#he doesn't see the point in fighting one another. or even in creating distinct sides because.

[handgiven]

it's genuinely something that aids my mental health so much to imagine a being that's seen the beginning and the end of the world, a being that's seen the best and the worst of what humanity can offer, a being that's had all the time in the universre to ponder about a purpose, and about the meaning of existence, and whose very simple response is just. be kind. in the long run, none of the other things matter. what matters is to allow your soul to blossom into something as beautiful as it can be, through little acts of kindness, whenever you are able. that's enough.

[secondflame]

plotted starter ft. @myrkt

Clive steps over the rubble and shattered pieces of ice scattered around the battlefield. The remnants of a clash between Shiva and Titan. Both of them on a side of a pointless political conflict Clive has long since stopped caring about. World politics are none of his concern anymore.

It was the concentrated tangle of their aether had drawn Clive here. The fight itself a somewhat interesting spectacle to watch for a time, but in the end his hunger had won out and caused him to step in, his own Eikon's powers bristling and coiling scorchingly hot in anticipation of the amount of aether he'd be able to absorb when his opponent fell.

Ifrit, ever the constant presence in the back of his mind roared and hissed, causing him to throw himself at the biggest threat, which in this case had been Titan. It had been a fierce fight, one he would feel the repercussions of for days at least.

But now Titan's Dominant lies broken at the bottom of a massive ravine created by the clash between him and Shiva, the life quickly draining from him after Ifrit caught him off guard and forced him down. Quickly now, he thinks, otherwise the other Dominant would die before Clive has a chance to take his powers, to gorge his magic.

Still semi-primed from the fight, Clive shoves his sword back into its holster, the pace of his feet quickening as he feels Titan's essence flicker. He doesn't stop when he finds him, grabs him by the throat and forces him to sit up against a wall. Clive's teeth bare in a snarl as he reaches for the other's aether and pulls, dragging it out of this other mortal's body.

In turn it slams into him full force, causing him to gasp as the last bit of life drains from Hugo Kupka's body, but Titan's might isn't lost. He'd not make the same mistake twice. He'd failed to take in the Phoenix' power when he had the chance, but this time he is ready. He still doesn't expect the excruciating pain with which the aether forces itself into his form. His body convulses, but soon enough the pain is replaced by relief, by exctasy when the constant hunger fades to something bearable for the first time in over a decade.

He casts the corpse aside and straightens himself up, his eyes glowing in an eikonic gold as he tilts his head towards the sky, the priming fades. His eyes flutter shut as he relishes the feeling of a new Eikon's might tangling with Ifrit's own.

It's a pity Shiva is nowhere to be found, her presence faded to a point where he cannot pinpoint it anymore. But then again Shiva in comparison to Titan had barely been a ripple in the threads of aether around these parts. Her powers not yet fully realized, as if she for some unfathomable reason is holding herself back from her true potential.

No matter how much it irritates him he'll have to wait for her to unleash her full potential first before going after her. Exactly how he knows this he isn't certain, but whatever it is that compels him to seek out other Dominants also tells him when their powers are greatest, when their might would satiate him longest.

But Shiva's aether isn't the one that captures his attention now, instead it is the encroaching darkness of another. Looming and powerful beyond anything he has felt before. Clive licks his lips. He can basically taste Odin's might in the air around them, and even though he has never met the dark king before, he knows without doubt that the man he sees before him as he turns his head is Barnabas Tharmr, the origin of the dizzying presence that bears promise of even more aether than what Titan provided him with.

It has the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His body readies for another fight even though he gets the distinct feeling that he couldn't possibly win. Not yet anyway.

"Enjoyed yourself?" He asks across the distance, for there is no doubt the king has been watching.

[starship-imzadi]

S5 E12 Violations

This opening immediately brings to mind the "repressed memories" craze in psychology in the 1980's and 1990's. The "fad" has since become regarded as incredibly harmful and dangerous as human memory can be quite malleable and undependable. A lot of people were treated to believe they had repressed memories of horrible abuse and sexual trauma in their childhoods, made horrible accusations, for events that never actually happened. Not only do these fabrication create real trauma and ruin relationships, they also delegitimize the actual trauma and abuse others have suffered and very much remembered from their childhoods.

Now, that isn't quite applicable to this episode, but this episode has some heavy moments and perhaps the worst abuse, out of all the abuse, Troi suffers through the series, and I want to address it the best I can.

"father, you know you're not supposed to probe someone's memory unless they've given you permission."

A.k.a. you have to get consent

"you are right, but sometimes with a beautiful woman I cannot help myself."

