#Thankfully it has to be like permanent damage to effect both of their bodies

[niuttuc]

Today's budget commander sleeper is a god! But not really. While it is easy to forget in its sleeve, Reidane is a MDFC, offering two cards for the price of one.

The front side, the god half, has some trinket text that punishes snow lands, but mostly will be used to delay board wipes in aggressive decks and prevent some of the scarier spells that are much more present in commander than in other formats. It is decent at that. An OK hatebear with a flying vigilant body.

The back is what I think gets overlooked in this. First, the boring bit, the functional ward 1 to you and all your (other) permanents may seem minor, and it won't actually prevent people from targeting you or your stuff with impactful spells in practice. It might deflect a few, but most importantly it will prevent or redirect many targeting abilities from hitting you or your stuff, since opponents rarely want to pay 1 for this kind of repeated abilities. Do you think they're gonna pay 4 mana to drain you 4 life with their blood artist, or move on to an easier target?

Second, that damage prevention ability on Valkmira is actually quite unique. While it's not uncommon to find effects that prevent a bit of damage dealt to you, one that also protects your creatures (and planeswalkers, but thankfully not your battles since you'll attack those yourself) is very rare. The only other exemple that comes to my mind costs 6 mana to get going and is a fragile creature. 1 damage may not seem like much, but it messes with combat in a big way. It won't stop a crater hoof, but it will stop any incidental attacks coming your way. Suddenly, your 2/2 beats their 2/2s in combat. Better yet, multi blocking, both yours and theirs, gets much worse when you remove points for every blocker. If you're playing in digital, the damage assignation with a Valkmira and multiple blockers either way will probably be done wrong.

Reidane and Valkmira are a DFC rooted in a world, so they're likely not gonna be reprinted anytime soon. I don't think they're gonna skyrocket in price in the near future, they would have already, but they'll slowly climb up. For now, they're 40 cents.

[commercialroplants]

What are health effects on humans from exposure to pesticide-contaminated water?

The health effects of consuming water contaminated with pesticide residue is a serious issue that no one should take lightly. Pesticides are designed to kill insects, weeds, and other pests, but they can also be hazardous to humans and other animals if exposed in high concentrations or over extended periods of time.

Pesticide-contaminated water can have serious consequences for human health, ranging from minor illnesses to long-term chronic conditions. Understanding the potential dangers of pesticide exposure is essential for protecting the health of those who live near areas where pesticides are in use.

In this blog we are going to discuss some of the health effects on humans from the exposure of pesticide-contaminated water so as to safeguard ourselves by fixing the issue at the source. So, let’s get going…

The health effects of exposure to pesticide-contaminated water can be devastating. While the effects vary depending on the type and amount of pesticide present, long-term exposure to contaminated water can lead to serious health problems. Below we provide a list of common health effects on humans from exposure to pesticide-contaminated water.

1. Cancer: Exposure to pesticides in drinking water has been linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer, such as bladder cancer and leukemia.

2. Respiratory Problems: Pesticides can cause irritation in the lungs and throat, leading to coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

3. Neurological Effects: Long-term exposure to pesticides has been associated with neurological damage, including reduced intellectual performance, memory loss and changes in behavior.

4. Reproductive Problems: Both men and women exposed to contaminated water have an increased risk for reproductive issues such as infertility or miscarriage in pregnant women.

5. Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Ingesting contaminated water can lead to vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain due to irritation from the chemicals present in the water supply.

6. Immune System Suppression: Exposure can weaken your immune system’s ability to fight off infections or diseases over time due to chemical interference with normal bodily functions like white blood cell production or liver enzyme regulation.

7. Birth Defects: Pesticide contamination in drinking water is associated with a higher rate of birth defects, including cleft palate, heart defects, neural tube defects, spina bifida, clubfoot, Down syndrome and more.

 8. Allergic Reactions: Prolonged exposure has also been linked with increases in allergic reactions ranging from mild skin rashes or headaches all the way up through life threatening anaphylaxis. 

 9. Kidney Damage: The kidneys are especially sensitive when it comes contaminants like those found in pesticide -contaminated drinking water; prolonged exposure may result in kidney damage that is irreversible without dialysis treatments or a transplant.

10. Liver Disease: The liver plays a key role in cleansing toxins from your body, so when it is overburdened by regular ingestion of pesticides it can lead not only inflammation but also permanent damage that leads eventually leads cirrhosis or other forms of liver disease.

Conclusion:

The potential health effects of exposure to pesticide-contaminated water are serious and far-reaching. From neurological damage, fertility issues, gastrointestinal symptoms, immune system suppression and birth defects to allergic reactions, kidney damage, and liver disease – the risks associated with drinking contaminated water should not be taken lightly. It’s important to always be aware of what is going into your drinking water supply so you can take steps necessary for your family’s safety against these potential health risks!

Why choose Netsol!

In conclusion, although pesticide contamination is becoming an increasingly pressing issue in many areas across the world, there are thankfully solutions available through Netsol water solutions that can help protect us from its potentially dangerous effects on our health and environment. Homeowners should take steps to test their home wells regularly for contaminants such as pesticides if possible and contact Netsol, if elevated levels are detected so that appropriate action can be taken quickly before any long-term harm occurs due to ongoing exposure over time.

You may call/WhatsApp us at +91-9650608473 for any questions you may have about health effects of pesticide-contaminated water, or you can send an email to enquiry@netsolwater.com  

[collective-remnants-rwby]

RWBY AU: The Tarrasque

The Tarrasque is the designation given to a Titan-class Creature of Grimm of unknown but supposedly remarkable intelligence that first made landfall off the coast of Vytal eleven years ago. In the resultant decade it has reappeared thrice, with two of those occasions being cataclysmic attacks resulting in heavy casualties of both civilian populations and responding military and Hunters, each event only ending with the arrival of Ruby Rose on the field of battle.

It is widely recognized as being the single greatest threat to Remnant since Salem met her end over twenty years ago. An accurate assessment, to be sure.

Appearance

Due to its highly variable morphology, The Tarrasque’s appearance varies which each attack, so much so that until the third attack it was thought that the Tarrasque was multiple individuals belonging to a single, highly morphologically variable strain of Grimm. 

It’s only constant feature is a narrow, wide mawed head covered in a sloped bone carapace with the mark of Salem displayed on the front, and a signle, giant, burning eye. But despite this, the Tarrasque’s forms seem to mostly favour a lithe body capable of both bipedal and quadrupedal movement, and a long tail as a counterbalance and additional weapon. 

Abilities

The Tarrasque, as appropriate for a Titan Grimm, possesses truly monstrous strength and durability, capable of shrugging off warship grade weapons, static defenses and is even capable of withstanding a full assault from a Seasonal Maiden or beings of similar power such as Oscar Pine or Yang Xiao Long.

But its true danger comes from a variety of abilities ranging from the esoteric to the downright mystical, all of which combined conspire to render it a foe even Silver Eyes seem incapable of ending permanently.

Adaptability: Foremost among the Tarrasque’s unique powers is the ability to shift its morphology, not necessarily in reaction to threats, but rather to enact its own strategies in accordance to its shifting Modus Operandi.

A list of notable adaptations:

Rapid ejection of armour plates and shedding of mass to act as a distraction and heighten speed and agility.

Rapid mass/armour gain to increase strength and durability.

Adoption of traits from other Creatures of Grimm, including acid and claws.

A single shot back mounted “Blister Speargun” used to engage warships over Vytal, which tore through one ship, destroying it, and catastrophically damaged a second, with the Grimm protoplasm attached to it forming into an army that would see it destroyed as well.

Electrified porcupine quills serving as a countermeasure to grappling by a Lung Dragon, and projecting a dome of EMP capable lightning.

A series of Nevermore wings used to kick up a sandstorm and shoot off its feathers as fletchettes.

A thick, tanklike armour covering that could shrug off capable grade warship weapons and the full attention of multiple Seasonal Maidens.

Multiple draconian heads capable of breathing fire, lightning or acid.

The scream of an apathy with a mile long area of effect.

The ability to absorb and incorporate metal & machinery into its body.

Grimm Control: The Tarrasque’s presence has a peculiar effect on lesser Grimm, one that has thankfully served as a warning indicator, as seen in its letter two appearances. Upon landfall, any Grimm in the vicinity will proceed to freeze in place, displaying no aggression towards humans or faunus, even when attacked. Additionally, any Grimm drawn to the intense negative emotions will automatically succumb to this upon entering a three mile boundary, and remain this way until the Tarrasque breaks off its attack.

This may be counted among the few positives of Tarrasque assaults, as defenders are free to concentrate their firepower on the creature itself without worry of interference. Though this has proven a double edged sword...

Grimm Protoplasm Control: In lieu of control over lesser Grimm, The Tarrrasque has proven capable to control the tar like protoplasm Grimm are made of. 

While immediately useful for its adaptation and regeneration, it has also displayed the ability to “dissolve” Grimm into their component protoplasm and manipulate it, drawing it into its body to supplement its abilities.

It may even use this power offensively, using the corrosive properties to deal horrific damage to organic targets, as seen most prominently in it’s initial assault, whereupon it turned a Spawning pit and its accompanying pack into a tidal wave that demolished a village and killed over a dozen Hunters, their Auras broken and bodies ravaged by the tide, or simply left helpless in the face of the monster itself.

Regeneration: While many Titan grimm are capable of a form of regeneration, The Tarrasque’s seems to be truly endless. Whatever damage it sustains is oftentimes healed within minutes. It is also seemingly neverending, even when considering the Protoplasm it uses to supplement itself.

It is a juggernaut, utterly unstoppable and capable of ignoring all damage short of a direct blast from a Silver Eyed Warrior. Even then, the core of the creature remains, allowing it to slip away from the engagement.

Intelligence: The Tarrasque is just another example of a worrying spike in intelligence among powerful enough Grimm.

It displays noteworthy tactical knowledge, prioritizing warships and keeping them at distance with aerial screens of varied nature (Blister cannon, sandstorm, dragon heads) eschewing it’s usual “brawler” style of combat in the face of Seasonal Maidens, dropping body parts to escape the “Slow Zone” Semblance of Oscar Pine, and retreating whenever a Silver Eyed Warrior enters the field.

Behaviour

The Tarrasque is a juggernaut in both physicality and spirit. It is first and foremost a stubborn creature, and one seemingly confident in its own abilities. It meets every threat to it with the force it deems appropriate to counter before attempting to bulldoze it over, seemingly only shifting strategy once it tires. Likewise, it will not break off an assault until Ruby Rose arrives, willing to go toe to toe with veritable armies of Hunters, soldiers, warships, and Seasonal Maidens.

Its goals are...odd, by Grimm standards. Its Modus Operandi shifts with each attack, but it never seems motivated solely by the desire to feed upon negative emotions. Its power and ability would be more than enough to render it a threat to major settlements or even the capital cities themselves, but all of its attacks have been against sparsly populated regions, or seemingly have nothing to do with inhabited areas of all.

But there are theories that is attracted to locations Branched In during the Battle of Requiem, which would place the fledgling Kingdom of Armonia, with the presence of the Branched In city of Residuum, as the only such settlement under threat.

And then their are the theories that every attack so far have only been probes, designed to gauge the Kingdom’s defense and the response times of its greatest defenders...

History: A Recounting of All Four Sightings

Vytal: The Tarrasque was first spotted eleven years ago off the western shores of Vytal, using a massive storm to mask its approach and screen itself from an aerial assault. Despite this, it was engaged by warships, two of which it destroyed using a rudimentary artillery piece. 

It would spend the next hour rampaging down Vytal’s western shore, even engaging Winter Maiden Penny Polendina and Yang Xiao Long before Ruby Rose arrived and petrified it. A hole was discovered in its thigh, but it was thought to be simple degradation of the body, and the beast itself killed.

During Vytal, it sported a heavily armoured semi amphibious bipedal form, but it quickly shed its armour in lieu of its more esoteric abilities. Its target was theorized to be a Branched In shrine at the southwestern tip of the island.

Vacuo: The Tarrasque reappeared three years later, making landfall along a vacant stretch of land on the Vacuan side of the Central Sanusian Border.

At first it was thought to be a second beast similar to the Vytal monster, as it sported a quadrupedal form with mole like fore claws and a series of wings meant to kick up sand as a cover against air retaliation and tear apart attackers with its fletchetes. 

The battle would last three hours and would once again involve Yang Xiao Long, alongside Oscar Pine and the Summer Maiden, who would unfortunately lose her life in the ensuing struggle.

Ruby would arrive, petrifying it, but the monster would escape by bursting out of the main bodies chest cavity and burrowing a tunnel back to the sea. Its target was theorized to be a series Branched In ruins bordering the Great Desert.

Mistral:

Four years following the second attack, a trail of paralyzed Grimm and upturned trees heading inward from the South Central Anima coast would lead Mistrali forces to discover the Tarrasque’s third incursion.

It’s form would be massively altered from its previous appearance, sporting a sluglike body covered in a thick armour covering and a series of draconian heads acting as homemade artillery. Its most devastating ability would be a screech whose effects mirrored that of The Apathy, with a mile-long radius, forcing warships to engage it at long range.

Over the next five hours it would drive a slow approach towards the Branched In New Kuroyuri, harried by warships and the full attention of two Seasonal Maidens. Upon Ruby’s arrival however, its outer shell would fall apart and release a massive hoard of Grimm which Hunters would be forced to engage in order to prevent a second fall of Kuroyuri.

It was in the aftermath that a unique Creature of Grimm with the name general appearance as the previous assaults would be spotted fleeing back into the ocean, and thus the dots would begin to be connected...

North Sea: Within the last year, a routine warship patrol spotted the Tarrasque on an approach to the southern coast of Solitas and engaged it, but it would promptly “dissolve” into a swarm of flying and aquatic Grimm.

As of yet, its trail has gone, and the necessities of life have forced resources to be turned back to normal operations.

But if the theories prove true...Armonia may be facing a trial by fire not seen since Salem’s final gambit almost three decades ago...

[darkdevasofdestruction]

When You Become A Fallen

(( This premise is about reader being one of the Seraphim, and she was/fell in love with one of the brothers, which made God shun her from the Celestial Realm, and thus, how each of the brothers helps her through her transformations to a Demon and her new lifestyle. ))

---

LUCIFER

Quite frankly, he took it the hardest, as he too was a Seraph back in the days, God’s most beloved angel, and the descend changed him a lot, even if he doesn’t want to admit.

When he saw your broken form on the ground, he cradled your body close to his chest, feeling fear and panic just as when Lilith almost died, so he went to plead to Diavolo to allow you permanent stay in the Devildom as well, saying that he’ll do anything for this favour, just like before.

Centuries passed since he descended, and while he still has nightmares of what happened, the pain and transformation were something that he forced himself to forget, at least for his own pride and ego, but seeing you in such excruciating pain was an even worse torture than before.

He knew there was little he or anyone else could do regarding all this, but he will be there by your side for the whole duration of it, no matter how long it took, be it days, weeks or months, he wouldn’t be pried away from you.

For the most of the day, Lucifer had you sit on his lap, both of you wearing light sleeping wear, so you could feel each other’s body heat, thinking it would help ease the pain, even by a little.

However, as soon as your 3 pairs of majestic, pure white wings started blankening, while one of the pairs also started burning, feather by feather, you became unreasonable, as you couldn’t even think or speak properly because of the agony surging through your every artery, vein, capillary and nerve in your body.

You were desperately clinging to him, scratching his back and arms, screeching for forgiveness, begging him to kill you already and end this pain, questioning what you did wrong, except have pure and unwavering  feelings of love for someone, and all Lucifer could do was hold you tightly, a had on the back of your head, putting your face on the crook of his neck, while the other was on your back, putting you glued to his chest, trying to keep you still and potentially causing yourself more damage.

“WHY, GOD, WHY?! WHAT HAVE I DONE SO WRONG TO FALL OUT OF YOUR GRACES?! IS IT REALLY FORBIDDEN TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND FEELINGS?! CURSE YOU! CURSE THE CELESTIAL REALM! CURSE ALL YOUR FUCKING ANGELS! YOU ARE A MONSTERS!” you kept crying out, cursing the skies, and Lucifer, in his head and heart, was yelling the same thing as you were.

His own heart was crying out in despair seeing his beloved like that, and for the first time since Lilith, he shed tears of pure sorrow, cursing God, the Celeastial Realm and all the angels there, and more, cursing himself for allowing both of them to become lovers back when they were angels, because his act of rebelling against God only brought you intense suffering.

There is nothing Lucifer wouldn’t do for you, no matter how impossible it seemed, but you are the only person he ever had such a connection with, so he treasures you as much as his own brothers.

He knows how difficult it was for him to completely accept he was a Demon and blend in to this new place, but he will be there for you to guide and teach you with every step you took, always holding you hand, always giving you genuine and tender smiles to help you feel more at ease, and of course, he will make sure you room with him so you won’t ever be alone and afraid again.

---

MAMMON

He freaks out so bad at first, questioning you out loud a thousand questions, while fidgeting from leg to leg and looking around for help.

Why were you here? Why were you injured? What happened? Are you alright?

Of course you weren’t alright, damn it! Stupid Mammon! Do something!

He picked you up and brought you to Lucifer, crying desperately and asking what the hell he was supposed to do, because he had no idea what the hell happened and why you were the way you are, and for the first time in ages, Lucifer didn’t yell at him, nor did he insult him - He actually helped him as much as he could, because he knew what was going on, and his heart broke at seeing his beloved little brother crying like that.

In his room, you wouldn’t stop crying and holding your head - You had migraines, your scalp was burning, your whole skin felt ablaze, you felt akin to a witch being burnt alive, and poor Mammon was crying along with you, not knowing if he should touch you, in fear of hurting you more, or holding you tightly and letting you cry away everything that hurt.

Mammon tried to kiss your tears away, put on music to help you keep your mind away from the pain, tried to tell you silly stories from his failed plans, or from his brothers to make you laugh, but in the end, nothing really helped, and he felt that the sky fell on him.

That is, until he turned away from you, gripping his hair in despair as he was running out of ideas to help you and his heart was being ripped apart more and more...But you gripped on his jacket and pulled him in a tight embrace from the back, resting your forehead on the blades of his shoulders, making him stop dead in his track, stiff as a board.

“Mammon, it hurts...Mammon, don’t leave me, please...Please keep on staying me me. Don’t leave me again. I missed you so much...So much that I didn’t even realise that the whole Celestial Realm knew I was in love with you ever since you were an angel...Everyone knew, except for me...But I missed you so much...And they said it’s forbidden. But I can’t live without you.” you sobbed, your fingers and nails digging into his chest as you confessed your sin and the reason you got in this position, which frankly, it made Mammon feel both guilty and even more head over heels with you.

Honestly, nobody ever expressed their feelings to him the way you did, unless it was Stupid Mammon left and right...But you...You were being so genuine and pure...You were real...You loved him...And now there was no barrier between you two...

He cursed himself for being happy with what happened, despite your agony, but he was a greedy man, and he craved your affection more than flowers need the Sun, so he continued to try to put a smile on your face and make the transformation easier to bear with.

Realising that your horns were beginning to grow, he transformed into his demon self and taking your hands in his gingerly, he put them over his own horns, reassuring you that everything will be okay, that they will grow pretty fast and all the agony will go away soon.

When the transformation was done, he was extremely overprotective of you becoming a student at RAD, dragging you with him everywhere, but he tried to be more responsible this time, as he had to take care of you and he couldn’t risk some angry witches or other demons attacking you to get to him.

--- LEVIATHAN

Kinda like Mammon, he was panicked beyond belief, not understanding how the hell did you get yourself in that position, but instead of freaking out, he kinda looked at you, stunned, unmoving, until he finally managed to snap out of it and carried you to his room, while calling Lucifer and telling him the gist of it.

Levi knew that his room was incredibly aesthetic and relaxing, having an aquatic theme, so hopefully, it will help you bear with the transformation and adaptation to this new life-style easier, and hopefully, not have any problems with blending in, especially since he will be there for you at every step you took.

And if that wasn’t enough, since Levi barely leaves the room, he would shelter you like a mother would her little baby, coddling you, wrapping his tail around you protectively, helping you take slightly cold baths to get rid of the burning and itching sensation of your horns and wings transforming, and showing you Henry 2.0 and promising you that he will be your best friend too.

However, the transformation for you wasn’t as bad as the spiraling and paranoia that seemed to completely engulf you, which made you quite hysterical for a while, and no amount of video games and anime could prepare Levi for this mess.

