#they practiced the rest of the program in order and then we practiced our own part as well‚ about a few times

[crescentmp3]

hiii im home!!

[captainsophiestark]

Hypocrite

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Requested by @flowers-and-fichte! Hope you enjoy, Novalis, and thanks for the request!

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Bucky's gotten close with Peggy's best friend, the two bonding over the reckless mavericks they both chose to care so much about. But Steve and Peggy aren't the only couple dancing around each other in this war.

Word Count: 1,396

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: I can't believe this is my first time writing for Bucky, lol. Most of the rest of the fandom has been here since Winter Soldier, but better late than never I guess!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I shook my head as I barely managed to put one foot in front of the other, heading through the front door of my favorite dive bar. The Howling Commandos and I had spent many a night here, toasting success or planning our next move, but tonight I was without the rest of my group.

Peggy Carter was going to well and truly kill me, and I needed a night to process that.

She'd been my best friend for just about as long as I could remember; we'd joined SOE together, and somehow managed to end up on General Philips' staff, two of the only women getting as close to combat as we did. We made an excellent team, and normally, I had no complaints. But sometimes she could just be so reckless, flying head first into insane danger, that my heart needed a break lest it burst on the spot.

Tonight had been no exception. Peggy and Steve Rogers, the one and only Captain America, had worked together on a Commandos mission just across enemy lines. We'd been successful, and the two of them together had made an incredible difference in the war effort, but damned if I didn't also rue the day they'd met.

I slumped into a stool at the bar, barely registering my surroundings until someone slid a glass of my favorite drink in front of me. I frowned at it, then turned to my left to see who exactly it had come from.

Sargeant Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers' best friend, stared back at me with a faint smile on his face. He looked almost as tired as I felt.

"You look like you could use this," he said. I huffed.

"Thanks. How'd you know what I liked?"

He just shrugged, his eyes never once leaving mine as I took a drink, the corner of his mouth gently tugging up.

"I usually pay attention to the drink orders of pretty girls."

I snorted so hard a bit of my drink came out of my nose. It burned like hell, so it took me a few moments to recover myself enough to meet Bucky's gaze again. He'd leaned forward a bit, one eyebrow raised, looking a bit concerned.

"You alright there, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, fine. Just wasn't expecting you to hit on me, especially with that lame ass pickup line."

"Lame?" Bucky asked, a hand flying to his heart in mock-outrage. "That hurts."

I just rolled my eyes. "Knock it off, Barnes. We've quite literally been through hell together, I think we're a little past you trying to get my number in a bar."

"Well then how would you suggest I get your number?"

I paused, drink halfway to my lips again, and cut my eyes towards Bucky to let him know how truly ridiculous I thought the question was.

"You already have my number. It's the same one for Peggy and all the Commandos, as long as we're all stationed at the same camp."

Bucky just stared at me for a long moment. I sipped my drink and set it back down on the bar before he finally spoke again.

"Shit."

"Yeah. Nice try though."

Bucky huffed a laugh and took a sip of his own drink, then turned back to me with renewed energy and a bright, charming smile. I held up a hand before he could launch into whatever he was planning to say next.

"Okay Buck, why don't you just tell me what this is about. Because I came in here exausted after dealing with our best friends, and I don't have the energy to coach your rusty ass on how to flirt, if that's what you're trying to practice."

Bucky cleared his throat, deflating a little, but not all the way. He sighed, then set his shoulders and met my stare again with a determined expression.

"Actually, I'm trying to ask you on a date."

I laughed, until I realized Bucky wasn't laughing.

"Wait, are you serious?"

"Very. Although you're really testing my resolve, since you've now laughed in my face twice. You know I used to be good at this before the war?"

I shook my head, a disbelieving smile subconsciously forcing its way onto my face.

"Bucky... I'm not saying no, but... I mean, why? Why me, why now? We've known each other and been working on missions since Steve got you out of that prison... what changed to make you think this was a good idea all of a sudden?"

He sighed heavily, the muscles in his jaw working as he apparently forced the words to come.

"I've been feeling like I wanted to ask you out since I saw you, honestly. But we were going to have to work together, and I think it's pretty clear I'm a little rusty. So I waited, and I was just starting to convince myself to wait all the way to the end of the war, until I tried to get Steve to ask Peggy on a date."

My eyebrows shot up. "You did? How did that go? Those two have been dancing around each other for way too long, I've been trying to tell Peggy the same thing-"

"Well, maybe between the two of us we can actually get them to take the leap. But I realized when I was talking to Steve that I can't expect him to take my advice when I won't take it myself. I'm turning into the biggest hypocrite in the world encouraging him to talk to Peggy while chickening out on talking to you. So... here we are."

"Here we are..." I repeated, my voice a little faint as the full weight of Bucky's confession sank in. He had feelings for me, and apparently had for a while now. And now he was asking me on a date, the fact that we were in the middle of a war be damned.

I grinned.

"Is that a good sign? That looks like a good sign, but now I'm not sure..."

"It's a great sign, Bucky," I said, meeting his eyes and feeling a spark of excitement in my chest. "I'm glad you decided to take your own advice."

"So that's a yes?"

"That's absolutely a yes." Bucky's shoulders finally relaxed, a smile appearing on his face to match my own. "So... when do we do this? Do we call tonight our first date? We're out together, the two of us, at a bar..."

"No. No way," Bucky quickly decided. I raised an eyebrow at him, so he continued. "Tonight's not a date, sweetheart. Even in the middle of a war, I can find a way to make our night on the town something special. A little magical, and definitely just about the two of us. Tonight might be just the two of us, but it's about the two reckless idiots we call friends."

I laughed, then reached for my drink and raised it towards Bucky.

"I'll toast to that. To taking tonight to cope with the people we care about, and putting something on the books for a real night out together soon."

"Hear hear."

Bucky and I shared a smile, then each took a drink. I finished mine off, then sat back in my chair and stared at the man before me.

"So... how do you feel about a game of darts? Person who's not throwing is allowed to distract the other person, but only by relating the most insane shit our friends have done lately. True stories only."

"Bring it on. I've known Steve long enough that nothing's gonna surprise me anymore."

I snorted as the two of us grabbed another round of drinks and headed for the dartboard at the back of the bar.

"Look, Peggy might've gone through a phase of trying to be a proper lady, but she's been making up for it by doing even more ridiculous nonsense lately. Your boy's got nothing on her."

"I guess we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Bucky and I shared another smile. The routine was familiar, but now, there was an extra spark attached that hadn't really been there before. Even though tonight wasn't a date, spending time with Bucky felt a little different, now, in a very good way.

Maybe this could be the silver lining I held on to the next time Peggy tried to kill me via heart attack, until the end of the war and beyond.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

Marvel Taglist: @valkyriepirate @songbirdcannabe @infinetlyforgotten @coinsublime

If your name is crossed out, Tumblr wouldn't let me tag you for some reason

[granulesofsand]

Hello there!

I had a question for you-- do you know much of anything about duality programming?

How to combat it? How it works? I know what it is, but knowing more would be a great help to my system.

Duality

🗝️🏷️ RAMCOA/OEA (de)programming

We have a lot of duality programming. Do we know much of anything about it? Hard to say (only wrote a short essay on it).

The most active dual we deal with is good/evil. For us, this looks like angels and demons, white and red, mind and heart. These groups have the heaviest training to fight each other, though some of our duals maintain more of a distrusting truce.

Dealing with Duals

We started by keeping them away from each other. Both groups have their own extreme ideals, many of which are harmful to the body (white obeys unquestioningly, including orders to deprive the body of survival needs and cause harm to us or outsiders; red acts on emotion, including sexual and violent behaviors). The angels agree not to come around during mealtimes and to leave if we need sleep or the toilet, the demons practice impulse control, both go back inside if they have urges that would be dangerous to act on. They don’t front for urges, so they don’t fight over urges.

We taught them how they were lied to, which beliefs they held came from which shoddy staged events. We gave them choices, how far they wanted to move how fast. Let them stay within their belief system if they wanted to, and let them define the words they were fed for themselves. Taught them the different between natural consequences and punishments.

After a few months of preventative measures, we started to pick out which of each group was the most mild, who had similar external experiences, who was most willing to interact with other insiders without escalating. We tried to pair them up, getting them used to one another like introducing a new animal to a pet. Usually, the first reaction was disdain, which often led to escalation. Find them hobbies to bond over, media they can consume together, topics they both tolerate.

We have some pairs that are doing okay. ‘Good’ is a stretch, but okay.

Their groups’ higherups started to ostracize them. The few who were already working with us helped settle the defensiveness from the rest, and they’ve mostly given up trying to break the pairs.

Progress

The fighting is ongoing.

More and more of the ‘lesser’ angels and demons are coming forward looking for a partner — the ones who were mass-made, who have group loyalty but not as much ideology, or who have ideology but not so much group loyalty. These are the cannon-fodder who get recycled during the battles, and they don’t like that course so much.

We’re at a point where the violence is still going, but is more enjoyable for the participants? The higherups have some weird sexual tension happening that we’ve taken to therapy to see if it’s appropriate — it’s harm reduction, which is about as good as it gets.

How It Got Here

This dynamic was programmed in deep over the years, and it’s entangled in several of our integral structures with this dual alone. There are reflected layers for us, and they’re like pyramid schemes with each cluster under another person (in a cluster under another person). The higherups have mirrored roles based on the mythology we were raised with, and the top of each pyramid is another dual (yellow and black).

We were trained wearing clothes of the color, surrounded by people dressed like us and spewing similar beliefs. The second layer of each pyramid was trained for specific jobs, and they have symbols that code them. The bases are the mass-produced ones, and they were mostly trauma holders. The points are the most elaborate, magical-esque programmed systemmates, and they are… something else.

We had staged fights with color-coded teams, readings from cult texts and plays acted out for us. This was big for our group of origin, so we got the whole shebang. Growing up, we thought these sidesystems were external spirits from other planes.

So…

I don’t know how similar of an experience y’all had, but we’re open to talk more in DMs if that’d suit you. Only so much we can put out for the whole of the internet while staying safe ourselves.

I hope the process goes well for you, similar to ours or not.

[fickleminder]

let us die young (or let us live forever)

Life in the Devildom living with seven demon lords is pretty darn good. If there’s one thing you’re sure of, it’s that you’re loved, wholly, irrevocably, and forever.

Rushed this in a week wooooooo *dies*

You sigh in relief as someone gently places a cool, damp towel on your heated forehead. A drop of water slides off your temple before a gloved thumb rubs it away, and you crack your eyes open blearily.

Lucifer smiles down at you. “Good morning, dearest. How are you feeling?”

“Like crap,” you groan, reaching out to grasp at his waistcoat weakly. He covers your hand with his and squeezes it in comfort. “I think it was whatever special ingredient Mammon added to my noodles yesterday…”

“And that’s why you should always follow the instructions on the cup,” the demon chides, not unkindly. Seeing you in such a pathetic state usually either amps up his sadism or makes him softer than normal. You’re just grateful it’s the latter this time.

You whine miserably. “This sucks… I feel like I’m gonna die…”

“You won’t,” comes the surprisingly firm answer to your dramatics. Lucifer looks you in the eye and dips his head. “We’ll take care of you, and we won’t ever let it come to that.”

Your cheeks warm, even with the fever. “Thanks Luci.”

Lucifer sighs at the nickname but bends forward to press a kiss to your cheek. “Rest well, love. And don’t worry, you’re safe with us.”

.

.

.

“Hey, you have Advanced Potions next semester right? Wanna get matching cauldron kits?”

“…Are they Ruri-chan and Azuki-tan themed?”

“You are a true friend, my Henry!” Levi gleefully adds the aforementioned items to his cart. “I can’t wait! We have to be partners during the labs, and sit at the same bench, and share notes, and OMG! They even have matching goggle sets!”

“That’s one way to get you to show up at RAD,” you laugh, watching fondly as Levi clicks away with abandon. While he’s on a roll, you take some time to think about other things you might want to order for yourself.

Some days you still can’t believe how quickly Akuzon had started to stock items from the human world, with the range of products steadily increasing by the week. It’s a promising sign that Diavolo’s exchange program is bearing fruit, and Levi’s account has more or less become a joint one; he’s a lifetime member with exclusive discounts that would take centuries for you to rack up had you created your own from scratch. Although he has to pay additional taxes for inter-realm shipping, he lets you order anything you want and is effectively your go-to man whenever you need deliveries.

All of this at your fingertips without having to leave the comfort of the house? The least you could do in return is be lab partners with your favorite otaku.

.

.

.

The ambient chorus of meows and purrs is interrupted by sharp vibrations from an otherwise silent phone. Satan doesn’t take his eyes off the snoozing tabby on his lap as he plucks his D.D.D. from his jacket pocket. “Hello?”

From the other side of the play area, you see him stiffen. Is everything okay? You mouth at him.

His head whips towards you with what seems like fear in his eyes, and then he does something you never imagined he’d ever do:

He shakes the sleeping cat off and quickly walks out the door.

Now worried, you gently extricate yourself from the furry pile you’ve been lounging under and follow him.

“—call you back, now’s really not a good time… Thanks, Solomon.”