Red flag?! But not the red flag we're looking for. (Still: not appropriate) Beverly's laugh doesn't seem like acceptance to me, rather it's the socially acceptable way for women to cope with remarks that certain men think are flattering but are actually creepy. In a post #metoo world my hope is that as a society this is understood better than when this episode aired. I'm sure for many women it's just as evident as it ever was.

To be clear, this memory reading isn't sexual. What it is, is intimate. For whatever reason no other type of telepathy in Star Trek is depicted as a high form of intimacy, except for the now forgotten telepathic link that Troi and Riker have (which was formed because of the closeness of their relationship). But, to have access to someone's mind would be an incredible vulnerability, the sharing of one's mind a great intimacy, and the invasion of one's mind a great violation. A strong analogy for these is sexuality.

I want to make this distinction because there are violations and intimacies that are not sexual, and I think allowing for a broader analogy makes this a stronger story.

This conversation between Geordi and Data about memory feels like exposition to explain the concept to the audience. But, it seems to misrepresent some of the finer points, like how human recall and triggering recall actually works, how neurological structure and age factors in, how trauma effects memory, or in fact how humans encode specific memory or general concepts (like remembering the layout of your childhood home.)

"perhaps you would like to resurrect solve memories"

Is Beverly flirting with Picard? Or just teasing him

This scene with Troi brushing her hair and drinking hot chocolate is.... incredibly frustrating. Because of the "on again off again" or complete neglect of the story between Troi and Riker's relationship. Why have we never seen this part of their relationship before? Where does it fit it? I've seen people question at which point the memory becomes manipulated, wondering if Riker would ever force himself on Troi...which I would categorically say: no he would not.

"imzadi we can't, not when we're serving on the same ship"

"have you stopped thinking about us, just answer that" "I can't stop thinking about you"

They're clearly on the Enterprise, and Riker has a beard, and it could feasibly be somewhere in the past three and a half seasons. As the audience we are not privy to the original memory free of Jev's manipulations.

"Do you know what she was doing when this happened?" Riker's voice is so gentle.

Beverly's little smile as she walks in and sees Riker talking to Troi is exactly how I feel. "I miss you. Please don't stay away too long." Is so sweet and a bit heartbreaking.

Now, we see an apparent memory of Riker's. Troi's memory seemed to be hazy and pink like an old romance filter might be in black and white, but Riker's memory is distorted and stretched, and both have distorted and slowed audio. By contrast, Keiko's memory had no visual or audio distortion at all. Riker's apparent memory is feasible like Troi's.

Troi's assault is what almost everyone focuses on, because the "violation" of the episode is seen as an analogy to rape and because this element is inexplicably used again in the film Nemesis. However, I would like to point out that the two memories shown up until this point are both memories of vulnerability. The memory with Troi isn't just about sex, it's about the intimacy she has with Riker, a relationship they both want but don't feel like they're allowed to have. Riker's memory is of vulnerability of those under his command, as he has to actively make a choice that will kill a crew member to save the rest of the ship. His crew is ultimately his responsibility, their lives are in his hands, and he has to carry the responsibility of their deaths under his command.

Now we see Beverly's apparent memory. Her's is also a clear instance of vulnerability: seeing her dead husband's body. This memory is most likely of the three we see to have some reality to it. We do know that her husband died and Picard was the one to tell her and Wesley of his death. (It's mentioned in the pilot episode and in "The Bonding")

Rethinking the search parameters is incredibly clever on Geordi's part and he deserves more credit for it. It's almost... intellectually refreshing to see rather than a simple solution, and I applaud the writer who wrote this bit.

If Riker wasn't still in a coma he would be right by Troi's side.

"I'm remembering something from a few years ago" so, it is a memory, they're all actual memories, up until a point. "It's not Will, sombody's taken his place." when the person in her memory is hurting her the face isn't initially shown, we can't see who it is. But, before when the memory was safe and positive, we could see Will's face.

(the background soundtrack is a little too much and the whole sequence of Troi in pain makes me really uncomfortable.) And Worf and Picard.... don't react except Picard, very conservatively, places a comforting hand on her shoulder. Which fits with his decorum and all things considered is really, really sweet.

"A perverse source of pleasure perhaps. A need to exercise control over another." Even though Troi's memory was romantic or sexual in nature and through Jev's manipulation has the strongest direct parallel to literal sexual assault, rape is ultimately about power, the assertion of power, domination without consent. It is in direct opposition to intimacy, sexual or non sexual. intimacy is vulnerability plus trust and safety, regardless of what that vulnerability is.

I just realized the Ullian coats remind me of paper snow flakes.

I've seen some people confused that after everything that has happened why Jev would jeopardize himself by going to Troi. He seems to honestly like Troi, in whatever way he can, but at the same time is not in control of his impulses and desires, and whatever he likes about her is warped into his sick desire to overpower her. It's fantastic to see Troi fight back; Jev talks about how fragile she is, and it's important that we see that she is in fact NOT how he sees her.

