#'can we have raven?' 'we have raven at home' the raven at home: [hawks]

[wingherc]

｢𓆄｣ "Hey, any way I can help! What kind of hero would I be if I didn't help out someone who needed it?" Ignoring that initially he was only watching and observing the new visitors that poured into the populace, he was going to help, Malchior just beat him to the punchline was all.

"Oh, yeah, it was pretty nasty. Came back with a broken arm too, it was reaaaaal bad. Def if you can help it don't make a habit of it. The place you get thrown afterwards is a real creepypasta of a labyrinth." But that was enough of elaborating on something Hawks didn't want to recount, "Mages, though? Sounds cool! Like a fantasy tabletop rpg or something!...Though, that's just reality for you, ain't it. No rpg about it, that's for sure."

"Mmmmm!!! It's kinda random who shows up here!" The avian explained with a satisfying stretch as they walked along the sidewalk, bustling with new residents, "But yeah, my pupil was here for awhile. So, def not out of the question: but don't get your hopes up about it, you'll get stuck in your head if you do that I think!"

"And uh. I don't think so: to the dream thing. It's like this is it's own reality separate from the one's we hail from! Pretty neat, right?"

Lips drew in a content 'v' as he peered up at the other, holding his phone up to Malchior, implying he should take it. His phone had maps pulled up, pins littered the map, notably in clusters. It seemed like they were restaurants and businesses for him to visit, meticulously organized by color too. But, that's not why he passed his phone up to the other. "Here, can you place a pin on the ward they've got you staying? It should be on that brochure they gave you in the cab ride."

You'll get used to this place in due time says the winged man- Hawks ⎛ another bird, and there's something bittersweet about that, isn't there? ⎠ and Malchior gives a small nod. At the very least, it seems he'd found someone willing to help. Hawks had that sort of aura about him, not unlike Raven's friends. Weren't they all young heroes? Too young to be fighting like that, although he'd met knights younger- and Rorek had been young ...

He follows Hawks closely, observing the other using the phone- Malchior had been given one of those when he'd arrived, but he hadn't taken time to figure it out yet. Maybe it would be helpful considering- people probably weren't going to send messages to others by using familiars.

As they continued to walk, Malchior took time to really try to process what he was being told. People were taken from their home dimensions- if he had to guess, Herald had sent him here with that trumpet of his- but wasn't that his own fault for working with the Brotherhood? They'd offered him a form of freedom ... he should've simply left. And despite everyone being displaced from their homes, it seemed they carried on. Getting jobs, having relationships, a fresh start, perhaps.

❝ That is still quite a bit to take in, but thank you Hawks. ❞

The part about dying, though- that one hits hard. ❝ I take it you speak from experience on that one? Of coming back to life? ❞

❝ Many mages have tried to master death, but I know of none who have succeeded, at least not from where I am from. Temporary existences are possible, but they are far from the same thing as that which they were when they lived. ❞ Still, it's somewhat comforting to know ... this life that he has been given is truly something new.

❝ If we are all from different worlds, it would still be possible to run into others from the same world, right? There is someone who I would like to meet again ... although with how disorienting this entire thing is, perhaps it would be better to know if there's a way to reach those who are not here- perhaps through dreams or the like? ❞

[mayajadewrites]

could've been you - aizawa, hawks

✦ synopsis: You're the new teacher at UA with a rocky past with one of their beloved teachers, Shouta Aizawa aka Eraserhead. You'd rather never see him again but alas, such is life. You also meet Keigo, aka Hawks, who is the opposite of Aizawa. Smiley, golden retriever energy.

✦ chapter content warnings: none

✦ relationships: aizawa x fem!reader, hawks x fem!reader

chapter ten

ao3

TAG LIST:

@come-away-with-me87, @kxshdoll, @evilsanzu, @friendly-neighborhood-turtle, @lili-pond,

@the-unhinged-raccoon @falling4fandoms @cherry-cosmoz @kkgraham @big-denki-energy @aphrodite-xoxo @keiweeny @minminroie @skazewrld

You spent the rest of your Saturday with Shouta - planning out your collaborating class next week and what you want to test the kids on.

It's nice hanging out with Shouta. Even just as friends. It reminded you of high school, how you would hide behind the bleachers during class while the rest of the class ran laps. How Shouta would cover his ears if it was too loud around him, so you bought him ear plugs to help ease the pain he would get in his head.

Your legs laid along his couch, your ankles sitting on top of his lap as he traces shapes on your skin gently. You were both reading, so the room is silent. But you have never felt more comfortable.

"Shouta?" You look up from your book, watching the raven haired man with the tired eyes meet your gaze.

"Yes?"

"This is nice." You smiled, setting your book on your thighs.

"I agree." Shouta looked back at his book as he began to rub your foot gently with his large, callused hand.

"Have you ever wanted to, maybe, go out somewhere?"

He looked at you as if you were stupid. "You know I hate going out."

"You don't like dates?"

"I don't remember the last time I went on one. I usually just-" He stopped speaking to look at you. "I would just bring women home, but I haven't in a couple of years."

"You haven't had sex in years?"

"Shut up." Shouta squeezed your foot with his hand. "It's not as hard as it looks. Plus, I don't like using women for sex. It's much better when there's feeling behind it."

You could feel your cheeks flush red as you think about having sex with Aizawa. His strong arms locked around you, his cock pounding into you like he has all the time in the world to fuck you.

"Is sex meaningful to you? Or would you just fuck anyone?"

"I like it more when there's feelings, definitely."

"Well you fucked that bird, so I'm gonna go with the latter."

"Shouta!" You shoved him gently with your hand. "I did like him."

"Did? Feelings gone already?" His voice was smooth, pushing his fringe behind his ear.

"Once you've fucked me over, my feelings are gone. Usually."

"Usually, hm?" Shouta leaned in towards your face, his body invading your immediate space. "Someone's gotten a second chance?"

"Well he hasn't asked yet. So I guess not." You shrugged and brought your book closer to your face. Shouta pressed his index finger to the top of your book, pushing it down so he can see your face.

"This is me asking for a second chance, princess." Shouta almost whispered.

"You're usually mocking me when you call me princess. Do you really want a second chance?"

"You've always reminded me of a princess." He brought his index finger to the side of your face, caressing the outline of your cheeks and jaw. "Your big eyes, the way your hair is always so shiny." He hand ran through your hair. "Even when we were younger, I wasn't mocking you. I was just saying that so you wouldn't think I liked you."

"Sounds like you really liked me." You leaned into his touch, pressing your forehead onto his.

"Look in my head." Shouta looked at you.

"I don't want to use my quirk on you."

"I want you to look at the memory I'm thinking about. Please."

You sighed, focusing your energy on Shouta. You closed your eyes and moved your hands slowly, like you were reaching for his memory.

Soon enough you were inside his memory. You were both sat on the couch as you watched your surroundings.

"This is that coffee shop we went to when we first started as pro heroes." Your eyes were fixed on the Aizawa in your memory. He looked so much younger - the bags under his eyes not as deep as they are now.

"Look to your right." Shouta said to you, leaning back on the couch as he extends his arm behind you.

There you were.

You were ordering your coffee for you, Shouta, Enji, and Yamada. You looked so... happy.

You turn your attention back to the Aizawa in the memory, who was also staring at you.

You watched as Enji's mouth moved, but you couldn't quite hear him.

"You need to tell her how you feel." You finally heard Enji.

Your eyes went wide.

"She doesn't feel the same way, there's no point." Shouta turned away from you as you turned on your heel with the tray of coffees.

"You're such an idiot." Enji rolled his eyes.

"Our first coffees as pro heroes!" You smiled from ear to ear.

"Hell yeah!!" Yamada grabbed his coffee, pushing his cup in the air to meet yours. "Cheers to us!"

"Shouta, take your coffee and cheers with us. You too, Enji."

Enji had a sympathetic look on his face as he looked at Shouta. Like he knew how deep of feelings Shouta had for you.

Shouta watched every move you made, how your hips swayed as you sipped your coffee, something you often did when you had a sweet treat. How your hair fell beautifully on your shoulders, down your back almost to your ass.

You blinked, moving your hand in between the memory and reality, letting go of Aizawa's mind.

"Shouta. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to embarrass myself. I was sure you didn't like me, like that anyways."

You bring your knees to your chest, using your chin to lean on your kneecaps. "Funny, I thought the same about you up until you put me in a coma."

Aizawa turned his head down, almost like you cut him with a sharp knife.

You stared at him for a moment, hoping he would say something.

Anything.

"Will you go to dinner with me?" He finally spoke.

"You just said-"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

You ponder the question for a moment. You've wanted to see Shouta in a romantic setting for a long time. Where you both dress up, you put on your best makeup, and you could end the night in Shouta's arms.

"Tonight."

"It's 5PM."

"So you have 3 hours to get ready." You get up from the couch to slip your shoes on. "Pick me up at 8."

NEXT CHAPTER IS THE DATEEEEE HEHE

[devotedfem]

→ Mean

Synopsis: You weren't innocent at all, yoongi can see right throughout your act and fake tears. It was almost like you were challenging him, but he didn't have enough proves. The only thing he can do is tame a liar brat like you.

Yoongi x f.reader

Genre: detective au | yander-ish

Tags: mean min yoongi, crude language, sassy reader, possesive behavior, yander-ish, a bit of stalking, Jungkook and reader's situationship, detectives, dealers.

From the series masterlist; The chasing.

A.N: hello there, this is my first time writting on tumblr. I've always been obsessed with crime tv shows and Yoongi's mv where he wears that police outfit. Anyway i hope you enjoy!

Yoongi watched every expression of your face like a hawk through the glass separating him from the interrogation room, where you were trembling with teary eyes.

You were pretty, and the way you talked with such fear and vulnerability made you look innocent, but yoongi didn't believe your act, his guts telling him you weren't that innocent, you just were playing with them.

"I didn't knew Jungkook was a dealer, i swear to god. I-i am in love with him," your lips wobble with fat tears staining your redding cheeks.

Your hurt expression was a pitiful sight.

Yoongi narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, you were starting to piss him off. Really.

"Fucking liar," he huffs under his breath, crossing his arms with an angry grimace.

"Do you think she's lying?" Asked Namjoon next to him.

"I don't need to think it, because the evidence proves she's guilty like her boyfriend. We found her right where Jeon sells his shit," said matter of fact yoongi, making Namjoon chuckle.

"Well yoongi-ssi, that evidence isn't enough to arrest her. There's the possibility that it's a coincidence, we need more proves."

Yoongi rolled his eyes with frustation.

"My guts are never wrong and you know that."

Namjoon says nothing, just watching the girl at the other side of the room sobbing and looking heart broken.

"I'm going in, tell Mingyu to go the fuck out, he isn't doing anything useful."

Yoongi's coworker only sighs deeply, knowing how stubborn the other was.

You were alone in the room for a couple of minutes, sniffling. You felt their eyes on you, so you didn't stopped your tears.

The door of the room opened, showing a pale man with raven locks slicked back. His dark coat and the scar across his eye made him look intimidating, but not for you.

You felt a spark of curiosity at his angry scowl that was directed towards you.

Interesting.

"I- can i go home now?" You asked with a thin voice, looking at him with wide eyes.

" 'Don't think so, not until you confess." He said sharply, with narrow eyes watching every expression of your face.

You try to hide your smirk with a pout, loving the attention.

"I have nothing more to say, please let me go," you almost beg, wobbling your lips again, not breaking your blurry eyes from him.

But his face was stoic, unfazed by your tactics.

"We asked the people who worked in the bar your boyfriend sells drugs, and they all said you were a frequent client." He said with an unreadable face.

"I am! But-but i didn't knew he was a dealer, he said to me that he met his friends there, and i wanted to accompany him." Your eyes were closed with exasperation.

The raven haired man only hummed, getting up from his chair to walk forwards you, towering your body with piercing eyes.

It was an intimidation tactic, but you were kind of turn on by his closeness.

"I don't believe you," he almost spat, not breaking his dark gaze.

You made a crestfallen face, looking right back at him with vulnerable eyes.

"I wouldn't lie about something like that officer," you whispered not swallowing the fake tears.

The corner of his lips twitch a little.

"Detective," he corrected you rather harshly.

"Sorry, detective..." You paused, looking at his police badge, "yoongi."

His breath hitch for a second, but he immediately masked it with an indifferent face, but you caught it nevertheless.

