#Ruta :D

[chaos-potat]

@probably-not-a-rutabaga :]

[taniushka12]

taking a bus is much like fishing, I've learned

[drakonovisny]

DA PICREW CHALLENGE

thank you so much for tagging me in this pretty picrew to make my dragon age characters @aymayzing! 💕

i made ellas lavellan (he/him), neria lavellan (she/her), adam trevelyan (he/they), orest tabris (any), ruta adaar (she/them) and lahlas lavellan (they/it)

tagging: @choccy-zefirka @magneticmage @squidmayo @astray-as-a-cat @siennamain @shift-shaping @dungeons-and-dragon-age @oxygenforthewicked @mutantenfisch @aconfusedidentity @swoleas @samcadoodles @mutantenfisch @ringneckedpheasant @purahs @midorimaddie and anyone who'd like to join! (no pressure of course <3)

[manuelharojuradofotosyvideos]

RUTA PUEBLA DE D. RODRIGO. 2024. #senderismo1

(Esta reseña y su descripción son obra de Juanjo y Pilar, quienes han puesto todos los medios a su alcance para que la ruta fuese un éxito, tal cual ha sido). Tomesenda nos lleva este domingo a un precioso rincón con un encanto especial y que resulta imprescindible visitar más de una vez en la vida. El recorrido de esta ruta discurre por uno de los parajes más recónditos de la Comarca “Entreparques”, adentrándonos en el Valle de Valtriguero y en el Barranco de “Las Galalleras”. Gran parte de la ruta discurre por una gran fractura que se nos presenta como un barranco cuyo fondo es cerrado y umbroso. El barranco queda flanqueado a ambos lados por sierras y serratas cuarcíticas cuyas laderas se encuentran tapizadas en la actualidad por densas manchas de montes de encinas, alcornoques y quejigos. El trayecto culmina en un espectacular robledal en la Garganta de los Membrillos, en donde podemos contemplar la figura de un roble centenario. Pero sin lugar a dudas el tramo más impresionante de la ruta lo constituye el Barranco de “Las Galalleras”, donde penetraremos en un bosquete que nos evoca a las selvas tropicales, dominando elementos subtropicales como el Madroño, el Durillos, el brezo castellano y numerosas especies de helechos. Junto a ellos y, paradójicamente, aparecen taxones botánicos propios de climas atlánticos entre los que destacan por su belleza el Mostajo, Arce de Montpelier y Nenúfares. Como no destacar la gran belleza de la Cascada de Valtriguero, esculpida en los estratos de cuarcitas. Posee una fauna propia del Monte mediterráneo, como los Jabalíes, Corzos, Ciervos, numerosas rapaces y sobre todo la Cigüeña Negra. También encuentran aquí la Salamandra y el Tritón verdinegro un lugar idóneo para su supervivencia. Tras una breve parada en Puebla de Don Rodrigo, para tomarnos nuestro cafetito e ir reduciendo peso en la mochila con el primer bocata, el autobús nos llevará al Inicio del recorrido el cual realizaremos en sentido inverso a las agujas del reloj, primero en dirección a la Garganta de los Membrillos, dejando para el final el paseo junto al arroyo y el Barranco de “Las Galalleras”. Caminaremos ligeros pero con tiempo suficiente para disfrutar de un precioso paisaje con un ambiente especial. Efectuaremos dos paradas, la primera para almorzar y la segunda pasada la cascada para comer. Por último regresaremos, si vamos bien de tiempo, al pueblo para tomarnos un merecido refresco. RECORRIDO DE +/- 16 KMS DE DIFICULTAD TÉCNICA BAJA Y FÍSICA MEDIA.

[rutassierra]

I ENCUENTRO DE SENDERISTAS SIERRA DE AROCHE

AROCHE SE PREPARA PARA ACOGER EL PRIMER ENCUENTRO DE SENDERISTAS POR LOS PICOS DE AROCHE El término de Aroche, el segundo más grande la provincia de Huelva, con una superficie de casi 500 km2, que incluye los Parajes Naturales de Las Peñas y Sierra Pelada y Ribera del Aserrador, formando parte de su termino el Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche, es un “monumento natural”…

[dogpaw8]

ah si y una mensada d este plebe pq ocupo dibujarlo mas considerando q me rejuego su ruta a cada mental breakdoWn

[siins]

my first artfight was quite fun! i think for next year i need to figure out somekinda gameplan tho lol. it was still fun despite the fact that july was sooo busy for me.. i wish i coulda drawn even more. i love and appreciate every single piece of art i recieved.. wild! :^D

ocs of: @pyreo, ~syrupsss, ~mercurialretrograde, @bradbradleyart, @maria-ruta, @skelizard, @mud-spore, @temunade

[hybryda]

First are the past Champions... I still have to get Link's champion tunic so here he is, together with Zelda in some Royal garb. We have 2 for sure adults here, not so bad.

Next is current Champions sort of? We have one confirmed adult, one child and I consider both Yunobo and Sidon young adults. So technically 3 adults! Getting better : D

Time for past Sages, or wielders of Secret Stones + Link in Charged set to match them all.Could be 6 or 7 Adults. Like I'm not sure about Ruta, Zora Sage but the rest? Clearly Adults

And lastly, current Sages. One granny and 2 adults and 3 young adults. Though I always think as Mineru being the main caretaker of the group X"D No wonder she left after X"D Teba was probably also glad he was replaced with Tulin. Too old for this X"D ___

So here You have it, promised high comparisons between races :>

[dabid-motozalea]

De paseos y paisajes

De fotos y postureos

Rutas de primavera, de las que calientan el alma y los huesos.

En el norte somos felices con nuestro clima, pero tenemos falta de vitamina D.

Así que cada vez que sale un rayo de sol salimos corriendo como lagartos para calentarnos la sangre..

