#Proteus title

[euniveve]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

(𝘜𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯)

⚖ chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

⚖ status: ongoing

⚖ pairings: neuvillette x reader

⚖ tags: fem! reader, attorney! reader, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, forced marriage, reader is from liyue, miscommunication, one-sided pining, eventual romance, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

⚖ warnings: implied past trauma, everyone in the fic is emotionally constipated, the reader is extremely sassy, the reader hates literally everyone but her best friend and the melusines, graphic description of injury

⚖ sum:

“Because to love me is embedded glass and you are a fool if you have done so monsieur.” “Then I am a fool.” *** It is a shame, really, that you, the Chief Attorney of Proteus & Portunus Litigations, the one that has been gifted with the title "mademoiselle", is an outsider. Not Fontainian in descent. Upon hearing a rumour or two, the Hydro Archon, ever the kind and just, decides to bestow you a certain privilege and honour with another title. "𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚." After all, two "outsiders" may just help each other become more "Fontainian."

✦ links:

ao3 | tag | series playlist | reader's playlist

[mwolf0epsilon]

Having been created to serve a purpose given to them by someone who was always supposed to be their superior, mimics (despite their naturally mischievous and deceitful nature) are not without their honor to duty.

Whatever that duty may be, however, is up to how they interpret their "contract".

Take Hiro for example, one of the first mimics to be "tamed" in Japan. His original owners only ever needed him to pull long trains and they expected little else from him. But, in due time, Hiro began to roam the railway grounds and even the lines to keep an eye on the perimeter.

He took on "guard duty" to ensure wild unfriendly mimics didn't encroach on his territory and potentially harm either the other railway mimics or railway staff that he now perceived as being under his care. This is what earned him the title of 'Master of the Railway'.

In another life he would have likely guarded the Lady's palace, as he's naturally inclined to protect others and locations and views it as a part of his duties. An unspoken rule of sorts.

Another example is Duncan, a rather cantankerous and somewhat unapproachable mimic. As a narrow gauge engine mimic, he's a rather peculiar sort, having none of the typical goat-like attributes that are standard to this particular class (something that's usually only shared with narrow gauge mimics who are trained for steamworks and dieselworks jobs). He's a mishmash of traits, as he used to work exclusively in industrial settings rather than up on the mountains.

He's fussy, often rude, and you'd assume he'd be caught dead before he took on extra "unpaid" work. But Duncan seems to have a morbid fascination for locating, recovering and studying historical artifacts. Particularly of the fae variety. Something about the olden days calls to him, although he'd never voice such thoughts. To date he's only mentioned his "hobby" to Rusty, but Mr. Percival seems aware of (and rather endeared by) what he gets up to when hes not on the clock.

In another life, Duncan might have had the capacity to become something more than a mere mimic, but it's doubtful whether or not he would have allowed the Lady to reconstruct him into a higher fae just to tend to her archives (and Proteus would have likely fought her if she tried).

The final example is Ryan who, among his branchline duties, seems to have been appointed as a messenger. No matter how busy he is or whether or not he's left Sodor, he always knows what's going on in the Mainland.

Unlike Percy who's more aware of human affairs dueto his mail runs, Ryan's insight pertains exclusively on mimic matters. The two often trade information as if it were a type currency, which is typical of the fae.

In another life, Ryan would have been the Lady's ideal spy. His loyalty is easily won and his eagerness to please is one he's naturally inclined to satisfy no matter how bothersome the task.

[catboy-autism]

Seal ID Pack

[PT: Seal ID Pack /End PT]

[ID 1: An image of a seal in water. Only its head is visible, and its eyes are closed. It looks at peace. ID End]

[ID 2: A thin line drawing of blue waves. ID End]

Names: Blue, Bobby, Brigid/Bridgette, Brooke, Calypso, Carrie, Celeste, Cordelia, Damien, Dana, Darius, Dylan, Ella, Finn, Harper, Irving, Kai, Leo, Levi, Lotus, Luca, Luna, Marina, Nessie, Nymph, Oakley, Penny, Proteus, Rain, Ripley, Robert, Ross, Sage, Sam, Seamus, Seeley, Selena, Selkie, Siren, Stella, Storm, Wade, Wendell, Celine

[PT: Names /PT End]

Pronouns: dive/dives, drift/drifts, fish/fishs, float/floats, flood/floods, flow/flows, fur/furs, hunt/hunts, lion/lions, lure/lures, ocean/oceans, oort/oorts, pup/pups, rain/rains, ring/rings, sea/foam, seal/seals, selk/selkies, splish/splash, spots/spots, star/stars, tide/tides, tusk/tusks, 🦦/🦦s, 🦈/🦈's, 🐬/🐬's, 🦭/🦭's, 🐳/🐳's, 🐋/🐋's, 🐟/🐟's, 🐠/🐠's, 🐡/🐡's, 🦐/🦐's, 🦑/🦑's, 🐙/🐙's, 🦞/🦞's, 🦀/🦀's, 🐚/🐚's, 🪸/🪸's, 🪼/🪼s, 🌊/🌊's

[PT: Pronouns /PT End]

Titles: The [x] that barks, The barking seal, The hunting seal, The ocean's protector, The pup with tusks, The Selkie, The swimming [x], The [x] who swims

[PT: Titles /PT End]

Labels: arissoselkie, baikalseabomination, intuselkie, lorarchic, oculopinni, sea lion kin, seal, seal ambitherian, sealboy, sealgelic, sealgender, sealgender(2), sealhubris, sealpearl, sealthing, seaplillowic, selkiekin, selkie alterhuman, selkiean, selkifem, selkiegender, selkiendelic, selkievior, sylkicute, sylkigender, sealgirl

[PT: Labels /PT End]

Requested by: @equine-equius

[ID 2: A thin line drawing of blue waves. ID End]

divider credit(link)

[coldgoldlazarus]

Echoes and Hunters are really interesting to me because of their place relative to the rest of the series, as basically the closest thing to being self-contained Filler Episodes in Samus's life. It can be argued the Prime games as a whole are a filler arc, what with how you really don't need to play the Trilogy to understand the 2D games' ongoing narrative. Even so, it is still a whole arc within itself; despite being decent standalone titles, the phazon connection spanning all three enriches them in conjunction with one-another, and Corruption in particular leans a lot on the setup the first two provide.

Yet at the same time, while definitely connected to the other two, Echoes is distinctly the odd one out in a lot of ways, and the overarching phazon storyline seems almost incidental at times despite Dark Samus and the background setup of the conflict. It's not confirmed either way, but the dark world could be read as a pocket universe created by the leviathan seed malfunctioning, or a whole parallel dimension that it simply broke through into and created the copy of Aether within. Even if it is the latter, the Ing were probably a byproduct of the interaction of Phazon and the dark dimension, but there is also the possibility the were a distinct entity existing beforehand. Regardless of all of that, the Luminoth and Aether as a location certainly stand out as unique, and are only loosely connected to the bigger picture through a shared history with the Chozo.

Hunters, meanwhile, may wind up tying into Prime 4 through Sylux, but that too is extremely incidental to the main story focus, which is even more outright disconnected from the usual Metroid factions and concepts than even Echoes is. As people have joked about before, it really says something that killing Gorea, a terrible eldritch abomination that singlehandedly wiped out an entire galactic-region-spanning civilization, is probably one of the least important things Samus has done in her career. Even that aside, apart from Sylux and Weavel, most of the other hunters are similarly unique and disconnected from the established story, with Trace and the Kriken Empire in particular standing out as an elephant in the room that are weirdly less relevant than the info on them would imply.

And I love the overarching storyline, both of the Prime games and the series as a whole, and how the different mainline titles are for the most part thematically enriched by their interconnectivity and parallels. (Even Proteus Ridley, for all the problems I have with him, I do appreciate as a clear bridge between Corruption and Super.) But there is also something really fascinating to these two more avant-garde titles, that really expand the universe and try new things, instead of remaining confined to the core concepts the series usually keeps a tight focus on.

There is a risk of going too far and possibly losing sight of the aesthetic/thematic shore, so to speak, but I feel like we're not quite there yet, and I appreciate the effort to branch out. On the flipside, there is again some weirdness to some of this stuff being so confined instead of having a bigger impact, (looking at you Trace) but the level of tightness of the mainline games does kinda work in our favor here. Sure it's weird, but it's not out of the realm of plausibility that the Kriken really are a big deal, but just... elsewhere, and mostly haven't directly relevant to Samus's life outside of this one-off run-in with Trace.

Idk, I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this, I just think it's neat.