Your teeth bit the bottom of your lips trying to hide your smirk again.

"What kind of girlfriend doesn't know her boyfriend sells drugs just right under her nose," he said with a straight face, but his tone was mockery.

That was a low blow, he wanted to make you look stupid.

Fine then, you'll play dumb.

"That's... so mean detective, how could i thought so low of Jungkook. He never gave me a reason to doubt," your voice broke again, diverting your eyes to look at your lap.

You felt a warm breath next to your ear, making your belly twist by his closeness.

"You're good at this, but you won't fool me. I'll be watching you, liar." He said lowly, with a very threatening voice that didn't scared you at all, it just aroused you.

"I hope you do detective, who else will protect me from Jungkookie," the whisper you let out shattered your act, making Yoongi's eyes widen just a bit.

"You can go now," he said expressionless, separating himself from your body.

You leaved feeling his piercing eyes on your back.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Yoongi accomplish his promise, he followed you everywhere. Although not enough to make himself look like a stalker but a detective.

And you never stopped going to the bar, almost like you were challenging him, letting him know that not matter what he says, you can do whatever you want.

"Brat," he said under his breath, watching you from afar dancing in the bar.

You knew he was there, his long black coat and raven locks were difficult to go unnoticed, so you throw some mischievous glances at him from the other side of the place, almost like inviting him to come closer. But Yoongi never did, he just stay sat in his chair, watching you.

You were getting bored, so you dance with a stranger.

Yoongi's eyes immediately sharpens and darkens at you, his beer left untouched. All his focus on you, just like you wanted.

You came closer to the stranger's body, ignoring his nasty and boring remarks, and brushed your lips against his jaw, not breaking your gaze from Yoongi's face.

You looked the exact moment where he clenched his jaw and narrow even more his eyes. Getting up from his chair.

A pang of disappointment took over your chest, maybe he was tired of the teasing.

You pouted pettily at the thought, now losing all your interest in the man you were dancing with.

"Get away from her," a harsh voice made you and the stranger startled.

You turn around to look at a pissed off Yoongi who has his eyes fixed on the stranger.

This time you couldn't hide your smirk.

"What? No, what the fuck is wrong with you dude," the man said back, and you watched how Yoongi smirked cynically, making a shiver run down your spine.

The raven haired detective said nothing, his eyes never broke away from the stranger. He moved away his coat a little, so the strange could look at the gun in Yoongi's hips.

You felt the way the man freeze, getting the fuck away without saying another word, making you huff. He was so easy to scare, what a coward.

Yoongi's hand on your shoulder took your attention back to him.

"Abusing your power, aren't you detective?" You teased with mirth.

"Didn't you have a boyfriend? Where did all those shed tears go? Hmm?" He asked instead, checking you out from head to toe.

And you were basking in the attention.

"Jungkookie will forgive me," you said innocently, biting your lip to stop your smirk. Yoongi watch the movement before looking at your eyes again.

"Really? He looked like the possessive type," that made you laugh hard, like if he just said the most funny joke.

Yoongi looked puzzled.

"Not at all, he fuck around with men and women, we aren't exclusive." You said, not caring if you admited that you lied to the police.

Yoongi only hummed.

"But..." You said getting closer to him, feeling his warm, "i would say you're the possessive type, aren't you? Scaring that man away so no one touch your target." The teased went straight to Yoongi's ego, making him anger a bit.

"Watch your mouth," he warns, but you didn't listen.

"Or what?"

Something dark flash in Yoongi's eyes.

"Are you challenging me?" He asked, like he didn't believe someone has the guts to do that.

"Why can i? It's fun," you said light heartedly, and half joking. But Yoongi saw right throughout you.

"Unless you don't want to regret your life choices and rot in jail, i recommend you to shut up," his words were harsh but his tone was rather calm.

You only pouted at the threat.

"But i'm too pretty and nice to go to a place like that," You whined.

Yoongi's lips twitch with a smirk, getting closer to your body.

"You're right on that. That's why i'll be kind and give you another chance," his low voice was near your ear.

His words took all of your interest immediately. You watched him with suspicion though.

"At what cost?"

Yoongi smirked.

"You'll come with me, and tell me every little secret of your so-called boyfriend," he mocked.

"And what if i don't?" You said not wanting to give in.

He grabbed your waist tightly.

"I'll find ways to take that information out of you."

Let me know if u want to be tagged to my next oneshots.

[glassessence]

(ΦωΦ) PGR requests! PGR requests! Can I please have some cute dating headcanons with Lee? Or even like, just a cute and soft oneshot with Lee?

It's completely 100% up to you what scenario they're in if you go with the oneshot~. (*´∀｀*)

Hello! I'm alive (and back). Life has been insane and no, it's not under control but I'm back nonetheless (to fulfil ancient fic requests that people have probably forgotten about and no longer care for but no matter; we persevere.)

I'm an angst writer through and through, but I tried my best to do cute and soft. I'm sorry if it's not what you were looking for, but I hope you can derive some enjoyment from it regardless.

Also, I really am sorry that it's literally a hundred years too late. I just suck LOL

a moment of peace   |   lee 

"One day the war will end. I want people to remember that there was more."

In the wake of a catastrophic injury, Lee helps the Commandant remember what they're fighting for: a life, a dream. A hope for the future that once was.

You grunted with effort, levering yourself awkwardly from the comforts of your bed. It had been six weeks since the accident. Lucia and Liv continued to refer to it as ‘The Incident’ and adamantly dodged questions from other teams. Anyone talking to them would think you’d died. In fact, you were pretty sure Kamui thought you had.

Three weeks ago, it’d been amusing. You’d even encouraged it. But now, as the second month of your handicap loomed on the horizon, all you felt was angry. You were sick of being sick, tired of being tired. Those who had seen the planet, who’d borne witness to the ruinous beauty of a broken earth, could never be contented to stay. And while you were idling away in the sterile comforts of Babylonia, the Punishing advanced below. 

Frustrated, you shifted in the wheelchair, punching the cushion behind you into submission. The contraption was uncomfortable, no matter how many curses or how much violence you inflicted upon it. Liv liked to say that it was as stubborn as you, but even her gentility couldn’t ease your latest black mood. It was hard to sit still while your comrades fought and bled; hard to watch progress find Constructs in leaps and bounds while it found you in stumbling steps. There was no doubt that you were recovering, but it was slow. Every day a step farther. Every night a little easier. Now, more than ever, you were reminded of your mortal fragility. A brave heart did not equate to a strong mind. And a strong mind did not mean a strong body. 

It’s bad, Asimov had said. A wheelchair for now and well, maybe forever. You’ll have some time. Use it to come to terms.

Somehow, perhaps through sheer stubbornness, you’d managed to avoid that dire fate. You would walk again and one day return to the maws of the Punishing. To be crunched up and spat out again? Such dark thoughts permeated your mind often. You couldn’t help it. You were as much a soldier as anyone, but these last weeks had reminded you of just how hard it was. The hurt and aches, the tears and fractures that had never been given the chance to heal. And in the dead of night, away from prying eyes, the terrible, consuming pain. It was hard to forget the wreck of your body in the aftermath: the limp dangle of your legs in Lee’s arms, the blood that poured out of you like a swollen river, bones and flesh unmade into fragments of dust and meat.

But harder still was watching your Ravens grounded and flightless, as trapped on Babylonia as you. Harder still was noting the prolonged absence of Strike Hawk and the rising tensions between Vera and Lee. Every sympathetic eye in the hallways made you sick. 

That was what had driven you to explore Babylonia. For all that it wasn’t earth, it was something. A home for some, even if it would never be for you. Sighing, you swiped away the holographic puzzle you’d been working on. These wheels aren’t going to turn themselves…

“Maybe I can threaten Asimov again,” you muttered under your breath, hands already reaching for the spokes of your wheels. “Maybe if I commit to being a nuisance…”

“If that’s your plan, you’ll have to do better than pouting over puzzles.”

Lee stepped around the corner, pristine in his palette of black and blue. Your breath caught. He was vivid against the stark corridors, a bold stroke in the emptiness, so painfully beautiful that it hurt not to stare. Every line of him was sharp and calculated, placed just so by an artist’s loving hand. But there was no talent in the world that could capture the pale fire of his eyes. Those haunting, expressive eyes that bared his soul when words could not. 

A blond brow arched. “Is there something on my face?”

“No,” you muttered grumpily, feeling your mood lift despite yourself. “Go away. I’m contemplating going legless.”

“Then you’d better get to it. Once Asimov hears, you’ll lose more than just your legs.”

You shot him an unholy glare. “Are you here for a reason?”

“Yes,” Lee said, apparently content to leave it at that. He studied your furrowed brow and the purple shadows beneath your eyes. “Have you been sleeping?”

“No. I do nothing but sit around all day. It’s terribly restful.”

“I think that’s the point.”

“No need to rub it in.”

He sighed, “Only you would miss going to war. No wonder Vera likes you.”

“She likes me the way a cat likes a rat,” you countered. “I’m only interesting until she gets hungry. Or bored.” Lee was silent, but you could hear his reproach all the same. “What? Cynicism is healthy, you know.”

“And when did you become a pessimist, Commandant?”

“Since I started throwing a tantrum,” you said primly, meeting his unflinching gaze with solemnity. As you’d hoped, Lee’s lips quirked. It was only the slightest twitch, hardly more than a trick of the light, but your heart fluttered all the same. He was perfect as a Construct, the very pinnacle of human beauty, but when he smiled — when his cheeks dimpled on the left — you could see beyond that inhuman magnificence to the soul beneath: Morian. The boy you’d never truly known, but somehow always had. 

Buoyed by your success, you added, “Though I prefer the term venting.”

Lee was unconvinced. “You mean being unreasonable?”

“That’s never stopped you before.”

A soft exhale stirred the air above your head. You imagined the phantom brush of it against your skin. “You’re impossible,” Lee said, moving behind you to grab the handles of your wheelchair. “Watch your hands.” 

Without another word, he slid you forward, gliding through halls of recreational rooms. You craned your neck to peer into one. Swaths of blue light danced on the walls, pierced irregularly by spears of gold and white. Somewhere in the distance, close enough to be a dream, rumbled the soft, lonely call of whale song. 

Aching, you looked away. Babylonia may pretend at heaven, but there was some things that could never be captured. The thunder of waves breaking against your feet. The tug of wind against the anchors of your being. And the clouds, tender and bruised in a sky that stretched forever.

Still, you’d seen more in the past month than you had in all your years of service. Human kindnesses and human virtues; small hopes and big dreams. Love, that singular bastion of hope at the end of the world, gathered so strongly in a single place that you could feel it in the air. Against all odds, humanity had taken this empty husk and given it a soul, one filled with the very best of man. Was it the body or the soul that made a home? Every day you spent here had watered the seeds of doubt: that life could go on, and neither humans nor the Earth truly needed each other. So then what were you fighting for?

Perhaps, you thought as Lee wheeled you around an unfamiliar corner, it’s time to let go.

A frosted glass door appeared before you. Beyond lay a blurry landscape of greens and browns, like those abstract paintings Ayla had once shown you. Babylonia had gardens of course, but they were mostly fake — structures of steel and plastic that imitated life. Waging war left little time for tending plants. It was sensible, economical even, but part of you had always mourned the loss. 

But now... Your breaths were short as Lee swiped his access card.

The red eye blinked blue.

Bright notes of birdsong greeted you, carried on the wings of a warm summer wind. Jasmine and lavender perfumed the air. Above you was the percussive rustle of leaves, thin branches dancing in their places; beneath, vibrant and alive, was a verdant green sea, stretching as far as the eye could see. Pathways meandered into the sunscape like great snakes, arching gracefully through copses of bushes laden with berries like glistening jewels. Trees towered overhead. You recognised the statuesque trunks of oaks and redwood, but also the elegant silhouettes of aspens and birch, and far in the distance, the bowed boughs of weeping willow. “This is…”

Lee wheeled you forward. The door clicked shut, locking you in, away from the aseptic and cold, away from the hungry maw of space into a remembered world. He was quiet as gravel crunched underfoot. For a while, there was only the sound of wonder. Your silent breaths and roaming eyes. The thundering beat of your heart and the awakening song in your soul. Then came the comfort of companionship. His staccato steps and your legato tread. The murmur of young leaves. Birds, singing unseen in notes that dipped and weaved.

