#also i feel it must depend a lot on what site you use / what group of fans youre interacting with

[13eyond13]

Hi I noticed you have been in the deathnote fandom for a long time. Do you know some changes the fandom/ships went through? I already know that the misogyny towards misa used to be terrible

Thanks 🙏

Hi! Yes, I've been here a long time lmao So from what I can recall things have actually stayed pretty remarkably the same when it comes to the popularity of the ships and dynamics in this series. Lawlight has always been the most popular ship, followed closely by M2 (Matt x Mello). However back in the mid/late 2000s it was different in terms of certain things, like the way the ships were referred to. For example, there was no such thing as a nickname for a ship as a whole back then - you didn't call it "Lawlight," you called it either "L/Light" or "Light/L." You had to specify which of the two you liked as the top by putting their name at the start of the pairing. They were treated almost like they were two entirely different ships, and people would definitely get upset if you weren't terribly careful about specifying this when posting shippy fics and things. This changed sometime between 2009-2012, maybe? Possibly around when "Brangelina" and celebrity couple nicknames like that became a thing in pop culture, lol. I am personally glad things are no longer this fussy about labeling and defining the ships, because I find it dumb and possibly a bit offensive towards gay folks to be that obsessive about their bedroom dynamics above all else. But I definitely still see people get very particular about their preferences for this stuff when it comes to their discussions of the ships these days too, so I might be the odd one out here. Overall I'd say tolerance towards diversity of the pairings and appreciation of the more minor characters has increased? Stuff like pairing L with Matsuda or having het ships like B x Naomi wasn't terribly common back then, from what I remember. People won't hate on you and fight with you as much for daring to enjoy depicting the characters with somebody other than their fave in a story or a piece of art nowadays, either (like "how dare you pair L with somebody other than Light!" - this was a very common thing to hear back in the early fandom days, and people would often act like you were "cheating" on a character by shipping them with somebody other than the character they decided they belonged with.) And fans have also started showing more appreciation for the female characters and attempting to be more inclusive toward them than they used to be. There is a bit less hatred of characters like Near and more shipping of him now as well. Many people were extremely dismissive of him back in the day, and he has definitely grown in popularity over time.

In general I think the fandom has chilled out and diversified and become more tolerant and deeper and more accurate with the characterization in its discussion of the series overall, but I still often will see the exact same takes and trends and tastes and arguments going on now as I used to see back in 2008. Especially when I step outside of the Tumblr bubble and back into a broader/more casual group of fans talking about the series and their faves.

[botgal]

I’m genuinely so scared for the California bills as someone who lives in California as tumblr and other places on the internet are a safe place for me, I’m trying not to panic but I don’t know what else to really think of right now, I’m trying to think of some positives but with the information you’ve given me it’s not looking good so far and I’m very scared right now

I understand the unease. But please know that even if these bills pass in the coming month, it's not an immediate end to the internet as we know it.

If nothing else will make you feel better, know that these bills have already been changed vastly from when they were first introduced. AB 1949 is now essentially the same law we have now except pushed up a couple years, with the standard being that the sites must KNOW if a user is under 18 to be held liable, which will help mitigate extra restrictions. Rather than the more dangerous stance of them being able to "reasonably guess" the users ages.

And while SB 976 is going forward with not as many amendments as we would've liked, it will not come into effect until 2027, and is already on the radar of groups like the ACLU and Netchoice. Who can fight it in court on First Amendment arguments considering it's link to age verification. Especially since a noted part of it's basis for it is on the California Age Appropriate Design Code Act. Which at present is being held in injunction by the Ninth Circuit court.

We don't want these bills to pass. But if they do, it's not the end of the fight on them and what they represent. (If it helps, the bill author is also leaving open the possibility to add a cleanup followup bill to specify things later down the line. But we will focus on whether to stop that or to push for certain amendments depending on what the contents are when the time comes.)

Remember, these are only two of five or six bills of this nature that managed to push through to this stage! And have been amended a lot since their original, far worse incarnations. And we're only at this point where these two lesser versions of the bills are the only ones to worry about because of everyone calling and writing and making noise about them to draw the attention of bigger institutions that can fight them in the future.

There will always be a fight. But what's important is we not let despair take us over.

Let yourself be scared. It's natural to be. But please breathe and be assured that the fear does not need to mean an instant loss. Call your reps. Vote in elections to get people who represent your interests. It's only over when you stop trying.

[leportraitducadavre]

Naruto re-read XXV

Chapters covered: 200 - 208 Twentytirth Volume of the manga

Site used: https://manga4life.com/manga/Naruto (VIZ translation of the manga)

Disclaimer: This is intended as a list and simple observations of the topics that particularly interested me in the aforementioned chapters, in that sense, do not expect a linear -or totally deep- analysis.

Tumblr’s update doesn’t allow me to attach more than 10 pictures, therefore, all of them will be LINKED. Apologies.

295) I forgot to add one thing in the prior post. Kimimaro’s introduction is very interesting as his relationship with Orochimaru is presented as a very crude example of what is expected of shinobi. Orochimaru, in this specific case, asked Kimimaro’s body as payment for “saving” him, however, as a vessel, he lost his value -as not only is his body decaying due to his disease but also, a new (younger, more powerful) vessel is being “harvested” for his master (x) = A village, in exchange for “protection”, asks for your body (loyalty, physical and mental capacities, i.e. sacrifice), once it’s done chewing you out, they want someone else (better, younger) and you can do nothing but prepare your successor to fulfill their duties (Jönin-sensei). Construct and conceiving a sense of loyalty and duty to your subjects as to achieve that level of devotion is extremely complicated, the Will of Fire was constructed over time and with the work of different leaders (yes, there was a sense of loyalty that was born from the exhaustion of a long-lasting military conflict -which can also be said of Kimimaro also, as his traumas and past-experiences allowed Orochimaru to build himself as a hero deserving of worship).

296) Naruto’s Rasengan (just like Sakura’s fists, just like the Gentle Fist, and so on), depends solely on whether the technique makes contact or not with the target; it depends on the raw power of the technique itself (meaning, if it doesn’t connect, the waves of destruction that it leaves) and on the speed of the user; Minato, was particularly fast, as he used Raijin; by marking his opponents with his seal, therefore being able to transport himself to wherever they were, he made the technique inescapable.

297) The Sound four were outsmarted by a group of gënin; I know I “shit” on Shikamaru a lot, but again, Kishimoto is constantly reminding us that “raw power” isn’t the only decisive factor when fighting.

298) Look at that panel, the Eagle plunging upon his prey.  

299) “Sorry Naruto, I miscalculated.” (x). Who would have thought that five gënin were few for a mission they didn’t know how many enemies they’ll be facing. Oh, man if only there was someone sensitive enough to feel Kimimaro’s chakra approaching…

300) Orochimaru’s views on Kimimaro are really interesting, there must be out there a post that analyzes deeply their dynamic, as it has much to offer. Despite Sasuke being quite superior to Kimimaro (at least, by the beginning of Shippuden) and having the Sharingan, which is something Orochimaru admitted to lust over -as that’s the reason he desires an Uchiha vessel-, Orochimaru states that he’s fond of the idea of having Kimimaro’s body. Whether it has to do with Kimimaro himself or his body’s capabilities (which is far more plausible than Orochimaru forming a special bond with him, although we’ve seen him cry over his mentor) it’s never explicitly stated.

301) “Orochimaru has already mastered the art of immortality. But it takes time to learn everything.” (x), by the way this is phrased it’s like Orochimaru’s ambition with immortality is to learn everything there’s to know and while I don’t think that’s a far-fetched possibility, it’s not his main objective as he admitted to being scared of death.

302) “I should place more value on the lives of my teammates instead of the person abducted by the enemy (...) besides abandoning a teammate to protect yourself? There’s no one in my squad like that.” (x, x). Why is Shikamaru lying both to himself and Tayuya? Why isn’t Tayuya calling him out on it? Sasuke wasn’t abducted, he left of his own volition (x). Shikamaru isn’t risking his life to save an abducted comrade, he’s risking his life so Orochimaru wouldn’t have the last Uchiha descendent by his side, he’s protecting more Konoha’s possession of the last Sharingan user than Sasuke himself. Sure, he does have a sense of duty in lieu of Sasuke being a comrade and it wouldn’t be weird for them to think that Sasuke was forced into accepting Orochimaru’s help as Tsunade is incapable of replying to Shikamaru’s question (she isn’t even sure of the answer as nor Kakashi or Jiraiya spoke to her about their suspicions); the weight that surrounds the use of the word “save” is likely more for the children’s benefit to put them under a “savior” mindset in order to build their sense of duty and the imperative necessity of bringing Sasuke back (it’s also likely they gave sense to Sasuke’s escape by attributing it to kidnapping since they cannot conceive one of them deflecting).

303) Sakon is said to be the strongest, and he (they?) are the ones that fight Kiba. Akamaru seems able to smell or sense Sakon and Ukon’s chakra quantity and communicate consciously with Kiba; Kikaichus seem able to communicate with the Aburame user by their shared chakra connection, I’m not sure how the Inuzuka do so with their pets.

304) Is Kimimaro’s chakra visible? Yes, it seems to be.

305) Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf (Jinjuu Combi-Henge: Soutourou)

Ninjusu, B-rank, Supplementary

User(s): Inuzuka Kiba, Akamaru

The voracious wolf totally obliterates the worthless masses in its ferocity!!

This combined shapeshifting where man and beast become a single entity is a specialty of the Inuzuka Clan, a clan that has been walking side by side with ninja dogs for generations. They coalesce into a bicephalous wolf, thus drastically increasing their power. In their direct attacks, they demonstrate great efficiency. Furthermore, using jutsu in addition to this gives birth to an extraordinary power of destruction.

This is the combination Ninjutsu Kiba and Akamaru owe to their friendship. Like wolves, they corner the enemy with an overwhelming offensive power.

Source

Kiba (Inuzuka in general?) is able to shapeshift into a wolf, might be a derivation of the Henge technique yet it implies the user combining themselves with their animal. This technique exponentially increases the damage their spin jutsu does (I’m sorry it’s just funny that they use different derivations of one single jutsu at infinitum like Naruto).

Ukon’s technique (Kekkei Genkai) when in Level 2 of Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal consists in dissolving himself to enter someone’s body. (x, x), he can create body parts inside his victims and attack them; that is, the body parts that weren’t infected by Ukon’s cells yet, as then he’ll be hurting himself which is why Kiba stabs himself and Ukon leaves. Ukon is the only brother with such capability. Given the need to be at L2 of the Cursed Seal it’s to be believed that Ukon’s Kekkei Genkai is a result of Orochimaru’s experiments rather than a (unknown) clan’s technique.

304) I really like Kimimaro’s Kekkei Genkai (and design), he’s engraved in my memory alongside Zabuza, two secondary villains that never did much for the main plot yet I adore.

305) “He bolted once he realized the enormous power of the spirits… he’s smarter than I thought…” (x). Come on Kishi, it’s like you don’t want to put any effort into Shikamaru’s supposed brilliance, I even see Konohamaru escaping when seeing three giant spirits coming after him! How’s that brilliance?

Tayuya uses the flute to summon three Doki, they’re composed of Mind Energy that takes form and seeks to eat Physical Energy in order to stabilize (I’ve explained that Chakra in itself is the combination of Physical and Spiritual Energy), she controls them through a sound-based genjutsu.

Shikamaru’s capability of trapping an enemy inside his shadow possession is, just like Ino, subjected to both the user’s quantity of chakra and the enemy’s. Because Tayuya’s energy augmented after activating Lv2 of the seal, Shikamaru lost control of her.

The strength of Shikamaru’s suffocating technique depends on how close his enemy is.

(previous post) - (next post)

[entishramblings]

The Innocence of Brutality Pt.1 [Legolas/F!Reader]

A.N: I've been working a lot on FATE (my long fic...you should check it out) so I haven't been posting many one-shots. BUT FINALLY....here you go! It's a bit different from my usual one-shots but hey I figured I may as well give it a go. This will have many parts depending on how much traction it gets  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Request: none

Pairing: Legolas X Reader

Summary: The Reader is Rámaitë Mahtar, a warrior spirit race, and she meets the fellowship on their quest to destroy the ring. 

Disclaimer: Any mythology relating to the Rámaitë Mahtar is not canon as I made up Rámaitë Mahtar. Also, all elvish was translated from a translator site—it may not be accurate.

Word count: ~8k (yes I went overboard)

Warnings: nudity (not sex), mentions of war, mentions of torture, violence, fluff

MASTERLIST | AO3 | WATTPAD

The Innocence of Brutality Masterlist — PART 2

The sky had been getting darker and darker as the hours went by, the sun slipping into a restless dream as a storm brewed. Clouds hung deep and gray high above the fellowship while claps of thunder neared them. It was a grumbling and crackling battle of light and dark. With every booming sound, the menacing void loomed closer and closer, electrifying the air with anxiety. It was casting above them at a rapid rate—a rate at which they could not outrun.

Gandalf squinted up at the sky as it churned and flashed again. "Hurry up. We don't have much time."

Legolas and Aragon exchanged a worried look before shifting their gaze to Gandalf, at the front of the group, who was now murmuring to himself. For the past two hours, he had been pushing a fast past—too fast for the hobbits and the exhausted mortals of the group.

They were all acutely aware that it had something to do with the strange storm bubbling above them, but other than that they knew not.

Aragon, who was bringing up the flank with Legolas, leaned in towards the elf. He lowered his voice to a whisper as he spoke in the elvish tongue, not wanting to worry the hobbits who were straggling and struggling before them. "Man- na- ho pent? Tur- cin hear ha? (What is he saying? Can you hear it?)"

Legolas sent a deadpan look to his friend. "Cin attindo nin edhelen tûr? (You doubt my elvish abilities?)"

Aragorn rolled his eyes, his tone dripping with sarcasm and faked irritability. "Tharchol- man an tuin -o ammen who are róvan -o lhaw, nin mellon. (Translate for those of us who are hard of hearing, my friend)."

Legolas' lip tugged slightly upward, like the stem of a flower reaching for the light, as he turned his attention back to Gandalf; however, that grin faded quite quickly as he picked up the words falling from the Maiar's lips.

"What? What is it?" Aragorn hissed, now in the common tongue, for they were far enough behind the others not to be heard.

Legolas shook his head as he lowered his voice. "He is worried. We are moving too slow."

"Too slow? Even I would not pick this pace to escape an oncoming storm."

Legolas pressed his lips into a tight line, tilting his head as he continued to listen to the wizard's muttering. "He thinks this weather is....unnatural."

Aragorn cast a weary and suspicious look up at the ever-darkening shadow upon them. "Sauron?" he whispered.

Legolas frowned. "I do not know. It doesn't necessarily feel...evil."

"What does it feel like?"

The elvish Prince shook his head, unsure.

Aragorn raised a thick brow. "You can't identify it? You are rather old. You must have felt such a feeling before."

Legolas shot him a gare at the words that came out rather a bit insulting.

His friend only smirked in reply.

The talking ceased between the two men, but they kept glancing up at the swirling clouds, which were now twisting with strange colors—hints of dulled oranges, pinks, purples, and blues. It most definitely was not natural. They were sure of that.

The storm continued to grow worse and worse with every advancing step. The pair now hung close to the hobbits considering the harsh weather conditions. The hot wind began whipping around them, making it harder to push against, as hail pelted them. The air was also stiff and murky, tension and power leaking into the atmosphere, which only produced more concern. An unusual combination of weather, yes. It was quite strange. It was terrifying.

"Gandalf!" Aragorn called out just as he yanked Sam out of the way of an entire tree turning and tumbling through the air. "We must seek shelter."

The wizard only shook his head as he turned to yell over the harsh sounds. "No. We must move further. We must get away from this."

"It will be the death of the hobbits!" Boromir interjected as he held tightly onto Pippin's shoulder. "We need to stop!"

"I wouldn't stop in this even if I had gotten my legs ripped off!" Gandalf snapped.

The cerulean blue eyes of the elf filled with worry. As an elf, he trusted Mithranduil and his wisdom, but this behavior made Legolas anxious. Never had the wizard been so admit about a concern. Not like this. "What is it, Gandalf? What worries you?"

The old man's gray eyes shifted to the center peak of the storm, where the light and thunder seemed to originate yet also hang calmly. He did not answer the elf's question though. Instead, his lips parted as a hole and began to open in the center. It was only then that he spoke. "We are too late."

With that, something began to tumble from the clouds. It spun, twisted, and warped—the winds tearing and clawing at it as if the world did not want its existence in this plane.

Legolas stepped forward, squinting.

What is that?

The Prince took another step.

A limb? No, it couldn't be.

Yet, as the object descended, he could make out flailing arms and legs, whipping hair, and...and wings.

"By the Valar," Legolas whispered.

"W-what is that?" Boromir stuttered, his anxiety dripping from his tone for he could not see what the elf could.

"A—a woman," Legolas breathed out. "A winged woman."

All eyes twisted and turned, necks cranking upwards in hopes to make out the figure Legolas described.

As the wind threw her into a rather forceful descent, she was finally close enough for the other members of the fellowship to make out her shape.

With gaping mouths, they all stared.

Her body, merely thirty feet away, slammed into the ground....hard.

Rocks and dirt were flung from every direction, which caused the men to raise their arms, turn their backs, and shield their eyes.

As the dust settled and the whipping wind hung still, the storm was silent and unmoving. Slowly, they turned back to see what was just delivered unto them.

A large crater had opened up, yet they couldn't make out the being that lay within. All they could see was a smoldering pile of feathers and little flickering flames.

Instantly, Legolas moved forward. His elvish body easily and quickly pushed him to the front of the group. He was about to pass Gandalf, but the wizard flung out his arm and stopped him—surprisingly fast reflexes for the old man.

"Don't," he muttered simply.

Legolas' brows pulled tight. "Is she one of Sauron's? Do you know that to be true?"

Gandalf, with narrowed eyes, shook his head. "No. Something far more dangerous."

The Prince shifted his weight. "What is she?"

Gandalf glanced at all the curious eyes upon him before his deep voice huffed across the dirt as he reluctantly spoke his next words. "Rámaite Mahtar."

Legolas spoke the translation. "Winged Warrior."

Gandalf nodded. "Before the Maiar were created, the Valar built a breed of warrior spirits. Strong, fierce, and utterly brutal. They used them once, and only once, to help defeat the darkness that occupied the lands long before they were molded into what we wander today."

"Why? Why only once?" Aragorn interjected. "Not even to defeat Morgoth?"

"Because they destroyed everything."

"We are here, are we not?" Boromir replied.

The wizard's eyes narrowed. "But before, we were not, were we? I would not dare interact with such a creature."

"But why was she sent here then?" Legolas rebutted.

As quick as an arrow, Gandalf's form shifted towards Legolas rather aggressively, and he barked his next words. "She could not have been sent here! She must have escaped to here!"

"Escaped?" Aragorn questioned.

"We don't have time for this. We must move while she is still. We can only hope that she is dead."

Legolas shook his head, muttering to himself for a moment, as he strained his elvish ears to listen.

Badum, badum.

Badum, badum, badum.

"She is not dead," he breathed out.

Badum, badum.

Not able to bear leaving a living woman, probably juried, behind, he shoved his bow into Gandalf's hand and took off in her direction.

"Legolas! Legolas!" Gandalf yelled, vexed.

But he did not falter. The Prince skipped across the rock and stone until he climbed to the top of the crater. Curiously, he peered over the edge.

About ten feet across and five or six down, among the dirt and dust, there she lay.