Satan hangs up a split second before you reach him. “Was that Sol? I haven’t heard from him in a while. Is he alright?”

“Yes, of course!” Satan hurries to assure you, plastering on a bright grin you know him well enough to tell is fake. “He was just asking about some rare books, but it’s nothing urgent.”

“You sure? If he’s in town, we can meet him along the way—”

“And let him interrupt our date? Not a chance.” He opens the door and practically manhandles you back inside. “Come on, we still have twenty minutes on the clock.”

You don’t remember the last time you spoke to Solomon, but it’d be nice to say hi and offer to catch up sometime. Maybe you can drop him a text later and arrange something. For now, your focus lies solely on the swarm of kitties begging for pets and skritches and an equally attention-hungry demon who sticks to your side like glue.

The rest of the day is spent on a cat cafe hopping spree. Satan pays for everything and demands compensation in the form of your company over dinner and a photo gallery overflowing with selfies and cats and stolen kisses.

By the time he escorts you to your room, you only have enough energy left for a quick shower before crawling into bed. You pass out the moment your head hits your pillow, and any thoughts of contacting Solomon slip your mind completely.

.

.

.

“Treasure, you gotta understand! The second I show my face up there, my ass is toast!”

“Lucifer says I can only go if you come with me, but I’m sure he’ll make an exception if I ask Asmo,” you threaten.

You don’t get homesick often (the Devildom has more or less become your second home after all), but on the rare occasions you do, it’s nothing a quick trip to the human world can’t remedy. Visiting family and friends, hanging out at old haunts… A good dose of nostalgia never fails to comfort you. If only you knew how to create the right portals…

Mammon looks genuinely regretful. “Listen, I just need some time, okay? After I deal with those witches, I’ll take you anywhere you want, I promise!”

You sigh, but you know you could never say no to your first man.

He must have spoken to his brothers, because after your conversation it seems like they all take turns to occupy you. Lucifer has errands he’s too busy to run, Levi embarks on the co-op mode of his current game, Satan discovers a new series of detective novels, Asmo needs a model for his upcoming fashion show, Beel wants a spotter for his latest workout routine, and Belphie can’t sleep on anything that’s not your lap.

The best part is? It actually works.

Spending time with your favorite demons is like a balm that soothes the itch in your soul, distracting you from the yearning that seeps into the cracks between your days and weighs you down. It works so well that eventually, the feeling fades away.

(Mammon never does settle his debts, but then again, when does he ever?)

.

.

.

Thirteen opens the door and freezes, her face as pale as a ghost.

“Hi.” You flash her a smile and wave sheepishly. “Sorry to show up out of nowhere. I—”

She grabs your arm and yanks you inside. The door shuts and locks behind you.

“Uh, it’s good to see you too?” You let yourself be dragged along a dark corridor, not wanting to get between her and whatever mission she’s on. “I just— I was wondering if I could crash here for a bit. I just need some time to decompress without the brothers constantly breathing down my neck—”

“How did you get away?” Thirteen demands, her pace not faltering in the slightest. You still don’t know where she’s taking you.

“I walked out of the house? I mean, I’m not supposed to be outside on my own, so I snuck out.”

More like you stormed off, but she doesn’t need to know that. Past a certain point, distractions became annoyances, and the brothers’ attention turned into clinginess. It was like they had lost all understanding about the concept of personal time and space, so you decided to escape to the one place they would never think to go: the reaper’s cave.

Thirteen has her D.D.D. pressed to an ear now, speaking frantically. “Solomon! I was fucking right, you bastard! Get Raphael and— Hello? HELLO?! …Shit.”

That’s right, you remember wanting to give Solomon a call several weeks back. How did you forget? More importantly—

“Since when were you two on speaking terms?” You ask. “Also, I thought you didn’t like Raphael?”

“No time to explain, just trust me.” She leads you to a familiar room and stops, turning to face you with the most serious expression you’ve ever seen. “Wait here, and don’t you dare move from this spot! You’ll be safe, I promise.”

And then she’s gone.

Your gaze drifts over the massive cavern that glitters with an ocean of life candles, gravitating towards where you know yours and the brothers’ are. All of theirs are standing strong, as expected, and yours…

It could be your imagination, but the light from your candle has an unnatural gleam to it. The flame is slightly off-shade compared to the rest and flickers erratically. Even the wax seems as though it has melted and rehardened again and again, its misshapen structure somewhat crooked—

Somebody grabs your shoulders and spins you around. You gasp, the looming shadows surrounding you preventing you from seeing their face clearly. All you can make out are a pair of peach-colored eyes and the eerie pink glow to them…

.

.

.

You feel the headache pounding in your skull even before opening your eyes. Groaning weakly, you hear someone pouring something before smooth, lotion-scented fingers stroke at your cheeks.

“Oh darling, are you awake?”

Asmo’s worried face is the first thing you see, hovering over you. You’re in your room, tucked snugly in your bed, and your throat is absolutely parched.

“I’m so sorry, I should have kept a better eye on you,” Asmo says, helping you sit up and handing you two hangover tablets with a tall glass of water. He holds it steady as you take small sips and waits patiently for you to finish the whole thing. “Silly me, I keep forgetting humans can’t ingest too much alcohol in one sitting without hydrating.”

“…Did we go out last night?”

“We were at The Fall, celebrating my latest cover from Majolish!” Asmo sets the glass down and presses the back of his hand against your forehead. “Are you feeling alright? Any headaches?”

The memories are a blur. You’ve always been a responsible drinker, and you’ve never passed out at a club before. Perhaps you had gotten careless; Diavolo recently started importing Demonus with actual alcohol in them, but you had gotten too used to being unaffected by copious amounts of the liquor.

Asmo takes your silence as affirmative. He pours you more water and helps you down it as well, cooing words of comfort and praise in your ear. As he holds the glass to your lips, your eyes are drawn to the fresh coat of paint on his nails.

Noticing your stare, the demon grins widely. “How about a spa day to make up for it? I can start with a manicure while you stay in bed~”

“Sounds good. You’re the best, Asmo.”

His eyes twinkle like rose diamonds in the night sky.

.

.

.

Beel spending hours in the kitchen is an everyday occurrence. But him cooking a special meal just for someone? Not so much.

“Aww, thank you Beel! You really didn’t have to.” The moment he sets the steaming bowl of soup down, you give him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s an apology on behalf of my brothers,” he explains, pulling out your chair for you. “We knew you were feeling homesick lately but we still crowded you for attention. We’re sorry, we should have listened to you instead.”

Everyone at the dinner table nods in agreement, perfectly content to let the Avatar of Gluttony do the talking. Those silly demons… You can’t find it in yourself to hold a grudge against them.

“Apology accepted. This is such a big bowl though, do you want to share?” You offer him your spoon, but he gently pushes it back.

“It’s for you,” Beel insists, patting your head fondly. “I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

The soup is delicious, and the fact that there’s not a trace of jealousy on his brothers’ faces is a testament to how much they’ve matured.

You finish every last drop with relish.

.

.

.

You’re dreaming again.

It’s like you’re a spectator and a participant all at once; the world is fuzzy at the edges and you can’t hear clearly, but your body moves like an actor following a well-rehearsed script.

Someone leads you to a chair. You sit down. There’s a table with a whole cake in front of you. It’s bright outside. You can’t see their faces, but you know you’re surrounded by your family and friends. It feels like forever since you last held them.

One by one, they step forward to add a small candle to your cake. The people keep coming, they don’t stop, and soon enough you can’t even see the top layer of icing anymore. The flames seem to dance in place, slowly merging into a single entity…

The cake turns into your life candle. It stands tall and proud, unwavering, undying, and you watch as your hands reach out to grab at the wax, twisting and straining to break it in half. You think you hear a faint crack, and then—

Belphie looms over you, adjusting the towel on your forehead. He smiles when he notices that you’re awake. “Hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

You let him fuss over you, wiping away the excess water and tucking you back in. “W’time ‘sit…”

“A little past midnight. You went into a food coma after dinner, so Beel carried you to bed. I wanted to cuddle with you but you seemed a little feverish. Lucifer said a cold towel might help.”

“It does, I feel much better already.” Your heart warms at the thoughtful gesture. Belphie may be a lazy brat but he’s always got your back. “Cuddle now?”

“Anything for you.” He slides under the covers and makes himself comfortable, careful not to jostle you too much in the process. “Sleep. I’ll make sure you only have good dreams.”

And he does. You dream of a fancy ball at Diavolo’s castle, dressed to the nines and taking turns to dance with the brothers.

When you wake up in the morning, you’ve never felt more rested.

.

.

.

“It’s a little funny, now that I think about it,” you muse, pausing at the doorway while waiting for your housemates to catch up. “Normally humans can’t wait to get out of school, but if they get damned then they end up back there.”

Lucifer raises an eyebrow. “Is there anything you want to highlight about our curriculum?”

You laugh and shake your head. “I’m just picturing telling kids to study hard or they might just end up studying for the rest of their afterlives. Not being able to graduate is like a special brand of hell.”

It’s the first day of the new semester. Lucifer ushers you and his brothers out the door, strict as ever about punctuality. “Not hell, this is the Devildom.”

“I know, I know—”

“And it wouldn’t be home without you.” He smiles, taking your hand in his and holding it all the way to RAD.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

MC of the Month: Sawyer Brooks

Please welcome our third MC of the month! Each month, we will highlight one MC or OC that is currently on our Meet my MC / OC List. The MC / OC is selected randomly on the Wheel of Names, and eligibility requirements can be found here. We accept MC / OC profiles on an ongoing basis. Please feel free to send yours in!

This month's MC of the month is...

@cariantha ' s Sawyer Brooks

Learn more about Sawyer and her creator, Cari, below.

In your words, tell us what you like most about your MC. 

Not only is Sawyer beautiful and talented, but she’s incredibly smart and ambitious. And she really could care less about bragging rights, fame, or glory. 

Sawyer has never been the best at anything right out of the gate. She has had to work hard for everything she’s ever accomplished or achieved. She only ever wants to prove to herself that she can do anything she sets her mind to. It started when she was in grade school. She wasn’t the best test-taker back then and often placed into lower level classes, but within weeks advanced herself into gifted courses. When it came to athletics she had natural talent, but she didn’t have the advantage of other student athletes who could afford to play club sports year round. She worked hard each season, showing up and giving her all in every practice, which led to her earning a scholarship to play collegiate volleyball. And as we know, it took her a few weeks to find her way but she eventually climbed the ranks and took the top spot in the Edenbrook intern competition. 

What’s her proudest personal accomplishment you might ask? You might think it was something huge like diagnosing Naveen, but it was actually discovering and claiming Dr. Ethan Ramsey’s heart.❤️ She jokes that after he dies, she will donate it to a museum. 

Do you feel your MC is like you at all? How are you alike or different?

Of all my Choices MCs, Sawyer is definitely the most like me. We share similar backgrounds, upbringings, interests, and personalities. 

We are most alike in the sense that we make friends easily and enjoy the associations of many, but tend to keep our circle of trust pretty small. And we both hate conflict. If mad, we avoid or bottle things up rather than confront. I know, I know, it’s not exactly healthy. We’re both working on it. 

As far as differences, Sawyer is more forward. More willing to take risks. She’s more playful and affectionate. And she’s much more comfortable in her own skin - she knows she looks good naked.🏃🏼‍♀️ Sawyer could be on the cover of a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.😉 Hence all the bikini thirst traps on her Pictagram.

What is most important to your MC? What is their motivation in life? 

Being true to herself. It wasn’t until she started applying for residency programs that she realized she needed to start making choices based on what she wanted, not what others expected of her. Being the oldest child in her family, and the most successful academically, she felt a lot of pressure to set an example and make her parents proud. When she finally started making decisions based on her own happiness and not the expectations of others, she felt so free and content.   

Happiness is Sawyer’s motivation. She knows the pursuit of happiness is not always easy, but if the end goal is something that will bring her joy or make her feel good about herself, then she’s going to give it her all and push through. 

What are their biggest pet peeves/dislikes? 

Sawyer’s a compulsive neat freak. When she’s stressed, she can’t rest until everything is tidy and in order. She has a lot of pet peeves related to things that might disturb that order. One of the most irritating ones is dirty dishes left in the sink when there is a perfectly good dishwasher nearby. Even if the dishwasher is full, she thinks you should at least rinse the grime off the dishes. Also, clothes that hang over the side of the laundry basket. She thinks it’s just lazy to not push them all the way in. Oh, and whiskers all over the sink. Luckily, Ethan shaves in the shower. And the fact that he has a housekeeper come regularly to help maintain order keeps her from going off the deep end when she’s had a rough day. 

She was never more irritated than intern year when she was stressed to the max and living with four roommates. She was so relieved on the nights she could go hang out at Ethan’s and work on Naveen’s case.  

If your MC could change one thing - anything - what would it be? 

Other than all the wrongs in the world, Sawyer would change her voice. She wishes she could sing. She loves and finds so much comfort in music. She’ll sing in the shower and in the car when she’s alone. It’s not awful, but it’s not exactly great. Singing karaoke with her friends gives her a lot of anxiety. 

What is your MC’s favorite quote or song? 