You basked in the sensations. Never had you experienced anything like this. Not even on Earth — a tranquility so complete it seemed a dream. Gravel gave way to the hush of soil. Somewhere in the distance, you heard the gurgle of water, falling and falling, splashing into a pool that would not dry. Sunlight kissed your skin and you were surprised at the sting. Ultraviolet light, you realised with a jolt. How much energy does that cost?

“What is this?” you asked quietly, tilting your head to find Lee looking at you. There was an unreadable expression in his eyes. “Is this… is this real?”

For a moment, he said nothing, his lambent gaze full of feelings you couldn’t follow. You watched him as you always did. You had always been able to parse him, to lean on a connection you shared not even with Liv or Lucia, but he had retreated from you. What was it about this garden that pained him so?

“Lee?”

You reached out, fingers soft against his mechanical palm. Though he didn’t look at you, his fingers found their way into the gaps between your own. Hands braided, threaded together as if it was always meant to be. He had never touched you so intimately before, but it didn’t feel strange.

“It’s real,” he said at last, blue eyes fixed on the spread of green before you. “All of this is real. In a few months, it’ll finally be ready.”

You gave his hand a squeeze. “Ready for what?”

His eyes cleared like the sky after rain. In them, you recognised what you’d always known: love. So much love carried by those tired blue eyes. Wherever he had gone, Lee had come back, and he’d come bearing a hidden part of his soul, ready to be shared with you at last. “For humans,” he said. “For the children who have never known this.” He gestured around, encompassing the world with a wave of his hand. “This will remind them. Connect them with their history. They should feel things, while they still can.”

His hands closed around yours. The tips of his fingers dug into your skin, but you didn’t move. His pain was your own; you would bear it with pride.

“How long has this been happening?” you asked. “How long... I mean, how did you even grow these trees?”

“I brought seeds from Earth. Whenever we were sent on a mission, I’d retrieve some. It took years, and it was started way before me, but Hassan wanted—”

“Yeah,” you said gently, turning from him to face the garden once more. “Something for us to leave behind.”

Lee said nothing, but you could feel his conviction in the press of his palm against yours. “I believe in us. In you. One day the war will end. When that time comes, a decade or a thousand years from now, I want people to remember that there was more. That living once meant tranquility and beauty, not just blood. Not just violence.”

You nodded. His words struck a chord within you, his ideas a skeletal echo of your own secret thoughts. Alone in the dark, you had wondered of your legacy. When the fight was won and fabled peace found at last, what would the people think? Would you be a hero who reclaimed the Earth or a villain who had destroyed the very thing it sought to possess? 

“Not just violence,” you echoed. Sometimes it feels like that’s all we are.

Lee knelt by your side. His eyes met your own. “Commandant, I—” 

Something wet plinked against your forehead. You glanced up. The light receded with alarming speed, leaving a trail of pregnant clouds in its wake. Wind whipped through the branches, threatening to rip the very leaves from their homes. Birds scattered to unseen havens. Within moments, the garden was a roiling landscape of adverse weather. Rain poured down in an endless torrent, stirred by vicious gales to tempestuous rage. 

“What’s happening?” You had to yell to be heard above the howling storm. Lee had risen and was moving for the handles of your wheelchair.

“It’s the weather program!” he explained. “It’s supposed to emulate real-world meteorological conditions. Probably needs a little work!” 

You laughed, a full-bellied thing—the first in a long, long time. “You think?”

“I told them to keep it on spring. This… isn’t quite what I had in mind.” Your wheels churned in the soil that had become mud. Lee grunted behind you, but the chair stubbornly refused to move. With a huff of frustration, he gave up and circled around to face you. “Let’s get out of here.”

Leaning in, he dipped one arm beneath your legs and wrapped the other around your back. Your cheeks warmed despite the lashing wind. “Wait, what—”

“Hold on, Commandant.” His breath was warm, his lips so close that they brushed against the shell of your ear. Lee lifted you from the chair like a treasure. You could feel the steady beat of his heart as he cradled you against his chest. Somehow, your arms had found their way around his neck. Water plastered his hair to his forehead and dripped into his eyes, but he didn’t let go. His eyes, when they met yours, were as clear as a summer sky. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“I will be,” he said grumpily. “Once we get out of this tempest.”

You chuckled; something about his aggrieved tone was just so Lee that you couldn’t help it. “I like this!” you said above the storm. The rising wind and rain, the biting cold against the warm press of Lee, the hint of him in every blade of grass and velvet petal—you loved all of it. This place was a wild heart in the carefully planned rhythm of Babylonia. A sliver of the Earth captured in a truer way than you had ever known possible. “I love this!”

You whooped like a child, laughing as you opened your mouth to the taste of fresh water on your tongue. Your joy was infectious and soon Lee was laughing too, his soft giggles calling to more of your own. With water sluicing down your faces, with wind-chilled skin and soft-centred hearts, Lee carried you across the mud and slick, his steps confident and sure. You held on as tightly as you could, your fingers making divots into the smooth skin of his neck, his arms. There was a feeling between you with no name. An understanding so deep that it needed no voice. 

You gazed out at the wonder before you. It truly was a miracle. Real trees and real grass. Real flowers that would wither and die and live again. Life and hope, you thought as the doors hissed open. A moment of peace.

They slid shut, sealing the wild beauty of the garden from you once more. You could still feel the rain slicking your skin, running down your face to pool like crystals on the pristine ground.  You looked up at Lee with liquid eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked breathlessly. “Why did you labour alone?”

“Because,” he said. “It’s a gift.”

A gift. But you knew Lee, knew him like you knew your own soul, and you heard all the things he did not say. It was a gift, but it was also a dream. A promise, and a hope. It was all the things that existed in the quiet spaces between heartbeats, unseen and unheard, but known all the same.

And shared, sometimes, in the tender feelings between two soldiers wondering, and silently wishing for more.

“Come on,” Lee said after a moment. “You’ll catch a cold. I’ll come back for the chair later.”

You smiled as his footsteps rang out in the empty corridor. Swaying in his arms with the smell of petrichor still in your veins, you felt something ignite in your chest. It was small and fragile, easily buried amid the chaos of war, but you knew where to find it again. Tucked away behind a frosted glass door, there was a piece of Lee that would always be ready to remind you of what you were fighting for.

Not just violence.

For life. And for hope.

—

“Thanks for that. I owe you one.”

Murray watched happily as Morian cradled his Commandant close. He’d asked the technician to cut the audio, but there was no mistaking the depth of feeling between them. His brother was far too awkward for any declarations of love, but he hoped he’d at least given him a chance, an opportunity to express those feelings he so obviously harboured for his leader. Knowing Morian though, he’d probably squandered it, but well, a man could dream. 

The tech shot Murray a disgruntled glare. “Anything else? I have better things to do than meddle in Construct affairs.”

He sighed in mock sympathy. “More’s the pity. I love meddling in people’s lives.”

“This is why nobody likes you, Murray. Lee’s going to scold me enough as it is.” 

“I had enough of that as a kid. I’ve done my time.” With a casual wave of his hand, he left the scowling technician to his muttered insults and his bribe. Murray walked down the corridors feeling lighter than he had in weeks. Morian—Lee now—had sacrificed his life for Murray. Though he couldn’t quite do the same, he wasn’t helpless. He wasn’t the weak, younger brother that needed protecting anymore. 

It’s my turn now, brother. I may not be able to return your heart, but I hope I can give it back to you all the same.

[secret-smut-sideblog]

(sooo thought I should probably masterlist these so here you go, have fuuun) nsfw in red, pg-13 in ourple

I'm mostly on ao3!

Dragon Age fics

We Were Meant for Spring (on ao3) - fenris/anders/f!hawke evil love triangle, ongoing

It Happened Quiet - (a short slutty lucanis x f! rook drabble)

Please Be Rude (on ao3) - what started as a short and indulgent introduction to my rook and lucanis' dynamic. written pre-release so forgive ooc or contradictions. finished

The Bear and The Dove (lavellan x blackwall, ANGST, slowburn, smut, completed (?) series)

The Wolf - Waking in a prison, Lavellan finds herself the captive, then leader, of a force trying to close a rift in the sky. Recruiting a gruff dark stranger in her journey...

The Raven - After her estranged clan contacts her, Vella loses her composure when the Chancellor spews hate at her. But her guard dog is all too happy to bite...

The Lamb - The rift set to be closed once and for all, Vella hopes to spend one last night in his arms. The world set to crash down around them, she must finally sleep...

The Sparrow - In her purgatory of snow, Vella tries to reach somewhere shaped like home. Her love and her cause lost to her, a voice guides her forward...

The Hound - Finally reaching Skyhold, Vella reaches her breaking point after Blackwall pulls and pushes her away again. Anger flaring hot into him when he comes to darken her balcony...

The Swan - Following the anger Vella had burned into him, and her silent forgiveness, Blackwall seeks her out to ask for something shaped like atonement. And to maybe, selfishly, hope for something more...

The Spider - Fallen through a rift, then back into the world, Vella finds herself wracked with grief. Her love there to catch her, and unravel some long held grief of his own...

The Halla - Reunited with a Dalish clan, Vella hopes to help any way she can. And, returned to the soft of his bed, hopes her love will let her help him as well...

The Dove - Using the full force of her foresight and the strife within decisions made, Celene's Grand Ball proves to be bloodstained and venomous. Leaving Vella exhausted to old and new injuries, tenderly caught by his soft love...

The Mockingbird - Chasing after the trail of her runaway love, Vella is forced to see his crimes firsthand...

The Phoenix - The trial to judge her lost love upon her, she must make two heavy choices with new eyes that will change everything...

The Fox - Still on the tender outskirts of her love, Blackwall struggles with regaining her full favor as they must venture to a monumental decision in the Arbor Wilds...

The Rabbit - The battle for all of Thedas nearly drawn to their door, Vella and her bear share an urgent night of passion before it all falls around them...

Monster Fucker fics

Bones of Ribbon - Headlights had been a consistent bother in her new home. On a rainy night, she had enough. Assuming an inconsiderate neighbor, she discovered something far different on the street below...

Tongues and Teeth - When her monster comes to her again, Merricat learns more about them. And as they are comforted in her, are drawn ever closer...

You've Seen The Butcher - Fate conspires to put Merricat in the path of Blackwood's hunger. To feed their need and their desire, and the intertwining of both, she opens herself to them...

Oneshots

Devourer - (astarion x f! reader) Your beloved vampire has gotten very comfortable with you. But you wonder of he's been holding back some of his more supernatural tendencies...

Bloodlust - (astarion x f! tav) Tav invites her bloodthirsty friend out for some late night reconnaissance, both of their cravings being fed...

Lay on Hands - (astarion x f! tav) In the early hours of the morning someone cant keep their hands to themselves...

Pulling Strings - (astarion x f! tav) Tav has caught on that her favorite vampire doesn't enjoy touching or being touched by others. But she has a suggestion to possibly help that piques his interest...

Satiated - (astarion x f! dark urge) With Astarion starving in the Underdark his bloodthirsty friend sees his hunger, knows it quite well. And with a promised death in their future, seeks to help him sate himself...

Cold Comfort - (astarion x f! dark urge) Finally reaching Moonrise Towers, she finds her urge overtaking her, taking an innocent life. Astarion seeks to keep her company through the long night...

Heavy Metal Lover - (karlach x f! tav) With her touch newly returned, Karlach is hungry for contact. Seeking out Tav for a little hand to hand combat that quickly turns heated...

What Lies Between - (gale x f! tav) After a magical misfire, Tav and Gale are trapped tight between stone. Weeks of sexual tension between sorcerer and wizard come to a head...

Possession - (gale x f! tav) With natural challenge and charge between them and a misstep at connection, an unexpected competitor appears in camp. Things must come to a burning head between sorcerer and wizard...

Night Wandering - (gale x f! tav) After Tav's little magic lesson from her favorite wizard and the heat momentarily shared between them, she's feeling pent up. If only his tent wasn't directly next to hers...

Black Out Days - (gale x f! tav) Tav's pain rising to an unbearable level, she indulges in some found herbs to find relief. But her sanctuary is laced with some heated side effects...

Supine Bound - (gale x f! tav) With Tav believing she's crossed a boundary of intimacy twice with Gale, she invites the wizard to get some retribution...

Warm Company (halsin x f! tav) With her crush on the vampire tearing her heart, a large kind druid seeks to make her feel wanted...