[artemlegere]

"Who Is Sylvia? What Is She, That All the Swains Commend Her?

Artist: Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852-1911)

Date: 1896-1899; reworked 1900

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States

Description

Fascination with the life and times of William Shakespeare abounded in the Victorian world, especially in London, where American artist Edwin Austin Abbey settled permanently in 1883. The Bard's writings provided lifelong inspiration for Abbey: as a teenage writer, he used a pen name from Hamlet; from the age of 20 he illustrated hundreds of Shakespearean subjects for magazines; and in the 1890s he painted seven large Shakespearean scenes, including this canvas, which he exhibited at London's Royal Academy.

The theme of this painting is drawn from Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona. The title "Who is Sylvia? What Is She, That All the Swains Commend Her?" is the opening question in a song composed by Proteus, one of the many suitors (or swains) of Sylvia, the Duke of Milan's stunning daughter. All heads turn toward the regal beauty as she lifts the skirts of her Italian Renaissance-style gown while descending a brilliantly carpeted staircase. Each admirer gazes at her and reaches to play an instrument or to offer her a love token. The figure at far left presents a luxurious feather fan; the next man a small dog; and the figure leaning against the column bows in devotion, holding his hat in one hand and a book of poetry in the other.

Read More: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

[queersrus]

Mermaid Theme

[mermaid theme]

includes sirens, selkies and other fishfolk as well as general water dieties.

if you see duplicates let me know

(Nick)Names:

loralei/lorelei/loralei/loelai/lorelay/loralay/loreley/loraley/lorelie/loralie, lake, loch, limniad, lara, leucothea, lamia, leucosia, ligia, ligeia, laume, llyr, lir, limnade, leiminide sire, siren/syren, shiren/shyren, sel, selk, selki/selkie/selky, sea, seara, searsia, sirena/syrena, sjokona/siokona, sireno, styx, stheno, scylla, segeta, sequana, souconna, sirona, sinnan, saga, sjora, shoopiltee mer, merma, marmay/mermei/mermai/mermey, mermaid/mermaide/mermade, mermi/mermie/mermy, mermist, mermista, merman, mermen, mermaiden, mermix, melusine, melyzin, melusna, mel, merwif, meremenn, meer, merrow, marina, meermin/meerminne, min, meri. minne, merimin, meremin. maree, medusa, melusina, morgan/morgen, marimorgen, moryana, moryanki, moriany ocea, ocean/oceane, oceana, oceania, oceanix, oceanic, oceanice/oceanis, oceanus, oceanid, oceanide, ondine ran, rain/raine/rayn/rayne, river, revine/ravine, rainy/rainie/raini, rusalka, rhine, rura, rusalki pearl/perle, pearla/perla, pearly, poseidon, pisces, proteus, palaemon, phorcys, pontus, potamoi, psamathe, parthenope, pisinoe, peisinoe, pegaeae nymph, nymphie, nympha, naiad, neried, neriede, nereid, nereida, nereide, nix, nixie, neptune, nessie, nereus, nerites, nantosuelta, nodens, nehalennia, nerthus, njoror, nuggle, njogel kelpie, kymopoleia water, wodnik undine/undyne, uiara haffru, hiara, hippocampi, hippocampus, hi, hip/hipp, hippo, hippoca, hafgufa, hydra thala, thalasso, thalassa, thalia, tethys, thaumas, thetis, triton, triteia, tritone, thelxinoe, thames, telchine, tangie ceasg, calypso, ceto, coralia, carcinus, cancer, cymopoleia, coventina, condatis, charibdis, crinaeae, camenae atargatis, amphitrite, achelous, aegaeon, alpheus, anapos, asopus, asterion, aino, asrai, aglaope, aglaopheme, aglaophonos, acionna, aegir, aspidochelone, ahti, Aughisky, adara, adaro derketo, doris, dynamene, damona, danu, dana, duberdicus, durius, davy yara galene, glaucus, gorgon, graeae, glashtin brizo, belisama, brigid, boann, bandua, berehynia eidothea, electra, enipeus, eurybia, euryale jones ichthyocentaur vedenemo, vallemo, vodyanoy, vodník, vodnik, vodenjak, vodyanitsa

1stp prns: i/me/my/mine

mi/me/mers/mermine si/sire/sirens/sirine si/se/selkies/selkine sci/sce/scy/scaline fi/fe/fish/fine(fishine) ti/taile/tailes/tailine ny/nymphe/nymphs/nymphine nai/naie/nais/naiadine(naine) wai/wate/waters/watine

2ndp prns: you/your/yours/yourself

mo/mer/mers/merself so/sir/sirens(sirs)/sirself(sirenself) so/selker/selkirs/selkirself sco/scaler/scalers/scaleself(scalerself) fo/fisher/fishers/fisherself to/tailer/tailers/tailerself(tailself) no/nympher/nymphrs/nymphself no/nair/naiars/naiadself wo/water/waters/waterself

3rdp prns: they/them/theirs/themselves

mer/maid, mer/folk, mer/man, mer/mers, mer/mermaid, mer/merfolk, mer/merman, mermaid/mermaids, merfolk/merfolks, merman/mermans si/ren, siren/sirens, si/siren, sel/kie, sel/selkie, selkie/selkies, sca/ale, scale/scales, sca/le, sca/scale fi/sh, fi/fish, fish/fishy, fish/fishes ny/nymph, ny/mph, nymph/nymphs, nai/ad, nai/naiad, naiad/naiads wa/ter, wat/er, wat/water, water/waters, water/nymph

Titles

the mermaid, the merman, the oceanic, the sea/ocean dweller, the swimmer, the devine river, the fish folk, the one of fish-like descent, the descendant of oceanus, the descendant of poseidon/neptune, the nymph, the naiad, the water nymph, the god/goddess of merfolk, the deity of the sea/ocean, the dweller of the deep

*one who dwells in the dark waters, one who has scales, one who lives in a tail and gills, one who breaths with gills, one who rules the deep, one who lives among the creatures of the deep, one who is half fish, one who controls the waves, one who's voice enchants, one who sings of the hearts desires

(*) you can replace "one" with any pronouns

[horsegamergirl]

Summer Daze!

Four weeks of summer fun is kicking off!

Summer Vacation Begins!

James' favorite time of the year has arrived - tourist season! The Fort Pinta Beach is filled with activities for everyone who visits from near and far. James is standing by the festival hub down on the beach, ready to welcome the guests and kick off the festival!

The festival is active until it leaves with the Wednesday update on July 9th.

The Key to Success!

Ben the Beach Guy is determined to make this festival the best ever! He is hard at work to make this come true together with Bruce the Shark, who has gotten a well deserved visual update! They need help to complete a bunch of activities around the festival, starting with the following during this first week:

★ Memory like a shark

★ Fishing Daze

★ Aideen Reborn Race

★ Compete in a Championship

More activities will be added as the festival progresses!

Anyone who is looking to progress at their job will have a great opportunity to do so with Ben and Bruce! Promotions seem to happen every week for those who continue to help out, and as we progress through the weeks of the festival, new rewards and titles will be achievable. Good luck!

Returning Magical Horses!

During the festival we are being visited by a couple of magical horses from previous years! They’re all available by the festival hub on Fort Pinta Beach;

★ Umbra and Ayla

★ Kampos and Tellina

★ Sedna and Proteus

Their corresponding magical pets are of course also available. Both the horses and the pets will leave with the festival Wednesday update on July 9th, but will return with the Summer Daze next year! 

Champion Ranks!

It’s time for another season of Champion Ranks, this time with the theme It’s Summer Fun! Our dedicated racers can now earn victory points by competing in the championships, and collect ribbons as they progress through the ranking. The season is active until July 8th, 23:59 server time. We’re wishing everyone a safe and exciting racing season!

Coming NEXT WEEK!

Rainbows return!

[thelastspeecher]

Ford Gets Purposefully Abducted

The title is a reference to the ficlet I posted a while back for my Accidental Abduction AU, which was titled "Stan Gets Accidentally Abducted". This is the I'm sure long-awaited story of how Ford was abducted by aliens in my Purposeful Abduction AU. As told to Stan, who is still recovering from being captured by and then escaping alien poachers.

———————————————————————————————————–

              Ford helped Stan through the front door. Stan would have tried to make it under his own steam, but he'd learned from trying that in the past that doing so after physical therapy sessions only ended with him collapsing to the floor.

              "Do you need heat or ice?" Ford asked once Stan was settled in his favorite armchair in the living room. Stan shook his head.

              "They cooked and froze me after they were done with me."

