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elfwreck · 1 year ago
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You can withhold consent to see titties on Tumblr by not opening the Tumblr app or URL. Tumblr will not come to your house and force you to view a dashboard that includes Tumblr Live ads that are thinly veiled OnlyFans ads.
Oh, but you want to use SOME of Tumblr but not ALL of Tumblr... no, you don't get that option. Tumblr gets to decide which features are optional for Tumblr participation. Not all of life is served in piecemeal, a la carte portions. Some things are a package deal.
You can withdraw your consent from Tumblr. You may not be able to withdraw consent from portions of the Tumblr interface. Tumblr gets to decide which parts are bundled together. Don't like? Don't use Tumblr.
If we are only permitted to consent or not consent to certain aspects of life then consent as a whole is meaningless. It's not a phobia or an ism to say that I don't consent to seeing people's genitals all over my dash. Tumblr is not Onlyfans, go slop your nasty grundle at the camera on OF. Us normal people don't want to see that.
You can consent to unfollow or follow accounts that post mature content in the feed, but none of the PFPs in the live carousel are violating your consent by wearing bathing suits and visibly existing.
And I slop my cunt on clips4sale because OF is too uptight for fisting.
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tsukiyadori · 4 months ago
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Reading+(Watching)+Listening Log 2024.08 - August
Previous: Reading (+Watching+Listening) Log 2024.06 - June
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Reading languages: German, English, French, Japanese, not listing which was what. (There’s also been some feeble attempts at Chinese, but that was more on drama and music.)
Titles are as I’ve read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly
Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads unless there is something worthy of note to it
Cursive titles have been completed
If it says a volume number, it may mean it has been finished or is still in progress
Some notes’ content may be subject to repetition here and there, as I also copied some older notes from casual conversations over and didn’t go through any rounds of cutting things down.
——————————————————————————
AUGUST
I bought myself an application to hold my phone while lying in bed. That's gotta not only solve my neck and back getting into bad posture issues with using it in bed, but actually be even better for it, as long as don't use a cushion. Once I find a proper page turner, I could just read there. The cold season is coming after all!
... Is what I thought, turns out there is no page turner for the simple function of scrolling down. They'd always scroll several screens worth of content down in a big swoosh. Why. What good is this down botton even for? (Aside of decreasing volume in a media app.) Anyway, at least left and right work, so can read some manga or JNC in the app.
Which still fed me up after a while, because no offline reading, so now I installed an auto scrolling app for scrolling. Would vastly prefer a remote, but oh well. It's useful for reading in a train where a remote is not very handy to fiddle around. My thumb is also thanking for the lack of strain.
The main learning I took away: All remotes with a camera button are complete crap on all buttons for this purpose. For those not even left and right work.
And the other ones so far have rather loud buttons…
Light Novels/Web Novels/Novels:
Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad! v1-4
A Livid Lady's Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Light Novel) v2
A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady v1
Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup v1-2
Coins of Destiny Rosmei Preview
Fushi no Kami v1
Hell Mode v3-4p6
I Met You After the End of the World v3
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Light Novel) v5
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? v10
The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! v1p1
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! (Light Novel) v1
You're Too OP! Rosmei Preview
(classified)
Manga/Manhwa:
A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life (Manga) ch1, v2ch6-11
A Side Character's Love Story ch50.2-51
A Wild Last Boss Appeared! (Manga) v2ch6-10
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride ch55-57(v11 finish)
Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch20-21.1
Are You Okay with a Slightly Older Girlfriend? ch22.1-24.2
Beast Tamer ch1-6
Black Summoner (Manga) v16ch112-119
D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared (Manga) v3ch15-21
Death's Daughter and the Ebony Blade (Manga) v2ch6-11
Domestic na Kanojo v17
Firefly Wedding ch1-5-10
Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch11.2
Hell Mode Manga v4ch20-26
How a Single Gold Coin Can Change an Adventurer’s Life ch1-15
I Lost My Adventurer's License, but It's Fine Because I Have an Adorable Daughter Now ch42-46
I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons (Manga) ch1, ch11, v3ch21-30
I don't want to work anymore ch19.52-21.5
Infinite Dendrogram (Manga) ch56-57
Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch20.1-2
King in Limbo ch1
Knitter's High ch29-30.1
Living With My Brother's Wife ch66-74
Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch34
Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole ch1-2.1
Mononogatari – Die Wächter der Artefaktgeister v1-2, v4
My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer (Manga) v5ch25 i
My Housemate Sano-kun Is Just My Editor! ch1-3.1
Nabi ch113
Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru no de Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch27-28.2
Quality Assurance in Another World v1ch6
Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire ♀ (Manga) v5ch22-25
Reincarnated as the Daughter of the Legendary Hero and the Queen of Spirits ch59-61.1
Run Away with Me, Girl v1-2
Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch76-77
Strawberry Love ch1-8.52
Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess (Manga) ch1, V1ch5
The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! (Manga) v1ch5
The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses ch100
The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1 (Manga) ch1, v2ch6-10
The Prince's Keeper: The Cursed Prince is Too Fluffy to Resist! ch1-3.1
The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World (Manga) v1ch1-4
The Vexations of a Shut-in Vampire Princess ch1-4.2
This Art Club Has a Problem! v4ch20-26
Through the Viewport: Child of a Ruined World v2ch8-14
Trying Out Alchemy After Being Fired as an Adventurer!: Frontier Settling? No Problem, Leave It to Me! ch1-2
Victoria's Electric Coffin v2-3
Wistoria Wand and Sword (Manga) v1-3
Webtoons:
A Royal Princess with Black Hair ch60-65
Can the Grand Duke and the Marquis be Friends? ch33-43
Closer Heartbeat ch1-7.5
Ice Lamp: The Chronicles of Kira ch52-56
Kijou no Eden ch32-33
Taberare Usa ch114-117
Drama:
Story of Yanxi Palace #9
Music/Music Videos:
RADWIMPS - Suzume (Suzume No Tojimari) [Dante Levo and Kindred Remix]
Zhou Shen - 铃芽之旅
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 02 - 蜃楼 Mirage
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 08 - 缝合
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 11 - 没关系
Zhou Shen - 我的答��
Zhou Shen - 人是_ (电影《流浪地球2》定��主题曲)
Zhou Shen, 新裤子乐队 - 不会拜拜的Disco (Live)
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 01 - Intro
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 03 - 重启 Restart
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 04 - 记忆商店 The Memory Store
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 05 - 警报 The Giver
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 06 - 少管我 Shao Guan Wo (Watch Ur Manners)
Zhou Shen - 浮光
Zhou Shen - Shenself - 09 - Wala li longla
Notes:
Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad! v1-4: It was in the catch-up and a total last minute read I even considered dropping at the beginning - really the MC makes every effort to be a questionable creep. And almost any other character unfortunately is a bit bland. (A few get a bit more characterization in the epilogue chapters.) Which just made the MC stand out even more. By v2 I half suspected if it was just half an act, due to the plot twist of him being dead sick before being isekaid, but by the end him being like this became actually plot relevant. That was quite a nice surprise. The overall world structure and how it offered some reverse isekai alongside the normal isekai was also refreshing. (And on top of that there's even alternate universes.) So I'm glad enough to have finished it to get the payoff of sitting though the beginning, but that bit by itself still remains more of a turn-off than not.
A Livid Lady's Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Light Novel) v2: Volume 1 was about as anti-fluff as it could possibly be, but volume 2 has scaled things down in terms of its cruelty factor. MC, while still very much have the upper hand by plot, is now also not the overly OP Mary Sue. Probably mainly because the people in the empire appear to have some wits themselves, unlike the fellows of her home country.
A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady v1: Have the generic villainess story shafted to the sidelines, this one focuses on the sister of one without having to be a spin-off to some main series. In a way it's a bit of cinderella plot x shy nerd standing up x MC with wits, good naturedness and effort spending hard worker mentality. Nothing really there that makes it special per se (slimes by now are also a dime and a dozen), but cooks the ingredients up in a decently enough dish. Surprisingly, the cheese factor wasn't even that hugely focused on.
Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup v1-2: Right, another one of those that just cook your standard dish with standard ingredients……… It makes for a literal light novel, because, well, it's perfectly a light read. Full of soft cheese.
I Met You After the End of the World v3: Just when I got a bit ??? about the supernatural elements, it struck me maybe that was what the narrative resorted to, because it may be a little bit hard to spin a narrative with just two characters alone to force up some circumstantial plot. And now suddenly there's a parallel narrative. One continuing from where it left off last time (still with the supernatural elements) and another some years into the future introducing a bunch of new characters. Daisuke suddenly is gone, but as they say, unless there's been a corpse, don't assume he's dead? But more than anything, it proves that it can very well spin a plot without said supernatural elements. The mystery box is working rather well as to what happened to Daisuke or what strange occurrence that looks-like-a-ritual-sacrifice-site may be about.
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! (Light Novel) v1: Read the manga before on JNC Catchup and while the manga entirely sucks at having a good flow between scenes, the world and setting wasn't too uninteresting. But the novel is a bit… too rants-y. MC is just way too much of a bundle of impatience and forced expectations based on his worldview, and that makes him rather obnoxious. And while the manga is kinda too jumpy, the LN definitely is a bit slow. Maybe a little too slow for my taste. Will continue, but not in a hurry.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride ch55-57(v11 finish): FINALLY CHASTILLE HAS SOME BADASS MOMENT AGAIN.
Domestic na Kanojo v17: I forgot to take notes immediately after writing and now I can't remember zilch about the volume. I suspect, there was loads of whatever cheese.
Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch34: Rishe making faces.
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Also that hairdo is just so very pretty, gimme, too----
Run Away with Me, Girl v1-2: Original thoughts of when I had just finished it: I think it kinda lost me at the end. How so? In a "flows over my head and just goes puff"-way somehow? I dunno, i doesn't seem bad, just euh, kinda after the asshole gets ditched and the family discussion bit, it kinda lost it's string. Maybe the photoshooting is just also too cheese? dunno And the epilogue with that daughter was very much I have now read it almost twice, but it's just not sinking in really
Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch76-77: Some chapters expired yet again in between. Darn it, damn me. But ok, after the thing with the very very questionable classmate raising a ruckus we move on to… puberty! And some cheese. And it's getting back on track with the new teacher's mystery endeavor.
Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess (Manga) V1: This one raised a big question: If the MC is SO massively OP, how come she never took a stand for herself, but then just suddenly is able to do so and with such a superior aloof attitude, too. You'd think there ought to be some development or rehearsal to go from meek damsel to this rather smooth going with the badassery. Not sure where this is going, but probably will read on a bit.
The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! (Manga) v1: Now this one is the entire opposite. MC died so many times but still maintained this balanced calm, almost carefree attitude. That's truly being badass. Although I have no idea what the title is referring to, even after reading v1.
The Prince's Keeper: The Cursed Prince is Too Fluffy to Resist! ch1-3.1: I object to the title. It's not too fluffy, it's too sparkly bishonen. Like so much glitter, stop it, the MC looks like she's going to go blind… The vibes are similar to Hi, I'm a Witch, and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion, with the MC just a little bit more wordly. At least she doesn't risk starving to death by accident.
Victoria's Electric Coffin v2-3: It wound up being about as generic/preditable as I expected it to be after v1. Closes on the same note it already exhibited across v1 as well. Nothing remarkable about it beyond that it does have a rather eyecatching cover.
Wistoria Wand and Sword (Manga) v1-3: Wistoria's long term goal premise composition is kinda real similiar to Kaiju 8, except the MC is more like an OP Version os Rakudai no Kishi's. Is what I thought after v1. But then: ....  I take it back. It's purely teenage-y cheese motivated, Kaiju 8 didn't have that. I will say, is of now, half of v1, it is vastly more interesting than Danmachi. But.
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It's.... almost as bad with the outfits after all....
Kijou no Eden ch32-33 - Ouf, that's been some ages that I last read it. But it was easy to get into again and I still quite like it. The subject matter is a bit heavy, but there is just this bold, but sense of optimism filled with kindness about it. How inspirational things can start from something as small as imaginative wishful thinking. I quite like the the title. Kijou means "theoretical, something not yet implemented", but it's also meaning "on the table". And MC's a writer, an abused child who wrote a novel about what family could mean. That's like this hypothesis, his eden, that sits on the table that he has yet to reach. Which he has a hard time to, but to his first biggest fangirl it was a life altering experience regardless and she wants to give some of the goodness it brought her back. That's a very endearing sort of positive feedback loop.
August's Music Listening: Same stuffs from last month continues, with the addition of the new tracks of Zhou Shen's Shenself album (there's more than is listed on youtube music, apple music etc.) 缝合 struck some chords melodically only to turn out to be somewhat depressive with an optimistic silver lining. The English refrain line of "I'm giving my all" is kinda haunting. 没关系 meanwhile goes the opposite way of doesn't matter what comes around, just "don't mind". 我的答案 is melodically a total motivation mood track…… that turned out to be a propaganda song for the Chinese Crimes/Laws department. That is, it's used like that, but the lyrics are maybe not really that heavily propaganda in the negative political connotation of one may think of first. From what I can glean after some extended use of the dictionary it appears to be more about the variety of diffrent departments and what calling those professions have (or should have).
Mirage was kind of an instant hit melodically and its lyrics sounds very cyberpunk-existential, now I wouldn't have minded to watch a SciFi series with such a mood. Clearly someone else had the same idea, as there is a fanmade movie MV for it cutting scenes from the movies Wandering Earth I, II and the trailer from III together in a quite well put together clip for it. And guess what, Zhou Shen actually did the theme song of the second movie. 人是_ is just the kind of bombastic fireworks epic sort of song suiting the bigger than one life-movie and so it also wandered into the playlist.
Other than that Shenself album ran a lot when I was sitting onto (classified) and especially I was at it when I discovered 缝合, 没关系, so they together with tracks 3-6 of it kinda have half become my theme songs for that series.
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iatethepomegranate · 1 year ago
Text
We are not alone in the dark with our demons, Chapter 35
After Aeor, Caleb buys a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha, becomes a professor, learns to be a person separate from the trauma that shaped his life for so long, and begins the arduous process of preventing what happened to him from happening to anyone else. It gets far more personal than even he could have anticipated.
Chapter content warnings: general references to grief, loss of parents, Trent's child abuse, related trauma
Chapter summary:  The dust settles and life continues.
Chapter notes: Chapter title from Atom 2 by Sleeping at Last. Happy Mighty Nein oneshot, everybody. No oneshot spoilers here.
***
Chapter 35: And make infinite room for hope and oxygen
Things were better in the morning. Caleb busied himself with calculations for the language enchantment alongside Essek. He did, however, take a break in the afternoon to find Yasha and Caduceus working alongside Nico in the garden. The anxious animal inside Caleb quieted at the sight. He was not an optimist by any means, but he let himself hope both he and Nico would be okay in time.
Caduceus handed him a trowel. The calculations would keep.
He re-cast the Tower when it faded, quietly factoring in the new enchantment. He sat with Nico in the garden, drinking tea, and tried not to fret over it. Nico wasn’t talking much. That was okay. Caleb didn’t feel like talking, either.
Caleb used the quiet to get his thoughts in order. The biggest immediate hurdle had passed. Next up would be the intermediate students at Soltryce; Astrid had yet to fully confirm, but it was possible there would be Volstrucker students in the class… if their parents were convinced not to pull them out. It had been some time since Caleb had dealt with students at that stage of the process, not since his own time as a student. They would have been with Trent for a few months at most, but that was more than enough to cause problems. Trent had this down to a fine art. Those children probably still thought they were going to live glorious lives serving the empire. He wondered if they would resent him for taking away that imagined future.
Then, the support group. Besides Wulf and Astrid, Caleb hadn’t spent a lot of time around the Volstrucker who had completed the program. He was not convinced they would take him seriously, or if many would even show up. Maybe this had been a bad idea. The more stubborn part of him, however, did not want to give up without evidence to support a hypothesis in either direction. If it didn’t work, he would have a bit of egg in his face… but what would he really lose? If no one showed, all he had lost was some time, and perhaps a little dignity. He didn’t have much of the latter anyway. If people showed up and it was a disaster, well, at least they would know what not to do, and whether or not it was worth trying again. But if it went well…
Caleb was under no illusion that the fully-initiated Volstrucker would think much of him. He was, after all, a failure. That said, he knew so little about what his old friends and their colleagues had experienced; Beauregard had tried to shield him from that aspect of Astrid and Wulf’s testimonies, though he’d put some pieces together over time. There had to be other points where Volstrucker failed, fatally or non-fatally. The young woman in the Dungeon of Penance had been so ready to die. Eager, even.
And, maybe, there was a part of Caleb who hoped someone would… get it. Astrid and Wulf had eleven years of experience on him, plus the five-or-so additional years before breaking free of the man who turned them into monsters. They worked for Trent that whole time, while Caleb was insensate for over a decade, and then on the run. Maybe it was overly optimistic to hope he would find someone with an even remotely similar experience. He was not sure he’d know what to do even if he did.
The closest he knew, frankly, was Nico. But Caleb was the adult. The one with experience. The living proof that life went on. But, gods, if he didn’t feel lonely sometimes, even among people who loved him. Except Yasha, but even then…
He was definitely still a little fucked up from yesterday, thinking like this.
A light pressure on his shoulder pulled Caleb from his thoughts; Nico had dropped his head onto Caleb’s shoulder. They sipped their tea and watched a handful of honey bees hover around the cornflowers Yasha had planted. Caleb used to collect them in the fields as a boy; Una used to weave them into his hair, and Leofric into hers.
