#like ive straight up stopped raging at the stages

[udretlnea]

The Exciting Chronicles of the Shapeshifter and the Gentleman

I / II / III / IV / V (You're here) / VI

A puppeteer/With crimson chains

Controlling minds/By cruel design

A puppeteer/With crimson chains

Under your control/We will fill the void

With this necessary evil

(Who Wears the Crown, Therewolf Media)

Words: 2.9k

Disclaimer: F bomb, action, things get intense

Number One raised a finger at Eldy; a spark lit up at his fingertip. The gentleman was shaking violently; he was filled with rage and disbelief. Eldy just held their hands in a placating way. They were unarmed. Several minutes would pass when Number One let out a harsh breath and clutched his head; he let out a muffled yell.

“Ugh…no! We aren’t ALLOWED to hurt anyone!,” he told himself. He took a deep breath, and exhaled. When he exhaled his voice was much calmer. “My sincerest apolgies. I have obviously put you on a pedestal. That’s on me.”

Some of the tension in the room dissipated. Eldy relaxed. “Um, sorry about the disappointment.”

“Oh it’s fine. That being said, I’m not willing to leave empty-handed.” Number One pointed straight at Eldy’s face.

“What-what are you-”

And then a chain link shot out from One’s index finger and embedded itself just below the center eye. The gentleman levitated above them. “It’s just standard information sifting. It won’t take long.”

15 seconds…

(He saw crowds of people cheering up at them. He was on some sort of stage. Was this a ceremony? Whatever it is, it’s pointless.)

30 seconds…

(He was inside a temple standing in front of a coffin. Everything was frozen over. He placed a hand on the coffin; the gesture was almost somber. Valid, but it’s not what he needs.)

45 seconds…

(He was sitting on the balcony watching the sunset. The sight was beautiful. In this moment he was content. No sacrifices to accept, no boundaries being pushed, and above all nobody treating them like they were above everyone else. It was peaceful.)

55 seconds…

(He pressed an ear against the door, straining to hear what they were saying. Zhongli muttered something about shackling. Ganyu and Xiao spoke up, refuting their god. Ningguang added her own opinion. They were talking animatedly. Unease and suspicion pooled in his gut. He tried to listen more closely-)

And then the door creaked and shut. Mercy yelled something. He broke the connection just in time to register their words.

“We need to leave, now.”

////

Flying out the window, Number One wrapped his arms around Mercy. He shut his eyes and muttered, “This is gonna hurt.”

Except Mercy pushed themself away from Number One, sprouted wings and hugged him in one graceful motion. In just several powerful flaps, they almost stopped the inertia resulting in them rolling awkwardly onto grass. Mercy made sure to tuck in their wings as they did. The landing was hard, yet somehow they didn’t feel anything break. They chalked it up to luck. Still, their body felt sore from that.

Mercy clutched their chest, wings receding back in after completing its purpose. “That…hurt alot. Jeez, I thought rolling would make things less painful!”

Somewhere to their right, Number One grunted. “Exactly. It just reduces the pain. Just give it five seconds and we’ll be fine.”

SLAM. 

CRACK

Unfortunately, five seconds was a luxury they couldn’t afford. As a deep growling filled the air, the pair looked at a figure hunched over at the center of a crater. Draped in a white cloak, neither could get a good look at them. Mercy stared at the individual apprehensively and tried to connect their mind to get a read. The mission was falling apart and they had to escape, so what if they’d just distracted this new variable to buy time?

Mercy took a dive into this person’s memories-

War ravaged the land. Death filled the air yet that did not stop more mountain-sized spears being thrown down. They couldn’t stop now, not when they were so close. If they could win a seat amongst the gods, then they could create a new safe haven that would be without suffering. They just had to win…

-and immediately regretted it. They yelled in shock as images of death and destruction flashed in their mind; it felt like a lifetime, but it all happened in the span of a second. These feelings, these memories…they all belonged to the last person the both of them wanted to run into.

“Number One, we need to go,” they urged. 

Before he could ask why, the cloaked figure spoke first in a deep octave. “I do not know you two managed to infiltrate this place, but rest assured you will be punished.”

Number One made a face that was between a frown and disappointment. “Oh for pete’s sake, not the thirst trap.”

Zhongli, in his Rex Lapis form (horns and tail), rose to his full height. He glared at the two interlopers with bright amber eyes. Baring his fangs, he calmly walked out of the crater intending to enact punishment accordingly. The ground started to tremble somewhat as he flexed his power. The one with the androgynous look took a step back. Yet, the other one in the suit simply stepped forward. 

Number One hummed. “Mercy, stay behind me.”

The shapeshifter sputtered, but didn’t object as the gentleman placed himself between them. Number One manifested a cane from thin air

“Rex Lapis!” Number One tapped the cane confidently in front of him. He grinned. “Everyone’s favorite acolyte~. I can count the amount of naughty things the people have drawn on you with two hands!”

At that, Rex paused. He squinted at Number One. “You. You are not from here.”

“An excellent observation my well-chiseled fellow. Man, they weren’t exaggerating in the fanart. Your abs really do look rock hard~!”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, especially those who have harmed the Emperor of All. Repent now, sinner, and perhaps I will consider your punishment to be light,” growled Rex Lapis.

“Well isn’t that nice? However, I’m afraid I must respectfully decline due to the fact that we do not wish to go through all that bother,” stated Number One politely. He snapped his fingers and made an ‘aah!’ “How could I forget my manners? Allow me to introduce myself, my name's Apophis! Please pay no attention to my companion and focus on me!”

Mercy gaped at the casual admittance. As they processed that (Number One’s name is Apophis?) the shaking grew stronger. They found it more difficult to stand up straight. And nevermind the fact that Numbe-that Apophis was making small talk. Mercy’s eyes darted around; they turned their head around to try to find an opening.

“Your distraction is unnecessary. I have already notified the others about this.”

Apohphis’ grin turned sharper. “So, what? We have three minutes until they arrive?”

“Perhaps even less.”

“...Well then, in that case,” Apophis snapped his fingers. A wave of green energy blasted from it, passing through the three of them.

Suddenly the ground ceased its trembling. Translucent, glowing green lines raced through the surface. Rex Lapis furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated. His command over the earth itself is absolute. Faintly, there was a solid enough connection, but internally he felt something was dampening his authority.

Instantly, his guard was up and he opened his mouth. “What have you done to my authority? Who are you, really?”

The gentleman grinned like a trickster who just found a new thing to play with. “I already told you. The name’s Apophis. Pleasure to be meeting you, quite the pleasure!”

And with that declaration, the dam burst. 

Rex Lapis leapt toward him with blinding speed. He summoned a Geo spear to his hands and pointed it straight at Apophis. If he could strike him down in one fell swoop, then he could get answers out of him; easier said than done. The eyes just finished charging and began blasting devastating beams of energy at him. 

Rex ducked, flying under each of them gracefully letting the projectiles strike the ground harmlessly. He reared his arm back to prepare a precise strike, eyes locked on the gentleman’s chest. Apophis simply wagged a finger and tutted. Rex swung, but he was too slow. Apophis sidestepped to his right causing the former to hit empty air; the Prime Adeptus turned, locked eyes with Apophis, and planted his feet to slow down.

Not one to delay the momentum, Apophis summoned two more floating eyes and fired again. REx stood his ground this time to hold out his hand. A wall of rock rushed out of the ground to shield him in time as they hit. Rex retaliated by launching the wall at Apophis. The gentleman merely blasted it into rubble.

A cloud of dust was kicked up forcing Apophis to shield his eyes or else he’d be blinded. Then he sensed it: he jumped higher than his appearance would suggest as several Geo spears flew through the cloud and impaled the ground. Half a second later Rex jumped through the dust cloud with a spear in hand. Unlike last time, he threw it with such intensity he slightly recoiled. Apophis twisted his body to the side when time seemed to slow down; the spear sailed past him dangerously close to his chest.

Offense welled up inside him “Are you actually trying to kill me? I’d imagine protocol-assuming you have one-would tell you to capture and interrogate me. So unprofessional!”

“That should be the least of your concerns right now!” Rex Lapis growled as he spread his arms. Several geo symbols manifested and from them even more spears. These ones were much bigger than before; they were as big as a boulder. Rex’s amber eyes intensely glowed for a second before the spears fired.

“Honestly, it’s like you’re not even trying,” stated Apophis. He waited until the spears were close enough before he’d move. Like a leaf in the wind, he gracefully ducked and weaved around them to avoid becoming a pincushion. Twirling his can casually, he addressed an irate-looking Rex. “Have you gotten so old that you’ve forgotten how to properly fight?”

A shit-eating grin formed on Apophis’ face. “Or has Rex Lapis gotten so fat and lazy from idly worshiping that walking bush that he can’t even be called the Warrior God?” 

That did it.

Scales formed on Rex’s cheeks, his pupils dilated, and his form began to radiate light as if it were about to combust. His fingers turned into claws that looked as sharp as any blade. If one could assign a picture to the phrase, “royally pissed,” this would be it. Truly, this was a smart decision.

Good. Keep your attention on me and not them. Apophis thought as his grin grew wider.

Suddenly, Rex Lapis disappeared in the blink of an eye. Apophis snapped to attention, honed instincts kicking in; the air around felt it was displaced. And then Rex Lapis reappeared behind him mid-swipe. Things happened too fast to keep up. Apophis barely had any time to raise his cane and block the strike.

The gentleman hit the ground on his back, harshly sliding until he came to a stop nearby Mercy. Apophis coughed. “Geez. That’s…yeah, part of my plan, ahah.”

Mercy helped him up. “Number…One?” They sounded unsure, but of course they were. A literal fight between a god and an outworlder was happening. Moreover, he just revealed a personal detail moments before. Despite that, it seemed that they swallowed their emotions to keep a level head. “What can we do?”

“...I need to buy time for you to escape.” he replied while dusting himself off. He raised a finger just as Mercy opened their mouth. “And don’t try to convince me otherwise. I truly appreciate the thought, but remember that we only trained you for infiltration.”

“But I absorbed some of your knowledge when I became you! Remember, back at-at the mirror? Can’t I at least help?” 

“You can help me by giving me peace of mind-”

Apophis was cut off when a shadow suddenly swallowed them. They both looked up to see a meteor hurtling toward them. The gentleman cursed and pointed a finger gun at it. His bangs floated, revealing his stunning eyes once more. He concentrated hard which, judging from how his eyebrows furrowed, was more than usual. Finally he uttered a single word. 

“Bang.”

Cracks immediately formed on the surface. A second later they multiplied until a cobweb-like pattern surrounded it. With a resounding CRACK the meteor shattered into a billion harmless pieces of rock. Apophis slumped forward, only catching himself by leaning onto Mercy. He wheezed as if he had the air taken out of him.

“Mercy. I’m afraid to say that you’d only get in the way,” Apophis said honestly. He turned to look at them. 

The shapeshifter was about to argue when they saw something coming toward them both at high speed. Their eyes widened. “Apophis, look out!”

He turned around just in time to see Rex Lapis speeding towards him with a raised arm.

(READ LEFT TO RIGHT)

Mercy stared at the hole, then at Apophis. The gentleman didn’t let down his guard nor stop glaring. In fact, he summoned more of those eyes until there was a whole wall separating them from the temple. All of them began charging energy. The air started to feel energized.

Apophis tapped his cane thrice. Mercy felt a familiar tug and looked back; a rift had opened behind them.

“Get in,” ordered Apophis with a voice like a leader. It was harsh and offered no room for discussion. 

Any part of them that would’ve argued was immediately silenced. Thinking it wise to listen, Mercy turned and ran toward the portal. If I can’t help him fight, the least I can do is get help! 

They dove through the portal and on onto the other side. Sparing no second glances, they ran in the direction of the Kingdom of Delusion. If they remembered correctly, Prince and Noraa should be out and about. Whereabout was another question. Mercy had to be fast if they wanted the odds to be in Apophis’ favor.

They dropped onto all fours. Imagining an animal fast enough to run fast enough was simple. They pushed forward, transforming into a cheetah. Their new lithe form made them more agile. Racing across the path back took less than a minute and they ran past Noraa’s abode.

Where are you two? They thought as they peered through the window. The living room was empty; the kitchen as well. Damn it! Are they further in?

Cheetah!Mercy sprinted to the town square. Sounds of construction and blocks being placed were getting louder as they grew closer. They grew excited. When they turned the corner, they found someone wielding a familiar looking staff; he had his back to them. Cheetah!Mercy impulsively pounced on him to get his attention.

There was a yelp as Mercy transformed back. Before Noraa could even process what happened, they spoke first. “Apo-Number One’s in trouble!”

“What?” Noraa’s confused expression said it all. “Where? How? Tell me everything right now!”

And so they did. Mercy started from the beginning and went up to the present. Noraa listened closely, his face morphing from a stoicness to a concerned frown, then horror. He shook his head. “I’ll go find Prince. Go back to my office, and call the others. We can’t leave him alone.”

///

Apophis glared at the hole in the wall waiting for Rex Lapis to rush out. He had every eye locked at it, waiting for any sign of his opponent. His grip on his cane tightened and he could hear his heartbeat thrum in his ears. Seconds passed agonizingly slow. Apophis hated this, he hated waiting.

Screw it. If there’s nothing left for me here, I may as well just leave. He thought. A brief snap of his fingers and the eyes went away just like that. Apophis swiftly turned toward the rift; it was still open, but the air wasn’t even pushing him.

It started to pick up actually. Apophis felt the pressure change so abruptly that his ears popped. Distantly, there was a whistling noise in the air. His eyes widened in alarm. “Wait where-”

Apophis activated his shield a second too late as the arrow of pure Anemo struck him in the shoulder. He was forced off his feet and went along with its trajectory. The world was a dizzying combination of colors as he flew away from the temple grounds. Then, he crashed into a wall. A second later he registered the pain before landing on his face and blacking out.

I’ve got him. 

Be careful, put him on the stretcher.

Done. I’m heading out. You two! Begin manual reset of this world! I don’t want a single one of them remembering a thing about him and Mercy!

Yes sir!/Gotcha!

…Try to relax Mercy. He’ll be okay-

///

Apophis was standing in a white void. In front of him was a man in front of a workbench; he wore clothing meant for an artist which included an apron. Apophis was staring at the man’s back.

…

Have you realized your mistake?

___

When I said pick your battles wisely, that didn’t mean pick a fight with Rex freaking Lapis.

____________!

I know. I just wanted to tell you that plan could’ve gone better. Anyways, that’s all I needed to tell you. You can go back or stay here for a while until you’re ready.

________,

…Everything’s fine on my end. Oh, by the way before I forget. I need to give you this.

_______?

SOmething I’ve been cooking. I want to know what you and the others think. I believe it’s a step in the right direction with what you're trying to do. And also, the timeline has moved up. We need to start with the plan to stop the anomaly soon.

…_________

Don’t mention it. I just wanted to help.

…

The sleep that came right after was restful.

////////

A/N:

First things first: this chapter got too long for one’s own tastes that it had to be separated into two, hence the additional chapter.

So I tried my hardest to go out of my comfort zone with this one. To push the usual limit of around ~2.3k compared to previous ones felt nice-no, ambitious. However, I do feel quite tired from all of that so I’ll most likely stick to having each chapter be around 2.3k. Right now my mindset is “quantity comes before before quality”; I’ll slowly surpass my limits and before I realize it my fics will become better than they are today.

Regarding the action sequence, please let me know what y’all think. Should I improve; how? Is it alright? Seriously. I want benchmarks for my growth.

Also, Number One namedrops; more on that next chapter.

Taglist: @idkfitememate

[traaanskimkitsuragi]

:DD

[jossambird]

Pumpkin Patch Pt.2

Nervous Axel x Female Reader, 18+!

Oscar knew it, he could feel it in the air, the desperate and greedy lust his eldest brother held for you, watching as Axel’s eyes followed your form throughout the rest of the week.

He had made sure to be around you at all times, laughing at the way Axel grew restless with each passing day, frustrated, growling under his breath every time Oscar disturbed the both of you, finding Axel in various stages of rage each time.

So close was he from finally having you, so close, yet so far, the delightful taste of your core still lingering on his mind, torturing Axel endlessly each night, hands relieving himself with thoughts of you.

Otto watched Oscar wreck havoc on their brother, wondering when Axel would explode.

He decided to help his helpless elder brother, writing a quick note before handing it to him, Axel’s eyes wide in realization and pride.

A knock at your bedroom door woke you, making you look over at the clock, squinting at it through the darkness. 2am? Who would-

You rose, grabbing your oversized sweater and pulling it on hurriedly, opening the door to see a disheveled Axel, his cheeks blazing red and dressed in low hanging sweatpants and a coat, as if ready to-

“Get ready älskling and meet me out front.” He whispered, voice rough, eyes begging you, pleading to do as he asked. You nodded and turned, forgetting to close the door and granting Axel a view of your ass and panties as you bent over to grab your pants, yelping out in surprise as he smacked your behind playfully, grinning down at you.

“Hurry, before Oscar notices we are leaving.” Axel answered your gaze, color crossing over your cheeks at his words.

A noise in the quiet house surprised the both of you, making you cast aside the idea of putting either a bra or shirt and took Axel’s offered hand, grinning as he pulled you out of the house and into the van, driving away hurriedly as if you were bandits.

“Axel, handsome, where exactly are we going at 2 in the morning?” You asked as you sat beside him, eyes racking over his form, his coat opened just enough to give you a view of his toned stomach, not missing the way his hands flexed against the steering wheel as he registered your words.

He huffed before grinning abit, looking over at you quickly, cheeks turning a shade darker as he took in the sight of you watching him, visibly debating stopping now and having you ride him in the backseat or continuing to where he intended on bringing you in the first place.

“I-I wanted to...” Axel tried, eyes shifting down your face and to your covered chest, forcing them back up to your knowing smirk.

