#the number of recovered cases. and the number of deaths

[opencommunion]

"The story of  'John Doe 1' of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is tucked in a lawsuit filed five years ago against several U.S. tech companies, including Tesla, the world’s largest electric vehicle producer. In a country where the earth hides its treasures beneath its surface, those who chip away at its bounty pay an unfair price. As a pre-teen, his family could no longer afford to pay his $6 monthly school fee, leaving him with one option: a life working underground in a tunnel, digging for cobalt rocks.  But soon after he began working for roughly two U.S. dollars per day, the child was buried alive under the rubble of a collapsed mine tunnel. His body was never recovered. 

The nation, fractured by war, disease, and famine, has seen more than 6 million people die since the mid-1990s, making the conflict the deadliest since World War II. But, in recent years, the death and destruction have been aided by the growing number of electric vehicles humming down American streets. In 2022, the U.S., the world’s third-largest importer of cobalt, spent nearly $525 million on the mineral, much of which came from the Congo.

As America’s dependence on the Congo has grown, Black-led labor and environmental organizers here in the U.S. have worked to build a transnational solidarity movement. Activists also say that the inequities faced in the Congo relate to those that Black Americans experience. And thanks in part to social media, the desire to better understand what’s happening in the Congo has grown in the past 10 years. In some ways, the Black Lives Matter movement first took root in the Congo after the uprising in Ferguson in 2014, advocates say. And since the murder of George Floyd and the outrage over the Gaza war, there has been an uptick in Congolese and Black American groups working on solidarity campaigns.

Throughout it all, the inequities faced by Congolese people and Black Americans show how the supply chain highlights similar patterns of exploitation and disenfranchisement. ... While the American South has picked up about two-thirds of the electric vehicle production jobs, Black workers there are more likely to work in non-unionized warehouses, receiving less pay and protections. The White House has also failed to share data that definitively proves whether Black workers are receiving these jobs, rather than them just being placed near Black communities. 'Automakers are moving their EV manufacturing and operations to the South in hopes of exploiting low labor costs and making higher profits,' explained Yterenickia Bell, an at-large council member in Clarkston, Georgia, last year. While Georgia has been targeted for investment by the Biden administration, workers are 'refusing to stand idly by and let them repeat a cycle that harms Black communities and working families.'

... Of the 255,000 Congolese mining for cobalt, 40,000 are children. They are not only exposed to physical threats but environmental ones. Cobalt mining pollutes critical water sources, plus the air and land. It is linked to respiratory illnesses, food insecurity, and violence. Still, in March, a U.S. court ruled on the case, finding that American companies could not be held liable for child labor in the Congo, even as they helped intensify the prevalence. ... Recently, the push for mining in the Congo has reached new heights because of a rift in China-U.S. relations regarding EV production. Earlier this month, the Biden administration issued a 100% tariff on Chinese-produced EVs to deter their purchase in the U.S. Currently, China owns about 80% of the legal mines in the Congo, but tens of thousands of Congolese work in 'artisanal' mines outside these facilities, where there are no rules or regulations, and where the U.S. gets much of its cobalt imports.  'Cobalt mining is the slave farm perfected,' wrote Siddharth Kara last year in the award-winning investigative book Cobalt Red: How The Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives. 'It is a system of absolute exploitation for absolute profit.' While it is the world’s richest country in terms of wealth from natural resources, Congo is among the poorest in terms of life outcomes. Of the 201 countries recognized by the World Bank Group, it has the 191st lowest life expectancy."

[rqbossman]

I was thinking about the absolute carnage of towerfall - you were in a plane before, you’re dead; you were on a train or you were in a car travelling 60mph, you’re dead (assuming people are back where they started and travelling the same speed as they were before the Event) - like yeah, utter bloody chaos because the implication is everything (planet included) moved for 6 months but the humans are dropped into the exact latitude and longitude that they were before (consistent velocity to be confirmed) - every road is a pile-up, there are plane crashes everywhere, everyone is ✨horrifically✨ traumatised✨ (the bleakness is so wonderful, I adore it)

I asked before about how Jonny nearly killed billions of people - surely it must’ve been something regarding the consequences of towerfall? Did he want the people to be dropped back into the space they were in (sans planet)?

please do tell 😆

I FINALLY get to tell this story! Yay! Enormous Protocol and Archives Spoliers READER BEWARE: Firstly, you should know that whilst @jonnywaistcoat is a big ideas guy, I am normally the one who ends up going off and actually figuring out how things work in the real world. I'm always ending up saying something like "sure that's creepy but that's not how steam trains work. You need to account for the Stephensen Regulator" etc. This means that when @jonnywaistcoat had thoughts as to how Towerfall worked in early Protocol drafts, I was the one who had to try and make it work. We both wanted to make sure that people could begin to rebuild in a meaningful way rather than going full Mad Max but unfortunately I quickly realised that almost every instinct @jonnywaistcoat had for cataclysms generally lead to the irrecoverable collapse of civilisation and death of basically everyone. For instance, we both felt that the actual Hellscape could have lasted longer (in the order of months, not weeks) but no matter how I tried to bend things to fit that timeline, the truth is that human built infrastructure does not recover well from that length of absence. (at least, not in a way that doesn't kill most people from pestilence, starvation and associated wars.) So we had to make it a bit shorter and thankfully we'd already established there was time dilation at play in Archives. (We actually even experimented with it only lasting 1 day but we both decided that wouldn't hurt enough.) The worst case of this kind of logistical horror however, was about locations. @jonnywaistcoatwas was really enamoured with the idea that everyone would arrive back, not where they had left, but instead clumped according to their fears. I.e. Everyone in the Arachnophobic domain turns up in Australia together, everyone in the Nyctophobic domain turns up in Antarctica etc. so I dutifully went away and ran the numbers and no matter how I tackled it I kept coming to the conclusion that this pretty much kills everyone in less than a week due to the massive logistical collapse it causes. (There's actually a really great examination of this on XKCD) Now don't get me wrong, I was all for getting stuck-in telling the story of the bleakest logistical collapse possible but to quote Jonny "that sounds pretty grim and not in a fun way" so in the end we opted to return people where they left (albeit compensating for planetary movement so that we wouldn't accidentally extinct everyone in the most unsatisfying way imaginable). So there you have it. Technically, technically I saved the world including all your favourite characters from @jonnywaistcoat's insatiable bloodlust. You're welcome.

[itelya]

synopsis: you are sick and your loving boyfriend/husband worried about you.

character [separate]: Nanami Kento x reader, Gojo Satoru x reader, Suguru Geto x reader, poor! Toji Fushiguro x reader, Sukuna Ryomen x reader, Choso Kamo x reader.

warning: SFW sweet & fluffy asf, suitable for all genders

words: 2030.

Kento N.

You've been sick for two days after a weekend in the mountains with Nanami. Feeling guilty for exposing you to the cold, he's been trying his best to take care of you, as he knows so well how to do.

"I feel guilty.. because of me that my love is sick." he whispered, his gaze filled with remorse.

You shook your head, the warmth of his gaze comforting you more than the blankets you had on you. "It’s not your fault, Ken, I’m the one who didn’t take care of myself enough. You have nothing to reproach yourself for."

You couldn't help but smile. You kept telling him that it wasn't his fault but yours for not being covered well enough but he wouldn't listen. You see him working with as much attention. He continued to watch over you, bringing more tea, adjusting the blankets around you with almost military precision, and cracking his clumsy jokes, just to see you smile.

You dozed off for a moment, enjoying the warmth he brought, but you woke up quickly when he leaned down gently to place a kiss on your forehead.

"Do you want me to bring you something else, or would you rather just stay here, quiet?" he asked, his voice soft, almost a whisper. You looked at him with a tired but sincere smile. "Just you, Nanami. That’s all I need to feel better."

He smiled, a glint of tenderness in his eyes, and settled down next to you, making sure not to move until you were fully recovered. In moments like these, you knew you were in good hands.

Gojo S.

You sneeze once more. Gojo, who was already looking at you with worried eyes, abruptly gets up from the chair he was sitting in. He takes his phone and dials the number of one of his available doctors.

You're sure of it because you barely started coughing, Gojo wanted to call but you managed to convince him that it will pass. It doesn't end up being the case.

You roll your eyes with a sigh. "Gojo... that's ridiculous. It will pass, it's just a little cough.", he gives you a half-offended, half-stubborn look. "Ridiculous? You're sick, it's a national emergency, baby. Do you want me to wait until it gets worse and you're bedridden for days?"

Before you can even answer, he's already talking to a doctor. "Yes, good evening, Doctor? It's Gojo Satoru. I have an emergency. Yes, it’s serious. My love has been coughing and sneezing for a few hours, and I think it could be… something serious."

You stifle a laugh despite yourself as you hear him exaggerate the situation. "Gojo, it’s not the Black Death either!" He looks at you and signals you to be quiet. "Shh, I’m handling it." Then, he continues with the doctor. "Yes, okay. Very well. I’ll write everything down and we’ll come if necessary. Thank you, Doctor."

As he hangs up, he looks at you with a triumphant smile. "Here, I’ve got it all planned out. Rest, hydration, and a list of medications just in case."

"You know you’re being dramatic, right?", you say, crossing your arms. "Maybe.", he replies, sitting down next to you. "But if it keeps you healthy, I’m willing to be ridiculous."

And despite your initial annoyance, you can’t help but smile. Gojo had this unique way of showing you how much he cared for you, even in times when you would have preferred him to calm down a little.

Geto S.

Lying on the couch, a soft blanket wrapped around you, you tried to fight the fever that had been pinning you there since the day before. Your nose was stuffy, your throat was on fire, and every muscle in your body seemed to scream in pain. All because of that stupid outing in the rain he had insisted on doing.

"It’ll be okay, you’ll see, a little rain never killed anyone," Geto had told you with his mischievous smile, as he led you on an unplanned walk, under a threatening sky.

But now, he was looking at you with remorseful eyes, a tray in his hands, containing hot soup and a glass of water.

"I’m sorry," he whispered for the umpteenth time as he placed the tray on the coffee table.

"You’ve said it ten times already," you replied in a hoarse voice, a slight smile stretching your lips despite the fatigue. “But I forgive you… even if I’m a little angry with you.” He crouched down beside you, his serious gaze fixed on yours.

"You should be very angry with me. I should never have insisted. But now, I’m going to make up for it. You just have to ask, and I’ll take care of it, understood?" You nodded softly, amused by his authoritarian tone that betrayed a great deal of guilt.

"Then stay here. That’s enough for me."

A comfortable silence settled between you. He sat down next to you, adjusting the blanket around your shoulders. Then, with a tender gesture, he brushed a lock of hair from your forehead.

Toji F.

You've been sick for a few days now because of a meal Toji made for you with expired leftovers from his fridge (he didn't pay attention to the expiration dates). It was his clumsy way of making you happy for once, but instead, you're sick because of him. Eaten up by guilt, he did everything he could to make it up to you.

To make matters worse, he had wanted to buy you what you needed to heal and comfort you, but he had quickly found himself facing a problem: he didn't have a penny in his pocket. He had ended up asking you for your own card to pay for your medications and your favorite meals.

"I’m so sorry, baby… I’m ashamed, really… I’m not worthy of you," he whispered, his voice almost shaking. You coughed slightly before giving him a reassuring smile. "It’s not your fault, Toji. You deserve me, and you know it. You made a mistake, it happens to everyone."

Toji looks at you silently, hesitant, then he sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. "You say that, but I keep screwing up… I meant well, and look where it got us. You stuck in bed, and me paying with your card when I’m the one who made you sick…"

You reached out a hand to grab his. Despite his clumsiness, you knew his intentions were sincere. "Toji, what matters is that you’re here for me right now. You’re doing your best, and that’s all I ask of you."

He smiled before leaning down to place a kiss on your forehead. "You’re such a good for me." With a tired but genuine smile, you replied, "Because I love you, even if you don’t do everything perfectly."

Toji then took a blanket to put it on your shoulders and wrapped you gently. "Now, I'll take care of everything. What do you need? Water? Another herbal tea? Is your pillow well installed?"

You laughed softly, touched by his sudden protectiveness. He was rarely like this even though he loved you. "Toji, calm down, it’s okay. Just sit with me, that’s all I want."

He nods, almost relieved that you’re not asking him for anything more complicated. He sat down next to you, wrapping an arm around you to hold you close. "I promise, I’ll do better next time. But for now, at least let me cherish you as best I can."

Despite your fatigue and your persistent stomach ache, you had found comfort in his arms, feeling all his sincerity in his clumsy but loving gestures.

Sukuna R.

You fell seriously ill because of a servant of Sukuna, who poisoned you with a tea, consumed by jealousy towards your relationship with him. When he found out the truth, his anger was like hell, horrible and without real words to describe. Without the slightest hesitation, he killed her mercilessly.

Sukuna returned to your bedside. Despite his often impassive air and his terrifying reputation, he did not hesitate to take care of you with surprising attention. His hands, so accustomed to killing, were surprisingly delicate in touching you.

“Rest.” he orders, his tone intended to be authoritative, but with a hint of gentleness in it. He has summoned the best healers, demanding that they examine you and treat you immediately. You know he blames himself, even if it’s not his fault.

When they left, he stayed by your side, sitting on the edge of the bed. For a moment, he simply observed you, his dark gaze softened by an almost indecipherable expression. You were so beautiful even when weakened.

“If you would have died because of her, I would have never forgiven myself,” he whispers, his voice low but filled with a weight you’ve never heard before. You crack a weak smile despite your extremely tired and weak state. He was so gentle with you in private, more than he would have liked.

"I'm fine... thanks to you Sukuna. I love you.", he doesn't answer, his voice could become weak in front of you, he doesn't want to. He wants to be strong for you. He stands there, watching over you without a word, as if he refuses to take his eyes off you even for a moment, not letting anyone in.

For the first time, you glimpse a side of Sukuna that perhaps you must have known: a man capable of protecting without hesitation what he considers precious.

"I love you too."

Choso K.

You were lying on the couch, your face pale and your eyes half-closed, a warm blanket wrapped around you. The flu had caught you after her day spent with Choso, accompanying him to a tattoo parlor. You had insisted on coming to support him, but the cold morning air, combined with the hours spent in the poorly heated room, had gotten the better of you.

Choso, who never stopped blaming himself, watches you with a worried expression. He sits down next to you, gently stroking your hair, a tenderness in his gesture that contrasts with his usual air.

"I told you you didn't have to come," he murmured, his eyes filled with guilt. "I could have gone alone." You open your eyes slightly and sketch a tired smile, his voice hoarse but soft. "But I would have missed you, Choso. And besides... you knew I would insist on being there with you, even if it was to get you tattooed for hours."

He breathes, a slight frustration in his voice. "I'm sorry... You shouldn't have been exposed to all that." You shake your head gently, although your weakness doesn't stop you from wanting to reassure him. "It's okay... It's not your fault. I should have covered myself better, that's all."

Choso gets up and goes back to the kitchen, he prepares you a cup of hot tea that he brings to you delicately. He sits down next to you, making sure you were comfortable before handing you the cup.