You Know Me Too Well (gortash x f! dark urge) After the coronation, she can't get the familiarity he showed her out of her mind. She needs answers, and the Archduke is more than happy to indulge her...

Eyes on Fire (gortash x f! dark urge) The visage of the Archduke won't leave her, and itching for blood, his favorite assassin is about to pay the Lord a very welcome visit...

North Star (kar'niss x f! tav) Finding a drider in the darkness, Tav offers for him to join her party. The safety and clarity he receives in her presence and her surprising admiration spurn his many legs to move much nearer...

Miniseries

When The Night Is Over - (1/2) Tav was no stranger to vampiric hunger and found her new companion in the throes of it. He held tightly to his mask, but her offer to guide him could crumble it...

Even If It Bleeds - (2/2) When a hunter threatens one of her own, Tav urges Astarion to take matters into his own hands. Further encouraging him to seek out his own needs, his own desire...

-

Pillow Talk (1/2) Tav innocently offered to help Astarion with his morning routine. But things get very close, and Astarion is shocked how her sweet face belies the sinful mouth she has...

Lover, Please Stay (2/2) Tav keeping him at arms length, Astarion makes a plan to woo her back into his good graces. But his hunger, for her and her blood, proves distracting...

-

Warm Water (gale x f! tav) 1/3 With one of Tav's love languages being physical affection, Gale tries to keep his touch hungry skin from her. The sirens call of her arms could overwhelm him, but he's far from the only one heeding her soft song...

Warm Honey (gale / halsin x f! tav) 2/3 Both druid and wizard seeking out her warmth, Gale makes a plan to win her affections. Yet both scent and sound could conspire to be his undoing...

Warm Blood (gale / astarion x f! tav) 3/3 With a sanguine competitor now circling with the large druid, Gale can no longer put off his advances...

-

Girl Talk - (1/4) One late night Astarion turned their conversation to a more sensual topic and was delighted to discover Tav lacked experience with men. Naturally he was more than happy to lend a hand...

It Will Come Back - (2/4) Their shared night has been tormenting him, after staking his claim he found himself needing to be near her. And after a night of drinking, seeing her with someone else, he had to have her again...

Heat Signature - (karlach x tav, 3/4) After nearly freezing to death Tav needs Karlach near. Very near, it seems...

Unpunishable - (4/4) After Karlach spent the night with Tav, Astarion is feeling very normal about it. So normal that he needs her in his tent all night. Just to feed, he swears...

The Tav in question... (for reference)

Child Of Dawn series

(gale x f! tav, slow burn, completed)

Nightcall

Non Believer

Dream Girl Evil

Let Me Follow

To Build A Home

Bedroom Hymns

Listen Before I Go

Many Hands

Faith Consuming Hope

A Hole In the Earth

Keep the Rain

What The Water Gave Me

the girlypop... (aurum, my tav)

Gale and Aurum, Bad Ending (pain!)

Prayer Factory - (gale x f! tav, named) Aurum steels herself to face her old demons at the temple, with her love at her side. But the adrenaline of confrontation leaves her coiled, and a wizard very eager to take her wrath...

Gold Satin Dreamer - (gale x f! tav, named) Inviting his radiant wife to give a presentation at Blackstaff, Gale notices the longing gaze of his less than friendly colleague...

Hard Times - (gale x f! tav, named) After a venomous spat with Gale, Aurum finds herself in the prison of her dreams again. But with several pairs of hands cradling her, she doesn't have to weather it alone. And, perhaps, find her own vindication in the aftermath...

Nose to the Grindstone - (gale x f! tav, named) Aurum and Gale fucking in the dirt. They were left alone at camp, it's not their fault. Smh.

Exhale Inhale - (gale x f! tav, named) After Aurum took a hard hit in battle, Gale blames himself for a break in his concentration. Requesting they practice something a little rough for him to hone his skills...

House of the Rising Sun - (halsin x f! tav, named) After Gale received the Annuls of Karsus, and the subsequent break of Aurum's heart, she cannot shake the lingering betrayal. Driving her to the strong shoulder and warm arms of another...

AA Break Up Series

(ascended astarion x f! tav, drama and smut, completed)

We The Drowned

Take Me Back To Eden (shadowheart × f! tav)

Like Real People Do (halsin x f! tav)

I Should Hate You

Chokehold

What Kind Of Man (gale x f! tav)

Seven Devils

All I Wanted

The Moon Will Sing

Strawberry Wine (gale x f! tav)

As It Was

Astarion x Dark Urge

(astarion x f! durge, tenderness and smut, completed)

Dark Signs

Bite The Hand

Prey Drive

A Dangerous Thing

My Love Is A Dagger

Bloodcall

Little Miss Murder herself (my durge)

Distance

(astarion x f! plus fized tav, tenderness and smut, completed NOTE: these are old as hell lol)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

First Light (Prologue)

The Drow (indulgent prologue chapter)

My Portrait of Tav (I do be drawing..)

Tav Headcanons (being indulgent)

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s7 episode 16 “chimera” thoughts

i may have missed easter by a few days, but!!! here i am, watching the episode that says it takes place “over the easter holiday”

how is everyone doing?? honestly, i’m really excited to get to the next episode. but the last 2 have been super good, so hopefully we’re on a winning streak. 

look, i can recognize patterns, though- the streaks never last too long on this show. god love it. bless it, even. but it’s just the way it works. that being SAID, i have heard a few things about the next episode, and i am SO excited to see what happens.

so! mulder is hunting for a creature!! i hope there is scully time, too, but maybe she’s busy with her family doing easter stuff. 

post-episode thoughts: not a bad episode at all! it had some VERY cute moments, and some of the most blatantly wrong plot predictions i have ever made, which is always fun to read back, LMAO. screw that adderly guy for real though. and shoutout to mulder's vague definition of "significant other" for getting me to make a squealing noise akin to a baby animal in distress.

let’s see what this episode will bring!

it’s easter sunday in vermont. and this brunch looks crazy. michelle found some eggs, and also the easter bunny is here #yassss! this looks so expensive. although, i’m scared of people in holiday costumes after the killer santa episode, but still. i can appreciate the effort that went into this. the kids will remember this forever, says one lady, later revealed to be named ellen, to the host of easter brunch. “i hope there are some things they won’t remember” says the host (martha) with a pointed look at a new woman approaching… what is their tea…?

ohhh, this woman is named jenny. and ellen tells martha to be nice- but jenny does NOT say hello to her, LMAO

michelle is hunting for more eggs, yay, i love an egg hunt!! but i’m scared she’ll find some sort of beast or ghoul. she’s wandering into a wooded area… careful, queen…. she hears some birds and finds a raven. and it flies at her!!! when the bird scares her and she runs, jenny is right behind her!!! LEAVE MICHELLE ALONE??

the poor girl drops all her eggs and runs away :( why is this GROWN WOMAN chasing a child into the woods?!

at night, martha says it took two hours to put michelle to bed because she was so scared!!! and while martha personally didn’t see a bird, whatever michelle saw spooked her. she wants to be with her dad. who cannot come home early. 

the window is open and the curtains are blowing. ellen shuts them. but a bird got in the house!!! and it’s cawing!

and then… the window or a mirror smashes or something?? it’s hard to tell. and someone is IN THE HOUSE. GIRL. IS IT JENNY???????

oooooo….. now i wanna know why jenny and martha have such a fight going on!!

the hawk outside my window is back :) everyone say hello!!

intro tiiiiiime!!!! spooooooooky!

is mulder staking out a strip club? what’s he doing all that for? while popping bubblegum. 

(he chews bubblegum? is this a new alternative to seeds? we must analyze this development!)

oh, scully is here too!!! bringing some coffee. it’s 8:42 pm and they’re looking for… someone. he is sure she will come.

AWW, look at scully sitting… she's so cute

LMAOOOO “well, i hope you realize there’s no evidence whatsoever that this mystery woman of yours has even committed a crime… although her wardrobe comes close” <- i’m howwwwwling. get her, scully!!!!

oh, i think she actually has tea, not coffee in her cup :,) as she lounges here. mulder explains that 6 people were seen with this mysterious individual at the strip club and then never seen again. he thinks she might be a serial killer (a female one! very rare!), AND twice police have raided the club to arrest her. 

but scully points out that twice the police turned up empty handed. so, hmm.

NOOOOO, scully is talking about how depressing this whole thing is when he gets a phone call and just… GETS UP AND LEAVES. WHERE IS HE GOING?!?? leaving her in this strange and dirty room with a half-eaten sandwich and a bunch of photos of the suspect!!!

well, it was skinner who summoned him, so it must be pretty important, and i guess i can forgive him for ditching her. skinner has a photo of martha on his desk. why doesn’t he want scully here to accompany him????

martha disappeared two weeks ago, and no one has seen her since. mulder points out that he is already on a case, and skinner replies, no, you’re on a stakeout, and scully can handle it.

(suspicious mulder look) “why, what did i do?” <- awww, he thinks he’s in troubleeee. makes you wonder how many times he has gotten put on weird sounding assignments as skinner punishment. (obviously the stuff with kersh doesn’t count- that man was torturing them both!)

LMAOOO, skinner says it may play to his “strengths as an investigator” and then asks about the significance of ravens in mythology. when the boss requests that you infodump… you comply.

michelle claims she was attacked by a raven earlier that day and then heard one again before her mother disappeared. “no really, what did i do?” mulder asks again <- LMAOOOO. punishment of birds be upon ye

skinner says it’s the only lead that hasn’t been explored! and also, martha’s father is a federal judge- it has been made clear that finding her is to be skinner’s top priority. so off you go, raven boy.

i’m always so sad when our agents get separated. 

mulder has arrived to vermont to meet a sheriff named phil adderly. he’s using a newspaper as an umbrella. king!! that seems really ineffective and like it will make a soggy mess, but he has to protect that perfect hair. mulder seems apprehensive about if he can be any help to the case. 

so adderly’s wife is ellen, who we saw at the brunch before the disappearance, and she is martha’s best friend- and also the one who told her to be nice to jenny. martha is admired in the community. adderly assures mulder that martha’s husband howard has nothing to do with this. suspicious!

mulder is staring at howard and michelle. “what do you know about a raven?”, he asks adderly. mulder says it won’t be necessary to talk to michelle. i wonder why…. does he think he’ll be in and out that fast? or does he just not wanna talk to a traumatized child today?

oooo, but he does find some weird marks in the house. “how many talons would you say a raven had?”, he asks. the sheriff cannot have expected to be asked that question upon waking up in the morning, LMAOOO. mulder realizes the error of his ways and quickly throws in a “never mind”

and also, there was a mirror that was broken at the scene. so keep that in mind.

howard comes in, meeting mulder and admitting he wonders if this whole thing is a waste of his time- the police have been coming and going, which is not great for crime scene investigation. is howard a suspect? hmm… 

and he says he found something. hands it to mulder to investigate. “uh, birth control pills?” <- that’s really funny out of context.

make mulder react to uncomfortable family secrets more often. i always enjoy it.

it’s not a laughing matter for howard, though, who says he thinks martha was having an affair. well, that’s a pretty big jump…

howard is telling mulder about his vasectomy and he’s just nodding along. listening. ohhhh, poor king… dealing with this…. separated from his scully and listening to a random guy talk about his marital problems.

listen, i’m sticking up for martha here, though: i have read FAR too many stories of people managing to have children after a vasectomy to EVER feel comfortable believing that a simple surgery can take care of all risk. HORROR stories. mostly on reddit. things that will send a shiver down your spine. team martha.

and then howard hands mulder a key, saying he found it in martha’s favorite coat, and he doesn’t know where it goes to. nah, howard is def sleeping with jenny, and martha’s mysterious disappearance is to cover up what’s going on there. i’m onto your tricks, howard. you may fool the sheriff, but you won’t fool me.

howard thinks that maybe martha ran away with this affair partner she must have, and that is why they haven’t found her. ummm… if she wanted to leave, she could do that without breaking the mirror and screaming and faking evidence?? unless she wanted to make it look like a kidnapping, i guess. howard seems to be jumping to a lot of conclusions and i do not trust him.

ellen is sticking missing posters on cars as she pushes the baby in a stroller. and she hears a raven…. when jenny approaches!!! “cute kid”, she says.

ellen asks jenny if she wants some posters to put up on her side of town, which… yeah… doesn’t sound great, even if she just really innocently meant they live in opposite geographical areas. she then apologizes for how that sounded. “no, it just naturally comes out that way when you think you’re better than everyone”, jenny spits back. DAMN. 

and then she stalks away. 

ellen sees this HORRIBLE ZOMBIE IN THE CAR WINDOW??? and then the glass SHATTERS

what is jenny doing….?

adderly is fully on board with the “martha was having an affair” theory and tells mulder as much.

