#Water resources assignment help

[savage-rhi]

🫂

[motherofdogs1010]

Of Messiahs and Seeds I (Dark!Paul Atreides x Reader)

Summary: Emperor Paul of House Atreides has set forth with expansion of his empire on the planets that have resisted and has now come across the last stronghold that resists him: Terra Millennium...

Warnings: dark! fic, 18+ only, eventual DUBCON, eventual forced marriage, eventual pregnancy, violence, language, drinking, chubby!reader, dark!Paul Atreides, possessive!Paul, obssessive! Paul, spoilers for Dune Part 2

Dividers by @firefly-graphics Banner by @vase-of-lilies

Series Masterlist

"Terra Millennium stands as a enomely in the universe for their rejection against the Empire", the hologram records said. "A two-century long battle was waged for the planet through the Great Houses yet the people won through the help of someone they have since called 'The Conqueror'."

Paul had heard of the Terra Millennium, their planet one of lush greenery, vast oceans and an abundance of resources that the previous Emperor had tried countless times to harvest just as House Harkonnen had done with the Spice on Arrakis, but alas, no one had ever been successful in mining Terra Millennium. He had heard that they experience something called 'seasons', he wondered what that was.

Just as he had done with Arrakis, Paul sat in his private room, watching hologram clips of Terra Millennium as his fleet flew to the planet to finally land conquest through the help of the Fremen.

"Anthropologists have never been able to stay long on the planet or among the people, but what has been gathered is the people have rejected the teachings of the Bene Gesserit, labeling it as hertic literature."

Terra Millennium was an odd planet with an odd people who had unusually long live spans, being able to live into their thousands without a single wrinkle or grey, they repented against the Bene Gesserit, the use of the Spice; he had heard of the people of that land believing solely in the ruling Queens because of a crystal, one of immense power that was sought after.

"Characterized by their white hair, the ruling House of L/N have upheld the traditional values of the planet, which has a population of over 1 billion. Only female heirs have been able to inherit the throne and it is rumored that a single crystal that is worn by every ruling Queen is said to hold immense power that has granted its people longevity, peace and prosperity."

A knock interrupted his research, Paul seeing Stilgar walk in followed by Gurney.

"Muad'Dib, we have touched land on Terra Millennium", Stilgar said, "they have responded to our communication message."

"What did they say?" he asked, Gurney chuckled.

"They said if we proceed with our mission, they will see it as an act of war", Gurney said, "they're real hard asses here."

"You've been, Gurney?" Paul asked, curious.

"Once", Gurney replied, "I came with your father on a diplomatic assignment, but that was with their previous Queen Helene. This one is new, just coronated a few months ago."

He thought back to the new dreams he had been having of a woman whose hair was the color of white that hung down near the ground in large curls, whose eyes were hard and the color of lilac with the roar of a great beast that rung in his ears when he would awaken from his dreams.

Unlike his dreams with Chani, these felt different now that he had drunken the Water of Life. His visions of the woman consisted of a gentle breeze sweeping through her hair, it curling around her as she was dressed in a long, white silk dress that clung to her body and trailed in a long train behind her with woven golden in the upper bodice. She stood on a tall pillar of crystal, a tall scepter in her hands that she was raising above her head as the breeze picked up.

Soon, the dreams melted in a great war as crystals encapsulating him, a bright light that blinded him yet filled him with warmth and security.

"Show them the full might of the Empire", Paul said, "after all, they are in the presence of the Muad'Dib."

And it was those eyes that greeted him when he finally set foot on the pavement of Terra Millennium with its tall structures that were made of variously colored crystals.

Neo-Queen Amaris was the regal name Y/N had chosen to go by when she took the throne a mere few months ago. Of course, she went by her name, Y/N in private with those closets to her and only by her regal name with others.

Y/N had heard the rumors of the new Emperor wanting to claim her home, her people; he wanted to bring her planet into the vastly growing empire that he ruled under as a supposed Messiah to the Fremen and Bene Gesserit: Muad'Dib. Everyone had heard of how he supposedly liberated Arrakis and the Fremen people, marrying Princess Irulan as a political move to secure his position as the new Emperor.

Only a few days ago did a message come into their Communication's Hub from the Emperor about finally claiming Terra Millennium for not only himself but for the Fremen as it would be their 'Green Paradise'.

War will come to Terra Millennium if you refuse to submit, the message read.

"My Queen", her advisor, Lord York, said as she sat on her throne. "Reports have come in that the Atreides fleet has made contact on the landing pad near the Capital. Scouts have seen the Atreides Army beginning to get ready."

Lord York was a man of small stature with a head full of bronze curls and dark brown eyes that always looked calculated as if he was already ten steps ahead.

Y/N looked over at Lord York before bringing a hand to the crystal that hung around her neck on a chain that could never be removed from her neck before slowly standing up from her throne that was encrusted in gemstones.

"I believe it is time we greet them", she said, looking over her court. "After all, hospitality is what our people are known for."

And it is not like they have any chance of having their weapons working; outside weaponry not from Terra M had no chance of working and she wondered what their reactions would be once they realized this.

"But before we go", Lord York said, "may I make a suggestion?"

Y/N made a motion to the man, who gave a nod and said, "I believe it is our Queen's best interest to wear your ancestor, The Conqueror's crown and scepter to greet our guests. It would show the great strength you possess, a message to not only the Great Houses but the Emperor as well."

"That sounds like a excellent idea."

Re-dressing in her finest silk and gems, she saw the ruler that she portrayed herself to be to her people: powerful. She was the hope of her people, the force that kept away colonizers and maintained the peace, prosperity and love of their people.

The crystal felt especially heavy in moments such as these, knowing that only those of her blood could properly wield it's magic and power. How it came to be in their hands was a mystery, stories tell that the Conqueror was in battle against the Imperium when it appeared to them.

It was a source of strength, of power and she promised her mother that she would wield it well. That she would do whatever was necessary for their people to continue to thrive and survive, even if it came at the expense of her own well-being.

"You are in the presence of our Neo-Queen", a man said with a thick facial beard, "first of her name, descendant of our goddess Selene and The Conqueror, wielder of the great Silver Crystal, Mother of all, Neo-Queen Amaris."

Paul watched as the man motioned to the woman he had been dreaming about, he could see that as the breeze came that she wore no shoes; all the Terrians didn't despite their silken clothes as they stood amongst the tall crystal structures. They had landed as close to the Capital, finding that there was a landing pad despite the relatively isolated nature of the planet.

"I welcome you, Paul of House Atreides", she said with a stoic expression. "But now you must leave."

The woman, their Queen Amaris, looked upon them with a hint of annoyance as she held a large scepter in one hand that was as tall as Duncan Idaho had been with gold and gem embellishments, but what was curious was that at the top of the scepter where it looked as if a missing piece was needed. The crown she wore on her head was large, glittering in diamonds and curved up into a point as she stood there, her hair having a few small braids that pulled the framing hair away with kiss curls on her forehead.

"Leave?" Paul said with some amusement.

Irulan stood next to him dressed in a silver mesh outfit, a metal hair net that connected over into her dress that held down her short blonde hair. Paul was glad that he Voiced the woman to stop talking, she would not stop and frankly, he had no desire to try and pursue a romantic relationship with the woman after Chani chose to leave further into Arrakis.

His mother stood amongst them, holding the bundled form of his sister, Alia.

"I did not realize a Emperor could have poor hearing", Amaris said, "you are not welcome on Terra Millennium nor do we plan on allowing for you to colonize us. Terra M remains alone."

Paul took in the way she spoke, her accent one he had never heard before and the formal way of speaking. He noticed the large gem that hung around her neck, it sparkled in the sunlight as she stood there and looked to be the size of a her palm.

"Also, we did not apperciate your Bene Gesserit coming", she continued, "spreading their heretic language, you will find them in the Prisoner's Bay."

"You don't believe in the Muad'Dib, the Kwisatz Haderach?" Paul asked.

"We believe in our Queen, may her reign be as prosperous as Selene", the bearded man said.

The Queen just looked at him with contempt, he saw her lip curl a little in annoyance.

And it was that look that made something stir deep in Paul and made him feel something that he never felt before. She looked at him as if he was a bug ready to be squashed underneath her foot

He wanted to possess the woman in front of him, at all costs and he didn't care who he had to kill...

He was going to.

[yandere-sins]

The Orcas' Tale - Krill's Story I

a/n: I have... not much to say, although you should read the warnings. But I need you guys to know that this is 7.666 words long. I didn't make it this way intentionally, but if that isn't devilish, I don't know what is :')

Fandom: Original Content   Pairings: Yandere!Orca Merman x GN!AFAB!Reader Warnings: Yandere, Sexual Content (Nothing explicit yet just drug-induced neediness and description of a cock doing what a cock does, Size... adoration, Begging), Violence (Thrashing, Breaking of bones, fighting machines, Verbal threats, mention of medical tools, syringes), Getting drugged non-consensually, Description of being drugged up, Animalistic behavior, Mention of blood/claws/sharp teeth, Mention of Slavery, Mention of Abuse, Depiction of spoiled Food and Seal Meat, Very long post

"It truly is an impressive recovery of such a valuable resource! Being able to compare the exact date from years ago with now makes for a great opportunity in our research, and now we have two of them! This is your chance to recover from your mistakes all those years ago!"

With pep in his step, your supervisor led you through the long, cagey hallway of the facility, making it almost hard to follow him with all the enthusiasm he was displaying. You, on the other hand, felt nothing but dread as you held onto the notes you had been giving about your new project, almost feeling scared to glance at the papers.

You already knew what they'd say. The mistakes they'd speak of.

Because you were already familiar with the mermen, who had recently been caught by the facility. You freed them all those years ago out of shame and sympathy. And you paid the price, your unpaid labor bordering on slavery. Your choice had been death or continuing their research, and after looking down a gun barrel once, you decided to invest in your studies instead, the company willing to further your education and allow you to continue testing and working with the poor creatures they kept here—albeit with supervision.

"Talent like yours shouldn't be wasted," your supervisor recited the words of the facility owner, but they sounded like a warning coming from him rather than encouragement. 

When he finally stopped at the door farthest down the corridor, you were appalled to see the number on it, finding it less than funny that they'd assigned the same room from years ago as your new laboratory again. All these little digs they made at you never let you forget that they were still angry about what you did to sabotage the facility—as if you could ever. These digs were just there to make you miserable and establish who your life belonged to. You were replaceable, but you wouldn't get out of this alive. If you wanted to survive and have even the slightest chance of escaping this place of horrors one day, you'd have to obey. 

"So do better this time," your supervisor said, smiling down at you smugly as he pushed the door open, the heavy metals screeching with cold, metal bitterness. Bastard, you thought, walking inside the laboratory. The grate floor spread above the large pool beneath your feet throughout the whole room, making your steps audible as you entered. The water was calm, undisturbed—suspicious.

"Oh, also, this one's been really angry ever since we brought him in. Better not let your head get bitten off! Would be a waste. You're too pretty to be a corpse just yet."

You whipped around with a glare, but all you saw was the smug grin on your supervisor's face before he shut the door with a loud bang. A mechanical lock slid into place with a whirring sound before everything became quiet around you. It was strange that they'd leave you here alone after what you did, but then again, there was no way you'd be able to recreate the mistakes you made. Even though you'd never receive any respect or sympathy from anyone in this cursed place, you couldn't help but stare at the metal door, plastered with warnings and reminders to leave equipment in the laboratory before leaving, wishing it would open again and let you out of here.

But that wouldn't happen.

It was ironic that they'd leave you alone with the merman you helped escape before, but the only way out was that door, and it needed a passcode to leave. One you didn't have. You'd eat, sleep, and work as they intended; there was no escaping this, even if the hope never left you. They didn't think you'd make it out alive unless they let you. Much less would you be able to help anyone escape again. Slowly, you turned forward, raising your head to look at the workstation on the opposite side of the room. You couldn't help from glancing downwards every few steps; caution was the only thing that kept you alive in this place.

But even as you made your way over to the station, your shadow undoubtedly making your presence known to the water, everything remained calm. The sound of machines running, keeping the pool intact, and the water bubbling from the pump were all that matched the sounds of your steps and breaths. For a "really angry" merman, this was suspicious. He must have known you were here, yet neither came to watch nor to attack you? You sighed inwardly, thinking about how much of a hassle it would be to actually get him to your examination area if you couldn't fish him out of the pool.

Once you reached the counters with the equipment, you set down the papers you had been given, spreading them out to scan over them. Even if you didn't want to interact again with these pitiful yet obscenely fascinating creatures, you knew that without any results from experimenting on them, you'd be stuck here for all eternity. The expectations were high that you'd find what everyone was looking for, even though the experiments were nothing short of cruel and disgusting. Drugs, surgery while awake, mutilations—those were just a few things you had watched the researchers do to these creatures. And for what? 

Eternal life. 

A fantasy.

How did you know? You were the one finding out that even if their life expectancy was closer to that of turtles, even the merfolks would die one day from old age. There was no such thing as living forever with the help of a mermaid's flesh, tears, or blood, and researching them brought forth interesting facts but not the results that this facility had been constructed for.

And yet, here you were, doing as you were told, trying to find anything that would be deemed interesting enough. 

You heard a splash behind you, making you whip around, trying to make out a sign of life. Even though the floor was raised a few meters above the surface and the partition was closed so nothing could fall in or jump out of the water, it was still unsettling to hear but never see the creature you were locked up with. You knew better than to show fear openly to apex predators like the mermaids, but it had been so long since they let you near one that you could feel its presence—or the lack thereof—frightening you to the bone.

But you had to keep going, no matter what. Turning back to your papers, you spread them out with shaky hands, scanning over the information the first-contact team had collected. A large species, presumably orca-related, male, mature, and chipped. The last fact had been underlined twice, emphasizing the importance of it. This merman had already been in the facility, and they tracked it back to when you had been foolish enough to think you could save them. It had been years. Yet he and another one, as you heard through the grapevine, had come back against any better judgment, making you wonder about the intelligence you knew these creatures possessed.

However, no matter how much information you could absorb through the notes, you knew you were only stalling time. The next step would be getting this creature out of the pool and proceeding with your experiments, but the fear made you hesitate. This merman had been starving for a week in preparation for his exams, and although hunger wasn't a good state for anyone to be in, it was thought it might help to be the one feeding them when you needed their cooperation. Like you'd do with an animal. Unfortunately, they were too clever to fall for these ruses most of the time.

You still had to try. 

Picking up some gloves, you went to the extensive double-doored fridge, pulling out the trays with seal meat on them. However, someone placed dead fish-heads between the pieces in varying states of decay. You took a deep breath, unwilling to give spoiled meat to the creature, even though you'd have to rely on it if you wanted to get anywhere. Picking out a slab of seal meat on the furthest corner of the tray, you just hoped it was mostly uncontaminated as you carried it over to the buttons that would part the floor into an opening from which the merman could be caught. 

You hated pushing these buttons, everything reminding you of the biggest mistake of your life. Sure, you saved three mermen from this cruelty, but look what your efforts got you. 2 of them came back, and you were nothing more than a slave. Nothing turned out to be as heroic as in the books you read.

The metal grated against itself as it parted wide enough to allow feeding. Smaller species could have stuck an arm through the gap, but you knew from the past that it didn't work for any of the large specimens. At least that meant you were safe from an attack for now, though it was debatable how long. The meat sunk further and further down into the blue, but nothing happened. You leaned forward over the gap in anticipation, waiting for any kind of appearance in the wet. However, when the water finally stirred, causing slight waves to appear, it wasn't a shadow that moved through it, and neither did it give any mind to the food. 

You jumped back in surprise, your body hitting the wall next to the buttons, when fingers lurched out of the water, gripping the ends of the partition and pushing them apart. Water splashed everywhere as the merman tried to widen the gap. The metal resisted initially, but even such a strong material bound to an even stronger machine relented under constant pressure. 

As the cool water hit your face, you finally snapped out from the shock, slamming your hand down on the buttons that would close the floor and set the machines into motion to work against the abnormal strength of a merman. The two forces rung with each other for a few seconds before the machine finally did its thing and closed the gap, but it felt like minutes of struggling, of holding your breath in anticipation. 

The merman held onto the metal for as long as possible, and you listened to the gut-wrenching sound of something breaking before he finally let go, the splashing of water dying down. The floor never fully closed, leaving a small gap not even your hand would fit through. Still, you were unsure if the merman succeeded in the end by breaking the mechanical device or if it had been his fingers that broke from the pressure. You wished you didn't have to find out. 

