#just once and a while cause it does require more time to render properly

[crystal-clear-crystalline]

[ ID: A drawing of three characters drawn from the collar bone up. The first character is a girl with short light brown hair, green eyes and pale skin. She has a cocky expression on herface. The second character is a boy with dark skin, freckles, black hair styled in locs, dark brown eyes and wearing big rectangular glasses. He has a joyful expression on his face. The last character is a boy with a light tan, black slicked back hair, black eyes and blue and silver piercings. He has a smug expression on his face. They're all drawn in front of a dark grey background. /. End ID ]

I had an idea for a short story with these OCS so I wanted to draw them up again to see how their faces would turn up. Plus it's been years since I've drawn them! I also used them to try to render my art in a pastel/crayon-like style since their story is fairytale-based and those things kinda go hand in hand. Also wanted to try something a fun with colors and I didn't really think that through lol

I used to render my art in a similar way like this (though more paint-like then pastel-like) so this was nice to come back to.

[im-totally-not-an-alien]

Final Fantasy 7 prompts #75 (FINAL LIST)

1. Iflana does not trust Cloud, not one bit. She can sense the calamity inside him and wants him to leave. Too bad both her husband and daughter seem enraptured by his very existence. Her husband rambling on about his mutated and 'safer' J-cells, as if that thing could ever be considered safe. Then it was her daughter, who seemed to take him in, as though he was no more than an injured bird needing treatment.

This thing would be the death of them. She just knew it.

2. "In my world its pretty rare for monsters to talk."

The large gray rabbit riding on his head paused to consider this, "Maybe they're just stupid?"

"Duh. They're basically wild animals. They're not really like you Loppy."

"Lopmon." The bunny creature corrected. Again.

Aka Cloud wakes up in the digital world as a twelve year old and has to find his friends...with the help of his partner digimon of course.

3. Genesis used to think mermaids were one of the most beautiful creatures in Ancient lore...until he saw a blond one swallow a fish whole. He wasn't so sure after that.

4. Au where Cloud and the remnants are escaped expiraments from a non-Shinra lab. They travel to Midgar and become mercenaries.

One of them winds up being captured, prompting the other three to rescue them, but they're otherwise preoccupied by normal human things they never got to experience. Loz loves donuts and other sweets, Yazoo adores taking long hot bathes, and Kadaj always seems to have headphones on, etc.

The holy trinity are shocked when the four don't recognize Sephiroth. Genesis also nearly has a heart attack when he catches them roasting a doomrat over an open flame. "You're not actually going to eat that, are you?"

5. Hojos alarm was triggered at three in the morning. Usually this wouldn't be an issue, creatures attempted to escape Shinras (and by extention his) clutches on a regular basis. They were usually recaptured or destroyed within the hour.

What was strange was the fact that this was Jenovas alarm. His goddess tended to not move much beyond bobbing up and down in her tank.

Upon checking the security feed, he witnessed something infuriating. A blond man was holding an armful of wildflowers and bossing around three silver haired teens as they dismantled her shrine and stole her away. Jenova herself seemed...interested? Approving? He wasn't sure, but it looked like she was cooing at them. Further analysis was required.

6. Time travel au, but the whole thing is from Hojos perspective and he suffers

7. Cloud and Reeve were having a discussion about Clouds Jenova abilities and why he never used them, which eventually lead Cloud to picking up a pebble and stating, "Its not like a can just force some of my life energy into a rock and make it a planet"

And then he did. Tfw

8. High fantasy, no materia au.

Magic is rarely seen in humans, rather a tool used by monsters. On the day Clouds mother is murdered his abilities awaken, creating a powerful snowstorm that ripped the town of Nebilhiem apart.

Ten years later and the storm rages on, having grown to cover nearly the entirety of the mountain, rendering communication with nearby kingdoms difficult and travel impossible.

The famed General Rhapsodous is sent to slay whatever great beast is causing this catastrophe. When he is faced with a young man living up there in complete isolation, he chooses to stay with the mysterious man until he can locate the monster.

What will become of Cloud once Genesis discovers the truth? After all, a witch is considered a form of monster.

9. "I should have just remained a puppet!"

Genesis mulled over the words as though they alone could unravel the mystery that is Strife.

Some part of the redhead felt a little bad about using the strange man's emotional outburst against him, but things were getting desperate...

10. Time traveler au where Genesis dresses in drag to save this "Tifa" girl from the Don. He then tries to get her to go to Shinra for questioning and is punched for his efforts

11. Cloud is thrown into a world where he never existed and Shinra still reigns supreme. Worse, he has no memory of who he is or how he got there (cause Jenova destroyed them). He only has his bike and his sword and begins traveling to find a purpose, all while avoiding Shinras detection.

He often stops at inns and rest stops and often sees the same group of people. The large man with a gun arm grew suspicious from seeing him everywhere they went.

___________________________

"Go away."

The knocking came again. "I know you're in there blondie." A gruff voice replied.

"I'm not gay."

The man on the other side of the door began sputtering. "Look," another voice began, "We just need to talk."

"Yeah. Sure. Talk." He said flatly. "In the middle of the night." He went over to the door anyway. Opening it revealed the man with a gun arm and another man with wild black hair.

"Zack?" The blond blurted, startled. What was one of Shinras Supreme doing out here?!

"You remember me!" The man beamed, "SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair, at your service! Now the real question!"

The man leaned down a bit to the mysterious blonds level, "Who are you?"

12. "Can you do it?" The softness of Denzels voice seemed to make the situation all the more horrifying. "Can you kill me?" Eerie mako green eyes stared up at where Cloud stood frozen.

Denzel pulled a knife from the block, "Or will your son kill you?"

Aka Seph plays mind games by possessing the kids from Advent Children and using them to torment Cloud and make him look like a lunatic

13. Cloud gets sent back in time/ alternate reality, ect. but gets turned into a white materia. He's careful not to roll around while people are looking, but that doesn't stop people from saying, "Hey, look! A materia! " and picking him up. He has no real power...other than apparently soothing anyone/anything he comes into contact with.

Strangely, he keeps getting slotted into bracers (among other things) regularly. Ya'll, he's so annoyed.

14. There were two of him. Two Sephiroths. The blond began regulating his breathing, desperately trying to ward off an ensuing panic attack. He wouldn't stand a chance if they decided to work together.

Luckily, one insulted the other and thus a catfight of epic proportions began, all while Cloud had a panic attack in some long forgotten closet.

15. Au where child Sephiroth overhears a scientist talking about her 'prayers being answered' and he asks her what that meant. After a brief explanation, he later prays to anyone who can hear him to get him out of the labs and/or away from Hojo.

It works.

Bonus: Cloud and Sephiroth were fighting again in the Midgar desert when Sephiroth slashed the air, creating a portal. He had intended to use it to appear behind his puppet and impale him again, but the blond rushed forward and slashed through the portal with his own sword, expecting the portal to disappear as he sailed through were it once was.

Unfortunately, it was still very much there. Just...different. Cloud wasn't given the chance to properly examine it before the feeling of being plunged into ice water overwhelmed him and he was spat out on the other side.

It was another desert, but not like the one he left. He could feel no life here. No plants, no animals, no...no lifestream. The only thing around is another version of him. One that was used and abandoned by the Sephiroth of this world.

The other blond stared at him in confusion, wielding twin sabers in a defensive position.

[ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her]

Flesh, Part 1

Excerpt from Memoirs of a Flesh Eater, never published

Previous Excerpt

Next Excerpt

And now we come to what you’ve all been waiting for, the meat of this book {Editing Note: Boooo}. The gory details, such as they are, of how we acquire our flesh. It’s a topic that’s captured the public imagination for a long time - we’ve all heard plenty of lurid stories and speculation all our lives. I frankly wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve skipped straight to this chapter to finally hear it straight from the monster’s mouth. I’ll do my best to satisfy your curiosity. Understand, though - this topic is deadly serious, and more than almost any other subject I’ve covered, I’m aware of the danger inherent in revealing this. If the information I lay out here compromises these avenues of flesh, people will die for it. I will tell you as much as I can without risking that outcome.

{Editing Note: Everything after this needs strict review, and not just from me. Get as many eyes as possible on this before publishing.}

Nearly every ghoul has or will participate in the direct acquisition of flesh at some point. Finding food is an involved process, and not a particularly scaleable one. There are no factory farms for humans, nor should there be. Truly steady supplies of flesh are rare. Most of our methods involve gathering a small group of ghouls periodically, rather than just one or two of us working continuously. This, unfortunately, causes inconsistencies in supply more often than is comfortable. As such, we’ve had ample opportunity to figure out exactly how much flesh we need to survive. 

For the average mature ghoul, 5 pounds of flesh per day is the ideal consumption rate. Very roughly, we should be eating one adult human body per month for peak health. Put that starkly, it’s a grim picture. Extrapolate from that, and that means each of us is eating 12 humans a year. Obviously, we don’t eat that much from the moment of birth. I remember starting to get hungry more often around age 15, and I can count on one hand the number of ghouls I’ve met over 50, so let’s call the 35 years between those two ages our lifespan. Over the course of our lives, we will each eat over 400 humans. When you look at it from that angle, one life against 400, it’s no wonder that you have, as a whole, decided that we need to die.

But that angle misses some important subtleties. For one, we can handle some remarkably flexible feeding patterns. We can subsist on much less than an ideal diet for a very long time without serious ill effects. For example, I follow a fairly common feeding pattern and only eat half-meals three weeks out of every four. The only ill effects I notice are increased exhaustion and soreness, usually beginning towards the end of the second week and gradually escalating until the fourth. We can also go for multiple days without eating before noticing any ill effects. Many ghouls have only one or two very large meals each week. I personally prefer to have smaller meals more consistently - it makes me feel more human - but it’s a pattern I’ve followed plenty of times when flesh is scarce.

The other main subtlety that the math I presented above misses is that, often, we do not have to kill for flesh. People die all the time from causes that have nothing to do with us, and rarely in ways that make their flesh inedible. We have hardy constitutions and strong stomachs - most diseases and toxic chemicals can be processed and rendered inert in our digestive tracts. There are nearly three million deaths every year in the U.S. alone, the vast majority of which have nothing to do with us. If we could utilize all of that flesh, we could comfortably feed 250,000 ghouls without harming a single person. Obviously that’s never going to happen, but I also doubt there are that many ghouls in the country, so… Suffice to say that there is, theoretically, more than enough ethically-sourced flesh to go around.

Utilizing that flesh, however, is a significant logistical challenge. People aren’t in the habit of donating their bodies for our dining pleasure, and people tend to take the security of their loved ones’ remains pretty seriously. Taking flesh by force, even when we’re not trying to part it from a living body, is difficult, dangerous, messy work, so we prefer to sidestep that wherever possible. This brings us nicely to the first of our three main strategies: farming.

Farming is, unfortunately, our least productive method, but it’s the one that I hope we’ll be able to rely on entirely, some nebulous day in the future. Farming is the practice of discreetly smuggling dead flesh, produced by natural causes, out of the facilities where it is held. This is the only method we use that is sustainable, in the sense that it requires one or two ghouls working constantly and delivering a steady supply, rather than the periodic group efforts I described earlier. This method is also unusual in that it depends on us being integrated in human society, integrated enough to have unsupervised access to dead flesh.

There are two primary sources that we farm. First, there are hospitals. Countless surgical procedures result in the separation of flesh from living humans. Sometimes this flesh is passed along for scientific analysis, but most of it ends up classified as medical waste sooner rather than later. As I’ve said, though, we can safely handle most of the factors that cause limbs to be amputated or organs to be removed. Once these have been marked for disposal, ghouls working at the hospital can usually hide away the flesh for later retrieval without anyone noticing its absence. Unfortunately, caution requires our farmers to take less than is truly salvageable, given how damning it is to be caught stealing flesh. They also avoid taking whole cadavers, which are much more closely observed while in the hospital, and are typically handed over to other people rather than fully disposed of. We also, as a general rule, are careful to avoid eating anything cancerous. Tumors are something of a taboo, only to be eaten in times of extreme famine. We are as vulnerable to cancer as humans are, and there is a strong fear that eating tumors may cause you to absorb some of the cancerous cells into your own body, where they will be free to grow again. I can’t speak to the truth of that, but it’s not a fate I’m interested in tempting.

Our other main farming source is funeral homes. Contrary to popular perception, and to government defence policies, we actually have very little interest in robbing graveyards. By the time bodies go in the ground, they’ve usually been rendered inedible by embalming practices. Given how robust our digestive tracts are, it’s my theory that embalming practices were, at some point in history, specifically designed to protect human bodies from us. Obviously not all bodies are properly embalmed, but there’s no way to tell that without digging one up, and digging up a grave is hard. It is far more beneficial for us to intercept the bodies before they get to that stage. Therefore, we find it very valuable to train as morticians. This allows us to take cuts of flesh before a body is embalmed. Over the years, we’ve figured out exactly how much flesh can be taken and from where without showing at an open casket funeral. For closed caskets, or for cremations, we can take nearly the entire body without detection.

{Editing Note: That’s going to be upsetting for anyone who’s ever buried a family member. I’m not sure how to address that gently. I don’t know how receptive most people would be to “it’s okay that we ate your grandma because it means we got to live long enough to eat other people’s grandmas”.}

Unfortunately, there are a limited number of jobs with access to farmable bodies, and as the number of ghouls in those positions increase, so does the chance of one of them being discovered. Some of you, I’m sure, have seen how paranoid everyone gets when one of us is outed among you. We can’t even come close to fully utilizing these outlets without risking a lot of us dying. My household is fortunate - three of our members are farmers, and we may be gaining a fourth, depending on what degree Scarlet actually settles on. But that supply of farmed flesh is not always enough to feed all of us, and it certainly isn’t enough for Yaga’s charity projects. So about once a month, we send out a group to engage in our second method - gathering.

As I said, there are a lot of deaths that have nothing to do with us. Gathering is our attempt to get ahold of some of those dead before other factors take care of them. Death is, unfortunately, unpredictable, so the best we can do is send people out at irregular intervals to scoop up what we can. A gathering party typically consists of at least half a dozen ghouls; the exact size depends on the amount of ground we want to cover, how many bodies we expect to be transporting, and how worried we are about getting into a violent confrontation. Ideally, no one gets hurt by our gathering parties, but no one is going to look too kindly on body snatching, and sometimes we just attract the wrong kind of attention. If we need an especially large group, or if we intend to cover a particularly large area, we might even reach out to other households for extra help in exchange for a share of our find.

A gathering run typically begins at night, in the poorer parts of the city. I’m sure gathering happens in rural areas, but I can’t speak to their methods. In the city, though, it’s the poor and the homeless and the addicts, the abandoned of human society that are most likely to die somewhere we can get to them. So we put on anonymizing clothing and start looking. Our most reliable leads come from homeless communities and drug sites. Sometimes it’s enough to just show up, make small talk, and look around for the dead or imminently dying. If it’s the latter, sometimes we just wait - keep them company while they wait for the end. Unfortunately for us, people don’t generally die all at once at predictable intervals; it’s not uncommon for us to find no bodies at all. Fortunately, there are some people who are desperate enough to sell us leads. Buying leads is a dangerous game - any person who knows us to be ghouls, even if we take pains to conceal our identities from them, is one more person who could bring the exterminators down on us - and the more effective the method of gathering leads is, the more dangerous it is. The safest thing is to find a stranger and offer them money for a lead, one time deal, and never contact them again. Regular contacts have more opportunities to expose us, whether for exterminator money, moral duty, or just by being careless, but if they know to expect us, they can amass leads, or sometimes even hold bodies for us to buy off them directly. I’ve heard that some households even have arrangements with organized crime to act as free, efficient body disposal.

Once we’ve thoroughly checked these areas, the next step is to check accident sites. Typically we’ll separate to stake out common suicide and accident sites. These aren’t particularly reliable either, but they turn up bodies often enough to be worth staking out once we’ve exhausted our more proactive options. Sometimes, on particularly slow gathering parties, we’ll break out a police scanner and listen for any incident reports likely to produce a body and see if we can get there before the cops. It’s a dangerous game, and often no more lucrative than our other approaches, but there is nothing more depressing or upsetting than coming back from gathering empty handed. Coming home empty handed means we need to take more drastic measures.