Over time, the weight on his shoulder grew heavier, until Nico was softly snoring. Understandable. Caleb was tempted to do the same, if not for the risk of disturbing him.
A quiet sort of day.
***
With the week wrapping up, Caleb was well into preparations for the intermediate students’ return to Soltryce. As planned, he would assist with the intermediate Transmutation class. As things currently stood, Alphira mostly taught the beginners in Evocation and occasionally assisted in teaching the upper levels as needed, but, honestly, many of the senior professors were close to retirement, so it was likely she would start taking on additional responsibilities soon enough. Caleb was fine not teaching higher level Evocation at this point; he probably needed more time before he could handle that.
Caleb met with Astrid, Bettina and Alphira at the end of the week. Hopped up on excessive amounts of coffee, the four of them were sifting through last year’s report cards and other assorted notes related to the intermediate students, who were to arrive over the next couple of days.
Astrid had separated the files related to the students who had been plucked out for the Volstrucker program and pushed them to Caleb. “These three spent a few months with Trent, before you distracted him.”
Caleb speed-read the files. Two boys and a girl. “What have your dealings been with them?”
“Lately? Speaking to their parents.”
“And?”
“This one.” Astrid pulled the girl’s file. “Annike. Her parents have been convinced to allow her back to class. She is a quiet one. She will need time to warm up to you.”
“We can give her that. What do any of you know of her interests?”
“She has shown some aptitude for Divination and dabbles in tarot card readings… sometimes during class time,” said Bettina. “I believe she grew up in a circus before her parents settled in Yrrosa.”
“Probably not by choice,” added Astrid. “Intel from the area suggests the circus fell into debt with the Myriad. Annike is not close to her parents, so she won’t relate to any family talk.”
“Circuses seem to find trouble in the Empire,” Caleb remarked, thinking back to Trostenwald.
“You want to have fun? Go to the Menagerie Coast. Speaking of…” Astrid pulled another file. “Eric’s family has moved to Port Damali and have refused all attempts to contact them. It is unlikely he will return to class. The Cobalt Soul have been notified and will keep an eye on him. There is not much we can do at the moment.”
Caleb couldn’t fault the boy’s parents for their decision. Hopefully the Cobalt Soul could prevent any magical incidents, maybe take him under their wing eventually. Or at the very least, they had books. Eric was still a wizard, after all.
“A shame,” said Bettina. “He was showing interest in Transmutation.”
Astrid pulled the third file. “This is Kaspar, a young half-elf from Bysaes Tyl. He is likely to return to class, but his parents are coming with him at the beginning of next week and wish to speak to you, Bren.”
Caleb knew enough about Bysaes Tyl–elven-ruled, reluctantly agreed to join the Empire in exchange for limited cultural autonomy, ruled by three elven elders alongside a Crown-appointed starosta–to suspect they were likely less than pleased to learn the intended future for one of their people.
“Anything I should know?”
“He has shown some interest in Evocation,” said Alphira. “He used to hang out in my office before Trent got a hold of him.”
“And the three of them as a group?”
“They were close, of course,” said Astrid. “They usually are.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I am not sure how they will fare without Eric. Report back to me what they are like in class.”
“Ja, of course.”
***
Nico had a bit of insight about the youngest crop. He seemed unsurprised that Eric’s parents had taken him away from everything.
“Eric is very close to his family,” Nico said that evening over snickerdoodles and some kind of spiced tea from Marquet that Jester had brought from the Nicodranas markets. “He wrote to them constantly. They’ll take good care of him; he’ll be all right. He will probably find his way to the Cobalt Soul on his own.”
That was comforting. “Did you spend much time with them?”
“Not much, but enough.” Nico broke off a soft piece of cookie and dunked it. “Trent was relying on us a lot in those last few months to teach the young ones the basics. It was babysitting, really. Many of his most trusted Volstrucker died in the war, and he was distracted. By you, I assume.”
“I did annoy him quite a bit eventually, ja.” The invasive Sendings had nearly sent him back to the madhouse, it felt at the time. But, in hindsight, it was a little gratifying that he had finally managed to get under Trent’s skin. “What else did you pick up about these three?”
“I assume Professors Weber and Winterheart already told you about Annike’s tarot cards,” said Nico. “She sometimes prefers to communicate with them instead of speaking plainly. Her parents seem like a pain in the ass. She is difficult to rattle, except when she is, if that makes sense. Eric was the only person who could talk sense into her on the rare occasion something got to her, so… good luck.”
Jester popped in, ostensibly to check on the batch of cookies in the oven. “Did somebody say tarot cards?”
“One of Trent's younger students grew up in a circus,” Caleb told her.
“Ooh, you should show her Molly’s cards.”
“We’ll see,” Caleb replied. Getting a look at Annike’s deck seemed like a good place to start, before introducing any other variables. “Do you have any insights about Kaspar?”
Jester checked the cookies and bounced out of the kitchen, flapping her hands in farewell. They both returned the gesture and then continued conversing as if nothing had happened.
“I’m pretty sure his mother is someone important back home,” said Nico. “He’s a weird choice for the program, unless Trent assumed the Empire wouldn’t care about pissing off Bysaes Tyl that much.”
“Or perhaps he had a reason to want her off the chessboard in a few years,” added Caleb.
“Ja, maybe. Kaspar gets anxious about his father’s health sometimes; I’m not sure if it’s just because he’s human, or if he’s ill. So, it might not have been a difficult prospect to take him out, and make losing both of them less suspicious.” Nico paused, and then pushed his empty plate away. “I need to stop making myself nauseous.”
“Ja, I think that’s more than enough. Thank you.” Caleb drained the last of his tea. “Yasha told me the market is strung up with new lights. Shall we take a walk?”
“Ja, bitte.”
***
Caleb spent the next couple of days ferrying the Nein back to their respective homes. Veth, of course, insisted Caleb and Essek stay at her place overnight. Luc spent the day running around and shooting things with his mother, so he was well and truly tuckered out by bedtime.
Caleb, as usual, allowed Essek to braid his hair before bed. He let one light globule bob lazily throughout the space, as Essek needed very little light to see. However, he did like seeing Caleb’s colours, which was not possible in the dark.
Essek kissed Caleb’s shoulder where his shirt had slipped; it had once belonged to Fjord before the Wildmother gave him muscles. So, a little large on Caleb, but not ridiculously so. A few more kisses followed the first, never quite in the same place. Caleb turned his head to kiss Essek’s temple.
“Freckles,” Essek murmured, his cheeks darkening. He straightened, cleared his throat, and finished off the braid. Caleb captured his fingers before they could retreat, and pressed a kiss on each knuckle… all fourteen of them on the one hand, counted, of course.
Essek chuckled. “Ridiculous man.”
“Were you not just counting my freckles?”
“...quietly.”
“So?”
Essek grabbed his face and kissed him. Caleb strongly considered casting the Tower to remove any possibility of someone walking in on them; he and Essek had split the teleportation spells between them today, and thus still had access to most of their more powerful spells. Wound as tightly as he had been of late, it felt like forever since they had last been physically intimate.
Essek was now in his lap, and Caleb made up his mind before all the blood in his body could travel south… as soon as he had a chance to move. Right now, though, Essek had drastically increased his density and there was no way Caleb was getting anywhere short of telekinetically moving the man bite-sucking a hickey on his neck, just low enough that his scarf would cover it.
Coming up for air, Essek said, “You are doing much better.”
“I will be, if you let me cast the Tower.”
Essek hummed thoughtfully. “In a moment, dear.”
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seobacklinks80 · 2 years ago
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5 Methods for getting Free Backlinks
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A Reward Method for getting Free Backlinks
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Fast Tip:
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organicorecbd · 2 years ago
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Organicore CBD Gummies: Reclaim Your Wellbeing
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egg-emperor · 3 years ago
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While I love Mike Pollock I have seen some tweets of him suggesting that he just doesn't want to be known for his work as Eggman and wants to discuss his other works more, he also liked the tweets of Flynn saying the same thing, I feel bad cause I send him a compliment for Eggman, do you know some of his other works? would like to know his other characters
Yeah, he's been trying to emphasize that for a long time and I don't know why some people have a problem with that because of course he'd want people to check out his other work, instead of only acknowledging his Sonic-related stuff and acting like he's just Eggman no matter what he does and nothing more, overlooking tons of his other great work that's entirely separate from it and is absolutely worth checking out. It's great that you have an interest in doing so and I'm happy to help you get started. :D
I've looked at a ton of his stuff over the years but he has hundreds and hundreds so I still haven't seen them all but I try to check out everything that's available to me. I've heard him in a bunch of TV shows, video games, movies, audio dramas, commercials. I have a game where practically every elderly guy in the game has his voice, Just Cause 3 lol. I have a plush that's voiced by him too!
I first heard him in Sonic X, Viva Pinãta, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 show, and Pokemon around the same time because of 4Kids dubbing. My favorite singular other roles of his that I've heard have to be Langston Lickatoad, the Garbageman, and Adon Coborlwitz. Though he's got a ton of other great roles in a bunch of stuff that's also definitely worth checking out.
Here's what he commonly links on Twitter as a good way to see a lot of it:
That definitely doesn't have everything in it though. There's stuff that isn't supposed to be general public knowledge and other things that haven't been listed on here yet. But it's still one of the ideal places to look! I enjoy picking any character, looking into how to find and listen to it, and the joy of being like "there he is!" when I find his voice in there and get to hear more of his incredible talent hehe.
His pure audio stuff isn't on there, I found out about those through his Twitter and a number of them were available on Spotify and were linked throughout his Twitter.
You can listen to more of his audio with comedy bits, parodies, demos, and other fun stuff on his SoundCloud:
Looking around on his website is a good place for more information and links to more stuff:
He also has a big playlist on YouTube with more things he's been in that have been uploaded there, including commercials!:
Obviously, not all of them are here because he's done so many that haven't been uploaded and some of my favorites were made private by the brand uploaders and I'll always be sad that I can't hear it again lol. He also has some cool stuff in other playlists on his YouTube channel. I also recommend watching more interviews and panels with him uploaded on others' YouTube channels if you haven't because it's really interesting to hear him talk about his work and he's charismatic, funny, and entertaining. ^^
I also recommend putting on post notifications on his Twitter to keep up with him sharing some of his newest work when they're announced and released because they don't get listed on websites after. I have to save stuff to my Twitter bookmarks or else I can't find the information and content again!
And there you go! Have fun. 🌟✨💜
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yandere-daydreams · 4 years ago
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half-spider half-human yandere with a darling who has arachnophobia
I think I’ve just been in a Yandere!Monster mood this week - I don’t know how else to explain what I’ve been posting, recently. Can you blame me, though? They’re so easy to run from, so easy to be afraid of… It’s only natural that they make good Yanderes.
Title: Arachnophobia.
TW: Spiders, Dehumanization, Mentions of Injury, and Mentions of Death. 
~
It’d always been the legs, for you.
You weren’t squeamish. If it hadn’t been for the legs, you wouldn’t mind spiders at all. The uncharacteristic fuzz that coated their bodies, those unblinking eyes that were too big and too small at the same time, their distorted proportions and awful fangs and general wrongness, you could take all of that, even if you didn’t care for it. Their legs were the only thing that got to you, the only thing that made you fear the tiny, harmless creatures beyond all reason. You weren’t blind, you knew there were much worse things to be scared of, and yet, nothing sent a chill up your spine like the thought of an insect no bigger than your thumb crawling up the back of your leg or finding its way into your hair, its steps so light and silent, you wouldn’t know its there, not until it’s already made its fangs at home under your skin. It’s irrational, or, it was irrational, at least. It used to be.
Ikto wasn’t harmless. You didn’t have to tell yourself not to be afraid of him.
If anything, you should be more afraid than you’ve ever been. It wasn’t like he hadn’t given you a reason to be.
You cried out as you collapsed, the noise somewhere between a defeated sigh and a desperate scream, too quiet to do you any good but too loud to go unnoticed in the stillness of the darkened forest. It’d been childish to go into the woods alone, it’d been stupid, and you’d known that when you came up with the idea. Still, you hadn’t thought it’d been stupid enough to get you killed. The legends told of a creature who spun web like rope, who could string up a group of hunters in translucent silk so quickly, they wouldn’t have time to notice they were being trapped, not before it was too late to get away. You weren’t a hunter, though, and you didn’t mean him any harm. You’d told yourself that a glimpse would be enough for you to overcome your fear, all you needed to do was look at him, and you’d never think twice about the spiders in your garden or the dark corners of your home again. But, you’d tripped, made a mistake, stepped on the wrong branch at the wrong time and earned a throbbing ankle and the attention of a monster for your efforts. It was so hard to navigate through cobwebs when you were running. It was so hard to navigate at all when you were crying.
And, as you collapsed to the dirt, weak sobs still racking over your chest as pain shot from your heel to your knee like hot trails of pure fire, you began to wish he’d just killed you when you interrupted his meal. That would’ve been kinder than letting you think you might’ve had a chance.
After a moment, you forced yourself to grit your teeth, moving to push yourself up, but it was already a moment too late. Without warning, without sound, something tapered and unyielding dug into the space between your shoulder blades, pushing you flat against the ground and giving you a minute to fight back, only pulling away then you failed to struggle against its strength. You already knew what it was, what it had to be, but you still found yourself holding back a gasp as you were unceremoniously dragged onto your back, clenching your eyes shut in an effort to delay the inevitable. It was an exercise in futility, but you didn’t open them again.
Not until something soft and familiar brushed against your cheek, and your entire body jerked up involuntarily. You had to fight not to scream, the awareness of just how dead you were making the pangs of your injury pale, in comparison.
If Ikto had any intention of making your slaughter swift, though, you couldn’t tell. He simply towered above you, watching with four pairs of eyes as you scrambled back, using what was less of your courage to put an arm’s length of distance between you and your hunter. You had to wonder why you’d ever thought you stood a chance against him. Standing, you would’ve only come to his waist, to the junction where his grey, thick flesh faded into a black exoskeleton, so sleek and so impenetrable, you knew the tiny dagger you’d brought for your protection would be useless before it was even in your hand. You could barely see his face, but you didn’t have to. Everything, from the mocking tilt of his head to the way his shoulders tensed and bounced upward in a stifled laugh, made his amusement clear. His tone did little to aid your blossoming humiliation, the heavy drawl only making you bow your head, your fear nearly overpowered by misplaced embarrassment. “I thought you’d be faster, human.”
You bit the side of your tongue, but you were speaking before you could stop yourself. More to quell your own nerves than to get on his. “I thought you’d be a better hunter, beast.”
That earned a breath of a chuckle, so airy and so dry, you might’ve missed it if he had anything to compete with. Unfortunately, no animals skittered from tree to tree to distract you, no birds sang to divert your attention. You couldn’t blame the woodland creatures for making themselves scarce. You’d avoid Ikto too, if you had a choice. “Awfully brave for someone who just stumbled into my web,” He started, bringing a hand - a human hand, thankfully - up to his chest, pouting in an exaggerated show of his offense. Despite his size, he moved soundlessly, stepping between dead leaves and over obstacles in a slow, seamless circle around you as he continued. Evaluating you, only speaking to keep himself entertained. “I was having such a nice night, too. No heroes come to slay me, no champions shouting to face me to prove their worth, no interruptions. Just me and my prey.” This time, you got a sigh. A shake of his head. A step too close, a spindly leg coming just a breath too near, leaving you shaking and digging your nails into the dirt, trembling as he looked on. “And then you came along and ruined it.”
“I’m lost.” The lie was spat hastily, forced out too quickly to be believable. This time, when he edged closer, you brought your knees up to your chest, curling into yourself defensively. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I don’t want to be here, I’m just… I can’t find my way home. I don’t know what to do. If you let me go--”
“If I let you go, you’ll get stuck in one of my webs and I’ll find you weeks later, starved and dehydrated and begging for my help.” He paused, pursing his lips, settling in front of you. When he crouched, his knees bending into jagged points and his arachnid stomach nearly brushing against the ground, you went tense, but you didn’t dare to move. You didn’t dare to look at him. You didn’t dare to think, not when it felt like he was prying into your mind a little more with every second he spent staring you down. “It might be nice. I’ve never heard someone plead for my help rather than my mercy. I try not to play with my food, but I wasn’t expecting something so small and so tempting to stumble into my territory. Certainly not something with the nerve to expect me to believe such a boring excuse.” A growl seemed to edge its way into his voice, absent of the primal reverberation it should’ve contained, full of something manufactured, painfully learned. You might’ve felt sorry for him, if he hadn’t been close enough for you to see the dozens of harsh, pointed teeth that prevented him from bridging the gap. “Are you that eager to get this over with, human? Do you want to die?”
You didn’t hesitate, shaking your head furiously as his smile returned. Unconsciously, your fingers twitched, ready to search the satchel strapped to your side for any weapon you could find, but in the blink of an eye, the burlap sack was speared through, flicked to the side with little more than a tear of fabric and the rattle of its content. “Please, I didn’t mean to--”
“I’ll compromise.” Again, he cut you off, standing to his full height, taking your wrist as he did so and dragging you to your feet, his grip not loosening when you winced, attempting to favor the foot that wasn’t trying to detach itself from your body. “I won’t kill you. I’ll take you back to my den, make sure you’re attended to, but you have to come with me willingly. Say you’ll behave, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to limp your way into the loving jaws of the nearest wolf.”
