clarinet... which was tough on my lips & lungs more than my arms & neck. Now can't play any instrument due to my disability. Piano maybe, if I had the energy.

Yay, Rebecca, with the voiceover! Also, she's completely right.

And... she somehow got through to Rupert. On this matter, anyway.

And... thank you Mr Shelley for FINALLY apologising. Nate'll be able to talk to Ted properly now (but I also need him to make amends with Will).

And... I knew Rupert would try that, but Rebecca has well & truly moved on from you Devil.

FINALLY ROY&KEELEY TIME.

Lovely apology letter, Roy. But, yeah, your hand-writing is... way too tiny.

Wait, Keeley's walking out of frame... to Roy?

Happy Shelley Family Time.

Change of outfit... who's at Keeley's door? REBECCA!

They talking, and talking, and... oh, Roy's there in a dressing gown. Guess they're back on.

Will! And... he's walking in to find everything's already done. I HOPE that's because Nate's done it for him & is making amends... But also, how did he get in there?

A bit of lavender on the note.

I understand he can't quite face him yet (or Ted for that matter)... but THANK YOU NATE.

AND BARBARA'S BACK!

And everyone's back... and Dani? Ok. No apologies there. He's just one of those Jekyll/Hyde characters.

Is that Keith's shirt, Roy?

AND... MORE TEDBECCA!

Sitting very close... and she's wearing PINK!

And then blasting tea at Ted's face like he did with the sparkling water at the end of s1.

Y'know, this means they've basically kissed now.

[moonlightswritingandstuff]

if only i could break the chains of disappointment weighing me down (shake off the ghosts that whisper warnings)

It's the middle of the night. Frank Zhang can't sleep. Instead, he picks up his old kid's version of Journey to the West.

read on ao3

(sorry i forgot to do this one :/)

The stick burns, and Frank stares at it.

He does nothing.

It burns up. He collapses. There is nothing else.

And then he wakes up.

(The first time he had that nightmare, he tried to stop it, throw it into the snow. Frank learned quickly. Now, he thinks, he'll just be surprised to not wake up after it burns for real. Or maybe death is like sleep? He supposes he could ask Hazel.)

He wakes up in his bed in the praetors’ quarters.

It's two am, and Frank doesn't have to wake up for another four hours, but the world is quiet and Frank likes it that way. Reyna's sleeping in her room, so Frank walks out to their 'hang out room' - as they like to call it - and turns on the small lamp.

His copy of a kid's version of Journey to the West sits on the bookshelf. Reyna had raised an eyebrow at it, but to him it's a marker of when his childhood was a little easier, a little happier. His mother used to read it to him.

And then she went to war.

His mother was a wonderful woman; she loved more than Frank ever thought possible.

Emily Zhang also left.

Those two halves Frank has never quite been able to reconcile; Emily Zhang, the loving mother, and Emily Zhang, the absent parent. For so much of his childhood, it was his Lao Lao - maternal grandmother in Mandarin - and him.

Smashed pottery, pretty blue and white, and his grandmother’s disappointment.

“Zhang Fai,” she’d trill disappointingly. All of that disappointment could never hide the pain in her voice when she sent him away, could never hide the pain in her voice when she found her daughter to be dead, could never hide the pain in her voice when she spoke of her late husband’s death.

Frank had never been fully certain if his grandmother ever even had a husband. Zhang was her married name; Jade Zhang Yu has always been more Chinese-Canadian than Chinese, despite her pride.

Frank used to know his Tai Poh Poh - great-grandmother, Cantonese instead of Mandarin like the rest of them - or, he met her once in his memory. Her mind was failing her by then, her speech muddled with Cantonese words. Frank understood little - of course, his last Cantonese relative was his great-grandmother. She'd speak and through the curtain of language he could understand bit-by-bit, fragments painting a whole.

She had come from China, escaping Mao Zedong (who his grandmother always intermittedly pronounced as ze-dong or see-tong) and his communist regime with her family, moving to Hong Kong and later Canada.

But from what Frank understood, his great-grandmother was only saying a few Buddhist prayers, maybe intermixed with something else. Something for her final days, something about her late husband, Frank's grandfather.