"Drink this, it should help you a little. And I'm staying to watch over you, you can't refuse." You take the cup with a weak smile and take a few sips, enjoying the warmth that returns to his body. Choso smiled at you and brushed your forehead to check your temperature.

"Okay but if you give me a little tattoo...", she whispered, a playful wink. Choso smiled softly, leaning down to give you a kiss on the forehead.

"Maybe next time, when you're in better shape, I promise."

He stayed there, watching over you, ready to do anything to make you feel better. In his eyes, you could see all the sweetness and care he had for her. You knew he would do anything to make you happy.

any opinion is appreciated! thanks for reading till the end 💗

pls note and reblog!

masterlist

requests: OPEN.

© 2025 itelya. All work belongs to @itelya. Do NOT repost, modify, translate or plagiarize in any way on ANY platforms.

[bet-on-me-13]

Steph's Year of Recovery

So! Danny noticed that a new face had made it's way into town. Two new faces actually, an older lady known as Dr Leslie, and a girl about his age called Steph.

He first met them when he was at the hospital for one of his parents. They had stood too close to an explosion again, and he met them while he was in the waiting Area.

Dr Leslie was a strict but obviously caring older woman, who seemed to be the one taking care of Steph as a kind of maternal figure, or maybe more like an Aunt. She greeted him simply and then walked away to talk with the Secretary, leaving him to talk to Steph.

Steph was a blond girl in a Wheelchair, and he could see bandages piking out of her clothes as he talked to her. She explained that she had been in an Accident a few weeks ago that left her wheelchair bound for a while, and that she had come to Amity for their surprisingly good Medical Centers.

He and Steph got along really well, and by the end of it he asked her for her Number so they could continue talking later. They stayed in touch, and when she was finally permitted to leave the Hospital, he introduced her to his friends. They all got along like a House on Fire, both figuratively and in one memorable case very literally (Vlad had pissed them off okay!)

Eventually Steph recovered enough that she moved from a Wheelchair to Crutches, and their shenanigans got even more chaotic (Vlad hadn't even pissed them off, this time was just for fun)

The only thing Danny could complain about was the fact that Steph was hiding something from them.

She said that she had been in an Accident a while ago, which was why they had come to Amity in the first place. But Danny knew it was more than that.

He could sense lingering traces of Death coming from her after all.

...

Steph honestly loved her current life.

Sure she had lost everything, her home, her health, her friends, her life, but she had gained new things too! Like Danny and the Gang! They were honestly some of the best friends she had ever had, and for some reason they just clicked with her instantly.

Danny was interesting and funny, Sam was vegan and a badass, Tucker was smart and witty, they all fit with her personality perfectly! It almost felt like she bad been friends with them for years. (She ignored the way her heart skipped a beat when she saw them)

But she still couldn't shake the sense that they were hiding something from her.

She knew it had something to do with the Ghost Problem in the town. And wasn't that a kicker, there was a whole Supernatural Ghost Outbreak in this Town and nobody knew about it. Dr Leslie had said that Amity was off the map enough to hide from Bruce, but she hadn't mentioned it was hidden from the Justice League itself!

Danny, Sam, and Tucker definitely knew more about it than they let on however. Whenever a Ghost Attack would happen, at least one of them would rush off with some practiced excuse and return after the Ghost Attack was over all dirty. She could guess what was going on, and she really didn't like it.

(This had killed her, she had died doing what they were doing, she didn't want to lose them)

Eventually she had to confront them, coincidentally on the same day they decided to confront her.

"Are you Vigilantes?" / "Did you die?"

"..."

"What?" / "What?"

[munnmolads]

How did MC's and Rafayel's first meeting go? Theory and Analysis

Death and Rebirth gave new vital information about MC's past and it inevidably got me thinking about MC's and Rafayel's true first meeting in the game. When they met at the beach as children? What state Lemuria was at that point?

Spoilers for entirety of Rafayel's story and the main story in Under Deepspace, Land of Secret Flames and Death & Rebirth. Also, a TL;DR at the end.

This theory only touches the side on if they met on the current timeline as kids - my brainpower won't be enough for the 5D chess this game has if it would be in another timeline...

MC's childhood around the Chronorift Catasptrophe

I think we have to start from MC's own timeline since it's "most clear" at this point. Meaning, it still has quite a few gaps, but there starts to be a somekind of timeline of what happened during her time at the Gaia Research Center and when she got to home with Josephine.

I have summarized my points in a timeline, but just so you can see the dialogue and references to it, I have collaged them first with highlighted the important parts:

I'm not going into the details what the other LI's have done to help her since it's not truly relevant to Rafayel. To my understanding, this is the timeline of how her childhood with the details of which day was in question. Only thing that bothers me is that apparently MC was still years in Gaia Research Center before they

It's unknown which day exactly the Chronorift Catastrophe happened - I'm thinking about 43 since we don't have entries after 42, but it could be something in between 42-47. MC was found by day 49 and Josephine mentions about it being several days that she was missing after the Catastrophe. So, she was missing around a week.

All in all, her experiments took atleast 42 days (~1,5 months), and she started to stabilise at 134 days, so three months after her escape.

Possible timing for MC and Rafayel's meetings from her perspective

Before Death & Rebirth, I was almost certain their meeting happened before Chronorift Catastrophe. At this point, it seems quite impossible since to my understanding, MC was trapped in Gaia Research center the moment she got into this current timeline.

So with the information we currently have, there's 3 possible timings for their meeting:

During the week when MC was missing and got to the shelter

Sometime during those 3 months when she was still recovering

Much later than Chronorift Catastrophe, possibly early 2035

Now, we have to take into consideration that MC forgot Rafayel completely. It's not even the case of "You're familiar" (which reminded me of one of earliest theories/headacanons in my blog) kind of way - she has no recollection of it. According to Josephine's notes, she started to have better memory after 3 months after Chronorift Catastrope, which makes me believe number 3 is out of the question by that logic, but I'll come back to it later.

Number 2 is quite likely, but from the small bit we know of their conversation at the beach, Rafayel mentions "we have known for a day". To me, this means atleast some significant time from the day, like atleast a few hours. This is a long time to be away from home as a small child, since MC was around 7-8 years old at this time. it seems less likely since someone like Josephine or possibly Caleb would have come looking for her.

Number 1 seems most likely to me when we think about the circumstances during that time from her perspective. MC was missing at this time, so no one was really missing her to come home, and it's in the timeframe when her memory was the worst.

But what about Rafayel and Lemuria? What state Lemuria was in this time?

In relation for Rafayel, there's an important even to think about when placing MC's and his first meeting in a timeline - when Lemuria got unearthed and discovered in December 31st, 2034. I will try to do a different theory on what happened back then some other time, but it is most likely the point when Lemurians had to flee Lemuria.

Since we know for sure that Chronorift Catastrophe happened in 2034 and Lemuria was unearthed in 31th of December 2034, it's more likely that MC's and Rafayel's meeting happened before Lemuria was discovered in 2034, depending on when the experiments happened. It could be that Chronorift Catastrophe and the earthquake happened at the same time, but it hasn't been mentioned specifically.

Option 1: Their meeting happened in 2034 before Lemuria was unearthed and discovered

The newest birthday event and card could allude that they met in the beach before Lemuria was unearthed. There's several points in the birthday materials about Rafayel talking about how pink is representing happiness and romance for him when he was a child, and before Lemuria disappeared, the ocean looked pink to him.

I can't have all the materials mentioning pink in this post because it's just too much, but here he talks about collecting pink seashells as a kid to make paint in Boundless Seas:

His birthday video specifically spoke possibly of the time when Lemuria was unearthed - I wonder if the inferno he mentioned would have been actually been from Chronorift Catastrophe?

I want to point out that this heavily relies on the birthday events and all other his childhood memories being from this current timeline. It could very well be that they aren't.

Option 2: Their meeting happened because Lemuria was unearthed

If we assume the pink theory about Rafayel being from other time than current timeline, it could be possible Lemuria being unearthed made Rafayel drift into the beach. If we look back on Nightly Stroll, Rafayel does make 2 different points about their meeting that might be true: 1. MC rescued him 2. He was "half-dead"/injured and waiting to die. He is a very unreliable narrator during Nightly Stroll, so it could be just part of his story he made up, but Rafayel does usually hide nuggets of truths in his lies.

He mentions about the deep sea becoming a prison for him. It could mean a metaphorical prison - he has a responsibility to save Lemuria, and that responsibility shackles him so that he feels he has to either choose Lemuria or MC.

In Land of Secret Flames's flashback memory, young Rafayel says "You awakened me", which has an interesting wording. It could imply that MC woke him up from his slumber, which is the Sea God's "death". It could be that Rafayel died at the beach before MC woke him up again, or that he was slumbering in the Lemurian ruins when the earthquake and the tsunami washed him to the shore.

What about MC's field trip to Hat Island? Could that have been a possible meeting place for them?

Possibly, but unlikely. The way how MC describes the trip sounds like a school trip, which would mean that she really wouldn't have had the time to sit in the beach talking to Rafayel for a day (or cuddle him if his annoyance at chapter 8 is telling anything...). Not to mention, she forgot about Rafayel, so why she would remember making the trip and not meeting a boy with scales in the island? Also they made a travel log, which would mean that she possibly would have written about it to her log.

I am ready to eat my words since there's some poetic sadness about Rafayel taking her to the place they were supposed to meet and she doesn't still remember them meeting there. No wonder Rafayel is upset - she remembers visiting some place as a kid but not remembering meeting her husband during that trip? Smh... /lh

Where did they could have met then?

So far we know that their meeting was in a beach, and so far I have assumed it was Linkon. This got me thinking though - if MC was experimented in the current N109 zone, how she would have got to Linkon as a small child if they met during the time she was missing? The distance from N109 zone and Linkon is quite big, even if we aren't completely sure how long it takes. I assume Josephine took her to live in Linkon.

The Lemurian ruins lie somewhere in Southeast of Linkon, which most likely is where Whitesand Bay is. I made a smaller post about it earlier, so you can read a bit more here. In Death & Rebirth, it has been specified in the opening chapters that MC drives to south from Linkon.

So I assume that the ocean from southeast of Linkon goes across to N109 zone, it's completely possible for Rafayel to drift to Whitesand Bay or a beach in the N109 zone. So for them to meet during the week of MC being missing, they might have met in the N109 zone. Most likely if they met later, it would have been Whitesand Bay since MC would have lived with Josephine and Caleb.

I tried to make more accurate map, but based on the visuals of the Hat Island, it's almost impossible to figure out which direction is which, so just take this map as a "general direction where everything could be". Most likely the distances are still quite great, so it's likely that Rafayel was pushed by the ocean to the beach where he got stranded.

TL;DR: What could be the options?

From earliest to latest:

MC and Rafayel met in the N109 Zone beach during the 7-day period after Chronorift Catastrophe when MC was missing.

MC and Rafayel met in Whitesand Bay after MC had moved to Linkon with Josephine (and Caleb) during the 3-month period when MC was slowly getting better memory.

MC and Rafayel met in Hat Island long after the Chronorift Catastrophe happened during a field trip. MC remembers going to the trip, but doesn't remember meeting Rafayel.

I'm actually really torn between all these options. Number 1 makes the most sense to me if we assume that Rafayel's stories about his childhood are from this timeline and Lemuria hasn't been unearthed yet. Number 2 makes a lot fo sense sense too, and it could be both before the earthquake or not. Number 3 makes most sense after the earthquake, because at this point it sounds like MC was having fairly "normal" life if she was on a school trip. I find it just bit difficult to believe she would remember the trip, but not Rafayel.

Of course, nothing prevents the options going together as in their meeting happened long after Chronorift Catastrophe, I just wanted to simplify the options for readability.

All in all, I'm putting way too much logic in this game 🫣 I want to delve deeper into the eartquake that is mentioned, because I find the wording around the topic interesting and how they dance around how vague it really is. Aaand assuming that their meeting at the beach actually happened in this timeline, and not on any other timeline...

[ravennaera]

Why I think that Liam’s voice was permanently damaged during the Be Here Now tour and how that happened

Why was Liam so anxious that he would become useless during the time of Oasis' third album, and why was his mentality so shattered? The instrument that a vocalist possesses is his own voice, and other members who use instruments that exist physically can repair and replace them with other instruments if they break, but that's not the case with voices.

And Oasis was not run in a way that respected that. This is the recorded performance schedule from 1993 to 1998 Australia/New Zealand tour, and after that, it continued with 7 performances in South America before finally ending the third album tour. And when they weren't performing - during the gap period, the album was recorded, and even during the tour, B-side recordings were done here and there.

They worked Liam’s voice to death with such a tough schedule that didn't give him a single moment to rest his voice. When Liam thought that his throat would get damaged if he continued performing like that, he had no choice but to get off the stage and get criticized by the band, the press and the fans. He even had to worry that someone else would take his place if he couldn't perform.

The recording of the third album was particularly tough, and songs like Fade In/Out pushed Liam to his limits, and it is said that after recording the song, Liam was unable to sing for a week. And the song was on the set list 64 times out of the 81 shows of the third album tour.

He continued performing with a tight schedule, and was diagnosed with nodules in his neck by a doctor on December 4, 1997, the second day of the Dublin performance (so Noel performed on the second and third days). The doctor said he had to take a break from performing for a few weeks, but it was impossible because there were so many performances left^^ After taking a two-day break and getting a steroid prescription, he performed until the end of March 1998.

They had a lot of year-end performances planned for the Christmas, but the doctor said the singer has a problem with his throat and he has to rest for a few weeks. Of course, if they adjusted the performance schedule, it would have costed money, but the singer's voice would’ve been damaged if they didn’t. If they knew how irreplaceable his voice was, theywouldn't have done it that way.

Did you know that the third album cycle was the only time they didn’t have a large outdoor/stadium concert since their debut album? They already did Knebworth for their second album and played a stadium for their fourth album, so if they had replaced it with a large-scale concert for their third album, wouldn't they have been able to reduce the number of concerts? But they didn't.

The number of shows Liam had to perform without resting after being diagnosed with nodules. It went downhill from there, Liam’s voice never fully recovered after this

(Translation @/dstrbnc text on Twitter)

[legalandnotease]

One claim I often see Tony fans making is that Steve was being selfish for not "considering children born during the Snap" in the team's desire to bring everybody back.

This is obviously a form of emotional blackmail After all- how could *anybody* want to erase *billions* of children?

Well, this claim is wrong for a number of reasons

1: There is no evidence of large-scale births or an increasing birth rate during the Snap. Tony fans often say that there must have been millions and milions of children born during the Snap, but this makes no sense because, as a general rule humans do not simply "get over" losing their entire family an "move on".

Even losing one child can be an emotional blow that person never recovers from. Clint Barton lost all 3 of his children, and we know he did not simply "move on" and start a new family.

People do not simply recover from such things in a few years and create new families. It almost never happens.

Furthermore, population dynamics come to play: some planets lost as much as 3/4 of their population due to Thanos pre-Snap genocides.

