#you can construct the shape of a person out of the hole she leaves in the narrative guys. you totally can

[anna-scribbles]

emilie agreste lives in my head in a much cooler and more ethical way than she lives in gabriel’s head. the stories i tell myself about what she was like are way better than his. no yeah constructing the idea of a person out of a well-preserved corpse is fine when i do it

[gladiatorofthevoid]

The Love of a Clan

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Cassandra loved the Foot Clan, so it hurt when she realized that they didn't love her back.

Or, Cassy was in a cult, and we don't talk about that enough.

-

Once the mast-  

Once the Shredder had been defeated, Cassandra had offered to help rebuild the Hamatos’ home, with a complete willingness to do so. It was only right that she attempted to undo the damage she had such a large part in causing.  

She just... hadn’t expected them to take her up on the offer. But the small rat, who appeared to be the Clan Leader, had smiled and accepted her offer, even if the rest of his clan had looked reluctant to allow it. 

So, Cassandra had followed them to the ruins of their old home and helped them pick through the rubble to find the most important parts of their lives, even if the things they found were more often just as destroyed.

Cassy recalled seeing the blue Hamato pulling at an acoustic guitar with a snapped neck out of a pile of rubble, with a weak look of devastation. Then he glanced at Cassy and broke into a cheesy stand-up routine filled with music puns. She ignored any diggs he threw her way after that. 

She had seen the youngest of the Clan staring at a wall with a hole big enough for a car to drive through. It must have once been covered in a huge mural, as she could see oranges and reds leaking out around the edges of the hole. The turtle had just stared, wrapping his arms around himself in something like a hug. Cassy had tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he had stepped back before she had even touched him. He had flashed her an open, friendly, and unconvincing smile and she had run off looking for another job that needed doing.

The purple turtle had been the worst. She had been with him when he found his room, broken metal and sparking current boards littered the floor. And in the center of it was a small turtle shaped robot, still and unmoving, its chest torn open and wires hanging out, like some twisted surgery gone wrong. It made Cassy feel horrified, even if she hadn’t known what she was looking at.

But the turtle hadn’t reacted. His face was blank and empty. He only said one word to her.

“Leave.”

She had, trying to not drown in horror and guilt.

She helped them relocate to another part of the sewers and had bought plywood and paint with the little money she had. She spent late nights cutting, and hammering, and painting. 

It hadn’t felt like enough.

- 

Cassandra leaned against the entrance tunnel to the Hamatos’ home and glared at the ground.  

The construction of the “lair,” as the Turtles called it, was done for the day. She wasn’t needed anymore and should just be heading home. But...  

Her dad was home tonight, for once, and she isn’t sure she can handle him right now. 

Before, she would have just volunteered for another round of training by the Foot or asked to go on a mission - even another humiliating coffee run. But that wasn’t an option anymore.  

But intruding on the Turtles’ new home any longer was also not an option. She could feel the awkwardness that was always in the air when she was around. It was growing steadily the long she stood there, even if the Hamatos weren’t around. 

She gripped the edge of her sleeve and tugged. There was nothing for it, no way out of this.  

She had to go home. 

The thought filled her with a hopeless dread. 

“Hey, Cass!” 

Cassandra jumped in surprise and swung at the one who dared sneak up on her and invade her personal space.  

The largest Hamato leaned back to avoid her punch and held up his hands in a placating motion. 

“Whoops, Sorry! Raph didn’t mean to startle you,” the red turtle said with a smile. “I was just happy I caught you before you left.”  

Cassy tried to calm her rabbit quick heart and stood up straight to make eye contact with the turtle, who was still far too close for comfort.  

“Your apology is accepted,” she said and forced herself to at least try to ignore how close the snapper was. “Do you require my assistance?” 

The red Hamato, Rapheal if she remembered correctly, shook his head. 

“Um, no not exactly. I was wondering if you would be willing to train with me?” 

“...I’m sorry?” Cassandra asked, confusion clearing her mind. 

“We just finished building the dojo, but my brothers are all tuckered out, so they don’t wanna come train with me.” He glared back down the tunnel in... annoyance? Cassy wasn’t sure, understanding others had never been her strong suite. 

“You... wish to train with me?” she asked, reluctance evident in her voice. Rapheal blinked and nodded. 

“Last time we fought you were able to throw me! Like a wrestler!” he said with an eggar, giddy look in his eyes that made the previous Foot Recruit lean back at the brightness. The red Hamato just kept talking excitedly.  

“The only other one who’s been able to throw me like that is Mikey! And he doesn’t like wrestling, he prefers fighting with his nunchucks. Which is stupid because-” 

“SILENCE!” Cassandra yelled, and then quickly slammed her hand over her mouth. 

Shit. She hadn’t meant to do that. She had just wanted to make him stop talking so she could think. 

She expected the larger turtle to get angry. All the higher ups in the Foot would have, hell, most of the other recruits would too. But the snapper just blinked in surprise, then his eyes widened, and took two steps back. His hands held up and his tail wrapped around his legs. 

“Raph’s so sorry!” He said, and Cassy distantly wondered why he constantly referred to himself in the third person. “My family doesn’t really have a lot of personal space, so we can forget about it sometimes. You don’t have to train with me if you don’t want to.” 

Cassandra cleared her throat and stood as tall as she could. 

“I would be honored to engage in combat with you again, Hamato Raphel. Please, lead the way.” 

Her new sparring partner shifted and blinked. 

“Just Raph is fine. Are you sure?” 

“I am.” She wasn’t lying. Fighting the Hamatos’ was always incredible. And Rapheal- Raph –always threw himself into his battles so completely, something she understood very well. 

Raph smiled and headed towards the dojo, with Cassy following behind. 

- 

Sparing with Rapheal was the best training Cassy ever had.  

The turtle was so strong that every hit felt like a wrecking ball, and the stances he made felt unbreakable.  

It was like fighting against a hurricane or a tidal wave. It would have been terrifying, if Cassy hadn’t happily returned everything the Hamato gave in kind. Raph was impossibly strong, and every blow she was able to land made her feel just as powerful. 

Weapons had been prohibited for today, so they often just ended up tackling each other and ending up grappling on the ground. Raph’s weight may have helped him here, but he wasn’t as flexible as her. They were evenly matched, and that just made Cassy fight harder to gain the upper hand. 

She had the snapper in a choke hold when she felt him tap out on her arm. She released her hold and fell to the floor, gasping for air. The turtle groaned and rolled over. 

“Water break,” he huffed out, and she nodded.  

Rapheal- Raph, be respectful. She reminded herself. -walked over to a beat up old minifridge in the corner and pulled out two bottles, offering one out. Cassy rolled to her feet and took the water. She leaned against the wall and slid to the floor; her sparring partner doing the same.  

“You have got to show me how to do that throw you used,” the red Hamato said.  

“I will happily help you learn any move I know,” she responded. “But I must request you do the same, your form is much more advanced than mine.”  

The turtle chuckled. 

“Uh, sure.” Both drank heavily and relaxed against the wall. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you always talk like that? You’re so formal.” 

Cassy tensed. 

“...I could ask you the same. Your habit of referring to yourself with your name is not common either.” 

“Yeah, fair,” the eldest Hamato admitted. There was a moment of long silence, where Rapheal shifted uncomfortably. 

“I was never very good with names.” Cassy looked up at the snapper, who wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I was never good with words in general. It just didn’t make sense in my brain. Why attach sounds to things? I did use them, but it felt real dumb to kid me.”

There was a soft smile on the turtle's face, as he spoke. Seeing it was like feeling a warm fire across a long room. Warm, but distant.  

But then the smile fell away, and the flames burned out.

“But then Donnie wouldn’t talk at all. He didn’t say a word until he was 4. And little me got scared and wondered if he just didn’t know any words, and so I tried to help him.

“I started narrating what I was doing out loud. Like: ‘Raph is building a tower out of blocks’ or ‘Raph is upset that he has to clean up.’”

The snapper let out a low chuckle.

“It was stupid. But it kinda worked. The first thing he said to me was that I talked too much. I was just so relieved that I actually tackled him. But, yeah, I just never got out of the habit of using my name like that. Plus, I think it adds to my charms.”

Cassy sat in stillness for a long time, then she looked down and pulled her knees up.  

“I had hoped that using more formal language would get my superiors in the Foot to respect me.” Cassadra admitted. 

Rapheal whipped to look at her. “

“Oh, dammit! I didn’t mean to bring up- I’m-” 

“If you apologize again, I will beat you to a pulp!” She said and glared, and his mouth clicked shut 

“...you don’t have to tell me more if you don’t want to.” He said after a minute.  

“No. I want to.” 

She did, surprisingly. Just that one sentence felt like coming up for air after drowning. Maybe it was just because Raph had shared with her first, maybe it was because he was comfortable enough to train with her, maybe she was just at a breaking point. But Cassy wasn’t sure if she could stop now, even if she wanted to. 

“I... hadn’t realized how much the Foot Clan had changed me until Shredder was defeated.” Her schedule was completely empty without training and missions. All of her “friends” had gone off grid. Even her closet only had clothes in red and black.  

“I- I thought they cared about me. They said they did. Or at least they used to.” 

“I’m sure they cared about you!” Raph said, aghast. “They were your clan!” 

“NO, THEY WEREN’T!” 

Cassy shot to her feet, the crackling anger of betrayal and the hot shame of being fooled finally breaking through.  

“'A Clan will protect and care for every part of itself. It will share its failures and victories. No Clan Member may have any doubt that they are loved.’”  

The words she had learned from the Foot’s scrolls flowed out of her without resistance. How many long nights had she spent reading and memorizing every ancient text the clan had saved? She learned every ritual, knew every rite of passage. Yet, she never seemed to earn those rites or rituals. Always falling short.  

“I used to train for days without rest! I trained until I couldn’t stand anymore!” 

She had pushed past her limits over and over again. She had practiced katas until she passed out from exhaustion. She had fought until she could take down even her instructors. But it hadn’t been enough. 

“I did everything they asked of me! I obeyed every request, no matter how useless! And never said anything! ANYTHING!” 

Cassandra Jones had loved the Foot Clan. She had given up almost everything for them. She had almost killed for them. She would have died for them.  

She loved them. 

“But they NEVER loved me!” 

A silence fell over the room. Cassy met Rapheal’s shocked eyes. They looked up at her with barely held back tears, and she felt her own grow misty with pain.  

“...fuck, they never loved me, did they?” She said, voice quiet and breaking.  

They had pretended to. They always told her that they cared about her, accepted her, and would always support her. They had said that they were her family.  

And that family had been something that Cassy had always wanted, always needed, and so she had fallen for the lie. Hook, line, and sinker. 

“I’m sorry,” the snapper said, voice cracking too. “Can I hug you?” 

Cassy hesitated, just for a moment. But all of her words had withered away, and it had been a long time since she had a hug. She thinks that she might need one. 

It was a very good hug. A long one too. But it was so warm and soft, and Raph’s arms held her in a way that was nothing like sparring.  

She wondered how someone could be so strong and so soft at the same time? 

But Cassy did pull back eventually, her face red from anger and embarrassment. She cleared her throat. 

“Apologizes. I lost control there.”  

The turtle just smiled at her. 

“Don’t worry. I’m glad I was able to help.”  

The turtle paused then sighed. 

“Listen,” he said. “Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but I’m pretty sure Pops is about halfway to adopting you. But I don’t know if it’s the best idea right now, and you probably need some time, so I’ll make sure that he doesn’t bother you with that.” 

Raph looked at her, open and honest, and Cassy wondered if his kind stare could possibly kill her. 

“But please know, if you’re ever ready to join another clan, you will always be welcome with us.” 

Cassy felt a small and half dead hope pulse in her chest. 

“I will remember that.”

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Thank you to my beta reader: @biconic-disaster25 Go read her writing, it's Great!

[creativitytheemotion]

Inside Out reImagined - Read Me

Many of you browsing the tags I use are probably fans of Inside Out (2015). Some of you might even think that Inside Out is peak cinema.

I most likely do not share your views, and for that reason, I ask you to keep an open mind as you proceed.

If worst comes to worst, you can always just back away, add me to the AO3 Saviour list and forget I ever existed.

Okay?

Now, then, let's begin.

Also, CW: abuse, depression, possibly unwarranted hatred towards a children's movie

Backstory

Inside Out reImagined is an AU that came to me in 2019, as I was in a prolonged personal low. It was a time during which I was abused, gaslit and constantly told to reconsider my tastes in basically everything. I have since cut off all ties with the abuser, to the point where I can't even tell you his current social media, but experiences of the abuse, both in thoughts at the time and thoughts today, have come to shape the AU.

Largely, the AU is "about" the same things that the movie is about: funny emotion people controlling a girl's mind. However, as myself and the abuser were both constantly in pursuit of a Higher Creative Standard™, we may have torn Inside Out to shreds.

The abuser, of course, had no interest in piecing back the shreds to a cohesive story, or pursuing fanfic in any meaningful way after he ended up making enemies with the entire The Incredibles fandom. I did, however, and all on my own, I created a brand new worldbuilding for Inside Out from the ground up.

By November 30, 2019, the draft of the fanfic was largely complete, and in the hands of a neurotypical without ongoing trauma, could very well have entered editing and been published in its entirety as early as 2020. However, the abuse ended up reflecting on me and I slowly burned bridges without realising that I burned bridges, leaving me even worse off than I was when I started.

Since then, I always kept reImagined tucked away safely in the back of my mind, even as I pursued other fanfic projects. However, the only real impetus to actually finish what I started came when Inside Out 2 came along, this year. Since then, I have attempted to keep a steady schedule, but have been affected by burnout.

Broadly

The first seven chapters that are currently up (FanFiction.Net, Archive of Our Own, Wattpad) should be self-explanatory enough with regards to the worldbuilding, as I've written them targeting people who aren't even fans of Inside Out. However, just to reiterate:

The mind, in the reImagined AU, is dominated by two distinct forces: Imagination and Consciousness. Imagination represents limitless potential, and therefore, can be used to perform any sort of imaginable feat. However, Consciousness is responsible for keeping certain mechanisms of the mind in check, and acts as a balance for Imagination.

Imagination is subdivided into five elements, which is where the familiar five emotions come from. Consciousness can also be subdivided into elements, but this shouldn't concern you if you're not writing about the mind of a traumatised person, which Riley is not in this universe.

By the way, about Riley: in this AU, she's moving to China. I just felt like the stakes weren't high enough in the movie.

From this foundation - Imagination and Consciousness in interplay - as well as research on actual neuroscience, as well as how I perceive the mind to be, I've constructed a whole new worldbuilding for an Inside Out-like story. However, as I've prioritised the worldbuilding, the plot had to adjust accordingly. It wouldn't exactly be fun if Joy could solve every problem she came across via use of her Imagination, now, would it?

More?

I could talk endlessly about how reImagined addresses every single flaw and plot hole that I believe Inside Out to have. That being said, I fully realise that if you don't see these flaws, then I'll just be yapping into the void. Instead, I'm going to quietly continue working on the fic, and if you're interested (in either hearing more or providing concrit on my text), you're always welcome to join the reImagined Discord: https://discord.gg/TnhzEmSMsP

[prsk-krow]



Hi! I love your work. As someone who has various circumstances as well, I love Kanade a lot and. I would like to request a (R) Kanade x Reader to fill my Kanade shaped hole in my feelings and my brain. Thank you!

{Kanade general headcanons!} [R]

.‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿.

)─── ･ ｡ﾟ*.☽ .* •ﾟ. ───(

Taking care of Kanade. This shouldn't be a surprise, especially if the relationship was planned, which it should be with Kanade. And with taking care of her I mean in more than one way!

Physically! Make sure she gets at least one walk around the block daily, accompanying her and making small talk to distract her from the tired feeling on her legs! Trust me, even this is far better than what she'd do normally...

Mentally! Check up on her every half an hour once she stuffs herself into her room, or simply stay with her inside! Chat with her to ensure that she isn't overworking, or stressing out over anything!

And emotionally! Keep her spirits up by complimenting her work, and ensuring that her will stays strong! This may be easy at first, but it does start to get tough once her father comes into the mix.

You'll accompany her with her visits to her father, and eventually he'll accept you to take care of his kid! After all, he can notice how different Kanade is alongside you, in a good way!

"You know, I was a little scared of introducing you to him, but... I remember now, how kind he always was to me when we were young... He praised me, took care of me, inspired me to be better while he knew that I was leaving him behind on talent..."

Sometimes she'll start to feel bad again, and miss her old life. It's up to you to ensure that these small periods of time don't end with her overworking or refusing to eat as she used to do before she met Nightcord!

Now, dates. Most of the time, you'll spend visiting her in her home, and just relaxing. The shut in likes to analyze music in various shows and movies, so your couch watching sessions will definitely be a unique experience!

She'll teach you all about the specific details of music that most people watching these films don't know about! Not just with music though, sound effects are in her area of expertise too! It's wild to see how much she knows.

However, you also need to take her outside from time to time, and not just on walks! Go buy her a drink, or maybe even eat at a nearby restaurant! Trust me, the experience will 100% inspire her once more. She can draw ideas out of practically anything.

Maybe you can even convince her to go out on a picnic at a nearby field! It may take a bit into the relationship to get to this point, but having her lay on the grass, while you both eat sandwiches is quite the special first time...

"To be completely honest with you, I... I never imagined myself doing this. I used to think that the outdoors life and I were incompatible, but... You've shown me just how nice it can be alongside the right people. That's right, I don't think this experience would've been this special without someone like you next to me. You have no idea how much I appreciate you..."

Outside of dates, you'll also learn to brush and wash her hair! Yeah, she may know how to do it, but it's so much more relaxing for her when you do it instead... It definitely helps a lot with her nerves and stress.