[rubywolffxxx]

Solo nosotros (Gwayne Hightower x lectora)

Masterlist de mi autoría

Sinopsis: pese a las negativas de sus padres, el caballero y la princesa harían lo que sea para estar juntos, incluso si eso implicaba fugarse en plena guerra de dragones.

"No puedes formar lazos con la familia de ese idiota"

El par de jóvenes amantes había sentido que su vida se derrumbaba cuando sus respectivos padres se negaron a comprometerlos.

Daemon odiaba a Otto,

Otto odiaba a Daemon.

Y por consecuencia, nunca permitirían que su hija mayor y su único hijo varón se comprometieran. Esa negativa tampoco fue tan determinante.

Ellos siguieron viéndose a escondidas por años, y su amor no hizo más que crecer. Soñaban con una vida juntos, lejos de todas las limitaciones de la realeza. Pero solo eso eran. Sueños. Porque ambos estaban demasiado apresados por sus familias.

—Bienvenido, hermano.—Alicent recibió a Gwayne aquella mañana, feliz de poder volver a ver a alguien de su familia.

—¿Ella ya está aquí?—

La sonrisa de la mujer se desvaneció, dando lugar a un ceño fruncido.

—He perdido la cuenta de cuántas veces se te ha dicho que dejaras de insistir con esa mujer, Gwayne.—el colorado sonrió con cierta picardía, molestando a su hermana mayor.

—Pues sigan insistiendo, no la dejaré... ¿Llegó o no?—

—No, Gwayne. No llegó.—

—Bien, esperaré.—

Alicent negó con cierta decepción al ver que su hermano le entregaba su caballo a unos sirvientes y se perdía por las calles de King's Landing de nuevo.

—Mirame, niña. Llegas y te- niña...—Daemon miró con cierto cansancio como su hija le sonreía ampliamente, terminando de ajustar las correas de Silverwing.

—¿Si, papá?—

—Compórtate hoy ¿Me escuchaste?—

—Siempre me porto bien, papá.—

—Hablo de ese idiota, hijo de ese otro idiota.—

—¿Qué tiene que ver un joven atractivo con portarme bien?—

—... ¿Quieres que te ordene quedarte en Dragonstone?—____ rió con aquello, abrazando a su padre por el cuello y dejando un beso en su mejilla.

—Prometo no hablar con él cuando lleguemos a la fortaleza, padre... ¿Bien?—

—Bien... Termina de alistarte, salimos en unos minutos.—

El príncipe se alejó, y ____ terminó de alistar a su dragón.

—En la fortaleza no, Silver... ¿Y qué hay del camino desde la fosa a la fortaleza?—el dragón rugió bajito al ver a su jinete sonreír con cierta burla.

Cuando ____ llegó a King's Landing, Gwayne la esperó en la entrada de la fosa. Al verlo de pie en el lugar, la mujer sonrió. Siguiéndolo al verlo desaparecer por algunas calles del lugar. Siguió su silueta, terminando en unos callejones lejanos a la ruta principal. Unos brazos ansiosos no tardaron en atraparla, y los labios desesperados del caballero devoraron los de la princesa.

—Salúdame al menos ¿No te parece?—____ sonrió contra sus labios, siendo besada otra vez.

—Buenas tardes, princesa mía...—apoyó su frente sobre la ajena, reafirmando su agarre sobre su cintura—. Que alegría verla después de tanto tiempo.—

—Buen caballero, la alegría es mutua.—Ambos rieron por lo bajo, aún brindándose caricias mutuas—. ¿Las cosas están muy tensas en la fortaleza?—

—No sé, apenas llegué vine a esperarte... Pero he escuchado que quieren sacar a Luke como heredero.—

—Rodarán cabezas.—

—Mientras no sean nuestras...—____ miró al hombre, acunando sus mejillas con un amor infinito—. Aún podemos irnos lejos, ____... Lejos de tu familia, la mía... Responsabilidades.—Gwayne miraba con completa súplica a la mujer, quien decayó un poco.

—No puedo irme sabiendo que mi familia esta en riesgo. Luke debe asegurarse como heredero de Driftmark... Rhaenyra debe reafirmarse como legítima heredera de la corona... solo entonces podría irme en paz contigo.—

El hombre se alejó un poco herido, ____ notó su decepción.

—Yo dejaría todo ahora... Solo por ti, ____.—

—Tu hermana es reina, tu padre es mano del rey. No tienen ningun tipo de riesgo, Gwayne. No es lo mismo.—

—Aún si no lo fueran... Nadie es más importante para mi que tú.—____ volvió a atrapar sus mejillas, mirándolo con cierta súplica.

—... Después de lo que suceda hoy, nos iremos ¿Si?—

—¿De verdad?—Gwayne se reanimó con eso.

—Ellos estarán bien, supongo.—

Gwayne la abrazó con fuerzas, emocionado por la idea de finalmente poder alejarse de todo aquello.

Esa noche, tras dejarle una carta a su padre, ____ se escabulló de sus aposentos faltando a la cena. Gwayne la esperó a las afueras de la fortaleza y juntos fueron por Silverwing. La ausencia del par de amantes solo hizo que el delicado estado de salud de Viserys empeorara, y mientras él moría en su cama a medianoche, ____ se entregaba a Gwayne en una pequeña posada en las afueras de King's Landing.

Algunos días habían pasado desde que ____ y Gwayne se alejaron completamente de cualquier ciudad o aldea.

Con algo de oro lograron hacerse con una casita lejos de todo, donde Silverwing pudiera volar sin llamar mucho la atención. Era una vida tranquila, una donde solo existían ellos dos.

Se casaron en secreto, siendo el dragón su único testigo. Y en esa misma noche de bodas, la semilla de Gwayne se implantó en la mujer. Todo era dicha para la pareja, pero cuando los suministros comenzaron a escasear y tuvieron que bajar a la ciudad más cercana para reabasterce, la noticia del pleito entre Rhaenyra y Aegon les cayó como un baldazo de agua fría.