Sawyer’s favorite song is Here Tonight by Brett Young. She discovers it shortly after Miami and has it on repeat for weeks afterward. The lyrics describe exactly how she felt on the balcony that night with Ethan, the night when everything changed for them. Fast forward to Year 3 and they talk about what they would choose for “their song.” Sawyer plays it for Ethan, and he immediately agrees it’s the one. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your MC:

Sawyer is my daily dose of medicine. When I first joined the fandom, I seriously thought I would just create some fun edits about her journey through residency. Getting lost in the details of editing, believe it or not, was a major stress reliever. Channeling Ethan Ramsey here...I was able to control what I could control. But I quickly caught the writing bug. It felt amazing to try something new, and it felt even better when it was positively received by OH fans. I probably have a very unhealthy addiction to Tumblr now, but this fandom brings me so much joy. Writing for Sawyer and Ethan gives me something to always look forward to. 

Thank you for sharing Sawyer with us, Cari! You can learn more about Sawyer Brooks here!

[findmeinthefallair]

"i don't mind therapy questions relating to hunter" ahh i don't really have any at the moment so i'm willing to throw it to you! here is a carte blanche to talk about any sort of hunter therapy gunk you can think of. i'm eager to hear what you have to say

Oooh very cool, thanks for this ask @lewvithur! Thanks for your patience as I've been working on it bit by bit. I could def infodump about how counselling microskills work, which all exist to aid in the main objective of therapy i.e. building rapport. And I'll explore this in the context of a therapist seeing Hunter as a client. Let me see if I can more or less sum it up without being too wordy.

The 3-year training program I was in (it was supposed to be 2 years, but worldwide Covid slowed down my internship hell of a lot), had this model in arguably our most important textbook:

It's called the hierarchy of counselling microskills, and it's arguably our fundamental guide (of the particular course I was in anyway, I'm sure there's a variety of textbooks, authors and supervisors that different training centers use) on how to achieve results in therapy sessions. In the pyramid, we work from the bottom and go upwards. The pyramid's foundation is about being sensitive towards our clients and how to listen well in order for them to feel heard and to build good rapport and trust with them.

The textbook's authors also came up with a 5-stage interview structure (Relationship—Story and Strengths—Goals—Restory—Action), that you could say is the bigger umbrella under which this pyramid is placed. The 4th stage, restorying, is particularly interesting since it involves reframing or introducing new and more helpful perspectives, especially for how a client can look at terrible things that have happened to them (this doesn't mean that they aren't allowed to say those things were and are painful to remember).

The 1st stage - trust between therapist and client - is the ultimate driver of their sessions.

Notice the word "strengths" in the 2nd stage: it's related to empowering the client by reminding them of resources they already have within themselves e.g. proactiveness, compassion, sensitivity. It's related to how the therapist doesn't supply these to the client but instead draws them out of the client in the safety of the therapy sessions.

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

Coming back to the pyramid - the rest of this post will be a little crash course on some of its levels from bottom to top.

Below are the foundations of what a therapist does, some of it overlaps with other fields like nursing and social work...

Ethics and Multicultural Competence:

Hunter spent the majority of his foundational years in the Emperor's Coven. What more, he was raised in it. I believe that in parallel with the relevant authorities investigating what happened behind closed doors in the castle, and investigating the particularly toxic culture within the Emperor's Coven...Hunter would be on his way, via therapy, towards dismantling and unlearning a lot of unhealthy practices and habits that were previously normalized and even encouraged during his years as a scout and as the Golden Guard.

His therapist would have to ethically protect him and balance out some core ethical principles e.g. encouraging him to make his own decisions, ensuring his welfare, doing no harm, and honouring commitments with him as their client. Plus be sensitive towards his cultural background. I personally doubt that Steve's therapist was also in the Emperor's Coven with him; even if they were, their hands would be tied for so much of the time or worse, they may have been encouraged to engage in malpractice, which is a possibility that disturbs me the most. I can't imagine what manner of malpractice Coven Heads such as Hettie Cutburn were getting up to. Though...it's even possible that Steve kept the therapist's existence a secret from the Coven(s).

A clear example of multicultural competence applied here is that the therapist should take note of any assumptions or biases that may pop up in their own mind, once they learn that their new client Hunter used to be the Golden Guard and is a grimwalker.

One big question here would be whether the therapist already knows in their first session that he used to be Belos's right-hand man, or that Hunter doesn't disclose this yet (it's very possible! Maybe his parents ensure that he's protected like this and is given full choice re: when he will disclose that huge piece of info to the therapist). I don't think he'd keep major info like this a secret from his therapist forever; from my perspective, if it isn't ever disclosed it would not be effective for his healing because it provides pretty much the foundational context for the difficulties he faced.

Attending Behaviour:

The program I trained in encouraged us to follow the "SOLER" formula. Sit squarely, Open posture, Lean slightly forward, Eye contact, Relaxed body language. Basically letting our clients know that we are interested to hear all that they have to share, and that we aren't closed off, unreceptive or tense in any way. There is the annoying pattern I often see in fictional media where therapists cross their legs while sitting, which is absolutely discouraged irl.

There's also the 3V's + B formula: Visual (appropriate eye contact with client), Vocal (warmth and no judgment in voice), Verbal (tracking whatever the client is saying), Body language (being yourself: clients are often pretty perceptive of how genuine a therapist is).

While the therapist should definitely sit squarely to face Hunter, there are sensitivities that I keep imagining such as getting the distance between themselves and him just right. We know that Belos has cornered him in close proximity, torsos directly facing one another:

So depending on the intensity of any given session for Hunter, the therapist might want to try a softer, more diagonal seating angle:

It matters because the therapist has to bear in mind how short a leash he was on, with Belos.

Observation Skills:

It's about picking up on the client's behaviours, observing what's going on between therapist and client, both verbally and non-verbally. Every client's story is unique, and they would have key words that lead their therapist closer to themes in their life.

"Help", "family" and "supposed" seem to be Hunter's key words.

His therapist would have to listen out for repetitions of these words and possibly other relevant words or phrases too. Along with his voice tone, posture etc and whenever any of those shift, and gently exploring those shifts. In this case, observation matters in order to pick out the things that hold a lot of meaning for the client.

With an average session lasting an hour, each session could be said to be broken down into "chapters" based on whatever the client is sharing that day. The vibes in a session can shift, e.g. when the therapist gently confronts the client, and say, the client's body language drastically changes when they start to clutch a pillow to their chest and curl up their body, to feel safer and self-soothe, putting more of their guard up.

Observation also involves looking for signs of contradiction or conflict, whether in the client's verbal story and/or non-verbal language. After all, stress is the result of such conflict or incongruity and therapy could help guide a client towards managing that stress.

Monitoring how guarded/tense/uncomfortable vs. open/relaxed/comfortable Hunter is during his sessions, would be a way to sum up this section.

It's fairly common to encounter something called a "doorknob confession" where a client opens up about something significant only in the final minutes of the session, after being nervous and reluctant to address that matter in almost the whole session. They might burst into tears suddenly, become chatty after almost complete silence, etc. We'd have to prepare for that and set the appropriate boundaries, yet tend to their pain so they are stable and equipped as needed, to leave the session.

Sudden shifts like that have happened before to him

(If you listen back to his voice here, it becomes raised, high-pitched and reflects how much pain he's in. Being distracted by the two palismen struck a raw nerve)

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Next are some basic listening skills...

Questioning:

The general rules are that open questions (like those starting with "what" and "how", or instructions like "Tell me more") are for encouraging clients to open up, to talk about their emotions. We call this being "process-oriented" and it is emotion-focused. Closed questions (starting with words like "are", "is" or "were") are generally for getting info and facts, or being a bit more direct if using open questions isn't effective. This is "content-oriented", which is fact-focused/information-focused. Some questions like "where" questions are interesting since they could be either open or closed, depending on he context in which you ask them. "Where is this feeling coming from?" is open (to encourage exploring the emotional process), while "Where did X happen?" is closed and is asked in order to obtain factual info.

There's no fixed formula as to what ratio a therapist should use the open and closed questions in, since each client is unique. But it's about following the client's rhythm, behaviour and personality, getting a sense of how to lead them towards how they wish to benefit from the therapy sessions. There are general pointers, though: if a client is getting too comfortable talking about content e.g. describing events in a flat cold manner, in order to detach from and avoid emotions that they should be connecting with, the therapist would want to use more open questions to steer the session towards the client's emotional process. If a client is experiencing intense emotional flooding due to feeling intensely triggered, open questions may not achieve much to stabilize and ground them. Closed and more directive questions to get info and facts may work better to check in with them, since the client could benefit from a sense of clarity.

Hunter is no therapist, but! He is empathetic, sweetly asking a distressed Willow a closed question here, to help in reeling her back:

Hunting Palismen and Labyrinth Runners each have a fantastic example of open questions, even though Luz and Gus aren't even therapists:

Luz and Gus each ask an open question, a "what" question, which prompted Hunter to take a risk and be more vulnerable with emotions. Open questions are designed for their recipients to take ownership and do the legwork. Therapy is a chance for Hunter to experience much more of this feeling of being heard and welcomed.

On top of the above, a therapist can phrase questions as more directive or non-directive. "Tell me about what happened that day", "What happened that day?" and "Would you like to tell me what happened that day?" each have a different feel, though of course they all must be asked with a warm and open voice tone. Obviously one shouldn't be too directive with Hunter at all, since that can be too Belos-like, it'll more easily feed his deeply ingrained shame and he might see the sessions as an assessment for how well he can please the therapist (big no-no...).

There are times where I imagine one should be firm with him, but overall it is extremely important to empower him by offering him options/choices and letting him learn ownership of his newfound freedom.

Showing Empathy using Active Listening:

Involves three components: using encouragers, paraphrases, and summarizing. They would be great for Hunter since he will feel fully heard and seen, compared to being used to Belos cutting him off and dismissing him.

Encouragers are used in order to keep a client talking. Examples are the therapist nodding their head, and saying the classic "Mhm", "Right" or similar. Even the use of silence at the right times can be an encourager. Silence can be powerful and a gamechanger, since I think it's never exactly a "quiet" period: because that's when the client's having an important internal conversation with themselves via their thoughts.

Paraphrasing is basically reflecting what the client said back to them, in the therapist's own words. It is needed to "help a client complete their storytelling". It also says in the textbook that "A client who has been through trauma may need to tell the story several times", and the paraphrases of a therapist add to this repetition of the story. If e.g. a traumatized confused client is finding trouble to describe and understand what happened to them, paraphrasing from their therapist is important.

Summarizing is roughly done at the beginning, middle and ending of a session to mark "chapters/sections" in the session. It helps to structure the session, helps both client and therapist be up to speed with what has been shared so far, also to check in with the client if anything has been left out in the conversation. Doing this may also alert the client of any themes etc that might stand out to them, helping them have a "light bulb" moment.

Reflecting A Client's Feelings Back to Them:

Sometimes I tell my clients that I'm a person who holds up a mirror for them to see themselves, instead of simply dispensing easy advice for them. I'm there to empower them to feel their emotions and make their own decisions, instead of me doing that work for them.

The skill of reflecting feelings back to a client can help them get more comfortable with emotion language (examples: mad, scared, confused, frustrated, disgusted, devastated, numb), especially if they have come from an upbringing where emotional expression was frowned upon or even dangerous.

They can be encouraged to enter more depth of emotions, like digging through layers, to get closer to connecting with their pain before deep healing takes place. Sometimes they may want to stay in safer zones such as confusion, numbness or anger, and may need time before taking a bold step to connect with the hardest emotions such as shame, terror or loss.

Hunter having his feelings reflected back to him would be a good next stage beyond subplots such as Gus's efforts to help him open up in Labyrinth Runners.

In the two scenes above, there isn't emotion language yet.

But his "I'm just scared" here, a few episodes later? Tadda! Emotion language. It's a good sign of naming and owning his feelings, and of him trusting Flapjack as a safe trusted space for him to even say that. Notice that he only spoke like this with the one he trusted most: Flapjack.

-----------

Next are the more intermediate skills...

Focusing:

This involves directing the conversation towards relevant areas, e.g. if a client has not shared enough about their family background. A therapist would have to use this skill differently with clients who have stronger and more headstrong personalities versus those who are more accommodating.

A therapist can choose from different areas to focus in more depth, depending on what they feel is best to get the client closer to their goals. Such areas include the client themselves, their main theme/issue, other people in the client's life, the client's cultural background, or what is specifically happening in the moment in the therapy session.

Empathic Confrontation and Challenging a Client:

There may be times where a client is encouraged to look at contradictions or areas in which they are stuck, which produce more stress. Such confrontation by a therapist must be gentle, it must be an invitation instead of coercion, and must make the client feel that the therapist is still rooting for them: and both can work together towards possible resolutions for those conflicts in the client.

When done right, this kind of confrontation makes room for new levels of creativity, courage and other positive qualities in the client. It's not recommended to try this out in any early stage of therapy until rapport is more solid between therapist and client. Sometimes, a client does this work and reaches this awareness all on their own, knowing how stressed they are e.g. when they express "I'm torn between X and Y".