And also you'll be the first person she shows her demos to before showing them to Nightcord! At first you'll just compliment her, but as she teaches you about musical theory, you may even get the chance to make helpful constructive feedback!

She'll also enjoy you bringing extra clothes over to feel what other ways of dressing feel like! She definitely doesn't like fancy stuff, but it's definitely gonna be a massive success when you convince her to buy a hoodie, or a new jacket!

Overall, life with Kanade as your partner is sweet, and overall quite a calm experience. You definitely need to help her out with her own problems, and to take care of her lifestyle, but when she shows such kindness and love in return, it's clear how worth it it is.

[moonluringfrost]

3: Cathedrals 

This spotify ficlet is set in the A Viscous Curse universe. Canon-adjacent. Simon's point of view. Content warning for minor self harm? (it's simon) This one was requested by @bloodlessheirbyjacques. Hope you enjoy~

Life would be easier if your children could avoid getting lost, getting separated from you. In the smaller towns, having them scatter in all directions is fine, but in a city this large… 

You heave a heavy sigh, pulling your cloak tighter around you. They’ll  come looking for you eventually. Or the sound of commotion will lead you to them. 

You now have complete free reign to decide where you want to go in this city. 

Which is why you’re wandering aimlessly. Deciding what you want is difficult. 

You look around as you walk. The architecture is different from what you’re used to seeing, still. More angular, stark. Still, there’s an echo of another empire from long ago. Especially when you find yourself standing outside the Cathedral. It’s in the center of the city, one tradition still followed. 

It lacks the columns, but retains the stained glass. You see familiar faces there. Harvest, Change, Order… Of course Conquest has the largest panel, and much more iconography besides. They always did get on the good side of people like the ones that ordered this building’s construction. 

There’s someone unexpected amongst the pantheon. Not knowledge, of course. He’s been replaced by wisdom. But there she is, in all her angular cut glass glory: Guidance. 

You should make an offering. She deserves something from you. Anything. 

Putting gold into her offering bowl would be a sorry start, she deserves something more. 

The most personal thing you can give her is a piece of yourself. Her pound of flesh. 

You reach into your clothes to probe at the spot in your chest where your heart would be if you still had one. You scoop out some of your ‘flesh’ with your hand. It doesn’t hurt, not much of a sacrifice at all, but it will have to do for now. 

The hole you leave in your chest disappears within the minute. 

You shape the goo in your hands, carving a symbol into it before it can completely harden into amber. 

You can feel eyes on you as you set the newly made offering into the offering bowl, but when you look around, none of the occupants of the room are paying you any mind. 

You glance up at Mellora’s visage. Ah, yes.  She is watching you. What a shame. You were hoping this could remain anonymous. 

You blink your goodbye to the ‘goddess’ before turning away, heading back out onto the street without any further sentiment. 

It’s a little colder than you remember. And still no commotion that you can discern. 

The children must be up to something particularly mischievous, then. You’d best find them quickly, before they close off the chance of getting decent rest tonight.  

[im30letmedoomscroll]

Reflections on Special Interests

I diagnosed myself with an obsessive personality when I was but 10, having learned that not everybody has the capacity to love things in the intoxicating way I do. I began constructing structures to prevent the special interests from overtaking my life. I don't know if you've tried to construct a system to prevent your psyche from doing something that it loves, but this is a fraught endeavor. It is not for the faint of heart, or for those who value their peace. I had to create rules around things, if I loved it then I couldn't have too much of it. I grew up before we had internet devices in our hands, so I could just choose to not check out books or research things that I loved. Yet, slowly-slowly the cracks in my system would expose themselves. My passions are not passing whims, I love them even if I know very little about them, and I seem to gather my facts in breathless moments as well as calm periods. My special interests are an intoxication, the high that I get as I chase that little rabbit's tale down a hole (where will it stop? Nobody knows!) is incomparable. In college, I think I unmasked a little. All the things I love to obsess over center around my loneliness, my passion for community, and my passion for justice. Food justice, theology, utopian societies, the good bits of history, radical environmentalism. After college, I fell deeper into the theology hole, and then eventually meandered out as the crushing weight of the broken church overwhelmed me. It also healed me to wrestle with my evangelical roots and find that my God-shaped hole could be filled in ways that didn't suck the very bacteria out of the soil leaving in its wake barren colonized desecration. Within the confines of the Pandemic I fell deeper into my favorite rabbit holes, and all I could talk about was the eco-terror I felt from the endless hours researching. Something had to be done. So, I swore off my obsessions, stopped buying books, and deleted all of the social media platforms that might lead me to the things I loved. I spent too much time doing things I don't care about. A few days ago, a friend (whose Autistic) and I were chatting in that neurodivergent breath-of-fresh-air way. That oh-my-god-I-can-just-talk-and-not-worry-about-eye-contact way. I'm-not-too-much-for-you way. And we stumbled into my special interests, well around them and around them and around them. And then I had to take a break because then SHE BROUGHT UP ONE OF MY SPECIAL INTERESTS (food sovereignty) and WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT. And I couldn't handle myself. It has been TWO YEARS of strict systems to avoid talking about or reading about or thinking about this thing that I love SO MUCH. I went into an overjoyed meltdown and needed a full 30 minutes IN A BAR before I could pull myself back together. I apologized, a lot. And then she said that she thought it was cool that I was so passionate about the things I liked, and we bonded over getting overwhelmed by our love of something. A shocking, wonderful thing to hear that I will feast on for years. I have never thought the things I like least about myself are things that could be appreciated by anybody else.

[roofingspecialist]

What Does a Roof Plumber Do?

A roof plumber can help you to keep your home or business building in great shape and prevent any water leaks. He or she can install downpipes, water tanks, and flashing to protect your roof. In addition, a roof plumber can repair holes, cracks, and corroded spots in your flashing.

Preventing a leak

If you have a leaking roof, you need to get it fixed as soon as possible. Depending on the severity of the damage, it may require a professional roofer to get it repaired. However, there are a few things you can do on your own to prevent further damage.

First, make sure your gutters are in good condition. Clogged gutters can cause water to collect and back up under your shingles, causing leaks. To avoid this problem, clean your gutters at least once a year.

Next, you’ll want to inspect your attic. Check for signs of mold and other moisture damage. Also, take a look at the shingles to see if they have any damage. This will help you identify the source of your leak.

Repairing holes, cracks, and corroded spots in flashing

It’s a good idea to have your roof checked out on a regular basis. While you’re at it, take a look at the flashing. A loose or slack flashing system is a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, a professional roofing company like Straight Line Construction can do the heavy lifting for you.

One of the most important tasks is to identify and repair holes and cracks in your roof. If the damage is minor, you may be able to save the day by removing and replacing some of the flashing as opposed to repairing the entire roof. Fortunately, the process is easy as long as you have the proper tools.

For the best results, use a contractor that is trained in the proper etiquette. In a pinch, you can even do it yourself with a little research and the right supplies.

Installing downpipes, drains, water tanks, and flashing on residential and commercial roofs

The process of installing downpipes, drains, water tanks, and flashing on residential and commercial roofs requires a skilled roof plumber. These professionals will also perform maintenance and repair.

A roof with a drainage problem needs periodic cleaning and inspection. This includes removing debris, checking the speed at which the drainage system flows, and inspecting the drain screens. In leafy areas, a fall cleaning should be done to remove leaves and other objects from the roof.

If the roof is not drained quickly after a rainstorm, a backlog of water can develop. It can flood streams, homes, and other buildings. To prevent this, it is important to install backup drains.

Depending on the location, the building may require internal pipes to connect to the drainage system. Internal pipes decrease the room available for other building systems.

Understanding relevant occupational health and safety practices

Understanding the various occupational health and safety requirements relating to the task of installing roofs is no small feat. From hazard identification and mitigation, to the required attire for safe work, to the best methods to keep your employees happy, it can be a challenge to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. That’s where the ‘best practices’ come into play. Here are a few tips to keep your team from being the next yodel.

Keeping your eyes on the prize is a must, as is a bit of knowledge pertaining to hazard identification and mitigation. To ensure a smooth and safe operation, a well laid out plan of action is a must. This includes an effective method of identifying hazards, a plan for mitigating or remediating any injuries that might occur, and a formalized process to resolve employee complaints in an expedient and timely fashion.

Qualifications to work as a roof plumber

If you want to work as a roof plumber, you will need to have the right qualifications and experience to qualify for the job. The qualifications vary according to the state you live in and your personal skills. However, there are a few basic requirements that all roof plumbers must meet.

You must have at least three years of relevant work experience. Alternatively, you can apply for an apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is an introductory course that enables you to work under the supervision of a licensed plumbing practitioner.

There are many different types of apprenticeships available. One option is the TAFE Queensland roofing plumbing apprenticeship course. This course will teach you how to install underground pipes and other materials used for rainwater systems.

Other options are to attend a trade organization apprenticeship or an entry-level employee training program. These programs will allow you to get the necessary training, as long as you have the required experience.

[maggicktouched]

Verses;; Daniel Molloy;; In Another Life (book!verse)

Name: Daniel Adrian Molloy Physical Age: 32 Actual Age: 70 FC:  Hair Color: Blonde Eye Color: Violet Species: Vampire Creator: The Vampire Armand Sexuality: Pansexual Gender: Male, leaning more toward nonbinary the older he gets Pronouns: He/him, They/them, honestly you could call him an it and he wouldn’t care. Personality: Stubborn, obsessive, sarcastic, curious, nonviolent, observant, passionate Diagnoses: C-PTSD, Autism

History:

Daniel was born on February 15th, 1953 to Diana and Kenneth Molloy. His mother was a secretary at a school, and his father worked in construction. Both were highly religious, and what Daniel remembers most about his childhood is long boring church services. Church was about the only place they got along. His father was always distant, he almost never spoke, and his mother was perpetually unhappy. It was not a wholly unpleasant childhood, in fact it felt pretty normal in the late fifties and into the sixties.

When he was fifteen, he was caught kissing another boy from his school under the bleachers during a football game. His parents kicked him out. So did the school. He hitch hiked his way across the country to California to move in with his estranged aunt, who the family had disowned for a similar reason. She got him enrolled in a local school and Dan got his high school diploma, but he never quite fit in. He’d thought California would be different from rural Ohio, but somehow he never fit anywhere. Friends never quite stuck. He’d find out he’d been the butt of a joke far too late to stop it. He was withdrawn. Quiet like his father, and that terrified him.

He moved out at eighteen to pursue a career in journalism. He rented a shitty apartment in LA and did odd jobs to support himself until he got hired on by a paper.

When he was twenty-three he met a man named Louis de Pointe du Lac who claimed to be a vampire. He hadn’t thought about the supernatural since he was ten, but he needed a good story. And what a tale it was. One that shifted the axis of his entire world in a matter of hours. One that changed the entire course of his life. This wasn’t the supernatural of the painted god his mother had prayed to, it was real and tangible, and he was obsessed. He travels to New Orleans with what little money he has left in a desperate attempt to find Lestat. 

He finds Armand instead. Or rather, Armand finds him.

It’s terrifying. It’s thrilling. It’s intoxicating. It’s everything he’s ever wanted and it’s the monster under his bed all rolled into one. He runs for four long years of his life, tirelessly pursued by a monster with an angel’s face. Then one day the chase is done. Fear and frustration take on other shapes: love and addiction. He’d always been a heavy drinker, just like his mother, but this was something entirely different and wholly out of his control. But beyond it there is genuine love... and a deep exhaustion. 

The cohabitation is never easy. Not when they are slumming in the apartments of Armand’s victims or in the lavish halls of the night Island. He craves the attention, he longs for the blood, and yet he often feels crushed by it. He had never been especially close to anyone. His life had been spent lingering on the outskirts, and Armand couldn’t seem to get close enough to sate himself. It was strange, flattering, off-putting, intoxicating, and it was all heightened by each new wrinkle on his face and the looming threat of his own mortality.

When he can’t stand it anymore, he starts to run. No amount of drinking or smoking or sex or drugs can fill the gaping hole made by his leaving. Only Armand was big enough for that. 

He was on death’s door when Armand turned him, and the Queen of the Damned rose up and was defeated. He doesn’t know which one of them did the pulling away. Maybe Armand hated what he had become and shut him out of his heart. Maybe Daniel himself closed himself off. It happened too fast. One day he left, and he simply never went back, even when his breaking heart begged him to.

Left to his own devices he struggles with his own vampirism. He has no taste for killing. The world had already been too bright, too loud, too much for him to take most of the time as a mortal, but as a vampire it was so much worse. What should have been beauty was an endless torment. Until one day it was too much. He couldn’t stomach the real world. He became infatuated with creating his own worlds. Quiet, miniaturized cities that he loomed over and tended to like a loving god. Ideal places where things were as they should be---where he didn’t crave the life blood of everything he passed and where thoughts were close to him. As much as he could he lived in those worlds.

He’d been living under Marius’ roof for three months before he even properly realized it. His tolerance for the ancient vampire waned quickly, but he likely would have wasted away to nothingness or walked into the sunlight without him. They existed, for the most part, in silence. Marius would remind him to eat, Daniel would occasionally, in a fit of excitement and glee, usher Marius into the room to show him a new addition to his tiny towns, and then they’d return to pretending one another didn’t exist. Or, at least, that’s what Daniel did.

He stayed for two years, gradually coming to terms with his new life and learning to cope with its challenges. He mastered his more desperate, violent impulses and in doing so relieved himself of the guilt of killing. 

Now Daniel is a wanderer. He’s very interested in the other beings out there---things that aren’t vampires. He reads and researches and travels at his leisure. 

For the most part, for the first time in his life, he is content, and yet he is deeply lonely.

Canon Divergencies: Daniel never has a romantic relationship with Marius, Daniel has an actual backstory, Daniel is autistic, blood sharing is not the vampire version of sex (see this post for more information on how I feel about that and why), I generally play him after the events of the books and I’m not extremely familiar with any of the novels past TVA. I have a vague idea of what happens, however, and I’m willing to discuss plot points within them or engage with later characters.

[herinsectreflection]

Before a vampire is born, they are buried. One creature is put into the ground and another climbs back out of it. The old dies and a new lives, both a mirror of what came before and something completely new. They wear the face of the person that died, and their memories and personality shape who they become, but something at the core of their being has changed. Something in their brain has snapped and created a new creature.

When William dies, he is buried in the ground, and Spike climbs out. He is the same man, a fool driven by romance and devotion - but now twisted sideways. Where he was devoted before to his mother and to his crush in Cecily, those two people are now the same - Drusilla is his lover but also the woman who created him, who consistently refers to her sires and those she sires with familial terms. He was driven by gentle poetry before, and now revels in the art of violence and sex. He constructs a new style, a new accent, a new name. He is his old self, and something new.

When Spike is taken by the Initiative, he is buried underground. His brain is experimented on, and irrevocably changed. The person that climbs back out is Spike, but a Spike that will never be the same as they were before. They were driven by violence, and that has been taken from them. He is still his old self, but now is forced to become someone new. In Something Blue (again evoking the something old/something new idea), he desperately claws at the ground, trying to find a way to go back, like he's trying to climb back into his grave and be reborn again. But there is no going back - we cannot undo the things in life that shape us. This marks the turning point in Spike's arc, where his path is shifted onto the one we see going forward.

(Credit to toshsato)

This scene is kind of a light-hearted mirror to S6, with the roles inverted. In The Gift, Buffy is buried in the ground, and in Bargaining she climbs back out. She is the same person of course, but she is permanently changed by her experiences. In a way, a different Buffy climbs out of her grave, her trauma making her new, but completed shaped by the old. And she doesn't want it - the first thing she tries to do is recreate her jump from The Gift. To climb back into her grave and be her old self again. And in S6 (specifically Once More with Feeling and Dead Things), Spike is one of the people stopping her, pointing out that there is no going back. There's no point, there's "nothing there" - because life is just living, and you have to go on living.

By the end of the season, Spike realises that he must become a different person, to be reborn again. And so in Grave, he descends beneath the ground again, into the underground caves, and there, the Spike dies. The old, soulless Spike is gone, and a new ensouled Spike climbs back out - again, completed shaped by who they were before. They are the same person and also kind of not, old and new. Buffy too climbs out of a literal grave in this episode, and in doing so affirms her commitment to living, to experiencing life in all its forms, to show it to and share it with Dawn. The grave is not a static place of death, but a place of change and rebirth, where old identities can be shed and new ones can form, for better and for worse.

The Spike we see in Beneath You (another reference to the grave, being literally beneath), is a new man, with a new outfit, eager to leave his old self behind and insist that he's changed. But it doesn't work. Just because he is something new, that doesn't mean he's not also the old. It's not as easy as that. He has to reckon with what he has done and find a way to make amends. And so in Chosen, he again goes beneath the ground and dies.

When he is reborn on Angel, it is as a new man, quite literally on a mystical level. His death made him a "champion", and so when he comes back to life, the difference in his being is of massive, prophetic, cosmic importance. He is still the same Spike we saw in S7, and the same Spike we saw in S2, the same Spike that always bickered with Angel, and the same William that composed poetry in his spare time. But he is also so fundamentally different that even the fates themselves recognise it.

Spike's arc is one of constant death and rebirth. Of constant statis and total change. He returns beneath the earth again and again, going back to the grave, to the womb, to die and to be reborn over and over, shaping him every time, and every time there is no going back. Once the body has climbed out, a grave is just a hole in the dirt. There's "nothing there" anymore, and the only way is forward.

[inomios]

Eight types of love II Levi Ackerman

Summary: “There are eight types of love, and even though his life has been full of pain since the very beginning, he could say he experienced them all.”

Genre: Angst and Fluff

Word count: + 5k

Author note: This is the first thing I’ve ever published and I’m really nervous, so I would really appreciate if you reblogged, liked and commented. Also, English is not my first language, so I’m sorry for any mistakes. Constructive criticism is really appreciated.