Her naked body, covered in ash, was curled in on itself like that of a baby deer left alone in the forest. Her (h/c) hair was sprawled messily across her face, blocking her features from view. It concealed her. It hid her. It was a block in the path to her soul...if she had one. Gandalf did say they were brutal. Regardless, much of Legolas' focus was on another part of the being: her wings. They now laid across the ground coated in the same dust....and blood. One wing specifically was badly damaged. It was broken. It was warped. It was snapped at the bone. It looked bad....very bad.

"By the Valar," he breathed out.

Legolas knew he would need to get a closer look at that wing. There was still a chance he could repair it. If he didn't, an untreated injury like that would kill her. He knew could help her. He knew could heal her. He knew it.

The Prince felt the fellowship's eyes on him as he began to slowly climb into the crater, being sure to avoid some of the smoldering embers and flames that still flickered within. He was slow as he approached the woman, for he didn't want to startle her.

Unfortunately, he did.

As his foot, silent in step, settled approximately two feet away from her, her eyes snapped open. He got a flash of brilliant (e/c) as they stared into his cerulean blues—for barely half of a second. As quick as an arrow leaving a bowstring, her form snapped upright and her wings warped around her entire body—forming a shield. It was a broken, bloody shield but a shield nonetheless.

Legolas faltered back. She was quick....maybe even quicker than him. And most definitely unpredictable.

Softly, Legolas spoke. "I am not going to hurt you." He took a cautious step forward, reclaiming his previous position. He could feel the fellowship's gaze still burning into him. They had moved closer to see what would take place. He could sense it. He focused back on the barricade of bloody feathers before him. "You are injured. Let me help."

One of the wings shifted, barely noticeable to any being of mortal descent, but Legolas was not one of those, was he? He could see the very small gap in the cascade of pain and dust. And, through this waterfall of despair, peered one of those curious (e/c) eyes.

Legolas knew he was being evaluated. She was examining and studying him. She was deciding if he was a threat.

He raised his palms, showing he was not going to touch the knives on his belt and back. "I am here to help," he repeated.

There was no motion.

He swallowed dryly as he thought back to Gandalf's words. The woman was a warrior. She was born of a warrior race. She was created to destroy and decimate entire worlds. Supposedly. Regardless, if she was going to kill him, she would have already.

With shaky hands, he opted to make a decision on how he would proceed. He reached forward. The Prince let his palm gently touch the un-injured wing in an attempt to move it out of the way to see the figure.

Wrong decision.

In an instant, the wings flew open and spread wide. The injured stretch of feathers hung at an awkward, bloody, and most certainly painful angle, but that didn't seem to matter to the woman. Her hand wrapped itself around Legolas' throat tightly. His own came up to hers in a poor attempt to pry off her grasp as his feet rose from the ground. Wheezing and huffing sounded from his lips, but she did not stop. Instead, those brilliant, (e/c) eyes only stared through the ash coating her face and form. That vibrant color burned into him with rage, anxiety, and....and fear.

Instantly, loud shrieks sounded from the hobbits—which were quickly shushed by the others, for they knew what may happen if the woman's attention focused on them.

Aragorn, however, still pulled his bow, ready to fire—not that it would do much.

But, at the sound of that panic, the woman's head snapped towards the group of people watching the interaction. She tilted her head curiously.

Legolas, thinking the same thought that his friends had, tried to speak to get her attention. He would rather it be on him than on them. Therefore, his raspy, broken voice sounded weakly. "Friend. We–we are friends."

Once again, those (e/c) eyes twisted back to him. The woman tilted her head again, her gaze peering into his.

The word then rolled off her tongue strangely and uncertainly, as if she was unsure of the sound. "F-friend."

"We-we can help," he wheezed out, desperately.

"We can help," she repeated.

"P-please," he whispered, his vision starting to blur.

All in one moment, the tightness fell from his neck as she abruptly dropped her hand. As soon as his feet hit the dirt, Legolas bent forward. He placed his hands upon his knees as he desperately tried to get air back into his lungs. He inhaled it in long gulps, begging it to fill his lungs.

He was defenseless. He was nothing against her. He knew it. And she knew it too.

She stood there, as still as stone, watching him as he recovered.

Aragorn took aim once again.

"Wait, laddie," Gimli muttered, putting a hand on the Ranger's bow.

Aragorn glanced at him suspiciously but lowered it nonetheless.

As Legolas stood upright once more, he peered at the woman before him. His gaze was cautious, for he feared she might wrap that viperous grip around his throat again; but, still, his curiosity and desire to help wouldn't fade. He needed to know more.

The Prince shifted as he took to observing her.

She wasn't exactly what he expected. She was human-like. She was elf-like. She was in the same image....but not. Something about her looks seemed slightly off. It was different, but not in a prominent or bad way. She just seemed...distinct. She seemed evolved. She seemed primitive. All contradictions. All at the same time. Yet, still, she was similar enough to pass as human or elf...well, mostly. Her ears were not pointed but she held that eternal expression of the elves. She was in between the two races. The woman was smaller than him—excluding the massive wingspan of what had to be nearly sixteen feet—as most beings were, for he was indeed an elf. Apparently, even the Rámaite Mahtar didn't have the height of elves either. Regardless of all this, she still stood proudly and powerfully before him.

She could kill him in an instant.

"You are injured," he began, his voice now rough, as he glanced at her broken wing. "I can help you."

She squinted curiously at him, once again. "Help," she stated, with no tone or inflection.

Legolas nodded. "Yes. I can help heal you if you will allow me."

Her gaze poured confusion into his.

Slowly, Legolas moved to the broken wing. He stopped as he arrived at the section that was ruptured and cautiously lifted his hands. He looked to her for permission, except nothing but that empty stare looked back at him. Therefore, making a decision, he took the wing in his hand.

Wrong decision. Again.

Immediately, she jerked back and hissed at him.

Legolas' hands flung to the sides of his head in a motion of surrender. "It's alright," he said calmly. "I am just examining it. I am here to help you."

Still, she held a frown of distrust.

He slowly touched the wing again, and she snapped an angry snarl at him.

"Shh, shh. It's okay," he whispered. Legolas then placed his palm upon her wing for the third time.

This time, she winced but did not make any motions to attack him.

As Legolas began to examine it, he spoke to her. "My name is Legolas."

She tilted her head, now seemingly interested. "Leg-o-las," she repeated.

He smiled and nodded. "And you? What are you named?"

That interest practically evaporated into nothingness in one second. She turned her head away from him, focusing on the group staring at them both. She basically ignored the elf. Clearly, she was not worried about an attack from him.

"Alright," he mumbled to himself. "I suppose I will have to earn your trust before I learn your name."

She did not look at him.

As he examined her wing, he told her of what he discovered—though he wasn't sure she was really listening. "It is broken. Still hanging on limply though. I can bind it with supplies and provide medicine for the wound." He let his hands fall as he moved back to face her, trying to get her attention. "If you come with me, to my friends, I can help."

She tilted her head, now looking at him. "Come with...."

"Yes. That is where we have supplies. That is where I can help."

Legolas took a couple of steps to his friends, before looking back to see if she was coming.

Seeing this, the woman took a cautious step forward.

Legolas smiled softly, holding out his hand in an inviting manner.

She, however, did not take it. She just pushed past him, her good wing knocking into him rather aggressively, as she continued towards the group.

Legolas jogged to catch up to her, being sure to avoid the massive wings this time, for he knew his friends may panic at the way she was approaching them. It most certainly seemed menacing.

They all shifted nervously when they saw her advance, but Legolas was still alive so they presumed the woman had made peace with him...hopefully.

She stopped about three feet in front of them, waiting for Legolas.

He ducked under her wing and stood before their gaping gazes. "We are going to help her."

"Are you serious?!" Boromir gruffed out. "The wizard said–"

"She is a living being. We will not let her become a victim of Sauron's manipulation. We are going to help her."

Boromir released a rough exhale. He knew what the elf was saying. And he was right. It was either them or Sauron. And they could presume that if she sided with Sauron, it would mean their end.

Aragorn nodded, accepting the situation much quicker than Legolas would have thought. "Alright. We must find a place nearby to camp for the night."

Legolas turned to look at Gandalf.

Would the wizard approve?

He would not look at the elf.

Apparently not.

Legolas sighed. He knew this would cause strain within the group, but what was he to do? This was the only option. Rámaite Mahtar or not, she needed help.

Therefore, he, with nothing else to say, took to following Aragorn—and the winged woman followed him.

Pippin, however, stood still, gaping as the naked figure strutted past him.

"Advert your eyes, Pip!" Sam huffed out in exacerbation. "It's not proper to look at a woman when she's unclothed!!"

The little hobbit, whose lips were parted and whose eyes were still fixated on the woman's ash-covered chest, replied. "I wasn't lookin!"

"Yes, ya were!" Merry replied with a giggle. "But so was I!"

"Come on," Frodo interjected. "Let's not stray from the group."

With that, they moved towards an area encircled by trees and rocks amount a mile away. The fellowship then began to set up camp and the sun started to set—the previously menacing weather entirely gone from existence. Aragorn started a fire as Boromir collected more wood and dropped it near the center. Sam began to unpack his cooking supplies, the rest of the hobbits huddling around him and stealing some scraps as he began. Gimli took to smoking his pipe, Gandalf doing the same but with a wary gaze on the strange woman who now joined them.

Legolas motioned to a log near the fire, in efforts to get the winged being to sit, as he gathered the healing supplies from his bag.

She glanced around at the group of people around her. Seeing Gandalf and Gimli upon a different log, she looked back to the stretch of wood that Legolas had gestured to. Cautiously, she moved towards it and sat down.

She stared at the various individuals around her and that stare was felt. Every so often, they would glance at her with anxiety in their eyes. Except Gandalf. His eyes never left her.

After a moment or so, one of the men, Aragorn, approached her. With a small smile, he passed her a long stretch of fabric before turning back to the fire.

She tilted her head as she took it before placing it limply on her lap—not necessarily covering much.

Legolas looked up from his leather satchel of healing herbs and pressed his lips together to suppress a small smile as he witnessed her little frown. She looked so confused. Despite knowing how lethal she was, it was cute.

He stood, taking his leather bag with him. He placed it at her feet before gently taking the blanket from her lap. He smiled softly, to assure her there was no harm to come, as he draped it over her body. Legolas did his best to swirl it across her skin while leaving her wings free from the fabric. She only looked up at him as he did it.

The Prince stepped back and was about to move to her left—towards the break in her wing—when a gust of wind rushed through his hair. There the injured wing curled, the wound now directly in front of her, and, therefore, him.

He knew what she meant by that: heal me.

Legolas knelt upon the soil and took to making an athelas paste with a mortar and pestle. She watched him curiously as he did so. Soon enough, he gently took the injury in his hand and began to smear the healing property onto the afflicted area. She let him.

"This will help stop any bleeding and prevent infection. Though, I will have to tend to the wound regularly."

She did not answer. Instead, her brilliant eyes were focused on those behind the elf. He glanced up at her as her gaze shifted with every word of conversation between his friends.

The Prince's brows pulled together.

When Aragorn spoke, her eyes were on him.

When Gimli spoke, her eyes moved.

When Boromir spoke, her eyes drifted again.

Boromir was the first to notice Legolas noticing such a pattern and, in turn, noticed the said pattern.

He stood. In an accusatory tone, he barked out a rough demand. "What is she doing?"

Instantly, all eyes shifted to the woman.

"She's just sittin there, lad," Gimli gruffed, drawing another breath from his pipe.

Her eyes went to Gimli...again.

"Nay, she's—she's looking at us," he argued.

Her eyes focused back on Boromir.

Gimli rolled her eyes. "Eh, let the lassie look. What is she gonna do?"

"What is she gonna do," sounded again....but not from any man. No, no, it came from her—from the woman.

Instantly, all eyes stuck to her like tree sap.

"That!" Boromir huffed as he pointed. "What was that?!"

"What was that," she repeated.

"Stop it!" Boromir snapped.

"Stop it," she replied.

"I said! STOP!"

"I said. Stop."

The hobbits' eyes were wide. Frodo stepped behind his friends. Sam grasped onto an empty pan. Merry and Pippin's mouths fell open, food falling from them as they stared in fear—like the rest of them.

Surprisingly, Gandalf was the next to speak. "She's learning, you fools."

She repeated his words: "She's learning, you fools."

"Every word you speak, every action you do, every look you give...She learns."

Each member of the fellowship's eyes filtered back to the woman as the sentence sounded again: "Every word you speak, every action you do, every look you give...She learns.

"What do you mean?" Frodo asked, now emerging from the hobbit blob and shakily walking towards the woman.

"What do you mean."

Aragorn grabbed the hobbit's arm, stopping him. In a parental-like tone, he spoke. "He means that she is incredibly intelligent."

"He means that she is incredibly intelligent."

Gandalf nodded, drawing from his pipe again. "Rámaite Mahtar are incredibly intelligent, smart, and deadly creatures. And you are feeding it."

Her tone echoed him again. "Rámaite Mahtar are incredibly intelligent, smart, and deadly creatures. And you are feeding it."

"Just get her to stop it!" Boromir snapped.

"I will not stop it," she stated.

At that, all sound was sucked out of the air. Everything seemed to be still but the breeze that shuffled lightly through the leaves. Did they just hear that correctly? Those words—they were not repeats.

Her voice then sounded again, slightly unsure. "I want to learning."

Legolas looked up at her from his kneeling position. In a soft and gentle tone, he spoke ever so quietly. "I want to learn."

A small smile pulled at her lips. "I want to learn," she repeated.

"Don't teach her!" Boromir yelled. "You want her to get smarter faster? You want her to learn how to kill us quicker?"

Legolas stood up, his form blocking the woman from Boromir's view. "She already knows how to kill us. And she hasn't. What is the harm in helping her learn how to communicate with us? She is a living being, you should treat her like one."

Boromir took a menacing step forward as he pointed at her. "A living being?! She might be, but she–she is an animal!"

Legolas narrowed his eyes. "She is more similar to us in likeness and image than any wild beast."

Boromir snorted. "And she has ensnared you with it." He raised a hand, motioning to the woman behind Legolas. "With those breasts, that ass, and those warm folds between her legs—I bet you just want to bury yourself in there—"

Legolas' fists balled and he practically growled at the person insulting him...and the woman. "You, human, know nothing of elvish culture. How dare—"

"ENOUGH!" Aragorn interrupted. "She is learning. Do you want her to learn this?! Hmm? You want her to learn anger and violence? More than she already knows?"

Silence.

The Ranger huffed slightly, dropping Frodo's arm and picking up a, rather large, stick to poke the fire with. "That's what I thought," was his gruff reply as he sat down upon a log.

Slowly, the fellowship dissipated back to their own tasks, uneasiness hanging in the air.

Legolas turned back to the woman. She was already focused on him with those frustrated, confused, (e/c) eyes of hers. Legolas knew she didn't understand what Boromir's words meant, for she was still figuring out what words were, but he presumed she could pick up on the basics of interaction by now.

She tilted her head at the elf.

He knew that she knew that he was upset.

He inhaled through his nose, releasing a long breath as he knelt down in front of her once again. "Don't mind Boromir. There is a lot of unease with our quest."

"Quest?" she questioned.

He nodded slightly, unsure of what to answer. He knew that his companions would not appreciate him telling her of their strenuous mission. They were already irritated with his decision to bring the woman into their group. Besides, he was unsure if she would even be able to understand it if he tried to explain it. Yes, it seemed she was grasping the basics of their language, but that was all at the moment: the basics.

Therefore, instead, he decided to comment on what he was doing. "I am going to wrap your wing in a bandage now. We don't want any dirt or grim getting in there, do we?" He smiled gently, glancing up at her ash-covered face before moving to finish the winding. "My, uh, my father and I used to repair injured birds' wings. At my home, in Greenwood, we have a great castle. It's strong for defense but the stone isn't so great for the creatures of the sky. Some of them have, unfortunately, flown into it. When I was a young elfling, he taught me how to mend their wings from such injuries. Yours are not far off from that of a bird, though significantly more damaged."

She tilted her head. "Bird?"

He bobbed his head, looking up at her. "Birds," he repeated gently. He pointed up to the sky and imitated the sound they make through a soft whistle.

She smiled, a little giggle escaping her lips.

Legolas grinned too. He liked her laugh. It didn't seem so scary or deadly. It was almost childlike, to be honest. He wondered if Gandalf had truly been right....she didn't seem that utterly, completely terrifying. Yes, she may have almost killed him earlier, but she could have just been scared. Living beings react when you scare them.

He looked back at her adorable face and instantly, his mind began racing through what else he could do to make her laugh. He wished to hear more of those little, bright giggles again.

Feeling embarrassment filter through his blood at that thought, he glanced back down at the wing.

The Prince tucked the last of the wrapping into itself before looking to her once again. "How about we get that ash off of you?" With that, he dug through his bag until he pulled out a rag. He then removed his water skin from his belt, using his teeth to pull open the stopper. He took a quick sip, then held it out to her.

She cautiously took it from him, twisting it in her hands, before glancing at the man before her.

He nodded encouragingly.

She raised the leather-skin to her lips and took a sip. It spilled down her chin as she did so, but she drank most of it. She then handed it back to him, almost in a shy manner.

Legolas poured some of it onto the swatch of the fabric before lifting it to the woman. He then gently began to wipe the grim from her skin, revealing the natural curves and extensions of her face, until there was no more ash upon her expression.

As he pulled the now gray fabric down to pour more water on it, she looked down at it. Her lips parted as she reached a dirty hand to her now clean face. She looked back to Legolas with an expression of surprise.

After a moment, she held out her hand to him.

He raised his brows slightly but began to wipe the ash from her hand, wrist, and arm. As he did so, he noticed something that made his heart freeze. Purple bruises, now uncovered from the ash, hung upon her wrist. Legolas glanced at her other hand. He could see the same purple and blue hue peaking through the dirt. He was sure to be extra gentle as he cleaned it, for he knew it must be painful. His mind, however, was now spinning with more questions.

Gandalf had said that she had to have escaped. What had she escaped from? It was obvious that she had been restrained. Why had she been? Was she tied up for a rather big reason? How dangerous was she, really? Should they be worried?

She lifted her hand in front of her face and examined it before another giggle left her lips. Valar—it was so adorable. She then pulled her leg out from the blanket and set it before the elf, her dirty foot resting upon his thigh.

Legolas' mouth parted at the action that would, in any other circumstance, seem sexual. She didn't know that though. No, she just wanted to be clean.

With nervous hands, Legolas took her calf in his grasp as he gently scrubbed away again. Valar, if his father saw him now, he surely would be smacked. She removed that leg from him and place her other in its spot. Her eyes were asking him to do the same for it. So he did. Once that leg was washed from the elements, she stood upright and began tugging on the blanket that Legolas had wrapped around her.

Understanding what she was bout to ask, and deeming it too provocative for their circumstances and his culture, he too stood and held out the rag.

She tilted her head.

"Learning, yes?"

Tentatively, she took the rag from his hand. "Leaning."

He smiled before turning away and scrambling to collect his medicinal supplies. He did not wish to be beside her when that blanket finally fell. It wasn't proper. With his leather bag hung over his shoulder, he began making his way towards Aragorn and the now blazing fire.

"Legolas," the winged woman's voice called out, seemingly urgent.

He turned, along with the rest of the fellowship.

"(Y/N)," she stated.

He blinked. "(Y/N)?"

She nodded. "Yes," she paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to convey what she wanted to say. "Legolas. You. (Y/N). Me."

"Your name? It is (Y/N)?"

She dipped her head up and down ever so slightly.

"Nice to meet you, (Y/N)," Legolas replied with a smile.

She grinned.

He then took to sitting beside Aragorn at the fire. He gratefully accepted a bowl of sausages and vegetables from Sam, for he hadn't realized how hungry he had been.

Meanwhile, (Y/N) took off the blanket and began to scrub away at her body. Every member of the fellowship, including the elf, avoided looking at her. They might be men but they were respectful. Legolas had seemingly decided for them that the Rámaite Mahtar was to be of their group, at least for the time being, and they were going to respect that—as well as her honor.