"this form of rape" here is the first time the word is specifically used BUT I want to reiterate that Troi, Riker, and Beverly have all been subjected to this trauma.

It's good, and nice to know, that they will be getting counseling and help to process through what has happened. It's not always but on occasion TNG acknowledges that its characters have suffered with potential long term ramifications.

[hearteyes-for-killmonger]

The Recipe

Short fic written for @allhailnjadaka and @vanitykocaine. Erik belongs to you both in this fic 😛😁😗. If you haven't read Iqiniso, I hint at that here.

Chill!Erik, Polyamorous!Erik, Weed, Light Smut

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laying horizontally across Henny's desk, Ryley blows a hazy ring of silver smoke into the air and watches as it wafts and dissipates above her. Her short platinum coils illuminate the space, picking up faint traces of the blue-white fluorescent lighting gleaming from the focused overhead fixtures. The lights were for the marijauna plants, but they provided the large room with a moody, calming effect that enhanced her high.

Across from her, Henny reclines in her black leather seat, exhaling smoothly with closed eyelids. The potency of her own sought after product washes through her. This was the post-celebration of her grand opening which happened yesterday. This new medical marijuana dispensary was twice the size of her last.

"I'm glad you modified this Iquiniso because that first batch almost got me in trouble." Ryley said with another puff of smoke. "I was fucking Y'lan and when he asked whose pussy was it, I almost said Erik. I had to pretend to throw up just to get away."

"Damn," Henny coughs, "Yeah, you weren't the only one with diarrhea of the mouth. People were telling me all kinds of personal information that I didnt need to know, but you don't have to worry about that now. This strain has no side effects. It's literally perfect."

"Who you tellin," Ryley hums in bliss. "Speaking of Erik, I called him over.. Is that cool?"

"Of course it is. That's our nigga."

"Don't tell him about Y'lan."

"I haven't yet, why would I?"

"Why would you what? Y'all look bout gloomy as shit in here, it's 2 p.m." Erik approaches from a few yards away. He's wearing a white t-shirt, lightwash ripped jeans and pink air force. A gold rope chain adorns his thick neck and a Hennessy bottle sloshes in his hand.

"Speaking of gloomy, how are you drunk already at 2 p.m.?" Henny scoffs. He's not going, still waiting to hear what they'd been talking about. His eyes lower in an attempt to draw truth from his girls.

"Maybe some small things, like little jokes and anecdotes, we wanna keep between us," Ryley gestures innocently between herself and Henny.

"Yeah nigga, let us bond," Henny adds passing him her blunt. He inhales and holds the smoke in his lungs before releasing it slowly.

"Good ain't it," a proud Henny gloats, watching as Erik visibly relaxes.

--

The soprano vocals of Eric Bellinger sift through the dank, cloudy air.

🎵Girl, come through and let's do what we do in your imagination. When I'm gone, show me how you pretend.🎵

"Y'all really wanna get high?" The trio were vibing with low chuckles, rotating the two blunts when Erik asked the ridiculous question.

"Nigga, my product gets us high enough! What you want, cocaine?" Henny was outraged. She felt insulted. Not only did she work incredibly hard and long hours developing her strains, but her customers were always satisfied.

"Ride with me. I need to show you how high I'm talking," Erik smirked blowing smoke from the rollup between his fingers.

In the car, Henny goes to the driver's seat, but withdraws seeing Erik's dark expression. Drunk or sober, he refused to let anyone drive his car. Henny calls shotgun in order to keep an eye on the road in case Erik's condition got the best of him, but Ryley doesn't mind, happy to stretch out in the back of the 4-door black convertible Cadillac as the car swerves through traffic.

"Hell to the nah. You outta yo drunk ass mind," Ryley scoffs when she realizes where Erik is headed.

"Hell yeah. If y'all gone be my bitches you gotta do what I do, go where I go." He parks the car and hops out.

"I know you don't think my ass going on a long ass hike," Henny grouches watching Erik walk to the truck next to them. A man hopped out of the driver's seat and pulled three mountainbikes from the bed of his truck and Erik waved the girls from the car.

"Don't be like that Ms. Kitana," he smirks addressing Henny's frown.

"Ms. Who?" Ryley didn't know that side of Henny and Erik and Henny both planned to keep it that way.

"Just a joke," Henny said, eyes narrowing at Erik's antics.

"Y'all competent enough to ride a mountainbike, correct," he asks and there's a challenge in his voice that ignites both girls. "Grab a bike and follow me," he says riding off. Without hesitation, the girls mount their bikes and take off after him. He flew through the uphill trail up a mountain and the girls worked hard to keep up until they reached a point where they they absolutely had to hike. The forbidden zone that is the Hollywood sign stood before them larger than life, each letter 45 feet tall.