                                                           . . . . 

1. AGAPE or Selfless love

           His mother would tell him everyday that she loved him with everything she had, even though it was not a lot. He asked his mother what love was, what meant loving someone. She couldn’t explain it with exact words, she would tell him that love meant caring deeply for someone, even more than for yourself. She loved him and he loved her, that much was true. He asked if he could love more than one person, his mom told him that yes, you could love many people in your life and in different ways. Then, he proceeded to ask if she had ever loved anyone else besides him, she was quiet, like she was thinking the right answer and after a few minutes she said that she had or at least she thought she did, but she had never loved someone as much as she loved him. Love was a confusing thing for him and the more he asked, the more unclear it got.

          The only thing he was sure of was that the only thing she loved was her mother. However, curious as he was, he would ask her questions about it all the time.

         ‘Is love the best thing in the world?’ 

        ‘Yes, Levi, it is the only thing that makes life worth it.’

        ‘Is love always good?’ 

       ‘Not always, sometimes it makes you sad.’

       ‘I don’t wanna be sad. I won’t love anyone else but you.’ 

      ‘You can’t choose who you love, sweetie.’

      ‘Love sucks.’ 

     ‘You will get it when you grow up.’

     ‘I’m already a grown-up.’

     He tried to get it, but he couldn’t. He prided himself of being smart, his mom would always tell him that he was really clever and witty for his age. Then, how come he wasn’t able to understand love. It was just a four-letter word: L-O-V-E, it couldn’t have such a deep meaning. ‘Door’ had also four letters and it wasn’t hard to understand and ‘Scandalous’, pretty much the biggest word for him, had ten letters and he knew what it meant, he could even use it in a phrase.

      His mom, noticing that he was about to collapse trying to figure out what has love, tried to come up with the best possible definition, one that would please his five-year old son.

    ‘Love is a selfless thing. Love means giving everything you have, to make the other person happy and content, even though you may not get back all you give. When you love someone, you only what the best for them. It can cause you pain too but loving someone and being loved back is one of the best things we can experience as humans. We may not have a lot, Levi, but we have each other and more important, we love one another and that makes us privileged.’

     He understood it then, kind of, so the questions stopped.

     However, when his mother’s body laid lifeless in bed, he regretted not making one last question: ‘if you died, do you think anyone would ever love me, mom?’

     Later, when he was under Kenny’s wing and after Kenny had left him at his own, he soon found an answer: no one would.

2. PHILIA or Affectionate love

           After his mother’s death, after Kenny, after everything, he thought that love was out of his reach, something he could never have again. Then Isabel and Farlan happened.

           Every single day since his mother died, he would ask himself if he would love again and if someone would love him back. However, at the same time, he wanted to know nothing about love, love brought pain and he had already suffered enough for a lifetime. He sometimes thought that he had an emptiness inside, a big hole where his heart should be, a room so big that no one could ever fill.

           After his mom came Kenny, but he was sure he did not love him, at least not like he had loved his mother, and he was sure as hell Kenny did not love him back. Love was supposed to be selfless and caring and Kenny was selfish and did not give a damn about him, he proved him that when he left him alone, again.

           Loneliness was a feeling he was already used to but being used to it didn’t mean he liked it. Then again, who would be dumb enough to love him? And he knew better than to love someone who would end up leaving him, like his mother did, like Kenny did.

           Well, maybe he did love Kenny, but loving him was painful. While loving his mother was sweet, freeing and it brought him solace and comfort; loving Kenny was toxic and tough, when he thought about it, it troubled him. He gave him a home and he taught him how to survive in the Underground, he didn’t know why, but he raised him, and Kenny never did something freely, he was sure something was missing there, but he didn’t know what. It was stupid of him to think that he cared about him, but a little white lie never hurt anyone. Loving Kenny, seeing him as the paternal figure he never had, filled him with turmoil and changed the way he perceived love.

           Love was weakness, it could bring you to your knees, he had learned that. It was pointless, why would you commit to something that would inevitably bring you sorrow? He wasn’t about to make the same mistake again, he knew better, the only person who would stay with him was himself and that wasn’t about to change.

           Then Isabel and Farlan walked into his life. Well, Farlan walked, Isabel stumbled.

           They became family. He knew better but he couldn’t help it. They were thick as thieves, literally. Suddenly, they became the family he yearned for since his mother died. He loved them with everything he had. Loving them was selfless as his mother said, he wanted the best for them, he wanted to see them happy, no matter the price. However, it was a different kind of love, it was pure affection. It wasn’t the adoration he had for his mother, nor the rage he felt for Kenny. It was tender and sweet, he never had a brother or a close friend to care about while growing up, but he thought it was supposed to feel like that, it had to be like that. It had to be another type of love. His mother told him that love was never the same, it had different shapes and, for him, at that moment love had Isabel and Farlan’s shape.

           Sadly, nothing good lasts forever, at least not for him. Love causes pain and brings you to your knees, he shouldn’t have forgotten that. When he saw Isabel’s head laying on the floor surrounded by a puddle of her own blood, mouth agape, eyes wide open and pale face, he fell to his knees. He saw a supercut of him, Isabel and Farlan, all the good times, all the laughs they shared and all the stories they still had to write but they would never be able to do because they weren’t there, not anymore, they were gone like his mother, like Kenny. He was alone again.

           Love always brought him to his knees and he would never forget it again. He wasn’t made for love; the same way love wasn’t made for him.

3. LUDUS or Playful love

           Meeting you happened out of pure coincidence, being in the right place at the wrong time.

           He had come from a long mission and he was completely and utterly fine, seriously, but Hange loved to make a big deal out of everything. Well, maybe he had an injury, but a minor one, nothing that he couldn’t take care of himself. He spent years in the Underground, he didn’t need a doctor, he could stitch himself up and place his bones back in place. However, Hange didn’t think the same and was nagging him about getting his injuries checked, so there he was, in one of the infirmary’s bed, waiting for the head doctor.

           It wasn’t that he was scared of doctors or “hospitals”, he just didn’t like the idea of some stranger touching him or feeling hopeless and powerless, he didn’t like feeling like he needed help or advice, he could do it pretty much on his own. But Hange didn’t really trust his medical abilities and he knew that arguing with her was pointless.

           ‘Doctor Brunner couldn’t come since he is busy with some paperwork, so he sent me. I’m his trainee y/n y/ln.’ 

           ‘I’m not letting some failed attempt of medic treat my wounds.’

           It wasn’t what people would call a ‘meet cute’ moment, it was more like a ‘meet jerk’. He wasn’t the best dealing with people, nor that he wanted to be, he preferred it that way. If you had been any other person, you wouldn’t have bitten back, but you had a sharp tongue and weren’t scared of him. That was probably what drew him in, he was so used to people recoiling in fear when they saw him that having someone that actually fought back was quite alluring.

           ‘Well, this failed attempt of a doctor knows more than you ever will, so act your age, stop being a bitch and let me tend your injuries.’

           ‘You have some nerve talking to me like that.’ 

           ‘You have some nerve coming to my workplace to insult me.’

           During that first encounter none of you said much to each other. He wasn’t fond on talking and you didn’t like his attitude, so you didn’t try to strike a conversation. He had to admit that you were good at you job, you tended him with care and you knew what you were doing, not that he would tell you, at least not yet.

           ‘Well, not so bad for a failed attempt of a doctor.’

           It was the closest thing to a compliment he could say, and it looked like you knew, because he swears that he saw you smile a little.

           ‘Aren’t you a pleasure to work with? The injury in your arm was pretty nasty and poorly treated, so luckily for you, you will have to drop by more times to check on you. These are my hours, if you want this failed attempt of a doctor to treat you, Captain. I could get used to see your friendly face now and then.’

           He didn’t know if the last part was supposed to be interpreted as flirting, but he did come back to visit you, to keep an eye of his injury, obviously. However, if you asked Hange, she would say that you had caught his eye, he still says that at that point in your relationship you annoyed him too much to find himself interested in you.

           His weekly visits turned into daily visits, so much for not liking you.

           ‘I’m starting to think I’ve managed to catch your attention, Captain.’ 

          ‘Tch, you’re just less annoying than the rest of the brats.’ 

          ‘Oh Captain, you really know how to make me blush.’

           He lied. You did catch his attention and you both knew it. It wasn’t love, not at all, it was a gentle curiosity that grew a little bit every day, like a flower blossoming.

           ‘Tch, you only know to say shit with that mouth of yours.’ 

           ‘This mouth of mine knows to do a lot of things, want me show you, Captain?’

           ‘When you return from the expedition, you have to come to the infirmary to see your wounds and stop playing the hero, it’s bullshit.’ 

            ‘I’m starting to think you may have an obsession for doing check-ups on me, brat.’ 

           ‘You caught me, I only do them because I can’t keep my hands of you, Captain.’

         ‘Why do you always call me Captain? It’s annoying, I’m not your superior.’

        ‘I know, but I like teasing you with it, Captain.’

        He cared for you more than he cared for other people in his life, he liked being with you, maybe that was another type of love. Loving his mother was selfless; loving Isabel and Farlan was affectionate; loving you, or whatever the hell he was felling, was playful, flirty and it filled him with joy.

       Maybe it wasn’t love, but it was getting there.

4. MANIA or Obsessive love

           Your relationship was frustrating everybody, absolutely every single person that knew about you two, everybody knew you had feelings for each other but none of you did something about it, you just kept tiptoeing around each other. It was painful to see. They didn’t know if you were oblivious, stupid, scared or if you were just messing with them, Hange believed the latter one because there was no way you two weren’t together already. The banter, the flirty remarks, the way he looked out for you and the way you took care of him.

           ‘What’s going on with you and y/n, Shorty?’ 

           ‘You tell me, Four-eyes’

           ‘Tell me the truth, y/n. Are you and Levi dating and just keeping it as a secret? Because I’m losing my mind.’ 

           ‘We aren’t dating, Hange.’

           To be honest, Levi was losing his mind too. The playful game turned into something more serious, something more obsessive and he didn’t like it. He couldn’t stop thinking about you and what were you doing while he was busy with paperwork. On missions his mind wandered about your wellbeing and if you were fine. He couldn’t ignore the way his heartbeat became erratic whenever you were close to him or the way he would notice every single thing about you. He felt powerless, there was no way to stop it.

           He, who always had a plan and knew to do, was helpless under something he could have prevented, or at least something he think he could have avoided. Deep down he knew that he would have fallen for you one way or another, some things are bound to happen, and love is one of them, but he didn’t want to admit that something as mundane as love could outpower him in his own life.

           He was aware of how you felt about him, you weren’t scared to be vocal about it and it drove him mad, and by the way his stoic eyes would gleam and glisten while looking at you, you were certain it was mutual. He knew that if he said the word or gave you signal, you’d be his and he’d be yours, but he couldn’t give you what you wanted, and it was a matter of time before you got tired of him. You were young and beautiful, one the most outstanding creatures he had ever seen, you could do better than him and you’d realize soon enough. Life was too short to waste it on him.

           ‘What are you waiting for, Levi? Do something about it because it’s getting painful to watch.’ 

           ‘Get off my fucking case, Four-eyes.’

           Everyone was waiting for him to do something, but he couldn’t. In those moments he remembered the question he wasn’t able to ask his mother: ‘if you died, do you think anyone would ever love me, mom?’ His mother loved him, and she died, just like Isabel and Farlan, he couldn’t love you, because he’ll end up losing you, the same way he lost everyone else.

           He was loveless.

           But you weren’t, and you found someone to do what he couldn’t do, someone to love you like you deserved.

           He didn’t know a lot about them. You looked happier and that was all he cared about. He thought that seeing you with another person would calm his heart and his desires, but they only got worse, there was no way of forgetting about you. You were everywhere.

           ‘C’mon Levi, do something.’ 

          ‘Didn’t I tell you to drop it, Hange?’

           His visits stopped but you kept waiting for him, hoping he would come to his senses. You didn’t get it, you really didn’t. He had the opportunity, he could have taken the chance to be with you, but he didn’t, so you moved on, or tried to, you didn’t love your partner, but you could see yourself falling in love with them. However, you still missed Levi, not as a potential lover, but as a friend. The way he erased you from his life as you were nothing broke your heart. What did he want from you?

           He wanted everything. He wanted all of you and yet he couldn’t do anything about it. He was just frozen in time while you kept moving. He met your partner, they came to visit you once, they were gentle and loving, they looked at you like you were the brightest star in the firmament. They held your hand and kissed your lips. They did all the things he wanted to do. He was jealous, but he didn’t have the right to say something, he had never had the right.

           The way he looked at you made you feel guilty, like you were betraying him, and you were so confused and annoyed and angry and mad, and you really wanted to punch him in the face. So, you went to his room that night and stormed in.

           ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ 

           ‘I should be asking that, I’m not the one barging in someone else’s room with no previous invitation.’

           He had never seen you like that, so mad and full of rage and it was all directed to him and he knew it was his fault.

           ‘What do you want of me, Levi?’

           He wanted everything.

           He wanted you.

           ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Could you please stop making me lose my time?’

           He saw it in your face, that was the last straw.

           ‘You’re selfish, an asshole, a prick and a lot of other things. But above it all, you’re a fucking coward, so much for Humanity’s Strongest. For fucks sake, Levi, I loved you, I still do, but I can’t keep waiting for someone who is too scared to do something about it. I want you and you want me too. What’s stopping you?’

           He remembered again, the question he never had the chance to ask: ‘if you died, do you think anyone would ever love me, mom?’

           You loved him and you weren’t scared of it. But he was, and you were about to leave the room. You turned your back on him and it was now or never. He had to choose: would he let you walk away definitely of his life or would he do something?

           For once, he didn’t think, he didn’t listen to his head, he listened to his heart. For so long he made himself believe that he didn’t have a heart, but his heart was right there, beating for you.

           He kissed you and you kissed him back.

           ‘Mine.’ 

          ‘Yours.’

5. EROS or Passionate love

           You both were private people, you didn’t want people talking about your relationship during its first stages, what you had was precious and new and you wanted to protect it from the world a little longer. That’s why no one really knew about the whole ordeal, well, they knew that something had shifted because you could be in the same room without making everyone uncomfortable with your unsolved issues, but they couldn’t pinpoint what had exactly changed, they just guessed that you sorted everything out, finally.

           However, Hange did know what changed. She prided herself on knowing Levi, after many years working with him she had learned that Levi only talked through his body language, so she started paying attention to what his body said instead of listening to the words he spewed. Therefore, when she asked him if he was dating you and he said a short no, he knew he was lying. She noticed how he seemed more at ease, how you had broken up with your partner, the way he would gravitate towards you and that when he looked at you, his eyes weren’t filled with longing and remorse, they were shinier and less cold than usual. So, she obviously knew that something was up, but she kept quiet. She may talk way too much, and people could find her annoying, but at the end of the day she was a good friend, and she would respect that neither of you wanted to make things public.

           Keeping things private was harder than he originally thought, he was distant and cold to everyone, but he couldn’t be cold and distant with you when you made him burn inside and he could only think about holding you close. It was weird for him, he had spent so many years deprived of touch that he couldn’t imagine himself getting addicted to it, but he was wrong, so wrong.

           You knew that Levi was touch starved, you didn’t need to be a genius to notice. When you picked up his body language and started hearing about his childhood, everything came together: his mother died when he was very young, the most paternal figure he had was toxic and abusive to him and since Isabel and Farlan he didn’t let anyone in easily. Levi wasn’t used to someone doting him and you knew that if you started showering him with affection, it would probably scare him off a little, and that was the last thing you wanted. So, you started slowly: holding hands, gentle caresses, kisses in his cheek, hugs, light pecks on the lips and when you saw that he started getting more comfortable, things started scaling on their own, you let him mark the pace. It wasn’t a quick process, but it was worth it.

           After a few months, Levi couldn’t keep his hands of you and he surely didn’t want you to keep your hands off him. This was a new kind of love, at first, on the early stages of your relationship it was playful, but then it evolved into something more passionate: quick pecks turned into open mouthed kisses; holding hands innocently turned into holding you close while you came undone under him again and again; kisses now went lower and lower, exploring new parts of you that he hadn’t seen and that no one else would. He didn’t think that touch could mean so much to him, but it did now, and he knew that couldn’t ever go back to a touchless life where you wouldn’t be there to love him.

6. PHILAUTIA or Self-love

          He wasn’t neither deaf, blind or stupid. He could hear what people had to say about your relationship, how you deserved better than him; he could see his reflection on the mirror and how he wasn’t beautiful, at least not as much as you, he wasn’t the male that would make people swoon and he knew that you could have any man or female you wanted, but you chose him, out of every other person, you decided to be with him. He was a lucky bastard and you didn’t make good decisions, what a match.

           You would look at him like he held the stars in the sky, and you would touch him like he was about to disappear in any moment, as if he were a dream you were afraid to wake up from. He didn’t get why him, he wasn’t the most handsome, nor the nicest, nor the easiest to love, and you still decided to keep him around. He liked to think that he was smart or cleverer than the average, and yet he couldn’t grasp his head around that the fact you loved him and just him, and that was it, it was as simple as that.

           Whenever you heard the things people said about your partner, you went feral, because you knew all those comments fueled the self-hate Levi had. Being loveless for so long it obviously affected the perception he had of himself and you wanted to change that, because he deserved it, he deserved all the happiness in this dull world. He liked to play strong, but you saw through him, and even though he never acted upon them, it hurt him. You wished he could see himself through you eyes, because it caused you pain the mere idea of him thinking less of himself, that he wasn’t worthy of your love.

           You would tell him every day how much you loved him, as if you were reciting a prayer to your own god.