As they ate, Aragorn nudged the elf and spoke in a low tone. "So, (Y/N)."

Legolas swallowed. "I do not think she is going to kill us. If she was going to, she already would have."

"I suppose so." He stated. That is not what he had intended by his words. Aragorn sent a quick look at the woman before turning back to Legolas with a raised brow. "We should find her some clothing, don't you think?"

The elf only nodded, his cheeks red as he refused to look at the winged being.

"Don't suppose the hobbits' would fit her. Neither would yours. Or mine. I doubt Gandalf would spare his robe either."

Legolas chuckled at that. "I don't see many options. We will just have to make do. I think I may have an extra tunic. Those wings of hers will make it a bit difficult though."

Aragorn nodded. "I have an extra pair of trousers."

The two then began to ruffle through their belongings until they pulled out what they could.

"What about shoes? She has small feet. Smaller than mine and yours," Legolas said.

The Ranger snorted as he sent a glance at the footprint on Legolas' thigh. "You would know, wouldn't you?" The Ranger then tossed the trousers to his friend.

"Aragorn," he whispered in a slightly irked tone for he didn't appreciate the comment or the fact that he had to be the one to approach the rather very naked woman...again!

He smirked. "You will figure it out."

"But why do I–"

"She trusts you, doesn't she? She told you her name."

"I–" Legolas began, but the man had already walked away.

With a sigh, the elf began to approach (Y/N).

His gaze refused to drift anywhere but from her face to the ground—nothing in-between. He cleared his throat. "(Y/N)."

She turned, her wing nearly knocking into him.

"I, uh, I brought you some clothes."

She tilted her head and walked towards him until she was only inches away. He could feel her hot breath upon his skin. It tingled at his lips and brushed upon his nose. He could even smell her distinct scent—most ash and fresh soil, but there was something else there. Something different. He could hear her heart too, beating steadily, as if she didn't know what she was doing to him. And he could see that ever-present curious gaze of hers, examining him. Every part that made her living and free was there. It was right in front of him.

Legolas swallowed dryly and shifted his feet uncomfortably, before placing the bundle in her hands.

(Y/N) accepted it. She grasped onto the top fabric, letting the rest of them crumble to the floor.

She frowned at the trousers in her hands, twisting them trying to figure out what to do with them.

"They-they are to cover you. Trousers. To-to cover your legs."

Her frown deepened.

Legolas cleared his throat as he patted his thigh. "Legs."

She held up the pants. "Legs."

He shook his head. "No, no." As his face turned the color of a rose, he gently moved his hand forward, allowing a singular finger to poke her thigh. "Legs," he repeated. The Prince then touched the fabric in her hands. "Trousers." He then pulled at his own pants. "You wear them."

She nodded, understanding.

(Y/N) held them open as she lifted her leg to fit it through the hole. It easily slipped in and she moved to do the same to the next one. This, however, did not go so smoothly. She instantly began to wobble. Out of instinct, Legolas reached out and steadied her by the waist.

She pulled the pants up, her fingers brushing against his.

Instantly, he let go of her form....and she let go of the trousers. And, of course, they slipped. Quickly, she caught them, her eyes wide as she looked up at Legolas. "Help."

He pressed his lips together to prevent a little laugh. As uncomfortable as this situation was, he would have to admit that it was a bit amusing. But seeing this...this pure behavior. Well, there was no way she could have destroyed entire worlds—not with that kind of innocence to her. She seemed so...so precious. So young. So malleable. Gandalf had to be wrong.

Nodding to acknowledge her plee, Legolas tugged out a long stretch of fabric from one of his pockets. It was meant to bind wounds, leftover from wrapping her wing, but it would have to make do as a belt. He quickly looped it through the small hoops upon Aragorn's pants and tied it taught in the front. He then bent down to roll up the trousers around her ankles, for they practically swallowed her feet. While Legolas was down there, he grabbed the tunic she had dropped only moments before. He stood once again and began to dress her in it, trying his best not to look at her breasts. Luckily, it was a wrapping tunic, so it went rather quickly—until he got to her back. He, quite fortunately, was able to weave it around the part of the wings that extended from her skin so they could still move at ease. It wasn't perfect, but—once again—it would have to do. Legolas then began to pull some more fabric from one of his bags. He ripped it into smaller strips and began to bind her feet to serve as temporary shoes.

"There you are," he stated simply as he stood upright.

She smiled, playing with some of the soft material that now coated her body. "There I are!"

The corner of Legolas' lip tugged upwards just a bit. "There I am," he corrected.

She nodded. "There I am."

He bobbed his head as a means of telling her she was correct. The Prince then took to moving back to his place near the fire. He knew it was a bit abrupt to leave (Y/N) there, but he was unsure of what else to do. Besides, if he was being honest, his pants were now feeling a bit too tight for his liking and he wanted to take a couple of steps away from what had caused such a thing—especially before anyone noticed.

Much to his dismay, she followed him—stopping by Gandalf for just a moment to give him a rather large sniff. The wizard glared at her.

Legolas, once again, sat down on the log next to Aragorn. And she sat next to him.

The Prince swallowed dryly. Not what he had intended.

Aragorn, of course, saw that subtle discomfort and snorted rather obnoxiously.

(Y/N) frowned at the Ranger, not understanding, but she quickly became disinterested in the interaction. Instead, she settled her elbows upon her thighs and rested her face in her hands. She let her gaze become absorbed by the flames.

After a couple of minutes of this, Legolas—feeling guilt swell in his chest for his rather rude behavior of abandonment towards her—spoke again. "It is called fire."

She sighed, almost longingly. "I know....fire."

Legolas raised a brow and Aragorn shifted uncomfortably. She was speaking of the last time she was on a physical plane like this. She was speaking of the destruction Gandalf had mentioned. She had to be.

"You know fire?" Legolas pryed.

She bobbed her head. "I know fire. Fire was before."

"Do you like fire?" Aragorn asked, a bit too boldly for Legolas' liking.

She frowned, her eyes drifting to her bandaged wing. "Fire hurts."

The two men exchanged a look.

Before anything else could be said, Sam surprisingly approached. He seemed nervous as he did so, timid and unsure as the plate in his hand shook ever so slightly. "I, uh, lady (Y/N)," he began. "I made you up a plate. I reckon ya gotta be hungry after that fall you had there. Some fine sausages will do you good and help to heal that injury of yours."

"Does she even eat?" Aragorn whispered to Legolas.

The elf shrugged. "I–I don't know."

Cautiously, she took the plate from Sam as well as the fork he passed her. The object moved strangely in her hand as she looked at the others eating—trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. Her gaze settled on Gimli, who was shoveling the meat into his mouth way too quickly. Slowly, she impaled one of the sausages and brought it to her mouth. She chewed, just as the others did, and swallowed. Suddenly, the hunger seemed to settle in. She quickly continued the motions and, within minutes, that plate was empty. Suppose Gimli was good at teaching at least something, despite not knowing that he was doing such a thing.

(Y/N) looked up at Sam. "Like sausages."

The hobbit smiled, a little breath of relief escaping him, as he took the plate back. He was about to walk away when she reached out and grabbed onto his sleeve.

His form stilled almost immediately, and Aragorn's hand danced across the hilt of his sword.

"Sausages," (Y/N) stated.

"You–you would like more?" Sam stuttered.

She nodded.

"I–I can get you more sausages. We have some extra that will go bad if they don't get eaten up."

She released his sleeve and he nervously scurried off before returning with another plate.

She eagerly took it and cleaned it right off. Passing the plate back to him, she sighed, placing a hand on her stomach. "Good sausages."

Sam smiled shyly. He supposed that if someone who didn't know much about food liked his meal, he better be good at cooking. Therefore, failing to hide his grin, he disappeared back to his cooking supplies to tidy up.

The fellowship began to settle down for the night. The hobbits seemed to pile themselves together in a puddle of blankets and Gimli and Boromir laid out their bedrolls.

"I can take first watch," Aragorn stated simply as the sound of snoring started.

"Do you want company?" Legolas asked.

Surprisingly, it was Gandalf who interjected. With his attention still on (Y/N), he spoke. "I will do so, Legolas. You have had a long day, haven't you? You should rest."

The elf frowned at the subtle coolty upon the wizard's tone. He knew why, of course, but he didn't exactly appreciate it.

"Very well then," Legolas replied. With that, the elf stood and began to set up his sleeping roll as well. He laid down upon it with a quiet sigh. As angry as he was at Gandalf's little comment, he did indeed need the rest. Taking care of (Y/N) had been a lot—mentally, physically, and emotionally. He needed to close his eyes. He needed to just....think. Had he done the right thing? Should he have pulled her from that crater?

(Y/N) did not move to sleep, however. Instead, she stood up and began to explore their mini campsite—Aragorn and Gandalf's weary gaze hanging upon her.

As she strut about, picking up sticks and stones and examining them, their eyes followed. She tapped two rocks together curiously. Little clinking sounds echoed ever so quietly. She did it again, and again, before suddenly dropping them and moving on. She then plucked a leaf from a tree and began chewing on it, abruptly spitting it out only seconds later.

Aragorn and Gandalf exchanged a confused look. Well, this was interesting.

(Y/N) continued on with her mission of discovery. As she stomped through the camp, her exhausted wings dragged down upon the ground—knocking Sam's neatly stacked dishes onto the dirt—earning a couple of grumbles and groans from the sleeping men. She didn't seem to care or realize, for that matter.

Instead, she picked up Legolas' bag and began to pick random things out of it. She lifted a little leather pouch from its depths and pulled at the strings. She sniffed what was inside. Reaching into it, she pulled out some leaves. (Y/N) held them above her, examining them in the firelight, before putting them back in their container. She then pulled out another little leather pouch and yanked it open. She stuck her hand into this one too but pulled out a gold coin instead of herbs. She sniffed it. She put it in her mouth. She spit it out. (Y/N) reached into the bag once again and pulled out a sheathed knife.

At this, Aragorn and Gandalf shifted. What was she going to do with that?

She began twisting it around until she figured out how to pull the weapon from the sheath. Aragorn's fingers filtered over the hilt of his sword once again. She, however, held the blade close to her face and sniffed it. She then took her finger and poked the sharp point. Jumping at the pain, she frowned. (Y/N) watched as a little bit of blood prickled upon her finger, just for a moment, before wiping it on her trousers—well, Aragorn's trousers. It seemed she was more surprised than hurt.

She sheathed the blade and put it back in the bag.

(Y/N) continued doing this with all of the objects in Legolas' bag until she went through the entire thing. She then stood up again and went around to find something else to examine.

Soon enough, as the night's watches changed, the winged woman got tired. She eventually sat down, leaned her back upon a tree, and wrapped her dropping wings around her. There, she fell asleep.

PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7

Everything Tag: @scxundress @lea----b @aredhel-of-gondolin @princecami @the-fandoms-georgie @jazziwritestolkienprimary @swimming-in-stardust @elvish-sky @red-riding @brun-lieve @hey-its-nonny  @mirclealignr @elizabeth-anya-knight @sydney-1209 @laneynoir

Everything But Smut Tag: @goldfearless @Brethil13 (?)

Legolas tag: @dark-angel-is-back @mylittle-escapingdreams @abandoncloud9 @bweakmybonez

[prof-peach]

I know on your island you guys deal with a lot of pokemon from a lot of scenarios, but have you ever had to deal with ex-rocket pokemon? Either surrendered or found. Would there have to be a specific protocol for that, or safety measures?

Yeah we get a few that come to us each month, someone either hands them in, or we get them sent to us from other places that can’t handle them.

As for treatment we have to take each case sepratly, the local authorities send us poison, bug and grass types who need rehabilitation, usually it’s not too bad and we socialise them for a while. No people, just give them time to hang out with their own for a while. This can take anywhere up to a few months, just them and some other Pokemon kicking back and taking time out. We see a lot of Pokemon who didn’t get a chance to learn about their skills, their home, they never had a good family life, they often got torn from the wild and remember humans quite harshly. This time is key for them to settle into normal Pokemon behaviour. They are usually surrounded by others and can eventually pick up the right social queues and etiquettes, when they behave like the others, we start to introduce humans more, one member of staff will be assigned groups to care for, usually handling the rescues alone for the first few months, so the Pokemon being helped can get use to just one person at the start. Once that trust has grown, and they seem confortable, we introduce more members of staff. At this point it’s usually clear who will be rehomed fast, and who will need extra care, and we can divide up time appropriately. Recovery depends o the Pokemon in question, and what they’ve gone through. We’ve got patients with us that have stayed on the island for many years now due to relapses in behvaiour, if anything they’ve become part of our personal teams, part of the family, so I suppose they usually find a home one way or another. When possible we release those who are fit but otherwise uninterested in being a trained Pokemon, there are many release sites that the regional rangers oversee all around the world. Getting them home isn’t too hard luckily.

Because we have such a high population of bugs and grass Pokemon we just handle them more. They can find a group and settle here, without any outside interference.

On occasion we will personally choose to take on difficult cases, our lab is pretty hellbent on taking the Pokemon that are deemed “too far gone”, mostly because of the space we can offer them. Grey handles a lot of unruly water Pokemon, he has no fear of a Gyarados, doesn’t shy away from defensive Walrien or Carracosta, that’s just his area of love I guess? You have to love the work if you put yourself in the way of pretty big, pretty angry Pokemon, right?

Either way, we have our joy areas, and work with the odd species that can’t be otherwise helped by normal means. We use unorthodox methods, perhaps have too much patience, and tend to get really stuck into the work.

One case that’s a wonderful example was a dowdy little Salemance that came to us, had been shifted about by Rockets to fight in underground battle rings, it’s poor wings torn to shreds over the years, didn’t fly anymore, pretty sure the original trainer wanted it that way so it couldn’t just fly off. But it came to us so angry, and so violent towards anyone and anything, well I just about had it with the big idiot. Threw down with the dumb baby myself to put him in his pace once and for all. He was being outwardly nasty to everyone, snapped at everything. So I waited, and dodged, and ran, and hid until he had exhausted himself, and then used its bad vision against it and body slammed the little devil. He got tired trying to thrash me off, fell over and stayed there. Because I didn’t hurt him, I simply used his big dumb baby energy against him, he lost. Since then he was under me in the hierarchy, and we were able to get close enough to treat him, get his wounds seen too. He didn’t dare snap again after that, least not at any of the team. He got fitted with a prosthetic wing, has been flying for about half a year now, and is in the process of being adopted by a lovely young couple who live out in the mountains away from any towns, perfect place for him. I think they run a pumpkin farm out there and needed some defence. Me and that Salamanca are friends now, he’s learnt that just because a humans in a position of power doesn’t mean you have to cower, no ones ping to hurt them now, they’re safe, they can enjoy again. We socialised them, we tended to them, they’re not perfect, they still get spooked by too much noise, they’re jittery with crowds, that’s to be expected.

This is a case I mention because it’s a difficult one, not a lot of sane people will throw themselves at a Pokemon like that, and this is what the work is like. Sometimes you just do what’s right, even if it could end pretty badly, luck, great training, and years of practice are on my side, and for that reason I’m able to take in difficult ones. Each professor will handle different Pokemon, different types and varying levels of difficulty, all help is good help, you don’t have to wrestle a dragon, you can handle things a hundred different ways, and hell they might just work! The only true constant is patience. You sit up at night with them, when it’s stormy or windy and they’re scared, you hold your ground when they’re lashing out, you sit through the worst of it with them. You get bitten and cut and bruised and broken and it’s worth it because at the end they get to start again, they get a go at a second life that’s way better than what they had before.

Very rarely will we ever initiate attacks on a Pokemon on the island, we usually do all damage control with non-violent, defensive methods, and at the very most the rescue Pokemon will be put to sleep or knocked to the ground and immobilised. I see some folks battling against their rocket Pokemon, which can be a great use of energy but also can plant more seeds of distrust between the humans and Pokemon involved. It’s best to at least leave that until you’ve built up trust between you and the Pokemon I think, but each to their own I suppose.

If we need to do psychology we send them to Pari, who does therapy sessions with individuals who think they need it or are referred to her, she’s quite an accomplished student and uses my dear old porygon-z as a translator to talk with patients about their issues. Life is a lot easier when there’s less of a language barrier. We offer pretty much everything we can to the rescues we get, and they are given dedicated space upon arrival.

As for safety measures, yes, of course we have them. Gear is necessary when handling certain types, fireproof overalls and gloves are most common. We always go in with a functional pair of Pokemon, alwasy two minimum. We have this minimum because of many Pokemon going to attack our partner, missing on purpose, and going straight for us. One partner is offence, one is defence, you must cover your back, that defensive individual is more for you than anyone else, if you get hurt you can’t help others effectively. It really depends on the case, I’ve handled big Pokemon who got freaked out by heavy protective gear. Their old trainer would wear safety gear while being cruel to them, so we had to ditch it all, we realised it was causing problems and dealt with it fast. There’s also a number of first aid stations all over the island, not only for the sake of the law but also, we all get hurt a fair bit on the job.

Hope you feel informed!

[magnoliapip]

Potential Open Heart Love Interests Who Were Wasted

By now, we all understand that Pixelberry has wasted every single fragment of potential that the Open Heart series had. Frequently overshadowed by aimless plotlines and unbalanced attention toward the four love interests we had is the vast array of potential love interests the OH series could have had. This list is the top 10 (yes, 10) love interests PB wasted. This means that this list will not be discussing the wasted potential in the four love interests we were handed (Bryce, Jackie, Rafael and Ethan).

Please note that some of these (especially toward the bottom) are included more for fan service than for actual wasted potential. Also, these are all my own opinions. Please feel free to share your own! There may be spoilers below. Viewer discretion is advised!

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#10 -- Baz Mirani

Not introduced until Book 2 of the Open Heart series, Baz is the friendlier and more outgoing of the two Doctors Mirani. One of the top in his field of immunology, Baz manages to balance his intellect with an easygoing nature. A relaxed positivity that almost comes off as too much. He was never really around enough, nor did he have the right interactions with MC in the series to feel like a fully developed love interest. However, after having the options in another PB book Laws of Attraction, it might have been interesting to see how it would turn out if MC could hook up with Baz.

#9 -- June Hirata

Also not introduced until Book 2, Dr. Hirata is a ruthless force to be reckoned with. A cunning behavior psychologist and brilliant neurologist, one can never really know what to expect from June, though this is mostly because no one can tell if her actions are genuine. After MC is told how June “earned” her place on the diagnostics team, it becomes clear that she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Honestly, the prospect of having that directed toward MC...yeah, I want it. Badly. The only reason she isn’t higher on the list is because of her social inconsistency..

#8 -- Zaid Mirani

One of two senior residents introduced to the MC in book 1, Zaid is partly responsible for managing the interns. Zaid is the more blunt of the Mirani twins and can come off as an ass. He’s also shown to have a softer side that comes out in increasing increments throughout the series culminating in a touching moment in book 3. Once more, Zaid isn’t someone the MC interacts with a whole lot throughout the books, acting more as a recurring character to pop up once or twice a book, but I think that is a crock. I wanted more Zaid and I’m sorry we didn’t get it.

#7 -- Elijah Greene

A fellow intern at Edenbrook Hospital, MC meets Elijah in book 1 along with the rest of their group of friends. Elijah quickly becomes a steadfast friend and even a roommate. Clearly a brilliant doctor with a future in research, Elijah balances this with his upbeat personality and love of science fiction and gaming. Characters like Elijah often get relegated to the realm of being a best friend and it might have been nice to see him opened up as a possible love interest. He’s fiercely loyal, as seen by his defense in book 2 at the baseball game, and is steadfastly determined to get where he wants to be. There’s a lot to be admired in Elijah, but considering PB dropped his canon love interest, Phoebe, I shouldn’t be surprised that he was never an option anyway.

