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daekie-gw2 · 7 months ago

Note

Your IBS/SoTO post is really good and I would love to hear your opinions about asura writing that got cut for time

OH, UH, OKAY. SURE. Disclaimer that a lot of the thoughts here I picked up from my friend @ratasum. (I honestly didn't expect that IBS/SotO post to get read by anyone so waking up & seeing it appears to have gotten onto the main 'circulating' version of the post and having people agree with me is a little wild, haha.)

As always, cut for length, I've never said in five words what I could say in twenty and trust me I've tried.

"Surely it can't be that long--"

I know. I'm a parody of myself. I'm sorry. Just like you cannot blame the scorpion for what is in its nature you cannot blame me for writing five and a half thousand words on funny goblin rat video game narrative.

ANYWAY. [CRACKING KNUCKLES] THE ASURA

OKAY. THIS IS GOING TO BE A MULTI-POINT -- I'm not going to call it an essay. It's not an essay. That implies a level of organization going in that there isn't, I'm slapping points in as I recall them (I am going to cite my sources, though). But there's a lot of miscellaneous things I'm going into here. Also this is shorter than it could be because I wrote a big chunk of it right after getting home from work, got distracted by making Limbus Company OC IDs for hours, and by the point I rotated back I was getting worried something would happen and I'd lose this post.

You may be able to tell which points I wrote later because I get progressively less informative and more AGGRESSIVELY WAVING MY HANDS.

EDIT THE NEXT MORNING: Added more stuff into Point B that I didn't realize I skipped over, my kingdom for a table of contents

Point A: "The current writers don't like the asura."

When was the last time you heard any character talk about asura tech or society in a way that wasn't derogatory? Just in SotO alone, from my memory and some very shallow wiki checks, we have:

Uenno: But we're... stubborn, our kind. Bureaucratic. It's all so stifling. Uenno: Zojja and I had the same realization. Expecting satisfaction from that city is like expecting a skritt to win the Snaff Prize.

...and, from Zojja's Journal:

Before I left Rata Sum, they considered me a battery without any juice. Well, I feel the same about them. ... The technological advancement of this place is far beyond Rata Sum. Seeing this would give the Arcane Council a run for their money... I bet they lost it after Cantha opened its borders. What I'd do to be a fly on that wall... ... If the council learned about any of this, ESPECIALLY the wizards' ability to create fractals, they'd try to quarantine the entire region. Rip it apart, piece by piece.

...and, from Zojja's journal from Tower of Secrets:

The council is too scared to put me back on fieldwork, and the colleges seem less than interested in having me teach. No talks. Nothing. Past my prime, apparently. Send me straight to the retirement facility. ... She used to be a professor in the colleges, but she left after years and years of frustration with the system. Students set up for failure, refusal to grow or expand (sound familiar...?).

Now take a quick jaunt to the wiki's summary of asura culture:

The asura value intelligence and intellectual superiority over all other attributes. Individual asura will dedicate an entire lifespan to building a portfolio of successful projects or becoming the foremost expert of some tiny aspect of the arcane. They constantly seek to prove their own intellectual superiority, and by extension the superiority of the asura race.

The writers are really trying to tell me that Zojja was damaged goods post-Heart of Thorns, but, like. She was one of the foremost geniuses in Asuran society and one of the two surviving students of the genius Snaff (or one, if you count us killing Kudu in Crucible of Eternity). She is the absolute foremost expert on Elder Dragons (Taimi wasn't this until LWS4ish, imo), was directly involved with the Pact offensive on the Heart of Maguuma, and has a "connection" (I'm not going to say friendship but yknow.) with the Sylvari who stole Glint's egg. And you want to tell me nobody would want to hear from her because she was disabled? They'd be breaking down her door to get her to teach.

I feel like a lot of this perception comes from Phlunt's overbearing smothering of Taimi getting spotlit during LWS3, but Phlunt is an obstructive, small-minded bureaucrat, even by Arcane Council standards; he doesn't want to be there, he sure as hell doesn't want to be busy chaperoning a twelve-year-old with polio in his "free time", and if he dissuades her from doing anything then he can kick back and relax. His chaperoning is not a microcosm of All Asuran Society's Relationship To Solo Geniuses Who Are On The Younger Side (afaik he was also supposed to be Inquest anyway, so that probably bleeds into some of it). Take a quick walk around Metrica Province or listen to ambient dialogue in Rata Sum! Even taking into account comments about bureaucrats in ambient lore in Rata Novus, which makes it a cultural thing, I honestly still don't really see what that would have to do with 'Zojja would be a pariah'. The fuck she would. I would excuse the Zojja diaries if it was Zojja is completely shutting herself away from Rata Sum society and convincing herself they don't want her, but it's... it's not! It's 'Rata Sum threw Zojja out with the bathwater'! In what world!!!!

EoD (I go into this a couple of points down the post) is also just like a conga line of asura going WOW CANTHA IS SO ADVANCED WE'RE SO BACKWARDS and it just feels baaaaaaad.

Point B: "Since LWS4, it seems like nobody on the writing team has really actually understood the asura, and they're either written as 'basically children' or 'crazy comedy gremlins'."

When was the last time we got an asura NPC who was, you know, actually involved in asura society or had asuran attitudes? Professor Smoll from April Fools doesn't count, don't give me that. Uenno in SotO only really talks about asura society to comment about how backwards it is/was compared to the Astral Ward's tech/setup, and although the Inquest are a genuine threat... since LWS4, when was the last time the game actually remembered that? They're cartoon goons.

(The Arcane Council is actually really interesting, too! Their job is to deal with all the mundane shit and bureaucratic matters and City Things, and nobody wants to do it, to the point it's common to trick others into accidentally taking the job or replacing you so you can quit. They sometimes try to kill each other. The Inquest is considered a bunch of criminal assholes by the average asura, but they're pretty distinctly a tool of the Arcane Council who uses them to work on projects that might be 'unsavory'.)

I'm not saying the asura aren't funny. They are. Even at GW2's launch, they were smack-talking little gremlins -- but they weren't comic relief. And I'm not saying everything Angel McCoy ever said was right (I am refusing to read the interview where she says cells don't exist on Tyria and everything is made of magic <3) but they're snarky little shits. Back in GW1 they were partially Invader Zim references. Asura are researchers and, I'm gonna say it, sapiosexuals first and foremost -- they're monogamists in the sense that romantic relationships are often between two asura fixated on the same idea.

ANYWAY. Asura are weird freaks and they're kind of memey little bastards about it but they're also insanely intense SCIENCE bastards, who prize being an asshole. During LWS4 the Inquest had live samples of the fucking scarab plague, were experimenting on the Olmakhan with it -- they're a genuine danger. The Inquest can be both funny Team Rocket villains and genuine threats due to their lack of morals!! They can be both!!

But what they're reduced to these days is... they're either childlike and need care (Dagda calling Zojja little one would be fine on its own, but combined with everything else...) or they're just Haha Funny Quip Guys. They're not dicks anymore. When was the last time an asura was an asshole to you in a way that wasn't immediately condemned by the story/narrative as them being an unreasonable small-minded jerk? I don't even necessarily think Arenanet has ever had a real consensus on how to write them, but there's enough content from basegame to LWS4 where you can absolutely write them with just as much... genuineness? not seriousness, but, yknow? as the sylvari or the norn. Like -- imagine if every sylvari we met was either a wide-eyed innocent or a Nightmare Court irredeemable asshole who was torturing babies and cackling about it. If every norn we met was a one-note jovial party drunk or a Son of Svanir who just went JORMAG JORMAG JORMAG.

That's what it feels like has happened to the asura.

Everything in this section from here on until Point C starts is a lot of really misc. disjointed thoughts but I couldn't make them work anywhere else and they seemed relevant still, so. Sorry. You get what you pay for.

...circa End of Dragons --

Taimi: Yes! Xunlai has an entire MedTech division. They make braces for conditions like mine. Taimi: They're incredible. I feel almost no pain when I'm wearing them.

I can buy that asura don't really have a lot of development into assistive devices as a whole because they're generally all pretty self-focused, but there's gotta be a krewe somewhere that's got physically disabled asura, right?

In Icebrood Saga, Phlunt and Taimi's focus during Champions on fighting Primordus -- even if they have to ally with Jormag to do it -- is kind of portrayed as... petulant? Ignorant? But, like, it is very reasonable to say that asura are culturally traumatized, I'd say. Their entire culture and people, over the course of fifty years, were pushed into involuntary migration from their home and into a completely new environment. If the Kodan are traumatized by doing the exact same thing but due to Jormag and that's taken fairly seriously, especially in Bjora Marches. The writing is bad here! Champions struggles a lot on a lot of fronts, and I know it's because that was because a huge chunk of the devs abruptly got dragged off to go make EoD, but they could've at least left someone senior to handle narrative and I don't think they did.

(That honestly ties into a bigger frustration, which is that for a season/expansion where we take care of the Asura-associated dragon and the Norn-associated dragon once and for all, it sure is about Charr. I don't think this is what they meant to do going in! I think the writers meant to have you deal with Jormag in the next season/expansion, and have them be an everpresent force puppeting people around who you never actually fought in Icebrood Saga. Fuck, I don't think you were even supposed to encounter Primordus here, it's not called the Fire and Ice Saga. But the mandate? orders? came down, and suddenly they had to figure out how to get rid of both twin dragons by the end of the season, and they didn't have enough space left to change direction from the charr (who did actually get some great narrative here, I think that was at least preserved).

Point C: "Existing content from LWS4 and earlier establishes that asura tech is extremely advanced."

Anyway I think EoD was generally pretty cool, but I also think they got very worried about potentially making Cantha come off as 'less advanced' than the asura and unintentionally seeming racist in that way, and they swung real fucking hard in the opposite direction. (If anything they probably would be further advanced than Cantha, though -- they were using dragon-magic to power their waypoints & cities back during GW1, and swapped to independent? ambient? magic when the Great Destroyer awakened & pushed a lot of them to the surface. I personally would've gone for the idea that it's deeply impressive that humans, alone, have created something on par with but not better than asuran tech, especially when using a powersource that the asura historically never got as far as the Canthans with.) Asuratech created fractals and a device that could completely destabilize fractals in order to fish up real entities stuck in them (I expand on this further down on my last point).

Moto built an entire fucking immersive videogame with a hammerspace teleporter.

Rata Primus in Sandswept Isles in LWS4 has a satellite dish, implying they've gotten asuratech into orbit.

Asura have had holograms and solid light for ages -- they were developing immersive VR all the way back in Rata Novus. Oola has a hologram. There's multiple hero points where you fight hardlight projections. What Do You Think The SAB Weapon Skins Are.

They're experimenting with radiation.

They have elevators.

They have televisions.

They have sous vide!

They've got holo-clipboards!!

Okay yeah sure it's one random throwaway line from a miscellaneous Rata Sum NPC but THEY HAVE NEWSCASTS, this guy's probably been here since the game RELEASED

HOLOGRAMS

Blish uploaded himself into a golem and he's just Like that now!!!

What the Canthans and especially Joon are doing with jadetech is incredible! But asura tech is not inferior to it. You could say 'dragonjade carries incredible magical power because Soo-Won is awake and actively filtering her power to create it, as opposed to the GW1 asura skimming some off the top of Primordus' and I'd go yeah, okay, that sounds completely fair. Joon having tech that can evaluate the drained Aurene? This makes sense! She's been directly interfacing with Soo-Won's magic for years and probably has a better understanding of the biology and process of Elder Dragons + how their magic works within their body than anyone else alive, including Aurene! If anything, her dragonjade could well be tapping directly into Soo-Won's domains of Water and Life, making dragonjade tech especially good for healing or creating assistive devices. You could potentially insinuate this, but I really don't think the game actually ever says this, so I don't know if I want to give it credit for that. (In fact, the game specifically says that the magic in dragonjade is stripped of all signatures, it's pure dragon magic, so really it says the exact opposite of 'Soo-Won's connection to her domains is so powerful that she infuses the jade she empowers with their essence').

Ankka's stolen Extractor even has a note on its wiki page that it acts similarly to existing asuratech from basegame personal story -- just scaled far, far up. It's not new tech! They've had this, just weaker!

ALSO SNARGLE'S AGENT SAYS ASURA DON'T HAVE, LIKE. VIDEO GAMES? MOVIES? MOVING PICTURES OF ANY KIND? YOUUUUUU HAVE HAD HOLOGRAMS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEAAAAARRRRS. HE'S LITERALLY PUBLISHING SUPER ADVENTURE BOX THE NOVEL. WHAT DO YOU THINK SUPER ADVENTURE BOX IS, LITTLE MAN

Kippo: You bet. But that's not all! D'you know Cantha's living in the future while the rest of us mopes are still eating dirt? Kippo: That's coming from an asura. They watch theater projected from their jade technology. Moving pictures! Kippo: I want K&M at the forefront of new media. Cause pretty soon, ain't nobody gonna be readin' books. Kippo: Maybe one day, the audience could even control these move-ies. An interactive experience. Feel like you're really there!

I hate this guy

Point D: "Gorrik and Taimi have both basically undergone character assassination over the years and had all their edges smoothed off, and SotO Zojja is Zojja in name (and voice actor) only."