Tongue-tied just as he had been the week before, he internally cursed, wondering when you would tell him you were tired of his stuttering.

“It's okay Axel, it's just me. I'm excited to see where you’re taking me.” You replied, patting his thigh, reigniting the delicious ache of desire within him.

The walk into the forest was difficult in the dark, but Axel held your hand, guiding you gently until a lighted tent came into view, feet turning in the moonlight to look at the man who held your heart, wonder sparkling in your eyes as you realized this was what he had been doing all day.

“Did you- Axel, did you set this up so you could finally fuck me without any disturbances?” You asked, voice turning sultry. He looked nervous, a rare feat for the stoic and serious man, but it was cute, seeing him so anxious and eager, hands seeking out your hips just as they had earlier that week.

“Only if that's what you want as well.” He muttered against your cheek, pulling you close enough to feel his aching member against your body.

Always a gentleman, always seeking your consent, hands never lingering too far unless you asked him to. Axel, a stone cold assassin, waited, watching you, thumbs running against what little skin they could reach of your hips.

It didn’t take long for you to turn and open the tent, pulling your boots off and crawling into it and onto the soft air mattress. You hurried, body practically pulsing warmly at the memory of his handsome face between your thighs, your core already dripping.

Pulling your sweater over your head, a groan left his lips as your perky breasts and hard nipples greeted his heated gaze.

Too long had he wondered what your body would look like, and too long had he wished to run his hands up and down your body, wanting to bring you over and over again to ecstasy until his name was seared into your mind.

“Y/N, so eager for me already?” Axel growled as he closed the tent door behind him and removed his own footwear, loving the way your hands helped him out of his coat, flinging it over onto your sweater. Cold fingers ghosted across your nipples, sending a desperate noise out of you, your own frozen digits holding onto him.

“Ive been waiting for you to barge into my room every night and finally come fuck me Axel, of course I'm ready for you.” You moaned, hand lowering to palm him through his sweatpants while the other curled around his neck, Axel’s heavenly lips descending onto your jaw and neck, grinding against your hand.

Words in Swedish escaped him as he untied your pants along with his own, pulling back slightly to watch as he slid his hand into your panties, fingers seeking out your wet core.

Unabashed sinful noises escaped you as he got straight to work, fingers prodding and working you, holding onto you tightly as he readied you.

“Y/N, Älskling, such naughty sounds, tell me, what do you want?” Axel asked with a groan as he curled his fingers inside you, loving the way you kept pulling him closer, your own hands fumbling to push down his sweatpants to his knees and stroke him.

“Axel, ughh I want you, only you.” You bit out as he withdrew his hand, watching with rapt attention as he licked his fingers, a shiver climbing both of your spines.

“I missed that.” He smirked, fingers crawling up your soft skin to finally pull off your panties and pants before removing his own, kneeling between your open thighs.

“Missed what, my love?” You inquired, watching as his pupils dilated further and palmed your legs, greedy eyes taking you in as you wrapped them around his hips, loving the way he bent down to kiss your breasts before pushing into you.

“The taste of you of course.”

The way he fucked you was neither hard or rough, glacial eyes watching your every movement, savoring each sound from your lips, each touch you grace him with, each roll of your hips against him. So attentionate, so careful; the assassin fucked you, taking in everything about you in this moment, commiting it to memory.

Axel faintly wondered in the back of his mind if the hammering of his heart would ever calm, feeling the sweat bead against his skin.

Your hands pulled him out of his thoughts-

“Axel, darling, I swear, if you dont go faster!” You reminded him with a moan and a grin, his palms growing clammy. He was beyond grateful for your soft words and immense patience with him, smiling fully as he nodded, kissing you deeply and fucking you harder until you chanted his name, bringing you over the edge, again and again, determined to show just how much he adored you.

Oscar woke, groggy, looking up at Otto’s shit eating grin-

“They left in the night.” Otto said nonchalantly, smirking as Oscar cursed, knowing that his eldest Brother’s revenge would be disastrous

[isslibrary]

New additions to the Indian Springs School Library May thru August 2020

Bibliography

Sorted by Call Number / Author.

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Dyson, Michael Eric, author. Tears we cannot stop : a sermon to white America. First edition. I. Call to worship -- II. Hymns of praise -- III. Invocation -- IV. Scripture reading -- V. Sermon -- Repenting of whiteness -- Inventing whiteness -- The five stages of white grief -- The plague of white innocence -- Being Black in America -- Nigger -- Our own worst enemy? -- Coptopia -- VI. Benediction -- VII. Offering plate -- VIII. Prelude to service -- IX. Closing prayer. "In the wake of yet another set of police killings of black men, Michael Eric Dyson wrote a tell-it-straight, no holds barred piece for the NYT on Sunday July 7: Death in Black and White (It was updated within a day to acknowledge the killing of police officers in Dallas). The response has been overwhelming. Beyoncé and Isabel Wilkerson tweeted it, JJ Abrams, among many other prominent people, wrote him a long fan letter. The NYT closed the comments section after 2,500 responses, and Dyson has been on NPR, BBC, and CNN non-stop since then. Fifty years ago Malcolm X told a white woman who asked what she could do for the cause: Nothing. Dyson believes he was wrong. In Tears We Cannot Stop, he responds to that question. If we are to make real racial progress, we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed or discounted. As Dyson writes: At birth you are given a pair of binoculars that see black life from a distance, never with the texture of intimacy. Those binoculars are privilege; they are status, regardless of your class. In fact the greatest privilege that exists is for white folk to get stopped by a cop and not end up dead...The problem is you do not want to know anything different from what you think you know...You think we have been handed everything because we fought your selfish insistence that the world, all of it--all its resources, all its riches, all its bounty, all its grace--should be yours first and foremost, and if there's anything left, why then we can have some, but only if we ask politely and behave gratefully"--Provided by publisher.

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320.9 B

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Lowery, Lynda Blackmon, 1950- author. Turning 15 on the road to freedom : my story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March. Growing up strong and determined -- In the movement -- Jailbirds -- In the sweatbox -- Bloody Sunday -- Headed for Montgomery -- Turning 15 -- Weary and wet -- Montgomery at last -- Why voting rights? -- Discussion guide. As the youngest marcher in the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Lynda Blackmon Lowery proved that young adults can be heroes. Jailed nine times before her fifteenth birthday, Lowery fought alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. for the rights of African-Americans. In this memoir, she shows today's young readers what it means to fight nonviolently (even when the police are using violence, as in the Bloody Sunday protest) and how it felt to be part of changing American history.

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Clegg, Brian. Are numbers real? : the uncanny relationship of mathematics and the physical world.

530.092 F

F©œlsing, Albrecht, 1940-. Albert Einstein : a biography. New York : Viking Penguin: a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc, 1997. Family -- School -- A "child prodigy" -- "Vagabond and loner" : student days in Zurich -- Looking for a job -- Expert III class -- "Herr Doktor Einstein" and the reality of atoms -- The "very revolutionary" light quanta -- Relative movement : "my life for seven years" -- The theory of relativity : "a modification of the theory of space and time" -- Acceptance, opposition, tributes -- Expert II class -- From "bad joke" to "Herr Professor" -- Professor in Zurich -- Full professor in Prague, but not for long -- Toward the general theory of relativity -- From Zurich to Berlin -- "In a madhouse" : a pacifist in Prussia -- "The greatest satisfaction of my life" : the completion of the general theory of relativity -- Wartime in Berlin -- Postwar chaos and revolution -- Confirmation and the deflection of light : "the suddenly famous Dr. Einstein" -- Relativity under the spotlight -- "Traveler in relativity" -- Jewry, Zionism, and a trip to America -- More hustle, long journeys, a lot of politics, and a little physics -- Einstein receives the Nobel Prize and in consequence becomes a Prussian -- "The marble smile of implacable nature" : the search for the unified field theory -- The problems of quantum theory -- Critique of quantum mechanics -- Politics, patents, sickness, and a "wonderful egg" -- Public and private affairs -- Farewell to Berlin -- Exile in liberation -- Princeton -- Physical reality and a paradox, relativity and unified theory -- War, a letter, and the bomb -- Between bomb and equations -- "An old debt. Albert Einstein's achievements are not just milestones in the history of science; decades ago they became an integral part of the twentieth-century world in which we live. Like no other modern physicist he altered and expanded our understanding of nature. Like few other scholars, he stood fully in the public eye. In a world changing with dramatic rapidity, he embodied the role of the scientist by personal example. Albrecht Folsing, relying on previously unknown sources. And letters, brings Einstein's "genius" into focus. Whereas former biographies, written in the tradition of the history of science, seem to describe a heroic Einstein who fell to earth from heaven, Folsing attempts to reconstruct Einstein's thought in the context of the state of research at the turn of the century. Thus, perhaps for the first time, Einstein's surroundings come to light.

530.092 G

Gleick, James. Isaac Newton. 1st ed. New York : Pantheon Books, c2003.

539.7 B

Lise Meitner : Discoverer of Nuclear Fission. Greensboro, NC : Morgan Reynolds, Inc, 2000. A biography of the Austrian scientist whose discoveries in nuclear physics played a major part in developing atomic energy.

598.07 T

Watching birds : reflections on the wing. United States : Ragged Mountain Press, 2000.

811 D

Dabydeen, David. Turner : new and selected poems. 2010. Leeds : Peepal Tree Press, Ltd, 12010.

811.54 J

Jones, Ashley M., 1990- author. Dark // thing. Slurret -- //Side A: 3rd grade birthday party -- //Side B: roebuck is the ghetto -- Harriette Winslow and Aunt Rachel clean -- Collard greens on prime time television -- My grandfather returns as oil -- Elegy for Willie Lee "Murr"Lipscomb -- Proof at the Red Sea -- Sunken place sestina -- Hair -- Antiquing -- The book of Tubman -- Harriet Tubman crosses the Mason Dixon for the first time -- Avian Abecedarian -- Harriet Tubman, beauty queen or ain't I a woman? -- Broken sonnet in which Harriet is the gun -- Recitation -- What flew out of Aunt Hester's scream -- Election year 2016: the motto -- Uncle Remus syrup commemorative lynching postcard #25 -- To the black man popping a wheelie on -- Interstate 59 North on 4th of July weekend -- Red dirt suite -- Love/luv/ -- Summerstina -- Ode to Dwayne Waye, or, I want to be Whitley -- Gilbert when I grow up -- I am not selected for jury duty the week bill -- Cosby's jury selection is underway -- A small, disturbing fact -- Water -- Today, I saw a black man open his arms to the wind -- Xylography -- I see a smear of animal on the road and mistake it for philando castile -- There is a beel at morehouse college -- Dark water -- Who will survive in America? or 2017: a horror film -- In-flight entertainment -- Imitation of life -- Broken sonnet for the decorative cotton for sale at Whole Foods -- Racists in space -- When you tell me I'd be prettier with straight hair -- (Black) hair -- Kindergarten villandelle -- Song of my muhammad -- Ode to Al Jolson -- Hoghead cheese haiku -- Aunties -- Thing of a marvelous thing / It's the same as having wings. A multi-faceted work that explores the darkness/otherness by which the world sees Black people. Ashley M. Jones stares directly into the face of the racism that allows people to be seen as dark things, as objects that can be killed/enslaved/oppressed/devalued. This work, full as it is of slashes of all kinds, ultimately separates darkness from thingness, affirming and celebrating humanity.

814.6 G

Gay, Roxane, author. Bad feminist : essays. First edition. A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched young cultural observers of her generation, Roxane Gay. "Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink, all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I'm not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue." In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture. Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better.

822.3 T

the tragical history of Doctor Faustus : The Elizabethan Play. Annotated & Edited by John D. Harris, 2018. Wabasha, MN : Hungry Point Press, 2018.

822.33 Shakespeare

Major literary characters : Hamlet. New York : Chelsea House Publishers, c. 1990.

822.8 W

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900. An ideal husband. Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications, 2000.

823.914

Vincenzi, Penny, author. Windfall. 1st U.S. ed. Sensible Cassia Fallon has been married to her doctor husband for seven years when her godmother leaves her a huge fortune. For the first time in her life, she is able to do exactly as she likes, and she starts to question her marriage, her past, her present, and her future. But where did her inheritance really come from and why? Too soon the windfall has become a corrupting force, one that Cassia cannot resist.

843.8 F

Flaubert, Gustave, 1821-1880. Three tales. Oxford ; : Oxford University Press, 2009. A simple heart -- The legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller -- Herodias.

909 S

Sachs, Jeffrey, author. The ages of globalization : geography, technology, and institutions. "Today's most urgent problems are fundamentally global. They require nothing less than concerted, planetwide action if we are to secure a long-term future. But humanity's story has always been on a global scale, and this history deeply informs the present. In this book, Jeffrey D. Sachs, renowned economist and expert on sustainable development, turns to world history to shed light on how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Sachs takes readers through a series of six distinct waves of technological and ideological change, starting with the very beginnings of our species and ending with reflections on present-day globalization. Along the way, he considers how the interplay of geography, technology, and institutions influenced the Neolithic revolution; the spread of land-based empires; the opening of sea routes from Europe to Asia and the Americas; and the industrial age. The dynamics of these past waves, Sachs contends, give us new perspective on the ongoing processes taking place in our own time-and how we should work to guide the change we need. In light of this new understanding of globalization, Sachs emphasizes the need for new methods of international governance and cooperation to achieve economic, social, and environmental objectives aligned with sustainable development. The Ages of Globalization is a vital book for all readers aiming to make sense of our rapidly changing world"--.

937.002 B

Bing, Stanley. Rome, inc. : the rise and fall of the first multinational corporation. 1st. ed. New York : Norton, c2006.

937.63 L

Laurence, Ray, 1963-. Ancient Rome as it was : exploring the city of Rome in AD 300.

940.3 B

Brooks, Max. The Harlem Hellfighters. First edition. "From bestselling author Max Brooks, the riveting story of the highly decorated, barrier-breaking, historic black regiment--the Harlem Hellfighters. The Harlem Hellfighters is a fictionalized account of the 369th Infantry Regiment--the first African American regiment mustered to fight in World War I. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, bestselling author Max Brooks tells the thrilling story of the heroic journey that these soldiers undertook for a chance to fight for America. Despite extraordinary struggles and discrimination, the 369th became one of the most successful--and least celebrated--regiments of the war. The Harlem Hellfighters, as their enemies named them, spent longer than any other American unit in combat and displayed extraordinary valor on the battlefield. Based on true events and featuring artwork from acclaimed illustrator Caanan White, these pages deliver an action-packed and powerful story of courage, honor, and heart"--. "This is a graphic novel about the first African-American regiment to fight in World War One"--.

940.53 B

Browning, Christopher R., author. Ordinary men : Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland. Revised edition. One morning in Józefów -- The order police -- The order police and the Final solution : Russia 1941 -- The order police and the Final solution : deportation -- Reserve Police Battalion 101 -- Arrival in Poland -- Initiation to mass muder : the Józefów massacre -- Reflections on a massacre -- Łomazy : the descent of Second Company -- The August deportations to Treblinka -- Late-September shootings -- The deportations resume -- The strange health of Captain Hoffmann -- The "Jew hunt" -- The last massacres : "Harvest festival" -- Aftermath -- Germans, Poles, and Jews -- Ordinary men. In the early hours of July 13, 1942, the men of Reserve Police Battalion 101, a unit of the German Order Police, entered the Polish Village of Jozefow. They had arrived in Poland less than three weeks before, most of them recently drafted family men too old for combat service--workers, artisans, salesmen, and clerks. By nightfall, they had rounded up Jozefow's 1,800 Jews, selected several hundred men as "work Jews," and shot the rest--that is, some 1,500 women, children, and old people. Most of these overage, rear-echelon reserve policemen had grown to maturity in the port city of Hamburg in pre-Hitler Germany and were neither committed Nazis nor racial fanatics. Nevertheless, in the sixteen months from the Jozefow massacre to the brutal Erntefest ("harvest festival") slaughter of November 1943, these average men participated in the direct shooting deaths of at least 38,000 Jews and the deportation to Treblinka's gas chambers of 45,000 more--a total body count of 83,000 for a unit of less than 500 men. Drawing on postwar interrogations of 210 former members of the battalion, Christopher Browning lets them speak for themselves about their contribution to the Final Solution--what they did, what they thought, how they rationalized their behavior (one man would shoot only infants and children, to "release" them from their misery). In a sobering conclusion, Browning suggests that these good Germans were acting less out of deference to authority or fear of punishment than from motives as insidious as they are common: careerism and peer pressure. With its unflinching reconstruction of the battalion's murderous record and its painstaking attention to the social background and actions of individual men, this unique account offers some of the most powerful and disturbing evidence to date of the ordinary human capacity for extraordinary inhumanity.

940.54 S

Snyder, Timothy. Bloodlands : Europe between Hitler and Stalin. New York : Basic Books, c2010. Hitler and Stalin -- The Soviet famines -- Class terror -- National terror -- Molotov-Ribbentrop Europe -- The economics of apocalypse -- Final solution -- Holocaust and revenge -- The Nazi death factories -- Resistance and incineration -- Ethnic cleansings -- Stalinist antisemitism -- Humanity.

951.03 S

The search for modern China : a documentary collection. Third edition.