#6 -- Sienna Trinh

Sienna is literally the best.

I should just end it there because anyone who has read the series knows, but for the sake of this list…Sienna is an ally of MC’s right from the moment they meet, when Sienna helps get MC out of a sticky situation. This perfectly encompasses Sienna’s character. She spends the entire series taking care of everyone but herself and being just the sweetest, kindest, most amazing baker and chinchilla mommy that exists. After what happens in book 1 and book 2 with both of her canon love interests, well, #Siennadeservesbetter. And I think her fellow dolphin would have been the perfect person for her. 

The only reason she is so far down on the list is because she does make such an incredible best friend.

#5 -- Harper Emery

The female older mentor to match Ethan. Harper would have been in a more compromised position, not just being a direct superior to MC like Ethan, but also being the Chief of Medicine for the hospital. As an admin, watching her toe the line between desire and propriety would have been just *chef’s kiss*. Instead, her role was consigned to being the family member too hard on their younger charge, projecting what she wants but can’t have onto Aurora. Now that I think about it, that last sentence makes me want it even more.

Besides, it would have been another female love interest rather than the one that we seem to get every book and a woman of color at that.

#4 -- Landry Olsen

I know what you’re thinking but just hear me out for a second and then you can eviscerate me in the comments.

Landry is a character that has me torn in more ways than one. First, I love the twist in book 1 where we see him for who he “truly is”. It was unexpected and a lovely change.

That notwithstanding, I was also deeply saddened to see yet another promising story not come to pass. See, there aren’t many characters like Landry who are so incredibly awkward but also come off as friendly. It was a lovely change of pace and it would have been amazing, just the sweetest, to see MC bring Landry out of his shell. MC could have helped Landry gain confidence to do far more than talk to the girl across the bar. Before the end of the book, he would have been having a full ass conversation with Ethan and maybe even mustering up the bravery to ask MC out. All of the pieces were there, either as platonic friend or love interest. Instead, Landry lived long enough to see himself become the villain. But my friends to lovers slowburn adoring heart will always have a piece longing for what could have been. Judge me if you will.

#3 -- Tobias Carrick

Originally introduced in book 2 to be to Ethan what Mass Kenmore is to Edenbrook, Tobias’ story takes a flip once book 3 comes around. Immediately compelling from the get go, Tobias shows a charming competitive nature sprinkled with arrogance, grey morality, and a devilish side. Tobias’ personality would either be completely in line with MC or completely against MC depending on how you tend to play the game. Both are completely valid and interesting options. Even before the infamous beet puns in book 3, Tobias made me want to know more. Tobias was the ultimate character in the Open Heart series that would have made a perfect one night stand. Alas, it seems we’ll never know more and must stick to the fantastic fanfiction writers on sites like this to sate us.

#2 -- Aurora Emery

Let me tell you, the line between #’s 1 and 2 is so thin it’s barely there. Those two are so close I almost can’t distinguish which one I wanted more. Aurora is first presented to MC and the gang as an intern who seems like she may become an antagonist of the series. As Book 1 presses on, we start to see Aurora in a whole new light. MC comes to understand why Aurora has the cold and closed off personality she does and when given the chances later in the series, Aurora opens up into almost an entirely different person as she finds herself outside of the expectations of her family.

Aurora is a brilliant doctor very nearly on the same level as MC and later seems to become a parallel to MC for what Tobias is to Ethan. Thankfully Aurora and MC’s relationship is a lot less volatile, but those brief fireworks make me really wish Aurora and MC would have officially been a thing. I feel like PB was weighing the option for a while but decided against it, much to their detriment.

However, I had to push Aurora down for one specific reason to come in the explanation for #1. And #1 is…

#1 -- Farley the Landlord

Be honest. After having Landry on this list, you thought this was a serious entry for a second, didn’t you? Just kidding!

(the real) #1 -- Kyra Santana

Kyra meets MC for the first time when Ethan dubiously introduces her to them because Kyra broke her arm in an accident. Right from the start, Kyra is an incorrigible flirt, obviously egged on by her cancer diagnosis and fear of death. Kyra has such an incredible story. Throughout books 1 and 2, Kyra is an incredible friend to MC and it breaks my heart that PB dropped her romantic storyline the way they did.

This is why Kyra edged out Aurora for #1. Going back and re-reading book 1, it’s always obvious that Kyra was meant to be a love interest. I’m not sure what stopped them from going forward with it. I’d like to think it had something to do with potential backlash for having a patient and their doctor get involved, but I think it has more to do with being a woman or a woman of color than anything else. Which is a damned shame. We stan Kyra Santana in this house and I wanted to leave with her at the end of book 2.

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So what do you all think? Do you agree with any of my placements? Vehemently disagree with others? I wrote this at 2am when I couldn’t sleep and didn’t bother to proofread before posting so you’re welcome.

Let me know below and cross your fingers for the finale of Open Heart book 3 coming later today!!

[sugakookielix]

Playful Rivalry

Pairing: Platonic Vmin x female reader. Platonic Jungkook x female reader

Requested: Yes

Rating: PG

Genre: Fluff, Angst? depending on how you look at it

Word Count: 4.7k

Warnings: None

Summary: You’ve known Tae and Jimin for years, so naturally they get a bit jealous when Jungkook makes his way into your friend circle.

Disclaimer: Rights to the images used in the header belong to BigHit and BTS. All written work is my own. Do not copy, translate, or repost my work onto other sites without my permission. Requests are OPEN

Masterlist

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You met both Jimin and Taehyung in school. Jimin was in the same class as you, and you ended up being partnered together for a project. Not long after did he introduce you to Taehyung and the three of you became an almost inseparable trio. The three of you always did everything together; whether it be going out for lunch or curling up on the couch for an impulse movie night. Even when they debuted and grew big with Bangtan, you were always there supporting them. Of course, you weren’t able to see your boys as often because of their busy schedule, but, on the other hand, you got to meet the rest of the members. You all got along fairly well, but you never bonded with any of them the way you did with Taehyung and Jimin. That was, at least, until you started spending more time with Jungkook. 

You had been sitting on the couch in the dorms one evening, waiting for the boys to get home from practice so that you could have a movie night. They had let you know earlier that they would have to stay a bit late but you didn’t mind, opting to play on your phone while you waited. They had given you a spare key so that you could let yourself in whenever you needed to, the boys all knew who you were anyways. You had just beaten the newest level in your game when the door opened and caught your attention. Turning around, you saw not your best friends, but actually Jungkook.

“Oh, hello Noona,” Jungkook greeted with a small smile, you returning the gesture.

“Hey Kookie,” you greeted back, glancing behind him, “are the others not back yet?”

“They should be back soon,” he said as he moved to take off his shoes, placing them by the door, “Most of the hyungs are staying at the studio to work on a new song. Jimin also wanted to stay back to try and perfect this one move and Taehyung decided to stay with him. They both looked pretty tired though so they shouldn’t be much longer.” You nodded and returned your attention back to your phone as the group’s maknae walked over to sit beside you, “What are you doing?”

“Just playing a random game I found,” you replied, “I promised Tae and Jiminie we would have a movie night so I’m just waiting for them to get back.” Jungkook hummed and peeked over your shoulder so he could see your screen since he had nothing better to do. Neither of you said anything for a moment, just him watching you play with feigned interest until eventually he leaned back and sighed. 

“That game looks boring,” he commented out of nowhere, making you laugh. Truth be told it kind of was, but it served its purpose in distracting you for the time being. When you didn’t say anything in response though, he sighed again before glancing at his own phone. “Do you want to hang out in my room for a bit? I have a new game we can play while you wait for the others to return? You know, a game that is actually fun.” You set down your phone and thought about it for a moment. You didn’t know Jungkook too well, but this would be a great way to fix that and make a new friend. It would also give you something to do while you waited for the other two to get back. 

“Sure,” you agreed after a minute. Jungkook smiled and jumped up from his seat, grabbing your hand and practically dragging you down the hall to his room. While it startled you a bit, you also couldn’t help but laugh wondering what exactly you just got yourself dragged into. 

It was about 20 minutes later when Jimin and Taehyung found themselves stumbling inside of the dorm, practically tripping over each other as they got their shoes off. Their mini practice session had gone on way longer than it should have and the two had practically rushed home to try and greet you. Jimin had tried texting you to let you know they were on their way but you never answered him, making the boys worry that you had gotten bored and left. None of you had ever missed a movie night unless it was due to the boys being away on tour. Hopefully, tonight wouldn’t be any different. 

“Y/N?” Taehyung called out as he walked into the living room, Jimin not far behind. They didn’t want to be too loud in case you fell asleep, but clearly, that wasn’t the case as they found the living room empty. 

“It’s not that late,” Jimin said as he checked the time on his phone, “maybe she just went to the bathroom?” 

“Should we wait for her?” Taehyung asked, before the older could answer they heard what sounded like a shout come from down the hall, followed by a very familiar laugh. It was one they would recognize anywhere, and not just because you were the only female that ever came over to the dorms. Glancing over at each other with a questioning look, they both made their way down the hall, pausing when they reached Jungkook’s room. The distinct sound of your laughter now sounded much more loudly, accompanied by the maknaes and the soft sounds that came from whatever game you were playing. Now the boys were very confused since when had you become friends with Jungkook? Only a week ago you were shying away in a corner as the male in question tried to drag you to practice one of their dances with them.

Jimin and Taehyung gave each other what must have been the hundredth confused look within the hour, not quite sure what to do. Of course, they were happy that you were getting along well with their members, and from the sound of it, you were having a lot of fun. However, this was supposed to be your guys’ movie night and they were really looking forward to it. Something about you canceling on them to spend time with Jungkook just didn’t sit right with them. With that in mind, Jimin knocked on the door twice to get your attention before pretty much storming into the room, Taehyung following not too far behind. Everything went silent as you jumped and paused the game out of instinct, turning to see your two best friends. The silence gave them a moment to analyze the situation. You were sat cross-legged on the bed, Jungkook sitting behind you and looking over your shoulder at the game. From glancing at the pause screen, it seemed you two had been playing for a good minute.

“Hey guys!” you exclaimed happily, clearly not feeling the steadily rising tension. If Jungkook had noticed, he didn’t say anything about it, nodding at his hyungs instead. 

“How was practice?” he asked. 

“It was alright,” Taehyung replied before turning his attention back to you, “sorry we’re late Y/N, ready for our movie night?” 

“Oh right!” you said, having completely forgotten about your original plans in your excitement. The knowledge of that had both males slumping a bit, an unreadable expression crossing their features. Still, you were blissfully unaware as you glanced at the time on your phone and then back at the screen, “We should be done with this level shortly, why don’t you go get everything set up and I’ll join you when I finish?” Once again their expressions dropped but they didn’t argue as they nodded and silently left the room. The fact that the sounds of the game resumed as soon as the door closed hurt way more than it should. Still, they told themselves that you were just excited about spending time with a new friend so they tried not to think about it too much. 

By the time you had actually finished the level, it was a bit later than you had thought. The boys already had everything prepared. The movie was up and paused, snacks and various drinks lined the coffee table, and Tae and Jimin were resting in a pile of blankets and pillows on the couch. No one said anything as you took your usual spot between them, curling up and finally enjoying your long-awaited movie nights. In your excitement, you never did catch on to the sudden change in atmosphere between your usually cheerful best friends, easily masked by exhaustion as you all fell asleep on the couch. 

Unfortunately for Taehyung and Jimin, ignoring them to spend time with Jungkook gradually became a more common occurrence after that night. You came over a lot more to play games, or Jungkook would go over to your apartment as well. You guys would text and call each other all the time, make plans when you knew the boys were free, and you even started going out for lunch together. Taehyung and Jimin tried not to mind it too much at first. It was natural that you would want to spend time with your other friends after all and they didn’t want to ruin that by potentially overreacting. It was only when you started canceling your plans with them did they start to have a problem. Your fun text conversations became nonexistent, movie nights stopped, and you barely even acknowledged them whenever you came over. No more fun hugs, now you just nodded in their direction with a quick “Hey,” before running off to spend time with Jungkook. 

Meanwhile, you were none the wiser to your friend’s new jealousy. Jungkook turned out to be really fun to spend time with and it turned out you had a lot in common. You found yourself bonding over your favorite games, as well as occasionally talking about school. It became a habit to come over during the evening so you could play games together and you hadn’t seen anything wrong with that. Sure, you had canceled on Taehyung and Jimin a few times but you assumed they would understand. After all, you guys planned a lot together so what was the harm in spending time with someone else? You were also under the impression that you guys could all hang out as a group once you got used to being around Jungkook. Clearly, though, you had failed to realize just how wrong you were. 

The boys knew that they should probably talk to you about all of this, but you still didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong. You even asked Taehyung what was wrong one day when you saw him sulking and all he could do was stare at you in shock because how could you not realize? Did you just suddenly forget about them entirely? They were your best friends, and yet now they felt more like acquaintances that you used to be close to. It was after the fifth canceled movie night that month that the boys finally decided to do something about this. 

“We have to find a way to get her attention away from Jungkook,” Tae muttered as he fell back on the couch. They had just gotten home from practice and, sure enough, the sound of your and Jungkooks laughter echoed through the dorm. 

“Easier said than done,” Jimin replied, “she barely talks to us anymore. Even when we try to start a conversation or plan something she always gets distracted and ignores us.” Both boys were silent for a moment before a thought suddenly came to Taehyung, causing him to jump up from his spot. 

“What if we start forcing her to pay attention to us so that she can’t ignore us for Jungkook?” he suggested. The confused look he got from the older showed that they weren’t on the same page which made him sigh a bit, “You know, like every time she comes over we do something to distract her so that way she spends time with us and not him. That way she is reminded of who her true best friends are.” It seemed a lightbulb flashed in Jimins mind as he suddenly perked up as well. 

“That could work,” he said, “but how do we do it without making it obvious we’re trying to steal her attention?”

“Easy, we act cute enough and we get what we want!” Jimin scoffed and rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the statement. Still, Taehyung didn’t hear any objections so he considered it a win. “Come on!” he suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Jimin by the wrist and pulling him until they were both standing. Before the smaller could process what exactly was going on, he was being dragged down the hall towards Jungkook's room.

“Wait! We’re doing this now?” he exclaimed, slightly panicked as they came to a stop. 

“Well yeah,” Taehyung said as if it was the most obvious thing ever, “she owes us a movie night!” As soon as Jimin opened his mouth to protest, Taehyung opened the door and dragged him inside. The scene itself was very familiar to how they found you and Jungkook the first time. However, now he was sitting next to you on the bed rather than behind you. Both of you turned your heads to look at the intruders with a mix of shock and confusion. “Y/N!” Tae whined before either of you could speak, “you were supposed to have another movie night with us!” Now you were thoroughly confused, yes you knew about the movie night but you had told them earlier that you had planned to help Jungkook pass this new level in his game. 

“I know guys, I’m sorry but-” you were cut off as Tae rushed into the room and gently pulled you away from the bed. 

“Come on! We haven’t hung out in forever!” You stayed quiet and allowed him to pull you to the door, the sound of someone clearing their throat reminding you of the fourth person in the room. 

“You guys can’t just take her,” Jungkook complained, “we were in the middle of a game.”

“You’ve been hanging out with her all week Kook, it’s our turn,” Jimin finally spoke up again. With that you found yourself being dragged to the living room, leaving behind a confused and slightly annoyed Jungkook. 

“Um guys,” you called out softly, “that was kind of rude don’t you think?” You understood that you cancelled on your plans, but they didn’t have to barge in like that. They both froze and turned to you, their expressions reminding you of lost puppies. 

“We miss you,” Jimin whined, “just one movie and then you can go back to hanging out with Jungkook okay?” You sighed a bit, pulling out your phone to glance at the time before nodding. It was still fairly early, what harm could one movie do? One movie quickly turned into two and then an entire marathon as you ended up getting engrossed into the stories. The boys having chosen a series they knew you hadn’t seen so that you would be forced to stay and watch the whole thing. It also helped that Jungkook stayed locked in his room the entire time, likely just going back to his game without you. By the time the final credits rolled, it was nearly midnight and you were half asleep. 

“Oh boy, that late already?” you muttered with a yawn. Grabbing your phone, you checked the time again and groaned as you forced yourself to stand up. You had work in the morning and if you didn’t leave now you would likely end up passing out at the dorms. “I’m going to head out,” you said, “tell Jungkook I said goodbye please?” Taehyung nodded and stood up as well to walk you to the door, Jimin staying on the couch as he switched the tv to some random reality show. 

“Will do,” Tae replied, “goodnight Y/N.” He waited until you got into your car before closing the door and returning to the couch with Jimin. Jungkook ended up confronting his hyungs a few minutes later. Leaning against the wall and waiting until you left the dorm to make his presence known. “What was that all about?” he asked as he stepped into the room and took a seat in one of the armchairs. The two older members paled a bit but kept a blank expression as they acknowledged the other. 

“What was what?” Jimin asked, feigning indifference. Now Jungkook was getting even more annoyed. First, they interrupted your time together and now they want to act like they didn’t do anything wrong?

“You know what,” he groaned, “you knew Y/N and I had plans already. Why did you burst in and drag her away like that?” Neither one really knew how to answer that, not wanting to admit their jealousy, but also knowing that lying would get them nowhere. Their silence was definitely not helping their case either. 

“To be fair,” Taehyung finally spoke up after a moment, “we had plans with her first.” Jungkook looked confused for a moment before realization finally hit him. 

“You’re telling me you dragged her away because you got jealous that she canceled your plans to hang out with me instead?” Neither one responded, but their sudden guilty expressions gave Jungkook his answer. Groaning, he threw his head back and took a deep breath, “That has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard.”

“This isn’t the first time it’s happened, you two have been together practically every day for the past three weeks while we’ve been here alone,” Jimin defended. 

“So? Maybe Y/N enjoys being able to spend time with someone else. It’s not always about you two, I’m her friend as well!” Jungkook bit his lip to keep from raising his voice, though his tense posture made it very clear that he was frustrated. 

“It’s not always about you either,” Taehyung argued, “we’re her best friends, have been since high school. It’s not fair that we get pushed aside while you get all of the attention.” This whole argument was childish and all three of them knew it. You were a grown woman and you had the right to chose who you did and did not want to spend time with. Still, they were stubborn and it was clear that neither side was willing to back down. What followed for the next five minutes was an awkwardly silent staring contest until finally, Jungkook gave in. 

“Fine, but you’re not the only one who can play that game,” with that he stood up and went back to his room. Taehyung and Jimin glanced at the door briefly before looking back at each other and smirking. Indeed, three could play at that game. 

To say you were confused would be quite an understatement. One minute everything was going great and the next everyone was acting strange. Well, stranger than usual considering your best friends. You hadn’t seen any of the boys in about a week due to an upcoming work project, but the boys had still spammed you with texts any chance they were free. It seemed that whenever one would message you, the others would as well. They kept asking when you were free and you kept responding that you had to finish your work before you could hang out, then the cycle continued again the next day. On top of that, they were constantly stopping by your apartment for one reason or another. Usually, they would only pop in for a minute or two just to check-in, but there was one evening where Jungkook ended up staying over for dinner. Only for Taehyung and Jimin to appear the next morning and not leave until you had to physically kick them out to allow you to work. As strange as it was, you figured it was just the guys being bored since it was their off-season and didn’t think too much of it. You were sitting at your dining room table working on your laptop when you heard a knock at your door. Confused, since you weren’t expecting anyone at this hour, you decided to just ignore it. Maybe they had the wrong apartment, that or it was your neighbor and you honestly didn’t feel like talking to them right now. Unfortunately, the knocking continued and even got louder the more you ignored it. Eventually, you gave up and hesitantly got up from your spot. Your back ached in protest from being hunched over as you walked over to the door, opening it to see none other than Taehyung and Jimin. They were carrying bags of takeout and smiling widely as they let themselves in.