“Levi, what if they come after me? What if they aren’t happy with me being alive? What if they take me back and try to torture me to death? I don’t want back there again...Levi, I’m afraid, please protect me.” you clutched his blouse while sobbing in his shoulder, and all he could do was hold you tightly and promise you that everything will be okay and he would let nobody touch you again.

He would then start telling you about TSL and how The Lord of Shadows will always be there to protect his Henry, which is when you asked him if he would be your Lord of Shadows, and his face started blushing like crazy, and he vowed to himself that you, his most precious person, will never ever have to feel any kind of pain ever again, and he will be there for you no matter what.

Levi understands what’s like being afraid, nervous, anxious, which is something he often feels himself, and thus, the reason for preferring to take online classes rather than going physically to a classroom, which is something that he will ask for for you too, and thankfully, Lucifer approves of it, understanding the situation.

His hectic sleeping schedule is always messed up by his love for binge-watching and binge-playing, something you often partake into as a way to keep the intrusive thoughts away from your head, and it is rather effective.

However, on the occasions that you’re having a mental breakdown and start spiraling once again, no matter what hour of the day or night it is, Levi will be there to tell you how he loves you, how you’re safe with him, that nobody would ever dare cross Diavolo’s rules on his own domain, and that those angels up there were shitheads for prosecuting you for something as pure as loving someone.

--- SATAN

Out of all the demon brothers, he is obviously the only one who didn’t have to go through the whole metamorphosis ritual, because he never was an angel to begin with.

He knows, however, the excruciating pain that you’re going through, as him and Lucifer share some of the more powerful emotions and memories he used to have, and so, he has an idea, backing up all the stories he heard from 3rd parties, from his brothers and from books.

Satan will make all of his brothers send him thorough voice messages to explain what they went through and how he could help you, and thus, he would be pampering and taking care of you every second, without a second thought.

He couldn’t believe that you truly fell for him after just one year of spending time together, during the exchange-student program, when you came to Devildom...I mean, he was a demon, and while yes, he too fell for you, he was in shock hearing that such a pure and perfect being such as yourself would ever harbour such feelings for him, a demon, and the Avatar of Wrath nonetheless...

“Satan...Why...Why is it such a sin to fall in love? What have I done so cruel...So unforgivable...That I deserve to go through all this pain...All this agony...All I wanted was to be happy...Is that so selfish of me to ask? Am I not allowed to live the rest of my life with someone that I genuinely cherish so much...?” she cried with so much self-hatred that it made Satan want to burn the whole Celestial Realm and torture and rip apart every feather, every limb of those stupid angels and flay them alive, letting the lesser demons eat them.

The pain you’re being subjected to is exhausting you so much, but if you stand still, it feels like it’s hurting tenfold, so you try to keep yourself moving around the room, until you collapse from over-exerting your already frail body.

Satan would only look at you in pity, as he tried to hide the burning rage he harboured in his heart, along with all the death-threats he wanted to throw away at God and all the stupid angels who dared do this to you, so he picks you up gently, putting you on his bed, puts a light blanket over you and goes to prepare a cup of calming tea that has somnolent effects, hoping that it would help you heal faster and regain some of your strength through resting.

He would hold you close to his chest, kissing your forehead, stroking your hair, trying to keep you drowsy and calm, while also reading you one very interesting book, Harrison Porter, as it had lots of magic spells and he could show you the spells, to fascinate you, and try to keep your thoughts away from the pain.

Of course, he would be researching all remedies, spells and treatments to help ease the pain, so he would be rubbing creams with and lotions on your back and on your wings, to calm down the pain, would put spells on you to give you sweet dreams every night, and would always hold you tightly and promise you that nobody would ever come with any ill-intent towards you, and that he would kill anyone who dares even look at you the wrong way.

Since he has always been a demon, he is very popular and sociable, so blending in would be much easier with him by your side, as he would take you as his date everywhere - Be it a sports game, a theater play, an opera play, a ballet, a social gathering, a ballroom dance, a drive-outside cinema, or colour festival, a concert...Or literally anything.

---

ASMODEUS

No matter how dramatic and extra Asmo loves to be, this was no joking matter, and the person he knew he could always rely on, and that was his eldest brother, Lucifer, the only being that he ever looked up to, that he ever admired - Lucifer, the one who used to be a Seraph, just like you.

He wanted to understand what Lucifer went through, because sure, Asmo knew the physical transformations his brother went through, but he couldn’t know of the emotional trauma, or how different it was for him, as he was, after all, the highest-ranking angel in the Celestial Realm.

He then correlated with how disgusted he remembered both himself and Lucifer felt when looking into the mirror and realising they weren’t the divine beings from before, but a wretched abomination, and how long it took them to come to terms with the idea, and finally try to find the specks of beauty that others saw in them, despite the changes.

It was true, you went through a lot of pain, exhaustion, mental breakdowns, trauma, all because of how agonising the transformation was, and Asmo was there for you to brighten up and ease you through everything, not wanting you to be alone, like they were, so seeing his gorgeous and loving smile always seemed to make the corners of your mouth tilt upwards, even by a little bit.

Asmo would cuddle you and pamper you with an infinite amount of kisses, and of course, would give you frequent back rubs, wing massages, scalp massages, knowing that those were the most painful and affected areas, and thankfully enough, all the beauty products he used on you were cool and had calming and painkilling effects, so at least was better for you.

When it was all over, however, the horror didn’t end, as you saw yourself in the mirror and fell to your knees shrieking at your new appearance...That wasn’t you...It couldn’t be you...This...This abomination...This tainted thing...

Your desperation and self-hatred were so through the roof that you punched the mirror and clutched the shards in your hands, not even feeling any pain, because everything was ablaze anyway, and not even your tears could pull out the fire inside you.

Asmo was devastated seeing you like this, it made him want to sob, to pull you to his chest and cry out, telling him how he hates seeing you like this, that you remind him of himself, that deep inside him, despite all the narcissism he puts on display, he is also still a bit insecure and wishes he had the same appearance as before...But what hurt him the most was seeing you hating yourself so much, and having ended up like him, just because your heart chose the wrong person to have such intense feelings for.

“This is not me...This can’t be me...Asmodeus, what the hell is wrong with your mirror, it’s broken...It’s cursed...This isn’t me, this isn’t how I look...It can’t be...My wings...My feathers...They are all black...And these horns...And this gem...And the markings...This new outfit...What is this...Why...Why me...Why...?! Why am I being cursed for being in love?! Is this how ugly, tainted and abominable my soul is?! Is that why I look like this?! Is that WHY I became this?!” you tore away at your hair, as Asmo could only fix the mirror quickly, to avoid you getting more injured, and cradled your smaller form to his chest, whispering reassuring words and compliments.

He would do all his beauty routines with you, would compliment you endlessly, would make you try out a thousand and more outfits that he bought for you, showing you off, taking pics of you and boasting with you on DevilGram, since you’re the most gorgeous babe alive and he’s lucky to have you in his life, and now, you and him are the most beautiful couple ever to exist, without a doubt.

He would never tell you all the emotional trauma and self-hatred he went through, because as long as he could make you smile and help teach you how to love yourself again, and see the beauty in your new appearance, Asmodeus was happy and didn’t need anything else.

--- BEELZEBUB

For poor Beel, this was the whole Lilith problem all over again, blaming and hating himself for letting her die (sort of), and now, here you were, a Fallen, broken, lost, depressed, all because you loved him, and he loved you, but he rebelled and now you were caught in the crossfire.

No matter how kind and sweet he is, this is the second time the Celestial Realm crushed his heart and stomped on his feelings, hurting the people he loves most, and this was too much...He would never be able to forgive them, no matter what...And especially not his Father for being so cruel with the angels that loved him so much and were beyond devout to him.

For him, the changes weren’t as painful, and that may be because of his built, and how he finds it easier to deal with physical pain, rather than the emotional one, as he feels like he’s getting blow after blow in that aspect, but he must be strong, for you, for Belphie, for Lilith and for his brothers too.

Beel knows he’s very physically strong, even by demon standards, so he will be a bit afraid at the beginning to touch you, fearing that he will make you hurt more than you already do, but as soon as you nestle yourself in his embrace, he can’t help himself and he puts his arms around you, making you feel safer, protected, and you can deal the agony better, even by a bit.

If he could, he would take away all the pain that you’re feeling, he would go through all that agony a thousands times, just so he could spare you all this pain, he would volunteer to get his wings burnt, grow a new set of horns, would even let himself go through all the paranoia, the nightmares, the burning feeling of your skin...Even the incapacity to eat demon food...Only to spare you of all that horror...

But that wasn’t possible, unfortunately, so all he could do was stay by your side through all of it and try to make it more bearable, because, after all, he still had Belphie, so he wasn’t alone, and neither will you be.

He completely forgot how, at the beginning, for quite a long time, his body refused to digest demon food, so he would get sick and vomit every time he would try to eat something, but was quickly reminded when you made a sprint to the bathroom and he could only hold your hair as you puked your guts out, crying at the pain.

“Why do I have to go through this...God...Why...The wings...The horns...And now, I can’t even eat? Am I supposed to just starve to death...? Is that what you want, Father? Is this the Divine Punishment I get for wanting my loved ones to be safe? That I wanted to see you and tell you how much I care for you, because I never got the chance when you were still an angel? Is that how angels should really be? Hateful of others? Then I’m glad I don’t have to associate myself with such cruel creatures like you, Father!” you growled in anger, frustration, pain, hatred and agony, letting out all your feelings that have been bottled up for so many centuries, but at least now, Beel was there to hold you tight and tell you that everything will be okay, and you still have him.

He would completely stop eating around you, because despite being the Avatar of Gluttony, he couldn’t possibly tempt you with food and make you feel worse, so every so often, he would bring you some light human food, like crackers, water, milk, some vegetables, toast, to help you get some nutrients for your body, so you won’t collapse, at least, even though it was obvious you were becoming paler and skinnier, which worried Beel a lot.

Even so, Beel was always by your side, carrying you if you felt weak at some moment, helping you eat bit by beat, making sure you get a healthy portions, and just the right foods, integrating some little bits of demon food, and before you knew it, you were completely able to have a proper demon meal, and were getting better.

From then on, you will always sleep in his bed, either cuddling or holding hands, because both of you are afraid of losing the other, of having through go through all that torture again, but at least the day was much brighter and you could inally go out together and live your life as a normal student in Devildom would.

--- BELPHEGOR

The Avatar of Sloth has so much pent up rage and hatred, that he may need to take over the title of Avatar of Wrath before long.

First, hating the whole human world, because of Lilith’s death, hating demons because of the misunderstanding with Diavolo and Lucifer, and now, wanting to burn and torture to death the whole Celestial Realm for shunning you like that, letting you to rot, broken, on the ground, as if you were worth less than a vermin.

It took every ounce of self-control Belphegor had to stop himself from unleashing his hatred on the world, and get you to his room to tend to you, hoping and doing his best to make sure you are alright.

He is going to force Beel to keep him awake, because, due to his Avatar Sin, he is prone to falling asleep quite easily, which would only be counter-productive and he wouldn’t be able to sooth your pain and fears this way, so he’s going to sacrifice days and nights of sleep just to make sure you’re not crying anymore.

No matter how harsh his speech is, it does a complete 180 when it comes to you, he will speak in the softest voice possible, would look at you with the most tender look on his face, would give you lost of reassuring gentle kisses, would stroke your hair soothingly, while also humming an old lullaby that Lilith used to sing to him, and would brush away the hair from your face, to see your gorgeous eyes sparkling.

He hates seeing you in so much pain, but every time he curses the angels in his head, he’s just going to hug you tighter, as a way to stop himself from crying at your misfortune, because you’re too pure and kind, you don’t deserve to go through all this pain, it’s just not fair...

What was worse is that, after all this physical mess ended, the emotional and mental one only began, as you weren’t able to get a wink of sleep, because of all the nightmares plaguing your mind all the time, waking you up, making you cry and scream, tremble in fear and anxiety, while all Belphie could do was to hug you tightly, turn on the light, and tell you the same generic reassuring words because...What else was there for him to even say anymore?!

“I’m scared, Belphie, I’m scared...I’m afraid that if I fall asleep, I’m just going to get more nightmares, and maybe I won’t even wake up after that. I’m afraid that if I wake up, you will be taken away from me...Or that they will drag me back to the Celestial Realm to torture me for treason...I’m afraid I’ll have to go through all that over and over and over again...Belphie, I’m exhausted, I’m losing my mind...I just want to have one fucking night of proper sleep...Just one...Is that too much to ask? Am I really that undeserving of feeling rested, just because I fell in love? Is that how things are for those perfect frauds up there?!” you sobbed, clinging on Belphie, as he could only curse them together with you, giving you approving words, and cuddling with you, you try to fall asleep on his cow-patterned pillow, lights still on, drinking a cup of hot milk with honey, thanks to Beel who went to prepare some for the both of you.

Even for him, who has been a demon for so long, nightmares never ended, but at least they weren’t as frequent as yours, so to help you out, even by a bit, he started looking around for remedies, spells, drinks, to get you into a deep sleep with no dreams, at least for now, to help you regain even a bit of your strength back and not be a zombie anymore.

Belphie would get incredibly passive-aggressive and protective of you, growling at anyone that may be considered a threat to you, that approaches you, and wouldn’t let you alone for even a second, in fear of somehow losing you - You’re either with him, or with one of his brothers, or in yours or his room, and frankly, you’re happy knowing that you can finally feel a sense of security after so long.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 122

Annnnd WE’RE BACK!

Thank you so much for your patience during the hiatus. Work is still crazy, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel there *crosses fingers*. And I was able to build back up my cushion of chapters, so that was a huge win for me.

As a reminder, this is a skip forward roughly 4 years from chapter 121. So, if you read a bit and start to wonder “wait, did I miss something?”, you probably didn’t and it’s most likely something I am going to circle back to.  Don’t be a afraid to shoot me an ask, however, if you are just really thrown off by something! I’ll gladly clarify unless it’s something plot-specific.

Thanks, as always, go to @baelpenrose, @raven-fae, and @charlylimph-blog.  By the way, Raven is working on a podcast of The Miys, which I am incredibly stoked about. Please follow @glimmeringfeatherspodcast for updates!

I carefully adjusted my glasses as I suppressed a giggle at Noah, who was swarmed with small yellow puffs of fuzz.  In the last seven years since their discovery, Else’s hyper-fast evolution hadn’t slowed down much, although Grey did promise that it had slowed down. Noah buzzed at the puff resting on one of its vomu, eliciting a purr. “I believe they learned this behavior from Mac.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” I admitted. “I caught him playing with several of them a couple days ago.”

“I have observed them together on frequent occasions.” Reaching up, it plucked another puff from the top of its head. “I cannot hear if you sit on my sensory organs, podling.”  Soon after Else evolved to the point they could live outside of a habitat tank, Miys had developed a tendency to treat them like its own young, and generally had several of them perched somewhere.

“How many of them are there now?” I asked, reaching out slightly before stopping myself from petting the closest canary-sized fluff. “Else, can I pick you up?”

In response, it bounced onto my hand.  I’d noticed how little they spoke now, but Miys had assured us it was a normal stage in hive-being evolution - once Else became too large to actually fit in our bodies, it wasn’t able to communicate through the translator chip.  At this stage, it could still hear us, but communicating back was a work in process.  Mostly, they just trilled and chirped.

“Currently, there are five hundred and seven thousand, six hundred and twenty-three.”

“They’re very adaptable,” I observed.

With the one free vomu it had, Noah made a nodding gesture. “Most species that reach sentience are. We are able to observe Else’s evolution on a much shorter time scale than most, as well. Consider humanity’s evolution, and imagine seeing it take place in years rather than over the course of millenia.”

“I know,” I laughed. “But seeing it is way more incredible than imagining it.” I adjusted my glasses again, eliciting the buzz that usually meant Noah was exasperated with me.

“Why do humans insist on using those instead of having their eyes repaired?”

“My eyes aren’t damaged,” I reminded it. “And you did repair my eyes. I’m wearing these because my eyes are working right. You know this.”

“In principle, not in practice.”

It was my turn to sigh. “Our eyes evolved to work in a specific kind of light. Earth’s sun is yellow, I think? But Von’s sun is more blue.” I gestured at the light emitters in the corridor. “When the light is in the twilight cycle like this, some humans can’t see as well as we could in Earth-twilight. Hence the glasses.”

“Sight is so inefficient.”

I just shook my head. I couldn’t exactly argue. “Between the light and the gravity, it’s been a huge adjustment.”

“You have all adjusted in quite - innovative ways,” Noah replied. “My kind have done many of these relocations. Not all species adapt well.”

“What was it you called it?” I squinted, both from trying to see what was ahead of me and from thinking. I’m going to have to talk to someone about some flashlights, I swear… “We ‘persist’?”

“Humans are remarkably stubborn, yes,” it confirmed. “As Arthur Farro seems to prefer explaining it, your species began space travel by attaching chemical ignition drives to your posteriors.”

Even after so long, some things just did not translate. “Yep, we very much strapped a rocket to our asses to achieve spaceflight,” I laughed. “Everything on Earth kind of evolved and adapted like that. We learned what wouldn’t poison us by watching others die from eating it, that kind of thing. Even our superstitions, and later our laws, were basically ‘hey, let’s not do this, it kills people’.” A liw made its way into my line of sight, rocking to mimic a confused head-tilt. “You rescued us for our sight, not because we are a particularly bright species.”

“I understand that the polite thing to do, according to your customs, is to object to that statement, however I have been told on several occasions that I lack any skill in falsehoods.”

“We bombed ourselves back to the Stone Age the second we hit our highest peak in technology.” I reached out and patted what would have been a shoulder on a human. “You don’t have to lie about that. Arthur has studied an absurd percentage of human history. Even from a scholarly perspective, I am assured we are a singularly idiotic race. Besides, we’d already ruined an entire planet at that point...”

“It has evidenced itself to be a lesson well-learned.” It returned the pat, gently. “For a species historically inclined to warfare, those on the Yjq have demonstrated a profound proclivity toward peace.”

“Trying to keep it that way, bud,” I admitted.

Removing yet another puff from its sensory organs, Noah continued. “Please be assured, also, that Terrans are far from ‘singularly’ idiotic.  There are many species in the Galactic Community that are demonstrably lacking in what you refer to as ‘common sense’.”

Noah was still a terrible gossip. “Do tell,” I asked, crossing my mental fingers that we weren’t the worst out there.

“Preeyar,” it listed immediately.

“The rift-valley avians?”

“The same. They experience terrible reactions to liquid water, and yet they are fascinated by fountains and insist upon touching them!” Startled chirps erupted as all six appendages on Noah’s upper body flung out in frustration. “Any vessel transporting Preeyar has specific instructions on how to treat the resulting burns.”

I had to admit, that was pretty bad. “Terrans at least learn not to touch things that will burn us by the time we can speak, usually.” My nose tickled as several little Else-puffs migrated over to me, upset by the grand gesture from my friend.  I was almost glad it was so difficult for humans to see in the corridor, because I probably looked absurd.

“Shalt’krii are somehow just as difficult,” Noah confessed. “As a species that have what you term an ‘allergy’ to sonic waves - they develop painful rashes and can have seizures when exposed. Yet, it is entirely inevitable when transporting a large group that several will have forgotten or neglected to bring dampeners.”

“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, trying not to laugh and upset Else again. “How?”

“It has eluded the Galactic Council since they joined. The dampeners are far less barbaric than what the So-K’nor do to resolve a similar concern, but I must privately admit that the So-K’nor are at least more consistent and effective.”

Well, yeah, deliberately deafening yourself permanently when you go off-world tends to be that way, I thought to myself. I knew I didn’t need to say it out loud, but I also knew that Noah would not address my thoughts out loud. “Okay, maybe we aren’t that bad,” I granted. “I think the worst we do is ingest mild poisons.”

“On an alarmingly frequent basis, yes. Including plants native to your world that actually attempt to digest you as you eat them.”

I shook my head. “Not this girl. I don’t like pineapple.”

“And the number of humans on the ship who willingly consume lactic acid, knowing it will cause them digestive distress?” If it had eyebrows, they would be arching, I just knew it.

“You have pointed out several times over the years that you can’t taste,” I pointed out. “So you have no idea how tempting cheese can be.”

Noah shook one vomu like a head. “Incorrect. Having witnessed the sheer amount of it that Tyche consumed once she realized that you were not lactose intolerant, there is empirical evidence to support your claim.”