              "Good." Ford cleared his throat. "I spoke with your physical therapist. She's very pleased with your progress."

              "That lady's a drill sergeant," Stan muttered. Ford rolled his eyes, amused. "Did she say how much longer she plans on torturing me?"

              "Ah, well..." Ford sat on the nearby couch, pushing aside some of his son Proteus's toys to make room. "Healing is different for everybody. Right now, she doesn't know. But the road for your recovery is going to be quite long. Months at least. Likely over a year, if you want to be able to get back to, say, boxing."

              "Great."

              "I will say that you are recovering far faster than anyone expected. Even faster than I thought you would."

              "I'm a Pines. I'm supposed to get back up after I get hit with an uppercut." Stan sighed. "Speaking of, do they even have boxing on this planet?"

              "Not that I know of."

              "Look, I know you hated boxing lessons when we were kids, but you didn't need to go to a whole other planet to get out of them," Stan joked. Ford cracked a smile. The tension between the two of them was still thick at times, but after a few weeks of Stan staying with Ford, they were both beginning to thaw.

              "I assure you, I came to this planet for a very different reason," Ford said, his tone amused. Stan straightened.

              "Are you gonna finally tell me how you got here?" he asked. Ford blinked.

              "I haven't told you yet?"

              "No!"

              "And Fiddleford hasn't told you?"

              "No!"

              "Ah." Ford adjusted his glasses. "Work has been rather frantic of late. I suppose it slipped my mind that you had not been told." He fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

              "So?" Stan prompted impatiently. "How'd you wind up a doctor on an alien planet?" Ford smiled.

              "I think you'll enjoy this story. It all started when I went to do research in Oregon after college, in a little town called Gravity Falls. I was focusing on studying anomalies, things that couldn't be explained by typical science. I was in the woods one day, tracking such an anomaly. However, I failed to keep a safe distance. It noticed my presence and turned, charging at me. Then..." Ford trailed off.

              "Then?" Stan asked. Ford's smile broadened.

              "Then, I was somewhere else entirely."

-----

              Ford kept his eyes screwed shut, waiting for the blow, for the teeth and claws that had been charging for him. But nothing happened.

              "Is it-"

              "I think it is a 'he'."

              "Is he broken?"

              Ford opened his eyes. His jaw dropped. Standing before him were the owners of the voices that had just spoken: unnaturally tall and colorful humanoid aliens. Aliens! Excitement quickly replaced his fear. One seemed to be female, with cobalt skin and long, magenta hair tied in an extravagant braid. The other appeared male, with the same color skin but a navy blue ponytail. Both stared at him with wide, nervous eyes, their irises like molten silver.

              They look similar enough to be related, but I don't know if their species has differences between individuals that I cannot perceive. The blue alien cautiously approached Ford.

              "Hello," it said hesitantly.

              "Hello!" Ford burst out immediately. The alien took a step back in shock. "Am I aboard your ship?"

              "Uh, yes."

              "Fascinating!"

              "You seem less...frightened than we expected," the pink alien said. It had a higher voice, fitting its feminine appearance. "Your species has not made contact with other planets yet. We thought this would make you afraid of us."

              "You beamed up quite possibly the only person on Earth who would be pleased by this turn of events," Ford said. The aliens shared a wary, discomforted look. "Well, other than the large-haired man on the Used to Be About History Channel."

              "You are...pleased?" asked the blue alien. Ford nodded. He looked around the room, soaking in the sights he had previously only witnessed on Star Trek. The large room was glowing faintly with light from a source Ford couldn’t ascertain. The blue alien retreated, joining the pink one behind a console table with holographic screens floating above it. Ford took a step off the raised circle in the center of the room that he had been standing on. The aliens’ faces flooded with panic.

              “No need to get closer!” the pink alien said urgently. Ford nodded absentmindedly. He walked around the perimeter of the raised circle, a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.

              I’m in a real-life transporter room! Just behind the aliens was an open doorway. The height of the arch was at least eight feet. These aliens are very tall, but they look to be roughly six and a half feet. Not even close to the height of the doorway. Perhaps they are short for their species. Or perhaps the doorways of their culture allow for extra clearance. Whatever the answer, Ford was yearning to walk through the door and explore the rest of the ship. I wonder if it resembles the Enterprise. Or perhaps the TARDIS. Or even the Millennium Falcon!

              “Um, please, stand on the teleporting pad,” the pink alien said.

              “Why?” Ford asked.

              “So we can send you back home,” the blue alien said. Ford stared at them.

              “But…you abducted me. Are you not bringing me to your planet?” he asked.

              “We did not intend to abduct you,” the blue alien said firmly. “Merely rescue you.”

              “What do you mean?”

              “We came to this planet to visit our older brother,” the pink alien said. “We saw that you were about to be harmed, so we brought you onto our ship to protect you.”

              “Why would you care about some random human?” Ford asked. The aliens’ eyes grew wide, almost as though they let slip something they weren’t supposed to.

              “Why not?” the blue alien said after a moment. “Is not every life valuable?”

              “True enough,” Ford said with a nod. He looked at the teleporting pad, then back at the aliens. “I want to stay.”

              “What?!” the aliens yelped.

              “Let me come with you to your planet,” Ford begged. “This is everything I’ve dreamed of!”

              “That would be a very bad idea,” the blue alien said. “No, it is best for you to stay on your home planet, with your people.” Ford scowled.

              Time to change tactics, I suppose.

              “Fine,” he sighed. The aliens’ shoulders relaxed. “I’ll have to call the man from the Used to Be About History Channel after you return me.” The aliens’ shoulders tensed again.

              “W-why?” the pink alien asked.

              “To tell him everything about my experience, of course!”

              “You cannot do that!” the blue alien said frantically. “Your species has not made contact-”

              “This certainly seems like a form of contact to me,” Ford said with a shrug. The aliens looked at each other. The pink one pulled the blue one to the side. They had a hushed conversation in a strange language that seemed to be composed of screeches and creaking noises.

              They must have turned off whatever translating device they were using to communicate with me. Ford occupied himself by continuing to examine his surroundings. After a few minutes, the aliens came back.

              “Very well,” the pink alien said in a tight voice. “You may come with us to our home planet.”

              Ford grinned.

-----

              “Wait,” Stan said suddenly. Ford looked at him. “No one on Earth would’ve believed you if you told them you were abducted.”

              “Correct.”

              “So you lied to get what you wanted?” Stan asked. He chuckled. “I guess we really are twins.”

              “I didn’t outright lie,” Ford argued. He looked away. “I just…allowed them to come to an incorrect conclusion.”

              “Uh-huh. And when did they figure out you manipulated them?”

              “After we arrived at this planet. Their mother is half-human and knows enough about Earth to recognize my bluff for what it was,” Ford said. “It made for an awkward few days while I stayed with them.” Stan raised an eyebrow.

              “They still let you stay with them?”

              “They’re rather forgiving,” Ford said with a shrug. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “It helped that Angie’s twin brother, as it was the two of them who rescued me via abduction, pointed out that Angie would have done the same thing I did.”

              “She’s a manipulator, eh?” Stan nodded slowly. “Feisty. I like that in a woman.”

              “Stanley, do not try your moves on my sister-in-law,” Ford said, his previous light mood gone. “My married sister-in-law, need I remind you.”

              “Not for long,” Stan said under his breath. Ford narrowed his eyes. “You know that marriage isn’t gonna last.”

              “It’s not my place to comment on that. It certainly isn’t yours,” Ford said firmly. He got up. “You should go to your room to rest. Fiddleford will be bringing the children home soon.”

              “Wh- but you didn’t finish telling me everything,” Stan protested.  “You told me how you got here, but not how you became an alien doctor.” Ford managed a small smile.

              “I’ll save that story for another time.”

              “Fine,” Stan sighed. Wobbling, he got up from the armchair. Using his cane, he hobbled out of the living room, down the hall, and into the guest room he was staying in. He collapsed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

              Moses, that sister-in-law of his is a helluva woman. I want to shoot my shot with her so bad it hurts. But even if Angie does get a divorce soon, she won’t want me. Not when I’m like this. Stan closed his eyes. Someday I’ll nab a date with her. Or some other tall alien dame. Stan began to drift off to sleep. Someday.

[bekandrew]

Hi again

It's time for a new pinned post. I'm Bek Andrew Evans (he/they). I'm a freelance TTRPG and LARP writer, illustrator, graphic designer, and as of today - podcaster. Here's the first episode of my Deviant: the Renegades story podcast:

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[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Space Goat List Design (temp title)

Today's topic: Deathwatch

Alright, due to popular demand let's try and do this

@strumwulf , @trat-yrrebeulb, @saintnuke-ac, I hope this sort of post is what you expected, and if anyone wants me to cover a specifc supposedly "bad" faction, just drop an ask into my inbox.