You didn’t respond, but you flinched, and that was enough of an answer for Ikto. With a sharp, sudden pull, you were off of your feet entirely, dragged against him and held there with one arm, his free hand pressing against the back of your head, encouraging you to lean into him, to be affectionate. You wanted to push yourself away, to tell him you didn’t need his pity, that you’d rather take your chances with the most rabid of dogs than with try your luck with him, but your ankle pulsed and your body ached and you needed his help more than you wanted not to. And when Ikto began to walk, when you caught a glimpse of a long, inhumane leg moving easily over the uneven terrain, you weren’t sure if you could even move.
You weren’t sure if running was an option, not if he’d be the one chasing you.
“It gets lonely, occasionally,” He admitted, his voice so soft, you almost didn’t hear him. You almost wished you hadn’t been listening, by the time he thought to go on.
“And I’ve always liked the idea of keeping a pet.”
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mybg3notebook · 4 years ago
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Lore: Details about the “Orb”
Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in June 2021.
Let's start with the context, because everything related to Gale is packed heavily with Forgotten Realms lore, and since the game is not fully released, whatever extra information that the game could provide to help us understand this is not there yet. Also, it's always important to keep in mind this post about "Context, persuasion, and manipulation" to be sure we are talking in the same terms. 
The lore
I'm going to enumerate some objects or elements related to Forgotten Realms lore that I personally see worth checking out in addition to other “orbs” that I've seen the fandom put attention on. All this information can be expanded using the references and sometimes wiki, even though I personally distrust forgotten realm wiki, unless I can check that info from the original sources.
Shadow Weave
The Shadow Weave is the space between the strands of the Weave. If the Weave is a spider's web, the gaps in between are the Shadow Weave. Shadow Weave reaches everywhere the Weave does, and more. It is not subject to Mystra’s laws or state of well being. If Mystra were to die and the Weave collapses, the Shadow Weave would persist. [Magic of Faerûn 3e. Personal Comment: Yes. It explicitly says in the book that it’s independent of Mystra’s well being. Clearly this has been modified in 4e since the Shadow Weave needs the structure of the Weave to be somehow stable. It collapsed when the Weave did so, so we can see this begins a series of inconsistencies]
Shadow Weave is a dark and distorted copy of the Weave created by Shar, more suited for spells that drag life or confuse the mind (necromancy, control, illusion schools), and gives more difficulty to cast spells that manipulate energy or matter (evocation or transmutation schools). It can't sustain spells that produce light. Both Weave and Shadow Weave are means to use Raw Magic (see at the end of the post). The more familiar a mortal becomes with the secrets of the Shadow Weave, the more detached they become from the Weave. Shadow Weave is NOT a part of Mystra, so Mystra can't block people from accessing magic via Shadow Weave. 
It’s a common mistake to make the analogy that the Shadow Weave is to Shar the same way the Weave is to Mystra. No. Shadow Weave is NOT Shar, while the Weave is Mystra. Shar never developed that level of commitment, making herself one with the Shadow Weave. This is one of the reasons why she could not sustain the Weave during the Spellplague when she tried to corrupt it completely into Shadow Weave. 
All this information belongs to Magic of Faerûn 3e and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3e and novels of 4e. There is nothing about Shadow Weave in 5e. If it weren't for Ed Greenwood's twitter, we should have guessed it disappeared from the lore. So far we know it's slowly recovering in the same way the Weave is. And the Shadow Weave doesn't feed on Weave. For some mysterious reason, fandom started to think so due to BG3.
Death moon orb
This artefact belongs to the 3rd edition, created by a Netheril wizard. From him, it passed to the hands of Szass Tam, who saw it destroyed when the Spellplague corrupted the magic in it. I won't give more details about this object because it looks so unrelated to what Gale has in his chest. Not only is its shape inconsistent with what we see in-game, its powers and properties are unrelated to what is explained in EA. The object is cursed, compelling its owner to cause greater acts of evil; it has a size that changes and looks like a violet-black sphere. In my opinion, the only detail in common with Gale's “orb” is the name "orb". Which is a fallacy, since Gale says explicitly that he uses the word "orb" for the lack of a better one, because clearly what Gale has in his chest is not an orb, but a mass of Black Weave. 
Netherese orbs
These objects are found in Neverwinter MMO in the quest Whisper in Darkness:
The Netherese are foul plague upon this world, corrupting everything they touch. They have cursed the Gray Wolf Tribe, turning them into bloodthirsty monsters. We must find what the Netherese intend to do with their werewolf slaves. The Shadovar Emissaries use the Netherese Orbs powered by Soul Shards to communicate orders from the Prince of Shadow.
This is all the information we have of this object. That's all. It comes from a Neverwinter MMO game which belongs to 4th edition. Once more, the concept that Gale's “orb” is not an orb but a black mass of untamed magic makes me believe that these objects don't apply either. The nature of their magic is compatible though: Netherese orbs are made from shadow magic by Shadovar, descendant of Netheril stuck in the Plane of Shadow (called Shadowfell later on, read more in the post of "The Netherese in 1492DR"). This plane is the source of Shadow Magic, they don't use Raw Magic. Ethel explicitly said in BG3 that Shadow Magic is Netherese Magic, so maybe we can consider this object filled with Netherese magic? In any case, these Netherese orbs are used for communication... which has nothing to do with Gale's “orb”'s properties. There is also no reference of consuming Weave to remain stable.
Devastation orb
The mention of a "devastation orb" happens only in Yartar in Princes of the Apocalypse (related to the god Tharizdun, the mad god): 
In page 5 we have some context: Four elemental cults grow in power in the Sumber Hills, claiming abandoned keeps that connect to an underground fortress once part of an ancient dwarven kingdom. The leaders use elemental magic to create devastation orbs capable of ravaging the countryside. They’ve been testing these magic weapons, bolstering the cults’ ranks, and infiltrating various communities, all directed by visions the prophets receive from the Elder Elemental Eye (Tharizdun). These orbs are plainly described as: essentially bombs of elemental energy to unleash natural disasters.
In page 222 we have a more detailed explanation of what these elements are: 
Devastation Orb: (Wondrous item, very rare) A devastation orb is an elemental bomb that can be created at the site of an elemental node by performing a ritual with an elemental weapon. The type of orb created depends on the node used. For example, an air node creates a devastation orb of air. A devastation orb measures 12 inches in diameter, weighs 10 pounds, and has a solid outer shell. The orb detonates 1d100 hours after its creation, releasing the elemental energy it contains. The orb gives no outward sign of how much time remains before it will detonate. Regardless of the type of orb, its effect is contained within a sphere with a 1 mile radius. The orb is the sphere’s point of origin. The orb is destroyed after one use.
Again, I don't see a real connection with Gale's “orb”. These devastation orbs are not netherese-based, they have elemental energy, and despite the explosion, they don't have any mechanics that resemble the consumption of Weave to remain stable. However, I do find a link between these devastation orbs, their process of construction, and the book that Gale found out. The remotest concept I can scratch here is that, whoever crafted the book with that piece of blackest Weave, could have used the knowledge of the construction of these devastation orbs. Instead of filling them with elemental magic, they filled it with a blackest weave of netherese magic. A procedure that could have been applied to the netherese tadpoles as well.
That's all the information I could gather that remotely is called “orb” or has some vague chance to be that blackest weave.
The Game BG3
In the game, all the info that Gale provides in EA about the “orb” is given before his revelation. The what it is, the how it works and the how it feels. In the revelation scene we only learn the details that are personal and intimate for Gale: the why he ended up with the orb, and potential solutions he can guess so far. To show proofs:
During the meeting:
Tav [Wisdom/tadpole] Try peering into his mind. If he won't open up, you'll sneak in.  [Success] Narrator: For a split second you see a swirl of untamed magic – then his defences drop like a portcullis. 
During the Protocol:
Tav: I simply want to know what it is you're keeping from me Gale: I'm dangerous. Not because I want to be, but because of... an error I made in the past.  [before Gale speaks of his loss] It makes me dangerous – even in death. [after Gale speaks of his loss/tadpole intrusion] I told you how I sought to win the favour of Mystra. I did this by trying to control a form of magic only one wizard ever could. I failed to control it. Instead it infested me. It makes me dangerous... even in death. […] Tav: The darkness inside you, what is it? Gale: It's magic from another time and another place. It is something that is beyond me, yet inside me. That makes me dangerous... even in death. 
During the stew scene or the ask for artefacts in neutral or lower approval
Tav: [Wisdom/tadpole] you sense secrecy and danger. Use your tadpole to probe Gale's thoughts. [Success] Narrator: you become one with Gale's mind and you can feel something sinister oppressing you. It's... inside of you, a mighty darkness radiating from your chest. You could try to push further, but your hold over Gale feels brittle. It won't be easy delving deeper without him noticing. Delve deeper: [Success] Narrator: “ you see through gale's eye, staring down the corridor of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It's teeth, it's claws, it's unstoppable as it digs through you and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever-hungry.
Gale: The only way to “appease” said condition is for me to take powerful magical artefact and absorb the Weave inside. [...]Tav: What happens if you don't consume any artefact? Gale: Catastrophe. [...] Think of it as... tribute. The kind a king might pay to a more powerful neighbour to avoid invasion. As long as I pay there will be peace. But should I ever stop, along comes a war. I can assure the battlefield would extend well beyond the borders of my body alone. [...] I will consume the magic inside. What was a powerful artefact will be rendered no more than a trinket. But it will save my life- even if only temporarily.
Tav: That condition of yours is a very expensive one. Gale: I obtained it in Waterdeep. Nothing there comes cheap.
Artefacts scenes:
Gale: I can feel the storm abating. [...] I will feel it stir again – like a distant thunder sending tremors through the soul. I will need to consume another artefact before the lightning strikes. There's no choice but to find more. [...] It's good to perceive this constant fear repressed into a quiet scare. Let's hope it will last a good long while.
During Revelation scene:
Gale: The gist of it is that he sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed but not quite, and his entire empire – Netheril – came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, rolling like the prime chaos that outdates creation. A fragment of it was caught and sealed away in a book. No ordinary book, mind you; a tome of gateways that contained within it a bubble of Astral Plane. It was a fragment of primal Weave locked out of time – locked away from Mystra herself. ‘What if’, the silly wizard thought. ‘What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the Goddess?”
Narrator: You feel the tadpole quiver as you realise Gale is letting you in. Into the dark. You see through Gale’s eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It’s teeth, it’s claws, it’s unstoppable as it digs through you and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever hungry… [...] This Netherese taint.. this orb, for lack of a better word, is balled up inside my chest. And it needs to be fed. As long as it absorbs Weave it remains stable – to an extent. The moment it becomes unstable, however.. [...] It will erupt. I don’t know the exact magnitude of the eruption, but given my studies of Netherese magic, I’d say even a fragment as small as the one I carry…. It’d level a city the size of Waterdeep
Tav : I should godsdamned kill you GALE: Perhaps that is what I deserve, but you deserve no such thing. To kill me is to unleash the orb. 
So far, if we don't use the tadpole, we learn from Gale that he is unwillingly dangerous, there is an ancient magic stuck in his chest—acquired in Waterdeep—that he never could control and it inspires a dreadful state of mind (constant fear). It requires Weave to stay stable, and if it is not fed, a catastrophe will happen that will extend past his body. 
With the Tadpole we learn, in addition, part of the details we can learn during the revelation scene: it's a swirl of untamed/chaotic magic which is an ever-hungry "blackest weave". 
During the Revelation Scene all the information acquired by the tadpole intrusion is given, in addition to describing this mass of magic as an "orb" despite its inaccuracy. We also learn that killing Gale will only unleash the orb instead of putting an end to the problem. 
Gale said everything that is important related to the orb before the party scene, excluding only the personal information since he is a private person. This was exactly the boundary he set when he promised during the stew scene that he was going to explain the what, not the why. With the use of the tadpole we only learn details, simple extra descriptions; all information that Gale will willingly share during the revelation scene anyway.
We can learn a bit more of the “orb”'s function if we explore the goblin party. There, Gale explains part of the mechanism of the “orb” in a "poetic" way, that may or may not be taken exactly as such:
Gale: Two shadows are darkening my soul.The shadow within and the shadow without: you. You led me down this path. [...] I don't know myself anymore. All this... It's not who I am. Around you, I'm not who I want to be. I should leave. 
Tav: [Insight] Stay. We make each other stronger. We make each other survive. /OR/ [Deception] You don't stand a chance alone. You're free to go. I dare you. 
[Success][DC15] Gale: [...]. Few things are more powerful than the will to live. But carnage such as this.... the shadow within is spreading like poison, corrupting kindness and compassion. [...]. Tonight I need to wash my hands of blood and my mind of shattering memories. 
This shows that when playing an Evil Tav who sides with the Goblins, we have an extra description for this “orb”. Again, I ponder every bit of information with its context: Gale is a poet, and he tends to speak with metaphors specially when it comes to emotional painful states of mind or when it comes to the “orb” (which puts him in a very emotional state that even the tadpole doesn't), so these lines can perfectly be understood as a poetic way to describe his deep regret for participating in massacring the Tieflings. However, there is this detail that I can't overlook: the shadow within, understood as the blackest Weave, is spreading across his body, corrupting his good essence. As we saw in the post of "Extensive list of Gale's approvals", compassion and kindness are key elements in Gale's personality. This scene shows a potential that is not explored in EA: the “orb” seems to set a path in which it will corrupt Gale. 
Now this could be considered as a potential beginning of a shift of alignment, but it goes against what Sven said several times in interviews and presentations: he stated that they were not considering to change alignments in the companions (if you can imagine all the extra branches that it opens up, it makes sense not to allow it given the already colossal proportions of the game), so it's hard to suspect how Gale would evolve from here, or if this situation will give him reasons to attempt to kill this Evil Tav eventually (which is my personal guess). Sven suggested many times that companions could potentially kill Tav or other companions during their sleep. We saw this happening in EA with Astarion. Using datamining content, we saw the same with Lae'Zel and Shadowheart. I don't see why not to give in-character reasons to make this mechanism work with Gale as well.
As an extra (datamining) detail, we have Ethel's vicious mockery line emphasising the concept of "the shadow within":
Ethel: I can smell what's under those bandages wizard, you're all rot and ruin.
Putting aside the unnerving detail that Gale's concept art has bandages on one of his hands while the game is oblivious to this, the idea of Gale's “orb” as a source of rot and ruin, in combination with that necrotic aura when he dies, gives us a sure idea that there is a “disease” spreading in Gale's body as a consequence of this blackest weave stuck in his chest.
All the in-game information was presented, so now let's drag conclusions: Comparing all the information extracted from the scenes, we can now consider how much potential has the lore object named before:
Shadow Weave: Could Gale's “orb” be a fragment of Shadow Weave?
Strengths of the argument: Gale's “orb” is described as "blackest weave". It could barely be a hint, even though the Shadow weave has no canon colour nor physical description in the corebooks. So this is a very weak strength.
Weaknesses of the argument: Shadow Weave doesn't feed on Weave (this is a fallacy so far I've checked. It would make no sense to feed on the same object that it needs to exist.) Shadow Weave doesn't explode nor is chaotic. 
Death moon orb:
Strengths: It's called an "orb". And it was made by a netherese arcanist, so it must contain “netherese magic”.
Weaknesses: This object was destroyed during the Spellplague. It's a physical orb which changes size, but it's not an "amorphous mass" of magic. It doesn't consume Weave.
Netherese Orb:
Strengths: It's called an "orb". It's made of shadow magic (which is not netherse magic in corebooks but in game Ethel used both denominations as synonymous). We know Shadovar are masters of Shadow Magic. Read more in the post "The Netherese in 1492DR".
Weaknesses: This object doesn't appear in the corebooks. It's used for communication. It doesn't seem to have any explosive properties nor consumes Weave.
Devastation orb:
Strengths: It's called an "orb". They explode with the intensity to destroy a city. 
Weaknesses: It's made of elemental magic (not netherese magic). It's a solid object, a bomb (not an amorphous mass). It doesn't consume weave.
Personal speculation
I don't think any of these canon objects are or inspired Gale's “orb”. If we take the descriptions in-game as they are, and considering the importance that Karsus and his folly have been given in the whole game (to the point that Larian added ingame books explaining part of it) I support two hypothesis that, by now, they must be obvious for lorists since I want to work with what the game (and datamining) gives me: 
1- The concept that this is a piece of corrupted Weave that Karsus' Avatar allowed to have access to when he disrupted the Weave. Gale calls it “primal weave” as well, which is a concept that doesn't exist so far in the corebooks, and one could relate, very barely, with raw magic. Maybe.
2- Heavy magic (key concept during 2e)
To understand this we need MORE lore (I know, this has no end; this is why I think a lot of misunderstandings with Gale’s character come from the big holes of lore that EA leaves, which is obvious, it's EA) So, allow me to clear out the concepts: 
Karsus' Avatar is the name of the spell that caused Karsus' folly and made him a god for just an ephemeral moment. The notes regarding the spell’s essence were nowhere to be found. It’s believed that Mystra, the reincarnated form of Mystryl, snatched the spell information from the ruins of Karsus’s enclave and sent it “on an eternal journey to the ends of the universe” (who knows what this means). Besides, as if this were not enough precaution, Mystra changed the rules of magic on the material plane making it impossible to cast spells over 10th level. Karsus' Avatar was a 12th level spell.