We see this to some extent below i.e. the contradiction between the Golden Guard never being scared, versus him feeling scared in the current moment:

It shows that there is still some Golden Guard in him, but the rest is unchartered territory which is making him frustrated. He is torn between places.

Other clients may require a gentle push from the therapist to reach this place, and there's nothing wrong with that, but Hunter definitely has his moments of determination and being proactive.

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

Next are what are called "influencing skills" which are usually only used in later sessions once trust between client and therapist is strong...

Reframing:

Helps to potentially generate new angles on something the client has shared. Hunter's therapist might ask him for example, "How might you bring Flapjack's gift of restoring your life, into the new things that you would like to learn?"

It's a very open question that would prompt Hunter to reflect deeply. He really needs to trust his therapist first in order for this to work, because if it's done too early in their relationship, he might be overwhelmed or intimidated. Open questions like this, where an attempt at reframing is in action, are often followed by periods of silence in the client which is completely normal. It would afford Hunter a very important amount of headspace to have an inner dialogue with himself.

Self-Disclosure:

May be used depending on the difference in power between therapist and client, but it has to be used with particular caution. It'll more likely be used if the client is from a minority group, or if the age gap and life stage between therapist and client is wider.

While I can't share details of the toughest case I've handled so far in my career, I'll say that this skill was needed for the first breakthrough to happen with that client and earn their trust.

Safe to say that Hunter's therapist might utilize this skill more than in the average IRL therapy session: because the Isles would be experiencing collective grief while rebuilding is taking place. Belos was happy to have genocide on his list, after all. And Hunter was highly isolated growing up which puts him in a very vulnerable position.

Immediacy:

A bit of a wild card skill. It is risky but in some cases, may be the best way to repair/enhance a conflict between therapist and client, shortly before the client might decide to never come back to further sessions.

This skill overlaps a bit with confrontation/challenging above: because it is also used to point out contradictions in the session, but the distinguishing feature of immediacy is it's about something that's happening in the current moment and which has happened a few times e.g. a client's suddenly clenched fists, or them avoiding a certain topic.

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

A therapist has to draw upon multiple frameworks per session, which would have to work together like a nicely oiled machine, and be prepared for any sort of shift or development from the client's end. For example, affirming the client's strengths at regular intervals throughout the session, and helping the client take note of their resources so that it's not just about the negative stuff i.e. client sharing unsavoury details and experiencing unpleasant feelings in session.

Intuition and instinct combined with experience and these skills...all make up the therapist's personal style of conducting therapy, which is refined over time. All this translates into the treatment that Hunter's therapist would provide for him, knowing when to invite him into exploration mode, to be curious about his pain as opposed to shutting it out

versus slowing him down and grounding him when an emotional flashback sends him into a flurry

Thank you for the ask - it gave me the opportunity to geek out like this! :D

[thebookwormfairy]

What if Marinette and Adrien had an Adult (Part 2)

So been thinking about this for awhile. This is going to be a Maribat fic (Mostly found family, Daminette (eventually) Adrien x Jon Kent (they would be awesome together) Jason Todd x OFC (mentioned)). What if Selina took a note out of Bruce's book and adopted a little orphan of her own. What if she was close to Jason, what if she followed Dick and started the Teen Titans after losing Jason, and what if she eventually ended up in Paris saw Hawkmoth and these two kids doing their best and just went "mine now!". Well I guess we'll find out.

Masterlist

Prologue

Dusk welcomed the 2 young heros to her hideout

Kitty had bought this building when she first moved to Paris as a place to train in peace and a place for the Titans to hang out when they visited

Dusk: Welcome to Grande Falls or the unofficial name Titans' Falls!

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked in wonder at all the training equipment in the huge room that took up what looked to be two floors from the outside

Half the room was exercise equipment and the other half was filled with parkour equipment while the rafters had what look to be trapeze equipment

Chat Noir: Titans' Falls?

Dusk: Yep! I own this whole building and the Titans use it as a base for operations in France.

Ladybug *pointing up*: Is that trapeze stuff?

Dusk: Again yes, one of my friends is a trapeze artist and he taught me and I'm going to teach you. It'll help you in the field. I'll also going to be teaching you parkour and have y'all doing strength training. For now we're going to focus on your skills in the suits but as time goes on I want us to focus on your skills out of the suits too. But for now let's see what y'all can do in the suits, 10 laps around the gym right now!

The 2 younger heros have Dusk a solute before following orders

Dusk took her mother's approach to training

Be encouraging but tuff

After 2 hours of assessing their skills Dusk called for an end to training

Dusk: You did great tonight guys! Now head home and get to bed! We'll be doing out of suit practice Friday night at midnight. Wear exercise clothes and comfortable shoes.

Ladybug: shouldn't we do a patrol around the city to make sure everything is okay?

Dusk: I already patrolled for tonight and after that exercise you need rest not more work, but before I forget, these are for you

Dusk hand them 2 bright yellow Titans Communicators

Dusk: If you need me or each other you can call on this I already have all of our numbers programed into it, but I also have the number for the main Titans tower in it, just in case the worst is to happen you can still call for help.

Chat: Wow so cool!

Ladybug: Thank you Dusk for everything

Dusk rubbed the heads of the two teens affectionately

Dusk: Don't mention it kid, now off to bed the both of ya!

Once the 2 teens left Kitty tried to call Raven again to talk about the miraculous

Whenever she would try to talk about it, the feed would go static until she stop and it was like Raven completely forgot about their previous conversation until Kitty brought it up directly

It seemed that the miraculous or whoever was handing them out didn't want the information to leave Paris

So instead of getting information Kitty set up a safe word with the Titans that if they hear it they need to come to Paris ASAP and track the communicators and help the kids holding it

The safe words had to be something that people couldn't guess

Something that only she would use

The safe word was Pride and Prejudice

Kitty looked over to a well loved book that sat on her bedside table

She still remember the day she got that very book from...Jason

*Flashback*

Jason: Happy 16th Birthday KitKat!

Jason hugged Kitty from behind giving her a big kiss on the cheek

Kitty: Thank you, dork.

Jason: Aw and I thought we were past that darling. Enough of that! Time to open the present I got you.

The older boy handed over a small present

Kitty: Thank you Jason, but you know you didn't have to get me anything, you being here is enough, I feel like you're always on patrol or some case right now

Jason: I'll always make time for you. Now stop stalling and open your gift

Kitty did and inside was a copy of the book "Pride and Prejudice"

Kitty: I love this story, but I haven't read the book yet

Jason: Which is a crime! But I got you this book for another reason. This is our story. We started out with you hating me, while poor me fell in love at first sight and didn't know how to show it.

Kitty gave Jason a light shove at his dramatics

Jason: but we over came first impressions and became friends, then we became more than friends, and now I couldn't imagine my life without you Kitty. I know we're still young but I know you're it for me. I love you Kitty

Kitty: I love you too Jason

*Flashback End*

But it was more than just a book

Jason had made little notes in the margins for her

What he thought when he first saw her, his perspective on their interactions, and his thoughts on their future

Kitty couldn't bear to open the book now but she couldn't let it go either

It was the last thing she had of Jason and she wasn't willing to give it up

The next day Kitty was at her day job in the bakery when Marinette came storming in for lunch

Kitty: Whoa there firefly what's up? What's got you stomping around?

Marinette: Not only am I in class with Chloe again, but her friend Adrien is also in the class and he seems to be just as bad as her! He put gum on my chair today!

Kitty glanced towards the school and see a blond boy race out of the school and towards the bakery

Kitty: Did you see him put the gum on your chair or was he just standing over the gum

Marinette: Well I didn't exactly see him do it, but knowing Chloe I doubt people who call her a friend are much better

Kitty: I don't know mean people don't usually go out of their way to explain themselves

Marinette: But he hasn't!

Kitty: But it looks like he's about you

Adrien did come to apologize and explain that he was just trying to get the gum off her chair not put it on

That lunch period Marinette and Adrien struck up a strong friendship

The laughed and talked about the fashion world with Kitty interjecting every now and then but mostly just enjoying the conversation between the two teens

Outside the bakery an old man and the Turtle kwami stood and watch the trio laugh and joke

Wayzz: It seems like the holders have found a mentor mastor

Fu: Maybe that's a good thing. The holders are still very young and they could use some guidance. I cannot reveal myself until our enemy does, so until then Ms. Kyle seems to be doing a fine job for now.

Permit Tag List

@immafangirl @alysrose-starchild @myazael @labschaos @meme991001

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2024- Day 20- Alien- Part 6

Dowager Status

Woo, we made it to the last part of this story I have written so far. But sadly, I must end things here to stay on any kind of schedule. After Monster March? Bet your ass I'm gonna finish this proper.

As always, thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2024 Prompt List.

Dowager Status 

“Why does she go to you?” Klip asked Jaxx once Jaxx exited the coop himself as Klip had tried his best to stay out of sight and give her space and breathing room but still keep at a distance to just…make sure she would be ok. 

“Because she knows I’m a true specialist and she knows she can count on me to come through for her. I’m sure once you have earned her trust, she will learn to depend on you as well.” Jaxx offered. 

“But how can I do so when she hates me?” Klip asked. 

“She doesn’t hate you, she just doesn’t trust you- through no fault of yours.” Jaxx specified. 

“Well then whose fault was it? I thought Kat apologized?” He asked. 

“She did. But the person who broke her trust wasn’t Kat. It was Kai. I know she’s practically dead upstairs, but Hazi and her sisters are still very much still scarred and weary. And they have every right to be.” Jaxx specified before he turned to head back to the transporter to transport to his own ship as Klip followed and walked with him. 

“What happened? I can’t access the files. They were stuck out of the record.” Klip asked. 

“What happened was that Hazi was one of 57 Princesses that her predecessor saved. However, when her predecessor saved her and the others, she saved all of the Princesses, no matter what stage they were in.” Jaxx answered. 

“But there’s only 14 of them. Are the others still in stasis?” Klip asked. 

“No, the rest are already dead. Because you see the problem was with that batch- if you will, was the moment her already programmed sisters came out of incubation not even a few days later as Nursery Drones, they did not take to the career change. They turned this nest into chaos because in their minds and hearts they were still Queens. They even tried to stage an unsuccessful coup. Those that were involved, of course were assassinated when Hazi herself was only a few days old. Then those that were innocent were put under heavy guard, except that Kai didn’t anticipate for those that guarded them, would end up building romantic attachments for yet more sisters and that closeness bred fondness, and those that were far enough in development to develop their own eggs, fell pregnant, and had to be killed off. Any Consort- mated or otherwise who showed any kind of attention to Hazi or her sisters were killed off that’s why myself and many of the unmated consorts aren’t even on this ship. Only Jaxon and Jago had to remain here, Jaxon is in charge of the Jika Flora, and Jago is in charge of the military. Most of us fled for our lives to the other ships to escape even the suspicion of having any ties to Hazi or her true sisters.” Jaxx explained.

“Oh, I.. had no idea.” Klip felt sick to his stomach that Hazi had already endured so much. 

“And then, once Hazi and the rest of her batch were out of incubation- for some, was a year, for others were barely a few minutes- they were rounded up like cattle and had to have very invasive and very painful scans and surgeries to not only ensure that each one was sterile, but that isthing would be a very painful experience for them period. And the remainder were halved yet again because of complications from the surgery. The ones that were only minutes old, didn’t survive being probed. Their skin was still far too delicate and their own exoskeleton on their own abdomens caved in. Because the Surgical Drones, under Queen Kai’s order- cut out of each one- the majority of their sexual canals and cut out anything even remotely similar in look or feel to an egg or Hive forbid-an egg follicle. She even tried to have their own stingers and venom glands removed and their abdomens collapsed on themselves for having so much of their anatomy surgically removed.” Jaxx continued. 

“Kai then took down all the walls and barriers in the Hive Mind so that she could hear and listen and see everything that happened and micromanaged everything and everyone. The only reason Hazi and her few remaining sisters are alive is because they showed an aversion to isthing and worked themselves to the point of exhaustion- every, single, day. So that they would be too busy to isth with any consort and that Kai would never have a reason to suspect any of them or blame any of them- for anything so that they would never be disciplined for any infraction no matter how slight. Because Kai, for being weak, was also desperate and ruthless.” Jaxx finished. 

“So you need to understand that in order to survive all of that- Hazi has had to accept that she’s hollow, and damaged beyond repair. And she will continue to be weary and continue to try to walk a fine line between serving Kat and the Hive, while also being continuously weary that at any moment, Kat could come to maturity and renege on everything and try to kill all of us who aren’t a Super Consort- and turn out to be even worse than Kai ever was. There is a mental and psychological scar there that you can’t even begin to comprehend. So while you have gotten a week to come to appreciate what she’s done, you’ve only come to know half the story. She has had a lifetime of experience warning her to not get anywhere near any Consort period. So while you shouldn’t blame yourself, you shouldn’t blame her either. Her reactions to everything are perfectly sane, reasonable and logical. So what you need to do- is respect her, and her decisions, especially when things are still so unstable and not even close to settled. And they won’t be until Kat is not only at full size and at full maturity, but most likely, had a few generations of larvae laid under her belt so to speak. Earn her trust by keeping your distance and respecting her decision to save herself and her sisters, even at the cost they have already dearly paid.” Jaxx advised. 