Todays's topic is the Deathwatch. As by a Metawatch article from three weeks ago sitting at the very bottom of the roster with a miserable 42% winrate, right there with Admech. In this post I'll put together a list that definetly will pack a punch on the table and definetly perform better than 42%.

Let's see what we are working with first. Our Army Rule is "Oath of Moment" - essentially "each round pick a target, go fuck them up with full hit rerolls". The detachment rule is 3 tactics to pick for a round, which is Sustained Hits 1, Lethal Hits, or Precision on a 6. All in all pretty simple, just fire up whatever is needed. Nothing here gives us specific instructions on list construction, so let's look at the Stratagems:

Aside from Armor of Contempt, each of those targets either ONE regular unit or TWO killteams. Adaptive Tactics is fairly lame as well, so we will spend our command points mostly on a) teleport 2 killteams around with Teleportarium and b) turn on one of the Rounds-Boost depending on the situation, either Hellfire or Kraken.

That gives us the first order to be effective: slap two Killteams in there, and we can effect the most points (and firepower) with this by using Proteus Killteams. Two big units are priced 360p each, which gives us a neat 720p core to work around. There's just a problem with that: those boys will never hold objectives. Ideally you always have them placed at max range, have them blast away, and then jump back up.

So what DOES actualy hold the objectives for us? For the homefield that is fairly simple: 5 man Infiltrator Squad. Their 12'' deepstrike denial shuts down so much possible enemy nonsense, making their inclusion for the homefield a no-brainer. We are now at 820p with that.

But what about other objectives? In general Space Marines are not good at holding objectives unless they throw a Terminator Brick on something. Their units are too pricy to be relegated for holding duty most of the time. Luckily, we don't have to be good if we can just grab the enemy homefield instead. Usually that's not easy for the faction, but among the exclusive Deathwatch units there is an Aircraft Transport: the Corvus Blackstar.

And would you look at that, it can transport EVERYTHING.

So what is the most annoying, hardest-to-remove, packs-a-punch unit we can send right on its way to the enemy homefield? Centurion Devastators of course! A squad of 3 with Grav Cannons should be able to deal with any big stuff the Blackstar's Hurricane Bolters can't shred - and would you look at that, they even get full rerolls when shooting a target on a marker. But wait, there's more! We still got three unit slots left on our party cruiser! It's a bit cramped, but we can still fit a unit of Eliminators in there! Very useful if the marker is full of units and you can't directly disembark on it: they can move after shooting, so you still got a shot of scoring the objective after blasting the enemy off it.

Adding that all together with what we already have that puts us at 1260p, and oh dear, we don't have any characters yet!

Remember the pitiful 5 man infiltrator squad we left to defend our base? Those people will just get shredded away by any sort of serious indirect fire, or especially ballsy deepstrikers, and then our primary scoring takes a nosedive. Turns out for just 70p you can eliminate that risk entirely: a Librarian in Phobos Armor gives essentially the entire unit Lone Operative. Since the enemy cannot deepstrike within that range due to the unit's ability, that means they are now ultra-safe. With the homefield now at maximal security, we are now at 1330p.

So what to do with the remaining points? Well, the Proteus Killteam does have a mirror: the Fortis Killteam. While the first gets a bonus for aiming at targets above half strenght, they get a bonus for hitting units below that. There's just one problem: they don't have deepstrike and out other Killteams are clogging up the Teleportarium. So we add a regular Apothecary with the Beacon Angelis enhancement to a squad of 10. Just in case those Plasma Boys blow themselves up, we now got a medic on standby.

Adding that to what we have puts us at 1640p. To make the most out of this, let's add a Watch Master and 5 Deathwatch Veterans - they are just there to carry the following Enhancement:

This levels up Oath of Moment to its old glory, AND gives you an extra use. Meanwhile the special weapons on the Veterans can pack quite the punch as well, even when they are just a small unit. The "makes stratagems more expensive" skill is also neat.

Overall: 1920 points by now.

What we do with the last 95 points is completly up to preference. I just threw a Callidus Assassin in there for scoring purposes, and that fits thematically with the Proteus Teams jumping around.

TO CONCLUDE OUR LIST CONSISTS OF:

Librarian in Phobos Armor

Apothecary (Beacon Angelis)

Watch Master - Warlord (Tome of Ectoclades)

Deathwatch Veterans (5 models)

Centurion Devastator Squad (3 models)

Corvus Blackstar

Eliminator Squad

Fortis Killteam (10 models)

Infiltrator Squad (5 models)

Proteus Killteam (10 models)

Proteus Killteam (10 models)

Imperial Agents: Callidus Assassin

With a total of 1995 points. Weapon options are to be taken as common sense dictates (= no Frag Cannons on the Proteus, Fortis goes full Plasma, high damage weaponry on the Blackstar).

Notes on playing this list:

The most interesting part about this: the list has an extreme advantage when going second. Not only can you start deepstriking on the first turn with your Teleportarium, you can also RAPID INGRESS THE CORVUS BLACKSTAR in the enemy T2, meaning for your T2 you can already zip over to their homefield. The list is not ideal for secondary scoring (you will most certainly not even consider Investigating Signals with just the Callidus), but it does not have to be, for your focus is to ruin the enemy primary scoring by directly putting their homefield into your focus. And hey, "Capture Enemy Outpost" is 8 points, so having your Centurions parked there at the first chance you get definetly will also score a bit.

Your biggest worry is running out of command points for you have no generator in your list but that is something one can play around. The operating procedure should be fairly obvious: mark Oath of Moment Target -> let the Proteus Killteams blast them off the table. Eventually strike in the Fortis Team for cleanup duty. Meanwhile the Blackstar with its cargo has its own gameplan mostly independent from that.

The biggest issue for this list in a competititve setting is time, for your goal is to win the primary game in the long run. I recommend unit trays for the Proteus Killteams so taking them off the board and putting them back down is easy.

Last fun bit: I am not sure how this works on the rules specifically, but in this list you would have TWO instances of "make a enemy battle tactic stratagem worse". Of course that means you target their best + Command Reroll, but I am not sure if you can stack them. Putting Command Reroll at a 3CP cost sounds hillarious tho...

[wacktroid]

Hellooooo ^.^ some asks:

- Favorite 2d title?

- Favorite Ridley design? (hehehe)

- Least favorite NPC?

Also Ridleyroth is a top tier crackship I love it

- fav 2d game im torn between super and dread💔 dread is peak and is the only metroid game I've actually beat so😢 and I love super bc it's narratively such an important point in the timeline and its visual storytelling is great!

- this one is tough bc i love so many ridley designs💔 I can't just pick one so I'm gonna list the designs I like the most🤑

ssbu ridley: this one is just peak whenever I envision ridley in my head 90% of the time I think of this design

proteus ridley: not in game but his art i just think it's so peak??? Like you can argue it's just meta ridley but like the one fully cybernetic leg and arm?? That's so awesome what

ridley in the zero mission manga: I'm just biased bc manga ridley is my favorite ridley in gen but i love how expressive he is. I just rlly love the manga it's one of the few times they let ridley ACTUALLY be a character

little birdie: he's so cute idc literally the only thing I genuinely like in other m. my goat🙏

- least fav npc ik this is more than one but tbh all of platoon 7 in other m (besides adam, Anthony, and the deleter, since I can actually talk abt them more than 5 seconds😒) they're just? Such nothing characters like they just all die off and it doesn't rlly matter imo. I don't think KG? I think that's his name... has like ANY LINES😭 like that's so bad

TYSM FOR THE ASKS!! feel free to ask for more i love talking abt metroid🤑 also ty ridleyroth is peak and i hope more ppl see that

[cafeinthemoon]

King - Chapter VIII

Chapter 8

Wordcount 3,8k

Title Worthy

Fandom Shuumatsu no Valkyrie / Record of Ragnarok

Previous chapters

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7

Symbols ⭕ . ➕ . 🖤

Warnings: Poseidon is not a soft man; he knows how to make a girl cry

Tagging @cloveradora @the-dumber-scaramouche @mikkies @sl33py-zer0 @nooneknows8976 (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: So I really wanted a cool title for this chapter, but nothing better than this one :/

Here's something about the quake that I forgot to explain in the previous chapter's notes: the reason why the girls didn't fall in another place when they witnessed the quake right in their first day at the palace was that Proteus was there. Knowing what happens after the quakes caused by his master, he knows how to guide people through the right path and might have a way to protect them from the effects. Since reader was alone when the second quake happened, there wasn't much she could do to protect herself. The idea for these sudden changes came when I was first building my concept for the Lord of the Seas: in Greek mythology, he was an unstable and irascible man, so it would be only fair that his house fitted his temper. It's not clear if hes aware of this, but it's not hard to suppose that he uses this changes to reach his purposes, combined with his extended vision, about which he will speak in this chapter.