—Ni pienses en ir.—

Gwayne miró a la mujer, quien caminaba nerviosa de un lado a otro en la sala.

—Tu sobrino no puede ser rey... No puede ser nada, es un imbécil.—____ miró al hombre preocupada—. Ensucian la voluntad de mi tío, la legitimidad de Rhaenyra... No puedo solo quedarme aquí y-

—Cargas a nuestro hijo ahora, ____.—Gwayne llevó su mano al vientre apenas sobresaliente de la mujer—. No puedo permitir que te metas en un enfrentamiento asi.—

—Mi familia me necesita.—

—Nos casamos, ____... Yo soy tu familia. Yo y éste niño.—una de sus manos viajó a la mejilla ajena—. Entiendo tu preocupación pero entiende... Debes poner prioridades ¿Lo es Aegon y Rhaenyra? ¿O lo es nuestro bebé?—

____ cubrió la mano en su mejilla, presionándola apenas.

Una Rhaenyra totalmente agotada estaba en la punta de la mesa, mirando el mapa iluminado algo distraída. Fue así hasta que un guardia apareció exaltado.

—Majestad... Ha llegado un barco. El principe ya ha ido a investigar pero... debería ir usted.—

Por la expresión del hombre, la reina supo que era urgente. Y lo confirmó al ver a la hija de Daemon acercarse por el camino que venia de la costa.

—... Al fin decides volver. Agradece que no esta Daemon, o te hubiese dado un discurso.—____ sonrió apenas.

—La verdad siempre te vi a ti como autoridad. Papá no tanto.—Rhaenyra la abrazó emocionada, la habia extrañado en todos esos meses—. Perdón por haber tardado tanto en volver, no pude hacerlo antes.—

—¿Por qué motivo?—

—Motivos, en realidad.—____ volteó hacia el camino, donde Gwayne se acercaba cargando un bebé. Y Jace otro—. Jace se acercó imponente pero al ver a sus sobrinos se ablandó enseguida.—____ sonrió al ver a su hermano cargar al bebé con cuidado.

—Majestad.—Gwayne hizo una leve reverencia—. Espero que no haya resentimientos.—

—¿Crees en el reclamo de Aegon?—

—Nadie con dos dedos de frente debería hacerlo.—Rhaenyra asintió vagamente, enfocándose en los bebés. Traían el cabello tan rojo como las llamas del dragón—. Esta señorita es Rhaenys...—Gwayne presentó a la bebé frente a Rhaenyra, quien miró de inmediato a la madre. Sabía lo importante que fue la princesa Targaryen para ____.

—Nacieron unos días después de enterarme lo de Rhaenys...—____ hizo un esfuerzo por no llorar—. Así tendré un pedacito de ella siempre conmigo.—

—Es hermosa, ____.—Rhaenyra sonrió—. ¿Y el otro bebé? ¿Niña o niño?—Jace aún se aferraba al bebé al mirar a su madre.

—Lucerys.—La reina se rompió un poquito con eso.

Desde que llegaron a Dragonstone, ____ no tardó mucho en ponerse al corriente y ayudar en lo que pudiera.

Fue ella en persona a enfrentar a su rebelde padre, quien por alguna razón pensó que ella era una alucinación.

Y cuando un ejército de verdes amenazó la tierra de los ríos, ____ los redujo a cenizas, reafirmando el apoyo de las casas principales.

—¿Puedes quedarte quieta dos minutos? Los niños quieren comer... Y yo también agradecería un poco de atención.—____ miró a Gwayne con una leve sonrisa, cargando al bebé que le era entregado.

—¿Quieres leche de pecho?—

—Pecho sí, pero con tocar estoy bien. No quiero quitarle alimento a mis hijos.—

—Que idiota...—La mujer se acomodó en una silla junto al fuego, acomodando al bebé para que bebiera de su leche—. Entiendo la frustración de Jace... Rhaenyra no parece despertar del todo. No acciona nada.—llamó la atención de su esposo—. Hay mucho que hacer... Mucho en lo que ayudar.—

—No cargues con todo tú sola, querida. No te arriesgues tanto.—

—Lo sé, es solo que... Si Rhaenyra cae, mis hermanos seguirán. Mi padre, yo... Todos.—frunció el ceño levemente—. Hay que sacar a Aegon como sea... A Aemond.—

—Y lo haremos, no te preocupes por eso.—Gwayne tomó la mano de la mujer, estrechándola con cariño—. Estamos juntos, con eso es más que suficiente, princesa mía...—

[lily-drake]

The Demon's Queen

Chapter Sixteen

First <> Previous

“You remember what you’re supposed to do,” Rajani asked stoically as she stared out the windshield.

“Yes,” Marinette responded, though she was in the trunk of the car with her hands cuffed behind her back.  The earpiece was masked to match her exact skin color so that no one would be able to see it when they brought her in.  She hated it in the humid trunk, the way she couldn’t control her body as the car rode on the bumpy gravel.  The way the shorts and tank top scratched uncomfortably at her skin.  The way the heat and darkness seemed to crush her with only its existence, sweat dripping off her like waves plastering her hair to her face and back.  

But it would only be for a little longer.  The first chance she got she’d be out of here.  She’d escape The League of Assassins grasp, or she’d die.

The car came to a sudden stop and that was Marinette’s cue to close her eyes and go limp as if she were unconscious.  The voices outside were muffled, and she had to hold back a flinch when the click of the trunk echoed around her and the blazing sun hit her directly.

Even though she could now clearly hear them, she still couldn’t understand a word they said.  They spoke in rapid Portuguese, and the only thing she knew was that they were talking about how much she’d cost them.  It made her sick.

Only a few minutes later she was hoisted onto someone’s shoulder, left to simply dangle there as the person moved her to the next location.  Left, 20 paces forward, right, 10 paces forward, left, left, 30 paces forwards, stop.