Even for those who lost "only" half though this would mean half of all birthing females and existing children snapped.

Fewer birthing females means..... a lower birth rate. Also take account of things like infertility and the fact that some women who lost thier children would have been beyond childbearing age: notable case - Queen Ramonda.

Even assuming people were interested in relationships and reproduction (and most were not) the birth rate during the Snap would have been expontentially lower then it was before.

Real life disasters and catastrophes also reveal that it takes a long time for the population to recover. The Black Death killed 1/3 to 1/2 of the population of Europe in the Middle Ages- and it took something along the lines of 3 to 4 centuries for the population to reach the level that it had been before the plague struck.

Literally: it can take HUNDREDS of years for the population to recover. The idea that the world would have returned to normal after only 5 years is ludicrous.

2: The children killed by the Snap.

Half of the human race were snapped. This would have included children. Potentially hundeds of millions of children were killed by the Snap. This is far more than the number who who have been born during the Snap.

There's another issue however: many children would have died after the Snap.

Sick children whose parents or doctors were snapped and were unable to get the medical treatment they needed

Young children whose parents were snapped would have died within a few days if nobody found them.

Children in poorer countries would have been the first to succumb to things like famines and food shortages caused by the Snap.

However, children in rich countries would have followed. Food shortages and the breakdown of intractructure would have caused problems witht the availability of food and medical supplies. Diseases would have become more common without the medicines to keep them in check, and poor sanitation.

In other words, potentiallly hundreds of millions more children would have died after the Snap in addition to those who had been Snappped.

None of those children would have been bought back by Bruce's Snap in Endgame. They would have stayed dead. All because of Tony's selfish insistence that he "didn't change anything from the last 5 years".

So, no matter how Tony fans want to try and twist things: Tony Stark was quite prepared to sacrifice *hundreds of millions* if not billions of children for the sake of his desire to preserve his personal paradise.

He did not, in fact, "save everybody" at all. He saved only those bought back after the Snap and ... not really even them as they had to contend with years of social and economic problems.

You know what the most interesting irony of it all is though? Tony fucked over all those people for nothing. Pepper was already pregnant before the Snap, so reversing it would not have erased Morgan anyway.

[somedaylazysomeday]

Good Intentions Part Thirty

More than five years after you escaped Piltover, a mysterious stranger appears at your door.

Silco x fem!reader

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4,100

Warnings: Mentions of past trauma and kidnapping, mentions of wounds, mentions of sickness and death, possible threats, mentions of war in the recent past, references to and spoilers for the last episode of Arcane Season One.

This is it, friends! Last chapter!

Previous | Masterlist

---

There was a deep crease between your furrowed brows when you lowered the letter to the surface of the table. 

The kitchen was always your favorite place to sit. Your office was large and well-furnished, but the kitchen was cozy and warm. The sunlight streamed in through the windows the way it always did in the mornings. The tower of Fossbarrow’s Lightbringer Temple gleamed in the distance, catching your eye whenever you looked up. 

It was one of the two eye-catching things, at least. The other - a small plaque that had been placed carefully on the counter next to the door - was something you would rather not look at. 

Flattering as it was to have won an award for helping the people of Fossbarrow, it felt… distant. Hollow. Most likely, it was because of the way your false name was written on the recognition. At least partially. 

But the Great City of Demacia had wanted to recognize you for the work you had done. It had been over five years since you had relocated, and the number of families you had helped recover their lives after the death of Nocturne numbered in the thousands. It was far easier to help people when you were supported by the royal family and the local government officials. If you had half these resources in Piltover’s Undercity, you could have done so much more with the Haven.

Your thoughts returned, as always, to Piltover. Even with everything you had accomplished in Fossbarrow, nothing brought you greater joy than the occasional coded letters from Viktor. You kept them carefully sealed away in a box hidden in your quarters, and you reread them often. 

The very first of them had arrived only two months after you had settled in Demacia and established the Fossbarrow Department for Economic Rehabilitation. (You hadn’t gotten to choose the name, unfortunately.) 

In code and carefully avoiding the use of names, Viktor had explained that, by all appearances, Silco had believed that you died in the Pilt and that your body had been washed out to sea. The cuff and chain that had been taken by the Enforcers as evidence of your accidental death disappeared after a few days in evidence. No one had been able to track it down, but they also hadn’t looked very hard. Silco employed a large percentage of the Enforcers, so they were well-motivated to keep the missing cuff quiet.

Viktor had also explained that Arunn agreed to take over control of the Haven. He had reached out to HexTech about continuing their donations. Viktor and Jayce agreed immediately. You had hoped that would be the case, though they had sent you to Demacia with a comfortable amount of money to support yourself with until you were able to get funding for a new outreach. 

After you had answered Viktor’s letter with one of your own, explaining that you were settled and that you had been put in charge of the new Department for Economic Rehabilitation, the conversation had gone quiet for a while. Roughly six months later, he sent another update about life in Piltover.

Arunn had secured additional funding for the Haven. Your ‘death’ had spurred an interesting response in some of the donors who had refused to support the Haven after your connections to Silco were made public. Apparently, most of them had come back and were donating more money than ever. What Arunn didn’t need for the Haven, he used to help support new businesses that moved to the area. 

Jazper and the rest of the entrepreneurs had managed to draw more people into the Lanes. There were new businesses that had opened since you left, and more under construction. Each one had pledged to hire Undercity residents as workers and offer significant discounts or even free services to people who needed them and would otherwise be unable to pay. There was even talk about restarting the Innovation Council, though you didn't know how they would manage that without Silco being involved.

Viktor had even included some information about Silco. He had sent guards to protect the Haven and it was well-known that the new businesses of the Lanes were under his protection. You had your suspicions that he had continued to blackmail all new business owners, but it was none of your business if that was a concession that the entrepreneurs were willing to make. 

The idea of Silco protecting the Haven should have seemed faintly ridiculous, but it seemed… right somehow. You believed it was true. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on your part, but if Silco had been honest about loving you, it would make sense that he would want to protect the legacy you had left behind. 

The letters kept coming, even when the Hex Gates opened and Jayce and Viktor were catapulted into levels of fame and fortune that no one could have anticipated. The next few updates from Viktor focused more on the Undercity itself and how the economy was improving around the Lanes. 

Roughly two years after you had left, Viktor wrote about how Silco had put up a statue of you, just across the square from the statue of Vander. Viktor managed to include a picture of the statue. It was simple and flattering, featuring you looking down at pedestrians with a serene sort of compassion on your face. The inscription named you a hero of Zaun, one who was taken far too soon but left her mark on the people and the city. 

Viktor’s latest letter explained how he and Jayce had been working on new things for HexTech, including something called the HexCore. It was highly experimental and there were people who wanted them to back off of their research. Viktor also alluded to being sick. His health had been on a steady decline as long as you had known him, but he seemed to think that he could die soon. He warned that this could be his final letter. 

You had been staring at a blank piece of paper for most of the morning, trying to find the words to express your sadness and sympathy without injuring Viktor’s sensitive pride. You had formed something of a friendship over the past few years, and you owed him more than anyone had a right to owe anyone. Was it possible for you to travel to Piltover? The Hex Gates made it a simple trip, and you wouldn’t stay for long…

Without permission, your eyes traveled to the half-folded newspaper resting at your left hand. A bold headline proclaimed that the situation between Piltover and the Undericty was reaching its most desperate. Near-daily explosions rocked the city, and there had been an attack on the Piltover bridge that had required additional Enforcers to be deployed to the area. You worried for your friends and the people of the city you had grown to love. If only there were some way you could help, to bring some of Demacia’s level-headed rules to the area… 

But you knew it was hopeless. You hadn’t been able to change the city when you were part of it, and now you were an outsider. One who was legally considered dead, at that. There was nothing you could do, nothing but watch with horror as Piltover tried to tear itself in half.

There was a soft knock on the kitchen door. You glanced over to find someone waiting outside. With a final look at the blank piece of paper, you set aside your pen and stood. 

When you opened the door, there was a cloaked figure leaning heavily against the doorframe. One gloved hand was still raised, as if they had started to knock again.

“Good morning,” you greeted. “Do you need some hel-?”

The person lowered their gloved hand, flinching in pain at their own movement. They grasped their chest with the same hand, curling in on themselves slightly with a hiss of pain. Your politeness moved to practicality in an instant.

“Let’s get you inside,” you suggested. “Can I touch your elbow? I just want to help you move a little easier, take some of your weight.” 

They hesitated briefly before standing upright to offer the same arm they had used to knock. You gently took it, holding it just above the elbow with one hand while your other supported closer to their armpit. That would give you a better place to support if their legs went out from under them. 

You carefully steered them into the seat you had just left. “I’m going to grab my medical supplies. I’ll help with what I can, but we may have to call the Department’s physician. If we do, you’ll have to supply your name and details about what happened to you.” 

The medical kit was tucked under the sink. You always kept it close at hand for situations just like this one. The Fossbarrow Department for Economic Rehabilitation got a strangely high number of people who were intent on hiding their identities. 

Usually, when someone came in wearing a cloak or hood to hide their face, it was because they had injured themselves or damaged their lives through the use of magic. Demacia distrusted magic and had banned it nearly since the founding of the country. If too many people found out that someone had used magic, it could ruin a person's public perception and make things worse for them and their families. 

So you had learned to tend to a variety of wounds caused by magic without any assistance. That skill - and an untarnished history of discretion - had helped you create a reputation that drew people to the Department.

You were a little surprised to find that the figure had removed the hood of their cloak when you turned around. You were somewhat more surprised to find that the figure was Silco. 

He wore a thin smile - the ghost of the smirk he liked to wear when he felt he may lose control of a situation. “I told you that I would always come after you, pet.” 

You froze in place, hurtling through space and time to stand in the dim coolness of Silco’s bedroom, a thin chain locked around your ankle. A flash of begging for him to let you go, to change his mind about how to deal with Piltover. A hint of his refusal. Then further back, to the better moments you had shared together. 

There was sex among them, of course, but you were shocked by how many memories were of Silco himself. Silco laughing at some quip you had made, the sly light in his eyes when he came to find you in the market, his admiring look at the gala… 

A thousand warm micro-memories danced through your mind, all while your gaze traced every achingly familiar feature. 

There were a few more lines on Silco’s face. They gathered in a delicate web around the corners of his eyes. The scarring around his Shimmer-infused eye had flattened slightly, lightening in color, but the gray cast to his skin didn’t make it look as improved as it probably could have. His hair was in much the same style, but the swept-back strands held far more streaks of gray than they had five years before. 

It seemed as if you had been frozen for hours, but you were well aware that the kitchen clock had counted only moments since you had seen Silco’s face. You put on your best blank expression as you continued toward him. 

“If you plan to harm me or any of my employees, I must warn that I’ll fight back,” you told him dispassionately. 

Silco nodded. “I intend no harm.” 

“Good.” You set the first aid kit on the table and opened it with a snap. “I’ll need to see the injuries before I can treat them.” 

He nodded, untying the fastening at his throat and sweeping the cloak out of his way. You had half-expected some crude comment about how you wanted to get him out of his shirt, but Silco was quiet as he worked at the line of buttons that ran down his chest. Thankfully, he was missing a vest, so the process didn’t take as long. 

When he was bare from the waist up, you studied Silco’s chest. A deep wound over his heart made your blood run cold, but despite the placement and the angry red of the area, the injury itself wasn’t as intense as you had feared. The edges of the wound were smooth, the skin shiny with some kind of ointment. There were no signs of infection and it looked like the injury had already been healing for some time. 

“What happened?” you asked, trying to keep your tone even. You dug through the kit for some painkillers and a disinfectant in an effort to hide anything your expression may have given away. 

Silco was watching you - you could feel the weight of his eyes on you. “Jinx.” 

“Jinx?” you repeated, befuddled. The image in your mind was of an energetic child, haunted eyes too large in her pale face as she followed Silco around with something akin to worship. It had been five years since you’d seen Jinx, just the same as Silco. She was probably in her mid-teens now, but it was difficult to imagine Jinx harming her adopted father.  

“Was it an accident?” 

Silco shook his head. “No. She was coming along well until her sister came back. Then she… Jinx is greater than I could ever have dreamed she would be. She is perfect.” 

“Jinx has a sister?” you asked, skipping over everything else as you gently started to clean the skin around the edge of Silco’s injury. 

With a light sigh through his nose, Silco nodded. Then he started to speak as you worked on his injury. He told you of the girl Jinx had once been - a child called Powder who idolized her older sister Vi. After Powder had accidentally killed their adopted father, Vi had disappeared and was presumed dead. Vi had come back, but could not accept the changes in her younger sister. Jinx had struggled to be the person she was and the one she had become, but broke. 

When Silco finally fell silent, you shook your head at him. “When she broke, she shot you. Why are you smiling about that?” 

“She needed to kill me,” Silco said, voice calm. “It was the only way to lose that last bit of her former self. She did not need Vander, she did not need her sister, and she does not need me. She is strong enough to lead Zaun, without any sentiment getting in the way.” 

You finished bandaging up the wound and stepped away to wash your hands. “I don’t understand. I thought everything you did was to make sure you could rule the nation of Zaun. And now you’re handing everything over to Jinx? What if she isn’t ready?” 

“She is,” he assured you. “I have nothing more to teach her.” 

“Especially since she thinks you’re dead,” you agreed. “That’s probably horrifyingly damaging to her psyche. Have you thought about telling her that you’re alive?” 

“I would never,” Silco told you, seeming almost offended by the question. “Killing me was the push she needed. Immediately afterward, she fired a rocket at the Piltover Council. I could never take that from her, nor would I want to.” 

You nodded slowly, trying to take in what he had just said. “Looks like she shot you squarely in the chest. How did you survive?” 

“Singed, the scientist I hired to help me synthesize Shimmer into a higher-strength version,” Silco explained, picking up his discarded shirt. “He saved my life.” 

Just as you started to worry that nothing had changed, an expression of regret bled across Silco’s face. “I have to admit that you were correct about using Zaunites to fight Piltover. It turned us into the monsters they always believed us to be. If I were granted the chance to do things again, I would listen to you.” 

He reached out and snagged your hand as you helped him shrug into his shirt. “I would change a great many things, most of which surround the way I treated you. I have no right to ever ask that you forgive me, but I will regardless. Can you forgive me my mistakes?”

You took a breath and tried to think beyond the thrill of his skin touching yours. “How did you find me?” 

Silco’s fingers stilled beneath yours. “I intercepted a HexTech airship two years ago. It was not a mail ship, but there was a single letter in the captain’s quarters. I recognized your handwriting.”

“And-?” Two years. Two years.

He shrugged. “I was fighting a war you had chosen not to participate in. I had to respect your decision.” His hand squeezed a little tighter around yours. “And I would gladly have given everything I have to know that you were alive. That I discovered the information by such happenstance… How could I think it was anything other than fate?” 

“I don’t think fate typically includes hijacking an airship,” you retorted. Or, at least, you tried to. Your voice was soft, almost hoarse, with the shocks that the morning had brought.