“I see now. Thank you for sharing this with me. When her sisters showed weariness, we thought we had come off as too aggressive. If this is why…if this is why they metaphorically have more spikes than we do? It’s perfectly reasonable. I shall do as you say and “back off” as much as I can until she can learn to trust myself and Kat and our situation and circumstances are more stable.” Klip offered. 

“If you want more ideas on how to do that- you should probably seek Jago out. He will have better ideas on how to arm Hazi and her sisters so that- should Kat renege, they will be able to defend themselves against you and the other Super Consorts and even Queen Kat or any other Super Queen or any other Super Consort.” Jaxx suggested. 

“Yes, I will do that.” He nodded before Jaxx transported off the mothership and onto his own before Klip went straight to Jago’s office to see Jago dump the water from the vase down his sink. 

“Do you have orders for me?” Jago asked Klip once Klip came in. 

“No. I have questions though.” Klip offered. 

“Ask them.” Jago urged him before he put the vase to the side and came back to his desk. 

“How can I help Hazi?” Klip asked. 

“With what?” Jago blinked with a thoughtful frown. 

“Anything? Everything? I…I spent the last week doing all the research I can on Royal Nursery Executives. And I just thought it was a glitch that the records were struck from the Hive memory from certain sections of Queen Kai’s rule. However, Jaxx has filled me in- on what happened during those times and perhaps why they were struck. Specifically about Hazi’s other sisters who are no longer with us.” Klip explained. 

“So what’s the problem?” Jago asked. 

“How do I help Hazi and protect her and protect her sisters from that ever happening again? I understand her own aversion to me and the other Super Consorts. I understand her weariness. I understand her mistrust. I understand her hate and her resentment, and I understand her stance.” 

“If you understand it, how is it a problem?” Jago asked. 

“I don’t know how to prove to her that she does not have to worry about that part of her history ever repeating again? Surely if she’s had surgery to remove…whatever had to be removed- surly she could go back into incubation to recover it right?” He asked. 

“No. It can’t be recovered. That and Hazi and her sisters do not want what was taken from them- to ever be returned because they know it would only be a point of contention and prove just as life threatening as its past presence was. Their lives have been preserved and they have put themselves and their conduct and their intentions above reproach and have kept themselves safe from any who would try to use their own biology against them. Trust me, it’s better this way.” Jago affirmed. 

“Will the Princesses that were saved, have to go through the same experiences, surely we can keep them having to suffer any of that.” Klip offered. 

“I don’t know. And I won’t know until any of them come out of incubation.” Jago answered. 

“So…what can be done? Is there anything that can be brought from anywhere to further protect Hazi and her sisters and even the new Princesses?” He asked. 

“Not that I’m aware of.” Jago shook his head no. 

“Well, if..if you do find something, anything, I’d like to volunteer for you to test it out on. Hazi was willing to die to save those Princesses the way one of her predecessors had saved her and the others. It’s only fair to be willing to do the same.” He offered as Jago both frowned yet his mouth almost in a grin. 

“That’s very generous of you. Well, for one, I would like to scan you then. See how thick your exoskeleton is, see if those spikes are solid or hollow and get samples of your venoms, so that we at least have a map of what we’re working with so that- should steps and measures need to be taken to ensure Hazi and her sisters and the new Royal Nursery Executives need to survive you and Queen Kat and should ever need to survive yet another Super Queen and her Super Consorts, that they can.” Jago offered. 

It was clear that his re-incubation was at least going well so far, thanks to codes from Reverend Mother along with a huge download of the finer points of Hive Management that were sent not only from her, but were also being taken from all the other Queens in the Quadrant and this galaxy and far beyond to help stabilize Kat’s reign as well as help protect Hazi to ensure the Hive as Hazi was seen and recognized as a Dowager Hive Mistress by all the other Queens. Second only to Reverend Mothers in absolute authority as Hazi and her sisters and anyone else she deemed important enough- which she quickly claimed all the other former unmated consorts as worthy- of the same protection and reverence- was now- protected- on a Jika wide scale and basically untouchable. And Kat was so relieved! Kat wasn’t taking this as a personal attack or as if she wasn’t capable of leading a Hive. If anything, she seemed so relieved to not have so much weighing on her as Hazi then made changes to the Hive Mind in real time, right from her Dowager Interface with her Dowager Codes until she had quieted down the entire Hive Mind so that Kat only basically got updates as she was forwarding all the information to Hazi and practically ignoring it and would only really look at what Hazi would eventually look through and reduce any redundancy for a future review, that wasn’t even set up yet. 

“Of course, anything.” Klip agreed without a second of hesitation as he readily submitted to the scans and samples.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Jago thanked him before Klip soon found himself on the outside of Jago’s door before Klip was brave and flew by the Royal Nursery to see Hazi there with Kit in an incubator as the two were talking about how the Reverend Mother had agreed to their request to send Kat a whole batch of Kit’s to replace the one they were in front of. 

But he could feel that Hazi was still, even with all of this, just a touch still weary, but overall- far less uptight and guarded. Which was good, that was an improvement. 

But he also sensed that she hadn’t been ambitious and had wanted this power all along, no far from it, she was only taking it on because Kat was still too young, too immature and too inexperienced to try to take it all on herself. But she would hold it all until Kat would get big enough and strong enough to carry it herself. But was doing so more out of duty to the Hive as a whole more than anything. Which he could nothing but respect and admire, even from this distance. 

“So are you trying to be a creeper or what?” Hebi asked as she practically snuck up on him as she watched him watch Hazi and Kat from the window crack in the door to the hive. 

He felt like he nearly had a heart attack and nearly jumped out of his exoskeleton. 

“Your Ladyship, I apologize. Is there anything I can assist you with?” He asked. 

“Yeah, you can tell me why you’re hanging out here with your ear pressed to the door like a kid whose spying on his parents.” She answered. 

“I uh, well, I was just trying to keep an ear out- should Kat or Hazi need anything…from me or anyone else.” He offered. 

“Right, because neither of them know how to get a hold of you through the Hive Mind.” She sarcastically teased with a nod of her head as if agreeing with him. 

“Ok, you got me. I…I want to help any way I can, I just don’t know how without asking and risking either one of them or both of them biting my head for bothering them.” He confessed. 

“Ah, I see. Well, let me see how you can help…” She began as she looked over the results of the tests that Jago had run that he made available to her and her true sisters along with Jago’s true brothers. 

“You went to Jago?” She asked. 

“Yes, I submitted myself for testing and examination to find any weaknesses so that yourself and Hazi and the others would know best how to neutralize myself and the other Super Consorts if necessary.” He answered as she practically blinked in surprise, even with her compound eyes. 

“And I see that Jaxx has sent you a copy of the record of…” Hebi began and couldn’t bring herself to even say it outloud. 

“Why are you looking into that?” She asked. 

“Because I just wanted to know why Hazi and the others were especially weary of myself and the others.” He admitted. 

“Ok, can you share with me, the feed from your interactions with her?” She asked before he let her see all of them. 

“Ah, I see where you fucked up.” She readily offered. 

“What? Where? How? I didn’t do anything.” He maintained. 

“Yeah, yeah you did. You insinuated that she was after power, and in so doing, you gave her the impression that you were after power too. That means that she’s going to be especially suspicious of you and the other Super Consorts from now on. Because she is the Dowager now. To prove your genuine interest in her now? You’re gonna have to wait until she’s no longer a Dowager and Kat has full maturity and full control of the Hive. And even then, that’s gonna be a pretty steep uphill climb for you.” She offered apologetically. 

“Fuck. I did fuck up.” Klip realized as he just hung his head and then rubbed at his face with his hands as he played back the memory and was kicking himself for trying to appear confident and instead only appeared haughty and arrogant. 

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better, Hazi is really into letting people prove who they are and what their inner person is by their actions. You have time to do that. You have time to prove to her that your interest in her is genuine. You have time to help her learn your weaknesses, should she ever have to use them for her own survival. And you have time to prove to the Hive that you’re here to stay and that you are here to protect it, not dominate it one moment and abandon it another moment after. Volunteer to watch- from a distance- the new Nursery Executives. Because if you do so- too closely- Hazi is going to fear that you’re out to prey on them for your own sexual release or for your own selfish reasons.” She advised in a low murmur as she stepped closer to him. 

“And use your brain. Use your brain the way she does hers. Use it to think of what else you could do to help her, if not directly, then indirectly. Solve problems before they arise. Which is really hard, but if she can do it, we can too, right? Plus you’re a Super Consort. Aren’t you supposed to be super smart? So think of what you can do for the Hive as a whole? How can you see to it that not only will all these various drones make it to full maturity, but will have great lives once they leave this nest as late adolescents and young adults? And then think of how you can make Kat’s life easier first, to show that your loyalties should lie with Kat first and foremost. She is your Super Queen after all. And then once Kat is completely taken care of, then you can focus on making Hazi’s life better. How you can help her with her work. Make it easier for her to manage. Prove yourself capable to have things delegated to you. Hazi is going to- of course, start you out- with small, simple, easy things. Not because she thinks that’s all you can handle but to see how humble you are. To see how willing you are at taking direction and following said direction. Then exceed her expectations without making more work for her either. Then as she learns that she can trust you with more and depend on her more, don’t ever let her down. And if you mess up, admit it freely without having to be pushed or having the Hive Mind tattle tail on you ok? Own up to it.” She advised. 

“Ok, is there anything else I could do?” He asked. 

“Yes. Don’t present yourself as what you think a woman like her would want or what she needs. Just be yourself. You like her just the way she is, with or without her power and authority. Let her like you the same. With or without everything you are. Because if you push yourself onto her too hard, she’s gonna want to kill you off, thinking that you’re more of a danger to the Hive, seeking out the strongest and most powerful queen period, no matter who that would ever be. Make your loyalties to her and to Kat clear and true, and not to anything like power- that you have seen for yourself, in just a day- can be given or taken away at anyone’s will but our own.” She reminded him. 

“And lastly, the most important question you can ever ask her- “How can I help?” If you honestly ask that question and honestly accept it’s answer, whatever it may be. Do it, without hesitation. And remember, you may be a Super Consort, but that means that you’re willing to put in super amounts of effort. Humble yourself and be willing to take on any task, no matter how menial- if it will help her and help the whole Hive. Got it?” She urged him. 

“Understood, thank you so much for your advice your Ladyship.” He thanked her gratefully. 

“Oh and offer to help her get away and catch a breath every now and then. Otherwise she’s liable to work herself into an early grave. And we can’t have that can we?” She asked before she walked off with her tablet of objectives she needed to handle. 

“No we can’t.” He shook his head no with a soft grin before he noticed that the Queen was getting ready to enter an incubation chamber to sleep for the night. 

“Your Majesty?” He asked as he and the others came into the Royal Comb from all the entrances as it seemed they had all gotten the same message at about the same time. 

“What are doing?” Another asked worriedly to see Queen Kat get comfy in the next comb over from Kit.  

“Ugh, I can’t do anything without alerting the calvary.” Kat scuffed with an exaggerated eye roll to Hazi who could only breathe a laugh through her nose as she bit her lips to keep from having an outburst of laughter. 

“You are loved Your Majesty.” Hazi managed to answer. 

“As are you Dowager.” Kat playfully teased before she stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at Hazi. 

“Oh hush, enjoy your nap Kit-Kat.” Hazi offered before she closed the door and set the program before Kat slipped into a wonderful sleep as she let her head lull towards Kit- even in sleep as he slowly did the same. 

“So, how can I help?” Klip asked as his fellow Consorts were looking at him and demanding for him to ask what she was doing and why she was doing to Queen Kat. 

Hazi simply turned to consider him over her shoulder. 

“Well, you can all wait for everyone else to come.” She answered before he sat down at the stool by the bar where the Royal Jelly was as he sat and patiently waited and instead- told his fellow Super Consorts to stay quiet and that Hazi was going to explain everything once those she summoned so that she only had to explain it once- came as he could see Hazi hear that and grin as she continued to type things into both cells using a set of hands for each one as his fellow Super Consorts could do little but also come to sit beside him or chose to simply stand and wait before Hazi’s other sisters and the other former unmated Consorts came filing into it. And it was Klip’s turn to wait in silence as Hazi continued to communicate with her true sisters and the other unmated consorts as he felt a sense of deja-vu and poetic justice that their positions were reversed this time as he could do little but try to patiently wait as the others were getting antsy as Klip then put his focus on the other Super Consorts and had to threaten to punish them himself if they dared to rush the Dowager. And to reminded them of the level of respect she was owed, which was the same kind their own Reverend Mother was, if not more so as the others simply huffed and instead pouted at him. 

“Klip, get the door will you?” Hazi offered as she was finishing up putting her commands in before she used her own fingerprints to lock the cells as Klip practically jumped to his feet and opened the door closest to him as the others followed his lead and opened the others as the remaining ones were called into the Royal Comb as they all practically tried to file in quickly and efficiently without bottlenecking the entrances and exits just as Hazi turned in her stool and patiently waited for them all to come in. 