973 M

Meacham, Jon, author. The soul of America : the battle for our better angels. First edition. Introduction : To hope rather than to fear -- The confidence of the whole people : visions of the Presidency, the ideas of progress and prosperity, and "We, the people" -- The long shadow of Appomattox : the Lost Cause, the Ku Klux Klan, and Reconstruction -- With soul of flame and temper of steel : "the melting pot," TR and his "bully pulpit," and the Progressive promise -- A new and good thing in the world : the triumph of women's suffrage, the Red Scare, and a new Klan -- The crisis of the old order : the Great Depression, Huey Long, the New Deal, and America First -- Have you no sense of decency? : "making everyone middle class," the GI Bill, McCarthyism, and modern media -- What the hell is the presidency for? : "segregation forever," King's crusade, and LBJ in the crucible -- Conclusion : The first duty of an American citizen. "We have been here before. In this timely and revealing book, ... author Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear. With clarity and purpose, Meacham explores contentious periods and how presidents and citizens came together to defeat the forces of anger, intolerance, and extremism. Our current climate of partisan fury is not new, and in The Soul of America Meacham shows us how what Abraham Lincoln called 'the better angels of our nature' have repeatedly won the day. Painting surprising portraits of Lincoln and other presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson, and illuminating the courage of such influential citizen activists as Martin Luther King, Jr., early suffragettes Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt, civil rights pioneers Rosa Parks and John Lewis, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Army-McCarthy hearings lawyer Joseph N. Welch, Meacham brings vividly to life turning points in American history. He writes about the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the birth of the Lost Cause; the backlash against immigrants in the First World War and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s; the fight for women's rights; the demagoguery of Huey Long and Father Coughlin and the isolationist work of America First in the years before World War II; the anti-Communist witch-hunts led by Senator Joseph McCarthy; and Lyndon Johnson's crusade against Jim Crow. Each of these dramatic hours in our national life has been shaped by the contest to lead the country to look forward rather than back, to assert hope over fear--a struggle that continues even now. While the American story has not always--or even often--been heroic, we have been sustained by a belief in progress even in the gloomiest of times. In this inspiring book, Meacham reassures us, "The good news is that we have come through such darkness before"--as, time and again, Lincoln's better angels have found a way to prevail."--Dust jacket.

976.1 S

Smith, Petric J., 1940-. Long time coming : an insider's story of the Birmingham church bombing that rocked the world. 1st ed. Birmingham, Ala. : Crane Hill, 1994.

F Bir

Birch, Anna, author. I kissed Alice. First. "Fan Girl meets Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda in this #ownvoices LGBTQ romance about two rivals who fall in love online"--.

F Bra

Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012, author. Fahrenheit 451. Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition, 60th anniversary edition. Introduction / by Neil Gaiman -- Fahrenheit 451. The hearth and the salamander ; The sieve and the sand ; Burning bright. History, context, and criticism / edited by Jonathan R. Eller. pt. 1. The story of Fahrenheit 451. The story of Fahrenheit 451 / by Jonathan R. Eller ; From The day after tomorrow: why science fiction? (1953) / by Ray Bradbury ; Listening library audio introduction (1976) / by Ray Bradbury ; Investing dimes: Fahrenheit 451 (1982, 1989) / by Ray Bradbury ; Coda (1979) / by Ray Bradbury -- pt. 2. Other voices. The novel. From a letter to Stanley Kauffmann / by Nelson Algren ; Books of the times / by Orville Prescott ; From New wine, old bottles / by Gilbert Highet ; New novels / by Idris Parry ; New fiction / by Sir John Betjeman ; 1984 and all that / by Adrian Mitchell ; From New maps of hell / by Sir Kingsley Amis ; Introduction to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 / by Harold Bloom ; Fahrenheit 451 / by Margaret Atwood ; The motion picture. Shades of Orwell / by Arthur Knight ; From The journal of Fahrenheit 451 / by Fran©ʹois Truffaut. In a future totalitarian state where books are banned and destroyed by the government, Guy Montag, a fireman in charge of burning books, meets a revolutionary schoolteacher who dares to read and a girl who tells him of a past when people did not live in fear ... This sixtieth-anniversary edition commemorates Ray Bradbury's masterpiece with a new introduction by Neil Gaiman ; personal essays on the genesis of the novel by the author; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Nelson Algren, Harold Bloom, Margaret Atwood, and others; rare manuscript pages and sketches from Ray Bradbury's personal archive; and much more ... --- From back cover.

F DeL

White noise. 2009; with an introduction by Richard Powers. New York, NY : Penguin Books, 2009.

F Gri

Grisham, John, author. Camino Island. First edition. Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer's block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous offer of money convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Bruce Cable's circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets. But eventually Mercer learns far too much.--Adapted from book jacket.

F Hem

Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961, author. The sun also rises. The Hemingway library edition. The novel -- Appendix I: Pamplona, July 1923 -- Appendix II: Early drafts -- Appendix III: The discarded first chapters -- Appendix IV: List of possible titles. A profile of the Lost Generation captures life among the expatriates on Paris' Left Bank during the 1920s, the brutality of bullfighting in Spain, and the moral and spiritual dissolution of a generation.

F Hur

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching god. 1st Harper Perennial Modern Classics ed. New York : Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Foreword / Edwidge Danticat -- Their eyes were watching God -- Afterword / Henry Louis Gates, Jr. -- Selected bibliography -- Chronology. A novel about black Americans in Florida that centers on the life of Janie and her three marriages.

F Kid

Kidd, Sue Monk. The invention of wings. The story follows Hetty "Handful" Grimke, a Charleston slave, and Sarah, the daughter of the wealthy Grimke family. The novel begins on Sarah's eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership over Handful, who is to be her handmaid, and follows the next thirty-five years of their lives. Inspired in part by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke (a feminist, suffragist and, importantly, an abolitionist), the author allows herself to go beyond the record to flesh out the inner lives of all the characters, both real and imagined. -- Provided by publisher. "Hetty 'Handful' Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke's daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women. The novel is set in motion on Sarah's eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other's destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love. As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women's rights movements. Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, the author goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful's cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better. This novel looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved. -- Publisher's description.

F Nab

Vladimir Nabokov. Glory. United States : McGraw-Hill International, Inc, 1971.

F Orw

Orwell, George, 1903-1950. 1984. Signet Classics. New York, NY : Berkley: an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC, c. 1977. "Eternal warfare is the price of bleak prosperity in this satire of totalitarian barbarism."--ARBookFind.

F Sal

Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David), 1919-2010. Nine stories. 1st Back Bay pbk. ed. Boston : Back Bay Books/Little, Brown, 2001, c1991. A perfect day for bananafish -- Uncle wiggily in Connecticut -- Just before the war with the Eskimos -- The laughing man -- Down at the dinghy -- For Esme--with love and squalor -- Pretty mouth and green my eyes -- De Daumier-Smith's blue period -- Teddy. Salinger's classic collection of short stories is now available in trade paperback.

F Tho

Thomas, Angie, author. The hate u give. First edition. "Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life"--.

F Tho

Thomas, Angie, author. On the come up. First edition. Sixteen-year-old Bri hopes to become a great rapper, and after her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, must decide whether to sell out or face eviction with her widowed mother.

F Tol

The Hobbit : or There and Back Again. First U.S. edition; Illus. by Jemima Catlin, 2013. New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.

F Ver

Around the world in 80 days. Classics. Trans. by Geo. M. Towle. Lexington, KY, : October 29. 2019.

F Ver

Around the world in 80 days. Illustrated First Edition. Translated by Geo. M. Towle. Orinda, CA : SeaWolf Press, 2018.

F. Gri

Belfry Holdings, Inc. (Charlottesville, Virginia), author. Camino winds : a novel. Hardcover. "#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham returns to Camino Island in this irresistible page-turner that's as refreshing as an island breeze. In Camino Winds, mystery and intrigue once again catch up with novelist Mercer Mann, proving that the suspense never rests-even in paradise"--.

SC A

Alomar, Osama, 1968- author, translator. The teeth of the comb & other stories.

SC Mac

Machado, Carmen Maria, author. Her body and other parties : stories. Contains short stories about the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. "In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies. A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella 'Especially Heinous,' Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we naïvely assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgängers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes. Earthy and otherworldly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious, Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment. In their explosive originality, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction." -- Publisher's description.

[crue-sixx]

Forget Me Not

Title: Forget Me Not

Author: tiddly-winx

Fandom: The Dirt (Motley Crue Movie)

Note: Based in the HC "Remember Me" where the reader loses her memory but knows who the band is.

Summary: The reader is on stage with the band she dances/sings with when someone throws something at her and knocks her out cold.  She wakes up in the hospital and is scared shitless.  She had to run.

Warning: Swearing, smut mention, memory loss

It was a typical Friday night for you now-you'd been hired by the band Motley Crue as a back up singer/dancer while on the Girls Girls Girls tour.  You'd had some Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey in you but you weren't even buzzed when it was time to go on stage.  You kissed your boyfriend Mick a quick peck on the lips and wished him good luck, and he did the same for you.  You took your place next to Vince and you did your thing, all of you playing off each other in perfect sync. 

In the middle of Girls, Girls, Girls, you were dancing provocatively next to Mick-something you knew for a fact always got him going, him giving you a sultry grin that said he'd take care of you later.  As you turned from him, you felt something hit your head very hard.  

"Fuck!" Mick caught you, dropping his guitar.  The cut was tiny but it was bleeding very badly.  Vince ran over, taking off  his shirt to put pressure on the wound while Tommy and Nikki pulled the perpetrator on stage and proceeded to kick his ass. a few of the other fans joining in.  Security had called for an ambulance and you were taken promptly to the nearest hospital.

They had to postpone the rest of the tour until you got better, but they didn't know how long that would take.  Mick never left your side, him stroking the top of your hand with his thumb.  He'd talk to you like you were fine.  You heard everything he and other people said to you "Y/N...baby...please wake up..." you heard the desperation in his voice and you let silent tears fall.

It had been a week since you had been attacked, and you were showing signs of improvement-you were breathing on your own from the get go, and your body responded to outside stimuli.  But as you opened your eyes, everything came into focus.  You sat up, looking around for something familiar.  You were alone and scared, you had no memory of who you were and what you were doing here, but you saw a set of clothes that looked like they could fit a woman.  You ripped out the IV needles in your arm and quickly put the clothes on.

You peeked out of the room to see if there was anyone coming or looking and saw nothing.  You quietly left the room in a medium pace that wouldn't draw attention to yourself.  You exchanges plesantries to passerby who said 'hello' and soon you were out of the hospital and walking in the sidewalk.  The city was unfamiliar but you were starving.  You walked into a small cafe and ordered a coffee and bagel.  Of course you had no way of paying, so when you were done you made like a banana and split.

Back at the hospital, Mick had just come back from a food run to find an empty bed, hospital gown discarded on the chair, the clothes he had bought from the hotel for you gone and spots of blood on the sheets and floor.  Before he let real panic set in, he stopped one of the nurses and asked "Did you take Y/N L/N for some tests?"

The nurse said "The doctor hasn't ordered any tests for her..." she looked into the empty room and rushed to the phone to call for a missing patient.

"What the fuck?!" Mick growled "isn't it your job to make sure all the patients are accounted for?!"

Just then Tommy, Nikki and Vince came in with fresh flowers to see the commotion and confusion "Mick, what's going on?" Tommy asked.

"These asshats lost Y/N!" he was shaking in worry and rage.

"What?!" Nikki yelled "How is that even possible?!"

The hospital director came down and looked at the security camera footage from the hallways.  It had showed you in the clothes Mick had bought you, just walking through the hallway and then out of the hospital unhindered.  The director was beyond livid and he turned to the staff on duty "You're all fired.  Collect your property and get out" the stunned staff sat in silence, then gathered their belongings and left.

"How the fuck are we gonna find her?!" Vince hissed.

"We have to call the news and put out a be on the look out order.  She doesn't have any money but she needs to eat right?"

"That's true" Mick said, calming down a little.  "We can put the number to our hotel room on the screen and ask if anyone had seen her please call us..."

During the press conference, he held up your picture, said your name and where you had escaped from.  "She is not at all dangerous" he stated "If you see her, please guide her gently to a police station and call this number.  You can reach me directly there.  Also she may have some brain damage and/or memory loss.  Please be as patient as you can with her..."

The waiter who served you at the cafe recognized you right away, as you had dined and dashed on him.  At first he was mad as hell but after hearing what was wrong with you he wanted to help.  He called the number and spoke with the man from the news.  You had stopped at the cafe about 1pm, were finished in about half an hour and left without paying.  Soon more calls came in and they had established a timeline of your whereabouts.

The talk with your parents was awkward, your father yelling at him for leaving you alone in an unfamiliar place.  Your mother straight up refused to talk to Mick, he was already kicking himself for not ordering from the hospital kitchen instead of going to the cafeteria.  "I know I fucked up Mr. L/N, but I need to know if there's anyplace from her past that Y/N would be drawn to?"

Your father thought for a moment and gruffly said "Los Vegas.  Her grandparents lived there before they died.  She loves it there, just outside the Los Vegas strip there's a small motel we always stayed at when we went to visit" the sounds of papers shuffling "here's the number..."

By now, your disappearance had made national news, but you never stuck around one place long enough to listen to anything.  You had to get to Vegas, to the one place you remembered was safe.  You were right outside the off the road motel and you went into the office to see if you could con yourself a room for a few days and then skedaddle before management even knew you were gone.  When you waked in, the clerk at the counter was watching a portable tv.  He looked up at you, did a double take and said "How may I help you?"

"I need a room for a few days" you said "I can't pay right now but at the end of my stay I can!  I'm hoping to win big on the strip!"

Normally the clerk would have laughed you out of the office and told you to go fuck yourself, but you were the missing woman on the news, and the most recent report said that you might be heading this way and he had a feeling that he needed to take down the number he saw on the news just in case.  He dialed it and said "Is this Mick Mars?"

"Yeah who are you?" the tired voice scratched out.

"My name is Mike Benson, I'm a clerk at the Palm Tree Motel in Vegas right outside the strip.  Your lady friend's here.  I just gave her a room for a few days.  How fast can you get here?"

"I can be there in a few hours" the voice perked up, him hanging up the phone and booking the next flight to Vegas.  From what people had told him, you'd seemed confused and paranoid when they interacted with you so he told the band what was going on and said he needed to go alone, in case you got overwhelmed and ran away again.  They understood and wished him luck, telling him to take all the time he needed.

You were just so tired from walking and hitch hiking the past few days.  You would learn later that you waked or hitch hiked all the way from Los Angeles to Los Vegas.  How you'd managed to do that you didn't know but you were safe here, so you laid down to take a well needed nap.

It was just after sunset when Mick came into the lobby of the Palm Tree Motel, the clerk being the same one he spoke to "Mike Benson?"

"That's me" the clerk answered "She's in room 231" he passed a key to him.  "Go get er, man".

"I can pay for the room later" Mick offered.

"Don't worry about it" Mike smiled at him "it's on the house."

Mick was grateful that all the places you had dined and dashed from wouldn't accept any payment from your meals, they all understood what you did wasn't your fault and let it slide.  You hadn't ordered anything fancy-just some soup and water.  They just wanted you back safe with Mick.  

Outside room 231, he took a deep breath and turned the key.  You were sleeping peacefully in bed, he had begun blubbering like a child when he saw you.  You didn't appear to have any other injuries other than the healing bruise to your head, the cut having scabbed over.  With a shaking hand, he reached out and stroked your hair to make sure you were real.  You stirred under his touch and opened your eyes "Mick?  Why're you crying?"

"You remember me?" he said through sobs.

"Of course, baby" you said "Why wouldn't I?"

He was silent a few minutes "What's the last thing you remember?"

"What's with all these questions?" you asked confused "You act like I was missing for a while!"

"Y/N, you WERE" he turned on the TV to the news where you saw your picture plastered all over the place, saying you were found.  

You looked at him in frightened confusion "What the Hell is going on?!  Did I die and wake up in the Twilight Zone?!"

He held you close to him, you were shaking with fear "I'm right here baby..." he rubbed your back, taking in the familiar scent of vanilla and honeysuckle.  He was so relieved to have you in his arms again. "What's the last thing you remember?"

The memories were jumbled in your head, you taking a moment to put them in the right order.  "We were in stage in L.A. and I was teasing you when a glass bottle flew at me..."

"That's all true, babe" he held your hand and went on "You were in a coma for a week before you just up and walked out of the hospital" you were even more confused than ever.

"Why would I just walk out?  That's not like me at all!" you laughed a little, but you knew it wasn't funny.

"The doctor said you most likely went into a fugue state.  Like you forgot who you were.  Because you didn't see anything familiar when you woke up" he looked at the floor, ashamed of himself when you lifted up his face.

"Not your fault babe" you leaned backward with him on top of you "The hospital staff should have been watching me..." you started kissing him, you feeling like you missed his touch for a whole year.  He reciprocated at first,but stopped.  "What is it babe?"

"I can't do this..." he got off you.

"What?  You don't want to do it with me?" you asked, thinking he didn't want you anymore.

"Yes" he admitted "I need to be close to you, but I want to make sure you're okay first.  I want to have the doctor at the hospital who looked at you when you were admitted to see if there's any lasting brain damage..."

You smiled weakly and said "Okay Bob" he grinned at that, you only calling him by his actual name on rare occasions.  You were one of very few people who knew his name.  You two cuddled, each taking in the other's scent and bringing back even more memories.  

Back in L.A. each of the band hugged you for a long time, then your parents.  You were surprised to see news people there too, but you'd grown used to paparazzi swarming you since you and Mick started dating two years ago.  The doctor looked at the scans of your brain and saw no lasting damage.  You were cleared to go back to your normal life, granted that you'd have to be with someone at all times.

When you got home, there was a nice dinner with wine waiting for you and Mick.  He was just as surprised at you were, seeing a small note on the table in between two candles "Just heard the good news!  Have fun! Nikki, Tommy and Vince" you laughed softly at that, the two of you enjoying each other's company.  After an hour of the slowest, sweetest love making you two had ever shared, you cuddled close to his chest.

"Hey, Y/N?" he asked, the sweat on his skin leaving the surface moist.

You looked up at him "Yeah babe?"

"I love you" he leaned down and kissed you deeply "I'm sorry you had to wake up scared..."

You rolled your eyes at him "I told you many times, it wasn't your fault, Mick!  Stop blaming yourself!"

"I know, but if you had been killed while you were confused I would have lost my damn mind..." he bought your hand up to eye level and for the first time you saw a beautiful blue sapphire ring on a very important finger.