“according to your audubon book here, a raven has four talons”, says mulder. STOP!!! again, that is so funny out of context. adderly wants to know if martha was hurt and he’s like no, let’s have some bird facts.

now he’s going into what ravens and broken mirrors mean in a spiritual sense like it’s the most natural thing in the world- it’s true, i love this man!

ellen comes home with the daughter. and also, they’re letting mulder stay in their house. has that ever happened before?? staying with a family instead of booking a hotel? and he agrees to it. to be fair to him, though, they didn’t offer much of a choice

so now he’s sleeping in the guest room, i guess. dinner is fancy as hell and ellen is like “oh this is typical for us :)” <- she’s trying to flex on him

his phone rings! is it scully? OHHHH IT IS, AND SHE WANTS TO GO HOOOOME :( the furnace broke in that weird like stakeout room and she’s cold!!! and she doesn’t want to think about the things she’s seen staking out a strip club!!!

LMAOOO “hey scully, tough it out; whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? (turning to ellen who is serving him dinner) no, no, no, no, no capers, thank you” “i’m sorry, what?” “i said ‘what… a crazy caper’, i’ll talk to you later, and keep warm, bye”

AWWWWW, POOR SCULLY :( LOOK AT HER POUTY FACE, OHHHHH MY GOOOOOOOD I’M GOING TO YELL!!!! she is COLD, damnit!!! get her a blanket!!!

look at this fancy new england boy mulder putting his napkin in his lap as they eat this… meat creation. what a gentleman.

back at howard and michelle’s place, michelle won’t eat dinner because mommy didn’t make it. and dad offers to get hamburgers instead. but she is terrified and says “it’s back”. she is so scared!!!! someone help her!!! the bird is right at the window cawing!!

he leaves to go scare it off, but i’m scared he’s not coming back. there are soooo many birds in the yard…. eating something….. A HAND??? HELLLLL NO. 

mulder is on the scene. the ravens were eating martha. so was she in the garden the whole time? how did they not notice her there?!

adderly is refusing to arrest howard, saying he didn’t do it, even if the body was buried in his backyard and all signs point to him. he didn’t do it. which makes me think adderly might be covering up for howard. ellen comes and starts crying seeing her friend's body. and she confesses to seeing the beast earlier. 

she thinks the claw marks on martha’s face could have been from the creature. mulder believes her. adderly basically telling him to stfu about the spirits. mulder thinks someone summoned this creature, and asks if martha had any enemies. 

they go to talk to jenny, who viciously denies the claim. OHHHH, she’s shading adderly right there in front of mulder… something about a town secret. but she fesses up to hating martha and how perfect she thought she was, and she heard that she was stepping out on her husband, so look into THAT.

so she has a criminal record. adderly says he thinks she didn’t do it- he sure has a lot of opinions on this case- but why did she lie about her alibi, mulder asks. “i got that vibe pretty clear” <- OHHHH!! is adderly cheating on ellen with jenny?!? this is so messed up

LMAOOOOOO, SCULLY CALLS: “mulder, when you find me dead, my desiccated corpse propped up, staring lifelessly through the telescope at drunken frat boys peeing and vomiting into the gutter, just know that my last thoughts were of you… and how i’d like to kill you” <- tell him how you FEEL, sister!!!

she sounds like she has a cold :( poor thing!!!

he’s talking about how there’s the same seedy underbelly in this fancy vermont town as there is in that strip club in DC.

she keeps seeing a van with writing about jesus on it, and this distracts her from hearing mulder’s autopsy request. HIS EYE ROLL, LMAOOOO... these two deserve each other.

ravens!! at the adderly house!!!! ellen is vacuuming. finds that key from martha's pocket stuck in her vacuum thingy!! and there is lots of cawing!!!

the raven got in the room with the baby!!! and then she sees the scary face again in the mirror and it shatters!!! AUGH, it gave me the CREEPS! she takes the baby and runs, hiding in a closet from the scary person who seems to be right outside. and then her husband bursts open the closet door and she’s sobbing. so is HE the beast...?

mulder will investigate. he looks so handsome. sits down to ask her what happened. adderly glares at her when she says "it" chased her. and then tells mulder to stop encouraging this. he thinks she broke the mirrors. but! mulder finds the key that was on the ground!

mulder sits next to ellen and her very large baby and asks about the key. she hasn’t seen it before that morning. adderly takes the key to figure out where it goes to. so if she found it and then was attacked….? and then ellen found one….  

the question is who will find the third copy of the key and be attacked, if the pattern is to be followed. and also, where is adderly going as he leaves ellen in bed at night?

OH, off to see jenny? who lives at house 6? she hugs him and he says he can’t do this anymore. and then they’re kissing. oh. okay. there are mirrors on her ceiling as they hook up. 

ellen is making mulder breakfast. and he ironed his shirt! saying it relaxes her to do housework. is she hitting on him or just very nice? and adderly is, of course, not here. 

OH, she is hitting on him, i do believe. “do you have a significant other?” “um, not in the widely understood definition of that term” <- QPR MSR WRITES ITSELF 🥰

(gosh, my heart is still melting from this...... i need to go sit down. he doesn't say NO. just "not in the way you normally would think to use that word" OHHHHHH... i love that MSR blurs all boundaries of romantic vs platonic- it is just Love all the way down)

she's assuring him the right woman will come along and change all that, and that he shouldn’t miss out on home and family life, and he nods… apprehensively… when in walks adderly, who claims he was doing paperwork. at night. and then tells mulder that they’re short handed, got a deputy out, and yes, it lasted all night.

OHHH, this is juicy…. mulder shares the news that martha was 4 weeks pregnant when she died. he asks who the father might be while taking a bite of bacon. “just say what’s on your mind, agent” <-he KNOWS mulder is onto his ass...

mulder wants the key back!!! he says it is evidence!!! see, here i was thinking it was a “a key shows up before the raven monster eats you” thing, but maybe it was just one key to jenny’s place all along. 

mulder is mad as fuck at this adderly guy, who runs off to the shower, leaving mulder the very awkward situation of “do i tell this woman her husband is cheating on her?”

jenny is buttoning her clothes back up, calling a child, saying mommy had to work a double shift and she’ll be home real soon. when she hears the ravens!! they’re fighting outside her place. and then all her mirrors on the roof shatter!!! and the demon thing grabs her!!! swipes her with it’s terrible claws!!!!

mulder is here at the crime scene. is adderly responsible for this demon??? adderly was having an affair with jenny AND martha? and they knew about each other!!! but ellen doesn’t. “but even if she did, she’d find a way to rationalize it” <- OH!!!! what a horrible thing to say about the person you are married to

he claims ellen baby trapped him so he couldn’t get a divorce, and i think this guy is just a sleaze of the highest order. also, mulder needs to shave, but… i don’t hate it.

oh, NOW adderly wants to hear about the ravens and the broken mirrors. HE THINKS HE MIGHT BE THE REASON THEY ARE HERE AND NOT EVEN KNOW! that is actually a very interesting concept

back at the house, adderly calls, saying he needs to talk to ellen, and mulder is on his way over to discuss whatever it is that is going on. but where is she??? she's just getting home, saying the baby needs a nap.

so she didn’t hear the phone……

creepy music plays as she puts the baby to bed. OH SHIT!!! SHE HAS A STAB MARK ON HER NECK!!! FROM WHERE JENNY GOT THE DEMON THING WITH GLASS!!!!!!

not gonna lie that plot twist got me. gaaaaaaaaag!

ellen is getting in the tub. is mulder still on his way over? oh! she didn't know the wound was in her neck!!! but she gets flashbacks of being stabbed as the scary wild beast???

NOOOO, mulder comes home while she’s getting in the tub. oh god. his phone rings. it’s scully. she solved the stakeout mystery!!! the mystery blond is a guy named mark who is taking the 6 missing people to a halfway house! “a wolf in sheep’s clothing. or i guess in this case, a sheep in wolf’s clothing” <- a happy ending for all involved. except for mulder. who is stuck here while this lady who was hitting on him a few hours ago is in the bathtub.

scully may now shower for 8 or 9 hours and sleep until spring- her words <3 i am very happy for her

but this makes mulder realize things…. 

he knocks on the door of the bathroom. ellen asks him to go away. he tells her that jenny is dead and her husband is in custody- but he doesn’t think adderly did it. he’s asking her where she went that morning. she says it can’t be her. 

ohhhh, he thinks that if she can’t face her other side, that would explain the mirrors being shattered… 

she’s crying. if she comes out, everything she thought she had is over. and her eyes are all black. he’s gonna get attacked!!

aaaand sure enough, she comes out swinging at him in full demon mode, slashing the mirror with her talons. dunking him underwater and drowning him!!!! but then she’s gone??? bro is very wet, fully clothed in the tub. 

oh. she’s in the corner panting and shivering. 

at a psychiatric hospital, mulder is sitting with ellen, then gets up and leaves. he comes out to see adderly. allegedly, she has a split personality. maybe ellen’s changes were far more extreme than the typical case. and mulder thinks she had to rationalize adderly’s cheating somehow- she was trying to protect her family.

ohhhh. that makes her words to mulder about family being a refuge all the more terrifying.

she sees a raven outside the hospital and approaches it, placing her hands on the windows.

the end

woaaaaah. 

okay, well that plot twist got me, LMAO. i didn’t see it coming even if it seems obvious in hindsight. ellen, i was rooting for you!!! we were all rooting for you!!! martha, i defended you!

adderly is evil. 

not a bad episode! it’s not an instant classic for me or anything- hard to get that when the agents aren't together- but not a bad one at all. the drama of people who are well off is always gonna be interesting to me. rich people problems and such!

interesting to get scully as comedic relief!!! this has been wildly underused in this show, but we should get that more often, because it does work well <3 poor thing!!! she was so cold!!! he just left her!!! i was so mad at first, until we learned it was because skinner told him he had to!!!

their little stakeout was so funny, too. makes you realize that they must have so many boring cases like that we simply do not get to see in between all of the exciting ones we watch. it makes you think about long hours in a small room, nothing but hot tea and each other's company, conversation absentmindedly treading into vulnerability... swapping stories of high school classes, bad dates, favorite books... there are fic ideas everywhere for those with the eyes to see them.

oh, mulder. you can tell this man desperately wants to have some sort of peaceful life, but then this sort of thing happens to both of our agents and it’s like, well... maybe domesticity is just another front for evil. 

if you need me from now until eternity, i will be thinking about his unconventionally significant other <3

[theia-eos]

Do you have any headcanons regarding Branded biology? Because I feel that's a really unexplored part of Tellius

Thanks for the ask!

Hm. I guess that depends on what you mean by biology.

For example, in my post about laguz and Branded aging I do suggest that I think that the Branded age like a beorc until the later stages of puberty and then start to slow down, slowing down most significantly once they've reached the equivalent of 25 for the type of Branded that they are. I feel like that's a very canon adjacent head canon.

Other than that, they're usually thought of being exactly like humans. That's where canon ends. But that's where headcanons come in, of course.

It's said that beast tribe laguz have great night vision, bird tribe laguz have terrible night vision (aside from Janaff), and dragons are left out of the conversation, but I'd like them to be above average (beast tribes go from a vision value of 4>>5 when transforming, bird tribes go from 1>>0 when transforming, and dragons get a 3>>3 because they're never in any maps with vision as a gimmick, but I'd rather them go from 3>>4 or 4>>4 when transforming). I think Branded laguz have their night vision impacted by their tribe (bird Branded with a vision of 2 or 1, beast Branded with 4 or 5, and dragon Branded with 4). This isn't really supported by the games, as vision is class based, but I think it'd be fun if the Branded units had different vision values from their class. Really merge that gameplay with that lore.

Laguz, universally, have more sensitive hearing than beorc, and I think Branded also wind up with more sensitive hearing, just not as sensitive as a laguz.