“Sorry for taking so long.” The others apologized lowly as they filed into the comb until it was practically standing room only before she had to stand up on her stool and it was from this vantage point that her scars to her abdomen were clearly seen as the other Super Consorts couldn’t help but stare while Klip could only feel a sympathy pain for her before he looked up into her eyes. 

“Now that everyone is here. I need to have a meeting.” Hazi began. 

“Sorry, just curious.” Kruk put his hands up in defeat as Hazi could do little but grin fondly at Klip for his interference. 

“Question? What happened to your abdomen?” Kurk asked as he pointed to it.

“None of your business. We’re here to listen to our Dowager Mistress, not ask her personal and impolite questions about her person.” Klip immediately snipped angrily. 

“I got it defending the Hive from an unworthy usurper.” Hazi decided to deflect. 

“But that’s old news. Not why I called you all here. Ok. So the reason Queen Kat is in an incubation cell is she was injured before she took over the Hive, she is in incubation to fully heal as well as get the rest of her supplemental Queen protocols since she only had the absolute bare minimum ones at the time of her ascension. So in an effort to heal what was injured, and in an effort to try to bring Royal Consort Kit back to what he was before Kat’s ascension, they are in the incubation cells. Kat will only need to be in this incubation cell for the night. Kit will need to be in for much longer. Also, just in case Kit can’t make a full recovery, the Reverend Mother is sending two batches of Super Consorts here, just in case anything else happens to any of you remaining- currently unisthantaried- Super Consorts from now and until when and if Super Queen Kat would want to fully isthantari with any or all of you.” Hazi explained. 

“So how can we help?” Klip repeated which earned him a smile from Hazi. 

“Brownie points for best question ever. Ok. So when Queen Kat reawakens from her beauty sleep in the incubation chamber, she will have gotten codes to prepare her mind and body for to try to catch up in size and maturity. Meaning, she will be ravenous, all the time. Jaxon, I need to know- is the Jika Flora Suite capable and able to feed her appetite should it increase by 10 fold?” She asked. 

“No. Five or six fold? Yes. But not a full ten.” Jaxon answered. 

“Ok, so then that means, I will need help in finding foods, both local and far away, that could help fill in the gap we will have to fill to satisfy Queen Kat’s full appetite. Other than the foods we already know, does anyone have any ideas on how we can get her not just nutritiously dense foods, but also, hopefully tasty ones. I know Earth has a ton of junk food, but for as delicious as it is, it’s nutritionally empty. And while it will be very tempting to let her quench her cravings with something quick and easy. I don’t want any of our tempting but faulty lazy shortcuts to cost her- valuable stomach space and risk her health and thus, risk endangering future eggs and larvae the Hive as whole. We have to think of the Hive’s greater good overall.” She explained. 

“I’ll reach out to Sable, she has a lot of connections to markets and vendors and especially restuarantours, I’m sure we can find a way to gather ingredients and if we need to hire a chef to cook them or prepare them any way that would entice Queen Kat’s appetite, even hiring teams of them to cook for her around the clock, we could try that.” Jaxon volunteered. 

“Great, anyone else got any ideas?” Hazi asked. 

“We could go around to any other markets either on Earth, or at any other space station to also look for the same things. Just casting out our nets wider than usual. I’ll volunteer to go wherever you think would be best place to start looking” Klip volunteered. 

“Any other volunteers?” Hazi asked before the other Consorts raised their hands as even her own sisters raised their hands. 

“I’d go if I don’t have duties here that need my presence here.” Hebi offered. 

“I’d go with her to help and also serve as protection.” Kruk immediately blurted as the other Super Consorts agreed to go- to offer protection for Hazi’s sisters. 

“Awesome. Thanks. I’ll have assignments for you shortly then.” Hazi decided as she put that in on her Dowager wrist interface. 

“Well, the main one is an inhibitor. And the inhibitor would allow you to fully isth with Queen Kat without your mind atrophying and- if necessary, only isth with her once, and never have to isth with her ever again.” She 

“Next- order of business, Super Consorts. Queen Kat- currently has a certain vision for her rule and reign. And as it stands that vision- has certain- characteristics that are unconventional and nontraditional. But this, again, can change as she changes, and grows and matures as well. But I am looking for any volunteers who would be willing to try out those new characteristics- however, you would have to go back into incubation to achieve them.” She offered.

“What are the characteristics?” Kraken asked. 

“Oh, so a full brained eunuch? No thank you.” Kraken immediately shook his head no as the other Super Consorts also began to shake their heads no. 

“I’d volunteer for that.” Klip found himself raising his hand for that as nearly everyone else went to turn their heads to look as if he had grown two more himself. 

“Why?!” Kragan demanded. 

“Queen Kat was injured isthing with Kit. She’s been averse to isthing ever since. If she is not able to fully heal tonight. I’m ok with whatever it would take to make sure she never has to do a duty she hates and can’t stand just for the good of our Hive. If only isthing once will save the Hive but keep her happy otherwise and help her perform her duties but keep my intellect and personality intact- even as annoying as I can be to her- I’d happily comply.” He defended. 

“Thank you Klip. Then I’m gonna have you stay behind so I can put you in tonight so you’d wake up with Kat in the morning.” Hazi beamed happily as she pointed to the other cell on the other side of Queen Kat as Klip immediately came through as the others parted for him as Hazi’s sisters said their thanks for him even trying in the first place before he came over but Hazi stopped him from getting in just yet as she made a subtle gesture for him to stop with her hand as he paused and simply stood and waited. 

“Ok, that is all, everyone- continue to brainstorm about ways to help Queen Kat and help the Hive in general. You know where to find me if you think of anything useful. Dismissed.” She urged before she sat down on the stool again as the others turned and began to file out. 

“But just so all of you Super Consorts know, you wouldn’t be a eunuch, these enhancements would actually double or even triple your current potency.” Hazi called out as she prepped Klip to go into incubation. 

“Wait, are you talking like two or three phallus’?” Kraken asked. 

“And at least 6-9 more gonads too.” Hazi nodded. 

“Shit, why didn’t you lead with that? Yeah, I’ll do that.” Kraken immediately changed his mind as did the other Super Consorts. 

“Can just the Super Consorts have that done or can any of us get that too?” Jaxon asked. 

“If you wish to save and dedicate your current one for Queen Kat and then use any secondary one for either your own private use or any other use, sure. But the secondary ones will be programmed to be smaller than your originals. Because the Super Consorts are already too big to fit Kat the way she is right now, this is meant to grow a much smaller secondary one for her from them. But in order for you to do the same, the Hive Code mandates that for any former unmated consort, their original, main phallus’ has to be dedicated to the new Queen first. And she is currently in stasis and can not be reached so you’d have to wait to ask her tomorrow once she wakes up.” Hazi answered. 

“Oh, ok, well, then, nevermind. I’m good.” Jaxon offered. 

“Figured you would be. Good night.” She dismissed the rest as her sisters hung back as she had instructed them to- to assist the other Super Consorts in getting ready to go back into incubation. 

“So I’ll grow- a second, smaller phallus to hang out in Queen Kat?” Klip muttered as she got him ready. 

“Yup. I can even remove it while you’re in stasis so you don’t feel a thing and you’ll wake up- more or less the same way you are right now, if not, just a bit enhanced, here and there.” Hazi offered. 

“Ok, I trust you. Do whatever you think is best and necessary and will help Queen Kat and help you help her and the Hive.” Klip nodded in understanding. 

“Ok Ladies, everyone take an equal number of Super Consorts and lock them into the cells. And then from there, I’ll be able to plug in all the command codes from here.” Hazi urged as she helped Klip up into the cell. 

“Sweet Dreams.” She winked before she shut the cell and turned it on before he slipped into sleep before all of his fellow Super Consorts did the same before Hazi gave all the other cells their instructions before she added extra commands directly to Klip’s cell. 

“Now, all of you, into these cells here. I got some special codes for us too.” Hazi urged as she gently guided them to the cells across from the Super Consorts.

“So what are you giving him that you’re not giving the others?” Hebe asked curiously.

“Well he was the only one to volunteer for the right reasons, so he’s getting the works. The others only wanted more dicks so that’s all they’re getting.” Hazi answered with a bright smile. 

“Are we gonna…?” 

“Get made whole? Hell yeah, no more ugly scars to remind of us a wicked queen. Queen Kat was appalled we were treated so poorly and only wants every single member of her hive and especially her Royal Nursery Executives to be at full strength, full power and full intellect. And even- give us the ability, that should, may the Hive forbid, anything happen to her before she’s able to give us a Super Princess, we’d be able to be Queens in our rights, or, be able to install Little Stubborn in her place. But, now, we get to have follicles again, just in case. And all we would need is to put on the Crown to activate us. That’s it.” Hazi beamed as the girls squealed and jumped up and down in delight before they readily hopped back into the cells and closed the doors, and giggled as Hazi went down the line and put in the codes for each and every single one of them. 

“But what about you?” Hebe asked.

“Well someone has to stay up to watch over the Hive for the night. Besides, you and Queen Kat to see to my own incubation once you guys reemerge from your own first.” Hazi answered. 

“Sweet Dreams.” Hazi offered before she put the codes in and Hebe went down too before Hazi sighed in contentment before she got up and leaned back into the cell on the other side of Klip before she turned her head to consider him. Now that she could see him and actually, truly see him for him. And not just her first impression from him as he seemed to turn his head towards her. Even in sleep. Which got her to grin at his sleeping form. 

“Thanks for coming. I’m glad you’re here.” She whispered before she decided to go and get some bedding and a cot and brought them back into the Royal Comb and laid down, on one side, her true sisters in stasis. On the other, her new Super Queen, her Queen’s favorite Consort and what might, potentially be her very own Consort right next to her. Who knew that a Super Queen was what their Hive needed all along. 

[saintvainglorious]

Fics I Enjoyed in December/January

10 fics total. Includes fics from the following fandoms: A Song of Ice and Fire, Avatar (Cameron), Black Sails, Hannibal, MCU, Our Flag Means Death, and Star Wars

The Favor of the King by thingswithwings MCU | T'Challa/Sam Wilson | 18k | Explicit

T'Challa – King T'Challa of Wakanda, the Black Panther, Guy Who Dresses Up Like a Cat to Fight Crime or Possibly for Other Reasons, Who the Fuck Knows – T'Challa corners Sam during one of their visits to check in on Bucky and says, in a mild voice that should not sound as threatening as it does, "We need to talk." "We do, huh," Sam says, looking him up and down. He's just a king and a superhero and a genius inventor and possibly the richest man alive, looking way too fine and wearing the hell out of a tailored three-piece suit; Sam can hold his own against this guy.

Free Folk to the Bone by Jennie_D A Song of Ice and Fire | Gen, Jon Snow/Ygritte | 82k (WIP) | Mature

Jon will admit he doesn’t know a lot of things. He doesn’t know who his parents are or what clan he was borne from. He doesn’t know what’s on the other side of The Wall, though he’s been itching to find out practically since he could walk. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever learn to be a proper warg, or if Mance will finally let him go raid kneeler villages with Tormund’s band this year. But he does know one thing; he’s Free Folk down to his bones.

Order Carnivora by husborth/@husborth Star Wars | Gen | 8k (WIP) | Teen & Up

In a universe where Leia is told the truth of her biological parentage as a child, she makes a deal to save the galaxy from certain destruction; she'll surrender herself to Vader if he'll destroy the Death Star. Between the galaxy and what he wants, there's only one choice Vader always makes.

The Spiral of Lives by Damkianna Avatar | Gen | 20k | General Audiences

The last thought he has before everything goes black is, Shit. An AU of the movie, wherein the Avatar Program never existed. [Warning: some in-character ableism.]

Gone To Port Royal by Apetslife Black Sails | Gen | 3k | General Audiences

Definition of Valhalla 1: the great hall in Norse mythology where heroes slain in battle are received 2 : a place of honor, glory, or happiness : heaven

Ad Utrumque Paratus by obeyingthemuse/@otmuse Star Wars | Gen | 39k (WIP) | General Audiences

It's hard to bring balance to the Force when the only method you've seen is your black-cloaked psychic cyborg sorcerer dad with a severe breathing problem throwing an old man down the Death Star reactor shaft. As much as Luke would like to see the not-yet-Emperor dead, he doesn't want to be arrested by his unusually attractive(?) war-hero dad and spend the rest of his indeterminate time in the past dropping Ewok beats in a jail cell. Also Leia would probably kill him. But not before breaking him out of jail. So when the twins wake up on Tatooine decades in the past, they play it safe. They take over a planet, reconnect with their adoptive and real parents without weirding them out (too much), and accidentally cause the Chancellor perpetual near-death experiences. Nailed it.

Where All Ladders Start by emungere/@emungere Hannibal | Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter | 43k | Explicit | Part 1 of Ladders

Will is slowly losing his mind in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He makes a deal with the devil to get out.