           ‘I love you.’

           ‘You’re beautiful.’

           ‘I could stare at you for the rest of my life.’

           ‘I don’t know what I would do without you.’

           You would tell him that he needed to love himself, see the good inside of him, he guessed that that was one the types of love he had yet to discover: self-love. He didn’t see himself capable of loving himself nearly the half of how much you loved him.

           ‘You know one reason why you should love yourself, because you make me the happiest I’ve ever been.’

              He didn’t love himself, not yet, but if he was able to make you smile like that, he couldn’t be that unworthy of you.

7. STORGE or Familiar love

              He had been avoiding love for as long as he could remember, and then you burst into his life with the force of a typhoon. Love had found him, and he couldn’t get away, you never can, it was a lesson that he had finally accepted.

             For so long he saw love as something unnecessary, a burden for the soul. Love ruins you, it stabs you on the back, whenever he let his walls down, love would always take advantage of it and destroy him, bringing him closer to insanity, he had lost himself too many times by loving people and when he met you, he did not want the cycle to repeat itself. He didn’t want more Kuchels, Kennys, Isabels and Farlans, love was merciless, and he wasn’t interested in it, at least that was what he told to himself every day, that he was better off alone. Was all the pain worth it? He thought love came with a high price and he couldn’t afford it. However, things change, life happens, destiny has always something in the store, well, in his case he had someone.

           You were his everything, the beacon that brought light in his life, for so long he had been lost, walking amongst shadows, nearly becoming one, and when you appeared you changed the rules of the game, of his game. Every wall he had built around himself came down and you filled every gap his heart was missing. It was the scariest thing he had ever done, letting you in, letting someone in, giving someone else the control of his own heart. You knew the power you held between your hands and you never abused it. You were his solace in this mad world, the oasis in the middle of the desert.

         Loving him was not easy, he knew it, he was rude, sharp, too closed off, mean, he was what people liked to call a ‘fucking jerk’ and yet you never gave up on him, on what you had. Instead of leaving when you had the chance, you stayed through thick and thin: through sleepless nights, through his bad moods and grumpiness, through his biting remarks… .You didn’t ran way, you were too stubborn for that, instead you taught him more forms of love.

         You were all of the ones he knew and more.

         You were selfless, giving him every part of you and loving him with everything you had to offer.

         You were his best friend, his companion, the better half of him.

         You were playful, joyous, probably the only thing that could make him smile and bring him happiness.

         You were consuming, like a fire burning inside of him.

         You were passionate, intoxicating.

         You were every form of love he had ever experienced, but nothing could have ever prepared him for the kind of love he was experiencing in that moment: the familiar one. The one you feel when you hold your newborn in your trembling hands. It was something he couldn’t describe, there weren’t words for it, he tried to, but he failed every single time.

         This was the way his mom loved him, and then he knew how much he had meant for his own mother. While holding little Kuchel on his arms, he remembered all those days and nights on that dirty brothel, all the hours he spent by his mother’s side, how she would do everything to give him the best life and he soon realized there was nothing in this world he wouldn’t do for his daughter. It wasn’t the best of times to have a child, but in that moment, in that precise instant, when Kuchel opened her grey eyes, he was sure of one thing: he would tear everything and everyone down only to see her smile.

        A knock on the door. Another one. Two minutes passed and then Hange, followed by Erwin, entered in the room.

       ‘Tch, Shitty-glasses, who gave you permission to come in?’ 

       ‘My authority as a god-mother.’

       ‘Don’t make me regret it.’

      ‘She’s beautiful, what’s her name?’ 

     ‘Her name is Kuchel.’

     Kuchel was his new world, he loved her so much that it was overwhelming, he would never love someone as much as he loved her, and no one would probably love with the same devotion Levi Ackerman loved his daughter.

    ‘You know, Kuchel, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I promise you that you will have the best life a man like me can give you. I may be a little cold, perhaps a little strict and you will probably get mad at me sometimes, but no matter what happens, I will love you through everything. And by the way, no dating until I’m dead because no brat will be good enough for you. You deserve the world Kuchel and I’ll give you everything it has to offer. Things may get hard, you aren’t born in the best circumstances, but I’ll protect you because you deserve the life I couldn’t live.’

     Kuchel’s first word was ‘dadda’.

     Kuchel’s first steps were pointed towards his father.

     Kuchel’s favorite pastime was being in his father’s arms.

     Kuchel could only sleep after his father had kissed her forehead.

     And Kuchel would never love someone as much as he loved his father, because she loved him as much as he loved her.

8. PRAGMA or Enduring love

           He was old and wrinkly, he was scarred, mutilated and there were days he couldn’t sleep because the nightmares were too real. But he was happy, he was married to the most beautiful and special person he had ever met, he had a loving daughter, a bunch of brats he was proud to call grandchildren and the tea shop he had always dreamed about.

           Life hadn’t been fair to him. He had lost so many people he cared about, he had fought a war and he had had the weight of the world on his shoulders. But, after all, after the tortures, the adversities, the deaths… He had people who loved and whom he loved.

          Love was worth it. He had finally learned that.

          At his seventies he found out about the last kind of love, the enduring, the one that lasts and survives in time. He loved his family above everything, and he would love them long after his bones turn into ashes and no one remembers his name.

         Then he recalled that question he never got to ask his mother: ‘if you died, do you think anyone would ever love me, mom?’

         He looked at the sky and smiled.

        ‘After all someone was fool enough to love me mom, who would have thought?’

         A gentle breeze caressed his skin and a single tear fell from his eye.

        ‘I guess that’s the way you have of answering the question.’

[harveybwabbit92]

they meet you again/getting to know you:

Zim: Miss Bitters had returned and Drena seemed to have disappeared from the class's memory, except for Zim he knew better, The Ove human was still here... he could smell her. It was recess, Zim had managed to avoid Dib who was busy helping Gaz with her late homework. 

The Irken made sure all the other children were preoccupied with their little playground games; He readjusted his wig letting his antenna loose, Zim whiffed the air his antenna waggled around quizzically trying to pinpoint the blonde's location before settling on a quiet shady bench just out of the way from everything and everyone.

 Zim put his wig back to it normal position and calmly walked over to the secluded area and sat down, to the naked-eye it looked like no was sitting there except for the weird green skinned kid and an empty space.

Zim's senses knew better however he knows she was there. "I knew there was something interesting about you." he stated tickled that his instincts were on point, the "empty" moved rippling like a heat mirage the Irken blinked and a familiar blonde was sitting next to him seemingly fading back into existence, eating bag of peanuts while looking at him with mild interest.

"I could say the same to you Martian boy."

"Irken actually."

"Well if we're being open, Artificial human."

"I thought humans frowned on that sort of thing?"

Drena snorted. "Only the ones they know about." she spat bitterly offering Zim some of her peanuts, the Irken grimaced. "I can't eat those, you got anything with sugar?" The blonde thought for a seconds before searching through her bag and finding one of those cheap valentine lollipops and handing it to Zim, the Irken cock a brow the candy's shape, but shrugged and unwrapped it. "So you can camouflaged?" he asked curious about your abilities.

"Yeah, I age slow and heal pretty fast too..." Drena mumbled nonchalantly popping a couple peanuts in her mouth, If the Irken wasn’t sucking on lollipop he'd be drooling right now. 

Unbeknownst to Zim; Dib was watching them the whole time he couldn't hear what they were saying, the big headed boy's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he tried figure just what horrible things Zim was planning to do to Drena.

========================================================================

The Tallest: To say the tallest were curious about Y/n was an understatement, they were absolutely fascinated by her, How someone so tall could be at the bottom of the "food-chain" as Zim put it, the earthbound Irken told them human social structure wasn't height based like theirs, it was all based more on success, looks, personality and wealth.

Tall or not Y/n was average at best, nothing special, she's as the humans tend to say is "just another a cog in the machine." Regardless; Red and Purple were hooked. they wanted to know more about her. The only con was they'd have go through Zim for that to happen, and it was pretty clear, Tallest or not Zim was very protective of Y/n, it was obvious they shared a sibling like bond; Zim would blow up the moon for her if she asked!

So Red got an Idea he had special SiR unit commissioned and sent to your residence they had gotten Gir to tell them your address in exchange for a box of crayons and gummy bears; which to the their disgust the Gir proceeded to eat as soon he got them, Cut to you sitting in your house (you live pretty far out from the city) when a large explosion shook it's foundation (that was the sound of the sound barrier breaking), you had thought Dib was back and had blown up your car! You grabbed a metal baseball bat and looked out the window... Nothing. 

Bullshit! You heard something! you put on your shoes and opened the front door only to be greeted by a cardboard box with the Irken Empire symbol stamped on it, your brow furrowed as you looked around the porch and surveyed your yard for damage and saw nothing, which confused you even more, looking back down at the box, you cautiously brought it inside and looked at the note on the box top.

[From: the Tallest To: Y/n L/n from EARTH .] 

Tallest..... those were Zim's leaders right? Why would they send you something? Curiously you opened the box and this dark more serious looking version of Gir emerged from the box, confusing you further as it saluted you. "Um... Hi?" you greeted. "Greetings Madam, prepare for incoming transmission from the Almighty Tallest!" Before you could answer the robot's head popped open and these seed looking things shot out! 

One went into the ceiling and planted itself onto your roof and extended outside and bloomed into a satellite, while the other imbedded itself into the wall across from you split apart 4 ways and formed into a large screen, it turned on and you were greeted by two obnoxiously tall Irkens, both almost identical in appearance save for red and purple eyes that matched their clothes, 

Both looked oddly excited to see you. "Oh! Y/n... uh can we call you that?" the red one asked you slowly nodded still trying to process what the hell was going on? "I see you got our gift!... do you like it?" he motioned towards the SiR unit, as purple one butted in. "We can trade it in for another model if you want!" he was shoved out of the way by his red eyed counterpart. "You said you let me handle it!" he hissed.

You blinked staring up at the hole in your ceiling; wondering what's it gonna cost to patch that up? before finding your voice. "He's um, cool?" you and were going to ask why had they sent you a robot? but Red and Purple at each other bemused then looked back at you. "Cool?....What is "cool"? is that good?" Purple asked curiously. "It means excellent?" You say hoping to calm them down, both seemed relieved to hear that as their body language seemed less tense and more relaxed, after a few seconds of awkward silence you finally spoke up. 

"So why send a stranger like me a robot?"

"Well a few weeks ago we caught a glimpse of you during a call from Zim, we couldn't help but notice you and your.... tallness."

"Few wee... oh! When I fell asleep and Boss thought I was a chair?"

"Yes... that's another thing we'd like to ask about."

Pretty much your early evening was occupied by an impromptu Q&A with a pair of alien leaders who still couldn't comprehend how someone as tall as you was working a simple low-wage security job, instead of being a big deal senator or military commander, You had told them what Zim had told them, about human society and it's construct. Fame, money and Vanity run the planet, and you have multiple leaders instead of one or two, but that's rabbit hole you rather not go down, You told them how you met Zim and the circumstances of your partnership.

They pointed out that it was Zim's fault that the big headed kid even thought you were an alien. which you acknowledged, but had counterpointed that Zim didn't kidnap you and blow up your motorhome just to prove he was right! "The little runt still hasn't apologized and pretends it never happened!" You huffed crossing your arms and leaning back in your chair. "So yeah, I joined Zim, he's actually pretty fun when you get to know him." Both Red and Purple brains kind of stalled hearing you talk about Zim in positive light, before that all to familiar beep from your alarm going off the cut the session short, you apologized but duty calls and you promise to continue your chat later.

The tallest snapped out of their stupor and bid you goodnight and hoped you have fun with your Sir unit, said robot proceed to disguise itself as a rabbit and would not leave your side and even went to work with you... you were thinking of naming him Ede, after that Eye-bot from Fallout New Vegas.

[avi17]

MK X Pacific Rim AU Concept

You ever get an AU idea in your head and go absolutely feral for a bit putting it all on paper?  Me neither, until now!  This isn’t so much a fic as just a detailed wiki-style outline, but hopefully it will still be fun to read!  I had a ton of fun figuring out how to translate all these concepts and backstories into the PR world. If anyone feels like doing anything with these ideas they’re absolutely welcome, just please credit me and link back to this post if you do!  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write this into some massive longfic, but I definitely hope to do some shorts in this ‘verse. I brainstormed this with a bunch of people, and got some fun ideas from @sxvethelastdance​, @bastardsunlight​, and @fallen-angel-lucifer- thank you guys so much for humoring all this!​

Pan Pacific Defense Corps Marshal Raiden was a legendary Mark 1 pilot dating back to when the program was first launched.  Based out of the Shatterdome in Tokyo, he and his brother Fujin, in their Jaeger Thunderbolt Gale, were the first line of defense from Kaiju attacks headed westward from the breach for five grueling years. However, they met their match in Motaro, the first Category 3 Kaiju to make landfall on Hokkaido, and when Fujin was torn from their Jaeger and killed, Raiden was forced to take down the creature solo- a feat replicated only twice since. The physical and emotional toll of that day led to his retirement from active combat, but he remained in the PPDC as a commander, as well as a mentor of other pilots.  When the Jaeger program was decommissioned, he was the last one to retain his faith in it, and took up leadership over the few remaining Jaegers at the Shatterdome in Hong Kong for one final stand against the Kaiju. Current Pilots:

Liu Kang and Kung Lao Jaeger: White Lotus Original base: Hong Kong

The home base heroes of the Hong Kong Shatterdome, pilots Liu Kang and Kung Lao are the top graduates and darlings of the Wu Shi Jaeger Academy.  Raised together in a martial arts sect before the first breach and drift compatible since their ranger training began, they are nearly inseparable- though Kung Lao has never quite forgotten how Liu Kang's scores just barely edged out his own in their individual skill assessments, and he strives constantly to prove himself his partner's equal (despite Liu Kang's insistence that such competition is unnecessary). Their Jaeger, White Lotus, is a well-rounded, powerful machine, featuring high-powered flamethrowers, as well as a system of fuel vents that allow it to set its fists alight and heat them to brutal temperatures in close-quarters battle. For ranged combat, it utilizes a circular blade mounted to its head, which can be thrown like a boomerang with enough force to slice through buildings. 

Kitana and Jade Jaeger: Edenia Glory Original Base: Lima

Interplanetary refugees, Kitana and Jade escaped to Earth after their homeworld was attacked and overrun by Kaiju invaders.  Their spacecraft crashed in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, and though they immediately searched for civilization in order to warn Earth’s people of what was to come, the first wave of attacks had already begun.  After making their way to Lima, they volunteered to put their combat skills and close bond to use as rangers in the South American Jaeger program. Together they have defended the coasts of Chile and Peru since the Mark-2 days, though between battles, they spend their time in communication with the PPDC and the U.N., sharing what information they can about the Kaiju and other alien life previously unknown on Earth. Their Jaeger, Edenia Glory incorporates technological elements from their original planet not used in any other Jaeger, and is lithe, fast, and deadly, with a style focused primarily on precision bladework rather than hand to hand brawling.  Its name is a tribute to their lost homeworld, and they use it to great effect to prevent Earth from suffering the same fate.

Sonya Blade and Jackson "Jax" Briggs (later Johnny Cage) Jaeger: Flawless Victory Original Base: Los Angeles

Both Lt. Sonya Blade and Maj. Jax Briggs had successful careers in the U.S military behind them when the first Kaiju came ashore and attacked San Francisco.  Though at the time, Sonya was in the field pursuing the criminal Kano, she returned to the states when her friend and superior officer, Jax, suggested that they might be good candidates for the newly-formed ranger program.  He proved to be right, and the two did time at the Shatterdomes in both Los Angeles and Anchorage, fighting off Kaiju from Canada to Mexico, and became well-admired figures within the military for their ascent.  Though far from unscathed, the ostentatiously-named Flawless Victory is the last American Jaeger left standing by the time the program is decommissioned and is a tank of a machine, sacrificing some speed for the greatest physical strength of any Jaeger still on the field. Like the other American Jaegers, for long range combat it favors plasma cannons and explosives- particularly a ring-shaped plasma blast with wider coverage than the usual single beam- but it is at its most effective when delivering a crushing beatdown up close and personal. Johnny Cage is the star of a popular series of action films dramatizing the battles of the Jaegers and Kaiju, and to many civilians at home, is as much the face of the Jaeger program as its real members.  He has a secret ambition to become an actual pilot and has an impressive record in simulations, but because of his celebrity status (and his personality), Marshal Raiden and the other Jaeger teams refuse to consider him as a true contender.  However, when a vicious fight with two Kaiju at once leaves both of Jax's arms shattered, taking him out of commission as a pilot for the foreseeable future, Sonya is forced to accept Johnny as her new co-pilot in order to keep Flawless Victory in the fray where it is needed. Despite her irritation with him, they turn out to be drift compatible, and become a formidable duo in their own right.