“What are you guys doing here?” you asked as you closed the door. The boys smiled as they set the bags on the table.

“We know you’ve been working all day,” Jimin said, “so we thought we’d bring you dinner!” Taehyung nodded as he grabbed one of the boxes and took a seat across from where your stuff was, it was clear that they weren’t planning on leaving.

“Um thanks, guys,” you said hesitantly, “but I really need to get this done and I can’t really afford any distractions.” Both boys looked visibly disappointed which made you feel a bit bad about rejecting them, but you held your ground.

“We’ll only be here a minute,” Taehyung argued.

“At least have dinner with us and then we’ll leave you alone!” Jimin added. You wanted to argue, but you were much too tired so you eventually just gave in.

“Fine,” you agreed, “but only for a bit.” The boys smiled as you took your seat and grabbed the last box and took your seat, nudging your laptop out of the way so you didn’t accidentally ruin everything. It was silent for all of two seconds before the boys were bombarding you with questions.

“So, Y/N, how was your day?”

“How is work going?”

“Are you going to be free this weekend?”

“We were thinking of planning a game night if you are.” It took everything in your power not to groan and throw them out. You loved these two, you really did, but you didn’t know how much more clinging you could take.

“I need to have this done by Friday, so I really can’t afford to take any more time off,” you hinted. Friday was only two days away and you still had so much to do. Having the boys on top of you 24/7 didn’t help much either. It seemed the boys only heard you saying you would be done by Friday though, as they practically jumped up from their seats.

“Perfect!” Jimin exclaimed, “we can plan our game night for Saturday then since you won’t be busy!” If your eyes could roll any harder you were sure you’d be able to see the back of your head. Still, you agreed, partially to get them to leave and also because a game night did sound kind of fun.

“Fine, I’ll be over Saturday night okay? I’ll even bring food to pay you guys back for this,” you bargained. The boys thought it over for a moment before nodding. You were beyond thankful that they hadn’t found anything to argue with you about.

As promised, they left a few minutes after you all finished eating, reminding you about Saturday before closing the door. You let out a tired sigh as you fell back into your chair, quickly turning your laptop back on so you could continue where you left off. Even though you were annoyed by the sudden interruption, you also had to admit that having food in your system made it much easier to concentrate. It only lasted for maybe an hour though before the sound of your phone vibrating snapped your attention away from the screen yet again. “What now?” you muttered as you flipped the mobile device over. Seeing a text from Jungkook asking if you were free to hang out this weekend, you sighed for what had to be the millionth time that night.

‘Tae and Jiminie invited me to a game night on Saturday.’ you texted back, getting a reply almost immediately.

‘Oh :( I was hoping we could play games.’

‘Why can’t we all just play games?’ It took him longer to text back this time which was odd, but you tried not to dwell on it as you went back to work. Another 15 minutes passed before you heard your phone go off again.

‘I guess so...see you Saturday.’ Odd, but at least you could rest easy knowing that you had two days of silence to finally get your work done. You could deal with your friends strange behavior when you went to hang out. 

Saturday came a lot quicker than expected and you were actually very excited. You submitted your finished project with a few hours to spare and you had spent the rest of the day relaxing so you could have all your energy for spending time with your best friends. They also stopped messaging and randomly popping over after your text conversation, you assumed so you could focus better. You stepped out of your car and made your way up to the dorm, knocking a few times before using your key to let yourself in. Immediately you were greeted with all three boys sitting in the living room, various games and snacks scattered all over the coffee table. Whatever they were talking about was quickly forgotten as they all turned to face you. 

“Y/N!” they all exclaimed, jumping up to greet you. You laughed a bit as you hugged all three of them individually. Each hug seemed to last longer than the last but you didn’t seem to notice. 

“Come on!” Tae urged, pulling you so you were sitting between him and Jimin, much to Jungkooks dismay. “We couldn’t decide on what game to play first so maybe you could choose for us?” Tae pointed at one game while Jungkook pointed at another. It was becoming increasingly obvious to you now that there was tension between the three, but you didn’t know why. 

“Umm why don’t we start with this one?” you suggested as you pointed to the game Jungkook was suggesting. Seeing the hurt look on the other two you quickly added, “I mean, it’s shorter so we can start  with that and finish with your guys’ choice right?” That didn’t come off as very convincing, but you didn’t hear any objections as you set the game up. If anything, your explanation only seemed to upset Jungkook as well.

This silent competition between the boys only grew as you guys played. From offering you snacks to having you argue who broke the rules, to even letting you cheat to upset the other. Eventually, you had enough of this and threw down the bag of chips you were holding, immediately catching everyone’s attention. “Alright enough!” you exclaimed, “what is going on with you three?” They all looked scared and a little confused as they glanced at you, but no one said anything. Taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you spoke again, “You guys have been like this all week. Whenever one of you does something the other will copy, and now you’re fighting over a game. Is there something I missed?” It was Jungkook who finally spoke up after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence.

“Who do you enjoy spending time with more?” he asked, catching you completely off guard. Jimin noticed your confusion and immediately stepped in to explain.

“You started canceling on us to spend time with Jungkook.”

“But then you started canceling on me to hang out with them,” Jungkook quickly added, ignoring the glare he got. 

“So who do you like more?” Taehyung asked. You were honestly speechless, all the past incidents from the last week or so starting to make sense. The boys were jealous because you weren’t distributing your time evenly between them. You didn’t know whether to laugh or yell at the realization. 

“Let me get this straight,” you started, “this whole mess was done because you guys were jealous?” Before any of them could speak up to defend themselves, your laughter cut them off, “That has to be the most immature thing I’ve ever heard. Why didn’t you guys just talk to me about it?”

“In our defense, you were pretty clueless,” Taehyung defended. Realizing how serious they were, you sighed and shook your head. 

“Look guys, I’m sorry that I didn’t manage my time better. It was wrong of me to cancel plans to hang out with another member. You should have told me instead of whatever this rivalry was. You guys are friends too and I don’t see why we can’t all hang out as a group.” They didn’t look completely convinced so you continued, “not all the time of course. There will be days I want to spend time with Jimin and Tae and there will be times when I want to spend time with Jungkook. That doesn’t make me any less of a friend.” Hesitantly they all nodded, glancing at each other with a guilty look. 

“We’re sorry Noona,” Jungkook apologized, causing you to smile. 

“Come on! Now that we’re all friends again, let's finish the game!”

Twitter: SugaKookieBias

AO3: SugaKookieBias

[oss-crime]

Chapter 2-Project “Ma” –Eve–; Scene 3

Original Sin Story: Crime, pages 23-37

Apparently the carriage’s speed was enough to outrace their pursuers.

After they arrived at Nemu village, they headed for Eve’s house, which was also the residence of the village chief.

This village had no clinics. As he had some medical knowledge, the village chief also acted as the village doctor.

“Welcome home…And who are these people, Eve?”

Chief Zvezda’s eyes went wide when he saw Eve carrying in two men, one of them injured.

“They were attacked on the plains by the white army. This one’s wounded.”

“It looks that way…Well then, you sit over here. I’ll examine you.”

Seth obeyed the chief’s words, taking a seat in a chair set deeper in the room.

After watching him silently, Eve spoke up to Adam “Are you alright? You didn’t get injured or anything?”

“No, luckily for me. More than that—”

Before Adam could continue his sentence, the village chief cut in as he wrapped a bandage around Seth’s head, “Judging by your outfits…you two are researchers from the royal capital.”

“Ho, you’re quite well-informed.”

“Director Horus of the Royal Research Institute is an old acquaintance of mine. Is he still working hard on research artifacts as usual?”

Adam hesitated for a moment, before telling the chief, “No…He’s passed on. Two years ago. Right now I’m working as director in his place.”

“How…I see, I hadn’t known. I’ve stopped going to the Twelve Royal Capitals lately. And so that would make you—”

“Horus’ adopted son, Adam.”

“I’ve heard your name from him, but I suppose that would make this our first time meeting like this.”

“Yes, and—"

This time Seth butt in. “Erm…I’d appreciate it if you could patch up my wound first.”

“Oops, sorry.”

The chief flusteredly resumed wrapping bandages.

“…Hm?”

He made a puzzled expression, peering at Seth’s face.

“Your left eye looks funny. Is that injured as well?”

“Ah…No, it’s always been like that. I haven’t been able to see out of this eye from birth.”

“A defective left eye…Horus was like that too, as I recall.”

“Ha ha, that’s right. Just a coincidence.”

.

After Seth’s treatment was finished, the researchers bowed their heads to Eve and the village chief and said their thanks.

The chief offered for them to rest at the village for a while.

“The white army wouldn’t go as far as attacking us here,” the chief revealed.

Adam replied, giving him a courteous smile, “Is that because this place is a village of sorcerers?”

“…My my, so the son of Horus is able to glean that much.” The village chief sat down in a nearby chair, a hand on his aching hip. “Let me ask you a question instead, Adam. For what purpose did you all come to this remote place? I’d think that scientists would have little interest in an excavation site, of all things.”

“That’s not so. After all is said and done we’re researchers of the old legacy. It wouldn’t be all that strange for us to want to see where it’s excavated.”

“But up until this point we have never once had a scientist go visit there. Your aim is not the excavation site.”

The village chief’s tone had hardened, but Adam wasn’t intimidated. “Chief Zvezda—No, esteemed sorcerer Raiou Zvezda. It seems you have something in mind already. As it happens, we also have several things we’d like to talk to you about.”

“So I’m the one you’ve been after.”

“Actually, to be more accurate—” Adam turned to Eve. “—We came here to meet her.”

The peaceful atmosphere that had been in the room just moments ago changed in an instant.

Eve could feel a sense of unease.

This wasn’t a light matter; especially considering they had come here with a retinue of soldiers.

Appearing to guess at Eve’s anxiety, the chief said to her, “Eve, please go outside for a minute.”

But Eve shook her head.

“If there’s a reason why these scientists are interested in a humble village girl like me, then I want to know what it is,” she said, somewhat challengingly.

It wasn’t like she’d never done anything of note. Depending on the situation…there was a chance that she would have to drive off the scientists that she’d rescued herself.

“Oh dear, let’s all calm down now, everyone.” Seth stood in the center of the group, remonstrating all present. “Sorry for being rude. …I’m sure you are as well, aren’t you Adam?”

“…”

“None of us wants to see this turn out like what happened with the ‘Witch of Merrigod’.”

Upon hearing that name, the village chief’s gaze turned even sharper. “So…you two are on a ‘witch hunt’ after all!”

“You’re quite knowledgeable. I suppose you…suspected us of that from the start. You not knowing about Dr. Horus’ death—was also a lie, I imagine.”

“I said this earlier, but I haven’t gone to the Twelve Royal Capitals in some time. I rarely even go outside the village. …But sorcerers have a network that allows them to share information.”

“The spell that uses green onions? Talking to people at long distances…Well, leaving that aside you have several misunderstandings here, so I shall explain.”

Adam looked at Seth with dissatisfaction. “No, I’m the one who—”

“Just leave this to your underling. Mister Director.” After cutting Adam off, Seth once more bowed to Eve and the village chief. “I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Seth Twiright. I work for the Royal Research Institute, and I am the late Dr. Horus’ top apprentice.”

“…Self-labeled top apprentice,” Eve heard Adam quietly mutter.

.

Levianta was called a “Kingdom”, but at present the position of ruler was not something gained by heredity.

In this country that was born to protect the temple and flourishing through the legacy bequeathed by the gods, the “gods” were absolute, and all people were little more than their servants.

The one who ruled the country had to be someone who could hear “the voice of the gods”. And the one they deemed most suitable for that was a virgin who commanded extraordinary magical power.

For that reason Levianta was ruled through the ages by a “queen”, but there were various institutions that existed for selecting that queen.

The special orphanage owned by the Loop Octopus family, the Lighwatch temple managed by the Asayev family, the Royal Research Institute run by the Vaju family, etc…

This also served as a source of political conflict in the senate. Because whichever establishment the queen was born into decided who was the next head of the senate. The current queen Alice Merry-Go-Round had once been a child raised in the special orphanage.

“Naturally, the other families don’t just passively sit and watch. There are a lot of senate members who get worked up over making the next queen show up from their own facility. As for the Vaju family, they’ve been seeking out results from a certain experiment…”

The village chief covered his face with his hand as he listened to Seth’s explanation. “Scheming to artificially birth a child with strong magical potential…How frightening.”

“Be that as it may, if we hadn’t then the institute wouldn’t get its funding for the legacy research. Dr. Horus couldn’t afford not to comply.”

“There have always been shady rumors about the Royal Research Institute. That to birth the ‘next queen’ they abduct potential mothers from all over. …Though Horus never told me anything himself.”

“That’s another misconception. It’s not like the research institute is forcibly making off with these women. It’s all out of their consent—if it means performing a service to the gods then everyone is quite happy to participate in our research.”

The village chief snorted, clearly not believing him. “It hasn’t been like that recently, at the very least. You’ve all been carrying out ‘witch hunts’, even using troops for it.”

“To be accurate, they’re a peace-keeping force. And, well, we’ve found ourselves in certain circumstances that require we hurry.”

“Why is that? As I recall the current queen is still in her forties. Her dynasty should last for another twenty years more at least.”

“…The institute is no longer searching for someone to be the ‘mother of the queen’.”

“--? What do you mean?”

“We are trying to find a woman who can become queen. And the new queen will also become the mother of the gods…The ‘Ma’.”

“You can’t mean…!? The ‘Ma’ is little more than a fairy-tale!”

Seeing the chief’s astonishment, Eve asked, “Father, what’s the ‘Ma’?”

“…It is said that when catastrophe is on the cusp of visiting this world, the dragon god LeviaBehemo with two heads and two wills will have a second coming in this world as human children. And the woman who births these ‘Twins of God’ is ‘Ma’…the divine mother, Mem Aleph…It’s an old myth passed down from long ago.”

“Erm…” Eve then said to Seth, guessing on her own what the conclusion to the story she just heard was then. “…So if the gods must be reborn in this world…Then does that mean that there really is a catastrophe coming?”

Seth briefly clapped for her. “That’s correct, Miss Eve.”

“But what’s your basis for that?”

“It was none other than the dragon god LeviaBehemo who prophesized thus. Through the queen. We’ve never had an oracle be wrong before. The senate needed to come up with a countermeasure post-haste.”

And the countermeasure drafted by the senate head Miroku Loop Octopus was project “Ma”.

They changed the role of the next queen selection measures to search for a woman who could become the mother of the gods.

Once she had safely birthed the children that would become receptacles for the gods, she would obtain the position of queen in place of Alice, as reward for her service. …That sort of thing.

“But if you do that then the current queen will have to step down. Can the senate really decide that on their own?”

“The current queen agrees with this project as well, you see. …I mean, I think that the members of the senate wouldn’t be able to move with this much forward momentum if she didn’t.”

The one who managed to produce the mother of the gods from their institution would achieve glory as the savior who protected the world from catastrophe.

And also the position of next head of the senate.

“…Anyhow, the Royal Research Institute must also search for ‘Ma’ candidates under orders of the Vaju family.

Upon hearing that the village chief gave a sideways glance to Eve with a sullen expression. “And so…you’ve selected my own daughter as an ‘Ma’ candidate.”

“The Royal Research Institute is seen as the most plausible source for completing this project. So the head of the senate has given the institute several authorizations. Such as to freely make use of security forces and their information.”

“But if the Royal Research Institute were to successfully carry out Project ‘Ma’, Miroku will lose his position as senate head. Is he alright with that?”

“Well, I don’t know that far…But I imagine it would be pretty difficult to find the ‘Ma’ in Senator Miroku’s special orphanage. And so…maybe his plan is to be able to continue to wield some influence in the senate even after stepping down by collaborating with the facility most likely to succeed.”

“What an awful power struggle.”

“I agree. Well, anyway, it’s thanks to our information that we were able to learn of some rumors around here…”

That was, the rumors of the “Witch of the Forest” that supposedly would appear in the sprawling “Forest of Held” to the south of the village.

There was a girl who would use magic to drive off the tribesmen that would appear every now and then…She had green hair, and would cast lightning with a blue spoon…Supposedly.

“According to what we’ve heard, she’s the bearer of significant magical power. Only, this region is currently being terrorized by that savage clan. That’s why we brought along minimal guards with us…Though conversely, that seems to have just spurred them on.”

Listening to all that, Eve was reminded of the soldiers that they’d left out on the plain. “I wonder if…those guys are alright.”

Adam had been quiet this whole time, but he replied, “The peacekeeping unit…especially Gammon, are all strong men. They can’t use magic, but they are proficient with swords and guns. They won’t be defeated by the likes of those tribesmen.”

“But—”

“In the worst-case scenario, they’ll seek out reinforcements from the royal capital…Right now it’s us I’m worried about.”

Eve felt her cheeks flush from being looked at by this man so close to her in age.

There weren’t any intrepid, intellectual guys like him in the village.

“Hmph…It sounds like you two are mistaken about something.” The village chief cut in between Eve and Adam. “This ‘Witch of the Forest’…I’ve certainly heard of that story, but that isn’t Eve.”

“B-but, she has the same green hair, and her magical ability—”

As Adam tried to argue, the village chief quietly shook his head. “Green hair is a trait shared by the people of the forest…And as for magical ability, everyone in the village has it in varying measures.”

“…Let me ask then, Chief. Are there any other green-haired girls in this village—”

“No. We’re immigrants who originally wandered here from elsewhere. But Eve is different. She was abandoned and set adrift in a nearby river when she was a baby. My late-wife scooped her out. We raised her as our own daughter.”

“So then—”

“Did the intel you gathered claim that the Witch of the Forest was someone in this village?”

“No, it…didn’t say that…”

“If you’re looking for a girl with green hair, I’d suggest going to the Forest of Held. You’re sure to run into the people of the forest immediately.”

“…Seth.”

Adam gave Seth a prompting glance.

“O.K. Now it’s time for this.”

What he brought out was a small iron rod that forked into two prongs.

“This is an artifact. It can measure someone’s latent magical potential by holding it out in front of them like this…Augh!” Appearing to have realized something, Seth looked up to the ceiling and held his head. “We don’t have the output device! I left it in the carriage.”

“What!?”

“No…It’s understandable. With the way things were there wasn’t any time to take out something so heavy…”

“…Nothing for it. We’ll have to go back there and get it.”

Adam asked if they could borrow Eve’s automated carriage.

Given that it would be dangerous to bring a woman over to where there might still be some tribesmen, he apparently intended to go get the equipment with Seth.

“But you need magical ability to run the carriage.”

“Don’t worry. I have enough myself.”

Thinking on it, he had been riding in a large automatic carriage. Adam must have been driving that one too.

“Don’t break it. It’s very important to us.”

Adam nodded at Eve’s words, and started to move to leave the house with Seth along.

--But that moment, they heard the shrieking sound of a car wheel from outside.

“Huh!? …Could it be?”

Adam leaned out the window.

And there he beckoned over someone who was outside.

After a beat, a long-haired man walked into the room.

He had a gun and a sword sheathed at his hip. He appeared to be a military man.

“So you’re alright, Gammon.”

This man named Gammon exchanged a handshake with Adam.

“It was no big deal. There were just quite a lot of them, so it took some time.”

“You only have the one carriage? And I can’t see the other soldiers outside of your driver.”

“I sent everyone back to the royal capital. They’ll need to appeal for information, and reinforcements, depending on the circumstances.”