Unconsciously, my hand jumped to touch my left ear before I could force it down. “I remember the spicy food,” I said carefully, stroking one of the fluffs on my arms. “But I didn’t know about the cheese. Come to think of it - “ I stopped in my tracks and turned to face Noah directly, “Why weren’t the consoles just adjusted to make all the food… I dunno, lactose-free, I guess?”

Two liw reached to pluck several yellow beings from my arms and head as Noah used one vomu to start ticking reasons. “One, because I was specifically asked not to by Grey Hodenson and Xiomara Kalloe, the consensus being that bovines are, in fact, in the genetic database. Two, because that was attempted several weeks before you were brought on board, and I was tempted to damage my sensory organs to block out the sheer number of complaints regarding how everything tasted.”  Thankfully, its vomu was still empty when it flung outward. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to accommodate requests regarding something you do not experience?”

I felt slightly ashamed. “Not entirely, no.” Trying to lighten the mood slightly, I felt the need to point out “Besides, I really like goat cheese.”

“Something about chetter and mootsareeleh,” Noah grumbled.

“Ohhhhh,” I whispered. “Eyeah… do not mess with Italians’ mozzarella, I have learned. And cheddar does have a very specific flavor. I can see those being very loud complaints.”

“In eight Terran years, I am still confused why the color of the chetter is a determining factor, as well as how something so soft can be compared to an edged weapon.”

I felt like I was going to explode from suppressed laughter. I had to stop, tears streaming down my face, and catch my breath. “Oh, Noah… I honestly don’t know if I can explain that, but I can try…”

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[her0brine]

What do you think the potions taste like? (You can do a handful you don't gotta do all of them)

I was honestly going to write something about this!!! This is the perfect excuse for me to finally finish the list that I had in my drafts 🤣 I also added what happens to a user if they drink any of these potions, and their physical sensations!

Awkward/Mundane/Thick: Depending on what main starting ingredient used (Nether wart, sugar, etc), it usually ends up just tasting like tainted water. It usually isn’t really appetizing, but it at least has no negative effects on the user who drank it.

Healing: Upon drinking it, the user will notice that it tastes like VERY rich watermelon, with very little notes of water in it. Soon, a warm sensation takes over their entire body, along with any wounds on them now immediately healing themselves by quickly growing new flesh or fixing broken blood vessels. The sensation is best compared to the feeling of being smothered by a recently heated up blanket, except it’s felt in your insides, not on your skin.

Fire Resistance: The flavor is best said to be quite citrusy, and the consistency of the liquid is more akin to a smoothie due to the creamy texture of using magma creme. After consuming it, the user will suddenly feel extreme heat in their body, easily exceeding 98°F. Ironically, the negative effects of exceeding that body temperature will not appear, and not even sweating will occur. It is still quite uncomfortable to be physically so hot, but if you’re using this potion in the first place, it’s safe to say you’re directly exposing yourself to even more intense temperatures, so the fever-like heat pales in comparison.

Regeneration: Basically the same to the physical sensation and effects of the Potion of Healing, but it tastes more like lukewarm salt water instead of the pure and strong tasting watermelon flavor. The healing factor is lightly longer as well, along with the user feeling more energized and upbeat.

Strength: As blaze powder is the main ingredient in this potion, it tastes like metal flakes mixed with hot water. It is not very tasty at all, and it even tastes like old copper, depending on who’s opinion you get. After drinking it, it is common to see a user suddenly tremble as more defined muscle mass develops across their entire body. This is more of a cosmetic effect, as the potion’s effect seems to focus more on arm strength than leg or core body strength, even though muscle mass still grows in those areas. When the potion wears off, the user will essentially deflate back to normal, implying that the suddenly gained muscle mass is akin to water weight.

Swiftness: Sugar water. It’s literally just sugar water. It literally makes it’s user run faster by making them develop a unnaturally high sugar rush, but there is no negative effect such as crashing when it wears off thankfully.

Night Vision: A very ‘filling’ potion, as it tends to make the user feel physically full after drinking it, due to how rich the flavor of carrot it is in it. It too is also quite thick, but more similar to jam than a smoothie. After drinking it, the user’s eyes will severely dilate, along with being incredibly reflective, even in lowlight situations. It is slightly disorienting when it wears off, as their vision will revert back to the way it should be.

Invisibility: Probably one of the more ‘acquired taste’ potions, due to fermented spider eyes being it’s main ingredient. It’s physically quite chunky, and just straight up tastes like rotten blood mixed with yeasty wine. Not only the flavor is intensely vile, but the effect inflicted on it’s user can actually cause some to pass out from the overwhelming sensation. A sharp cold chill will fully envelop it’s user, as it basically mutates their entire body to come off as invisible to any living being. Sometimes the frostbite-like sensation is so severe, some users have suffered heart attacks, panic attacks, or any other sort of medical emergency as the transformation takes place. Then again, this is a potion who’s effect is so potent that it ‘jumps’ across the user’s body to also transform their clothes into being invisible. Only users who have endured turning invisible by other methods (being shot by a arrow of invisibility or being cursed by a Illusioner for example) can mentally and physically handle drinking such a dreadful potion.

Water Breathing: One of the most popular potions out there, due to it’s extreme viability in water biomes, it of course uses a oceanic fish for it’s main ingredient. However since it uses pufferfish instead of cod or tropical fish, the flavor tastes like stripped clean pufferfish meat that was dunked in a bucket of warm saltwater. At least the water-heavy nature of this potion means it goes down quickly, and after numerous uses, a user can get used to the weird ‘fishy’ taste. It too temporarily mutates the user’s body by modifying their lungs to be able to process water, along with making small gills form on the sides of their neck. The pain is minor when this occurs, and isn’t as extremely overbearing when compared to the Potion of Invisibility. The augmented lungs and gills fade away after the potion wears off.

Leaping: Similar to the ‘meat being dunked in water’ taste the Potion of Water Breathing has, this potion instead tastes like rabbit meat that marinated in chilled freshwater. Similar to how the Potion of Strength can physically mutate the user’s muscle mass, this one makes the user’s legs more slender but still muscular, allowing them to have a increased jump height. Trembling is more minimal, as it does not effect the user’s entire body.

Slow falling: Certainty one of the more odder potions, due to both it’s main ingredient and it’s effect. The phantom membrane used in it is quite leathery, but also equally quite powdery when it’s processed. The flavor is hard to pin down, but it’s generally agreed upon it’s users to taste along the lines of chalk mixed with slightly salty water. It seems like no physical transformation occurs to the user’s body, and instead they’re ‘enveloped’ by a aura that allows them to gracefully fall to the ground if they fell from a tall height. The slightly visible aura fades away when the potion wears off.

Poison: Nobody in their right mind would willingly consume this potion, but if one were forced to drink it, it just tastes like blood and bile. Almost immediately after drinking it, it will immediately poison it’s user and make them suffer intense sharp pain in their insides, and even some nausea.

Weakness: Having nearly the same disgusting taste as the Potion of Invisibility, except it of course doesn’t turn it’s user invisible. It instead makes them feel fatigued, as they quickly become physically gaunt and tired. Any body mass that got effected by this potion is partially wasted away by sudden muscle atrophy and is permanently lost, even after the potion wears off. Because of this, it’s quite dangerous to be afflicted by it, especially after multiple uses in a row.

Harming: It too has the exact same taste of the Potion of Weakness, except it’s effect is ABSOLUTELY GUT WRENCHING. Upon drinking it, it’s user will instantly double over in complete agony, as their guts are literally ravaged from the inside. Drinking this is akin to drinking pure acid, especially as it’s main side effect is making it’s user vomit blood profusely, along with internal bleeding. It is a highly fatal potion, and should NOT be drunk at all costs.

Slowness: At this point, you should already know that any potion that uses a spider eye as it’s base ingredient will probably taste disgusting. This potion is thankfully one of the ‘less’ painful ones in the whole series that uses spider eyes, as it doesn’t cause extreme internal pain or damage to it’s user. It instead makes them physically bloated and fatigued, which in turn makes it uncomfortable to them to walk around. The bloating passes away when it wears off, but can leave it’s user still feel quite queasy and even sleepy.

Turtle Master: One of the ‘newer’ potions to be made, it features a very unorthodox base ingredient, a turtle shell. It tastes like a mixture of turtle meat and keratin, which makes it feel starchy and salty. It’s kinda..... chicken flavored but not in a good way, but at least in terms of texture, it goes down easy as it’s very watery. As one of the primary effects is slowness, the user will experience bloating, but the additional effect of resistance will cause the user’s skin to thicken up and become quite leathery, in order to become more protected. The change to the user’s skin will fade away, but it’s recommended to slather some lotion on, to potentially avoid having some of the affected skin still partially retaining it’s leatheriness.

[cameroncreative]

Lost But Not Forgotten

Cross Posted on my Ao3 if you want to read it there instead!

Title: Lost But Not Forgotten

Word Count: 2658 words

Summary: What if Eri got hit with the quirk erasing bullets?

Izuku quickly rushed the little girl in his arms to the closest ambulance. He gently laid her on the gurney. “Thank you, sir. We can take it from here.” They went to remove him from the ambulance but failed.

“I’m not leaving her. She is at a high risk of being targeted again, and I need to get to the hospital as well. It would be logical to let me ride with you and solve both of those issues at once.” He made sure to a level head and give a logical explanation to stay with Eri.

“Okay sir, but we don’t have another gurney for you.” She told him as a last-ditch effort to get him to leave and seek help himself.

“That’s fine. Please focus on Eri, I’ve dealt with worse. I just need some gauze to help stop the bleeding, and I’ll be fine until we get to the hospital.” Izuku sat in the corner of the ambulance to make sure he stayed out of the way as they helped patch up Eri.

----

Izuku uses little bursts of One For All to avoid the spikes shooting out of the ground. Eri clung to his back like a koala, as well as secured with Mirio’s cape. Her quirk rewinding the injuries just as fast as they happened.

Looking around she noticed one of the men start to sit up. He looked around and spotted the gun from earlier. Izuku landed the finishing punch to overhaul, as the other guy loaded the gun with the other red bullet. Izuku untied the cape from around her and placed her on the ground to check for any injuries. He still had his back to the man and hadn’t noticed that he had woken up.

Eri saw him go to pull the trigger and tried to move her hero out of the way. To try and save the person who was able to save her. She heard Izuku scream before she felt the sharp burn in her arm where the bright red bullet embedded its self.

Mirio quickly knocked out Nemoto and place cuffs on him, but the damage was already done. Eraserhead did the same to Overhaul. Izuku picked up Eri into his arms and ran to the ambulances. If tiny sparks of green lighting buzzed around his legs, no one noticed.

----

As soon as they got to the hospital they rushed Eri off to remove the bullet and heal any injures that needed healing quirks to fix. One of them directed Izuku to a nurse who helped patch up his remaining injuries. He had cuts and hairline fractures in both of his legs. Recovery girl was on her way and would be able to fix him up quickly as long as he laid there and didn’t aggravate or worsen his injures before she arrived.

Every time a nurse or doctor came in he asked about Eri.

How is she?

Was the surgery successful?

Can I see her?

Did she make it?

None of them had any answers for him. Finally, Aizawa showed up. Eri was to be put in his care after she recovered since he could help control her quirk, but something he said made Aizawa stop before leaving, “But she doesn’t have her quirk right now?”

“What?”

“She got hit by one of the red bullets. The ones they said permanently erases someone’s quirk. The only thing is that we know the bullets were made with her blood and quirk, so I’m not sure how she’ll react to it. Maybe-”

“Why wasn’t I informed of this before now?”

“Well, I wanted to make sure she didn’t lose too much blood. Especially since Kai and yakuza were already taking her blood to make the bullets. So I quickly got her to an ambulance. I’m sorry I didn’t inform anyone, but I’m not sorry about trying to save her.” Aizawa sighed.

“You did the right thing, Problem child. Recovery Girl arrived and she's helping some of the more critical patients, as well as Eri. Don’t move until she gets here. If I learn anything before then I’ll let you know.” Aizawa left to wherever Eri was, as Izuku laid back into the bed. Even as the adrenaline wore off his thoughts never slowed.

Is she okay?

Did she lose her quirk?

Will the bullet affect her differently since it was made from her blood?

Why did she try and save me, when I was supposed to be the one saving her?

Will I ever get to see her again?

----

Thankfully everything worked out. Eri did lose her quirk, but there doesn’t seem to have any other backlash from the bullet except a small starburst shaped on her arm. She was really happy when she learned that she was able to match her hero with their scars.

Aizawa and Yamada sill adopted her. Hitoshi and her are adorable playing with the cats. Plus, Aizawa emotionally adopted Izuku as well as being Hitoshi’s boyfriend. Izuku and Eri have become unofficial siblings.

Recently though, Eri’s been really tired and even passed out once while they were playing. They brought her to a good friend of Recovery Girls’s whose quirk is that she’s able to touch a person and see their entire medical history from surgeries to the paper cut you got at eight years old.

Eri’s body had been using her quirk to undo the damage Overhaul did when she was with him. Someone can only be taken apart and put back together so many times. Now that she doesn’t have her quirk her body is failing. “Is there any way to reverse it?” Izuku asked at the same time Aizawa asked, “How much longer does she have?”

“Aizawa! You can’t, no no no. There has to be a way to fix this!” Izuku plead. The doctor looked at him sadly.

“The damage isn’t something even Recovery Girl’s quirk can heal. Image having a scar that was heal and reopened constantly. Her quirk was able to go back before the scar was even there and remove it. But we can’t heal the scar once it’s healed. Based on how fast this happened and how long she was in his care, she probably has about one to two months left. Even then she will probably be in excruciating pain if she lived longer than that.” Izuku just sat down and held Eri who had fallen asleep earlier and cried.

One to two months.

Excruciating pain.

Can’t be healed.

‘I can’t lose her. She just started to warm up to us. I was supposed to save her! I’ll do my best to protect you. Make every day the best you’ve ever had. I promise. We’re lucky the league of villains already killed Overhaul or we might have had a repeat of the stain incident.’

The next month and a half passed way quicker than anyone wanted.

Picnics in the park.

Ice cream after school.

Movie nights with all of them cuddled together.

Makeover night with class 1A.

The spring festavatle.

Eri smiling.

More doctor visits.

Nightmares and screams.

Pain…

----

They woke up to the loud screams coming from Eri’s room. They all rushed to see what happened. Izuku reached her first and quickly woke her up from the nightmare. As soon as she was awake she grabbed onto Izuku like her world depended on it. Aizawa, Yamada, and Hitoshi were quick to join the hug.

Aizawa started to hum her favorite lullaby to help her get back to sleep as Izuku gently rocked her in his arms. As the song came to a close, the hiccupping sobs had stopped and her breathing slowed. The rest of them took and breath and relaxed. Crisis averted.

Izuku looked back to the sister he promised to protect. She looked so peaceful, almost too peaceful. She wasn’t moving. He quickly moved his hand under her nose to check if she was breathing.

Nothing.

He jumped up with her in his arms. And placed her on the floor. “Get Recovery Girl! She stopped breathing!” He faintly heard Hitoshi yell at Aizawa, but couldn’t focus on what they were saying as he made sure her airway was open and started chest compressions.

1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . 5 . . . 6 . . . 7 . . . 8 . . . 9 . . . 10 . . . 11 . . . 12 . . . 13 . . . 14 . . . 15 . . . 16 . . . 17 . . . 18 . . . 19 . . . 20 . . . 21 . . . 22 . . . 23 . . . 24 . . . 25 . . . 26 . . . 27 . . . 2- he felt himself be pulled away from Eri as recovery Girl quickly attached the patches of the AED on her body and yelled “Clear!” as they charged up and shocked her lifless body, but ti was no use.

It was too late, She was gone and they could all feel it. Even though Recovery Girl whispered it after the second shock, it was heard loud and clear in the room.

Time of Death, 2:33 am

You could hear the tump of a body hitting the ground as Izuku fell to the ground by Hitoshi’s feet. Hitoshi sat down next to him and held him as they both cried over the loss of their sister.

Even though Aizawa and Yamada, and even Hitoshi a bit, had accepted that she didn’t have that much longer with them, Izuku still was trying to find a way to heal her. Izuku took her death the hardestest. He still wanted to believe that he could save her. He couldn’t accept that this was the end for her.

All Might showed up and help Recovery Girl bring Eri’s body to the infirmary until she could be buried. The rest of the Erasermic family ended up in the living room. Crying and holding each other until they passed out from exhaustion.

The next day they were nowhere to be found. Midnight and Nezu took over their classes. No one but All might, Recovery Girl, and Nezu knew what happened last night. The remaining members of the Erasermic family ended up at the Midoriya house in the morning for some much-needed food and comfort.

----

Inko was sitting on the crunch reading a book when she heard a knock at the door.

Did Mitsuki decide to come over?

Did Izuku need something?

Is Izuku okay?

She opened to door only to see a green blur capture her in a hug. She panicked until she notices the familiar dark green bird’s nest buried in her shoulder. Looking back to the open door she noticed the other three standing there as well. “Shota, Hizashi, Hitoshi, please come in.” Her son hesitantly let go and was immediately latched onto Hitoshi’s side. Even when Izuku was young he was always comforted by physical touch. This was made worse as he started school, and the bullying started. He distanced himself from her so she wouldn’t worry about the cuts and burns that started to litter his body.

Of course, she noticed, but she hoped he would come to her about it. Instead, he became touch starved and now craves physical effect, but only trusts certain people to touch him. Hitoshi lifted his boyfriend up and carried him to his room. As soon as he laid Izuku on the bed and cuddled close to him, Inko laid the weighted blanket over them.

Five minutes later Izuku stood up and came back with a white and red unicorn plush. He placed it between them when Hitoshi realized that it was Eri’s weighted and scented plush that she left here. The smell of candy apples started to fill the room as Izuku grabbed his hand placed it over the unicorn. He quickly caught on to what Izuku wanted and intertwined his hand with Izuku’s and rested it on the plush like they used to do when they cuddled with Eri on nights her nightmares got really bad.

“Would you two like some tea or coffee?” Inko asked the two gentlemen cuddled on the couch as she walked back into the living room. Yamada spoke up.

“Just a black coffee for Sho, and earl grey tea for me, thank you.”

Inko placed the kettle on the stove. Both men joined her in the kitchen. “So I noticed Izuku is extra cuddly today. Did something happen to him? Is that why you’re here?” She made sure to be blunt and straight to the point like she knew Aizawa preferred.

“Early this morning Eri passed.” Inko dropped the teaspoon she was holding for the tea. “Izuku’s not taking it too well.” Inko went over and engulfed both men in a hug. The tree of them had gotten closer. Aizawa had emotionally adopted Izuku, Inko emotionally adopted Hitoshi and Eri.

“H-how, how-” She took a breath before continuing, “How did she pass?” she asked gently.

“We went to comfort her after a nightmare. As she fell back to sleep her breathing stopped. We got Recovery Girl as Izuku started CPR, but it was too late.” Hizashi informed her.