LWS1 Taimi was such a fucking brat. Precocious, sure! But she was an asshole of a child who was constantly chafing against any adult in the vicinity and idolized Scarlet Briar. She was a deeply lonely girl who only had Zojja and she was kind of shitty! She was awful to Braham! And, like, I will repeat this again, she idolized Scarlet, the insane mass-murdering terrorist who poisoned and destroyed the entirety of Lion's Arch.

She was a kid. She was a brilliant, lonely kid, and she sucked as a person. After HoT, Zojja is basically comatose, and Taimi decides she has to step up as the Commander's asura tech expert, to prove that she's not just a child who has to be corralled, she's just as much a part of this as you are. And the way she tried to prove herself was by taking on as much responsibility as people would let her, and even some they wouldn't, and she kept being brilliant and she had to keep improving and improving and why didn't Rata Sum see she wasn't a child, and you never realized that maybe she was taking on too much because you didn't have anyone else who could do this research, and she was keeping all her vulnerability to herself -- because if she told you you'd tell her to stop and rest. Everyone would. And she needed to keep proving herself and being the best, the smartest, indispensable to Dragon's Watch,

and eventually it got her caught by Joko. He doesn't torture her, exactly. He traps her in her own assistive device, with limited air and no control, and then he sets Scruffy on you, and this teenage girl has to watch her only safe haven try to kill the only person who can save her as she slowly suffocates to death.

And she's fucking traumatized. And she's trying to put on a brave face but it really, really fucks her up. No time to cry. She has to be helpful, and useful, and if you make her go lie down and rest she's going to fucking scream. The key of Taimi, to me, is that in a lot of ways Zojja probably saw herself in her? An incredibly brilliant and desperately lonely child with nobody to advocate for her, turning all that frustration at her life and herself right back out at the world. If she never shows weakness and if she can be just as rough and tumble as the adults, they'll see she's not a baby. She's not a poor sick victim who needs to be protected.

She's Zojja's protege and Zojja was Snaff's protege and, like -- Zojja is not that old. She's maybe ten, fifteen years older than Taimi? No more than fifteen, I'd say. She's barely an adult when Snaff dies, and she has to be everything Snaff was and more. Zojja remembers what Snaff was for her, and she sees this impossibly smart progeny girl, and she thinks to herself Snaff was my lifeline out of that. and she's that for her.

And then she kind of sucks at it because she's Zojja and she's really not very good at communication that isn't her being a bitch, but, like, she was trying, probably. And Taimi was-is just as attached to her as Zojja was to Snaff.

But Taimi, unlike Zojja at that age, isn't alone. She has Zojja. She has everyone in Dragon's Watch. She has people who take her seriously and believe in her, and her greatest enemy is herself. The older she gets the more she levels out -- partially from the trauma but partially because she's just... growing up! She's still kind of a jerk, she's an asura and she knows she's the smartest person in the room most of the time, but especially when compared to Gorrik (who is admittedly amoral even for an asura), she's got a conscience. She's a firebrand of a girl who pushes herself too hard and she ribs you when you take yourself too seriously, because you've seen her at her most vulnerable, and she knows how hard you take it when you fuck up.

And she's your friend. She's a bitch but like the rest of Dragon's Watch she's your friend.

And by the point of EoD, all that assholery she was capable of has been shifted over to Ankka (who exists to die, unfortunately), and she has now been fully transformed into The Commander's Tech Support Who Says Funny Things And Listens In On Your Conversations. There's no bite to her. There is nothing uniquely Taimi about her anymore.

I wasn't a big fan of her losing Scruffy 2.0 either -- it feels like they were trying to go she's all grown up now, she doesn't need her security blanket anymore! but, like. She has an incurable degenerative disease. That was her assistive device who just also had a personality? Give her a hoverchair or a cane or something. They eventually gave her leg braces in EoD, which I think is fine and honestly works really well (& I wish we'd gotten to see her talking more with Joon and Yao about tech than we did), but. Mmm. It felt weird, you know?

-- ANYWAY BEFORE I MOVE ONTO GORRIK. I do want to touch base with Champions, because Champions was really where they started flanderizing her the most notably. It is completely reasonable that she suggests siding with Jormag, honestly, reasonable in a way the game doesn't treat it as and neither does the Commander, because she's kind of selfish! Jormag? Who cares? She hasn't been really dealing with the rest of the Icebrood Saga so far the way you and Braham have, she just sees 'Jormag's willing to work with us to kill Primordus and hasn't caused mass horrific destruction, they're a completely sentient person'. She sees a solution to a problem and she wants it now, you can talk about Jormag later, her entire race had to diaspora because of this thing and she was there the last time it almost woke up and things got really, really bad after that, what with Balthazar. Jormag is a problem, yeah! But they're not a problem that's hurt her. They're a problem she can look at and understand and speak to. Primordus? Primordus is a monster. It's a natural disaster. You can't convince Primordus to hold off on killing people, it's just what he does. But she can make a deal with Jormag to stay away from these people, maybe, and Taimi even now thinks she's the fucking shit and she's smarter than she is, and she thinks she can outwit Jormag.

Champions could've been a really interesting look at Braham and Taimi basically trying to kill each other because they both have incredible cultural trauma layered on top of personal experiences that means they can't even consider not killing that specific dragon so super dead as a first course of action, and neither of them would be wrong about feeling that way, because if you haven't forgotten -- Taimi is barely an adult at this point, if she is at all, and Braham was a teenager during LWS1 and HoT. He's barely an adult either in the grand scheme of things! A scenario where both dragons are represented by one of your friends would've been really, really cool, and the challenge is 'how do we fix this without the dragons going out of balance'. And It Was Not That At All In Any Way.

I actually had this idea as I was writing this post but, like. Man. I understand the point of Ryland, Champion of Jormag, but I would've loved to see Jormag really gaslighting the hell out of Taimi and convincing her she's just as special as he is. She deserves special power and she understands Jormag, she's so clever -- just that slow horrible corruption through persuasion, through appealing to her pride. That's the asura cultural flaw! They know they're smarter than everyone else! Play to that.

This is partially because IN THE MEANTIME, FIRE ALARM makes me want to punch a table. I hate that voiceline. I hear it so much. Dragonstorm, why.

ANYWAY -- LWS4 Gorrik was barely ex-Inquest. Bioterrorist weirdo. The most autistic man in the world (love him for this). His argument against 'YOU WERE EXPERIMENTING ON THE OLMAKHAN WITH THE SCARAB PLAGUE?' is just 'I didn't vote for it but the results are FASCINATING also btw it's actually a pestilence, not a plague--'. His morals are entirely about what will let him do the most Bug Science. Sure, the Scarab Plague is one of the most horrifying contagions in history, but he is a scarab expert and he could infodump on this shit for HOURS. Do you remember that time he got arrested for bioterrorism after exposing himself to said plague, and his main concerns are 'people calling it a plague, not a pestilence' when they want his fucking head? Even when you get him out he just goes 'am I supposed to anticipate the neuroses of everyone around me?? Them freaking out was totally unreasonable'. Yeah, man, the fucking Elonians losing it about the potential of the Scarab Plague coming back is an unreasonable hysterical reaction. He doesn't care about people! He only cares about bugs! (This is an exaggeration but you get what I mean.)

The Commander: Joko intercepted the ship. Exposed all the crew and passengers to the Scarab Plague. Gorrik: Oh my, my, my—a full-spectrum outbreak! This is incredible! Taimi: Gorrik... Gorrik: Oh, right. Sorry. Tragedy. Terrible.

He's a freak! He's a freak of a man! I love him! COMMANDER HOLY FUCK DID YOU SAY CHAK from Jahai Bluffs lives in my heart. Weirdo guy. Incubated the roller beetle in his own body under his skin just because he thought it'd be cool. He never really grows a conscience even after Blish's death, because that's not who he is, that's not how he perceives and interacts with the world. He has a completely different perspective from you, and his priorities and predilections make him an impossibly brilliant scientist... who should probably not be allowed to talk to anyone he doesn't already know ever again.

Now circa EoD he's... what? What is he? Haha he's funny detective guy who can't read social cues and is dragging Rama into things. Oh, I guess he's an asura, so sometimes he says tech things. They have removed this man's deep freak nature from him :( The man I knew would've been out there doing fieldwork and dissecting void creatures yesterday. He would've been fascinated by the Dragonvoid glitching reality! Sorry, no, he doesn't do that anymore, he's just Funny Detective Guy, sometimes he does science things with jade tech because Rama is around and that means Gorrik is also there because he's Those Two Guys with Rama now. Sure. I like their dynamic but man did things happen to Gorrik to get there. I wish it could've been Very Normal Man Rama and a little goblin man who has decided Rama is his bestie.

(Also I'm deeply weirded out by the narrative pushing TAIMI IS AN ADULT NOW SO SHE'S GOING TO DATE GORRIK BECAUSE ADULTS GET IN RELATIONSHIPS unironically. I really do think the writers have forgotten there's like... a 15 year age gap between them and just remembered 'Gorrik's brother was Taimi's classmate, and he was close? in age to his brother, probably?, so it's fine' he's like 30, man. And if Taimi/Gorrik didn't feel so slapped together and like a way to pair them up so they're busy with each other and no longer narratively relevant outside of Tech Support, maybe I would be less bitchy! But I really don't like them symbolizing 'Taimi's not a little girl anymore, she's all grown up now!' by having her immediately display romantic interest in a guy who, like. You cannot tell me Gorrik fucks. I love him but I don't think he has ever contemplated fucking as a thing he would do.

They're research partners! They're good friends! But they are absolutely not in a romantic or sexual relationship. I don't believe it.)

Zojja... god, they did that woman dirty in SotO. They did her so dirty. I talked in my original post about how her narrative role here is actively sabotaged by it being Zojja and Caithe (or even Logan!) would've done it better, and I'm sticking to that. Anyway, the Tower of Secrets story summary includes:

I've never seen her out of her element or so unsure of herself; I'm used to the hypercompetent and defiantly confident golemancer of legend. This is an entirely new side.

Even taking into account the idea SotO wants us to accept that she's gone through character development offscreen and a full arc, Zojja would never. Zojja gets fucking mean when she's stressed or unsure, and even if it's been years and she's grown past that... she's still not going to wibble about it. This is part of the big problem with her writing, even in the base content for SotO: Zojja is very, very passive. She's nice, even! She mediates between you! She's your good friend Zojja (even though she was maybe friends with an asuran Commander, and she sure as hell was not making friendship bracelets with any other Commanders and wouldn't go YOU'LL FIX EVERYTHING :D after not having seen you for ten years). ...But asura in general, and especially Zojja, have a chip on their shoulder and they will prove themselves. There are ways they could've shown Zojja growing past that asuran cultural selfishness by really listening to and cooperating with other people -- the way they did it isn't that. I'm gonna call back to that Angel McCoy interview I linked earlier:

Sit back and watch the sass fly! A side effect of asuran intelligence and self-confidence is that they’re masters of the zinger. They don’t suffer fools lightly and don’t believe in sparing feelings. Workers expect to get snide comments from their krewe bosses, and progeny expect it from their parents. Teen asura, of course, give it back as good as they get it—it’s part of growing up. This verbal abuse may seem mean-spirited, but the asura don’t see it that way. They don’t take it personally. Their competitive natures drive them to greater heights of achievement. Remember, asura have survived against terrible odds, including their tiny statures. They’ve earned their attitudes, and a certain amount of bravado keeps them from being victims. With their jibes, they’re telling it like they see it, and if you can’t take the heat, get out of the laboratory.

Yes, this is asura overall, their cultural standards, but everyone in Destiny's Edge is/was -- to some degree -- a prototypical example of their race. And beloved Zojja was a prickly son of a bitch if you weren't the asura commander. She would never wibble. I really, really do think they gave her amnesia via wizardification so they can justify both 1. her never referencing your past adventures and 2. doing a bit of moeblobification. It's not gap moe if she doesn't have moments of being a bitch, Arenanet, it's just sparkling woobification.

They can have her talk about 'I used to be so mad at everyone' but there's a point where it's not 'reasonable offscreen character development', it's 'the writers telling us ACTUALLY it's lore-justified why she's written this way now, and she's telling you it, so she's a reliable narrator'. Zojja would be a completely unreliable narrator!! She's a bitch!! Like I said in the Taimi section, there are ways to write a character growing past being a total horrific bitch in ways that make sense! This isn't it.

This dialogue actually really frustrates me more than anything because it wants you to just... accept that nobody went looking for her, and that she didn't ever reach out because she didn't feel worthy of us. Nobody went looking? Not us, not anyone in Destiny's Edge, not anyone noteworthy in Rata Sum who would've cared about Snaff's brilliant progeny-cum-legacy and perhaps the best Dragon specialist in the world going completely off the grid and disappearing? And not even Taimi, an orphan whose mentor figure Zojja was so horrifically harmed in Maguuma that she was basically comatose. That Taimi? That Taimi would've only checked in on Zojja when she was in hospital, would've let Zojja turn her away when she wasn't ready for visitors, and wouldn't have looked for her or told anyone she was missing, not even the Commander? (okay she told us once but it was kind of a casual throwaway line. i don't count it.) Not only is it shoddy writing, it makes the Commander, Taimi, and all of Zojja's guildmates look like horrible people. We didn't check on you because the writers wrote you out of the narrative, girl.

Also Zojja doesn't say a single fucking thing about Snaff relating to Mabon at any point. A mentor who saw her for her and took her in and gave her a home? A father figure? This part does drive me insane actually because given SotO's writing I don't think they even thought about it. I don't think they meant to imply that she's basically having flashbacks to Snaff's death and that's why she flips out so badly at Mabon getting possessed and dying. I really don't think they did.