"Mick when did you-?" you asked, the thing taking your breath away.

"When we were making love just now" he slyly smiled at you.  "I was gonna ask you that night when we got back to the hotel but then the shit hit the fan" he locked eyes with you "So you want to marry me?"

"Yes, Bob Deal I'll marry you" he leaned in to kiss you again, this time with more hunger.  You raised your eyebrow at him and asked "You sure you want to go another round?  Your back will be aching tomorrow!" you teased him.

"Hell yeah, Y/N" he pulled you onto his lap "we gotta make up for lost time!"  you laughed, accepting both his proposals and giving him your life and in return he gave you his.

[aion-rsa]

Xbox Game Pass: New Games for March and April 2021 Revealed

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft’s subscription service for Xbox One owners. It’s designed to be like a “Netflix for games,” where you pay a simple monthly rate and get access to loads of games for download. It’s not to be confused with the Xbox Live Gold membership, which gives users a selection of free games each month.

There has been a huge surge in popularity and profile for Xbox Game Pass since its launch, mainly due to the diverse list of games and first-party exlusives on the service. In fact, Microsoft drops new releases from its own internal studios onto the service on day one! Sea of Thieves was the first example of this, followed by State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3. Since then, the service has seen the day one launch of several other high-profile Xbox exclusives, including Gears 5, The Outer Worlds, and Halo: Reach on the Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Membership to Xbox Game Pass will set you back $9.99 per month. You can now also get an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for $1 for the first month and $14.99 every month after that. The subscription includes an Xbox Live Gold membership as well as all of the games offered on Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass for PC. Plus, with cloud support, you can play a selection of Xbox Game Pass titles on your Android phone. And now you even get access to titles on EA Play, the third-party publisher’s own on-demand service.

New games are added each month to Xbox Game Pass. Here are the games coming in March and April, plus all of the new Bethesda games available on the service starting on March 12 (with descriptions courtesy of the Xbox team) :

Xbox Game Pass: Bethesda Games

Dishonored Definitive Edition (Console, PC, Cloud)

This complete compilation includes Dishonored, winner of over 100 Game of Year awards, as well as all of its additional content – Dunwall City Trials, The Knife of Dunwall, The Brigmore Witches and Void Walker’s Arsenal.

Dishonored 2 (Console, PC, Cloud)

Reprise your role as a supernatural assassin in Dishonored 2 – the next chapter in the award-winning saga by Arkane Studios. Play your way in a world where mysticism and industry collide. How will you combine your character’s unique set of powers, weapons and gadgets to eliminate your enemies?

DOOM (1993) (Console, PC, Cloud)

Doom introduced millions of gamers to the fast-paced, white-knuckle, demon-slaying action the franchise is known for. Relive the birth of the first-person shooter and experience the demon-blasting fun that popularized the genre. Doom includes Episode IV: Thy Flesh Consumed, with 9 additional action-packed levels and split-screen 4-player deathmatch and co-op.

DOOM II (Console, PC, Cloud)

Bring your trusty Super Shotgun and an arsenal of classic Doom weapons to bear against deadlier demons and the infamous boss, the Icon of Sin. Doom II includes The Master Levels for Doom II with 20 additional levels, as well as split-screen 4 player co-op and multiplayer.

DOOM 3 (Console, PC, Cloud)

Battle your way through a demon-infested facility before entering the abyss to battle Hell’s mightiest warrior – and put an end to the invasion. Doom 3 includes both campaign expansions – Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission.

DOOM 64 (Console, PC, Cloud)

Battle armies of demons in your crusade to hunt down the Mother Demon and stop Hell’s invasion. As you fight through more than 30 action-packed levels, be on the lookout for enhanced weapons and secrets to help you put an end to the demonic threat.

DOOM Eternal (Console, PC, Cloud)

Hell’s armies have invaded Earth. Become the Slayer in an epic single-player campaign to conquer demons across dimensions and stop the final destruction of humanity. Experience the ultimate combination of speed and power in Doom Eternal – the next leap in push-forward, first-person combat. The only thing they fear… is you.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Console, PC)

An epic, open-ended single-player RPG, Morrowind allows you to play any kind of character imaginable. You can choose to follow the main storyline and find the source of the evil blight that plagues the land, or set off on your own to explore strange locations and develop your character.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Console, PC)

Step inside the most richly detailed and vibrant game-world ever created. With a powerful combination of freeform gameplay and unprecedented graphics, you can unravel the main quest at your own pace or explore the vast world and find your own challenges.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (Console, PC, Cloud)

Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, the Skyrim Special Edition includes the game and add-ons with all-new features like remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, and more. Also bring the power of mods to consoles. New quests, environments, characters, dialogue, armor, weapons and more – with Mods, there are no limits to what you can experience.

The Elder Scrolls Online (Cloud, Console)

Experience the award-winning story in a persistent Elder Scrolls world. Embark on an adventure that lets you play your way, go anywhere at any level. Battle, craft, steal, siege, explore and more.

The Evil Within (Console, PC, Cloud)

Experience a disturbing reality as you try to break free from warped machinations. With limited resources at your disposal, you’ll fight for survival and experience profound fear in this perfect blend of horror and action. Defeat insurmountable terror and experience the ultimate thrill by discovering The Evil Within.

Fallout 4 (Console, PC, Cloud)

As the sole survivor of Vault 111, you enter a world destroyed by nuclear war. Every second is a fight for survival, and every choice is yours. Only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Welcome home.

Fallout 76 (Console, PC, Cloud)

Steel Dawn is the first chapter in the new Brotherhood of Steel questline, free for Fallout 76 players. Visit settlements populated with new NPCs and unlock powerful weapons and armor from the Brotherhood arsenal. Join in their mission to rebuild society and aid in securing valuable technology.

Fallout: New Vegas (Console)

Welcome to New Vegas. It’s the kind of town where you dig your own grave prior to being shot in the head… and that’s before things really get ugly. It’s a town of dreamers and desperados being torn apart by warring factions vying for complete control of this desert oasis.

Prey (Console, PC, Cloud)

Good morning, Morgan. Prey joins the Xbox Game Pass library, taking you from the comfort of your home to the treacherous depths of space. As Morgan Yu, you’ll have to use your wits, weapons and strange powers to fight the alien threat that has overtaken the Talos I space station. Explore the station, upgrade your skills and abilities, and uncover the secrets of Talos I and the dangers within.

RAGE 2 (Console, PC, Cloud)

Dive headfirst into a dystopian world devoid of society, law, and order. Rage 2 brings together two studio powerhouses – Avalanche Studios, masters of open world insanity, and id Software, creators of the first-person shooter – to deliver a carnival of carnage where you can go anywhere, shoot anything, and explode everything.

Wolfenstein: The New Order (Console, PC, Cloud)

Wolfenstein sends players across Europe on a personal mission to bring down the fascist war machine. With the help of a small group of resistance fighters, infiltrate their most heavily guarded facilities, battle high-tech legions, and take control of super-weapons that have conquered the earth – and beyond.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (Console, PC, Cloud)

The year is 1946 and the Nazis are on the brink of winning World War II. In an effort to turn the tide in the allies’ favor, B.J. Blazkowicz must embark on an epic, two-part mission deep within Bavaria…

Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Console, PC, Cloud)

Set 19 years after the events of Wolfenstein II, BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters, Jess and Soph Blazkowicz — after years of training from their battle-hardened father — are forced into action. Team up with a friend to level up, explore, and complete missions to unlock abilities that compliment your playstyle.

Xbox Game Pass: Games for March 2021

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Madden NFL 21 (Console) EA Play – March 3

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can now go all out as Madden NFL 21 joins The Play List with EA Play. Packed with fresh new features and innovative gameplay enhancements, Madden NFL 21 delivers new levels of ingenuity and control developed to inspire creativity on and off the field. Active members can play as much as they want, whenever they want, plus score 3 Gold Team Fantasy MUT Packs every month!

Football Manager 2021 (PC) – March 4

Manage the club you love and compete for the biggest prizes in the game as you cement your legacy as one of the managerial greats. Dropped into a living and breathing footballing world, you’ll sign wonderkids and develop them to their full potential by crafting a tactical strategy designed to play to their strengths. With more than 2,000 clubs waiting for you to lead them to glory, where will you take your first step towards managerial greatness?

Football Manager 2021 Xbox Edition (Console and PC) – March 4

Experience the drama and excitement of the world’s most popular football management simulation as it returns to the biggest stage. Take in the spectacle of matchdays in the 3D match engine or use the “Instant Result” option to skip straight to the full-time whistle and speed up your progress through the season. Alternatively, go head-to-head against your mates for the ultimate bragging rights in one of several online modes.

NBA 2K21 (Cloud and Console) – March 4

NBA 2K21 continues to push the boundaries as the most authentic, realistic basketball video game experience. Enjoy best-in-class gameplay and one-of-a-kind immersion into all facets of NBA basketball and basketball culture. Ascend from high school to college ball on your way to the League in MyCareer, or build your greatest collection of the latest NBA stars and legendary ballers in MyTeam to compete against other ferocious collectors around the world. Jump in now and find out why in NBA 2K21, everything is game.

Star Wars: Squadrons (Console) EA Play – Coming in March

Master the art of starfighter combat in the authentic piloting experience Star Wars: Squadrons. Feel the adrenaline of first-person multiplayer space dogfights alongside your squadron and buckle up in a thrilling Star Wars story.

Xbox Game Pass: Games for April 2021

NHL 21 (Console) EA Play – Coming in April

Carve your path to superstardom in an expanded Be A Pro mode and go down as one of the league’s greatest. On the ice, change up your attack with all new moves, dekes, dangles and evasive maneuvers, inspired by the league’s most groundbreaking innovators.

The post Xbox Game Pass: New Games for March and April 2021 Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3e8utqM

[yvcttes-blog]

check me out, sliding my intro in here like i haven’t been slacking hard and wasting my time watching youtube videos... ANYWAYS. hello doves! i’m vee (she/her) and i’m hyped af. fair warning, if you plot with me i will come at you with head canons at any point of the day. probably in all caps. and if you’ve read this, we kinda have to plot or gush about our muses ok. i don't make the rules.

if your lazy like me and you want the cheat version and just the bare bones basics, just scroll your cute butt to the bottom and i’ve have some bullet points so you get the just of it, yeah?

if your brave and you wanna get to the dirty details, i wrote a little (actually it’s huge ok) bio thing for her but honestly, feel free to skip this part because i went hard and it’s not short ok. it’s gonna take a hot minute. but it’s a little boujee bio so give yourselves a pat on the back if you managed to read it all.. bless you and your beautiful soul.

** also !! in case you’re confused, auto correct is the devil. her name is Yvette.

( ashley moore. cisfemale. she/her ) // oh god. was that ( yvette martin ) the ( caterer ) on set ? i heard everyone in valence studios calls them ( yve ) though, you should go and say hi because they’re pretty ( charismatic ) though i’ve been told they can also be ( enigmatic ). if anything, they’re known to be the ( reticent ). if i had to describe their story in six words it’ll be ( the cuts healed, her heart didn’t ).

I. YOU’RE THREE YEARS OLD. the memory is hazy; all blurred out edges and fabricated details at best. all you truly have is your parents colourful recollection to go by but here, this moment is the beginning of everything. you’re three years old and on your way to your very first dance class. it’s not terribly impressive. the dance studio is small and all assortments of children bounce around, their reflections doubling, tripping against the mirrored walls. your fingers curl in the fabric of your small tutu and giggles slip past your lips every time your ponytail swings round. they tell you feathery tales of how your eyes lit up like stars and how the grin stay plastered to your face for hours to come. they talk about how even after one class, you knew you only wanted to dance. II. YOU’RE SIX YEARS OLD. america; the land of opportunities, they say. clutching tight to your sister’s hand, you step off the plane and into what is to be your knew home. it’s louder and busier then france ever was. the language is hard and clipped and gratingly foreign to your ears. it’s horrible at first; your heart so desperately wishing it could go back, go home, but your mother wipes your tears and promises you a better world, a new life. your young mind begins to soak up the foreign tongue like a sponge, your toes find purchase on a new dance floor and you surround yourself with new friends. america as it turns out, is not as bad as you thought. III. YOU’RE TWELVE YEARS OLD. words like ‘exotic’ and ‘reclusive’ are thrown around. they are much more preferable to the ones whispered behind your back. teenagers, you discover, are far more cruel then their young souls ought to be. you’re different from your classmates, your skin is darker and your hair wilder and your eyes are not the colour of summer grass but rather of freshly ground soil. you’re an easy target, or so they believe. you don’t have time to hang out after school or swap chatter over reality television during breaks. your days are littered with school work and your nights are spent perched on pointe, trying to make the seemingly impossible look as natural as breathing. your toes bleed, your skin blooms with angry bruises and your muscles scream for mercy, but you tape up your cuts and ice your bruises and do it all over again. you tell yourself that it doesn’t matter what you’ve had to sacrifice, it doesn’t matter that your childhood friends have abandoned you because you’re a dancer. this is the price you pay to be great. IV. YOU’RE FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. julliard comes knocking at your door. a school revered for it’s dance program, for training the very best of the best and they want you. they extend an invitation to fly to new york for their prestigious summer program; to train with their teachers, to learn and impress and dance on the very stage that produced legends. you can’t say yes fast enough, can’t pack your bags fast enough. it’s a strain on finances and a gruelling test on your body, but every compliment thrown your way makes it all worth while. next year, there will be a spot waiting for you. you’re heaving on the floor, spent and drained but you feel as though you’re about to be split open and stuffed to the brim with blazing sunshine. V. YOU’RE SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. it all ends with a bang. with a crunch. with the deafening sound of metal and glass and pure devastation all mashed together. it’s an accident, or that’s what they tell you. an eighteen wheeler ran off the road and straight into your car. they tell you it was instant, that she felt no pain in an attempt to make it somehow easier to swallow. not even the drugs pulsing through your veins can quell the shattering of your heart, your soul. your sister is gone. you survived, left with nothing but screws in your knee and a titanium rod connecting the bones in your leg. one broken ballerina cursed with bones made of tin. this is not how the story goes. VI. you begin to know the inside of hospital walls as well as most girls know their favourite malls. the smell of antiseptic, the bleach white walls and the cooing sounds of nurses soon becomes the soundtrack to your days. it’s horribly uncomfortable, trying to reteach your body how to do something that was once so innate. with every bend, every stretch, it’s a struggle not to wince, not to grimace in pain. breaking in pointe shoes is preferable to this suffering. no one said rebuilding your body would be easy, but they also never told you just how hard it would be. you break and break and break again but somehow, some way you get back up. eventually you stop cringing so often. eventually the exercises become easier. you can move freely now, gaining back an almost full range of motion. you add in weights and you start testing the limits of this body of yours that feels brand new and yet impossible old all at the same time. VII. they always told you that if your work hard enough, if you want something bad enough, you can do anything. they don’t tell you how cruel this world can be. because while your doctor clears you to dance again, he only does so after strapping a ball and chain to your ankles. yes you can dance, but not like you used to. never like you used to. your knee can’t handle the strain, they said. the pressure and utter perfection ballet demands is much too big for a broken body to handle. julliard rescinds it’s offer; they are in the business of dancers and you are no longer what they need. scholarships vanish along with everything that made you who you were. and just like that, your dream has slipped forever out of your grasp. you are shards of a shattered doll, carelessly glued back together in an abstract picture of what once was. whole once more but forever broken. VIII. YOU’RE SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. your family is fractured. your father can’t look at your mother without seeing the daughter he lost and your mother can’t look at you without being reminded of the child she’ll never see. your father tells you that it will get better, that your mother can’t help it, that he will always love you. he talks of your sisters death like it’s the weight of the world, crushing the bones in atlas’ back. you want to scream, want to cry because you’re hurting too but no one seems to hear it. but grief is a festering wound and no amount of settlement money can stitch it back together. your parents never stop fighting. your mother can never quite look you in the eyes, can’t stand to be around you for more then a few fleeting moments. your father moves out because he can’t stand the inside of your family home anymore. the divorce is only the last nail in the coffin. you’re all that’s left when the dust settles. IX. YOU’RE SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD. try, just try. words your therapist whispers over and over again. those delicate balcony doors leaning towards a ballet career have been chained shut but you can’t seem to tear yourself away from them, to turn your back on the dream you lost. try, she says. a women like you can not survive without passion. she pushes and prods and demands more and more from you, prying you open with the bend of a crowbar, with the sharp edges of a blade. try. so you do. if only out of spite at first, if only to shove each failure back into her face. you can’t find the stillness required to get through a book or the fine tuned ear to create symphonies in your mind and you’re certainly no artist either. but eventually you stumble into the kitchen. there is a strange sense of calm you discover amongst the pots and pans, an innate rhythm your body seems to fall into. it’s almost a dance, for lack of a better word. it’s something. X. YOU’RE EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. you haven’t swapped one dream for another. that’s not how this passion thing works. but you’ve found a place to take refuge, a place to quiet the raging of a restless soul like yours. you’ve always been good in the kitchen, but now you’re becoming great. mixing and crushing and blending ingredients together feels a bit like breaking apart choreography. soaking up steps in the form of skills and designing routines has morphed into crafting recipes. it’s individual ingredients and steps that weave together to create something like art. no, not something like it. art. and for the first time in a long time, you find yourself wanting again. XI. YOU’RE NINETEEN YEARS OLD. your father is getting married again. he extends the invite like a bouquet of wilting daisies. he’s still your father, he always will be, or at least those are the words he whispers to you. but he’s found a new life. he’s moving on and crafting a future with someone new and you will always be a chapter in his past. you haven’t spoken to your mother in what feels like forever; of course she doesn’t come to the ceremony. you’re father grins brilliantly and all his guests cheer because he’s finally getting a second chance to do this family thing right. that night you don’t weep at the edge of your sister’s grave, the tears won’t come. instead it feels like the bitter end to something that had broke long again. it’s just you now. XII. YOU’RE TWENTY YEARS OLD. you’re working in a food truck when the offer comes. you’ve worked long and hard and absorbed as much knowledge as you can from your superiors but you’ve got your own truck now. she’s a customer you’ve seen a few times now, always coming back for more and more despite the hurried way she seems to gulp down each helping of food. instead of shouting her order up at the open window, she lingers, only approaching when the mass of customers has finally died down. she offers you a job, catering for a network she represents. the hours are longer but the pay is better and the menu is yours to create. you jumps at the chance. XII. YOU’RE TWENTY ONE YEARS OLD. your days are filled with vibrancy and noise and an array of flavours so bold it’s a struggle to keep the excitement at bay. you get the freedom to experiment and the challenge of creating for a multitude of artists. you’re days are louder then life but your nights take on a quieter note. despite the livelihood of the day, you retreat back to an empty apartment. some nights are harder then others; when the silence is particularly heavy and the weight of it all presses down hard enough to make your bones splinter. on those nights you wonder if you’re too far gone to come back. your leg still twinges when the temperature drops and your skin is still riddled with scars but you’re moving and you’re creating and feeling and that is enough for now. it has to be enough.