Sinking to your bottom, you took deep breaths, calming yourself. Heart racing and head spinning from the lack of a constant airflow, you watched the water, terror, and anticipation mingling. If the floor broke, it would at least delay your second encounter with this creature for a while. But if not, you'd have given it one more reason to be angry. You watched as his dark shadow—no, body moved through the water, his movements agitated, restless. All you felt was misery, knowing you were causing this distress to him again.

You still had no clue which one of the three it was, although the body was too large to be the smallest of the three "Lyr". Due to the experiments, he had lost a significant amount of body weight and muscles, as well as his mental stability. They would have put him down had you not freed them, as he became a risk quickly. You thought you were doing them a favor by saving them, but you had no idea if Lyr ever made it out in the wild. Judging by the quick thinking and the strength of the orca roaming below you, it was more likely to be either "Nerrocan" or "Krill". Their names were burned into your mind like silent reminders of your biggest mistake and greatest accomplishment alike. 

But the secret was quickly revealed when the merman finally seemed to calm down, swimming out into the back of the room for a moment and giving you time to collect yourself, too. You were still sitting on your ass, none the wiser, when you noticed black and white hairs emerging from further down the pool, slowly, cautiously drifting back towards you. As if on the prowl.

Surely he was waiting for another chance to wreck the floor open and try to escape. There was no reason for this creature not to be out to harm you, and you were such an easy prey, caught in this room with him. Your death wouldn't be mourned, but you also couldn't help pitying this merman, not knowing that your death would probably be his, too. Soldiers wouldn't hesitate to shoot something that was stronger, more deadly, and had too much freedom if they had to, even if it was a valuable species to study. You wondered which merman it was, and feeling a little safer with the floor closed, you leaned forward, trying to make it out.

The most brilliant of red spied out of the water the moment you looked down at it. Unmistakably, like polished rubies, these eyes followed your every move. You watched your own muscles tense and the horror in your expression as you realized which of the three mermen it was before you saw your own gaze fill with sadness in his eyes.

Krill.

The reason you risked everything.

His brows furrowed, then lifted as if surprised, too, although his body stayed submerged, tense and ready to act. There was no way he'd remember you, was there? Despite your doubts, you raised a hand, giving him a silly little wave before addressing him directly. 

"Hello… again."

He said nothing, and you realized he must have forgotten you. It was better that way for now… even if it stung after all you did to help him. 

Holding onto the wall, you got back on your feet, not wanting to be such an easy target and so close to him. He could try something again, and you'd be at a disadvantage if you couldn't even walk. "I'm sure it's uncomfortable, but I need you out of the water for a while. You remember it, right?"

You held your palm above the button that would activate The Fisher, a machine that could detect and catch unwilling mermaids by itself. But you were still close to the opening, so any reassurance from the merman would have been nice to have.

"Go ahead, open that gate again. See where that gets you," Krill threatened, and you believed him. His brows furrowed, teeth gnashing as his anger returned, and you had to realize that he was no longer like the sweet merman you once cared for. Sure, he had been drugged and broken into submission back then, but he had still treated you somewhat kindly, gifting you rocks and following you around the enclosure like a lost puppy. If you didn't know it better, you two had been somewhat close back then, having come to an understanding despite your differences. That was not the case anymore, you could see it.

"You'll see, I'll get out of here, and you'll regret capturing me again."

That hurt. It hadn't been your choice. If it had been your choice, you'd have helped all those poor souls confined inside this facility, making sure that neither merfolk nor humans suffered the consequences of the greed of some rich people. But you had no choice in this matter. You never had. 

Pressing the button, you stepped aside so The Fisher could do its wonder. You didn't want to, but you had to. Didn't want to put him through the same torture again at your hands. But Krill had been foolish enough to get captured again, and you were foolish enough to still hold on to the hope that you could make a change in your life if you obeyed. This time, the machine parting the floor stuttered, and although The Fisher descended from the ceiling, it couldn't open. 

"You are a fool if you think you can capture me with that. Force me to play your little games again, Human!"

Even though you tried to ignore him, it was hard when Krill paced around the opening, taunting you. You had to watch the machines work and fail as the floor was stuck. The Fisher was unable to move as it detected the closed floor, and you wondered how you would proceed if the location became unsuitable to work with. 

With a loud crash, Krill threw himself against the floor, and you gasped as a wave of cold water splashed over you. As you sputtered, you heard the floor grating, the sound painful to both of you, evident by Krill trying to escape it by dropping below the water. But with the sudden opening appearing, the metal claws of The Fisher snapped forward, scanning and detecting where they had to go. 

Until you saw it with your own eyes, you could have never believed such a flimsy-looking machine could restrain the apex predator of the sea, effortlessly capturing him by his wrist, neck, and the space between his fin and tail. Sure, he could throw his weight around despite being restricted, but there was little he could do to hurt you unless he broke free. However, no mermaid ever broke free from The Fisher in your years of working here. It was that effective.

You watched as The Fischer pulled Krill out of the water, shiny droplets of wet falling off of him, elevating every muscle, every toned ab on his belly. He was glistening in the unnatural lightening of the laboratory like a precious gem, and your heart clenched with sadness, knowing there was nothing you could do for this beautiful creature. You had to cover your ears as he began shrieking and cursing, most of it in a language that you never bothered to learn as you'd be incapable of ever speaking it. Siren was more of a singing rather than talking in the first place, and though you liked to sing to yourself, you'd never learn it on a level that could match the skill that his language required.

As you watched him, the first thing you noticed was his size. He had grown, although the rough weight and measurements would be taken by the machine holding him in place. The time in the ocean seemed to have done wonders for him. His fins were intact, and the tag on his tail was blinking despite being such an old model. Since then, there must have been at least seven upgrades over the years, and you'd be responsible for changing it eventually.

Once he was dragged onto the research area, he finally seemed to calm down a little, although he glared at you, fury revealing in his eyes. The Fischer restricted his head movement, but his willpower remained. "You are truly the worst," he sneered. "First, you let us go, then you capture us again. What do you think we are? Your little playthings? Is it fun to mangle us? You enjoy this?"

Testing his strength against the shackles, Krill twisted and turned in the hold, but you tried not to give his words too much attention. He was different from how he was years ago, and you had to say goodbye to the semi-good relationship you two had before, the precious image you had held onto of him. Both of you were fighting for survival, as pitiful as it was, and you had a crapload of tests to run before they'd let you get away from him and pity his fate and yourself. 

With new-found confidence as you watched him rendered immobilized, you returned to the fridge, luckily not encountering any more poor attempts at making life hard for you as you opened the drawers full of tranquilizers. There was yet one to be found that could entirely knock out these creatures, but they had a significant calming effect. And—as you hoped—pain-relieving. Because there were a lot of things you had to do to him that wouldn't be easy for both of you. 

Gathering the tranquilizer shots, various test tubes, tools, and your to-do list on a tray, you carried it over to a table closer to him, taking deep breaths to brace yourself. You were tense, your fingers growing numb from anxiety. You had been assigned to the labs for most of the years, rarely encountering a merman again after what you did. And although you trained for this, the thoughts of hurting him were twisting your stomach. 

"You might think it's fun for us humans, but I wonder what you were thinking coming back here. Maybe you enjoyed the treatment more than you let on, hm?"

Your voice was feeble, even when you tried to act superior. Bantering wouldn't magically develop a relationship between you two, but you couldn't endure the silence when no one spoke. It felt wrong—like he was going to attack you again any second. You needed to keep yourself anchored to reality, or you might have fainted. After everything you went through, you couldn't remember the confidence you had to allow yourself to do something as drastic as release three orcas from a highly secured facility like this. A shame, really. You deserved confidence as you were one of the best, after all. 

Even if you couldn't let him know, you still felt anxious about something happening. You returned to the original counters, providing you with everything you needed, put on new gloves after wiping your still-wet face from being splashed with a towel, and proceeded with a mask and apron to achieve even the smallest amount of cleanliness. You'd be unable not to hurt him at the end of this session, but you at least wanted to avoid him dying from sepsis as well as getting his blood all over yourself. 

"I do not," he snapped, watching as you prepared everything, seemingly having given up fighting the machine but not you. "I came back for Nerrocan."

"Huh…" you mumbled, intrigued by this information. So it was Nerrocan who came back here, not Lyr. Interesting. "Risking it all for your cousin?" you asked, and his eyes narrowed.

"I see you still remember us," he snarled, his lips parting in a cocky grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. Krill looked… uncomfortable almost. You couldn't blame him. This all must have been beyond uncomfortable for the merman. 

"And you, me."

Silence befell you two again as you picked up the tranquilizer, wrapping your hand around the container, surprised when you realized what you were doing. It had been so long that you thought you wouldn't remember your old habits. You used to always warm the drugs so they wouldn't be so bitterly cold when applied on the mermaids. 

Krill flapped his fin despite being restricted, and you looked up at him, catching a glimpse of worry as he looked at the syringe in your hand. "Ran out of the good stuff, eh? I remember it being purple, not that icky color," he mocked, but he didn't sound as confident anymore as he was before. 

"Should have come earlier if you wanted that. I heard this one has interesting side-effects when applied."

Rounding the table, you noticed his fin flap again pitifully, almost making you hesitate. He seemed nervous, muscles spasming in the tension of his restrictions. Stepping up to his hips, you felt his eyes follow your every step, almost making you feel reminiscent of the past. You took the integrated step upwards at the side of the research station, effectively standing above him now to see better. Everything was perfectly laid out so that your work could be done effectively. That's how you had to see it, too. This was work, nothing personal.

"You don't have to do this," Krill suddenly said, unusually calm but determined. "You're not a bad person, you saved us before."

This time, you did look directly at him, giving him your full attention for a few seconds of silence. His gaze didn't waver, didn't move away. He meant what he said. At least, that's what you were supposed to believe. Sirens were prone to lying to get what they wanted, and Krill did not want the drug in your hands, warmed up by your palm wrapped around it. But it wouldn't stop you. You gulped, inhaling deeply. It couldn't stop you.

"And now I have to save myself. Please hold still so I don't hurt you."

Diverting your attention back to his hips, you drove your hands along the slick surface of his body, trying to find any space capable of being squeezed. He jerked once when you touched him, trying to get away but ultimately pressing his hips up into your palm. Eventually, you found a soft spot, pinching the skin between your fingers. Krill shuddered, his body twisting, but The Fischer kept it in place. You'd be safe, even if you hated yourself for doing what you had to. 

The syringe punctured his flesh with only a bit of resistance, and you injected the liquid tranquilizer quickly, stepping away when you were done to watch what would happen. The medication used to be a fickle thing, sometimes agitating, sometimes drugging the mermaids out of their minds. But it usually took a while before it worked. Not this version, though. So many things changed since the last time you worked with the mermaids. But it was cruel all the same.

You listened to Krill groan in pain and relief at the same time. Pressure built, his body twisting and arching, with his spine bending uncomfortably for you as the drug spread throughout him before every muscle seemed to suddenly give out, relaxing him completely and making his body sack in his holds almost lifelessly. Worried, you stepped closer, searching for a pulse. It wasn't for another half a minute before you noticed the even rise and fall of his chest, his gills flaring even though he wasn't using them. The seemingly calm state of the merman made you bolder, although the fear of him faking something never subsided. You walked up to his face, staring into the clouded rubies of his eyes, surprised to find them moving around still, searching for something or someone, despite being slower, less alert than before. 

"I'm sorry," you whispered, unsure if he could even hear you, but you felt terrible seeing what you did to him. Even if he was a creature that wouldn't hesitate to kill you, he didn't deserve to go through what the facility wanted him to. Reaching up, you brushed the hair out of his face, the strands gently gliding through your fingers without any resistance, almost as if they were a liquid defying all the physics you knew. 

Even after all this time, you remembered he used to have longer hair. It used to float above the water, coating it in strings of glossy silk. But now he sported a wolf cut that fitted him just as well. Part of his hair had turned white, with only the top remaining in the same black you were used to. You wondered if it was because of the experiments or just a natural change of color over the years when his head suddenly turned, his cheek feeling heavy as he rested it in your palm. Krill seemed as unaware of his actions as he should be after being forced into surrender by the drug, but it seemed to make the forgotten part of him that felt safe with you submerge again, the feeling almost the same as from the past. You quickly caught yourself falling back into thoughts of things long gone and got to work, cutting off both black and white strands with small scissors, hoping it wouldn't suddenly agitate him. But Krill remained unresponsive, and you pushed away your guilt to quickly store your samples.

Focusing your mind on your work, as there was so much to do, and you didn't want him to recover his strength before you had completed most of the preparations you had to make. You measured and cut down his claws, trying your best not to cause any harm to him and quickly storing the talons for further research. The size of his hands was massive, and you marveled at their humanness for a moment, driving your finger gently over the ridges and joints. Unfortunately, as expected, some of his fingertips were broken, smashed by the struggle with the floor grates. You wanted to clean and wrap them securely. But when Krill let out a long sigh, sounding almost pained just by your touching his hands, you immediately stopped, fearing his wrath upon regaining mobility.

You did further measurements on smaller areas like his hands and fins, everything that could be deducted more thoroughly by hand than by machine. Every time you came around to his head, you looked into his eyes, the guilt threatening to wash over you when they locked with yours, steadfast despite him being out of it, so you quickly moved on. 

While you were at it, you connected his chip to a reader, interested in the data that could be found on it, and removed the jewelry that hung from his body. It would only be a hindrance to your experiments, and perhaps remnants on the metal could determine where the merman was originally from. However, the weight of some of the decorations he had prided himself with—like his necklace of teeth—weighed so much that you needed to drag them over the floor, wondering how this could be efficient for a predator.

"So far, so good," you mumbled as you let the program run its course, wiping off some sweat from your forehead with your sleeve and looking at the situation for a moment. It had been too long, you couldn't really remember the exact procedure to which you should have stuck, but instead of giving your to-do list the attention to find out, your eyes fixated on something else—scars. Albeit not uncommon, there were a lot more now than you remembered, and you raised a hand to his tail, sliding your fingers over the scarred tissue, putting slight pressure on it.

Krill's body jerked immediately, and you jumped back from him, observing the merman. His head rolled forward in the restraints, tired eyes searching for you but unable to focus. 

"Not there… touch..." His speech was slurred, another effect of the new drug, but you couldn't help but smile faintly at him, seeing how he still resisted. 

"I need to count them," you explained, hoping it would soothe his mind. If he could understand it. You couldn't be sure it had any effect, but if you were in his position, you would have wanted to be told what was going on, you thought. "It won't hurt, I promise."

Measuring tape in hand, you placed your clipboard with an empty page on top of his body, moving from his fin slowly upwards and jotting down your findings. There were a lot of prominent scars standing out from his body markings, but even more smaller ones barely visible. It felt quite intimate to search his body so thoroughly, but it had to be done. Krill moved pitifully against and into your touch as if unsure where to go and unable to understand what was happening. Even if it made you lose your balance a few times, you let him, feeling bad for all you were doing. It was the slightest bit of freedom you could give him without risking your own head.

By the time you reached his chest, some clarity had returned to his eyes, and he couldn't control the sounds coming from him. You tried not to agitate him with pressure and touch, but you had to do your work. An arrangement of chirps and sighs, some grunts, and nervous jittering rang out, echoing through the rooms. Deep breaths pushed his chest out, and sighs bordering on moans shivered through his whole body. But you were content as long as he didn't throw his weight around and push you off the step and into your medical equipment. 

"Must you be so thorough," he slurred as you examined his chest, following the curve of his pectoral muscles with your fingers. You looked up at him, his head crooked to the side, still too heavy to hold up on his own despite the metal neck brace, but his eyes were clearer now, following you more intensely. 

"I have to, I'm sorry. I don't want it to be uncomfortable, but I have to document them."

Writing down your finds on your clipboard, you must have pressed it down a bit too hard on his chest because Krill's head fell back, a long groan escaping him, back arching again. "Sorry…" you repeated, the guilt beginning to eat you up, but he only rolled his head in the restraint. 

"No…" he muttered. "Not uncomfortable... I feel weird. It's hot. Make it stop."

You were unsure what to do, but there were only a few more scars before you'd have to move on to his arms and, eventually, his backside. You wanted to at least get the chest ones down before you would have to give him another shot of tranquilizer, as Krill was growing more restless every time you touched him. You wished the examination could have stopped there. That you could have released him and put him back into the cold wet, but you needed to finish this. Even when he started gnashing his teeth and twisting in his restraints again.

"What are you doing?!" he suddenly snapped, much more coherent than before, his head jerking forward, ruby-red eyes glowering at you. You tried not to let it get to you, tried to make it quick so he wouldn't have to suffer, but Krill wouldn't let it go. 