"But c'mon! Make a life-changing decision just after Mabon died? If it came from anyone but Dagda, it'd be emotional warfare." IT LITERALLY IS. IT'S LITERALLY EMOTIONAL WARFARE. THE GAME IS SO CLOSE TO POINTING OUT HOW CREEPY IT IS FOR DAGDA TO DO THIS, because with the base content drop for SotO they were at least partially interested in exploring the idea that the Astral Ward had a benevolent front but was ultimately culty and doing some horrible shit in the name of the ends justifying the means.

AND NOW SHE HAS AMNESIA AND WE SAW HER, LIKE, ONCE BEFORE WE WENT TO NAYOS. LITERALLY WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HAVING HER IN THE STORY AT ALL. THIS COULD'VE BEEN A FRIENDLY LAMP. Coulda been DUCHESS CHRYSANTHEA or someshit. Faren!! I don't know!! It's 2:30 in the morning I'm very tired, this post isn't getting any proofreading it is going out as is.

Point E: "This is actually just about Fractals, sorry."

I know they were thinking about continuing the Arkk storyline at one point, apparently that was the original draft for Sunqua Peak. Dessa's implied to have some deep connection to Uncategorized, which is explicitly not Rata Sum. When some prerelease images mentioned 'fractal' in the URL for SotO and it was apparently going to be about the Mists I was like 'oh, shit, are we getting closure on Arkk'? He's out there!! In the Mists!! Where is our fucking boy!!! (He's nowhere, the current writers' room don't know he exists. :') )

The major interactions with the Mists are generally Asura-developed -- Dessa and her krewe developed fractals as we know them, 'capturing' these Mists-echoes and preventing them from dissolving (and she also 'studied' at Rata Sum (though it 'didn't work out'), implying to me she grew up somewhere else and moved to Rata Sum for college before dropping out). And then Arkk managed to somehow break into the Mists physically, disrupt your transportation back from one, mash several Fractals together, let Mist Beings into the Observatory,

It's implied (to me, anyway) that there is or was a real Dessa who created the Fractal Observatory and then... got out. She had a kid before making the Observatory -- Arkk mentions she looks very young during Shattered Observatory, she recognizes him, and she has some unspecified connection to the Raving Asura -- who has an unsent letter to her which makes her deeply sad to read, and, also, yknow. The kittycat golems. He could be Arkk's dad, is what I'm saying.). And never knew her fractal echo was trapped inside the Mists, repeating forever and forever and forever. And then she died, or she disappeared (maybe something happened when fractals-Dessa tried to leave during LWS1 and reset?), and Arkk found out that she was still in the Fractals, and he managed to destabilize the fucking Fractals in his attempt to rip in there and get her out.

And the version we meet of him in Shattered Observatory is just an echo, too, trapped in the loop forever and ever and ever. Maybe there is a real one out there -- or maybe the Mists destroyed that one as he tried to escape the Shattered Observatory, and the only versions of these two that exist are their shadows endlessly looping (which is honestly what We only exist in the Mists…echoes of ourselves. is meant to mean, but hey, it's not specific enough, I read it as 'the versions of ourselves that we are now aren't real. we're just shadows of our real selves, who aren't here any longer'). Fucked up, man. Anyway they should've made one of the archwizards in SotO an asura

Asura. They're little bastards. Love 'em. In my universe my asura druid Svess is holding Taimi's hand and talking her fucking head off about how to make nitroglycerin and they're having a GREAT time

#I'm not tagging this.#If you want to read my takes you gotta come for them manually.#It's 230 am I am so tired why did I write 5.4k words on asura

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thefirelookout · 10 months ago

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Void

A portal opened up in the kitchen, really. It's not a very promising portal, quite the opposite, it's a hope-killer. It's a direct kitchen-to-bathroom connection, it's gross, it's necessary. The mold has to go, the drywall has to come off so that the moisture dries. It also means that we have to leave this house by May.

We've started watching Beef. It's always something. We nod when they say that. Yup, that checks out. It's always fucking something.

We don't have a bathroom basin anymore. It's just a gaping hole. The cabinet and the mirror are still right where they should be though, so I take my skincare thingies out, balance them on the shelf, take the dropper out, try my best not to feel the absence of a basin while putting the serums and creams on my face. We brush our teeth at the kitchen sink now, which is gross, but we quickly adjusted to it. Rohu says that I'm really embodying my research, living it. Being resilient, being grateful (Allah ja koren bhalor jonnei...), and trying to produce work in the midst of it all. This is fieldwork, this is archival research, this is lived experience. Doesn't matter if I fucked off to my mind palace (which was under seige, by the way) last summer, doesn't matter what happend end of last year, just gotta carry on. Yet, there is domestic sweetness. In the middle of work, when I really, really want to see Rohu, I tippy toe my way into the kitchen where she's doing the dishes. Looking cute the best I can, I ask her something completely unexpected, something like, "Why'd the Titans attack?" "You're asking me that right now?" "Yeah, right now. Why'd the Titans attack at all?" "Well, because..." a free, live video-essay follows. I get a full explanation: Ymir, Historia, Eren, Levi, all the Titans, which Titans are sentient and which are not. The neurodivergent urge to just talk about your very niche interest. "So this is an Israel-Palestine analogy?" "Yes, but a poorly done one." "But it's still an Israel-Palestine analogy though." "Yeah. Removing the humanity of the Titans. I can see that yes." I satisfy myself with that and tippy toe back to my desk. Another time I remember asking, "Accha Rohu, if I tell you to stop texting me, like, altogether, what will you do?" "Then I'll stop texting you Mustu." "No questions asked? Ki bolo!" "None whatsoever. You decided that it's good for you, so I'll oblige." "I'm finding that very hard to believe..." "Mustu, I'll stop texting you because I love you. Precisely because I love you. I'll understand that me texting you is hurting you, destroying you, I know how you are in these situations. So I'll love you all the same, but I'll stop texting." I give her my version. "If you tell me to stop texting you..." "Hmm?" "Then I'll try really hard. I'll try at least one last time. Can we meet in person, can we have a phone conversation? Anything. I just want to hear what I've done wrong, and how I can remedy that. I want to try and breathe life into us once more. Is it even love if you don't try? At least once? At least ek bar?" "Looks like you found the loophole." I stare. "You told me to stop texting you, but did you tell me to not email you, or call you, or show up at your door?" "No I guess!" "There you go. I didn't say I'll disappear!" Lots of crying after that, for something that didn't even happen. A "would you love me if I became a worm" situation.

I was accused of trying to fill a void. Where is the void? Is it in the bathroom? Is it in the kitchen? I don't see it. I was accused of being bored, confused. Boredom? Not with on-demand video essays. Confusion? "I'm not confused at all, are you confused?" "I'm not either. Does a white man now decide whether we are confused or not? Does he sit in his ivory tower and psychopathologize?"

"No"

"So yeah, not confused. We're solid." Rohu says that we should get ourselves a Void though. A black cat. Now that will be a void worth nurturing. With Nimki already in the house, it becomes a Halloween kitten combo.

"There you go, that'll be the void in our relationship."

#void #relationship #short story #heartbreak #memories #love

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something-that-needs-nothing · 1 year ago

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hey past ayem-- you got it. not only did you get it, but your co-phds have told you how overjoyed your supervisor was that you got the position, because you were so overqualified. you joined in on the fieldwork over the summer, you went to a place you'd dreamed of going to since you were twelve. you had a truly incredible time there. you met some wonderful people, you did some incredible things, and, hey, it turns out, you really know your shit-- you impressed a lot of people out there.

hey ayem of december 2022, i know things suck right now, but, if you hear this somehow, if this message is embedded in whatever spark kept you going-- i just want to let you know that it all works out pretty well. you survive. you do! you survive! less than a year from now you'll struggle to acknowledge that the way you live now didn't happen several years in the past, it will be so distant. you'll be living in a different country, and in the meantime you'll get to return to the desert you so love. you'll have so many wonderful experiences so soon

and ayem of the past, please know you aren't alone. know that at the point you lay on a mattress sobbing and so miserable you couldn't move your body, i from the future was lying across from you, stroking your hair and dabbing your tears. you are never alone, because i from the future am always with you, praising your successes and acknowledging your pain. i love you so much, and i hope you, several months back, felt that love somehow. what else kept you going?

i love you. i know the shit you've gone through and i'm proud of you. you're never alone with any of it. tomorrow i'm going to go into the lab and slice open stalagmites we collected from a cave in mongolia, and tomorrow you'll drag yourself to a job you hate and pray for death, and maybe we, only ten months apart, maybe the veil will thin and we can touch each other. you'll get the strength to carry on, i'll curl up and feel that pain you're not feeling. there is pain, but you don't have to bear it now, that's what i'm here for. that's the one thing i can do for you now. we'll share that pain. we'll share too the joy and freedom i feel now.

above all, congrats to you-- you fucking got it. you're doing this phd! you're really good at it! i'm so proud of you.

all the love in the world, future you

writing a cv is so agonising but i really. REALLY. want this phd position

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spaghettificationandpretzels · 2 years ago

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The Reaper and The Death Angel Part 34

Series Masterlist

Part 33

Contains: Fluff, angst, smut (fingering, oral sex F receiving, P in V) Canon typical misogyny, discussions of racsim. Don't hesitate to let me know if I've missed anything. Follows the plot of 2x03 -2x04 very loosely/

5.3K words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #the reaper and the death angel (tag list may not work)

You've spent most of your adult life in and out of war zones, and you've worked with the US military to identify terrorists and dead GIs. Sick of all the death and pain you chose to leave fieldwork and go back to historical research. When your little Brother leaves the Marines and settles in a small town, you decide to follow him. Will you find a home in your small, underfunded Museum job and your Brother's found family? Or will life with the Club just be another war zone?

"Jax, he's in Ireland."

"What?" Jax took the phone from your hand and looked over the photo, he handed it back before throwing a glass at the wall.

"Fucking dirty lair." Chibs sounded very angry.

"Let me guess, Jimmy'o said he was still here?"

Jax sucked on his tongue, "yeah he did."

He was still in a rage, "Jax, take a breath. We need to figure out if he lied because the rumour was true and he was working with him to remove the kings or for another reason. He's back in Ireland now, right?"

He nodded, "yeah."

He went outside, you imagine to go and smoke, "I'm sure the Irish will be calling soon. You have a big problem on your hands, let's hope you're not about to be asked to help first-hand because no one here can leave the country."

Jax came back in a little calmer, "when did Billy get this?"

You looked at the text, "right before he called me, the body has to be pretty fresh, I'm still waiting on news from the cops over there but that could take a lot longer." Jax put a hand on the back of your neck and pulled you in for a kiss.

"Thanks Darlin. Head home, I'll be there before you go to bed." With one last kiss, you left.

Jax wasn't home before you went to bed, you were just falling asleep when you heard him come in and climb into the shower before shifting the covers and settling next to you.

"Sorry I'm late, Clay wanted us to stay back to wait for the Irish to call."

You rolled over into his arms, "it's ok my love, are you still meeting the Bastards tomorrow?"

He pressed his face into your shoulder and breathed in the smell of your conditioner, "yeah. Good night y/n, I love you."

"Good night beloved, I love you too."

****

"It's been a long time since we've had this kind of weight in our backyard brother."

Jax wasn't impressed with how Clay was dealing with his, "maybe we can get some MP5s."

Nevertheless, T.O smiled, "that will work."

With a hug and handshakes the deal was done just as the Irish pulled up, "Did you ask Jimmy about the photo?"

Luke didn't seem worried about the lie Jimmy told, 'aye, he said he had no idea Cammy could even get into IRA territory, he must have done it through one of his old contacts."

"We need details, the man who's been selling us guns for months has just turned up dead and the only person with answers won't talk." Luke's excuse about the army wasn't going to fly.

"Do you have kids?" Luke shook his head, "then you don't know shit about sorry asshole." Bobby and Opie pulled Jax away and Luke promised to try harder to get more information before handing them their new guns.

****

"Hey Mr Madock, how are you feeling today?"

He was looking around, "where's Rose?"

You put a hand on his shoulder, "I think she's at the store, I'm sure she'll be back soon. Can I get you something to eat?"

He waved over at the fridge, "I'll take a sandwich if you're offering."

You finished putting it together just as the nurse walked in, "how long before he's ready to leave?"

She seemed sad, "he moves out tomorrow."

Gemma was in one of the rooms packing, "We should take some of his favourite figures with him, the home's good enough that it should have a display case in his room."

She nodded, "yeah, I think he'd like that."

You put the sandwich on the table and sat next to him, "I notice your how many statutes you have around, do you have a favourite?"

He put the food down and got up, walking over to point out some of them, "but this one is Rose's favourite." He sat back down and went back to eating, you were sure Gemma would be happy to let them go with her father.

You went into the other room to help Gemma pack, she was stuck hard onto the bed, looking through a photo album. "Is everything ok?"

She shook her head, "all of these things are going to be packed in boxes and giving away, his whole life is here."

You sat next to her, looking over the photos, "things aren't what matters, people are. It's not like he's dead Gemma, he's just going somewhere he can be looked after."

She gave you a sad smile, "how do you always know what to say." You reflected that pain in her face.