OKAY QUICKIE INFO:

she’s a frenchie. born in france but she moved to america when she was six so she’s got that bilingual life.

she’s a cateror for the show, so when you’re hungry and craving all the goodies, she’s your girl ok.

she used to be a ballet dancer and a really fucking good one.

when she was sixteen, her and her sister got into a car accident and while she survived, her sister didn’t. it really messed up her leg and she ended up needing to get screws in her knee and a metal rod in her leg. and while she spent months doing physical therapy and rebuilding her strength, she just wasn’t able to dance the way she used to.

she discovered her love for food through baking. she got into it while she was in physio and it really became a peaceful comfort for her. and after losing dance, it was the only way she could create art again, you know?

she’s damaged goods, like we all are. but she’s got all the basics you know. trust issues. broken family. broken heart. all the good stuff.

she’s the type to talk a lot but say nothing you know? she’s really good at deflecting conversations and basically revealing nothing too personal about herself.

sarcasm and self deprecating humour is her thing.

basically. she’s lonely as fuck. but only admits it to herself.

[lycanrox]

response to aidens post lol

Thanks for forcing me into a relationship and making me fall for you because of your temporary affection if-Tearing me apart internally when I KNEW I was not good enough, when I KNEW we were not going to last because you always had someone better. You gave me false hope and tore me up and used my body just for you to help you out. gonna copy nd paste then post my response ok cool

-Guilt trip and gaslight when you thought I was going to get with someone else, people making compliments towards me got you into a rage fit. You never apologized for always getting pissed when I never did shit and you take compliments all the time. 

i never tried to guilt trip. i told you many times its ok to get with someone else. you literally dated someone else and i was ok with it. it wasnt compliments i was upset over, you literally had people saying they were in love with you. thats really weird to me. i was scared to be abandoned. people dont compliment me, all i have is my boyfriend and my qpp. maybe my close friends compliment me but its not a big deal. did i freak out over ur friends calling u daddy and shit? why should u get upset over people doing that to me?

-Manipulating everyone to know only your side, ignoring my sincere apologies, calling them bullshit, ignoring the fact that I never did those things again and told you to call me out. You barely did, but I did always stop when you told me to.

literally i already said. He sat there with me as youd text me and fight with me. you went to Her, my fp, to complain about me without telling her my side. everyone who ive talked to has seen all of it. i give people my phone and let them read everything since even before we broke up. im not scared to show my side. 

-Controlling me, telling me to do everything and give you love all the time and you literally did that all the time. “I hate myself I want to die”, was that not manipulation, when I always try to comfort you? But, you pushed me away and said you never asked. I was extremely supportive in your times of misery and self harm, what have you ever done for me?

how did i control you? i didnt tell you to do shit. saying “love me” as a joke isnt controlling. i wanted attention, god forbid. you do the same to me. “i hate myself i want to die” is literally just me self loathing, how is that manipulation??? i was venting to you because i trust you. i appreciated the comfort but yes i never wanted help. help is not what i want, i dont want to be in the hospital, i dont want to be put on new meds, i dont want a support group i just want to feel less alone.

-Calling me abusive for literally nothing, for “months” I have apparently abused you when A) I never fucking harmed you, a gentle push I guess which I thoroughly apologized for, but nah it’s all bullshit according to you and B) You have done manipulative and abusive things to me like: Forcing me to do things with you, making me have to kiss you within the first 5 days because you were so sad, trying to talk sexually to me when I was not ready but I got into it because that is what YOU wanted, exhausting my limits to how much you wanted from me, expecting me to love on you and care for you when you are always talking about how many feelings you have for someone else, putting me into a poly relationship without my consent the second time, always having some shit to complain about because I cannot be perfect, pinning me against my friends, and the list goes on.

if like 10 different people are calling you abusive its probably true, dude. you did harm me. you ignored the fact i literally said you punched me. you never apologized for that. i was fucking upset over it and you just sat there and watchd me tear up and curl in a ball. you tried to fucking excuse yourself for it. “I deal with things irrationally, I live in a family that physically hits each other, and it was a blur I cannot just stop and think. I did not blame him for being scared? I said it isn’t my fault and it doesn’t mean I havent gone through things either.” literal quote from you. “...it was aggressive but gentle...” another literal quote. 

i never forced you to. in fact it was always you texting me about how horny you are, you made an nsfw blog so i could see the shit you put on there, you were the first person to make sexual advances. i told you i get sex repulsed sometimes and you apparently dont even remember that because at least 3 times a week you talked to me about being horny and what was i supposed to do? you would be at my house and tell me how much you wanted to fuck, you said literally “i cant wait for after-prom sex” and i didnt let you stay the night because of that. you were the one who always wanted sex. i never forced you to do anything, you were the one who touched me without consent. i didnt make you kiss me. before we were even dating you talked about kissing me all the time. you asked me to teach you how to kiss, so yeah like .. 5 days after we started dating you spent the night and we kissed like 3 times. it wasnt that big of a deal. you asked for it. the first time we sexually talked all i said was i wanted to give you hickeys and you asked to sext, so we did. 

poly relationship w/o consent? when we first started dating i was already dating oliver. when we broke up, again, i was dating oliver so when you ASKED ME OUT again you knew i was still with them. no force. when did i ever pin you against your friends? the only person i ever said shit abt was p**** because he was getting too obsessive when you were uncomfy, and you encouraged me to do that.

-You made me believe that all I was ever doing was WRONG, and I have told you that five trillion times, and you never did anything to help that. I know I was not wrong for trying to be supportive even though I was triggered to death, but you made me feel like I was a fucking nuisance in your life.

how??? i did everything i could to tell you how great of a boyfriend you were. i told you every day how much i loved you. how perfect you were. i didnt do shit, you were the one who made me feel like shit every day because i wasnt physically or mentally able to suit your romantic needs. 

-Blaming me for all your damn mistakes, I got defensive because it was never me, blaming me for being paranoid when you did things and hinted at things to provoke that, and your paranoia was never apologized for either. Even in the beginning, I apologized for being paranoid and it took a long ass time for that to come back because you are so unpredictable and you were never clear with any of the things you said. 

yes i admit i have trouble owning up to my own mistakes. im sorry that i blamed you for things. you dont deserve that. im mature enough to own up and apologize for that. i dont know what i did to make you paranoid but im sorry that that happened. i am unpredictable. i know. yikes at me

-Vaguely saying you did some things wrong too but hiding behind your illnesses as well, not even asking me what you could have done better. You want the cold hard truth? You are getting it. Yes, I was supportive of what you had and I guess I am ableist for trying to help you to change. I WAS SO ABLEIST for wanting the absolute bare minimum. You already said we were just becoming friends at that stage, and the fact of the matter is, you hurt the shit out of me.

i try not to hide behind my illnesses but i really cant help some things because of my illnesses. i tried asking what i could do. i tried doing what you wanted. you are ableist tbqh because i told you i COULDNT DO THE THINGS YOU WANTED but you pushed me every day to fucking do it and when i broke down and apoligzed for not being able to do it you made me feel like ABSOLUTE SHIT!!! i was the worst bf ever bc i cant do some romantic things sometimes!!!!! yikes im so problematic for being disabled!!

-You become avoidant to self harm and don’t fucking apologize for pushing people away. You always told me you were here for me when I needed help but you never actually listened to me. I never jumped straight into things, sorry if you believe that. I always said I was feeling terrible and you decided to expand.

i dont have to apologize for pushing people away if its whats best for me mentally. i am 100% sure in that. i always ask whats wrong because i care about you but when i dont know what youre going to say its a 50/50 chance ill get triggered and if im triggered i cant really think properly!! i get flashbacks and anxiety attacks when i see even specfic words. ive told you before its not great to depend on me for that stuff. that im always here for you but im here to listen, not to help. i cant help myself, how can i help you?

-Saying you were fine all the time, lying to me when something was wrong, I always had to find out from someone else about what you have done.

wow yikes i didnt tell you when i felt shitty because i didnt want to trigger you. yikes because i dont want your help or advice sometimes. i want people to listen but you never JSUT listen you have some styff to say and while some ppl like that i dont!! i dont like being told how to think or feel or what to do

-Abusing your medications and getting high when I first broke up with you, saying you got dumped, implying you didn’t deserve it when you never deserved me. I spent over $200 dollars on your boyfriend’s medical bills, but I am careless and unkind I suppose.

i was already abusing my medications :-/ i never called you careless or unkind but ok

-Tearing me apart internally when I KNEW I was not good enough, when I KNEW we were not going to last because you always had someone better. You gave me false hope and tore me up and used my body just for you to help you out.

what did i ever do to make you feel not good enough lol. not do the things i said before i cant do? i didnt use your body, not once not ever. dont even start that shit. you know my history of rape and sexual abuse. what the actual fuck. 

-Again, since you cannot get it through your selfish mind, you never owned up for ANYTHING you have done, and guess what? I only do what people do to me. So, you treating me bad, I tried to forgive you and become collected, but you pushed me to where I thought I was stuck in the relationship. Why? Because if I left, you would become suicidal, if you left, you would want to come back immediately.

i tried owning up to things and ive apologized for many things i shouldnt have had to. tbqh ive wanted to break up since like.. right after prom bc the way you were being so i wouldnt have been suicidal if you left. yeah i wouldve been upset if i left because its hard for me to detach myself from people

You have no idea what you did, you have no idea what you were doing.

lol u rite

People defending your disgusting actions are no better than you are, you only exclude what you have done to make yourself seem innocent. 

people excusing you for hitting me and sexually abusing me and manipulating and gaslighting me are worse than people supporting me. i was maybe bad to you to combat myself from you hurting me!! i dont want to fucking get hurt again so when you do something shitty i have to do something shitty in return! 

Thanks for forcing me into a relationship and making me fall for you because of your temporary affection 

you asked me out both times. 

I asked you all the damn time if you wanted space, but you said “No, it’s fine,” when you damn well knew it wasn’t. Why are you such a blatant liar?

i didnt want to hurt you by leaving you alone.

Oh and also, when you “broke up” with your boyfriend of two years for me, but always texting endearing things to them when we were together, how cute of you to do that.

we did break up. yeah i fucking missed them though. its hard for me to detach. but i wasnt seeing them behind your back. you know very well it was sho who was dating oliver, not me. i text them endearing things because theyre my fp/dp and i love them. 

anything abusive ive done i literally didnt mean to do. youre the one whos just now pushing all this shit on me. dont accuse me of being abusive when you didnt tell me when these things made you upset. i didnt fucking know. i cant read minds. i cant do any of that shit. i also dont have empathy and cant think of other peoples emotions so its hard for me to think about how/if my actions are affecting people, unless they fuckign tell me. which you didnt. instead, you just told me how fucking shitty i was. i was an awful boyfriend, im using you, im cheating, im not good enough, i cant satisfy you. i guess i was so bad you just had to start dating that other guy, and as you said, because “he can give you things i cannot give”. jeez im so FUCKING sorry.

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 68)

Several things happened all at once:

Ruby tackled Weiss to the floor, their masks falling to the ground as flames engulfed the stage.

The two show magicians from earlier held out their hands, the gentleman forming an air shield that deflected the fire away from the civilians and into his wife as she absorbed the flames.

The people standing behind Taiyang and Yang grabbed them both, discretely cuffing their hands together and hauling them away under the cover of the panicking and fleeing crowds. The two struggled, but they were brought them down fast by two quick kicks to the backs of their knees with concealed prosthetic legs.

A swarm of girls dressed up as the female protagonist of Ninjas of Love sighed as the most brooding, mysterious, and appealing guy dressed up as the male protagonist of the same novel refused to sweep them off their feet and rescue them in this time of distress, instead fighting his way to Blake, who had pointedly ignoring him ever since they noticed each other.

Penny was stabbed in the back with an umbrella; her optics widened as the magic was drained from her, before she shut down completely, bits and pieces of her arms falling out of her sleeves. Pyrrha cried out and grabbed her as she fell limp, the horror on her face changing into rage as she saw an elegantly dressed girl smile evilly at them.

The alarms for Candela's Peacekeeping Bureau, the nearby Armed Forces of Avalon base, and Queensguard HQ all started blaring red.

Weiss opened her eyes, stared past Ruby's face and horns and up at the catwalk, saw a flash of glowing ember eyes before their owner fled. “UP THERE!” she called out.

Both the magicians directed their power upwards, shooting bolts of lightning and jets of flame from their hands. The neo-steel catwalks sparked and crackled with electricity as they melted and broke apart, the severed halves swinging onto the stage and depositing one stunned tiger Fae onto the stage.

The magicians stepped in front of Ruby and Weiss as they picked up their fallen weapons, putting up a wall of air as more fireballs were summoned and held at the ready.

"Who are you?!" Ruby cried.

The tiger Fae chuckled as she picked herself up, grinned at them with a mouth full of sharp fangs. "Who do you think...?"

"... No, seriously, who are you...?"

She blinked, then scowled. "Do you really not know who I am?!"

"Uh, no? That's kinda why I'm asking..."

The tiger Fae gritted her teeth, her golden eyes burning in hatred. “Listen very closely, because you're only going to hear this once,” she said as her hands burst into flames. “My name is Cinder Fall, and I lead the Heralds of the New World Order.”

The fires started to grow hotter and larger. “Avalon as you know it is doomed! Your precious Eldan Council? Your human governments? All are going to burn, and we’ll be the ones rising from the ashes, make this realm what it always should have been...

“… Now please, do us all a favour and DIE!”

The magicians joined their powers into a single shield as Cinder’s jet of flames hit it; the two of them cried out, just barely holding the inferno back.

“RUN, YOU FOOLS!” they called out.

Ruby and Weiss didn’t need to be told twice. They grabbed their masks and jumped from the stage, just as the magicians’ shield faltered, and the couple screamed as they were incinerated.

There was no time to mourn them, however, for they had bigger problems to worry about:

The swarms of Fae and humans flooding into the park as the civilians fled, all of them armed with weapons from both cultures. All of them wearing their own masks and balaclavas, white with blood red streaks like vicious creatures straight from your nightmares.

The Peacekeepers on-site did their best to hold them off, protect the innocents still trapped there, but regulation firearms and body armour could only do so much against military grade hardware and weapons hewed from Ironbark.

Weiss swiftly put her mask back on, the threat sensors going wild. “What do you we do?!”

Ruby calmly put her own mask back on. “We hold out until help arrives,” she said as she reached into her coat, pulled out her one dispel charm.

Weiss watched as she slapped the paper over her scythe, the seal breaking and the weapon becoming very lethal once more.

“You get Yang and dad, I’ll get Blake, then we both help out Pyrrha and Penny,” Ruby said as she held it out. “Ready?”

Weiss turned to Taiyang and Yang, still being dragged away and held still by two sickles on their necks. “Ready!”

“CHARGE!”

Meanwhile, in Queensguard HQ, all hell was breaking loose as agents swarmed all around, suiting up and getting ready to move out in every single supersonic jet they had in the hangar.

Ironwood stood in the center of it all, guiding the chaos. “All units, move out! I want you armed with every single thing we’ve got—you especially, Schnee! Time for the Mk. IV to make its grand debut!”

Back in Goldleaf Park, Blake was desperately trying to wrench herself free from her captor’s grip.

<LET GO OF ME, ADAM!> she screeched.

He only held on tighter, making her cry out in pain. <NO! This is your last chance, my love! The rebellion is finally making its move! The Council, these humans, the disgrace we left behind in Solaris—they’re all going to fall, and the Heralds are the only place you’re going to be safe!

<YOU’RE CRAZY!>

<GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU CREEP!> Ruby yelled.

Adam turned his head, threw Blake out of the way. He pulled out his sword, just barely blocked Ruby’s scythe with it. <Stay out of this, Council-Scum!> he spat as they locked weapons, sparks of power falling from his blood-red sword. <This is a matter between us lovers!>

<No, no it isn’t!> Ruby spat back. <Blake told me all about you, and as her new best friend, it is my sworn duty to protect her from all her assbutt exes, and physically fight them if necessary!>

Adam broke off, jumping back before he dashed forward and attacked Ruby with a flurry of slashes. She swung her scythe just as quickly, blocking every single attack, blinding sparks and flashes searing the eyes of anyone who watched.

Blake cried out in frustration as she could only run from the melee, shield her eyes, and pray Ruby would win.

<DO YOU REALLY THINK THE COUNCIL’S ATTACK DOG CAN STAND AGAINST THE LIKES OF ME?!> Adam screamed before he sent his sword crashing down on Ruby’s head!

CLANG!

The blade stopped dead on the handle; while he was caught off balance, Ruby smashed her horns into Adam’s face.

He reeled from the blow, held his sword out in a defensive stance.