"Stop it!" he demanded as you inspected another small scar around his nipple. It was barely visible against the lighter-toned skin there, but you found it, grazing over the nub a few times while working out the details of the scar you needed. Krill was getting more aggressive with his protests, lashing out at you while many different kinds of sounds escaped him, and it was almost amusing to think that it was because of your touch. You couldn't help spreading your palm over his nipple once, letting the elastic of your gloves weigh down and rub over it, causing every muscle in his body to harden instantly. You shouldn't have abused this situation like this, but seeing him react so sharply, his breath coming out in a drawn-out hiss, was somewhat a relief. Knowing it wasn't all terrible, all cruel and painful. But you caught a grip on yourself quickly, working efficiently until you could finally step away once you had found every last scar on his chest.

"All done," you assured him, unable to keep yourself from grinning a little as he let out a strained but haughty hmpf. He was almost back to his new normal, which made you glad. The drug was awful, but it was good to know he wouldn't be broken down this easily. Your back was turned for only a second when you heard him rattling in his restraints, more clear in his mind again as it seemed. It caused you to want to tease him a little.

"I liked it better when you were quiet, Krill. You didn't react to every one of my touches as if I was trying to seduce you."

"How dare you! I can't believe I am back here with you as if you are…" The word seemed to elude him as he bit his tongue, and you turned to look at his face, so much tension in his expression that you thought he was going to burst. Krill wasn't looking at you for once, focusing on his own body. Walking up to him again, his gaze shifted from straight down back to you, a spark of something you couldn't pinpoint washing over him. Insecurity? Fear? No way. 

"Don't come closer again!" he hissed, tossing a bit more in his restraints, and you stopped in your tracks, subconsciously listening to him like an idiot. But Krill wasn't being malicious; something was wrong. Even though you two weren't on friendly terms, you could tell something was off. His gills were flared, pupils blown wide open. He looked mostly like the monster you had to believe he was, but there was a sense of panic that an apex predator shouldn't ever display unless something terrible was happening to them. And you couldn't ignore it, or him for that matter.

"Hey!" you called out, hoping your voice could ground him from whatever he was going through. Stepping closer despite his body thrashing wasn't easy. You had to be careful, but you weren't heartless enough to leave him to his own demons after you caused them. The drug could have had hallucinogenics, which would not only have put you in danger but Krill too. You needed him if you ever wanted to regain some recognition or freedom in this place, and he needed you since you were probably the only person in the whole facility who would do anything to make the experiments at least a bit more humane. You couldn't abandon him like this after all he's been through.

Instead of putting yourself at risk of being thrown across the room by Krill accidentally slamming his body into you, you stepped up to his head instead, waiting for the moment that you could grab onto him and hold on with all your strength. You expected a struggle that would leave both of you wounded, but the moment your hands clasped around his face, Krill went rigid, suspiciously still. Another wave of fear overcame you, your instincts telling you this was wrong, but you tried your best to stay strong for both of you. "Shh, shh," you mumbled, calming him, and finally, the strength in his neck gave way, and his head fell back. 

You two stared at each other for some silent seconds, and you rubbed your thumb over his cheek comfortingly. "It's all your fault," he uttered, exhaustion washing over his expression. You couldn't blame him for feeling this way, and you made sure his hair wouldn't sting his eyes by swiping it out of his face gently, still shushing him like a parent would to their child. He looked like he was in severe pain, as if he felt fear for the first time in his life. You couldn't believe it was true, but you felt heartbroken for him all the same. Even if he was called a monster, even if he was a killer and a creature or an animal. Even if he wasn't like you, he didn't deserve any of this. 

"Why are you doing this to me again?" he asked, his voice cracking as a wave of sadness washed over his expression. You had never seen a mermaid actively being sad. Angry, panicked, drugged, yes. But sad? You didn't even think that was possible. What could you do to soothe this whale of a man to the point that you weren't suffering the consequences of other people's decisions? Nothing came to mind, and it was awful.

"I haven't done anything yet, just precautions," you assured him. "You're okay, you're safe. I can't change what I have to do, but I promise I'll try to make it as painless as possible. I–"

"No," Krill interrupted you. "Not that. Not the experiments. This." 

You heard the restraints rattle, causing you to look up at his hand, his cut-down, broken claw pointing downward at his body. You halted your comforting, leaving your palms on his cheeks while looking at Krill with a confused look before you stepped away, fully aware that he looked after you, even forcing his head forward again to watch what you were doing as you stepped around him. 

A loud gasp escaped you as you watched the tip of his cock exit from its slit. The moment your attention was on it, it shot out inch by inch until its massive size stood proudly, pulsing and jerking above his hips, having emerged fully within seconds of horror and amazement. A glistening drop of pre-cum collected at the tip as you stared at the massive erection, the bubble popping and spilling onto his chest as you watched it, unable to look away.

"I tried to forget," Krill lamented from behind you, his body sacking in the machine holding him up before tensing and straining again, a pained groan escaping him while his cock flopping in the air, unbothered by its owner's distress. It only produced more pre-cum and jerked ever so often, the shaft pulsing with need. 

"I wanted to forget you so badly."

You forced yourself to look away from his cock, and Krill let out a brief trill in response, sounding almost disappointed. But he didn't shy away from your eyes, gazing at you, defeated and a little… desperate. 

"Help. Me," he breathed, and you let out your own shuddering breath at his request. You only ever wanted to tease him. You didn't want to cause any pain or suffering, especially not the sexual kind. It was unheard of that the drug caused the mermaids to act this way. But you were about to learn what caused this.

"Why me?" you whispered, knowing now he could hear you. 

"Because I remember every touch of you. Every moment we spent together. Every little piece of memory we made in this godsforsaken place, and I need you. I already feel like I'm losing my mind, and I can't take it anymore. At least take responsibility for what you're doing, this is your fault."

"Krill…"

"It's useful for you, isn't it?" he suddenly changed his tune. He looked angry, but the twisted desperation was unconcealable. "My seed. You can have it. Take it all if you must as long as you do something." 

His words were followed by a groan, sounding in so much pain, and you watched his cock jerk, hips lifting, trying to reach an unavailable source of comfort, a connection to something that wasn't there. "Fuck, I held it back for so long. You and your shitty drugs! I had it under control! I didn't need you at all—didn't even think of you!"

Another long howl escaped him, head rolling from one side to another. He looked completely out of his mind when his gaze fixed on you again, needy and desperate. You had no way to find out if it was because of the drugs, and that worried you. 

"I lied," he confessed, his breath leaving him ominously. His admission was completely out of character for a creature like him, which took you aback, but when Krill looked back at you, there was a different kind of determination in his eyes. A savage one—mad even. You wanted to run away, far, far away from him, but his eyes, full of drugged madness and terrifying adoration, didn't let you act on your whims. As if he hypnotized you.

"I thought about you constantly. You were always on my mind. I thought about coming back so many times, but I couldn't leave the others. But now they don't need me anymore, and I have you back. You're the only one left for me, please. Please help me. Help me, my mate."

His voice was sugary sweet as he pleaded with you, your heart skipping a beat when you watched this destructive, dangerous creature reduced to a begging mess. It wasn't what you wanted for him, and you didn't want the kind of control he was hovering over your head. But you felt the heat spreading throughout your whole body as he called you his.

"We're not mates," you tried to deny it, shaking your head, the implications too severe. "That's the drugs speaking."

"Gods," he groaned loudly, licking his lips as his eyes scanned over your body. "I wish they were."

His hips jerked again, impatient and in desperate need of release. If you were truly mates, that would be bad. It would be an instant invitation to be locked in this facility forever until you passed away. If anyone happened to check on you, seeing the state Krill was in, they'd assume the worst, delighted by these new possibilities. You had to find a solution before that. 

"Fuck," you muttered, and Krill groaned in agreement. "We're not mates!" you insisted, moving towards his side again. This was absolutely bonkers, but every touch seemed to send him further down the spiral—and so were you, even though you refused to admit it.

"This is strictly professional."

"It's whatever," he rejoiced when he felt your hands back on his chest, a little too happy about this smithereens of body contact for it to be just because of the drugs. "Help me, mate."

"Do me a favor," you asked, rolling your shoulders and readying yourself for what you had to do. You couldn't believe you were going to do it; jerking off a merman was definitely not in your job description. But if it would help with not being confined for all eternity as a pathetic mating buddy, then you had no choice. You just needed the push to actually do it.

"Say 'please' again."

Krill's lips parted in a disturbingly wide grin, red rubies sparkling as he looked at you, filled with a sickening hope and adoration that made you shudder.

"Please."

[impish-baby]

It is so nice to find a blog for platonic yandere relationships! Your work is gourmet!

Have you ever thought about an alien researcher, one who was assigned to document the human race? They find that adults and children act very separately, but you seem to be an adult, but your behavior says otherwise. They decide to abduct you, for "research".

(Secretly they've become obsessed, they are fascinated by you and want to keep you as their own.)

Very silly, I know! Be sure to drink your water today! - 🐀

Ahhh I love this idea so much!!! >w< (Thank you!! I'll try to drink some, you do as well!)

'Why are you so strange for your kind? What makes you different?' Legitimate questions going through their mind as they observe you eagerly browsing the toy section of a store. You're... quite childlike, although alien is sure you're in adulthood for humans. It's a bit cute they have to admit, watching you hug a plushie to your just chest with the brightest smile on your face. Hmm...

They follow you home. They're a scientist after all! Their job is to investigate and that's exactly what they shall do, it's purely for research purposes.

Watching you regress is fascinating... they don't think it's a species wide behavior, but maybe something certain individuals do. For what reason though? They simply have to take you up to their ship to get to the bottom of it! (It's not like they want to take care of you, definitely not!)

They feel so bad when you're scared and crying- they didn't mean to make you frightened! Horrible at soothing you because they don't even engage with young of their own species often let alone a human that acts like a child at times- please stop!

Once you've settled down (exhausted yourself) they're picking you up and awkwardly rubbing your back. It's ok, they just need to borrow you for a bit and then you'll be returned home! It's like an um.. adventure! And they'll be so thankful for you helping them, you want to be a good kid, right?

(Alien spinning some sob story about desperately needing something to report.. pulling on your heartstrings and only feeling a little guilty for manipulating you, it wasn't a complete lie!)

When you're finally asleep they're looking up any resource on human young they can find- searching through articles and even parenting books. Determined to be good at looking after you even if they fumble and make mistakes. (Alien calling back to base to ask for advice.. why are they asking? No reason. They're just curious, commander..)

Bringing you toys from their home planet that you can play with as a "test" but really they just think it's adorable! Trying to quiet the pur in their chest as they observe you, tablet out for note-taking, which is actually them taking photos of you to look at later..

[the-joy-of-knowledge]

Bloom's Taxonomy: A 6 step guide to improve your learning

I am so excited to be back!!! I hope you all enjoy this because it has been helpful in my self-development journey.

Remember: When reading a paragraph, a chapter or even a book. It is important to know why you are reading it and if you were assigned this reading, you need to know what is expected of you. With his in mind, endeavor to read, retain and recall the information. This looks like take a pauses to recall what you have learned. You will not remember exactly what you read but you will notice some gaps, so back to you reading and figure what the missing parts.

Understand: Try to make meaning of what you have remembered. Explain it to yourself, write it in simpler terms, ask yourself questions on this. if you memorized the definition of photosynthesis as "the process by which plants and certain bacteria use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and sugar (glucose). Try to describe this definition to a sibling or someone who has no idea what it means. if possible watch a video that visually describes the process. Understanding goes beyond regurgitating. Because you can only begin to apply what you have learned only when you understand. It is also at this point that you will encounter difficulties especially if the subject is dense and complicated. Use the resources at your disposal and ask questions.

Apply: Use what you know already about the subject in this new context. Back to my photosynthesis example, what do you already know already and pose that as a question. Does photosynthesis have anything to do with the color of leaves? If it needs sunshine, then what happens when there is barely any sun? Let's try this for a subject as esoteric as physics. "Electromagnetism is the physical interaction among electric charges, magnetic moments, and electromagnetic fields." I do not know enough about electromagnetism but I know that Tesla is an electric car. Wouldn't it be fun to quickly google whether electromagnetism is applied to Tesla's engineering? This step is crucial because you are using a familiar object in an unfamiliar territory. (This is very simplified and studying physics isn't as easy as I portray it. This is only a guide )

Analyze: When analyzing, you want to explore the similarities and differences you have noticed in your readings. How do two seemingly different authors give a unique perspective to the subject you are reading? Can you categorize which information is relevant or not? Can you organize your thoughts and ideas into relevance parts, assuming you'd have to one day share what you have learned? When contradictions can you spot? What outliers exist in some the data you have analyzed, and can you come up with some hypothetical answers?

Evaluate: This is the time to look at two differing sources to support your argument. It is also the time to build the skill of critically reading a book or an article to figure out the author's main idea and evaluate their supporting arguments. Now, this sounds very academic but you can do this even when you are reading a novel and you want to get a grasp of life in that time period. Pay attention to the events, this will give you an idea of the cultural and political climate of that time period. You further may your own judgement. For instance "I think character A in book X was married off as a 14 year old because mother's were accustomed to get the their daughter ready for marriage once the hit puberty in X country."

Create: This is the right time to use all you have learned to create something new. Perhaps a personal philosophy? An article explaining why you think ketchup is the best invention of the 19th century? By creating, you also go through the process of self evaluation. You ask yourself "did I really learn enough?" Often times we get stuck trying to find the perfect thing to say, the right topic to discuss, the right response to give your professor, or the right book to right. Often times, the right creation is anything that you found interesting. it is you ability to frame that interest of yours that sets you apart and inevitably brings you both success and critiques. Keep creating in your own way.

Enjoy!!!

[mookymilksims]

🌟 ULTIMATE REALISTIC 🍼 Inactive Daycare Roleplay Guide 🧸✨

Wash good, MooMoo crew! 🐄💖 Welcome back to my channel, and if you're new here, thanks so much for stopping by!

In today's video, just as promised, I'll be showing you how to set up your very own inactive Daycare in The Sims 3! 🎮👶

An inactive Daycare is basically an NPC-run daycare center in your save file, where your babies, toddlers, and children can be sent instead of calling a babysitter. It's a super handy way to add realism to your gameplay!

Now, I know for a fact that many of you probably had no idea this was even possible. A bunch of my simmer friends—who’ve been playing this game way longer than I have—were shocked when I told them about it. So trust me, you’re in for a treat!

I’m really excited to walk you through everything: how to get it set up, the mods you’ll need, and a few extras to enhance the experience even more.

This guide is part of a new Education Roleplay Guide Series that I’m adding to my guides playlist! 📚✨ We’re starting with Daycare, then moving on to Elementary, High School, Boarding School, and finally University roleplay. So if that sounds fun to you, stay tuned for the whole series!

Alright, grab your water and get comfy—let's jump right in! 🚀

Mods You Need 🛠️

The only mod you’ll need to set up your inactive Daycare is the NRAAS Go Here mod. This mod includes specific settings that automatically assign a babysitter service call to your inactive Daycare, making the whole system work seamlessly. 🏡👶

Here’s an important tip: When the Daycare isn’t open, the game will revert to its regular “Call Babysitter” feature, so you don’t need to worry about your gameplay being interrupted when the Daycare isn’t available.

Now, a quick note about compatibility: Avoid using mods that modify babysitters or the Daycare career, as they’ll conflict with these settings and may cause the Daycare career to disappear entirely from your game. Trust me, I’ve learned this the hard way—let my playtesting mistakes save you some headaches! 😅

For those who want a bit more detail, I’ve created a manual guide for these settings and mod enhancements on my Tumblr. I’ll link it in this guide, and you can always find all my guides through my Tumblr link in the description. I make sure to upload every new guide the same day my video goes live! 💻✨

If you already have your own Go Here settings, the manual guide will help you tweak them specifically for inactive Daycares. But if you’d rather save time, you can download my pre-configured Go Here settings, where I’ve already enabled the mod to register inactive Daycares for you.

All the links and resources you’ll need can be found at the end of my Tumblr guide. 🌟

For the Nerds: Understanding the Settings 🤓✨

Here’s a quick breakdown of the settings you’ll be tweaking:

Allow Active Day Care The mod allows Day Care career Sims from active households to care for local inactive children. Set to: True

Allow Babies/Toddlers to Be Home Alone The mod stops the “hibernation” of children left alone at home but doesn’t call a babysitter. Set to: False

Hire Babysitters for Inactives The mod either finds a Day Care to place inactive children or hires a babysitter to watch them while their guardian is away. Set to: True

Use Day Care Instead of Babysitters The mod uses Day Care career Sims to watch inactive children instead of hiring babysitters. Set to: True

At first glance, these settings might feel a little overwhelming, but here’s the gist:

You’re ensuring children aren’t left home alone.