One corner of Silco’s lips curled into a smile. “Perhaps not, but we make our own fate. You taught me that much when you chose to shape my city.” 

You huffed at that, heat rising in your face, but Silco simply watched you with a fond expression. “So you’ve decided to let Jinx lead Zaun into the future. What made you change your mind about being in control of it all?” 

“It was never going to be me.” Silco slowly shook his head, seeming less distraught about that than you would have guessed. “I have done too much. I am infamous in Piltover and in Zaun, and to both places a monster. I killed Vander, Hound of the Underground. He and I were friends, revolutionaries. And I killed him. Zaun cannot forgive that kind of disloyalty.” 

Despite everything, the weariness on Silco’s face still made you want to comfort him. When he glanced at you, the sadness in his eyes pulled back slightly. He offered you a small half-smile.

“The entirety of Zaun knows about my past. They would never have suffered me to lead, not in the long-term.” Silco straightened. “The people of Zaun need long-term. They deserve the stability of knowing that their needs will be considered and deemed important - not just now, but for years in the future. It was time for the next generation to take up the fight.”

“Just like that?” you asked, trying not to sound too harshly skeptical. “You’re willing to give up your dreams of Zaun, after everything?” 

Silco sighed. “I do hope to return there someday, but it is no longer mine to fight for. I must start looking toward my own future.” 

You busied yourself in packing up the first aid kit. “Yes? And what does that look like?” 

“I cannot claim to have spent much time considering it,” Silco said, an edge of pain entering his voice as his chair creaked with movement. “But I can say that I have never been able to picture a future without you in it.” 

When you turned, Silco was standing. One hand pressed lightly but protectively against the bandage on his chest. “I know I have no standing to ask, but-” 

“Silco, stop,” you commanded, shocked when he actually fell silent. “I’m going to ask the questions now. Understand?” 

He pressed his lips together and nodded, though you could see the amusement glinting in his mismatched eyes. 

“Do you intend to settle in Demacia and build another drug empire?” 

Silco shook his head emphatically. 

“And you have no intentions of creating another system of chem barons?” 

Another head shake. 

“And if I say that I don’t want a future with you, are you going to chain me up again?” 

Silco shook his head, but you could see how his jaw flexed at the way you phrased the question. 

“Why?” 

He eyed you suspiciously, as if there were a chance that it was all a trick, but you motioned for him to go ahead and speak. 

“I will never trap you again,” he said. “I should never have done so. I have no excuse, but I allowed myself to be blinded by my desperation to keep you close. It was unacceptable. If you choose to send me away, I will accept your decision with grace.” 

You raised an eyebrow. 

“...Though I will, of course, attempt to convince you otherwise,” Silco admitted. “I can hardly be expected not to advocate for myself.”

“I’m not sure I believe you about the drugs and chem baron parts,” you diverted. It likely said something about the situation that it was easier to call Silco a liar than respond to the reminder that he wanted to share a life with you. “It was such a big part of your life in the Un- in Zaun. Why would you give that up to live here?” 

“Shimmer was always a means to an end,” Silco explained. “The drugs, my life as the head chem baron, the Last Drop… all of it was a method of gaining power enough to guide Zaun, to make the decisions that I believed needed to be made to ensure her future. Now…” 

He spread his hands in a gesture that seemed meant to encompass all of Fossbarrow. 

“Now, there’s no need to have all of that influence,” you summarized. “So you’re saying you didn’t enjoy the power? That you won’t miss it?” 

Silco paused, then chuckled ruefully. “I likely will. Power is never easy to lose, even when one is prepared for it. But missing the control I once held does not guarantee that I will fight to regain it. I said it once and I mean it still: the only thing I am willing to fight for is a future with you.” 

This time, you didn’t order Silco to sit back down when he stood up. The lingering pain in his chest kept him from looming over you quite so much as he had years before, but he still stood achingly close. 

“I don’t know if I can trust you,” you whispered, struggling to hold his gaze. 

“You do not need to pledge your life to me,” Silco reminded, the edge of desperation in his voice keeping it from sounding irritatingly sarcastic. “I only ask that you allow me to prove myself to you. Let me stay near and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you.” 

“And if something happens in Zaun?” you asked, voice shaky. “Will you leave me to go fix it?”

“I told you: my work there is done.” Wistfulness passed over his face like the shadow of a cloud. “I hope to return there someday, but it does not matter. This is the only thing that matters.”

Silco’s hands were cool against yours, his fingertips trembling with pain or nerves or both. He clasped your hands in his, meeting your gaze with a frank certainty that shook you to your core. 

“I have thought of you every moment of every day since you left me. I understand why you did, but… I have never forgiven myself. Never. When I knew you were still alive, it took every shred of self-control not to run to you immediately. I love you. I have never stopped and I never will, even if you do not feel the same.” 

The heartfelt admission made your eyes well. You trusted Silco. It made no sense, but you always had. So many of his sentiments were matched by the longing in your chest. You had never stopped loving him, either. Life in Fossbarrow would have been immeasurably easier if you had. If you were being honest with yourself, you had never been able to picture a future without him, either. 

How could you be expected to turn away the only thing you had wanted for five long years? You couldn’t. No one could. 

“I do feel the same,” you admitted, glancing up to meet his gaze. Silco looked lightly stunned, as if something heavy had struck him between the eyes. “I love you, too. Despite everything.” 

Silco ducked his head and swept you into a kiss that felt like coming home. 

It wasn’t perfect. There were many, many things you would need to work out if you were going to share a life in Demacia. But you would work them out together, and that was all you truly wanted.

---

Author's Note - There we go! A finished story! I'm happy with how it turned out, even if the pacing is a little odd with the plot taken into account. I should also state that I've finally finished Arcane Season Two and I would make some tweaks if I was writing this chapter now, but I still think it's still fairly valid.

As I said previously, I'm open to writing a few chapters from Silco's perspective. I don't have any particular ones in mind right now, so I'll be taking suggestions! I'd prefer you send them to my ask box so they don't get lost in the comments, then I'll make a poll out of the ones I agree with. Remember: I'm only accepting suggestions from people who have previously commented on/reblogged chapters, so make sure you don't submit an anonymous ask!

All of that aside, thank you so much for reading this story! I'm so grateful you chose to stick it out until the end. It's always difficult to say goodbye to a story and I'll miss writing this - especially for such a wonderful group of people!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. <3

[covid-safer-hotties]

Alarm bells ring in Japan as experts warn of fast-spreading new Covid variant KP. 3 - Published July 19, 2024

Paywalled at the South China Morning Post: Unpaywalled by Covidsafehotties.

The country reported a 39 per cent week-on-week surge in infections from July 1 to 7, with Okinawa the hardest hit

Japan is grappling with a new and highly contagious coronavirus variant that is fuelling the country’s 11th wave of Covid-19 infections, health experts warn. The KP. 3 variant is spreading rapidly, even among those who are vaccinated or have recovered from previous infections, according to Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases.

“It is, unfortunately, the nature of the virus to become more resilient and resistant each time it changes into a different form,” Tateda told This Week in Asia. “People lose their immunity quite quickly after being vaccinated, so they have little or no resistance.”

Tateda, who sits on Japan’s advisory panel formed at the start of the pandemic, said the coming weeks will be critical as authorities monitor the variant’s spread and impact.

While hospitals have reported a sharp uptick in Covid-19 admissions, Tateda said he is “relieved that not many of these cases are severe”. Typical symptoms of the KP. 3 variant include high fever, sore throat, loss of smell and taste, headaches, and fatigue.

According to the health ministry, medical facilities across Japan logged a 1.39-fold – or 39 per cent – increase in infections from July 1 to 7, compared to the previous week.

Okinawa prefecture has been the hardest hit by the new strain of the virus, with hospitals reporting an average of nearly 30 infections per days. The KP. 3 variant has accounted for more than 90 per cent of Covid-19 cases nationwide, the Fuji News Network reported, leading to renewed concerns about bed shortages at medical facilities.

Since Japan’s first detected Covid-19 case in early 2020 involving a man who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, East Asian nation has recorded a total of 34 million infections and around 75,000 related deaths. The country’s Covid-19 caseload peaked on August 5, 2022, when more than 253,000 people were receiving treatment.

Japan’s uptick in cases coincides with similar increases being observed globally. In the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 23.5 per cent week-over-week rise in the number of people visiting hospitals with Covid-19 symptoms during the week ending July 6.

High-profile US.figures such as President Joe Biden and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, have recently tested positive and gone into isolation. Meanwhile, several riders in the ongoing Tour de France cycling race have also returned positive test results.

Experts say it is too early to determine the full impact of the new variant on Japanese businesses or cross-border activities like travel. Precautionary measures are already in place at the country’s air and seaports to monitor the health of incoming arrivals. However, the global spike in cases may deter some Japanese from venturing abroad this summer.

A recent survey by Nippon Life insurance found that just 3.2 per cent of Japanese plan to travel abroad in the coming months, which is likely to depress annual travel figures once again. In 2023, Japan saw 9.62 million outbound travellers, a recovery after three years of extremely low pandemic-era numbers, but still far below the 20.01 million outbound travellers recorded in 2019.

Despite the latest surge, infectious disease expert Tateda insists there is no need for panic in Japan. However, he emphasised the importance of following precautions implemented during the pandemic’s peak, such as mask-wearing in public, handwashing, and social distancing.

Tateda also stressed that anyone testing positive should immediately isolate themselves.

[kikyoupdates]

Changing Plotlines ⭑˚💞⭑ 𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠

yandere!ocs x f!reader

yandere, reverse harem, yandere reverse harem, original characters x fem!reader, slowburn, isekai

A desperate cry on your deathbed leads to you being given a fresh start at life. You're overjoyed at having finally obtained a healthy body and a real chance at living normally, only to discover that you've been transported into a yandere game, where danger lurks at every corner. Determined to protect your new life at any cost, you vow to stay as far away from the major characters of the game as possible. But things don't always go as planned.

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Three of the yanderes have already been avoided. I just need to keep this up and make sure Flora doesn’t meet the last one, and I’ll be golden.

Ever since you’d decided to derail the game’s plot altogether, you were feeling a lot better about things. Naturally, you were still going to keep up with your sword-fighting lessons, just as a precautionary measure, but this way, you could be friends with Flora without feeling so damn paranoid all the time.

Today, you were back on academy grounds, and presently in your botany class. Memorizing things had always come easily to you, and besides, your preexisting knowledge from your previous world certainly came in handy. A lot of the plants in this world were similar to the ones you were already familiar with, and since basic science wasn’t different either, it was safe to say that your diligent nature was allowing you to breeze through the course.

Your professor was currently in the middle of handing back the quiz you’d taken last class, and he briefly paused in front of your desk, a faint smile rising to his lips.

“Good job, [Name],” he hummed, placing the paper in front of you. “Perfect score again.”

You couldn’t help the grin that spread all the way up to your ears.

Hehe. I’m so awesome.

It felt really good to excel at something. It was completely different from what you were used to. Being sick drastically limited the number of things a person was able to do, not to mention how much it affected the quality of their life. It really sucked how severe illness plagued such an alarming percentage of the population. You knew it wasn’t possible for all of them to miraculously recover, but you hoped that their suffering would lessen somewhat.

But onto less depressing topics, you’d scored another perfect grade on a quiz! Hooray! Come to think of it, you had yet to receive anything less than a perfect score in this class. Was it possible to keep this up until the end of the semester?

Hopelessly optimistic, you decided to make that another goal of yours—finishing your botany class with nothing short of 100 percent. Which, compared to completely altering the plot of this yandere game and preventing several deaths in the process, was really no big deal.

The good news had put you in even better spirits, and right as you were packing up your books and preparing to head over to your next class, the professor called out to you.

“Ah, [Name]. Wait a moment, please,” he said. “If you don’t mind sparing me a minute, come by my desk. I have something I’d like to talk about.”

You wondered what he wanted. Perhaps he hadn’t yet gotten his fill of congratulating you for your excellence, and wanted to discuss your impressive intelligence more at length. Well, if that was the case, you certainly weren’t about to complain.

Still smiling, you made your way to the professor’s desk at the front of the class. “Yes? What do you want to speak to me about, sir...?”

You trailed off near the end, and the other person standing in front of the prof’s desk peered over at you inquisitively.

It was Lawrence Fleming. Holy mother of fuck. Why was he in the same class as you?!

You tried not to freak out. It was a big class, after all. There were countless other students in this class. You hadn’t even realized he was in it until now. Besides, you knew from the start that he attended the same academy as you, just like Cassius did, so it really wasn’t that surprising.

Right. No reason to panic. No reason to overreact and drop the course, not when you were doing so well for yourself. You didn’t know why the professor had called him over too, but it was probably something so minor that you’d end up chuckling at it later on after getting so pointlessly riled up.

“Thank you both for taking a bit of time out of your schedules,” the professor smiled. “The reason I’ve called you down here is because the two of you are my best students so far. Both of you are doing remarkably well, and I felt that your hard work deserved to be acknowledged.”

You strained a smile. Cool, this was cool. He was just praising the both of you. No big deal.

“And precisely because you’re both doing so well, I was thinking of pairing you together for an extra credit project.”

Oh my god. What the fuck? Not cool. This was, in fact, not cool!

Lawrence, however, seemed positively giddy. “Why, of course. That sounds like an amazing opportunity. Thank you, sir. We very much appreciate it.”

You couldn’t hide the grimace that swept across your expression. Ugh. You really should’ve expected his response to be something along those lines. Lawrence was ever determined to uphold his “goody-two-shoes" persona. It had something to do with making his family proud. He always went out of his way to get involved in extracurriculars and help organize different kinds of events. Considering how nasty his real personality was, it was kind of incredible how so many people held him in such high regard. They were convinced he was some sort of angel.

But you knew better. He was a stinky man. As stinky and two-faced as they came.

Get away from me, gross stinky man.

In a different timeline, you imagined yourself uttering those exact words to his face. Needless to say, you probably ended up dying in that timeline, so you opted for a different approach in this one.

“No thanks,” you politely declined, making both of them stare at you in disbelief. “I’m happy just following along with the current curriculum as is. I’m doing my best to maintain my grades across all my classes, so if I spend too much time on this one, I’m worried it’ll affect my performance in the rest of them.”

“A-Are you absolutely certain?” the professor stammered. “It would just be a simple research project, but I have no doubt that intelligent students such as yourselves would benefit from it. Research opens up all kinds of doors. You must already know, but the top student at this academy, Cassius Crowe, started off doing similar projects. And now he’s become a valued member of the faculty, on par with some of our most accomplished senior professors.”

Bringing up Cassius, huh? This prof must’ve thought he was making a very persuasive case, but really all he was doing was steering you in the opposite direction.

“I’m sure,” you smiled. “But I do appreciate the opportunity. Thank you for reaching out to me. I look forward to seeing you next class!”

“Ah, [Name]!” the professor called out after you. “I do urge you to think on your decision for a while longer!”