Laguz are shown to be heavily impacted by the oversaturation of "order" or "chaos" energy in the air, while the average beorc doesn't notice it. With order-aligned laguz (herons/Ranulf) super ill with too much "chaos" while really at home with too much "order" and vice versa with chaos-aligned laguz (everyone else). Mist and Micaiah are shown to be affected by "chaos" energy like order-aligned laguz, and since Micaiah is a heron branded, I feel like it's no stretch to say that Branded are also sensitive to the ambient "order" and "chaos" energy and similarly affected (Mist is just more proof of Elena being a possible descendent of herons without being Branded, thank you).

That's about it on the biological differences between laguz and beorc that I can recall off the top of my head at the moment, aside from the transformation which Branded cannot do, or tails/ears which Branded do not have.

For everything else, for me, I would want to consider what might be biologically different about the laguz compared to the humans (likely being within the same genus or tribe at the very least, taxonomically speaking, coming from the common ancestor of the Zunanma) and then what it would be like for a Branded to be a child of both different species. It's obvious that they have the same number of chromosomal pairs, being able to reproduce with beorc just fine, and thus, also probably laguz, so they're probably not that far removed from each other.

So, getting away from the clinical sciencey bits, I do see people liking to add some more "inhuman" aspects to the Branded to highlight their otherness from beorc, either for angst, fluff, drama, or sexy times. Being that I would rather die than have any one on the internet know what I think about sexy times (people who post/comment/like/discuss smut on main, you are far braver than me and know that I admire you. Anonymously), we will not be getting into that.

For example, it's implied that the laguz are able to do all of the different vocalizations the IRL animals can do in their transformed states, and Mordecai's English dialogue implies they can do that in their humanoid forms as well. Cats/lions/tigers are all capable of purring. Ravens and hawks can make a sort of warbling sound akin to purring sometimes called "rattling" so they could do that, and dragons can "rumble" similar to a crocodile which is also akin to purring. Herons and wolves don't really have a vocalization that can be mistaken for purring behaviorally/tonally. I would also say that the Branded would also be capable of these vocalizations, but to a quieter extent than a laguz (think how kitten ears aren't as sensitive as adult cat's ears, so cats have to talk in a higher register (meowing) for kittens to hear them).

Cat tongues are known to be rough, so I think it's fair to say that the Gallian laguz in humanoid form have rougher tongues, and Branded descended of cats/tigers/lions would also have slightly rougher tongues.

That's really all I can think of at the current moment, but let me know if there's anything else you'd like to hear!

[booksrbetterthanpeople]

Can we know what are the science and recess kids pets?

Some of these are head canons from @aganyan and @nerdy-chocomallow

Lacey has a Brindle greyhound named Scout

Cosette has a Algerian Black hedgehog named Westley Cottonballs and he. Is. Fabulous.

Reshma’s uncle owns a zoo back in India, and he gave her ownership of an Element named Jewel when she was three and Jewel was a newborn. At home, she has two Bombay Cats- one named Luna and the other named Scar, and one Dwarf Roborovski named Merryweather

Marc has two Fischer's Lovebirds-one named Carrie and the other named Beetlejuice. There’s also a raven that sometimes hangs out on his balcony late at night. He named him Poe

Mireille has has Dalmatian Guinea Pigs, one named Alice and the other named Bambi

Denise and Cerise have two bunnies- One Cinnamon Bunny named Cassiopeia or Cassie for short, and one Blanc de Hotot named Lyra

Ismael has a Curly hair tarantula named Jean-Eugéne that lives with his dad because his mom didn’t want it in the house

Jean has a Red Betta Fish named Heather C., Green Neon tetra named Heather D., and a Yellow Molly Fish named Heather M.

DJ has a parrot named Groucho who repeats all his jokes

Gerald has four rats named Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ada Lovelace, and Bill Nye

Victoria has a golden retriever named Air Bud who knows how to dunk

Rochelle has a guinea pig named Rascal who might be plotting something

Gia has two German Shepherds named Bravo and Charlie who understand military jargon

Mason has a Gerbil named Barbie who retrieves pencils and pens for him

Austin A has two chinchilas, One Pinkwhite chinchilla named Beth and one Sapphic chinchilla named Timity and dresses them in drag

Austin B has a Lykoi cat named Elisabeth III and loves her more than his own mother

Austin Q has a Tamagotchi named Scampers since he can’t have any fur babies at home

Austin T has a Python Brongersmai named HuggyCake and the others never saw this pair coming

[starscatteredsky]

Can I get an inbox check pls? If not all good :)

hey! sure! its long so ill put it under a cut!

we're doing our best to get them done for everyone as fast as we can, but this sure is a lot! -mono

queued and ready to post (in order! unlikely to have any changes made!)

Moodboard for Shidaraki

Playlist for the Tenth Doctor

Fashion kit for a fallen angel and space

Pronouns and activities for a barnowl

Fashion for a fox

Tips and fashion for a shapeshifter

Tips for draculara

Fashion for a satyr

Darkcore fashion for a feral black german shepherd

Tips for paldean woopers

Tips/gear for a neanderthal 

Tips for the untitled goose

Tips for tsunami (wof)

Tips for an aibo

Tips for a disabled vampire

Fashion for a weather angel

Tips for a dragon and shark

Carekit for a god/void

Neos and fashion for N (murder drones)

Tips for a raccoon

Tips for zim/an irken

Tips for an eldritch horror

Tips for questioning fictionkin

tips /fashion for a sheep

Tips and fashion for a robotic wolf

Tips for a wallace hawk eagle

Tips for an aussie shepard

Tips for dwebble and crustle

Tips for an EPCOT placekin

Tips for an albino leopard

Tips for bowerbirds

Tips for Ermac

Tips for poodles/chinese crested dogs

Tips for buckets

Denboard for a ferret

Tips for a robot/eldritch being

Tips for a dog/fae and mimic

Fashionboard for oscar pine

Tips for a tv

Tips for ball jointed dolls

Tips for a questioning voidkin

Tips for raven from the raven poem

Tips for a black cat

Tips for dave miller

Tips for scp-049

Tips for connecting to mermaid kintype away from the sea

Tips for jasper

Tips for cerberus

Tips for an albino american cockroach

Fashion for cerberus

Tips for frost

Tips for crows and cockatoos

Tips for sunbears

Fashion for a burmese mountain dog

Tips for eevee

in drafts/wip! (this is in no particular order! some requests that arent started yet may be queued before some of these as they are put into proper order!

Tips and playlist for a warden

Tips for bill cypher

Tips and fashion for a great horned owl

Fashion for an african wild dog

Fashion for an orange persian cat

Denboard and fashionboard for a vancouver island coastal wolf

Black cat and shark tips (done, not queued)

Punk fashion kit and tips for a pine marten

Tips  and den inspo for a wood mouse

Moodboard and tips for shadow demon

Tips and fashion for fern the human (adventuretime)

Fashion and home decor for the old web

Fashionboard for an angel

Sweater fashion kit

Tips and fashion for lilac (Orin Ayo)

70s/80s fashion for an incubus

Home inspo for yeerks

Tips fashion and recipes for a zim

tips for a corvid (done, not queued)

tips for a nightfury (done, not queued)

Tips and neos for quetzalcoatlus

tips and fashion for shadow the hedgehog (done, not queued)

Tips for space divines

Tips for c!tubbo without explosions

Tips for a tiger with connection to space

tips for a border collie (done, not queued)

Tips for sparrows

Tips for lions

tips for an angel (done, not queued)

Tips for zekrom (done, not queued)

Dysphoria relieving tips for a general nonhuman (done, not queued)

tips for princess (done, not queued)

tips for qsmp philza (done, not queued)

vibes for a hobbit and vampire, moodboard for a hobbit and vampire

tips for an evil ocean deity (done, not queued)

tips for a cheagle (done, not queued)

tips for huldra (done, not queued)

tips for zelda (done, not queued)

tips for guiding lights (done, not queued)

tips for glimmer (done, not queued)

tips for kyouka izumi (done, not queued)

selfcare for a hobbit and room cleaning tips for a hobbit/vampire

tips for hell hounds, ghosts, and cyn (done, not queued)

tips/denboard for a gryphon

questions for connecting to hobbit kintype (done, not queued)

tips for connecting to clownpierce (done, not queued)

vampire and gothic fashion for scourge (done, not queued)

goth and alt fashion for an enderman (done, not queued)

colourful fashion for a moth 

fashion for a coyote (done, not queued)

Tips for C1tubbo

tips and outfit ideas for c!technoblade

tips for a purple blooded troll (done, not queued)

Tips for a halforc/elf humankin

names and tips for a femme scott summers (done, not queued)

Tips for an otter

Tips for a natural history museum and school lab

Tips for eleven

Tips for a shark kemonomimi

Tips for mothman

fashion board for cole (done, not queued)

Grounding tips for fnaf sourced alters

Tips for raoul (done, not queued)

Tips for connecting to feeling catlike (done, not queued)

not yet started/inbox (in no particular order! some of these may be queued before current drafts to maintain proper order)!

Tips for a space-man (KISS)

Tips for mark heathcliff (mandela catalouge)

Tips for scarlet (pearlecentmoon) and nihachu (genloss)

Tips for aven (worldless)

Tips for flippy (htf)

Tips for persecutor unicorns

Tips for micheal afton

Tips for dib membrane (invader zim)

Tips fpr a nextbot

Tips for a centipede

Tips for ronja (robbers daughter)

Tips for deimos from madness combat

Tips for barney calhoun from half life 2

Thin man vibes

Tips for fan (inanimate insanity)

Tips for tardis

Tips for jordie holmes

Tips for jane doe

Fashion for a coastal wolf

tips/fashion for the companion bots from stray

Tips for v1 (ultrakill)

Carekit for an alien

Carekit for venus (solarballs)

fashion for a scene cougar

fem fashion for a crow

names for a hobbit and recipes for a hobbit

fashion for the heart 

neos and xenos for even hansen

fashion for red heeler dog (REDO)

stimboard and masc fashion for a saarloos wolfdog 

fashion and moodboard for a harpy

Tips for Vee

Carekit for will graham

Tips and fashion for a robot

Tips for a fae and doormouse

Masc and neutral genders for foxes/canines

Tips for cats and batearred foxes

Tips for dating retro/vintage graphic cards

Tips for P03

Tips for Link

Fashion for Draven Kondraki 

Tips for Sherlock Holmes

Angel and void tips 

Tips for beetlejuice

Tips for a doglink with POTs

Tips for harry dubois

Tips and fashion for a horned black kite

Fashion for reginald copperbottom

Fashion for black wolves

Tips for zim and 2D

Fashion for a remnant

Tips for red foxes and housecats 

Pronouns for a calico cat

Tips for an enderman

Fashion and info for raccoons

Tips and fashion for saihara

Tips for vampires

Tips for sebastian solace

den board, tips and/gender ideas for German Malinois

Tips for a wolfthing

Colour neopronouns and tips for dressing masc and grunge

More tips for enderman

Tips for domestic dogs

Tips for donnie

Tips for husk

Tips for general service synth

Tips and carekit for N

Moodboard and stimboard for infected

Tips and fashion for harrison and preston

Marble hornets tips!

Tips for a service dog

Golden retriever service dog moodboard 

Pink computer and candy moodboard

Fashion for a mimic

[pureangels22]

Fanfic Rewrite - Kairi (WIP)

a/n: This is a rewritten snippet of the first fanfiction I ever wrote. I am currently trying to rewrite my old stories, but it is a slow process. Hope you enjoy 🤍

~*~

The night was quiet in the Land of Departure. No person made a sound as they slept peacefully in their homes; the idea of being disturbed never crossing their minds. On the outskirts of the land, Castle Oblivion stood at attention. Soldiers were taking turns as they patrolled the castle in case of any enemies trying to lurk inside. One soldier, a dark brown brunette, walked as he scanned the area. Terra wasn't one for fooling around unlike his other companions. When nights this quiet took place, it only meant that something was about to take root, and Terra was not going to let anything get past him.

Suddenly, the back of his head was hit. Gasping, he looked up to only see a golden hawk flying in the sky. Touching the back of his head, an uneasy feeling stirred inside him. He glanced over at the edge of the wall and walked slowly towards it. Hooks flung high in the air and latched themselves onto the wall. Realizing that they were under attack, Terra ran down the side of the wall.

"We're under attack! Light the signal!" He yelled, trying to get the other soldiers' attention. Unversed appeared as they blocked his path to the fire pit. Summoning his keyblade, Earthbound, he slashed his way through the creatures. He grabbed the torch on the wall and made his way over to the pit.