You’re allowing the game to automatically call for babysitters when necessary.

Most importantly, you’re enabling the mod to use an active Day Care career in your world instead of the default babysitting service.

Here’s the fun part: Although the settings refer to an "active" Day Care career from an active household, we can tweak them to let an inactive household run the Day Care instead! This is how we get around making your own household responsible for the service. 🏡👶

Now that we’ve covered the settings, you have two options:

Manually adjust the settings yourself using this guide.

Download my pre-configured settings for convenience.

If you choose the second option, simply place my settings file into your Library folder and import it through the NRAAS settings menu in-game. 🗂️

Next, I’ll show you how to set it up in your world step by step! Let’s go! 🚀

Setting Up Your Daycare Lots 🏡🎨

First, let me say I really wanted to finish my Preschool Conversion Megapack before this video so I could send you off with hundreds of new items to decorate your Preschools. But I fell behind on my conversion schedule—don’t worry, though! I’ll make it up to you by finishing the project and uploading a handful of CC Preschool lots for you to download. Stay tuned for that! 💾✨

For now, I’ll be using a CC-free Daycare lot I found on the Sims 3 Exchange. I’ll upload a few more options I come across, so you can revamp them and place them in your worlds. Full credit goes to the original creators, but since the Sims 3 website has been glitching lately, many of you might struggle to download from the Exchange. That’s the only reason I’m uploading these files myself—they’ll go into your Library folder, of course!

Daycare Lot Design Tips 🏢👶

Your Daycare lot doesn’t have to look like a house—it never did! You can design it as a fully commercial Preschool and assign it as a residential lot. While home daycares can be cozy, they might not always match the theme of your world.

For Daycare staff housing, here’s a quick tip:

Build a basement and add bunk beds with a dresser for the staff to sleep. That’s all they need—sleeping quarters.

The lot’s main areas, like the bathroom and kitchen, should already exist on the commercial level, so no need to replicate them in the basement.

You’ll want to encourage staff to only use this basement for sleeping. The less functional the basement is, the less likely the staff will linger there instead of interacting with the Daycare space.

Building for Smooth Gameplay 🎭🔄

Since these lots will be used by inactive Sims, design them to complement the game’s AI. Like in Part 2 of my Slice of Life Roleplay Guide, aim for an 80% decorative, 20% functional building style.

Here’s what I’ve learned from my playtesting:

Highchairs: Optional for aesthetics. Inactive Sims usually feed toddlers on the floor, so highchairs don’t get much use.

Walkers: Add two max—inactives will occasionally place toddlers in them, but too many decreases usage.

Rocking Chairs: Great addition! Inactives love to rock with babies and toddlers.

Playpens: Limit to one—you can fit up to four toddlers in a single playpen. Adding more lowers their usage rate.

Cribs: Useful for babies, but avoid adding too many, as inactives might not use them.

For toddlers, I highly recommend CC toddler beds that allow them to autonomously climb in and out. These are ideal since they let toddlers nap independently and won’t trap them like traditional cribs.

Skill-Building & Play Areas 🧩🎶

Designate a playroom for skill-building toys, but don’t overdo it:

Toddlers love music and block toys, so place two of each to ensure availability.

Add one functional toy box to prevent clutter. Too many toys lying around can distract Daycare staff from teaching toddlers how to walk or talk.

Other Tips & Tricks 🌟

Baby Changing Stations: Nice for aesthetics, but inactives typically change diapers on the spot.

Keep the lot’s design spacious and realistic to align with my 80% deco, 20% functional system. So when you do add cc and deco you'll have a lot of room to work with!

By following these tips, your Daycare lots should run like a dream for inactives. I can’t wait to see what you all create with this system! Happy building! 🎉🛠️

Setting Up Your Daycare Staff (Optional: Toddler NPC Household) 👩‍🏫👶

When setting up your Daycare staff, you technically only need one adult Sim to run the Daycare. However, adding more adults to the household can make things more dynamic and fun! Here's how I like to organize it:

Creating the Staff 🧑‍🎓👩‍🔧

For my Daycare, I created a Preschool teacher modeled after the teacher from Cocomelon—a fun little nod for anyone familiar! I also added:

A "Nanny" Sim registered as a nanny or homemaker using NRAAS Careers or PhoebeJay's Register Mod.

A Handy Sim, registered as self-employed through NRAAS or using PhoebeJay's Register.

Feel free to get creative with your staff roles—each one can bring unique dynamics to the Daycare environment!

Adding NPC Toddlers 👶👶

For a more immersive Daycare experience, you can optionally add up to 5 toddlers to this household. Here's why I recommend it:

These toddlers will populate your Daycare lot and also appear out and about in your world when the Daycare isn’t open. The adults in the household will naturally take them to community lots like parks, beaches, or arcades.

By creating these toddlers, you avoid relying entirely on townie households, which may not always have younger Sims.

Balancing Toddler Populations 🏫

With my population settings, new babies and toddlers might take a while to appear in your world. Here’s the breakdown:

If you only add 2-3 toddlers across townie households, the GoHere mod will teleport just those 2-3 toddlers along with your active toddler to the Daycare lot. That makes for a total of 4 toddlers at the Preschool.

If you add 5 NPC toddlers to your Daycare staff, those 4 townie toddlers combined with the NPC toddlers will total 9 toddlers on the lot.

Pair this with deco Preschool Sims, and your Daycare will feel lively and realistic—with minimal performance impact!

Why Add NPC Toddlers? 🤔

While optional, I highly recommend adding NPC toddlers if you want your Preschool to feel full and bustling. It’s not as fun when your toddler or baby is the only child on the lot, or there are only one or two others. With 9 toddlers (and some clever decor), your lot will truly feel like a thriving Preschool.

By following this setup, you can make your Daycare come to life with both active and NPC toddlers, creating a vibrant and immersive experience! 🎉

Setting Up Your Daycare Staff Household 🏫👶

Toddler NPCs and Their Beds 🛏️

No need to worry about building a basement or special sleeping arrangements for your toddler NPCs—they’ll autonomously use the modded toddler beds I showed you earlier!

Playing as the Daycare Staff Household 🎮

Once you’ve created your Daycare staff, switch to this household to set things up:

Assigning the Preschool Teacher 👩‍🏫

Use a newspaper or head to the library to apply for a job via computer. If you’ve watched my ULTIMATE REALISTIC Money Overhaul Guide, you know that if there isn’t a PC on the Daycare lot, you’ll need to use the library anyway.

I don’t recommend placing PCs on inactive Daycare lots, as adult staff will be distracted playing games instead of watching the toddlers.

Using Job Overhaul Settings 🛠️

Access Job Overhaul Mod settings, and enable “Show All Available Jobs.”

You can import your preset settings later, but for now, assign the Daycare career to your Preschool Teacher.

Once assigned, the mod will prompt the teacher to visit City Hall to complete paperwork and designate their residential lot as the new Daycare.

Setting Up Additional Staff 🧹🔧

Assign the other two adult Sims to their roles:

Nanny/Director: Register using PhoebeJay’s Register Mod or assign a self-employed career.

Handy Sim: Same process as the Nanny.

While NRAAS self-employed careers can work, I recommend PhoebeJay’s Register Mod for a better task automation experience. In my tests, staff assigned via the Register were more effective at helping around the Preschool.

Optional Aesthetic Touches 🎨

Use Transmogrify to turn the Register into lockers for a cohesive Preschool look.

You can even download scrubs or matching uniforms for the staff—get creative!

Assigning Career Levels and Duties 🏆

Once your Preschool Teacher returns from City Hall:

Open NRaas > MC > Intermediate > Career Level and set their Daycare Career Level to 5.

This is critical, as the inactive Daycare setup doesn’t work properly if the career level is below 4 or 5.

If using the Transmogrified lockers:

Assign the other two staff members to their lockers.

Setting Staff Duties:

Nanny/Director: Clean up and care for children.

Handy Sim: Repair broken items, with the optional duty of also tending to children.

Expanding the Daycare Team (Optional) 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

You can assign additional Daycare staff from other NPC households. For example, if you have 6 toddlers in total, consider adding 1–2 more staff members.

Aim for a good balance—toddlers should outnumber adults. This allows room for toddlers to explore, play independently, or nap while still receiving plenty of attention.

Switching Back to Your Active Household 🏠

Once everything is set up, head to Edit Town and switch to your active household.

Import your NRaas settings if you haven’t already, especially GoHere. These settings will take effect the following Sim day.

By the next morning, your Daycare will be ready to operate, and your toddlers can enjoy a lively, engaging environment! 🎉

Cons to This Setup

While I love this setup, I want to be transparent about some of the drawbacks and share a few workarounds:

1. Hygiene Needs Inactives won’t change your active toddler’s diaper, even though they handle all the other toddlers and babies on the lot. To work around this, make sure your toddler’s hygiene bar is full before sending your sims to work or school.

2. Potty Training Inactives will help your toddler learn to use the potty, but they do so gradually. You’ll need to do the bulk of potty training at home. Once your toddler has learned, they can autonomously use the potty at the daycare, reducing frustration. Before they’ve mastered it, you might consider using cheats to keep their hygiene up—this can cut down on fussiness during the day.

3. Skill Building Inactives will occasionally teach your toddler to talk and walk, or supervise them while they play with skill-building toys. This doesn’t happen every day, but it’s a nice bonus when it does. Any progress they make at daycare gives you more time to enjoy other activities when they’re home.

Once your toddler learns to talk and walk, it unlocks even more daycare activities (with the help of mods). This can make the daycare feel like a fun mini-game for your toddler’s development.

4. Eating Needs Feeding works similarly to hygiene: inactives feed all the other toddlers but won’t reliably feed your active toddler. They may attempt to use the Sweet Simmers Mod to feed your toddler on their lap, but this often cancels out.

For this, I recommend Zoe24’s Toddler Food Bowl Mod. This mod adds an object that works like a pet food bowl, letting you auto-fill it with various food options that toddlers can eat on their own. It’s adorable, functional, and gives your toddler some autonomy while keeping them happy and well-fed.

5. Babies’ Needs If you have active babies, the same challenges apply. Inactives will cuddle, play with, and occasionally put babies in cribs, but you’ll likely need to use cheats to keep their needs met. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me since mods make babies more interactive overall, and the daycare system is still fun despite these quirks.

It’s worth noting that the inactive staff will take excellent care of all other babies and toddlers on the lot, so your focus can stay on your own children.

Dynamic Gameplay

One of my favorite things about this setup is that no two days are the same. Inactive daycare staff vary their interactions with your child, creating a dynamic and exciting environment. For example:

Monday: They might focus on playing with your toddler.

Tuesday: Someone might teach them to use the music box.

Wednesday: A staff member might spend an hour teaching them to walk.

Thursday: Another sim might cuddle them in a rocking chair.

Friday: They could take turns placing your toddler in a playpen or engaging with them in other ways.

This variety keeps things fresh and gives your toddler new experiences to explore every day.

Recommendation for Enhanced Gameplay

I highly recommend combining this setup with the Ultimate Careers Mod (UC). This mod makes it easy to switch between all your sims, ensuring they’re always actively doing something. With this combination, The Sims 3 begins to feel like a more complete game with structured tasks and open-ended roleplay options.

Whether you prefer a day packed with activities or a cozy, low-key session, this setup offers creative freedom and flexibility for every kind of player.

Now, let’s jump into the game 🎮, and I’ll show you how it all comes together ✨ when you apply the techniques from this guide! 😄👶🏽🏡

🌟 Conclusion 🌟

As you saw, just as I promised, every day in this setup feels unique and dynamic. 🎠 Your babies 👶🏽 and toddlers 🍼 can enjoy a genuine inactive daycare experience that adds so much realism 🌈 to your family gameplay and roleplay mechanics. This setup has been a staple in my family plays, and I can’t imagine playing without it! 💕

Let’s clear up a few questions I know will come up:

❓ Can I have more than one inactive daycare lot in my world? You can, but GoHere will only assign one lot as the daycare hub (likely the first one you set up). So, setting up multiple daycare lots wouldn’t make sense since only one will function as intended.

❓ Can I have both an inactive daycare and an active daycare in the same save file? Unfortunately, no. As I explained earlier in the video 📺, the GoHere mod will treat the inactive daycare as if it’s already an active one. This means trying to juggle both setups in one save file will lead to conflicts.

➡️ My recommendation: If you know you’re going to run an active daycare in the future, skip this setup. But if you’re sure you’ll keep your daycare inactive, go ahead and follow this guide!

🎥 If you want to enhance your gameplay even more, check out my ULTIMATE REALISTIC Family Gameplay Guide for mods that complement this setup. Both guides (this one and the family gameplay guide) will be available on my Tumblr, and you’ll find the link in the description below!

I hope this guide made everything clear and inspired you to try this setup in your own games! 🌟 Thank you so much for joining me today��I appreciate and love you all! 💖

See you next time, MooMoo's! 🐄💕 Byeee! 👋

🌟 Resources 🌟

📖 Tutorials:

📂 [Manual Guide]: Set up functional inactive daycares step-by-step!

🏡 [ULTIMATE REALISTIC Family Gameplay Guide]: Enhance your baby-to-teen experience.

🛠️ Mods You’ll Need:

🔧 NRAAS Go Here

🛏️ Arsil Toddler Bed (Napping Mat)

🛏️ Olomaya Toddler Bed

🍽️ Zoe24 Toddler Food Bowl

🛍️ Phoebe Jay Register

🛠️ Extra Settings & Lots:

⚙️ GoHere Settings (Place in your Library folder)

🏡 CC-Free Daycare Lots (Credits to the amazing creators!)

[aziraphales-library]

Hi

I hope you haven't been asked this before. I've looked through the tags I don't think I've seen one that relates. I've just finished syrupfactory's Ineffably Ever After series, it was so sweet and adorable. I loved the idea of exploring them in the far flung future.

Do you know of any other fics that explore them in the distant future or do you have #farfuture or #distantfuture or equivalent tags that I've missed?

Finally, thank you so much for this amazing resource. You are basically my GO fic encyclopedia. Whenever I've finished a fic, I come back here pick a tag and find my next obsession! Keep up the amazing work ❤️

Hello. We have a #future fic tag, with a few fics on. Here are more to add...

The Earth and All the Kingdoms Thereof by MagnetoTheMagnificent (NR)

Thousands of years into the future, the Earth is dying, and the angels have fled with the humans. Only one demon remains to try and make the Earth habitable again. (Alternate Universe inspired by Wall-E)

Angels are from Heaven, Demons are from Hell by Mrs_Cake_Is_Here (M)

Angels have created new alien species, 24th century Earth has turned into paradise, and Aziraphale and Crowley are Bored and in a Rut. Their once spicy Partnership is now steeped in monotony, miscommunication, and a significant amount of doubt about their future. Aziraphale believes a vacation filled with five-star travel accommodations and a stay on a pleasure planet is the solution. But even the best laid plans of angels and demons can go awry. Aziraphale and Crowley will have to overcome travel disagreements, contact embarrassment, transporter phobia, boring archaeology lectures, Deanna Troi, and the Essentialist Movement's sabotage of Risa, while trying to find time to physically and emotionally reconnect and start communicating (eventually). Basically, a lighthearted Good Omens-Star Trek crossover romp that follows Aziraphale and Crowley through the world of 90s-version 24th century Trek. They eventually find themselves in DS9 season 05 episode 07 (essentially as extras), where their vacation is inconveniently interrupted by a bunch of fundamentalists whose dastardly deeds inadvertently help an angel and a demon realize how much they love one another.

To Ineffability and Beyond! by NotASpaceAlien (E)

Far into the future, Aziraphale and Crowley get a new assignment: to accompany humanity into the deepest reaches of a distant galaxy.

Tribute by snae_b (E)

Water is scarce, the surface is unlivable, and Eden isn’t the paradise Aziraphale once thought he knew. But for a Guardian on the run, it's out of one lion's den, into another.

Above by AppleSeeds (M)

After watching the world suffer total ecological and societal collapse, Crowley is forced to live and work in a warehouse growing and supplying food to the powerful elite living 'Above', his only source of entertainment his attempts to flirt with one of the guards, who just happens to be insanely attractive. Crowley is shocked when the guard ends up offering him a position as his personal assistant, with an ulterior motive that might be too good to be true. The two of them agree to work together, but can't let anyone from Above find out what's really going on, hiding the true nature of their association under the guise of an intimate relationship, although it isn't long before Crowley starts to yearn for the closeness he shares with Aziraphale to become something real.