"I've seen more human wreckage and suffering than any person should, it's given me an insight I wish I didn't have." She rested her head on your shoulder and you lifted a hand to rub her head, "it's going to be ok Gem, everything works itself out in the end."

****

Jax couldn't believe it, Clay had basically sold Ima and Lyla to Lin for the day to get more guns. He could hear you going on a righteous rant in his head, something about humans not being things to be bought and sold for a gain. There were days when he hated Clay.

But they had the guns and Lin was happy with the arrangement, so it was another thing to put in a box, he hoped Ima would look him in the face when he got home that night. "Are you ok with this? I know neither of them want to work with men?"

Sam shrugged, "it's her choice, and I don't care what she does or doesn't do at work. You seem to forget I was raised my y/n, she'd kick the shit out of me if I had a problem with it."

Jax nodded, "yeah I guess, if it had been up to me, it wouldn't be happening."

Sam's face changed, "but it's not. Don't you have an issue with all of this. Black men can't join the Club but we can use them for our own means, we're in the dark ages Jax, sooner or later that's going to kill us."

Jax knew Sam was telling the truth, "what is it that your sister says, I'm just waiting for all the old bigots to die so you guys can change things?"

Sam huffed, "yeah, you know she won't stay if you don't change things when you take over. She's going to expect you to do better than you stepfather."

Jax took a solemn breath, sometimes he wished you weren't so moral, "I know I wouldn't expect any less from her."

Just as he was about to say something else, Clay got a call, it was the Irish kings. The conversation was hushed and Clay seemed angry, there was a mention of Belfast overstepping and doing bitch work. But it didn't matter, when Clay got off the phone, he was telling everyone to ride back to T-M for church.

****

"Belfast has dropped us in at the deep end, what's going on with Jimmy'o isn't clear and they don't want to put out the hit until they're sure. The Kings want us to handle it."

Jax shook his head, "this is my problem, Cameron hit my family, I should be the one to deal with it."

Clay shook his head, "your family is our family, son. This falls on us just as much as it does you. I've told them we won't be going until we have all our buyers sorted here, which will be at least two weeks."

"If we all go we look guilty, I can't ask you guys to take that hit."

Clay smiled, "but I can. Who's up for in Irish adventure?"

All the hands around the table went up with a cheer, "you're all very unbalanced individuals."

They exited the Clubhouse and Opie went up to Lyla, Jax watched the conversation from afar, Lyla seemed ok, but he could see Opie getting stiffer as it continued. He didn't blame him, Jax wasn't happy about it either, but there was no reasoning with Clay.

"I just don't want you to end up sad."

Lyla shook her head, "how can I be sad, you're my guy." They watched on as they kissed, cheering like children as it got more heated.

Opie pulled away and walked over, "you guys seemed to be working things out."

Opie shrugged, "I don't know, every time I try to talk to her, we end up naked."

Bobby laughed, "just marry her, that will fix it."

*****

"Is that your speech for the town meeting?"

You nodded, "yep, I'm just putting on the finishing touches. It's going to make it every clear that Hale has no place in the town." Gemma sat down next to you, "Nate leaves in the morning right?"

She nodded, "yeah he known he was going for a while but he just can't seem to accept it."

You put a hand on your shoulder, "that's normal, once he settles into a routine it will be much easier."

She sighed, "how do you stay on top of everything? You should be at home resting and you're helping me. You've been working your ass off for the Club, and you still find the time to look after Abel."

You shrugged, "I like to keep busy, if I wasn't here, I'd be at home doing paperwork."

She smiled, "come one, dad wants to make you his famous rice pudding."

*****

"Hello Mayor."

Oswald smiled, "not yet."

Clay stuck his hand out, "we need a favour."

Oswald crossed his arms over his chest, "does this have anything to do with your boy?"

Jax nodded, "yeah, the guy who almost took him is in Ireland, we need help getting out."

Oswald shook his head, "I can't, even with everything that happened with Hale, he's still got support. I'm sorry, but if you want to be Charming a small town, I can't be seen to help you guys until these gun charges are gone."

Clay didn't seem happy with that, but he accepted it, "well when you need us, we'll be here."

With that done, they left to go to the party with the Chinese. Jax was sitting outside smoking, it's not that he didn't find the women inside attractive, but he only had eyes for you. Sam wandered out and sat by him, taking a puff from the joint that Jax handed him.

"Why aren't you inside?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't need to see it, they're safe with the others guys around." A quiet feeling over the two men, "I don't like that Clay put them in this position."

Jax nodded, "neither do I." Jax didn't know what to say or do, since Sam read his father's manuscript, Sam had been more and more restless for change.

Jax didn't blame him, he wanted the same thing too. The truth is, Jax was waiting for Sam to take him into an alleyway and beat the shit out of him for even looking at you. He would wake up every morning to your sweet voice and walk into the kitchen with breakfast done and Abel cooing in someone's arms and wonder how this became his life.

"There's no other shoe Jax, stop fretting."

Jax huffed a laugh, "so why does it always feel there is."

Sam's answer was dry, "PTSD." Jax didn't know what to say to that, "come on, we better head inside before y/n's spidey senses start to tingle."

As Sam walked in, Jax paused to call you, "hello Jackson, it's good to hear your voice."

He smiled, "hey Darlin, how are things over there?"

He could already feel the tension melting away, "good, slow but good. Are you guys coming to the town meeting tomorrow?"

Jax wouldn't miss it for the world, "yep, we've all cast bets to see how long it takes you to reduce Hale to tears."

Your laugh made him forget how stressed he was, "not long I hope."

He shook his head, "I got to go pretty girl, I just wanted to check in."

He swore he could hear your smile, "well, aren't you a gentleman."

"I love you y/n."

"I love you too Jax."

Jax hung up and went inside only to be greeted by a scene he didn't really want to see, he went to the bar and got himself a beer, then buried himself in a conversation away from what was happening behind him.

Opie walked over looking sad, but Jax did his best to distract him, "I'm sorry it's turned out this way bro, this never would have happened if I had any say."

Opie shrugged, "but you didn't have a say, Clay has been talking matters into his own hands far too often."

"I know, but his hands are failing, I can't see him staying on my longer after we go inside."

"I hope you're right Jax, because he's going to ruin everything we've built if it keeps going like this."

****

When you got home, Jax was already there. "You're home early?"

He pulled you into his arms, "the party went by without a hitch. The Chinese came through so the Bastards have their MP5s."

You knew something was wrong by the tone of his voice, "what's wrong dear?"

He shrugged, "more problems with Clay?"

He nodded softly, "yeah, he's a bit of a pig."

You gave him a strange look, "I know, and I know what's got you so upset. If you're worried about Ima and Lyla talk to them. I know Ima would appreciate hearing for you that you don't think she's a dirty whore for earning a living."

Jax huffed, "I forget you don't mince words."

He pressed a kiss to the side of his head, "you wanna order take out tonight?"

You nodded, "sure, I'll go ask Sam and Ima what they want, you good with pizza?"

He nodded, "great, I'll make sure to get you extra ham."

Jax raised his eyebrows, "what, you don't think I notice that whenever we get pizza, you eye the pieces with the most meat."

He laughed, "I love you so much."

You pecked the tip of his nose, "I love you too."

****

You were laying in bed next to Jax, his leg rested over yours, "I finished your book."

He watched your smile spread over your face, "really what did you think?" He put a hand on your side, his thumb rubbing back and forth.

"I really liked it, you're really smart."

You could sense he was about to be self-deprecating, "don't sell yourself short Jax. You have read all my papers and understand them fine, there are people with multiple PhDs who can't do that. For an ok mechanic with a GED, you can handle yourself fine. Now I won't have you insulting your own intelligence."

He squeezed your side, "you mean that?"

You turned and put a hand on his leg, "I don't say things I don't mean Jackson. You should know that by now."

He put his forehead on yours, "how did I get so lucky."

You leaned in to kiss him, the press of your lips slow and soft, "it's not luck Jackson, I love you."

He rolled on top of you, since the day you got shot, he's been treating you like you're made of glass.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" You nodded, "I once got blown up and ended up with four broken ribs, then went on an op a day later where I got into a fist fight with a guy Opie's size and I was fine. I'm a lot tougher than I look, plus, I miss you terribly."

He kissed your neck, his lips soft against your skin while his beard tickled you. You sat up and pulled your shirt over his head, Jax's hand coming to touch the border of the bandage over your ribs, "it doesn't hurt, don't worry. However, it's starting the heal so the stitches are itching like a motherfucker."

He reached down and removed your panties, sliding them off your legs and throwing them somewhere in the room. His lips kissed from shoulder dome to shoulder dome and down your chest. His thumb stroked the scar just under your navel.

"How did you get this one?"

"Knife fight with a guy with one eye, I think he was aiming for a stab and not a slash."

He was pulled away from his memory by your hands in his hair. He kissed down your body, reaching your mound with soft lips and a gentle breath. He lifted your legs onto his back and you settled against the pillows, reaching one hand down to wind in his.

He started small, pressing gentle kisses to your slit while his free hand held you open for him. You gasped when he pulled your clit into his mouth and sucked, his groan shuddering your body. He kept with the soft touches until you were squeezing his hand with bearly restrained force, then he was sliding two fingers inside you and bending them up to rub your G-spot.

Jax took in every one of your whimpers and moans, if you could hear his thoughts, you would tell him he had an ego. He kept a steady pace as you reached the edge, only speeding up when your legs shook around his head.

"Jax…. Oh my God, please."

His thumb replaced his mouth as he lifted his head, "I know sweet girl, I'm here." He put his mouth back on you just as you feel off the edge, squeezing him over and over again. He pulled his fingers out and kissed up your body, "you good?"

You brought your hands to his cheeks, and he turned his head to kiss your palm, "please Jax, I want you inside me." He smiled softly, resting his weight on his elbow as he took his other hand and lined himself up at your entrance. You nodded and he slid inside you, your breath catching in his throat while Jax paused in hopes of retaining his composure.

"Move, please."

He huffed, "I'm just a man y/n, you're killing me here."

The giggle you gave against his chest didn't help, "are you admitting that I make you weak?"

He buried his face in the crook of your neck, "without a doubt." He started moving slowly, putting more force into the last few inches.

His hips slowly got faster as his fingers rubbed your clit, "come one Darlin, take it easy on me." You smiled and pulled him into a kiss, rubbing your noses together before pulling him to you with your legs. You rocked your hips in time with his, moaning into his ear while he grunted like he was dying.

""Jax..I…"

Another grunt, "I know Darlin, I'm right behind you." You whimpered as the climax took over, biting into his shoulder while his warmth filled you.

"Holy shit."

You chuckled as he rolled off you to get a cloth to clean you up, "I know, who knew waiting a few days would be so hard."

He cleaned you up and threw the used cloth into the hamper, "your aim's getting better."

He frowned in mock offence, "my aim's always been great."

You were going to respond but you were cut off by a yawn, "I think it's time for bed."

You nodded and rested your head on Jax's chest, "are you coming to drop your grandpa off tomorrow morning?"

He nodded, "yeah, I figure you guys need help loading everything up."

You put a hand on his chest, over his heart, "I'm sure Gem will be happy to see you."

He picked up your hand and brought it to your lips, "yeah. Good night y/n."

"Good night beloved, I love you."

****

"It's that everything?"

You nodded and passed Jax the last box, "yep, all done. You want more coffee?" He was already halfway to the kitchen. Nate seemed to accept that it was time to go, you had spent as much time with him and Gemma as you could getting them ready for the change, but she seemed sadder than her father did.

"You alright Gem?"

She shook her head, "I can't believe mum put him in a home."

You shook your head and put a hand on her shoulder, "because she had to, he can't get the help he needs here unless you want to move here with him a watch him twenty-four-seven. It's a good home, with good staff, he'll be ok."

She took a deep breath, "I hope you're right."

It was mid-morning when you got to the home, Jax walked in with you and helped unpack Nate's room while Nate took a tour of the facilities. "Ooo, they have old movies every night at eight, I think I might more here too."

He laughed, "they also have liver with gravy on the menu."

"On second thought, maybe not."

Gemma gave her father a sad goodbye and you left for Charming, promising to come back for a visit whenever you could.

****

You went home to look after Abel while Jax sat by for the long awaited call from Jimmy's, when it came, he couldn't control his anger, "you lied to me Jimmy. You told me he was still here and yet he was dead on the street after the IRA took him out."

Jimmy stuttered, "I had no idea he got out of the country Jackson, you need to believe me. I'm sure we can come up with a solution that suits everyone."

Jax sucked on his tongue, "the real army boys grabbed Cammy at central station before anyone could tell me he was here. Maybe if you don't believe me, you'll believe a brother."

Jimmy handed the phone to O'Niel, "Jax, it's Liam, he's telling the truth, Jimmy would have no way of knowing that Cammy was in town. Our crew was hired to watch him while he's up north. I've been with him him the whole time and he's never gotten any word from the kings."

O'Neil hung up, Jax knew he was lying threw his teeth but Clay made it clear that no one was to know about the plan to go there and deal with Jimmy themselves. Jax felt such rage, not only could he not get vengeance directly on the man who took his child and shot his girlfriend but he was being lied to.

Before he could stop himself, he was driving his fist into the side of the van. The pain was minor compared to the anger he felt. Nevertheless, he sat down and had a smoke in hopes that the skin-tight feeling of burning rage would fade.

"Go home and be with y/n and Abel, you're no help to anyone in this state."