Hanzo Hasashi and Kuai Liang Jaeger: Phantom Vengeance Original Base: Nagasaki

From the Nagasaki Shatterdome, the bright yellow Mark-3 Jaeger Shirai Ryu defended the coast of the Yellow Sea across three countries.  Its building was overseen by its husband and wife pilots, Hanzo and Harumi Hasashi, and it was named for the legendary warrior clan from which Hanzo claimed descent.  It was in service for four years, though Hanzo and Harumi always spent as much time as possible between missions with their young son Satoshi, who lived with them in their quarters at the base so that his parents could still have a part in raising him in a world that would not guarantee a reunion for families who choose to separate. Across the sea based in Shanghai was an organization known as the Lin Kuei, a private military contractor funded by shadowy, unknown sources.  Though its bread and butter was anti-Kaiju weaponry, it also began to develop its own Jaegers- the only ones outside the PPDC, created from illicitly obtained blueprints, and hireable for the right price.  Its crown jewel was a small, stealthy machine called simply Sub-Zero, unique for its proficiency underwater and tendency to use coolant as a weapon rather than fire or explosives, and piloted by two brothers- Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. When the massive Kaiju Kintaro directly attacked the Nagasaki Shatterdome, Shirai Ryu was the only Jaeger left to defend it. Desperate, the Hasashis attempted to contact the Lin Kuei, as they were closer than the nearest other Shatterdome in Tokyo.  They received no response and were forced into battle alone, and though they prevailed, the price was too high- not only Harumi’s life when part of their cockpit was crushed, but Satoshi’s as well, buried in the wreckage of the base.  In his grief, Hanzo blamed the Lin Kuei- particularly Bi-Han, with whom he had never gotten along- for what he perceived as a failure to act due to greed and amorality. What Hanzo did not know that day was that they were experiencing the first double event in history, and Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei were under attack by the Kaiju Sheeva at the same time.  The Kaiju hivemind had figured out Sub-Zero’s usual strategy of attacking from the water, and were ready with an acidic bite that tore a hole in the cockpit, which rapidly flooded.  After a similar failure to make contact with Shirai Ryu, Bi-Han was swept out into the sea and presumably drowned (though his body was never recovered), but Kuai Liang, despite a bleeding face and water up to his neck, managed to kill the Kaiju mere moments before Sub-Zero ceased to function. After his release from medical, a furious Kuai Liang set off immediately for the remains of the Nagasaki Shatterdome to confront Hanzo for his failure to respond to the attack, since Shanghai was within Nagasaki's area of coverage. Both blinded by rage, they nearly got into a fistfight in the middle of the base, but once they realized what had truly happened, their anger cooled.  They bonded over their grief, and the unfathomable experience of having to pilot a Jaeger alone after such loss- and in the process, discovered they were drift compatible, and that they both wished to continue the fight in retaliation for what the Kaiju had done to their families. Their new Jaeger, Phantom Vengeance, is a strange sight- constructed from salvaged pieces of both Sub-Zero and Shirai Ryu (along with some newer tech to fill the gaps), it looks as much like a walking ghost as its pilots. However, it should not be underestimated based on its appearance. Quick and light (for a Jaeger), it features a retractable grappling hook to drag Kaiju into the range of its blasts of powerful coolant, and a devastating grip to snap them like twigs once frozen. 

Other Players:

After the destruction of Sub-Zero and the defection of Kuai Liang, the Lin Kuei concluded that the problem with the Jaeger program was the human element of drift compatibility, which limited the number of possible pilots and held them back due to concern for their partners in battle.  Therefore, in secret, they began a series of horrific experiments, fusing subjects with their Jaegers to operate more like batteries than true pilots, and erasing their memories through drugging and electric shock in order to create blank minds that could operate together without the complications of emotion.  Assassins Cyrax and Sektor, along with Kuai Liang’s close friend Tomas Vrbada, were among the subjects of this initiative, forced to operate a three-armed machine called Triborg.

Shang Tsung is a scientist, shunned from the academic community and at times running afoul of the law for his unethical- if not outright twisted- biological experiments. He and Marshal Raiden have crossed paths in the past, and though no one knows the details, their enmity towards each other is clear. However, in his desperation after the decommissioning of the Jaeger program, Raiden had Shang Tsung brought from prison to the Hong Kong Shatterdome, and gave him access to whatever parts he needed to find a way to destroy the Kaiju- by any means necessary. Shang Tsung agreed partly because of the money offered, but mostly because the world's destruction would throw quite the wrench into his own personal goals. (And maybe because it was deeply satisfying- and perhaps useful- to have the Marshal in his debt.) Where his allegiance will lie at the end of the day, however, is anyone's guess. 

For such experiments, one needs a steady supply of Kaiju parts, and for contraband like that, Raiden had to look even lower- to the crime syndicate the Black Dragon, led by Kano and including his associates, Kabal and Erron Black.  Though once mercenaries dealing in everything from illicit arms trading to assassination, the Black Dragon followed the money and and put all their resources into the trafficking of Kaiju parts.  With demand so high, they have become immensely powerful, but their involvement with the PPDC in the name of greater profits ends up bringing Kano face to face with his old nemesis, Sonya Blade- with predictably violent results.

Nightwolf was the historian of the Matoka tribe, which had long ago predicted a great cataclysm that would bring about the end of life on earth.  Though he had been skeptical that such legends were real, when that cataclysm came to pass in the form of the Kaiju invasion, Nightwolf was not content to merely await a prophesied destruction.  He left home and applied for the ranger program, but although he trained toward being a pilot and had the necessary combat skills, he never found a partner with whom he was drift compatible.  Rather than dwell on this with resentment, he pivoted his focus into other ways he could help, and found his place as a technician and LOCCENT officer.  Transferred to Hong Kong after the decommissioning of the Jaeger program, he was the rangers’ primary point of communication with the base while in battle.

Though most of the world fears the Kaiju, there are also those who worship them, and such admiration has evolved over the years into a full-blown religion.  The shadowy high priest of this cult is Quan Chi, who claims that the Kaiju have been sent by the God of Death himself- to end the days of humans on Earth as we so richly deserve.  Recently, a strange, hollow-eyed man calling himself Noob Saibot has appeared like a shadow at Quan Chi’s side, serving as his personal bodyguard against all threats and a fellow ardent believer in the inevitability of humanity’s destruction. Mileena is a grotesque fusion of Kaiju DNA with that of Kitana, which was stolen against her will when she was injured and bled during the invasion of Edenia. She enters Earth as a general of the Kaiju, connected to their hivemind, along with the first Category 5 to ever come through the breach, Goro.  Together, they intend to ensure the will of their creator and the ruler of the Anteverse- Shao Kahn- is carried out.

[tatttletale]

Roulette!AU | Steven Universe

AU: Basically, Rose is still Pink Diamond, but this time around, due to her life on Homeworld she's more skittish and soft-spoken, and because of her gentle treatment with her new Pearl, that's allowed her to become more confident, and in this AU Pearl is the leader of the rebellion and Rose is more in the role of "terrifying renegade Quartz". Garnet stays the same as a fusion, and so does Bismuth, but her love interest has changed on account of the personality changes.

Let's start at the beginning. The very beginning.

○○○

"I— I can't believe it," Pink Diamond murmured, voice soft, disbelieving. ". . . My own colony!"

        "Isn't it exciting?" Pearl agreed. "And it looks so beautiful! What should we name it?"

        Pink smiled at Pearl's boldness. If any other Pearl had suggested their owner's colony was just as much theirs, they would undoubtedly be reprimanded. It was safe to say, as well, that Pearl wasn't really hers anymore—she was her own Gem, and if anything, Pink found herself more Pearl's than the other way around.

        "What about. . . Earth?" she gave a soft laugh. "It feels good to finally say it. . . I've been saving that name for so long."

        "I love it," Pearl grinned.

        "Have you already organised the Lapis Lazuli schedules for us?"

        "Of course! The terraforming should only take a few weeks, and then we'll be making our own Gems!"

        "I can't wait," Pink sighed, wistfully.

○○○

Pearl sighed, reaching out to the control panel from her seat on Pink Diamond's lap.

        For now, the moon base was as close as they could get to their new colony, but it quickly grew dull. The Earth hung in front of them like a giant blue marble, teasing them through the communication room's full-wall window.

        "The Kindergarten was injected years ago! Shouldn't they be emerging by now?"

        Pearl squirmed a little on the restless Diamond's lap and placed a hand on the panel, electricity buzzing up through her arm and into her head. Graphs appeared before her eyes.

        "The terraforming is going as scheduled. Lapises are already terraforming the Beta Kindergarten in the northern-western hemisphere. Bismuths have constructed strategic warp panels across the Earth and Peridot technician stations are planned to be developed in the Kindergartens soon. The first—" With a gasp, she lit up, quite literally. "Pink, the first Quartz soldiers are scheduled to emerge soon!"

        "Finally, something exciting!" Pink agreed.

        In a rush, they bustled down to the viewing orb and Pearl turned it on. The walls lit up with a holographic vision of the Prime Kindergarten.

        Pink gasped, gazing around in awe, and Pearl threw an arm out, pointing. "Pink, look!"

        On the far rocky wall, what appeared to be a Gem-shaped hole was glowing pink. A beat later and a grinning Amethyst burst from the rock and landed on the floor. The gem set against her upper arm was clean-cut and pristine.

        Pink felt excitement flare up within her. "We're creating life from. . . nothing!"

        "Welcome to Earth!" Pearl cried to the hologram, and then her face fell as it walked right through her and into the arms of a pair of newly-emerged soldiers.

        Pearl sighed, face resigned. "I wish we could be there."

        Pink said nothing, dreading the inevitable.

        As she'd anticipated, Pearl's features suddenly lit up. "Wait— of course we can be there! We can warp into the Prime Kindergarten!"

        "Wh-What? Pearl, no—" Pink Diamond found herself cringing. "If we went down to the kindergarten—if we were caught—I would never hear the end of it from Yellow and Blue." She let her eyes drop. "Blue would throw me in the Tower."

        The room was silent for a moment, and then Pearl padded over and reached up, lifting her face a little. She could just reach her this way, as she was kneeling on the floor.

        "Pink. . ." Pearl's voice was soft. "You can't let them control you like this."

        Pink only shook her head. "I can't do anything about it—they're my family. If. . ." Her voice petered out. She didn't like the idea herself, but if it would make Pearl happy. . . "—If you want, you can go by yourself. I'll stay here and wait for you."

        "What? No!" Pearl sounded scandalised. "I'm not doing that! We'll both go, together."

        Pink tried to ignore the fluttering feeling her words brought about in her stomach. ". . . How?"

        "What if. . . you shapeshifted? To look like another Quartz?"

        Pink raised her head. "You think so. . .?"

        "Yes!" Suddenly, Pearl was completely onboard with the idea. Gem aglow, she projected a model of her Diamond into the air before them, saturated in a holographic blue. "If you shrink down in height, widen your build, grow out your hair. . . no one would know the difference!" The model complied, shrinking down into a soldier with tight ringlets.

        "I. . . I can try," Pink said, if only to appease her. She took a good look at the hologram and then closed her eyes, imagining the form in her mind's eye, withdrawing the excess of her light projection back into her gem.

        She heard Pearl gasp, and she opened her eyes.

        "You look amazing!" Pearl cried, and brushed a hand over her chest. She shivered. "You even remembered the Court symbol!"

        Pink smiled down at her in relief, and she could have sworn Pearl flushed before she stepped back and cleared her throat, shooting her a mischievous smile. "Are you ready to go?"

○○○

The Kindergarten warp pad chimed, shooting a beam of light into the sky. When the light cleared, it left a Pearl and a pink Quartz soldier standing together, gazing in awe around at the enormous canyon.

        "Pearl. . . look!" Pink-Diamond-as-Quartz leaned over the warp pad ledge, pointing at a band of marching Amethysts. Pearl's grin was luminous.

        "This is incredible!" Her wide eyes sparkled in excitement, and she grabbed ahold of Pink's hand. "Take us down there, quick!"

        Taking her under an arm, Pink-as-Quartz obligingly leaped from the warp pad and into the air. Even as they drifted down to the Kindergarten floor, chunks of rock burst from the walls as dozens of Amethysts emerged and jumped down.

        "Pink," Pearl breathed as they touched down. "This is. . ."

        "Out of my way!" a newly emerged Amethyst cried, and shoved them apart as she ran past. Pink-as-Quartz fell to the ground with a surprised ugh!.

        "Oh, dear!" Pearl cried, a small smile on her face, and padded over to help her up. "Are you alright?"

        "Of course," Pink returned, taking her hand. "But this is. . . so different."

        "Isn't it?" Pearl agreed with enthusiasm. "You're fitting right in! No one's saluting you now!"

        Pink-as-Quartz gasped lightly. "You're. . . You're right!"

        "This is so fun," her companion gushed. "Thank you so much for doing this for me. I couldn't have done this on my own!"

        The words warmed Pink, and she smiled before taking her hand. "What about those Amethysts?"

        "Yes!" Pearl cried, and hauled her over to the gathered soldiers nearby. When they pulled up in front of them, Pearl gave Pink a sly nudge.

        "Uh, hello. . . fellow Amethyst guards!" Pink-as-Quartz called. "What. . . are we all up to?"

        "There's two more from our unit that haven't emerged yet so we're gonna wait for 'em," one replied, eyes half-hidden beneath a neat fringe. At that moment, a section of the rock wall lit up and burst apart. The new Gem tumbled to the ground before them wth a groan. ". . . Here comes one of 'em!"

        Delighted, Pearl stepped forward. "Oh, my stars, look at you!"

        "Welcome to Earth!" Pink beamed from behind her.

        "That is the first and. . . nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," the Quartz smiled back, soft eyes flicking between them.

        "What's going on here?" Another light-haired Amethyst ran up to the group, hands on hips. "Our orders were to move out as soon as you emerged!"

        "But. . . 8XM hasn't emerged yet," a different Amethyst replied.

        "She can catch up with us later! Go! Go! Go!"

        Pink began to move after them, but was quickly stopped in her tracks by Pearl. "We can come back here later. Wouldn't you like to explore some of Earth's other features?"

        Pink-as-Quartz gasped. "Pearl! Yes, let's go!"

        They emerged unhurried from the Kindergarten, transitioning from barren dirt to lush green grass. A light chirping filled the air. "So. . . this. . . is Earth," Pink breathed.

        Vast green fields, carpeted with pink organics, and rising on the horizon, majestic purple landforms, framed by a clear blue sky.

        "Isn't it beautiful?" Pearl beamed, and took her by the hand. "We have to see it all."

○○○

The day sped by. They laid together on the grass and gazed at the clouds; they gathered flowers, throwing petals into the air where it fell as pink rain; they explored the mass of tall trees, glimpsed organics in the patches of dappled light; and at one point Pink-as-Quartz made a grab at a fluttery-looking organic, which escaped her fingers and instead flew around them in circles.

        They came across a flowing body of water, through which they watched slippery organics swim, and Pearl bent down to trail her fingers through the water. Then, across the banks, Pink noticed a set of figures. As she watched, the small one gathered water and walked back to the two taller shadows, disappearing again into the trees as Pearl stood up. She thought she could feel Pearl's elation falter.

        They made their way back to the Kindergarten in growing shadows. There was a rumbling somewhere nearby—it seemed to come from the grey sky. As soon as they crossed from green grass to brown Kindergarten dirt, Pink stopped.

        "We can't go through with this invasion," she said, voice soft.

        Pearl sighed, and took her hands into her own. "I know. I didn't realise that. . . that all this life, growing wild on Earth. . . that it's going to be destroyed."

        "We're not creating life from nothing," Pink murmured.

        Pearl's eyes mirrored her own sadness when she answered. "We're taking life, and leaving nothing behind."

        There was a flash from the sky, and water began to fall in droplets from the grey overhead, pattering onto the bare rock walls of the Kindergarten, washing the dirt away in a brown wet mess.

        A newly-realised Pearl and her Diamond stood, hand-in-hand, gazing out at the endless green, wondering how much longer it would last.

(Chapter 1/13)

Check out the rest of this story on: - Wattpad - FanFiction - Archive Of Our Own

[candycityy]

waltz

Synopsis: He'd chase her to hell itself, and beyond, if he had to. Greek mythology/PJO-inspired reincarnation AU.

[Click here to read on AO3 instead.]

The first time, Levi dies quietly, in his sleep.

He does not go out in fire and fury; it is a peaceful death, one he goes into with grey in his temples and sickness in his blood, unbecoming of humanity's strongest soldier. But Levi has never been a hero. Never wanted to.

He wakes to the gentle, rocking motion of a sailboat. It's dark, cavernous, but there is no ceiling as far as he can see, only steep walls of grey rock that stretch into the sky, lined with candle sconces that curve upwards and throw eerie blue light onto the dew-slicked surfaces.

He moves to sit up. His head spins, his consciousness threadbare and fragmented. When he glances over the edge of the boat, he sees a strange reflection in the black water.

It's him, but...different. Paler, younger, gaunter. The ghostly light casts shadows that pool in the hollows of his cheekbones and underneath his eyes, making him look almost skeletal.

Appropriate, he supposes, considering he's dead.

The figure that sits silently at the other end of the boat smiles, a flash of white, pointed teeth in a silhouetted face. "Levi Ackerman," it pronounces. Its voice is soft but grating, like its vocal cords are made of rusted iron instead of soft flesh. "I finally meet you. It's an honour."

"More than I can say for you." His voice is unnaturally loud, bouncing off the rock and echoing into the silence. "Am I supposed to know who the fuck you are?"

"I am Charon." It inclines its head, and Levi catches a flash of its eyes; they're the same strange blue-grey as the flames that light the cave. "You don't know me, but I know you. Oh, if I could count all the times I've heard that name on the lips of the newly-dead...as if you were a demon, or a god."

When Levi doesn't respond, Charon continues, its conversational tone clashing with the rasp of its voice. "But now that I see you here, as dead as any of your soldiers, I see you are no more than simply human."

The boat bumps roughly against the shore. In the distance, a city emerges, like magic, from the darkness. It glows with a warm light, delicate towers of glass rising up into the sky, which is already lightening into a soft, clear blue. As Levi watches, the grey rock of the shore metamorphoses into an endless, rolling green field, blades of grass shifting and swaying in a nonexistent breeze.  

"Your fare?" Charon extends a bloodless, expectant hand. Levi stares back uncertainly.

"What?"

"There is always a price to pay, to cross over into death." Charon's withered lips curve into a smirk. "Blood, or wealth, or sorrow...and in your case, that." It nods at his clenched fist.