The dangle of keys echoed in the near silent room, the opposite of when she was first brought in where there were noises and voices echoed at every corner.  

The whir of something heavy sounded behind her before the loud scrape of a door screeched open menacingly.  The quiet cries of children whispered against her ears before she was dumped unceremoniously onto the cold concrete floor where she continued to lay limp.

The man now behind her scoffed, poking at her back with his foot until she was flat in her stomach.  A feeling of dread creeped through her system, but she forced down the shutter of fear, ignoring the feeling of bile climbing up her throat.  Finally the man’s footsteps retreated, and the sound of the door closing and the lock snapping back into place felt like the bells of Heaven.  She waited a few moments longer, counting down from one hundred like she’d been told.

Opening her eyes she was surprised to see just how many kids there were.  Many were in cages scattered all around the floor while some were chained to the wall.  Kids from all nationalities were scattered, all around the room in no specific order.  Some stared blankly at the wall, eyes glazed over and void.  Others kept their eyes closed, tears streaming down their cheeks.  Only a few looked over at her with eyes full of shame, pity, fear, and only a few with hope.

The need to vomit intensifies, but she swallowed it down the best she could.  She was going to save all of these kids before she left, nothing like this would ever happen to any of them again.  Taking a deep breath she whispered, “I’m in position.  I have eyes on all of the kids and am waiting for your signal.”

“Copy.”

Marinette took in the room once more.  Was this going on in Paris and she just hadn’t noticed?  How many of these children were kids that should have been under her protection?  Would she have been able to stop this with her miraculous alone?  

No.

She needed to focus, she couldn’t start spiraling now.  Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a pair of lockpicks from her secret pocket in her shirt and made quick work of her cuffs and slipped them into her hidden pocket.  Ruta had made d* sure that she would be able to get out nearly any restraint and use them as her own weapon.  

On silent feet she made her way to the front of the room where a young child who couldn’t be older than 7 sat in a small kennel with a padlock closed on the front.  The small girl stared at her with wide red-rimmed, hazel eyes.  Her dark brown hair was cut into a ruff pixie cut.  Her clothes were skimpy where she was only wearing short-shorts and a training bra.  Bruises were scattered all around her body and Marinette could see the small child’s ribs peaking out from her tanned skin.

Swallowing back her own sob, Marinette got to work unlocking the cage.  The small click echoed throughout the room and when the girl went to speak Marinette held a finger to her mouth.  The child quickly closed her mouth and nodded.  “I need you to stay in here for just a little longer, when you hear me shout I want you to follow me.  Can you do that?”  She asked the girl, praying she understood as she was speaking in English.  The girl gave another nod, the broken look in her eye being replaced with fiery defiance.  

Marinette quickly moved on to the next child repeating what she said and attempting to mime out her words when the kids didn’t understand her words.  

There were so many though, and she had only gotten a quarter of the way through when Rajani’s voice spoke through her earpiece.  “You almost done Khata?”

“There are more kids than anticipated, I may need an extra hand if available,” she asked as she removed yet another lock from a cage.  There was no noise over the comm, but she could almost feel the disdain they felt for her through it. 

“ETA 5 minutes,” Rajani finally responded.

“Why would the League of Assassins even care for the safety of kids anyways, this feels more like a Justice League scenario.”  Marinette grumbled to herself, narrowing her eyes as she failed to open a lock and had to restart.

“Our Demon’s Head had left an anonymous tip to the JLA.  They thought the prevention of Venom from reaching Star CIty’s shores was more important.”  Hossam answered bitterly, disdain dripping from his words like poison. 

“Yea right, they have hundreds of heroes, I’m sure if he really sent a tip someone would have come.”  She bit back, sighing when the lock finally snapped open.

“Believe what you want Khata, but we only speak the truth.”  Rajani whispered from behind her, causing Marinette to jump and throw a punch at her.  The woman gracefully ducked out of the way with practiced ease.  

“Good reflexes, but your spatial awareness needs to be improved.”  She reported as she looked around the room with narrowed eyes.  Marinette wanted to bite back, but she held her tongue and moved on after telling the child to stay in place until her signal.  

“All of the targets are in position,” Hosaam reported.

“All of the traps are laid,” Azrael confirmed immediately after.

“Nearly done here, only a few more kids left,” Rajani informed.  With her help they only had a fourth of the room left.  “Activate the sleeper gas and slowly mix in the Nitrogen.  We should be out of here by the time the first person falls.” 

“Roger.”

After another 20 minutes all of the cages were unlocked and all the kids cuffed to the walls were free, all anxiously waiting for the promised signal.  The air was electric with anticipation, and the fear of failing any of these kids now that they were so close weighed heavily on Marinette’s shoulders.

“Something’s wrong.”  Hosaam reported, tension thick in his voice.  

Marinette and Rajani looked at the other quickly before Rajani answered back, “Report.”

“More men are arriving, and they’re not buyers.  I think someone sensed that something was wrong and called in more security.  And I heard that the Leader of this whole operation will no longer be present.”

“Al’ama!”  Rajani cursed.  “I sealed every entrance and exit except for our escape route, so that should buy us some time.  Here’s the plan.  Azrael and Hosaam, put on your rebreathers.  I want both of you to start taking out any man or woman inside that you’re able to without causing a mass panic.  I’ll join you on the ground floor.  Khata, you are to take the children to the garage where a semi-truck will be waiting.  Load the kids into it and wait for us there.”  Rajani pulled out a dagger and shoved it into Marinette’s hands along with a spare rebreather.  Placing her own over her face before hopping onto the tops of cages and leaping into the ventilation system.