I’ve been on around a dozen gathering parties so far. Most of them went well enough, with minimal incident and moderate success. I’ve been on two where we had to chase police scanners. And I’ve been on one that came back empty-handed. That isn’t the only one my household has ever run that came back empty-handed, but it’s the one that stuck out most in my mind because it’s the one time I felt personally responsible for what happened next. When our regular gathering still doesn’t produce enough flesh, we have three options, none of them pleasant. We could all tighten our belts, ration our flesh carefully, and try to endure until we can make up our shortfall. There are a lot of factors that can make this approach unsafe, though. Starving isn’t any more pleasant for us than it is for humans, and it can make us less careful than is safe. Or sometimes someone is injured or sick and wouldn’t be able to handle stricter rationing. Our next option is to organize a gathering raid. There are plenty of hospitals and funeral homes that we can’t farm, for one reason or another, but sometimes we can steal from them. This is a high-risk endeavor, obviously. Anywhere that handles human remains is on the lookout for this kind of thing, and even if we get away clean, the raid will almost certainly make the news and bring exterminators sniffing around. That’s not even touching the fact that, just because we aren’t farming somewhere, that doesn’t mean someone else isn’t. The kind of scrutiny a raid draws can be a death sentence for any ghouls working at the raid target. So, most of the time, Yaga chooses to take our third option. She calls for a Hunt.

{Editing Note: I need to talk to Spatha before I write the rest of this. I need to convince her that I’ll just listen this time, and then I need to actually do that. I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t want to reopen this wound between us. I don’t want to risk our friendship. Is this project really worth that? Do I seriously think it will make a difference?}

[your-wings-of-freedom]

Nightmares (Levi x Reader)

Authors Note: Here we go sweetness. I’m awfully sorry it took so long! I had actually planned to do a Levi x Nightmare fic so when it became my first request, you bet I fangirled harder than ever before! I hope you don’t mind that I added my small original idea to yours. If you don’t like, I can always write up a slightly different scenario ^^”  First Levi x Reader fic. Yikes.

Word Count: 5,542 (Sorry!)

Summary: You scream out into the middle of the night from a nightmare, nearly waking the whole squad. As your captain and being someone he cares about, he does his best to calm you down.

You watched as Levi swung gracefully through the air despite being covered in titan blood, only for the wires of his ODM gear to be yanked by greedy hands, rendering helpless. You were too far to reach him. Your ziplined through the trees, screaming for his name. No matter how fast you flew, you weren’t fast enough. Multiple sets of hands fought over Levi, tear him limb from limb. His cries were mixed with yours as you screamed for him. Having reached him just as his eyes made contact with yours before the rest of his body became titan food. “NOOO! LEVI!” Your blood curdling scream echoed throughout the forest, and the chill of the room where your nightmare took place. Everyone, particularly in the Survey Corps have seen horrors to the extreme, and because of that, each cadet suffers with nightmares where it has them screaming out into the night. There’s no judgement or annoyance from those who share a room. It’s probably best that they did since it allows them to have someone there to comfort them. Despite taking up quarters in a building that had more than enough rooms to spare, some cadets still preferred to bunk with each other. You preferred to have a room to yourself if it was available. A lot of it had to do with the fact that you and Levi had grown closer and late-night visits became a thing. Particularly after a brutal mission that, not only left you a complete mess, but would have some sort of impact on Levi where his usual coping method of secluding himself to his room didn’t work.

Your room was never too far from where his office is. The man barely slept and would often spend the majority of his night catching up on paperwork, or making himself a cup of tea. Any small amount of sleep he did get, it was mostly just him nodding off in his chair, having not realized that sleep had overcome him.

Despite how late it was, it was still early in the night for Levi. His night went as per normal. Always staying up until the last member of his squad retired for the night. He may look like a ruthless asshole to nearly everybody else, but he’s not so bad once you get to know him. He’s strict, and firm, with certain things. But he’ll always join his comrades for meals, he’ll always sit and have a cup of tea with them, talk to them. He’s really not that bad.

He made another cup of tea and took it up to his office where a small pile of paperwork was waiting for him. Tch. He wasn’t a huge fan of paperwork. Particularly the reports that had to be completed from unsuccessful commissions; the field report that required details of what happened, what went wrong. There was the death reports of all the soldiers that had died and Levi had to sign off on it before sending letters to the families. He’d much prefer Erwin do this part of the job since he’s the Commander, but Levi doesn’t quite trust the man to do it with the weight of the burden he ought to rightfully carry. For Levi, he felt it’s the least he could do for those who gave their lives to save humanity.

Luckily tonight wasn’t one of those nights where it was a haunting and grim reminder of what would have occurred only hours before. Rather, the paperwork was dull and boring. Of course, he’d much rather that than the alternative. 

Cup and saucer gently placed on his desk, he sat down and glared at the pile of paperwork before deciding to procrastinate just a little bit more by taking his first sip of his tea, choosing to relish in the liquid for just another moment longer. An hour or so went by and he had finally signed off on the last piece of paper. How the hell he got through reading Hanji’s report without the need to stab himself in the eyes with his pen is beyond him. Slamming the piece of paper down on the top of the small pile of papers, he stood up from his chair and pulled the pile to him, tapping them into a neat pile before placing them in a manila file, ready to be sent back to Erwin in the morning.

It’s probably past midnight by now… the moon shone brightly, helping to illuminate the dimly lit room further. The night sky littered with stars … and not a cloud in sight, Levi’s come to notice as his footsteps took him to stand by the window and gaze out. It was a summer’s evening but there seemed to be a slight breeze in the air as the silhouette of the tree leaves could be seen swaying slightly.

 This small moment of peace was interrupted by the sound of his name being screamed in a terrifying manner not far from his office. His head sharply whipped around, bangs to sway harshly with his sudden movement.

Quick strides had him yanking his door open to already seeing a few members of his squad wearily stepping out of their rooms and into the hall as they made their way in the same direction that Levi was heading. He heard his name being called in half greeting, half question but he didn’t have time to tell them that he’s got in under control, not when you’re still screaming at the top of your lungs for him.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw your body writhing beneath the blankets and he didn’t waste a second by stepping into your room and immediately sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn’t miss your features being contorted into a face full of pure terror and pain. He didn’t want to know what the hell was playing out in your head, whatever it was, it must be worse than their own reality. Because even amongst the horrors and deaths they’ve faced, he’s never seen you look so scared before. 

It reminds him of the moment he lost Isabel and Furlan… but this seems far worse. Hands were placed on your shoulders and his voice sharp with authority tried to be heard over your screams, “Y/N! Wake up! Y/N! C’mon, I need you to wake up…” You weren’t known to be a heavy sleeper. At least, not this heavy. It took a while for Levi to wake you up, even him raising his voice to be heard over your relentless screams. Not that it was a competition, but you definitely won ‘Nightmare of the Year’, even Levi hasn’t seen a reaction this intense, not from him, and as far as he knows, not from the rest of the members of his squad either. You heard Levi call out to you, which was impossible because you just saw the last of him disappear into the titan’s mouth. Your traumatized mind must be playing such cruel tricks on your mind. All you could do was watch the titan finish devouring the man you’ve come to care about, the man you’ve come to…well… love. You can hear his voice calling your name again, as the titan’s bloodstained grin stared at you, taunting you in a way. You felt your face contort into something terrifying as you screamed with the heartache of losing the one you loved. That scream carried over when you woke up, not realizing it was you who was screaming into the dark room. It only turned into a scream of panic as you felt a pair of hands gripping your shoulders, and that’s when you fought against the constriction of the sheets that held your body day, panicking like a tortured animal. Your mind hadn’t quite caught up to reality just yet. The scream died from your lips and panicked, frightened whimpers filled the room instead. To be honest, Levi hadn’t expected such a violent reaction upon waking you up. His hands were knocked from your shoulders in your sudden state of panic as you desperately tried to crawl away from him but the writhing in your sleep had caused you to become too tangled up in your sheets. “Hey. Hey! Take it easy. Just a nightmare.” His voice deep and firm, hoping to ground you back to reality at least. His hand hovered in midair as though he was trying to calm down a frightened animal. Finally you were brought back down to reality and you stopped moving, frightened gaze settled on the face you just saw being eaten. You tried to swallow down the whimper that was caught in your throat but failed to do so and you could only close your eyes momentarily in embarrassment. Though you immediately regret doing so, because the moment you did, you were flooded with the same scenes again and your eyes flung open as another state of panic gripped you. “N-No. No. No. I can’t… I can’t get out… I can’t…” your breathing coming out in shaky breaths, the panic had risen to borderlining a panic attack as your chest tightened in fear and your lungs refusing to work properly. Your hands clawed at the sheets, trying to get yourself free from the grips that reminded you too much of seeing Levi gripped in a Titan’s hold. Levi sprung into action as he moved off the bed, gripping the sheets and tugged them back and forth to loosen their bind on you. Once there was an opportunity, you immediately sprung free and made a beeline for the other side of your room. You could finally breathe.

You inhaled deeply but another whimper-like gasp (something that sounds like a ‘nngh’ from the back of your throat) sounded as you took a deep breath. Your hands rested on your thighs as you hunched over, catching your breath.

Levi watched you spring out of bed and try to compose yourself. He understood how nightmares worked. On the odd occasion that he had them, some had left him springing up from his chair. So he understood this moment was pivotal in the need to have some space. He watched as you crouched down with a long, but still shaky, exhale, muttering a ‘shit’ as you braced yourself with your elbows on your thighs, fingers clasping together, thumbs crisscrossing too, and forehead pressing against the base of your thumb where it curves into the palm. It took everything in him not to walk over to you and physically help you through it. He couldn’t even place a hand on your shoulder. Not with everyone ogling at the door. It was probably already suspicious enough that he was the one in this room with you – but, he’s your Captain and the way you had screamed out into the night was not something that he could ignore. It’s no different to when he and Eren stole a couple of moments of privacy to talk one-on-one, right? Grey eyes snapped back to the few members of his squad that had gathered at the door in concern for their terror-stricken comrade. “Alright, show’s over. Back to bed.” The order was given before grey eyes snapped to Eren and bore into his green eyes that widened as soon as Levi barked his name, “Eren go downstairs and make some tea. Don’t fuck it up.” “Sir!”

He waited for everyone to disperse before he took a few steps over to where you were. “Must’ve been a fucked-up nightmare.” You heard his footsteps stop a little bit before you, but you didn’t lift your head. Not just yet. You needed to calm your nerves down, because right now, it felt like it was more than just your heart beating wildly. It felt like every part of your body was throbbing. Including your eardrum, which you’re surprised you could even Levi’s voice over the sound of whatever the pressuring sound in your ears was. “Yeah.” “Want to talk about it?” “No.”

Levi hummed lowly as he closed the rest of the gap between you both, you still didn’t lift your head. He could hear you taking long, careful, steady breaths, immediately recognizing it as a grounding technique. He remained quiet, not wanting to interrupt whatever progress you made with yourself, so he opted to quietly place a hand on your back in a form of some physical reassurance. That’s when he noticed how damp your pyjama’s were. Tch. Eyes snapped over to the mess of your bed in the dim light of the room and he knew immediately what he had to do; change the sheets. It might seem trivial, but even if he didn’t realise it himself, it was far more beneficial to do so in a situation like this. Imagine waking from a nightmare, and then reentering the same messy, sweat-soaked bed again? It’s practically an invitation for another nightmare. While Levi’s reasons lied with the fact it was disgusting to be sleeping on sweat-soaked sheets, the other benefits was a fresh set of sheets, freshly made bed, which should help equal a fresh reset of the mind for the remainder of the night.

“I’ll be back.” Levi murmured as he stood up and fingers trailed off your back. You immediately missed the warmth of his reassuring touch; you missed the calm demeanor he held despite not being the type of guy to mollycoddle you in moments of likes these. You almost whined when he left… no, not whined, begged. You almost begged him to not leave you alone. Luckily that pathetic noise caught in your throat before it could make itself known. You already looked pathetic enough, you didn’t need to sound pathetic on top of it. It’s just adding salt to the wounds. You heard Levi enter back in your room just as quickly as he left it. You heard him place something down; it sounded soft but firm, but you couldn’t make out what it could be. And then you heard the distinct sound of sheets being yanked off the bed. What on earth…?

When you felt like you could lift your head from the heaviness of the fog that shrouded your mind, your eyes opened to Levi changing the sheets on your bed. “Uh, Levi? Y-you don’t have to…” He didn’t even turn around, not even when you stammered slightly. “Tch. Just change into some new nightwear.” You bit your lip, contemplating whether or not there’s any actual need for you to change your nightwear. They’ll dry. It’s not like your drenched in sweat. Suppose to Levi’s cleaning standards, you probably already are. Hearing no movement from you behind him, he added “I won’t look, brat. Just get changed into something clean.” and there was the confirmation that this came down to Levi’s strict hygiene. It could have been worse. He could have ordered you to take a shower or bath as well. You stood up, shakily so to the point where you stumbled a little on your footing before you began to walk over to your drawers and retrieved a new set of nightwear out. You entire being trembled. You weren’t physically shaking on the outside, but you were definitely shaking on the inside. If that made sense? Your hands were the only thing that physically trembled as you changed as quick as you could while Levi had his backed turned. You didn’t even think about your bedroom door being left open and other members (or eren with the tea) could easily have walked in! Though at this point you were too mentally exhausted to deal with the embarrassment of all that. “Uhm..” You awkwardly stood there, completely changed into new attire (it felt much more comfortable, admittedly, now that your damp clothes weren’t sticking to your back), holding your damp clothes in a semi-neat bundle in your hands. Levi stood from straightening the blanket out, pulling back the blankets neatly in the corner, leaving it there as an invitation for you to get back in bed with crisp, dry sheets. He cautiously glanced over his shoulder before he turned to face you, making sure you were decent. He bundled the sheets in his hands and grabbed your nightwear from you as well. His fingers brushing against yours, causing you to meet his steely gaze. You were surprised to see a firmness to them, as though he were silently relaying something to you. You didn’t know what, but it made you feel like you should take a deep breath and trust in him. It was one of those knowing looks.

And with that, Levi left the room with your damp clothes and sheets. Suddenly your room felt colder, you felt colder. Your hands came up and hugged your arms as you glanced around the empty room before your orbs landed on the window. You couldn’t see much outside. Just the stars and the silhouette of the trees. In the daylight, it was an open field of just greenery. Grass for miles, trees, blue sky, flowers blooming. Things that one could take pleasure in but also have that trampled and slipped through your fingers in seconds, just like Levi did with those titans that plagued your dreams. In that moment, you were thrusted back into that vision; the darkness that had you screaming out for Levi. The colours of your world tainted in blood and flesh. His own screams matching yours. You hadn’t realized how rapidly the panic arose within you until you were struggling to breathe and you felt a pair of hands clasp over your wrists, which were resting on your forehead, your fingers curled in the air slightly. At some point you had pressed yourself back against the wall and slid down back into a crouching position again. Slender finger curled around your wrists and tugged them down, “Y/N!” Levi wasn’t even gone a full two minutes as he walked from one end of the building to the other, to dispose of your damp sheets and nightwear. He didn’t think you could get any worse than when you were slightly unresponsive from earlier, so he didn’t think it would be a problem to leave you on your own for a moment or so. It was when he walked down the hallway, back to your room, that he heard those struggling whimpers. The type of sound where you struggle to breathe in between trying to force down the uprising hysteria. (In your case, panic). “Hey.” His low, firm voice called out, losing the iciness that was usually toned in his speech. He got no response from you except to watch you bump yourself against the wall and slide down on legs that couldn’t seem to support your weight. “Y/N.” Footsteps brought Levi over to you but you still didn’t seem to acknowledge him. It wasn’t until he crouched down in front of you and pulled your wrists away from your face, that you finally acknowledged him. Your E/C orbs glanced at his stormy grey ones, his head ducked to be in your line of view, nothing but concern showing through those orbs of his despite the stoic expression he wore. You were on the verge of tears for various reasons. Mostly because you felt so helpless with your feelings, thoughts and emotions. It was overwhelming. You’ve never had a nightmare that affected you so. Levi said nothing. He continued to hold your wrists firmly, gaze locked on yours. What could he say to make it better for you? Nothing, really, except to validate your feelings and even then, it feels useless to do so. Instead, he just quietly held your gaze, quietly grounding you again. You held his gaze back, latching on to it as though it were a lifeline to you. Perhaps he could see that, hence why he hadn’t let go of your wrists nor moved away from you. He intended to stay until he knew for certain that you were going to be alright. The lack of verbal reassurance didn’t bother you overly. You knew he was a man of action rather than words – as the saying goes ‘actions speak louder than words’ and how fitting that seemed to describe him. He didn’t even pull away when Eren came by with the tea. “Uh Captain Levi, sir? I got the teas you wanted.” Levi gave you a slight nod, hopefully successfully relaying that he’s going to break eye contact but he’s still here. His grey eyes left yours to look over his shoulder at Eren who carried a small tray with two teas. “Put it on the table.” Levi gave the simple order. Eren nodded in response and carefully walked the tray over, placing it down on the bedside table. “Anything else, sir?” “That’s all. Go back to bed. You lot have an early start tomorrow.” Another nod from Eren, “Goodnight sir. Goodnight Y/N.” his green eyes cast over your slightly distraught form, breathing back under control again. “Goodnight. Sorry I woke you.” You murmured barely above a whisper. But you heard Eren hum in response, had you looked up you would have seen your friend’s face full of concern, but you kept your eyes downcast.