“Reinforcements?...If you were able to repel the tribesmen then there’s no need for that, is there? Don’t do anything too dangerous. This is supposed to be a peaceful—”

“I won’t be turning my sword on any witch. This is incidental. I want to take the opportunity to make a decisive strike on the white army.”

Adam heaved a sigh.

“…I suppose that is the official job of a peacekeeping force. But don’t forget. Your responsibility is—”

“Guarding you, I know. Naturally I will accomplish that properly myself.”

“Alone?”

“Is that not enough?”

“…It’s enough. You’re dependable.”

“You could stand to be a bit cheerier. I did bring you back what you forgot.”

Packed in the luggage compartment of the automated carriage that the captain of the security forces, Gammon, had rode in on was the device that Adam and Seth had left behind on the plains.

Once more putting together the magic measuring device, Seth started to take note of Eve’s magical ability.

“Though this isn’t a standard instrument. Using it in itself is quite simple. Please just stand perfectly still right there.”

Seth turned the iron rod's prongs in Eve’s direction.

After a while the box that was attached by wire to the bundle of metal let out a “be-beep”. Seth set it down and started to examine the numbers displayed on the box’s screen.

When he did, his expression grew crestfallen.

“…Your M count is 72. And your other numbers are average. That means you’re only a little bit stronger in magic than the average person.

Adam stood next to Seth and peered at the data output device.

“You’re sure the device isn’t broken?”

“I could check…Hey, Gammon.” Seth did a reading of Gammon’s magical ability just as he had done with Eve. “…M count of 0. Alright! You are, without a doubt, ‘magically impotent’!”

“…”

While breaking out into something of a cold sweat as Gammon glared at him, Seth then measured the magic potential of Adam, and then the village chief.

“…Amazing. The village chief is 200, and Adam exceeds 300. If you two were women you’d most certainly be candidates for ‘Ma’—At any rate, I think the device is working correctly.”

Upon hearing that outcome, the village chief slowly stood before Adam.

“And now we’ve satisfied you that Eve is not this ‘Witch of the Forest’.”

“…At the very least we’ve established that she can’t be an ‘Ma’ candidate.”

“I see…That’s good then, Eve.”

Eve wondered if it really was.

Maybe she had just let a chance for her to become queen slip out from under her very nose.

Queen…huh.

It was an unbelievable honor for a citizen of Levianta to obtain that position.

But I doubt my father would let me become queen.

Eve knew quite well that he was a man who hated politics.

It was only because there was no one else who could fulfill the role of village chief that he had bitterly accepted the role.

I’ve had to work specifically because he rarely takes in any taxes.

She thought her father was a splendid man.

But that didn’t mean she had no complaints.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[godshideouscreation]

Hi, I love that you are so confident and also beautiful.

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Anyway that is just some basic stuff If you have any questions just let me know and I will do my best to help you out.

Follow my new blog that is not marked NSFW, @thegodshideouscreation

[ohnobjyx]

Why does it snow?

(Yes, I’ll keep using the snow theme, it’s fitting). 

Part 3: Underlying issues 

Okay, so I’ll try to explain in this post why people reacted so strongly to this matter. Let’s keep in mind that, as a country, they underwent an extremely fast technological and economic development. I don’t want to talk about politics, but let’s not forget that it’s a esential part of every society, as it constitutes how it’s governed. 

 Disclaimer: I try to keep things objective (if I include my personal opinion, it’s in cursive and in brackets), but I’m biased because of the XZ friendly content I’m usually exposed to and by my own views of their situation. Open to discussion, but please make sure you’ve enough information to do so. 

So, let’s go! 

For better or for worse, XZ’s fans incident touched issues Chinese netizens have had for years now. People did discuss about this before, and it will probably be discussed in the future.

Let’s keep in mind that I present here a rather negative view of a part of the C- society. That’s because we are placing a magnifying glass on a small part of the fandom, so by no means all C-fans are like this. These are all a minority. 

“Fan quan” culture 

This is a big one. “Fan” in this case is an anglicism, so it means “fan”.  “Quan” means “circle”, as the people who belong to the same group. The best translation for “fan quan” would be “fandom”, but it has more connotations than fandom has.  

So in a fandom there is a lot of people that share a common interest, XZ, in this case. There are groups in w/ibo for people that belong to a certain fandom, and that’s different than following the supertopic of that said interest. 

To enter the group, you have to apply for it, and a moderator has to accept you in the group. Belonging to a group like this is accompanied by some rules, like “be loyal to the celebrity”, “not mentioning other celebrities in the group”, “supporting your celebrity by getting their endorsements” or “defending him”. 

(We are talking about before... after this incident, a lot of groups have “relaxed” in their rules, and now they consist more in “don’t enter in discussions with other fandoms”, “don’t create heated discussions”, “be rational in your pursue”, at least in XZ’s. This however, is second-hand information: I’m not in any group, neither XZ’s nor WYB’s, so I don’t know how they are right now from the inside). 

So a fandom can change a fan. I’m sure there’s a psychological investigation somewhere out there about how these things work. It’s in this kind of environment that “extreme” fans appear. 

These are fans are willing to go to great lengths to show their support for their idol, some of them going to points like sasaengs, invading the idol’s privacy. They act in ways that perturb the normal progression of things, they are very disruptive, and some of them even try to buy votes for their idol. 

(Please remember that these are a minority, but when you have 30 million fans... even a small percentage is a huge number of people. In Western countries, these kind of “fans” also appear from time to time: stalkers that go to great lengths to chase a celebrity). 

The fandom culture has shapen how the entertainment industry works. It’s a symbiotic relationship: 

Celebrities are successful and popular thanks to their fans, who all belong to a fandom with their name. They depend on them, as fans are more likely to watch a film or a drama if their favourite actor/actress appears in it, no matter what genre (that’s why companies also analyse what kind of people conforms their fandom, to target the kind of genre would more likely be watched by the celebrities’ fans). They also depend on them for things like endorsements, as some fans see buying things recommended by their celebrity as an act of “loyalty”. 

However, fans have a large influence on what a celebrity does. The idol is severely criticized if they do something the fandom doesn’t approve of. There has been instances where people drop the fandom if the idol choose a role the fandom doesn’t like (like how WYB lost fans for trying for a BL drama, he wasn’t even casted yet), and an idol can lose their popularity if they choose a partner the fandom isn’t happy with (or if they choose a partner at all, we’ve said that there is a type of fans that fantasize with being said idol’s partner, so if they have a bf/gf or if they marry, these fans’ fantasy is broken). 

So we can see that the extreme fans are a problem, and why celebrities can’t outright reject fandom culture. They can disagree with the most extreme ones (like how WYB and XZ did in May), but they can’t simply say, “let’s dissolve all of the groups”. 

That’s why in recent years, a lot of people has been rejecting the fandom culture. But a big fandom and an influential idol can also serve to positive purposes, like charity and public welfare projects. 

That’s what XZ has been trying to do, to show that fandom can still produce things that are useful for the society, and to avoid people being ashamed of being his fan.

State control 

As we know, the cultural industry in China is subject to state control. However, have you ever wondered why did only ao3 get banned from the country? What about the page that hosted MDZS original novel? And other fanfiction sites? The website that hosted the novel wasn’t an “illegal” one. In fact, it’s very public, and they earn money by people paying subscriptions to their page to access their content, that’s not just limited to BL novels. 

(Heavens know that the novel was very explicit, and that it’s just a drop of water in the ocean: there are thousands of works like this one out there). 

So, why did 2/27 provoke so much anger? Because the accusers took advantage of the power of the government.

Fandom culture gives an important boost to economy. It’s not just about entertainment, with the endorsements, fandom culture promotes consumerism (people buy things not because they need it, but because it’s endorsed by their favourite artist). 

That’s why the government doesn’t only tolerate them, but even promotes secretly this kind of culture by not strictly enforcing laws and regulations. That’s why websites and novels that don’t comply with Chinese censorship laws have been “allowed” to exist until now (take for example the whole “danmei” genre, that MDZS belongs to). As long as no one reports them, the state will turn a blind eye to these kind of websites.

(Many of you may be asking, if a novel is “allowed”, why censor the tv drama? Well... the cover of the book wasn’t even remotely explicit, but videos and images of two men kissing each other, that’d definitely be banned by the government. Text is subtler that a picture, I suppose). 

In words of a former worker of the state regulation department, if there exists such a content, it needs to be censored. However, this places the regulation department in a tight spot, because it subjects them to rejection from the people and the anger of the commercial companies. 

Usually what if there’s no report, the department won’t investigate even if they’ve heard that the content is questionable, but if it’s reported, they must look into it. 

So the fans didn’t just report it, they announced loudly and widely that they were reporting it, so the department could only investigate, there was no other option. By that time, the matter had originated great conflict and discussion, and, after arising so much controversy, and with people knowing what kind of content had been reported, ao3 could only be banned if they didn’t want to people stop taking the government seriously.  

Thus, in this case, the regulation department has been used as a weapon in this fan war. This is not to say that the government is “innocent”, it’s to say that the accusers had reported the work and announced it knowing exactly what would happen.  

This has been a phenomenon in the last years: the “report culture”. People use this as a weapon: they know that if they report, your content is going to be banned. So it can be used as a threat, leaving the other party defenceless if their content is really not approved by the country. 

However, this kind of behaviour has enacted the rejection from the general public, as it’s seen as a cowardly behaviour: you don’t like their content, so you report them, knowing full well what’s going to happen. 

(To put it simply: there’s a guardian, a keeper, in the playground, that it’s in charge of the children in the playground. This keeper has set rules that the children must follow, but there are too many children, so he can’t keep an eye on every single one. However, he will listen if a child goes to him and tells him that another has broken a rule. He’ll go and teach them a lesson. But the keeper is busy, and sometimes likes the things the children do, even if they are breaking the rules, so he turns a blind eye on them. But if he ignores the children who tell on their mates, and doesn’t punish the wrongdoer, other children will start to do as they please, so he has no other option than to punish them.  Other children realize this, and soon, calling the keeper is made into a very effective threat against other children.)

This brings us to a point that’s very important...

We have to take into account that all industries have to show their loyalty to the government, no matter who they are. So the celebrities and the companies behind them, no matter what they think, have to express their loyalty and nationalism, especially since they are in such a visible spot. Even if they don’t have such feelings, they must pretend at least (but the majority are very patriotic, since it goes into the younger generations’ education). 

So before considering to criticize their government, we must be aware that both WYB and XZ, as well as any other Chinese idol you might like, live in there. Expressing very anti-governmental opinions identifying as their fans might actually hurt them rather than help them (this was a problem from twitter a few months ago, from what I know. So please, don’t do that). 

Some haters actually spread rumours of celebrities being unpatriotic quite frequently, to make the government look into it. These kind of rumours are the deadliest for them, and can actually retire them, so please, be careful with what you say while saying that you are their fan.

That’s also why XZ can’t say anything about ao3 being banned from the country, no matter what he thinks. Better not to enter that place. 

“Xiao xianrou” 

In recent years, more and more new celebrities are very good looking. So much that it’s more than just a suspicion that they get their jobs because of their looks rather than actual talent. They also get numerous fans because of their beauty. These young idols receive the name of “xiao xianrou”. It’s very noticeable when you compare them to the older generation of artists, who don’t have a face that would stop a crowd, but have a lot of talent. 

Being a xiao xianrou doesn’t mean that they don’t have talents (XZ is considered one too), it’s just a name that these new celebrities receive. However, people feel that new celebrities nowadays are very good looking, but have no skills. 

(This is just an example of what it’s called xiao xianrou. Remember, it doesn’t mean that they are talentless!)

Of course, not every good looking artist nowadays must be completely useless in anything else (we can all think of 2 good examples). In fact, people who get into the industry, and manage to stay there and continue working after, let’s say, 5 years, definitely has something more than just good looks. But people also feel that to stay in the industry when one isn’t so handsome must be purely because of their abilities with acting/singing/dancing. 

However, it’s also a fact that some of the new dazzlingly beautiful idols have singing or dancing abilities that aren’t so outstanding. A lot of good plots and dramas have been ruined by actors who are handsome and beautiful, but don’t know how to act to save their life. 

So for people who are very upset with this, when they saw the news about XZ and the comments of the antis saying that he had no acting skills, they thought that this was just another one of them, and jumped on the train of criticizing without actually knowing how his acting skills are or what happened. It was just a way of venting their displeasure with a whole other issue that has actually nothing to do with XZ.

W/ibo (W/)

This platform is a part of the problem. To start with, w/ earns money the same way twitter and instagram do, so for them it’s essential that people spend a lot of time in their website/app. 

While positive people spend time on their platform, another group that do that is haters and antis. 

W/ is full of netizens spreading hate, insults and cyber-bullying other people, but the platform itself doesn’t do anything to change this. And this happens because W/ profits from it. The more time a hater and a anti spend in W/, the more W/ profits from it. Sometimes, it’s W/ who sets marketing accounts that attack a certain idol. 

Moreover, an account with lots of followers will get more money from the platform (like youtube). That’s why people that have no particular reason to hate xz turn into antis and dedicate themselves to spreading hate, gaining followers from people who resent him from 2/27 or fans that hate him for any other reason. And that’s also why haters accounts appear and spread, and why W/ doesn’t always block them.

This is why when a celebrity or any other people who got insulted or has been systematically attacked on Internet, they can only report it to the police and let lawyers handle the issue. However, legal processes are long and take time and money, so many people don’t do it (especially idols, who can have a lot of antis).   

Seeing that people are starting to realize this, and protesting about being left defenceless on the Internet, W/ started recently a project to stop malicious content and hate (looks like just playing the part to me, tbh). 

Another problem this platform has is the privacy inside the communities and the false accounts. 

This platform holds communities where people can talk and share things they like. However, in groups of fans of a certain idol, there are also “spies” that sell information about the characteristics of the group or antis that disguise themselves as fans to continue spreading rumours and false news from inside the group. 

This is what happened a little earlier in February, before 2/27: an anti got into a bjyx group, but all of his comments were to belittle XZ and praise WYB. Even if people know that this is not true, after seeing it for a while, it’s bound to affect their image of the idol.

And last... 

This is not exactly a “problem”, but I couldn’t include it anywhere else. 

The economy and money is why XZ’s company haven’t given him up yet. For one, XZ has signed many contracts with several companies, so he can’t leave even if he wanted to, because he’d end up with a debt in the millions. For another one, the companies don’t want to give up on him yet, because he himself hasn’t committed any grave mistake (like, none, in fact). 

If it comes to it, they’ll “kill the hen and get the eggs” (meaning they’ll get what they can and discard XZ) but for now XZ is still very popular and he’s earning a lot of money for the company. So, right now, XZ isn’t a failed investment, just a very dangerous one (in case his reputation deteriorates again), but companies have put too much money on him to give up at the first sight of problem. That’s why XZ’s Studio is valiantly trying to separate XZ from those crazed fans, and declaring them from being independent of XZ.

Actually, one of the companies he signed with was on the verge of bankruptcy when they signed the contract (before CQL, I think). After the boom last year, they were actually counting on him to reverse their situation with the new dramas, but they didn’t expect 2/27. So now, they are one of the most interested in getting XZ back to work, and to air his dramas successfully. It’s for selfish reasons, but it serves XZ’s interests.  

However, companies do and will dare to “lick the blood from the knife” (it’s a continuation of the previous idiom, to lick the blood of the hen and it means to get even the last drop of profit). 

If XZ doesn’t enter the government’s black list of celebrities, they’ll continue to get the earnings from his fans’ “offerings” (the crazed fans who buys his every endorsement + rational fans buying their favourite artist’s endorsements they actually like). 

The future of the entertainment industry is uncertain, from both economic and social (epidemic) points of view, so this is to be taken into account when considering this problem.

←Part 2: A sudden snowstorm | Part 4: Plum blossoms in the snow (I) →

[dead-account-sadface]

this is a very long post and I've been proofreading a lot- but if I made any spelling or grammar mistakes I am sorry.

This is my personal ending to the ME3 trilogy, and this is meant to be a nice calm closure to my Shepard but I tried to make sure it can be inclusive to all Shepards if you like this ending or want to add to it! Because this is kinda designed as a 'happy ending' things might not seem as action packed to others.

I also thought about side things, what could be included if this was a game.

This is just something I thought about and I wanted to share. :)

I will be using they/them pronouns for Shepard to try to be more inclusive for your Shepard!

Context for my Shepard has it has influenced this ending- you can skip it if you want.

J. Shepard is a earthborn, sole survivor, Vanguard.

My sheaprd is full paragon for the most part- I can only remember picking like. 3 renegade options through out the entire series so she is mainly blue :)

Romanced Garrus in ME2/3

Saved the Rachni queen in ME1/3.

Saved Ashely in ME1.

Saved the Council.

Destroyed the Collector base and cut ties with Cerbrus. Rewrote the geth heretics.

Chose to kill the clone.

Got the Geth and the Quarians to work together.

Saved Wrex in ME1 and cured the genophage.

Felt extremely guilty over destroying the Alpha Relay.

Feels even worse about killing the Geth and EDI.

8000+ Glatic readiness, galaxy rebuilt and recovered quickly.

----

1-

The first breath we see Shepard take is soon followed by them briefly waking up. If they have a sole survivor background, they use what they learned on Azuke to set up an emergency signal from their omi tool before passing out. If they don't have that background then they remain unconscious.

No matter what though, Shepard is recovered by the STG, major Kirahee to be precise. (If he is not around, you are saved by an different unit.)

Due to the nature of the Citadel being taken, civilian forces were locked down and protected to avoid being hunted and turned into goo - after the war STG and Asari infiltration teams were sent to the Citadel to recover both living and dead. Shepard was considered a high priority to find dead or alive. Annnnddd they found them alive :)

2-

Earth and it's mass relay recovered quickly, and soon species headed back to their home systems to recover. STG/Salarian government offerd to take Shepard to one of their top private STG hospital on Sur'kesh that avoided the brunt of the reapers, after some convincing Shepard is sent there with some top Allience Medics and Dr. Chakwas. (if she survived)

The treatment they receive is top of the line, with funding from the Allience to ensure Shepard's survival.

Shepard's legs need to be amputated from being crushed under rubble, but the medics on site use some cell regrowth treatment mentioned in the memorial hospital in ME3. Shepard's implants from Cerbrus have become redundant, due to the blast. However, the reason Shepard could survive is that by the end their body naturally recovered over the months they were resurrected to where they are no longer needed. Implants are removed during recovery, physical therapy must be done when they recover, normal healing process. Ect. This process takes months at best, and Shepard is unconscious in a medically induced coma for the majority of it.

3-

Now the Normandy crew! The Jungle planet they crashed on was rich in resources, but there were issues for the dextro crew members in terms of rations. How high your GR was depends on how rough the Dextro crew had it. But they overcame it and fixed the Normandy. As soon as they left the planet's system they got the news about the state of the galaxy and Shepard's location to which they immidently plot the course to the STG facility.

4-

Shepard is still in a coma by the time they get there, and a majority of the crew do try to stay with Shepard during the recovery but later on the crew had to leave to their own planets to help their people. Only Liara, Dr. Chakwas, Joker and your LI remain by Shepard until they wake up. I personally like to imagine that while in the coma, Shepard has dreams like in 3 to do with the Leviathans.

5-

Shepard wakes up, with their LI by the end of their bed.

Soon after all those who stayed meet up with them.

They reunite and everyone is really happy :) no pain here :) but Shepard and the LI get in some conflict as Shepard is immediately trying to get back into the front lines with the Leviathans.

Shepard spills the beans and says why they picked destroy, it also weighs greatly on my Shepard- maybe not to others.

This links into why Shepard is hellbent on getting the Lethvians. In order to make those who sacrificed their lives not be in vain, the Leviathans must be destroyed before they can regain their power and indoctrinate the galaxy. Only once they are destroyed will peace finally be achieved.