He had never met Shen Lun, who moved up from San Francisco, to meet Frank's great-grandmother in Vancouver's Chinatown.

Frank likes Chinatown. It's sort of chaotic, but it smells strangely like a home. There's a bakery that makes amazing apple fritters and disappointing ma lai goh, a sort of spongy cake. There's Chinese herbal remedy shops whose aroma floats in the air, baskets upon baskets of herbs like star anise and ginger. There's slightly dirty shops with roast duck hanging in the window, rotating slowly. There's the gate, and the grand dragon dance on every New Years'.

Frank misses Chinatown, all the time. He misses the crowded shops. He knows that the Chinatown he knows is no longer present, he knows that Chinatown's been slowly gentrified over time. He also knows it is no longer the centre of Chinese Canadians in the Vancouver area - Richmond has taken that, but again, it was also where Frank grew up.

(But Chinatown still sounds like home to Frank. And even though he'd never met Shen Lun, he had to bear his mistakes anyway. Filial piety, loyalty to your parents. A never-ending cycle of shame and guilt given from parent to child. Frank is Chinese-Canadian. He finds other ways.)

(And that's not getting to Richmond. Because Frank knows it must've changed in the years he's been gone. Or two years. It was changing fast by the time he left.)

New Rome is too clean, clean to be unnatural. It's odd and strange and kind of weird, but Frank is praetor, and his obligations rest on his shoulders here.

Frank resurfaces back in the present, and takes the copy of Journey to the West off of the shelf. The characters and drawings are achingly familiar, a children's book that is still decently long, due to the nature of how long Journey to the West is.

Frank's grandmother's favourite goddess is Guanyin, or, as she pronounced it the Cantonese way, Ginyam, with a hard g. Goddess of mercy and compassion, a bodhisaatva in Buddhist tellings. Guanshiyin, in her long form. The children's book has a drawing of her; Guanyin sits on the blooming lotus flower, wise and compassionate.

Frank's mother liked her too.

("Mercy is restraint, Frank," Emily said. "It has just a place in war as violence does.")

Frank supposes it is fitting that he likes her too. Taoist gods are much more... well, Frank can't quite place it, but Taoist gods are different than Roman gods. They have different concepts of filial piety and duty attached to them. The Jade Emperor gained power via compassion. Jupiter’s came from force.

Guanyin is nothing but benevolent; she assists Sun Wukong in helping Xuanzang (Frank did not find the other characters as notable; his favourite was always the peaceful Xuanzang, and, well, Sun Wukong is hard to forget). Her one fault, his mother had always said, was that she was a deux-ex-machina for the protagonists. But, as Emily had always reminded Frank, deux-ex-machinas can be good things, too.

"Why are you up at this ungodly hour?" Reyna asks, stepping in place beside him, breaking Frank out of his reverie.

"Just… reminiscing. Had a nightmare.”

“Fair enough,” Reyna says, rolling out her shoulder. “Nothing important?”

“No. You can go back to sleep.”

Reyna smiles, but it’s ephemeral. “You know you can talk to me, right? We’re not super close but we are working together. And you can talk to Hazel.”

“I know. It’s nothing important.”

Reyna nods and leaves him alone to his thoughts and the kid’s version of Journey to the West.

She reminds him of the burden of duty. She’s bore it for all too long. Frank doesn’t know how she did it. He’ll be praetor for just under ten years, and the toll’s already been felt. And alone, too. If Frank’s honest, Reyna has always seemed frightening to him. She’s great at what she does, self-confident and assured in her every move. And duty is something Frank is familiar with - Shen Lun’s stain has long been felt. Frank’s grandmother’s pride had long been kept.

Reyna has a legacy. Of her family and of her own. She may have created it with her sister Hylla, but it is hers nonetheless.

Frank has one too. But his is conflicting. Shapeshifters, prisoners, immigrants, exiles, war heroes.

His mother would've told him he had his own path in life. His grandmother would've told him that children must follow their parents.

If there is one thing the Roman and Taoist gods are in agreement about, it is filial piety. It is loyalty to your parents, to the state. If there is one thing all of his ancestors would have probably agreed on, it would be that.

Obey your parents. Obey the state. Your parents gave you everything; you can never recompensate that.