This was her chance!  But first she needed to get the kids to safety.  Placing two of her fingers in her mouth she let out a loud, high pitched whistle catching everyone’s attention.  “It’s time to follow me!”  She shouted pulling open one of the kids doors.  As soon as the words escaped her mouth the room was in chaos.  The sound of metal doors being thrown open, cages being tossed around, and the cries of children echoed through the room like a twisted orchestra.  She tried to gain the kids attention, to get them to follow her, but she was shorter than many of the kids and was almost lost in the sea of them as they moved.

“Follow me!”  She yelled as loudly as she could, running towards the entrance where Rajani had already unlocked the door.  Following the blueprints she had memorized in her mind she led them all toward the garage which was located only a few halls down from the room they were held in.  But she noticed many of the kids went down different halls and passages, determined to find their own escape.  She needed to get them back, but she needed to get the others to safety first.  

When they reached the truck the back was already open and she watched as many of the kids stared at it with hesitation and/or horror.  “I need all of you to get in.  I promise you that you will be safe!  I won’t let anything happen to you.”  The older kids scoffed at her looking back into the hall behind them and wondering if they too should have found their own way out.  The smaller kids listened to her without hesitation, loading into the large space despite their discomfort.  

“Please, I swear to you that I am only here to help you escape.”  Hesitantly, the others got in as well, going as far back as they could to hide in the shadows.  Once all of the kids that had followed her were all loaded in she looked back at the hall.  Then she looked behind her where the moon was shining just outside.  Fields of overgrown, yellowed grass littered the side road, and the call of the warm winter’s night begged her to run for it.  If she left now, she would be free, she could begin her escape.  The others were busy, they wouldn’t know until it’s too late.

She was about to take a step towards the tantalizing embrace of the outside when a child’s scream echoed through her.  She turned towards the doorway and without thinking she ran back into the corridors of the warehouse.  There were still others she needed to save first.

Turning a corner she saw a large burly man standing in front of a group of children, back to her.  “You filth of the Earth.”  He growled in rough accented English.  There was a gun strapped to his side, but he hadn’t pulled it out yet.  Marinette watched in horror as he picked up one of the girls by her hair, lifting her above the ground as she cried out in anguish.  

Marinette could only hear her blood pounding in her ears, the small girl's screams, man’s laughter and mocking jests.  She could only feel the burning in her gut, the roughness of the blade’s hilt digging into her palm, her feet platened and ready to strike.  She could only see red.  

The man began to reach for his pistol, leaving him entirely exposed for an attack, and that’s what she did.  Without another thought she jumped, bringing her knife down into the man’s spine, severing vertebrae until he collapsed, entirely paralyzed from the neck down.  

Marinette stared at the man as he screamed, phantom pain wracking his body as he began to bleed out.  Marinette stared at the limp body, red pooling at her feet and covering her hands.  Horror and sickness warred for control of her body, ripping the air out of her lungs as the metallic scent of blood reached her nose.  The man was still breathing, but for how long?  She hadn’t meant to kill him, but she needed to protect the kids.  

But part of her was relieved.  The kids were safe now.  Never again would he ever be able to harm any of these children again.  Looking up from the body she looked at the kids huddled together, eyes wide in fear, but safe.  Falling back into her old Ladybug mindset she put everything that wasn’t the kids on the back burner.  Nothing except removing them from this situation mattered.  She could fix this later.  She’d call on her lucky charm and fix all of this once she was done and sure that everyone was safe.

Scooping up the child the brute had been hurting—ignoring the red she smeared on the child’s clothes and face—she demanded that the others follow her, and they did without another word.  She quickly deposited them into the truck with the others before going back out to rescue the rest. 

The halls echoed with the screams of men and women, the banging of doors bounced off the walls as the reinforcements tried to find access into the warehouse.  Marintte’s heart reverberated through her body, making the rushing of blood sound like a river to her ears.  She needed to find the rest of the kids!

“There are loose kids running around the area, what is going on Khata,” Azrael growled through the earpiece.  Marinette was surprised she hadn’t heard any gunfire yet, but relieved knowing that even a single blast could set the whole building aflame.

“Rounding up the stragglers now.  Some ran while I was leading them to the escape vehicle.”  The only response she received was a low grunt.  

Turning a sharp corner, Marinette found another group of kids on their knees coughing.  The gas.  They were going to get themselves killed.  “Grab each other's wrists and follow me if you want to get out of here alive,” she ordered, grabbing the wrist of the kid closest to her first.  Once she made sure they were all secure she hefted the kids back onto their legs and ran back to the truck jumping over and ignoring the limp bodies of grown men in their path as she pulled them through the door and pointed toward the truck before going back out.

Marientte’s lungs were burning, but she ignored it.  She still had her mask securely in place, but there was only so much it could filter out after a certain amount of time.

Bang.

Marinette stood stock still, listening.  The sound of footsteps echoed around the building and Marinette knew that reinforcements had finally breached the building.  They didn’t have much time left, they needed to get out of here now if they wanted to make it out alive.

Marinette traversed the halls once more on silent feet, tension lining her shoulders as she peeked over corners, throwing her dagger at any unsuspecting man or woman who stood in her way.

“I found a group of kids and led them to the point.  From the sounds of it we were only missing two more then we can head out.  We’re not leaving any of them behind,” Rajani barked and received affirmatives from the others.  Marinette nearly tripped over herself, she truly hadn’t expected these assassins to care that much over the life of a few kids.  She believed that they would fight purely for their survival or the lives of the many over the few.  But to risk their lives for all of them, it just didn’t seem like a plausible belief to come from these kinds of people.

After another turn Marinette found herself in the middle of the warehouse.  The space was littered with bodies, gun pieces and ammunition littering floor as blood painted it red.  Marinette wished she could make herself feel sick, to at least mourn, but she had seen such similar situations before in Paris that she automatically compartmentalized it in search of the akumatized object the children.  A loud cry could be heard from the floor above and Marinette rushed up the steps, throwing open the doors to a room only to see Hosaam kneeling in front of one of the kids, holding his own gas mask against their faces.