Unfortunately for him, you were already walking away. And seriously, what kind of “acknowledgment” was this? Rewarding all your hard work with yet more work? You liked learning and all, but you still wanted to have some free time to yourself.

Thankfully, that was over and done with. Another sticky situation successfully avoided. God, you were badass.

Except when you left the building, you realized that Lawrence was following you.

Haha... man, fuck my life.

Lawrence was wearing his superficial smile, like always, but you could tell based on the look in his eyes that he was pretty annoyed with you. “I think this would be good for both of us,” he persisted. “I’m sure I can probably carry out the project on my own, but having a partner would help save a lot of time. Not to mention that the professor personally selected the two of us. It would be discourteous to refuse his offer.”

He was the type of guy who, in your previous world, would’ve certainly gotten picked on in high school for being the teacher’s pet. But here, given his noble status, he not only got away with it, but people even respected him for it. As far as most were concerned, he could do no wrong. Just a good guy, eager to get things done and help others out.

But would a good guy be going out of his way to pressure you into something you clearly didn’t want?

Yeah... probably not.

“I’m sorry,” you said, declining once more. “I’m just too busy with other things, and like I said before, I’d rather excel at all my classes instead of getting too tied up with one in particular. But I’m sure the professor will let you do the project on your own.”

And then, it happened. The smile you were so used to seeing on Lawrence’s face, the one he wore around everyone, including Flora...

It finally disappeared.

“You know, I didn’t make a fuss that day when you spilled your drink all over me during the food festival,” he glared. “I was quite embarrassed, but I was gracious enough to let it slide.”

So, he definitely still remembered you from back then. But seriously? He was trying to hold something as nonsensical as that over your head?

You scrunched up your brows. “It was just an accident. And I’m not sure what that has anything to do with our current situation.”

“You owe me,” he said simply. “And really, I shouldn’t have to beg in the first place. Don’t you have any desire to push yourself and strive to be better? Why would you settle for mediocrity? As I’ve already said before, this will be good for both of us. The more opportunities you have, the better.”

God, you felt like screaming! How dare he call your perfect grades mediocre! You were probably doing better than him in the class, anyways!

But ego aside, you really didn’t want to do this. And he wasn’t about to force you.

So, you clenched your fists and puffed out your chest. “I don’t owe you anything—”

“You owe me,” Lawrence repeated. He placed his hand down on your shoulder and gripped down hard. His smile had returned, but it was nothing like before. It was cold, even downright malicious. “Just do this with me, alright? It will all be worth it in the end.”

Only after his thinly-veiled threat did he leave, and by that point, your heart was already hammering away in your chest.

For a moment there, you’d almost forgotten. You’d been so focused on avoiding him by any means that you’d actually forgotten what he was capable of. He wasn’t the type of man who would ever take no for an answer. In the game, he’d trapped Flora in a cage, as if she was some sort of animal, and even as she screamed and wailed, he still wouldn’t let her go.

Which meant that there was no way he was going to let you do as you wanted, either.

“Fuck,” you shuddered, and you only then realized that you were shaking. “That was... terrifying.”

Quite literally against your will, you’d been forced into doing a whole-ass project with Lawrence. At this point, you kind of were contemplating dropping the class, but who knew how Lawrence would react after hearing the news. It wasn’t as if you could completely avoid him, especially when you attended the same academy. If he wanted to, he could show up unannounced at your home, just like Flora had done, except his family wielded much more power than yours and could easily get away with it.

This sucked. This sucked hard. The only thing you took solace in was that he still hadn’t met Flora, and probably wouldn’t, as long as you kept an eye on her. He had a shitty personality, that was for sure, but if you went along with his selfish desires and did the stupid project with him, you hopefully wouldn’t have any problems.

Key word being hopefully.

Back at home, your sighs kept coming endlessly. You just couldn’t believe your luck. Who knew that your academic achievements would come back to bite you in the ass? You thought that being smart was supposed to be good. Those stupid perfect scores. If only you’d gotten slightly less than perfect, then maybe the prof would’ve picked someone else to partner up with Lawrence.

Whatever. It was already in the past. You’d just have to get the project done as quickly as possible, so that you could move on with your life and never have to deal with Lawrence ever again.

“You seem to be a bit down in the dumps today.”

“Ah,” you blinked, glancing around. “Zodin? Is that you?”

“Who else would it be? Unless I’m mistaken, I’m the only god in these parts.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m just so drained, I can hardly think straight right now,” you sighed.

“There it is again.”

“There what is?”

“Another sigh. You keep on sighing.”

“Well, yeah,” you muttered, impatiently scratching your head. “I got stuck doing some stupid project with some stupid bastard.”

You heard Zodin chuckle. It was weird being able to talk to him like this, even when he wasn’t actually in the room.

“What do you have against that man? I thought you only recently came to this world. Surely you can’t have already made an enemy out of him?”

“Nothing, really,” you lied. “He just gives me a bad vibe, so I’m trying to avoid him. By the way, are you gonna come talk to me face to face? This is kind of weird. I’m all alone here.”

“Not today, I’m afraid. As hard as it may be to believe, I do still have my fair share of responsibilities, so I can’t always pop down and visit the mortal realm.”

“You’re right,” you chuckled. “That is hard to believe.”

“Haha. You’re lucky I’ve got an excellent sense of humor. In any case, like I said before, I’m not allowed to interfere with your affairs, but you seem capable enough. I’m sure that you’ll find a way to resolve the issue peacefully.”

That would be nice. But if worse came to worst, you would soon have a trusty sword to fall back upon.

“Come hang out whenever you have the chance,” you said, spreading yourself out on your bed. “I’ll make sure we have some snacks to munch on. You can eat, right?”

“Of course. My body has no real need for nourishment, but I can smell and taste things, just like you.”

“Cool. Sounds like a plan, then.”

Before Zodin could say anything else, you heard a knock on your door.

“Um, my lady?” Lizbell frowned, carefully peering into the room. “Are you... talking to yourself?”

You flushed. Okay, this was embarrassing. “N-No,” you denied suspiciously. “I was just, um, singing! I like to sing in my spare time. Haha...”

“I see,” Lizbell nodded, clearly unconvinced. “In that case, I’ll, uh, let you get back to it. You have a lovely voice, Lady [Name]. You should sing more in front of your family. Ahem.”

She left, and you could hear her muttering to herself.

“My poor, sweet lady. She’s so lonely that she’s even begun to have conversations on her own...”

You slapped a palm against your forehead. Goddammit! One way or another, Lizbell always managed to bear witness to your most embarrassing moments.

Zodin was laughing again.

“What a funny misunderstanding. Next time, you should just tell her that you’re talking with me, their god.”

Right. Because that would go over splendidly.

You decided to stop talking to him for the time being, lest Lizbell come back and see you having another passionate debate with thin air.

Feeling a bit restless after your unfortunate interaction with Lawrence earlier, you decided you may as well make use of your time and practice your sword skills some more. You grabbed your wooden sword and headed out into the courtyard, and soon enough, you were slashing and swinging in every direction.

All things considered, you’d lucked out a bit getting stuck with Lawrence, of all the yanderes. Triston and Friedrich were both very adept with a sword, but as far as you knew from the game, Lawrence and Cassius preferred to focus more on their reputation and academic studies. Flora was the sort of protagonist who was innocent and naive, almost to a fault. She was incredibly vulnerable due to her rushed transition into high society. As a result, she didn’t end up realizing how dire her situation was until it was already too late.

But you were no Flora, and if Lawrence wanted to fuck with you, he was going to find himself facing the pointed end of your sword.

“Stupid Lawrence,” you muttered, swinging with more enthusiasm—and more anger—than before. “Why do I have to do this project with you? Get someone else. I have better things to do than to babysit you and stare at plants for hours. Goddamn kiss-up...”

This went on for a while longer, up until Lizbell came out to greet you in the courtyard.

You sighed, lowering the wooden sword.

I bet she’s back to laugh at me for talking to myself.

Thankfully, she was not. Instead, she came bearing good news.

“Lady [Name],” she approached, holding an envelope out towards you. “You’ve received a letter. It doesn’t have a crest on it, so I don’t think it’s from another noble family. Cedric Lightsteel, it says? Are you familiar with this name at all?”

It hardly took a second for your expression to light up. “A letter from Cedric? Yay! That must mean he’s all done crafting my sword!”

You grabbed the envelope from Lizbell and opened it up all too eagerly. The contents were just about what you’d been expecting. He was writing to inform you that your sword was finished and ready to be picked up at your earliest convenience.

After the shitty turn of events from earlier in the day, this was exactly the sort of news you’d been needing.

“Oh, yeah,” you snickered. “Even Lawrence won’t dare to fuck with me once he sees what I’m packing.” 

More chapters are available on Quotev!

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[deepfakefart]

EDIT: please see @cliffsideview's replies for more info! Tragically it is sounding more probable that it was a suicide spurred by a long period of bullying. Every person who participated, every teacher who stood by, every legislator who is a proponent of the anti-trans bills – every one of them is complicit in Nex's death. Ryan Walters specifically has blood on his hands.

They're ruling Nex Benedict's death a suicide. Death due to "combined toxicity" of fluoxetine (Prozac) and diphenhydramine (benadryl). Let's explore this.

Fluoxetine is known to cause seizures at very high dosages but rarely causes death. In one case study, 1.4 grams of Prozac likely caused a seizure but not death in an adult woman. "A dose as low as 520 mg of fluoxetine has been associated with a lethal outcome, but there’s record of someone taking 8 grams of fluoxetine and recovering," according to Healthline. ("Associated with" does not necessarily mean the sole cause!) Diphenhydramine overdose has been known to cause death at doses of 20mg/kg or greater; in the USA in 2017, it was involved (but not necessarily the sole factor) in 3% of OD deaths according to the CDC. I've no clue how much Nex weighed but I based my math on a 100lb person. A lethal dose of diphenhydramine at that weight would have been approx 900mg. There is no known lethal dose of fluoxetine for humans. It can vary greatly but is generally safe and generally requires very large doses to cause seizures let alone death. There are no known serious drug interactions between these two drugs.

But let's say there is some interaction at unusually high doses that I don't know about because this is an extremely unusual combination for a suicide attempt. We know that Benadryl is much easier to OD on than Prozac is. So let's pull some numbers out of our asses and say 750mg of diphenhydramine plus 3g of fluoxetine equals lethal dose for a 100lb teenager.

The typical upper range of fluoxetine dosage is 80mg/day. If we assume that Nex was taking 100mg of fluoxetine/day and he had access to a full 30 day supply, that's 3 grams. Add confounding head trauma and diphenhydramine toxicity and...maybe???

But we're talking about someone downing a full or nearly full 30 day supply of high doses of fluoxetine AND about 30 tablets of Benadryl. And there were no signs until he entered the living room and collapsed? Fluoxetine toxicity can cause rapid heartbeat, irritability, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, etc. Diphenhydramine toxicity can cause confusion, irregular heartbeat, agitation, nausea, vomiting, etc. This combo seems like a very uncomfortable and unpleasant way to go and I'm meant to believe he was quiet, not vomiting, not agitated, not terrified – just walked into the living room and collapsed? Unless he was exhibiting those symptoms and Sue didn't say anything about it which doesn't add up either. She said Nex went to bed with a headache and we have audio of the 911 call. She mentions their eyes rolling back and their hands "posturing" (both those things could be related to brain damage or a seizure).

With the added complication of head trauma (blacking out due to head injury = concussion = brain injury), I guess death is feasible but this just doesn't feel right. I don't know. Maybe it was a perfect storm of circumstances but those two drugs are so hard to OD on, not to mention unpleasant to OD on, and this state is so hostile to trans people it's hard not to approach this with a TON of skepticism.

I hope the Benedict family had their own toxicology and autopsy done.

ETA: for the record, im not saying I agree with the suicide decision, I'm saying "I mean I guess technically it's possible but it seems highly unlikely and incredibly sus and I am not convinced"

[tossawary]

I need to reread the Huan Hua Palace segments of SVSSS, but one of my headcanons for why it was relatively easy for Luo Binghe to take over is that there was a longstanding power vacuum partially due to the Su Xiyan/Tianlang-Jun mess. Like, both Cang Qiong and Huan Hua in the story seem to be missing adult cultivators who weren't sect leaders / peak lords, in terms of characters who are named and actually appear in the story, and I can think of a few Watsonian reasons in Huan Hua's case why the answer might be: "They're dead."

Firstly, it's totally possible that Tianlang-Jun killed a LOT of people before being sealed. I can't remember if anyone in SVSSS provides any stats on this, but Tianlang-Jun is hardly a pushover, even if he loved Su Xiyan. He must have lashed out.

Secondly, I bet Zhuzhi-Lang killed a lot of people during the sealing. And I wouldn't be surprised if, even in his weakened form, Zhuzhi-Lang has spent the past 20 years or so secretly murdering every Huan Hua cultivator he encountered in the woods or during his attempts to free his uncle. (In which case, Shen Yuan stopping Gongyi Xiao from killing Zhuzhi-Lang becomes even more ironic and tragic.)

Thirdly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Palace Master was the sort of person who cultivated an entourage of toadies and regularly disappeared the more disruptive competition. What happened with Su Xiyan and Shen Qingqiu in the Water Prison were both special cases, arguably, but he seems like that kind of asshole generally. In which case genuinely skilled and ambitious threats to his power have got to go.

Fourthly, I wouldn't be surprised if he and Su Xiyan were in some kind of power struggle (that she ultimately lost) with casualties before the sealing. I read Su Xiyan as being a very popular and politically powerful figure, so she might have been moving to grab the position of Palace Master (especially if she's actually falling for Tianlang-Jun and after discovering her pregnancy), in which case getting rid of some of the Palace Master's strongest supporters might seem like a reasonable step to someone with "the heart of a tyrant". And when the Palace Master secretly imprisoned her, it seems reasonable that this could have been discovered by some people within Huan Hua Palace (you need people to help you do your dirty work!), and there could have been divided loyalties there and deaths if anyone objected. And the Palace Master might have purposefully sent Su Xiyan's strongest supporters, who were ignorant of his schemes, up against Tianlang-Jun to get rid of them.

(There's also things like whatever is going on between Mobei-Jun's clan and Huan Hua Palace??? I think there's some kind of feud there. Which probably didn't help.)

So, twenty years later, when Huan Hua Palace is only just beginning to recover its numbers and is accidentally growing some talented young disciples with actual morals like Gongyi Xiao, Luo Binghe shows up and conveniently (for him) finds that huge chunks of the older generations at Huan Hua are missing. There's mostly young disciples and corrupt toadies left. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

[sitp-recs]

Hello good morning afternoons or evenings, I hope you are having a wonderful day! I'm looking for fic Drarry where they both become a safe place for each other or have a strange connection with each other because only they can understand each other.

Hello anon! Oh I love this concept so much, I’m all for comfort fics like that. Here are some stories that came to mind:

A Little Death Never Hurt Anyone by @tackytigerfic (E, 4k)

Harry's getting good at slipping through the Veil. He's determined to win the war, even if means he has to raise the dead to do it. Draco just wants a stiff drink and a good night's sleep.