He puts the kid's copy of Journey to the West back on the shelf.

He wants a good bowl of noodles - whatever it is. Crossing-the-bridge, udon (in Chinese dishes, yes, that was Chinese-Canadian). They don't have any decent Chinese food in New Rome (only terrible Chinese food allowed solely by , and he's not allowed to go to San Francisco, or, gods forbid, Vancouver. Even as praetor).

Maybe he should send one of his distant cousins a message - or his grandmother, if she's still alive. He thinks he could find her. Or perhaps it is more hope.

Plus, the praetors have their own kitchenette. He could probably make something. As long as it can be put in the microwave.

Frank smiles.

He thinks, if his grandmother is alive, she may be proud of him in this moment. For nothing else but where he's come and who he wants to be. For nothing else if that he has turned the Zhang family into what the Shen family could never be.

He thinks, if his mother were here to see him, she would be proud of him. Not for everything he's come to, but simply because she loves him. He thinks Emily Zhang would as well.

[twofrontteethstillcrooked]

Suptober 24 Oct.: Fish

"I'm starting to forget. What it was like," Cas said quietly. Dean opened one eye and squinted at him. "To be an angel," Cas explained.

deancas, s9 au + human cas

"When was the last time you dangled your feet in such water, Cas?" Dean asked.

"Never," Cas said, grimacing.

"Refreshing." Dean grinned at him. "Okay, you have to– The little minnows in there aren't going to bite off your toes, man. Though there's some kinda spa around Cincinnati that uses fish to nibble the dead skin off your feet during pedicures. Get this, the facility's right between an aquarium and a seafood restaurant." Dean watched Cas patting the surface of the water with the soles of his feet like the lake was lava. "All right, you can put your boots back on now."

Cas yanked his feet back up to the edge of the boardwalk. "Thank you." He gave Dean a half-embarrassed look. "I'll wait until they're dry before I put my socks back on."

Thankfully, the 80-degree weather made that more than reasonable. Less reasonable was the goofy gooey feeling Dean experienced in the presence of Cas's bare ankles, like Dean was a vestigial virgin in some kinda ridiculously quaint romance. To avoid examining this feeling further, Dean flopped back on the boardwalk and kicked at the water with his own feet. As he stared up at slowly drifting clouds, a breath of peace washed over him – for about nine seconds, until a flock of Canada geese started honking their way out onto the middle of the lake, splashing and fussing like a bunch of rowdy kids at the pool.

"Velociraptors," he said.

"I think I remember those," Cas said. "Of course we didn't call them that then."

"Sure." 

Dean basked in the last rays of sunlight before the clouds grew too thick, and a few minutes passed in silence save the sounds of nature all around: the geese settling scores, water lapping at the shoreline, a last lone cicada screaming for a mate, crispy leaf-litter being turned to confetti as squirrels dashed through it searching for acorns.

"I'm starting to forget. What it was like," Cas said quietly. Dean opened one eye and squinted at him. "To be an angel," Cas explained.

Cas had tucked up his feet crisscross-applesauce and was gazing out across the water. He didn't seem disturbed, but he also didn't seem ecstatic. 

Dean sat up and pulled his feet up to the boardwalk. "That must be, um. Strange." Cas glanced at him for a second and Dean thought he saw a rueful smile dash across his mouth. "Maybe even a little frightening."

He hoped Cas heard, If you want to talk, I want to listen.

"I read an article a while ago about schools of fish," Cas said. "Scientists think one fish moves, then another moves, then another moves – it looks simultaneous but it's more like a chain reaction, individual movements to create coordination so none of the fish collide." He looked at his hands. "I think the heavenly host was like that for a long time, except when it wasn't." He wiped his eye with his knuckle. "When I wasn't."

"Seems to me," Dean said, using as careful a tone as he could, "that you being your own angel, so to speak? Has usually been a good thing." He waited until Cas looked at him again. "Or at least, I'm awfully glad you've decided to make your own decisions for your own reasons."

"I tried to be God for a while," Cas pointed out. "That went badly."

"Yeah, but whomst amongst us hasn't overreached on the career ambition front." Dean shrugged.

"You haven't." 

"I've been workin' on other things, like my winning personality and ability to gank demons." 