Despite the fact that Jax didn't appreciate Sam bringing up the fact that he was emotionally compromised, he was right. Clay walked up and sat down next to him.

"Your hands look like mine feel."

Jax nodded, "we have to stick with the plan, we'll go to Belfast once the guns are locked down and sort out this mess once and for all."

When Jax got back to the house, you were ironing your outfit for tonight while Abel sat in his crib. "Hello my love, what are you going home so early?"

He shrugged and you saw his hand, "person or inanimate object?"

He ran his thumb over the bruises, "the side of a van."

You shook your head, "go ice them, I'll clean the cuts once I'm done here."

He walked into the kitchen and saw the blown-up photos from the vandalism of Jacob Hale's office, "you have exhibits and everything, maybe you should have been a lawyer."

He heard you let out an over-exaggerated gasp, "you take that back, I would never be a bottom feeder." He laughed and came back with a bag of peas over his fist.

"What are you going to wear under that nice suit?"

You shook your head, "you'll just have to see you insufferable man."

He took the iron out of your hand and put it on the base, pulling you into his arms, "you seeing Half Sack today?"

You nodded, "I'm going to take him a late lunch, you want to come?"

He shook his head, "nah, I think I'll spend the rest of the day with the little guy."

You looked over and smiled at Abel while he did his best to eat his soft toy, "careful, he's started pulling hair."

Jax laughed, "he's weirdly strong."

You shook your head, "most babies are, they have crazy grip strength, I just want to know why scientists tested for it." Jax picked Abel up and held his little hand.

"Because they're science hippies."

You did your best not to laugh, "are we all ready that bad?"

Jax smile stretched over his face, "yes, every single one of you."

You put the iron back down, "hey, I'm not the one who spent hours researching motor oil, you're one of us." Jax shook his head through a blush.

"I love you."

You pressed a quick kiss to his chin while Abel tried to grab a strand of hair, "I love you too."

****

They all pilled into the town hall, you had pressed Jax and Sam's flannels so they looked extra proper under their kuttes. They sat in the front row, with Jax sitting closest to the podium. He felt a little buzz in his bones, he had seen you address the UN with fiery blow after fire blow while talking about the gemstone industry, he only hoped you had just some of that fire ready for Hale.

Once everyone important was there, the meeting started. Hale got up in his pressed suit and started talking, "I've called you here today because I made a grievous mistake in allowing the businessman, Ethan Zobelle, run a shop here in Charming. I'm not going to deny that I was the one who helped him open his store, nor am I going to deny that I didn't do my due diligence in finding out who he associated with. I'm here to hear from Charming citizens and make that mistake right."

Behind him, you and some other people were sitting ready to talk, Clay and David were some of them. You stood up first, placing a stand down and folding the cardboard in your hands to show the blown-up photos. You tapped the mic are started talking, looking at each person in the eye as you went along.

"When I got back from my first tour in Afghanistan, my grandfather, a World War Two vet who joined the Marines at only fifteen took me into this office and showed me something. He would always tell me his most prized possession was his wedding ring but then he flipped a picture frame around and showed me the possession he was most proud of." You had told Jax this story before.

"On the other side of the simple photo that hung on his wall was a display case. Inside that display case were three nazi armbands, all three covered in old blood, multiple Nazi medals and an SS-Ehrendolch, an SS dagger. I saw the pride on his face as he told me how he got each one, all taken from Nazis he had killed in battle." Jax knew you and Sam worshipped the man, he could see why.

"My grandfather was a good man, so one day, when someone for the KKK moved next in down the street, he wasn't going to take that laying down. He and my grandmother got the whole nine yards from that monster and his friends. I would have been about six when he first told me this story, when I asked him if he was scared, he shook his head, put a hand on my shoulder and told me when that brick and the message race traitor came threw his window, he knew he was on the right side." Jacob Hale was sweating in his chair.

"Mr Hale has no excuse, we've all seen the photos, he was there smiling while the flag of our biggest enemy was flying behind him. The first time I saw my grandfather angry was in the nineties when a piece on Neo-Nazis came on the news. When I asked him what he thought the government should do, because these were Americans in the nineties and not Germans in the forties, he looked at me and said that we should take to the streets and gut them like the Nazi pigs they were." Jax was doing his best not to smile.

"Don't listen to this man when he says he's sorry, there's nothing sorry about standing there mute while someone heils Hitler. This man wants to be mayor and he will lie and manipulate to get there."

You looked right at him and pointed to the photo of him at one of the rallies, "you are an insult to everything I stand for, you are an insult to Charming, the home of Holocaust survivors. You are an insult to California, the home to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton which turned Americans into Marines to kill Nazis and you're an insult to America. You have no place having any say in what happens here."

The hall was silent as you stepped down and sat next to Jax. He was rock hard in his jeans, your passion was ensnaring, he saw you as a force of nature, no less terrifying than a raging forest fire, and God he loved you.

*****

"That was the hottest thing I've ever seen." Everyone had gone to the Clubhouse to celebrate Hale's humiliation, even his brother joined the pile-on. By the time the meeting was over, he was lucky he had any business in the town at all.

You shook your head, "I was just doing the right thing."

Jax pulled you into his side and kissed your temple, "nah, that was really hot."

You giggled, "the fact that you're turned on by me lecturing someone is a little weird. I mean, I'm not going to ick your yum but most people think I'm a harpy for being so opinionated."

Jax smiled, "well I don't care what other people think, I love that you stand up for what you believe in, I didn't know your grandfather but I think he'd be proud of you tonight."

You gave him a sad smile, "I think he would have loved you Jax, he would have taken garden clippers to your hair while you slept but he would be happy I have you."

"She's right, about the clippers I mean. Really Jax, my sister's telling the truth, he would have adored you."

Everyone laughed, and Jax pressed his lips to your ear, "now I think you promised to show me what's under that pantsuit." Just as you were walking arm and arm to the dorm, Clay got a call.

"That was Alverez, he said he needs you to come to their Oakland Clubhouse."

You pointed to yourself, "me? He has a shot doc doesn't he, why would he need me?"

Clay looked worried, "The Calaveras just dumped a body at their doorstep. They think it belongs to his son's best friend Mateo. Esai's beside himself. They need you to make sure it's him."

You pressed your lips together, "they can't tell by looking at it?"

Clay shook his head, "no, from what Alverez said it's pretty rough, he's wearing his kutte but they can be sure."

You rubbed your face, "I need to stop by the house and get my kit. Call him back and tell him I need to know everything about Mateo that might help me get an Id."

You had no idea what you were about to see but you hoped it wasn't as bad as Clay was making it out to be.

Part 35

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i-draws-dinosaurs · 3 years ago

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Hi, I'm a student in Australia just finishing up high school and planning to do palaeontology, I heard you were doing a palaeontology course in Australia and was wondering if it was good?

Hey that's so cool, I'm really glad to hear you're interested in studying palaeontology!! I'm currently studying at Flinders University in South Australia, which as far as I'm aware is the only university in Australia that offers palaeontology as a bachelor's degree. Specifically the course I'm doing is called "Bachelor of Science (Palaeontology)", and is a specialisation of a general science degree with subjects on biology, geology, evolutionary history, and some palaeontology-exclusive subjects. I know there are some other universities that offer palaeo as a major, but since my only experience is with Flinders that's what I'm best able to talk about.

This turned out to be a pretty long post so overall, I think the degree is really good and I'd recommend doing it if you're interested in palaeontology! More detail under the cut:

That being said, I think the Flinders palaeo degree is really great! I haven't finished it so I can't speak to how the final year is but the two years of study I've had so far have been super interesting and inspiring! First year is pretty general with its subjects, giving you more of a grounding in biology and geology, but once you start getting into second year the subjects start to narrow in focus and you start getting some really good detail.

Also, in second year I've already had the opportunity to do new research! I did a research project in which I took measurements of unstudied rodent jaws from the Naracoorte caves to try and find trends in body size over time, and I loved working on that in the labs. The Flinders labs are also very happy to take volunteers to help with sorting their fossil collections, so even in first year you could get into the labs and help look through specimens and do all sorts of volunteer work!

Behold, my army of rat children

Flinders also has the Flinders University Palaeontology Society, which you don't even need to be studying palaeo to join. They run talks and pub quiz nights, and also annual field trips to fossils sites around Australia where we do real fieldwork on fossil digs! I've gone with FUPS on trips to the Naracoorte caves and to Alcoota in the Northern Territory and gotten involved in all stages of the excavation process. If you're interested in learning what palaeontology fieldwork is like, I'd absolutely recommend joining a FUPS field trip, I genuinely found it an amazing experience.

I will add some words of caution, that the thing I probably find hardest about the degree right now is sticking through the more generalised biology subjects, you can end up studying things that feel like they don't really have anything to do with where you want to get to in palaeo. I found that frustrating and difficult to deal with sometimes especially in first year, so if that sounds like something you might find tricky it's probably good to keep that in mind. That being said, even if it doesn't feel directly relevant it is still teaching you skills that you can apply to your future palaeontology studies once things get more focussed.

Another thing that might be challenging is that the study can be pretty physically tough at times, since there are field trips out to national parks and dig locations that often involve a lot of walking in hot weather. I personally love it, and it's not a deal-breaker for most people, but I'm wanting to show all sides of the degree here! As long as you take care of yourself with water, food, rest and all that most people will manage totally fine.

So yeah, if you're interested in pursuing palaeontology as a career, I'll absolutely recommend taking a look at Flinders University's palaeo course! You should be able to find some more specific info on their website, but as for my overall impression I think it's a great course that's expanded my casual knowledge so much, and I've made some really great connections with people who share my passion for fossils which is just really nice! And best of luck to you with finishing high school and finding the next steps in your journey!

#palaeontology #paleontology

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danieyells · 5 months ago

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Jsbdgdisn YOU ARE BOTH COMPLETELY RIGHT AND THAT WAS MY SHIT MEMORY man i wish that was better lol maybe i should fully reread the game from the beginning and see if it sticks. 🙃

My only real response with the sweet comment and the apple related theorizing is that while he calls the apples sweet in Japanese, he doesn't say that about the pc in Japanese. He says she's 「なかなか礼儀正しくて、良い子そうだ」 "very polite and good/well behaved girl". (Which doesn't really carry the same feeling in English lol so I understand simply changing it to "sweet".)

To my understanding it's common belief in Japan that eating apples helps you heal and they're good for fighting illnesses, kinda like how in the US we eat like chicken noodle soup if we get sick. You see it a little bit in some anime and manga, characters will peel or slice apples for sick loved ones(Japan apparently uses a ton of pesticides so it's not recommended to just eat through the peel)--apparently this is something that your mom might do for you, so it's a show of intimacy to prepare them for someone who's not feeling well. Which does imply the janitor and Haru might be close--on the other hand one of Haru's hands was injured, so of course he'd do the peeling for him? Maybe the guy's just really friendly--he does offer to walk you to Jabberwock after all.

I would definitely believe he's a ghoul from a previous year or something. Either previously in Jabberwock or one of the defunct houses. That or he's been working here the entire time Haru's been in attendance or they knew each other outside. . .or maybe he comes in and helps at Jabberwock now and then just because there's so much work to do lol.

As for Lyca, I think it's because Lyca hasn't been around a girl in at least two years and girls are generally seen as smelling better lmao. That and I'm sure it's a 'the pc is special' thing, because there's no way the pc smells better than Subaru.

"Among the ghouls" could also carry the implication that 'non-student ghouls work on campus' is common knowledge that he didn't consider the pc didn't have. Like there's no way there are no ghouls among the faculty right? They can't all be doing fieldwork after graduation.

If the janitor wasn't in Jabberwock I'd definitely lean towards Dionysia, if only for the relaxed atmosphere about him. Then again the Dionysia ghouls were missing and found and they're in Nicolas' care but currently unfit for missions right? Then again, being in his care doesn't mean they can't help out on campus and work part time jobs while they recover. . . . . .

I also thought of the janitor too and have the theory of the scene of him eating apples and how he refers to the mc and apples as sweet + the parallelism of apples with the Adam and eve and everyone knows how it goes form there.

Second theory is more crack than anything but it's darkwick as an institution, like c'mon y'all's logo is a Big D inside a shield with what almost looks like horns, at one point it's almost too on the nose

@yuri-is-online

you are both making it sound like the janitor has appeared or been mentioned more than once and i'm losing my mind DID I MISS OR FORGET SOMETHING IS THIS MY TAIGA BRAIN AGAIN I DON'T REMEMBER HARU MENTIONING THE JANITOR OR HIM EATING APPLES. . . .

but yeah i don't trust darkwick so much anymore(or at least not cornelius and the japan branch of the institute and jin's father--not that i trusted jin's father at all) but LMAO THE LOGO IS A D WITH HORNS. I mean I'm pretty sure they're cat ears and the diamond inside the D is a cat eye but THEY LOOK LIKE HORNS LBR.

tbf though. these are Obscuary and Sinostra's and they look pretty sinister too.

Like DW is definitely bad guys, if only because they've got shitty judgement and they're restrictive towards the ghouls and treat them with such suspicion that the ghouls feel trapped at darkwick and like they won't even be able to escape the institute when they graduate and it's going to be a 'you're committing human rights violations' thing BUT. i think that's going to be a more minor and yet overarching issue compared to the spy plot and the prophecy plot and all.

then again. Cornelius insists that ghouls are naturally more aggressive than humans(this is rarely true) so it's entirely possible the spy intends to make the ghouls fight to like. test them and their strength and such. some sort of experiment to learn more about how the ghouls work/think/socialize/etc. It'd be easier for them to observe the ghouls on campus than off, so if they become troublesome and miserable, that's prime study opportunity!!! Which again ties back into 'the spy probably works for darkwick/the institute'. . . .