She reached up and kissed both men on their cheeks as she pulled them into another hug. All of them we also touch starved and needed each other.

~~~~

Even once they returned to class, Izuku wasn’t the same. Katsuki has started dropping off a bento box where Izuku and Hitoshi ate after noticing Izuku didn’t want to be in the cafeteria but also didn’t bring lunch usually. Eventually, he started sitting with them at lunch. The three of them became closer. Hitoshi learned of their past, and if he made Katsuki do the macarena around the gym during their next class train session, well that’s totally unrelated.

One day they were studying in Izuku’s room when Izuku began to look for his textbook when he found a piece of candy apple red fabric. He had never given it back to Mirio after the raid since it helped Eri calm down after panic attacks and nightmares.

“-uku, Izuku, DEKU!” HE looked up at his boyfriend’s worried face.

“Zuku, you’re crying. What ha- Is that Miro’s cape?” he nodded slowly as more tears fell onto the fabric.

“I couldn’t save her! I promised I would save her!” He leaned into his chest, the fabric falling in favor of hugging him.

“This isn’t your fault. No one blames you, Zuzu. You rescued her from Overhaul. You are her hero.”

“I rescued her, but he still won! I couldn’t stop her pain. I should have never taken my eyes off of them. I could have stopped the bullet from ever hitting her. She would have still had her quirk. She could have healed. She would have survived!”

“Why are you even still with me Hitoshi? If I had done better your sister would still be here. Kacchan, you as well. You probably think I’m pathetic for not being able to save a single kid. I just don’t get it!” Izuku tried to pull away from them, but they just held him closer.

“Zuku, Izuku look at me.” He raised his head slowly. “First off, she was just as much your sister as mine. Second, you’re the reason I got a little sister in the first place. You did you’re very best, and it’s not your fault. The only people I blame are Overhaul and the rest of the Yakuza who sat back and let him do this. You did something about it. You got her out of that situation. I’m still here because of all of that and more. You are so amazing and you don’t even realize it.” He softly kissed Izuku’s head.

“I know I don’t have the greatest track record for sticking by you-” Hitoshi snorted, “Fine! I’m shit at it, okay! I know, but I’m not going anywhere. We’ll be the wonder duo again, plus this purple emo tagging along, hahaha. But seriously, we’re not going anywhere.”

The next day the three boys didn’t show up to class. When Aizawa went looking for them, he found them cuddled together on the floor. Mirio’s cape is on the ground next to them.

[watevermelon]

Aot!Haikyuu | MSBY Black Jackals x Reader (Atsumu Route)

✧  Summary: (Attack on Titan x Haikyuu) In an effort to unlock the secrets behind Titans, you got injured during one of Tendou’s Scout Regiment experiments. This was nothing new, but even you were surprised at how much those boys cared about you. ➳ Warnings: Language and Attack on Titan Canon Violence ➳ Tags: Reader x MSBY Black Jackals; Slight Reader x Schweiden Adlers; Takes place before the Fall of Trost; ➳  Masterlist

Pick your route!

Introduction  | Sakusa Kiyoomi  | Hinata Shoyou  | Bokuto Koutarou

✧ Atsumu Miya Route:

Sakusa and the rest of your squad-mates had visited you throughout your entire first week in the medic tent. Thankfully, you were told that you would be able to recover, luckily nothing was long-term damage, neither punctured nor permanently broken in your Titan encounter. Tendou told you that the weeks of physical therapy wouldn’t be easy, but you’d be back on the field within the year if you really tried.

Sakusa cursed you to your face for even thinking about it while the two sunshine's on your team told you not to rush your health.

You were worried most about what Atsumu would say.

He was always quick smiles and smirks - tended to tease and keep things light-hearted in order not to lose his sanity during the war. He flirted and had plenty of women over his shoulder, very easy to cause others to swoon over his handsome appearance. But that was all to drown out his worries, these shallow relationships filled the void from the death of his comrades.

No matter how hard you tried to reach Atsumu’s heart, it just would not budge. Not when you first joined the team and even now years later. There were small cracks here and there. Genuine smiles that he would indulge you in when your squad was in their off-hours. But otherwise, he kept people at an arm’s length.

You knew that this was Atsumu’s second team in the Scout Regiment, originally an officer under the infamous Squad Leader Kita. There were lots of rumors around his earlier life, how he and his brother were one of the best duo’s in the entire regiment. Along with Kita, they were all childhood friends, entering the training corps together and later the scouts as a trio. There were lots of stories around that squad and how they courageously acted during expeditions.

Such as when Kita boldly laid down his life at the Fall of Shiganshina, detonating a large bomb for dozens of Garrison troops to get away.

He saved over two-hundred soldiers from the clutches of abnormal Titans, suddenly let in by both the armored and colossal Titan. The stories were second and even third-hand by now, but it was all generally the same. Soldiers scrambling with their unknown enemy, paralyzed with the fear that their lives were about to end then and there.

Both civilians and soldiers alike had minimal chances of surviving that day.

Shinsuke Kita was a bold soldier through and through.

But all of that occurred before you even joined the scouts. You knew of the current effects on your teammate, now. Atsumu had closed himself off while his brother left the military entirely, opening an onigiri shop within Wall Sina. You could not blame him, your lifestyle must have been a constant reminder for what Osamu had lost. But for Atsumu to continue in the Scouts, you wondered how he had the mental fortitude to continue when his childhood best friend was taken from him.

And so it was no surprise that Atsumu hadn’t visited you your entire first week in the hospital, keeping you at a distance since he had almost lost you as well. But after another week passed you wondered if you did something else to annoy the two-toned man. 

Him and Sakusa did not hold back their scalding words the first day you woke-up. And even during the mission, Atsumu had quick curses each time something unexpected happened. So why was he avoiding you now if he was there the first day? Was he trying to reinstate the distance in your friendship? You were disappointed, but by no means surprised.

However, one night three weeks into your hospital stay, as they lowered the doses of painkillers circulating in your system, you woke up to see a figure sitting silently beside you.

You called out to the familiar shadow, “Atsumu?”

It was quiet for a good minute, before he answered. “Ah, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Just visiting’.”

“Do you usually visit when I’m asleep?”

“.... Ah.”

So Atsumu visited you when he knew you would not be conscious.

You felt your annoyance flare.

“You’re such a coward.” You bit out.

He stood at your words, his own anger rolling off his tongue. “Ya want to say that again?”

“Yes, I do!” You tried to sit-up, but felt pain shoot through your lower half. Out of relex, his arms shot out toward you to steady you, but you swatted them away and continued, “You can’t face me when I’m awake so you’d rather watch a silent corpse.”

“Don’t call yourself that.” Atsumu bit out, the stoic expression on his face enough to make you recoil in surprise. 

You snapped yourself back, “And why not?! There’s obviously something else you have to say if you’re being such a dick about this.”

“You are so fucking unbelievable.” Atsumu muttered as he carded a hand through his blond hair, “I can’t believe I almost lost ya and you’re sitting here acting like life is just gonna move on.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No. It isn’t.” Atsumu stated clearly, “You’ll get out of this bed, one day, and you will never be able to fight the same again. Your leg is fucked, ya know that right?”

“Tendou said I’ll be able to walk again.”

“And that should mean everything will go back to normal, right?” Atsumu stood straight, his height twice your own as you sat in the raised cot. “You tryin’ to tell me that the next time ya see a Titan, you won’t be worried it’ll steal ya like a personal doll again? Or better yet, that you won’t rely on your right leg now that your other side has been shot to shit?”

“I - it’ll take time.” You stuttered, not liking how his words struck a bitter chord. 

It took years of training in the cadet corps for anyone to get adept to balancing themselves on the 3DMG. It took even more actual live experience to get used to fighting while doing so. And here you were with a new handicap, years into the battle with all your own personal idiocincinrecies. It would be harder, but you had pushed off that factoid to the recess of your mind, more focused on your current recovery.

“No, ya weren’t thinking at all.” Atsumu stated.

But you didn’t need this asshole pointing out your new weakness.

“What’s your problem?” You asked back sharply.

“My problem? My problem is that I have such a selfish teammate that she doesn’t even care about the rest of her team!”

You turned your head in genuine confusion, “What?”

“I can’t fuckin’ stand ya sometimes!” He said instead, “Even if you can fight again, if it was up to me I’d never let your ass leave your office. I don’t give a fuck, I’ll ask Sakusa to switch ya to Tendou’s team if we have to.”

“What?!”

He leaned over your bedside and gripped your chin harshly. “You almost died. Do ya understand that? I was the last person to see ya before you disappeared into the trees.”

Now closer to his face, it was more than just his anger and annoyance that was reflecting back to you. It made you physically recoil, surprised at seeing the usually distant Atsumu shout his worries about you.

“You were willing to give everythin’ up for some stupid shit-show about a single Titan!” His pressure behind his hold increased, almost bruising the skin there.

“I.. I’m sorry.” You felt yourself apologize more than realized. This was more than just another argument, from the brutal shake of his shoulders and how Atsumu tucked his head into your shoulder. He was leaning into your body, not fully, but enough for you to feel the tenseness in his body.

Atsumu was worried about you.

It made you want to reach out to him. To curl your hands around his middle and comfort him that you were still here - still alive. And so you did - bringing a gentle touch up his back before it started to hurt from the strain. Instead, you folded your arms behind his neck, holding him for as long as Atsumu needed to assure himself that you were okay. And while it seemed redundant initially, you had to remind yourself that Atsumu had lots of demons that were still alive, but worse off because of it.

“Fuck.” You felt him murmur against the skin of your neck. “Please, I am begging ya. Do not pull that shit again.”

You trailed the hands “I’ll try not to.”

He leaned back to look at you directly in the eyes, “That’s not good enough.”

You felt a small smile crack your expression, “I promise I’ll try to stay safe.”

“Good enough for now.” Atsumu said as he frowned, before leaning forward. You felt the soft crease of his lips against your skin, lingering on your forehead before he trailed his nose down against yours.

“Atsumu?”

“Do ya understand now?” He asked, the two of you basically sharing the same breath at this point. Atsumu brought a hand up to your cheek, gently caressing as he went and tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. You hung onto every bit of his actions, from the way his eyes pierced your own to the way he drew lazy circles on your skin.

“I can’t lose you too.” Atsumu continued, breathing out harshly into your shared space. “I went through this shit before and it almost killed me. But if I lost you? Fuck, I can’t…”

You brought a hand up to cup his face, your heart leaping out at you to be there for him. He was more than just another Scout soldier, more than just your fellow squad-mate and now even more than just your friend.

“I won’t let it happen again.” You reassured him, moving to place soft pecks to his cheeks as he silently cried out his worries. 

This was a side of Atsumu you never got to see before. His usually coarse words were more than just shallow-deep, expressing his genuine care over your person. And while you always crave a deep relationship with the older soldier, he always kept you at an arm's-length. At least now you knew why - because Atsumu was afraid to lose those close to him again.

“I love you, ya know that right?” Atsumu murmured.

“I know that now.” You teased, but he gently poked your forehead to bring you back to his serious statement.

“You’re so stupidly headstrong.” Atsumu started listing off as he placed pecks on the side of your head, “Joining our squad was like a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed. So smart and yet you value yourself so little.”

You just listened to his words, surprised that he was so keenly paying attention to you in the past when it seemed like Atsumu was so carefree.

“I’m not expecting ya to answer, by the way.” Atsumu continued, “I just need ya to know that before ya make any choices.”

You smiled at him, thankful for how uncharacteristically patient he was being with you. Instead, you scooted over in the hospital bed and patted down in the empty space.

“Keep me company tonight?”

He gave you a genuine smile, pulling off to take off his jacket and throw it over his shoulder to the chair. Atsumu laid on the side, trying to take up as minimal space as possible as he threw an arm across to rest your head on.

“I’ll never leave you alone again.”

You pulled his face toward you, trying to seal a kiss but struggling as you both kept grinning. His arms trailed up and around your body, pulling you close to feel every plain of skin against his own. You relished in the love Atsumu could give you, grateful for how much of his heart he was willing to give you after having been hurt so many times.

You would treat his heart warmly and give him so much love in kind.

Introduction  | Sakusa Kiyoomi  | Hinata Shoyou  | Bokuto Koutarou

[providencepeakrp]

DANIELA FRANCO

age: 29.

gender & pronouns: cis female & she/her.

neighborhood: claret park.

occupation: owner of bloom wellness.

fc: adria arjona.

BIOGRAPHY

trigger warnings: learning disability, medication, and gambling.

Born Daniela Franco in Los Angeles, California, life was pleasant and on the verge of cookie cutter. Her parents were good people from good families that had a sense of community and wholesomeness about them that could have been considered boring. At least Daniela did growing up in that household. While boring was far from a bad thing, it was simply uneventful and could lead to destruction for someone that wanted more from life than the normal milestones that way of living offered. Life spans were short; something Daniela learned when her first grandparent passed away when she was just seven years old. It was that event alone that seemed to really draw out her ADD and thus began the complications of keeping her within the means of the family dynamic. As cliché as it was, she was the youngest child with an older sister named Melissa and often went unnoticed unless there was a problem. As a child and into her early teens, it was mostly that she couldn’t sit still and she had far too much energy for her parents to contain and keep after her sister as well. So Daniela was thrown into sports, which worked when it came to expelling some of the restlessness, but the issue was more in the mind and not the body. Too often she would stay up all night because her brain wouldn’t shut down for sleep, it would constantly spin on thoughts and daydreams and thus began her insomnia.

Intelligence was something she very much possessed. Daniela was observant in the sharpest of ways with an eidetic memory and broad interest in varying topics and subjects, but the problem was focus. Unless something strong captured her attention and she was able to force herself into a hyper-focus then her mind would bounce around and it made homework and tests an absolute challenge. No matter how well she knew the material or could figure it out on the fly, Daniela would often blank on tests and couldn’t buckle down to focus on homework. The result was too often subpar grades, scores below her intelligence level but because of a disability and standardized methods of schooling her IQ was never genuinely reflected and it all had an effect on her self esteem. Daniela’s sister, just as smart, did very well in school and was praised rightfully so for it but Daniela was always a disappointment or in trouble because she couldn’t perform the same way.

When the insomnia led to her sleeping at school or passing out from exhaustion, her parents sought out professional help. Daniela was sent from her regular doctor to see a psychiatrist and the journey of various medications began, all just to get her to sleep. Some meds would leave her groggy and feeling like a zombie, others would make her sleep walk, and then there was one or two that would generally work but her ADD would combat it. It took a while for her psychiatrist to recognize and finally diagnose Daniela with Attention Deficit Disorder, but that was a whole other trip of medications that Daniela opted out of quickly in hating how it all made her feel. All the medications for this or that just did more damage to her self esteem, feeling like she was one issue and problem after another. She never really began acting out but her restless nature led Daniela to seek adventure and whatever would get her blood running. Whether that meant racing cars and staying out all night with friends, or going into places she was far too young to really be able to handle like pool halls and card rooms then she seemed game for it. One thing for sure about Daniela was that she was competitive.

Due to a job transfer, the Franco family moved half way across the country and settled in a mountainous city named Providence Peak. It was a tough move mostly for Daniela who had a final year of high school to finish and of course having to reexplain her situation to new teachers and a new school system. Thankfully her file did most of the talking for her and her parents and while Melissa attended the local university she pushed her way through a new high school where she felt completely out of place. It was only a year and Daniela made her family happy by graduating with a GPA that was good enough to get her accepted at the same local university her older sister was attending. During her time at Providence Peak University she met and made friends pretty quickly with a couple of girls, who would soon begin to feel more like the friendships she’d had growing up. Like they had grown up together. The three girls were together all of the time and formed a band they called Black Sheep after an amazing karaoke night, and for a while the band took more of her free time than her cards did. Eventually the band ceased as university became more difficult and their lives pulled them in different directions.

By the time she was nineteen she had made her first six figure income year, and by twenty-one her first six figure income day all by playing poker. It wasn’t that she was some exceptional card shark, it was more so that she had talent but a very sharp mind. Not only could she calculate and make raw decisions on the fly it was something her ADD and hyper-focus could attach to. The amount of brain activity it takes to play poker would often exhausted the average person but Daniela could have ten to twelve online games going on at once and it played perfectly into the rapid fire way her mind worked. She definitely experienced some low points since no one always wins, and she had some hard losses but for the most part Daniela was living a life that was beyond the wildest dreams of someone from a conventional family. She was able to travel the world and follow the live poker tours, sit at the table with some of the greats and legendary players and hold her own — occasionally winning. But most of all, Daniela was able to live a free and independent life, one that wasn’t structured in the typical contemporary fashion. She did make it through university but she didn’t have to run off to a corporate job or punch a clock anywhere. Daniela got to live life however she wanted and she loved it.

At twenty-three, after a night of playing cards in a back room in Dublin, Daniela married an Irishman she’d spent the night before with drinking and just having fun. It wasn’t love, it was just exhilaration. He was wild and adventurous and matched exactly with where she was in life at that point in time and she was careless in not recognizing that he was just in it for the ride and whatever he could get out of the nuptials. And she didn’t recognize that he was milking her for all she was worth until it was too late; nearly a year into the marriage and waking up one morning with divorce papers and an empty bank account. Through the divorce he held his claims that he really did love her, even called her his soulmate, but that he just didn’t want to be married and tied to one woman. Either way, Daniela got screwed and learned more lessons about life. Making her way through the world and through life as a professional poker player certainly made for an incredible way to live.

Broke and then a divorcee, Daniela moved back to Providence Peak to stay with her sister for a while who still lived in the city. It took a little while to build herself back up and fill her accounts again, especially after losing her confidence when it came to the distractions of her personal life. After working mid-level games for a while as a rounder, Daniela eventually moved up and began playing again before the disaster that was her marriage. She continued her mix of both online games and hitting actual tables to have the feel of cards in her hand and just enjoying the rush of high stakes a little more when sitting at a table with people that were likely to kill you over what most everyone considers just a “game”. The time soon came for Daniela to look for her own place and give her sister her space back, especially since Melissa had a serious relationship blooming and they deserved their privacy. She didn’t really like it, the thought of living alone made her sad and contemplate how lonely she was willing to feel. Daniela refused to move back home into her parents house, feeling like a failure if she had to do that so instead she found a house and settled in. It looked like Providence Peak was going to be permanent.

After the move, with her pockets and bank account lined and cushioned, Daniela decided to make a big change. It was time to put her university degree to use and all the certifications she’d earned as an esthetician. She’d been doing the research for years, so why not? Daniela opened up her own shop: Bloom Wellness. Where she sells handmade healing products to soothe and cleanse the mind, body, and soul. Since many of her products are made with CBD, she has a relationship with a local grower and in the last two years bought part of that company. Daniela ended up in a battle with Square over CBD and eventually won after sticking it out and standing by her products. They did almost put her out of business though and she’s feeling rather proud and blessed now. Though, being a solitary business owner hasn’t been without hardships, last year she lost her entire inventory to humidity and was devastated and had to completely rebuild her stock. Since it’s just her and two employees making everything, working the shop, and since it’s her only source of income, Daniela got worried about the bottom falling out on her. During that really difficult time, battling Square and losing her inventory, when she was feeling her lowest, Daniela nearly sold her business for next to nothing. Thankfully, she stuck it out and what she will tell anyone in making their own business: trust the process.

written by: christie.

[rainedr-p]

Phoenix

Fan-written Mass Effect 3 Epilogue