Raw Magic is “the stuff of creation, the mute and mindless will of existence, permeating every bit of matter and present in every manifestation of energy throughout the multiverse. Mortals can't directly shape this raw magic. Instead, they make use of a fabric of magic, a kind of interface between the will of a spellcaster and the stuff of raw magic. The spellcasters of the Forgotten Realms call it the Weave and recognize its essence as the goddess Mystra.” [Player's Handbook 5e]
The creation of the Weave allowed all mortals to have access to magic through study. The Weave works like a barrier and an interpreter to use the real source of magic: Raw Magic. For more information on this, check the wiki (otherwise each of these posts will be mini books of lore). Few mortals can tap magic from the raw magic. Spells like silver fire are part of the raw magic. Some wild mages can tap into it as well, but at the cost of making their spells very random. Only Weave-disruptive events can allow an uncontrolled influx of raw magic into the world (which can be considered what happened during Karsus' folly)
Mythalars are immense artefacts that work like intermediates of the Raw Magic. They don't use the Weave, they have direct access to Raw Magic and were used to power up magical artefacts around them (thanks to these objects the Netheril cities floated in the air). Touching a mythalar causes instant death since Raw magic is harmful for most mortals.
So the first hypothesis (corrupted Weave) means that when Karsus cast this spell and became the Weave itself for a brief moment, he may have access to Raw magic directly. His spell Karsus' avatar started using common Weave, but in the second he connected deeply with the Weave and with Mystryl's powers, he had access to Raw magic as a god. His spell may have changed the source of its power from the Weave to Raw Magic, adding the latter's randomness and chaos to the spell itself and therefore, corrupting the Weave. The transition, so violent like the whole event, may have corrupted part of the Weave that was being used while casting the spell. According to Gale's description, the “orb” stuck in his chest is a piece of Weave with the active effect of Karsus' Avatar (the spell), but the Narrator gives us the extra information that it's corrupted. Apparently Gale never realised this object was corrupted, or may have known it and he tried to cleanse it so he could return it to Mystra. Either way, the source of the corruption may have been the sudden transition to Raw Magic during the casting. My main problem with this hypothesis is how a spell can be stuck in a piece of Weave, since Gale's “orb” maintains Karsus's avatar's effect. 
On one hand, Karsus' Avatar main effect is “to absorb god-like powers”. In that moment of history, this spell was aimed at Mystryl, and therefore to the Weave. The disruption of the event “stuck” the effect of “absorbing weave” in a piece of Weave, while the chaotic nature of this “orb” could be attributed to the direct presence of Raw Magic, also stuck in it. Now, another weakness of this hypothesis is that nothing of this causes a "corruption disease" as Gale implies it (we only know that the failure of the spell turned Karsus into stone). So we don't have a good argument for this effect beyond the one “I believe that since the moment was disruptive, it must have corrupted something, and that corruption is quite unhealthy in a mortal body”. Which it's not of my liking, but this is what we get up to this point in EA.
The second hypothesis I talked about is another lore concept intimately related to Karsus in 2e: Heavy Magic (which I personally prefer over the first hypothesis). 
Heavy magic is physical, tangible magic, usually presented as a viscous mass of chaotic nature. It can crawl, entering into cracks of a wall or a body, for example. Karsus created a distilled version of this magic called super heavy magic, and experimented with people. The subject eating a bit of this magic will have heavy magic spread on all the inner walls of their body and will kill them (it's not a disease, but it spreads inside and kills). The usual effect of the stable super heavy magic was to magnify the powers of a spell or enchantment (it allowed spells to be stuck in it), however it could be used for everything. 
Karsus used this element to enhance enchantments on walls, for example projecting illusions endlessly. This means that this product has the ability of keeping a spell functioning in it (as we see that this black weave keeps the function of the Karsus' avatar). [Dangerous Games, 2e]
Naturally, heavy magic absorbs life energies (maybe another characteristic fitting the concept of disease and necrotic effects). There is an event (2e) related to this aspect in which the renegade arcanist Wulgreth became a lich after heavy magic overflew him [Power and Pantheons, 2e]
As it is easy to see, this concept shares a lot of similarities with the object stuck in Gale's chest. But there is still more:
In the novel Dangerous Games (2e), strongly focused on how Karsus experimented with Heavy Magic, it is explicitly said that Karsus infused himself with super heavy magic before casting Karsus' avatar (probably to magnify the spell power but we also know that heavy magic can get spells stuck in it). He grew taller, and glowed in a white-silver radiance. Babbling arcane chants, the super heavy magic raged within him until he came into a state of being between a man and deity. Then it followed his folly. Karsus “died”, turning his body into red-hued stone, bound in eternal torment to relieve repeatedly the moment he became aware of his folly. 
So there exists a chance that a pieces of super heavy magic (in which Karsus was infused when all this happened) may have kept Karsus' Avatar effect stuck in them. One of these pieces could have been recovered later around the red stone where Karsus is now. This could potentially be the object or, at least, in what it had inspired Gale's “orb”. It's also worth noticing that one of the main characters in this novel Dangerous Games was looking for ways to safely contain heavy magic and avoid its damaging effect, so there is extra lore information about vessels that could justify the sealed book that Gale found in Waterdeep. 
As an extra detail on this matter, we know that the runes of teleportation may have been made with heavy magic: "Gale: See that rune? Netherese, I think. Weave's so thick on it, it's almost viscous." 
Since Gale is calling "Weave" to the element attached to the teleport runes, it makes me wonder if this was a slight variation that Larian made of the canon concept of Heavy Magic to not add new concepts to the already complex world of Forgotten Realms. Maybe, in the end, both hypotheses are the same: the second one is strictly more canon-related than the first one, which is more or less the same but simplified in terms and concepts. 
As a last conclusion from my personal point of view, I see no much sense in calling this thing “orb”. In game it's clearly described as an amorphous black mass, not an orb. And it made me remember Gale's original description, when the EA was not released yet: it's the only way where I can see its nonsensical origin, which was done in a completely different context. 
Gale has one ambition: to become the greatest wizard Faerûn has ever known. Yet his thirst for magic led to disaster. A Netherese Destruction Orb beats in his chest, counting down to an explosion that can level a city. Gale is confident he'll overcome it, but time is not on his side.
After the game was released in EA, Gale's description changed radically, and therefore his current description has a different approach entirely, removing the concept of "orb" for what we know in the game: “ancient chaotic magic”. 
Wizard prodigy: Gale is a wizard prodigy whose love for a goddess made him attempt a dread feat no mortal should. Blighted by the forbidden magic of ancient Netheril, Gale strives to undo the corruption that is overtaking him and win back his goddess’ favour before he becomes a destroyer of worlds.
This is one of the many details that make me believe that Gale's original concept/character was changed significantly before the EA release. But this is a mere personal speculation. For more details on netherese magic, read the post of "The Netherese in 1492DR".
Source: 
2nd edition: Powers and Pantheons, Netheril: Empire of Magic, Dangerous Games by Emery Clayton. 3rd Edition: Faith and Pantheon, Magic of Faerûn 4th edition Player's Handbook 5th edition: Player's Handbook, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
This post was written in May 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index
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kodzumie-archived · 4 years ago
Note
Can l request a yandere kokichi and nagito with a insecure possessive so? Thank you very much
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❝HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT❞
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Synopsis; What are the yanderes like with an insecure and possessive darling?
Featuring; Kokichi Oma and Nagito Komaeda x GN! Reader
Warning(s); Yandere themes, established relationship, manipulation, emotional abuse, possessiveness, insecure thoughts (reader), sacrilege, worship, implications of stockholm syndome, self-harm (Nagito), blood, slight gore, attempted suicide, and mentions of hospitaliation.
Kodzumie’s Note; Of course you can! Thank you for your request, this was a very interesting concept, and one that I enjoyed writing! Take care, love. Muah! <3
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➤ KOKICHI OMA
⤷ He’s cunning; calculating all the ways he can use your weaknesses to his advantage. Truthfully, he’s the reason you have a desperate need to pledge your claim on him. He made you this way; riddled in insecurities, fearing that you’ll never be enough for him.
⤷ The constant malice laced with faux, brutal honesty in his words as he admits that if you get boring, he’ll leave you. In the way he drops such soul-shattering admissions without a care terrified you. Were you that easy to discard?
⤷ And thus spiraled your fogged mind of whether or not what you do is spontaneous enough. Is it enough to be deemed unpreditable? Will it keep him interested? Will he be entertained?
⤷ It’s a cruel, sadistic game that he’s forced your self-assurance to play. Constantly chasing after him as he turns his back to you, threatening you with the shackles of abandonment.
⤷ He’s caged you in a mindset where you cannot rely on trust any longer. Trusting a deceiver would bring you nothing but heartbreak; you’ve had to bear this lesson far too many times to relive it once more. Trust—in this corrupted love—was a vice.
⤷ So you took it into your cold, dead hands to carry the burden of ensuring that your lover remains. Wary glances of where he runs off to, heart worrying away over who he could possibly be with at that very moment. Who has he deemed worthy of his invaluable time now?
⤷ You fret over any and all possibilities. Perhaps he finds someone more deserving of his time, leaving you for them in the blink of an eye. Or perhaps he simply grows tired of you, your existence proving to be far too predictable and not suitable to his adrenaline-crazed tastes.
⤷ In every moment, you fixate on the where his eyes flicker when he’s with you. It’s taunting, the distraught of catching him looking at someone else. Someone other than you.
⤷ And he knows this. He’s more than aware of how worriedly you follow his gazes, hoping not to find another person they’re directed towards. It’s a realization he plans to use to the fullest, caving in whatever sense of self-esteem you had that maybe—just maybe—he only had eyes for you.
⤷ But having faith in such a deceitful individual was a mistake you’ve made far too many times. Even now as you follow Kokichi’s eyes to settle upon a figure.
⤷ Your heart dropped to the pits of your stomach, an unruly pang piercing your conviction with the tendrils of a distorted reality; he’s gazing upon someone else.
⤷ That’s not you. That’s not you. That’s not you. That’s not you. That’s not you. That’s not you. That’s not you—
⤷ “Kokichi, what are you looking at?” You cut the suffocating silence. Your breaths uneven as the functioning of your lungs felt labored. Throat contracting in anxiety, you swore you wouldn’t be able to hear his—inevitably deleterious—reply over the deafening pulsating of your heart.
⤷ “Just someone.” He mutters. But you see it, you notice what you prayed was merely an illusory of your culminated fears; he wouldn’t take his eyes off them. Not even as he replied to you. Not even as you tightened the grip on your intertwined hands. He wouldn’t stop looking at them.
⤷ In that moment, you could only describe it as the relentless tearing of your fragile heart. The desire to be his faithful partner in which such devotion is reciprocated is tattered with disdain.
⤷ You’re replacable. In what you believed were the earnest eyes of Kokichi Oma, you were to be repudiated.
⤷ As your eyes tear up and you begin to drag your boyfriend away, successfully garnering his attention away from that supposed stranger at long last, your blurred vision and hasty steps led you to miss the deviously depraved grin of his that was far too sinisterly crooked.
⤷ Your reactions, your blind fury and innermost apprehensions were so amusing; so comically enthralling. It’s no wonder he promises the two of you are sworn lovers; you never cease to stun him.
⤷ Once you two have reached a somewhat secluded area and far enough from the previous scene in which your heart ached to think about, you turned to Kokichi with such a catastrophic sheen of betrayal yet interlaced with the poison of envisage. You had expected this, hadn’t you?
⤷ “Why?” The words hang in the tense air as you peer down at the ground below, unable to meet his eyes in which—to your expectancy—darkened with the tainting of rejection; rejection of you.
⤷ This was a game that seemed far too easy for the cunning boy. It was as though you’d granted him the key to your mind, allowing him to feverishly jeopardize your self-reverence.
⤷ “What do you mean?” It’s a simple question; a plead of elaboration. But Kokichi knows all-too-well what plagued root pollute his intentions. He wants to see you break. And it seems like he’ll be getting exactly what he wants.
⤷ “What do I mean? Kokichi, what do I mean?!” You sharply inhale, your breathing sporadic as tears spill from your eyes.
⤷ “Stop playing dumb for once! Just tell me, just say it to my face, Kokichi! Are you tired of me?!” It’s a shout that tears your throat raw, emotion seeping into each word, woven with the most intricate of desperation.
⤷ He sees how you’re beginning to lose yourself; losing your self-respect as you claw at all that he’s formulated to define you. It’s as he’d planned, you need him.
⤷ And it should’ve ended the moment he’d realized how far gone your independence has been muddled upon his taxing gambling upon your mind. But he didn’t. It was far too amusing to stop now. Your desperation for his affections to be for you—solely for you—were addictive, and he wanted more of it.
⤷ So, as he cradled you, drawing you closer and inviting you to seek comfort within his bodily warmth, he suppresses a wicked cackle.
⤷ Whispering promises that you were still the one whom held his heart captive; you, you, you! And as pitifully naïve as you are, you decide to believe in him once more.
⤷ Perhaps you’d never believed him, and rather seeked out an excuse that brought the most comfort to you. Attempting to piece together your fragmented self-assurance, you depended on the contentment of his promises. Even if they were nothing more than the lies you’ve come to confide in.
➤ NAGITO KOMAEDA
⤷ A sworn worshipper; Nagito will go to the ends of the Earth to prove his devotion to his darling. His heart belongs solely to you, interlocked between the weaving of your hypnotic web as he hails you.
⤷ He believes with the entirety of his worthless being that you are a divinity; a detiy amongst purposeless nobodies that serve as nothing more than your stepping stone. But he believes you are merciful.
⤷ After all, if you had not been so graciously charitable, you’d have no associated with a low-life such as himself. Much less, willingly put yourself in a relationship with him.
⤷ It’s a blissful thought; to think that he could mean something to someone. To have some sort of negligible value.
⤷ But it’s one that he cannot take to heart. His worth lies on whether or not he can serve you—his darling deity—to the best of his lousy ability. He’ll happily dedicate his life to you.
⤷ Far-too-gone in the abyss of infatuation, Nagito finds himself unable to properly comprehend how someone so ethereal—someone so celestial—couldn’t see their blinding eminence.
⤷ He genuinely believed the notion of insecurity was foreign to you; a vulnerability that the emobodiment of all that is heavenly shouldn’t identify with. And yet he is forced to acknowledge that his lover—his one true hope—is unbearably familiar with such a plagued enigma.
⤷ Your sporadic hues narrowing at those who meet eyes with Nagito. The common practice of smiles directed towards strangers irked you; they were smiling at Nagito. Was he familiar with them? How was their smile comparable to yours? Could it rival yours, the one he claimed to encapsulate his heart?
⤷ An inkling of doubt resided within you whenever another was involved with your boyfriend. You understood full-well how much he loved you, but love is as empowering as it is contagious.
⤷ You know that these fears are nothing more than that; a drop of blood in which dirties the pure waters of reassurance. You’re aware your reactions are exaggerated, a carciture in comparison to the situation. But then why did he bother to smile back?
⤷ The thought resides within the back of your consciousness as you ponder over it. Certainly, it was no big deal. But why did it spur such an ache within your heart? Why do you feel the insuppressible urge to vacate the vicinity right within that moment?
⤷ It hurt to think. A torment so grand at the miniscule possibility that-that mutual exchange of smiles meant something more. Was it possible for Nagito—who pledges full allegiance with you as his faultless god—to fall through the clutches of your claim?
⤷ He devoted himself to you, that much you were sure of. Upon your first true meeting, he terrified you to your very core. You insisted that there was something wrong with him; something sickeningly distorted within his fogged mind of fixation.
⤷ But over time, after the relentless admissions that he wants nothing more than to serve you; worship you; love you; you’d eased into his proclomations. His depravity, albeit sinister and channeled with great fault, was out of his love for you; his pure loyalty and devotion.
⤷ So why had you continued to doubt him? He told you himself, didn’t he? He loves you more than anyone else could, more than anyone else could ever be capable of. And despite this, he still admits to viewing himself as mere scum, unworthy of your love but whose purpose is to worship and hail you.
⤷ Could it be that he’d ever seek out someone he’d believe himself to be worthy of association? Would he truly leave you for someone he deemed, too, as lowly as him?
⤷ Your thoughts have riddled themself until there’s a gaping hole within your heart—a cavity that’s sunk itself deep within the caverns of your gravitated love—and within his home that you two enter, hand-in-hand, you allow your visage to crack.
⤷ One sob after another, your knees give out from beneath you, harshly meeting with the wooden floorboards.
⤷ The sound startling Nagito as he turns to you with concern evident within the stitch of his brows. Instantaneously, he drops to where you were seated on the floor, weeping away as sobs scratched your throat raw.
⤷ “My love, what’s wrong?” He questions. His heart thumping within his ears as he cradles you, swaying your bodies ever-so-slowly in order to soothe you. Thus your crying turned erratic as you clutched against the fabric of his jacket.
⤷ He holds you so gently, he embraces you with such a warmth pooling from his heart. Did you really have any right to doubt him?
⤷ Yet it spurs such pain as the flashing of his reciprocated smile loops within your mind. Over and over, eating away at your self-restraint as you blubber; Did that smile mean anything?
⤷ He pauses, attempting to register your words. But they’re far too vague for him to properly process, and he pulls away from the embrace to face you with a perplexed countenance.
⤷ “Y-You smiled at that one person a-and—and...I just felt—“ Before you could continue, a sob escaped between your quivering lips. Your throat ripped dry as you began to question why you were crying so hard.
⤷ But before you could continue, Nagito pulled away from the embrace completely. Unfortunately, putting the worst possible conclusion within your mind as your break down was amplified.
⤷ Why did he move away? Why, why, why, why, why? Is this it? Have you finally wrung out your time with him? Is it finally over?
⤷ Though your momentary doubt was put to a halt as Nagito presses his hands against his chest, gesturing towards himself, frantically.
⤷ His eyes dilated with depravity interlaced by the seams of desperation. His lips curled into a crooked grin as his breathing came out in sporadic huffs.