"I'm a touch it," Ryley says making contact. It's a well known rule that no one is to touch the sign or be this close to it, but who cares about rules?

"We gone do more than that," Erik says mounting the last O. He climbs up one side and the girls climb the other O. Once at the top, Erik relights his blunt and gazes out at the scenery feeling like he's on top of the world. This was something every Cali nigga needed to experience once.

"Miss me with that bullshit. You not a gang member you're a tourist..," he raps, moreso to himself.

"I was already high as shit, but now this is high," Ryley yells across the sky passing the second blunt to Henny.

"Too fuckin high.. and I'm fuckin sweating. It's hot as Satan's asshole," Henny grumbles taking a long drag. They climb back down to sit in patches of grass they find in the dirt and finish the blunts before taking their leave and in the parking lot, Erik returns the bikes.

--

The top of the Caddy goes back and Ryley raises her arms feeling the wind on her skin. The summer heat was borderline unbearable, but the wind was a Godsend. Erik watched her carefree movements through the review mirror with humor in his eyes as the car sped down a highway. Aware of her audience, Ryley lifts her t-shirt and bra flashing her large breasts at Erik along with anyone else blessed to look at that moment.

"Eyes on the road, Stevens," Ryley teases while Henny fights the temptation to grab the wheel.

"Chill baby, I got this," he says holding Henny's hand in her lap, but her expression betrays her concern.

"Shit, you wanna be in charge that damn bad? I said I got it, but since you don't believe me," he lets go off the wheel and the car veers sharply to the left before Henny grips the wheel turning it back lightly.

"FUCK YOU ERIK!"

Ryley in the backseat only laughs.

"Nah, you steer. I'll eat. Since you think you can do better than me, you better not crash." His foot remains poised on the pedal. His hands unbutton Henny's shorts, yanking them under her and she lifts to assist him in removing them, spreading her thighs as Erik angles her entire lower body to face his lowered head. Her leg stretches over his shoulder giving him full access.

"This is cramped as fuck," Erik complains causing Ryley and Henny to laugh this time. Of course it was, he was huge. His thick fingers rub up and down her wet lower lips before slipping into her one after another until he's two knuckles deep in her wetness. He moves and stretches his fingers massaging her from the inside as she purrs and writhes making his fingers slick and then his tongue meets her core.

"Shit," she gasps drifting. She immediately rights the vehicle before Erik's vacuum seal can take away her mental capacity to operate a speeding vehicle.

"You swerving," Ryley points out.

"BITCH I'M TRYING! SHIT!.. I'm bout to cum," A hail of cars appears ahead and Henny braces herself as she focuses to the best of her ability on keeping her hands still while her body shakes. Whizzing pass cars and dipping in and out of neighboring lanes, she dare not tell Erik to slow down.

"YOU GONE HIT THAT CAR," Ryley yells and Erik bolts upright stealing back control of the car, his beard and mustache still coated in Henny. He navigates the car back to Henny's dispensary without incident.

"You," he looks to Henny having exited the vehicle, "I'm a fuck you first, come with me."

"Uh uh," Ryley protests standing between the two, "She got head so me first. I want my nut now."

"You gone have to wait," Henny chuckles pulling Erik's arm.

"Both y'all thirsty asses get naked and lay over the desk," Erik snaps pulling away. "We gone do this my way."

--

Digging into Ryley's guts, he fingers Henny ferociously from from behind. The sound of wet pink inner flesh and hard pounding mingle with the sound of two distinct moans creating a heady cocktail that makes Erik more drunk than Hennessy could ever manage to accomplish.

"See that weed on the table," Erik asks pulling on Henny's puff of hair with his free hand. "You should be rolling that for me right now."

Henny gets to rolling and Erik switches so that he's now inside of Henny, his fingers digging into Ryley. Counting their orgasms, he refuses to stop until their counts are even so that neither can say they've been slighted. It takes getting to 4 and 4 before he's sated and they're both even, trying to catch their breath.

"So I gotta go. I got shit to do, but good job Henny. I'm proud of you for opening this place. Ryley, make sure she don't work too hard." He grabs the fresh blunt Henny rolled and exits the way he came.

The girls gather themselves and watch as their man disappears through the door.

"It's always some shit when he comes around. All that drama," Ryley says once the coast is clear. She watches Henny grind weed for a joint.

"You the one invited him," she smirks.

@allhailnjadaka @vanitykocaine @ange-sensuel @amethyst1993 @eriknutinthispoosy @wawakanda-btch @bidibidibombaclaat @panthergoddessbast @blackpantherismyish @thadelightfulone