Hope you enjoy it :)

Also a change in the gif because... well, you'll see 😅

Nothing in that path was known to you.

The corridors – all of them shorter than the one where you met – were as blue and plain as the first one, and no doors or windows were present in them as well, making it impossible for you to try and memorize the way. Still, you couldn’t help feeling like you were walking in circles, even though your husband took different directions.

And to think that, if he hasn’t appeared at the right moment, I could be dead by now.

You were absorbed in those thoughts when Poseidon stopped in front of a door and put you down, but kept a hand on your wrist, though you would be a fool if you tried to run and take the risk of getting lost again – sometimes, not knowing what he took you for was irritating. He opened the door and, after making you enter before him, he locked it behind his back. You looked around… And found yourself in a familiar place.

He brought me to his chambers again.

You started wondering if that strange transformation in the environment was deliberated, if finding you was his final goal or if it was just a coincidence. Well, if he wanted to find you, he could’ve just sent a servant to the women’s lodge; where else did he think he could find you? But, at the same time, he didn’t seem the type who always chooses the obvious way. He didn’t use to give many explanations on his actions, but you already noticed that everything he did had a reason.

And, that time, you didn’t need to wait for too long to find it out.

Without a word, he grabbed your wrist and led you to the direction you knew the bathing area was. It was a short way, but you took the opportunity to observe the surroundings, and that’s how you noticed how clean and organized the room was: no clothes on the floor, no scent of perfume or essential oils in the air, no messed sheets upon the bed, which curtains were opened and wrapped, as if waiting for the next night; not even the small table and the bottle of contraceptive was visible beside it.

No signs of your passage were present there.

You turned your face away from the scene and tried not think about it, as you finally crossed the small corridor through which you were taken to the shower, that one where you almost drowned.

Is he going to make me bathe on it again?

Fortunately, that’s not what happened.

As you stopped before the shower, Poseidon took the shawl off your shoulders and told you to take off your shoes. He grabbed everything and put it on a place near, where the water wouldn’t reach, then led you to the bathtub area, returning to the shower and leaving you there by yourself. The air was warm, and the bathtub was already full.

Moments later, he walked after you, without his clothes and ready to enter the bathtub. You looked away when he passed by you, only seeing the moment he touched the water with the corner of your eye. When you looked again, he already had half of his body covered in water, in the same spot where he stood with you yesterday.

You took a moment to notice he was staring at you.

– Go to that shelf and bring something to me – he pointed at the shelf in question.

You went there and he indicated the line and the position of the chosen bottle. It was similar to the ones that contained the healing salts used in your previous bath there, but had an orange, creamy substance inside it, like a lotion.

You barely had the chance to observe the label to confirm its nature.

– Bring it here.

You obeyed, kneeling behind him and giving him the bottle. He opened it and gave it back to you.

– Make yourself useful and use it to massage my shoulders.

The order was clear, yet you took a second to process it: he brought you to his room just for you to do the work of a servant? Well, it was useless to argue: you were already there, and the bottle was opened; you couldn’t let him waiting, risking what was left of his patience after the unpleasing task of eliminating an insubordinate individual.

You took a generous amount of the lotion, spread it on your palms – not missing the chance to enjoy its pleasing texture – and started to work.

Somehow, it felt like you were touching his skin for the first time, for you were under a good light, entirely in control of your senses, not having to stand his glare, something that would certainly make your hands shake and interfere in your performance. With all those issues out of the way, you allowed yourself a bit of relaxation, using that time to observe your husband in a way you still haven’t the chance to do, and with that you noticed a curious detail: despite the warmth of the water, his skin didn’t turn rosy, but kept the uniformity of its pale shade, only changing in the spots where you spread the lotion; besides, he had no marks all over his back, even less on his neck; as you looked for them, your hands followed your eyes, trying to guess if there was at least the reminiscence of a scratch or a scar – but nothing could be found, and that was less impressive than scary.

He’s so fast that it’s impossible to touch him in a fight, and I can’t think of someone who’d be brave enough to get so close if he gave them the chance.

As you brought your hands to his neck, you observed something that counterbalanced this thought: his hair wasn’t entirely blond, as seen from a distance, but it had its roots in a silver shade, which changed to the evident golden. Compared to the thing about his skin, it was trivial, almost ridiculous.

Poseidon’s voice brought you back to reality.

– You are getting distracted – he casually commented – Your hands stopped.

It was true: you realized you were lost in your observations, and immediately got back to work. But that wasn’t the end of his admonition.

– Delicacy is appreciated in massaging sessions, but this is too much. Your touch is lacking strength – he glanced behind – Or are you going to tell me that this is the best you can do with these tiny hands of yours?

If your delicacy was too much for him, his provocations were too much for you. You held back a sigh of impatience, but compensated it by burying your nails on his skin.

Is this better for you?

This only caused him a chuckle.

– Ah, this is better. But do not use your nails.

You bit your lip, but said nothing in response. Apparently, there was a way to satisfy him through your aggressiveness – and that was something you preferred not to discuss. You just decided to keep the rhythm and wait until he told you to stop…

Which didn’t happen without a conversation.

– That place where I found you – Poseidon started – It is not one where your presence should be expected. I suppose you went there by accident. So, tell me, where were you trying to go?

For a second, you felt tempted to discuss the strange phenomenon that brought you to that corridor, but changed your mind and kept your answer simple.

– To the Library.

– The servants use to bring books for you at the lodge – he continued – Aren’t they entertaining enough?

You started massaging the back of his neck, your thumbs drawing circles upon his spine.

– I wasn’t looking for entertainment, my Lord.

– What were you looking for, then?

– Information.

– What kind of information? – he pressed.

– Anything that could be useful… to help me in my task.

A tense silence fell between you. You didn’t need to explain what you meant with task. In the end, Poseidon approved your attitude.

– I would not expect anything different from you – and, suddenly changing the subject, –Speaking of this, I have heard that you went to take your first meal in the company of the other girls today, and that this resulted in fabulous interactions between you. Can you speak about this to me?

You swallowed.

Just as expected, nothing stays hidden from him in this place.

– It was strange to me at first, because I’m not used to be in the company of people from multiple folks – you spoke carefully – But everything was alright in the end. The women received me well, and I had Alyssa with me, so I wouldn’t feel alone.

His response to this was a long “hm”, followed by a subtle movement of his left arm, that was resting upon the bathtub’s border: he slowly raised it from the marble, until his hand reached your cheek, his fingers caressing your skin as it started to heat up. Your hands stopped working again.

– You are always so vague whenever I try to have a proper conversation with you, my dragonet – he chuckled – What are you afraid of? Did you forget who I am to you? Or maybe you do not know how marriage works? If this is the case, let me tell you that a woman is not supposed to keep secrets from her husband.

You didn’t reply immediately. You knew that trying to use your tongue without calming yourself down would mean a problem, so you started working on this: taking a deep breath, you forced your hands to move again, this time more gently, your fingers tracing slow paths through his pale skin, as if taking care to not hurt it, even though it was impossible for you to do it. It was now less like a massage and more like a caress.

– And I suppose that this rule works for her husband as well – you started – Or are things different when a god is involved?

That time, Poseidon turned around to look inside your eyes instead of limiting himself to a glance. Fortunately for you, there wasn’t the slightest sign of irritation in them.

– I have been living for too long, girl. So much more than your human mind can conceive. Even if I tried to unveil my secrets to you, I would have to stop in the beginning, for you would never have the time nor the strength to stand them – a shadow of smile appeared on his lips – And with this I guess you already have your answer.

He still had his hand on your cheek; thinking you wouldn’t have anything more to say, he moved it away and turned his back on you again, to which you understood you had to continue your task. You did it, but that time you somehow started to experiment with it, extending your touch to his ears; you used your thumbs to massage behind them, then softly squeezed his lobes between your fingers, going through their length until you reached their pointy upper side. This provoking a surprising reaction from him: his body relaxed, and from the depths of his throat came a low, guttural sound that prolonged itself as you continued your caresses, ceasing when you moved your hands away from his ears and back to his neck and shoulders.

You frowned.