#tdb

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finrays · 2 years ago

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The love train has no breaks! Your art is top-notch, for one, and the memes are funnier than they have any right to be. Your Horizon stuff especially is really good, and my experience with that particular fandom is better for having found your blog. Also, what’s being a marine ecologist like? Is it interesting?

OH JEEZ, I didn't see this, lol! Thank you!

It's an interesting profession for sure! Lots of hard work, lots of computer time, at the same time... I like the mix, though I do kinda prefer the fieldwork, at least for now while I'm still relatively young, haha

#my body will say no eventually

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windywooshes · 4 years ago

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Zhongli x Reader [short]

Liyue Harbour was a bustling nest of life. Each corner and narrow alleyway hiding secrets, stories and treasures. One may find themselves lost in these busy streets, especially at the late hours when people return from work, enjoying their spare time alongside family, friends or colleagues.

Even if Zhongli felt lost when walking the different bridges and stairs, he always knew where the destination lied. Awaiting his very return. Years over years. Decades over decades.

As one particular fish out of this busy vast ocean, has always brought him tranquility and connection. A sensation of peace he dreaded to feel, he begged to receive. And especially as the eldest god, one that brought a new light into his rather monotone and disruptive life.

With pressure and responsibilities pressing on to his back like a falling boulder, it was just a matter of time until the brunettes legs would succumb to its weight.

But every time he was so close to lose to this wave of anxiety, a hand lifted it up a bit for him to breath in peace and steady his footing again.

Once it was a beautiful flower which graced the rocky pike of the highest mountain in Liyue. Another time it was a loyal feathered companion, following his steps and singing sweet notes of calm. A fieldworker who he shared the exhausting days and relaxing nights with. A secret lover and admirer which hid away in different forms through Teyvat but always found their way back to the side of the Archon. Or was it the other way?

Rex Lapis looked forward to descend, to see which form they have taken with every new meeting they shared. And it would lead to his tensed muscles and mind loosing up a bit. Taking in the moment. Feeling the connection between his folk and him.

No matter how often he hid amongst his own people, it was only with them that he felt true connection to the lands he once fought for and forged with his own bare hands.

„Zhongli!“

The man released the deep breath he held before, opening his amber eyes, he was quick to spot the source of his awakening from daydreams. Turning around he saw a waving figure approaching him amongst the crowds of unknown and familiar faces, a basket full of various wild goods and Qingxin flowers carried on their back which almost threatened to explode. A smile spread on his face, immediately when he saw them.

„(Y/N). I see you have returned well from the mountains, I'm relieved.“

He gently took the backpack made out of straw from the (H/C), but not before pulling out one of the flowers from it and carefully tucking it behind (Y/N)'s ear. He couldn't help but sight in delight to see his darling unharmed. (E/C) shining in happiness as they linked their right arm with his left one to start moving to the apartment they shared in the bustling city.

„How was your work? I hope the parting ritual of the Geo Archon is not straining you too much...you always end up overworking even over your shift. Have you eaten? Did you drink enough?“

While his significant other bombarded him with questions about his well-being, Zhongli let out a laughter. Being cared for like this was something he never experienced before. The people of Liyue and guests from abroad have treated him with respect and love but just as one would do for a deity. No one ever asked his condition, his thoughts and problems as he was seen as the greatest of the gods. Withstanding the Great Archon war all these millennia ago and still holding his ground until the day of this year's ritual. That has been going on until some years ago. When he was once again met with the same spirit which followed him through his first days of godhood. A lone voice which asked for him to be well, to be safe, to offer their shoulder to cry on, to offer their hand in aid. It was that time which made his mind play with the idea of his departure from the heavy position he was seated in. To leave the throne in exchange for peace. This time has arrived just some days ago.

Creating a replica of his form to release once the Rite of Descention was upon him. Letting go of his old life, almost tossing it to the side.

But before his proclaimed death, he descended to make sure to find his way through the new Liyue as it is now. To find a job which would provide him coverage from questions and suspicions...

And to maybe find the soul which warmed his stone cold heart with its presence and prayers.

To his luck, it didn't take him 5 minutes until he was met with a collision between (Y/N) and himself once he left the doors of the funeral house. Both feeling a spark right from the start on which evolved into a deeper connection over the time.

Moving in together was not a problem as the (H/C) already offered him to stay over until he finds himself a place to stay and he has never even tried to leave the presence of the other one. The comfort which was shared too addicting.

Living with (Y/N) felt as if he had spent his entirety in the harbour. The distance he always felt, vanishing whenever he felt their hand gently touching his own. The fire which was lurking at the back of his mind ceasing with one look into their beautiful (E/C) pearls. The weight on his shoulders raised with a single laughter of their voice.

They were his medicine which he needed desperately over all these thousands of years. And he couldn't help but break into a gentle smile whenever his sweetheart crossed his mind. Outshining the most perfect Lapis in whole Teyvat.

Placing down the basket next to the kitchen, Zhongli trotted his way to the shared bedroom to hang up his jacket before returning into the main room. Watching them prepare today’s meal and already placing his gloves to the side to help them out.

(Y/N) was already in the flow of cutting vegetables and other ingredients to put in today's stew. To their dismay, a pair of warms wrapped around their waist, pulling them into a unusual tight hug from behind, breaking the work flow.

A gentle kiss placed on their neck before the man nuzzled his face next to it, sighting in delight. This was all enough to let them sink back to Zhongli's form in relaxation. Feeling his breath tickle against their skin as he started to mumble three simple words of appreciation.

„I love you.“

„I love you too~“

It's always during such small moments, Zhongli knew that he would be save and well in his new life. The fear leaving his scarred body, replacing it with love and appreciation for his significant other. Enjoyment and love occupying his heart.

Being not-so-lost in this always evolving harbour after all, as he had already found himself a place he can call home.

#zhongli x reader #genshin zhongli #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact #x reader #reader insert #sorry I promised a Norton one but my inner state wasn't really following #tbh I just got tired of IDV due to the constant stress I feel from this game #genshin has been calming me down pretty well #and it has been super addictive as well #this hasn't been proofread too #I just needed a story to vent out to and this was what came up #I'll try to finally work on old projects...

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slytherinnbitch · 4 years ago

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Prompt#21- Coming home with a huge wound but refusing to go to the hospital

Pairing - Drarry

Warning: Contains Mature Content - swearing, blood ( it's not much graphic)

Background- Drarry have been together for eight years now. They live at the Grimmauld Place. Harry is a Senior Auror while Draco is a potions master.

..........................................

Upon hearing the door close, rather slowly than normally. Harry had a habit of almost smashing the door into a million pieces whenever he had a shitty day at the Ministry which was everyday to be honest. He felt uneasy as he rushed down the stairs towards the door, trying not to hurry as much as possible which wasn't a lot to be completely honest.

Harry was standing at the threshold, with an ashen face trying to open his red and black Auror coat with his left hand, when Draco descended the stairs. He immediately stopped and looked into the blond's eyes. Draco saw it immediately, something was amiss, something had happened to his Harry. Although he was afraid to ask, he still did in a bare whisper.

"It's nothing honestly." Harry tried to be nonchalant about it and shrugged, wincing horribly.

"Show me." He demanded. Harry looked at him with a blank face and asked what he was on about. Draco went forward and slowly opened the coat only to find the right arm drenched in a liquid which turned out to be blood. Harry's arm sported a huge wound which was still bleeding. The wound stretched from his elbow almost to his wrist. He dragged his gaze away from the wound and towards his fiancé who was smiling sheepishly at him, making Draco more angry than concerned.

"What on earth are you doing here and not at Mungo's, Potter? Care to explain because I just can't see it myself?" He said in a low voice, reminding himself that it wouldn't do good to yell at Harry now. But that bloody git always did this, no matter the situation he would come home rather than going to the healers. Most times either it was a small wound or he would be completely knocked out which meant he would be dragged to Mungo's by one of his team or Draco would heal him. He had no idea how the prat talked out of going there.

Where the fuck was Weasley?!?!

"Well it isn't that big and you know I don't like going there. The people still look at me like I'm a different species or something and I fucking hate that. And that isn't something a good Episkey can't fix." He smiled widely at Draco, while he tried to lift his hand, grimacing badly.

"Stop doing that and stop being such a stubborn prat all the time. Now come on, in, let's see what I can do." They directly went to the washroom where he immediately instructed Harry to sit down in the tub and not move. He then proceeded to remove his shirt with a wave of his wand and filled a bowl with water, warming it with a charm and sat down on a stool next to the tub, looking dubiously at the wound. He still felt that he should take Harry to Mungo's but he knew it would be an fruitless attempt.

"One of these days, Harry, you'll give me a heart attack if you just keep getting yourself injured liked this again and again," he took a deep breath trying to calm himself down, it didn't help much. "I love you, I can't lose you tho one of your stupid Auror Missions." He started cleaning the wound with a soft cloth, watching the water turn a darker shade of pink as he dipped the cloth again and again.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to be better, I promise. No more injuries." Harry said but they both knew that it was a lie, he didn't feel like calling him out on it now, so he just kept cleaning the wound.

He summoned a wound cleaning potion next, glaring at his fiancé who hissed when he pressed the second cloth to the wound. He hated seeing Harry like this, it made his heart ache but he couldn't find it in himself to ask him to give up being an Auror or take up the Head Auror position that he had been which would mean next to no fieldwork for him. But he knew that Harry wouldn't be happy, he loved the thrill which came from being on the field even if it meant getting seriously injured at times. It kept him awake at nights, not knowing if his Harry would return or not. He had tried doing anything and everything to keep him distracted when Harry was gone for a day or for weeks at a stretch but nothing ever helped.

If Ron had gone with him, he felt a bit relieved and he asked Hermione to come over, together it was easier to endure. He knew that for Harry, his Auror job was quite important, it made him less guilty about how he couldn't have saved his loved ones in the war but he was saving others loved ones. But still it was times like this that made Draco hate Harry's job even more, he resented it. He couldn't make Harry understand that while he was trying to save others' loved ones, Draco's was at a huge risk. To Harry, his life had almost no value, he would give it up in an instant if it meant someone else's good. He knew that but still........

"Draco...." Harry whispered but he refused to look at him, continuity to treat the wound.

"Draco...." Harry called again and he reluctantly looked up at his blurred figured and realized that he had tears in his eyes.

Harry brought up his good arm to cup his face gently, and wipe the year which escaped from his eye. He leaned into the touch, tilting his face slightly to kiss the hand before returning to the task at hand.

It took a couple of more minutes before the wound was completely cleaned and sealed with a careful Episkey. He ran his hand across the newly healed arm, trying to calm his own self.

"Babe......look at me please." Harry pleaded.

He looked up, directly into his emerald eyes, which were filled with sorrow and concern. "It's nothing, love. There's nothing you can't heal. I'm perfectly fine, don't cry please." His words were a balm, which Draco refused to take.

"It could have been, Harry. What if I can't do anything and it gets too late. You are no longer doing this, Harry James Potter. From this moment onwards you'll be going directly to the hospital, I don't care that you hate that place. You'll do it for me, and without complain. Am I clear?" He tried to keep his voice firm but it wavered at the end.

If nothing else, it was better than asking him to quit for long. It would keep him sane for the time being, knowing Harry would be in the best hands.

"Crystal, I would go directly go there and send for you as well because I'm not going to be there alone, even for a short period of time. Now come here." Harry said as he opened his arms and Draco went into his arms without a moment's hesitation.

He hugged him tightly for a moment, putting his head on his solid chest, hearing his heart beat strongly against his ear. Harry took his face in his hands after a while and gave him a slow kiss, trying to rely what he couldn't in words. Draco returned it with much more force, putting all his worry and concern into it, lavishing the feel of Harry infront of him.

It didn't do anything other than lessen his worries a bit and for now that was enough for him.

#drarry #harry x draco #draco malfoy #harry potter #auror harry #injured #engaged #ron wealsey #hermione granger #headcanon

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catcze · 3 years ago

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Oh, Catte, my beloved... The bracelet is so beautiful. Goodness, did I cry when I took it out of the envelope. It's almost as beautiful as you are, I love it so much! I'm never ever taking this off. Oh starlight I'm so happy, you may as well have just proposed! I love you so so much, thank you💜💜💜

I'm glad Cyno is doing well for himself these days! It's not really that complex of a spell, simple transmutation really, but I'm sure he didn't want to overwhelm you. He may not talk a lot but trust me; he cares. I should write him sometime, if only so the next time an emergency arises he won't think I only remember he exists when I need his help, hehe... I'm joking of course, he's not the kind of person to care. I do still owe him a favor though. Two, now that he's gone out of his way to teach my girlfriend magic, and specifically for helping you make me this wonderful present. Send along my thanks please, but please don't mention that I said I'd write him, just in case I somehow forget to. You know me, heh..

Also I'm a little surprised to hear that name again! Collei was quite the visitor when she was here a few years ago, it's a long story, and one I doubt very much she'd want me to tell. Suffice to say she and Amber are good friends, but I'm sure she already asked you about her as soon as you mentioned Mondstadt. I'm so relieved to hear she's safe, and studying medicine no less! Tell her I'm proud of her. She'll do great things in her life.