One Wild and Precious Life by syrupfactory (E)

After living only on planets, Dr. Azi Fell is eager to begin a new life and career in space. Eden Station doesn’t have the best reputation, but he couldn’t be more excited to be there. On his first day at the infirmary, he meets Anthony Crowley, a man with gorgeous auburn hair and fascinating tattoos, who oddly refuses pain meds ... and quickly turns out to be Azi's most frequently injured patient.

- Mod D

[siconetribal]

Beyond the Bookshelves (4)

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: When you want to read but the universe won't allow it, Loki is deep in the delulu and that's ok, Thor's golden retriever energy to Loki's prickly cat vibes, work stress, how to meet with royalty, tiny midgardian vs giant asgardians,

Summary: You’re a Resource Management Specialist at S.H.I.E.L.D. normally referred to as “The Librarian”. You’ve been assigned the nightmarish task of digitizing all the physical resources currently owned by the agency, with a few new computers and one extra helper.

A/N: The power of acetaminophen, water, proper food, and actual oxygen to my brain is what made this chapter possible! Thank you for patiently waiting, I hope you enjoy it!

Please comment/like/reblog. If you’d like to be tagged moving forward, please let me know! (If I missed ant tags, please let me know, I'll add you right away!)

The lovely banners used in this fic are from @cafekitsune.

If you’re new to the story, please check out the master post for the rest of the chapters.

Agent Pruyn is not so fond of me, much like many of the others. The bird and spider were quick to support my plan, though. I was not expecting help from anyone, but I suppose they’re wise enough to see that I know my strengths and have proven myself to be an asset in more ways than one. Loki walked into the library as per usual, ready to welcome the silent comfort it would bring. Sadly, that silence was not to be had with the sound of not one, but two voices. It’s that blasted chatty Captain Star. He is bound to try to strike up conversation again and ask unnecessary questions pertaining to how I feel and how I am adjusting. Loki quickly looked around for a potential escape route that would avoid meeting him and get him quickly to his usual corner. He knew he could easily teleport himself from one spot to the next. However, he already had been given an earful by said star-spangled leader about how it was ‘rude to vanish in the middle of a conversation’ and how ‘he should minimize his magic use to me more approachable’. To avoid a repeat of that, Loki simply avoided using it whenever Captain Lectures was not around.

It was the second voice that surprised him. A familiar voice that reminded him of a subtle force and scattered papers. The very same voice that said the owner thought he was a mute for never speaking to her. Which is utterly preposterous. I have spoken plenty of times between invading the Earth, addressing the public, and working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. It’s not as if she’s gone out of her way to greet me either, where would she even begin to conceive such a notion on her own? He frowned, trying to recall all the times he had been to the library. She only ever interacted with him in a professional capacity. Watching the two walk in the opposite direction of his intended destination, he breathed a small sigh of relief and quickly made his way to the table that always had a book waiting for him to read. The Metal-Man’s technology is quite fascinating. He marveled at the new book that awaited his arrival. Picking it up, he sat back into the plush seating and began to read.

At least, he tried to read. The loud voices of the other two kept interrupting, and he was unable to properly get into the mindset of losing himself in the text. Each time he thought they were done, it seemed to start back up, which irked him. The first two times were mere chance, but for it to happen repeatedly had to be intentional. The only problem was proof. They could not see him, nor could he see them. 

You are overthinking, Loki. It’s because of that petty agent that you’re now thinking everyone is out to trouble you. You’ve never had trouble in the library before, why would it start now? If anything, that woman’s chatter is keeping Commander Shield busy and away from you. It’s a blessing in disguise. He reminded himself. He listened to the two prattle on for a little longer, not really paying the content any mind; he simply was waiting for the conversation to end so he could peacefully begin to read. And just it did, he wiggled back into his seat and opened the book once more. He snapped it shut and sat up in his seat. She is the librarian?! “That woman is the one Agent Hill was referring? Why would they assume I’m acquainted with someone like her? We’ve hardly ever spoken to one another, but clearly that is not my fault. She’s perfectly chatty with Officer Gabby over there.” He muttered to himself. There was a slight sting in his chest at this fact. Even in his sanctuary, he was facing prejudice. Why should her lack of conversing with me matter otherwise? Thor has the ability of AllSpeak, he can assist her. I have my mission to attend to, tomo-, he frowned. His mission was postponed while Thor was still set to go. That meant that he was the only available translator. “No matter, she is to approach us first, as per Agent Hill. Why should I go out my way for her when she has done little for me?” He continued to grumble to himself, propping an elbow on one of the arms of the chair and resting his cheek into the hand as he resumed the book once more.

The chime of his phone was the one to shatter the moment this time around. He closed the book once more and returned to the table. Taking a few deep breaths, he pulled the horrid device from his pocket and glared at it.

How anyone finds having such a thing with you at all times as practical or essential is beyond me. It’s a metal leash where anyone and everyone can disturb you at their whim without a care of whether you are available to be bothered. Though he found the various things it could do fascinating, in the end it was still a means to dealing with people around the clock, and he disliked the idea greatly. The device lit up and chimed again, as if it knew he was looking at it. Frustrated, he tapped the screen awake and used his fingerprint to unlock it. Now where are these notifications, again, ah, yes, up here! He carefully navigated his way towards an email thread which looked to be between himself, Thor, Agent Hill, and Director Fury in reference to the translation project. “So she isn’t as scatterbrained as she seemed. She looked into our schedules to make sure we had time to meet and made it a time both could be present instead of having multiple meetings.” He mumbled. He scrolled lower to see Thor’s reply, agreeing to the time. Loki quickly responded as well, agreeing as well, but also requesting where she intended for them to meet. Satisfied, he tossed the phone lightly onto the table and picked up the book once more. Now everything was set and he could finally read in peace.

Y/N was surprised to see a response from either of the princes so soon, but was all the more grateful for it since their meeting was last minute. Leaning back in her computer chair, it tilted back silently, as she swiveled side-to-side The location to meet had to be easier for them to reach and still make it to their next appointments.

The cafeteria will be pretty busy around then and to head up to their lounge area is a bit much. Plus, the Avengers might be there, and I don’t want to impede on their downtime by talking about work things. They might have too many questions or the topic might get lost through distraction. I can’t really leave the library for too long, either. The daily meetings are one thing, but trying to get to some place and back would be a waste of time. I suppose the only proper place would be here at the library. I can close it for about thirty or so minutes for my lunch. She hummed to herself, trying to see if this was a beneficial spot for everyone. “Loki already comes here, so I doubt he’ll be against it. Thor has been here from time to time as well, so he’s not completely unaware of this location. The training hall is not too far from here either, so neither of them will be late for that. Alright, sounds good!” She sat up in her seat, the chair springing up and rolling forward into her desk. She quickly sent out the reply of time and location, with a small sign-off stating that she looked forward to speaking with them. Now that that’s done, one teensy weensy problem, how do I talk to alien princes?! Royal etiquette training was not including in my onboarding training! “And one of them hates me, so the brother is obviously going to hate me by defaults, right? Sibling solidarity and all that good stuff?” She lightly slammed her head on to her desk. “I didn’t expect ‘hated by alien princes’ on this year’s bingo card, let alone checking it off!” She let out a heavy sigh of defeat. “It won’t be that bad, right?”

It was that bad. It was straight up awkward from the moment the two of them walked into the library, together. Both were tall, handsome, and very intimidating in their own ways. She knew all this, and yet seeing them together made her feel like a Lilliputian in front of not one, but two, Gullivers!

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, please, let’s take a seat over here.” She pointed towards some tables to her right and led them over. She motioned for them to take their seats and waited for them to sit before taking her own seat. Those of higher status are usually seated first, I’m sure this will help ease the tension, right? “Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Y/N Y/LN. I am the director of the Resource Management department of S.H.I.E.L.D. As per my email, I’ve asked for your time to discuss how to best work together on the task of translation.” See, you got this! Play it cool, like any other board of directors meeting!

“Yes, Agent Hill spoke with us about this matter. We would love to be of assistance to you in any way we can.” Thor smiled, the brightness comforting Y/N to feel less tense. He certainly had the charisma to be a well liked leader, if his smile was enough to ease up the tension. “But as you’re aware, we are Avengers and are sent off on missions globally for many days at a time.”

“Yes, I am aware, and I can’t thank you enough for allotting some of your free time to assist me in this matter. The archives are one of the greatest things we have. There are texts here from all around the universe that are still unknown to many of our agents. The goal is to have all of them scanned into digital copies and have translated copies as well to allow easier access between all of our locations and even allow access to the Avengers while on their missions. It’s a very difficult task that requires many people, but S.H.I.E.L.D. does not have the means to hire so many for such a task and risk someone leaking the information, nor can it sacrifice the agents on staff who are needed for the missions and risk the safety of the people because they pulled people. I, and my department, along with your help, will be working on this task.”

“We are both due to depart by week’s end, but once we return, we will gladly assist you, right  brother?” Thor turned to Loki, who had been silent throughout this entire time.

I’m guessing Mr. Thor doesn’t hate me? But Mr. Loki clearly does? What did I do to be hated by him?! Did I step on his foot one time, or maybe I whacked him with a book unknowingly? I would’ve definitely noticed if I hit someone like that, right?! She racked her brain for any inkling of a clue as to why she was disliked so much by the younger prince. Is it because I called him mister? Is that not okay? I mean, I don’t see anyone else calling him ‘His Highness’ or ‘His Grace’ or ‘Lord’. Oh no, did I call him that one time and did he think I was mocking him?!

 His blue eyes were trained on the Librarian the entire time. She was poised and cordial, nothing like the rushing mess he encountered days ago. She was articulate, but she was nervous. Though her face gave away nothing, her fingers were interlaced tightly with one another. There was a slight tremble in them. Thor was happily giving away his blessings and promises, while Loki was not sure, not yet. Though, the promise of secret text was rather enticing. He wondered if they had anything from the other realms.

“I am no longer due to depart, my mission has been temporarily suspended.” The words came out before the younger prince realized. Why was he given such unnecessary information? He had no intention of being roped into this useless charity work. His eyes narrowed at the genuine surprise on the Librarian, who looked hopeful, too hopeful.

“That is rare, were there complications?” Thor frowned.

“It’s not something to discuss in present company.” Loki cut the conversation short, seeing her flinch at the sharp words.

“You’re right, it’s not wise to speak so freely about such information with unauthorized people.” She readily agreed. “But if you’re no longer due to leave, would you be willing to work with me on setting up a plan on how to best work with your ability?”

“Very well,” he sighed. “We can coordinate a time for here. Perhaps later today after my training.”

“Excellent,” Thor grinned and roughly smacked Loki on the back, earning a scowl from his younger brother. “You may not know this, but my brother is one of the greatest strategists in the nine realms! He is well-educated and far more scholarly than myself. He is the best person to work with on creating a plan, and I will follow along with what you’ve decided. I will do my best to keep up with him and not drag you down.”

“You will be just as helpful, Mr. Thor. You are able to translate like he is, which is exactly what we need.” Y/N was quick to assure his easily excitable brother, earning an eye roll from the raven haired younger prince.

“Please, Director Y/LN, call us by our names. We are the ones who will be under your care throughout this undertaking. There is no need for such formalities between us.” Loki stared at his brother as he completely lost his mind.

How are we under her care if she needs us? She should be respectful of us taking the time to assist her in something the organization as a whole deems to be of the least importance! 

“You don’t need to call me by title when it’s just us. Y/N or Y/LN is fine. Some just call me ‘Librarian’ as well. In official meetings with other directors you’ll need to abide by rules, but between us, I’m not all that strict with it. I mean, you’re the ones doing the dangerous work. I think that alone deserves respect.” Her words stunned Loki.

“Even me?” The words slipped from his lips in a low whisper. She turned to face him with a questioning look, but he made no attempt to repeat or clarify himself. “Very well, Librarian. I will return some time after my training session. We can discuss more than.” Loki stood from his seat and quickly left the room. It was getting too chummy, and he was not comfortable with it.

"My apologies, Y/LN. He’s not the most easy to get along with at first, but he really is one of the best.” Thor slowly stood from his seat, while Y/N watched Loki disappear behind the door. She quickly tore her gaze away and looked up at Thor.

“Why are you apologizing? He didn’t do anything wrong. I was going to end the meeting anyway, since it’s about time you both left for your training sessions.” She raised an eyebrow at how quick Thor was to apologize and try to assuage her. He’s trying to help Loki fit in, but if he’s always apologizing, that’s not helpful. But then again, I’ve never really interacted with either of them. I’ll wait before I say anything. This could be a one time thing. She stood from her chair and extended a hand to the stunned God of Thunder. “I look forward to working with both of you.” She smiled and he happily to her hand in his, kissing the back of it.

“We are in your care.” He smiled and left a surprised and slightly flushed Y/N.

Tags: @vbecker10 @huntress-artemiss @softestqueeen @thegodofnotknowing @princess-ofthe-pages @firedrakegirl @rcailleachcola @cabingrlandrandomcrap @lotrefcp @lwtannie @jainaeatsstars @msdjsg7 @tom-hlover @kneelingformyloki @gruftiela @gigglingtiggerv2 @kats72 @mischief2sarawr

[ninapi]

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Better Half (Sukuna Version)❜┊˚ ̥۪͙۪◌

Premise: Nobara forced Yuuji to stop by a food stand every time they came back from a mission. The girl working there always entranced the youngster, causing his teammates to tease him more than usual. An odd encounter brings her a little too close to Sukuna who ends up just as smitten as his counterpart with the young beauty. Which half will get her heart? Only time will tell.

Word Count: 2334

Note: you can read the first installment of this story here ☺️

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Sukuna Ryomen, the king of curses…nobody would have pegged him for a romantic really…but the fact that he hasn’t stopped thinking about the soft squishy cheeks of that human girl might make you think otherwise.

While Yuuji had been sulking about the fact that you were somehow also attracted to Sukuna, the king himself has been basking in his glorious triumph.

Specially with the way you looked at him like he was the hottest guy in the universe, in all truth, he knew he was, always known, his vessel was unimportant, but getting it recognized by such a fine piece of art such as yourself made his ego boost to the rooftop.

While he didn’t like being inside of Itadori and wished to take over Megumi at some point, he started to consider that maybe it wasn’t as bad to inhabit him for the time being, you did like the idiot, so he might as well make good use of his resources. 

══✿══╡°˖✧✿✧˖°╞══✿══

The next morning Yuuji wasn’t feeling like himself, he kept on appearing in places he didn’t try to visit, with no recollection of how he even got there. It was an unsettling feeling specially how each time he did he was closer and closer to your place of work.

He knew this had to be related to Sukuna and he didn’t like it one bit.

Yuuji tried to let his friends know of what was happening, try to get you out of there before you would get even more involved in the world of curses, but Megumi and Nobara both had been assigned to a quick mission with Gojo sensei and didn’t tell him about it to give him time to feel better with himself.

He was on his own and he needed to get you to safety.

Running over to the crepe stand, he noticed it wasn’t open yet, it was still too early and all the shops around were as closed as yours.

His blood kept pumping through his entire body, he looked up and down the street like a lost puppy hoping to get a glimpse of your beautiful face as soon as possible. But the moment he did, his body turned off again, welcoming the king himself.

“Well hello there, my queen~ Looking rather fine as usual…” his eyes were eating you up like a pastry, you could see the evil and lust full glint of his eyes from meters away.

“You’re early today~” offering him a sweet smile, you went by to get the locks open.

“Let me help you with that, gorgeous. No need to get on your knees, yet…” his smirk gave you the chills, he was so hungry for you, you could feel it all the way to your bones, but somehow you were not mad at it in the slightest.

He went on his knees and got all the locks opened up for you in no time, your stand ready for a day’s work in less than half the time it would have normally take.

“Such a gentleman~” you laid a hand on one of his ridiculously well built muscly arms as you made your way inside to get your apron on. “Would you like a breakfast crepe? It’s my specialty~”

“Oh my dear, I want more than a little snack from you….but if your lovely hands get to do it, I guess I wouldn’t mind having one…” his words never failed to make you giggle, this eccentric and sexy side of him was so different from the other one, yet so enticing, made you want to get to know him better.