“It’ll be alright.  Follow that woman and I promise that you will be safe.  No one will be able to harm you like this ever again,” he murmured, voice smoothed in a gentle timber.  It was another shock to her system.  She watched as Hosaam picked up one of the kids–the same girl she had rescued first–in his arms while pushing the second towards her.  But she didn’t have time to think about the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs.  

“You two have tails, I can’t hold them all off, so get ready for a fight and make sure none of them open fire.  There’s too much gas in the air,” Azrael reported.

“I’ll be waiting inside the transport for all of you.  As soon as the last two kids are loaded we run,” Rajani confirmed.

“Copy,” Marinette breathed, hosting the weak child onto her back as she peaked out the door toward the railing.  Men had flooded the stair and were blocking any exit on all sides, and if she tried to run for it with a hop of the banister there was a high chance they would shoot and kill everyone.  Looking over at Hosaam she watched as he calmly removed a small device from a hidden pocket in his jacket and rolled towards the group before shutting the door completely.  Marinette couldn’t see what happened next, but the echoing of gunfire echoed off the walls with a sickening bang. 

Marinette felt the entire building shudder and Marinette wondered if this was how she died.  “We must hurry,” Hosaam ushered.  Marinette opened her eyes–when had she closed them–to see that they were completely fine.

“W-what happened?  How are we still alive?!”  Marinette gasped, her heart hammering in her chest.

“I’m what you may know as a meta-human.  I have the ability to create protective shields around those I choose.”  And without another word, Hosaam opened the door and ran out of the room with Marinette following only a few moments later.  The room was now in chaos, bodies scorching with the scent of burning flesh.  It reminded her of her battle with Vatra.  They had the ability to create volcanoes at will and cause whoever got in their way to combust into flames if he made eye contact with them (Marinette hadn’t been able to eat meat for nearly a year after that).

Bang.

The sound reverberates around her followed by the clatter of a gun onto the floor as another man dies.  But it’s not followed by some explosion.  Instead it’s followed by burning so intense that she can’t stop the scream of agony from escaping her lips.  Reality comes crashing down around her.  

She’s not Ladybug, she’s not a magical suit that can protect her from anything and everything, she can’t fix this once it's over.  But even with the burning, she’s still moving with the adrenaline coursing through her system.

“Alqarf!”  She hears from beside her.  Hosaam, was running beside her now, staring at the wound in her side as red flowed out of the wound like a waterfall.

“Agent wounded, prepare for on field surgery,” Hosaam reported stiffly, rounding a corner.  She looked down at the child she was holding, the child that was starting to feel far too heavy with how light they actually were.  Her blood was starting to soak into their clothes as well, but they stayed silent, tucking their head against her shoulder as she ran.

Marinette nearly collapsed when she saw the semi-truck.  Her head felt fuzzy and her body heavy.  Suddenly the weight was taken out of her hands, and her body was floating in the air.  Voices echoed around her, but she couldn’t make anything out.  Something was pushing her down, keeping her in place as burning liquid was poured onto her side.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic, it’s just a bullet wound,” she heard someone say from above her, but she couldn’t tell who.  The world was still blurry.

“How much longer until we get to the rendezvous point?”

“Another 15 minutes.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have released the shield.”

“Next time you know not to make the same mistake again.”

“Thankfu- ‘ust- ‘raze.”  

Marintte had pricked herself with a needle countless times before, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of whatever was poking at and pulling her side.  She was fairly certain that she blacked out from the pain, as the next thing she knew she was waking up in air surrounded by gray metal walls.

When she tried to sit up, she couldn’t stop the hiss that escaped her lips before falling back onto the seats she was laid against.

“Ah yes, the joy of one’s first bullet wound.  I remember mine like it was yesterday.”  Marinette looked over at the far too chipper voice to see Rajani without any face coverings.  She was a rather attractive woman, with caramel skin and close cropped curled black hair.  The only thing mauring her smooth skin being a four inch scar that trails straight down from her eyelid to her cheek.

“That was a close one Khata.  You did better than any of us were expecting though, so there’s that,” she continued casually, her hazel eyes boring into Marinette’s blue.  Marinette didn’t answer, her head still reeling.

Rajani didn’t continue the conversation, instead turning away to sharpen her knives.  The scraping of metal on metal only fed her pounding headache as her mind replayed everything that had happened.

She had killed people.  And she can’t bring them back.  She can’t bring them back.  She’s a murder.  Before she could even process it, she turned her body to the side, vomit spilling from her lips.  Rajani scrunched up her nose, but didn’t comment, just continued her chore.

What had she done?

It felt like only minutes had passed, but it must have been hours as the next thing she knew they had landed back into the mountain base they had first left from.  They were back, and Marinette hadn’t escaped and she hadn’t died.

Holding onto her side, Marinette limped off the plane, surprised when only Hossam stopped as Rajani and Azael continued forward–faces concealed once more.

“Hop on my back Khata, it would not be ideal for your stitches to tear now,” he said stoically.  Mariente looked at him as if he had just grown a second head.  It made no sense to her that he was treating her with any form of respect or human decency when all the three of them had ever been to her was cruel and mocking. It must have been some sort of sick joke.

But he just waited for her, eyes looking off into the distance.  The memory of him showing the child tenderness and compassion.  “Why’d you do it?”

“Why did I do what, Khata?  You can’t expect me to read your mind.”

“Why’d you give the girl your mask?  You could have died. I figured you would value your life more than some random kids.”

Hosaam was silent for a moment, his face impassive as he stared at the snowy mountain top.

“I was trafficked as a child once before.  One day, I was able to gain the advantage and kill my abuser.  It was Maha who had found me on the streets, hiding from the man’s friends.  She offered me power, the ability to make sure no one hurt me again, and to stop those who tried to hurt others the same way.  I took it.”  Finally he turned to look at her, the only thing she was able to make out was his amber eyes.