LI finally gets on board and they are like; sigh. Damn OK but after this you are retiring.

Most of the remaning crew understands why Shepard picked destroy, but Joker does not and he gets unbelievably angry he leaves the Normandy as their pilot (temporarily) as soon as they dock to the Citadel. Shepard understands why he is angry and lets him go.

6-

Shepard and pals go to the council and ask for their aid- but this time Shepard gives them the extended brief on the Leviathans and that they want a way to destroy them.

The council agrees without much convincing due to Shepard saving them.

They come up with a plan to nuke the Leviathans' homeworld- they destroy the mass relay but they do it with a much, much more powerful bomb that wipes out the entire cluster, not just the system. The next cluter's Mass Relay is a little damaged from it... but nothing that can't be fixed.  Its a very top secret plan. And boom! Leviathans gone.

7. Shepard doesn't actually retire just yet, they are offered to be the human councilor but they reject it. Wanting to remain a specter. Offer is then extended to Admiral Hackett- he accepts it. Shepard becomes a advisor to the council at Hackett's request - but she is also promoted to the head of the Allience Fleet. Shepard then spends the remainder of their their with the Normandy and their crew, doing top missions for the allience as well as specter work. They do all the decision making for the Allience in the War Room and it's where they are seen most.

8-

At some point after they destroyed the Leviathans and between getting promoted- sheaprd has two options that can have two different outcomes. These are the the 'major' choices for the game.

1-

The Asari are facing discrimination for hiding the prothen AI even during the war.

If you choose paragon actions to vouche for the Asari- they will not be rejected as a whole but they have lost that superior image they always had. The Asari counciler will owe you a favour if you choose this action.

If you choose renegade actions, the asari will be pushed deeper into discrimination, loosing their council seat, not get hired and get fired from jobs outside of Asari space- becoming a 'fallen angel' of sorts. This leads to a lot of political unrest.

2

There's also a scene with joker, much like the quest in ME1 with the Turian General and the Consort, drinking away his grief for EDI. If you choose paragon actions, Joker feels better and understands why you had to chose destroy. He rejoins the Normandy as a pilot. (This might need a high charm check and for you to always be civil with him.)

Or you can use renegade options, where he rejoins the Allience as a pilot but he refused to return to the Normandy due to Shepard's cold attitude towards EDIs death.

9. And then once peace is achieved at last, Shepard retires to a tropical place with Garrus and live of the royalties from the vids. Adopt some krogan kids and teach them how to shoot. :D Happy ending!

The ending can change to who you romanced and what you talked about in your game :)

Other things that might happen/ 'side quests':

Major thing: you and all your crewmates from ME1-3 are now considered Reaper and Leviathans experts- if there are any issues with reapers all team mates are called for council when there needs to be a meeting involving reapers. Not everyone can join if there needs to be a physical presence, but you can often have meetings with them when needed in the com room.

1. Cerbrus gets fully destroyed- due to a majority of the troops being husks, they got killed during the blast. Those who were indoctrinated were sent to a galaxy wide rehab that focuses on helping all who were under the reapers' control.

2. All the races in the galaxy who united were offered council seats and the galaxy are 'permentaly united'.

3. There's a follow up 'joke quest', it's like the Citadel DLC but with a bigger focus on the clone. It is taken seriously when it needs to be but there is clone banter. If Miranda is alive, she can help you. If not but Brooks stays alive, you find her in the cloning facility you travel to. You force her to help.

This quest acts as closure for Shepard to how they were made, and they come out happy in who they are. But depending on if you killed or spared the clone, you can have different reactions to the facility and what to do with it. (Paragon salvaging the facility for medical purposes, renegade to flat out destroy it to ensure you're the "only" Shepard remaning.)

4. Political debate to make all VI illegal like AI, to reduce the risk of sentient machines- you can influence this with paragon and renegade options? This links into the Quarians being split from reviving the geth or keeping them dead. There's a lot on unrest towards technology, half the galaxy opting to a return to manual labour permently (mainly civilians) and others wanting to keep advanced technology. (military and government officials)

5. Military unrest from separatist groups, as a specter/head of allience you do a series of quests for species and reunite with your cremates (ie. Garrus for the Turians, Tail for the Quarians, Von Barla for the Volus, ect.)

6. Specter missions for Shepard to Solo, access to Pinnical Station again as apart of physical therapy/rehab back into the millitary.

7. The keeper scanning quest you do in ME1 makes a comback, with what you got the salarian you helped makes an offer to study the keepers further. He thinks about removing the keepers and replace them with matience workers to keep the Citadel running. You can choose to back this idea or reject it.

8. Companions

James becomes an N7. Javik, after defeating the Leviathans, goes to the graves of his soilders and joins them. Tail officially becomes an Admiral. Wrex and Eve lead the Krogan to the glory of the olden days. Garrus is chosen to acend in the turian line of power and he's not too keen on it- even more so if he's being romanced by Sheaprd. Mordin and Legion get respecting statues in the Krogan and Quarian homeworlds respectfully. Anderson gets a special statue where he went up the beam to the Citadel, too.

9. There maybe something to do with Omega, I'm not too sure. I feel like Aria would survive, and if you made her go 'soft' with the general or kept her on her renegade path she might have some interesting dioluge. Idk, maybe she should be left in 3. Just spit balling.

Annnnddd that's all I have! Here's my little slice of happiness I made up to make the pain of ME3 easier :")

Hopefully in the new installment we can get a nice closure like this with Sheaprd and their LI. Maybe if this was like a standalone game it would completely close of the trilogy for new installments- maybe even a ME5 game that brings the Milky Way and Androma together years after this interpretation of events.

[timep3tals]

Since I’m such a slut for Iron Dad & Spidey-Son field trip fics, I decided to procrastinate my homework by creating a detailed list for clearance levels for the badges given out by SI because I’m sick of the same Alpha, Beta, etc. or just the numbers.

It’s too basic. In this household, we are Extra.

Shoutout to @riseuplikeglitterandgold​ for watching me go down a rabbit hole and not attempt to stop me whatsoever.

Please read this and use this, I spent too much time on this for it to go to waste.

Clearance Levels 

Visitor: 

Construction (1) - Not often utilized, as SI is fully completed, but when needed, will have a badge that grants them access to the construction zone only. Construction is entirely outsourced.

Tours (2) - Discarded after use; at all exits, there’s a box for discarding the badge. It is automatically deactivated once it passes through the bin, and is shredded before being recycled into new tour badges.

Educational (2.1) - One of the lowest levels of access to the building; often linked to the tour guides badge, and are unable to access any room the tour guide has not swiped into.

Science (2.2) - These tours are guided throughout the majority of the labs, often for parties interested in becoming an employee at SI. Can be more specific to a certain field, and will usually be conducted by interns-turned-tour guides as they move up through the ranks in SI.

Press (3) - Only has access to conference rooms, and are often allotted one badge per press company, which they pick up at the front desk at given times depending on the press conference schedule, as decided by the PR division.

Buyers (4) - Are considered an upper-level visitor badge, but mostly just for show to make the buyers feel important/be more likely to purchase from SI. Have relatively limited access, and are only shown products/labs that pertain to what they’re looking at purchasing.

Partners (5) - Are not very often used, as partners often meet off-site, or are communicating largely through email with either the Board of Directors, or Pepper. Have the most access out of all visitors badges, but is still usually directed by/connected to a tour guide’s badge.

Ex(s): Visitor 2.1, Visitor 5, Visitor 1

Maintenance: Access is often changed as needed. No subsections under maintenance; FRIDAY is in direct control of badges and will allocate where they are needed as work orders are processed. No attached number.

Ex(s): Maintenance

Janitor: Much the same as maintenance. There are specific crews of “spill/break/chemical teams”, but those requests are again processed by FRIDAY. No attached number, though an implied 1.

Lab Clean-Up (2) - Labs are largely kept clean and handled by scientists, but every Sunday there is a deep clean of all floors/surfaces. These janitors have higher access, as most of the janitors are kept locked out of labs for their own safety. Have to have special training.

Ex(s): Janitor, Janitor 2

Interns:

Business (1-9) - Any intern under any division in the corporate offices (financial, PR, HR, etc.) Level depends on sector/experience and where the intern is initially placed.

Lab (10-19) - Often the “janitors” of each lab throughout the week. Are allowed to work on small projects with a chosen mentor (usually Head Scientist). This is the largest, most diverse group, and their access depends on which lab they’re placed in (determined by prior experience, collegic level, etc.) Apply through Operations Management, not HR; no high school students are accepted as the work they’re surrounded by can often be dangerous. No interns are placed in High-Level Labs.

Ex(s): Intern - PR 5, Intern - Financial 8, Intern - Marketing 2, Intern - Lab 15, Intern - Lab 10

Tour Guides:

Press (1) - Technically classified under PR; is solely there to guide press to the designated location and manage traffic during conferences.

Educational (2) - Typically beginning level tour guides; still expected to know as much about the company as a tour guide for partners would.

Science (3) - Has to have intimate knowledge of the workings on each lab; usually coordinates with Head Scientists to stay updated on each lab. Often has the least amount of tours, and typically will have another job/duty elsewhere.

Business (4) - Mostly for corporation heads to come and tour the business portion of SI. Small business/first time business owners are encouraged to take these tours so they could see an example of an effective work environment/procedures.

Partnerships (5) - Has intimate knowledge of the going-abouts in all labs. They are also aware of some financial statistics in regards to new/upcoming projects, as well as ongoing projects. Out of all tour guides, these guides have the greatest access to the building. These guides also lead the buyer tours as well.

Ex(s): Guide 5, Guide 2

Financial: (1-7)

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (7) - Head officer that has primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financial reporting. The CFO is also responsible for analysis of data, but has the option, and often will, to delegate it to others in the financial sector.

There’s probably a lot of other jobs in this, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy.

Ex(s): Financial 7 (only applicable to the CFO), Financial 2

Public Relations: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Social Media Manager, PR Specialist, Spokesperson, etc. (I’m of the opinion they created a section specifically to help handle whatever it was that Tony said this time. Official title: Owner Management. Unofficial title: Tony’s Bullshit Cover-Up Specialists.)

Ex(s): PR 4

Marketing: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Designers, Web Content Writer, Supply Chain Analysts, etc.

Ex(s): Marketing 5

Human Resources: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Compensation and benefits managers, Training and development specialists, Employment, recruitment and placement specialists, Human resources information system (HRIS) analysts, etc.

Ex(s): HR 6

Board of Directors: Despite being one of the highest positions in SI, they have extremely limited access. This clearance level is mostly restrained to the upper level offices and meeting rooms, but can have special access granted to visit labs, if absolutely necessary. No attached number.

Ex(s): Board Member

Operations Management: 

Hiring Managers (1)  - These managers directly oversee hiring of all lab personnel, including interns. 

Inspectors (2) - Inspectors handle all safety precautions/procedures in all labs in SI. Are often updating rules and regulations in order to best protect all personnel and equipment.

Lab Overseers (3) - Are who Head Scientists report to. Overseers are then to report their findings to the Head of Research and Development in a succinct manner. Are one of the last lines of defense when it comes to arising issues.

Project Managers (4) - Their job corresponds directly with the Principal Investigator and the financial & marketing division to help get finished products out into the market. Often help oversee manufacturing of said products at the different plants across the planet.

Ex(s): Operations 3, Operations 1

Research and Development:

Low-Level Labs (1-15) - Low level of risk. Most often handle coding/computer sciences/refining formulas sent down from some of the upper level labs.

Research Assistants (1-3) - Hand selected by the Principal Investigator from the top universities across the nation to help with research. Found generally at conferences hosted by SI at universities.

Graduate Student (3-5) - Single student from a graduate program, also hand selected. Typically have worked on projects in SI before.

Post-Doctoral (6-9) - Single student from a post-doctoral program. Prior SI experience is required for this position, and must present a thesis project based off outside research in order to maintain position.

Principal Investigator (10-12) - Previously Post-Doctoral, generally, but the position can be earned through impressing the Head of R&D at conferences/presenting thesis work or previous research on a specific topic.

Head Scientist (13-15) - Manager of funding for project, and overseer of the work being produced by the team. Doesn’t typically involve themselves in actual research, but is more the manager to maintain structure/order in lab and ensure work is flowing smoothly.

Ex(s): LLab 14, LLab 3

Mid-Level Labs (16-30) - Mid level risk. Performs higher risk sciences, more along the lines of a chemistry lab. Tests different types of products for higher efficiency.

Research Assistants (16-19)

Graduate Student (19-22)

Post-Doctoral (22-25)

Principal Investigator (25-38)

Head Scientist (28-30)

Ex(s): MLab 25, MLab 19

High-Level Labs (30-45) - High level of risk. Handles all new and volatile materials, and is the most involved in the newest products, etc. on the market. Requires highest grades/performances/experience/etc.

Research Assistants (30-33) 

Graduate Student (34-36) 

Post-Doctoral (37-39) 

Principal Investigator (40-42)

Head Scientist (43-45) 

Ex(s): HLab 43, HLab 30

Head of R&D: (All Access) Tony Stark. Oversees all divisions and labs. Spearheads the creation of new tech and development in the company, and is expected to continue to expand SI’s reach into new areas of science and technology.

Ex(s): You Know Who I Am

Avenger: (Residential: Semi-Access) No associated number. One of the most lucrative badges, only granted to Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Thor Odinson, and a few select others. Most have been deactivated following the events of the Civil War. Typically allowed access to all floors (though entry to labs was not granted unless necessary), the residential living spaces, and the training room.

Ex(s): Avenger, Residential: Semi-Access

Remaining Badges (All Access) - Granted only to James Rhodes and Peter Parker (Peter, although classified as Avenger, will be announced as Personal Intern, as per his request). 

Ex(s): Avenger, Residential: All Access, Personal Intern: All Access

CEO: (All Access) A lovely Miss Pepper Potts. Her job is kind of a given, I don’t think an explanation is necessary. Also I’m tired.

Ex(s): Virginia Potts

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[huilian]

Flameo, Batman!

AO3 Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain (Plus minor Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, and Alfred Pennyworth)

Summary :Bruce was kidnapped. Bruce Wayne was kidnapped, which means he can’t save himself because everyone still thinks he is a harmless non-bender. Incidentally, it is also why Dick is here in Gotham, as Nightwing, staking out this warehouse.

A/N: Written for batfamweek 2020, day 1! The prompt was meta AU, but I wanted to play with ATLA AU for so long that I decided ATLA AU was close enough to them having meta powers. There’s also some overprotectiveness here, so, I guess, you can count that? Anyways, enjoy! 

title is, of course, from ATLA

Bruce was kidnapped. Bruce Wayne was kidnapped, which means he can’t save himself because everyone still thinks he is a harmless non-bender. Incidentally, it is also why Dick is here in Gotham, as Nightwing, staking out this warehouse. 

Even Babs, with all her Oracle magic, can only narrow the possible sites to five different locations, and, as Damian is not old enough to do a stakeout alone, Dick came to Gotham to help with the stakeout. When the almighty Oracle can only narrow the possible sites of holding to five locations instead of her usual one-shot hit, you know that these people are at least good at what they do. They even have all their possible holding sites away from large bodies of water, which tells Dick two things about these kidnappers. One: they did enough research and have enough sense of self-preservation to know that the Bats have waterbenders in their ranks, and two: they do not have any waterbenders in their own ranks, or at least not one good enough to offset the advantage they would be giving the Bats by staying close to water. 

“Is it time to burst in yet?” Jason’s voice said from Dick’s comm. “I’m getting tired of waiting.” 

“I thought it was firebenders who are rumored not to have patience, Hood, not waterbenders,” Damian retorts. 

“Hey too, Robin! I’m a waterbender!” Stephanie cries out. Dick really should not have given all of them the same frequency for the comms, because he knows this would happen, but they would eventually figure out which frequency the others use anyways, and this would also happen. Dick decided to just save them, and him, the trouble and gave all of them the same frequency. At least this way he won’t have to switch between frequencies before they all collectively decide on which frequency to use. 

“Tt. My point exactly.” 

Dick sighs. “No, it’s not time to burst in yet. Agent A is going to give the signal, remember? We’re trying the nice way first.” 

Jason scoffs. It is really amazing how he could get that to transfer over the comms. “Why are we still doing the nice way first? When, in your nearly two decades of kidnapping experiences, have the nice way ever worked?” 

Jason does have a point, but Dick is not going to tell him that. The nice way, which is trying to negotiate with the kidnappers, only worked in about never. But the nice way is how the Waynes’ reputation of being a harmless rich family stays intact, and so they are going to always do the nice way first. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you see it, Alfred’s voice crackles through the comm at that particular moment. “They do not accept our, frankly, generous offer. It seems we have to use force after all.” 

“Ha!” Jason cries out. “Told you so, N!” 

“Yeah, yeah, Hood,” Dick says. “Everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing?” 

There is a smattering of agreements from everyone, which Dick expected. His siblings may bicker and generally cause havoc that Dick would then have to sort out, but they do their job with a professionalism that is really unparalleled, especially when it is someone of their own on the line.

“Alright then. Everyone has to go in at the same time, or this won’t work.  If you have the jackpot, call it out on the comms. If you do not have the jackpot, immediately go and help the person has. Clear on that?” 

Another smattering of agreements. Okay then, Operation-Save-Bruce-From-A-Kidnapping-Attempt Number too many to count is a go. “On my count. One, two, three!” 

Dick hears glass crashing from one of the lines. Why do his family have to be so dramatic? But the best way into Dick’s warehouse from where he’s perching now is through the window, so Dick really doesn’t have much to stand on here. 

Dick jumps from his perch, bends the trace amount of metal on his suit to his toes, protecting them from broken glass, and breaks the glass window. At the same time, he wills the earth underneath his legs to raise up to meet him. People don’t expect Nightwing to be an earthbender because his fighting style is more like those of airbenders, so sometimes Dick doesn’t start bending until the very end of a bust, just to give himself that extra advantage. But these guys know about waterbenders within the Bats’ ranks, which a lot of people don’t know, so Dick is pretty sure they knew already that Nightwing is an earthbender. Might as well use it to his advantage. 

“Mine’s not it,” Jason says through the comms. 

“Not it.” That is Cass

“Not here either.” Steph. 

Dick scans the warehouse he is in. Thirty men, armed and armored. Their armor is not even metal, which goes to show that this group really knows about the Bat’s bending. All of them are aiming to where Dick is right now. 

“I’m it,” Dick says into his comm while changing the shape of the boulder he just ripped from the earth. He bends it so that it would cover him from the thirty guns all firing at him while allowing him to look around for Bruce. 

“You should have said so sooner, Nightwing.” 

“Damnit, Robin, I’m driving. You’re not old enough!” 

“And your driving skills are not up to par, Red, so I will be driving to get us to Nightwing’s location as soon as possible.” 

This is Dick’s life. Trying to shut down a fight between his brothers while he is literally being shot at. “Robin, let Red drive.” 

“Tt.” 

Dick can tell that Damian is not entirely pleased with that order, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything else into the comms, which Dick took as him acquiescing to the order. That allows Dick to actually focus on his job, which is finding Bruce inside this warehouse. 

Even though the men did not wear metal armors, they somehow forget their guns and bullets are still made of metal, which Dick can bend. It’s really lucky that Dick is the one who found where Bruce is being held because none of the others can bend metal. 

From behind his boulder, Dick allows his senses to find all the guns in the room. Then, he jams them. Dick lets the final round of bullets hit his boulder and then listens to the curses that all the men are letting out. It’s really satisfying when the perps realize that their guns are not working anymore.

There he is. Dick spots Bruce handcuffed to a pillar at the very end of the warehouse. If he were being Batman, Bruce could have easily picked the lock for that handcuff. But he is not, and it is Dick’s job to save him. Divested of their guns, these men should not be that much of a challenge. 