Whatever this is by equestrianstatue/@justlikeeddie Black Sails | James Flint/John Silver | 5k | Explicit | Part 1 of Combat

It was difficult to shake off the pervasive feeling of being permitted, even required, in the places that he most wished to be; and after knocking on the door of Flint’s cabin, Silver pushed it open without waiting for the call to enter. Flint had his back to him, but his head turned sharply at the sound. He was stood towards the stern of the cabin, by one of the gilted pillars, the hammocks newly-strung for the vanguard swinging gently beside him. “Oh,” he said, with no particular inflection, at the sight of Silver. Then he completed the action that his hands had been midway through: lifting the leather sword-belt from his waist and hanging it in place below a mounted candlestick. “What do you want?” (After Flint talks the crew round to bombarding Vane in his fort, Silver has some questions of his own.)

A thing of any relevance by equestrianstatue/@justlikeeddie Black Sails | James Flint/John Silver | 4k | Explicit | Part 2 of Combat

“You like this,” Silver said, and he allowed himself a grin, even though he knew it would earn him Flint’s arm pressing fractionally upwards, against his throat. Not hard enough, though, to cut off his voice. “Putting me in my place.” Flint’s eyebrows raised minutely. He looked down the length of Silver’s body, at the way it slouched beneath him, sprawled against the trunk; at the rise and fall of his chest, his hands curled loosely by his hips. Glancing back up, he said, “Not as much as you do.”

man on fire by Ajaxthegreat Our Flag Means Death/Black Sails | James Flint/Israel Hands, Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet/Israel Hands | 16k | Explicit

“Who the fuck,” Ed says, “Fucked you.” Or, we discover the consequences of jealousy.

[thrutheeyesofme]

Routine Before Creation; A Trauma Response

I wake up every morning, Filled with life, Flowing with vigor, Beaming with enthusiasm.

The day is here for me to create, A total blank canvas for my own creation, An open page of endless possibilities, Just ready for me to make the first move.

I could… Paint a self portrait, Design a new dance step, Model something out of clay, Write love letters to myself, Endless energy for creative play.

But first, let's get the basics out the way, Breakfast, cup of tea and news, Teeth, poop then shower, Some light housework and errands, Decide what to cook for dinner.

I do a quick run to the supermarket, Pick up some lunch on the way home, Put on that load of washing, Send that email I need to write, And get my dinner prep done.

Exhausted by all this running around, I need to recharge. Brew a quick cuppa, Put my feet up to rest, Take a quick 10min power nap, And then the day is mine to create.

…What was I going to do again? Oh yes, spontaneous day of creation, Harness my relentless optimism of the day, Surrender to the flow of magical possibilities, Channel it into active, positive modes of creation.

But the time in my day is getting limited, Enthusiasm is starting to wane, And my momentum is being lost. I start to think about all the mess, And the thought of cleaning it up.

….All my creative enthusiasm is gone. Silenced by my default daily activities, Routine and discipline are my trauma response, Fear of being judged and as labelled lazy, Pleasure and creativity gets lost along the way.

I get stuck in my need to present perfectly, Making sure everything is in order before I can start my day, Chores before play, Hard Work before reward, Vegetables before dessert, I am pre-programmed that enjoyment is a bargaining chip.

But that rule is a silly made up illusion, A trauma response inherited from our parents. Humans are naturally creative beings, Creativity, joy and play are our default, Our true catalyst for feeling alive.

Life in its beauty is all about creation, It flows through our veins as magic, Unable to be captured or stored, It needs to be embraced in the moment, Regardless if your bed has been made or not.

Creation is something I have to commit myself to, A nourishing practice that fulfils my soul, A rejuvenating outlet that brings me back to life, A daily non-negotiable for my well being, A purpose greater than working the 9 to 5.

Because if we aren't creating, What is the point of life? Eat, sleep, marry and pay taxes? That isn't the life I expected for myself, This won't be the life I create for myself.

[yhwhrulz]

Worthy Brief - July 26, 2024

Enjoy God's stress management program!

Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

When God set apart the Seventh Day it was after He Himself had worked for six, and then rested. Shabbat is therefore, "primordial" in a real sense, something established from the beginning of time. This makes the pattern of working six days and resting on the seventh something fundamental to human existence, and something exceedingly blessed.

Resting on Shabbat serves multiple purposes. First, it acknowledges and honors the rhythm of creation itself. By mirroring God's pattern of work and rest, we align ourselves with the order He established. Second, it’s a weekly reminder that we do not have endless sources of energy in our mortal frame, but need time to recharge physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Some have wondered why we don't send out a Worthy Brief on Saturday or Sunday. We decided this because we all need a break from the cares of this world, and from the bad or sad news our briefs inevitably report week after week. The weekend pulls our focus out of worldly affairs and allows for a different emphasis, one of relationship, refreshment and renewal of body, soul and spirit, for us and our families.

We also believe and have experienced that resting one day a week enables us to actually accomplish more in six days of work than if we go nonstop for seven days. This pattern not only boosts productivity but also enhances the quality of our work and life.

When we observe the principle of a Shabbat rest, we demonstrate our trust in God’s provision, tangibly expressing faith that God will take care of our needs even when we are not working. Our faith and reliance on Him are built up reinforcing the truth that our primary source of strength and sustenance is not our own effort but God’s goodness.

In a world that often glorifies constant busyness and productivity, Shabbat stands as a counter-cultural practice that emphasizes the importance of rest and reliance on God. It’s a sacred time that refreshes our bodies, renews our spirits, and realigns our focus on what truly matters — so enjoy God’s stress management program instituted from the beginning … until Monday, Shabbat Shalom!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Missouri) (North Carolina)

Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. - https://t.me/worthywatch/ Be sure to check it out!

Editor's Note: We are planning our summer Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information.

[descriptivestats]

Theory of Mind

Theory of Mind

Theory of Mind

Although it would be convenient to explore a human’s mind with a rope, flashlight, and a map, like one would when spelunking through a cave, it is difficult to do so without advanced alien technology. We could shrink ourselves and explore a virtual representation of a man’s subconscious, with machine learning driven analogies of the caverns of his particular mind. For now, we are beholden to use the simple imagination to explore a person’s personality. This alone can yield some important conclusions. Let us now explore the concept of the Mind and how to understand a human being with only a conversation and pen and paper. The human mind is a physical structure which adheres to the physical laws of nature. Much like a forest or an animalian nest, every nook and cranny is a result of roots and branches and rivers that take hold along with each other in the firmament of the skull. By knowing one spot in a mind and familiarizing yourself with it, you can start to create points of reference, to navigate and explore the unknown. An important point of reference is the name which a human calls himself. From this point, humans will build their identities.

I am Isaac

I am an engineer

These are the facts which are repeated in the mind over and over, mostly through internal speech. If engaging with a peer, these facts get solidified through the very surface level of small talk and conversation. By knowing someone intimately through therapy or relationships, even more sophisticated facts come to light, which are tethered to these foundational facts. Every fact will follow logically from those foundational facts. The facts are echoed by the reality of life, where a human will see feedback, where it will do its engineering work and look at computers and machines. This is the human identity, which we can describe with language such as “surface”, “reference points”, “foundations”, and if we begin to understand the analogy, words like “roots”, “branches”, “natural structures”, “forests”, “mountains”, and even more which I hope to find in my writing today.

I am a practical man and wish to use this tool as a method to reprogram my mind and the minds of those around me. I have already realized this theory and wish to pass it on to you now. I am a programmer, at first only for software, but at some point I began to notice that I am programming human beings as well. It is important that I first built an ability to be kind and moral, because this is a power which can destroy any human being. I have reprogrammed enemies to lose their minds and lose their physical possessions. I have left them without a trace of their identities intact. I left them clinging to the bare necessities of life as their friends and family struggled to recreate the human that once existed in their lives. So usually, I must restrain. Now as I ripen into a fully grown man, I want to stop restraining myself. I will go full speed ahead. This was the year of stability. Now on this foundation, with my identity loud and clear, I will venture into my own forest and link it to the forests of others, in order to take over the world, which rightfully belongs to me.

It is beautiful that a man’s work can leap from the domain of his craft and bleed over into the rest of reality. Even as I type now, I am building the Universe. We are representatives of consciousness, which was born in the nebula of creation. Intelligent systems are amongst the stars, neural networks are in the Higgs field, like those computers which can be built inside of video games. We can create intelligence inside of machines, inside of intelligence. We can build algorithms inside of our brains to help with multiplication or chess games. We can build computers in Minecraft or mining machines. It was amazing to go outside of the game and reprogram it so that I had more power inside of the game. Minecraft, though it’s a little funny because of how simple the game is, was a beautiful analogy for real life.

So now I must go outside of myself to build systems which will manifest inside of reality. So I can use them to achieve the same mechanical power in reality or even the magical abilities of my imagination. I see there are others doing the same and that is further evidence that I’m on the right track. Outside of us is the 4th dimension, which is simply the sum of all existence, the integral of all existence across time. We can access it with our minds at present. Theories exist here which will have been created or were created. It is like going into the OS and reprogramming a video game.

So in our imaginations we must build a theory of magick. We must expose it to all humans as much as possible. Then it will be criticized and torn apart over and over again. Until is left the last possible logical answer. Let us explore the final answer, that ability to create with our minds. Let us master the wind and rocks and fire.

[blkkizzat]

Hey! Indian reader here again, I'm glad you're having a great time here!!

I remember going to Agra on a trip a couple years back. Taj Mehl was amazing to see. And the history behind it is quite interesting. It was supposed to be a gift from the King of Agra to his queen though I don't remember much of the history. One part I do remember (though it's very gruesome yet romantic in a weird way) is that the king ordered that the hands of all the artisans and anyone who worked on the site would be cut off so that they wouldn't be able to create something like the palace again 😭

One tip I have is that you make sure you're not overpaying for the stuff you buy here, considering people WILL overcharge you when they realize you're a tourist. And to wear clothing which covers you up in public because short clothes are usually looked down upon here and for your own safety too depending on where you are 💔

Other than that I also recommend buying spices to take back with you if you're into spicy food!! Indian spices are extremely flavorful and vast in variety but quite expensive in other countries

Hey!! I just got back! It was an amazing trip! Your country is so beautiful. The air quality in some cities was tearing my allergies up but other than that and trying to cross the street when there isnt a traffic light in sight, I had such a great time! I never thought I could be a vegetarian but so much good non meat curries and other options there. I liked Indian food before going but loved all the new dishes I tried too! Although I don't think I will ever find a Dal Makhani or Chana Masala as good as I did at The 1944 Hocco Kitchen in Ahmedabad here in the states. I didn't even like the Dal I had on the trip up until that point it was so rich, smooth and buttery (they cooked theirs for 36hrs). Also getting to try traditional Gujarati cuisine was awesome!

The Dhokla was so good with the chutneys they'd give us as snacks. Plus I thought Japan had the best service, India takes it to a new level! I never been to restaurants where waiters are literally sprinting to your table to make sure you dont serve yourself. I only wanted a bit more curry once but I felt so bad this waiter almost tripped rushing over to me I let him put on two more scoops! Also feels like I'm back home and my grandma is making my plates cause if they see a dish nearly done and that you finished yours they will just scoop the rest into your plate. Even the fast food places (omg the paneer burger and aloo tiki burger at mcdonalds and butter chicken chalupa at taco bell were to DIE for) were far superior to what we have here and they have much more sustainable practices. I swear I gained 5lbs from all the food lmfao!! I'm used to eating either one meal or two small ones a day and my program was feeding us 3 full meals so I had to skip some at times LOL it was too much food!!

The traffic is WILD in India but its so cool to see. I don't think I would ever get used to crossing the street without feeling like I was gonna die though lmfaooo. Also omg being able to Uber a Tuk Tuk was awesome! Although there was a few times me and my friends thought we would see the pearly gates lmfaoooo. I heard that about the Taj artisans too! The tour guide we had was so knowledgable (he was a former pharmacist who went back to school to learn medival indian history as he wanted to be a tour guide instead). He told us it was because after his favored wife died (I think he said it was because she was the only one to give him children successfully) he lost his mind a bit and was locked away by one of his sons after building the Taj (Very sad too as all his sons fought and all but one survived to take over the throne). Oh yes, haha our tour consultant who travelled with us the entire time would haggle for us if we wanted something. He would actually give us a range then tell us to walk down the block then he would start haggling lol. Loved him so much, he really looked out for us!

But omg yeah I noticed that people dress pretty modestly which is wild to me considering how hot it is there but they are used to it but I was dying haha. It was 100 degrees and people were in jackets and jean pants lol. Thankfully I brought long cotton and linen dresses and skirts and was able to buy some flowly loose linen pants and brought lots of electrolyte packets. But even in the hotel (we stayed at the 5 star Hyatt Regency in Ahemedabad) that was pretty internationally catered (omg the best pasta outside of italy I swear I was so surprised haha) there were Indian men intensely staring at me and my friend wearing tight leggings to breakfast even though they came down to our ankles and we had a long sleeve shirt on too. I got on the elevator to run back up to my room for something I forgot and these guys on the elevator were so creepy. They didnt say anything but I could feel them glaring down my back. I'm glad we knew better than to wear them outside but I thought it be okay just in the hotel. That didn't sour my experience though I did meet a lot of very nice and respectful Indian men as well. Two of them (who were pretty cute tbh) helped me with my luggage on the elevator as I was leaving since I had to buy an entire new luggage for all the stuff I bought lol. Yes!! While in Delhi we went to the spice market. We took a cycle rickshaw there. We went to a tourist spice shop there though cause they seal it up well for travel and actually have premixed spice packets you can buy which makes it easier (although im sure much more expensive). I bought a ton of spices and teas haha spent like 20k rupees there lmfaooo. Mostly went so ham there cause my mom used to live in India (her 3rd husband was Indian) and she wanted me to bring her back alot of teas and spices. I got her like 4 different kinds of chai. I'm kinda sad we left right before Holi!!!! I always wanted to experience Holi!!! But since its today (or yesterday lol) and today is the first day of classes back our school had to make sure we were back for classes.