 Eren seemed hesitant to leave you but you were in the hands of Levi, and even though he might not be the most emotionally supportive person, or appear to be, he’s still the safest person to leave you with. Footsteps quietly retreated as Eren headed back to bed. He might still be naïve in his young age, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew there was something there between you and Levi. While you both weren’t publicly lovey-dovey, nor were you behind close doors, there still seemed to be the silent connection between the two of you. Kind of like how Petra, Oluo and the rest of the ‘Levi Squad’ had the silent understanding of they worked together.

Levi watched Eren leave the room before he turned his attention to you, expecting to meet your gaze but your head was ducked out of his view. His fingers uncurled their grip from your wrist but didn’t let go entirely. They trailed over your skin until he gripped your hands in his, fingers curling over your palm instead. Your own fingers curled lightly against his. At least it was some sort of acknowledgement, he was content to settle with that. Bare minimums, it was better than nothing. “Your tea’s going cold and that shit’s expensive. Come on.” He gave a small tug to your hands, hinting for you to stand up and move to the bed. He didn’t mind you were in a sulky mood, but he’d rather you sulk in bed rather than on the dirty floor. Standing up, he felt you move slightly, and with his help, you were standing upright. You could still feel your body trembling violently internally. If given any food, you likely would have thrown it up. You stumbled in your footing and Levi’s quick reflexes had his hands reaching out to balance you. “Easy.” He murmured in a gentle warning, this time he kept his grip on you as he guided you to bed. Grey eyes bore into your frame, taking in your features, your current state. He wondered if something else was going on with you other than the nightmare. Feeling ill, perhaps? You looked far more paler than when he left you to change your sheets. He pushed the blankets back just a little further so you could climb in bed without needing to squish yourself up in order to get beneath the blankets. You certainly hadn’t expected Levi to ‘tuck’ you in either. Though, his version of ‘tucking you in’ was to flick the blankets back up and leave it at that. Still. The small gesture touched your heart and you felt a little of the whatever-it-is-your-feeling ebb away. You leant back against the frame of the bed, hands resting your lap until a cup of tea was brought into view, and your hands welcomed the warmth of the cup. The bed dipped slightly as Levi sat on the edge, facing you, taking in your pale, exhausted features. You suddenly looked so small to Levi. Sitting in bed, slightly curled in on yourself despite your current position. You still looked bothered. Upset. He didn’t know what, but it unsettled him. You had a haunted look in your eyes; it was something Levi couldn’t just up and leave you be. Not that he was planning to just yet. But afterwards… he had a feeling that, even then, he didn’t want to leave you. He’d probably be content to pull up a chair and just watch over you for the rest of the night. But you still looked shaken up.

“What the hell happened in your nightmare?” he finally broke the silence since you were avoiding eye contact as you slowly sipped away at the tea. “Nothing… just the usual.” You quietly respond, though you were annoyed at yourself the way your voice wavered to a quiet tone afterwards. “You’re a shitty liar.” Typical Levi, calling bullshit the minute he sees it. “It’s clearly more than the titans to have you like this.” There was a long stretch of silence on your end and Levi waited patiently for you to answer. He could see you trying to collect your thoughts as your E/C orbs danced back and forth, and your brow gently furrowing. The last part Levi would have found cute had it been under a less distraught situation. Eventually you found your voice, even though it was a lot quieter than you thought you were being, “No, it was that. But…It’s just… you were there. And then you weren’t. They had you. They had you and I couldn’t get to you in time. And it was my fault. It was my fault. I tried, Levi, I tried so hard. I ran as fast I could.” The more you spoke, talked about what relayed in your head, the more the hysteria was building up in your voice until it caught in your throat on a threatened sob, which Levi immediately picked up on. He was quick to remove your half-drunk cup of tea from your hands and place it on the tray by the bed.

Finally the sob tore through, “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

It was clear that you had thrusted yourself back in the dream as you relayed it to Levi, losing your place in reality for a moment.

Levi finally reached for you, in the sense of physical reassurance. His right hand reached for your upper arm, tugging you forward. He pulled himself forward too, so he could position you against him. His left hand came around and looped around the nape of your neck, pulling you into his chest. His right hand left your arm and immediately came around your back. “Calm down Y/N. It was just a nightmare.” Probably not the best words to be comforting someone with, brushing aside the valid response to a nightmare.  But Levi wasn’t one to verbally comfort someone without soft reassurances. He says it how he sees it. Stating the facts. But it was the calmness in his voice that people can find safety and reassurance with. Almost like he was trying take your burden and carry it so you don’t have to. Humanity’s Strongest. Your hands shot out from resting in your lap to gripping his shirt on either side of his hips. He could feel his shirt tugged down slightly as the material scrunching into creases, but it didn’t seem to bother him. If it did, he didn’t show any signs. Despite the fear of wanting to close your eyes again, your eyes immediately squeezed shut when your ear was pressed to his chest, the sound of his heart beating in perfect rhythm blocking out the screams from your nightmare that still echoed in your head.

Your exposed ear was resting in the crevice of this thumb and forefinger, long slender fingers threaded through your locks as he gently cradled your head to his chest. This had been the most comforting thing you needed, to be engulfed in his scent, his warmth. Despite being the cold, distant, stoic man he is, even when comforting someone to this degree, he still had warmth and compassion within him, it’s just hidden behind that exterior he wears. If you’re smart enough, understand him enough, you’ll be able to see through the cracks and realise it’s the things he does that offer comfort.

Your body shook with the sobs that you were trying to hold in but failing miserably at doing so. Your teeth had hold of your bottom lip to force the sounds from pouring out but if you bit down any harder, you’d cause yourself to bleed. So you surrendered the fight and let it all out. Your body trembling violently beneath his grip as your entire being was struggling to let out all that you held in.

You felt Levi’s grip on you tighten just a little bit, obviously not enough to hurt where his fingers were cradling your head. “It’s alright… It’s just a nightmare. You’re safe.” He couldn’t promise that the nightmare wouldn’t become a reality, because there’s always a chance that it could. And he didn’t see the need to make empty promises. But he couldn’t just silently let you cry it out like this. Not when your sobs were wails of pain. It’s likely you might have woken some more of your colleagues up, especially with your bedroom door still open, but Levi didn’t give a shit about it right now. And he certainly wasn’t going to let go just to shut the door. If someone came in to investigate, he’d have no issue telling them to scram. It really must’ve been a fucked-up nightmare for you. He could only imagine just how graphically the nightmare played out for you. He wouldn’t be all that surprised if you chose to stay awake for the remainder of the night. He’d rather you not because you all have an early start in the morning with training, but he’d also understand. As long as you’re still right to train, he didn’t care if you didn’t fall back asleep.

Levi’s heartrate didn’t change, it kept beating in perfect rhythm, matching the calm tone of his voice and demeanor. You were grateful for this because it helped ground you once more as your cries quietened down. But you didn’t move away from him, nor did he make any movement to pull away from you. He continued to hold you to his chest, his other hand giving your back a small rub here or there. He patiently and quietly waited until you were ready to decide what to do next.

But you never did. You stayed like that for a good long while, Levi never questioned it, never moved. He continued to hold you as long as you needed. Oddly enough, your eyes begun to flutter close. The emotions draining you completely with exhaustion. It wasn’t until Levi felt his shirt relax from your grip that he craned his head to take a glance at your features. Your nose was red from crying, your eyes were slightly puffy, lashes still wet from the tears. It was at this point that Levi finally made the first movement as he stirred you from dozing off to sleep so you could lay down properly. And you did so without little grumble. Too exhausted to fight it off. Levi stayed. He got up to close the door, but he pulled up a chair and stayed. It was only a couple of hours until the sun rose above the hills. If you could get a couple hours worth of sleep in, he’d be content with that. The room was already lighting up with the darkened morning beginning to fade as the sun made its way around to their side of the earth.

Arms and legs crossed, his gaze rested on your peaceful features, contemplating how badly this nightmare had shaken you up. He knows you’ve seen horrors, had a few close calls with death – they all have. But he’s never seen anything to have brought you down like this. Though, there’s always something that makes a person break. Even him. You always amazed him how strong you were. You carried the team the same way he did. Putting aside your emotions and feelings in order to push the squad forward and focus on the mission. You were their sounding board, their grounding point. Especially when they needed someone to talk on a personal level where Levi couldn’t offer them that. If it weren’t for your softness, you would’ve made a great Vice Captain.

He cares for you. More than you’ll ever know. More than he’ll ever let on, or admit to. It’s why he chose to stay rather than retreat back to his office. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving you after witnessing you break the way you did over something so trivial as a nightmare. Even though you were asleep and there was nothing more Levi could do.

He stayed.

[toemuncher666]

Sanguine (Akuma Kan):

Personality - He’s extremely shy and timid yet heroic at heart. He finds it hard to talk to people and be the center of attention but if the situation calls for it…he’ll attempt to save people no matter what.

Looks - He shares his father’s height so he’s naturally tall. He also shares his father’s hair and muscular build but he is much slimmer than his father and doesn’t quite have his father’s bulk.

Quirk - Bloodletting

Properties - The quirk allows Akuma to manipulate his own blood. The blood can shoot from his skin like a bullet and can even explode when shot with enough velocity. He can also create blood tendrils that act like tentacles and can be used to fight but also rescue people. His blood allows for a quick healing cycle since it has to rip through his skin. His blood can also harden to create powerful shields and body armor. He can also create clones through his blood…and can travel via liquefying into blood and sprouting up where he intends.

Drawbacks - Too much exertion of blood means his body isn’t getting enough circulation…so he can easily succumb to limbs falling asleep, massive migraines, queasiness, potential black outs, and blood rushes temporarily giving him vision impairment…and blood cannot be withdrawn from his body for over 10 minutes without risking cardiac arrest. His quirk also requires for a lot of liquid ingestion to regenerate lost blood.

Venus: (Sakura Nishiya):

Personality - Sakura is incredibly sweet often to her own detriment. She often puts other people’s feelings before hers, forgetting about her own problems. Sakura is also scarily intelligent when it comes to strategy in fighting.

Looks - Sakura boasts long green hair with flower growths seemingly sprouting from her scalp. She’s also pretty tall and has a muscular build.

Quirk - Mother Nature

Properties - Mother Nature allows for Sakura to manipulate plants. She can cause the plants to grow to extreme sizes and bend to her will. Her quirk allows for her to forcefully evolve the plants allowing for them to release pheromones or grow tangible vines for her to control

Drawbacks - Her quirk is only powerful during the day while the plants get sunlight…at night, her powers are severely limited beyond being able to just move the plants. Her quirk also requires her to stay hydrated…because the quality of the plants is directly tied to her health. The quirk also only works within viable soil that can properly host a plant.

Hex: (Uno Tatsuma):

Personality - Uno is very boisterous and confident in his abilities to the point where he can become pretty cocky and lose sight of his goal. Despite his cockiness, he is a good person and is very loving towards his friends and family.

Looks - Uno is considered very handsome and boasts deep purple hair and doughy purple eyes. He’s considerably tall and muscular and has sharp features.

Quirk - Bad Luck

Properties - Bad Luck allows for Uno to create black energy orbs from his hand. These orbs can be shot out and cause a variety of effects. The orbs are slightly explosive when they make physical impact with something…but that’s not the star of the show with this quirk. The main feature of this quirk is that on impact, it can cause a foe to suffer serious bad luck. When the orbs hit…they can cause a foe to trip and fall, suffer rapid onset narcolepsy, set off a chain of events that somehow leads an anvil falling on the foes’ head etc. etc.

Drawbacks - The level of bad luck isn’t consistent and is sometimes unreliable so it requires multiple orbs to be thrown…but the orbs directly rely on UNO’s molecular makeup of his hands. So when orbs are thrown in excess…they begin to make his hands and arms very brittle

Skinwalker (Amaya Gima):

Personality - Amaya is very gentle and kind. She often puts on the front of someone who doesn’t care…but once you get to know her, she’s truly a sweet person.

Looks - Amaya has long black hair. She’s average height and has pretty dark brown eyes.

Quirk - Beast Body

Properties - This quirk allows Amaya to change the anatomy of her physical body. All she has to do is think of an animal…and her body begins to shift into the creature.

Drawbacks - The quirk hurts every time Amaya performs it. The quirk also takes awhile for her to shift to an animal and shift back.

Psi (Kaneki Usagiyama):

Personality - Kaneki is incredibly reserved and cold. He doesn’t talk very much but when he does…it’s often demeaning. Kaneki views himself as more important than his peers…he’s also very intelligent and skilled in battle.

Looks - Kaneki sports dark blue hair. He’s average height but with a fit build. His eyes are also blue but when using his quirk…his hair and eyes begin to glow neon pink.

Quirk - Psychokinesis

Properties - Psychokinesis allows Kaneki to extort his brain beyond its limits…allowing him to use a strong form of telekinesis that can crush anything in its path. Psychokinesis allows telepathy as well. But one of the biggest boasts for this powerful skill…is that it can create deadly psionic blasts that can disintegrate anything they touch.

Drawbacks - when Psychokinesis is exerted for long periods of time…it starts to over exert his brain and cause massive headaches that severely slow down his abilities

Wormhole (Aimi Fujioka):

Personality - Aimi is incredibly shy, often resulting in her being unable to talk to anyone but her close friends. Despite her shyness…she is incredibly determined…and nothing will get in the way of her becoming a pro hero.

Looks - Aimi has short pink hair. She is also considerably short and has big doughy pink eyes.

Quirk - Teleportation

Properties - When Aimi envisions a specific place and touches her fingers together…she can cause a dimensional rip that she can teleport through. When the rip is paired with another rip…she can simply walk through it like an open door…but when the rip is alone, it sucks things in like a black hole.

Drawbacks - The quirk cannot work if Aimi hasn’t seen the area she wants the rip to appear. The rip can also only stay open for a maximum of 10 seconds.

Vortex (Arakan Ahane):

Personality - Arakan is incredibly nice but very ditzy and naive. Arakan has no problem complimenting people but often finds himself forgetting everything…sometimes even forgetting how to spell his own name.

Looks - Arakan has fluffy green hair and big green eyes. He’s pretty fit and has an average height.

Quirk - Time Jump

Properties - Time Jump allows Arakan to jump a few seconds into the future. When Arakan snaps his fingers…his quirk shoots him through a few seconds in his future. This allows Arakan to be very agile, dodging attacks and “jumping” well into high places most people wouldn’t be able to reach. When Arakan first jumps and right after, it causes electricity to shoot through the air…so getting close to him before a jump could result in a small electrical shock.

Drawbacks - The quirk has a 5 second cool down and when not aimed precisely…Arakan could end up getting stuck in walls or floors leaving him open to attack.

Aquarias (Chinami Aikawa):

Personality - Chinami is incredibly intelligent and nice. She often scores 100% on all of her written tests and you can leave it to her to develop a battle plan. However, due to her parents’ strictness on grades…it left Chinami very uncertain and personally insecure with her own skills.

Looks - Chinami has very long pale blue hair. She also has a slim fit figure with an above average height.

Quirk - Flood

Properties - Flood allows Chinami to telekinetically control any surrounding moisture or liquid. This can allow Chinami to cause giant destructive tsunamis or her favorite move from a cartoon she watches…giant water hands to crush her opponents and water wings to fly. Chinami’s ability also allows for more subtle moves…such as creating bubbles.

Drawbacks - Chinami’s quirk solely relies on the accessibility of nearby liquids or the amount of moisture in the air…without a good amount of either, her quirk is rendered semi-useless.

Whirlwind (Daichi Bushida):

Personality - Daichi is incredibly cocky often to his own detriment. He lacks the ability to recognize his own weaknesses and is often regarded as kind of an asshole. But his lack of outward recognition of his weaknesses often results in him pushing himself past his limits to prove his worth.

Looks - Daichi sports groomed black hair. He has sharp dark eyes and is quite tall and muscular.