Dick goes out of this protective boulder, and smiles. Yeah, these men look terrified with their guns out of commission. This should be fun. 

*

Dick is halfway through fighting the men when he hears a motorcycle coming into the warehouse. Jason, most likely. His place is the closest to Dick’s. 

Gunshots. Jason, confirmed. Dick can’t feel bullets flying through the air, so Jason must be using rubber bullets. That’s nice. Dick is hoping to avoid a conversation with Bruce after this is all over. (He does not have the time to check which bullets Jason is carrying before they have to move. If Bruce knew about that, there would be conversations to be had, and Dick doesn’t want that when he already has to work twice as hard tomorrow because he misses a night in Bludhaven.) 

Jason being there does help, though, because now Dick can almost reach Bruce. It’s really annoying to have to ‘rescue’ someone who is perfectly capable of rescuing themselves but can’t because they are keeping their identity intact. Dick should know, he’s been in both roles. Dick glances up to Bruce, trying to silently tell him to be patient and let Dick come to him, when he is tackled by Jason. Jason, who took the knife that was aiming for Dick. 

“What the hell, Hood? I knew that knife was coming, I could feel it. It’s made of ceramic.” 

“No thanks, N? I’m hurt.” Jason lets go of Dick to stand back up. “Ouch, the knife just went in deeper.” 

“No shit, Hood. Wait, why is everyone on the ground already?” 

There is no one left attacking the two of them when Dick could have sworn that there are at least several perps still standing when Jason tackled him to the ground. Then he sees Bruce, out of the handcuff, striking the last of the men. 

Of course it’s Bruce. Dick should have known that Bruce would not be able to sit still once he saw one of them injured. It’s really sweet of him, but if he keeps doing it, then they might as well just threw the whole ‘secret identity’ thing to the garbage. Everyone is going to know that Bruce Wayne is capable of a really scary hand-to-hand, and then questions will be asked. And it was Bruce who insisted on the secret identity thing in the first place. 

“Are you okay?” Bruce asks.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, old man.” 

“Agent A won’t be happy about the knife wound, Hood,” Dick says. 

“As long as he still heals it, I’m okay with that,” Jason shrugs. Then cries out, because shrugging when you have a knife in your shoulder is really not a good idea. 

Dick sighs. “Okay, you,” he points to Bruce, “are staying here until the police arrive and they can take your statement, which I don’t know why they bother, at this point. I’ll stay here with you until the police arrive, let them see me for a bit, and then leave. You,” Dick turns to Jason, “are hitching a ride with whoever is here next to the Cave, and you are going to let Agent A heals that shoulder. Okay?” 

It is then that Cass and Steph come to the warehouse. They were not stationed near each other, at least not near enough that they could justify coming to Dick’s station together. Worse, each of their stations is further away from this warehouse than Tim and Damian’s station and they still manage to reach this place, together, earlier than Tim and Damian. 

“Why are you here together?” Dick asks Cass and Steph. 

They both shrug, but Steph actually elaborates. “From the sound of it, you two were handling this well enough. So me and Cass decides to just meet up and come here together, to avoid the disaster Robin duo.” Steph stops then, realizing that neither Tim nor Damian is present. “Wait, are we still earlier than the two of them?” 

Dick sighs again. “Batgirl, take Hood to the Cave to get healed by Agent A. Black Bat, please keep an eye on Hood and make sure he actually gets to the Cave.” 

Steph mock-salutes him. “You got it, boss.” Then, she frowns. “Wait, you’re not the boss anymore.” 

“Batgirl, please?” 

“Fine, fine! And you say I don’t do enough for this family.” 

“Literally no one ever says that,” Jason mutters. 

“Just, get him to Agent A. Please, BB?” Dick changes his tactics.

Cass smiles. It is not the smile that Dick wanted to see. That smile promises havoc. Why are his siblings like this again?

“A good time to start learning healing, huh, Batgirl?” Jason taunts. 

“Learn healing yourself, Hood! You’re also a waterbender!” 

“Enough! Come on! Just, go to the Cave and ask Agent A to heal you! It’s literally that simple, Hood. You don’t even have to do it if you had just let me handle that knife.” 

“Is this the repayment I get for saving your life?” 

“You didn’t save my life. I can literally feel that knife coming towards me. I’m an earthbender and that knife is made of ceramic, which is earth.” 

“And yet you didn’t bend it away from you until I have to intercept it.” 

Dick puts his hand to his head. Then, turning to Bruce, he says, “This is your fault. You’re the one who decides to give me siblings.” 

Bruce’s face is deadpan. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Nightwing. How could I, Bruce Wayne, a harmless non-bender, be able to decide who becomes your siblings?”

Steph is the first one to laugh, but Jason and Cass are not far behind. Dick would be the first to admit that Bruce being sarcastic is absolutely hilarious, especially while he is being Brucie Wayne, but it does not help Dick in this situation. Which, come to think of it, is saving Bruce from a situation he could have easily saved himself from. 

Screw it. Dick is washing his hands of this situation. “You know what, Mr. Wayne? Since this holding place has been secured, I’m going to leave you to the capable hands of Batgirl and Black Bat.” Dick smiles sweetly, which he is sure that Bruce knows is fake. “I’ll let them deal with the GCPD for a change. Oh, and I’m sure the Robins are going to be here any minute, and they are also very capable crimefighters. Between the four of them, I’m sure you are in good hands, Mr. Wayne. Good night.” 

Dick can see the panic in Bruce’s eyes. Steph is notorious for trying to get a rise out of Bruce, and with Bruce being in the Brucie Wayne identity, he would have no way of reigning Steph in. Cass would just help, because Cass is sometimes evil that way. Add the two feuding Robins in the mix, and Bruce had just gotten himself a very explosive mix indeed. 

“Wait, Nightwing…” 

“Good night, Mr. Wayne. Hood, if you’re not coming with me right now, I’m going to leave you to ride that motorcycle alone back to the Cave with that knife still in your shoulders.” 

“Jeez, alright ‘Wing, I’m coming.” 

Alfred would find himself with, at the very least, two patients tonight. God knows what Damian and Tim have gotten themselves into. Well, they are Bruce’s problem now. After Jason has been taken care of, Dick is going to ask Alfred to work his amazing healing bending on him, because this mission with his family is really making his headache flare again. 

(At this rate, either Jason or Steph really needs to learn healing, because poor Alfred is always being asked to heal something or another.) 

[pandoriasbox]

Jade’s SSO Rambles - 7 Cartography

(Please keep in mind that these are my thoughts and opinions at the time of writing these rambles. I may change my mind in the future.)

This ramble is more of an idea for a fun side system to integrate much like how Mary’s lost animals have been added but a lot more Jorvik wide exploration in mind. I’ve had this idea since spring but felt I should cover quite a few other topics first before delving into a new side system idea. If anyone knows me well they will know I adore exploration in games and my idea for a cartography “system” is yet another way to pull more of that into SSO’s beautiful and expansive world.

Overview

Cartography is a daily activity players can participate in where they receive missions (mini quests) each day that incentivize them to go out and explore the whole map and interact with different aspects of the world. It would be a good addition for both new and end game players as the former will have more reasons to explore and learn the map while the latter will receive something else to do to stay invested and entertained within the game. I also think it’s something the team could easily build upon if they wished to integrate it into other gameplay aspects. (And is definitely something explorers like me would love to interact with.)

The cartography mechanic would be set up to be found and completed in the world without visiting an NPC. The player can still visit the NPC to get a hint on where to look for the activator (given that the areas can get quite large) but over time they should get an idea of the spawn points. Some of the cartography quests could even have semi-unique gameplay such as mini games or having different ways of interacting with the world. Lore wise I think the person in charge of the cartography may have markers set out for you or send you a message daily on where to perform the cartography work so as to avoid forcing the player to visit them first. Some characters could use this and some could require you visiting them first as well.

I imagine Chiron and Mario would ask you to place down markers whereas Nic and Evergrey ask you to photograph and survey the landscape in order to fill in a map. Druids (and Evergrey) may end up having you collect samples or the druids could potentially have you seal small budding rifts that don’t require the same amount of work as the larger ones that pop up in the storyline or soul riding.

Areas & NPCS

Silverglade & Mario

Mario is still not willing to leave the observatory so he needs the player to go out and set up equipment throughout Silverglade for him to adjust star maps. (Doesn’t need to be cameras, could be an updated version of calibration for the telescope.)

This can be a simple setup similar to Nic’s original map marking quest or it can require a mini game or some additional work on the player’s part.

I imagine this would be the first cartography quest the player gets and so should be the simplest for them to complete. This would also give them a higher paying and higher rep reward with the AAE Astronomical subset.

Dino Valley & Nic Stoneground

Nic requires the player to fill in blank spots on the map

Could use a similar setup to the existing mini quest just instead it’s a daily event that requires you to visit different parts of Dino Valley. Could also use updated gameplay mechanics and work more like a mini game.

I think while this is a once a day quest for Nic it would be the highest paying quest and reward a large amount of rep (and progress) to the expedition/camp itself. If possible, after maxing the rep with Nic’s group I think rep for this should spill over into increasing the general AAE reputation if possible.

Epona & Professor Chiron

Chiron is looking for additional areas across Epona that may be potential interesting dig sites or places to study.

This might involve a slightly modified version where the player must put out markers for Chiron that denote the edges of the area. (The team would need to be careful in how they set this up and especially with any updates to terrain too.)

Again it gives a once a day high paying quest that would provide a big boost to AAE rep.

Full Map (Minus Dino) & Avalon/The Druids

Avalon (or some other druid if he’s not available for whatever reason) would request the player to inspect pandoric activity across the currently unlocked part of Jorvik besides Dino Valley.

This could have some really interesting game mechanics or mini games and could even bring back the player needing to close rifts. Overall I think this would be a nice way of further making the player feel connected to the druids and as though they are truly a part of the faction. For an example of gameplay perhaps the player would need to record the flora (and fauna?) that is being affected or cropping up from pandoric activity before sealing the tiny rift that has sprouted up.

This would pay well and give a large boost to the Keepers of Aideen rep.

Pandoria & Evergrey

Evergrey is interested in mapping Pandoria and sending you to study it as he can no longer access it without endangering himself. He assures you that the momentary visits will not injure you as you won’t be staying for prolonged periods. It would be intended as end game cartography.

This is open to some interesting mechanics and could involve actually gathering samples of parts of Pandoria (flora, crystals, ect) for Everygrey to study.

Again, high pay and high rep. I personally love the idea of this being something only for Evergrey so it leaves him as kind of still a semi independent element. I think this could be a neat way of adding a rep system to him and if implemented then a reason to expand upon his character and give him more interactions with the player. (Such as teaching/training or sending them out on his own quests.)

System Ideas

The team could either have it where it’s always in the same place per day of the week but I think a “semi random” system similar to the druids and Mary’s missing animals could be far more interesting. There are a limited number of locations so players can eventually learn all potential spawn spots just like how the druids always have their events in the same spots but it’s somewhat random per day.

I also think having the system favor a certain area depending on the day of the week would be nice though. For example if all of the goldenhills quests are on Fridays then I think Avalon/the druids cartography quest should be available there.

I think the Rangers could also request the player to survey Mistfall or map out Northern Mistfall but that may be something added to a more ranger based mission system.

Another potential future idea is once you go up past Northlink into Wild Warden territory you have to use your cartography skills to build your own map.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my idea for a cartography system as much as I enjoyed writing it! I would adore seeing something like this implemented into SSO and even if it isn’t I know I would certainly love to make my own game with it in it. Let me know what you think or if you have any further ideas on how cartography could work in SSO via a reblog, reply or ask. As always, likes are also appreciated and again thank you for taking the time to read my rambles!

[bipolarinboston]

Questions about the psych ward you’re afraid to ask

I was inpatient at three different hospitals in the Boston area between 2017 and 2018. Newton Wellesley Hospital (NWH) January 2017, McLean June 2018 and Mass General Hospital (MGH) twice September 2017 and November 2018

What about my phone? In January 2017 NWH did not allow cell phones. I went to the ER (at my hospital, MGH) with my mom in crisis. She had my phone, and kept it with her when they decided to admit me and send me to NWH. If you ended up on this unit with your phone they collected it with your valuables and handed them over to security for the duration of your stay. There were two computers in the OT room that we were allowed to use when the room was staffed. (So beware of logging into sites you had two factor authentication set up for new computers)

The other two places allowed phones with restrictions. At MGH the nurses kept our chargers locked in the laundry closet, all together. I still have my medical id sticker on my charger. If I remember correctly you had to surrender your phone at night. At McLean they supplied their own bank of chargers out in the common areas. We needed to be up and out of bed for vitals before we could use our phones.

You’re encouraged to not be on your phone so much, as you’re there for treatment. It’s hard to strike a balance because I did want to stay on social media, but I didn’t want to say anything about being in the hospital. The first stay at NWH was actually helpful for me as a detox. I do use my phone too much and being psychotic and on social media is not a good mix for me.

What do I wear? I wore my clothes in each unit. But each place had different expectations. At MGH it was perfectly acceptable for you to spend the day in your hospital PJs as long as you kept your hygiene. I hated those PJs, they were too warm and ill fitting so I wore my own clothes during the day.

NWH had an expectation that you were dressed in your own clothes. I remember they had a washer and dryer and staff would assist with laundry. What's important to know is that everything you bring in is screened for contraband and unsafe items. You can't wear clothing with drawstrings and that includes shoelaces. A lot of my sweatpants and hoodies had drawstrings. For one pair of sweats I let them cut the drawstring because I really wanted to wear it.

This is one of the reasons why it's helpful to have family or friends have access to where you live so you can get some creature comforts. And when I heard the laundry machine wasn't the cleanest at MGH I just cycled a few days of clothes with mom.

Do they feed you? Yes and it's hospital food. That means at both NWH and MGH I was given a menu to order each day, like any other patient there. There was also a fridge/cabinet area off the common room for snacks and drinks. Instead at McLean Sodexo had a contract to provide food. There was no menu as they brought meals to the dining room. You didn't have a choice in food but if you had your phone and cash you could call for delivery. There were binders of menus by the entryway. But as someone who has to keep an eye out for crohn's food triggers I did not enjoy having less control over my food.

Where do I sleep? The number of patients on the floor is based on the beds they have. At NWH I had a roommate and we had a room big enough for drawers/shelves, chairs, but shared a desk. We had our own bathroom, but had to be let into a common shower by staff. The unit was pretty old and claustrophobic and the plumbing and heating proved that. At McLean it was similar, except there were common floor bathrooms and showers.

MGH had real adjustable hospital beds and bathrooms with showers attached. Staff will still do their 15 minute checks and will knock on your bathroom door.

Checks? Staff must visually count you every 15 minutes. The person who is assigned that role will usually have a clipboard or list to check everyone off. At night it means opening your room’s door and visually spotting that you’re in bed, alive. After the first couple nights you usually can ignore it.

If you are having a hard time and dealing with suicidal ideation, or intrusive thoughts, you should let staff know. They may put you on a 5 minute list, meaning you’ll see them around more often.

What do I do?   You’ll be assigned a care time to work on a treatment plan. Usually a psychiatrist and nurse will meet with you each morning, sometimes there’s more people like a social worker on your team as well. Whatever brought you to the hospital will be worked on, with the goal to stabilize you. That is their priority. In the meantime between rounds, meds, and meals there are groups scheduled. What’s available depends on the unit you’re in. There could be morning and evening check-ins where you just talk about the day as a group. Could be light exercise or yoga groups. Pet therapy and music therapy break up the day but it's all dependent on staffing levels. The pets are handled by volunteers for example when I saw them at MGH.

Back when I was at NWH I remember there were a lot of groups. From right after breakfast until post dinner check out. At MGH there were far fewer. The big difference was MGH’s visitor policy so the evenings were a lot more open. At NWH there was only a certain time in the evening that family and friends could visit during the week. And yes you’re expected to go to groups. Staff keeps track, and notes will go into your file. It will help, if not right now, then later when your care team sees good progress notes in your file. Even if you’re not into it, it’s a way to pass time and stay out of your room.

Weekends are quiet, sometimes to the point of utter boredom. There’s less activity and you will often just see the doctor on call instead of your assigned team. Depending on staff coverage there might be some structured activity, like open art block but not nearly as much as during the week. They emphasize visitor time.

Can I go outside? Depends on how the unit is set up and staffing. McLean is on a campus and I was there in June so I was lucky to go outside. There was a level of privilege - staff needs to know you're stable enough to go out. NWH had a little enclosed outdoor space that staff worked hard to clear ice from. I was so glad to get out. But unfortunately you can't go outside if you stay at MGH. There's not enough staffing or much of a protocol. Besides, the closest outdoor space to Blake 11 is right at the front entrance where cars do drop off.

What are rounds? All three of the hospitals are teaching hospitals meaning they’re affiliated with a medical school. I didn’t just see a psychiatrist. At the bare minimum I also saw a resident, a doctor who is in training and has picked psychiatry as their specialty. I remember a couple days the doctor let the resident interview me. I am pretty relaxed when it comes to teaching hospitals as I’ve only ever gone to MGH. But they have to ask you for permission. They want you to be involved in your treatment plan and give consent. If you're not comfortable having more bodies in the room then necessary you should speak up. And if you talk to your assigned nurse for the shift they will relay a message to the doctor.

What’s a shift? The floor has to be staffed 24 hours. There are different coverage levels for each shift. Night is the lightest for example as everyone is supposed to be asleep or in their rooms and quiet. Day shift is the busiest, with people running various groups as well as rounds happening. I remember NWH had 3 8 hour shift rotation and MGH had 2 12 hour shift rotation. I remember when I first went to MGH I was so confused because everything was different from NWH. They even called their non nursing staff different terms, probably because of the job requirements.

How long do I stay? Everyone’s treatment plan is different. For example someone who arrived after you may leave before you do. Generally your care team will try to figure out what’s going on and a game plan when you meet them for the first time. I’ve stayed about a week, maybe a little more depending on the stay. I stayed longer at NWH, but it was my first admission and I had a psychotic break while on steroids so it was more complicated. And my last stay at MGH was longer because we were doing a major treatment change, and rediagnosis. I woke up on the unit at MGH again and asked for a sleep study, but the attending had looked through my file of all the other admissions and diagnosed me as bipolar. I switched over to lithium which needed to be monitored and increased slowly.

What's next? For me I went to partial after I was discharged. I remembered as a teen when I was diagnosed with Depression I went to partial after being in the hospital. I found it's helpful to ease the transition. You might have only been hospitalized for a few days but it's a completely different routine. It's like going from 0 miles per hour back to 60 very quickly. Partial is a therapy program set up with structured groups during the day but you sleep at home and commute.

Tips

It is easier staying in the hospital when you can have visitors, especially someone who can bring you things. It is easier to have your phone to coordinate visitors.

Unless your psychiatrist and you agree to prearrange an admission, you will most likely be coming from the ER. Two times of the four I was put into an ambulance and sent to another hospital. The other two times I was sent upstairs to MGH’s unit on Blake 11.

Odds are there is no air conditioning. Don't expect any windows that can open either. Sometimes the temperature in the unit really varies, so you might want to wear layers.

You do not need to make friends. It does help to pass the time if you can talk to people, and you may feel less alone. If there's issues with your roommate you can ask staff for help.

Figure out when the meals should be delivered so you're ready. Sometimes they are late or they forget your tray. Try to be nice no matter what. I've never gotten warm food that was too cold for me but I've heard staff offer to nuke it in the microwave.

If you're at a teaching hospital be prepared for students to visit as well. I saw many nursing students at MGH. I would chat then up. It's a change of pace. I remember a medical student was on my care team and gave me psychological testing.