“We are not monsters here.  We are the shadows that haunt those who create injustice, and nothing more.  Now will you trust me?”  Marinette stared at him, biting her lip as she thought.  With a short sigh–and a sharp pain from her side–she agreed, allowing him to maneuver her so that she was straddling his back, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

When they arrived back at the base she almost expected to see the grounds covered in other ninja training, but it was empty save for Rajani, Azrael, Maha, and the boy.  She most definitely had not been expecting him to rush over to her and Hosaam when they entered the grounds.

“Set her down, now,” he ordered, eyes dark.  Hossam didn’t hesitate, setting Marinette back on her feet before joining the others.  “What happened,” he demanded, noticing the way she kept her weight off her right side.

Marinette bit her tongue not wanting to give anything away to him.  

“Show me where you’re hurt,” he barked, eyes scanning her body almost…worriedly, but that’s ridiculous.  He probably doesn’t actually care, he just wants to make sure his prize isn’t permanently broken.

Slowly Marinette lifted her shirt to show him her stitched up side where the bullet had grazed her.  “As you can see I’m fine.”

Damian glared at the wound, cursing the person who had hurt her.  If they weren’t already dead he would make sure that they paid dearly.  His stomach was boiling with rage and regret.  He had a feeling that something like this would happen if he wasn’t there, and he was right.  He should have listened to his gut, and now she was hurt.  

From the short report he had gotten from two of Maha’s Jackels she did well.  The wound wasn’t her fault, and she had not failed.  No one could look down on her–and thus him–for not being good enough. No one could question his decision at this moment, and for now that’s all that mattered.  But the longer he stared at the wound the more weight he felt in his chest.  

He felt responsible, which was stupid.  He hadn’t been the one to shoot the gun.  He wasn’t the direct reason she was hurt.  But for whatever reason, it weighed like he had all the same.

“Report to Tomoe at once.  Do whatever she prescribes.”  And with that he turned away, retreating back into his rooms.

Marinette watched his retreating back curiously.  While his face had remained impassive the entire encounter, his eyes seemed to be at war.  It made no sense.  She was simply imagining things, after all her head still felt fuzzy from the blood loss.  Sighing, she looked around to see that she was now the only one left on the grounds besides the guards in their respective watchtowers.  

With one last look at the outside world, she headed back into the base and down to where Tomoe was waiting for her in the infirmary.

Next

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[nyxsbotwtapestry]

sorry didn't post for a few days. i was a bit tired from all the christmas dinners

any how

did 3 monks today so i'm done with the bottom row of guardians and monks (which means i can go back to vah ruta :D )

so i did part of vah ruta's ear

before after

did 826 stitches in 4 hours

22.2% done

[manuelharojuradofotosyvideos]

RUTA PUEBLA DE D. RODRIGO. 2024. #senderismo2

(Esta reseña y su descripción son obra de Juanjo y Pilar, quienes han puesto todos los medios a su alcance para que la ruta fuese un éxito, tal cual ha sido). Tomesenda nos lleva este domingo a un precioso rincón con un encanto especial y que resulta imprescindible visitar más de una vez en la vida. El recorrido de esta ruta discurre por uno de los parajes más recónditos de la Comarca “Entreparques”, adentrándonos en el Valle de Valtriguero y en el Barranco de “Las Galalleras”. Gran parte de la ruta discurre por una gran fractura que se nos presenta como un barranco cuyo fondo es cerrado y umbroso. El barranco queda flanqueado a ambos lados por sierras y serratas cuarcíticas cuyas laderas se encuentran tapizadas en la actualidad por densas manchas de montes de encinas, alcornoques y quejigos. El trayecto culmina en un espectacular robledal en la Garganta de los Membrillos, en donde podemos contemplar la figura de un roble centenario. Pero sin lugar a dudas el tramo más impresionante de la ruta lo constituye el Barranco de “Las Galalleras”, donde penetraremos en un bosquete que nos evoca a las selvas tropicales, dominando elementos subtropicales como el Madroño, el Durillos, el brezo castellano y numerosas especies de helechos. Junto a ellos y, paradójicamente, aparecen taxones botánicos propios de climas atlánticos entre los que destacan por su belleza el Mostajo, Arce de Montpelier y Nenúfares. Como no destacar la gran belleza de la Cascada de Valtriguero, esculpida en los estratos de cuarcitas. Posee una fauna propia del Monte mediterráneo, como los Jabalíes, Corzos, Ciervos, numerosas rapaces y sobre todo la Cigüeña Negra. También encuentran aquí la Salamandra y el Tritón verdinegro un lugar idóneo para su supervivencia. Tras una breve parada en Puebla de Don Rodrigo, para tomarnos nuestro cafetito e ir reduciendo peso en la mochila con el primer bocata, el autobús nos llevará al Inicio del recorrido el cual realizaremos en sentido inverso a las agujas del reloj, primero en dirección a la Garganta de los Membrillos, dejando para el final el paseo junto al arroyo y el Barranco de “Las Galalleras”. Caminaremos ligeros pero con tiempo suficiente para disfrutar de un precioso paisaje con un ambiente especial. Efectuaremos dos paradas, la primera para almorzar y la segunda pasada la cascada para comer. Por último regresaremos, si vamos bien de tiempo, al pueblo para tomarnos un merecido refresco. RECORRIDO DE +/- 16 KMS DE DIFICULTAD TÉCNICA BAJA Y FÍSICA MEDIA.

[ashleyleygraves]

After a while of playing Tears of the Kingdom, I have some complaints. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Tears of the Kingdom, but there are some things that I don't really enjoy. Some of these are things other people have stated they don't like, and some of these are actually something that are controversial.