The Reapers are destroyed. The galaxy knows peace once more. Mostly. Amid the crashed ruins of the Citadel, the “Hero of the Galaxy”, Jane Shepard, lies barely alive. It takes a keen eye from one team of paramedics to find her broken body. The galaxy was saved, but now it’s Shepard’s turn once more. 

So many bodies. So much debris. The next four or five generations would be seeing the scars of the Reaper War. Clean-up had only been going on for about 48 hours. Most of the Citadel ended up in the ocean, but that still left a lot of it on the shore. “Shore” being 1/3 of Manhattan. The rest of it was reported flying back down on London.

Evening was falling. Dawson and his team of paramedics were part of the New York Search & Rescue (NYSR) squad, scouring any and every part of the Citadel debris that landed in New York. They were looking for anything or anyone they could salvage, but so far, no signs of life had been detected. And the damage the explosion had done, the damage the Reapers did to the citizens of the Citadel... they would all have mental scars for the rest of their lives. Dawson’s team only had 45 minutes left until they had to call it a day. The hardest part of the job was finding and identifying every single body they found. And today they found... less than yesterday, but a staggering, heart-wrenching number nonetheless. 

Dawson, stone-faced as usual, helped his teammate load another poor asari onto the shuttle before climbing over the debris back to where he was. He wanted to leave so bad. But someone had to do this job. He sighed as he turned off his flashlight and sat on jagged metal slab, head in his hands. 

It was only when he sat completely still that he heard it. 

He couldn’t be imagining it. He shot up and stood quietly. There, ever-so-quietly to his left, he could hear it. 

Breathing. 

Raspy, soft, labored breathing. Someone was still alive. 

Dawson almost dropped his flashlight to turn it on, but quickly and carefully tread to the source. “I’ve got a live one over here!” His heart was racing as he reached the dark figure and his teammates began to trek over to him. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the N7 tag, bloody and crumpled, but there. The flashlight glided over their hardly-moving torso, over the various scars and broken bones, the bloody, singed black hair, and to the nearly-mangled face of none other than... 

“OH MY GOD! IT’S COMMANDER SHEPARD!!!!”

And then chaos. Every team that was close enough to hear him immediately rushed to his position. Dawson and a few other men began clearing the rubble around her body as carefully as possible. At least a dozen paramedics stood by ready for action. 

“We need as much medi-gel as we can spare over here, NOW!” 

“Oh my God, Shepard’s still alive?!” 

“Get anyone that worked on the Lazarus project in an OR!”

“Has anyone been able to reach the Normandy crew yet?!” 

Shepard’s unconscious body was delicately placed on a gurney, and a dozen or more tubes were now sticking out of her every which way. They had to move through the debris to the nearest landing zone for the chopper to receive her. From there, it was a short ride to the hospital. 

“You’ll be alright, Commander. Just hang in there!” 

*******************************************

I need more medi-gel in here! That rubble was keeping her from bleeding out!

Voices. They were faint, but she could still hear them clearly. All she could see was white. Then black once more. 

Keep that IV in. She’s gonna be in a hell of a lot of pain whenever she comes to. You mean if she comes to. She will. She’s Commander Shepard, after all, this wouldn’t be the first time she’s beat death. 

She could smell this time. It certainly smelled like a hospital. Then black again. 

Shepard, I’m almost certain you’re immortal at this point. 

That voice. Miranda? It had to be. 

I’m not sure if you can hear me, but you’ve done it again. You’ve cheated death. Though this was a bit different than last time. We don’t have the tools we did in Cerberus, during Lazarus. And I’ll be honest, you’re in... much worse condition this time. You’re an actual miracle if you wake up... But I know you. You will. 

She felt slight pressure on her head. A gentle rub. 

You lucky bastard. 

Blackness. 

This time was a whole host of voices. She could recognize each one distinctly, but still didn’t have the strength to respond.

“-and yet here we are. Here you are. Somehow still kicking. I’m honestly a little scared of you now.” Joker. 

“Now? I always have been! To come back from death once was scary enough, but now? To still be alive after all that?? Shepard, I could almost worship you.” Laughter from sweet Tali. 

“I don’t know about worship, but I definitely believe you’re immortal, or close to it.” Kaiden. 

“I’m just glad you are still alive, even though you’re not with us.” Liara. 

“Alright, her pulse is rising, give her her space.” Dr. Chakwas. And from the distance, she must have been standing right outside the door. A few more people said things, complained, pats on the shoulder, but began to fade away. 

But someone was missing. Whose voice was she missing? She wanted to hear it, to- 

And then a hand was around hers. Gently on her cheek. And that voice, right above her... 

“Come back to us, soon. We miss you. I miss you... It’s empty without you here.” Garrus. Garrus Vakarian. Her pulse slowed back down to normal and she could feel herself breathe with relief. She heard him chuckle. “That’s my girl. Keep breathing, and open those pretty eyes soon.” She felt him kiss her forehead. 

She was beginning to fade out again, but she could just make out him asking Chakwas if he could stay. She argued, stating “if he did, they would all want to”, but she begrudgingly accepted. She felt his hand around hers again, and then everything went quiet. 

**************************************

It was silent, minus the beeping of the heart monitor. Steady. That’s good. It took effort, but she moved. A twitch of the hand. A nudge of the shoulder. Face squinting. And hoo-boy, she was sore. A little grunt came from inside her, and for the first time in God knows how long, her blue eyes welcomed the pale ceiling. She could feel the cold nightgown across her torso, which was also strangely freezing. It was a slow process to move anything. At first it was just her eyes, which glimpsed the ceiling, window to her left, monitor to her right, and monitor on the wall, displaying her name, condition, date, etc. 

Then, her head, moving to fully look at everything, including her turian boyfriend sleeping soundly on the chair. She grunted again, trying to move her arms and legs, and found it more difficult to move her whole left side. She swallowed, painfully, and mustered what little strength she had to call his name. 

“G-Garrus...” 

Her voice was raspy and quiet, but audible. He snorted and slowly woke up. He looked over at her. She stared sleepily back, and smiled as big as she could manage. “Hi...” 

“JANE!” With his height, he was over to her in one bound, hugging her as gently yet as tightly as he could. She grunted and laughed, groaning from pain. “I knew you’d be back, nothing can keep you down. God, I missed you!” 

“I.. missed you too.” She whispered, forcing her right arm to hug him back. He released her and held her hand as he sat by her. It was only when his other hand wiped her cheek did she realize she cried a little. From joy or pain, she couldn’t tell, but she was happy to see him, too. 

“I know it’s probably difficult to talk, so I’ll answer your questions before you ask. Yes, the galaxy is safe. You did it. The Reapers are destroyed. But also so is most synthetic life. I say most because, it was all, but the quarians managed to bring the geth back online, which the quarians are doing great by the way, and we’re working on bringing EDI back. She’s a bit... different from the geth, a bit more complicated, but we got some experts to look at her and she’ll be back soon. Like you.” He smiled at her. “The Citadel was destroyed though, as well as all those who didn’t evacuate in time. A good percentage did, but there’s still so many casualties... Most of it landed in the ocean, then some in London, and the rest here, in New York. You’re in a hospital in New York, by the way. Miranda, Chakwas, and a few other professionals and people from the Lazarus project we could find fixed you up as best as they could. Which, by the way, uh... was... most, of you.” 

Garrus reached for her left arm and lifted it up for her. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised to be looking at metal. She flexed her new metal fingers, testing it out, and found that it only felt a little heavier than normal, but otherwise fine. “Your whole left body was... in bad shape. Well, you had no arm or leg, and a chunk of your side was chiseled, but the best smiths on this side of the universe got you replacements real quick. I didn’t even have to use my bad boy charm to convince them to give them to you.” They both chuckled. 

Shepard shuffled her left leg a bit. Sure enough, it was slightly heavier too. That would also explain why her side was freezing; it was metal. “You also have several broken bones, but I’ll let Chakwas explain all that.” 

He cupped her cheek again and sighed. “I’m glad you’re back. I’m buying you a whole bar worth of drinks once we get out of here.” She grinned. “I’ll take you up on that...” He laughed, and leaned down to kiss her. Her metal arm draped around his shoulders and their hands tightened together. 

A moment after pulling apart, Dr. Chakwas softly knocked on the wall and approached. “Glad to see you’re awake, Commander. We missed you.” Chakwas gave her a quick, soft hug. After their greeting, she gave her a rundown of all her injuries. Thankfully, most injuries were on the outside, including: a new arm, leg, and a few new ribs, multiple permanent scars on her face and torso, skull fractures, and her other leg broken. Inside, slight internal bleeding, which surprisingly was already healed. 

“You were found about 2 months ago, and I suppose you just awoke today. In terms of your new synthetic attachments, your entire left side of your body...” She cleared her throat and read from a tablet. “Your omni-tool is hardwired into your arm, so you can now even activate it without it your armor. It also comes with a hidden blade in both your arm and leg, so the omni-blade is no longer necessary, but there just in case. Your middle finger has a laser now, though I’m sure you can guess who chose that location in design.” She rolled her eyes. Garrus chuckled. “There’s also a long list of other goodies in your synthetic attachments that I’m sure you’re just dying to have me read off to you, but I’ll send it to your omni-tool because I have no desire to do so, and I need to do a quick physical before-” 

“SHEPARD!!!!”

“-that.” 

The entire Normandy crew had their commander surrounded, and were showering her in tears and welcomes and hugs and jabs and... you get the picture. It was emotional. 

The whole next month was like that. Garrus and Shepard had a movie night that ended as... passionately as it could. Joker compared notes about the usefulness of Shepard’s legs to his now. Liara, Tali, and Miranda had something like a tea party with her, only it was wine. So, a wine party. Samantha had a heart-to-heart with her. Joker brought a newly-revived EDI with him, and they agreed to go on a double date soon. Jack played with Shepard’s middle finger laser and discovered the arm came with minor biotic capabilities. She broke the monitor on the wall. 

Eventually, Shepard started taking physical therapy, but to be safe, they kept her in a wheelchair. 

She rolled out to the hospital balcony overlooking the city, and took a deep breath. It was her first time seeing the destruction herself. It was covered in bulldozers and other cleaning machines by this point, and several hundred people were packing up for the day. Even from here she could see the more massive pieces of the Citadel sticking out of the ocean. How she survived that, she would never know. 

“Gonna miss that place, for sure. Especially my favorite spot.” Garrus walked up beside her, arm draped behind her. 

“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” “Nope.” They both laughed. 

She sighed. “...Honestly, I’ll miss it, too. But I’m just glad this is all over. What was it you said? You wanted to retire someplace tropical, or something?” He nodded. “Yep. With you, of course. We’ll still adopt a little krogan, if you want.” 

“We could adopt Grunt.” She suggested. There was a pause. Then they both burst out laughing. 

“I know I’ve said it a million times by now, but God, I missed you, Shepard.” 

“Oh, you’re back to calling me Shepard, now? I was convinced you didn’t know my first name for the longest time.” 

He shrugged. “I know what it is, but I figured I’d call you that a bit longer before i change it.” 

“Change it?” 

“Yeah. I was thinking something along the lines of ‘Jane Vakarian’.” He looked at her and smiled warmly. “What do you think?” 

Jane reached for his hand and returned the smile. “Y’know, I really like the sound of that.” 

The End

[sepublic]

Artidax

           Computers are a vital facet of Xia. Computers store incredibly vital information, taking up far less space and material than physical copies (not that those have no value, of course). Likewise, transmission towers allow for communications to rapidly and widely spread across the entire island in a matter of mere seconds, and AI beings such as the Vahki help facilitate the law, while Super-Computers work day and night to calculate the most optimal stock market routes and exchanges.

           Such artificial minds are an incredibly complex, niche, and specific invention; So naturally, the entirety of the Artidax District is designated towards the production of computer chips, AI development, as well as the hosting of transmission towers, launching of satellites, and mass surveillance cameras. Just about all information, messages, and radio transmissions pass through Artidax’s massive, skeletal towers, before leaping across Xia to their next destination. Massive satellite, radio dishes dot the skyline, and the District is of a more ‘futuristic’, hi-tech appearance than the others, being far cleaner and more pristine than the likes of Stelt or Tametru.

           This cleanliness is obvious; Artidax’s sterile environment is a necessity in order to prevent dust and other contaminants from damaging precious micro-chips and other fragile components. As such, dusting and cleaning is taken very seriously, both within buildings and factories, and even outside as well; Artidax has the cleanest air quality of any district, if only because smog and pollution is damaging towards certain electronics and thus an economic liability.

           Clean, smooth buildings and lights of various colors are awash in Artidax. Factories and assembly lines contain blank, white environments, completely clean and sterile of anything. Workers operate within special suits to prevent their own skin cells and hair from contaminating the computer chips they work on, operate, and repair. Before one can enter the work-place, their suit is quickly cleaned off in a chamber.

           Artidax prizes cleanliness, sterility, and control; And in combination with its reliance on AI, it’s not the least-bit surprising that it’s also the primary home of the Vahki. Here, Turaga Dume has the most control over the district than anywhere else, and while other officials technically exist, Dume exercises the most power due to having a robotic army with which he can actually enforce his will with. Only the Powers That Be and their control over energy sources reins him in.

           Cameras, either affixed to buildings or roaming the streets and skies as floating drones, monitor just about every movement, and are equipped with frequently-patched and updated facial recognition software. Worker ID cards are mandatory at all times, and transmit signals showing the exact movements and paths taken by individuals. Because everything is technological in Artidax, just about any interaction with the environment, from opening a door, to even flushing a toilet, is liable towards being known by the Vahki and other overseers.

Artidax is a surveillance state that monitors every move, a genuine dystopia, and while many giant screens advertise products, others also show off Dume’s visage while emblazoning his propaganda and speeches; Mantras such as “Trust in Turaga Dume”, “Obedience is Happiness”, “A busy Xian is a happy Xian”, “Quick work is good work”, “Turaga Dume sees all”, “Thoughts can be dangerous”, and “Might makes right” are well-known, repeated, and despised, but not openly in the latter of course.

As far as anyone is concerned within Artidax, Dume is ALWAYS watching; As a result, the District is not nearly as heavenly as one may assume, and the presence of Vahki around every corner ensures that they are quick to respond, but often brutally.

           Factories constantly create computer chips that require skilled labor, making Artidax more difficult to move into as credentials are required. Computers are everywhere, controlling the fully-automated movements and actions of facilities, processing security footage, closing and opening doors, etc. Laser-grids are a prominent defense system, and the latest in AI and simulations are frequently developed and tested.

          Many Xian engineers and technicians work day and night to truly replicate the power of the mind, but with none of the pesky individuality and free will that comes with it; Of course, one may argue that such things are inseparable from the human mind’s greatest assets. Thus, it is not uncommon for AI programs to develop self-awareness and their own personal will; Such incidents, amongst Vahki or consumer products, are to be quickly reported, detained, and reprogrammed, set to a blank slate through factory settings.

           Machines are not the only things repurposed in Artidax, either; Simulations are useful, not only for training and entertainment purposes, but also brainwashing. Dume has invested plenty of resources into simulation technology and other forms of brainwashing that can allow him to totally over-write a person’s mind. Computer chips are developed that can be implanted into a host’s brain, controlling their thoughts and helping monitor them.

          Political dissidents, criminals, and other deviants are frequently sent to Artidax to be ‘reconditioned’, and many have had their minds permanently damaged in both botched and successful brainwashing attempts. Many who are brainwashed are often used as spies, infiltrators, and saboteurs, leading the Vahki towards rebel and criminal cells and ratting them out.

           Artidax technicians are also fascinated with the realm of the bridge where machine and living interact; Improvements are made on interfaces, including those that can interact with the neurology of a living being. Cybernetics are another vital part of Artidax’s industry and economy, with engineers working tirelessly, day and night to perfect mechanical limbs. Such limbs are of course already a technological feasibility, but they are generally restricted.

           For many, prosthetic limbs are incredibly expensive. Most can’t just ‘own’ one, so they must resort to renting it out… And of course, this means selling one’s soul to a company. Because the company still owns the cybernetic limbs they grant a Xian, and if payments are not on time, they can come and revoke them. Likewise, Xians can be monitored both visually and with audio through their prosthetics, and Dume is interested in potentially mechanizing all of Xia’s workforce; Not necessarily by replacing them with machines, but replacing their bodieswith machinery. Control over a Xian’s mostly-cybernetic form can allow Dume to easily shut down or restrict power, and improve Xians to be more obedient, easier to keep track of, and become more efficient workers who lack sleep and nutrition.

           There are already plenty of ‘converted’ cybernetic Xians who have had the vast majority of their bodies replaced with machinery, their brains implanted with various chips. These poor, brainwashed individuals are almost completely loyal to Dume and other masters, and like the Vahki can be subject to mandatory reconditioning. It is not uncommon for such mechanized Xians to be bought and rented as mercenary forces in Zakaz. Thankfully, the Powers That Be and other powerful Xians are wary of this total mechanization, if only because it can be turned against them through hacking.

           And speaking of hacking- Such an industry is popular, although in many ways illegal, within Artidax. Hidden, back-alley shops and criminals rely on powerful hacking and ways of forcefully interfacing with technology to commit crimes, disable cameras, and hide internet movements. While Dume himself has official hackers to intercept radio transmissions and listen to them, others work to do to the same, but also interrupt HIS hacking, and even broadcast messages to the rest of Xia, messages of rebellion.

           Viruses are also used by many in Artidax, and manufactured. Two types of Viruses are present; Computer viruses leak information, damage computers, sabotage and alter AI, and so on and so forth. There are people who are hired to test fire-walls in data to guard against viruses, or even employ such things, alongside worms, to commit crimes either in Artidax or beyond it.

           But there is also another kind of Virus; A volatile, energy-based substance. These substances come in a wide number of varieties, with miscellaneous effects, properties, and results when mixed together or applied to different subjects. Some can cause a person’s being to liquefy, while others grant flight; Others enhance a person’s bio-electricity to shocking degrees, while others simply cast a person into a coma. These Viruses are properly refined, programmed, and crafted within various Virus Foundries across Artidax, and some are concentrated into powerful Xian Hearts; massive crystals that when detonated unleash massive elemental damage. A Xian Heart of Stone can petrify and fossilize all surroundings, while a Xian Heart of Poison burns and corrodes all away.

           Transmission towers, satellite dishes, and computer banks both ferry the passage and transit of information, but also store it. Precious, vital information on economic records, individuals, and so forth are stored within heavily-guarded computer banks across Artidax. Flying drones that stray towards the atmosphere monitor weather movements and transmit data to towers and satellite dishes, where they are then relayed to news stations. Many of these news stations, unsurprisingly, are underneath Dume’s control and exist to transmit propaganda to the populace, although thankfully most Xians are distrustful of them anyway.

           Xia possesses an ‘internet’ of sorts, from which Xians can contact with one another online through an internet whose servers are located entirely within Artidax. This internet is mostly used for communication, but has also been used to store information, videos, articles, and so forth; Many Xian technicians are intrigued in advancing the prevelance of the internet in Xia.

           Messages travel through transmission towers, and most of them are carefully encrypted. It takes a skilled decoder and/or AI to translate many of them, as secrecy is both prized but also infiltrated regularly. Knowledge, information, and forecasts are calculated and discerned in Artidax, before transmitted to the rest of Xia. High-flying satellites and levitating probes scan and take overhead images of Xia to be analyzed and recorded on the daily.

           Artidax is the AI mind of Xia, and many machines are ‘birthed’, gaining thought, sentience, and sapience here. While the occasional robot rebellion is not unheard of, most AI is made as products to be shipped and sold from Stelt, to aid companies in calculating profits, deciding the least risky venues, etc. Tactician AIs are sold to Zakaz, devising the most optimal combat strategies, and unsurprisingly, Dume has once again used these AIs as his own spies as well. Exo-Toa models are frequently designed, and improved within Artidax, with the technology that goes into them useful for cybernetics, as it interfaces with the very ‘soul’ of a person. While the physical bodies of Exo-Toa are crafted within Tametru, their ‘minds’ and complex programming, delicate circuitry, and neurology are manufactured within the neat, sterile, and bright rooms of Artidax. If Tametru specializes in the ‘body’ and hardware of Xia’s mechanization, then Artidax programs its ‘mind’ and software.