Quirk - Cyclone

Properties - Cyclone allows Daichi to create whirlwinds from his hands. These whirlwinds can be anywhere from small controlled gusts that he can shoot at you…all the way to a giant tornado capable of mass destruction.

Drawbacks - too much wind power from his quirk takes a toll on his hand…he often ends up spraining his hand from the sheer wind power he can create.

Atomic (Hoshi Bushida):

Personality - Hoshi is similar to her brother in that she’s competitive and pushes herself past her limits. But unlike her brother, she knows her flaws and she has a strong sense of humility. This allows her to be emotionally mature unlike her brother…and it keeps her down to earth and quite intelligent.

Looks - Hoshi has long black hair often seen tied in a ponytail. She’s viewed as being incredibly pretty and she’s tall with a fit build.

Quirk - Disassemble

Properties - When Hoshi touches something…she can disassemble it on an atomic level…even living things. This allows Hoshi to completely remove an entire wall…or if need be…an entire foe.

Drawbacks - the disassembled object or person will reassemble unharmed anywhere between 10-20 minutes later and the quirk also requires her to touch the object to disassemble it.

Puppet Master (Joben Takao):

Personality - Joben is incredibly self-centered to where he might actually literally be in love with himself. Joben is also a strict neat freak.

Looks - Joben is considered incredibly handsome and he has crimson red hair with sharp facial features. He’s considerably tall and muscular.

Quirk - Possessor

Properties - Possessor allows Joben to temporarily possess someone’s body after he’s touched or been touched by someone. While possessing someone, he can use their quirks and has complete control over their body

Drawbacks - the possession only lasts a maximum of 5 minutes. The quirk also leave’s Joben’s real body out of commission and open for attacks

Static Shock (Kana Ryujin):

Personality - Kana is a total bimbo who completely forgets everything. Despite her absent mindedness…she’s very kind and outgoing.

Looks - Kana is pretty short with long pink hair tied in a ponytail. She has round dark eyes full of spirit and vigor.

Quirk - Lightning Rod

Properties - Lightning Rod allows Kana to shoot high voltage electricity out of her arms. Her quirk allows her to either shoot little shocks or full on thunder storms out of her arms.

Drawbacks - Kana’s not safe from the electricity itself…every time she activates her quirk, she shocks herself too.

Lion (Kazuhiko Yamaguchi):

Personality - Kazuhiko is incredibly intelligent and reserved. He often finds himself acing his tests…and he loves to fulfill his duty of class President.

Looks - Kazuhiko is incredibly tall and muscular. He blonde slicked back hair and glasses. Kazuhiko is well groomed and handsome and he also has a lion’s tail

Quirk - Cat Man

Properties - Kazuhiko can use the energy from food…to gain extreme muscle mass, grow claws, gain night vision, have enhanced senses, enhanced agility, and a mighty roar

Drawbacks - the quirk only lasts for as long as there’s food in his stomach…but the quirk absorbs the energy from the food…allowing for his powers to only be useful for mere moments. The enhanced senses can also be negated with bright lights in his eyes, foul smells, and extremely loud noises.

Octo (Kichi Calamari):

Personality - Kichi is awkward, adorable, and incredibly shy. Despite her shyness, she’s also scarily intelligent.

Looks - Kichi has a mutant type quirk. She has long orange-ish red-ish hair. She’s pretty short and has beady eyes.

Quirk - Octopus

Properties - Octopus is a mutant type quirk…meaning it’s always on her. Her quirk means she has eight slimy tentacles attached to her back, each with a hooked suction cup. Her quirk also explains why she’s incredibly intelligent. She can also secrete a slippery mucus from her skin. Her quirk also allows her to shoot ink from her mouth to blind foes.

Drawbacks - like an octopus…she needs to constantly stay hydrated…less she face drying out

Tremor (Kitaro Ryujin):

Personality - Kitaro is just like his sister in that he has no idea what’s going on ever…but he’s happy doing it.

Looks - Kitaro is described as being pretty handsome with an average height, muscular build, and spiky brown hair.

Quirk - Bulldoze

Properties - When Kitaro touches the ground…he can cause an immense seismic wave that causes a massive earthquake

Drawbacks - The quirk only works on solid ground…so sand, air, and water are unaffected by his quirk…grass also reduces the strength of the earthquake

Magnet (Leiko Fukumoto):

Personality - Leiko is pretty arrogant, but her arrogance is backed up with her high intelligence and great combat skills. Despite her arrogance, she’s pretty funny and somewhat laid back

Looks - She boasts long beautiful silver hair. She’s also pretty tall and muscular with solid steel colored eyes.

Quirk - Magnetic Pull

Properties - Her quirk allows her to telekinetically control metals. Her powers can let her lift semi trucks and even most buildings and launch them at you. She’s also known to quickly make protective shields out of surrounding metals.

Drawbacks - the strength of her magnetic pull solely revolves around the amount of iron in her body…when she has an iron deficiency…her quirk is rendered useless.

Forgemaster (Osamu Saito):

Personality - Osamu has a very protective and commanding personality. He often finds himself taking charge and protecting those he cares for. He also idolizes his pro hero cousin Momo Yaoyorozu and wishes to be just like her.

Looks - Osamu boasts light purple hair and soft facial features. He’s of an average height…but considerably fit.

Quirk - Weapon Hands

Properties - Osamu can turn his hand into any weapon as long as he knows exactly what the weapon is made of. His range can be from an entire cannon…to a simple knife.

Drawbacks - He must know the exact materials of the weapon…and the quirk draws upon energy from his body…so too much shifting to different weapons easily wears him out

Dopplëganger (Shina Saito):

Personality - Shina is incredibly nice and funny…but deep down, she’s insecure. She feels that she won’t live up to her cousin or her brother and she suffers from a severe identity crisis cause she feels she can’t even live up to herself.

Looks - Shina is viewed as being really pretty with long black hair. She’s kinda short and has a slim body type.

Quirk - Cloner

Properties - when she touches someone she can turn herself into them for around 6.5 minutes. Her quirk allows her to use their quirk as well.

Drawbacks - she’s only limited to 6.5 minutes per person and only one person at a time

Anti-Matter (Taishiro Tachi):

Personality - Taishiro is extremely confident but never arrogant. He’s also incredibly nice and out spoken about his ambitions and ideas

Looks - Taishiro is average height with a slim build. He has light blue hair and purple eyes filled with determination

Quirk - Light Constructs

Properties - his quirk allows him to create quite literally anything out of light…from a protective shield all the way to a functioning tank

Drawbacks - he must know exactly how his creation works or it’ll turn out faulty…his quirk also requires light so it cannot work in the dark

Gamma Ray (Yasuko Sugimoto):

Personality - she acts kinda like a big sister…she’s there for everyone when they need a shoulder to cry on. This comes from her feeling like other people’s problems are her fault…so she tries to fix them.

Looks - Yasuko has blonde hair in a side ponytail. She’s pretty tall and slim and has soft facial features.

Quirk - Gamma

Properties - when Yasuko claps her hands together…a giant destructive laser shoots from them with incredible force

Drawbacks - the laser is so bright it can temporarily blind her

[lavenderhyrdrangea]

Angel or Serpent

For the first time in his life, Zevran was ridiculously lucky. He had been spared a bloody fate and met a beguiling woman who offered him a hiatus from The Crows—She’d given him a second chance. Where was this sense of foreboding coming from then?

Ao3 link here or go continue to read below

Zevran had crows laying in wait for  a taste of his flesh, and a siren in hot pursuit of his beating heart. Of the two, the latter kept him up at night the most.  Her eyes playful yet her bearing strong-willed and hard-boiled, she was a force that never ceased. Every action she took was done so with purpose. For every question he asked she always had an answer. For every answer he gave she followed up with wave after wave of even more pressing questions. He tried to keep a steady footing around her but he failed each time.

Eventually he surrendered; he’d offered Ione the earring.

It was another evening  beneath the stars for their party, huddled around a flame for warmth, food and conversation. Sten and the witch tucked themselves in early. Shale didn’t sleep but sought out the solitude of a tent nonetheless. Wynne wanted to sleep,  however, her motherly nature had put her in charge of making sure Oghren didn’t finally impair his liver. Leliana and Alistair  were deep in a game of Wicked Grace and Ione watched for the bard’s tricky hand.

“Stealing from a babe should  surely give you some type of guilt,” she teased.

“Ah, now this is fascinating.  You feel sorry for the young fellow?  Toughen up. You’ll have to do a lot worse than pickpocket from a child’s coin purse if you intend to survive in house Arainai.”

Zevran always had to shove the distinct voice of Leonel, one of his mentors, back into a little box only for him to spring out, twisted grin upon his lips, like a child’s  crude toy. Made sense. He was a joking man until the end. He’d been extra loud since Kinloch Hold.

“A babe? Well, you’ve got to have a little more confidence in me than that. Only a moron would strike out in Wicked Grace.” Alistair said as  he gave his set of cards a thorough look over.

Leliana giggled. “See? No need to worry. Straight from the babe’s mouth himself. If it  makes you feel any better I don’t intend on keeping any coin I earn here. I’m petty not cruel.”

“Right, this babe—wait! Stop it you two. I’m a perfectly grown man.”

Ignoring her fussy fellow warden, she addressed Leliana once more. “ It would be better for you play our resident assassin. He offers more of a challenge.”

Their eyes were on him then.  He was  laid out on the  right side of his body,  head propped up on his  palm and  the aforementioned piece of jewelry hot in  the pouch on his left hip. His forefinger drummed along his thigh. While he had been waiting for her attention, this was not how he expected it to be given to him. The games could wait for another time.

“Ah, yes, but if I swoop in to serve as a distraction how will our dear babe ever learn how to play properly?

“You didn’t follow through. Should’ve known you wouldn’t. You are but a child yourself. A weak one at that.”

“Not. A. Babe.”

“I’m sure you are to someone,” Leliana commented much to Alistair’s discomfiture.

“He’ll manage. Why don’t you play a few rounds, Zev?” She stared at him as if she could will whatever  she thought he was hiding out from his head. “You look awful bored.”

“Not bored, no. Restless. Perhaps I can walk you back to your tent, my dear warden.”

“Walk me to my...“ She turned around to make sure her tent was in the same place she’d set it minutes ago. “ I don’t intend on getting Oghren levels of intoxicated this eve. Why would I need to be escorted to my tent? More importantly how would that help you with your restlessness? Is there something in my tent that you desire?”

Sudden failure to call upon his sliver tongue rendered him a hedging mess. “ You never know. You can waltz in, ready to lay your head upon your bed roll only to find a treacherous snake resting there instead. I only wish to see that your are protected.  Uh, that is only if you allow it.”

“Come come, where’s your nerve?  I hear you’re suppose to be good at this type of thing.”

Leliana’s lips spread into a slow grin. “What is this? The mighty Zevran fumbling for words? You perform miracles not even the Maker is capable of my friend.”

Ione took this as sign of trouble and though she’d misread the situation he overflowed with thanks and an undying need to cling to her. She lead them away with the excuse  of needing to give him a dagger that  Leliana didn’t want.  On the way in he noticed that the healer had taken a break from watching over a blabbering Oghren to throw them an admonishing glare. She would get over it eventually.

“Are you well?” Ione asked once she sat him down on a bedroll. “You’re free to speak about whatever here.”

“Are you in trouble? That’s entirely up to you. Come, I would like to play a game of Wicked grace but with a little more fun. Let’s ask the young barmaid to join us.”

The close quarters intensified the delightful aroma of  the rosewater she used to sweeten her skin. Under normal circumstances, the scent would’ve drawn him to his knees, had him singing her praises and making promise after promise. Here, it only made him hyper aware of the weight of his words. One error would’ve caused him to sink. Or was that his nerves?

“Instead of betting something boring like gold, you’ll be betting your welfare. Five rounds. You’re options are to bet a game of Pinfinger, where you’ll lay your hand along the table and stab between your fingers in a rhythm like so. Or take the less unpredictable choice. Choose which part your least afraid of scaring and have at it. Obviously the losing hand is the one that follows through. If they get cold feet the winning hand does it for them.”

He opened the pouch and spoke of sentimentality and the dues he owed her. There had been no eager reaching for the earring on her part. Rather, with a tilt of her head she asked what it meant.

“You mean to ask what use it will provide? I’m sure it’s worth a small fortune. You may sell it if you like. Or  if you find it looks  beautiful on you—and I’m certain it will, my darling— wear it.”

“ You pay your debt with your blade and your time. Why give me your treasure? And why so out of the blue?” She tapped her temple. “There’s more going on in here.”

“There is one exception. If you’re able to achieve an Angel Suit Flush then all bets are off. No one has to be harmed. It doesn’t matter how many rounds deep your in. The winning hand is simply victorious.”

“To you, perhaps. There’s a need to repay you. Not just for sparing me and giving me brief respite from the Crows but for the boots and the gloves as well.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in close enough for her lips to brush against his, for her to ensnare  him yet again. Those carnelian eyes could convince him of anything.

“You let her win that round didn’t you? For what? What has she done for you that you would risk pain?”

“Give me more than your pretenses, Zevran.”

More, more, more. She was just being greedy, impossible even. Every other thing they came across in their travels was taken, no question asked, yet  his gift was met with suspicion. Perhaps in the back of her mind, she still believed he was out for her blood.

He  attempted a genuine laugh despite the angry twinge in his chest. “ Everything is a puzzle to be solved with you.”

Try as he might, Ione heard the bitter undertone. She whipped her head to the side  as if she’d been slapped but recovered and refixed her attention upon him. This time she cupped his face.

“This is our last real breather before we battle the Archdemon. If there’s something you mean to say you must say it now. There’s no guarantee that we’ll make it out alive.”

“Demonstrative gestures at the very last second are pointless; they will mean nothing.”

“You don’t believe that!” Realization settled over her features for a split second. Too loud. "You wouldn’t be trying to give me that earring if you did.” she hissed.

“ Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re three and 0, boy. The game is about lies and deceit. What assassin do you know is incapable of lying?”

A sigh left his lips. She was a current pushing him further away from land.

“You say we are pressed for time, yes? Turn in for the night. Clear your mind. There are other things for you to focus on besides me, I am  certain...Do those.”

He moved to get up and then—

“—Zevran, I’m not long for this world.”

Her usually powerful voice nothing but caricature of itself, she told him everything that only been recently dumped upon her. Slaying the Archdemon required a warden sacrifice to prevent it’s essence from possessing another tainted creature. There was no way Ione would place Alistair on to the chopping block thus she stepped up instead. It was a small wonder this Duncan fellow hadn’t told her  all of this before she drank the Darkspawn blood.

Silence smothered all sound.  Every muscle in his body tensed.  This wasn’t true. It was just a card plucked from her sleeve to push him to confess to whatever inane thing she wanted.  It had to be. The special tenderness in her eyes told him otherwise. It chilled him to the bone.  

“I am sorry.” He rasped.

“For what?”

“Take your pick.”

Feeling as if the ground beneath him had begun to crumble, he escaped the tent before she could get a word in edgewise.  

In his own tent,  he laid, arms behind his head, and wondered whether her presence in his life was  some form of divine retribution. He lured in so many, played with their emotions and cut them down. Now, he was at the mercy of a woman who could make a gaping hole appear in his chest and not need to plunge her halberd in to do so.   It would be the perfect execution of poetic justice. But he had done what he did for the sake of a target. Duty. What was she doing it for? Cruelty? Even he wasn’t so cold.

“What good has your soft heart brought you? Nothing! You’re a mess. Cut deep. Bleeding everywhere.”

And yet that need to hold her came rising again.  The key to freedom from the inescapable pit within his mind was to have her in his arms and he in hers, it seemed. The ‘why’ was just something he  couldn’t place his finger on.

“You’re addicted to it aren’t you? Such a masochist.”

When he first met her, he expected  the tip of her halberd to pierce through his jaw. Instead, she spared his life and gave it purpose and even had done so for those around her and those they encountered.  This alarmed him. While he hadn’t wished it, he expected  her  to buckle under the pressure of  royal intrigue and Archdemon slaying heaped upon her shoulders. Rather than that, she persisted through tears and frustration and even had the nerve to burden herself with more. She didn’t need to seek out those Dalish gloves  for him but she did and that was frightening. She wasn’t purposely going out the way to harm—in fact she acted in the manner of someone who wished to avoid such a thing—yet that  made her all the more dangerous somehow.  Even now with death around the corner she chose  not to spend her night encapsulated by fear but by mingling with her companions and cajoling him to admit…  

“Having another being in charge of your fate is nauseating isn’t it? You could want one thing and they could want another. Life could push you in one direction and the other person in the opposite. You’ll never know until it’s too late. That hesitation you feel is your sense of self-preservation. Don’t mar yourself for such a simple woman. For someone who sees you as nothing more than some sorry assassin.”