Thermodynamic Equilibrium by @dorthyanndrarry (T, 5k)

Harry's far too hot. Draco's always cold. And somehow against all odds, together they create a perfect equilibrium.

A Pain of Our Choosing by @lqtraintracks (E, 6k)

It’s 8th year and everyone’s still a bit messed up. Harry and Draco fall into being messed up together.

Glowing by @cavendishbutterfly (T, 10k)

Harry's lived alone and vampiric in his cottage for ages, until a long-lived Draco Malfoy suddenly shows up to answer an advertisement Harry had practically forgotten he'd put in the Prophet. Cue soft blood drinking, quiet nights of reading and crocheting, and Harry thinking that maybe--just maybe--he might not be so alone anymore.

Tidings of Comfort by @blamebrampton (G, 10k)

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Luckily for Draco Malfoy, London has places where the tired can rest and recover.

Nice Things by aideomai (M, 22k)

The first thing that happened was Theodore Nott came back from France.

The Last of What the World Left You by @xanthippe74 (T, 25k)

If the wizarding world won’t give Draco a second chance, he has a plan to survive: live in his Animagus form, a carrion crow, in the Forbidden Forest. Not only does Harry Potter come along and ruin it, he’s radiating a strange aura of power. With nowhere to go and a Life-Debt to his mother that Potter insists on repaying, Draco puts himself into the hands of the reclusive Boy Who Lived. Will the bleak corner of Yorkshire where Potter makes his home be another dead end or an unexpected refuge?

Strange Bedfellows by orphan_account, ravenclawsquill (E, 30k)

When Harry encounters a frail and fidgety Draco Malfoy at the Ministry, he just knows something is wrong and he’s determined to get to the bottom of it.

Holly and Hawthorn, Thistle and Thyme by bryoneybrynn (T, 31k)

After the war, Harry can’t shake the feeling that something is very wrong with him and he has a terrible feeling he knows what that “something” might be. He has a terrible feeling Malfoy might know, too.

Open For Repairs by @drarrytrash (M, 35k)

After the war, Draco works at a tv repair shop and Harry breaks things.

Like Lightning at Your Fingertips by potterwatch (T, 43k)

The problem with living with another insomniac is, eventually, they find out you’re one, too. When Harry and Draco return for their eighth year, they think they’ll see very little of each other. Then McGonagall assigns them to room together. And the castle starts breaking. And there’s that thing with Potter’s magic.

A Room Up There (And You In It) by @the-starryknight (T, 59k)

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit. Featuring a grumpy antiques lover who most certainly did not sign up for this, encounters with a vengeful apparition, and a healthy application of Christmas spirit.

Running on Air by eleventy7 (T, 75k)

Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose, dustmouth (T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Way Down We Go by @xiaq (T, 109k)

In which Harry and Draco both run away from their pasts and conveniently choose to hide in the same tiny American town. It's super.

A Sword Laid Aside by @korlaena (E, 128k)

When Draco’s cover is blown during a deep undercover operation and the Ministry is compromised, Ron takes Draco to the only safe place he can think of—Potter. Hiding out with a taciturn Harry Potter, who has been missing from the Wizarding World for almost two decades after a shocking fall from grace, is nothing like Draco thought it would be.

In The Dark by @bixgirl1 (E, WIP)

In the aftermath of an apocalypse, Harry receives an order to find and bring Draco Malfoy nearly a thousand miles, to the tenuous safety of Hogwarts. But more than distance separates them from their goal. The world has fallen, and death is hungry.

[vulpixisananimal]

(Ramos)

[A:3 C:55]

(The mood in the lobby of the medhouse was somber. You, Mirabelle, Odile, and of course, Nille, were all waiting for the news. Isabeau had volunteered to go back to the house and tell Siffrin. Mirabelle was biting her nails, no-one was telling her to stop. Odile was looking at her book, pen unmoving. Nille sat next to you, silent, and You were sitting alone with your thoughts.)

(. . . . . No, not just, your thoughts.)

(-curse, or a craft feedback thing, or some disease, or just, just something with their lungs! They'll be okay, they'll be okay! They, have to-)

(-I-it's, it's like the day we beat the King. With, with what the sky looked like. A-and, and-)

(. . . It could be any number of things. But. . . Gems, you're not sure how many more mysteries you can take.)

(Nille, Mirabelle, and Odile. In order. Stars, it was like you had cracked a dam and that skill was only getting stronger and stronger. It didn't help that the place was so quiet. . . Craaaaaab.)

(You need to break the silence, or find a distraction, or. . .) ". . . . Hey, Nille?"

"Huh?" (Nilles head jumped up, looking at you.)

". . . Can I ask you something?"

". . . I dunno, can you?" (You could feel the attempted joke, and how her heart wasn't in it.) ". . . Sure."

"I uh. . . When, we had that big talk in Jouvente, after Sif recovered, uh. . ." (You rub your shoulder.) ". . . I, I dunno if, I was just, imagining things. But when I talked about, running away. . ."

". . . Oh, yeah. Right." (She looks away.) ". . . Just, reminded me of me n' Bonnie."

(There was the silence of the implied "go on.")

". . . We ran away too." (She sighed.) "Boniface was too young to remember it. I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh. . ." (The awkwardness returned.) "Uh. . . Sorry."

"Sorry?" (She gives you a look.) "Don't be sorry, crabface. It's a fair question."

"R-right, sorr- t-thanks, I mean." (You laugh nervously.) ". . . Bonnie's, one tough kid then. With, just the two of you. . ."

". . ." (Nille looked away again.) ". . . They shouldn't need to be."

"Uh. . ." (You look to Mirabelle and Odile. They're both avoiding your eye, and her eye.) ". . . I-"

"They shouldn't need to be crabbing tough." (She grumbled.) "Or brave, or mature, or adult. They're a kid. Just a crabbing kid!"

"I just, wanted to give them a nice, stupid, crabbing life in a nice beachside town away from everything. Could enjoy being a kid, could do silly stuff and not worry about anything!"

"But, no. Of course not. First the King, me being stupid and getting frozen in time. Bonnie needing to go save the country. Bonnie learning how to cook, how to fight, how to deal with death! Bonnie, my little sibling Bonbon! My little sailor mouthed silly stupid bug loving Bonnie."

"And what the hell am I supposed to do when, when, something like THIS happens!! How am I supposed to protect Bonnie when-"

"E-excuse me, I was wondering if I could, visit. . . (The front door clicked open and an annoyingly familiar face stepped in.)

". . . . ." (You're all staring at him.)

". . . . . I'll, come back another time." (Perci slowly closed the door. You heard his footsteps as he walked away.)

(The awkward silence came again. You look over at Nille, then away again.) ". . . They'll be okay, Nille."

". . . Thanks, Rams. . ." (She sighs, pausing for a moment.) ". . . Sorry, about that. . ."

"It's okay, nothing to be sorry about."

". . . Yeah, thanks."

>>>

"It looks like the bleeding stopped as soon as it started, which is good. It's likely not Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, or other diseases."

(The four of you were in the room where Bonnie was staying. Dr.Joy was explaining what was wrong as Bonbon stayed fast asleep, breathing shallow.)

"There's no signs of any dangerous substances, infections, or otherwise. This was a very acute case, which points to some sudden damage to the throat or lungs. I already checked, and it looks like there's damage from some sort of craft directly inside the larynx, the voice box."

"A craft did that?!?" (Nille asks, shocked.)

"It looks like it. Actually, it lead me down a bit of a rabbit hole." (The Doctor flipped through his notes.) "There were a lot of cases of this around, ten years ago. Damage to the larynx, all craft wounds, many claimed it was. . . Accidental self inflicted. Luckily, though, that means I know just what to do."

(He's smiling at you all.) "Bonnie just needs to stay overnight to see if there's any long lasting damage. After that? They can go home. Soft foods only for a few days, though. And no talking too loud. Most of the damage is more dramatic than damaging, this time."

"This time?" (Odile questions.)

"Well, it looks like in some of those old records. . . The damage was, far, far worse. Fatal." (He quickly holds his hands up.) "B-but Boniface isn't in any danger of that! You should just, make sure that doesn't happen again. Just, talk to them. Make sure they're okay."

"Right. . ." (Nille nodded.)

(You stood there and nodded along to all the words being said. This was, all a bit much for you.)

". . . If you want, someone can stay here overnight. And I have a copy of the medical plan I have written up for you too."

"Thank you, Gina." (Odile nods.)

"I'll stay." (Nille adds.)

"Alright- oh yeah uh, I'm mostly free tomorrow, so if Siffrin can come pop by too that would be, uh, great!"

"I-I'll pass it along." (Mirabelle says, tugging on her shirt.)

(Gina gave a copy of the medical plan to Odile. Nille made plans to stay the night. Mirabelle and Odile convinced her to at least come home for dinner. Nille made a short prayer at the little dancing Change statue on the table. The others walked out, Mira asked if you were coming. You just asked her to give you a second.)

(They were waiting in the lobby now.)

(Bonnie was still sleeping. . .)

(. . .)

(. . . Why?)

(You still couldn't get that out of your head. Why now? Why Bonnie?)

(That shade gave you shudders. Seeing Bonnie weak and lifeless like that sent a chill down your spine. Seeing their shallow breathing made your hands tingle. They didn't deserve this, no-one did. So, why? It's not fair. It's just. Not. Fair.)

(Bonnie had nightmares every night.)

(You walk over to the Change God statue. The little dancing clay figure continued on it's endless little jaunt back and forth across the desk. You reach out, then paused. Everyone would be asking the Change God for help; to make sure Bonnie would recover. But. . .)

(Every. Single. Night.)

(You look at the disc of copper hanging on the wall above the dancing statue. The symbol of the Dreaming One was engraved on it. A dreamlight. You knew Gina had one here, it's why you were always nervous to go to the doctors. It wasn't his fault, it's just. .)

(. . . You reach up to the disc, and close your eyes.)

(You tap once; to exchange your greetings with the Dreaming One. The soft chime of the dreamlight echoed through the room. The hair on the back of your neck stood on end, old memories struggling to gain attention. It had been a long, long time.)

(You tap it a second time; to give thanks for what the Dreaming One has done. You don't know if the Dreaming One had been looking out for you, but if so. . . Thanks?)

(You tap it a third time; to pray for aid from the Dreaming One.)

(. . . . .)

(. . . . . . . . I, I know I haven't done this since I was a little kid. A-and, and I know that you probably don't remember me, or, care about me. That's, that's understandable. After, running away and all. . .)

(I, I'm sorry. I've been okay, I got a new parent, Eri, who taught me about stars, they were nice. They're gone now. May they dream pleasant dreams and return as one of your messengers. . .)

(. . . I, made mistakes. I was a coward, I was a fool, a-and, and I got tricked. I'm trying to make up for all that, but, it's hard. I hurt my best friend, I hurt my best friends partner, a-and, and I hurt myself, too.)

(They've forgiven me, in fact, they've. . . Welcomed me into their family. We're traveling together now, but. . . There's this little kid, Bonnie. They've been having nightmares for, for months. Every single night a nightmare. Today they got hurt, and, a-and, I'm scared.)

(. . . Please, please help them. I didn't want to bother you after I ran away but please, just this once, please. Please let them have a nice dream tonight. I'll, I-I'll, make it up to you. I promise, just, please. . .)

(The ringing from the dreamlight slowly faded. Once it was almost gone, you opened your eyes and turned to look at Bonnie. Okay. Okay. . . It'll be okay. You walk to the door, you should get home.)

>>>

"I promise, Pétronille, Bonnie is going to be fine by the time you get back." (Odile reassured as you all walked home.) "If something terrible does happen to Boniface, we won't even realize it, with Siffrin around and all."

"Exactly" (Mirabelle agreed.) "We'll just be having breakfast again with Sif predicting everything we say!"

"I guess so. . ." (Nille rubbed her shoulder.) ". . . I'm still gonna be worried sick, but, thanks.

(Most of the trip back had been taken up by convincing Nille that Bonnie was still okay. And the rest was talking about what to do about dinner. Without Bonnie the master cook, you'd have to rely on. . . What, Nilles cooking? You never did ask who else could cook. You know some cookery, you're pretty sure Isa did too, but. . .)

". . . Hey does Bonnie have any, uh, favorite foods? Some treat we could get them?" (You ask.)

"Oh yeah!" (Nille perks up a little.) "They loooove pineapple, pineapple slices especially."

"Oh oh oh!!" (Mirabelle raised a hand excited.) "I know this one! Next is rice!"

"Yup!" (Nille held up a finger.) "And there's one more."

"Samosas." (Odile replies, smiling.) "Without cheese, with potatoes."

"Ha!" (Now she's smiling.) "You guys know just what they like, huh!"

"Y-yes, but actually." (Mirabelle tugged on her sleeve.) "I-it turns out that was one of the things Siffrin memorized, during, t-that time."

"Oh yeah?" (Nille raised an eyebrow.)

"Yes!! They wanted to try and make the day before we fought the King as special as possible!!"

"Oh that's sweet of them!" (You jump in.) "He's a nice fella, I'm not surprised."

"It is a shame we never got to see it." (Odile sighs.) "But then again, it would be a bigger shame if he was still stuck in that loop."

"R-right."

"Yeah. . ."

"Oh, right."

(You make it to the house. Everything looks all nice and in order, nothing crazy had happened while you were away. Good, you really, really didn't any other nasty surprises.)

(You lead the charge, opening the front door to. . . The sounds and smells of cooking food!)

"Oh gems." (Odile makes a face.) "Isabeau better not be cooking, or worse, Siffrin."

"I dunno, smells good." (You reply, making your way to the kitchen.)

"O-oh!" (Siffrin, Siffrin? Pokes his head out from the kitchen, smiling softly.) "S-sorry! I, wanted to make some dinner for us to help a-after, after hearing what happened and I hoped it would be done by now, b-but-"

"W-woah woah okay slow down, slow down." (You hold your hands up.) "You, you were, cooking?!?"

"I-I'm sorry I know we're banned from the kitchen b-but I wanted, to, do something nice!"

"Excuse me, did I just hear that right?" (Odile had made her way over, looking back you can see Mirabelle and Nille staring back from the living room.) "You, are cooking."

". . . Y-yes."

"And it smells, good."

"G-good?"

"Who are you?" (Odile smirks.) "The only thing Siffrin could make is burnt toast."

(He flinches, and looks away.) ". . . A-asterion. . . I'm, making clam chowder and, fried vegetables."

"Stars that sounds tasty." (You give a reassuring smile). "Need help finishing up?"

"N-no it's alright. Isabeau has been, a great help!"

"Gems alive." (Odile put her face in her hand.) "Our fates, and stomachs, are in your hands, Asterion."

"I-I'll, do my best!"

"It'll be great" (You give a thumb up.) "I just know it."

"We'll see about that." (Odile walked back to the living room.)

(A few minutes later, you did see about that. Creamy clam chowder, fried carrots, broccoli, and spinach, and a few baguette slices. You where the first one to take a hesitant sip of the chowder.)