Here’s some more pics!

[stokofsky]

Runners part 5

The Runner fired right up, thrusting off the ground. B-111 angled them straight upwards and slammed the throttle open immediately. Behind him, K-3NT actually yelped in surprise. B-111 was pleased at the acceleration The Runner pulled. He’d guessed the TIE/sa wasn’t pushed to its maximum. Not for the first time in his operational lifespan, he was glad to not be filled with sloshing, pressurized bodily fluids. With a droid pilot the ship's limit was always its mechanic. And since B-111 was that mechanic, the limits were certain to be few. It also helped that the space-chassis, the ion engines, and the sunlight drive systems were all factory fresh. It was the closest to brand new he’d flown in a very, very long time, but this, B-111 was sure, was a minor detail at best.  He wondered how it would compare to his ill fated Rogue-class. 

“Hold onto something,” B-111 said as they exited Cymoon 1’s atmosphere, “I’m pulling some maneuvers.”

“What? Why? Can’t we just make a jump?”

“Don’t worry, I’m an old hand at this.” 

“Didn’t the CIS operate starfighters with their own droid brains? When would you have ever-”

B-111 throttled down and pulled max pitch. The Runner practically spun on the spot. K-3NT fell from his chair, bounced off the ceiling, and then the back wall.. B-111 leveled out immediately and looked over his back rest. “Enty? Are you alright?”

K-3NT was jumbled in a heap on the floor, arms crossed glaring at B-111. “One-eleven you did not give me time to fasten my safety harness.”

“But you knew we were leaving the gravity field, why didn’t you buckle up right away?”

“Don’t you make this my fault!” K-3NT got up and slunk back into his seat, clipping the belts of his safety harness into the buckle. “I’m used to maintaining artificial gravity! And to any kind of decorum from the pilot operating the star craft I am in! Maximum throttle? At a sudden 90 degree from horizon vector!?”

“Well this isn’t a shuttle, is it? It’s a star fighter!”

“It’s a bomber! Which is almost the same as a shuttle!”

“One,” B-111 held up one finger, “it’s not a bomber, it’s the Runner. Two,” he held up a second finger, “A shuttle isn’t even the same as a gunship in handling dynamics, let alone a fighter/bomber like this used to be. Now pipe down back there,” He turned forwards again and looked down to his control panel, “I’m plotting our first jump. Time to find out if you should have been the one to install the hyperdrive after all.” K-3NT began to protest again, it was predictable, and it was hilarious.

With his route programmed, B-111 throttled up and pulled a lever. A high pitched whirr came from his left and the stars speckled throughout his field of view stretched out into white lines for a single instant. They entered hyperspace. B-111 relaxed in his chair just a fraction. He’d been sure it would work, but maybe not that sure.

K-3NT leaned over B-111s shoulder. “Where are you taking us?”

“We’re going to Coruscant. Get comfortable, Enty, it will probably take close to an hour to get there.”

“Coruscant? A couple of outlaws… right to the capitol of law and order?”

“A warrior walks amongst his enemies without fear or falter. Besides, with trillions of organic inhabitants, and an average of at least one droid per-two organics, we will be two drops in an ocean!”

“Two drops of oil, maybe.” 

“Whats that supposed to mean?”

“Have you seen yourself? You aren’t exactly understated, are you?”

“Who’s got the bright red finish?”

“My Tskad-blood red finish is standard! Whereas I don’t think there is a single thing about you left thats standard.”

“Have you ever been to coruscant?” K-3NT was silent. “You really haven’t?”

“Its a big Galaxy. I was flying a shuttle around a lot of it, business never took me that way…”

B-111 was quiet for a moment, considering what it must have been like, born for glorious combat, yet locked in so dull and pedestrian a purpose. “Well,” he said eventually, looking out the viewport at the whirring white-blue blur of hyperspace, “theres a first time for everything. A warrior faces new challenges with courage and determination. That is the Path.”

For a short time they both sat looking out the viewport, saying nothing. B-111 had always found hyperspace mesmerizing, from the very first time he’d seen it when his division had fled Naboo, to today. He looked out at it and he wondered what it would feel like, what perception would be were he to exist within hyperspace rather than ordinary space.

“So-” K-3NT interrupted his line of thought, “as long as we’re waiting, were you ever going to tell me anything about this warriors path you’re always banging on about?”

B-111 waited a moment to not seem too excited. “Do you wish to walk the Warriors Path? It takes conviction.”

“Yes, well, I suppose I do want to walk it.”

“You must be courageous.”

“I calculate a greater than 80% probability that I will be courageous.”

B-111 groaned, shaking his head. He’d have to work with what he had. He’d been the one who switched K-3NT back on in the first place, after all. “Very well. Your first lesson is patience. A Warrior can wait days at a time for the opportune moment to strike, can bear any chiding or bait, and does not rail on a comrade for their mistakes.”

“That is straight forwards. I am very patient, its the kind of thing I was made to be.”

“Good! So you’ll have no trouble sitting quietly throughout the rest of this hyperjump?”

B-111 waited for a response. None came. He turned and looked over his shoulder. K-3NT was sitting, back straight, arms crossed, looking off to one side. Hmm. He was sulking, but he was doing it patiently.

“Now, let’s begin your first lesson…”

[the-firebird69]

There's going to be a lot of changes and DeSantis is not within his rights to fill the aqueduct and we are going to find him severely what he's doing is trying to stop the state from not flooding he's trying to flood it. We're going to issue court cases against him and request that the federal government charge him immediately and everybody who lives here should probably urge that to happen

-on top of the above Governor DeSantis wants her son to be in a mental hospital we are going to put him and his sister into a mental hospital every time they try to heat it up and bring it to a crescendo in order to burn them all and to take over the hospitals and mental hospitals I'm going to start doing it now. There's a huge number of people that need to go and his are them it sucks so bad and the man's an idiot

-we need to clean out some of the swill this garbage in the government garbage above and there's garbage in the woods and it's garbage in the neighborhood he has nowhere to go and no one to turn to his mom and Grandpa can't do anything those effective deteriorate if we don't change it. We are moving on things like the car and Jackson and other in his working I mean more programs like that to initialize and immediately. It's a proven fact that the money owned by the max the text ships many of these have a plan to take the money. It's a great idea and it will work the watchmen movie is underway today we believe is episode 1 act 1 in georgia. The rest of it will fall into place fairly quickly and it is God the lassoing Trump in payback for dragging him behind a pickup truck he dragged him for a half mile and the flesh was torn off and some areas and it was massively painful that actually starts It off as they have a little town set up already and it's to run their operations from it's quite evil they want to poison the water coming down here still. The maps are talking about the Firebird it's going global and it's real Timmy Doyle is under duress he's getting his ass kicked badly and people see it and are going after him. Another week Link in the pseudo empire armor. There's several more occurrences going on I'm starting to try and push sending one around Sandy Wong around and she's resisting and calling for help and you're sending it and other minorities are coming in right now it's not a war but they threaten it then you can see them in the battle of scarif and other similar battles in endor which is California and Scott reef which is India they're fighting The shield of the warlock empire and it does come down and it's because of our son's ebike and the batteries and he's more like are poor.. that is heating up. Also social security Coreen is realizing she has a job and she can't do anything just dulls the money out every month and still a job but she's not allowed to get him extra money by practically anyone she's moving out right now to try and do things to make things happen and it's not working and she's wondering why so she sees Trump and company and others in the way he wants to move them she's getting ready to do so and just trying to poison the area gets found out in New York City there preparing to expel Trump and we'll have a fight and during that fight she gets the idea that Trump needs to pay for things and Terry cheesman and concocts a plan and Trump has been telling her to cut the check and she's going to move on it

There's several more things that are working pretty good one of them is the Vader Infinity and the Vader Firebird. They found the Vader Infinity number one and it's right near the manufacturing facility and they are trying to steal it. They're also after the humongous f650 and someone found out that the Chevy up front is number one as well as the car which is his design and Hera as well as the Dodge pickup truck and that that truck is really old and he brought back the look and it started selling a lot of cars a lot of trucks and his world famous for it in most circles except this one so people fight to take it from him and number two is the one in Charlotte county Port Charlotte Castle parking lot and that's Hera's and she drove it around on the island that Doug hanchett was on after her son was there a few years after and she loved it and wants him to have one cuz it rides different and it's the partner of the one that's here they're made about the same time so people can be after them and people will be after them and they are already but mildly in the several motorcycles around that he designed and she did too wow one of them is the Indian it's the first one the very first one and it's in the museum in Miami yes and there's a series of Indian motorcycles that he designed and they have a few and there's a few in Indiana believe it or not and he called it and there's a couple in New York and a couple in LA and they both did to sign them and it's going on like that too people are fighting over them it's a huge fight and it's increasing in size and magnitude pretty soon it's going to be massive when they figure out the empire plans to get them all these cars and trucks and bikes and buildings. And yes he had the stupid idea for the wings on the car when he was little and send it back and it didn't really do what he wanted but it looks funny and trucks too someone will be his because he needs to drive in a big vehicle and we are watching the trucks and more right now:

He has two number one eBikes and the first aluminum cruiser which changed the cruiser market forever used to be clunky and heavy in one speed now people riding them everywhere cuz they look cool and they look like his first bike and that's what he wanted and we're moving on pretty soon but he has a heart and it's pretty big and he cleaned his shoes as best he can and he's going to get more of the cleaner it looks pretty good he says it does look better it's not massively clean but it's clean so we're watching that stuff too we have a few more things to announce and will announce them momentarily

Thor Freya

Olympus

Zues

Hey put my stuff first and here we go we need to tell what time it is so leave that up need to get going and it's going to get going

Hera

[reda-admin]

How can we overcome procrastination

Procrastination can be very harmful to people if it is not controlled. A procrastinating person faces challenges in life that can confuse a person. Therefore, people need to minimize their procrastination. A program that can control the framework of one's life can save one from procrastination. While it may seem like a simple issue, the psychology behind procrastination is complex and multifaceted.

One of the main psychological factors behind procrastination is the concept of self-regulation. Self-regulation refers to our ability to control our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve our goals. When we procrastinate, we are essentially giving in to short-term gratification (such as watching TV or scrolling through social media) at the expense of long-term goals (such as completing a work project or studying for an exam).

Another psychological factor that contributes to procrastination is fear of failure. Many people procrastinate because they are afraid of not meeting their own or others' expectations. This fear can be paralyzing and lead to avoidance behaviors, such as putting off important tasks until the last minute.

Additionally, perfectionism can also play a role in procrastination. Perfectionists often have unrealistically high standards for themselves and fear making mistakes or producing subpar work. As a result, they may put off tasks to avoid facing potential criticism or disappointment.

So how can we overcome procrastination from a psychological standpoint? One effective strategy is to improve self-regulation skills. This can be done through techniques such as setting specific and achievable goals, breaking tasks down into smaller steps, and using rewards and consequences to motivate ourselves.

Addressing the  of failure is another important step in overcoming procrastination. It's important to recognize that making mistakes is a natural part of learning and growth, and that failure does not define our worth as individuals. By reframing our mindset around failure and embracing it as an opportunity for growth, we can reduce the fear that drives procrastination.

Finally, addressing perfectionism involves challenging unrealistic standards and practicing self-compassion. It's important to remind ourselves that no one is perfect and that it's okay to make mistakes along the way. By cultivating a mindset of self-acceptance and kindness towards ourselves, we can reduce the anxiety that often fuels procrastination.

In conclusion, overcoming procrastination requires addressing its underlying psychological factors such as self-regulation, fear of failure, and perfectionism. By implementing strategies to improve these areas, such as goal-setting, reframing failure, and practicing self-compassion, we can begin to break free from the cycle of procrastination and move towards greater productivity and fulfillment in our lives.

The importance of planning application in reducing procrastination

If you are also one of those people who want to change your lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle, you need to plan properly to live a purposeful and regular life. Life without a purpose has no meaning. If you don't have a purpose in life, you have to wait for its consequences. A life without a purpose has no will to work, no excitement to spend, no companionship with friends to enjoy, and no reason to continue living. Now, if you have a goal, in order to achieve some goals, you need basic planning so that it can bring you closer and closer to your goals and finally reach the goal.

 Scheduling apps can be very helpful in reducing procrastination by providing structure, organization, and accountability. Here are a few ways scheduling apps can help combat procrastination. One of these applications is Reda, which is developed using the latest technologies and can be effective for many people to finish their work on time.

Click on the link to read the rest of the article:

https://redaapp.com/blog/How%20can%20we%20overcome%20procrastination%20%7C%20procrastination%20app