Everything crashed over him like a wave.  The true fear wasn’t in that she wanted his heart. It was in that he would give it. He was a fool in love and in spite of her imminent demise he just wanted to be with her for as long a she’d have him.

“ Angel of Charity, Angel of Death, Angel of Fortitude, Angel of Temerity and Angel of Truth. You lucky dog.”

*                                                     *                                                              *

Like seeing someone’s heart broken into a thousand pieces? Don’t worry, I don’t judge. But you might be interested in my DC Comics story, Kandor, starring, Superman and an intruder in his Fortress of Solitude.

[wisdomrays]

WUDUU: A PRESCRIPTION FOR GOOD HEALTH

O believers, when you stand for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles. If you are unclean, bathe and purify your bodies fully. But if you are ill or in the middle of travelling or … you cannot find water, then take wholesome dust and wipe your faces and hands with that. For Allah does not wish to burden you, rather He desires to purify you and to complete His blessing and favour upon you so that, perhaps, you may he grateful. [5:6]

Here is a grand prescription from among the many marvels of the Qur’an. The day will come when even non-Muslims will imitate the Muslim wudu or washing before prayer, a privilege and favour Muslims have enjoyed for more than fourteen hundred years. And they have done so, more or less, unawares, as it is only through the discoveries of biologists in the last twenty years that we have come to understand fully the wonderful effects of wudu. The three principal benefits that human health derives from washing are related to the circulatory system, the immune system, and the electrostatic balance of the body.

a) The circulatory system

The circulatory system is twofold. First, the heart pumps blood out to the tissue cells in every part of the body. Second, it collects back the biologically used blood. If this reverse circulation in particular is disturbed, diastolic blood pressure increases and ageing, even the onset of death, may be precipitated.

The healthful condition and functioning of the blood vessels is essential to this twofold circulatory system. Blood vessels resemble flexible tubing, dividing into thinner branches as the distance from the heart increases. If the thinner tubes in particular become hardened and lose their elasticity, pressure and workload upon the heart are increased. This is known in medical jargon as arteriosclerosis.

Various aspects of our lives cause the blood vessels to harden and become constricted. This problem, considered to be the basis of ageing and bodily deterioration, is now a distinct field of medicine on its own. Improper nutrition and nervous reactions can have a serious effect on the condition of the blood vessels. If sclerotic development is observed in a blood vessel, what practical measure can be taken against it?

The hardening and narrowing of blood vessels does not happen all at once, but over a long period. The vessels furthest from the heart, such as those in the brain, feet and hands, are more vulnerable to the process which begins slowly in these locations and goes on continuously with the passage of time. However, there is an application in our daily routine which, in a sense exercises blood vessels by alternately contracting and dilating them. Its agent is water, which gives rise to temperature gradients. Water ensures flexibility and visor of vessels distant from the heart by dilating them when hot and contracting them when cold. It also forces nutrients, deposited in tissues as a result of sluggish circulation, back into the bloodstream by virtue of the temperature difference.

In view of these facts, is it possible to understand the verse commanding Muslims to wash the hands, feet and face in the wudu rite as anything short of a marvel, particularly in the light of the conclusion of the verse: He desires to.... complete His blessing and favour upon you. Circulation of the blood is a favour to us from the Creator. The command to do wudu completes that favour by maintaining the blood vessels and the circulatory system generally in a healthy state. This is the first of the many blessings of wudu. It is impossible to deny the fact that washing protects against senility which is the way the hardening of blood vessels reflects on the circulation in the brain of a person who has been doing wudu regularly since childhood.

b) The immune system (lymphatic circulation)

In addition to the circulation of red blood cells in the body, there is also the circulation of white blood cells or leucocytes. The vessels of this system are ten times thinner than those which conduct red blood cells. We sometimes see its colourless fluid oozing from the skin walls in some abrasions or wounds. It is this lymphatic circulation which keeps all points of the body within the protection of the immune system. Any bacterium, alien object, or cancer cell (the cause of which is not known), which may have invaded the body is destroyed by the warrior cells or leucocytes in the lymphatic circulation. The appearance of an infectious disease or cancer in the body is always contingent on the malfunctioning of the immune system.

Exactly how this system of vessels expands and contracts has not yet been fully clarified. It is known, however, that heat and cold influence the system. Catching an infectious disease such as a common cold is ascribed to the inability, due to contraction of these vessels, to dispatch leucocytes in sufficient numbers to the afflicted area. Now the proper functioning of this system and its thin vessels, like that of the circulatory system in general, is closely linked with the invigorating effect of washing. The structure of the immune system, which provides resistance against all diseases, is reinforced through the wudu, and the divine favour mentioned in the verse is realized.

Now someone might claim that, while the lymphatic system is indeed invigorated by washing, it is just a coincidental and unintended side effect. However, the precise form of the command to do wudu disposes of this incorrect claim. I would argue, on the contrary, that the way in which the wudu is commanded to be done specifically aims at the lymphatic system as well. The reasons are as follows:

1. For the lymphatic system to function properly, even a single point in the body must not he neglected, which is assured by the full ablution or ghusl.

2. The most important centre for stimulating the lymphatic system is the nasopharyngeal region behind the nose and tonsils, and washing these spots is especially enjoined.

3. Stimulation of both sides of the neck has great influence on the lymphatic system, and this is also present in the wudu.

The most formidable warrior cells of the body, the lymphocytes, are transported to the farthest reaches of the body and, after passing through intensive biological training, patrol each point in the body many times a day. If they meet a bacterium or a cancer cell, they destroy it. Is this not a divine blessing of the first quality? If a circulatory disorder occurs once in a while and you are able to avert or mitigate its effect by means of regular wudu, is it not proper to regard the command as the promised fulfilment of divine favour for which mankind are required to give thanks?

c) Static electricity

The body normally has a balance of static electricity, and the physiology of a healthy body is closely related to this electrostatic balance.

Atmospheric conditions, as well as plastic clothing and products common in our time can adversely affect this balance. Painful illnesses, irritability and facial wrinkles are the best-known results. Most of us have become aware of this electricity when climbing out of a car or after sitting in a plastic chair. Stormy weather has a comparable effect. Healing by acupuncture and, in certain respects, physiotherapy, can redress this imbalance of static electricity; but we can avoid the effect entirely, simply by doing the wudu several times a day.

There are many psychosomatic illnesses arising from electrostatic imbalance. I shall not dwell on these here. I shall address only the question of skin care, which has become such a fashionable subject now.

The worst influence of static electricity is exerted continually on the small subcutaneous muscles (under the skin), finally rendering them inoperative, which is why wrinkles set in, starting with the face, though the skin is affected over the whole body. At this point, many of my readers will have divined at least one of the reasons for the radiant appearance of those who have done wudu all their lives. Whoever maintains the habit of regular washing inevitably has the more healthy, and therefore the more beautiful, skin. How remarkable it is that in our time, when millions are spent on cosmetics, a tenfold increase in expenditure would still not properly substitute for simple washing.

Doubtless, the sceptic will ask, but does wudu really have anything to do with static electricity?

Of course it does. The part of the verse pertaining to tayyamum when water is not available for wudu, underlines the fact. For this substitute for wudu also disposes of static electricity to a significant extent. Indeed, the importance of it has hitherto gone unrecognized, and no-one has tried to explain why, tayyamum can take the place of wudu when the necessity arises.

As the verse clearly states, the sanitary aspect of wudu is a great blessing which we can now partially explain in medical terms. A person might well say: But I already wash my face and hands anyway. Let us recall, however, that as a widespread public habit, this practice has a very short history (barely seventy years or so) even amongst nations who have a tendency to claim to be the most civilized in the world. More important, cleanliness based on a sort of general good advice can never be sustained with the steadiness of discipline which, in Islam, it has by virtue of its association with worship.

To be sure, the worth and significance of wudu does not end with these medical observations the sense of well-being and dignity derived from wudu also contribute to the general health of the practising Muslim but here my aim has been to make widely known precisely those additional medical benefits.

[solitarylurker]

a critical reflection on the failings of star wars: the rise of skywalker

(Rey's failure on a mythological level)

the surprising twist of Rey's story after The Force Awakens was that she was on a legitimate heroine's journey, which is a journey mostly into the inner world; this was an aspect that Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi nailed perfectly, and it's the main reason that film still works despite its flaws on other analytical levels

the heroine's journey, a tragic rarity now in modern storytelling, requires Rey to confront her animus, to grapple with it, and eventually to incorporate it (or marry it in a more literal sense), all the while overcoming these challenges with wit and love

in TFA, we see her meet her animus--represented by the hulking, shadowy figure of Kylo Ren; in TLJ, she grapples with her animus--her conversations with Kylo Ren transform him from monster to man, and she is forced to wrestle with the humanity within him and the shadows within herself

The Rise of Skywalker should have completed Rey's heroine's journey, allowing her to incorporate her shadow into herself, to triumph over it by using its strength and quelling its weakness, and to marry herself to her animus, a reformed/redeemed Kylo Ren

in a properly formed heroine's journey, the heroine does not reject her animus in the end--she embraces him and accepts that he is part of her as she is part of him; her love, in essence, transforms him from a shadowy monster to a functioning part of both herself and society at large

the heroine's ultimate goal is to mend the bridges between the spiritual realm (the inner world) and the physical realm (the outer world); much like the hero's journey, the heroine must bring something of value back to her community, but the specific thing of value is different from the hero--she's not meant to slay a monster, but to integrate one, defeating it via her own set of skills

the wisdom she gains from the experience informs her as she transforms herself from maiden into matron, completing the first phase of a woman's life cycle

unfortunately, JJ Abrams didn't seem to get the memo on the core element that makes Rey's journey work, and he tries to stuff her into the hero's mold instead

the beats of the traditional hero's journey fall flat in a story like Star Wars, which has always held an element of the inner journey at its heart

even Luke's hero's journey does not end with him vanquishing his foe--Darth Vader; instead, it ends with him offering compassion to his foe, and through his compassion he reforms Vader enough for Vader to complete his own heroic arc and slay Palpatine

Abrams is so focused on making Rey into a super woman type of high priestess character, a woman so pure and moral that despite showing obvious signs of fragmentation and subliminal rage still manages to always make the "correct" decision 

Rey in TROS is a Queen of Swords, a harsh woman of sharp judgment and little compassion for anything that doesn't do exactly what she wants when she wants it; these aspects would be fine if we were still in the second film, for this would symbolize her obstacles she'd have to overcome to reach her full potential, but unfortunately TROS is the third film and these are presented as admirable qualities (or, if not admirable per se, then not detrimental)

Rey repeatedly has several run-ins with Kylo Ren, her animus, who continues to open the door to conversation and understanding with her, but unlike in TLJ when Rey allowed herself to soften toward him, she remains hard and implacable in TROS

she draws a hard, sharp line between her fictional image of "Ben Solo" and the shadow of Kylo Ren who stands before her

this comes out most prominently in the scene where she and Kylo Ren fight for the final time--she is snarling with rage and absolutely incapable of conversing with him, despite having cared for him in the previous film

she goes so far as to fatally stab him with his own saber and then has the nerve, after half-heartedly healing him (while she's crying more for Leia than for him), to tell him she wanted to take Ben's hand, the subtext being that she would never take Kylo Ren's hand

lucky for Rey, Kylo Ren magically transforms himself for her because he's so desperate for any human contact that even a woman who avidly loathes him so obviously is better than nothing

however, this is no win for Rey on any genuine level--this is merely her being a creator's pet and receiving narrative benefits she hasn't properly earned

Rey shows no legitimate remorse for how far she's fallen, or for her own lack of compassion for Kylo; she never once in the film attempts to understand Kylo or reach out to him or offer him an alternative, instead continuing to make demands of him without offering anything in return

when she speaks with Luke, she's more worried about her own purity as a jedi than she is the darkness that's caused her to harm someone she supposedly cares for or her own temptation (which is never shown) of joining him as his Empress

in the end, Rey gets her wish and Ben appears before her, rescues her, and dies sacrificing himself for her; while the scene is pretty, it's ultimately hollow because Rey did nothing to earn Ben's love and sacrifice--these are entirely testaments to Ben's character and his own heart than to Rey's, as she is merely the passive beneficiary of a love she neither pursued nor sacrificed for

the enormous gaping hole in Rey's journey falls in her own inability to properly face her own shadow and incorporate it, thus healing her interior wounds and enabling her to reach Kylo Ren; to do this properly, in TROS she should have learned how to accept her own call to the dark side, as well as Kylo's, and accepted them both as having these sides to themselves while offering Kylo a way to move forward without giving in entirely to the dark

her inability to accept her own inner animus and transform it into something of worth to the community is why her journey fails, despite the success of her shoehorned hero's journey--her journey had never been a traditional hero's journey, and killing is never the proper ending for a legitimate heroine's journey; love is always the correct end to a heroine's journey

worse than failing to accept the darkness within herself and Kylo, she fails to understand that the man she loves is the culmination of Kylo Ren and Ben Solo; she is not in love with Ben Solo

Rey does not even know Ben Solo; there is no guarantee Ben Solo would have loved Rey had he met her ten years before

the man who extends his hand to Rey, the man who pushes her, the man who offers her companionship and understanding, is Kylo Ren, the very same one who offered her a galaxy because he didn't understand she only wanted him

it was not Ben Solo's light that drew Rey to him, it was his darkness that compelled her; her desire for his light comes from her inability to accept her own inner darkness, which is merely her ego wanting to remain a "good girl" for her parents rather than properly face the totality of the woman she is becoming

Kylo's darkness calls Rey toward growth and autonomy, but it also represents the danger of temptation and wrath, fatal flaws Kylo himself has fallen prey to

if in TROS Rey had properly found herself, she would be able to help Kylo see he was more than just the darkness, and help him reincorporate his light as she had incorporated the darkness he'd helped her tap into; these could have turned into deep wells of strength for both characters, allowing their bond to become a force (pun intended ;D) capable of taking down whatever villain stood at the end of their journey

but because Rey refuses to accept that the man who has been the one by her side the entire journey is the "evil" Kylo Ren, she can't complete her journey into womanhood and instead retreats into childish fantasy; ultimately she can't have a happily ever after with whatever the Kylo Ren/Ben culmination turned out to be because she never grows up enough to accept such a man (this is further emphasized when she's sliding down the dunes like a child again at the end of her journey, a subtle sign that nothing of relevance has changed)

Rey never comes to the understanding that Kylo Ren is not split from Ben Solo, nor that her own darkness is not split from her light; she never reaches the understanding that Kylo and Ben are one and that her light and her darkness are one

this inability to incorporate the two aspects within herself leads to her failure to accomplish her narrative objectives while her inability to show any form of compassion to either Kylo Ren or Palpatine clinches the deal and renders her character ultimately a sad example of a creator's pet who never achieved her full potential

as far as i'm concerned, the reason this film fails goes beyond poor plotting, poor pacing, and poor characters--it can't even get the basic mythological steps of the final leg of the heroine's journey correct, thus rendering Rey completely ineffective in the only two missions her character had: find belonging with someone and come to terms with herself and her past

it's truly a shame Abrams couldn't stick the landing on this one, because Rey deserved to grow up, learn how to express true love and compassion, marry the man she loved, bring him back into the community as an asset rather than a liability, and bring forth the next generation with him at her side

[7/9]

[multimuseforme]

Since I mentioned it last night, here’s the list of quirks I made for most of my muses! Basically for their MHA verses if they ever become a thing! It’s a bit long so I’m putting it behind a cut!

Bolin - Quirk: Earth-Bender, a pretty self explanatory quirk. It allows him to control Earth and stone for both offense and defense. However it's weakness is obvious too, the things he controls can't be artificially made or at least mostly artificial, like Cement. He has evolved his Quirk recently, by focusing very hard he is able to make the Earth he controls heat itself through pressure enough that it turns into Lava, that he can still control. The process is very taxing and can cause lots of collateral damage.

Asura - Quirk: Wrath, Asura is someone who is very prone to anger and that anger is able to make him stronger and stronger. But his body alone can't take all of the stress of his building strength so to vent it, it forms arms made of "Wrath energy". These arms can break and when they do it causes his body to take backlash greater than the energy the arm was made of. He generally fights with 6 arms. He's been coming up with a special technique where he can merge the energy arms with his own to great effect.

Eddie Riggs - Quirk: Heavy Metal, Eddie is able to manipulate the world around him through the music he creates through his guitar, Clementine. Such as causing explosions, or blasts of lightning. Of course it comes with a downside, he needs to remember very specific chords to get specific effects. It's a good thing he wasn't born with a lack of musical talent.