As you turn on the iron grill and prepare the ingredients, you decide to test the waters, “So…Itadori-kun…can you…tell me whats up with your changes in mood? Don’t think I mind them, I just want to understand you a bit better…” your tone was soft, sweet, really understanding and inviting, while Yuuji would have love that, he didn’t. Sukuna didn’t want you to think of him as pathetic little Itadori, he wanted you to see him for who he truly was, and that meant breaking down for you the dark truth of this world.

“I’m not him, that’s it..” you waited for him to elaborate, your theory of him having double personality now becoming stronger.

“I’m Sukuna Ryomen, the king of curses. Just happen to be living inside this crappy teenager body…but I’m so much better than him in every way, babe, trust me on that.” his confident tone gave you goosebumps, but of the good kind, his voice was so sexy and the way he seemed to be undressing you with his eyes as you cooked was certainly not helping.

“A curse? Does that mean you’re some sort of spirit living in him? Or are you another soul trapped in the same body?” you were clever, more than he expected. Humans usually tend to laugh and think of this sort of things as jokes, but you didn’t treat him like he was crazy, you were seriously trying to grasp the situation and understand him fully.

“You could say it’s a bit of both. Curses aren’t really spirits but an amalgamation of cursed energy harbored by negative emotions humans tend to have…” for the first time in his very long lived life, he was terrified of scaring someone off, he didn’t want you to give him the cold shoulder, to see him like a freak, and he has never had such a wish before.

“Negative emotions…does that mean Itadori-kun is depressed and brought you out?”

“Not really, he kind of…took me in willingly, of course he didn’t really know what he was getting himself into…” you didn’t seem to back off, contrary to what he thought it would happen you seemed fascinated with everything he had to say.

“So you have nothing to do with Itadori-kun then. Is that why your voice is so deep and you get those fancy tattoos?”

“Precisely, we are completely different beings. He’s just a mere vessel, I am the king of curses, the most powerful being out there. And you, my little dove, happen to tick all the boxes for the queen spot right beside me~” 

Your giggles were killing him, he’s never been this attracted to anyone, let alone a human. You weren’t just the cutest little thing, but incredibly hot too. His blood kept going south every few minutes, his body becoming all twitchy every time you made one of your cute little sounds.

“I’m just a part-timer who happens to make good crepes. How does that make me a queen candidate?”

“I’ve never wished for a queen before. There’s nobody stronger than me, hence pleasing me is not an easy task. But you, my flower, just the sight of you gets me as high as never before…” your blushing increased tenfold, you could literally feel how aroused he was and in all honesty you had no idea how to handle a man like that, even worse… a curse like that…

“So you like my face? Is that it?” trying to force the situation down a notch, you handed him his breakfast crepe and got to your cleaning duties.

“Your face? Oh no, my darling. Your soul, your body…everything about you is so damn delicious…I could see myself enjoying every single crease of your body for all eternity…” you weren’t expecting someone to comment on how good your soul seemed to taste, it was quite frankly terrifying, yet arousing at the same time. You’ve never been wanted with such intensity, made you feel empowered, important, special.

“Oh yeah? That does sound like fun, I admit. But you aren’t always yourself, are you? I’ve seen Itadori out more often than you.”

“You’re not wrong, my dove, you're quite observant. I’m gearing up to take over him completely, I just didn’t have the need or even the motivation to do so until I met you…I don’t want this pathetic human pawing at whats mine…” his cold tone full of hatred and disgust shook you to your core, while you’ve been hearing all he had to say, you didn’t fully understand how dangerous he was until this moment.

“So what happens to Itadori-kun if you’re out all the time?”

“Why do you care? Do you like him more than you like me? Do you like the empty headed weakling who doesn’t have an ounce of talent without my powers?” he was scowling now, his voice raising by the second making you feel weak in more than one way.

But your answer was definite, quick, simple, “No.” and that was all it took to get his anger under control.

“Was just wondering…”

A wide smirk adorned his handsome features once more as he leaned against the windowsill, “Well if you must know, he will disappear once I take over, at least until I switch bodies…How do you feel about the Fushiguro boy? Don’t you think he’s way more of an attractive vessel?”

His words made you freeze, your answer could easily ruin someone’s life, but also save another.

“The raven haired friend of his?” 

“Yeah, he’s a masterpiece, some would say he’s the perfect vessel, I’ve been eyeing him for a while, but you seem attach to this one…” 

“Hm, he is cute. But I met you with this face, it would be a bit awkward if you were to switch faces completely, if that makes sense…” 

“It does, I expected as much. For now I’ll stay in Itadori, but I’m sure I’ll get you convinced in no time that he’s better.”

He was done eating, though no other customer had shown ever since, you started thinking it was probably his doing as this was usually peak time for your business.

“So... Sukuna?” he nodded proudly, tingles running al over his body once he heard his real name flowing from those delicious looking lips of yours.

“You said you wanted to take me to hell with you, was that literal? Or you just meant me going with you in general?” your curious nature was delightful.

“Eventually the place you know as your home will be nothing but a charred pile of ashes, curses will roam freely, humans will no longer be the superior race…When that time comes, you’d have a place right by my side, on my throne, ruling over all of them, curses and humans alike…” it sounded like an awful future for human race, yet it somehow didn’t feel like he was bullshitting you. 

The whole curses thing was starting to be a bit too real for you and while you couldn’t really see them, the fact that human’s despair could turn to deadly creatures of the night sounded more possible than it should.

“Shouldn’t someone more important sit with the king himself? I’m nothing special…” 

“Are you questioning me?” his tone was going back to its cold nature the more you talked, “Because seems to me like you think you have an option…I’m not asking you, my dove, I’m telling you what the future is going to look like.”

“So I don’t have a choice then…” your voice didn’t sound defeated in the slightest, nor there was a hint of fear in it, and he liked it.

“The king has spoken? Is that it?”

“Something like that.”

To this statement you just nodded, accepting your fate was better than getting in troubles. He did seem like he wants to treasure in his own very peculiar way and it’s not like this par- time job could do more than help paying your bills.

“Do you have books on curses or something? I would like to get to know more about what I’m getting myself into, unlike Itadori. If I have to be a queen, I might as well be a good one. Right?” your sweet smile had come back, he was positively glittering with excitement at this point. It’s not like you had a choice, he would take you regardless of anything you had to say, but the fact that you were taking this so well made him fill up with pride, brimming with hope. 

And that was new.

Hope is the very opposite of cursed energy, he was literally defying his own existence by taking in his ball of sunshine under his wing. 

But if a curse deserved a happy ending, it certainly had to be the king of them, right?

“Itadori might have some in his room, he does go to a sorcery school after all. I’ll look into it for you, my love.”

You just nodded, inching closer to his face, “My king…”

His entire world collapsed right there, while nobody can control him, and never will, you certainly knew how to make him feel weak…and somehow he didn’t hate it…

“I’ll pick you up by nightfall, babe…prepare yourself for the night of your life, I ain’t holding back…” giving you a little whiff, his time outside came to an end, a very confused Itadori was left looking at you up close, closer than never before.

“(Y/N)…? Are you ok? Oh my god…why am I here…?” you just caressed his face in a loving tender manner, he was your love’s vessel after all, and you’d take care of him just as much.

“It’s ok sweet stuff. You’re fine, I’m fine. Are you hungry?” and with that, he turned into a puddle of goo forgetting the whole reason he was there in the first place, maybe having Sukuna making you swoon wasn’t so bad after all.

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Previous Chapter Masterlist

[selfhelpforstudents]

Set specific, achievable goals for your study session: Set a clear goal for what you want to achieve in each study session. For example, "I want to complete the first three chapters of my textbook today."

Create a study schedule and stick to it: Develop a study schedule that works for you and stick to it. For example, "I will study for one hour every day after dinner."

Minimize distractions by finding a quiet place to study: Eliminate distractions that can interfere with your focus. For example, turning off your phone or finding a quiet place to study.

Take regular breaks to avoid burnout and increase focus: Take short breaks every hour or so to recharge and refocus. For example, taking a five-minute break to stretch or grab a snack.

Use active study techniques, such as summarizing, reciting, or creating flashcards: Use active techniques to engage with the material you're studying. For example, summarizing a chapter in your own words or creating flashcards to test your knowledge.

Get organized by using a planner or calendar to keep track of assignments and due dates: Keep track of your assignments and due dates to avoid procrastination. For example, using a planner or calendar to keep track of your deadlines.

Find a study group or accountability partner to keep you motivated: Join a study group or find a partner to keep you accountable and motivated. For example, joining a study group on campus or finding a study partner online.

Use mnemonic devices to help you remember information: Use memory aids, such as acronyms or visual images, to help you remember information. For example, using the acronym "ROY G BIV" to remember the colors of the rainbow.

Stay hydrated and take care of your physical health by eating well and exercising regularly: Take care of your physical health to improve your mental focus. For example, drinking plenty of water and going for a run before a study session.

Make use of study aids, such as textbooks, notes, or online resources: Use study aids to supplement your learning. For example, using a textbook or online resource to help you understand a difficult concept.

Use technology to your advantage, such as apps or online tools for studying: Use technology to enhance your studying. For example, using a study app to practice vocabulary words or online tools for organizing your notes.

Vary your study routine by changing your location or study technique: Change up your study routine to keep it fresh and engaging. For example, studying in a different location or using a different study technique, such as listening to an audiobook instead of reading.

Review your notes regularly to reinforce your learning: Review your notes frequently to help you retain information. For example, reviewing your notes after each class or at the end of each week.

Focus on understanding concepts rather than memorizing facts: Focus on understanding the material rather than memorizing facts. For example, understanding the concepts behind a mathematical formula rather than just memorizing the formula itself.

Test yourself regularly to identify areas that need improvement: Test yourself frequently to identify areas where you need improvement. For example, taking practice quizzes or tests to gauge your understanding.

Use positive self-talk to boost your confidence and motivation: Use positive self-talk to stay motivated and confident. For example, telling yourself "I can do this" when faced with a challenging task.

Avoid procrastination by breaking down large assignments into smaller tasks: Break down large assignments into smaller, manageable tasks to avoid procrastination. For example, breaking down a research paper into smaller tasks such as researching, outlining, and drafting.

Reward yourself after reaching a goal or completing a challenging assignment: When you complete a task or achieve a goal, reward yourself with something that you enjoy. This can help you stay motivated and make the studying process more enjoyable. For example, you could treat yourself to a favorite snack, take a break to watch an episode of your favorite TV show, or go for a walk outside.

Take care of your mental health by practicing self-care and seeking help if needed: Studying can be stressful, so it's important to take care of your mental health. This can include practicing self-care activities such as meditation, exercise, or spending time with friends and family. If you feel overwhelmed or need additional support, don't hesitate to seek help from a trusted friend, family member, or mental health professional.

Stay positive and motivated by focusing on your progress and accomplishments: Studying can be challenging, but it's important to focus on the progress you're making rather than getting discouraged by setbacks or mistakes. Celebrate small wins, such as completing a challenging assignment or understanding a difficult concept. For example, you could keep a study journal where you write down your accomplishments or take time at the end of each day to reflect on what you learned.

Source // Follow my Studygram for more motivation // Join our Discord Server // Follow my Tumblr

Write me a message if you need someone to talk to!

Love, Sophia <3

[vainilla-milk]

princess

pairing: Ushijima x Fem! Reader

tags: too much fluff, female body, reader's height is 1.55m, time skip characters

wordcount: 1.5k

Ushijima has always been a reserved and unexpressive man, but for those who have been close to him, they know that this inexpressiveness is not an impediment to be someone very concerned about his own. Despite that, there was a side that he himself was unaware of and that had not yet come to light for everyone.

Until you came along.

You were both in college, he working on his sports career and you on your career related to journalism. You practically met him because of an assignment you were asked to do with your classmates, a sports-related report. 

Wakatoshi was big and imposing, his stony gaze made you nervous at first, but you managed to strike up a conversation with him. 

The acclaimed "Japan’s cannon" was the MOST docile man you had ever met in your life, naive and overly transparent.

You had been charmed by the boy, although you had to be resourceful to get him to talk to you. After that project, you didn't have any more contact with sports, but you didn't care about that. 

You became interested in volleyball and used the pretext to approach him again. 

Ushijima noticed your growing presence on his radar, but without giving it much importance, as you looked busy talking to several people present at the training. You were in and out of the place, always carrying some notebook handy with your pen. 

"Really your strength is impressive" you tell him one day after finishing his training. "I imagine you've trained very hard since you were little, haven't you?"

His stoic expression fixed on you, well, having to lower his gaze because of the size difference between him and you. You didn't get the blunt answer you were hoping for, it was simply a dry yes. 

You weren't going to give up just because of that. 

You tried again and again, until you became a constant in his life. Your stomach clenched with excitement the first time he was the one who took the initiative to talk to you.

To know more about you.

You invite him for coffee afterward and he accepts without objection. 

"You look pretty passionate about what you do" you hear him say. You lift your gaze from the sandwich to notice him and smile at him. 

Wakatoshi listened to you patiently and connected too much when you entered the waters of the sporting world. When you told him that he was the reason you became interested in volleyball and sports journalism, he felt a great warmth in his chest, so much so, that it was inevitable to smile. 

Everything pointed to the fact that from that moment on, he could never get you out of his mind again.

Your relationship was blossoming slowly but surely, Ushijima is quite the gentleman, you thought constantly. He cared about you, about your health, that you rest and eat well, hydrate and be happy. 

Because there has been no better discovery that behind that stoic face, hides a man who loves to pamper and spoil you.

Treat you like a princess. 

He genuinely loved to give you things as gifts, whether he surprised you by seeing a dress you had loved, new shoes to match a new outfit or your medicine to calm your menstrual discomfort. 

He left you a copy of the keys to his apartment in case you needed to study somewhere quiet, after all, he lives without roommates. You could sleep over if you wanted to. 

Were you tense? He helped you with massages. Were you feeling sick? He'd take you to the doctor. Did you need love? He'd make sure you got it all night long.

If you asked him for the moon, he would personally bring it down for you.

But to speak only of his love is an understatement in everything that really happened in the relationship, because you did not lag behind with your displays of affection. 

You supported him in everything that involved his career, taking advantage of the fact that your area allowed you to do so. You cooked for him, you tucked him in, you were there with him every moment. You got along very well with his father, something he quite appreciated, just as he appreciated that you were also able to get along with his former Shiratorizawa classmates. Especially with Tendou, his best friend. You helped him rediscover himself and open a new perspective on life and the world.

But still, time passes, and so many years of love and lust-filled nights were clearly going to end with you holding a positive pregnancy test.

You sighed in relief thanking the gods that the Olympic games had come to an end. 

Yeah, well, in these years of relationship you discovered that Wakatoshi could be quite passionate in bed. Sometimes enough to make an attempt on a poor condom trying to withstand hard onslaughts that would promptly release a load too heavy to hold back with latex. 

You guessed that during the games one must have broken without them noticing, or you just didn't give it enough thought. 

Watching your belly grow was fascinating for him, and more fascinating for the press to see Ushijima Wakatoshi show the world an unknown and exploitable side for their magazines and newspapers.

If you were his princess before, now, you are his queen expecting a princess. 

Although you both initially worried about how a baby might affect his sports career, you were supportive enough to go along with it. Ushijima sought advice from his father, but also received plenty of help from Romero. He felt reassured when both men presented him with all the ways to balance his work with fatherhood and marriage. 

"You should rest," he tells you as he hugs you from behind, his hands gently caressing your swollen belly. He was so excited, his frequent smiles gave him away, inside you was a little princess he was looking forward to meeting. 

"I need to move" you reply as you wash the dishes. "I'm not going to stay lying in bed for months until I give birth"

You remember in your youth not understanding why pregnant women insisted on doing so many things instead of resting and enjoying themselves during pregnancy. You can understand it better now, there is a certain feeling of uselessness that haunts you and you don't like it, your husband is constantly watching you to remind you not to overexert yourself. 

Still, in your last weeks, you were unstoppable. You felt almost no contractions and the last thing you wanted in life was to have to give birth by C-section. 

You cleaned the entire apartment, took forty-minute walks, tried to exercise.

You did it all! But it still seemed like the pregnancy would never come to an end.

You were so sad that Wakatoshi decided to comfort you with some libido. He did his best not to hurt you so he could please you.

Oh, but the way he managed to do it was the trigger for your body to finally decide that you should go into labor. You were almost past forty-one weeks, it was a relief to know that at last your princess would arrive. 

Hearing you scream made his stomach knot, you are strong and he knows it, but it didn't stop him from worrying that you were delivering the baby of a man who is over six feet tall and well, tall you clearly are not. 

When the noise stops, Wakatoshi feels that his heart finally manages to return to calm. His hand never let go of yours. 