Did he just... purr?

– Are you trying to seduce me, dragonet? – he whispered – Who gave you such idea?

– I’m not trying anything in this sense, my Lord.

– Hm... You are trying to calm me down, then – he inclined his body backwards, as to make it easy for you to touch him – You want to tell me something, but felt the need to prepare my ears first, isn’t it?

Since he was giving you the chance, you decided to take it.

– I want to ask something, if possible.

– And what is it?

You took a moment before replying. That wasn’t an easy question, neither was its answer – that is, any of the answers you could give it.

And they were many.

Why did you do that to Suriah, and Melian and the others? Why did you do this to me? And Doonah? Why are you so obsessed with having all of us around you? And why the hell you need so many children who won’t live as much as yourself? Do you think it’s funny? What do you take us for? What do you know about justice, or love? Do you even care?

What you asked him, however, was much simpler.

– Poseidon-sama… Why did you marry me?

Silence. You didn’t get an immediate, verbal answer from him, but you sensed the change around you: the warmth of the air was no longer enough to bring you comfort; your hands felt a deep, growing tension in his muscles, and even his breath was inaudible now.

But I just started it, and I need this answer. I can’t stop now.

You forced your hands to keep moving.

– You said it was for your own sake, my Lord… – you continued – And that I would never stand your secrets... But if I am part of this… Then it’s not supposed to be a secret.

Strangely, saying those words put you in a state of peace that you’ve never expected to experience, though you could just be silenced regardless of your honesty and the validity of your inquiring. It calmed your heart and gave you the courage to face whatever your husband was preparing as a response.

And this is what he had for you.

– From time to time, I use to extend my vision to the outsides of my kingdom, to be aware of the changes in the other worlds, and to figure out some things that would escape my messengers’ understanding – you still had your hands upon his shoulders; you sensed a slight movement on them as the story followed – Though my apparitions in Midgard became a rarity, I still include it in my examinations, for you are not like the other folks: you cannot stay for too long without supervision.

You didn’t know if you should be flattered or offended by this: having your kind separated from others by a god’s vision was something unique, but the reasons for this might destroy one’s fantasies about it. On the other hand, you had to admit that humans weren’t the most reliable creatures, and given how they’ve treated the oceans all over their existence, it’d be hard to expect a different attitude from the god who ruled over them.

– It was during an ordinary day of observations that my thoughts stopped at your homeland and discovered the women of your time, and among all of them they fixated themselves in you – he explained – Once it happened, I decided I needed to bring you to my domains. And here you have your answer.

More silence. You waited to see what would happen next, but Poseidon didn’t say anything more than this. You bit your lip.

He desired and took me, and that’s all? He really thinks I’m a fool.

You moved your hands away from his body, laying them on your lap. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by him, but no reaction came from his part.

Your voice was heard, almost a whisper.

– Is this everything?

You closed your mouth and instantly felt like you provoked the sea, for it came to swallow you in the shape of a man who refused to believe you had the nerve to say those words.

The bathtub’s water became choppy and spread with a growing roar when he turned to you, rising out of the tank and soaking your legs and the hem of your dress. At the same time, he leaned his hands on the marble, but kept himself on the tub, in a way that reminded you of a mermaid luring a sailor to death. The fact that you had the Lord of all mermaids in this position, and that, unlike a sailor, you had no experience in the sea, only made things more terrifying.

– Yes, this is everything you need to know, little dragonet – he leaned closer to you as he spoke; his voice was sweet, but his words were pure ice; you glanced down and noticed his right hand moving from the marble and reaching for your thigh – I saw you there, desired you and took you for myself, and I did not need any more reasons for this. There is no secret in it, and I am not sorry for disappointing you in this sense. If humans are always seeking for mysteries where there is none, I am not the one to blame.

You opened your mouth, but closed it again: no words would serve as response for what you just heard. And, well, in reality, nothing passed your lips because your mind stopped working, and your body started acting by itself.

And that’s why you never saw how exactly you did that and why, later, you would find yourself unable to recall it: in one moment, you felt a bubbling inside your stomach, and your entire body started trembling; in the next, all of this stopped, and you saw your left hand raising and moving forward. After this, you only remembered a persistent burning on your palm and your cheeks soaked in tears.

When you raised your eyes to your husband, through your blurry sight you noticed him touching his own face in incredulity, and you swore there was a reddish mark on it. You covered your mouth with your hands.

Is this what I think t is? Did I just… slap him?

Whatever the explanation your mind could give you for the scene, as soon as you saw Poseidon’s hand moving away from his cheek and his glare turning to you, you knew it wouldn’t matter. Yes, no sign of the dark shade appeared in his eyes when you looked into them, but you wouldn’t stay there and wait to see what he would do after experiencing what was probably the worst example of the human audacity in centuries.

You were still kneeling on the floor; you tried to force your body to stand up and move away… but soon you realized you were unable to do it: the water, mixed with soap and lotions, eliminated the friction between your body and the floor, so when you turned to leave, you just manged to slip and fall on your stomach before you could go too far. At the same time, a strong hand made you turn on your back, closing around your leg, and you were pulled back to the bathtub’s edge.

You saw yourself laying on the floor, your dress clinging on your back, your hair floating on the water around your head. Besides, your feet were now passing over the tub’s edge, so that you would never find balance to move and leave your spot. And you had no time to think of anything else, because Poseidon was now leaving the tub and putting himself over you. The air escaped your lungs, and you shut your eyes tight, just waiting for death…

However, it didn’t come.

A hot breath touched your neck, and the voice of your husband reached your ear in a harsh whisper.

– Still, regarding the entire time you stood with me yesterday… – his lips brushed your lobe – You seemed far from disappointed.

You gasped. Your face burned with shame, because deep inside you knew he was right: when you met him, you were impressed, and when he showed himself to you, you admired, desired and accepted him as a man – and you ended up exhausted, but satisfied. That was how you remembered things; that was your truth. And something like this could never stay hidden from the sharp eyes of the god you had before you.

But the hardest part was that Poseidon wouldn’t miss the chance to have fun with it.

– But if you really want one more reason, here you have it – he chuckled; you felt his hand playing with the soaked hem of your dress, lifting it and exposing your thighs – You are a really entertaining creature, human... Keeping you is worthy...

Worthy?

Something stirred inside you at the sound of that word. You gathered courage and opened your eyes, only to find your husband staring back at your embarrassed traits. You looked into them, hoping to find something that explained the use of that word, but Poseidon was clearly better than you in keeping secrets, so the only thing you saw there was desire.

The same desire I perceived when he approached me for the first time.

– Why the surprise, dragonet? – he brought his hand to your face, and his fingers traced a line through your cheek, descending until they found your neck and closed themselves around it – Don’t you find it strange that I still did not eliminate you after everything you have done? That I did not cut off your hand after what you just did? Or did not burn your tongue for the things you said at the dinning room?

You didn’t reply. Still holding your neck, he brought his lips closer to yours.

– I like to keep what is mine intact – he gave you a brief kiss on your mouth – There is no use in breaking you... Especially when I just discovered this strength in your little hands…

It wasn’t hard to guess what was going to happen now.

With his thumb, he separated your lips, and his tongue he found its way into your mouth. It wasn’t too long until he extended his passionate gestures to your chin, your cheeks, your neck and collar, and for his hands to find a chance to free you from your soaking dress. You weren’t left without reaction, though: joining the kiss with a similar enthusiasm, you started to use your hands in him as well, caressing the spot you just slapped, touching the golden strands of his hair falling around his face, and even reaching for his ears, just to see his body’s response during love making.

And it was as intense as you could expect: he didn’t wait a single second to take you to him, tightening you in his arms, pressing your body under his, against the floor.

It’s like watching the sea falling over me.

In the middle of this, your regained your voice. And, as expected, to gather one more reason that would make your husband punish you if he had no regard for your integrity.

– There’s no use in breaking me, my Lord… but you rejoyce in breaking my spirit, right?

You closed your eyes, and the last thing you remembered was his voice making you a question that might have come from his mouth or your own mind.

– Is your spirit this easy to break?

Chapter 9

[lostpeace]

So I made a shitty flowchart of all the deity conflations in the Orphic Hymns that I could find/remember, just to show how crazy the Orphic Mysteries were about fusing deities. This is probably not nearly complete TBH, but it's a start. notes below the cut.

-Source is Apostolos Athanassakis' translation.

-The dotted lines are conflations that seem more uncertain than the others (Proteus-Phanes in particular seems too bizarre even for a mystery cult like this and the source I'm using doesn't elaborate on it.)