Ruby swung.

A horrific screeching noise rang through the air as the scythe went right through Adam’s sword, blood-red magic exploding from the break.

Ruby smiled as she twirled her scythe around her, the echoes of Adam’s fallen foes and prey flying into her weapon, her weapon glowing as they gave it even more power.

Adam held up the two cleanly severed halves of his sword, its formerly brilliant blood-red glow now dull and dead.

He scowled. <MOTHERFU--!>

POW!

Ruby headbutted Adam, he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. She turned to Blake in the distance, gave her the thumbs up. She smiled at her in relief, before her ears and tail perked up and she frantically pointed behind her.

Ruby turned around, saw Cinder flying in the air, her whole body engulfed in flames. She raised her fiery hands at her. “I guess if you want a job done right, you’ll HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF!”

Ruby braced herself.

CLANG!

Cinder was hit by a flying car and knocked to the ground.

The doors of the small convoy opened, armed and armoured Watchers with white and blue masks began to jump out and join the fray, clashing with the Heralds and faring much better than the Peackeepers.

Qrow hung out of the last one, waving a familiar attachment Ruby hadn’t seen a long while. <Special delivery!> he yelled, before he threw her scythe’s Farslinger attachment to Ruby, complete with a belt of high-grade mediums.

Ruby began to fasten it to the handle of her weapon, the barrel parallel to the back of the blade. <Thanks, Uncle Qrow!> she cried as she loaded a Water clip into it, smiled as the indicators on the side began to glow a cool, icy blue.

Cinder groaned and picked herself up from where she landed. She shook her head, turned back to Ruby just in time to see an ice bolt coming right for her face.

She raised her hand, incinerated it into nothing with a wall of flame; she turned it into a bubble as more and more bullets, bolts, and bombs came flying in from all around her, the watchers and Ruby pumping everything they had into her.

Blake received a dispel charm from the reinforcements, one she happily slapped on her weapon before she rushed over to help Pyrrha.

At the same time Ruby was clashing with Adam, Weiss tangoed with Yang and Taiyang’s captors: Mercury, the silver-haired cyborg dragging father and daughter off with their cuffs, and his Fae partner Emerald, holding her sickles to their necks.

“You people should really learn how to be better kidnapping victims, you know,” he said as he dragged them through the deserted park. “Just think of it: if you hadn’t fought earlier, then you two could have been sitting in our nice, comfy getaway car right now, plus your knees wouldn’t be hurting so much from where I kicked you.”

He smiled. “Doesn’t that sound nice...?”

“Not really, no,” Weiss replied from behind them.

Emerald brought her scythes away and prepared to attack.

Kssshhhtt!

She screamed and staggered back as elemental fire burned her eyes, the strongest dosage Weiss could make at the moment.

Mercury kicked his leg back, Weiss felt the wind knocked out of her as it connected with her gut; through the pain, she grabbed his ankle with both hand-, pumped as many volts as she could into him.

She didn’t sent him dancing and jerking about like Clem earlier, but it was enough to cause Mercury to fall over as his one foot on the ground suddenly malfunctioned and lost balance.

Yang and Taiyang ran to Weiss, she looped her arms into theirs, and they helped her limp a good distance away as Mercury and Emerald recovered.

Weiss examined at the cuffs binding their hands together, and frowned. “I don’t think I can break these without hurting you two...” she murmured, still winded and aching from Mercury’s kick.

“That’s fine!” Taiyang replied. “Just give me as much juice as you can—trust me!”

“And make it fast, Weiss!” Yang said.

Weiss looked at them both, before she grabbed both of Taiyang’s hands and started charging him with as much magic as she possibly could. Thankfully, the seal spell didn’t affect that aspect of her powers, and soon, his arms were glowing with bright, golden lines of power.

“That’s enough!” Taiyang cried. “Now stand back!”

Weiss and Yang did.

<IRON-FIST!>

Taiyang’s shackles snapped off as the skin all over his hands and arms turned into ironbark, glimmering in the light. “HOLY SHIT!” he cried as he casually ripped apart Yang’s cuffs with one hand. “I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT ACTUALLY WORKED!”

“You mean you didn’t know for sure...?!” Weiss wheezed.

“Less talk, more saving the other’s asses!” Yang said as she tugged at her arm, pointed her to Pyrrha losing her fight with the umbrella-wielding girl, and badly.

Weiss turned back to Mercury and Emerald, already recovered and looking ready to go. “Are you sure you can take them on by yourself?”

“Positive!” Taiyang replied. “I survived being married to a Keeper, didn’t I?”

Before Weiss could reply, he was off.

Mercury and Emerald tried to overwhelm him, kicking and slashing in a frenzy, but Taiyang took every blow in stride, their attacks bouncing and glancing off him like his entire body had been made of metal.

“Let’s move, princess!” Yang cried as she hauled Weiss over to Pyrrha.

She was no stranger to martial arts and unusual combat styles, but she had never seen anything like the one her opponent was using: snaking and effortlessly dodging all of her attacks by moving just to the side of each strike, absorbing the blows with her umbrella, pulling her off balance with well-timed kicks and counters wherever she was most vulnerable.

The girl with the pink-and-black hair grinned as she casually poked Pyrrha in the chest with the tip of her umbrella.

Pyrrha cried out and staggered back, feeling like she had just been punched full-force by a Tinman. “Who are you..?!” she gasped as she fell back beside Penny.

Her opponent just put her umbrella on her shoulder and smiled.

“Her name’s Neopolitan, and I’m Roman Torchwick,” said a well-dressed man waltzing in with a cane. “No need to introduce yourself!” he said as he raised it up, the tip crackling with magic. “We both know who you are, Ms. Nikos...”

Roman and Neo grinned, Pyrrha closed her eyes.

The tip of a breakneck wrapped around Roman’s arm, jerked him to the ground, and caused his shot to go wide, the magic blowing up an unlucky trash can instead.

Blake pounced into the fray, making a point to land on Roman’s crotch, before she launched off him and into Neo.

Roman’s eyes widened as excruciating pain exploded from the lower half of his body. He groaned and aimed his cane at Blake; the flashes from her and Neo’s flurry of attacks, parries, and dodges made it hard to see, but he had no doubt Neo wouldn’t get hit by it.

The tip crackled, and he was about to fire, when Weiss’ fell out of the sky and landed square on his chest instead. The wind was knocked out of him once more, he barely had any time to realize what had happened when Weiss reared her hand back, and smashed her earth-empowered palm into his face.

Wham!

“Thank you for flying with Air Xiao Long!” he heard Yang call out, before he lost consciousness.

“Pyrrha!” Weiss called out as she crawled off him. “Are you okay...?!”

“Never mind me—what about Penny?!” Pyrrha replied, pointing to her.

Weiss knelt over and examined her body, heavy, lifeless, and cold. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said as she put her hands on her chest.

“And I’ll help Blake!” Yang said as she rushed off.

Weiss closed her eyes, started to channel her magic into Penny again. It was different this time, none of the warmth of her hands, the steady thrum of her sensors monitoring the flow; her magic flowed down her arms and into Penny’s chest, but it didn’t seem to be having any effect.

Pyrrha frowned hung her head… then she noticed a flicker of green in her eyes. “It’s working!”

Weiss intensified the flow.

At the same time, Blake and Yang fought Neo, mixing their sword slashes and punches, attacking from all manner of angles, trying to grab her and set her up for the other, but she smoothly dodged or blocked every attack with her umbrella.

Neo swung her umbrella right into Yang’s side, hitting her with all the force of their combined attacks.

Yang gasped in pain; she clumsily threw a punch at Neo in return, amplifying it with as much power as she could.

Neo cheerfully grabbed her wrist, redirected her strike towards an unsuspecting Blake.

Yang’s fist connected, she flew off, tumbling and skidding along the pavement until she came to a sudden stop on a tree. Yang watched in horror as she crumpled to the floor, hands clutching her side.

Neo beamed at her as she curtsied, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She opened them, saw a concentrated blast of bright green heading straight for her.

Her smile disappeared.

A concentrated burst of Penny’s magic exploded on her clothes, burning and searing Neo’s clothes; she silently panicked and flailed about as she struggled to open her umbrella against the rest of the barrage, Pyrrha firing her energy lance until Neo was forced to retreat.

Kneeling on the ground, the barrel braced over her shoulder, and her hands wrapped around the ammo receiver, Penny smiled.

Sprawled out on her back and breathing heavily, Weiss groaned.

“1,100 years…” she muttered. “1,100 years, a decades long trip from the Old World on a decaying fleet held together by scrap metal, duct tape, and prayers, and who-knows-how-many raids and fights with Aether Pirates, and that thing STILL fires!”

Pyrrha chuckled. “Thank the Stewards for taking such good care of it!” she said as she and Penny went off to fetch Blake and Yang.

They had just laid them down beside Weiss and healed the worst of their injuries, when jets appeared over the night sky, flashing red-gold holo indicators appearing all over the square with a familiar logo of a crown and a shield.

Everyone stopped.

The Council forces’ eyes widened as they all began to run for it, hauling themselves, their injured, and their fallen back into their cars and flying off, or disappearing into nearby buildings and teleporting out of there.

Cinder dispelled her bubble, she and her Heralds stared up at the sky as the Queensguard dropped down from the sky like shooting stars, making craters in the pavement as they landed, glowing bright and radiant as they acquired their targets, and began to decimate them with the very best Candela had to offer.

Taiyang and broke off from Mercury and Emerald, Qrow and Ruby split from the rest of the watchers and joined him. Taiyang punched his fists into the ground, all three of them flew up into the air on a pillar of upturned earth, right into the open doors of a flying car heading towards Weiss and the others.

Ruby leaned out, and waved at Weiss; she couldn’t see her smile underneath the mask, the expression on her face that told her everything was going to be alright now, but she could just tell.

Weiss smiled back, until she saw a lone figure rocketing after them in highly advanced armour she’d never seen before, brilliant and radiant with technomagic “wings” that made its wearer look like an angel from the Old World’s myth.

If Old World angels came with highly advanced energy-weapons that had enough firepower to level a small city state district, at any rate.

“GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!” Winter cried.

Her shoulder-mounted cannons charged, then fired a beam of pure, concentrated magic straight at the flying car Ruby, Taiyang, and Qrow were on.

[artificialqueens]

Cradle Part 3 (Thorgy x Violet) by Vanguard

I saw a fic where another author’s name was Pixie so if I have to change my name just look up artificial Pixie to find my blog (can’t remember if it’s theArtificialPixie or just ArtificialPixie) and lemme know. I do not mind changing my name/blog at all! I would feel horrid if I took someone else’s name!

The queens are mostly referred to by their stage names with a smattering of boy names in the mix. Pronouns are he/him or they them for Violet and any other Enby friends unless they are in drag. IF you are wondering, my preferred pronouns are they/them but if you forget, I’m pretty forgiving. Everyone makes mistakes. LOL keep that in mind when you read this.

Thoughts are in apostrophes, for example ‘This reader feedback makes my day!’ Pixie thought happily. (hint, hint, hint!)

Part 3

CW: Blood, Violence, Distress and all that good shit

Thorgy opened his eyes blearily and blinked a few times, everything was unfocused. Someone was holding his hand but let go quickly.

“Hey sleepyhead…”

‘What the fuck? Why is Acid with me in my room and why is my head pounding?’ Thorgy thought, trying to remember what he had done last night but it was a big blur. Probably drank too much he surmised. He really should remember though. Everything, including his vision, was blurry.

“Thorgeles, I have your glasses here.” Acid said in a low gentle voice instead of his usual rough bark.

“That’s why I can’t see!” Thorgy exclaimed dramatically with a little giggle as he put on his glasses.

His eyes widened as he looked around a hospital room where he was laying in a bed, IV in one arm, blood pressure cuff on the other and wearing an ugly blue gown.

“Wha…?” Thorgy felt his body for any broken bones, why was he here? “What happened?” Thorgy questioned Acid confusedly, still looking around for clues as to why he was here.

Acid inhaled and gravely said “Shane…” uh oh boy names are for serious shit. “There was an accident last night…” Acid broke off again.

“oh! That’s probably why I can’t remember anything!” Thorgy exclaimed, sitting up straight in the bed and then growing serious again, “what happened to me? Is everyone else ok? Am I going to be ok?” Thorgy’s brows knitted together with concern.

“Okay,” Acid sighed, his bottom lip quivering. “First I have a question.”

“Ask away!” Thorgy said, leaning back on the bed. His head was paining him greatly and he wondered if he had hit it off of something during the accident. His eyes were still darting around the room as if there might be a clue somewhere.

“Shane, focus!” Acid begged, the use of his boy name AGAIN meant something serious so he nodded and tried to concentrate despite the banging and clanging of his head. “Are you and Violet together?”

Thorgy instantly felt a twinge of anger at Katya for telling when he thought they had an understanding that he wouldn’t. “Yes we are, did Katya tell you?” He whined, annoyed. “We have been for awhile, please don’t tell anyone.”

“Katya didn’t tell me.”

“Well then, how did you know?”

“ Your reaction last night. You don’t remember anything?” Acid asked, dreading having to tell Thorgy what had happened if he couldn’t remember.

Thorgy tried to focus past his sore brain and flashes of memory flickered through his head but he couldn’t put them together right away.

Flashes of blood, someone’s terrified screaming, red fabric. It made no sense. Someone fell, the image of someone falling through air. ‘It couldn’t been me though,’ Thorgy thought. He saw the person who fell, it wasn’t him so who was falling?

Memories tickled his brain but evaded capture. He just could not put the pieces back together, it was like a puzzle he bought at a yard sale that was missing half of the pieces.

Acid looked at Thorgy as he was deep in thought, he didn’t know whether he should continue to let him remember or just explain it.

Thorgy bent over himself, with his head in his hands as he let out a groan. Acid heard “My head hurts so bad” mumbled from near his knees.

“Do you want me to get a nurse?”

Thorgy didn’t really respond in words but continued to hold his head and grind his teeth together. Acid was feeling very worried. Acid jogged out to the nurses desk where he got the attention of a nurse who was writing in a file.

“Hey hi, I think my friend needs help. Room 231. Please, as soon as possible.”

“I’ll be there in one minute ok hun?”

“Thank you, he’s really suffering.” Acid said and walked back to Thorgy’s room, halfway there he heard the most pitiful keening cry he had ever heard. He was surprised when he walked into the room and found it was Thorgy weeping uncontrollably.

Acid ran up to Thorgy who had either sunk down willingly or had fallen onto the floor, hands up to his head. He had ripped out his IV and there was an alarmingly large trail of blood down his arm that had dripped onto the floor.  Acid put his hand on Thorgy’s shoulder and he jumped. He looked up at Acid and then back down. He hugged his knees up to his chest and put his head down on them, still holding the sides like his brains might escape his ears if he didn’t. Still wailing which Acid knew it had to be hurting poor Thorgy’s brain.

“I re..rem…ember what ha…happened t..t..to Vi.” Thorgy sobbed out. His head hurt so fucking bad. He remembered most of it, Violet’s face as she fell, her scream, he remembered not being able to move when it happened and wanting to just pull Violet into his arms and not being able to. But, that was all he remembered. That didn’t explain why HE was in the hospital.

“Why am..am I in he..re? Where is Vi..Violet?” He pleaded, stopping every few words to take in a ragged breath.

“I’ll explain it,” Acid said calmly, “AFTER you get back in bed. Did you fall?”

Thorgy nodded, crying too hard to talk.

“Oh my God Shane, what the fuck were you thinking?!” Acid said as he put his hands out to help Thorgy up but his foot slipped in the gruesome puddle of blood. Acid basically had to pick up Thorgy and help him sit on the side of the bed. He laid down and curled into a ball. Acid grabbed up a bunch of scratchy, thin, hospital tissues and pressed them to Thorgy’s bleeding arm.

Thorgy’s crying was losing force and he had gone from wailing loudly to crying silently his shoulders shaking, taking in large gulps of air and staring straight ahead at the wall despondently. He wanted to be with Violet, his heart craved them, he was panicked at the thought that they were hurt and all alone. He hoped Katya was with them.

The nurse came in, scandalized that Thorgy had removed his IV but looking concerned at his grimace while holding his head.

“How bad is your pain, out of 10.”

Thorgy reluctantly removed his hands from his head to hold up all 10 fingers, still to upset to talk. His hands returned to his head and he put his head down.

The pain in his heart was way worse. It was about 1000 out of 10. How could he have let down Violet so badly? He felt numb with disappointment in himself.

He jumped when he felt a prick in his hand as the nurse put in a new IV. “Now DON’T pull this one out.” She chastised him firmly, “I will be right back.”

Thorgy felt the numbness he was feeling wash out of him. He felt rage replacing it. “I DON’T FUCKING WANT TO BE HERE!” He yelled at her as she was about to leave, completely uncharacteristic for his usually mild mannered personality. He started wailing again, bringing his hands up to his face. Occaisionally shouting things like “I SHOULDN’T BE HERE” “i SHOULD BE WITH THEM” and “THEY ARE ALL ALONE HERE!”

“I know sir, I know. Let’s get you better and then you can go to your loved one. You will be NO help to them if you leave and you are still ill.” The nurse said in a loud whisper. He had to quiet down to hear her, she must have repeated it at least 10 times and when he finally heard it all, he nodded resignedly. “We will get you feeling better as SOON as possible, I promise. I will be right back but I NEED you to calm down so we don’t have a repeat of last night. Ok sir?”

Thorgy shared a look with Acid, whose eyes looked sad and then nodded mutely and she left the room. Acid sat down again beside him and put his hand on Thorgy’s shoulder.

“What happened last night? What does she mean Jamin? Tell me everything, I need to know EVERYTHING!”

Acid felt his stomach tighten, he had dreaded this inevitable conversation.

Acid tried to figure out how to to fill Thorgy in on what happened without really telling him how bad it got or what he did. Acid remembered every single vivid detail.