Before he could light it, a figure appeared on the other side. Terra's eyes widened as he stared at the person. The teen's helmet faded away and golden eyes stared directly back at the brunette.

"Vanitas...?"

From the light of the torch, Terra could see the man grin when called by his name. "Miss me?" His raven spiked hair and dark colored armor made his appearance look like a shadow in the night.

Terra narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Now, is that any way to treat an old friend?" Vanitas touched a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt, Terra."

"You lost that title when you betrayed us!" Terra glared as he stared Vanitas down.

"Betrayal? That's not how I remember it." Vanitas glared back before grinning again. "Ah, but that's beside the point. Why am I here, you ask? Well, that's simple. I want what's rightfully mine."

Terra tightened his grip on the torch. "You have nothing to gain here!" He glanced down at the fire pit and threw down the torch in his hands. Once the pit lit, more and more fires started to appear. "And now everyone will know you're here."

With a lift of his hand, Vanitas summoned his keyblade, Void Gear, as he stared at Terra. "Perfect~"

~*~

The doors to Master Eraqus's chambers flew open as three people walked through. The one in the middle was a dirty blond and he was escorted by two other soldiers. Eraqus was seated in his chair when he heard the doors open and didn't hesitate to speak. "Ventus, what is for this sudden audience?"

Ventus knelt when in front of Eraqus as followed by the other two men. "Master, excuse this interruption but I bring urgent news from Castle Oblivion." Hearing this, Eraqus nodded his head in a sign for Ventus to continue. "It would appear the Unversed have taken over our northern border and plan to cross even further into our land."

"Impossible! No one can get through Castle Oblivion!" A voice exclaimed from beside Eraqus, but was silenced with the raise of the man's hand.

Ventus looked up from the ground as he continued, "It would appear Vanitas is leading them."

Eraqus's eyes narrowed at the familiar name. Vanitas was once one of his pupils here along with his brother Ventus. The two were inseparable when they arrived, but that all changed when jealousy appeared and the betrayal occurred.

Ventus stood from his spot. "With your permission, we will start setting up defenses around the palace immediately."

"No," Eraqus stated as he stood. "Send you troops to protect my people! Zack!"

"Yes, sir," the voice from before bowed his head. Zack, Eraqus's adviser, quickly went over to his station and started to write everything down.

"Deliver conscription notices throughout all the provinces. Call up reserves, and as many new recruits as possible." Eraqus continued as he walked towards Ventus.

The young man looked skeptical over his Master's decision. "Forgive me, Master, but I believe my troops can stop him," he said. The idea of risking more men their lives didn't set well with Ventus's conscious. Not to mention training the new men would take months and they didn't have time to waste.

"I won't take any chances, General." Eraqus stated as he called Ventus by his title. "A single grain of rice can tip the scale; one man may be the difference between victory and defeat."

[shivunin]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tags @greypetrel @daggerbean @ndostairlyrium @layalu!! In turn, tagging (no pressure, always): @heniareth @zenstrike @dreadfutures @pinayelf @vakarians-babe @jtownnn and you, if you have something you'd like to share! It has been a Week and my brain is soup, but here is something I wrote in companion to the piece about Hawke lost in the Fade. I got to thinking about what might lead my Inquisitor to the role she plays in that fic, and it has been eons since I've written Emma (my darling!), so:

It was always cold at night in Skyhold, even if the magic of the fortress itself held the worst of the frosts at bay. 

Emmaera stood on the balcony, looking out at the moon over the snow, and tried to decide if she was ready to cry yet. It seemed like this ought to be the right time; she was finally home, such as it was, and she’d been thinking for ages how nice it would be to get home and finally, finally cry. 

Why couldn’t she do it?

“You’re still awake?” 

She didn’t turn when the door creaked the rest of the way open, but she leaned back when Cullen wrapped his arms around her. 

“I can’t sleep. Well—that’s an understatement, I suppose.”

“Hmm,” he said, and she could feel the tension in him before he spoke again. “Adamant?” 

“What else?” 

If she strained, she could see the ravens as they flew from Leliana’s tower. Not unusual, really. The spymaster and her folk sent letters at all hours of the night. But…well. Lavellan knew exactly who’d sent the ones winging from the rookery now. 

“I should’ve—” she began, but gritted her teeth against it. 

How self-serving to pity herself over the choice now; she, who’d sent Varric’s dearest friend to her death. How could she even pretend she had the right?

“You did the best you could,” Cullen told her quietly, squeezing tighter. Emma shook her head silently and gripped the cold stone of the balustrade. 

“There had to have been another way. I could have—I could have held it back. I could have—If I’d just had time to think—”

“We have discussed what happened a dozen times,” Cullen told her quietly. “I know it doesn’t help. I know; believe me, I know. But—”

“The eluvians,” she interrupted. “There’s got to be something there.”

“Emmaera—”

“I know it,” she said, for she had spent the last week thinking of little else. She had lost her father to an eluvian most of her lifetime ago. Maybe—maybe another could unmake this wrong. Maybe Hawke was still out there to bring back. 

“If I could just go for—for a week—”

“There is no time,” he let go of her, stepping to the side so they could look at each other. “If there was some way—if anyone deserves saving, it’s her, but there is no time. We march for the Arbor Wilds in under a month and you’ve excursions planned from tomorrow to then.”

“I owe her,” she told him, her voice ragged. She pressed one fisted hand—the one marked with the Anchor—to her chest. “I owe her everything. She gave up her life for me. She was supposed to be retired; Varric told Cassandra—oh, nevermind that. I can’t just leave her there, Cullen. What if it’s me someday? What if I never get to leave this, either, and someday someone will come out of the woodwork to ask me if I might help them with one last mission? What if you were the one who had to hear that I’d been lost somewhere, that they were very sorry but I was an acceptable casualty and—”

She couldn’t go on. Lavellan pressed a hand to her mouth and turned away, willing her eyes to stop stinging. Behind her, she could hear Cullen shift and sigh. 

“I know,” he said. “I know the guilt you feel and—I wish I knew what to say.”

“Say I should go,” the Inquisitor said, back straight as an arrow, and turned to her Commander. “Say that I can leave and bring her back.” 

Emmaera sighed, slumping slightly, and reached for his hand. 

“Say that you would want someone to do the same if it were me,” she told her lover, and Cullen searched her face. 

“I wouldn’t let someone else do it if you were lost,” he told her quietly. “But—very well. I will go write a message for the others now. See what we can rearrange.”

“Thank you,” she told him, heartfelt. “Thank you.”

Cullen reached for her and folded her close, leaning his cheek against her hair. 

“Don’t thank me,” he said, and closed his eyes tightly.

[finishinglinepress]

NEW FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS: Tramp by Brad Shurmantine

On SALE: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/tramp-by-brad-shurmantine/

Tramp. #Poems like cockleburs caught in old woolen socks after long days of wandering. Poems hard and spare as seeds, with little crannies and hooks that might catch in a reader’s mind and be carried away. Lost #fathers, strong #mothers, beautiful #daughters, loving #wives. Hawks and gophers. Something thrumming in the #world, through tree and granite, some pulse that can’t be stilled. Wounded students, wounded teachers. These are poems of a scrappy #survivor, a hearty mutt, wary of making much noise, explaining nothing, offering no program or compelling vision, at rest, at home.

Brad Shurmantine grew up and attended college in Missouri. After a brief sojourn in Italy he transplanted himself to San Francisco, and has lived in the Bay Area ever since. For thirty-six years he was a high school English teacher and administrator, and labored futilely to reform public education. He is a black belt in Aikido, an ardent backpacker, and a very amateur beekeeper. In retirement he spends his time writing, reading, napping, watching the Warriors, growing expensive vegetables from nursery six-packs, and serving seven chickens, two adorable cats, and two annually collapsing bee hives. His fiction and personal essays have appeared in Mud Season Review, Loch Raven Review, and Catamaran; his poetry in Third Wednesday, Delta Poetry Review, and Blue Lake Review. He hikes in the Sierras, travels abroad when he can, and prefers George Eliot (who he didn’t discover until he was 60) to Charles Dickens, or almost anyone.

PRAISE FOR Tramp by Brad Shurmantine

TRAMP is Brad Shurmantine’s splendid debut poetry collection exploring extensive themes: the travailed life of a classroom teacher, mindful gardening, the wonder of birds, species extinction, essential spirits of places, family relationships, transitions of aging, inheritance, and at bottom, the art of writing wry, wise poems about everyday amazements. His poems are suffused with rocksteady wit, occasional melancholy, and quiet joy. Herein are poems with unmistakable presence, precision, and a steady passion for what can be sensed deeply. And not since Ferlinghetti’s “Dog” has there been such an insightful, compassionate canine homage than Shurmantine’s “Ode to Tramp.” TRAMP is a treasure.

—Gary Thomas, author of All the Connecting Lights

Tramp starts with bravado: a boasting first line of the first poem that ends in a gut punch of painful self-deprecation. We have very little rest before another piece unrolls an exhaustive list of challenging troubled and troubling students, finishing with another mea culpa zinger, I should have been more kind. This is a collection that surprises and entertains with details of being a son, a teacher, a husband, a father, and a careful observer of life. Clearly, Brad Shurmantine is a vulnerable, funny, and honest poet. Perhaps the climactic moment in the arc of these diverse pieces is “Two Tornadoes,” a Japanese renga that moves all over the page and lands in utter tragedy. The book’s enigmatic title is illuminated by the poem “Ode to Tramp,” which celebrates the good fortune of a Walt Disney cartoon character. Tramp ambles happily through fields and alleys, living in the now, savoring what shines in the world, and finding love. Maybe that’s what we all want and need.

—Sarah Dickenson Snyder, author of Now These Three Remain

Please share/repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #read #poems #literature #poetry #life #family #nature

[davidpwilson2564]

Bloglet

Saturday, November 23, 2024

My alma mater, filling out their schedule, plays the team from El Paso, in Knoxville. Crushes them, of course. (56-0.) Moves to third place in the SEC ranking (tied with Texas, the other U T team; they even share the same team colors). El Paso (UTEP), I am guessing, got a lot of money to come to Knoxville and loose. At least a million dollars (?). We imagine that it was a long flight back home. This sort of event brings to mind the pugilists who are the sure losers on the circuit. They are called tomato cans. We remember the Washington Generals, who, back in the day, toured with the Harlem Globetrotters and lost to them every night, a humiliating ritual, except for one time, as I understand it. Just once. The story is related by a former General. Great story.

Weather okay. Windy. Cool. I do my errands. Have to keep walking.

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Evening: Breaking with routine I go to the Turner channel and watch the last half of "The Big Sleep." It has never been an easy movie for me to follow. Confusing... Bogie and Betty. Boxy little cars. Guns. Bodies. Cigarettes and booze. Dames, all of them pretty, all of them falling for Bogey. The constant exchange of wisecracks (did people really talk that way? or is it Chandlerese?) A sign on the diner wall: breakfast 35 cents.

Howard Hawks directed. William Faulkner was one of the screenwriters. I go to my bookshelf where I have much of Chandler canon. They are mostly paperbacks. During the passing decades they have begun to show their age. Yellowed pages, some falling out... Books everywhere in the apartment. Even in the kitchen. But not in the oven.

Monday, November 25, 2024

No one, they tell us, is above the law. Except Donald Trump. Jack Smith drops his cases and DJT skates. A sad day for us; a happy day in Trumpland. Revenge is coming... There is the very slight possibility that some of the cases could be brought back to life when Trump leaves office but we can't count on it. Much happiness, we can be sure, down at Mar-a-Lago. Melania might even come down from her room.

Evening: The Chargers play the Ravens. So, it is the Harbaugh Brothers, their respective coaches, facing each other again. John and Jim. They look so much alike. Ravens squeak out a win.

After today's grim events it is impossible to enjoy the game.

to be continued

[theebeginningofwater]

omw home

Huiuudeeeey whooooooo honey breeze beeeeeeeeeeee baaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy be!

My rain fall and moon. Rises. You know something? My brother Amir raise my I and my eyes to the light with a brilliant laughter. I don't know. He started praying like a Muslim after we had haseesh sessions with many kings and whites and gafitti writers and queens and derelict and some straight up No Good bastards. Hi. Ha. Heeeeey. So yah. 300 years passed and I asked Amir appeared in one of my dreams holding his hands like a Christian asking, ayoooo Cas! How does a Muslim pray? I returned the favor with a question of my own. I haven't formed the words, tones or vocabulary around it quite yet though, habibi.