⤷ “No, no, no, no, no! My beloved hope, this is just a misunderstanding.” He confesses. His hands visibly shaking as he seems to tremble from the possibility that his darling deity would ever be put under such pain from his incompetence to outwardly convey his true, unhindered love.
⤷ “I’m merely scum beneath the soles of your shoes, I’ve caused this minsinterpretation due to my ignorance. I shouldn’t even weild the right to say, my beloved, please forgive me.” He rambled. With each word, his breathing was becoming more prominent to you. It’s heavy; panicked; furious.
⤷ “I promise to you, I am solely yours. Your stepping stone towards renouncing the world of its despair. Your follower even through the flames of societial Hell. I am yours, and only yours.” His hand move to grab a hold of yours, but he quickly shrinks back in disgust at his audaciousness. How dare he grab at the hands of such divinity?
⤷ And thus, he reels his hands back and clutches his throat. His nails digging into the supple skin as he releases a breathy chuckle. His eyes blown open with a sheen of insanity, you find yourself thrust into the fear you’d experience upon first meeting him; when his luck had been particularly bad that day, and you caught him situation outside your bedroom window.
⤷ His erratic, turbulent temper terrified you. The way he dug his fingers further into his throat, clawing at the skin until the salmon-tinted lines began to trickle with deep, crimson. His pale skin stained with his own blood as he kept tearing at his throat.
⤷ “I deserve the worst of punishments for enforcing such despair upon you! Being killed within a millenial of lifetimes could never be enough to repent for the sins that the trash that I am has committed!” He shouts. You gasp, fearing for his wellbeing as he continuously attempts to pry the skin of his throat open; an inevitable suicide if he continued.
⤷ “Stop! Nagito, stop!” You scream, tears blurrying your vision considerably. Yet as his figure turned to abtract forms of color, you could still make out the sickeningly red blobs. He was bleeding, he was bleeding so much.
⤷ Prying his blood-stained hands from his throat that—if he’d continued—would’ve been torn to shreds. Your breathing loud and hiccuped, whilst his is mellow and nearly inaudible. It must hurt to breathe.
⤷ “Why? Why, why, why, why?!” You question, fear woven into your eyes as you tighten your grip on his wrists for reassurance; the assurance that he won’t proceed to try and kill himself.
⤷ He smiled, though as he attempted to speak, he coughed up remanence of what he’d inflicted; blood mixed with his saliva as he attempted to regulate his breathing.
⤷ He needed to go to a hospital and he needs to go now. But as you attempted to carry him to the front door, your phone in hand dialing an ambulance, Nagito presses his thumb against the end call button.
⤷ You face him with a panicked and agitataed expression. Is he truly hellbent on dying? All because of the conveyance of your insecurities?
⤷ “Don’t...Can’t.” He voices. Though it’s so hoarse and mangled that you could barely understand his words. But with a bit of thinking, you find yourself deducing a reason behind his rejection of professional aid.
⤷ Even if you got him to a hospital, you’d inevitably have to explain what’d occurred. And informing them of his attempted suicide would surely have him hospitalized for much longer or even transfered to a clinic. Nagito always told you that any moment spent without you is the eye of true despair.
⤷ Why had you doubted him? Why couldn’t you suppress yourself? His pain, his injury, it was all your fault. You know he devoted himself to you and through extremes such as this.
⤷ You flung his arm over your shoulder, carefully treading towards the living room as you set him down upon the couch, ready to fetch the first-aid kit.
⤷ You can fix this. You can make up for your mistakes, and help him. This is your fault, all your fault! But you can still fix it, right? You can still make it right, yeah? It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay.
⤷ As you laid him down on the coach, his throat now barely trickling as he winces from the pain, he gazes up at you with such sincerity you find yourself in tears once again. “I love you, and I would happily die for you. I’m sorry for what my worthless self has caused you.”
⤷ His words force you into a state of fear. How could he speak of his death so easily? It unnerved you, yet you consistently reminded yourself that he wouldn’t die. The wounds are shallow, thankfully. He would live.
⤷ But that doesn’t alleviate the guilt as you choke back a sob, pressing a fleeting kiss to his lips before pulling away. The tears from your eyes cascading and rolling onto his cheek, a now painful intimacy. Never agin would you allow yourself to succumb to the clutches of your insecurity. “I love you too. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
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mollymauk-teafleak · 3 years ago
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“Take my jacket. It’s cold outside.” + Perc'ahlia
I can do nothing but apologise, honestly...
Also on Ao3 if anyone wants to leave a comment
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It was during the winter months that the place truly seemed aptly named. When the frost settled across everything like the sugar crusted sweets Vex had adored as a child, when the fur trimmed coats and woolen scarves came out of the storage, when the wind started to sing through the mountains, always with the quiet threat of a screaming storm storm. When the greens and browns of the valley hibernated under their dusting of snow, powdery in the early days but thickening quickly until the whole citadel was smothered, having to hold its breath until the spring. Only then did Whitestone truly earn its mantle.
Vex had seen this change happen more times than she could count. But every new winter, the old joys came back to surprise her. Like sitting in the castle’s largest sitting room, fire roaring thanks to Keyleth, surrounded by a warm, pleasant current of conversation with all of her family in reach of her. Currently, she had her granddaughter sleeping contentedly in her arms, to give Vesper a bit of a break, but she could cast her eyes around the room and count the rest. Her oldest, widening her youngest brother’s eyes with tales of her latest travels, the twins pulling faces behind her back, the fourth Percival, who thankfully shortened his name to just Freddy, submitting to his Uncle Scanlan’s jokes and hair ruffles with good grace. Pike, sitting on the floor so Keyleth could braid her hair, Cassandra nearly falling asleep in the closest chair to the fire, clearly tired after a long day. Even this close to Winter’s Crest, the council clearly still had matters to discuss long into the afternoon. Vex was secretly rather glad she had many excuses to send apologies.
The room was crowded and noisy, laughter and groans and gentle teasing all vying against each other, bodies pressed close together even though there was space to sit apart. Two vases had already been broken, there were wine stains on the rugs and Vex could sit back and watch it all in perfect contentment. She’d never been one for peace and quiet.
“Vex?”
Cass clearly wasn’t as close to sleep as she looked. Though her eyes were still closed and her lined face smooth and serene, her soft voice carried between them, slipping under the festive babble. It was rather like catching your foot on a stone at the bottom of the river, especially when Vex knew what her sister in law was going to say, as much as she wished she didn’t.
Percy had been gone for too long.
“I know, dear,” she murmured, “I’ll go check on him.”
She rose easily so she didn’t jostle her granddaughter. Little Annabelle was not an easy sleeper but there were some skills Vex was never going to lose even with her own youngest being in his twenties.
“Mama?” Vesper looked up as she passed, pausing in her story even when Raven groaned in disappointment, tail twitching. Clearly she’d just been getting to a good bit, “Do you want me to take her back?”
“Oh I’m just taking her for a breath of air, darling,” Vex assured her with an easy smile, not enjoying how simple it had become to lie to her children, “You come home so infrequently, I’m not sparing a single second of my time with her.”
Vesper rolled her eyes fondly, “Better make the most of it, Papa will be demanding his turn soon.”
“Oh I don’t doubt,” she made sure her smile didn’t falter.
In the hallway, away from the roaring fire and the press of friends and family, the temperature dropped slightly. Vex hugged her infant granddaughter closer, murmuring to her softly as she looked around. Unsurprisingly, the bathroom where Percy had said he was going was empty. Their bedroom was too, cold and dark, too early to even light the candles. The workshop did have it’s flameless alchemical globes alight, casting cool white light across the desk, looking messier than usual with its many notes tacked up around the place, labelling various tools and outlining steps. But Percy wasn’t there either. He wasn’t in the kitchens begging another coffee when he knew Pike had told him to limit his caffeine intake. He wasn’t up in the tower watching the snowfall as he sometimes liked to do. He wasn’t in the ballroom, reminiscing about parties they’d held there over the decades.
Vex wouldn’t allow herself to get worried, just stroking the soft, dark down on Anna’s head and letting it comfort her, working her way down the usual list. He would be somewhere. It hadn’t gotten that bad yet.
But as it happened, Vex didn’t find him in any of the places she’d come to expect. She was coming down the stairs as fast as she could while holding a baby, thinking to make for the firing range. Percy himself had never used it since they came home from their adventures but he liked to check Vex’s bows were in peak condition, making sure none were close to wearing down. He often said they were the difference between her coming home whole or otherwise when she was out with the Grey Hunt.
She was going to pick up her coat when she heard her husband’s voice. Feeling relief rush through her like cool water, Vex turned the corner to see Percy himself. He was wearing his old coat- or at least the fourth or fifth iteration of it after it had been wrecked on so many adventures- and was struggling with the buttons. His hands had been giving him a lot of trouble lately, especially in the cold weather.
“Oh darling,” Vex sighed, coming up to him, “There you are! Why didn’t you come back to the drawing room, everyone’s up there?”
“Hmm?” Percy turned, like he hadn’t known she was there until she spoke. Even now, when she saw her, the first thing he did was smile, “Ah, good evening, my dear.”
Vex shifted Anna to one shoulder, drawing a sleepy murmur from the child. She put her free hand on Percy’s cheek, feeling the softness and the lines that the years had etched there, spider webbing out from his mouth and eyes like paths on a map. He was still her strong jawed, regal Percival, his eyes still blue and bright behind his spectacles.
But his buttons were crooked.
“Darling,” she sighed softly, “Come back upstairs, it’s so cold outside.”
Percy frowned slightly, “I was going to speak with the guard on the gate, ask if he’d seen Grog or your brother. They should be here by now, I feared the snow might have delayed them. You can come if you like but take my coat, it’s cold outside...”
Vex felt her heart clench in her chest and she took a moment to steady her lower lip. These times were the worst.
“My darling,” she tried to speak, though she could hear her voice breaking, “Grog and...and Vax’ildan…”
The realisation came to Percy slowly, his eyes clearing and growing cold. His mouth turned down and his shoulders slumped.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped, eyes falling to the floor, “I...I don’t know what comes over me…”
“My Percival,” Vex stroked her thumb over his cheek, “You never need to apologise. Never.”
“But…” he trailed off helplessly, unable to voice any of the thousand ends to that sentence. Instead they hung in the air between them, impossibly heavy.
But we know this is only going to get worse. But we know I’ll just keep failing while you stay strong. But we know that day will come where I can’t go on and you’ll have to continue without me. But we knew all of this was going to happen and we fell in love anyway.
The silence between them was broken by their granddaughter. Annabelle roused, cooing softly, blinking slowly, lifting her head up. Her largue blue eyes fixed on her grandfather and she immediately crowed in delight, reaching out her arms to him.
Percy closed his mouth to those terrible truths. Instead he found a smile from somewhere, taking Annabelle into his arms.
“Forgive me, little lady,” he chuckled, only slightly wanly, “Is it my turn to hold you?”
Vex stepped back, watching her husband cradle their granddaughter, watching his hands grow steadier and his arms grow surer as he held her. Even with the tears in her eyes, she smiled.
“You don’t need to apologise, Percy,” she said firmly, “You don’t. Because it’s been worth it, every second.”
Percy looked up from the little infant reaching for his glasses. He searched his wife’s face, saw her unwavering certainty and, finally, nodded.
“I love you, Vex’ahlia,” he murmured as she stepped close and wrapped her arms around the both of them.
“I love you too, Percy,” she pressed her face to his shoulder, holding him tight.
And she did. However many lines were on his face, however worse this was going to get, she loved him and she would love him for the rest of her life, whether he was in it or not. Their adventures, their friends, their children, all of it.
However much her heart would break when he left, loving him had been worth it.
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writteninchalk · 4 years ago
Text
Chalk In The Mountains
albedo is revered by all in mondstadt but not many know of his origins. many have tried to uncover his past but they all end in failure. this time however, might not be an easy one to shrug off. not when they've already uncovered more than the previous ones. not when they still hunger to dig deeper. to the very depths of his being.
albedo + gender neutral reader/oc (their appearance and name aren't specified)
"Why is it that whenever I go to find you, you're always in Dragonspine? Seriously...are you from Snezhnaya or something?" they shivered, rubbing their arms in a desperate attempt to keep warm.
The alchemist spared them a single glance before returning to his work.
"You just happen to catch me at the wrong time, that is all," he answered curtly, picking up a glass vial and observing it's contents.
"Still, you can't deny that you spend an awfully large amount of time in this place. If I were any dumber, I would've assumed that this place is some kind hot spot for alchemy," they started, wandering towards the wall of research papers pinned to the board.
Albedo watched them carefully through the vial, now ignoring it's contents in favour of observing his uninvited guest.
"This place is just a barren wasteland. Only Durin's bones remain here. There isn't even a single Leyline that runs through here." they traced their fingers across the map of Dragonspine, eventually reaching the unfinished sketches of hilichurls Albedo would so often sketch.
They picked one up, raising it towards the sky as though admiring the artwork.
"The only thing special about this place is the hilichurls and lawachurls with Cryo related abilities but that's not the reason you keep coming back to this mountain. No." they slammed the drawing on the table right in front of him
"Not you, Albedo, not someone like you," they whispered, staring straight into his eyes.
He could feel their gaze momentarily pierce right through his soul, looking through his web of lies that even he is tangled in.
"So why? Unless...the answer was right in front of me all along..." their eyes slowly drifted towards the mark on his neck, causing him to gulp unconsciously.
"Could it be that Durin, the dragon that poisoned Dvalin, was the subject of your research? Or is he just a part of one big question? A question so important that you must dedicate your life to it?"
A flash of warning glazed over Albedo's eyes and it was clearly acknowledged as they took a few steps back.
That was the last straw for him, putting an end to their games. However, his reactions were more than enough to get their brain's gears whirring with new ideas.
"You're asking me quite a lot of questions and yet you've never answered any of mine. I think it's fair if I get to keep a few things to myself, no?" he swiftly spoke as he finally placed down the glass vial, rearranging his workspace.
They sighed in mock defeat as they crossed their arms, still unaccustomed to the cold.
"Touché. Well, you didn't confirm or deny anything so I'm inclined to believe that some of the things I said are true-"
"If I were you, I would be careful with what business I step into. You don't want to be caught in someone else's flames, do you not?" he spoke his final warning and for the first time lifted his gaze to meet theirs first.
They could feel their breath get caught in their throat at the shock of the intensity in his gaze.
Even so, they swallowed their hesitation and met his gaze head on.
"I've never showed myself to be someone cautious, no? I'm here for a good time, not a long time after all. Finding out the secrets of the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius is worth all that precious time, "
Albedo sighed.
This unforeseeable variable was going to be more than just a headache.
hi! this is my first fic and maybe series? i'm not sure yet since i hv writer's block and this blog was just to post the work im somewhat satisfied with. this oc (??) will remain nameless and appearanceless. idk why but im more comfy writing them that way.
thank you for reaching till the end and i hope you enjoyed reading! <3
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vegalocity · 3 years ago
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I have to ask for another Jasmintea because I love your writing so Kisses 15 and 28 and Touches 24, please. Preferably in Sandy’s perspective but you can do Tang’s if you want
Affection meme
15. Soothing kisses
28. Neck Kisses
24. Whispering in their ear, lips touching the skin
I don’t think we done any Jasminetea stuff where Tang is Just Some Guy, so i’m gonna do that here because it’s my favorite theory (like everyone else has some deep connections to the classic Pilgrims, Tang is just Some Guy, it’s hilarious)
@tigerseye46
--
He knew the way trauma worked, that sometimes, even long after you’ve processed and moved on, it can still hit you again. It’s one of the things he’d learned rather quickly after starting therapy. His therapist had wanted him to understand that first and foremost so he could better handle these moments as they came and not begin to think that he may be ‘getting worse’ or something along the same lines.
Thankfully he was always content with being the odd duck in his little family, new and old members alike knew that he preferred solitude. While he enjoyed company and would be as pleasant as possible, while he’d do anything for his family, he just preferred the quiet. Which meant that when those sort of relapses happened and a trigger made its way straight into his panic response he was alone.
Well… not ALONE alone granted at least Mo and the other cats were always there, but alone-ish.
There was no point in bothering the others with it. The kids would just be worried, He’d rather Pigsy not find out, Eldest brother…. Likely already knew, he’d poked into his brother’s web history when they were at Flower Fruit Mountain he’d spotted ‘Do I have PTSD?’ in his search history, so it couldn’t have been hard for him to put two and two together.
But Tang…
He really didn’t want Tang to know.
It wasn’t exactly a hope that had any real chance at turning out in his favor, especially since through some minor miracle Tang had somehow gotten it into his head that he was actually someone worth desiring, and now they were… a thing… then surely it would be coming out sooner or later.
He’d just more realistically hoped that it would be on his own terms.
Not like this.
Not with him sealing himself in the water tight shower stall on his boat, letting the water run with the drain plugged until he was totally submerged because the water in the harbor was too dirty too slimy, too full of pollution and invasive mollusk species, it wasn’t the way water was supposed to be, but the only way he could feel okay right now was if he let his gills open up and breathe so he had to make do.
It wasn’t ideal. When he had these specific bouts he’d much rather just take the day, sail out until land was just a speck on the horizon and the ocean water felt much more right, but he didn’t have the option today, he really didn’t want to cancel the date he and Tang were going to go on tonight, and that coupled with the fact that he’d long since given everyone standing ‘always welcome aboard’ invites, that meant that anytime within at least fifteen minutes of the assumed meeting time, Tang was going to just show up, and he needed to be ready.
So this and then whatever yoga he could fit in the time between him calming down and the assumed date time would likely help him stabilize enough that he could handle tonight, at worst he might not stay for a cup of tea when he brought Tang home like the gentleman he wanted to be (and both Tang AND Pigsy would playfully mock him about being) and he could then take tomorrow for himself and do his usual plan.