Superman - Quirk: Man of Steel, Clark is one of if not the strongest Hero on the planet, at least in his heyday in the 30's and 40's. But even today, having aged very little comparatively, he is able to absorb Solar energy, the more he has stored the stronger he is. Extraneous acts deplete the energy faster than it can be replenished, especially his super moves. Another downside is that a specific chemical element, Krypton can render him powerless if he is exposed to too much of it.

Doomslayer - Quirk: Rip and Tear, one of the least commerically friendly quirks. The Doomslayer's quirk is simple. He gets stronger the more he brutally kills. It is a good thing he is a Hero(Or at least, not a Villain), the amount he gains per kill is quite small, an average non-quirk having human would become 25% stronger after a kill, but it's not a percentage gain it's a flat gain making the gain have diminishing returns. Thankfully he only targets the worst scum, demons in human bodies.

Dante - Quirk: Devil May cry, Dante's quirk is quite the stylish one. Maybe not flashy itself, but it lets him be so. Dante is able to increase either his strength, speed, durability or senses to ridiculous degrees. But only one of those four at a time, he can switch pretty quick though if needed. He can access all of his boosts at once by transforming into a Demon like being he refers to as his "Devil Trigger", in this state he's immensely powerful but the state only lasts five minutes and he needs to wait an hour before accessing it again.

Hercules - Quirk: Herculean, probably the simplest quirk here. It makes Hercules an immense physical powerhouse. The downsides are that compared to other powers it's very easy to drain his strength through outside means, and his own clumsiness and the fact that he's still learning to use his strength can cause quite a few--Problems.

Broly - Quirk: Full Power, Broly's heart acts as a generator of energy. This energy is unlike anything else and has immense destructive properties. It generates passively as he fights, making him stronger and stronger. But intense emotions cause it to generate even faster, to a dangerous degree(Both to him and the area around him). He is able to fire off blasts of this energy as well, but sometimes uncontrollably. He has three "break points" in his energy generation, if he reaches these break points his physical abilities and energy generation skyrocket and his body transforms. He's a danger to everyone and everything, most of all, himself.

Zamasu - Quirk: Divinity, Zamasu is able to manipulate his soul and it's energy, to such a degree he can make blades of soul power to carve those he views as lowly and deserving of eradication. But it's true ultimate power is the ability to split his soul into pieces, using these pieces he can possess others, taking control of them. Not direct control but the possessed will act as if he is also Zamasu. It also enhances certain types of quirks, the change is quite obvious. And when his soul is split, he is functionally immortal. You have to destroy every piece not connected to his body to properly kill him.

Goku Black - Quirk: Super, This was the quirk of the being whose body is now taken over by Zamasu. The user is able to transform, their hair spiking up and giving them physical abilities 50 times greater than before, alongside energy generation. With Zamasu's soul in Goku Black's body, this amplification is well over a hundred times, and changed the colour of what the users hair goes when they activate their quirk. From yellow to pink.

Kenshiro - Quirk: Fist of the North Star, this quirk allows Kenshiro to send shocks of internal energy through his opponent. Normally this would just make a small tap have the same pain as being shot, quite useful. But combined with Kenshiro's martial arts aptitude and knowledge of pressure points, it allows him to affect his opponent in various ways. From in fact healing them, to making their blood pressure rush so high that their upper body explodes. He rarely goes that far, but only because he rarely feels he needs to. Of course if the enemy's body is odd or mutated his ability to hit pressure points is limited, in fact foes with high enough physical strength can hold back even the most dire effects of his quirk.

Godzilla - He's canon

Jotaro Kujo - Quirk: Star Platinum, this quirk allows the user to call upon a manifestation of your fighting spirit. This spirit is Jotaro's main form of offense and defense, while it looks like a separate being, Star Platinum acts on Jotaro's will and wants. In terms of physical strength and speed, Star Platinum is one of the strongest of this subset of quirks called Stands. There's something hidden deep inside Star Platinum's power, but it may need another of similar power to awaken it. The biggest weakness is that Jotaro himself is not any more stronger than a normal human, and can feel a portion of the pain delivered onto his Stand.

Thor - Quirk: God of Thunder, among all the quirks that deal with Lightning and Thunder, Thor's is the strongest in the world. He once called a lightning bolt down that was so strong it caused a quarter mile crater in Norway, which is now a tourist destination. He has the strength of Thunder as well, so even if in an area where he cannot unleash his lightning he is still probably the biggest threat to any villain there. In his younger days he needed a conduit for his lightning and it's raw power. Odin commissioned a piece of gear that would not only be able to direct his lightning, but be able to withstand his physical blows. Even after he learned to control both his lightning and his strength, he still uses Mjolnir to great effect.

Jetstream Sam - Quirk: Jetstream, Sam's is a quirk that requires a secondary item. In his case a sword, his own a very special one that helps him deal with those with tougher skin than most. Sam is able to "charge" his blade with a mysterious red energy. When fully charged, he can use this energy to amplify the cutting power of a single slash a thousand fold. He once cut a tank in half with his quirk, it's that good.

Little Mac - Quirk: Punch-out, this quirk is a strong one with a big drawback. When at least one foot is on the ground, Mac's physical abilities and senses are enhanced to superhuman levels, especially the power of his punches. Which compliments his boxing fighting style very well. But of course the big weakness is if Mac's feet are both off the ground he is as strong as any boxer who trains like him would be. Which is far from enough in the hero world.

Luffy - Quirk: Stretch, this quirk is a mutation type, Luffy's body has the quality of rubber. Which doesn't sound very impressive but Luffy's training and instincts have allowed him to become very strong with his quirk very quickly. He's even evolved it, being able to harden parts of his body to deliver much more powerful blows. The hardening process is like vulcanization with how his body looks after. It does limit his stretching ability but he is able to hit harder and take harder hits. He even has several advanced forms. One is focused on speed and attack power. The other is focused on strength and single blows. The last is the strongest but he hasn't needed to pull it out yet. A big weakness is that he is not immune to piercing weapons like he is blunt force. Cold and heat can also mess him up more than the average person, but if he hardens he gets less vulnerable to heat, but more to cold.

Rob Lucci - Quirk: Spots, this quirk allows Lucci to transform into a massive Leopard-human hybrid, or just a Leopard. The hybrid state increases his strength and durability many times fold and aids in his use of Rokushiki(Martial arts that are like 7 mini-quirks), it also increases his speed, not as much as his other abilities but still noticeably especially with how big he becomes. It also gives him animal senses and instincts. But only a handful of people still alive know about his quirk, as his pre-transformation physical abilities coupled with being a master of Rokushiki are generally more than enough.

Alex Mercer - Quirk: Blacklight, This allows Alex to shift, manipulate and absorb biomass. He gets heavier the more he absorbs, but it makes him harder and harder to dent. But his offense is very nasty as well, as he is able to shift his arms into all sorts of weapons. But the more he gets hit the more biomass he loses. He prefers to get his from eating lots and lots of meat. But the best way, when he's not opposed to it(So against a villain or their minions), is to absorb a living person. By devouring them he not only gets biomass but their skills and abilities. But any quirk he gets only lasts a few days.

Leonardo - Quirk: TMNT, A quirk he shares with his brothers. It gives him the physical appearance and some abilities as a turtle. But given that he's not slow like one he is able to use enhanced strength and incredible defense in tandem with Ninja training from his Adopted father Hayato Yoshi to great effect as a hero in a half shell.

Thrall - Quirk: Shaman, this quirk is half mutation. Thrall's body is massive and muscular, but mostly green and like an Orc. But the true nature of his quirk well, has to do with nature. Thrall is able to communicate with the elements. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and sometimes even Spirit. Through communicating with them he can not only get a lay of the land, but he can also control these elements if they allow him to. This has many and varied uses. More than can be listed here. But the elements don't always listen and if Thrall's emotional state becomes that bad, he may lose connection with them temporarily. The Doomhammer is a great conduit but was not made to be so, it was passed down to him by a Villain who before his last breath wanted something he made to finally do some right.

Domon Kasshu - Quirk: King of Hearts, this quirk allows Domon to turn his hot-bloodedness into power. He is able to generate enough power to even fire a blast of energy. But if he's downtrodden his quirk is obviously much less effecctive.

Simon Jiha - Quirk: FIGHT THE POWER, this allows Simon to weaponize his willpower in various ways, with near infinite growth. This power has near infinite potential. Some have even theorized that if he's able to generate continually for long enough that he'll be able to alter reality itself.

Hellboy - Quirk: Red right hand, It is a mutation quirk making him much stronger and durable than the normal human or even the normal hero. This quirk has gotten Hellboy some discrimination for how he looks. But he still works his hero work and helps whoever needs it. His right hand especially is good at opening the way. It has given him some bad dreams...

Invincible - Quirk: Invincible, a pretty standard quirk. The combination of flight and super strength/durability lets Invincible be a standard but incredibly effective hero. While his senses are heightened, they aren't anywhere near super and in fact, sounds that are too loud can incapacitate him or at the very least mess up his balance if he's not prepared.

[artemisyaxley]

❝ I was a living star. I was combustion. I was a new sun born to shatter air and eat the earth. I am ruination.❞

 KARLA SOUZA? No, that’s actually ARTEMIS YAXLEY. Only TWENTY-SIX years old, this RAVENCLAW alumni works as an UNSPEAKABLE and is sided with THE DEATH EATERS. SHE/THEY identifies as AGENDER and is a PUREBLOOD who is known to be DISTANT, CRYPTIC, and AMORAL but also MACHIAVELLIAN, CURIOUS, and KNOWLEDGEABLE. 

CHARACTER PARALLELS: Sherlock Holmes ( Book & Elementary TV Series ),Natasha Romanoff ( Marvel Comics ), Rosa Diaz ( Brooklyn 99 ),  Alice Quinn & Julia Wicker ( The Magicians )

TRIGGERS: slight misgendering. if i missed some, please let me know!

The Yaxley’s are a  notable family within the Sacred 28 -- a legacy only strengthened by Corban Yaxley during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Akin to Death Eater royalty, the family has been paying their dues and been loyal to the Dark Lord, blood purism & the power within society it rendered for as long as time has stood. The standard was perfection, the game was simple: stay loyal, stay powerful. Artemis knew from a young age what was and wasn’t expected of her and she played the role of dutiful daughter perfectly. The matriarchs were given just as much responsibility as their patriarch counterpart, if anything, Artemis had less room for indiscretions than her brother -- because he was the one who asked questions. She had them, but she never asked them -- Apollo always did. Always pushing the envelope, always pushing boundaries until he was old enough to properly break them, Artemis continuously picked up the slack.  She compensated for his lack of respect because her brother Apollo was her sun, her best friend, the person she entered the world with, because he loved her and knew her better than anyone else. The game of chess came easy to her because she’d been playing one her whole life, every move several steps ahead, every loss calculated, backup plans to backup plans made. 

As a child she was always fascinated with things far away, things she couldn’t touch because although the environment she grew up in was not bad by any means -- it was stifling. The stars were her escape, they alerted her to a different world, the great what if, cultivating a deep love for astronomy and muggle philosophers -- anything she could get her hands on. Apollo always pushed her to keep going, to keep learning, her family encouraged her to live inside their world while he told her she could do more. Book upon book was stashed in secret locations around their manor. The Yaxley’s were livid when they caught Apollo encouraging Artemis’ fantasies ( what they called them ), even more livid that Artemis let them. In turn, they became better at hiding, better at sneaking, just better at deceiving their parents. As they grew older and Apollo became more vocal, Artemis knew that if the path he went on was going to continue to be against what their family stood for -- he’d be quietly disowned or worse. 

Entering school was an escape, another chess board and a place where Artemis was finally able to properly nurture and challenge her mind. Ravenclaw was the perfect house for her, talking in riddles herself when she could for the thrill of it ( how else would she separate those worthy of her time and not? ), lies rolled off her tongue easier than ever as the person who walked barefoot around the Astronomy Tower at night and wore heels to societal functions by day had to learn to reconcile who she was while at school. Faced with more people, new people, curiosity and the pursuit for intelligence, her mind expand and she loved it. Artemis tried to be even more for her family, while Wesley Rowle was already a close friend ( more than close, a mindmate ) of Artemis’ & someone she’s happy to spend her life with, their betrothal was an extremely advantageous affair for the both of their families. In her last year of school, Artemis hoped that Apollo would shape up and that her betrothal, her doing everything she possibly could to take the pressure off of him, would help him to be able to finally take his role as who he was in the Yaxley family -- he left. Of course, Artemis forgave her brother because she understood his motives and she loved him very very much but her family recoiled from the loss and put more pressure than ever on Artemis to succeed. Succeed she did. She was so good at the game it felt like she was meant for it. 

Naturally, her love for knowledge propelled her into becoming an UNSPEAKABLE and it’s probably one of the aspects of her life she enjoyed most. Still one to talk in riddles to see who keeps up with her, almost everything she does in that sense – confusing & frustrating – is a defense mechanism. Her observant nature means she notices everything, although she doesn’t always understand it ( especially Muggle culture ) she’s always interested. Though she often seems to be neutral in demeanor, she never is in mindset, be sure to know that Artemis is watching you, observing you, collecting data to use against you as well as she doesn’t understand people as much as her brother did. Definitely the more sociable and pleasant of the two, Apollo had a gift with people and was always just kinder, more open than she could ever be. His gift was his heart that hers, though it’s her most prized possession that she felt was a curse at times, was her mind.

She was given a choice when the war started again --  become a monster or let the person she loved most die. Was a monster still a monster if they had valid and noble reason for it? Are they still a monster if they don’t believe in the monstrous acts they’re about to commit? ( Always. A monster is a monster the minute they choose to shed their human skin and bear the monstrosities as their own. ) 

There was once a girl who believed in the stars never once thinking she’d be the one to shoot them dead. Unlike the way stars have to collapse into themselves – she always had a choice. Neutrality was just as bad as the Death Eaters in Artemis’ eyes, a person who usually lived in the grey was black and white about this one thing. If she was going to commit such sins, if she was going to sell her soul to the cause, she was going to be extraordinarily bad. She was going to become a monster to live with being a monster her girlhood wrung out like a death, the girl who looked at stars and wondered about them, starting pinning them down, to dissect, study, keep them for herself. Artemis is smarter than to believe she is a god, to believe she, Wes & her family are invincible because power shifts all the time -- what’s to say they won’t be next to be thrown under the guillotine?

 She is the member of the family who helps them plan, strategize, how to collect power and keep it. Many other Yaxley family members in higher up positions, littered throughout the Ministry, she played her part in writing them in the stars so their legacy could last millions of years before burning out. It wasn’t that she wanted power, not really not for herself, but Artemis needed to play a part to convince even herself that her life on a day to day basis had significance. For a person who could be described as machiavellian, Artemis’ finds this acquisition of power to be more of a requirement than a personal necessity, the lack of freedom would be remedied and easier to deal with, the deaths, the murder, the destruction, the endless chess game of life, would mean something if Apollo was still alive & well -- wouldn’t it? It would. The further down the rabbit hole Artemis went, the more she found herself enthralled with a game that is a merely a distraction, her humanity straying further away from her as finds ways to give into her life. 

There are days she finds herself, looking at the stars, thinking of another universe where she’d never have to make the choices she did, where she sees infinite possibilities, the outcomes of who she could’ve been. There was a time where Artemis found herself among the stars, where she saw herself as one, so distant from everyone around her but content, anciently bursting with life, even if dimly lit, collapsing into her own mind, only to become something anew as more knowledge fed her light. The girl she once was had disappeared, had been shut away, the light in herself something she was unable to find replaced by a gift to be terrible, her goodness caved into itself revealing something dark. The light had always been Apollo’s speciality, she only took it from him, she only consumed -- even from the person she loved most. The more she looked up at them now, the more she consumed of people, situations, things, the more it hit her. Was she ever like them, really? Artemis was always more black hole than wishing star. Had she really ever had a chance to be anything else?

RANDOM NOTE ( tw: slight misgendering ): As a writer I think there’s an interesting thing in how Artemis’ gender presents itself in relation to her familial background -- she’s seen as a woman by her family but she’s aware and the people closest to her are aware that she’s agender. She’s felt a connection to the power that being a patriarch & matriarch in the Yaxley family has, but she’s never identified herself with it. In fact, gender has never been something she’s connected to as a concept or a thing for herself. Artemis is very interested in gender theory and the like but due to her life, has not let herself delve into it further than to explain who she was to herself and to understand who she was for herself. 