"You did good, sweetie" he whispered against your forehead as he deposited a comforting kiss on your skin.

You felt an enormous happiness to see your baby placed on your chest while the medical team cleaned and tidied up the room before moving you and the baby to where you could rest and monitor your health. 

Wakatoshi watched you, recording the image in detail in his mind. Soon your laughter snapped him out of his trance. 

"Baby, you really were a huge pain in the ass for how small you turned out to be" you joked. 

Your husband smiles, you're right, his baby is a pretty little princess.

Tiny, unruly, troublemaker and too spoiled by her father. You thought.

The years flew by when your daughter was born. You were so thankful that Wakatoshi did not abandon you emotionally at any time as you had feared, it was something so recurrent in motherhood that you had even psyched yourself up in case it happened to you.

But that never happened, neither when you were in Japan nor when you moved to Poland, because Ushijima Wakatoshi would always move heaven and earth to always take his beloved wife and little princess wherever he went. 

Your daughter is quite a case, you expected her to inherit your husband's calm temperament, instead, she inherited yours but with multiplied energy. Her battery never ran out, but she was giggly and overflowing with joy. 

A lucky girl who had a devoted mother like you and a father like Wakatoshi who can never get enough of the love he gives to both of you and so must spoil you more and pamper his daughter like the good daddy's princess she is. 

But sometimes he overflows so much love for you that your belly again finds itself conceiving a new life. Maybe now it's the turn of a prince, maybe it's another little princess. 

You still have months to find out, but for Ushijima, he has a lifetime left to continue loving you and his precious daughter, Daddy's little princess.

[momentov1vere]

Assigning PJO/ HoO characters to Knights Radiant orders (+ my reasoning)

I put too much thought into this not to share it somewhere so here’s a sort-of character analysis that is much longer than it needs to be (bc I was bored and stuck in a car for 10 hours) :)

Not sure how much of a crossover there is between the PJO and Stormlight Archive fandoms but this was mostly for fun (and I want to see what happens lol)

Here we go!

——————————————————————————

🔱 Percy Jackson : Stoneward

The powers don’t rly fit (Cohesion- manipulating objects at a molecular level- & Tension- changing the stiffness of something) but none of the Radiants have water powers so 🤷‍♀️

Loyalty is pretty much the #1 belief of the Stonewards (“Though sometimes gregarious, they are never flighty. If a Stoneward is your friend, they will be there for you”) and Percy’s fatal flaw is literally loyalty so that’s that

Percy is said to be one of the best fighters seen like anywhere in a long time and Stonewards are the order that is viewed as the best soldiers of the Radiants

They like a challenge and will often take on more than they can handle (like Percy choosing to take on the Great Prophecy)

Stonewards are also good at being able to find a solution to a difficult situation with only few resources and Percy often comes up with things on the fly/ improvises

I struggled SO MUCH picking one for Percy oh my god he had similarities to like half of them (I almost made him a Bondsmith or a Windrunner but they didn’t seem right)

🦉 Annabeth Chase : Elsecaller

Powers : Transformation (changing an object into something else- aka ‘Soulcasting’) and Transportation (looking/moving between realms); Annabeth likes creating new things (architecture) so there’s a bit of a connection to the Transformation power even tho she doesn’t really have powers

Elsecallers are always trying to reach their full potential, like how Annabeth is always be seen trying to learn new things and become the best version of herself

They are regarded as the ‘wisest’ Radiant order (just like Annabeth/ the Athena cabin are viewed as the ‘wisest’ demigods)

Annabeth always has her goals in mind but also always trying to lead and encourage others (like Damasen) which is common amongst Elsecallers

🐐 Grover Underwood : Edgedancer

Powers: Abrasion (altering the friction between surfaces) & Progression (quickly growing organic objects faster than normal- including plants, skin, body tissue, etc.)

He’s able to make plants grow faster using his magic reed pipe so that would translate into Progression

Abrasion would kind of fit for him too, bc of the goat legs (he’s able to navigate more difficult terrain than humans)

Edgedancers care about the ordinary/ overlooked people of the world and spend most of their time making sure those people are protected. Grover cares deeply about nature/ animals and always tries to protect them bc humans often deem nature unimportant (nature = ordinary people in this scenario)

☠️ Nico di Angelo : Dustbringer

Powers: Division (control over destruction/ decay) and Abrasion

I don’t know if Nico has anything that really fits the Abrasion power- except for maybe the fact that his shadow travel helps him get places quickly- but Division is definitely similar to his power over death/ earthy materials

Dustbringers typically don’t get along with others (including people in their own order) because of personality differences and stereotypes about their powers like how Nico is often ostracized at first bc he scares people

☀️ Will Solace : Edgedancer

Powers: Abrasion & Progression

Will is a healer so Progression would be a good power for him to have; while he doesn’t have any powers similar to Abrasion I think it would be useful for him to have to get to injured people faster

Will cares about everyone and will do his best to heal anyone because he doesn’t want anyone to suffer, and he doesn’t just focus on the powerful demigods- he makes sure to lend his power anywhere it’s needed

Fighting is not the the Edgedancers’ main concern, preferring to protect/help the injured (especially people who aren’t necessarily warriors) and Will also is more like a wartime medic than a fighter (though he- and the Edgedancers- can fight if necessary)

They want to see and understand both sides of something, even their enemies, rather than seeing everything in black and white. Will struggled with this in TSATS but eventually realized that places like the Underworld aren’t necessarily just about death/decay, but are also about life

🌩️ Jason Grace : Windrunner

Well first of all the man flies and that’s basically what the Windrunners do lol

Their powers: Adhesion (temporarily sticking two objects together) and Gravitation (changing the direction/ strength of something’s gravitational pull)

He cares a lot about protecting innocents/ the defenseless and keeping his friends safe which is a main idea of the Windrunners

Windrunners are very militaristic in general and Jason was raised by the wolves and the Romans to be that way as well

Tempest would be his windspren & prefer a horse form cus they can do that (I think)

⚡️ Thalia Grace : Windrunner

I know she hates flying but I don’t think it’s really a requirement of the Windrunners to ‘fly’; they mostly just change the direction/amount of gravity that’s pulling on them so she could find creative ways to use Gravitation (walking on walls/ceilings which then appear to be the floor to her, etc)

The Hunters of Artemis are pretty militaristic as well (they have a specific leader & ways of doing things, similar to the Romans)

Thalia cares about innocent people/creatures and is very protective over the people she cares about (Annabeth, the Hunters, etc)

Windrunners tend to attract “big-sibling types” and Thalia is definitely a big sibling type lol

🏹 Frank Zhang : Stoneward

Powers don’t rly fit him either but personality-wise I think it’s right

Frank is really loyal to his friends (sometimes to the point of attacking/fighting people more powerful than him to save them) and will always be there for them both in battle and for personal issues

He’s pretty good at improvising and his shapeshifting allows him to come up with creative solutions (turning into an iguana to get out of the Chinese handcuffs lol)

He’s also pretty quick to come up with creative solutions without many resources (using his firewood to free Thanatos when there was no other heat source, etc.)

💎 Hazel Levesque : Lightweaver

Powers : Illumination (illusions) and Transformation

Hazel learned how to manipulate the mist from Hecate, essentially giving her illusion powers, & she can change the shape of earthly materials (can’t change the material but it’s close enough to Transformation); this is one case where I almost made her a Stoneward but Lightweaver just fit better for everything else I think

Lightweavers are the ‘artistic’ order and attract people who love art/ creativity (Hazel is an artist)

They tend to not follow rules the way other orders do, instead choosing to reach their goals by their own means (ex. Hazel choosing to go her own way and make her own choices rather than taking one of the paths Hecate gave her in HoH)

🔥 Leo Valdez : Dustbringer

Same as Nico; both of them being Dustbringers would be an example of contrasting/ clashing personalities within the order

Fire is definitely a destructive ability similar to Division (they can burn things) and without a level of control (which Dustbringers need to learn before they can advance their powers) things could get bad (and have- rip Esperanza Valdez)

Leo hasn’t really been ostracized for his personality like Dustbringers could be but his powers originally made people scared (they didn’t know he had them at the time but his cabinmates did say a that having that power was dangerous and they hoped no one would ever have it again so he took that a little personally)

🗡️ Reyna Ramirez-Arellano : Bondsmith

She’d be bonded to the Stormfather (1 of 3 beings who can gift Bondsmith abilities), allowing her to generate Stormlight and infuse other Radiants with it; this is incredibly draining and similar to Reyna’s ability to share her strength

Bondsmiths’ main focus is unity/ bringing people together and Reyna definitely spends a lot of time attempting to unite the Roman and Greek camp (after all, she did spend an entire book helping Nico and Coach Hedge get the Athena Parthenos back to CHB as a peace offering)

Bondsmith powers aren’t typically used for fighting but rather for assisting other Radiants and keep them fighting; Reyna is skilled with weapons but doesn’t use her powers to fight, only to help others keep up their strength/ motivation

🕊️ Piper McLean : Lightweaver

Piper had some personal things that she had to work out (lying to her friends in TLH, etc) before she fully embraced her power, & Lightweavers have to come to terms with truths about themselves before they can progress as people & as Radiants

There aren’t really any Radiant orders that work with manipulation magic so it’s hard to bring the Charmspeak in but the illusion magic Lightweavers have does allow them to change their appearance, so I’d imagine her using it to make herself super beautiful for espionage purposes or smth (maybe using it to transform into someone’s loved one?)

Transformation would allowed her to turn something into something else (etc. mud to food) which kind of relates to her cornucopia & how it makes food out of nothing

——————————————————————————

Hooray we made it to the end!! Sorry that this was so long, I had a looong time to think about this and wanted to get all my thoughts down

I mostly used coppermind.net and the descriptions of the Radiant orders on Sanderson’s website so some of this info may be a little inaccurate but this was just for fun lol

[mogwaei]

There is so much more to you.

[~2700 word oneshot below the cut, Astarion's pov!]

There was never a dull moment with Zjinn (the name had stuck with most of the others, but Astarion was having too much fun to settle now). The dark elf simply never stopped, and if everyone else was occupied, Zjinn found ways to amuse herself which was a skill he admired but would not admit. Now, if he were a better man, he might even be a little concerned, but Wyll and Gale already had that covered. Karlach encouraged it. Lae'zel seemed to find it secretly entertaining, or more likely useful, in that if the rest of their party didn't require rest, she would have absconded with Zjinn to the nearest creche on day one.  

Astarion instead assigned himself the task of watching and waiting with great anticipation for the day the chaos finally caught up with the guileful, fey elf. It would probably be disastrous, but also hilarious. Perhaps the others were too charmed (or even infatuated) with Zjinn's magnetic personality to realise that it was a glamour, a distraction to hide an internal struggle with a darker somethingness he'd seen slip free here and there.  

After their encounter with dear Auntie Ethel, he was almost certain it existed. The entire group had descended into the hag's tree and things went from high confidence to ‘everything is very bad very quickly’. Out of their seven, it came down to the two of them becoming a bloody acrobatic act trying to avoid the crone's lethal spells. Thinking herself victorious, Ethel taunted him, plucking weaknesses and insecurities from his head like ripened fruit.  

Slaver. Sadist. Descendant of monsters, child of the Gloaming! How dare you judge me?  

Well. Whatever that meant.  

He'd peeked out of cover in confusion at the other elf. Nothing they had encountered in their short time together seemed to ruffle Zjinn. She was as slippery as the tadpoles in their heads and annoyingly resilient. But right then, he saw something like doubt. Maybe a spark of fear.  

It clearly struck a chord with the elven thaumaturge. Something snapped and suddenly Zjinn went completely feral. He'd seen her fight with broken chicken bones to stab into soft flesh and even a frying pan more than once—she was very resourceful and hands-on for what he expected of a burgeoning bard-druid-whatever. But this time, Zjinn picked up a short sword out of the filth and became a flurry of blade and strange, foul magic he'd not seen her wield before. The hag cackled with glee, I knew your kind was excitable, petal, but you're as weak as watered milk!  

And yet, it was Zjinn who ended up covered in a thick soup of blood and grime, standing above the hag as she begged, then bargained for her life. Unexpectedly, Zjinn let the miserable creature go in exchange for power. I intend to be the strongest milk you’ve ever tasted, Astarion! Another thing to bite them in the arse down the road, but, she was right. He would happily help her hoard power if it meant they could eventually reduce any of their enemies to dust at the snap of their fingers—Cazador at the top of his list.

Nevertheless, after barely rousing their companions with carefully portioned potions and Zjinn's last healing spell, the elf traded her usual series of friendly quips to lighten the mood. Another distraction, for while the others conversed tiredly on the trek back to camp, Zjinn filtered to the rear and subsided into an inordinate silence. With that battle being their toughest to date, he chalked it up to exhaustion.  

But Zjinn did not stop nor rest. He immediately recognised the vacant look in her eye: a lute enchanted to play without a musician still played its programmed notes, but to his knowledge, magic lacked the specific flavour and spirit only a living person could provide (despite what Gale would argue). In other words, no one was home except the tadpole.  

Further driving his convictions, Zjinn disappeared for a bit into the darkening forest, returning with a burlap sack containing some sort of fungus that she made a  brew from. Whatever it was kept her up all through the night—and no, he wasn't watching her every minute of the day. He was settling into a trance when she woke Wyll for his watch and sat with the warlock on the  riverbank for the duration of his.  

Whatever the man said to Zjinn that night was enough to return the eye-patch elf to her regular  insufferable self the next morning. There was no sign of vulnerability for another couple of tendays—then again, Astarion forced himself to stop paying so close attention. For reasons.  

That was up until a night or two before they planned to storm the goblin camp, finally deciding they were prepared to do so. Astarion had gone hunting since his usual donor had once again gone out for an evening forage. He took a meandering path not at all keeping an eye out for signs of a familiar moon-haired cretin getting high off spores with myconids or something equally absurd.

He wasn't far off the mark. There were no mushroom people, fortunately, but Zjinn was near an outcropping overlooking the river and the overcast heavens, her form almost entirely obscured by a cloud that was shifting colours like an aurora. Motes of light, like stars, were drifting through them. He moved closer with nary a sound, mouthing what the fuck?  

The cloud turned red spontaneously at the same time that the idiot dropped to the ground out of sight. When she didn't rise immediately, Astarion sighed and pushed through the bushes calling her name while hating the worry edging his voice. When he broke through, he nearly tripped over her body, batting fruitlessly at the cloud. Zjinn lay sprawled on her back staring up at the stars with the vacant expression that had been haunting the back of his mind for days. While her shirts and armour were usually left open to a dangerous degree to flaunt the myriad tattoos adorning her skin, it was the ink that caught his attention this time...and not in a horny way. They were shifting, the designs mixing and twisting nauseatingly.  

He nudged her with a foot, not trusting his hands to do something foolish like touch her face.  

"You're not even breathing—what the hells did you do now?" he muttered, kneeling beside her.  

Then she blinked. And looked at him. They stared at each other in silence, neither breathing.  

"It worked. The dose needs dilution, but—" Ziinn winked.  

Astarion's face darkened. "You absolute buffoon. If Gale finds out you're sampling fungi again, we'll never hear the end of it! And so far from camp—what if—”

Zjinn started wheezing with laughter and Astarion shut his mouth indignantly, considering kicking her over the edge of the cliff. He was not worried. "Gale only finds out if one of us tells him." She pushed herself up, wild curls stuck with moss and grass. "Did you want some?"

He waited for her to latch onto the too-obvious concern rolling off of him to tease him mercilessly, but it never came. There was still time—probably tucking it away for later, the menace. It was what he would do.

"Even if I were interested in huffing dust off rocks like you, I doubt it would have an effect on me," he groused, watching her roll around, mumbling incoherently in another language. "Also, why aren't you breathing?"

He wasn’t sure why that unnerved him, of all the unhinged things she did, but he didn’t want to figure it out. He couldn't afford to.

She ignored him in favour of searching the ground for the fallen pouch, but Astarion grabbed it first and tucked it out of view. "It's merely a side effect, I'Il be fine! Tell Gale or Wyll to lead the parade for a day or two."

Unable to find her pouch, she let out a garbled sound of dismay.

"Sorry darling, if we're going to be fighting goblins and drow tomorrow, I'm not about to trust my back to a mushroom-addled bard."

Zjinn kicked out at his ankle, knocking him onto his ass. "Why not suck the poison out of my veins? Like ye olde healing leeches.”

“And risk getting me high? I think not.”

She narrowed her eye. "Would that work?"  

"I am absolutely fucking not testing that out.'  