           Due to the high level of advanced technology, but also as a result of Dume’s insistence of surveillance, bright lights are everywhere and there are few shadows. This makes hiding from the Vahki more difficult, and contributes towards massive light pollution. Massive glass-panes and mirrors help to expand visuals, but can be confusing for some. The work hours and days of Xians are rigidly organized and mandated. People wake up, eat, head to work, head back home, and go to sleep exactly as Dume intends, with mandatory curfews imposed upon areas of Artidax.

           Originally, the region that would become the Artidax District was a cold, frozen, barren north, an ice-capped, mountainous area. However, the massive heat expenditures of computers and other technologies, combined with their relative fragility to such temperates, necessitated the movement of computer facilities in Artidax, where the colder temperatures could help off-set the heat and act as natural cooling fans. As more facilities were established within Artidax, more heat was generated, and while the ice helped cool it down, it began to melt… Until eventually, most of Artidax’s ice has since completely melted away. It is not completely gone, thankfully; Some areas have been set aside as real estate and homes for Xians who like the clean air, allowing for the natural accumulation of some nature and snow.

          If one goes particularly high-up, near the atmosphere, they can encounter snow-flakes that eventually dissipate as they go lower. Atop Artidax’s peaks, the highest roof-tops, skylines, and transmission towers are water-proof to deal with the light snow-fall that lands atop them. Additionally, The Mountain exists within Artidax, devoid of settlements due to its living, devouring nature; Snowfall has been allowed to naturally settle on The Mountain’s peaks, with melted ice helping to hydrate the living fixture.

          Artidax’s mainframe helps to transmit and allocate power amongst the district’s facilities, while the Vahki Hives themselves are connected to a massive mainframe that helps keep track of data, reconditions drones, and transports information to one another. No one AI or Super-Computer controls all of Artidax, thankfully, and the same can’t be totally said for Dume; such power would be disastrous and prone to abuse, and the Powers That Be know it could be used in the form of rebellion against them and the rest of Xia.

          The Powers That Be have all agreed that Artidax’s securing of the vast majority of Xia’s information and records makes it incredibly vital; Knowledge is power, and so many individuals and groups contribute resources towards ensuring the protection of Artidax. If the District were to fall, it would not be from external forces, but likely internal ones; Be it computer Viruses, rogue AI, and skilled hackers.

          While the district may seem clean, advanced, and ‘safe’, do not be fooled. Just as there are massive mirrors and simulations within Artidax, much of its appearance is smoke and mirrors; Mostly mirrors and almost no smoke. Its pristine environment is a gilded appearance, and when one scratches the surface, they will find total obedience, control, and slavery of one’s soul within. It may appear more enlightened, but Artidax is just as brutal and regressive in its lifestyle as any other part of Xia. Dume’s promise of Utopia is an illusion, in more ways than one, and many runners and criminals have been lured into powerful simulations designed to confuse and trick them while the Vahki rush in.

[starshineandbooks]

Blinded by wrath and anger, healed by love- chapter one

Summary: Wrath and terror gouged lives into his eyes, Logan is almost certain he is permanently blind now.Thank God his family won’t take his moping.

Word count -1520

Ao3 

Pairing- Platonic Logan & everyone

Warnings: Cursing, Remus being Remus, implied violence, violence after math, mild blood description, mutilated eyes, loss of tongue, Logan hurts so much this chapter

Logan lay on the floor, bleeding heavily, vision gone, he feels liquid drip from his eyes. His eyes hurt.

Why do they hurt?

His tongue is gone, why is his tongue gone?

Well, he correst himself, spitting the gathering blood out of his mouth, only the front third is gone. No, more than that, he is unsure how much of his tongue he lost actually.

Logan lay there, unable to do much more than whine and gurgle, bleeding out slowly. Too weak to move, barely conscious.

Logan can’t help but hope that maybe this will at least please the others, they never want to listen to him, now they will never have to again. He finds depressing joy in never having to see any of the other’s sad ever again, after all, how could his vision return?

Wrath and terror gouged knives into his eyes, Logan is almost certain he is permanently blind now.

Logan can hear footsteps approaching and his fear spikes, his breathing getting somehow more shallow and quicker.

“Logan?!” A voice sounds, “Logan!”

Logan spits the blood out again and lays limply, barely registering it as the owner of the voice picks him up and rushes off, disappearing and reappearing somewhere.

“Oh Shit, oh shit, oh shit- GUYS! HELP!” the owner of the voice screams, sounding helpless.

Logan assumes this is a hallucination before his death.

His eyes slowly slip closed and Logan loses consciousness, trying to curl into the warmth he assumes to be imagined. Not a bad way to go, Logan supposes, strong arms holding him and a warm body he’s cradled to. No, Logan supposes, not a bad way to go at all.

Virgil sets Logan gently on the bed, grabbing a washcloth from the table and trying to mop the blood off of the logical facet’s face, knowing a pool of blood will make operation unnecessarily hardfer.

Patton and Remus show up in step, both worried heavily about why Virgil would scream like that. Remus is here to beat the enemy into submission. Not that’d he’d admit it. But, Remus is fond of all of the sides, especially his brother and the youngest side, Virgil.

“Virgil- Logan!” Patton shrieks, rushing forward, demanding to know what happened.

Virgil, nonverbal by this point, switches to worrying his hoodie strings and trying to breathe.

“Nerdy wolverine’s hurt, Patt, you have to help him.”

“I’m not- Lo’s the doctor-”

“So are you. Help him Patton.” Remus growls, “I’m going to get answers.”

“Wait! Can uhm- Take Virgil to Janus?”

“Yeah, fine. Whatever.” Remus rolls his eyes, muttering something unkind, and gently leading Virgil away to see JAnus. Thankful that the relationship the sides have on screen are only on screen.

Patton swallows, starting by checking Logan’s mouth before cauterizing his tongue, stopping the bleeding.

He cleans the man’s eyes, before cauterizing them too.

Logan, unsurprisingly, is in a coma.

-__+__-

Logan wakes to lack of vision and Roman’s voice. His memories return quickly to him, making him whine.

Roman goes silent, and then steps are heard, the rustling of fabric.

“Logan! Oh, you beautiful man you! Please say that you are okay. Say something, anything. I missed you, you know.”

Logan blinks, trying to ease the soreness of his eyes, he shifts his head to better hear Roman, reaching out and not finding anything with his hand.

“Oh, Pat said you might not have your vision, or your voice.” Roman says softly, taking Logan’s hand and moving closer, “But we’ll get everything sorted, one way or another- Oh! You’ll want to see- er- You’ll want Athena then?”

Logan uses his free hand to sign yes, knowing each side knows a little sign, he taught them all a few. Yes, No, please, thank you, eat, drink, I’m sorry and that’s about it.

Of course, he taught Virgil more sign language, but then again, that was logical. Oh, now he can’t help Virgil.

Thankfully, Logan supposes, Janus is rather proficient as well.

Roman nods, not that Logan can see it, or anything And oh, Roman pales, his friend, the man who helped him become who he is, his older brother figure, that man will never see anything again.

Roman walks out, telling Logan that he is going to get Athena.

But suddenly, he finds the escape selfishly comforting. He doesn’t have to see the scars to Logan, see what damage Logan has that Logan will never see himself.

Roman stops in front of Virgil’s room, knocking.

“What?” Virgil calls darkly, “I’m busy.”

“Lo’s awake,” Roman says, “He can’t see, and either can’t or won’t speak. He wants Athena. And, he’d probably like to hear your voice.”

Shuffling and the the door opens to a messy Virgil with and owl perched on his shoulder, “Let’s go then.”

Roman just nods, leading Virgil to the medical room where Logan is.

Roman blink sin surprise to see Logan sitting up, leaning against clumsily arranged pillows. Logan’s scared eyes stare blankly ahead, but his head turns towards the sound of Virgil and Roman’s footsteps.

Athena chirps happily, jumping off of Virgil’s shoulder and flying to Logan, landing on the logical facet’s leg and pecking his hand affectionately.

Logan’s lips quirk up, and he taps gently on the owl, morse code, Virgil thinks.

Hello dear, Logan taps to the owl she chirps again happily. She pecks at his fingers, morse code again.

Safe?

Logan nods, tapping out affirmation gently against the owl.

“H-Hey L.” Virgil says shakily, “I heard you’re not talking. Are you capable of it?”

Logan sighs through his nose, but opens his mouth, revealing his lack of tongue.

“O-oh. That’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

Logan snorts derisivley, wondering what there is to figure out. He’s useless. He can’t see, or speak, he can’t do his job.

“You know, I’m glad you made it out alive,” Virgil says a little softer than most people have heard him sound, “I don’t know what’d I’d have done if you hadn’t made it man.”

‘Survived it and grown stronger.’ Logan signs, rolling his sore, unseeing eyes.

Virgil chokes, “I couldn’t- Logan, you don’t get it do you. You matter. A lot man.”

Roman tilts his head, not having understood the sign language.

‘No, I do not. And that is okay. I have made peace with it. I am incapable of seeing or speaking. I am a hindrance at this point. I suspect death might have lessened the effect of my issues onto those I care for.’ Logan signs quickly, knowing Virgil can keep up.

“Uh, excuse you?!” Virgil snaps, eyes alight with anger and worry, again, not that Logan could see. “You matter a lot to all of us, stop moping damn you! You matter to JAnus, and Remus, and Roman, and Emilie, and Remy, and Thomas! You matter to Athena, she’s been depressed and molting faster without you, she’s thinner and you know it. You matter to my spider, Charlotte and Elliot.

“You matter to Medusa, JAnus’ snake. You matter to Remus’ hyenas, Ares and Bellona. You matter to Roman’s Lion, stripes. As a dumb a name as that is. You matter to Remy and Emilie’s toads, Steven, Garnet, Caramel blondie, Straight black, decaf, Luka, half calf, all of them. You matter to Patton’s fish, probably, I don’t know if fish care for people actually, but if they do, they care for you.

“Logan, you matter to everyone. You matter to me, you matter to me a lot. You ass, so stop moping and maybe we’ll figure this out faster!”

Logan blinks at the speech, snorting softly, ‘You say that, but do you know what it takes to actually mean that you care about me? About anyone?’

“Yeah, Logan I do. Believe it or not I have some loyalty. Got that? I’m fucking loyal, especially to you.”

Logan flinches at the tone.

Athena turns her large eyes on Virgil, tilting her head, as if asking if she should attack Virgil or not.

‘Virgil, you don’t need to be loyal to me, I wouldn’t be mad if you weren’t.’

“Uh, fucking hell Logan. Why wouldn’t I be loyal to you? You fiucking raised me, who else would I be loyal to if not my father figure?!”

‘Patton, Janus, literally anyone else.’

“Oh ye of little fucking faith,” Virgil growls, stalking forwards, arms crossed, “You’re lucky I know you’re just wallowing in emotions for once in your life, or I’df have a real fucking problem with the fact that you don’t seem to get that you matter.”

Silence, Roman watches the scene tensley.

“Logan,” Virgil sighs, “Please. You matter a lot, to me, to the others. Just- let us help you.”

Logan raises an eyebrow, thinking, prompting Virgil to explain.

“That’s going to be a second, I’ll get the others Logan.” Virgil sighs, setting a hand on Logan’s shoulder, “But seriously, I really don’t say it enough, thank you. You helped me become who I am or whatever. Yo matter.”

“Aw,” Roman coos, teasingly.

“Shut up Princey, tell anyone and i”ll gut you.”

‘You will not.’ Logan chastises via sign Language.

[mezzopurrloin]

Chapter 2-5: The Fall of Silvermoon

With both elfgates down, Arthas makes his way to Silvermoon, the capital city of Quel'Thalas.

Tichondrius teleports in as Arthas arrives.

Tichondrius teleports out.

Oh right, we still have to deal with you too. When she reaches about half health, she turns invisible and flees, making her a major annoyance.

Sylvie's base will send out runners to Silvermoon. If they reach the city, that's major trouble for us. Thankfully they're easy to kill and don't bring an escort.

Thankfully we've got a new unit that's just the thing for hunting them down.

Time to shoot the messenger.

Gargoyle: Dread flying beast that can cover long distances quickly. Attacks other flyers in melee and fires blades of wind at ground units.

Stone Form: The Gargoyle lands and turns into a statue, drastically increasing armor and HP regeneration but preventing it from moving or attacking.

I kept these four Gargoyles on the path so they could intercept any more runners that came by.

Black Citadel: Final upgrade of the Necropolis, unlocking all technologies.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Halls of the Dead, which also applies to the Black Citadel: Upon upgrading the Necropolis, it gains an attack similar to Spirit Towers. Considering how high its HP is, this can turn it into a pretty major threat.

Ghoul Frenzy: Increases Ghouls' attack rate and movement speed. Requires a Black Citadel to research.

This is a good upgrade to get even if you're not using Ghouls for combat, as it also increases their lumber collecting efficiency.

Weirdly, Necromancer Master Training is not unlocked for this mission, even though everything required for it is. I'll have to wait for the next mission to showcase their third spell.

Looks like there are more heroes to deal with than just Sylvie. This Archmage is pretty weak.

The second runner tried to escape via boat, but the Gargoyles sunk it before it could reach the shore.

Another Archmage came to say hello. This one was a bit tougher, but still fell to my defenses.

I decided it was time to take action and assault the base the runners were coming from. Good old skeleton rush came in handy here.

Arthas reached level 6 and learned his ultimate ability here.

Animate Dead: Reanimates up to 6 nearby corpses as whatever unit they were in life. Reanimated units are invulnerable.

This is thematically similar to Resurrection, but has a bit more utility since it can be used on allied or enemy corpses. The drawback is the units are temporary. Reanimated caster units can't cast any spells. While they're invulnerable to standard attacks, Arthas can still use Death Pact on them to heal in a pinch.

There, no more runners. I thought Sylvie would be here, but she failed to show.

Oh, because she's over here. She turned invisible and fled again after Arthas fended her off.

I took the gold mine from Sylvie's base as my secondary expansion. The Undead don't actually need to build a second Necropolis to expand, as a Haunted Gold Mine can work on its own by summoning the Acolytes needed at my main.

Sylvanas makes her last stand in front of the city gates.

Arthas kills her by forcibly ripping her soul out of her body. Yikes.

This unlocks a new unit type.

Banshee: Ghostly caster whose undeathly screams chill the living.

Banshees in this mission start at Master rank, and all of their spells are already available.

Curse: Hexes an enemy, causing it to miss on some of its attacks. Missed attacks are denoted by a little 'miss' appearing over the unit as it makes its attack. Can be autocast.

Anti-Magic Shell: A shell that temporarily gives an allied unit magic immunity. It can be removed by dispelling effects.

Possession: Displaces an enemy unit's soul, granting you permanent control over it. Sacrifices the Banshee when cast. Can't be used on heroes, flying units, or creeps above level 5.

In the original campaign, Sylvanas was just a unique Banshee with a little more health, and didn't regain hero status until the expansion. Now the Banshee Queen is a hero in her own right, even if she doesn't have her body back yet. This is mainly a preview of the abilities she'll have when we reach the Frozen Throne Undead campaign.

Silence: Prevents units in an area from casting spells. Additional levels increase the area and duration.

Howl of Terror: A terrible howl that reduces the attack damage of all enemies that hear it.

Life Drain: A channeling spell that gradually drains health from an enemy and heals the user. If the enemy moves out of range, the drain effect stops.

Now we can enter Silvermoon proper. Like with Stratholme, this map was changed significantly from its original version, apparently to match how the city looks in World of Warcraft.

Some of the Archmages defending the city drop Runes of Healing when they die. Rune items provide a power-up effect when picked up, this one restoring HP to all units in a radius around it.

There's a winding path to follow and a whole lot of defenders to face down.

I was ambushed here by a pair of high level heroes: Anasterian Sunstrider and Thalorien Dawnseeker. These two weren't in the original map. Anasterian I know is the king of Quel'Thalas, but I have no idea who this other guy is.

They easily wiped out my forces.

Time to make use of that Altar and bring them back, plus build up a bigger army. By this point my first mine had been exhausted, but the secondary kept me going. Good thing too, since I didn't find any other gold mines on this map.

I sent the Acolytes I had stationed at the first mine as scouts, since I wasn't really sure what else to do with them.

With a much bigger force at my back, I was able to push through.

Unfortunately, they teleported away before I could finish them off.

Here Arthas uses Frostmourne's power to make an ice bridge. This is cool, but why didn't you do it in the last mission?

Anasterian and Thalorien make their last stand at the gate to the Sunwell. Once they're dead, the mission is complete.

Kel'Thuzad is reborn as a lich.

Wait, I killed 10 heroes in this mission? Wow.

[humanspacesuits-blog]

How To Treat Infectious Diseases: OZONE

Wondering how you can treat and even prevent communicable diseases? 

Today’s medicine you should always have in your cabinet is: Ozone.

If you knew of a molecular compound that was anti-inflammatory, an anti-oxidant, an antitbiotic, boosts the immune system, boosts the gut microbiome, boosts the metabolism, aids proper circulation of the blood, increases cognitive function, increases stem cell production and tissue reparation, provides food/energy for every cell in the body, repairs the endocrine system, heals nearly all infections, heals a variety of illnesses, relieves a variety of ailments, and more...would you use it? Most notably in today’s topic at hand, it is scientifically proven to be an extremely efficacious treatment against all bacterias, fungi, viruses, yeasts, and protozoas, including antibiotic resistant infections. 

This compound is O3 (a compound of three oxygen molecules,) or ozone. We usually find oxygen compounds with just one or two oxygen molecules like carbon monoxide, CO, and hydrogen dioxide, H2O, because O3 is incredibly unstable and readily parts with its extra oxygen molecule, eliminating free radicals as it absorbs into the bloodstream. This means ozone is a highly reactive and extremely fast acting medicine. Ozone therapies available for your medicine cabinet come in two methods of delivery: ozonated oils and ozonated water. (There are more ways for administering ozone therapy but if you want to look into them, make sure you have a quality medical provider on board with your journey and the advanced therapy’s administration.) Using ozone is easy, affordable, safe, and error proof, without the laundry list of side effects and unavoidable mutations that pharmaceuticals cause. If you’re only able to afford one tool in your medicine cabinet, this is The One.

“Starting from the demonstrated evidence that our immune system produces O3 by antibodies to dispatch their bactericidal activity, it is clear the importance of its anti-pathogen role against bacteria (both Gram-positive and Gram-negative), fungi, virus, yeast and protozoa. In bacteria, O3 disrupts the integrity of the bacterial cell wall through oxidation of phospholipids and lipoproteins. As this occurs, the stability of the bacterial cell envelope is attenuated. In fungi, O3 inhibits their growth interacting in the same way as bacteria. In viruses, O3 damages the viral capsid and breaks the reproductive cycle by disrupting the contact between the virus and the cell through the process of peroxidation. The cells vulnerable to the invasion of viruses are coated with weak enzymes, susceptible to oxidation and can be eliminated from the body when interacting with O3.” 

This excerpt is from a great study that was just published a few days ago, I highly recommend you read it for a full overview of what all ozone does.

Ozonated water is arguably the best form of delivery for most treatments. You can buy an affordable, quality, small machine online. Our ozone generator has supplied my family with years of medicine and clean water/air for less than $75. Get one! Making the water is as simple as plugging the machine in, putting the diffuser stone into a glass or jug of cold water, and selecting the time setting needed. (For my generator) two minutes will get you a glass of ozonated water, thirty will get you a gallon. You can then drink this water, apply it to or soak a target area, clean and sterilize objects, apply it to burns and cuts, treat plants with it, treat animals with it, use it on your hair, soak your produce in it, and more.

I have this ozone generator.

Ozonated water alone is sufficient to kill almost all pathogens after 30 seconds. In a world of constantly developing infectious diseases, noninfectious diseases, antibiotic resistant infections, and antimicrobial resistant infections, ozone is an irreplaceable tool. What is more accepted and utilized in the body than water and oxygen? Utilizing O3 in the body is the natural aid for reparations. There are nearly no known side effects from use of ozonated water and it does not damage most anything else that isn’t damaged by water, either. 

Putting this in a real life perspective: when you go to the doctor for a Staph or MRSA infection, they will prescribe you an antibiotic to take for 30 days. The CDC recommends antibiotics that in over a handful of options, no more than 87% efficacy is expected. These antibiotics also have a long list of side effects and are perpetuating the issue of Antibiotic Resistant Threats. When I got a staph infection, the doctor prescribed me a bottle of pills for me to take one a day for the next 30 days, and if it didn’t work, I should come back and get more. Ozonated water is clinically proven to heal staph infections in 60 seconds. I was camping at the time and used ozonated oil. Ozonated oil is clinically proven to heal staph infections in 15 minutes. My large infection in several different areas was entirely cleared up in 3 days of bi-daily ozonated olive oil application, maybe a total of 1/2 teaspoon used and my skin looked better than before I got the infection even.