But yeah my brother Amir used to the highest heaven on Broadway (a few years after Sir Mix A Lot paved every Broadway from Seattle to the 7th and walla yonder every heaven with gold you know? Wow so yah. My brother Amir used to scream ecstatic pure intelligent Black and YIN and Yang Joy To The World when we'd see each other. You we stopped carrying guns in kne another's presence and talked Quran and basic instructions and Wu Tang and Crooked eyes and blunts and good ghood shit like Arabian Knights and money unfoldable or if I've never known brotherhood before Amir (I have. Abundance. But bay and be yadda I can be a liar momentarily?) If I've never known brotherhood before meeting my dude Amir walla he told me that in his home country they never give thanks and nobody smiles and the only greeting they know over there is HUIUUUUDDDEEEEY. Anyhow my love. He also told me that's what say when they see a cop? And I'm all like....yo, how many cops do you see on the daily? He's says, everyone is a cop in my country. So naturally I cried 10000 corpses and leapt to the tree tops and I gues I don't ever want to go to Amir'a home country and I never asked where his home is. It sounds so terrible that I cannot say tonight's sky is my heart I hope to kiss your fingers before dreaming every day nahhhhh every night that I live.

Yooo yo yo! Ok baby baby. I am high on a plane, nearly landing back home. Because yaknow. Im about to break my first 4 day fast. It's actually pretty thouh. Nahhh! Actually. The fast is slow ha ha ha. The hard become soft. Paws. Not trying to bring no alley stray cats or fists to this mix. Yah pause, tonight i break fast forbthe first time in 800 epochs my live. Ah. Yah, yadda the boat floats. The same boat and millions souls and millions more to come. Ehos. Whoa.....

So, check this out. Before I throw this mask from the left wing of this ship, vessel, aerodynamic ginger root. Whatever. I met a pirate on a spacecraft before boarding this vessel. She wore a black bandana and talked with a Austrailian? OK okay Ima break fast. Soon. But first! Did I ever tell you just met my brother who was a chinaman, in the 3rd grade. The question was brought to our attention: what is your favorite color. My bro the man from China said Black. I said Red. Anyhow, I realized on 27th Avenue that red is no longer my favorite color? What is your favorite color my queen? May it be! Fuck it I don't even care what day week or month we are without knowing your favorite color.

So yah. My favorite color is Black. I saw a rainbow in the sky maybe 3 weeks ago, and somehow just rememberjng kissing you as a butterfly in the 8th grade. We so cool baby ooh I did not forget. How could i?

Yah because when you add up every color ofvyhe rainbow, we are Black. And Black cannot be divided.

But any how, any way. Many ways yuppa! I don't know accents, habibi. So yeah I didn't ask you what your favorite flower is and ummmmmmohhhhhmmm yah kk but I did exchange my arms and legs for a dream of me and you, i and I, raven and hawk eyeing very multitudes of unsuoerstitious mountains. Yah, yesterday i touched a scarab and a beautiful roach brown as my dream of the Saharan desert brought me a bar of soap and tooth brush. What does it all mean my love?

Yo. I'm seeing you everywhere. Check this out! This might be all lies. Okay I don't know how. But yo the last line is true. Fr....

I didn't ever purchase an orchid for an empty house. Felt redundant. So yah. On my flight back home from a circle creating eyeshadow for 100000 years, I bought an orchid on my namez with your lips on my eye. I mean. Pardon me. With your eyes on my lips. Our children refuse to be made of stone habibi. So i ealized when I got to this blue sky with four wheels and forced air conditioning (ha, "air conditioning (!¡))

I see us kissing but I also realized I couldn't see us kissing before I earned how to drive a German made car through my own shadow lives and love along the way to empty house. So what I did was, I seen a giant o plastic jar of mayonnaise flail it's arms in the driver side windows and when it hit the ground it was asking me for something in a vocal tone like it was giving a command. Wasn't until I said No once that he spilled his guts. My second No this time threatened him with wind and rain. And yah my love, what is if a out men of a certain age can't stand the sound of our sacred glyohs together? And when I'm with my brothers, i do not want any broken hearts. At all. So instesd of saying No...I be teaching (learning) brotherly love by saying Nahhhhhhhhh (with as many H sounds as possible, you know? hhhhhhhhhhhhhĥaaaaaabibi!) ...what I meant to do on the way back from Chile is, I don't know. So what I'ma do instead? I let the orchid tell me what to do. She asked to sit in a pot ( ha ha, i tried to say no habibi ha ha) on my east side. Yah. By the time we got to 16th street on my block everything turned right, I turned off the clock and will not refuse to follow my dreams. I will not refuse to follow your dreams too. So what i did was, instead of pulling the "seat belt" around the orchid, i recited the entire Quran, New Testatment and Lankavatara Sutra out liud to myself, with nobody at all as my witness. And you know what this sweet orchid did? We did! Nah. Na naggin. No more bags. Hah. Yah. Why this sweet orchid suggested with a smile that i make a peace sign with the entire strength of my soul is and just hold the wheel with one hand and hold yhe pot (ha ha ha) with the orchid with these unsplicited two hands of prayer. Ah. Now everythjng is easy. Just your heart, just my heart. Ah.

Habibi. I love you

[sublimeobservationarcade]

Trump The Bible Salesman: The End Must Be Nie

Donald Trump is selling $60 bibles to the American public. If you wanted to witness the lowest point of this saga and American popular culture this is pretty close. This guy has no shame because he has a complete absence of integrity in the first place. Trump would sell his own mother if there was a buck in it. He cheats at golf, constantly, which defeats the whole purpose of playing the game. Trump the bible salesman: The end must be nie. The United States of America has become an international laughing stock. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

How Low Can Donald Trump Go?

The love of Trump has to be founded on his decade of celebrity on TV. Deluded Americans have confused reality with reality TV. Believing in a compulsive liar and narcissist is a strange cult to follow. Trump selling bibles can be viewed as a desperate act or a weirdly American return to one’s roots. I think of Great Depression era salesmen selling bibles. The lowest of the low times and the selling of hope. Trump should have been a game show host – this is his true metier. He could have spruiked his rich mix of lies and ridiculous statements without damaging the nation that spawned him. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Golden Sneakers & Sixty Buck Bibles

Trump has been peddling golden sneakers too. Surely there is something in the bible about such dichotomies? "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits." - (Matthew 7. 15-20) Right now, Donald Trump is definitely a ravenous wolf, ravenous for your money. Found guilty of massive fraud in his business dealings. Found guilty of defaming a woman he raped and defaming her some more. These civil findings have cost him around half a billion dollars. This is why we see Donald hawking sneakers and bibles to the schmucks that follow him. The faithful have shut their minds and eyes to the facts before them. They will go to their graves believing the evil fruit Trump serves them. This is the sure sign of a downfall of a civilisation, when folk do not care to know the difference between truth and lies. Historians wonder at how such great civilisations can fall, like the Romans who had conquered half the known world. We can see the why and the how in what is happening in America at the moment. Ordinary people lose the ability to see what is what via the extreme influence of their beliefs. You cannot turn away from progress and seek the past – this is a recipe for a quick demise. Turning away from the challenges of the future to try and claw back the past is throughout history a sure sign of the imminent destruction of a civilisation. “The former president said every American needs to have a Bible in their home — and he has many copies available. “It’s my favorite book,” he said, later adding, “We have to bring Christianity back into our lives and back into what will be again a great nation.” The $60 Bible is the King James Version will include lyrics from Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.,” as well as the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance.” - (https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4557605-trump-god-bless-usa-bibles/) The Death Of Democracy & Rise Of Autocracy False prophets peddling the politics of grievance, like Trump, are hastening the collapse of America. Democracy has always been the great experiment bubbling on the stove. De Tocqueville knew it and had the excesses and failures of the French Revolution to enrich his view of the nascent America. We have the extraordinary circumstances of a presidential race between a grifter and a very old man. The orange Jesus selling sixty buck bibles vs a fairly decent Joe Biden. A nation, which has the led the world for a century or more, now challenged by the rise of China and India not too far behind. Probably, the hawks and money men want a change from a democracy to an autocracy so that they can compete with China. Totalitarian regimes are easier to manage militarily and, perhaps, economically in the 21C. The economic superpower status of the USA has always been maintained via its military advantage over all other comers. The End Is Nie For America Trump the bible salesman: The end must be nie. The old testament is largely a potted history of the Jewish people and their adversaries. Dynasties and family histories designed in the telling to pump up the tyres of these oft benighted folk. The end of times and the dystopian view of America that Trump is pushing is well suited by a bible selling false prophet. The MAGA line demands an a priori acceptance of a spoiled America. An America betrayed by immoral liberals and lefties. These overfed fools who have never faced war or invasion on their lands, apart from their own Civil War, are indulging in dangerous fancies. The Trump cult is entrenching division down the old slaver state lines. A failed coup – the January 6th insurrection has pitted the militias and their supporters against the state, once already. Donald Trump has promised to free the gaoled insurrectionists. Politics has gazumped the rule of law it seems. The world is witnessing the ugly, white supremacist side of American culture and this time it is no Hollywood movie. Guns and money are the two great touchstones of America. Trump, the Teflon Don, has evaded criminal convictions but been bitten by civil proceedings and big fines.  Only money talks in the USA. Get your MAGA bible now! Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©MidasWord https://read.amazon.com.au/kp/embed?asin=B0CY8CMT33&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_2K12J9EM5063CJ5BHEGK Read the full article

[pint4punt]

4th & 2:00 A.M. :

For Those Times When You Just Have to Go Home With Someone

So here you are! It’s almost closing time and you’re still scanning the room looking for a piece of action before it’s too late. Well we’re sorry to tell you, that you didn’t necessarily come to the right place. But that being said if you’re here, you clearly don’t have any better options.

While we won’t promise this weekend will be everything you fantasized about, we will do our best to help you find someone you can take home before the clock strikes 2:00 (or you know 6:30 or whatever the fuck British time is for Ravens vs Titans). Players have already cleared waivers and if you’re desperate enough to be reading this, we’ve got one last ditch option for every position to help you throw a Hail Mary and try to score before the weekend ends. So prepare to make your gutsiest call, as we get go for it on 4th & 2:00 A.M!

Quarterback: Joshua Dobbs (26.7% Rostered)

Pros:

6:2 Touchdown to Interception Ratio on the Year

Facing a divisional rival playing several young players

Rushing upside

Cons:

Arguably their best offensive player in James Conner is out

Would you start any of his weapons????

Running Back: Salvon Ahmed (4.6% Rostered)

Pros:

De’Von Hype Train just went on IR, giving Ahmed a huge opportunity behind Mostert

Miami will probably be up by 100 by halftime forcing the backups into action

Facing a piece of shit Carolina Team with the Second Worst Run Defense that frankly, should kill itself in very public fashion

Cons:

Mostert is clearly the guy

Wide Receiver: Jonathan Mingo (11.8% Rostered)

Pros:

Coming off his best game of the season (5 of 7 targets for 48 yards)

Like the Giants before them last week, facing a Miami team that’s going to force them to throw after hanging 100 on them

Cons:

Bryce Young is his Quarterback

Has yet to crack double digit fantasy points

Tight End: Jonnu Smith (13.8% Rostered)

Pros:

Has had consistent fantasy production outside of Week 1

Facing a Commanders’ team that just got lit up by Justin Fields in the passing game

Desmond Ridder fucking sucks dick and needs to lean on short to mid yardage threats

Cons:

Desmond Ridder fucking sucks dick

Smith is coming off a minor ankle injury

Defense: Raiders (20.5% rostered)

Pros:

Mac Jones has about as good of a chance of lighting up this Defense as Stephen Hawking (past or present) has of giving Teanna Trump the night of her life

The Patriots have been out scored 72-3 their last two games

The Empire is Dead?

Cons:

Jimmy G may put this Defense in horrible positions

We would stream the Patriots’ Defense almost as quickly as we would stream this one!!!!

Kicker: Brett Maher (47.7% Rostered)

Pros:

Playing for an Offense boasting Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua

4 of 4 for FG’s less than 40 yards (gets a little dicey after that though)

Should have ample opportunity against a bottom feeder Cardinals’ Defense (giving up 27.2 points per game through five games)u

Cons:

Shaky beyond 40 yards

Didn’t even attempt a field goal last week