(It was. . . .)

(. . .)

(So good!!!)

[icarusflewsworld]

Rhysand & Cassian & Azriel X OC

Hello, here is the chapter 7 of a fanfiction on the world of Acotar where our three favorite Batboys are the mates of a single woman.

I hope you like it! Please feel free to comment and telling me what you think of the story, it would make me very happy. In any case, thank you for reading ❤️❤️

! Don't forget to read the previous chapters ! : Here

Happy reading!

Chapter 7

The time had come. They had flown at a crazy speed after crossing the wall but had still not been fast enough. When they had decided that they could finally return to the Archerons' domain to find out if Feyre's sisters had received answers from the queens, none of the three Illyrians, despite the amount of work they had to do, had wanted to miss this opportunity to see their possible soulmate again.

They hadn't even had time to go see the Suriel and in fact, none of them really wanted to. They had wanted to do it but every time one of the three suggested going, a ball of anxiety formed in their stomachs. They were far too afraid of what the Suriel could say because in both cases, it would change their lives forever.

They were afraid that the Suriel would tell them that this link with Luxiana was a lie, that this link with this sunny, cute and pleasant young woman was not true, and then, they would never recover. They had felt so many emotions, fear but especially happiness when meeting her that telling them that this link was false would make them feel like they were losing their true soul mate even if she was not.

But deep down, that wasn't what the three Illyrians feared the most. No. What they were afraid of, what kept them awake at night, wasn't that this bond forming between the three of them and their soulmate was false, but that it was true. Because that meant a whole world of change.

It meant that their sibling relationship with their brothers would change forever, that they would be connected in a much greater and deeper way than before.

It meant they would have to share the woman of their lives with two other men and they wouldn't be able to have her all to themselves.

It meant putting their soulmate in danger because of who they were. It meant days of anguish and fear trying to protect a fragile, seemingly suicidal human who was absolutely not going to help them in the process.

But most of all, it meant that their time with her was limited. She was human and so, she would grow old. She would grow old without them. And she would eventually die without them. Of course, they would never get over it. They didn't know her but it was already a certainty for them, they would follow her anywhere even in death. That said, knowing that their days with her would be so short killed them with sadness. When they thought about it, their shoulders hunched, their eyes faded, their stomachs exploded and their hearts tightened. They would not have an eternity with their soulmate but a few precious days numbered. And that terrified them.

But it also meant one thing, that they had already wasted too much time away from her. Their bodies and minds couldn't stay away from her for too long without driving them completely crazy anyway. Their hearts, their stomachs, their skins and every single muscle they had were aching with every second they were away from her and their minds were slowly killing them by making them imagine the worst. By making them visualize Luxiana's body in another man's arms, laughing with another, or by making them imagine her cute little face looking lovingly at someone who wasn't them. Sometimes, when they were really not well, when they were worried, they remembered that their soulmate could get sick and even die because of a simple stupid thing. They imagined her injured or sometimes even lifeless and it destroyed them. It would destroy them.

They were already worried sick even though they didn't even know her. It was all that anxiety and sleepless nights that had made Rhysand decide. He had waited as long as he could, but those few weeks away from her had been hell. He knew he should have waited a little longer before returning to the Archerons, and that he had to give the queens a little more time to answer him, but he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to see her. He needed to make sure she was okay. He needed to make sure she could still be his. Theirs.

He hadn't even asked his two brothers if they wanted to come, knowing full well that these last few days had been as hellish for them as they had been for him. He had simply gotten up this morning and given in to his desire to want to find her. "It's time," he had just said to his brothers when he arrived in the dining room this morning and they had followed him hastily without even asking what he was talking about, knowing full well that it was about their soulmate. It was always about their mate anyway.

They hadn't even had lunch. Actually, they hadn't eaten much these last few days. Even Cassian. His love for food had completely disappeared, which worried Mor and even Amren a lot. In fact, the way the three brothers had been behaving since they had met that girl worried Mor and Amren. They didn't know what they could do to help but Azriel was on edge all the time yelling at the first thing that pissed him off, Cassian had become as silent as Azriel before and Rhysand had lost his taste for everything. In fact, the only time they had seen excitement and joy in their eyes since they had returned from the Archerons, had been when they talked about that girl and this morning.

The three Illyrians were breathing again. They were going to see her and that was all that mattered. Cassian was flying around, smiling with joy and excitement at the thought of seeing her again. Rhysand was flapping his wings with all his might to get to her as quickly as possible. Azriel was fighting against his anxiety at the thought of finding her injured or with someone else.

They weren't even sure if she would be in the Archerons' house today but they knew that either way, they would look everywhere for her and not leave until they saw her or made sure she was okay.

As they landed, invisible, in front of the door of the mansion, the excitement and reluctance bubbling in their bodies nearly made them jump on the spot. Cassian knocked on the door, much louder than necessary.

After a few moments, an old woman, a servant, comes to open the door for them. Seeing no one at the door, the three Faes being invisible, she frowned as she looked a little more closely at the door frame. But Rhys allowed himself to get into the old woman's head to force her to go and warn one of the Archerons of their presence. Which she did, her gaze devoid of life.

The maid left, even leaving the door open, having only one goal: to warn one of the Archerons of the presence of someone important at the door. Azriel closed the door, not wanting to let a cold that could make his soulmate sick enter the house.

Unfortunately, the old woman returned with the coldest of the Archerons, Nesta.

Nesta descended the stairs with a heavy step, almost irritated, going with an anger visible on her face towards the front door. She did not want to see the Faes again and in addition to not having announced themselves, they had dared to enter the head of their servant to force her to do something. Nesta was shaking with anger and if it had not been those powerful Faes on her doorstep, she would have left them outside. Especially since they had announced during their first visit that they would return next week, why were they already there? She opened the door a little wider than necessary, silently inviting invisible Faes to enter by pointing to the hall with her hand and moving to the side.

Seeing the sister who had opened the door for them, Cassian grimaced, Azriel sighed and Rhysand closed his eyes tightly. They would have preferred to come across someone else. A pretty blonde, with almost white hair for example.

The three faes rushed into the house in a hurry. Fortunately, because Nesta slammed the door a little too quickly, probably hoping that one of the Faes would take it in their face. A little disappointed that this was not the case, Nesta grimaced with disdain as the sound of the door closing violently still echoed in the hall. She rushed with heavy steps up the stairs while the Illyrians followed her reluctantly. She climbed up to the first floor where she opened the door to one of the rooms.

Nesta half-stepped into the room, pressing herself against the door to let the faes enter. The Illyrians looked around the vast chamber from floor to ceiling, noting the gold silk sheets on the enormous bed and the blue velvet curtains on the large bay windows.

“I am not dealing with that,” Nesta spat coldly as she stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

The Illyrians frowned as she left, thinking they would be left alone in a room, but suddenly a white-haired head came out from behind a three-drawer dresser at the other end of the room and slightly away from the wall.

Luxiana's head raised, her eyebrows furrowed, a confused and surprised look fixed on the door, on Nesta who had just left.

Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel's eyes widened as they noticed the blonde in the room. A ball of anxiety and a weight of disappointment left them, allowing them to take a deep breath. Then their chests swelled with joy, excitement, and apprehension. She was there.

She still had a completely undone bun that made the Illyrians smirk. She looked careless and they loved it, especially since she looked so cute with all her strands of hair hanging around her face.

Luxiana straightened up fully from behind the dresser where she had been, a butter knife in her hand, making every muscle in the Illyrian tense. What was she doing there with a butter knife? She could hurt herself.

“Huh?” she said simply, still staring at the door, not seeing the faes who were still invisible. “Nesta?” she called out, almost running towards the door. “What are you talking about?”

A wave of fear electrified the Illyrians as they saw her running with a knife in her hands. What if she fell and stabbed herself? When she put her hand on the doorknob to open it and catch Nesta, Rhysand put his hand on the blonde's, stopping her and Azriel almost threw himself on her to snatch the knife from her hands.

Luxiana gasped in surprise as she felt an invisible person's fingers on her hand while another stole her knife. She turned and put her back to the door, her brow furrowed, her muscles tensed ready to defend herself but her hand was still in Rhysand's.

The three Fae made themselves visible and Cassian raised his hands in the air in front of him in a sign of appeasement. They could not, however, help but examine her greedily, feeling relieved, almost believing that she was a dream. She was there, in front of them and she was fine. She was fine.

“Forgive us, we didn't mean to scare you,” Rhysand whispered, smiling kindly at her, looking at her with concern.

When she recognized the faes, Luxiana relaxed, blowing out all the air she had been holding. And to think that she had nearly slit their throats, to such sexy creatures, what a sacrilege it would have been. She placed her free hand on her heart, a relieved expression on her face. “Are you crazy? I could have hurt you!”

The Illyrians looked at each other in surprise before bursting into laughter as they looked tenderly at the young woman. Cassian's hands pressed against his stomach and Rhysand had to reluctantly release his soulmate's hand on the doorknob.

Luxiana opened her mouth in shock, before gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes, glaring at them, realizing they were openly mocking her. She crossed her arms. If only they knew she could knock them down whenever she wanted, and she didn't know what was stopping her from doing so when she had made others eat the ground for less than that.

“Forgive us,” Rhysand repeated, seeing the blonde's annoyance and wiping a tear of hilarity from the corner of his eyes to stop laughing softly at the same time as his brothers.

The blonde huffed as she relaxed. They were lucky they were so hot and that one of them had saved Feyre. “So you’re what Nesta was referring to, I guess.”

Cassian grimaced as he suddenly stopped laughing, “I think she doesn’t like us, actually.”

Luxiana laughed softly as she turned her head to the side “Don’t take it personally, she doesn’t like many people.”

But when she turned her head to the side, the Illyrians could notice a huge bruise on the corner of her jaw, the skin of which was completely damaged and still had dried blood on it. Someone had hit her. They froze from head to toe, their eyes widening and their smiles faded away.

Rhysand's heart tightened in his chest. Cassian tensed every muscle in pain. A wave of anger washed over Azriel, paralyzing him entirely.

Sensing the change in the atmosphere, the blonde looked at them and lost her smile when she saw their serious, angry and surprised expressions. They could almost seem intimidating like that.

Cassian blinked and went to ask her what had happened to her, but Azriel reacted without being able to stop himself. He grabbed the blonde's chin with his thumb and index finger, tilting her face to the side so he could observe the purple, bloody angle of her jaw. The sight made his anger raise. His breathing rushed. He couldn't breathe. They couldn't breathe. If anyone had hurt her, they swore they would set the world on fire.

“Who did this to you?” scream the Illyrian with the red siphons with a mixture of surprise and anger in his voice.

The blonde pulled away from Azriel's hold - who groaned as he felt the blonde's skin leave his - then she stepped back in shock, sticking herself completely to the door behind her. She frowned a little more as she looked at them one by one with incomprehension. What were they playing at? In which way could it possibly matter to them? That said, it was cute.

“Did someone hurt you?” Rhysand asked, taking a step forward, his body almost pressed against Luxiana’s.

“Someone hit you,” Azriel added in a cold voice, detailing her with anger so strong it rang in his ears.

Luxiana's eyes widened in realization. "Ah, that," she exclaimed, pointing at the angle of her jaw. She fake-laughed, running one of her hands over the back of her head, embarrassed. She couldn't help but look away, blushing in shame. "Uh, yeah, I fought," she tried to find an excuse.

“You fought?” Cassian repeated, his eyes widening in surprise. This little woman fought?

“Uh yeah, yeah. Ha ha.” she looked away again, searching in the four corners of the room for a solution. “That was quite a fight, the guy i fought never got up.” She adorably threw her fists in front of her as if she were hitting someone.

Azriel frowned.

Cassian grabbed her fists, forcing her to stand still and eyeing her seriously. “Easy, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“And you’re lying to us,” Azriel added with a little uncertainty, looking her up and down with narrowed eyes. He wasn’t sure, but she seemed embarrassed to talk about something. She seemed to be making something up.

Luxiana twitched, frowning for a microsecond. “What?” She giggled at Azriel’s accusations, blushing a little more. “No, not at all… I…” She stopped under the accusing and scrutinizing gaze of the three faes in front of her. Ugh, she really was a bad liar. That was her only flaw. She sighed in resignation. “Yes, yes, I’m lying… I fell.”

“You fell?” Rhysand repeated, almost shouting in surprise. “What do you mean you fell ?”

“Yeah, miserably.” Luxiana grimaced, her face now completely red. She bit her lip. Damn, those Faes weren’t going to be intimidated by her after that, if they ever could have been. “I just splayed out like a pancake on the floor.” She pursed her lips together, making them almost disappear into her cheeks, grimacing embarrassedly.

The Illyrians looked at her without being able to do anything else. She fell? She fell? Their soulmate fell ? And she told them this while making the cutest face possible.

Rhysand stared at Luxiana with narrowed eyes. Was she that clumsy? Was it possible? He took a step back. Had fate really given him such a clumsy soulmate when his own life was filled with danger? His heart felt like it was trembling with fear and apprehension in his chest.

Cassian smiled as he detailed the blonde's expression. She was cute. He relaxed his muscles slowly, one by one. He released his fists which she let fall limply to her sides. He crossed his arms as he stared at her with a mocking look that Luxiana intercepted by shooting him with her pupils, accentuating the Illyrian's hilarity.

Azriel took a step back, huffing as he did and pinching the bridge of his nose wearily. His soulmate fell. Was he really going to have to bubble wrap her and lock her in his room to make sure she didn’t hurt herself? Damn, she could have broken her neck. He clenched his fists. He really didn’t like this ball of anxiety in his stomach. He was already worrying too much about her.

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.” Luxiana chuckled. “And the worst part is that it happens to me a lot… Like… A lot…” She crossed her arms, suddenly staring into a blank space with sadness. She wanted to take a step back, but she was already backed up against the door. She grabbed the bracelet on her wrist. A simple silver chain with blue gemstones on it. She stroked it with her fingertips. “I… I kind of lost my balance when I was little.” An infinite sadness crossed her face for a second. A sadness of such power and depth that it disarmed Rhysand, who had been the only one to see it.

Luxiana shook her head, her usual haughty demeanor returning. Rhys narrowed his eyes, realizing it was one of her defense mechanisms. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. What had she been through to act like this?

“But I still can kill you with this butter knife,” Luxiana said as if nothing had happened, pointing at the knife still in one of Azriel’s hands. “So do not mock me.” 

She took a step forward and with a quick movement tried to take the knife back but, although Azriel was surprised to see her move so quickly, he had the reflex to avoid her, withdrawing his arm and raising the knife in the air.

Luxiana started jumping to try to get it back but she was too small. “Give it back to me” she shouted out of breath from her jumping.

“No,” Azriel replied coldly without meaning to. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on his tone, obsessed by the vision of the blonde jumping near him and disturbed by her proximity, making his heart explode in his chest. Luxiana’s scent climbed up to Azriel’s nostrils. Vanilla. She smelled like vanilla. Azriel had to grit his teeth. He loved it.