The paramedics were getting Violet on a stretcher, she had a collar around her neck and a loose bandage on her thigh with the bone still sickly sticking out.

Thorgy was holding onto him in a death grip with his frozen, shaking hands and sobbing so a paramedic came to reassure him and see if he was hurt, by then Violet was gone to be loaded in the ambulance.

The paramedic knelt down by Thorgy who was pale and sweaty, he couldn’t seem to get enough air, Acid surmised that it was because he had been crying so hard. A paramedic looked into Thorgy’s eyes and took his pulse and blood pressure then called for a second ambulance.

Acid thought it was a bit of an over exaggeration at first but Thorgy seemed to decline in front of his very eyes.

Thorgy didn’t fight when they put him in the ambulance and Acid jumped up to sit beside him, growing increasingly concerned. The paramedic was reassuring Thorgy as he pulled an oxygen mask onto his face and Acid had reached forward to hold his hand. Thorgy became more and more confused and dazed until he couldn’t answer their questions like what day is it? What city are we in? Then Thorgy suddenly went lax and Acid let go of him to allow the paramedic enough space to work.

They arrived at the hospital a minute later and a swarm of people descended upon Thorgy.

Acid was relieved when they let him stay in a corner of the room out of the way instead of making him wait outside. The only time they closed the curtain was when they changed him into a gown. Acid didn’t bother to tell them he had seen every inch of Thorgy’s body, kissed every inch of it too.

When they opened the curtain, they had hooked Thorgy up to a myriad of wires that Acid didn’t know what they did but he hoped they would help Thorgy.

One of the nurses started an IV. The words shock, rapid heart rate and low blood pressure flew around the room while they worked to stabilize Thorgy. Acid bit down on his cheek so hard he tasted blood.

Thorgy started to stir, “Hello Sir!” A nurse said loudly, “You’re in the hospital but we are gonna take good care of you.” She talked to him like he was a 4 year old and Acid wrinkled his nose in disgust at the patronizing tone.

Thorgy sat bolt upright, “Where is Violet? Where is Jason Dardo? I DON’T NEED ALL OF THIS!! WHERE IS JASON?” He bellowed in the nurse’s face as he started ripping wires off himself. Acid was taken aback by the look of madness in his friend’s normally mild mannered face, his eyes were wide, as he was bellowing. Spittle flying everywhere from the vehemency of his shout.

“Sir, please calm down.” A burly male nurse came over, punting the other nurse back behind him as if Thorgy might punch her, which Acid thought was kinda overreacting.

Then Thorgy actually did take a swing at him! 6 medical people tackled and restrained him as he tried to thrash out of their hold. He was screaming obscenities, and looking possessed. Acid was petrified. What the fuck was happening? One of them bellowed something to a nurse in the corner who got out a stupidly big needle that one of the people jabbed into Thorgy’s arm. He thrashed for a few minutes slowly winding down like a toy with a drained battery, his eyes rolled back and he lay still.

Acid wiped a tear off his cheek roughly, hoping they wouldn’t see. The petite nurse Thorgy yelled at did see and Acid cursed in his mind as she came over. She patted Acid’s arm. “He’s going to be ok sir, we just didn’t want him to hurt himself or anyone else. He is in shock, it sometimes causes anger.”

“Is he going to be in trouble for trying to hit that guy?” Acid said, biting his lip, his tooth clanging off of his lip ring. Getting in trouble with the law could make travelling difficult and that was the majority of their profession.

Acid was worried about more monumental things like would Violet be ok? Would Thorgy as well? But if he thought of those things, he would fall completely apart or his brain would implode so small inconsequential shit would have to be thought about.

“No, no he won’t, don’t worry. He wasn’t aware of what he was doing.”

Acid let out a big breath of air, “Thank God!”

Acid shifted his eyes past the nurse to Thorgy, someone had reattached the wires and Thorgy was laying there, totally out, makeup smeared across his face by tears and his own frantic hands.

His ex laying unconscious in a hospital bed was breaking his heart. He liked to say he didn’t have a heart but Thorgy had found it and encouraged him use it. He couldn’t wall it away with brick and mortar again.

“Can I wash his face off?” Acid asked awkwardly.

“Sure you can! If you want to. Or I can do it if you’d rather.”

“No, no! I don’t mind.”

She went to the cupboard and got a washcloth, wetting it at the sink and handing Acid the steaming cloth. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, it’s most likely that he won’t wake up til tomorrow. The doctor will probably admit him for observation for the night.”

“Oh ok.” Acid said dumbly as the nurse left.

Acid walked up to his bedside and whispered “Oh Shane, what have you done to yourself?” He let the tears come then, hot trails down his cheeks They were splashing onto Thorgy as he gently removed the smeared makeup. Occasionally he went to wring the cloth and he would come back and look at Thorgy again and feel like someone was stabbing him in his heart with a rusty icepick.

When he finished, he looked around surreptitiously and then caressed Thorgy’s cheek and kissed him on the lips softly.

“I WILL win you back Shane, I promise you.” Acid whispered, straightening up quickly as the nurse came back in.

“So I was right, we are going to keep him overnight since he lost consciousness and we need to monitor his blood pressure because it dropped pretty low as well as his psychotic break. We just want to make sure he’s ok.”

“Psychotic break?” Acid croaked out. It seemed like such a harsh term for his gentle friend.

“Yes but he will most likely be back to himself tomorrow.”

“Do you have any news about his…” Acid paused as it hurt him to say it, “boyfriend Jason Dardo?”

“No news yet, I have been looking since he got so upset about him and there hasn’t been new information. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, it’s not your fault.”

2 nurses came in and told Acid to follow them as they took Thorgy’s gurney to the second floor. The worst was when they slid him onto the bed, his head flopped backwards like a newborn baby’s, his leg fell out of the sheet they were transferring him on so Acid lifted it up so it wouldn’t be under him. Thorgy just slept on.

They all left and the nurse said she would be back in a moment. Thorgy was just in his short blue gown so Acid covered him up and kissed his forehead and then pulled up a chair by the bed. He reached through the bars of the bed guard and grabbed Thorgy’s hand. He knew he shouldn’t but, he just wanted to be close to him.

Acid eventually fell asleep, sitting upright and he never let go of Thorgy’s hand. He woke up when the nurses came in and at one point he got an update about Vi.

“Earth to Acid, come in Acid.” Thorgy said, looking at the deep-in-thought queen. ”Please Jamin, just tell me?” Thorgy pleaded, removing his hands from his head and putting his hand over Acid’s. It was the first time Thorgy had touched him without him initiating it, like the hug last night, since their breakup and it made him shiver.

Thorgy pulled his hand away like he had touched an open flame and returned them to his head. He knew he needed space from Acid and Acid needed space from him but it seemed like the only way to fully get his attention. He still loved Acid and of course Acid still loved him, he could see it in the way the usually brusque queen’s eyes softened when he looked toward him.

“So when Violet had her accident, you were really upset of course. You were crying so hard it was hard for you to talk, when the ambulance got there you were starting to look ill. You were sweaty and pale and so a paramedic came to check you out, they said your heart rate was really high and your blood pressure was low and you couldn’t catch your breath, then you…” Acid paused for a moment to think of the words to use.

“Then I did WHAT Jamin? Just tell me!”

The nurse came in and Thorgy wanted to tell her to get out so he could find out what Acid was hesitant to tell him, it must be bad. He managed to keep his composure while she gave him some medication, which seemed to take effect in a minute or two while she checked his vitals. He lowered his hands, finally. His brain no longer felt like it was going to explode.

“I will be back to check on you.” The nurse said and then nodded her head towards a breakfast tray as she was leaving. “Try to eat something please.”

Thorgy waited til she left and then turned towards Jamin again. “So what happened?”

“Ok so in the ambulance you were getting more and more confused then you actually passed out just before we got here. once you woke up at the hospital, you got very angry and you tried to punch one of the nurses.”

“Oh my God! Shit! I don’t even remember that happening! Am I in trouble?”

“No not at all, they said you were in shock and not responsible for your actions.”

“Oh good! I still feel bad though. I can’t believe I did that!”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, he moved out of the way so you didn’t actually hit him. Then a bunch of people jumped on you and knocked you out so you didn’t hurt yourself. Or them!” Acid said wryly

“That’s why my body hurts. I’ve never been tackled before! Well I am glad I didn’t hurt anyone!” Thorgy took in a deep breath to ask the question that had been on his mind since he woke up but had been sidetracked by his head hurting. “What have you heard about Jason?”

Acid thought telling Thorgy what happened to him was hard. How the fuck could even start to tell him about Violet?

[hipsterbrutus]

Changed Pronouns Hamlet

So I wanted to see what a classic story like Hamlet would be like if all the male characters were female and vice versa. So I just took the Wikipedia summary, and changed only the names and pronouns. The results really interested me, and I think this would be a very epic play...  Disclaimers: 1. I changed some of the names more than others, mainly because some of them were so ingrained in my head as one gender or another that I needed to distance myself further from that association. 2. I chose to go with the name ‘Amla’ as a feminized tribute to the original historical Prince Amleth, on whom Hamlet is based. 3. I chose to use binary male/female genders for this experiment because I wanted to explore the contrasts and stereotypes of the roles that we expect binary male and female characters in literature to fulfill. (The only gender neutral change I made was to change ‘What a piece of work is a man’ to ‘humanity’ instead, since it is used in a gender neutral way in the play. I am aware that this would necessitate further challenges with the wordplay on ‘man’ that follows in the actual script, but this change suffices for now.) All that to say, non-binary version of this story or of some of the characters therein would also be epic as well, and if you write that one I would love to read it. 

Act I

The protagonist of Amla is Princess Amla of Denmark, daughter of the recently deceased Queen Amla, and niece of Queen Claudia, her mother's sister and successor. Claudia hastily married Queen Amla's widower, Gerald, Amla's father, and took the throne for herself. Denmark has a long-standing feud with neighbouring Norway, in which Queen Amla slew Queen Floria of Norway in a battle some years ago. Although Denmark defeated Norway and the Norwegian throne fell to Queen Floria's infirm sister, Denmark fears that an invasion led by the dead Norwegian queen's daughter, Princess Floria, is imminent.

On a cold night on the ramparts of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle, the sentries Bernadette and Marcella discuss a ghost resembling the late Queen Amla which they have recently seen, and bring Princess Amla's friend Hanna as a witness. After the ghost appears again, the three vow to tell Princess Amla what they have witnessed.

As the court gathers the next day, while Queen Claudia and King Gerald discuss affairs of state with their elderly adviser Polina, Amla looks on glumly. During the court, Claudia grants permission for Polina's daughter Laetitia to return to school in France and sends envoys to inform the Queen of Norway about Floria. Claudia also scolds Amla for continuing to grieve over her mother and forbids her to return to her schooling in Wittenberg. After the court exits, Amla despairs of her mother's death and her father's hasty remarriage. Learning of the ghost from Hanna, Amla resolves to see it herself.

As Polina's daughter Laetitia prepares to depart for a visit to France, Polina offers her advice that culminates in the maxim "to thine own self be true.” Polina's son, Orpheus, admits his interest in Amla, but Laetitia warns him against seeking the princess' attention, and Polina orders him to reject her advances. That night on the rampart, the ghost appears to Amla, telling the princess that she was murdered by Claudia and demanding that Amla avenge her. Amla agrees, and the ghost vanishes. The princess confides to Hanna and the sentries that from now on she plans to "put an antic disposition on", or act as though she has gone mad, and forces them to swear to keep her plans for revenge secret; however, she remains uncertain of the ghost's reliability.

Act II

Soon thereafter, Orpheus rushes to his mother, telling her that Amla arrived at his door the prior night half-undressed and behaving erratically. Polina blames love for Amla's madness and resolves to inform Claudia and Gerald. As she enters to do so, the Queen and King finish welcoming Rosaline and Genevieve, two student acquaintances of Amla, to Elsinore. The royal couple has requested that the students investigate the cause of Amla's mood and behaviour. Additional news requires that Polina wait to be heard: messengers from Norway inform Claudia that the Queen of Norway has rebuked Princess Floria for attempting to re-fight her mother's battles. The forces that Floria had conscripted to march against Denmark will instead be sent against Poland, though they will pass through Danish territory to get there.

Polina tells Claudia and Gerald her theory regarding Amla's behaviour and speaks to Amla in a hall of the castle to try to uncover more information. Amla feigns madness and subtly insults Polina all the while. When Roseline and Genevieve arrive, Amla greets her "friends" warmly but quickly discerns that they are spies. Amla admits that she is upset at her situation but refuses to give the true reason, instead commenting on "What a piece of work is humanity". Roseline and Genevieve tell Amla that they have brought along a troupe of actors that they met while traveling to Elsinore. Amla, after welcoming the actors and dismissing her friends-turned-spies, asks them to deliver a soliloquy about the death of the Queen and King at the climax of the Trojan War. Impressed by their delivery of the speech, she plots to stage The Murder of Gonzaga, a play featuring a death in the style of her mother's murder and to determine the truth of the ghost's story, as well as Claudia’s guilt or innocence, by studying Claudia's reaction.

Act III

Polina forces Orpheus to return Amla's love letters and tokens of affection to the princess while she and Claudia watch from afar to evaluate Amla's reaction. Amla is walking alone in the hall as the Queen and Polina await Orpheus's entrance, musing whether "to be or not to be". When Orpheus enters and tries to return Amla's things, Amla accuses him of immodesty and cries "get thee to a monastery", though it is unclear whether this, too, is a show of madness or genuine distress. Her reaction convinces Claudia that Amla is not mad for love. Shortly thereafter, the court assembles to watch the play Amla has commissioned. After seeing the Player Queen murdered by her rival pouring poison in her ear, Claudia abruptly rises and runs from the room; for Amla, this is proof positive of her aunt's guilt.

Gerald summons Amla to his chamber to demand an explanation. Meanwhile, Claudia talks to herself about the impossibility of repenting, since she still has possession of her ill-gotten goods: her sister's crown and husband. She sinks to her knees. Amla, on her way to visit her father, sneaks up behind her but does not kill her, reasoning that killing Claudia while she is praying will send her straight to heaven while her mother's ghost is stuck in purgatory. In the King's bedchamber, Amla and Gerald fight bitterly. Polina, spying on the conversation from behind a tapestry, calls for help as Gerald, believing Amla wants to kill him, calls out for help himself.

Amla, believing it is Claudia, stabs wildly, killing Polina, but she pulls aside the curtain and sees her mistake. In a rage, Amla brutally insults her father for his apparent ignorance of Claudia's villainy, but the ghost of her mother re-enters and reprimands Amla for her inaction and harsh words. Unable to see or hear the ghost himself, Gerald takes Amla's conversation with it as further evidence of madness. After begging the King to stop sleeping with Claudia, Amla leaves, dragging Polina's corpse away.

Act IV

Amla jokes with Claudia about where she has hidden Polina's body, and the Queen, fearing for her life, sends Roseline and Genevieve to accompany Amla to England with a sealed letter to the English Queen requesting that Amla be executed immediately.

Unhinged by grief at Polina's death, Orpheus wanders Elsinore. Laetitia arrives back from France, enraged by her mother's death and her brother's madness. Claudia convinces Laetitia that Amla is solely responsible, but a letter soon arrives indicating that Amla has returned to Denmark, foiling Claudia's plan. Claudia switches tactics, proposing a fencing match between Laetitia and Amla to settle their differences. Laetitia will be given a poison-tipped foil, and, if that fails, Claudia will offer Amla poisoned wine as a congratulation. Gerald interrupts to report that Orpheus has drowned, though it is unclear whether it was suicide or an accident caused by his madness.

Act V

Hanna has received a letter from Amla, explaining that the princess escaped by negotiating with pirates who attempted to attack her England-bound ship, and the friends reunite offstage. Two gravediggers discuss Orpheus’s apparent suicide while digging his grave. Amla arrives with Hanna and banters with one of the gravediggers, who unearths the skull of a jester from Amla's childhood, Yora. Amla picks up the skull, saying "alas, poor Yora" as she contemplates mortality. Orpheus's funeral procession approaches, led by Laetitia. Amla and Hanna initially hide, but when Amla realizes that Orpheus is the one being buried, she reveals herself, proclaiming her love for him. Laetitia and Amla fight by Orpheus's graveside, but the brawl is broken up.

Back at Elsinore, Amla explains to Hanna that she had discovered Claudia's letter with Roseline and Genevieve's belongings and replaced it with a forged copy indicating that her former friends should be killed instead. A foppish courtier, Osra, interrupts the conversation to deliver the fencing challenge to Amla. Amla, despite Hanna's pleas, accepts it. Amla does well at first, leading the match by two hits to none, and Gerald raises a toast to her using the poisoned glass of wine Claudia had set aside for Amla. Claudia tries to stop him but is too late: he drinks, and Laetitia realizes the plot will be revealed. Laetitia slashes Amla with her poisoned blade. In the ensuing scuffle, they switch weapons, and Amla wounds Laetitia with her own poisoned sword. Gerald collapses and, claiming he has been poisoned, dies. In her dying moments, Laetitia reconciles with Amla and reveals Claudia's plan. Amla rushes at Claudia and kills her. As the poison takes effect, Amla, hearing that Floria is marching through the area, names the Norwegian princess as her successor. Hanna, distraught at the thought of being the last survivor and living whilst Amla does not, says she will commit suicide by drinking the dregs of Gerald's poisoned wine, but Amla begs her to live on and tell her story. Amla dies in Hanna's arms, proclaiming "the rest is silence". Floria, who was ostensibly marching towards Poland with her army, arrives at the palace, along with an English ambassador bringing news of Roseline and Genevieve's deaths. Hanna promises to recount the full story of what happened, and Floria, seeing the entire Danish royal family dead, takes the crown for herself and orders a military funeral to honour Amla.

[placetobenation]

We are back with the next installment of this series as we continue counting down the greatest matches in NXT Takeover history.