[ultralivingsoil-blog]

Soil Moisture Sensors Made Simple

Whether or not you're building your dream residence, making an extension to your present dwelling or creating a industrial property, there's one thing that is of utmost importance, soil testing. There are a number of engineering consultancy corporations that provide a variety of soil testing providers for industrial, Wikipedia Here industrial and residential projects that include geotechnical testing, soil testing and evaluation. It's important that you simply hire a consultancy that has the necessary and expertise so that accurate geotechnical knowledge could be gathered for designing the proposed structure's foundation and footings.

How is the geotechnical information gathered? Effectively, that is performed by certified geotechnical engineers and soil experts by using mechanical and manual boring tools. Subsequent, a specified number of boreholes are drilled by these engineers at pre decided depths so that soil samples will be collected for further evaluation. The analytical process is as per the accepted business and worldwide standards. Based mostly on the evaluation, a site investigation report is prepared containing the precise geotechnical information together with the necessary recommendations.

The soil testing providers offered by a properly reputed engineering consultancy will assist in determining the overall quality of the land. Within the building business this includes area testing of soil and rocks. Normally, the exams embody plate bearing tests and in site density testing, crucial for getting correct geotechnical data. Soil and rock testing entails tests for ascertaining the efficacy of level load, frost heave, direct Our Blog Here shear power, magnesium sulphate, etc. Likewise, one has to determine the slake sturdiness index alongside and on the similar additionally ascertain the present density and water content material levels. Equally, additional assessments must be carried out for analyzing the density and particle size, soil suction and moisture content. Assessments using the BRE and TRI strategies are conducted to establish the mandatory data.

Soil testing services are essential for determining the suitability and the general soil quality of a constructing mission. Conducting the required assessments will throw up essential geotechnical information that may assist in figuring out whether or not the soil characteristics and high quality is appropriate causes of soil degradation for the structure or not. It is vitally necessary to have this information beforehand as it helps in taking informed decisions and also enable you to plan strategically. Further, the data produced by these tests will tell whether the soil suitability complies with the business and national standards.

Engineers, planners and consultants in the development trade are required to supply an expert report for any development activity in the bushfire susceptible areas. The primary aim of the bushfire report is to guard lives and properties from any bushfire threats. A comprehensive report helps in growing a sound strategy to restrict the damage to lives and properties.

Measuring and controlling soil moisture is important to rising and sustaining healthy plants. To a novice, many of the phrases regarding soil moisture will be complicated. Living Soil Trailer On this primer we try and define and relate the various technical phrases related to soil moisture, and to describe cutting-edge soil moisture sensors.

One of the best ways to think about soil is to use the analogy of a sponge. When you dip a dry sponge into water it will take in water slowly till it's completely saturated. Once you pull it out of the water, water will gush out shortly, because of the effect of gravity, and after a couple of minutes the water will drip out of it at an increasingly slower fee until it stops dripping. The point at which the sponge is filled with water, yet gravity can not pull water out of it's analogous to the measurement we name discipline capability. When the soil has been saturated, and any excess water has been removed by gravity, the soil is at subject capacity. That is also referred to water holding capability (WHC).

Now suppose you are taking a vacuum cleaner and place its hose on the sponge. If powerful enough, the suction of the vacuum cleaner will pull water out of the sponge, until most of the water is eliminated. Observe that no matter how robust the vacuum is, a bit little bit of water will remain within the sponge, and it'll appear moist. To drive out all the water from the sponge, you would need to warmth it. We compare this to soil where the vacuum represents the roots of a plant. The roots suck water out of the soil with a stress decided by capillary motion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd467Li6HUw&t=22s The plant will have the ability to suck extra water out of the soil until the capillary strain can now not overcome the soil's stress to retain the water. This level at which a plant's root can not extract water is named the "keen point", which as you can imagine is a critical parameter.

One more essential term is the "plant out there water". This is the out there amount of water in soil that may truly be used by the plant. Just because soil may have water in it does not imply that the plant has sufficient "suck" to pull it out. So the definition of plant accessible water is the holding capacity minus the wilting point. Good soils have giant plant available water, which means they have excessive holding capability, and low wilting factors, so that water is offered, and straightforward for the plant to extract.

As soil varies in composition, so do these parameters. Soil types are outlined by their particle measurement. Sand is coarse - in fact, and clay is made up of very fine particles, whereas silt is a medium particle size. As a result of clay soil has very effective particles it tends to hold moisture properly, but it surely also holds on to it so the wiling level of clay is sort of excessive, making it tough for crops to extract the moisture. Sandy soil could be very porous and so water flows out easily, and a consequence it has low holding capability. The right soil has high holding capability, and a low wilting point. To realize this good soil, soils of different particle dimension are combined along with organic matter equivalent to humus.

Now that we have now mentioned how soil holds water, we will focus on easy methods to measure soil moisture. Because the objective of measuring soil moisture is to know if plants are getting sufficient water, we'd wish to measure the water that is accessible to their roots. Ideally we'd measure the water with an "synthetic" root. One very correct method of doing this is with a tensiometer, which measures the water as a operate of stress. Since it measures pressure or tension its items are additionally by way of pressure. The tensiometer does not tell you what the absolute moisture content of the soil is, but hearkening back to our soil moisture analogy, tells you the way a lot strain it takes to suck water out of the soil.

Many technical articles describe results from tensiometers and give items in pressure corresponding to bars, etc. Now when you occur to know what kind of soil the tensiometer is measuring, then you'll be able to compute absolutely the soil moisture or not less than get an estimate of it. A clay soil might have high moisture content, and on the identical time have a high pressure, rendering the moisture ineffective to the plant. While tensiometers are correct, and provide helpful information they're delicate and costly scientific devices that require specialised knowledge to operate and interpret. They're also slow within the sense that they've to come into equilibrium with the surrounding soil earlier than a measurement can be made, so they are not excellent to be used in making fast measurements.

Another comparable strategy to the tensiometer is the gypsum block. This is primarily 2 stainless steel electrodes which might be encased in plaster. As moisture absorbs into the gypsum resistivity decreases. The gypsum serves as a salt barrier. Many low-cost soil moisture sensors include two chrome steel rods that insert into the soil. This strategy is highly inaccurate resulting from salts within the soil which might wildly change the resistance of the soil, and thus give inaccurate readings of moisture content material.

The gypsum block sensor partially overcomes salinity issues with the gypsum barrier. The principle disadvantages with gypsum blocks is that they're sometimes slow and bulky. After a block is positioned within the soil, there is a lag before the gypsum involves the same moisture stage as the encircling soil. As a result of they're large and obtrusive they cannot be utilized in potted plants. The output of a gypsum block is an electrical resistance, this is in turn associated to moisture within the units of strain with using search for tables.

Modern soil moisture sensors use electronics to measure the dielectric fixed of the encompassing material which happens to be associated to moisture content. These sensors are also called capacitive soil moisture sensors, or TDR soil moisture sensors. These sensors are small and unobtrusive so they can be used with potted vegetation, provide immediate readings, are simple to make use of, are very inexpensive, and plenty of are low power. Due to their low value and low power necessities, these types of sensors are being massively deployed in irrigation methods in wireless mesh networks equivalent to Zig bee networks.

These sorts of electronic probes measure the soil moisture in absolute phrases, namely the amount of water to the quantity of soil, additionally know as VWC. One other associated soil moisture measurement unit is GWC or gravimetric water content material, which is defined as the mass of water, to the mass of soil. VWC and GWC are related by the majority density of the soil, so if you already know the density of the soil you may convert from one to the opposite. VWC is more generally used. VWC can be related to pressure, to transform from one to the other the type of soil have to be known. As was mentioned, a clay soil may have a excessive VWC, however a plant could have a hard time extracting water from it.

Accurate measurement and interpretation of soil moisture data, can allow people or computerized techniques make decisions about water utilization, saving precious water assets, and promoting healthy vegetation.

[wisdomrays]

Not Giving in to Heedlessness and Familiarity in Our Supplications

QUESTION: What are your recommendations for breaking the dullness wrought by familiarity in our supplications to God?

ANSWER: It is very important for a person to raise their hands in supplication with a consciousness of being in the Divine presence, to pronounce the words consciously, and to refrain from an attitude of engaging in worthless amusements.

The Messenger of God warned about the fact that supplications made in a heedless fashion are not acceptable in the sight of God Almighty by stating, “God does not respond to the supplication of a heart that is heedless and occupied by play.” In this respect, in order not to let dullness brought by familiarity take away supplication’s freshness and sweetness, and to not let the words coming out our mouth become worn-out utterances, it is necessary to know well the place and significance of prayer in religion.

Supplication: The marrow of worship

The Pride of Humanity, peace and blessings be upon him, states: “Supplication is the marrow of worship.” Just as the marrow in a backbone is of crucial vitality for the body, its possible dysfunctions can cause a person to become paralyzed and bedridden—and sometimes even to die. In the same way, supplication is like a backbone that makes the relation of servanthood between God and a person stand. It is only through supplication that a person reveals whether he or she is a real servant to God.

Supplication is what we call asking for God beyond the veil of causes. And this is very important in terms of attaining the consciousness of Divine unity in the real sense. Because when one raises their hands in supplication to God, there isn’t any cause between that person and God. Causes are nothing but a veil before the glory and greatness of God Almighty. However, a supplicating person directly knocks on the door of the One of Absolute Glory and Irresistible Might, asks from Him only, and thus begins to soar on the horizons of pure Divine unity.

A believer who supplicates to God fully conscious of being in His presence must take to be sure every word coming out of his mouth has a visa from the heart; he must make each word into a voice from the heart. In other words, he should not let a conflict happen between his heart and his tongue. Whatever the tongue is saying, the heart must contemplate the same meaning. For example, when one is saying, “My God please make me attain your good pleasure,” the rhythm of the heart must be in pace with these words and the heart must begin to beat accordingly. If there is some contradiction between the two, if the heart says something else while the tongue is saying something, then the matter of which one is to be answered remains uncertain. In this respect, a person must avoid acting with dualism and not let the tongue and heart contradict each other.

A person must act conscientiously not only during supplication but also during other acts of worship, too. For example, a person standing in prayer must enter inside that deed with his intention—the true will of the heart—and render that worship a deed of the heart as much as possible. The deeds offered by a person bear a meaning in the sight of God in accordance with how much the conviction and certainty in the person’s heart is expressed.

Faith and supplication

Actually, such depth of consciousness depends on having sound belief in God in the first place, as is the case with every other matter. The depth and quality of a person’s supplication is directly proportional to that person’s faith. As for one who has a problem with believing and who lacks certainty, such a person can never maintain the integrity of their heart and tongue. In this respect, we can say that if a person cannot say the words from the bottom of his heart and cannot experience the excitement of supplication in a heartfelt way, then there is a problem of faith, certainty, and knowledge of God. Moreover, if a person does not care about whirlpools of unbelief, does not feel any disturbance in the face of people’s deviation and rebellion, and does not wish for them to embrace faith to the degree of wishing to raise a home or having a child at least—if that person is not raising his hands in supplication to say, “My God, please open the hearts of all people on earth toward Islam! Here I beg at your door O Lord! Take my soul if necessary, but put faith in people’s hearts please!”—we can say that this person is experiencing a problem of faith. Such a person needs a serious rehabilitation about the essentials of faith.

Actually, all of us need a serious rehabilitation about the essentials of faith. Because, no matter whether we realize it or not, deviation and unbelief that stem from the science and philosophy of our time is seriously corrupting our minds. Each sin that we commit and every doubt that enters our mind is inflicting wounds in our heart and spirit. As sound faith based on verification has completely disappeared, the ties of imitation have also been undone.  In the past, people would see a guide before them, or an opinion leader, follow his lead, and get inside the safe haven of faith by imitation at least; they would find protection. Unfortunately, most people in our time are lacking even such an opportunity.

Actually, if a person listens to oneself, looks at the face of what is taking place around them and then interprets these events correctly, then he or she will feel or sense Him in everything and say, like the poet Cenab Şehabeddin, “You exist O God! You exist, and You exist again! I find You in my mind, imagination, and feelings... You exist!” A person who beholds His Beauty reflected in everything will sometimes run to a tree and kiss it, embrace the grass, touch his face to the earth like an insane person, and sometimes turn to the sun, which is like a condensed manifestation of the Divine Name, An-Nur. And such a person will have full consciousness of God’s omnipresence. They will behave as if seeing Him and act with an awareness of being seen by Him. Only a person who has attained such horizons of certainty in faith will overcome monotony and familiarity while raising hands in supplication, transcend causality, and implore God Almighty with a consciousness of being seen by Him.

The voice of inner excitement and resonance

It is very important to feel being in His presence, and being in submission to and in awe of Him, so that it is as if the supplicant were able to see God or at least know that He sees us. A person must turn to God with a profound concentration and become enraptured while praying and abandon himself.

I would like to draw your attention to a fact that can be counted as an excuse for you once more. Unfortunately we did not see people who offered the prayers properly, who supplicated sincerely, and who turn to God wholeheartedly; neither in Sufi lodges, nor in madrasas, nor in mosques.  We did not have guides to be our pioneers, to broaden our horizons in this respect, and to show us the bright face of the truth by pushing the door open. Each of us remained where we were—as ignorant ones. To express our miserable situation, some scholars, such as Qutb, would question whether we are truly Muslim. But in spite of everything, do not see attaining real faith as too hard a task and as something unattainable.  You first have to turn to Him with suffering. Then you must “see what God Almighty does; whatever He does is goodness.” See how He opens such surprise doors for you.

Then come, and let us rise in the night so that the stiffness inside us will be eliminated, so that servanthood will bring us relief, and so that we can deepen in faith. Let us offer four units of prayer of need, and then say: “My God, I am asking from You to make me reach full consciousness of Your omnipresence. Neither being bestowed the ability to work wonders, saintly graces, neither this, nor that... I do not want anything else. My only wish is to deepen in my relations with You. I am asking for nothing else but becoming oblivious to anything else when I think of You and live as a person imbued with knowledge of You!” While saying that, let us take care that each word that comes out of our mouth bears the stamp of consciousness. Let us ask for this insistently from God at night. One night, two nights, three nights... let us rise and implore God like crazy.

I do not want to ask this with an attitude that implies I am criticizing you. I do not mean to ask, “Is there anyone among you who rose every night for a week for the sake of asking for knowledge of God, love of God, and zeal and enthusiasm on His path, then offered prayers of need?” I hold the opinion that the number of people to reply affirmatively to such a question would not be high. And this shows the importance we give to this issue. But it should not be forgotten that, “If a wisher is serious about that wish and shows the required endeavor, his or her wish will be fulfilled.”

Sometimes, I look at the state of the people in the Masjid al-Haram, Arafat, Muzdalifa, and Mina, and seek this consciousness in them from afar. I look to see whether there are some people who pray to God like crazy and overflow with excitement. If a thousand people there sincerely open their hands in supplication, and lofty considerations rise to God Almighty from a thousand mouths, it is not possible for such a prayer to be turned down. I can even say that my belief on this issue is thus: If some three million people that gather there raised their hands in supplication and said, “O God, please change this world,” the earth beneath their feet would suddenly shift and it would become a different world.

Alas! The Islamic world has never been as miserable and wretched as it is today; it has never been this disintegrated. But it seems that people cannot thoroughly feel how tragic these disasters and this state of misery are. If they did feel it, then they would strive to be saved from it, at least to the extent of supplicating sincerely. As people do not feel this suffering, they do not feel any disturbance by the waves of unbelief around them, either. Therefore, they do not feel a need to resort to a collective prayer.

Even if it is not possible to attain such a heartfelt suffering in an instant, a person must force himself and make a serious effort in this respect. As for praying in a manner that implies we do not care much about whether our wish will be granted or not, it is an expression of insolence and rudeness before God. However, one must virtually be like a beggar while praying, and say with one’s action, “Please grant O God! Take my soul if necessary but please accept my wishes.” A believer must always turn his gaze to high peaks and voice these wishes in a heartfelt fashion, so that God Almighty will respond with His graces. Because the degree of Divine response depends on the degree of the person’s turning to God; we will be blessed with the look of God in the same degree as we turn our looks to His door.

[pessimisticshape]

🌌Energon Index🌋

Energon is the fuel, ammunition, and life blood of the cybertronian species. While native to Cybertron it can be cultivated on other planetoids and is found naturally occurring throughtout the universe.

Much energy goes into locating, harvesting, refining, and distributing energon. Once harvested it is then processed into many different forms:

•The energon cube is the safest form of energon, used for transportation and storage.