Cas almost cracked a real smile and Dean wanted to gloat about it. 

"It'd be normal, just for the record, if you missed being with your family, you know." Dean scooted just a little closer to Cas.

Cas's expression softened as he looked at Dean. "I know." He started putting on his socks. "I doubt they miss me, though."

"Well, I'd miss you if you weren't around," Dean's mouth said before his brain gave it express permission to. Somehow he kept going by adding, "I have missed you, in fact, when you were upstairs or three steps ahead of me and Benny in purgatory or even when you've had bigger fish to fry here on earth. No pun intended."

Boy, that October sun was something else, making his face all pink.

…Oh. Still cloudy.

In the milder light, Cas's eyes were as blue as the lake, but much warmer. Dean knew he was supposed to look away; choosing to look at Cas's mouth instead was a mistake. He edged closer. And closer.

"Guys, the ranger's meeting us on the other side of the park in twenty," Sam called out from the narrow parking lot at the top of the boardwalk. "Put your shoes on and let's go."

"I am going to murder him," Dean muttered under this breath, to which Cas replied, "Hmm?"

"Nothing." Dean yelled back to Sam, "All right, keep your shirt on."

He hauled himself to his newly rebooted feet and slapped a smattering of sand off of his butt. Cas took the lead going up the boardwalk. After a few seconds he glanced back and slowed down. He and Dean reached the parking lot at the same time. Sam was already in the passenger's seat, talking on his phone again and scribbling notes on a torn pizza box lid.

"We should come back and go fishing sometime," Cas said. "If you wanted to." His gaze dipped to Dean's mouth briefly.

"I want to," Dean said; maybe it was an answer to two things, really. 

They smiled small and private smiles at each other, and got in the car.

[ofallthingsnasty]

Hey Nasty hope you're recovering from your dentist scare lol ( Same honestly, my dentist is always telling me to relax and calm down before they do the x rays because I freeze up😭)

But your red dead reblog(Arthur is so fine in that gif🥵) has me thinking about the"through the briar" aftermath again😫 Specifically after Micah kicks the bucket(Rest in Pieces Jerk lmao) With John bumping into the reader a few weeks after he killed Micah and seeing what a bad situation she's in. I can just imagine it goes something like:

Reader your still here? What happened to y- *sees the gaggle of blonde haired, blue eyed children running around behind her and the oldest son looks a lot like a certain someone he blasted a while ago* Ahhhhh shiiiiit💀💀

Honestly I think even John would feel pretty sorry for her and want to help at least a little, cause lets be real, reader and her kids are probably all half-starved and wearing nothing but rags. And also maybe for the fact that John probably noticed how much Arthur cared about the reader before the relationship fell apart, and feel some type of obligation to help her out of respect for Arthur's memory idk

But either way I am still choosing to believe John finds reader and gives her 3 gold bars to start over🥲

Hi!! That's so sweet of you, thanks! It's such a paradox when I go in for my own appointments because on one hand, that typical dentist office smell is so comforting to me because I like what I do, on the other I always have the cost of everything in the back of my head 😂 I guess I'm just scared of getting a big, fat bill fhdjshefdj Right?? His bad fucking stomp in that gif has me squirming in my chair lol 😳 I could stare at gifs of him all day

I think even John would feel pretty sorry for her

Oh my god, absolutely. If he sees you with three little mouths to feed, a shadow of the woman you once were - that is definitely going to sting, especially when he does the math and realizes that at least the oldest kid is Micah's brat. I mean, John grew up with that gang, with Arthur, Hosea and Dutch - and the way you've gone from full-cheeked and fat, with a timid demeanor and a sweet laugh, to haggard, dirty and utterly exhausted is just another reminder of how things have turned to shit. You're the living, breathing proof of how his life came crashing right down. He probably doesn't recognize you at first but when he does, he'll make sure that you at least have enough for dinner that night, flustered at the way you smile at him despite everything that has happened. (Because you're still so sweet to him just like years ago - and it's a great injustice that you aren't married to an honest, just as kind, man.)