"I promise they're harmless to outsiders.'  

"'Outsiders'?"  

She pursed her lips and he realised it must have been  a slip. "I don't know. I..." Zjinn dug her hands into her  hair, leaning between her peaked knees. "It must be the tadpole. Catching stray thoughts from others out of the air or something.” There, a fissure in the jester's mask. He needed only to chip away at it until there was  an Astarion-shaped hole.  

"That doesn't explain the sudden need for—" he gestured lazily to the starlike magic and the still-swimming ink on her skin. He wasn't sure if the particulates had affected him or if the tadpoles were skimming surface thoughts off their brains, but he felt something give in the air. The slightest incremental shift of time and space in her direction—oh gods below, he was beginning to think like Gale.  

Zjinn sighed. "I've been getting terrible headaches since the crash," she confessed, though it did not come easy. It should have made him feel elated for the bit of give, but instead...he felt a little cold. Guilty. “It's like reality doesn't quite fit. I feel...untethered."  

"Darling, I think it's the mushrooms—”  

She raised her head, staring up at the red clouds and scattered constellations, still without breathing. "Somehow I thought you’d understand, being someone who needs a questionable substance to feel semi-stable.” The other was Gale, he knew, but she didn’t mention the wizard.

Astarion floundered for his script. "You’re right. Try me, darling. I’ll behave." Yes, that was choice, and delivered with the right amount of softness. She was looking at him now, likely because it was a tone she'd never heard him take. He cleared his throat and gently booped her on the shoulder with his finger. "It's not just headaches, is it?"  

She was, for once, silent. And then that single red feline-pupiled eye turned to the crimson depths above. "No." Zjinn wiggled her fingers where they perched on her knee. "But something about these mushrooms and flowers...they make me feel  more connected? Instead of hurtling blindly through wherever I'm bloody going, I suddenly am only a few tools short of being able to map the unknown. That's why I was trying to chart the stars from memory.”  

It was Astarion's turn to stare into the distance, mind spinning. It explained the mess of ‘stars’ in the red cloud, but not the...mapping bit. 

 "There's far more to you than you let on." It was meant to be a genuine compliment—eugh—but as always, it came off frosted with mockery. Gale would probably be losing his collective shit if he were sitting in his place, happily hanging on every word of her reluctant vulnerability. Hells, figuring out what sort of magic she wielded had been something of a camp topic for weeks while Zjinn demonstrated signs of sorcery, druidic magic, and whatever it was bards did. He still didn't understand the others’ obsession—Zjinn could fight and kill and protect well, sometimes having fun with the violent bits! It was all he cared about after all.

But he had to pretend he was invested, because it was Astarion she was telling now. Except…what did it mean for two seasoned liars? Did she expect him not to believe her and thus didn't care to hold her cards close? Why did that prospect suddenly bother him?

Push it a little further. You can secure her loyalty here, that fearful voice whispered.  

"Why don't we try something?" he piped up, drawing her gaze again. "Remember when we discussed getting blood-drunk? As in, you drink to the brink of liver failure..." Astarion could get drunk on wine, but it usually took enough bottles to kill a mortal man or two. The theory they had some time ago—but tragically had yet to test—was for her to get piss drunk and for him to…partake of her blood shortly after, perhaps yielding a more potent result.  

"Are you suggesting what I think you are, but with the spores?"  

He shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned back on his  hands, pasting on a little smirk. "It was your idea. Something about 'sucking out the poison'? I'm not usually one for details, dear. But, if it works, maybe it will help me to...better understand what has that wild little mind in such a bind lately."  

Zjinn mirrored his posture, tilting her head slowly to the side in a way that exposed her inked neck. It drove him a little mad and made his fangs ache. 

“When was the last time you looked at the stars?”

Every fucking night since the crash. He was absorbing every vibrant petal and shimmering ray of sun like any moment he'd be whisked away back to Cazador. But he pretended he wasn't one for details because that was weakness.

“Well, hardly tonight since they're playing coy.” The double entendre was not lost on her.

Zjinn gave a very Lae'zel-like tch and motioned toward her neck with those tapered fingernails. “We'll see about that. Have a taste.”

Astarion reined himself in so as not to appear as excited as he felt, taking his sweet time positioning himself behind her, deliberately brushing her thighs with his. Gently brushing the mass of curls over her other shoulder, he briefly inspected the shapeless ink on her neck. This close, it almost looked like something was alive and moving beneath her skin. He wasted no time drowning those lovely little thoughts in her blood.

As the hot liquid flooded his tongue, he noticed a new note to the conflicting essence that was uniquely Zjinn. It was…unexpected, yes, but not unpleasant. Yet, trying to put words to the taste only conjured an image of the Astral Sea, similar to where the Dream Visitor had taken up residence. Multi-hued puffs of stardust that looked tantalisingly tasty—Zjinn's words, not his—but what Lae'zel vehemently insisted was not. Regardless of what Lae'zel said, Zjinn's blood had some Astral Sea in it and it was quickly approaching ambrosial in quality.

He didn’t realise how far gone he was until Zjinn gave him a tiny zap on the nose. When he opened his eyes, they were surrounded by aurorean lights and an expanse of drifting stars.

“It's all right, you're not going to float away,” came the moonsmoke voice, all light with amusement. He was clinging to her. Mortifying. Astarion quickly put distance between them, but not far enough that he couldn't reach out…just in case.

“Fascinating darling, but how exactly does this help you at all? All I can see are…unicorn farts.”

“You haven't built up a tolerance, pumpkin. But now we know it works! Think of all the debauchery we can get up to now.”

Astarion opened his mouth to reflexively deliver something salacious, but his eyes caught once more on the tattoos. The designs were back, but gone were the usual mosaics of Feywild flora and fauna and monsters. Now, they were images of portals and arches filled with visions of other worlds, of voids containing stars, and stained glass windows framed by flowers and ivy…

All connected by the thin dendritic fingers of mushrooms.

He didn’t know what it meant and she was unlikely to grace him with a straightforward answer. Instead, he focused on her currently guiding a star across the sky.

“You're mapping them?” he recalled weakly, feeling in threat of losing his connection to the ground. 

She nodded, placing a particularly sparkly orb at an acute angle above his head. “I've already done the prettiest part of the sky.”

Astarion scanned the area, about to say something incredibly snarky about her memory being shite until something she had said earlier about reality not quite ‘fitting’ had him faltering.

While it had been something like two hundred years since he'd had a proper look at the heavenly bodies, he'd been catching up enough on his stargazing to recognise something was off.

These were not the constellations of Faerûn.

But something deep down inside him said they were designs that existed in some realm.

It occurred to him that their peculiar dark elf had a very different perspective of the world. Or, perhaps, Zjinn was not Faerûnian at all.

[scorchedpawswcrp]

The Metal Scrappers

Creativity, Freedom, Discovery

A diverse colony of cats, the Metal Scrappers have learned about humans and their creations through what they have deemed “trash” and mastered the art of bending even the most unnatural resources to their will and use them to make a living out of the unforgiving desert they call home. These cats follow their main faith, the belief that every cat has a great potential to offer to the world and all they need is the means to do so.

Their colony is structured to better provide for each cat, allowing everyone to have a spot where they can contribute to the group in countless ways. They don’t really have “ranks” to rise from, instead assigning themselves to jobs, all with equal importance. Each job has its own “Headmaster”, the three cats together acting as the leadership body of the colony.

Healers: These cats dedicate themselves to learning about herbs and plants, as well as all kinds of illnesses that may happen to the colony with the hopes of keeping as many cats healthy as possible. They work with caring for herbal gardens, gathering materials for their work and treating the ill and injured.

Crafters: The majority of their numbers, the crafters are tasked with hunting and maintaining their home, the Outpost, to ensure things are going well and protected. They learn how to fight and protect themselves from threats, especially dangerous predators. Additionally, like their name suggests, these cats partake in a whole lot of crafting. Be it clayworking, weaving, scrap-building, making new tools and things to help make jobs easier or simply building something because it could look pretty. Everything is fair game and readily encouraged by all, so long as it brings no harm.

Explorers: Tasked with quite a bit of work, explorers spend most of their time out and about, looking for new resources outside of where the average Scrapper might go. They hunt and scavenge, also being a line of defense if any threats feel like making their way into the Outpost. They’re hardy and fast, always carrying pouches and bags or pieces of trash and other things.

The colony also has permanent Monarchs and Elders, cats who usually stay at home and help care for kits and their parents. Though they aren’t considered healers, monarchs work under the Healer’s Headmaster, while Elders most commonly still follow the Headmaster of their former job. Of course, all cats respect and listen to all three Headmasters, but they have more affinity to the cat overlooking their jobs most of the time.

Their young cats in training are called Juniors, and can be trained both by multiple cats or choose a main mentor of their own. This is up to the cat’s personal choice!

The Metal Scrappers are creative at heart and creating is in their blood. Because of this, gift-giving as a gesture of affection is very prominent to them. Be it a gift to a friend, a mate, your kits, anyone - it’s a sure way to make a cat’s day! Of course, this can also be done between cats with less than ideal relationships, with prank gifts being a common way to get back at someone for one thing or another. Prank wars are very much a thing, indeed!

Cats are able to craft with many materials due to the access to human trash, but they’re also quite skilled at using the natural resources available to them. The usage of clay is a big part of their craft, with their dens being made out of little dried clay structures to shelter them at night and help keep temperatures bearable. They use plant fibers of all kinds to weave bags, pouches and accessories.

Because of their proximity to a functioning water plant, the Metal Scrappers have considerably easy access to water for most of the time. Because the trip to and from the water plant takes a little under a day with no stops, the process of getting water is a little tough. Patrols of the strongest hunters and explorers put on special “vests” made with woven material, each having pockets capable of holding plastic water bottles or clay vessels. These are called “refill runs” or water runs. They usually take as much as they safely can, making sure to always have back-up water available if something happens.

Standard / Common Appearance:

Because of the introduction of kittypets from time to time due to the cruelty of humans over the years, Metal Scrappers are quite diverse at the end of the day when it comes to how they look! For the most part, their fur is short and helps keep them cool while protecting them from the sun, with a winter coat growing during the cold moons.

Scrapper cats are usually warmer colors, with red being the most prominent. Cinnamon and chocolate pelts are also very present, with the dilute variant of all three being the most common in the colony as well. There is the occasional blue pelt too, though! It’s not often one will find a black cat here though, but they have made a home in the desert junkyard before on occasion.

All kinds of tabby patterns can be found in the Scrapper cats, with no clear prominence of one pattern over the other. Solid cats are also common, though not as much as tabbies. While white spotting is also incredibly varied, it’s not usual to find completely solid white cats. In general, Scrappers can vary from no white spotting to around 50-70%.

Traits considered to be from certain breeds are able to pop up here and there due to kittypet heritage too!

[what-the-actual-wizardry]

Elemental Magic I: Order and Rule

(Most of this information is UPG. It has worked for us, but may not work for you. Please be discerning, but kind. -Scholar) Following insightful observations from @iteh3xael, on our post about the application of Pentagram Tracing, we would like to give some more context. This will be a series of posts. The first is

Our standard 'four elements' are arranged in this order, from bottom to top: Fire (hot/dry) Air (hot/wet) Water (cold/wet) Earth (cold/dry) I've completely forgotten where this arrangement came from, but it has proven relevant on a number of occasions. Notice that each element shares one property with the elements above and below it, and that Water and Fire do not touch (opposites), nor do Earth and Air (also opposites).

This arrangement makes much more sense to me than the standard pentagram wheel that is so often a witch's first introduction to magic. The common Wiccan cycle makes less and less sense the more I look at it. Autumn is ruled by water, despite being a season of the fruits of the Earth, and Winter is ruled by Earth, despite the constant precipitation and spiritual contemplation brought on by that season. Additionally, the function of the Sword/Blade/Weapon is assigned to Air, while the Wand is fiery- but the Wand is meant to move things, and the Blade to strike them, so the elemental arrangement seems counterintuitive. In my own practice, I make these pertinent corrections: Fire, element of emotions, rules summer, the season of affections and building of resources, and the Weapon of the magician, who channels their emotions into baneful practices. Air, element of words, rules spring, a time of communication and exchange, and the Focus of the magician, who incants to bring their will to the world.

Water, element of thoughts, rules Winter, a time of isolation and contemplation, and the Lots (divinatory tools) of the magician, who looks within for their answers.

Earth, element of actions, rules Autumn, a time of celebration, fruits of labor, and hedonism. It also rules the Amulet of the magician, who sets barriers or charms to defend against preternatural harm.

Notice here: the seasons run upwards from the bottom. Also, thoughts and emotions stand in opposition, as so often they do in life; the same is true for actions and words.

In this series, we will discuss one by one the ways that the elements interact with the concepts they rule- processes, seasons, and tools- and look at how each element can be used in thaumaturgy and theurgy (practical and spiritual magic, respectively) as well as baneful and restorative magic. -Scholar (with help from the Surgeon)

[third-arch]

Law would be really good in an apocalypse AU, so I’m talking about it.

Something that I think is really cool about Law is that he has a ton of qualities that would make him perfect for any survival AU:

Self Designated leader

Mature

Doctor

Quiet

Always has a plan

Brave

Intelligent

Violence as last resort

Curious

Cautious

Survival Skills

In control of his emotions

Protector

There are more, but it made me wonder how these would apply to a survival AU.

So, I thought I’d talk about a basic scenario:

“The zombies are taking over. The outbreak just happened and it’s not terribly far away from Law. How would he handle it?”

I think Law would already be planning.

Let’s say he’s working at a clinic and lives in a nice apartment.

He’d be focused on some things.

He’d always be keeping track of the news. -The latest on the death toll, updates on a cure, how the zombies behave, statistics, politics, etc.

He’d already have supplies packed-everything he learned as a child and through the years and his clinical experience.

He’d already be planning an escape route and base.-I think depending on where he lives, he’d be planning to find a secluded shelter. I don’t think he’d trust living around other people in his apartment.

(I think this would be hard for him since he’s having to leave home again, but again, he’s mature and won’t let his emotions get in the way, especially during the apocalypse.)

He’d probably contact people from his clinic and those he trusts and might (big emphasis on might) ask them to come along.

He’s always doing research too and keeping medical records. If he sees something that relates to zombies, he’s looking into it.

If he takes people with him, the rations are fair, they’re a team, and nobody gets left behind.

He’d make it a rule that they all eat together for two reasons: keep themselves together/sane and strengthen their bonds. He cannot afford to have someone turn on them or someone fall behind. He’s not doing it out of love as much as he’s doing it just to make sure things don’t fall apart.

He’s assigning jobs and tending to injuries. He’s doing all of the negotiating and taking advantage of every opportunity he can.

If there’s a decided grocery store, he’s looting it. If there’s an empty house with running water, he’s using it. If there’s a vehicle another gang left behind, he’s taking it.

Would he fight the zombies?

Unless absolutely necessary. If anything, he’d be observant of their movements, behaviors, weaknesses and characteristics. He’d have armor or a repellant of some sort made for confronting zombies. He’d ultimately make sure the areas cleared before letting his group through.

Which leads to potential faults.

The faults

I think his curiosity, brattiness and over confidence in his decisions would ultimately get him in trouble.

I think his over dedication to his leadership and independence would get him in trouble, too. Even bitten

He’d definitely sacrifice himself multiple times for the sake of his group. I think in once instance, he might get bitten and have to lose an arm or leg.

As far as confidence and brattiness, he’d probably get in trouble with another group and cause unnecessary conflict due to his stubbornness. Nothing would come of it other than wasted resources and possibly a destroyed camp.

Something that I’d be curious about is the idea of “give and take” with Law.

I think as much as he despises the concept, he’d use it a lot.

For instance, he’d help out a group of injured travelers, but expect a payment or advantage that they can provide.

This could lead to problems with betrayal and softening. More conflict would be due to him (at least that’s what Law would think), so doing these kinds of assistance calls would bring a lot of stress and overthinking into the mix.

Would he survive?

Honestly, I think it’s either a yes or a no.

If he survives, then he’s managed to save his entire crew and make it out alive. He probably managed to relocate to a permanent safe and secluded location that will keep them safe and supplied for years to come. He managed to keep his emotions in check and was diligent.

If he didn’t, he did it sacrificing his life for someone or a group of people. His death would probably be the saddest by far because of how greatly his love poured through his hard work. It would be an honorable death, and those people would continue to live on for a very long time because of him.

I don’t think he’d let his emotions or pride get to the best of him in the face of death, but rather it was simply his job that caught up to him: Saving lives.