15. The War Raiders vs. Ricochet and Aleister Black (Takeover: New York)

Coming out of Phoenix and going into New York, it was announced the Dusty Rhodes Classic would happen yet again with the winning team earning a tag title shot against the War Raiders. While it seemed like an established team like the Undisputed Era would win or perhaps another team like the Street Prophets or the Forgotten Sons would get the nod, instead the put together team of Black and Ricochet would win the tournament and the title shot. The two men had just started appearing on the main roster as a team and were set to challenge for the Smackdown Tag Titles in the Fatal 4-Way, but before then they would have one final match with NXT and have a chance to win two sets of tag titles in one weekend. This was the perfect match to kick off the show as the crowd would be red hot for both teams, and the teams showed each other great respect as they tried to one up each other. Eventually, both teams would unload their full arsenals on each other in trying to get the win, and after 21 minutes of intense action the Raiders would end up getting the clean win and retained the titles. This was a fantastic match as both teams went all out and put on a phenomenal match, and this was a great way to kick off what would end up being overall one of the greatest Takeovers in history. What happened after the match was just as memorable as the Raiders showed their respects to Ricochet and Black, and then Ricochet and Black got a great sendoff from the NXT fans as they prepared to be on the main roster full time. While I have a bit more sentiment to the UE/Raiders match from Phoenix since I was live for that, this was clearly the better match and it deserves to be in the top 15 of this list.

14. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano (Takeover: Brooklyn IV)

Now we are getting into the part of the list where ranking these matches is getting extremely hard as this is a match I’m sure most would have higher than where I have it. The feud between Gargano and Ciampa was one of the best in NXT history as they had two tremendous matches prior to this, and then Gargano’s rage would lead to Ciampa defeating Aleister Black to become the new NXT Champion. It was announced that Ciampa would face Black and Gargano in a Triple Threat at this show, but Black would be found laid out in the parking lot of Full Sail which was used to cover a groin injury he had suffered. As a result, we would have our third straight singles match between Gargano and Ciampa, but this time it would be for the title and it would be a Last Man Standing match. Knowing how violent their last two matches were, you knew that this one would be no different especially since one of them would have to stay down for a 10 count. Needless to say, the two men deliver another vicious brawl as they try to once again outdo what they did in the previous two matches though honestly this was probably the worst of the three though that’s not saying it was bad because it was a great match. Both men did whatever they could to try and keep the other down for the 10 count, and you could see Gargano’s frustration building when Ciampa continued to beat the count. Gargano would then handcuff Ciampa to a part of the stage and could’ve been content since Ciampa would have a hard time standing up, but he let his anger get the better of him again and ended up costing himself the match. While it would’ve been a good win for Gargano, it was fine to have Ciampa win since he just won the title and you wanted to build towards Gargano finally taking out Ciampa and winning the title. Again, it might seem that this match is way too low on the list, but this is getting difficult at this point and we are really entering elite territory with the rest of these matches coming up on the list.

13. The Revival vs. #DIY (Takeover: Brooklyn II)

It was pretty clear that the Revival were the tag team of the year for 2016 as they were putting on great matches and solidifying their status as one of the best teams in recent history. After their great feud with American Alpha early in the year, they would begin a new feud this time with the newly formed team of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. After facing each other in the Cruiserweight Classic that year, Gargano and Ciampa began teaming up and gained plenty of steam as they looked to earn themselves a title shot. They would even earn a non-title win over the Revival and were granted a title shot here, and it was here where Gargano would officially dub their team #DIY since they had done it themselves to get to this point. While the matches between the Revival and American Alpha were really good, this match was fantastic as both teams went all out for the 19 minutes they got and put on a tremendous match. You could tell that #DIY were the perfect foils for the Revival as they played great faces-in-peril and the Revival used their precision offense to pick #DIY apart. The crowd was red hot for the match and they were solidly behind #DIY as they were hoping to see them get the win and become the new champions. The ending sequence was really hot as #DIY pulled out all the stops to get the win, but the experience of the Revival just proved too much as they forced Gargano to tap out and they retained the titles. It was the right decision especially since the Revival had just traded the titles with American Alpha a few months ago, and you could build towards a rematch between the Revival and #DIY which we might get into later in the list. As for this match, it was a great match and both teams showed why they were the best at the time, and the match deserves its spot at this point in the list.

12. The Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain (Takeover: Brooklyn IV)

While 2016 was clearly the year of the Revival, 2018 was the year of the Undisputed Era as they had dominated the tag division which I had mentioned before earlier in the list. Meanwhile, the team of Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, affectionately known as Mustache Mountain, were slowly gaining steam as a team and they even upset the UE in the UK on June 26th to become the new champions. Unfortunately, their reign would only last two weeks when the UE would regain the titles on NXT TV, and now the two teams would face off here in the rubber match in Brooklyn for the titles. This was another big showcase here for Mustache Mountain similar to the position that Lorcen and Burch were in a few months ago, but unlike Lorcen and Burch, Mustache Mountain had gotten a brief reign as champions and looked to become champions once again. As was becoming the norm for Takeover, the tag title match would open the show and once again it did not disappoint as these two teams would put on an excellent match. As I had mentioned earlier, I thought that O’Reilly and Strong had better chemistry as a team while Seven and Bate had a great veteran/youngster team dynamic. They did a great job in building off their previous matches and they went all out for the 18 minutes that they got, and there were several times during the match that you thought Mustache Mountain would come away with the titles. In the end though, the UE would end up walking away with the win and keeping the titles, but their celebration was short-lived as they were attacked by the War Raiders after the match which would set up the next big feud for the UE. Considering that there aren’t many more tag matches coming up on this list, the fact that this match is this high on the list is a testament to how great it is and it deserves its spot here on the list.

11. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Takeover: Chicago II)

So coming out of Takeover: New Orleans where Gargano had gotten a measure of revenge against Ciampa and gotten his job back, he was ready to move on and step up to become a challenger to Aleister Black and the NXT Title. However, Ciampa refused to let the issue slide as he attacked Gargano before the scheduled match, and then the two would have a confrontation which led to Gargano accidentally knocking down his wife Candice LeRae. Because of this, Gargano would demand to face Ciampa one more time and this time it would be a Chicago Street Fight, which was very fitting since this show would be in Chicago and was where Ciampa first turned on Gargano. It was clear the dynamic was going to be much different between this match and the previous one as the New Orleans was more about Gargano doing what he could to save his career, and now this match was more about both men beating the crap out of each other with anything they could get their hands on. One of the cool touches was before the match when Gargano was heading to the ring and LeRae handed him a crutch to use, and she simply told him to kick Ciampa’s ass which gave Gargano plenty of motivation. As expected, these two men would indeed go all out and beat the crap out of each other, and they put on an even more violent match than they did back in New Orleans. One of the best moments of the match was when Ciampa took the mat off the ring exposing the boards, and you wondered how they would utilize that though they were smart to wait. Obviously, the moment of the match was when Ciampa took Gargano’s wedding ring off, spit on it and threw it away only for Gargano to put him through several tables in a callback to what Ciampa did to him a year ago. It was an amazing moment and one where Gargano could’ve let it go, but he went over the edge when he saw his ring gone and he was intent on destroying Ciampa though it would lead to his downfall as Cimapa DDT’d him on the boards to get the win. While it did lack a bit of the raw emotion from New Orleans though again the dynamic was clearly different, this was still a fantastic fight and one of the best of the year. This is another one where many might question me not having it in the top 10, but it was close to getting there and putting it at #11 I thought was a perfect spot for it.

That concludes part four of this series and we will be back tomorrow for part five as we kick off the top 10.

[hyttesanger]

IV

If there's one thing Mijoo is being thankful for her nearly ten years experience of gritty training and, it's the extraordinarily keen senses and reflexes she gained, which makes it easy for her to detect the existence of people been spying over her for quite some time.

She prefer them not doing it on her work hours like now, though.

"Sajang-nim, I'm out for awhile." Mijoo chirps in her usual happy-go-lucky tone, taking off her mask and handing it to one of the server. Her hair is disheveled with sweat, the colleague of hers wrinkles his nose in disgust as Mijoo carelessly wipes it with her gloved hand.

"Yah! You've been working for just an hour!" Her boss barks, giving her icy glare.

"It's something very urgent. I'll be back in no time, don't worry, okay?"

Mijoo walks quickly past the park's entrance gate, if her intuition is right, there are approximately four guys trailing her in safe distance. She baits them to follow until they reach narrow backstreet where people don't normally pass, and those people finally make their appearances. What's surprising is, her stalkers are wearing neat attire, too neat for some low level fighters from the stage or thugs she had expected. There are five of them, all men in either leather jacket or suit, some even wearing shades and Mijoo feels like she's in the middle of shooting for cheap, James Bond rip-off movie.

Or maybe Jackie Chan. Because she's still clad in furry brown jumpsuit, complete with paws, and smells like bacon. This will sell as very funny comedy.

"Whatever you guys want, can't it wait until my shift's over? I'm kinda in a tight schedule now, you see, it's lunch time soon." She stops by the end of the passage, behind her is tall brick wall, so there's no way out. "Oh and I'd appreciate if you guys could tell me a little about this person who sent you—"

The men do charging forward against her instead of answering. Because, yeah, formalities are overrated, aren't it?

Despite months of absence from fighting scene, Mijoo still hasn't lose her touch, easily dodging punch after punch which are badly-aimed. She vaults over pile of empty beer crates abandoned on the ground, split-kicking two men at once, and flinging a crate at the other. The thin woods outright lands and breaks on his head, knocking him down unconscious.

"Welp. You're all pieces of shit." Mijoo seizes a guy when they're about to runaway, the one who seems to be the sloth of their team, by the back of his collar. Hurling him to the hard concrete, she stomps big bear foot across his chest, looming over him closely. Not a face Mijoo has ever seen before.

"Spill! Who is it? I don't remember having bad blood against anyone in the stage before." If it's someone from the stage, then it's weird. Why bother sending people and not face her by themselves? They might be illegal fighters but as far as Mijoo remembers the regulars on their venue don't lack the spirit of fair fight, so much to do such chicken act as hiring people to beat her outside the stage. It's also questionable if one of them had money to pay these high caliber gangsters.

"You're being deceived." The guy hisses. "That woman you're dating. She's married to her company's CEO."

Mijoo stills. Stares at her attacker as though he's grown another head and it's green, with antennas.

Then they seep into her, the words that guy just said. And it makes her want to vomit. She doesn't even notice when he's pulling out a knife, aiming it right towards her face. With barely a split second to evade, the sharp object succesfully slashes few inches of the side of Mijoo's face. She groans, staggering backwards, and the man takes it as his only chance to flee. Mijoo also doesn't bother going after him.

A moment later, she crumples down. Panting hard, cold sweat and blood running over her cheek.

Soojung's been married. What the fuck is that? ——————— Soojung frowns, leaning against the armrest of velvety sofa in Korean Air's premium lounge, scrolling randomly through her phone which hasn't rung at all today. It's almost midday, the people from airline just informed that her flight back home will be delayed for another hour. Right now, when she's terribly tired and in need for her dose of daily dumbness, Mijoo doesn't call or send her any message. She's also not the type who would make a call first, so all Soojung does is just huffing in annoyance every few minutes. The action makes her secretary's blood run cold. Her mobile does ring, finally, when Soojung is about to give in and write some threat message demanding some attention from that foolish girlfriend of hers. But it's from Burger Bear owner, and Soojung straigthens up in her seat reading the message. Good afternoon, Miss Lee. Sorry to disturb you, but do you perhaps know if something has happened to Lee Mijoo? She went for short break this morning and haven't come back until now. I haven't heard anything from her as well today. Can you reach her on phonecall? Nope, connected straight to voicemail. Actually I don't want to say this.. But I'm a little worried since I saw few people were following behind her when she left us few hours ago. ——————— Flight from Singapore to South Korea took a little over six hours, so it's already evening when Soojung reached Mijoo's home. Nobody answered her knock on the door, neither it's locked when she tried to twist the rusty knob. Walking inside, Soojung soon finds Mijoo on her usual old couch, curling into ball with knees hugged close to her chest and head buried in them. She wears a maroon sweater despite warm temperature in the room, its hood completely covering her face from sight. A metal ashtray is present above the table before her, filled with cigarette dust to the brim, few empty boxes and lighter from Soojung beside it. Soojung grabs the ashtray, throwing all the contents into trash bin below the desk. "You skipped work to smoke? Really?" When she gets no response, Soojung begins to sound angry. "Mijoo, answer me." She steps closer, trying to pull away the hoodie. "Hey—" "Don't touch me!" Another hand swats hers harshly as soon as it meets the soft garment. Soojung's eyes widen when the hood falls down, revealing long, dried wound along the left side of Mijoo's face, from the temple down to her cheek. "What happened to you?" "Go ask your husband. And take that lighter back, it's his, isn't it?" Clanking sound reverberates as the ashtray falls from Soojung’s hand to the floor. "He... He did that to you?" "You admit that you're married?" Now Mijoo's turning straight at her girlfriend, eyes hostile with rage and betrayed feeling. It takes long before Soojung finds her ability to speak back. "Where's the first aid kit? Let me tend that first, it would leave a scar if you ignore it any longer." ——————— "My parents' company went bankrupt three years ago. We'd been in the red for quite awhile, it wasn't so much of a shocker when that day we could no longer survive finally came. Had it not for his father's help, my parents most likely would be in jail right now. It was only natural for them to offer something in return. So they sold me to be his wife, then disappeared to somewhere even myself don't know." Mijoo doesn't flinch or even make any sounds when Soojung wipes her wound and applies an antiseptic ointment ever so carefully. Only her eyes move following whatever the older woman's doing. "It isn't hard, though. Last year he took over the whole company after his father decided to retire. Nowadays he's barely home and when he is, all he wants is sex. Maybe more on the rough side, but let's not talk about that." She finishes sticking two band-aids to cover the cut. They are cute, with tiny cats pattern, but sadly in this current situation, Soojung can't even laugh as she normally would, or ask how did those plasters ended up in Mijoo's first aid box. "To be honest I'm surprised he went as far as to send someone to did this to you. He usually wouldn't care anything about me." The woman sits so straight up on a plastic stool facing her girlfriend. Ironic. She remembers the first time confessing her feeling towards Mijoo in this very place. Now, she's readying herself for an upcoming break up, also here. "When you came here that night..." Mijoo begins tentatively. Image of bruised knee comes to mind. And few other little scars Mijoo sometimes saw here and there on Soojung's body, but too ignorant to ever ask. God, how could she'd never realized it sooner. "I really fell from stairs. Only, it was him pushing me off." Soojung tries to say it as lightly as possible. Yet the pain is there, behind her void voice. "Now think about it... I've never rejected him before. It's probably what had led him to think I have someone else, hence this attack." "It's just— After we began dating, I don't want anyone else to touch me. It disgusts me." "What he did to you is plain violence!" Mijoo snaps. Still angry, though it's for entirely different reason this time. "Having your name in his family register doesn't legitimate that! Why didn't you report him to the police and appeal for divorce?" "I can, but debt is still debt. He doesn't only have my name on his family register but also loan agreement paper. I'm getting pretty good salary every month and a position in the company which no one would ever be able to reach unless they have at least ten years work experience. It's wiser to endure this and save money until I can pay him, then file a divorce." "How much?" "Right now, it's about a little over four billion." "Four billion?!" When she asked, Mijoo was expecting the worst. But this is worst of the worst. "Christ, we're so fucked up." "Me, not we." Soojung corrects. "It's my problem, I wouldn't drag you into this. We should stop seeing each other." "What if I say I refuse?" Soojung blinks. "What does that mean?" "You dense." Mijoo clucks her tongue. "You're the one who'd stolen my heart and dragged me into your life, saying you like me out of nowhere, bossing me around... Now I refuse to leave like this. I don't want us to break up." "I—" But Soojung cannot say more. She looks away, biting her lips so hard it might bleed. Overwhelming emotions hit her like bullets, one after another. This is unfair. Why can't Mijoo just hate her? She doesn't expect love or deserve one. "Tell me one thing, Lee Soojung." Mijoo says. "Do you love me?" "Why did you follow me that night when you saw me going to the stage? Why did you stay even after you found out I was an illegal fighter? Why did you help me becoming a better person?" Soojung only shakes her head. Mijoo watches her face tenses up as she's gritting her teeth, her mask of unemotional slowly shatters. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop this. "Why did you ask me out? You knew that there's high chance things wouldn't go well between us, and that you couldn't keep me in the dark forever about your true self. Why did you still want to be with me?" "Because I love you!” She yells at last. “Back then I didn't want to fall in love, didn't want to feel this... feeling of needing someone. I'd given up and didn't want anything. But then you appeared, and I started wanting everything! For you to forgive me and accept me despite how broken I am." Pot calling kettle black, huh? Right now, Soojung feels no different than jerk of a man who'd taken Nicole away. Without her husband's wealth, she doesn't even have a single penny. "I was scared, you know? I was so scared I kept seeing nightmare of you leaving me!" Soojung's mind's clamoring with dark words; as soon as she blurts it out, more coming over. I'm filthy. I'm not worthy. Why would Mijoo even let me touch her? It's like all hell break loose. The more she tries to calm down, the more her heart rumbling. Until Mijoo springs off of her seat, doubling over before Soojung. She grabs her hands, kissing and squeezing them tightly like it's so precious and not stained with dirty lies. "Then it's enough..." The anger that was on those deep, dark eyes has gone. This time, it's a totally different gaze - it's sincerity and love. And letting herself submerging into them makes some sense of safety, of belonging, to fill Soojung's numb heart. "All I've ever needed to hear is you love me, and that's it, Soojung. Will you trust me? We can go through this together, or even if we can't, I'll sit in the dark forever with you. I'll never abandon you." And then, one idea presents itself inside Mijoo's mind.

———————