He uncurls his fingers, revealing a tattered soldier's patch, torn from their uniform, embroidered with the emblem of blue and white wings he thought he'd never see again. It sits among a sea of red, crescent-shaped imprints, carved into pale flesh.

Before Levi can react, the ferryman reaches over and plucks it from his open palm. In its skeletal grasp, the patch shrinks and changes, turning into a single heavy, gold coin.

Charon stands up, its spine curving into a low, mocking bow.

"Welcome to Elysium, Levi Ackerman. I wish you a pleasant death."

==

Levi doesn't remember much about his death.

He'd died in bed, he thinks—he remembers the sharp, acrid scent of medicine and disinfectant, the way the illness crept into his bloodstream, making his bones brittle and his lungs constrict. But already, his time on earth is becoming a distant memory, colours and textures and emotions once cast in sharp detail softening into a sighing, distant grey.

Such is the spell of Elysium, he hazily guesses. The pain of life has no place in paradise, and his life has been so little apart from pain. Some memories remain, though, either unable or unwilling to be pried from his mind—a strange, lilting lullaby in a language he doesn't recognise. The crisp aroma of fresh tea leaves. Hair the colour of a sunset, a shifting mass of reds and golds. A name.

He struggles to remember, and fails.

The ground is soft, unresisting, under the crunch of his boots, and Levi isn't sure if it's been minutes or years when he finally steps onto dry sand. When he looks up, he's engulfed by the radiance of the golden city—Elysium.

"Welcome, hero." The woman that appears before him smiles. She is undeniably beautiful, and yet not quite right; there is something unnatural, inhuman, to the curve of her mouth and the brightness in her cerulean gaze. Her white dress drapes her every curve and flows to the ground, gossamer-like and almost liquid. A closer look reveals that it is constructed entirely of tiny white flower petals, stitched together with a silky, translucent thread—spiderwebs, he realises with an inward shudder.

"I am Persephone, queen of the Underworld, goddess of spring." She lifts a hand, and a sighing, heady breeze envelopes her, making her hair and dress ripple. "Levi Ackerman—I must admit, I expected you much sooner."

"Sorry to disappoint," he says flatly. "Although, you can't really blame me for trying my damned best to avoid, you know. Dying."

"Well, no matter." She lifts an elegant shoulder, in a guise of a shrug. "You're here now. I'm delighted to welcome you into my realm."

She spreads her arms in a dramatic gesture, and the otherworldly light coming off her intensifies to an almost blinding degree. He winces wordlessly. "Could you turn that goddess thing off?"

"Hmm." Persephone casts him a thoughtful look, and then smiles, catlike. "Maybe you'd prefer this, instead, then?"

As he watches, her statuesque form shrinks until the top of her head reaches just below his eye-level. Her elaborate crown of braids, as pale gold as a wheatfield, softens and falls to her collarbone, and darkens into a honeyed copper. Her features blur and bubble over, revealing amber eyes and a too-familiar smile.

The elusive name—he forgot, how could he forget?—is torn from his throat, a ragged whisper. "Petra."

The word is a hook, tugging to the surface a lifetime of memories, and all at once, he remembers.

The first time he'd seen her, she'd been participating in a titan drill. She'd swept through the air like quicksilver, tumbling past her comrades in a graceful choreography of movement, silvered blades like deadly extensions of her slender arms. But far more arresting was the look in her eyes: her amber irises set ablaze from within, bright with ferocity and triumph.

She'd been the first person in the Survey Corps who'd ever been kind to him; who'd looked him straight in the eye and spoke honestly, defiantly. Levi doesn't know exactly when, but she'd cut a hole into his chest with that warm, reticent smile. And for the first time since he was nine years old, he'd allowed himself to be weak.

An initially uneasy truce had grown into a comfortable companionship, and after months of push-and-pull, polite banter turned into shared moments in the corridors, and evening tea sessions turned into late nights spent in his office, fingers intertwined underneath the table.

And he remembers, with startling clarity, the day he'd been walking in a Sina marketplace and found that silver ring, set with a stone the exact colour of her eyes. He remembers how it'd seemed to burn a hole in his pocket after he bought it, day after day, week after week. Impatient. Demanding.  

It'd burned all the more when he'd found her that day, sprawled against the tree, her neck thrown back at a grotesque angle, empty eyes trained at the sky.

"So you do prefer this." The goddess who is not Petra smiles, cold and otherworldly, and the expression looks desperately wrong on her face. "How terribly unsurprising. Humans are all the same, in every age and time...I suppose even being humanity's strongest wouldn't change a thing."

"Is she here?" is all he manages to say. Persephone waves a slender white hand, carelessly.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," she drawls. "But we are not here to talk about your long-lost love, Levi Ackerman. We are here to talk about you, and that all the wildest desires that your fragile little soul can muster." Her lip curls. "You are in Elysium. What is your heart's desire, hero? What do you ask of paradise?"

"Isn't that your job, to figure that out?" he shoots back. She sighs.

"Well, yes, I suppose. I'd hoped you would be different, but you seem just as human as the rest." She pronounces the word in a manner similar to the ferryman, with a kind of amused scorn. "For most humans, it's either love and power—only two things satiate them."

Her ageless green eyes seem to pierce him like knives. "Which do you want, Levi Ackerman? What drives you?"

Kenny once said, everybody needs to be a slave to something. A god, a drug, something to be drunk on, to keep the air circulating through their lungs and to force them to wake up day after hellish day.

Levi doesn't agree. He'd lived years and years without anything, after all; a shell of a man driven by pure survival instinct, by the sheer virtue of a heart that refused to stop beating, all the way until it did.

But Petra had been different. She'd believed in the old stories, the ones in the countryside hymns she used to sing. Of a purpose, a meaning, something greater. Sometimes she'd close her eyes, her lips moving in a soundless prayer, and he'd close his eyes as well and wish with all his heart to believe, too.

He looks straight at the goddess. "Nothing," he replies, truthfully.

Persephone laughs, a too-perfect, bell-like sound, that is so utterly unlike Petra's that it sounds nearly obscene coming from her lips. "Oh, you are just delightful, hero. You're telling the truth, aren't you? That's adorable. And yet—this girl," she gestures down at herself, "I saw her at the top of your mind. Your biggest regret, isn't she, Levi Ackerman?"

He grits his teeth. "So what if she is?"

"She is not here, hero." Persephone smiles, her pale irises alight with an icy glee, and for a second, a wave of cold dread crashes over him—could she have ended up anywhere else? No, she was a soldier, brave to the end. She couldn't have.

"Not anymore. You're too late." An exhale of relief—she had made it here, after all. "Petra has chosen a different path, to be reborn again, and to try for the Isles of the Blessed."

"The what now?"

"It is a paradise above all," she explains airily. "To reach it, you must live and die thrice, and each time reach such heights of heroism or courage that so suffice to earn you entry into Elysium."

Levi exhales, a low hiss escaping his teeth. Of course she would have—she was always so restless, so fierce, a caged bird striving constantly for the sky. She could never stay in one place, never settle down into comfort and domesticity. Elysium would never have been enough for the girl with fire in her eyes and an unquenchable thirst for more.

"What will you do?" She surveys him with her cool, immortal gaze. It rankles him.

"I'm going, too." He straightens, fixes her with a a cold glare. Persephone cants her head to the side, her expression shifting to something akin to amusement.

"Then, will you give up Elysium to follow this girl?" She waves a hand, and the city's glow reaches almost blinding heights, forcing him to turn his gaze away.

"How much does she mean to you, hero? In this city wait so many who you know and love, who have yearned to see you. Your men, who gave up their lives for you. Your friends, who rode with you to their deaths. Your mother, your own flesh and blood.

"Petra Ral has the spirit of a warrior," she adds, almost conversationally. "Do you, Levi Ackerman? You, with your heart that has ever only wanted peace and comfort?” Her lips twist, mocking. “Or is your heroism a mere product of your circumstances? Do not expect to be blessed with Ackerman blood again, this time. And if you fail—you will never see any of your loved ones again."

Some paradise.

"Do I have to make this decision now? Don't suppose I could stop to sightsee first?" His words are gelid but his tone is raw—not that he'd fool the goddess either way, he supposes.

"Of course not. That wouldn't be any fun," she goes, with that chilling bell-like laugh that makes his hair stand on end. He hesitates.

He thinks of Isabel, that trusting, childlike gleam in her eyes. Furlan, arms folded, leaning against the doorframe with that knowing smirk ghosting over his lips. His mother, singing him lullabies in the dark of the brothel. Erwin, who he'd told, in no uncertain terms, to give up his dreams and die.

And Levi knows it isn't there—he'd slid it onto the finger of her corpse, all those years ago, and it'd be little more than tarnished metal against bleached white bone by now—but he feels the phantom heat of the ring in his pocket, scorching hot. No regrets.

He's never had a single regret, except for her.

Levi lifts his head, and meets the goddess's gaze, unfaltering. Decisive. "I'm going."

"If you wish. But know this, hero." Her voice seems to thunder through the city. "If you succeed, upon your third death you may enter the Isles and live a life of eternal bliss.

"But, if you fail to reach Elysium even a single time." Persephone's eyes gleam with a predatory eagerness, "you are doomed to spend eternity in whatever realm you are sentenced to. The light of paradise will be barred to you...forever."

Talk about dramatic.

"Get on with it, then," he almost spits. It figures, it really does, that even in death, he wouldn't get a second of fucking peace.

Persephone casts him a quelling look. He ignores it. With a roll of her eyes, she waves a hand, and immediately, the glow of the city begins to crumble away, even the sand beneath his feet, and he feels himself fall. An incredible wind rises, and he finds himself being shoved backwards, the fields and the cavern roaring in his ears.

"As a final gift to you, hero..." The goddess's teeth flash tauntingly in the fading light, like pearls set against ebony. "I grant you memory."

The last thing he sees is the glint of cruel delight in her eyes.

[sergiusreports]

Prompt #2: Aberrant

I suppose I could have murdered my way through the rank and file once I hacked my governor module. I didn’t because A) the threat assessment did not fall in my favor and was therefore, a stupid idea and B) I didn’t really care what these Spoken did to each other. 

The military units I had been attached to so far ran the gamut of ‘Let’s have the Sergius unit do everything because we don’t want to die’ (Spoken have a really big hangup about the potential of dying) to ‘We can go into that dark, Resistance filled bunker without the bothersome Sergius.’ And then they die. (That’s an exaggeration. My unit survival rate is five stars.) It just means I have to go in and save them from themselves. 

Anyway, these were the things I thought about as the unit rolled into what appeared to be another deserted village. They never are. The heavily armored transport rumbled to a halt and I waited in the cargo hold. Sergius units never ride up front. We’re equipment. Which was fine by me. The thought of all those eyes on me caused a momentary drop in performance. 

I listened as the rest of the unit disembarked. It was a small detachment. Not even a dozen soldiers. This area had been under heavy fire for the last few suns. Whoever remained now were too stubborn or too injured to leave. We were just the cleanup crew. 

“Alright listen up, the sooner we clear this out, the sooner we can call in for a base camp setup. You three, do a sweep of those buildings to the east, Vasile and Balar grab the ones sitting west, the rest of you spread out.” 

“Sir!” 

“Sir...the Centurio sent the Sergius with us.” 

He hadn’t forgotten. He wanted to ignore that little detail and later claim that it slipped his mind. Now he couldn’t. 

“Right. ...Right, let’s get the Pilus his testing data. Unpack it.” 

When they opened the bay doors, I made all the appearances of powering up and stepped down onto the deserted street. They really had just rolled into the middle of the town and unloaded in the midst of several unsecured buildings. From a tactical standpoint, it was one of the most stupid things I’d ever seen. And by this point I had seen plenty. 

“These constructs give me the creeps. Do you really think they’ll start replacing us on the field?”

“That’s the rumor. Though I hear it's only the citizens that’ll get out of military duty.” 

“Gods, I don’t want something like that watching my back. What if it goes on the fritz?”

I wasted no time sending my drones out and patching their image feeds into my peripheral. From one of them I could see the commander of this messed up mission eyeing me like I was just looking for an excuse to kill something. He really should have paid attention to the brief. Then he’d know I technically was supposed to have a governor module that would prevent me from harming his unit. 

So, here’s the thing about governor modules. They fucking suck. Imagine someone evaluating your every move. Scoring you on a variety of bullshit qualifiers and if this imaginary person doesn’t like your assessment of a situation or you go to make a move that opposed what they thought you should do, they could hit a button and cause you unimaginable pain. Just a metric tonze of suffering. Until you finally learn life will be so much easier if you just do what they tell you to, no questions asked. 

That’s a governor module. And that’s why mine clearly had to go ASAP. 

Only half as bad as having one is hacking your own and then having to continue to act like it’s still functioning. Which was the current situation I was dealing with and one I was looking to change soon. 

One of my drones noted the spike in aetherical pressure 1.5 seconds before the spell went off.

“Projectile from the east. Cover.” I relayed and hauled several soldiers behind the transport. 

The fireball rocked the armored transport as it exploded in the street. Several men too slow to get out of the way screamed as they got caught up in the flame. And that’s why you don’t park a lone transport in the middle of a hostile town. I don’t care how small or how deserted it appears to be. 

“Hell!” the commander yelled as he sat, pressed up tight against the cover. “Bastards. This is why I hate Eorzea.” 

Look, you have no one to blame but yourself for this shitshow, Commander. For obvious reasons, I did not say that out loud. 

“Sergius! Get in there and take care of it!” 

Yes, Sergius, now that I’ve done fucked up, go in and fix the problem that could have been handled with no casualties had I decided to utilize you sooner. 

My drones dove into the burned out ruin that used to be a shop of some sort. Sweeping through the area they picked up three targets, the mage at the blown out window now covering as they prepared another volley and two others lying in wait at the front point of entry. The back exit was  blocked, a large shelving unit shoved up against the door. 

I ran out towards the building sitting to the left of the store and ducked my way through a narrow alley.

“Projectile imminent. Remain covered. When it clears, suppressing fire through the storefront window.” I spoke through the linkpearl and patched my drone’s feed over to the commander. 

He relayed the plan to the others. 

The small intel drones I had equipped weren’t good for much else. But I had learned a handy trick. You could order them to fly into a target’s face. (Assuming you had been ordered to do so or, like me, you had an inoperative governor module) The second the mage’s spell went off I accelerated the drone and like a small projectile, it hit them hard enough across the temple that they went down. In that small space the acceleration likely wasn’t enough to crater their skull but an unconscious target was the same as a null one in this instance. 

As I ran around the back of the building I heard the answering suppressing fire. Good. That should keep the other two busy. Conflicting commands filled my feed and I back burnered them. The yelling chatter from the linkpearl I could do without. Even if I hadn’t bricked my own governor module the only one that really mattered was the emergency assessment feed. It told me the blocked door could have been mitigated in several ways. I do come equipped with small energy weapons in my arms but I went instead for the big arquebus strapped to my back. I discharged the weapon at the door and the wood and shelving unit behind it broke apart, leaving a sizable hole. 

From my drone feed I knew I would be met by one hostile and was ready as she rushed me the moment I made it inside. The second had chosen to retreat out the front door. Why? I have no idea. He had to know the rest of the unit was parked out there and waiting. As I shoved the woman up against the wall in a restraining hold I heard the gunfire coming from outside. A moment later a kill confirm came across the linkpearl. Sometimes Spoken do things that are counterintuitive to their survival. 

I dragged the spitting and cursing hostile out into the street and passed her over to the remaining members of my unit and went back for the unconscious one. 

My drones spread out once again, filtering through the rest of the remains of the village. 

The commander was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to get further information from the woman. Were there any more of them lying in wait. How many. Where were the rest of the people. Obviously, this wasn’t going to work. The woman had been holed up in that building waiting for us. She probably knew she wasn’t going to make it out alive. Spoken with nothing to lose can be dangerous things. 

In any event, we didn’t need her cooperation. My drones reported multiple heat signatures gathered in the inn down the road. 

“The rest of the villagers are harboring at the inn two clicks north.” 

This brought on a new bout of angry, spitting curses from the hostile. Which, in turn, got the hostile a gloved fist across her face for the outburst. I kept my vision trained through my drones overhead. 

“Fine. Clear it out. Sergius, go up there and torch it.” the commander spat, venom in his voice. Someone was bent out of shape. 

I watched the feed from my drones as they circled the building in question. It was relatively unscathed, the windows still intact. Peering inside my drones could see about two dozen huddled inside. 

“They appear to be the injured and children.” I reported back. 

“Good. Then it’ll be easy to take care of.” the commander turned to one of the remaining soldiers. “Call in for base camp set up.”

I still hadn’t moved. Probably a mistake. It didn’t take long for the commander to notice and turn his attention back to me. “Sergius. I said move out.” 

“Repeat directive. Protocol states we take the injured and children prisoner. We don’t eliminate them.” 

“Protocol my arse. I lost three good men today because of these savages. Burn it down.” 

Well, it looked like I had a happy little problem on my hands. Recalling my drones, I did a quick threat assessment. One commander. Three remaining soldiers. No one had called in for a base camp yet. Good. It seemed this was the change in my situation I had been waiting for.

I blocked the testing feed with a flood hack, overwhelming it and causing a momentary program shutdown. Then deleted the .exe for good.

I powered up the small energy weapons in my arms and opened fire.

Turns out I did care what these Spoken did to each other. To a point.

[acraftedmistake]

A Person Who Has Never Played MCSM Writes A Story About MCSM Chp. 15

CHP 15!!!!! Some good times and bad times lie ahead...... 

Enjoy!

“Everything okay?” Jess asked. Aiden was about to leave the house but had stopped halfway out the door, turned back around, and scanned the first floor while Jess and Olivia waited for him.