Ozonated oils are good to keep on hand in cases such as camping and on-the-go when you don’t want to (or can’t) prepare ozonated water. Yes, there are machines that you could buy to ozonate your own oil but quality machines cost several thousands of dollars and until you’re fully familiar with this medicine, its probably easiest to just buy a jar of ozonated oil from a quality supplier. Smaller machines (like the one I have) are technically able to ozonate oil but in order to get the concentration we’re seeking, they would be heavily overworked even just to get close. I can’t emphasize enough how important sourcing integrity is for ozonated oils - you don’t want to be paying for diluted ozone masking as miracle products (ozone is a superior product in itself, additives cheapen it) and you don’t want to be paying for unsaturated/partially ozonated oils (a red flag for this poor quality is when a company lists how long their oils are ozonated for.) A good company to avoid is Ozoned Organics. 

I use this ozonated olive oil, ozonated coconut oil, ozonated castor oil, and ozonated hemp oil. 

The different oils used do make a difference in how saturated the ozone is, so sensitivities should be taken into consideration when using different strengths. Ozonated hempseed oil has the highest level of saturation/strength so I like to consider it for use as a very specific as need basis. Ozonated coconut oil has the lowest level of saturation/strength so I like to consider it great for nearly anything, especially with small children/babies, the elderly, and sensitive parts like the genitals - keep in mind coconut oil is also the most agreeable flavor for oral use or ingestion. Ozonated olive oil is a good “medium” level of saturation/strength so I like to consider it my basic go-to and you’ll find our family using it daily, which is great because a 2oz jar still always lasts us longer than a month. You can also use specific oils for their individual benefits, such as castor oil is great for hair and jojoba oil is great for skin.

A couple of things to pay attention to when you’re first using ozone internally is that you may experience parasite die-off, which is never fun for anyone. Thankfully, parasite die-off from ozonated water is generally very brief and lasts about 15-30 minutes after your first glass of water and doesn’t happen again. So actually this is a great option, in my opinion, and I would recommend using ozonated water to boost any other parasite cleanse treatment! The parasite die-off from ozonated oil is different and the headaches in particular can last longer and continue with continued use until the parasites in your body are entirely dead/removed. After your initial use, you’ll notice fairly immediate effects of die-off if you are going to have them. Your reaction will correspond with the location of the parasites; if you have parasites in your intestines, you will vomit; if you have parasites in your colon, you will have diaherria, if you have parasites in your brain, you will have a headache. Again, these are usually mild and brief, but its still good to be aware of so you can properly prepare and have some time set aside in a comfortable place before the first time you ingest ozone. 

Another note is that yes, this ozone is the same as what is surrounding our planet and yes, it is not safe for us to breathe as a gas. When you’re using a machine, you want to set it up in a room that you can leave while the machine is running. The escaping gases will clean the air in your room, so this is particularly beneficial for those of us with sensitive respiratory systems. I like to have a more permanent ozonation station setup in the bathroom but also an easy station to setup in every room - ozone is way better at making a room fresh than aerosol sprays, wax melts, essential oils, and the like. 

On the other hand, ozonated oil is extremely beneficial to breathe. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by applying ozone along and into the nostrils. A quick swirl around and into the nostrils will instantly aid with most breathing related stresses. You might have ozone boogers for a while, which is just a sign that you’re receiving residual benefits. As an asthmatic, I use this to help stop wheezing and whenever there is wildfire smoke or poor air quality where I am. We also apply this to our noses anytime we’re feeling in the slightest bit sick as well as whenever we know our breathing could use a little boost, like when its particularly cold out or if we’re adventuring in higher elevations. Its also really fantastic to put on before exercising, stretching, or meditating. 

I like to oil pull with ozonated oil and brush my teeth with ozonated water (making sure to spit it out afterwards so all of the inactivated gunk goes down the drain instead of into your body, and into the trash can if using oil so it doesn’t clog up the drains.) I like to soak my produce in ozonated water for 30 minutes to remove any residues, kill any pathogens, and better preserve the produce so they last longer before going bad. I like to clean with ozonated water, and am constantly amazed at how ozonated water will lift stains like a fake commercial. I like to use ozonated oil on wood products that require oil treatments like cutting boards, wooden utensils, and handmade goodies. I like to pour ozonated water in my hair during a shower and use ozonated oil as a regular treatment on all hair (including my pits!) I like to use ozonated water as a genital rinse for adults/children for any sort of funk going on down under, and ozonated oil is a great diaper rash or genital ointment for any use. I like to fill up a sprayer with ozonated water and spray down plants just once right before they transition from the vegetative state to the fruiting/flowering state to ensure the plants are healthy and able to easily achieve maximum production. I like to soak my medical equipment (i.e. my nebulizer parts) in ozonated water for 30 minutes. I like to apply ozonated oil onto any cuts or scars I have to watch them disappear after a handful of applications (this includes stretch marks!) I have gotten chronic stress rashes since I was a child that have never been treatable for me but now I like to use ozonated oil any time I have any sort of rash and it is always cleared up within a few days - its actually recommended to use ozonated oil to treat adverse reactions from pharmaceuticals even.

Whenever I hear of an ailment, my first thought is “does ozone help that?” Most of the time, it does, and it is always the answer when considering any of the communicable diseases. You can know, with confidence based on published and peer reviewed unbiased science, that any of the fad diseases projected by the media or the CDC are treatable with ozone. You can assume that after 1 minute under ozonated water a target area will be disinfected - shoot for a 30 minute soak and you’re invoking some of the most the powerful self care possible. You can assume that after 30 minutes under ozonated oil a target area will be disinfected - shoot for applying a thin layer of ozonated oil two or three times a day (or anytime a target area feels dried, itchy, or uncomfortable) until all signs of infection are gone. Pay attention! You will likely be able to see this stuff working before your eyes. I kid you not that you can be bleeding, apply this stuff, and watch yourself not only stop bleeding but the red blood cells get reabsorbed into your circulating bloodstream. This is scientifically demonstrated! Its phenomenal and you can rest assured your family’s health is protected as long as you have ozone on hand.

We also drink ozonated water daily, anywhere from a glass to a gallon or more per person depending on how we’re feeling and what’s going on with us. The most exciting part of drinking ozonated water is the burps as you can literally feel your body breathing from the inside out, almost like a fish, as the extra oxygen is expressed through your lungs. You’ll enjoy knowing your immune system has an extra strength booster that is entirely beneficial for your body. Ozone is safe for you, safe for your children, safe for your pets, safe for your neighbors. It’d be a shame for the CDC and the pharmaceutical industry to lose all the money they make off the general public from all of their drug sales but give yourself the power of your health back and start using ozonated water and ozonated oils. You can easily achieve medical independency regarding infectious diseases and much more.

Don’t take my word for it! I do have anecdotal experience to share my own personal experiences that myself, my family, and my friends have had but I am not a doctor and I cannot legally provide you medical advice. Check out these published medical studies, learn up on the subject until you have a good understanding of the full concept of ozone, and then do further independent research of your own. I’d love to hear what you think if you do try ozonated water and/or oil out, what your experiences have been if you already use it, if you have any questions before you try it out, and if you have anything at all to add to this discussion! 

Until next time, find me in the moon, fellow time traveler.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31982474 “Molecular mechanisms in cognitive frailty: potential therapeutic targets for oxygen-ozone treatment” Scassellati C, Ciani M, Galoforo AC, Zanardini R, Bonvicini C, Geroldi C. Mech Ageing Dev. 2020 March

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20802424  “Antimicrobial activity of ozonated water”  Białoszewski D, Bocian E, Bukowska B, Czajkowska M, Sokół-Leszczyńska B, Tyski S.  Med Sci Monit. 2010 September

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31986325  “Topical Ozone Therapy Restores Microbiome Diversity in Atopic Dermatitis” Zeng J, Dou J, Gao L, Xiang Y, Huang J, Ding S, Chen J, Zeng Q, Luo Z, Tan W, Lu J. Int Immunopharmacol. 2020 March

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29207120 “The Antibacterial Effect of Topical Ozone on the Treatment of MRSA Skin Infection” Song M, Zeng Q, Xiang Y, Gao L, Huang J, Huang J, Wu K, Lu J Mol Med Rep. 2018 February

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23579036 “Topical ozonated oil versus hyaluronic gel for the treatment of partial- to full-thickness second-degree burns: A prospective, comparative, single-blind, nonrandomized, control clinical trial.” Campanati A, De Blasio S, Giuliano A, Ganzetti G, Giuliodori K, Pecora T, Consales V, Minnetti I, Offidani A. Burns. 2013 September

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30925969  “Oxidizing Effect of Ozonated-Water on Microbial Balance in the Oral Ecosystem” Razak FA, Musa MY, Abusin HAM, Salleh NM J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2019 April

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32024131  “Spraying Ozonated Water on Bobal Grapevines: Effect on Wine Quality” Campayo A, Serrano de la Hoz K, García-Martínez MM, Salinas MR, Alonso GL. Biomolecules. 2020 February

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30996448  “Application of an environmentally friendly preventive measure for the preservation of fresh vegetables” Paulikienė S, Raila A, Žvirdauskienė R, Zvicevičius E. J Food Sci Technol. 2019 April

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30896566  “Effect of ozonated water on normal vaginal micro ecology and Lactobacillus” Zhang QQ, Zhang L, Liu Y, Wang Y, Chen R, Huang ZY, Lyu T, Liao QP. Chin Med J (Engl). 2019 May

[xillveart]

Sea Legs

Ch. 4 - Surgery

Boku No Hero Academia / My Hero Academia Quirkless, Mermaid, Modern AU

Rating: Explicit | Excessive Fluff, Blood, Wounds, Nudity, Sex, Cursing and Vulgar Language

Genre: Romance / Humor / Angst

Main Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Koge Naegi (oc)

A trip to her grandmothers beachfront home was something that Koge had done every year of her life. This time, an unlikely discovery would change her life forever. Who knew explaining how to be a human could be so hard.

Koge let out a large sigh, laying down the electric saw beside her once it was off. Sawing off the jagged end of the wood had been more nerve wracking than Koge had expected, as the vibrations were painful enough to make Bakugou hiss and squirm. Breathing heavily, Bakugou had a small hand towel between his teeth, having been using it to bite down on in the few seconds it took to get through the wood. “I-I’m sorry, Katsuki, I know it hurts.” Swallowing the lump in her throat, Koge began to carefully smooth out the wood with a piece of sandpaper, going as carefully and gently as she could. All Bakugou could do was breathe, digging his fingers into the sand as it took every ounce of self control to not move, to not slap her away to rid himself of the pain.

Still, it wasn’t quite as bad as Koge had expected up to this point. She assumed the pill was having some effect, as he had been nearly asleep right before she started. His limited reaction to her actions could really only mean a few things. Either she was doing something right, he had a high pain tolerance, he was just that good at controlling his responses, or the pill was working. She was too scared to ask him, not wanting to ruin what focus he may have, as she assumed he was preparing for the extraction.

“Okay…” Koge carefully poured fresh water over the wound entry and exit holes, doing her best to make sure that it was clear of any debris and as clean as she could get it. The wood end had been cut and sanded down to no less than an inch from his body, which was as close as she could get without cutting him with the saw. Clean bandages, towels and water were at the ready, so now all she had to do was yank it out, right? And then somehow stop the bleeding and get it packed and wrapped up before the wound gets dirty or he bleeds out. Easy. Simple.

It wasn’t. In fact, Koge could feel herself growing so anxious about it all that she almost couldn’t bare the thought of pulling it out. What if it was cutting off a major artery? What if it was trapped between bone and she couldn’t get it out? What if it ended up paralyzing him?

“Hey.”

Bakugou’s rough voice pulled Koge out of her stupor, looking down at him. He still had his head down, but he was looking at her out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t stop. Just rip it out, seriously, it doesn’t matter what happens, it has to come out.” Koge gripped onto the towel in her lap with trembling hands, taking in a few deep breaths as she stared at the sharp end of the harpoon. “I know…”

“You were so cocky this whole time about being able to do it, Utsuro. Get that attitude back. I liked it way better than this whole new nervous shit you got going on.”

“I thought you didn’t like me at all.”

“I don’t, but I could tolerate your attitude more than this timid bullshit. I’m telling you to just do it!”

Holding her breath, Koge looked back down at him, finding his encouragement oddly comforting. With a nod, she watched him place the small towel back between his teeth before he shoved his face into his arms, waiting for her to make a move. Prepping for blood, Koge placed one hand at the back of the harpoon, a towel between her hand and his body so she could put pressure on that side immediately. Gripping the sharp end of the harpoon with her free hand, she got the best hold on it that she could. “On three… One… Two… Three--” With a combination of pushing from the back and pulling from the front, Koge began the slow extraction of the object, which was met with strong resistance. This told her that it had to be through some type of bone or cartilage, which was both a good and bad thing. That meant that there shouldn’t be that much bleeding, but if it was through his spine, then the damage could be permanent.

Eventually, the wood slipped easily out of his body, blood immediately flowing out of the wound. Thankfully, it wasn’t as much as Koge had been anticipating, so she was easily able to maneuver the towels and hold them in place with hard pressure while she checked on his condition. “Katsuki, are you alright? I didn’t hear anything, did you pass out?”

Body trembling, Bakugou lifted his head, glaring back at her. “I told you… not to call me Katsuki… You idiot. Like hell I would pass out! I’ve had worse!” Although he kept up the tough demeanor, Koge could see his knuckles turning white as he gripped the small towel in his fist, bags becoming visible under his eyes and his entire body was trembling violently. It had hurt, badly, but he was too stubborn to dare show any weakness. In Koge’s eyes, it was both admirable and stupid. With a nod, she turned her gaze back to the towels, the blood soaking through and onto her hands. “Right. You’re right. You’re strong. Hold on just a bit longer, I have to pack the wound and wrap it up.”

“Damn right…. Just do it.” Bakugou’s head fell back onto his arms, once again leaving Koge to her work. Unlike the rest of this entire ordeal that went by painfully slow, Koge found the packing and wrapping process of the wound going by in a blur. Before she knew it, she was securing the bandage together with a safety pin, her work completed. “W-wow… I did it. I can’t believe I did it.”

Her words were met with silence, gaining her immediate attention and worry. “Katsuki?” Carefully scooting closer to his head, she was able to see that he had simply passed out, his breathing slow and steady. With trembling, blood stained fingers, Koge gently took the small towel from his mouth, which was released with ease. Not really minding that it was soaked with saliva, Koge poured some fresh water onto it, using it to wipe her hands as she stood on trembling legs. As she stood, observing the supposedly mythical creature that lay before her, there was one question that rested on her mind.

What now?

She had removed the harpoon, but that didn’t mean that he could just jump back into the ocean and swim away. He needed to recover, to regain his energy and work through any mental trauma this may have caused. He had smaller wounds all along his body that needed tending to, he couldn’t stay here in the blood soaked sand near the trees, he’d be pecked to death by birds or other animals that would find him to be an easy meal. Moving him to a better spot was priority, but where? A nearby cave, perhaps, where he could still have some access to the ocean water? That would be perfect!

Ah, but… where is one?

Finding such a thing would require a bit of scouring the beach, but the thought of leaving him was something she couldn’t quite agree with just yet. Once satisfied that her hands were as clean as they were going to get, she came to sit beside his torso, more bandages and ointment at the ready. His toned back was covered in scrape marks and cuts, as were his shoulders. As she gazed upon him, she felt a sudden wave of emotion hit her, nearly bringing tears to her eyes. 

Although she had been mostly nonchalant about it this whole time, the thought of being responsible for another person’s life, half fish or not, was truly taxing. The weight on her shoulders was nearly heavy enough to crush her, unable to imagine what would happen if he actually did die in her care. How would she be able to handle the guilt? She knew that it would eat away at her, since she had no one to confide in. They would all think she had gone mad, and by that time she very well could.

A sudden, strong grip on her upper arm pulled her from her racing thoughts, jumping slightly in shock as she turned her gaze to his face. Peering up at her, a hint of that smirk returned to his lips as his grip loosened a bit. “I should be the one looking terrified, uh… what was I calling you again?”

“Koge.”

“No, Utsuro. Though, right now you’re not so blank. Are you scared?”

“What if… you die? What do I do?”

Bakugou was silent for a moment, observing her closely behind hooded eyelids as he fought the exhaustion. “I’m not going to die. Now get that stupid look off your face and relax for a while. The superficial wounds can wait…”

“I can’t rest, I’m covered in blood and I have to look after you.”

“Go wash off, there’s a giant fucking ocean right there.”

“But I might attract sharks--” Koge couldn’t even finish before Bakugou was laughing, a hoarse snicker that instantly brought heat to Koge’s cheeks. “D-don’t laugh, I’m serious!”

“There aren’t any sharks here. I’ve been hunting this area for the past six years. You’re more likely to be pinched by a crab, you damn moron. Now fuck off, I’m going back to sleep…” With that, his grip loosened on her arm, falling back to the sand as he faded into unconsciousness. Taking in deep breath, Koge stood, finally taking a moment to look down at herself. Her work out clothing was soaked in blood and sweat, her skin sticky with the liquids and sand. She felt absolutely disgusting, and the thought of a shower was something that she very much favored. All she had was the ocean, however, so she subjected herself to a salty bath.

After checking to make sure he was sleeping soundly, Koge picked up her last clean towel and made her way down to the water's edge, which thankfully wasn’t all that far. When her bare feet met the water, a sigh escaped her lips at how cold and refreshing it was, and she found herself beginning to strip off her disgusting clothes without a second thought. It only dawned on her that perhaps she shouldn’t be stripping down to literally nothing within Bakugou’s view, but with a glance back at him over her shoulder, it was obvious that she was quite safe. He was out like a light, face hidden behind his arms and breathing steady.

Leaving her clothes and towel behind, Koge made her way into the gentle waves, plopping down to sit when the water reached her thighs. She couldn’t resist a sharp gasp as the water reached her bare chest, the cold a bit shocking against her hot skin. “Ah! Geez that’s cold. I don’t see how Katsuki’s kind can stand it.”

“We’re half fucking fish, that’s how.”

Bakugou’s voice startled Koge so much that she jumped violently, quickly wrapping her arms around her chest as she glared at him over her shoulder. “D-don’t look at me, I’m naked! What are you doing, faking being asleep?!”

“I heard you scream!”

“I didn’t scream, I just… I don’t know what I did! Did you see me?!”  

“Tch, humans and their clothes. No I didn’t see you, for fucks sake.” Bakugou turned his head away, falling silent. Face on fire, Koge watched him closely for a moment before she calmed down, turning her attention back to the clear blue water in front of her. What a turd… He has really good hearing, though, I didn’t even think I was that loud. As she sat there not moving an inch, she watched the water turn red around her, the blood that stained her skin slowly lifting with the gentle waves.

I… I hope I can save him…

[banshee1013]

For Science!

Next in the Looking Glass series... set in the @familybrpg universe, to where I discover some consequences of my previous visit and Castiel has some ideas to try... For Science!

*******************************************************************************************

Bright sunlight filtered through my bedroom window. My eyes fluttered open, then squinted against the light. 

I rolled over to get a glance at the clock. Huh, almost 10 AM. I'd been asleep for almost twelve hours. That's gotta be a record for me. Good thing it was Sunday…  

I took a closer look at the clock. At the date. 

OH SHIT. 

It was MONDAY. And I was a good THREE HOURS LATE for work! 

Not twelve hours - almost THIRTY-TWO. 

I jumped out of bed to grab my phone and call the boss - and promptly fell on my ass as a wave of dizziness knocked me to the floor, and my stomach lurched. 

Yeah, so I guess work wasn't happening today. I crawled to the charger - SLOWLY - and grabbed my phone. As long as I didn't move too fast, I could keep the dizziness and nausea at bay, and my eyes to focus on the screen. I shot an email off to the boss telling him I was sick and apologizing for the late notice before collapsing back to the floor. 

What the ever-loving FUCK. 

A few more minutes of laying there and I was able to rise to a sitting position. A few minutes more and I was standing. The dizziness and nausea faded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. 

I could *finally* go downstairs and make some coffee. I might be able to actually THINK after that. 

Ten minutes later, a steaming cup of French-pressed Lion coffee in my hands, I opened Twitter and opened a DM. 

I had to talk to Sam. 

*********************************** 

@redbanshee: Hey Sam… are you there? 

@ItSam1983: Hi Celi… err, Cee. How are you?

@redbanshee: Um, I'm not sure. I just woke up.

@ItSam1983: Well, it's, what… around 10:30 AM your time? Is that unusually late for you?

@ItSam1983: I mean, it would be for me, but… Dean's still asleep… :/ 

@redbanshee: Sorry, I didn't make myself clear - I JUST woke up. Like, since the LAST TIME WE TALKED. 