He knew better than to get frustrated, days like this were just part of the process, he should be glad His bad days didn’t usually try to bring out the rage that had (for the most part) become quiet.
Then there was a tapping on the glass, disturbing the water and making an echoey ‘thunk thunk’ that startled him from his meditation. He flailed and the water sloshed and swirled around him with his motions, as he turned in the direction of the threatthreatthreatthreat the noise.
Tang was peering in on the other side, eyes wide and curious.
“Did I come at a bad time?” his voice was distorted and muffled between the glass and the water but Sandy heard him all the same, his heart a panicked flutter in his chest when did Tang even get there? Why was he here so early? Or- or was he on time? Did he lose track of time? He couldn’t lose track of time like that! Not when he still wasn’t better, not when being outside the water made his skin too dry and his hair too stiff and his gills close up and notsafenotsafenotsafenotsafe-
He wasn’t ready yet. He wasn’t ready yet! He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out he wasn’t better yet.
It seemed Tang quickly began to pick up on what was going on, much to Sandy’s equal relief and embarrassment, curious eyes turning sad for a moment, before the thoughtful gears began to turn. He nodded to himself and held up a hand.
-Before standing and calmly leaving him to his devices.
The part of him that was still screeching and refusing to calm insisted that it was better this way, but he still couldn’t help but miss the company, however brief it was.
Tang was always a bit… energetic… in comparison to Pigsy or himself (even back when they were young! (when Pigsy and Tang were young at least)) a bit of a thrillseeker even if he didn’t overtly appear as such. But he was glad that he at least had the good sense to just leave Sandy to his devices, perhaps fixing himself some tea and settling down with a book, allowing Sandy the time he needed before he was ready, honestly Tang was just such a great guy already it did quite a bit to settle his mind to be assured that he was going to be patient with him when it came to this, should it happen again (he hoped not for a long time, but his hands weren’t anywhere near done shaking yet so these ‘unsafe’ moods might start making themselves more frequent again.
And then Tang burst back into the room, shed of his outer layers and clad only in his undershirt and boxers and a stepladder, determined grin looking far too cute for the pieces Sandy was quickly putting together. It didn’t take much for his head to go above water so he could speak, he technically just hand to arrange himself so he was sitting on his knees instead of rear and straighten his back, and Tang had the look in his eye that implied this was probably going to be an ‘academic debate’ he’d lose--Several argument points and a fair few more rebuttals already on the tip of his partner’s tongue as he set the stepladder at the base of the shower and started attempting to heave himself over the edge of the shower walls--so he did so to both be able to speak and to better make a bit of room.
“Studies! Have! Shown! -huff huff- that! Acts! Of-!” A yelp cut Tang off as his grip nearly slipped and sent him backward, Sandy jolted, about to stand up to help but Tang regained his footing and held out a hand to wave him off as he finally was half tilted on the top of the glass shower wall, resting for a moment before trying to heave the rest of his body over the edge. “Where was I? Right, acts of solidarity are better for recovery in the long run than simply allowing the person who needs it to stew on their own.” And then with one final scrabble against the glass Tang braced himself and dropped.
And would have completely bashed his head against the showerhead if Sandy didn’t reach out and properly lower him onto the tile.
Instantly he watched his partner freeze up, stiffen and hands suddenly clamp around his chest as the temperature of the water hit him at once.
“Wow that’s cold!”
Sandy hummed and prepared to help him back out but Tang took a breath and dunked his head and shoulders underwater briefly to be properly soaked before resurfacing, pushing his hair back in a way that had no business being so pretty while Sandy was still in the middle of freaking out. “Much better.”
“Can you talk right now?” Quite the question. Talking while his gills were open was always a bit of a hit or miss situation. Sometimes it just made his voice sound a bit garbled, but if he had just surfaced from the water-
He held out a hand infront of his mouth and tested, and sure enough nothing but the faintest huff came out. So he just shook his head in the negative and smiled to try and relay a quick apology.
Tang hummed. “Yes or no questions then.” He was too good. He’d clearly researched this whole thing long ago and had been preparing what to do when the time came ever since, not coming out and saying so, but being prepared when the opportunity arose.
In a strange way it sort of reminded him of something Master would do… He really needed to get back in contact with Sanzang actually, But what would he say to him? Would master even recognize him after everything that had changed? Would he be upset that he’d tracked down Middle Brother’s reincarnation and hadn’t immediately gone to tell him? Or keeping the fact that Eldest Brother was starting to participate in the world around them again and hadn’t immediately gone to him and told him he was right in anticipating Sun Wukong’s eventual return? Would he just be upset with him for how long it had been since they’d spoken? They used to all be so close would the gap that would have formed be so wide and massive that they may as well be strangers again-
“Can I touch you?” Tang broke through his quickly spiraling thoughts calmly. Sandy peered down into the water again and saw him wringing his hands nervously.
He nodded.
“Just push me off if it gets uncomfortable.” Tang paused for a moment. “Not too hard though, Pigsy might say i have a hard head but I don’t know if it would handle collision with tile”
Sandy was able to get a quick laugh out of that, though it came out as silent as anything else with his throat and lungs full of water.
He opened his arms and Tang slotted comfortably inside. It was a bit awkward, since he had to make sure his partner could keep his head above water, but it was manageable, quickly Tang braced himself on Sandy’s shoulders and began to press gentle kisses to what exposed skin was above water.
And it was a bit embarrassing how quickly it was calming the raging storm in his mind. Just… the presence of another warm body against his but still cool and protected by the water around him, it made a shiver crawl up his spine but… in a pleasant way.
Tang pressed himself a little further against Sandy’s chest, mouth resting on the space between his cheek and ear. “I’ll shut up now.”
He wished he knew how that little insecurity got its way into Tang’s head. The man was one of the most confident people he knew, (save Big Brother, but nobody could shake the confidence of Sun Wukong.) and he would show unshakeable he was under cruel words every time they were aimed at him, hell, his primary method of rapport with Pigsy was the both of them bullying eachother relentlessly (in their own words too!) but for some reason once they got romantically involved Tang kept making self-deprecating jokes about being ‘annoying’ and ‘talking too much’ and Sandy’s heart ached when he couldn’t help but wonder how many relationships Tang had been in that crumbled from his supposed ‘annoying’ nature.
Tang took then to take a gasping breath and plunged beneath the water. Sandy was worried for a moment, but then it seemed like Tang knew exactly what he was doing, quickly pushing aside the floating beard hair and wriggling his face in to get near his neck, and for a moment Sandy froze. His gills were still gently pushing and pulling the water through his system and even though he knew Tang would never (intentionally) hurt him his body stiffened as his face (Mouth, teeth, he knows how painful it is to have air blown into your gills he hates it he hates it what’s Tang gonna do he has him at his mercy now) came near such a sensitive part of his body.
Tang placed a gentle kiss on his neck, right over the topmost gill and pulled back out, taking a gasping breath upon surfacing.
“You know, today might just be a good day for one of those low energy ‘Stay in’ dates, wouldn’t you agree?” He was so good.
Too good for him.
But still Sandy nodded and Tang smiled at him in that handsome broad way again before taking another breath and plunging back down.
--
send me stuff!
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theladyofdeath · 4 years ago
Text
In the Bleak Midwinter {18}
A Throne of Glass Period AU: 1920s.
Summary: 2 years after Arobynn Hammel is killed by Rowan Whitethorn, Maeve has returned from Eyllwe with a vengeance. Meanwhile, Rowan is getting married, Lorcan is a father, and Lysandra is finally ready to give her heart away. There’s been peace in The Cadre’s Orynth for 2 years, but peace never lasts.
A/N: Oooooooooh boy.
All characters belong to SJM. I am no more than a fan with a plot.
**Warning: mature content - language, alcohol use, drug use, sex, murders and shit.
Links & masterlists:
Fanfic Masterlist
Ask me
The Cadre - 1920s AU {TOG}
In the Bleak Midwinter {The Cadre, Part 2}
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Rowan rode in the back of the car, right next to Cairn. He hated it, knowing full well he wanted to lash out and kill Cairn on the spot, but also knowing it would bring harm to Aelin. 
For the entirety of the ride, Rowan didn’t say a word, no matter how bad he wanted to. Cairn kept looking at him, tauntingly.
“Where’s my wife?” Rowan asked, quietly.
Cairn spun Rowan’s pistol around his finger, having already stripped him of his weapons. 
“Don’t make me ask again,” Rowan asked, in a deadly calm. 
“She’s alive,” Cairn answered, simply. 
“And unharmed?” Rowan asked, staring at his gun in Cairn’s massive, scarred hand. 
Cairn met Rowan’s gaze. “She was when I left, but that was a few hours ago. A lot can happen in the span of a few hours.” 
Rowan’s shoulders tensed, but he didn’t push. He was caught somewhere between wanting to grab his gun back from Cairn and putting a bullet through his head and saying fuck the consequences or sitting still, complying to the demands he was given, and probably getting shot by the end of the night.
At least, if Rowan got shot, his family would be safe. 
At least, that was the theory. 
Rowan opened his mouth to make a retort, but Cairn cut him off. “Say one more thing, and I’ll kill you with your own fucking gun. How tragic would that be?” 
Rowan’s lips snapped shut, but the look in his eyes was worth a thousand words. 
He hated this, every moment of it. Although grateful Lucy was home with Lorcan, Maeve still had his wife, his unborn child, and every chance he had to kill one of Maeve’s men and he couldn’t, didn’t, it drove him mad. 
They eventually pulled up to a home, quite a ways from Orynth’s border. They must not have cared that Rowan was seeing it now.
Considering he wouldn’t be leaving it alive to retell the tale. 
Rowan didn’t put up a fight as Cairn opened the door, ordering him out. In fact, he was quite cordial as he followed Maeve’s first in command into the old manor. Rowan didn’t know what he had been expecting, considering the landscaping wasn’t in horrible condition, but to find every piece of furniture covered in white sheets as if the owner was on an extended-holiday was not it. 
He tried not to look too intrigued, though, as he followed Cairn through the hallways, then through the door that led down to the kitchens. 
It was freezing, and the entire place was covered in webs as if no one had bothered to dust down there in a while. Rowan tried to keep his eyes open, trying to look for any sign that Aelin had been through there, but he was only met with a stone floor, and stone walls. They walked past the kitchen, further down the hall, where no windows let in any sort of light.
Candelabras lined the walls, though, which only made Rowan nauseous as he was reminded of some sort of medieval dungeon. 
When they came to the end of the hall, and Rowan’s heart was nearly ready to beat through his chest, they halted in front of a closed door.
Cairn knocked on it, twice, and they waited.
For a moment, nothing happened, but then it swung open, and Rowan followed Cairn inside. 
Maeve was lounging behind a massive oak desk, completely unphased by the arrival of her nephew. Instead of surprise, she was smiling at him as he entered, her eyes lit with something that made Rowan’s nausea grow worse.
“Hello, nephew,” Maeve crooned. “It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Rowan said nothing. His lips remained closed as he stared, waiting. 
“I have to admit that I feel…” she paused, trying to decide on the perfect word. “Exhilarated. I’ve been trying for this victory for so long that I almost thought it was nothing more than a dream.” 
“You haven’t won yet,” Rowan said, simply.
Maeve snorted. “I beg to differ. The second I got Aelin Galathynius into my company - spoiled little bitch, she is - I knew I had you wrapped around my finger.”
Rowan lifted his chin.
“You are mine now, nephew,” she crooned. “You will die.”
“Where is she?” Rowan breathed. 
“Here,” Maeve answered, her voice light, which only pissed Rowan off more. 
“I want to see her,” Rowan replied, keeping his voice as calm as possible. 
“That’s not possible,” Maeve replied, without any hesitation. 
“Surely if you’re going to kill me, you’re not so cruel that I can’t say goodbye,” Rowan responded. 
“And how do you know that I’m not so cruel?” Maeve asked, humored. 
Rowan’s jaw was rigid, and for a moment, he said nothing. He stared at his aunt, at the woman he had known his whole life, at the woman he’d used to live with, used to work for, and wondered how the fuck they got to where they were now. 
He blamed it all on Arobynn Hammel. 
In one fluid motion, Rowan reached down into his boot and pulled out a small, handmade bomb that Vaughan himself had constructed, He held it close to him, his fingers hovering near the pin that held it all together. 
Everyone in the room froze, Maeve’s haughty smile finally fading away. 
“I will cooperate, under one condition,” Rowan said, slowly. “Aelin goes home. Today. Now. Safely. You can take me, have me, kill me, but my wife goes free.” 
Maeve’s eyes narrowed. “And if I say no? She’s in this building, you set that off, she dies, too.”
“So do you,” Rowan responded. “And all your men.” 
“You’re bluffing,” Maeve spat.
Rowan’s grin was one to behold. “Would you like to test that theory?” 
Maeve watched him, carefully. “Vaughan made that.”
“Yes.”
Her grin reappeared, and she shook her head, slowly. “You forget that I know you all. Very, very well.” 
Rowan said nothing, unsure of where she was going, but not liking it, not one bit.
“I’ve seen many of Vaughan’s creations through the years,” Maeve went on, leaning back in her chair. “Both those that he has made to actually take lives, and those he’s made to use as a pawn.”
Rowan stayed perfectly still, perfectly calm. “Don’t test me, Maeve.”
“Don’t lie to me, nephew,” she spat. 
The second Rowan moved, the butt of his own handgun hit him in the back of the head.
He remembered nothing after that for a long, long while.
~~~~~
“You let her take him?” Lysandra’s voice boomed through the manor.
“We had no choice,” Gavriel replied, his voice low. “What Rowan wants to do, he does, it doesn’t matter what we thought-.”
“He’s in Maeve’s hellhole!” Lysandra shouted. “She’s going to kill him!” 
Aedion was standing just behind her, softly rubbing her lower back. She stepped away, not wanting comfort. 
“We’re going to work out a plan,” Gavriel followed.
“A plan,” Lysandra repeated, mockingly. “Why does that not sound promising?” 
“Way to put your faith in us,” Gavriel growled. “I understand you’re worried-.”
“Worried?” Lysandra interrupted, laughing humorlessly. They thought she’d say something else, thought she would blow up, thought she would tear them all to shreds, but she didn’t.
She just shook her head and turned her back to all of them, then walked away. 
“She’s right.” Lorcan’s voice came quietly from the corner where Lucy was sound asleep on his shoulder. “We let him go, and we shouldn’t have.”
Gavriel said nothing. Instead, he took a cigarette out of his jacket pocket, put it between his lips, and lit the tip. 
“We don’t even know where Maeve is holding them,” Fenrys said, leaning back in a chair in the dining room, his hat over his face. 
No one bothered to correct him. 
He was right. 
“Would you like to know what I think?” Natalia asked. 
All at once, they answered, “No.” 
With a scowl, she hurried out, following Lysandra. 
“I’ll go meet with Rhoe and the others,” Aedion announced. “See what we can find out. I’ll come back in a few hours to tell you what I know.”
Gavriel nodded, and Aedion was gone to tell Lysandra goodbye. 
“And what do we do?” Lorcan asked, quietly. “While we wait?”
Lorcan, Fenrys, Gavriel, and Vaughan all looked at one another, realizing that it was the first time they had ever been without Rowan, since he had been their leader. Gavriel hated to admit that he felt like he felt when they had lost Rowan’s father. But, they wouldn’t vote on a new leader, not yet.
Rowan’s fight was not finished. 
It wouldn’t be finished. 
He was going to escape, going to live, going to beat this shit. 
“We…” Gavriel began, then shook his head, taking another drag from his cigarette. After blowing out a long breath, and a puff of smoke, he continued. “Vaughan and I will go talk to our guys on the police force. Lor, you and Fen go back to the tracks and see if you can find any signs, or tracks, follow them. As soon as you have a decent lead, come back here. We’ll all meet up in a few hours and take it from there.”
There was a moment of silence, but then Fenrys asked, still beneath his hat, “And if we’re too late?” 
The room fell silent. 
It was a risk. Every moment they spent looking and finding nothing was a risk. 
A risk they had no choice but to take. 
Gavriel just shook his head. “We won’t be.”
It was a promise he couldn’t keep, but he would try to keep it if it was the last thing he did. 
He wouldn’t say the words, wouldn’t bury Rowan, who was like a younger brother to him.
The words would not fall from his lips, not if Gavriel could help it. And yet, the words wouldn’t stop replaying through his mind as he stood from the dining room table, reloaded his gun, and left the manor with Vaughan.
In the bleak midwinter.
~~~~~
Aelin had been crying for hours.
At least, it felt like hours, but she had no way of knowing how much time had truly passed. 
The moment the door to her prison opened and Rowan was tossed inside, bloody and unconscious, she had lost it.
For a while, she had tried to wake him up, to no avail. Then, once she made sure he was breathing, she just waited.
And the waiting was agonizing. 
Leaning against the wall, in the dreadful silence, she watched Rowan’s chest rise and fall. Slowly, shakily. 
His lip had been cut, his eye bruised, as if knocking him out hadn’t been good enough, the assholes under Maeve’s command had to leave their mark, too. 
Feeling completely exhausted, she crawled over to Rowan and laid down beside him on the cold, hard floor. Rowan didn’t move as Aelin laid her head on his chest, and draped an arm across his waist. 
A tear slid down her cheek, onto his jacket.
“Please wake up,” she whispered, pleaded, begged. “We need to get out of here, Ro. You, me, the baby….we need to get out of here.” 
Nothing.