Let's start with the ones people can agree with:

There are too few sky islands and there's almost nothing on them. There are a few exceptions like the Great Sky Islands, the entire way up and including the wind temple, the diving islands, etc. But the majority are copy and paste empty islands and all of them were Zonai related. I wish they added Monk Maz Koshia's sky island directly above the Great Plateau like in BotW's DLC, the islands from Skyward Sword, and the City in the Sky from Twilight Princess for some examples.

A real explanation of where Sheikah tech went. Like, we all know what the developers said: "they all vanished suddenly after the Calamity was over" we know that's bullshit because Purah and Robbie still use the ancient Sheikah technology for their towers, the Purah Pad, Purah's telescope, Robbie's mini Cherry, and the lone guardian on the roof of the Hateno Ancient Tech lab. Also it didn't just vanish after the Calamity as the true ending cutscene in BotW shows at the most a month after the Calamity and Vah Ruta broke down, not vanished.

The empty depths. I love the ruins and lightroots of the depths, but on the scale of the entire kingdom of Hyrule? It's empty. Up above you would find Koroks, small structures, different surfaces (sand, grass, rock, snow, etc), enemies and even citizens. I know that you can find mine ruins, the construct factory, Yiga outposts, and enemy mines; but the depths were so vastly empty with the exact same scenery no matter where you were. I would've preferred far smaller areas than the surface counterparts or even just have the Faron, Eldin, and Central Hyrule depths since that's all you actually need to go.

The Lightning Temple. Listen, I love the Lightning Temple. I just wish that they had used the Arbiters Grounds instead of a completely new dungeon. No, I don't mean I wanted Twilight Princess's Arbiters Grounds instead, I mean that there would've been some really cool, subtle lore that the Arbiters Grounds had been destroyed after TP and was rebuilt as the TotK Lightning Temple. Like, could you imagine seeing "The Lightning Temple: Arbiters Grounds rebuilt"

Sage abilities. How they implemented this was the absolute worst. If I were to redesign the sage abilities, I'd have it work more like BotW's champion abilities but with the same reload time as the sages. I'm going to say how I would've implemented each one. For Tulin's ability, I would've pressed the sneak button while in the air to gust forward. For Sidon's ability, I would've held down the block button like Daruk's Protection but swung the weapon while blocking to have the "water slice." For Riju's ability, when you use the bow, you hold block and instead of it Z-targeting the enemy, it would turn the arrow into a lightning arrow (a different type of arrow than electric arrows because it's used as Riju's ability to call down a lightning strike.) As for Yunobo and Mineru's abilities, they would've been the same as before. So, Yunobo basically is the only one with an Avatar and Mineru just follows you as is.

Dragon Tears. No, it's not because it's too similar to finding Link's memories in BotW, it's because you can find them out of order and before finding Impa. Yes, I am frustrated that the first dragon tear I actually investigated was the death of Sonia and I had no clue what was happening. I wish that it forced you to find the tears in order. Like, the geoglyphs would appear one at a time. Or maybe give the same cutscene as when the final tear appears. The light dragon has a tear drop and we need to go find it.

This one is the most controversial thought I feel like... Ultahand. Yup, I don't like ultahand. I don't like building my own vehicles. I don't like building robots. I just don't like engineering games. I love the Zelda puzzles, but when I had to build the solutions in shrines? I hated it. I prefer the BotW shrines where you find a solution by thinking outside the box. In TotK, there is no box to think outside of because whatever you try, it's possible with what we gave you. Make a bridge out of car wheels? Go ahead we love that! I would've personally felt more satisfied with finding a solution that wasn't intended, but in this game every solution was in fact, intended.

That concludes the things I didn't like about the game, everything else, though was absolutely fantastic.

[verystrxxwberry]

ey alex, cuál es tú top d chicos d moonlight lovers? desde tú fv al qu menos t gusta/interesa (sin contar a neil porque, wE kNow. no hay inspiración para el dilf irlandés y alex le hace ghosting, lo cual es... bastante gracioso dicho así, lol). y qu piensas d sidekicks como farah o Leandra?

Pues honestamente: Aaron on top. Luego, en orden pondría a Beliath, Ethan, Vladimir, Ivan y Rafa. Rafa me gusta como personaje pero en su ruta es mu pesao con la margarita y eso me hizo choff. Y por último, pero muy último Neil. No me he jugado su ruta, debería, pero es que me da perezzza este tío 😭. Ahora, me dio muchísima pena que dijeran que no pretendían hacer la ruta de Farah al final porque vaya mujerón. Tanto Farah y Leandra me vuelven un poco loquito, pero Farah sobre todo.

[dartanans]

HOLA!!, ¿que tal gente bonita y bella? Soy yo de nuevo (◍•ᴗ•◍), bueno reviví para dar... AVISOS!!!!

Vengo con 2 noticias, una buena y otra mala Empiezo con la buena ☝🤓, ya falta muuuy poco para salir la DEMO de MANM :D (solo falta 1 fondo), al estar programada en una app "kocho" si la gustan jugar tendrían que descargarla 😔👊, peroo es gratis y no ocupa mucho espacio :3

Y la mala es... Hay algunos fallos muuuy molestos y lamento mucho eso 😔👊, pero un tiempo me estrese muy feo y ya no quise seguir, peroo pues x, en el día 1 de tu estancia ahí, solo hay 2 rutas, o lo tratas bien o lo tratas mal, y si mezclas se hace un desmadre 😔👊, así que mejor de una vez saco la DEMO y después arreglo esos errores :D, además de que algunos sprites están medio feos, lo chido son los fondos :D, son muy lindos y le agradezco mucho a clouds por ayudar con sus bellos fondos :3, y también a Fox que también me ayudo con eso :3, creo que sería todo ^^"

Además planeó que en unos años cuando sepa programar bien y dibujar mejor, sacar una versión nueva de MANM, pero pues espero poder seguir con el tiempo y seguir vivo para poder realizarlo ^^"

En fin, se despide su servilleta Dartañan :3, tomen agüita y cuídense muchote :33