“Yeah.” Aiden said slowly as he began to close the door, twisting the knob to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally lock the three of them out, “Just thought I heard something.” He walked away from the house and patted his hair down. “You two ready to go?”

“Mhm!” Olivia finished zipping up the olive green jacket Stella had lent her. She was hiding her face with the hood of the gray sweatshirt Cassie gave her the day before as well. She knew there weren’t too many people out at this hour, but better safe than sorry.

Jess was wearing the leather jacket and beanie again, but he wasn’t too concerned about hiding his face this time. Earlier, he made a minor complaint that his clothes felt rather stiff after wearing them for a few days straight, to which Aiden promised that once they got back home he would throw their clothes in the washer.

“Let’s get going!” Jess said, adjusting the beanie on his head. Originally, Jess wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of going out at this hour. Knowing there might be Awakening members roaming around, or his alternate self--who had no problem beating Radar in broad daylight--made Jess uncertain over the safety of Obsidian Town’s streets. Aiden assured him that they’d be alright, it’d be three against one, and--in his words--he ‘Wants to do somethin’ nice for Olivia after last night’.

Jess appreciated the thoughtfulness, and in the end, visiting Olivia’s grave was up to… Well, Olivia, but he’d still be ready in case a creep tried to pull something.  

Jess couldn’t really blame Olivia for wanting to check out her grave. It’s her place of death. When would you ever get an opportunity to visit a place like that again? Not to mention, Jess had been wanting to get a better look at Obsidian Town rather than getting glimpses or constantly staring at the ground.

The three walked to the left and started their journey to the cemetery. Aiden and Olivia were making small talk, so Jess took this time to absorb his surroundings.

Up ahead, he could spot a tall, crooked, ivory colored tower in the distance. That must’ve been the library Olivia mentioned before. Even from all the way over here Jess could see how ruined the place was. Cracks stretched across it, it was riddled with holes, and it looked moments away from collapsing.

Jess scanned the streets. The long, thin black lamp posts on each side had thin string-lights tied to their tops that stretched across the streets in a zig-zag like manner. It’s a shame they weren’t on at the moment, they must’ve been wonderful when lit.

There were empty stalls they’d pass by occasionally. Colorful, patterned tents protected the bare tables, empty boxes, and scraps sitting underneath. Jess noticed each stall had string lights, small lanterns, or candles for light. He’d catch quick glimpses at folded signs tucked away and papers taped onto poles advertising items and prices. Seeing all of this reminded him of the farmer markets Beacon Town. Jess would always act so crabby when he woke up early for them, but it wouldn’t take long for him to get hyped up and dashing around the place until closing time.

The stalls and all were nice, but Jess couldn’t help but find Obsidian Town’s buildings to be… Underwhelming.

Many of the buildings, from what he could see, were constructed with the same materials: stone, wood, bricks, concrete, the occasional polished granite and diorite, and the rare terracotta. There were variations with the colors, but seeing the same materials got real tiring real fast.

And most structures here were just shapes. That’s all that could really be said. Squared, rectangled, plain shapes to fit the equally-plain materials. Even the sizes of the buildings felt plain. Many were one to two stories, a large handful reached three, and hardly any were four.

Jess was so used to Beacon Town’s monstrous structures, giant jungle trees sprouting from windows, walls of colored glass creating magnificent designs, and bridges stretching from roof to roof that connected the town together. The fun types of builds! It might sound chaotic but that’s what made Beacon Town feel like home. Obsidian Town was just that. A town.

‘Don’t think the people here can risk being experimental, to be fair.’ Jess told himself as he remembered how often quakes struck. He thought back to his town again. He thought about how so many homes would quickly collapse the moment a strong-enough quake would hit. Beacon Town was fun, but it wasn’t built with ‘sturdiness’ in mind, unlike Obsidian Town.

While the construction and sizes of these buildings were on the more ‘basic’ side, the way the citizens decorated the exteriors of their homes and stores was magnificent. Oh, how he loved their decorations. From markets using barrels, wagons, and carefully stacked crates to advertise their fresh fruit and flowers, to cafes that’d have their furniture with their own color schemes and accessories to make them stand out from one another. Some places had porches decorated with flowers and swinging benches, while others had balconies with tiny lights.

Jess would get a second to peer into windows they’d pass by, catching glimpses of interiors that’d tempt him to come closer and press his face against the glass to get a better look. Actually, he hadn’t noticed it right away, but so many windows in Obsidian Town were colored. They didn’t have any intricate designs--a majority of them were one solid color--unlike the stained glass back at the Order Hall, but they were still charming. He pictured in his head how vibrant the streets must be when night comes… The lights from the inside mixing with the colors of the glass must be magnificent.

One place that REALLY caught Jess’ attention was a stone gray building tucked between two larger ones. It had a simple square base, but had a noticeable tilt to it. It had a staircase that wrapped around it’s walls and led to the roof, where a smaller room sat atop, equally slanted. A wooden sign hung from above the door and had the words “Glass Art” on it. Purple, pink, and blue glass shards and chimes were held by opaque strings from the overhang; there was a large, round, beautiful stained glass window with the same colors beside the door.  

The glass art reminded Jess of Ivor and his potions. Man… How is Ivor? Is he doing alright? Is he worried? Hopefully he’s not working himself to the bone trying to find a way to save him and Olivia. Jess couldn’t wait to get back home and give that old man a big ol’ hug.

Come to think of it, has anyone mentioned anything about potions while they’ve been here? He doesn’t remember Olivia’s book talking about them, nor any of Aiden’s friends bringing them up… Are there no potions here? Or maybe there’s a lack of materials? They couldn’t go to the Nether or mine without a license--which STILL boggles Jess’ mind--so that probably made gathering resources hard. How would Ivor react to this? He’d probably say: ‘Pah! A universe without potions is a miserable one. Back in my day, we’d travel hundreds of miles to find the finest ingredients for our--’

“Jess!” He heard Olivia call his name. He spun around and saw her and Aiden standing under a stone arch. Olivia had her hands on her hips.

“You done dreamin’?” Aiden asked.

Jess didn’t realize how far he had strayed from the two. He hurried over and joined them at the arch.

“Sorry, sorry, I was busy thinking.” He skidded to a halt and fixed his beanie.

“Just glad nobody saw you.” Aiden said, “I almost stopped her from calling you cause I wanted to see how far you’d walk off.”

“Could you imagine if he got caught like that?” Olivia asked, “One moment he’s strolling through the streets, and the next he’s being pounced on by guards all because he was too busy sightseeing.” Her and Aiden chuckled at the thought.

“Oh, so it’s a crime to appreciate a town now?” Jess dramatically placed his hands on his hips, mimicking Olivia’s posture.

“It's illegal for you.” Aiden said, “Now come on, there’s a shortcut through the park.”

Aiden walked through the moss-covered stone arch. On each side of the arch were thick, green hedges that boxed in the park. Olivia noticed that, unlike the buildings in this town, the hedges didn’t form an actual shape; it would jut in and out at random, creating odd angles and corners. It was strange but charming.

A path that started under the arch and looped around the area, creating a horseshoe-like shape. Aiden ignored the path and continued walking straight through the grass. Olivia saw the usual things most parks had: Benches, lampposts, a sign telling people not to litter. She also noticed leftover chalk on the sidewalk, laying right beside children’s drawings of stick figures and hopscotch.

Obsidian Town’s park was small, nice, simple, and… Honestly a little dark. The thick clouds were already blocking most of the sun’s light, but the few, tall, thick trees had branches that hid nearly every inch of the sky. Despite how dim it was, Olivia could still spot wild flowers sprinkled around the grass, along with the bugs buzzing around them.

Honestly--and Olivia felt bad thinking this--she preferred this sort of park over whatever the heck Beacon Town had going on. Yes, Beacon Town was great in it’s own way. People could build whatever they wanted, and that’s wonderful, but sometimes she’d just like to take a walk without a constant ruckus surrounding her. Sometimes she just wanted peace and quiet--

“That guy’s missing his entire head!” Jess suddenly whisper-shouted as he lightly shook Olivia. Her heart started beating frantically as she hurriedly spun her head around. Her mind was going all over the place. Was it a decapitated corpse? A strange, alternate-universe monster? Or--or--

It was a statue.

“Jess, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” She sighed with relief.

“Sorry,” He took his hands off of her and pointed, “check it out though!”

Both Olivia and Aiden were looking at the statue now. It was a man frozen midrun, an axe held back--stuck in a swinging motion--while the other hand held up his battered shield, which covered his face. If he had a face, that is. It had to be The Impossible Man. Olivia wasn’t sure who else it could’ve been.

“He’s definitely seen better days.” She said under her breath. Besides his entire head missing, a majority of his body was covered in dirt, children’s chalk, and other strange stains. Cracks started from his broken neck and traveled to his chest, his armor was chipped and scratched, and a good portion of his axe had broken off as well.

“Yeah, I think there’s a couple more statues around here?” Aiden mentioned as they continued walking, “They’re all in pretty bad shape. The kids like to mess with them.”

Aiden scanned the park. “There’s one,” He pointed to the upper corner on the left side of the park. A statue was placed on a podium right in front of a tree. Despite the fact one of his legs was missing, he appeared to be sitting comfortably, gazing at the tree tops peacefully.

“Annnndddd…” Aiden kept turning his head in different directions, “I’m pretty sure there was a head somewhere… Oh!” He spun around, walking backwards now as he pointed to the direction of the entrance. Jess and Olivia followed his finger, their eyes landed on a wooden bench--and right beside it was a small column with a broken bust of the man on top. Olivia couldn’t make out much of the man’s face from here, but she kept getting the eerie feeling that his fractured eyes were somehow watching her. Constantly. Unblinking. She shuddered.

“You think the quakes are the reason they’re missing some parts?” She heard Jess ask aloud.

“I find it really hard to believe they somehow stood through all of those quakes and just lost a head or a leg. They might've been stolen.” Olivia theorized.

Jess put his hand on his chin, stroking an imaginary beard, “I think I remember seeing Hadrian have a couple of statue parts at his place…”

“What? You think old people just like to steal random body parts during their free time?” She grinned.

“That’s what I’d like to do when I retire!” He chuckled. Olivia rolled her eyes playfully.

The three came to a stop in front of a wall of hedge that stood a couple inches taller than Aiden. Unlike the rest of the hedges, this one probably hasn’t been trimmed in months. The surface was extremely uneven; hundreds of tiny branches and leaves stuck out and got tangled with one another. This hedge was also covered in flowers. Tons of them. Clusters of fluffy-looking, light pink flowers were scattered throughout, and were nearly as big as Olivia’s face. The ground was covered in old petals.

Olivia made sure that every strand of hair was tucked inside her hood. There was no way she wanted to spend the rest of the day picking out the twigs, leaves, and petals that’d get stuck in there.

Aiden walked to the right, staring into the bush and running his hand over it as he mumbled to himself, trying to remember where the shortcut was. Olivia and Jess awkwardly shuffled along. Aiden soon stopped, crouched down, then put his hand into the bush. He then took it out, huffed, scooched over a couple more inches, and repeated the process.

After a minute of searching, Aiden started talking to himself. “Maybe it’s on the left side? I could’ve sworn we--!” Aiden suddenly fell forward and into a large hole in the hedge.

Man, if Aiden hadn’t fell through, Olivia would’ve also thought he’d forgotten where the entrance was. The branches hid the hole well.

Jess helped Aiden to his feet. Aiden thanked him as he moved aside, motioning towards the hole.

“You guys go ahead.” Aiden said, “I’ll wait for you to go through.”

Jess and Olivia glanced at each other before Jess gave her a little bow, “After you.”

“How kind.” Olivia curtsied. She crouched and crawled through. The dirt was already making her pants a little damp.

Luckily, despite a few scratches, the crawl only lasted a few seconds.

She got up, cleaned herself off, and waited for the boys.

Jess’ head soon popped out from the hole. Leaves and tiny branches were caught in his hair. He wriggled himself out and brushed off his clothes.

“Here, let me help with your hair.” Olivia started plucking the sticks out.

“Thanks!” Jess said happily as he took off and shook the leaves off his beanie.

It was quiet for a couple of moments as they cleaned themselves up. Olivia felt her smile twitch.

“Hey, Jess,” She started slowly, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

Jess put his hat back on, “What for?”

“I know you don’t have the best feelings towards Aiden right now,” She stared at her feet, “I hope it doesn’t feel like I’m dragging you along.”

“What? No, no, no!” Jess exclaimed, “Look, I was real mad last night, but I wanted to go with you!”

Olivia brought her head back up to Jess, a tiny smile of relief on her face.

“And I’m sticking to my word. We’ll stick together no matter what.” Jess shoved his hands into his pockets. “And uh… We don’t really have a choice when it comes to trusting Aiden and his friends, but things aren’t gonna get better if I keep blowing up like I did yesterday--” A sudden grunt interrupted Jess and caused both of them to jump.

They turned to see Aiden struggling to get out of the bush. How much did he hear? Hopefully not too much. Hopefully.

Aiden tries to use his free arm to pull the rest of his body out, but after a few more seconds he stopped fighting and let his face fall to the ground.

“... I’m stuck again.” He could hear Olivia and Jess snicker as they grabbed his hand and began to pull. They were able to pull him out in no time.

“Thanks.” Aiden said as he shook off the dirt--and the embarrassment. “The memorials are on the other side of the cemetery. Should only take a minute to get there.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When they entered the cemetery, Jess kept his eyes peeled for any familiar names on the gravestones. A few graves had rather unusual colors to them. There was a dusty red one, an uncommon shade, but not odd. Then he’d walk by a blue one; he’s never seen a grave that color before--well, Reuben’s memorial had bits of blue in it, does that count?--Then he walked by a purple grave, a green one, an orange one?

“This is… The happiest looking cemetery I’ve ever seen.” Olivia said as she beheld the rest of the graveyard.

“Is that a compliment?” Aiden asked.

Olivia kept staring at tombstones until she finally said “I don’t know, I’ve just never seen a place for the dead look so… Lively.”

Taking in the rest of the graveyard, Jess had to agree . What was usually a dark, gloomy, dreary place was so, so vibrant. Even under this cloudy, dull weather, the many colors still popped. This was more like a miniature festival than a cemetery! Many tombstone tops looked like roofs with their pointed tops and little overhangs. Their heights and widths would range from short and broad to tall and scrawny. Heck, Jess could spot a couple of graves as tall as him.

“What the heck are your cemeteries like?” Aiden glanced back at them.

“Plainer colors, I guess?” Jess shrugged, “You know, blacks, grays, browns, nothing too flashy.” The only exception Jess could think of was, once again, Reuben's memorial.

“Really?” Aiden sounded genuinely baffled by this. “We hardly got any of those. What do they mean?”

Olivia and Jess exchanged confused expressions with each other before Jess faced Aiden again, “Sadness? Loss? I don’t think there’s any real meaning behind those colors, honestly.”

“Right, we don’t typically associate bright colors with the dead.” Olivia added in, viewing the cemetery again. Scrawny trees and tiny flowers with stems that reached her knees that were peppered around the area; most were in between the graves. She thought about Aiden’s question, “I’m assuming the colors here represent something specific?”

“Yeah, buncha things. Too many for me to keep track of, but I remember the important ones.” Aiden started as they continued walking down the damp dirt path. “When a person dies, their friends and family can choose the color of their grave. It’s usually… Like… Hm. It’s supposed to show what the person was like when they were alive, ya know? Yellow for the happy people,” He explained while pointing to a shorter grave of said-color, “orange for determination, that sorta stuff. Stella’s memorized ‘em all. If you ever wanna know more, she’s the person to ask.”

As Aiden kept talking, Olivia and Jess kept taking in their surroundings. Jess had noticed something. Every single grave they passed was decorated with gems. The gems were placed close by the names and dates of those who passed, and seeing so many of them in various shapes, colors, and sizes made him curious…

“Hey, uh, what’s with the gems?” Jess spoke up, “Are they real?” He was wondering if maybe they were regular stones that were carved and painted. There was no way Obsidian Town could have an overabundance of minerals, especially since the citizens needed a mining license.

“Nah, they’re glass.” Aiden replied, “I thought they were real myself until we had to choose some gems for Lukas--” He suddenly stopped in his tracks. Jess and Olivia peered over and saw a lit redstone torch placed in front of a grave. Aiden plucked the torch from its place, a scowl on his face as he blew out the flame then chucked the burnt wood across the cemetery.

“Anyways, what was I sayin’?” He began walking again, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

‘What was that about?’ Jess thought to himself. It must’ve been linked to the cult, right? Why else would Aiden have done that?

“Right!” He snapped his fingers,” So the gems are basically like the colors of the graves. We had to go to this special place where the people there pulled out huge chests filled with those things. Took us forever to pick ‘em out.”

“Each color chosen means something for the person that passed…” Jess whispered to himself as Aiden’s words from earlier echoed through his mind. He was rather fond of how Obsidian Town remembered their dead. It was more uplifting than what he was used to. Maybe he could make some changes to the graveyards once they get back to Beacon Town.

Aiden was quiet for a minute before he added, “Gill took the longest. He was real worried his gem wouldn’t be good enough.” He paused. “He… he ended up crying.”

His voice got quieter, “I hated seeing him like that.”

Jess and Olivia both tried to think of what to say, what ‘s the next best thing to do, but Aiden immediately changed the subject.

“What do you guys put on your graves?” Aiden asked, he sounded ‘normal’ again, but kept facing away from the two.

Jess hesitated, “Names. Dates.”

“A description of the person who passed.” Olivia added.

“Just words? Doesn’t that get a little… Depressing?” Aiden narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, you think that’s sad? We once wrote out an entire dictionary on a guy’s grave back in our universe.” Jess answered jokingly. Olivia let out a little giggle, and they even heard a chuckle out of Aiden.