She grasped the fabric of his jacket, clinging to it with all that she had. At least Lucy was safe. At least, she hoped so. When Rowan woke up, Aelin would ask.
And Rowan would wake up.
Because, if he didn’t…
No.
The thought was too excruciating.
“Ro, Ro, please, wake up,” she whispered, although she was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open. “I love you, sweetheart, and I need you to wake up. We can get out of this, baby, but I can’t do it alone, okay?”
She could hear his heart beating beneath her ear, through the layers that covered his chest. 
When she received no indication of Rowan waking up, a sob tore through Aelin’s body. She closed her eyes, taking in his scent, memorizing everything she could about her husband.
If this would be their last moment alive, she would take in everything she could, hoping it went with her to the afterlife. She hated it, though. Hated that this is what she would bring into the afterlife with her.
Memories of lying together on the floor, blood streaked across Rowan’s face, him unresponsive. Aelin must have fallen asleep, and it’s exactly what she dreamt about.
Rowan, unconscious, dying, and her soon after. Then, the three of them - Rowan, her, and their daughter - walking into the afterlife. 
Their daughter looked just like her father.
Silver hair, green eyes, sun-kissed skin. She was beautiful. The most beautiful. Aelin couldn’t believe how much love she had for the little girl. 
But then she woke up, her eyes shooting open. 
A hand had moved to her lower back, and when she lifted herself up, she saw Rowan’s eyes watching her. He was exhausted, she could tell, in pain.
But he was awake. 
“Rowan.” Her voice was part whisper, part sob, part disbelief. She cupped his face as she kissed him, carefully. “I was so afraid, so worried you were….”
Her words trailed off, unable to say any of what she was actually thinking. 
“I’m okay,” Rowan said, his voice raspy, tired. He reached up with a shaky hand to brush a loose strand of hair out of her face. “I’m going to get  you out of here.”
“What-.”
“I’m going to make a deal.”
“No,” Aelin breathed. “No, unless it includes you and me walking out of these doors, together.”
Rowan eyed her for a moment, his gaze soft, before he said, “We both know that won’t happen. But, I’m going to get you out of here, Aelin. You, and the baby.”
Aelin shook her head, knowing what he was going to say next.
“I’m going to have to give myself to Maeve, Aelin, but you and the baby will be free.” 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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nelllraiser · 4 years ago
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entangled | dave & nell
TIMING: current. PARTIES: @seizethecarpe and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: dave wants to make a snack of nell. CONTENT: sibling death mentions and ptsd symptoms.
Dave paced the beach agitatedly. He’d rented out the dingy he’d told Griffin about, and had started sailing out to quarantine himself when he had gotten the texts from the demon summoner. He wasn’t about to tell her what he was going through, barely even felt a twinge of guilt at the mention of Mina’s broken ribs. He looked down in agitation at her claw marks on his arm, the worn and bloodied bandages around the vicious bite from that rabid werewolf. Weird fucking week. Without even realising what he was doing, he’d turned the boat around and texted her to come to him. They could look for her mystery seal together. The first place Nell should check? Down Dave’s gullet. He smiled slightly at the thought, and looked up when he smelled her approaching. Dave loved a challenging hunt, alright. 
It was strange to Nell that she was now searching for two selkies when she’d had little to do with tacking them before a few months ago. There was the selkie from her birthday party that she still owed an apology, and then now there was a mysterious murder selkie out doing who knows what to try and track down. And somehow the only new selkie she’d stumbled upon in all that time had been Dave. Her seal luck didn’t seem to be going all that well. To be honest she’d been a little surprised to hear that he wanted her help finding this killer selkie, figuring he still didn’t trust her so far as he could throw her. But maybe their little chat after he’d returned her jacket had created a small and sinuous thread between them that could be tugged on. Squinting at the boat coming in, she kicked off her shoes to step into the edge of the ocean. “Alright- so where do you think this selkie is?”
There was, in some tiny part of Dave’s brain, a shrieking voice demanding that he turn around, go back. This was no longer an accident, this was premeditated. He knew this was wrong, that he couldn’t be trusted around her. Hell, he’d lied to her to bring her right to this rocky beach, trapping her away from other people so that no one would see her corpse drop beneath the water. Dave grit his teeth together, clinging to the edge of his boat. Don’t get off, that tiny voice whispered. Turn around. Call a hunter. You’re out of control. Call a hunter. You’d call a hunter on anyone else like this. 
Later, he wouldn’t be able to say whether it was his hunger or his pride that had him decide against it. He stepped off the back of the boat and waded up the beach towards her, his lips set in a thin line, his trident in one hand and his net in the other. “You need to speak up,” Dave growled, touching his ear as he walked closer, using the seconds of her repeating herself to close the gap between them. He whipped the net around her ankles and body slammed into her, tangling her feet in the thick rope webbing. 
Nell had been about to repeat herself when the breath was knocked out of her, in no way prepared to be tackled by the larger man. “What the-?” Her feet kicked instinctively, already trying to free herself from the netting she was trapped in. A familiar panic began to rise in her throat, remembering what it felt like to be held in a cage with little room to move. The net wasn’t exactly the same, but it was similar enough to bring the musky scent of the Ring’s underground to the forefront of her memory. “What are you doing?” she yelled at the selkie, able to feel her magic bubbling to life in her veins as an instinctual response. She didn’t want to hurt Dave, though. Hitting him with magic on the boat had been more of a defensive reaction when she’d been tired and spent, and after hearing Dave speak about his own guilt and having to soldier through it...she couldn’t help the shred of empathy that he’d spawned somewhere in her chest. “If you don’t get me the fuck out of this net I’m gonna- I’ll-” But even her threats fell short, her heart not yet in it when she wasn’t sure what Dave was trying to achieve.
The more she tried to untangle herself, the more Dave trapped her in the net, the weights dangling around the edges kept the net weighing her down as he dragged the net over her head, manhandling her roughly. He paused, body trembling with the exertion. He knew this one. She was dangerous, but not malevolent. He’d thought about tearing her throat out before, he’d been justified in it too. Someone so dangerous didn’t deserve to win. That was his gut instinct, his drive, not the hunger, because wanting to eat someone because you were starving with a full belly made no sense. The only explanation was that he’d weighed his choices, and decided she was a threat. Tiny and struggling under the weight of his net, though, Nell still made him pause. His gut encouraged him on. Dave roared, inch long canines just inches from Nell’s face, his breath stinking of seal flesh and rancid fish. Blood stained saliva dripped from his lips. 
“Get the fuck off!” Nell growled as the net simply entangled her more and more, still teetering between whether or not she should let her magic take hold. Beyond that was the problem of trying to remind herself that she wasn’t holed up beneath the Ring, even as she swore she could hear the whispers of Jax and his mind controlling voice in her ears. He wasn’t here- he couldn’t be. Not when he was dead. The distraction of trying to fight against her own mind was more than enough to have it be nearly too late before Nell really registered Dave and his blood mouth getting closer, and one scarred arm raised to be an instinctive barrier between her and the selkie. She didn't understand. What had changed between their last conversation and now? Maybe she actually had let on too much when they’d talked about guilt, and he’d realized she had far too much of it for her not to be a liability. And liabilities needed to be done away with. This was reaching a point where she needed to act, and she would have already gotten there had thoughts of past trauma not been so time-consuming. 
Without thinking, Dave bit down on Nell’s scarred skin, puncturing through flesh until his teeth hit bone. He paused again, unable to say why, save that it would take a moment to bite hard enough to tear a human arm off. Dave inhaled, like a connoisseur might sniff at a wine before inhaling. There was no smell to magic, but human flesh and human fear. It would scratch the itch like nothing else had. He breathed in and began to bite down when he caught scent of a much, much more enticing offering. Sweet and salty in equal measure. Half man, half seal. The perfect mesh of two extremes, the love child of the earth and the ocean. Dave shoved Nell backwards into the thigh deep water, and plunged into the sea. If there was a hesitation in his mind, Dave did not show it. 
The bite was the last straw. Pain ricocheted up Nell’s arm as she grunted in pain, magic ready at her fingertips and a spell on the edge of her lips to be let loose until her mouth was filled with salty sea water. She’d barely registered being shoved further into the water at first, too caught up with the physical attack. Now she had a bigger problem than a seal who’d changed his mind about killing her, the weighted edges of the net not helping in the least when it came to freeing herself. The water around her injured arm turned red as she continued to thrash for a long moment. Then she was forcing herself to be still, running through her options as she laid prone in the water. Get out, get out, get out! It was the only thought she could focus on, still feeling as if she were fighting against the iron bars of a cage rather than the rope of a net.
A pulse of magic, and Nell was finally free, the sound of the net magically ripping underwater echoing further out to sea. She burst through the hole, just big enough for her to step out of the cursed contraption, and look around for Dave, her uninjured hand already swiping some of the blood from the place where Dave had bit her over one of her summoning sigil tattoos. But...where the fuck had he gone off to? Confusion took hold now that she was free of the net, and Dave was nowhere in sight. Why hadn’t he tried to finish what he’d started? She might have sent a tracking spell after him, trying to find where he’d gone off to had the dripping blood of her injury not reminded her that she had other things to deal with before she could find him. Wordlessly, she gathered her shoes from the edge of the beach while she used her blood magic to scab the bite over.
As Nell trudged her way up the shore she couldn’t help but feel angry, already thinking of ways she might protect herself from Dave in the future...many of them ending with her going after him another day, and making sure he didn’t get another chance to go after her. But below her self-preservation was a returning of guilt, wondering whether or not she could actually blame him for trying to end things. She’d already proven herself a liability, and she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d tried to make sure she didn’t hurt anyone in the future. Still...she’d let herself hope that maybe he’d seen something in her worth not killing with the way they’d shared bits of themselves over her jacket. Stupid. The witch had known better than to put her faith in something like that, and done it anyway— looking for validation in the wrong places. With any luck, she’d be more careful next time, and stop showing her cards to anyone who so much as began to offer her solace.
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heyhihellowhatsup0 · 5 years ago
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Tangled Webs - Chapter Five (Peter Parker x Reader)
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Dark Webs Masterlist | Tangled Webs Masterlist
Warnings:   Angst, language, Smut (smut in this chapter!), Topics of death and depression, PTSD, more angst, violence, a bit more fluff and smut than the last series? Somewhat ignoring the MCU timeline due to mature content
Word Count: 5922
Summary: After doing your best to walk on eggshells around Peter, you finally reach the boiling point as you and him face (most) of your drama head on...
A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to post! But trust me, I think this chapter is worth it! There’s a lot of angst but some smut as well so I hope you guys enjoy this! I’m nervous af so please let me know what you guys think! Your sweet words and comments always make me smile! (Also I found this .gif on google, so if you made it, or know who did, let me know and I will credit!) Thank you xx -N
Local deli, ‘Delmars Delicatessen,’ was robbed early yesterday morning, leaving the owner minorly injured. Sources say the burglar managed to steal over $25,000 in cash from a cash safe in the back room. Officials have no word on how the burglars were aware of such a safe in the first place but suspects as of late are currently former employees.
The only identification of the potential burglar is that it was female. The woman who robbed the store managed to stun the owner with a taser and left him on the floor as she cracked the code to his safe and left him.
Spider-Man was not on scene during the robbery, making it the first actual successful burglary since the start of these random acts. Officials stated that the webbed avenger was off securing the Hudson River from a potential attack; making the burglary an open opportunity.
The Queensboro Police Department announced that they will be on high alert in the area in regards to catching the female burglar. The descriptions of the woman are currently nondescript, as she was wearing a blask mask and had no distinctive marks.
The previous five attempted burglaries within the Queensboro and Forest Hill area were all brought in to authorities by Queens’ very own, Spider-Man. There has been no comment or any sort of proclamation by any authority that any or all of these burglaries are related. However, locals have taken to believe that they are and are doing whatever they can to feel safe.
Spider-Man has released an exclusive statement with The Daily Globe saying he will be on a watch of his own to capture this masked woman in order to bring her in.
You tensed as you stared at the cover story with a wary look. You never had to write a news story about yourself before and it wasn’t a good look at that. You felt as if you were about to throw up and the worst thing was that Peter had no idea you wrote this about yourself.
A bad thing was done. A really bad thing. And you were the one responsible. You hurt a man who has never done any harm to you. A man who always treated you and Peter well whenever you went to visit him and his shop. And what you did to him last night was completely unforgivable.
You weren’t in control and you knew that. But it was still your body and you had to take responsibility for your body. Your hands being the only ones who put that mask over your eyes last night. Your feet being the ones who ran all the way to Delmars before it opened. Your fingers pushing the trigger of your taser gun to stun Mr. Delmar right into his side. Your leg being the one that kicked the safe open with your new strength, grabbing everything inside and using the same exact legs to run out of there before the sun came up.
You did as you were told but it was still you. And now because of that, you were wanted.
It wasn’t surprising that when Peter came home, he came home with a story for you to write. He just had no idea it was your story. He knew you needed a story for the Daily Globe and were doing so well covering these random robberies, he wanted you to spread the word to everyone in the city. It resonated with Peter a lot and you could tell how much this hurt him seeing his friend going through something like this. All because of you.
Peter wanted to find this person, you. He came home with such defeat, which was why he wanted you to write this story so badly. To scare the one who robbed Delmars that Spider-Man was looking for you. And he wasn’t going to rest until he brought you to justice.
You were also a reporter and you had a job to do. You couldn’t stop writing about the news because you were the news. And you had a reputation to uphold so you knew you couldn’t lie about what Peter had seen, that wouldn’t help anybody. The only thing you could do was withhold information that only Peter knew. The information Peter found out that the authorities wouldn’t believe. The corrupt or cons going on that Peter brought to justice.
And now you were part of that category, weren’t you?
You could barely even look at the article, or Peter reading it from across the table as he sipped on his coffee. The look on his face was something that he was proud of you, but you knew that if he knew the truth that he would be nothing but disgusted and horrified by you.
It didn’t help that you couldn’t tell him either. You couldn’t risk it after learning what Octavious would do to Peter if he found out. You already had so much blood on your hands as it was, Peter’s sure as hell wasn’t going to be one of them. Throughout all of this, you had to keep him safe no matter what.
Your hand went to your chest, holding your spider-web pendant against your palm as you watched Peter’s reaction as he continued to read, “I hope I covered everything,” you told him with an unsteady voice.
“You said it better than I did,” Peter told you, giving you a somewhat sigh of relief as he put the article down and gave you a proud smile. There wasn’t anything for him to be proud of though as you sat there awkwardly as he leaned over to kiss you cheek to let you know how he felt, “This is going to nail that woman to the wall, I know it,” he added lowly.
Nearly choking on your coffee, you let out an awkward laugh as you nodded your head. How could you even respond to something like that without sounding suspicious? Or without Octavious listening in and threatening you again that he would kill Peter. Because you knew he’d be listening in.
“Peter, are you sure that this was a good idea? How do you know that whoever this woman was hasn’t already fled the country? Or how do you know that she isn’t looking for you too?” you tried. You knew Peter could sometimes let things get to him a bit quicker when they were so personal to him. And you were hoping to maybe knock some sense into him to stand down a bit while you waited for Octavious to finish using you for whatever he needed you.
Peter scoffed as he grabbed his EDITH glasses, flashing you a cocky smile, “Y/N, please. I’ve seen her type thousands of times. The day I can’t handle an armed robber is the day I really do retire and go to that lake house,” he said to you as he tipped his head close to yours and captured your bottom lip.
Kissing him back, you tried not to make it obvious how nervous you were with him finding out the truth. What if he figured it out on his own? There was no way in hell that you could lie to him about it if he did. You worried about Peter constantly and now you were worried about him even more because you were afraid that you were going to hurt him. Both emotionally and physically.
“I’m so proud of you, Y/N,” Peter answered as he pulled away from the kiss, pecking your lips once more before he started heading down to the gym to practice, “Like I say, I’m just your henchman, right?” he laughed into another kiss as he slid his EDITH glasses up the bridge of your nose.
You mustered up a nod, “Love you,” you told Peter as you sent him towards the elevator to head out for the afternoon, leaving you face to face with the hack job of an article you had written.
It stared back at you like it had fangs and red eyes, like it was evil. And suddenly, you felt that way about yourself. Rereading the words you used to describe yourself; you read over again how many people were looking for you and how severely you hurt Mr. Delmar. And you had no idea what that sweet man had anything to do with Octavious’ plan.
What else was he going to have you do? Or who else was he going to have you hurt? You had a horrible feeling he wasn’t going to be done with you any time soon and that made you feel even more sick. Not to mention, based off the transmission you weren’t supposed to receive the other night during Peter’s mission, you knew Octavious wasn’t working alone; and there were things, bad things, that he didn’t want you hearing. At least not yet.
After staring at the paper for so long, you grabbed it and ripped it in half, flinging it across the room as if it were confetti. You couldn’t look at the mess you made anymore because the thoughts of what was going to happen next were too upsetting. You knew it would be inevitable before the next and you were only getting stronger. You didn’t know what you were capable of anymore.
“You did a stupendous job, sweetheart,” Octavious’ voice came through giddily. His happy-go-lucky tone made you even more sick to your stomach as you got up from your chair with fury.
“The money is yours, just get out of my head,” you told him, beginning to march up towards the lab to get his cash out of the safe. You needed out of this...whatever it was. And you were hoping the money would be enough.
“It’s not that simple. And you’re just what I need to finish this, so we’re not done quite yet,” Octavious chuckled in your head, which only made you want to cry right then and there.