• High grade- most potent; high energy content, easy to get overcharged on; very volatile; higher octane, which provides a more efficient burn in the combustion chamber; better fuel economy; better quality and integrity of the fuel systems 

• Mid-high grade

• High-mid grade

• Mid-grade- average potency and energy content; takes a moderate amount to get overcharged on. Decent fuel economy; causes little wear on systems with proper maintainence.

• Low-mid grade

• Mid-low grade

• Low grade- least potent, little to no energy content; chances of getting overcharged are slim to none; rich in minerals; basically inert but flammable; can cause build and wear on systems overtime.

• Medical grade- medical grade energon does not contain the CNA of the bot it powers. This helps lessen the chance of a patient’s frame rejecting a transfusion.

• Regular energon- a mix of low grade and another energy source to increase octane without increasing volatility.

• Ionized energon- the energon that is used to power intergrated plasma weapons.

• Innermost energon is a Transformer’s “core reserve” of power, the energon around their spark casing that remains there no matter what changes are done to the rest of the body. It is extremely potent.

• Joint Energon is a variety of energon  that allows Transformer bodies to develop combiner joints. It flows within these joints and can also be produced as energon cubes known as joint cubes. Allows mechs to combine without risk a component mech rejecting their partners energon.

• Synthetic Energon, also known as Synth En, is a manufactured version of energon which tends to resemble a greenish liquid form of that fuel. Unrefined samples can provide greater energy efficiency, but it can also be addictive and corrupt the user’s personality. Synthetic Energon supercharges any Cybertronian who uses it, making them stronger, faster, more powerful… but improperly refined versions add the side-effect of hyper-aggressiveness. Also, some versions have the ill-effect of causing those who use it to burn through their natural Energon reserves too quickly.

• The normal effects of a properly refined Synthetic Energon formula have not yet been seen, though they are presumably the same, minus the added aggression.

• Tox-En is a highly poisonous Energon variant, easily identified by its sickly green color and visible fumes. It has the opposite effect as regular Energon on Transformers, causing them to feel nauseous and weakened by the slightest physical contact. Prolonged exposure to Tox-En can outright paralyze a Transformer,eventually extinguishing their  spark.

• Rarified Energon is the base material of all Transformer life; the Transformers' physical forms and the stuff of which sparks are made is Rarified Energon. Rarified Energon is also apparently of limited supply throughout the multiverse. So, if it all were to be used up, Transformer life could no longer come into being, rendering the species extinct or doomed to be so.

• Red Energon is an extremely volatile and rare type of energon. When it is refined into fuel, it increases the user’s speed and strength.

• True energon is an emanation of Primus, the creator-god of the Transformers, and is, in its most rarefied state, the basic building block of Transformers' bodies and  sparks. A highly coveted substance, it is sometimes capable of inducing remarkable transformations in Cybertronians, reshaping and otherwise altering their bodies while imbuing great strength and other powers, either temporary or permanent depending on the duration or strength of exposure. 

Different alt modes require different types and amounts of energon:

• Fliers and seekers need high grade

• Assault Gliders, a type of flier, require a blend of high-mid grade

• Small to mid sized grounders need mid grade

• Mini to micro sized don’t need as much energy to function

• Large grounders and convoys require a special blend of low grade called regular energon though they can run on mid grade

• War frames or mechs with intergrated weaponry need ionized energon for their energy weapon along with their frames required energon.

• Active and field medics are fitted to run on medical grade for quick, on the go infusions.

Technology centred around Energon and it’s uses. (From tfwiki.net)

• Rectifier coils shield the interior of spaceships from energon radiation.

• Geosynchronous Energon Bridge is a means of beaming energon to orbital installations such as the moonbases, Trypticon Station, and the space bridgenetwork that made Cybertronian colonization of other worlds possible. Its structure resembles a large lens, though in the center is an aperture that allows it to interact with the Plasma Energy Chamber.

• An Energon Harvester was used by the Ancients to harvest energon. As energon flows in the bodies of all Transformers, the Harvester can be a deadly weapon in Decepticon hands.

• An energon infuser is a gun-like medical device that can force fresh Energon into a damaged Transformer’s system, revitalizing it

• An energon dome is a defensive shield used to protect villages.

• Energon Drillers are vehicles piloted by Vehicons used to mine Energon crystals.

• An energon tower is an immense construct, even by  Transformers  standards, that is used to mine, refine, and store energon. Some are also equipped with shield generators, allowing them to create a dome of energy that can deflect energy and objects, though they do have limits.

• The Energon Transfer Device was a piece of Decepticon technology that was created to draw upon the materials the Insecticonsdevoured and convert them into energon cubes.

• The Energon prod can be used to electrocute enemies. It seems to have multiple strength settings that can knock out, paralyse, and just plain induce agony in both humans and Cybertronians.

Natural phenomena involving Energon. (From the TFWiki.net)

• Energon storms are similar to lightning storms but several times more powerful and destructive than any lightning storm that can lance energon from the sky as lightning. When too much energon radiation in the atmosphere it can trigger an energon storm or if a significant mass of energon crystals exploded, the massive release of energy and Energon Radiation interacts with the local atmosphere and induce an energon storm.

• Energon radiation is a form of radiation given off by energon. Significantly more energon radiation is given off when energon is expended.

• Stable energon gives off a different type of radiation than unstable energon, though high concentrations of it are equally debilitating to Transformer life-systems. Close physical contact with Transformers will render anything around them noticeably radioactive. Fortunately energon radiation appears to have no effect on humans or other organic life.

• Energon crystals are a powerful raw form of energon with the drawback that they are also extremely unstable. They emit radiation which can cause stasis lock in Transformers and is even potentially fatal to them. Energon crystals are highly explosive, more so even than energon cubes; they can be detonated by blunt impacts, fractures and even sudden temperature increases.

• Energon Gas is a gaseous substance that is composed of pure Energon. It is the gaseous form of Liquid Energon. The Energon gas can cause damage to Transformers, like the way natural gas on Earth damages humans. The damage caused by energon gas seems to affect the Transformer’s entire body.

• Plasma energy is one of the most powerful and dangerous sources of energy in the galaxy. It has the tendency to seek out and overload any mechanism that converts matter into energy, making it lethal to Transformers.

[holdharmonysacred]

I guess while I’m in a Dank Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Discorse mood, here’s my dank ideas on how to rewrite and fix FFTA’s story to make it less Unfortunate:

Make it explicit text that the kids are not being Isekai’d to another world, but forcing that other world on top of theirs, and that that causes harm to one or both worlds. There’s a lot of subtext, especially early on, that rather than journeying to another world, the gang has warped their world into a fantasy world, turning the townspeople into monsters and the local bullies into zombies among other things. In order to fix the game’s plot, this has to be made explicit text rather than just subtext. Have Marche recognize the zombies as the local bullies. Have various folks in the fantasy world mention vague memories of their old lives, or hell, have them full-on remember their old lives completely and make it clear they are not happy about their current situations as weird fantasy monsters. Marche’s case for restoring the old world gets a lot stronger if it’s made clear that the kids getting their wishes granted has come at the cost of the town getting turned into their playthings.

Make it explicit text that Marche has nothing to gain from the whole fantasy world arrangement, and is in fact worse off than he was before. This is another thing that’s trapped in subtext that also ties in with the first point. Mewt and Ritz get to be in positions of authority, with Mewt even being the prince of the kingdom, while Doned gets the ability to walk and use his legs. Marche... basically loses his home and wakes up in a ditch with no clue where he is or what the fuck happened, and would’ve either gotten beat up or sent to a jail cell near immediately had it not been for Montblanc’s intervention, nevermind that it’s only thanks to Montblanc that he even got a home and a job in Ivalice. You could argue that Marche “gets to be the hero of his own story”, but that doesn’t seem all that worth it given how he’s constantly at risk of being thrown in jail and his so-called “friends” hate his guts for understandably wanting to go home. Make the shittiness of Marche’s own situation a lot more apparent, and Marche’s motivation for trying to bring the old world back will at least be understandable.

Tweak or rewrite the kids’ problems into things that, with time and effort, they can solve or recover from. As-is, the kids’ problems hold a ton of weight and Marche seems like an ass for trying to make them go back to that, and the message of actually facing your problems instead of running away falls flat. Doned especially, seeing as how the poor kid is disabled and sending him home means rendering him disabled again. Mewt and Ritz need to have their issues presented in a way where it’s shown that there’s hope that their real-world situations can get better, while Doned needs to have his plotline rewritten from the ground up. If you don’t want to stray too far from what’s in the actual game, perhaps Doned could be rewritten so that, rather than having been disabled and ill his whole life, he was critically injured recently and lost the use of his legs, but with time, effort, and physical therapy, he could eventually walk again. This would change things enough that Doned doesn’t get screwed over if he goes home again, while at the same time reframing Doned’s desire to stay in the fantasy world as him trying to take the easy way out and thus, gives the “running away from your problems” element some actual weight.

Make it very explicit text that the fantasy world is turning the kids into worse people, and that in the process of getting their wishes granted they’re losing themselves to the fantasy world. This is something that they could take out of The Neverending Story’s book (no pun intended), and once again ties into the first point. Even in the actual game, the kids are brats when they’re in the fantasy world. They don’t care that they basically left Marche in a ditch to fend for himself, they don’t care about the harm they’re causing to the people of the fantasy world, they don’t care that they might have turned the townsfolk into monsters in the process of getting their cool toys, Doned doesn’t give a shit that he’s nearly killed Marche multiple times... these guys are just jerks, and them getting their every wish granted has only turned them into worse and worse people. This element getting amped up to anvil-over-the-head levels would make the game’s point clearer, and would make it clearer that Marche is less Party-Pooper Asshole and more of a voice of reason who can see how his friends are losing themselves and being consumed by Ivalice and is trying to hold an intervention for them. You could also add an explicit cost to the kids’ wishes the way Bastian in the Neverending Story’s wishes come at the cost of even his dearest memories, which would, again, add weight to Marche’s goal of “let’s get everyone the fuck out of here:.

Take Continuity Marching On into account, and establish that Ivalice is its own world that was forcibly merged with the kids’ world, and that far from Marche destroying Ivalice, he’d be restoring both worlds into a healthier state. Probably one of the biggest complaints about the game is the idea that Marche bringing back the real world means destroying Ivalice, even though later games such as Final Fantasy Tactics A2 and Final fantasy XII have long confirmed that Ivalice is a real world of its own that existed long before the events of FFTA and will continue to exist after the events of FFTA. This part would require a remake to add, but retroactively adding later continuity to the story would do wonders for at least making it clear that no, Marche is not destroying worlds. Implementing this could be yet another thing that ties back into point 1, with the fantasy world of Ivalice being just as hurt by being dropped on top of the real world as the real world is by being warped into Ivalice, and that it’s healthier for both worlds to be separated again and for visitors from one to the other to travel like normal isekai protagonists.

Overall, the game’s plot as-is is fine as a base, it’s just that the bulk of what would justify the premise of Marche dispelling the fantasy world and dragging his friends back to reality is buried deep in subtext rather than established in actual text. It’s not that hard to make a plot like this game’s that’s actually good - there’s a reason I keep citing The Neverending Story in comparison here - it’s all just a matter of properly establishing why staying in the fantasy world permanently is a bad, harmful thing. FFTA is the kind of game that would benefit greatly from the rewrites that would come with a remake of the game, and I hope if the game ever does get remade it tackles some of these issues with the game’s plot.

[completeshredding]

5 Easy Ways to Safely Get Rid Of Your Confidential Documents

You cannot simply leave your confidential documents unattended and accumulating on shelves. Once they have been reviewed for accuracy and served the purpose as well as the specified tenure, get rid of them properly. Not only do the piles take up space, but they also remain vulnerable to identity theft or fraud. So, here are five easy ways you can safely and properly dispose of documents containing personal information:

Cut the Documents

The easiest way to get rid of your documents is to cut them with scissors. It is suitable for a smaller load and also when you have some extra time on hand. However, make sure you slice up all papers in multiple pieces haphazardly so no one can tape the pieces together.

Burn Away

Burning is another easy and effective method to get rid of waste documents. But always try it in a wood stove or a fire pit. This may seem quick and convenient but is definitely not environmentally friendly. Besides, burning isn’t possible with bigger loads, as it requires proper permission to ensure you are not causing any harm.

Pulp Them

Destroying your confidential paperwork by pulping them is an excellent way to keep your details from landing in the wrong hands. Simply soak the pile in bleach water, and it renders the text illegible. When the process completes, drain the remaining water somewhere in the yard and trash the pulp.

Add To the Compost

This is an environment-friendly approach to getting rid of your waste papers without much effort. Simply add the piles to the compost along with food and coffee filters. The bundle will break down just fine and get you the best results. However, make sure your heaps are suitable for compositing. Chemical-laden paper like glossy and inky paper cannot make it to the compost. So remain careful of what you can and what you cannot put into the compost.

Shred Your Documents

Many sensitive documents contain nothing but legal jargon that is of no use to anyone. Here cutting, tearing, or burning away the parts containing your information may be feasible.

However, documents containing your date of birth details, junk mail, financial information, driver’s license number, legal information, medical records, social security number, and your signature must be shredded beyond recognition.

While DIY shredding does solve the purpose, professional shredders are much more powerful. These shred the pile into a useless load that no one can decode.

When you are ready, look up “shred services near me” on Google and find a certified, dependable, and professional service provider to help you with your home/ business shredding needs.

Final Thoughts

While at-home paper disposal is convenient and affordable, it can still make it easier for criminals to access your personal information. There are better alternatives to get the job done much more efficiently and safely, and professional shredding is one of them. But no matter what method you choose, the ultimate aim is to get rid of the piling paper without getting your identity stolen. And speaking from experience, shredding services are quick, secure, and even environmental-friendly. So, choose your options wisely.

[saintair540]

The benefits of Aircon chemical cleaning services

Is your air conditioner not keeping your room as cool as it used to when it was new? While most people disregard this as a symptom of the unit's aging, it's a warning that your air conditioner needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Your device should always operate as if you just acquired it, so if it's not performing at its best, something is undoubtedly wrong. The debris that builds up in your air conditioner over time is the most frequent cause of this problem. This is especially true if you don't give your machine routine maintenance. By clogging drains, pipes, and filters, the dirt infiltrates the system of your air conditioner and renders it inoperable. Hiring the services of the best Aircon Cleaning Darwin will help.

This is when contacting an AC professional comes in handy.

Early diagnosis of symptoms is considerably preferable to waiting until your appliance fails and then having to spend more money on a replacement appliance than on the repair. Chemical overhauling or aircon chemical cleaning is typically a one-stop-shop for an air conditioner that isn't working properly.

What is Aircon Chemical Cleaning, and How Do You Know If You Need It?

Your air conditioning unit will be taken apart from its wall mount by a specialist, who will then use a chemical-based cleaner to clean the air filters, the fan evaporator coil, and other crucial parts of the system. The drainage system for your air conditioner receives the same maintenance if your unit has water leaking issues. After that, the fan bearings are oiled to lessen the noise. But how can you tell when it's time for a chemical air conditioner cleaning?

Typical signs include the following:

• It takes longer than normal for the air conditioner to cool the space.

• When switched on, the device is extremely noisy.

• The interior components give off a bad door.

What does the aircon chemical cleaning do?

1. Improves air quality

Your health could be harmed by the dirt and other debris that accumulate in your unit. Anyone with asthma or allergies in the room should avoid this at all costs. All the dust and filth that builds up in your air conditioner is removed when you perform chemical cleaning on it. By cleaning the air filters and other parts, clean air may circulate about your residence or place of business, assuring the wellbeing of its people. Make sure that you get the best Duct Cleaning Australia.

2. Increases the longevity of your unit

A chemical wash is a complete overhaul of your air conditioning system, and a qualified expert won't just clean the system; they'll also analyze each component and let you know which ones require replacing or repairing.

Regular air conditioning maintenance should keep your machine in like-new condition, much like regular auto maintenance extends its lifespan.

Improves the energy efficiency of your unit

Your air conditioner will work harder to cycle the air through the parts as a result of dirt accumulation.

Due to the unit having to work twice as hard for the same amount of effort, your electric bill will soar.

You can get rid of the accumulation and get your air conditioner functioning smoothly once more while also enabling it to use less electricity by having it chemically cleaned.

Conclusion

Always keep in mind that a good air conditioning service company won't limit itself to air conditioner chemical cleaning when hiring a firm to clean your air conditioner. The AC technician should perform routine maintenance, assess which parts require significant repair or replacement, and address any issues you may have with your unit. Choose the most professional and reputed Aircon Cleaning Brisbane.