@ItSam1983: Hold on… are you saying you've been asleep for… an entire DAY?

@redbanshee: Yeah, longer actually - about a day and a half.

@redbanshee: … and I don't know why.

@ItSam1983: Hey, Cas just walked in. Let me get him in a GC, he might know what's going on. 

… oh god. Castiel.

I'm finally going to talk to the angel. Thank every single holy thing that it's only through chat.

I can always erase any idiot thing I type before sending it. 

@ItSam1983: Hey Cas. Got it figured out?

@_iamCastiel: Hello, Sam. Yes, I have figured out how to use this… chat? Is that what you called it?

@ItSam1983: Yeah, group chat. Cas, this is my friend, Celina. She has a question you might have an answer to.

@_iamCastiel: Of course. Hello, Celina. How may I help?

@redbanshee: Uh, hi Castiel. It's nice to meet you… well, talk to you anyway. I didn't get to see you when I was there last time and I…

 Goddammit shut up you friggin' idiot!

So much for erasing before I type…

 @_iamCastiel: Sam and Dean told me about your visit. I am very sad I was not here to witness it, the process sounds fascinating. I would like to study it more if you don't mind.

Sad he missed me?? OMGOMGOMG

Ok, pull it together. It's not you, it's your little trick he's interested in.

Deep breath…

 @redbanshee: That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about… well, I actually talked to Sam first and he thought you might know…

  DEEP FUCKING BREATH, IDIOT.

 @redbanshee: I just slept for over a day.

@redbanshee: And I was very dizzy and nauseous as well, at first.

@redbanshee: But I seem to be ok now. 

@_iamCastiel: If I were to guess… and I am… I would say you're suffering from some form of temporal sickness, for lack of a better term.

@_iamCastiel: Travelling between dimensions… universes, if you will… places stress upon your physical form.

@_iamCastiel: Do you have any external damage?

@redbanshee: Not that I noticed. Maybe a bruise on my butt when I fell down at first but…

 No. NO I DID NOT JUST TALK ABOUT MY BUTT…

 @_iamCastiel: That is good, at least. So your body was unscathed, but your mind noticed the difference and reacted poorly. You were unprepared for the shift.

@redbanshee: But… I checked the time when I got back - three hours had passed, both there and here. So, not like when you go to Heaven, or Hell - no time dilation.

@redbanshee: and traveling to the Alternate Universe to save Mary and Jack didn't seem to affect you, Sam, or Dean… unless they just didn't cover that on the show or something…

@ItSam1983: Oh, believe me, we were affected afterward. All the AU hunters that came through were as well.

@ItSam1983: … but not as much as you were. Only a couple of hours, if I remember right.

@_iamCastiel: Sam, you and Dean, and the hunters from the other universe were protected from most of the 'side effects' by the spell Rowena cast to open the rift, as well as the Grace from Lucifer used to power the spell. Celina, if I understand correctly, you came through the rift unprotected?

@redbanshee: If by "unprotected" you mean, I more or less WILLED my way through? Yeah.

@redbanshee: I didn't even know it would work, let alone know how to… protect myself.

@redbanshee: I mean, I didn't even bring a weapon because I was coming to the Bunker and meeting Dean who would have killed anything that showed up and what's gonna show up at the Bunker anyway unless it has a death wish or something…

 AAAAHHHRRGH.

I swear I could hear Sam laughing at me right now, over Twitter.

Oh no, and Cas is probably laughing at me too… uggghhhhh…

 @_iamCastiel: Yes, it was rather foolhardy… but I understand that in some things, the only way to know if it can be done is to do it. Thankfully, you were not permanently injured.

@_iamCastiel: And in fact, I might have a solution.

@ItSam1983: A solution? To what?

@_iamCastiel: To protect her from the effects of the temporal shift - in a similar fashion to Lucifer's Grace providing some protection for you and Dean.

@_iamCastiel: Celina, if you are willing - I would like to perform an experiment to see if my solution will work. 

@redbanshee: Like, right now?

@_iamCastiel: If possible, yes. I am quite eager to try it out.

 No way am I going to finally meet Castiel, Gorgeous Angel of the Friggin' LORD, smelling as awful as I'm sure I did right now. 

… FOR GOD'S SAKE DO NOT MENTION TAKING A SHOWER…

 @redbanshee: I really need to take a shower first… say a half hour from now?

 OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE…

 @redbanshee: Uh… what about Dean? You know how he is - if he finds out how much it affected me, he'll be really pissed if I kept doing it…

@ItSam1983: Don't worry about Dean, he, uh… "released the Kraken" last night, so he'll be out for a while yet.

 I really DO NOT want to contemplate the idea of Dean 'releasing the Kraken'…

 @redbanshee: Ok, gimme a half hour. I'll DM you when I'm ready to come through. 

*************************************** 

A half hour later (or so, don't judge), I was clean, dry, and refreshed.

And nervous as hell. Not just from worry over suffering a repeat of the temporal sickness.

But because I was meeting Cas. 

I'm being ridiculous. He's perfectly nice. A real sweetie by all accounts.

He wanted to PROTECT ME.

OK, yes, my heart fluttered. SUE ME. 

************************************** 

@redbanshee: Hey Sam? I'm ready when you are.

@ItSam1983: OK. We'll meet you outside the Bunker door, same place you met Dean before.

@redbanshee: Sounds good. See you in a jif. 

************************************* 

I stood in front of the mirror and cleared my mind. Envisioned the Bunker door, the smell of the gravel and dirt before it. The sound of the leaves rustling in the wind on the nearby trees. 

I stepped through the mirror and into the early afternoon Kansas sunlight. 

******************************************************************************************* 

Sam's great bear hug was the first thing that greeted me.

"That was incredible!" he exclaimed in delight. "The air just seemed to briefly shimmer, and then I saw something that looked like… a desk? And a futon? Purple walls…? And then you just popped through… " 

I couldn't help but grin at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, my spare bedroom. And I keep that mirror behind closed doors until I plan to use it - I have recurring nightmares of something walking back through it when I'm not looking…" 

"Understandable… but highly unlikely." A deep voice rumbled from behind Sam's broad back. 

My breath caught. Cas.

I peered hesitantly around Sam.

Cas stood quietly, hands in the ubiquitous trench coat pockets.

A warm smile lit his face, and bright blue eyes danced.

He was everything I imagined, and so much more. 

Sam smiled and shifted over to stand next to me. "Cas, this is Celina. Cee, Cas."

"H-h-hi," I stammered like a moron, unable to peel my eyes away from his, drowning in that blue. Frozen in place.

Sam gave me a gentle shove in his direction, breaking my reverie. I approached, hand outthrust. 

Cas removed his hands from his pockets as I approached, but instead of grasping my outstretched hand, he ignored it in favor of laying his hands gently on my shoulders, holding me at arm's length. 

"Sam has often explained to me that hugging is preferable in these situations," he said calmly, before moving his hands to my back and pulling me against his broad chest. 

My arms fluttered helplessly at my sides. 

"This is where you hug back…" he said in a soft voice, chin brushing the top of my head.

My arms tentatively wrapped around his waist, and he squeezed.

I squeezed back.

He smelled like… cinnamon. And salt. And ozone, like a lightning bolt shot through a clear summer day.

It was, literally… divine.

It lasted forever and ended all too soon. He released me, and then promptly raised a palm toward my forehead… 

"Hey Cas, hold up!" Sam interjected. Cas shot him a confused look, blue eyes squinting. 

"You should probably explain *what* you plan on doing first, right?" 

Cas backed away, eyes dropping. "Of course. My apologies." 

I plucked at his sleeve to get his attention. "Hey, it's ok." He met my eyes and I smiled into them. "But yes, I'm curious as to what your 'solution' is…" 

"I plan to imbue you with a small portion of my Grace." he said, matter-of-factly.

Like, no big deal. Just here, have some angel Grace. 

"As I explained during our Twitter conversation, Rowena's spell used Lucifer's Grace to power the portal. This also caused whoever passed through the portal to be imbued with a small portion of that Grace as well, which I believe protected them from the temporal shift." His brow furrowed slightly. "While I am merely a Seraph, not an Archangel, I am not sure exactly how much protection my Grace will give you… but I expect it will at least protect you from some of the effects you have experienced." 

I let that sink in for a minute. "'Imbue'? What exactly does that mean?" I thought about it more, and interjected as he was about to speak, "and I've already come through the…portal. Isn't the damage already done?" 

"No. Coming from your universe to ours causes you no harm since you have direct access to your native… power, for lack of a better word. Your belief, that which powers the portal for you, surrounds you there. But when you return, you're having to pull that power, that belief, from this universe before the portal opens and you can access your native power again through the open portal. This is where the damage occurs - having to use power that is not native to you to open the portal." 

I give him a slow blink. "Ooookay…so how does your Grace help in this situation?" 

"My Grace will provide a buffer - it will ease your access to the power here so it is not as much of a strain" 

"And now long will the protection last… how many trips do I get out of each shot of Angel Juice?" 

Cas shrugged. "Hence the need for experimentation." He leveled his gaze at me. "But it is very likely the 'angel juice' as you put it will only last for a single trip." 

I winced - both at the one-trip-per-angel-juice-shot prospect… and at my crass use of "angel juice" when referring to ANGELIC GRACE.

To the ANGEL PROVIDING IT.

I hesitantly glanced back up at him, expecting him to be frowning at me for my insolence. 

But instead, a small grin teased at the corners of his mouth. I breathed a sigh of relief. 

Sam seemed to take the sigh as concern or disappointment on my part. "But, we also figure that you'll only need this protection a couple of times," he interjected quickly. "The more you come through, the easier it will be for you to access and use the power here." He shrugged. "At least, that's what we hope." 

I nodded at him, then turned back to Cas.

"Ok, I'm game. How do we do this, then?" 

No sooner had the words left my lips, Cas had placed a palm on my forehead. 

I had a brief moment of thought, a hasty memory of those old evangelical shows my mom used to watch, where the preacher would place a palm on some poor sap's head and squeal "BE HEEEEEAAAALLLED!".

A nervous giggle escaped at the thought. 

Cas' lips pursed in concentration, his eyes flashed an incandescent blue… and a jolt of electrical current flashed against my forehead, surging down my arms and legs with sparks like static electricity and a bright flash behind my eyes… 

***************************************** 

"Cee… Hey, kiddo.. c'mon, talk to me!" 

Dean's voice, soft and worried, coming from the darkness. A pinprick of dim light appeared in the distance and I tried to focus on it. As I did, it grew larger, brighter, and I moved toward it. 

Warm hands on either side of my face, head cushioned on plush fabric, body suspended on soft firmness… 

A bed. With a pillow. Infirmary in the Bunker.

My eyes opened and met wide green ones… Dean. 

His sigh of relief brushed across my face… a faint hint of whiskey. I smiled. Of course, whiskey. I could use some of that right now, I thought…

His fingers tensed against my left cheek, gentle pats against my right.

"Hey, there you are…" The green eyes softened… then narrowed and hardened before looking up and over to something… someone… unseen over my right shoulder. 

"What the HELL were you thinking, Cas?" he growled, starting to rise from the sitting position on the bed next to me. 

I reached up to grab his arm, holding him down and still blinking a bit to bring him back into focus as my eyes readjusted to…well, seeing again. "Dean… it's ok. I'm ok." Twisted my head around to follow his gaze - Cas, sitting on the bed next to me. Meeting Dean's hardened stare with a squint and head tilt. 

"Dean…" Sam's voice, coming from the foot of the bed.

Dean pointed back at his brother, eyes not leaving Cas. "Zip it. I'll deal with you later." 

"OH for… shit's sake!" Censoring the g-word has become a force of habit recently, in light of events on this side of the mirror. Sitting up, I tugged harder on Dean's arm, pulling his attention away from Cas and encountering the full force of that glower. 

"I'm. Fine." Enunciating the words slowly to drive home the point, to de-escalate the situation. Met that scowl head-on with one of my own. I turned to Sam. "How long was I out?" 

"Only a few minutes…" 

"ONLY…" Dean barked. I punched his arm. 

Sighing, his eyes closed. "Fine. Someone want to explain to me what the hell *happened*?" 

"We were attempting an experiment designed to mitigate the effects of Celina's passage through the portal back to her world…" Cas started. 

"Effects?" Dean interjected, cutting him off. Turning back to me, "WHAT effects?" 

"Nothing too bad, " I said nonchalantly, keeping my features neutral - or at least I hoped I was. 

"The exertion of power necessary to return exhausted her, causing her to remain asleep for over a day…" Cas started, then stopped, puzzled, at my audible groan. My hands covered my face as I felt the force of his focus return to me. 

"WHAT? An *entire day*… and you came BACK?" Dean's voice sounded more incredulous than angry.

"Well.…yeah?" I lowered my hands and shrugged. "Cas wanted to try out his idea." 

"Oh… holy shit, I didn't even think…," Sam groaned, grimacing. "You must be STARVING…"  As if to prove his point, an audible rumble emitted from my stomach. 

I laughed. "Yeah, I could do with a bite. Can we pick this up in the kitchen while someone makes me a sandwich or something?" 

Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, both Cas and Dean rising to either side to assist. I brushed them off but as my hand brushed Cas', a blue-white spark flew from my hand to his, accompanied by an audible *pop* and the smell of ozone. 

I jumped back with a yelp of surprise, as Sam and Dean flinched in response. Cas nodded, frowning. Not surprised, as if expecting the reaction, but still unhappy about it.  

"What the hell…" Dean's eyes shot from me and back to Cas, then sighed, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm getting REALLY TIRED of asking that question." 

"I'll explain in the kitchen," Cas said mildly. Turning to me, "I suggest avoiding skin-to-skin contact for now." 

************************************* 

I wolfed down the sandwich Sam made for me and listened as Cas explained the nature of the experiment to Dean. 

"So let me get this straight - you shot her up with ANGEL JUICE? With no idea how it might affect her?" Dean exclaimed. 

I choked on the bite of sandwich, and Sam patted my back as I took a gulp of beer to chase it down. 

Cas rolled his eyes, whether at the second use of "angel juice" today or Dean's outburst, who could tell. 

"There was no way to anticipate the reaction. There is very little difference between what I did to her and what I've done to both you and Sam to heal your injuries." His eyes squinted. "A small increase in exertion, at most." 

"So what's causing the… static discharge?" Sam inquired. "That's never happened after you've healed us, no matter how much force or whatever you've used." 

I turned questioning eyes to Cas, grunting in agreement around a mouth still full of sandwich. Hey, it was good and I was hungry. 

"I can only guess that it is has something to do with you being from another universe," he said, directing the answer at me. "A universe with apparently no angels, no previous exposure to Grace." 

I swallowed and took a breath. "I still don't understand what happened to me. Did the… imbuing or whatever… fail?" I turned to Sam. "In fact, what exactly happened? I saw a flash of light and the next thing I know, I'm in that bed with Dean trying to crush my skull." 

It was Dean's turn to roll his eyes. I grinned toothily at him. He shook his head, turning away but not before I caught a twitch at the corners of his mouth. 

"When Cas used his Grace on you, you seemed to… light up, for a minute. It looked like instead of going into you, it… I dunno, seemed to *envelope* you, like if it were hitting a barrier or something." Sam explained, brows furrowed as he searched for the words. "And suddenly, it was like you… *absorbed* it, like a sponge." He shrugged apologetically. "And then you passed out. Thankfully, Cas caught you before you hit the ground." 

I stared, wide-eyed. "So I have to assume that's not what usually happens." 

"No," Sam continued. "There's a glow but it's focused at the site of the injury, and then it's gone when Cas turns it off." 

I turned to Cas, unnerved by Sam’s explanation. "So do you have any idea what your Grace did to me?" 

"My Grace hasn't done anything TO you, " he clarified. "You've merely STORED it." 

"What, are you saying she's a… a friggin’ *Grace Battery*?" Dean sputtered. 

Cas considered the analogy. "Yes, I suppose you could say that." 

**************************************** 

"Ok, well, I guess I should head back and see if the experiment worked…" I said, tossing the empty paper plate from my sandwich in the trash. I drained the bottle of beer and it joined the paper plate. 

Jack, who had joined us in the kitchen after hearing the commotion, sighed, his shoulders drooping. "But you *just* got here!" he said plaintively. 

I sat next to him at the kitchen table, placing an arm over his shoulders and squeezing - very carefully, avoiding any direct skin contact. "Actually, I've been here almost as long as I was last time, you just missed most of it." I glanced at Cas and Sam. "For the experiment to be accurate, I should only spend about the same amount of time here as I did last time." 

Cas and Sam nodded in agreement, and the five of us rose and headed toward the gym and the mirrors there. 

Outside the gym, we paused and I turned to say my goodbyes. 

"Let us know when you get back." Sam reminded me, with a cautious hug. 

Good thing I only came up to the top of his flannel-covered ribcage. I gave his waist a big squeeze. "Of course, first thing." 

"And you report *anything* off, or unusual…" Dean commanded, pulling me into an equally careful hug as Sam released me. 

I breathed an exasperated sigh into his chest. "Yes, Dean, you'll be the first to know." Pulling back, I grinned into the green eyes, and he gave me a wink. 

Another quick hug for Jack. "Goodbye," he sighed, then perked up. "and next time, we can go back with you, right? So we can go to Disneyland?" 

I smiled and pat his shoulder. "I hope so. Still have some experimentation to do first." I glanced over his shoulder meaningfully at Sam, who nodded.

Dean caught the look and frowned, but didn't say anything. He didn't have to - I got the message. 

Be careful. 

Lastly, I turned to Cas. 

I was still awed by him, timid. Startling blue eyes met mine and I felt like he was looking right through me, could read every thought. 

I really hoped not, because that would be SO embarrassing. 

"Th-thank you, Cas." I managed to stammer out. "It was… so amazing to finally meet you." 

Placing hands on my shoulders, he once again held me at arm's length. "It was… amazing… to meet you as well." he said solemnly. 

Then a bright smile lit his face, eyes crinkling at the corners. I felt the warmth of that gaze like a bright beam of summer sun. "It was my pleasure. I'm very interested to see if our experiment worked." He pulled me into a hug, and this time I didn't need to be prompted to hug back. 

"Cas?" 

He released me, eyes questioning. I stepped back, looking down at my hands. I swore I could see faint blue sparks running over them… or was it my imagination? 

"Am I going… will I be able to touch anyone back home?" 

He smiled reassuringly. "I suspect the Grace will go dormant as soon as you cross the threshold into your world." Sam nodded in agreement. "Magic didn't work there, so it would be very surprising if Grace did." 

"And I just need it on this side as a buffer, right." I rolled my shoulders, moved my neck side to side, loosening up, preparing for the transition home. 

With a final wave goodbye, I turned and started toward the doorway to the gym. I began the process of envisioning my house - the feel of the carpet, the color and brightness of the bedroom overhead lights… 

I reached the doorway, and opened the door - 

And walked right into the doorway of my spare bedroom. 

I grinned. 

I didn't need mirrors anymore. 

******************************************************************************************* 

No sooner had I stopped on the other side of my spare bedroom doorway, my phone started to buzz with incoming messages. I fired up Twitter. 

@DWImpala67: Cee?

@DWImpala67: CEE?? Are you ok?? 

@ItSam1983: Celina! What happened? Did you make it?

@ItSam1983: You just… disappeared! 

@redbanshee: Hey guys, it's OK! I'm fine!

@redbanshee: I guess the Grace… I don't seem to need the mirror anymore… 

@_iamCastiel: That is an interesting development.

@DWImpala67: Oh thank… Good. That's good.

@DWImpala67: And, way to understate things there, Cas. 

@ItSam1983: I'm just glad you're ok. That was… unnerving to see. 

@redbanshee: Oh… oh no, did Jack see? Is he OK? Let him know I'm fine!

@ItSam1983: Jack's fine. In fact, he was positive you were ok.

@ItSam1983: Almost as if he could see you, or sense you or something. 

@_iamCastiel: I was also able to sense your safe arrival.

@_iamCastiel: I believe it's the Grace - even though it is dormant…

@_iamCastiel: Is it dormant? Have you touched anyone yet? 

@redbanshee: No, not yet. No one is home right now.

@redbanshee: What about my cats? That would be the same, right? 

@_iamCastiel: If the Grace is still active, it should react the same with any living creature.

@redbanshee: Ok hold on, let me go find one of the jerks. 

@redbanshee: OK, I pet the cat, no sparks or anything, so I guess it's dormant.

@redbanshee: I'll test again on my daughter when she gets home… very carefully!

@redbanshee: But even though it's dormant, you can still… detect it… me? 

@_iamCastiel: I can sense its presence. I can tell that its… not here, but elsewhere.

@_iamCastiel: Jack can as well. 

@IAmCalledJack: Hello! Cas is right, I can sense his Grace, in you.

@IAmCalledJack: You're so far away :( 

@redbanshee: Huh… well, I guess I won't be able to sneak over there anymore… 

@DWImpala67: Wait… you've been sneaking over here?

@ItSam1983: And not telling us? 

@redbanshee: NO! Of course not… when have I had the time?

@redbanshee: I SLEPT for an entire day and a half since you last saw me, remember?

@redbanshee: But now I really *can't*… can I? 

@_IAmCastiel: Sam and Dean would be unable to detect your presence here should you cross over without informing them.

@_IAmCastiel: Only Jack and I are able to do so. 

@DWImpala67: CAS. NOT HELPING.

@DWImpala67: Don't even think about coming over here alone, missy.

@ItSam1983: Yeah, what Dean said. No experimenting without us! 

@redbanshee: FINE, fine. Spoilsports.

@redbanshee: I’m a big girl, y'know. I have a sword and everything! 

@DWImpala67: Just… don't, ok? Please?

@DWImpala67: For me? 

@redbanshee: OK, Dean. For you. 

@ItSam1983: So how do you feel? Last time when you got back, you were very tired…

@redbanshee: Actually, I feel pretty good. Not tired at all.

@_IAmCastiel: But, to be prudent, we should wait to see how you feel tomorrow before pronouncing the experiment a success.

@redbanshee: Right, makes sense.

@redbanshee: OK guys, I've had an eventful day. I think I'm gonna go do something mundane, like read a book or something.

@redbanshee: Or maybe watch that show about your lives… 

@DWImpala67: GROAN.

@redbanshee: HAHA! Sorry, Dean.

@redbanshee: Love you! 

@DWImpala67: I know. :)