I must admit I'm slightly bothered to hear that so many scholars accosted my poor babygirl to ask if I'd return, I'm so sorry darling. If they give you any more trouble, oh I'll come visit alright. To dispense punishment(although I'd definitely grab some food on the way as we left). Speaking of food, that's so sweet of you to offer to learn the local cuisine just for me~ you're so thoughtful, it's one of the many many things I love about you. My reputation around the school is honestly the only accomplishment you'll find though sweetheart. I wasn't really all that social there, aside from talking to the professors and scholars. I couldn't afford to procrastinate if I wanted to learn everything I could. Funny, that sounds completely unlike me, now doesn't it~ Those lectures can be tiresome at first, did they provide you with the appropriate reading materials, or are you only listening? I still have my copy of the first semester alchemy textbook--it's only about 800 pages, but they're packed to the brim with knowledge. I still reference it sometimes.

Like I mentioned though, most of my time in Sumeru was spent at the Academy or at the local restaurants. If you wanted food recommendations, those I can provide, but unfortunately I won't be of much use otherwise. Sorry cutie~

[the next page of the letter is a list of local restaurants, many with recommended dishes written next to them. There's also a fair number of heart shapes and "I love you"s doodled around the edges of the paper]

I hope you'll try at least some of those and tell me what you think. The more you talk about it honestly, the more it's beginning to grow on me. I do want to go back and visit with you, my love. I miss it, even if I don't want to admit that. It would be so much fun to sight see with you, being able to just meander aimlessly through the city, not a care in the world, and with you by my side... That sounds amazing. I'd want nothing more. Perhaps for our honeymoon~? [the last sentence of the paragraph is crossed out with a single streak of ink cutting through it]

Your photos are all amazing, darling. I just wish I had as many to send you in return, but unfortunately I don't own a camera, nor can I afford to leave the library long enough to travel to Liyue and buy one. That being said, Albedo does have one, and he already took that first photo. Darling, I'm curious, and please, *please* say no if it would bother you even slightly. If I... Perhaps wanted to take some... Pictures, just for your enjoyment~ ...would you mind if I had Albedo continue to serve as the photographer? I want my baby to be thinking of me, especially since I'm not there to pleasure you myself~💜 again, PLEASE say no if you'd have any problem with that. Or I could ask Jean if that would be better. I just want to treat my princess to some candy~

That line is going to have me up all night, I swear. I do wish I was there for you in every sense, but goodness does my heart ache for you. I miss the way you taste so much, my precious little munchkin~ you're not going to sleep at all the first night you're back in my arms, I hope you know that. I'm going to edge you so hard you'll cry for me, hehe~ I'm a little peeved you didn't take notice of my comment about punishing you! There will be ropes involved when you return to me. Just the way you always like it, cutie~ tell me, how bad do you miss me? Miss my tongue you love so much~? Don't worry baby--you'll get everything you could ever want for when you come home. I can't wait to taste you~ goodness, excuse me a moment baby... I need to scratch an itch before I finish writing this letter, hehe...~

Okay, I'm back. That was quite the itch, it just kept coming back~ that picture you sent with this letter may have helped with that... Celestia, you're so so beautiful, my rose..~ I love you so much.

Where was I... Ah yes. I'm very glad you've been eating and sleeping properly. Such a good girl you always are~💜 and don't worry; I'm taking care of myself as well. I've been becoming more adjusted to the late nights lately, since your letters often arrive around this hour(it's 11:30 right now, although up until a page ago it had been 10:15, hehe...). I don't mind it at all, since you know I love to sleep in anyway. I love reading your letters sweetheart. They truly do carry your love across the distance. I'm so happy that you're my partner. I love you so so much. I reread your letters every day, they put such a smile on my face.

Also, what's this about ideas you're having ever since I mentioned the uniform? Tell me!! Pretty please~? 💜

I'm going to call my letter to a close here, before I end up needing a bigger envelope, hehe~ I love you so much, starlight. Please take care, and I hope you're well rested when you read this. Hopefully I can put a smile on your beautiful face. I just wish I was there to see it. I love you so much, take care and write me back when you can, promise~?

Yours Always,

- Lisa 🌺💜

Milddd nsfw here muaH <33

Hi, love, I’m so happy that you like your gift! I love you very much as well— hopefully it can give you comfort on some particularly hard nights where I cannot be with you, dearest. Sort of like a reminder that although I cannot be there with you in person, you always carry a piece of my heart with you, you know?

I’ll be sure to relay your message to Cyno and Collei! They were rather surprised when they found out I was your girlfriend, haha! In a good way, of course— they’ve been great company so far.

And don’t worry about the other scholars, Lisa dear. I can handle them plenty fine. I’m sure they’ll go running if I even so much as imply that you wouldn’t be pleased with them for their behavior, my love. They wouldn’t want to mess with one of the best sorcerers to ever roam those halls, you know?

Regarding the lectures, they offered to loan me some textbooks actually, but I had to turn them down since, well, I am just an observer, and carrying so many books with me to and fro would weigh me down. Still, although I sometimes get confused while I observe, It’s such a fun and interesting experience! I can’t say I’m remembering every bit of knowledge I hear, but I’ve definitely learned at least a thing or two.

Just yesterday, there was a bit of a lull in lectures that I was attending— something about one of the scholars who had agreed to host me taking their class out to fieldwork, and I was unable to accompany them. So I took the time to check out some of the restaurants you listed for me! I went to just one of them for lunch, since I didn’t want to get too full throughout the day, and I enjoyed it very much!! I included a picture of one of the dishes you noted for me (a best seller of theirs, apparently) and I didn’t regret purchasing it at all. It was so good! In my free time, it’s one of the recipes that I hope to familiarize and bring back home to you— I think you’ll rather like it, especially since there’s no meat. Hopefully I’ll get good enough at making it that you’ll be able to savor the flavor too!

Though, I don’t mind either if you’d rather return with me next time, and we can have a dinner date here? I really like the ambiance of the place— its both romantic and private. And the view from the balcony here is absolutely magical. Or we can maybe visit a couple of the other restaurants you’ve recommended to me? I doubt that I’ll be able to try all of them this time, and being able to experience it with you would make the experience a million times better.

Also, regarding the photos you mentioned— well, I’m fine with it if you are. As long as you’re comfortable with whoever is photographing you love, then it’s perfectly alright with me. Besides, I know that we’re devoted to each other, so there’s no cause for me to be uncomfortable 💞 If you so wish to grant me such photos, I eagerly await them, love! They’re not the same as you being here, of course, but I’m sure they could help me with how much I miss you.

And ah, sending such things only makes me miss you more! Perhaps I should take a good, long rest before I come back to Mondstadt, if you plan to keep me up all night. And who says I didn’t notice your comment? Perhaps I was just teasing you by keeping quiet about it, especially if I know what’s awaiting me back home. And yes, I miss you so so much, I miss your tongue and you lips, your touch on my skin, the way you hold me and make me feel so good each and every time— Love, really, if your intention with that letter was to get me all worked up, then safe to say you’ve succeeded. My, I doubt I’m going to be getting any sleep tonight, thinking of you.

And regarding that bit about the Academy uniform… well, I might have found a local seamstress who was willing to make me a version of it, tailored to my measurements. It’s not ready quite yet, but hopefully I can send you some photographs soon 💞

By the way, love, there’s no need to have to wait up for my letters, not if you’re not getting enough sleep! I don’t mind waiting a bit for your reply as long as I know you’re sleeping on time. I worry about you as much as you worry about me, so for both your sake and mine, promise me you’ll get enough sleep? Either way, though, I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself, dearest. It makes me happy, knowing that you and the others are doing well. I love you very, very much you know? Please continue to stay safe, dearest, and know that I’m always missing you.

And, well, regarding a proper proposal, though I can’t say I haven’t thought of it before (how could I not? I can fully envision spending the rest of my life with you) I would much prefer if I were able to give you the ring and ask you in person, love. That being said, take the bracelet as a promise that I’ll return to you soon— and hopefully with a ring that I think you’ll like and a question that I plan to ask you.

All the best wishes, dearest. I love you very much 💞

—Catte 💞

#Character anon 💌 : Lisa #Kisses from Catte 🦩#Catcze.Lingerie 💦#liSA anon ily <333 please get enough rest babes!!!#muAH 💞💞#ALSO have a nice day!!!! ILYSM <33 #Alsooo regarding your other ask I'm so glad you liked the bit about the bracelet aaAA 💞👉👈

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lovemalecforever · 3 years ago

Text

Chapter 10

Emotions speak louder than words

Alec looked at her with slight relief and nodded. "Then let's head to New York tomorrow morning itself!"

"If that has to be done then I think Madzie can stay with him for the time being, in that way Magnus won't be alone."

"That sounds like a great idea, but... there's still a problem."

Catarina raised her brow. "What is it?"

"What am I going to tell Magnus about leaving for New York? I can't just say that I have to leave without giving him any reasonable explanation. And you're leaving with me too, he'll get suspicious and will ask a hell lot of questions!"

"We need to come up with something, but honestly I don't even know."

Rubbing his temples, he started pacing around when something struck him. He took out his phone and sent a quick text to his all-time lifesaver.

• Emergency needed, call ASAP!

-Alec. •

Catarina was looking at him intently, reviewing his actions, she got a glimpse of his text and got curious.

"Emergency needed! Really? And who did you text that to? Who else knows?"

Before Alec could answer, his phone started buzzing. He quickly picked it up and put it on speaker, but before he could say anything the other side's voice came quickly with a fierce and strong tone.

"Alec! Look, if this is one of your stupid kinds of emergencies, I swear, I'll portal myself to Alicante and kick your sweet little ass!"

Alec was mortified and his face was flushed with embarrassment. He looked at Catarina who was trying not to laugh.

"Are you done, Izzy!?"

Izzy sighed, then continued. "What is it, big brother?"

"First off, you're on speaker, Catarina is with me so 'thank you' for your sweet talk and second, we've found the complete spell!"

"By the angel! You did!" Izzy squealed. "But... this was your emergency, Alec?"

"Not exactly, for this ritual, I have to come to New York for a few days and Catarina is coming too, I'll explain everything when I'll be there. But the thing is, I don't know what to tell Magnus. Madzie is going to stay with him, but I can't just tell him I'm leaving without any reason, so, word of advice?"

"And to be honest, even though I'm not able to come up with something, knowing Magnus he's not gonna get convinced easily," Catarina added and looked at Alec.

"Oh! Hi Cat! Thank you for helping my brother, it's good to know that he has your support as well. And I agree with that. It's Magnus we're talking about."

"Izzy, not helping!" Alec said impatiently.

"Calm down big brother! Hold on a second..."

There was silence for some time on either side and Alec was growing impatient.

"Izzy, are you there?" But there was no reply.

"Izzy!?"

"Patience Alec!" Came the reply.

Alec sighed and looked at Catarina, she was getting worried too. After a few more minutes, Izzy finally spoke.

"Okay, so Alec, are you going to be busy with your ritual 24X7, or you'll have free time as well?"

"Honestly, it will take just a day, but I'll be needing everyone's permission first, I have to talk to everyone then only I'll proceed with it."

"Perfect! I think I have a solution to your problem!"

Alec and Catarina exchanged a look and heard her plan with curiosity.

_________________________

it was past 5:30 when Alec reached back home. As he entered, a strong smell engulfed his nostrils. Walking in further, he noticed Magnus's sleeping figure on the couch and sighed. The smell was strong and flavorful, so he was certain that something was cooking in the kitchen.

He walked towards their kitchen and saw that various kinds of herbs were spread on the kitchen slab, a pot was kept on the stove which was the source of the smell, and the stove was still on. He turned it off then walked back into the living room where his warlock was still sound asleep.

Kneeling down, he first caressed his cheek then left a soft peck on his forehead. As he was about to stand up, Magnus spoke in a hoarse voice.

"huhh... Alexander?"

"Hey there sleepyhead." He leaned down and pecked him on the lips.

"Hey. When did you come?" Magnus got up and sat on the couch.

"Just now."

"Oh, I didn't hea- oh no!" He panicked and was about to get up when Alec held him and made him sit down.

"Mags, if that was about the dinner you're preparing, I turned off the stove so don't worry, your dinner is safe. You can rest more if you want."

"No, I'm good, and thank you."

"For what? Turning off the stove?" He asked, confused.

"For finally coming home early, though it's not the early I expected but still, thank you."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

"Are you feeling guilty?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Magnus, shut it!"

Magnus laughed a little and pulled Alec towards him making both of them fall on the couch, he then got on top of Alec and locked their lips. They pulled apart when they felt the need to breathe. He then rested his head on his Shadowhunter's chest.

"Magnus, love, not right now. We've got dinner to plan, right?"

"Ugh! Can't I cuddle my husband for a few minutes?"

"Magnus!"

"Ugh! Fine! You go get freshen up while I prepare the dinner."

____________________________________

*Time Skip- After dinner*

They both had their dinner and were cuddled on the couch watching Magnus' favorite movie. Alec was sitting and had his legs rested on the table while Magnus was laying down, his head rested on Alec's lap with a blanket covering him, Alec's fingers running through his hair and stroking it gently.