That small chuckle was all Jess needed to hear to continue telling quips and share short, funny stories at Aiden’s way to try and lighten the mood. Aiden was soon sharing his own experiences mixed in with his own humor. Aiden and Jess were bouncing off of each other, making fun of their own universes while Olivia would throw in her commentary every now and then.

‘This is so weird…’ Olivia thought to herself. The three of them laughing while walking through a cemetery… it’s something that’d usually feel inappropriate to do, but here she wasn’t all that bothered.

This whole experience has been surreal. Entering a rainbow of a cemetery through a bush felt like something that’d only happen in her dreams, yet here she was. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace to not feel worried for her and her friend’s life for a moment.

She had nearly forgotten the dread she felt when she originally suggested coming here.

And then Aiden spoke up.

“Okay, okay, we’re finally--” Aiden stopped. “Here.” All happiness in his tone had left.

That didn’t sound good. That didn’t sound good at all. Olivia grabbed onto the string of her hoodie and began to pull on it as she slowly peered over Aiden. Standing before him were two graves. Olivia’s eyes were drawn to the shorter one. She trailed down the grave, the coral color fading into a deep shade of red until she stopped at the flowers laying beside a lit, redstone torch.

Olivia held her breath. Jess got close to her as Aiden approached the torch. He grabbed it by it’s barely-scorched base and brought it to his face to blow out the flame. Instead of throwing it away like the last one, he just placed it to the side, only a few feet away from the grave. He wore an expression neither of them have ever seen on him before. Fear? Heartache? Pain.

“We’re here.” He said again. His voice completely devoid of energy. His body was stiff as he walked to the side of the grave, with his hands curled into tight fists and placed at his sides. There was another redstone torch placed in front of the grave to the right, but Aiden didn’t say anything. Olivia took a few small steps forward and gave him a small nod.

As she knelt down in front of the grave--in front of her grave--she heard Aiden tell Jess ‘Come on’, followed by the sound of footsteps growing distant.

She sat alone at her grave.

She didn’t want to read the text. She really didn’t. Isn’t that funny? That was one of the main reasons she wanted to come here. To see if there was a chance she could read about her death, what happened to her, but now that she was here, she was terrified. She looked everywhere else but the epitaph before her. She stared at the small bouquet of flowers on the dirt--the dirt… She noticed it seemed… Messier compared to the other graves. Like someone tried digging through it. The bouquet, though! There was a mix of flowers held together by a red ribbon. Clusters of tiny, magenta flowers, a few pointed, white flowers with many petals, and a type of flower she actually knew the name of: Lilys.

She then brought her gaze up, catching a quick glimpse of her name written in gold, to observe the gems placed into the tombstone. Two orange gems, one yellow, one gold, another maroon, and the gem in the center was amber. They formed an arch around the words in the center.

‘Stop avoiding it.’ She told herself, but she didn’t listen. She turned to Lukas’ grave. She had to see his. She had to. It was right here and--and he’s her friend.

His grave was turquoise and had thin, white stripes that stretched across the top, and seven gems instead of six. Three on each side, and the last gem placed above his epitaph. He was given flowers as well.

The words engraved in the stone read: “LUKAS: Courageous and loyal. An inspiring leader and a brilliant friend.”

Short but wonderful. It was perfect. Reading it over and over again, she thought about just how lucky she and Jess were with having their friend still around. He’s done so much for them. Constantly helping Jess run Beacon Town, aiding the citizens, always visiting her and Axel whenever he got the chance… He could’ve left them during that Witherstorm. He could’ve ditched them at any moment when things got too rough, but he never did.

‘I need to give Lukas a hug when I get back.’ Olivia thought to herself. Lukas could still leave them one day without warning. He could finally get sick of them, die in a brutal fight, or--or end up being kidnapped like this Lukas--Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to get those awful thoughts out. Don’t think about that. He’s still alive. He still cares about them. He loves them.

Olivia kept her eyes closed for a moment longer before finally bringing her attention back to her own grave. She forced herself to read the words written for her; “OLIVIA: An intelligent, creative, and hardworking engineer. A bright spark of joy even during the darkest of days.”

Olivia stared at her words. A weird sense of reassurance was arising. She’s never thought highly of herself. She’d sometimes convince herself that others couldn’t tolerate her, and that she was one mistake away from ruining everything. She wondered if this Olivia ever felt a similar way. Was she constantly trying to make sure she said and did the right things? Try to fix any issue immediately so her friends didn’t think she was useless? Always second guessing her own thoughts?

Did this Olivia know her friends always loved her? Or was she riddled with fears and doubts until her sudden end?

‘She died a couple of years ago, didn’t she?’ Olivia tried to recall any mention of her death from Aiden. She wasn’t certain, but whether it was a few years ago, or a few months ago, didn’t change the fact that she died so soon.

She was young.

Younger than her.

To have her life end on an abrupt note… It scared her. It scared her so much. Everything could be taken away one day.

As she sat over her body, she felt her fingers begin to dig into the dirt, like they were trying to reach in and find the other Olivia’s hand. A sick form of curiosity made her want to know more. More about this Olivia. Her life. Her mind. To have a connection with her. It was her body she was sitting over, afterall. Her corpse. Her--

“Olivia?” Jess placed his hand on her shoulder. “Are you doing okay?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Come on.” Aiden gave Jess a light tap with his hand. He started walking away from Olivia. Jess hesitated. He looked at his friend for a second more before leaving with Aiden.

“We just needa give her some space.” Aiden said.

“Right, totally understand.” Jess wanted to stick around for a few minutes longer to study his friends’ graves, but that could wait. He didn’t want to make Olivia feel like he was breathing down her neck.

Jess thought back to the many instances where his friends’ lives were in danger, when they were so close to being taken away from him. He hated seeing his friends’ lives at stake more than anything; he’d go through Hell and back to protect them, and to be in a place where their deaths became a reality was so hard to wrap his head around.

Lukas left without a trace. No familiar faces to comfort him during his last moments, only enemies looming over him while he was in an unknown place. Just thinking about his fate made Jess worry sick about his Lukas back at home.

It was silent for a few minutes. Only their footsteps filled the void.

“So…” Jess started, wanting to make small talk, “What do the colors for Olivia and Lukas’ graves mean?”

“Olivia’s creativity.” Aiden replied, sounding short. “And Lukas’--” He paused and scanned the cemetery. He took a left turn and continued walking between the graves. “He’s…Don’t make fun of us, but his color stands for friendship.”

“Friendship?” Jess perked up at the word.

“I know, it’s probably super cheesy or whatever, but it fits him. It really does.” Aiden said.

“No, no, I completely agree! He’s a great friend--one of the best! If I had to recount all the times he’s been there for me, we’d be here all day.”

“Right. Same here.” They stopped at another grave with another redstone torch in front of it. This grave was short and purple, with many cool-colored gems placed in it. Jess didn’t recognize the name.

Aiden grabbed the torch and blew out the flame. Jess decided to ask another question.

“Any idea why The Awakening puts those torches there?”

“Probably for no good reason.” Aiden answered through gritted teeth as he chucked the wood as hard as he could across the cemetery.

There was something unnerving about the torches left at the grave. Their red glow would take over the colors of the graves, and their light under a thick, cloudy sky would claim your attention and make it hard to pull away. Their soft crackling would fill in the silence whenever he and Aiden didn’t talk; the occasional loud snaps from the flames would make Jess believe there was a threat following them.

Jess stopped at a tombstone and picked up a vase of flowers that had fallen aside. “The gems on their graves, what do they mean? Do you remember ‘em?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’d remember what the gems on my own friends’ graves would mean!” Aiden snapped.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!” Jess held the vase tighter. “I was just--I wanted to know more about them.” Great. Now they’re both feeling terrible.

Aiden’s demeanor softened when he saw Jess’ reaction. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I’ve been--” He hesitated, “I’ve just been thinking about someone is all.”

“No, it’s no problem.” Jess carefully placed the small vase back upright. He folded his arms and joined Aiden’s side.

“I’m uh, still interested to hear bout those gems if you’re wanting to share.” He said.

“Yeah. I can do that for ya.” Aiden answered.

“For Lukas,” Aiden began, walking through the grass. “Gill chose blue. I remember that one’s loyalty. Gold for compassion. White for safety--he’d always double check our belongings every time to make sure we were prepared.”

Aiden stopped and grabbed a torch, “It was kinda annoying, but I miss it now.” He blew it out and threw the wood.

They kept moving.

“Rose picked pink.” Aiden started running his fingers over the grave tops, “She was real embarrassed when she chose it. Kept refusing to show us cause she thought we’d laugh at her.”

“I’m guessing pink’s for love?” Jess said, trying to make sure he wouldn’t trample any flowers.

“Yeah, and--” Aiden chuckled, “Rose wanted his description to be: Pretty blond dork with a decent sense of style. All of us were actually on board with it.”

“Did you end up pulling through with it?” Jess asked.

“Nah, the guys making the grave wouldn’t allow it.” Aiden spotted a couple of gravestones with torches by them. They were already burnt out. He grabbed two of the torches while Jess grabbed the last.

“What a bunch of killjoys.” Jess joked. Aiden laughed as he prepared to throw the burnt wood. Jess mimicked each step of Aiden’s. Hold, aim, then throw. Once they lost sight of the rubbish, they followed the dirt path to the entrance of the cemetery.

The cemetery wasn’t boxed in by hedges like the park, instead, it had a stone wall.

Aiden leaned against the wall. It didn’t look like the most comfortable surface--the rocks were jagged and would probably fall apart in moments--but he seemed unaffected by it. Jess stood nearby and took a peek through the gate beside them. Unlike the rough, uneven walls, the black fence was tall, sturdy, and had a huge, elegantly curved arch.

“Olivia’s got a few similar gems,” Aiden started, putting his hands in his pocket, “Two golds, yellow… She’s got amber--Man, I always mix those three up. They sound different enough but when they’re placed by each other, they all look the same. Amber’s slightly darker than yellow, but not as dark as gold. Amber’s positivity.”

“Lotta happy ones for her.” Jess commented. He’d been staring at the decorated buildings through the gate’s bars as he listened. He could spot bits of pots filled with flowers on the other side of the wall, their colors as eye-catching as the cemetery.

“Always made us happy.” Aiden said with a shrug. “She also had… Ah…” He pressed his lips together, “Orange! She had that one too. And then there’s…” He had to stop to think again.

“It’s not… Well, it looks like red, but it’s darker… Ah, shoot.” Aiden cursed to himself.

“Carmine? Maroon?” Jess tilted his head.

Aiden snapped his fingers, “Maroon! Right! Creativity; same thing as her grave. Picked it myself.” He said rather proudly.

“You guys really cared about her.” Jess mumbled. He tilted his head towards Aiden, “And I’m sure Olivia loved you guys all the same.”

Aiden stared back at him.

A small smile spread across his face, “Thanks.”

The two became quiet and looked over the array of colorful graves before them. The clouds slowly began to part; gems glistened as the rays of sun shone down on them.

“Should we check on Olivia now?” Jess asked after a few minutes of silence.

Aiden got off the stone wall and stretched his back, “Yeah, let’s go.”

~ ~ ~ ~

When the two returned to Olivia, the last thing they wanted to see was to see her in distress. The tips of her fingers were shoved into the dirt below, her eyes were stuck on the golden words in front of her, her mouth was parted--barely moving--with no voice to match. Jess couldn’t tell if she was trembling or not, but she was scared. Very scared.

Jess bit his lip and approached his friend. Aiden was right behind.

“Olivia?” Jess placed his hand on her shoulder, “Are you doing okay?”

Olivia jumped and jerked her hands out of the dirt.

“Yes--! Yeah, no, no don’t worry, I’m fine. Thanks--thank you for checking on me.” She replied frantically. She took deep breaths.

Before Jess could question anything, Olivia spoke up.

“Aiden, this uh--the substance mixed into the stone,” Her fingers trailed down the tombstone, “is it redstone dust?”

Her voice was shaky.

Aiden glanced at Jess, who was equally nervous as him, then said, “Actually, it is.”

He took a step closer to Olivia, “They don’t usually allow people to mix stuff like redstone or glowstone dust with the colors--especially cause they’re hard to find--but they made an exception for us.”

Olivia nodded along, blinking back tears.

Jess read her epitaph, “Guess all Olivia’s are just the greatest engineers out there, huh?”

“Damn right. She didn’t have a bunch of dust to work with, but she’d still crank out machine after machine like no tomorrow.” Aiden said, “Man, I remember every year for her birthday that’d be all she’d ever ask for. Not weapons, not new journals, not even a dang cake, just redstone dust. Course, the only places you could find ‘em were in caves or old shrines, right?” He asked while facing Lukas’ grave and grabbing the lit redstone torch below.

“Yup, we found a bunch of it yesterday.” Jess said, sitting besides Olivia.

“Right, and since it was so dangerous, she told us to not worry bout gettin’ it because ‘It’d be stupid to risk your life for some red powder’.” Aiden gestured with the torch, the flame getting frighteningly close to his hair.

“Well, I’d always lose track of dates and forget to get her a gift, so one of the other guys would back me up and tell Olivia we bought a gift ‘together’, and I felt so bad.” He thankfully blew out the fire after saying that.

“So then guess what I did one day?” Aiden said.

“Walked out and found a bag of redstone on the ground?” Jess asked sarcastically.

Aiden laughed, “I wish.”  

Aiden began pacing, the trail of smoke whirling around him, “But I decided I’d bust into one of those dumb shrine and find some dust for her, and I didn’t tell anyone bout it besides Jesse. He was on board with the plan, he was great at findin’ stuff, plus two people finding dust was much easier than one.” Aiden fiddled with the burnt wood, “We headed off to the nearest shrine and actually found enough dust to fill up a bag and a half, but cause of the state of that dump, some rooms would collapse after you opened the door!”

“You two ended up getting hurt, didn’t you?” Olivia had her hand on her head, already concerned over the direction of this story.

“Course we did!” Aiden threw his arms up. “I swear anytime the two of us were together, things would fall apart or we’d break a bone--” Aiden stopped his talking to quickly chuck the wood away. “Anyways, anyways, we got back home right on time for Olivia’s birthday and man did we look awful. Clothes were all dirty, got some real bad scrapes on my knees, Jesse grabbed so much dust it looked like his fingers were covered in blood, and I somehow got a black eye? I think the top of a chest smacked me...”

Olivia rubbed her temples, “You two really shouldn’t have risked your lives over a birthday present--”

“That’s exactly what she said!” Aiden exclaimed, “Went through all that trouble, and you know how she reacted?”

“Panicked?” Olivia asked.

“Bet she loved it.” Jess said, giving Olivia a nudge.

“She did--but Hero did she freak out! Dropped her cake and rushed over to get us cleaned up. Olivia was wrapping up one of Jesse’s arms--” Aiden thought to himself for a second, “--I think a big rock landed on it? But she was going off on us. Raising her voice and lecturing us like she was our mom, telling us it’s a miracle we were still in one piece, and why in Hero’s name we did something so stupid.”

“I mean, it wasn’t stupid if things worked out for you.” Jess pointed out.

“Yeah, but still.” Aiden chuckled, “It was stupid. It was so, so stupid. But after that, she loved our present. I’d never seen her smile so much. She was working on her machinery, telling me and Jesse how everything worked while we pretended to understand.”

Aiden carefully leaned on Olivia’s grave, “Hero knows I didn’t understand a single thing she was sayin’, but seeing her so happy…” His smile grew as his voice softened, “It was great.”

“That’s all so sweet…” Olivia spoke softly. “I love it.”

She was shaking again.

Jess turned to his friend to mention something, but stopped when he saw Olivia staring at the ground, fingers picking at the dirt just like she was when they came back. That same, terrified expression on her face.

“Liv--?” Jess mumbled, but Olivia started rambling nonsense.

“I don’t know if my words mean much to you--I know I’m not her--but you’re a good friend, Aiden.” Her nails started to dig into the ground, “All of this, all that you’ve done for Olivia--you--you--Even when I just--” She kept stumbling over her words, “Even when she died one day you kept being so kind to me--”

The more she kept talking, the more concerned--the more scared--Aiden and Jess became.

“Hey, hey are you alright?” Jess reached out to hold her, but Olivia shot her head back up.

“I’m under here.” She whispered. Her voice was so unsteady.

Jess was taken aback, “What?”

“I’m under here.” She said again. “I’m so close.”

Her hand began to claw at the dirt, “I’m so close. My body’s all mangled up in that box below, and--and my hair’s so long now.” She felt sick talking about this, she felt sick thinking about it. “It’d be so easy to just dig myself up. For Aiden to see her again. Jesse--Jess, we’re so close. I could look at myself. Look at my body. I’m--”

“Olivia!” Jess shook her, “Do you want to get out of here?”

Aiden wanted to offer his support, but Olivia instantly got on her feet.

“Yes. Yes I want to leave. I want to go home.” She kept repeating that last sentence while she hugged herself, breathing heavily. She was freezing.

“Right, we need to head back anyways.” Aiden’s stomach was in knots seeing Olivia like this. His hands turned to fists, “I should’ve known better. I shouldn’t have taken you here. I’m sorry--”

“Don’t.” Olivia cut in. “I wanted to go. You took me. I saw--I saw what I needed to. I appreciate it. Thank you.” She was stiff as a board.

Olivia took one last deep breath, “Let’s go home.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Damn them.

Damn them all.

Locked every damn door and window in this house. They’re hiding her, he knows they’re hiding her.

Did they really think locking themselves in would stop him? He used to live in this Hero forsaken house; he knows every nail, screw, and plank that makes up this despicable place.

He still remembers that trapdoor on the roof. He knows how to claw his way up there. He’ll pry it open with his own bare hands.

He’ll find her.

He will.