-I didn't count two deities simply sharing a title other than their primary name as conflation, since that's already standard in ancient Greek religion.

-I used a small ammount of sources other than the Orphic Hymns for this translation, but this is not even close to being a full representation of all the conflations in Orphism we've come across. Please don't ask me to do a flowchart of all of those or I'll die instantly.

-You may notice Hades' absence. This is because he has no conflations here AFAIK unless you want to count him sharing the title of Eubuleus with other deities. There is evidence of conflation with Dionysus elsewhere, but not here.

-Please don't take this as some serious source, I'm just a hobbyist who did this for fun.

[thatcheeseycandle]

//YOU LOT KNOW WHTA TIME IT IS ITS REACTION TIME

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF IPOS CHP. 34 BTW!!

(THIS IS A FULL READING OF THE CHAOTER, BUT I DONT EXACTLY WRITE DOWN EVERY SINGLE REACTION I HAVE TO STUFF UNFORTUNATELY)

Okay OKAY AIGHT LOVE THE TITLE CARD AND TITLE ITSELF

Wait WAIT OLIVIA TECIEVES WHAT NOW???????

Sigh well- CLUN CASTLES GONNA BE A REAL PAIN IN THE [REDACTED] TONIGHT FOLKS

Oh OH TRURO- THE HUSBANDS ARE HUSBANDING TOGETHER RN THE FLUFF IS STARTING

"As he should, this stupidity between the both of you has gone on long enough" LMAOAOAODJDHDHDH NAH NAH THAYS SO REAL OF TRURO NGL

Oh???? OH???? SORRY I GOT CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY THE SUDDEN CUT IN FROM GADWALL

"I don't think I could handle losing her and North." NO STOP- NEARLY FORGOT THAT FOR A MOMENT.

WELL ISNT THIS CHAPTER GONNA STING HUH

"I thought I could help Mallard get better." NO GADWALL YOU DID OKAY YOU GOT HIM A LITTLE BETTER AND AT LEAST YOU TRIED. GOOD GOSH-

WHY DID THAT HIT HARD

Yeah YEAHAHAHHH THERE IS A CHANCE YES THERES SO MANYYYYY CHANCES LEFT LET DGOOOOODHJSJD

Wait wait GO BACK WITH PROTEUS???? THE SPIRIT REALM OR??????? NOTING THIS DOWN. NOTING IT.

Wait WIAIFHHAHAHAHAHSH

"Tell me, Cousin, is Bittern still afraid of birds?" OOOHOHJHAHSHZHX BOY OKAY IM LOOKING. IM LOOKING

HAGDGSHGFDH GIVE EME A SEC TO BREATHE

Oh Truro I couldnt of had said it better knowing it too HGSHAHAHAHAHFHXHFKGNVLRKDMG

Oh. OH GOD. CLUN CASTLE. HERE WE GO. HERE WE GO. IS CLUN CASTLE TIME. OKAY. PREPARING MENTALLY

"Trying to figure out a way to get out of her predicament." oh OH REALLY? YOU SNEAKY LITTLW [REDACTED] YOU THOIGHT YOU CLUTCHED ON THIS HUH? NAH NAH YOU AINT. YOU AINT CLUTCHING THIS BUCKET CLUTCH CLUN CASTLE

LMSODHDH TROJAN AND CLUN CASTLE, YOU SHOULDVE LET TROJAN FINISH-

AND HERE WE ARE THE PERSON OF THE HOUR CAERPHILLY CASTLE

Im sorry. CLUN CAATLE. DO NOT. NO NO DO NOT DEAD NAME NO. WORSE THAN USING TRUE NAMES WITHOUT PERMISSION THAT IS.

"You have lost the privilege to address any and all Great Western Engines!" YEAH YOU TELL HER! SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK RQ RQ

Ay AY AY AY SOUTHERN SIBLINGS????? SOUTHERN SIBLINGS

Yo YOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOOYOYOYOYOYISIHSHAHHFUDHCHFJJD TAW VALLEY AND BRAUNTON

THOSE TWO- YKNOW I WONDERED WHERE THEY WERE IN THE STORY BUT FINALLY THEYRE PULLED INTO THE MAIN ONES WOOOOOOOOO

Im sorry WHAT YOU CALLING DOTTI OVER HERE?????? CLUN CASTLE DO NOT-

insert me rambling irl to a relative whos in the same room as me about yeah the current situation

.

ABLITTLE DRAMA? A LITTLE? YOUR BEING A LITTLE ITTY BITTY BRAIN-CELLED BITCH RIGHT NOW YKNOW THAT?

Yeah YEAHAAHHHH TELL HER CAERPHILLY CASTLE. TELL HER.

Yeah SWEET TALK AINT GONNA WORK UNFORTUNATELY CLUN CASYLE.

Oh there she is THERE SHE IS THE LITTLE BITCH TOO FAR UP HER OWN TENDER

Oh gosh OKAY UH STRAPPING IN FOR SOME YEAH ANGER

HERE WE GO

EXACTLYYYYYYY

SAY IT LOUDER AND PROUDER CAERPHILLY CASTLE

BECAUSE IT IS CORRECTTT

I.

YOU LIYYLE ITUTY BITTY

YEAH UH. BAHALA KA NA CLUN CASTLE KASE JUSKO PO YOUR HOPELESS NA

MORE HOPELESS THAN THE POOR ON THE STREET.

You are just digging your stinger into silicone you itty bitty BRAIN-CELLED BUZZY LITTLE BITCH

SHES JUST GONNA GOSSIP AND GOSSIP MORE AND MORE NOT SPARING A DETAIL ABOUT HOW HORRID YOU ARE YKNOW THAT CLUN CASTLE?

Yeah yes YESSS YOU TELL HER OFF DOTTI YOU GO ALL OUT

GO ALL OUT

HGAHSGSHGDDH BRAUNTON YOU SHOULDVE LET GO OF HER AND LET HER DO IT HAGDHFBFKF IT WOULDVE BEEN REFRESHING JDHFJDJD

Oh gosh OH GOSH. HERE COMES THE BIG DING OF THE BELL

Ayyy AYYYYYYYYYYYYY LET SGOGOHOOOOOOOOOOO

OH DAMN.

OH MY GOSH?????? THATS

THATS EITHER SATISFYING OR SHOCKING

YEAHAHAHDHDHHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

LETS GOGOOGOOOOOOO

YOU GOT YOUR CHANCES YOU LITTLE SHIT YOU REALLY WASTED THEM ALL YOU REALLY MESSED UP THIS HARD MORE HARD THAN DISNEY'S WISH YOU REALLY SLIPPED AND FALL

YUP LEFT ALL YOUR CHANCES AT THE WRONG STOP

DROPPED EHM AAAALLLLLLLL

YEHAHAHAHAHHHHHH MAKE SURE ITLL BE ROCKY ROADS FOR HER HENRY

"Nobody's gonna miss ya!" EXAAAAAAAAACCTTTLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

God my thumb HSGDHGAHDHXHD

OUGH GOSH THAT BIT WAS SATISFYING AS HECK

BYE BYE BITCH HASGDHHFHF

Ay AY OLIVIA

OLVIOAIAVOSHDJDHD SHES AWAKE

Ay AY AY AY WDYM WISH

Wish. WAIT THIS CONFIRMS- THIS MIGHT CONFIRM ONE OF MY THEORIES BEING THIS ONE

Thank GOSH I know how to pin messages on discord

Repaired RPEUAJAHAVSBZBSVhhshshagsgdvhHSGSVSKJSJSHSHSHAJhhvajzhxjAHSHHFB

POLYYYD YH AHSHSHSHJAJSJD

Ay ay AY AY POLLYYYYSHSVJSHSHAHAHHDJDJDHDHD

SHES CALEDONIAN VLUE NO WAYAYHSHDHDHDHDH OHFMAHAHHAHX

I VERY MUCH AGREE WITH YOU OLIVIA, IT WILL LOOK STUNNING

AWWERUFHFHFH I LOVE THESE TWO

YAYYYYSYHFHSHAHAHHSDHDHSJDHJS THEYRE BAVK THEYRE ALIVE LETS GOGOGOIAJAHSGWHHSHD

WE ALL GETTING A SLICE OF THE CAKES WE LOVE

"I see, like what has happened to you and Olivia" THE [REDACTED] YOU MEAN???????