Cassian laughed, taking a few steps back to rest his butt on the foot of the bed, admiring the scene mockingly but the truth was his heart filled with joy.

Rhysand in turn detailed the scene with a smile but a bitter aftertaste remained on his palate. He hoped with all his guts that he was wrong and that the sadness he had seen in his soulmate was just him imagining things.

“Why did you steal it from me in the first place?” she screamed, jumping around Azriel trying to grab the knife still in his raised hand as high as she could. “Give it back, damn it!”

Rhysand huffed with a smile, he placed his hands on the young woman's shoulders, immobilizing her. She gave him a questioning look from her small heigh and Rhysand thought he would melt inside. His soulmate.

Cassian laughed heartily. She was so cute and she fit in so well with him and his brothers. “Why were you walking around with a knife anyway? And what were you doing behind that dresser?”

“That's…” she huffed, scowling and crossing her arms. “You're always asking questions. It's none of your business.”

Azriel raised an eyebrow at her, urging her with a stern look to tell him what she was doing. It concerned him, after all.

Rhysand narrowed his eyes, leaning slightly towards her, trying to see through her, even trying to catch a thought of hers that would be the answer to his questions but her mind still remained closed.

Cassian looked at her intently, tilting his head, a smirk on his lips.

A silence settled where the young woman's gaze oscillated between the three Illyrians who stared at her with a piercing gaze. Luxiana did everything not to feel intimidated, or at least not to show it because inside she was completely red under these intense looks. She took a step back, lowering her eyes for a second and clearing her throat to give herself composure. How did these three faes manage to disconcert her every time? She sighed in resignation. "Elain lost the key to her dresser so I was trying to unscrew the back to get the inside."

The three Illyrians smiled satisfied to see the effect they had on their soulmate and that they had managed to make her give in.

“You wanted to unscrew with a butter knife?” Cassian laughed at the top of his lungs.

She glared at him, biting her tongue. He was annoying and his superior air was getting on her nerves. He honestly had no idea what she could do with that butter knife and she was dying to show him but he was way too sexy to ruin his pretty face with scars.

She groaned and then rolled her eyes. “But you’re surely not here for that,” trying to change the subject of conversation and trying to regain control of her emotions.

Cassian could see how much he was getting on the little blonde's nerves and boy did he love it. She was so cute when she was angry.

Azriel put the butter knife in one of his pockets under Luxiana's dark gaze that was glaring at him. There was no way he was going to give her back her knife when she could hurt or even kill herself with it. He crossed his arms but his muscles were still tense, ready to intervene to prevent her from getting the knife back if she wanted to. She actually had no interest in even thinking about it. It would drive Azriel crazy. He would have to teach her to obey.

Rhysand regained a minimum of seriousness, still looking at the blonde with tenderness, not even able to think properly anymore. Why did they come here? They were here to see her, right? “The queens,” he reminded himself. “We came to know if you received a response from them.”

Luxiana tilted her head with a frown, eyeing them suspiciously one by one. Why were they already here? “I thought Feyre had told me this visit would take place next week. Was I mistaken? Was there a problem that would require moving this appointment forward?”

Rhysand holds back a grimace. He had to find an excuse, and fast. “No. That was what we agreed to, indeed.”

Luxiana looked at the high Lord waiting for an explanation that didn't come. "Then why did you come today?" she insisted.

Cassian smiled “because we were a little too eager to see you again.” Luxiana narrowed her eyes at him, electrifying him once again. It did that to him every time she laid eyes on him, damn it.

Luxiana knew that these words were not true and that it was only to hide the reason for their visit today but she couldn't help. She had to hold back a smile of pleasure. She would have loved for Cassian's words to be sincere. She huffed and rolled her eyes, giving up on the idea of getting the answer she wanted. They were apparently not ready to tell her why they had moved up the date of their meeting. She would have to investigate and find out why herself.

She turned her eyes back to Rhysand, ignoring Cassian and his words or Azriel’s intense gaze. “To answer your question, yes, we did receive a response. Yesterday, in fact.”

Luxiana grabbed her pale blue petticoat to lift it up. She first revealed her ankle, then her calf and her thigh where a white lace garter holding a folded sheet of paper was located.

Rhysand froze, Azriel's gaze flared, and Cassian had to sit up straight. What was she doing? Her legs were thin and her skin felt so soft. Their hearts began to pound wildly in their chests.

Luxiana grabbed the piece of paper from under the garter to pull it out. She handed it to Rhysand as she released her skirts which fell back down to her legs much to the dismay of the three Illyrians. “This is the letter we received.” She kept it on her to make sure no one got to discover it.

Rhysand blinked a few times to come back to reality and grabbed the piece of paper she handed him.

“They agreed to meet you,” Luxiana added. “They gave a date.”

Rhysand unfolded the letter and began to read it, once done he smiled as he gave a hopeful look to Cassian and Azriel who returned it to him.

Luxiana intercepted this look and expressions with great curiosity. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked Rhysand.

“Whatever you want,” he replied, looking back at her.

“Why are you doing this? Why do you want to help humans? I mean, you clearly have nothing to gain from this.” Luxiana looked at him, hoping to understand something in his expression. No matter how hard she torments her brain, she didn’t understand why he was doing this. He had nothing to win from this. She had thought about the fact that maybe he was trying to betray them and that he was on the side of the King of Hybern, but none of her sources of information, that she had devoted the last few days, had found any connection between him and Hybern. And then, he had saved Feyre, she simply refused to believe that they were that bad.

Azriel, Cassian and Rhysand smiled as they looked at her. She was so beautiful and she seemed so intelligent.

“My mother dreamed of seeing humans and Faes living in perfect coexistence together. She considered all living beings equally. I wish I could make her dream come true.” Rhysand said, his voice heavy with meaning and feeling.

Luxiana heard his sincerity and understood the sadness in his eyes. He had lost his mother. “Then why not let Hybern destroy the wall, we will all be forced to live together.”

“Not like this. Cohabitation must be wanted by both sides and Hybern doesn’t just want to destroy the wall, he wants to enslave your species. I won’t let him.” Rhysand lifted his hand, gently placing it on Luxiana’s soft, plump cheek, caressing it with his fingertips. His gaze went blank. “I couldn’t let him hurt humans, not when you’re one of them.”

Luxiana frowned for a second, surprised by his words. He seemed absent and had given the impression of thinking out loud which added a bit of sincerity to his words. But she didn't really understand the meaning of his sentence. Why would he do that for her? She glanced at Cassian and Azriel to see their expressions and try to get some kind of answer but they were both looking at her intensely with a serious face. She frowned even more and then gave Rhysand a suspicious sideways glance. She leaned towards him with a mischievous look, causing Rhysand’s arm to fall limply to his side. “Is this some way of flirting with me, my lord?”

Rhysand came back to himself, smiling. He looked down on her but not in a haughty way, in a tender way. “Maybe so, does it work?”

Luxiana smiled, holding back a laugh. “Maybe.” She remained mysterious despite herself because, holy shit, it worked.

Rhysand smirked and took a deep breath to speak but was interrupted by the door opening abruptly. He took a step back to avoid getting hit in his head and grabbed Luxiana by the arm to shift her to the side. Azriel reacted just as quickly by grabbing the blonde by the forearm to pull her towards him, but due to lack of balance, Luxiana stumbled and crashed into the chest of the Illyrian with the blue siphons. He wrapped his arms around her to catch her and prevent her from falling. A wave of adrenaline and worry surged through Cassian's body who straightened up with wide eyes, hands raised, ready to catch Luxiana if she fell.

Nesta remained in the entrance of the room, positioning herself under the door frame. She detailed the scene before her, observing Rhysand holding Luxiana's arm, Cassian a few centimeters away standing with his hands outstretched towards her and Luxiana in Azriel's arms. She grimaced with pronounced disgust.

Cassian and Rhysand breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Luxiana hadn't hurt herself, then glared at Nesta. Azriel didn't even see the oldest of the Archeron sisters, too disturbed by the waves of warm feelings that stirred in his body because of the blonde's face buried in his pectorals and her body so thin and fragile glued to him. He had never felt such a feeling of comfort, warmth and tenderness. Such a feeling that made his heart melt in his chest.

Luxiana leaned her palms on the Illyrian's chest to straighten up but Azriel could only tighten his grip around her, preventing her from moving away. Luxiana threw him a questioning look from below although her cheeks were completely red as she was embarrassed by the situation. It was the shame of her life. She had been so absorbed by Rhysand's violet eyes that she had not reacted when Nesta had opened the door. She had had to be saved by Rhysand and Azriel and she had almost fallen again.

“I can’t keep the servants from entering the corridor and passing by the door much longer. They’ll hear your voices eventually,” Nesta said coldly, still eyeing them with a grimace. She noticed the queens’ letter in Rhysand’s hands. “You got what you came for. Go away.”

Cassian's arms fell limply to his sides and his nostril flared in anger. He hated this sister, she had nothing to do with his soulmate.

Azriel finally noticed Nesta, raising a dark look towards her. How dare she speak to them like that and above all, how dare she look at his mate with so much disdain? If Luxiana had not been in his arms making him the happiest fae in the world, he would have wanted to tear out the tongue of this viper.

Rhysand fought back a grimace. Nesta’s tone was clear, they had to leave. They couldn’t stay with their soulmate any longer. He could get inside the eldest sister’s head and force her to leave them alone, but as much as a part of him wanted to, wanting more than anything to stay with his soulmate, his good conscience screamed at him that it was wrong and that Luxiana would surely hold it against him. And he couldn’t jeopardize a potential meeting with the queens in a perfect place like this anyway. He nodded. “We’ll leave.”

Azriel and Cassian looked at Rhys in surprise before understanding and glaring at Nesta. Luxiana detailed the silent interaction between the three Illyrians, trying to understand those reactions. She put her hands on Azriel's chest again, propelling herself further away from him with a little more force than before.

Azriel looked down at her, growling as he felt her try to pull away from him but eventually reluctantly let go of her, knowing they had to go.

Luxiana was able to take a few steps away, lowering her head, dead with shame and completely red.

Cassian, Rhysand, and Azriel felt like every muscle in their bodies was vibrating and their chests were swelling at the sight of how cute their soulmate was. She was adorable like that.

Cassian raised his hand to the blonde's face with the intention of raising it and admiring her blushes with a proud smile, but Rhysand, not wanting to let anything show in front of Nesta, grabbed his brother's wrist and lowered it.

“We're leaving,” said the high lord, taking a step toward the door.

Nesta pressed her back against the door to let them pass. “You know where the exit is.”

Rhysand nodded and then took another step towards the door, stopping beside Luxiana. He leaned towards her, shivering at her vanilla scent. He placed his lips gently and quickly on her cheek, giving her a little kiss. “Be careful, please.”

Luxiana shivered at the contrast of the heat that exploded in her lower abdomen at the high lord's breath on her ear. She raised her now even redder face towards him at his words.

Rhysand straightened up, a smirk on his lips, proud of the reaction he had provoked on his soulmate. He took a few steps forward, past her and closer to the door, reluctantly moving away from his mate. Then he glanced at Cassian and Azriel, nodding towards the door, silently indicating that he had to leave.

Cassian huffed through gritted teeth, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to stay with his soulmate longer, then he looked at her and relaxed. She was so cute. Damn, he couldn't stand being away from her for much longer. He didn't even feel like he could breathe without her anymore. These weeks away from her had already been pure torture when they didn't even know each other. He needed to touch her so much. He slowly closed the distance between her and him and then gently took her in his arms, jealous of what Azriel had done previously. He put his hands on her back, pulling her closer to him, furtively placing his nose on the top of her head to breathe in her scent. He had to stop himself from growling. Her scent tickled him all over.

Luxiana's eyes widened, throwing her hands up in the air next to Cassian, surprised by his gesture. Was this fae hugging her? She had frozen but as she was about to come out of her stupor to hug him back, feeling far too comfortable in his arms not to, Cassian quickly released her, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.

He put his dark pupils into the blonde's electric blue eyes, his hands on her shoulders. "Don't fall and don't start a fight." He smiled at her tenderly before looking her over one last time and then releasing her to stand next to Rhysand.

Azriel stood in front of the blonde, placing his index finger under her chin to force her to raise her head towards him and look him in the eyes. The blonde blushed a little more under the intensity of his gaze and his gesture, making Azriel smile. He slowly leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, his lips barely brushing the blonde's skin, too afraid to scare her. "If anything happens to you, I won't be happy, so be careful."

Luxiana shivered again, her eyes shining in surprise as the three Illyrians turned invisible and exited the room. Nesta gave her one last look of disdain before closing the door, allowing Luxiana to let out a huge breath. What had just happened here? Besides, she needed a new butter knife now.

[anim-ttrpgs]

i'm terribly sorry if you've answered this before, but i'm curious if the nature of death bed's progression means that it's more or less impossible to run as a oneshot? i love your work!!

Our upcoming game Death Bed: An Impenetrably Medieval Dungeon Game, is definitely intended primarily for longer term play and character progression, but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to play as a one-shot. In fact I have plans to include instructions specifically more one-shot-y play.

The intended campaign structure of Death Bed at its current state of development is this:

Players, including the GM, create at least 3 PCs each, which all start extremely weak. They have a settlement they live in, and in order to stave off hollowness and improve quality of life in the settlement, they set out on dangerous expeditions to places outside the settlement, which function as an old-school dungeon crawl would.

The party, usually consisting of a very large number of PCs, goes into an enclosed or semi-enclosed space full of traps, puzzles, the occasional monster or non-hostile NPC, and treasure. They try to survive exploring that place, gaining EXP as they accomplish things, and bring back as much treasure as they can. The world of Death Bed is post-apocalyptic, so there isn’t too much of a wider economy. What this means is that gold ornaments and silver coins are not always the most valuable treasure to be found. A book, a chessboard, or some good tools or building materials might be a more valuable find. “Treasure” has a value associated with its ability to immediately improve the day-to-day quality of life of those living in the settlement. For every 100 points of treasure value they bring back, the their hollowing decreases by 1 point, and it’s one of the most efficient ways to reduce hollowness.

They also spend their EXP, which is semi-diegetic, with the Maiden to increase stats and gain traits by both strengthening their bodies and recovering memories from their pre-death lives.

After the party is done with a particular dungeon, the GM rotates into a player “seat,” and a player becomes the GM. Another dungeon is connected to one of the far exits of the previous dungeon, and the party travels to that dungeon to plunder it. This repeats as each GM rotation adds a new interlocking region to the world outside the settlement. If a GM does not rotate out to play their own PCs, those PCs will start to gain hollowness from being idle. (If you really wanted to be a forever-GM you could axe that rule but this GM-rotation thing is something I want Death Bed to encourage.)

Later on in development, I plan to add a procedure for one-shots where you can optionally create characters with a semi-random amount of free EXP to beef them up a bit in case you want to play just a single dungeon in isolation and not do all the character progression and settlement building parts.

Of course, the way I plan for Death Bed dungeons to be designed, even starting characters should be able to make it out of any dungeon with some treasure if they’re smart.