Alec was stroking his Warlock's hair, tangling it in his fingers then untangling it, stroking it then repeating the process again and again absentmindedly as his focus was on how to tell him about leaving for New York.

Magnus noticed this and looked up at his shadowhunter. "Is there something bothering you, Alexander?"

"Huh!? What?" Alec looked down at him.

"Is there something bothering you? You're nervous."

"I'm not nervous, Magnus."

"Alexander, I know your nervous tics, you always do that with my hair whenever you're nervous. What is it?"

"No, I don't, Magnus."

"Yes you do, now say it!"

Alec sighed, he knew he couldn't keep ignoring it and burst it on him at the eleventh hour. "I don't want to ruin our moment, but, can you please sit up? I need to talk to you."

This made Magnus worried, and he got up, paused the movie, and sat there facing his husband. "What's wrong?"

"Magnus, I... I need to leave for New York for a few days."

"What? But why so suddenly?"

"I didn't want to bring it up, but the demon attack that happened a month ago resulting in almost a war... " He trailed off and searched his Warlock's eyes for any sign of distress.

Magnus gulped nervously at the mention of that but composed himself and looked at his Shadowhunter. "What about that?"

"You're aware that it wasn't just in Alicante, it was all around the globe, but Alicante was the main target, destroying almost everything. The Clave made new rules and tightened their hold on the working ways of shadowhunters. They are still working on the new rules." He paused for a moment and looked at him in the eyes.

"I'm not getting it, how is it related?"

"There was a similar attack in New York a few days ago, it was taken care of, but the Clave wants to know how did it happen since every measure was taken and even wards were made stronger. So, they want someone from Clave to go there and inquire about it, and since I'm an Ex-Head of the Institute of New York they want me to go. Also, the meeting related to what was supposed to happen in Alicante has now been shifted to New York, so Cat is coming with me too as she's the new High Warlock of New York." He finished and looked at his warlock deep in the eyes.

Magnus looked at him, taking in every word he said, tears forming in the back of his eyes. The visions of that dreadful day coming in front of his eyes, he shut his eyes tightly.

Alec saw the sudden change in features of his warlock, he knew that look really well, and he knew what to do.

"Mags, hey! Look at me, I'm not going on any fieldwork, it's just a meeting. Hey, love, look at me!" He said softly while caressing his cheeks.

Magnus opened his eyes, tears were pooling on the edge of it. Alec's heart broke seeing that look on his warlocks face.

'I'm sorry, Magnus. I bought it up, but it was necessary, I didn't know what to do or say to you so Izzy and I advanced my inquiry visit and the meeting which was supposed to happen after a month as I didn't want to stress you, but I didn't have the option, I'm sorry love, I wish I can tell you that I'm actually leaving to be yours forever. Inquire visits and meetings are just excuses.' Alec thought.

"Mags, hey, I know what's scaring you, but please, don't think about it. I'm going to be at the institute the whole time and do you think any one of them will let me go on any hunts? They'll kick my ass and make me stay at the institute. You know Jace and Izzy, they won't let me. You don't have to worry about it." He cupped his Warlock's cheeks and wiped away the tears trying to escape from his eyes with the help of his thumbs.

"I'm sorry, I just... that day..."

"Mags..." He said softly.

"Do you promise you won't go on any missions? I know that's your job... but... I just ca-"

"Magnus, I promise, I won't. Just stop crying now, I can't see you like this." 'That's not what I'm going for anyways.' he added in his mind.

Magnus gave him a dull smile, still not completely recovered from the flashes of memories he just had. "When are you leaving?"

"I..." He cleared his throat. "Tomorrow morning. And since Cat is coming with me too, we thought Madzie could stay with you for the time being. If you're okay with it?"

Magnus became a little more normal at the mention of his favorite warlocks name. "Are you kidding!? Sweet pea is always welcomed here. And, by the way, when did you meet Cat?"

"Umm... this evening, before coming home. I went to her apartment to tell her about it."

"Oh, that explains it! Alexander, I'm sorry, I got really emotional for no reason. It's just that I'm not able to-"

"Magnus, I know. You don't have to explain. I didn't want to bring it up, but it was necessary. Honestly, if it hadn't been important, I would never agree on leaving. But Mags, you'll be okay for a few days without me?" He said the last part a little teasingly to lighten the mood, and that did work.

"Why wouldn't I be, instead, me and sweet pea are gonna enjoy and party without your grumpy complaints now and then!"

"Excuse me!? I'm not grumpy!"

"Says the king of grumpiness."

"I'm not grumpy, Magnus!"

"Look who's getting grumpy right no-"

Before Magnus could complete the sentence Alec locked their lips and kissed him with every emotion pooling inside him, his one hand stroking his face gently and the other on his waist holding him in place. He pulled apart after some time and looked straight into Magnus' eyes.

"Can we please live in the moment right now and not discuss that further," Alec said breathlessly.

"Couldn't agree more!"

"Wanna lay down again?" He tapped his lap.

"No, I want cuddles!" He got closer to him leaving no distance between them, lifted the Shadowhunter's hand, wrapped it around himself, and rested his head on his chest, covering them both with the blanket and resuming the movie.

Alec tightened his grip around his warlock's shoulders and smiled with relief that Magnus wasn't upset anymore. He kissed him on top of his head and resumed watching the movie.

#happily married #malec forever #malec fic #magnus bane #malec #asaab #angst with a happy ending #angst #fanfic authors #alec lightwood #wattpad writer #wattpad #fanfiction #fanfic #lightwood bane family #fantasy

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theancientgeekoroman · 6 years ago

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hi! i'm a high-schooler who wants to pursue a career in classics and ancient history and you're a massive inspiration to me, I was wondering if you have any advice for an aspiring classicist

Hey! I’m glad to be an inspiration :3

So, the first thing I would suggest is to read, read, read. I know it’s expensive to get a lot of books, but remember that public libraries (and check your high school library, too!) might have many of the books you might want to read before you head into a Classics program.

If you would prefer to have these things online so you can access a lot of different things, here are my favorite websites to refer to:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

https://www.gutenberg.org/

http://www.sacred-texts.com/search.htm

The next thing to remember is that if you’re an undergraduate student, you’re not going to know everything in every class. Be open to exploring - take courses that have a focus on the ancient world, but don’t be afraid to stray into other courses (I took enough Medieval courses (history, literature, art history) that I was one course away from a minor). One of the things that I would recommend is searching for schools that have a program you think you’ll enjoy and e-mail the professors! I e-mailed the director of the Classical Studies department at Villanova University back and forth for a long time before I applied to the graduate program and she was quite supportive and explained things well to me. This was a big reason I decided that I decided that Villanova was right for me. The professors and how they interact with potential students will tell you a lot about the faculty as well as the program. Look through the potential courses at the universities you’re interested in, and whether they have all the courses, you would be interested in, including courses for other aspects of the field.

Classics courses can be under Anthropology or Archaeology, Art History, English/Literature, Greek/Latin, Library Sciences, Law, Museum Studies, Theatre, etc. If you’re interested in exploring any of these areas of Classics, I would suggest exploring these courses if the university offers them as well. This would also help you hone in on what area of the field you might be most interested in pursuing - a lot of people who go into Classics either end up teaching or working in a museum, from my experience. However, those aren’t your only choices, and we’ll get back to that more towards the end :3

If you’re not sure if you’d like archaeology, if you can afford an archaeological field school, I would say try to participate in one when you’re an undergraduate student, or if you can’t, see if your local state parks have any need for archaeological volunteers. That’s something that I’ve been investigating in Las Vegas (where I live); this isn’t Classics specifically, but much of the work will be similar so you can gauge whether you like digging enough to do it for a living. This past summer I did my first archaeological field school (three years after I completed my B.A. in History/Classics), so if you wait a little longer, that’s okay, too. But, I loved it, and I definitely want to dig again, so I think that it’s important to find a way to pursue those opportunities when you can (I was lucky to get a full-time job a year before I went and was able to save up - I didn’t take any vacation time in the year and a half from when I was hired until after the field school). There are field school scholarships that you can apply to, like the Jane C. Waldbaum Archaeological Field School Scholarship (https://www.archaeological.org/grants/708), that are for students pursuing their first field school, amongst other funding, so make sure you look everywhere and ask your university if they have a database for field school funding. A lot of your anthropology and archaeology professors will be helpful in asking about this. Your university might also have archaeology opportunities on campus as well; my alma mater, the University of Delaware, had an Archaeology Laboratory that I volunteered in for extra credit and continued to do so once my course was over because I enjoyed it so much. See what’s around and how you can help out!

In the same vein, if you’re interested in museum work, look to see if you can volunteer over the summer, or once you’re a university student, see if you can enroll in an internship for credit. Sometimes your university galleries and museums might have a program, so look into that, too! I did a Curatorial Apprenticeship Program at the University of Delaware and was able to conduct an Independent Study for credit through the museum program (now the University of Delaware has a Museum Studies minor). I’ve always known that my end goal was to be a curator, but there’s plenty of other aspects of museums you can explore: education, administration, museum libraries, and a lot of other departments, depending on the size of the institution. If you’re in the U.S., you can check my museum post to see if your state has ancient art (https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/179105816745/master-list-of-museums-with-greek-roman), and if you’re in another country, don’t worry, I’m working on master lists for other countries, too.

Many courses may be taught in translation (especially if you’re taking it as an English Literature or Foreign Language in Translation course), so see if you can find the best or most highly recommended translations by professors. See what the book lists are for the courses at the universities you’re looking at and try to find your favorite translation. I just bought the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey, which I have a feeling will be my favorite translation. This is The Iliad translation I have (http://www.librarything.com/work/3426497/book/161094444), The Aeneid (http://www.librarything.com/work/11862/book/161072440), Metamorphoses (http://www.librarything.com/work/3439/book/161072432), and The Love Songs of Sappho (http://www.librarything.com/work/237534/book/161093187). All of these were assigned textbooks for my Biblical and Classical Literature and Mythology courses at the University of Delaware between 2007-2015 (those links take you to my LibraryThing, which will tell you most of the books that I own or I have on my wishlist, if you want to check them out; I haven’t finished organizing their categories yet, though, so it’s a WIP).

If you haven’t been exposed to Ancient Greek or Latin at the high school level and university will be the first time you encounter these languages (as was true for me), you don’t necessarily have to know anything by the first day of class. However, if you would like a head start, here are some lessons on Ancient Greek in YouTube format (http://www.openculture.com/2016/08/learn-ancient-greek-in-64-free-lessons-from-brandeis-harvard.html) and in text format (https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/grkol). Latin, unsurprisingly, has a lot more resources for free online learning (I even bought a Udemy course to review my Latin): The University of Texas at Austin: https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/latol, http://learn101.org/latin.php, and this list is good to consult: https://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/latinapps.htm. I haven’t used all of these myself, so explore and see which ones would be best for you and works best for how you learn.

If you decide to continue with Classics into the graduate level, keep in mind that you’ll need German AND French or Italian. I took both French and Italian as an undergraduate and I can read French pretty well because I took it for four years in high school and studied abroad in Caen for five weeks as an undergraduate. Italian I can kind of read alright, but I know no German, which I need to work on. So, if you have a language requirement and your Latin or Greek does not count, keep those languages in mind. (Sometimes you have to take a certain amount of Latin or Ancient Greek for it to count, and your program may not require as many ancient language courses for your major as the language requirement for the university, etc. I only needed to take Ancient Greek or Latin, but I decided I wanted to do both.)

Classics is an extremely interdisciplinary field, so you have a lot of options, both as an undergraduate and a graduate student. You don’t necessarily need to go straight into graduate school, either. You can teach at the high school level, you can go into archaeology fieldwork or museum work, or do a variety of other things. It’s up to you. I took a year off, got a different Master of Arts degree before I applied to my M.A. in Classical Studies. It’s different for everyone. I’ll be 30 when I get my M.A. in Classical Studies, so take your time and explore things that call to you. Don’t rush things and have fun!

Of course, I’m sure you want to know “What can I do with a Classics degree?” Luckily, many places have already made lists like this! Here they are:

https://www.angelo.edu/services/career/majors/classics.php

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/careers/subjects/classics/

https://classicalstudies.org/education/careers-for-classicists/an-undergraduate-degree-in-the-classics

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/careersandemployability/subjectfactsheets/subjectfacsheets/2016ese030_Classics_st1.pdf

http://loveofhistory.com/what-jobs-can-you-get-with-an-ancient-history-and-classics-degree/

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/classics

And I made a post with different places that post Classics positions as well, for when you’re ready to look for those (I check them regularly to see the requirements people want for these positions to either match up or if I need further training or credentials): https://theancientgeekoroman.tumblr.com/post/178955792555/since-im-still-in-my-ma-program-for-classical

TLDR & recap:

Read, read, read

Research your potential schools

Volunteer

Explore aspects of the field

Have fun!

Additionally, I found this list of people that have Classics degrees :3

https://rogueclassicism.com/folks-you-didnt-know-maybe-had-classics-degrees/

I hope you found this helpful and I apologize for the length, but feel free to drop me a line whenever you like if you need more advice or would like me to expand on any of my experiences!

All the best,

The Ancient Geeko-Roman

P.S. Folklore Fiancé wanted to make sure I didn’t overwhelm you and wanted to encourage you to make sure you take your time and take breaks when studying. Don’t overwhelm yourself with your research; take your time to explore different areas and don’t tackle too many things at once. *takes off parent hat*

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