Honestly I think even John would (...) want to help at least a little, cause lets be real, reader and her kids are probably all half-starved and wearing nothing but rags. And also maybe for the fact that John probably noticed how much Arthur cared about the reader before the relationship fell apart, and feel some type of obligation to help her out of respect for Arthur's memory idk But either way I am still choosing to believe John finds reader and gives her 3 gold bars to start over🥲

I think so, too. John is a little hard-hearded, not the smartest and plenty selfish, sure - but he also has a good heart. He won't save you and the kids by moving you into Beecher's Hope on his dime (he has his own shit going on, haha) but you can't tell me he wouldn't find a way to help you start a new life somewhere else. You've never been the closest friends but even he can see what Micah did to you and how rancid it all is. He'd find a way. Hell, maybe Charles is kind enough to take you up to Canada to find a place for you and your kids (maybe a new husband, too, after passing you off as an American widow - no one knows you up there and with marriage being less about love and more about convenience maybe there is an older bachelor who can support you and the kids and doesn't mind them all that much. Not a pretty fate, still, but everything is better than Micah.)

Reader your still here? What happened to y- Ahhhhh shiiiiit

fhjhsd I had to laugh so hard at that because I can HEAR him saying that, exactly like this, too. The way he'd need a solid minute to realize what's going on only to swear immediately afterwards bahaha

[rightpastnowhere]

Hello! I am currently working on a modern au and I thought you might want to hear about it!

Not sure if all end up writing it but here are the basics

Whitestone is a city in Canada and the main setting. The setting has low magic.

Percy's family is really rich but not Noble.

The briarwoods were a church pastor couple at the church the de rollos went to that befriended them and then murdered them after forging their will to put everything in their names.

They scared Cassandra into silence so she wouldn't snitch to the cops.

After the briarwoods are defeated through a legal battle Vox machina moves in to a seven bedroom penthouse that was meant for Julius after he got married. Cassandra lives in the old family home.

Percy works as a airport mechanic

Vex is a park ranger at the suntree National Forest

Trinket is a Newfoundland dog

Pike is a med student

Vax is a locksmith

Grog is a construction worker

Keyleth works in the botany collections at the local museum

scanlan has an onlyfans

Cassandra is a law student and works at Barnes & Noble part-time for experience

Gilmore is the owner of a department store and met vax when he accidentally locked himself out of the department store and had to call a locksmith.

Ships are Percy/vex, scanlan/Pike, and Gilmore/vax and maybe Gilmore/vax/keyleth

oh hello!!! i love that this has started a string of headcanons being thrown at me, this is wonderful actually. if anyone else wants to do so, please feel free!!! i love hearing about ideas :)

ANYWAY ANYWAY i LOVE the concept of the briarwoods as these like. well i'm reading it as they are the couple that acts so pious and so neighborly (for context: i grew up going to a southern christian church) when they're actually The Worst, and using that cover to get away with doing Shady Shit. people usually make them just corrupt businessmen which also works, but there are other corrupt systems for them to manipulate - and this kinda parallels how they basically started a cult in canon fjnkrjgnkr

vax as a locksmith is snagging my attention tbh!! that's super cool!!! it also has the potential for an Angsty Setup, or even just an intriguing setup, with vax dancing around the law and somehow making a job out of it. or even using the job as a cover. but that's me spitballing lol

vex as a park ranger is also so !!! i'm just picturing her out in the woods with all these leaves in her hair, looking just a LITTLE bit wild but very happy about it. park rangers (in the US at least, and based off of quick google searches) don't tend to have the best salaries, so it wouldn't work in a lot of modern AUs (vex is Very aware of finances and wants to keep everyone afloat and fed, wants to keep the lights on, so i can't see her taking a self-indulgent job over higher-paying opportunities), but if they have this inheritance in this AU, then i could definitely see her taking a job as a ranger.

VAX AND GIL AS THE "OOPS I LOCKED MYSELF OUT OF MY SHOP" IS SO CUTE!! and it's made even better by the fact that you know, despite gilmore having actively locked himself out, vax would be the more awkward of the two. he's a mess <3 ALSO ALSO i will Politely encourage you towards vax/gil/kiki, simply because i think vax deserves a boyfriend AND a girlfriend to hold his hands <3

this au gives me very comfy and wholesome vibes (once the briarwoods are yeeted from the picture) <33 thank you for sharing it with me!!