Wait. THIS WHOLE TIME- WAIT WIAT WAIT

SO OLIVIA ISNT A HYBRID, HER BODY JUST GOT

OHHHSBSHDV ITS LIKE MEDICINE

I

Oh she wasnt human pala

This confirms- WAIT ITS BASICALLY THIS:

Obviously now building up to, what it says, an entirely new plot. But now while having bits of past plots mixed from wjat I can guess

Im sorry HIGHLANDER???? NONONONONO- IM SORRY?????

A GOLD DUST

IM GONNA DIE WJAT

Oh [REDACTED] here comes it all

Preparinh myself okay Im strapoing in Im gettibg my backside comfy on my pillows yeah Im just

IM DCARED

I was right to be scared

Nono no Olivia no NO. OLIVIA.

"Why can't I do anything right!!"

insert current me typing out this cause past me had a long pause of silence staring at that line

Tearing up counter: 1

OKAY RIGHT MOVING ON-

(Im not moving on)

Ay AY AY AY AY THE BIT

THE DUCK AND ARROW BIT

"I was almost turned into ab exhibit piece because of him."

"Yet he was the reason Olivia sold you to Sodor."

COR RECT. CORRECT DING DING DING CORREEEEEEEECCTTTT

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

Ay AY PERCYCYCYYYY

Cheshire CTAAHHAHSHDHFJ

WE LOVE A HAPPY PERCY

heleyhahaha HS GE SGSHDH ARROW- ARROW CALM HDHFJFHF

Why was that bit from Arrow so relatable though like HEKDHSJSHDH

Anyways IM BACK RIHHT SORRY I JUST HEADED DOWNSTAIRS TO JUST EAT SOME BREAD WHILE READING THIS

"I apologise, I get excited when I want to learn new things" REALEST. THING. SAID. EVER

Keeping that quote with me on a sticky note irl rq sec-

WE GIVING LYELL SOME LOVE OVER HERE WOOOO

Oh Tydfil TYDFIL

“I can’t stand being alone with my thoughts. They go around in circles and drive me insane.” SAME HERE. SAME HERE TYDFIL DW.

Can we get some appreciation for all the characters we all relate to rq? LIKE GOOD GOSH- Im sorry its just Tydfil either has dialogue that hits me hard so much like deep DEEP deeper than ever or just is brutally honest HSGDHGSSHHSHD

I still love her though, still one of ny top five favs in YIAU

Speaking of honesty ARROW IS BEING VERY HONEST. ALL OF THAT WAS REAAALLL FACTS

“Chin up, she’ll be out soon. Same can’t be said for Clun Castle.” Oh Arrow are you gonna love what Dotti has to say HAGHAHASHGD

LMAOAOOAOSHFHD DUCKS REACTION I SWESR

“It’s not often that you piss off everyone on the mainland and believe me, I would know, I’m an expert at it.”

"There was an awkward pause."

HGGAHGAHAHAGXHXHF NAH NAH WHY DID I WHEEZE SO HARD AT THAT LIKE LNAODHDHSHSG

AYYYYY I LOVE THESE LOT

New fav found family/squad ever

"Oh but they just started interacting now in this bit you can immediately like the-" OI. I LOVE THESE LOT, I ALREADY LIKED MOST OF THEM ON THEIR OWN AND NOW THEYRE INTERACTING MAKES ME LOVE THEM MORE

“You’re very welcome, Young Iron.” AY AY I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE HAHSGDHHXXJ

Alrughty ALRIGHRY WE GETTING DRAGGED BACK INTO THIS PLOT NOW LETS GO

I just read that bit and to say Im bamboozled is an understatement.

I. IM SHOOK- OKAY. YEAH SOMEONE CALL IN LIKE IDK KESTREL TO COMFORT TJIS 6 FOOT WOMAN RIGHT NOW. IM YEAH. IM SCARED EITHER FOR HER OR OF HER.

NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE INTERESTING FOR SURE

But of course, ending off this reaction. I HAD MINI HEART ATTACKS LIKE HAGSHDGSH WOO OKAY THAT WAS A WAKE UP CALL REALKY GOT MY BRAIN GOING HAGSJAHSHD

THANKS TO THE LOVELY BAKUNAWA AKA REDWRYVERNWRITES (I finally FINALLY SPELT IT RIGHT) FOR CREATING SUCH A MAGNIFICENT CHAPTER YET AGAIN, I'LL BE EXCITED FOR THE NEXT ONE!! ^^

[blubbed]

did you ever watch anime? what's your top 5?

otherwise top 5 fave books

i'vewatched some anime but i dont think enough to have a top 5? the most recent + the one i liked the most was the netflix lesbian vampire one (im sorry) i think title was vampires in the garden

but! top 5 fave books, im doing books i like the most not necessarily what i think are the best heehee, im also restricting myself to novels not poetry or short story collections

veronika decides to die by paulo coelho - this book is deeply flawed and kind of annoying probably but i read it as a suicidal 10 or 11 year old and was like. oh this book is my personality now. there's excerpts on my blog somewhere u can see how much of me is still this book

dead glamorous by carole morin - my first intro to sort of a styled memoir, like autofiction sort of thing, and again i deeply love this. found this book in a rotting and termite-ridden box of my estranged aunt's books that she left at our house. very heavy themes and very unreliable but funny and stylish narrator, also abt suicide. also a lot of excerpts on da blog

i love you but i've chosen darkness by claire vaye watkins - autofiction memoir as well, involves a lot of normal if disastrous life events plus vagina dentata scenes. very dense. if u look far enough in my blog u may find me trashtalking this book: i was wrong and i think it was borne out of internalized misogyny. didnt like it at first but it demanded a reread for reasons that werent clear to me and over the course of that reread i realized that i love it actually

geek love by katherine dunn - abt a family that runs a circus and theyre all fucked up on purpose. the last real book i read of this year before i Stopped Being Able To Read for reasons also unclear. loved this book!!!

no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood - starts off as a simple twitter memoir thing and then evolves into a beautiful look at Things That Are Different. abt a twitter-famous woman and her niece, a baby with proteus syndrome (elephant man). also autofiction. damn apparently i rlly love autofiction

thanks for this ask! not in any way a definitive list, just a couple books that stand out to me rn and that i love dearly

runner up: im currently rereading in the dream house by carmen maria machado and i LOVE it lovelovelove itt

[grave-queen-jakrabitt]

Kyle Fletcher rules (and has for a while)

With the attention he’s been getting this year with aew I thought I’d take some time to lay out how I feel his pre AEW/ROH run set him up for success and offer up some recommendations, this is NOT meant to be a hipster “his Indy work was better” or anti aew take I just fucking love sharing and getting recommendations for wrestling

IPW/Defiant

My first exposure to Aussie open was during the IPW UK invasion of defiant around I wanna say 2018. They had some really good matches with CCK and the south coast connection and the entire promotion barring a few shows is completely accessible and honestly really fucking good.

Progress wrestling

I honestly believe that the Swords of Essex vs Aussie Open feud is what got my boys into the United empire, I’m not gonna say LITERALLY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THIS FUCKS SEEK IT OUT ITS ON DEMAND PROGRESS. That aside I think it set up the first big step for Kyle to break out

Mark Davis’s injury and the Paul Robinson feud

Progress had something called the proteus championship where the title holder picked the rule set for their defense, I will confess to not having seen these matches yet for myself but I did watch any related promo content I could find. The defining champion for this belt was a little pitbull by the name of Paul Robinson, he was a viscous little street fighter with an iron jaw so naturally the only way to win was knock out or tap out. Which surprisingly Kyle manages to beat him. I can’t really give much more information but this is around the time he added the grimstone to his moveset.

When progress had a vacant world title you know who they put in a fatal 4 way for it? Cara Noir, ilja dragunov, Paul Robinson, and Kyle Fletcher. He might not have won but he was a credible contender FOR A WORLD TITLE.

Why I don’t think AEWs roster problems affect him right now

Ok look we all know the bloated roster problem for both aew and wwe I’m not gonna beat a dead horse. Instead let break down why I personally don’t think it’s an issue for Kyle Fletcher at the moment.

Honestly it’s because he has too many options, he went toe to toe with mjf so that could turned into a feud to keep both of them busy and legitimize the American championship. But what if it goes nowhere? He’s been ROH tv champ and that could translate very laterally into either a TNT title or an international title. If mark Davis comes back you have one of the best teams of the last few years, you want to know what I would want to see done? Fuck it make him the international champion, make him a killer, you could have him only defend it against non Americans because “you guys already have a belt” use it like the international version of the tnt open challenge, it would be a near perfect way to utilize the partnership with cmll and njpw more often, hell maybe even get some freelance players in for a one off like axel ticher from Germany, augil Leblanc from France (forgive the misspelling). I think that would rule