It was then when you realized he wasn’t ever planning on letting you go. Not even if you were done. You were strong and capable of a lot and he knew that now. And because he knew that, he was turning you into his own personalized weapon. Because he’d never get caught when it came to you. And even if you got caught, they’d never find the chip in your head that traced back to him. Octavious would get off scot free and find someone else to manipulate.
You knew Octavious wasn’t acting alone. There was someone else, maybe a partner or even a puppet master of his own that was calling these shots. You knew you weren’t his first test subject but you didn’t know what happened to the others. Did they get killed? Or did the microchips not take like yours did? Maybe it made them sick? There had to be a reason why Octavious was keeping you over the rest, it was because you were the only success story thus far.
“Then you gotta tell me who else I’m working for,” you demanded as you unlocked the lab, heading over to your secret stash. Opening the safe as you saw the entire motherlode staring right back at you. Your mask, the loads upon loads of cash, and your unopened bottles. Everything you had been dying to get rid of.
“Do you really think you have power over me, sweetheart?” Octavious said as he suddenly forced you to lean into the safe and grab the bottle, “You’re nothing without me. You’re his proxy who writes little articles about what he wants while you drink away the pain. Thanks to me, I’m making you something,” he told you as he let go of you.
You slammed the bottle down on the floor, taking a step away from it, “What do you want with Peter? He’s no use to you and you have to know that I don’t control him,” you tried again as you tried to fight back the tears once again.
But Doctor Octavious laughed maniacally as you remained seated on the floor, staring down at the bottle that was beginning to look more and more appetizing the more you stared at it. But you knew Octavious wasn’t the one making you crave it right now, that was coming from you.
The stress and anxiety was eating at you bit by bit. Needing something so badly to take some of your pain away, even just temporarily. Fighting with your brain and going back and forth, hearing Peter’s voice in the back of your head. You knew you should refrain yourself, that’s what you wanted overall. You turned your head away from the bottle, fighting with your vision to not look at the temptation that was before you.
“I beg to differ. There’s a lot of things that worthless little spider would be willing to do for you and I’d bet money on it…” he threatened as he fixed your vision back onto the bottle, making you begin to unscrew the cap, “And I know what you’d do to keep him alive, right? So have a drink and let’s have a toast to your amazing work the other night and to many more!” he cheered in your voice.
Only he wasn’t forcing you to drink it. But he knew you would. It was a threat if you didn’t, otherwise he would kill Peter. That was his leverage over your head, knowing you would keep your mouth shut and comply with whatever he wanted because you were trying to save Peter.
Closing your eyes, you brought the rim of the bottle to your lips as the harsh scent ran up your nostrils. Scrunching your nose up with a whimper, you took a quick swig before you placed it back down on the floor. Wiping your mouth of the alcohol, you hoped that would be enough to appease Octavious to just leave you alone.
“Good girl,” he told you as you tried to relax your body a bit as you curled up near the safe as tears began running down your cheeks. Knowing perfectly well that with Doctor Octavious or whoever else in your brain, there was no relaxing. Not now, not ever.
There was silence and for a moment you thought Octavious had departed for the time being but you still felt his presence. He was just observing now, haunting you, reminding you that he could. At any given time, he could just pay you a visit or worse, take control of you.
Because he had full control over you because you were scared he’d hurt Peter. And you’d do anything, rob anything you had to if it meant Peter was unharmed. And Octavious was well aware of that and he was determined to use it against you at any moment like this.
“Now finish it,” he told you as he disconnected from your device. Automatically feeling a difference in your head, feeling a bit lighter as you sank into the floor; now clutching the bottle in your hand.
————
Peter deactivated his suit, catching his breath as he looked at the success statistics KAREN and EDITH had relayed for him after the last simulation had come to an end. He couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of the numbers that were displayed for him. It wasn't that long ago that Peter was failing simulation after simulation and he was glad that he was getting stronger and becoming a better fighter like he used to be.
Strong like the old Peter…
Walking towards the exit, he noticed Agent Kent standing by the door with a smile. Peter shook his head as he removed his mask from his head, “You know it's dangerous to be in here while I’m running simulations, right?” Peter told him with a joking voice as he gave him a high-five.
“Did you just win all of those simulations on the hardest level?” Kent asked Peter with an impressed voice. He watched as Peter nodded his head, walking past him to grab a towel to dry off, “Remind me to check to make sure they’re programmed correctly,” he teased Peter with a nudge.
“I programmed them, they better be,” Peter retorted with a smug look. He was feeling good about himself, “Got to be ready next time that lady thief comes by again. I’m on a high alert for her,” he told Kent with a knowing look.
Kent shook his head with a laugh, “Meeting tomorrow was moved to 8 am, don’t be late,” he told Peter as he walked down the hall towards his quarters on one of the lower floors. Great, an early meeting to talk about what else was fucked up in this city, Peter thought as he headed into the elevator, pressing your floor as he rode it back up.
But Peter didn’t want to think about how fucked up the city or the world was right now. He knew plenty of how the world was. Right now, he just wanted to get back to his floor. His own tiny haven in this enormous tower with little to no privacy. Even when he was practicing, somebody found him. He never truly had a moment just to himself. Not as Spider-Man.
The thoughts in Peter’s mind went blank as he felt the goose bumps beginning to raise on his arms as the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stuck out. Something was off as he stepped foot into your apartment, and he could tell right away that it had something to do with you.
Calling your name, Peter dropped his gym bag onto the floor and walked towards the bedroom, trying to find you as quickly as possible. He stopped in his tracks when he got a whiff of what was coming from the kitchen.
He turned his head and saw you standing by the stove, slicing some vegetables as you smiled up at him, “I’m making a frittata,” you told him quietly, trying to function as best as you could and hoping that the smell of the food was masking the other scents you knew Peter was bound to detect.
There was something off and Peter could sense it. But he couldn’t figure out what it was. Nodding his head he smiled back at you as he came behind you in the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, kissing your cheek in the process.
“Do you smell that?” Peter asked as he stood in front of the sink curiously. The same hairs still sticking up like something was wrong.
“The frittata?” you asked him, trying to keep yourself composed as you looked at him with the same blank expression.
Peter shook his head as he looked around, “Something doesn’t feel right,” he said warily as he looked around more, “I can’t tell what it is…” he trailed off as he walked into the other room to try to investigate.
“Stand down, tiger,” you snorted as he brought the vegetables into the frying pan to simmer for a bit as you cleaned your hands off, “A bit paranoid are we?” you offered again.
You could sense Peter’s paranoia and it was making you nervous. Mainly because you knew you were the reason he was detecting something was wrong, and you knew you weren’t going to be able to hide it from him. It was making your stomach do back flips, making you nauseous as the smell of the frittata you were making went through your nostrils while the alcohol you annihilated earlier was bound to resurface.
Before you knew it, your hand was over your mouth as you ran to the bathroom, pushing Peter to the side as you hovered over the toilet, emptying your stomach out as you heaved into it. Peter came up behind you, holding your hair back as he motioned his hand gently against your back to try and relax you.
Peter looked away from it as you slowly began to pull yourself away and clean your face in the sink. But he saw the clear liquid that was purged out and he knew the hairs on his neck were standing because you were the one who was in trouble.
“Y/N…” Peter bit his lip as he pulled your hair out of the way as you washed your face. You knew where he was going with it and you couldn’t face that truth right now. You just couldn’t.
“No, Peter,” you shot him down as you splashed some water on your face before you rinsed your mouth out, “Don’t start,” you warned him, hoping that would keep him from continuing the conversation. But who were you kidding? If the tables were turned you knew you wouldn’t either. In fact, you didn’t when it was Peter drinking excessively.
Of course, this time it was because you were forced to by Doctor Octavious. You just couldn’t tell Peter that otherwise he would get killed. So now, you had no choice but to act like you did this willingly.
“I have to, Y/N,” Peter answered lowly as he followed you out of the bathroom again, “I...I can’t be around you like this,” he finally said the words. The words he never thought he would say because he never thought he would need to. But he needed to.
Peter knew this was dangerous. You needed help but he couldn’t force you right now. And he also knew he couldn’t be around you when you were drinking so much. It broke his heart and he cared so much right now but you needed to care about yourself too, and you weren’t. But Peter needed you to so he wouldn’t fall apart either, as selfish as that sounded. And maybe you needed more of a push to get to that point to better yourself.
“What? You’re going to break up with me over this? When you drank, you threw me against the wall in a chokehold, Peter,” you reminded him vividly, still clearly not in your best state of mind. But Peter’s threat not only hurt you, it scared you immensely. The idea of losing him because of you was something you couldn’t deal with, not now or ever.
Peter winced at the thought. Those were his most dark and troubling times. And even though he took responsibility and was grateful every moment of every day you forgave him, he still had a hard time forgiving himself for what he put you through. It was hard reliving those memories and he tried not to so he could live in the present, with you. But right now, your present was beginning to look a lot like Peter’s past.
“I never said I was dumping you, I would never leave you. But I think you may need some time alone to figure out what you need,” Peter tried again, a bit more sternly but his eyes were filled with concern for you, “This isn’t you, Y/N,” he told you as he softened his tone.
You shook your head and scoffed at him, feeling your head getting heated as Peter started again, “Really, Peter? You’re one to talk about not being yourself,” you bit your lip as you pivoted in his direction.
“Me?” Peter asked monotonously, licking his lips as he saw all of the anger in your eyes. Peter really didn’t want this to turn into a fight. But it always did because you were still in denial. And Peter knew the only one who could make you see your truth was you, so until you did, it was an argument each and every time.
And he wasn’t sure how much longer he could watch you do this to yourself. Allowing his group therapy peer’s advice to look a little more intriguing.
“Yes. You’ve been acting like a completely different person lately,” you snapped back, trying to keep your tone level like Peter’s as you continued, “You asked me to move to a lake house upstate because you couldn’t stand the city and then acted as if it never even happened, Peter,” you reminded him of that incident and how the both of you were guilty for never actually talking about it again.
“You said no and the idea clearly upset you. I didn’t want to make you more upset by begging you to move. What did you want me to do, Y/N?” Peter asked you as he felt his throat beginning to feel dry. He hated fighting like this and he knew this wasn’t going to end well because now you were looking for a reason to blame Peter. He saw the signs all too well.
You didn’t know why you were so angry. You were hurt, and terrified of losing Peter, and you didn’t know what else to do. And now you were just letting out all of the things you had been bottling up over the last month or so, even though you knew that wasn’t fair. Maybe it was the alcohol in your system but you didn’t know how to turn it off.
“I don’t know. But the Peter I know wouldn’t have done anything of that,” you challenged him finally. The final nail in the coffin and you saw the look on Peter’s face, you knew that was an answer he was not expecting.
Because the old Peter was the one who you both hated. The one who put you in harm’s way and pushed you away until there was barely anything left. The old Peter was aggressive and hurt you in more ways he wasn’t proud of. So it took Peter by surprise hearing you say that. Maybe it was out of anger or to get a rise out of him, but you were both saying things you didn’t necessarily mean right now and he knew he needed to stop.
Peter walked over towards the kitchen and turned the stove off, seeing everything starting to burn. He shook his head as he cleaned off some of the utensils to focus his stress elsewhere, “Did you want me to shout at you like I used to? Kill someone?” Peter paused as he bit the inside of his lower lip, “Drink myself to death like you are because I’m angry?”
    He was making his own blood boil when he spoke, clenching the glass in his hand as he accidentally shattered it, making you jump backwards, “I am angry, okay? I am! I’m angry every fucking day and all of this work I’m doing with my group is supposed to help me keep my anger from taking over again. So are you saying you don’t want that? You don’t like that I’m trying to do this for me and for you?!” he shouted as he looked down at the shattered glass on the floor.
    Silence filled the room between the two of you as you inched yourself a bit closer to Peter, standing in front of the island as you looked into his soft brown eyes. Of course, you were so proud of Peter and how far he had come these months. And you knew he didn’t do this for you, he did it for him which was the most proud you could get.
    Peter was trying to get you down the same path he was and you saw that and you were glad he cared about you so much. But how Peter was the last few weeks, and possibly months, was a very shut down version. Trying to push you to therapy, and then when you declined, he would act like nothing had happened. Not the Peter you were used to at all.
    And maybe that was on you. Maybe you pushed him to shut down here and there. But Peter was a fighter, and so were you. So it always surprised you when you got to these boiling points. And this was a point neither of you reached until just now. Both of you feeling scared and upset, and you had no idea what was going to happen next. But neither of you could stop.
    “No. I want you, Peter, I do,” you told him as you took another step closer to him, “But you just seem so….different. Like lately you’ve just been Peter Parker without Peter Parker,” you told him in a small voice as you tried to catch his gaze, but his focus was on the wall.
    It was everything Peter didn’t want to hear. He knew he wasn’t the same Peter but he was accepting that. He thought after everything that had happened, you would too. But maybe it was because of the things that were troubling you that it was making you question and challenge Peter in return.
    Balling his hand into a fist, Peter had enough as he suddenly drove it right into the wall in front of his face. He saw you jump backward as you gasped at the loud bang. Pulling his hand out of the wall, his cut up hand now covered in blood was splayed against the wall as he steadied his breath.
    “That Peter Parker?” he finally asked you without looking your way. He knew he took it too far, and he was ashamed that he did that. Especially in front of you. He hadn’t lost his cool like that in months, and certainly not in front of you. He never wanted to blow up in front of you like that again. He was so embarrassed for letting his anger get to him for even a second.
    You swallowed thickly as silence filled the room between the two of you. Blinking slowly, you nodded your head before you grabbed Peter by his arm and pulled him towards you as you crashed your lips against his. Pulling him closer as you began to feel him return your kiss.
    Both of you were still angry and reeling, but for now you just wanted to be close to each other. You were both shaken by Peter’s words and your actions, and for now the intimacy between you both was all that mattered. A temporary fix for your laundry list of problems that neither of you knew how to fix.
    Peter pushed you against the wall as he rolled his lips over yours with lust and desire. Craning your neck to the side as he moved his lips down to your neck, finding your sweet spot right away. Picking you up swiftly, you wrapped your legs around his waist in between his sloppy and slightly aggressive kisses. Bringing your arms to the nape of your neck to hold yourself up as Peter’s fingers began traveling to your waist.
    His fingers tucked underneath your jeans as he pushed them off, dropping them to the floor as his lips found yours once more. Your pent up anger for each other building between you both as you helped him shake his sweatpants off; your breath heavy and ragged as the fire between you both grew.
    The back of your head hit the wall as Peter began to tease your entrance, your free hand raising up to his chest to feel his heartbeat. Both of your senses on high alert as you looked into Peter’s eyes as you located his heart. Listening to the thuds, your way of finding your Peter in there as your eyes began fluttering closed while you pushed Peter into you.
Peter grabbed you by the leg gently and thrust in to you slowly. Placing his free hand against the wall to support you both as he pushed himself into you further. Hearing you let out a soft whimper as you moved your hips into him a bit faster, your hands running through the curls on the back of his neck.
Grunting into your ear, Peter found your lips again. Your tongues searching for each other as your thrusts intensified, your whimpers and moans vibrating against your lips. He found your hands and laced your fingers into his against the wall as he moved his hips faster into you, letting his senses take over as he continued.
Peter cussed under his breath as he ran a hand up your bare leg and against your inner thigh. As you clenched around his length, your body burning with each and every motion as you bit your lip, beginning to feel all of the sensations take control as you gripped Peter firmly.
You held onto Peter’s hand as he began to circle you slowly with his fingers, making you moan louder as you felt yourself getting closer and closer to your edge. Your bodies forming a rhythm together as your kisses grew sloppy and more desperate for each other, the neediness for being close still apparent amongst the two of you.
Circling you faster, Peter kept thrusting into you as your whimpers together grew more and more. He could sense how close you were from how tense your body was getting, and he was letting all of his aggression out with you. He knew he wasn’t far behind as he found your lips again. Moaning into his kiss as he pushed you both to your edges.
Finally reaching your highs together as you cried out Peter’s name and he collapsed into the nape of your neck. Shaking and vibrating underneath Peter as his hips continued into you as he began moaning into your sensitive skin. Everything felt so intense as you began to open your eyes, slowly coming down from your intoxicating state.
Peter took a breath as he slowly brought you back down to the earth. Pushing the hair out of your face he reached over and kissed your lips again. This time it felt different from moments earlier, it was more loving, tender even. You can feel how much he loved and cared for you in the kiss as you returned the same thing to him as he lifted you into his arms.
    Carrying you into the bedroom, he knew you both needed to sleep this off. He placed you down on the bed in the darkness, crawling over to his side of the bed without even needing the light on. He pulled the covers up over the two of you and found his place in between your arms as he kissed your bare shoulder.
    The two of you didn’t speak, the silence spoke for itself as you both let the exhaustion from earlier take over.
    It wasn’t until you woke up in the middle of the night that you felt Peter get out of bed. Only you didn’t feel it, you sensed it. You rubbed your eyes as they adjusted to the darkness and crawled towards the edge of the bed, seeing Peter by the balcony window.
    Holding his gym bag over his back…
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astro-sweetheart · 5 years ago
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Inventing Into the Future - Producing Inventions by Predicting Existing Patterns
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Are you a thinker? Try using your creative capabilities to research existing patterns and also task those patterns into the future. Future trends are wonderful "seeds" for identifying potentially valuable inventions.
Present Trends
You can establish valuable inventions by looking at present fads and also forecasting those fads right into the future. Specifically, current trends are examined to forecast where the patterns will certainly go in the future.
As you predict present fads into the future, take into consideration the influence of the pattern changes on current products or services. This is an excellent opportunity to utilize your thinking, mind mapping, and masterminding strategies to forecast where a fad is headed in the future. When looking at future fads, take into consideration:
What products and services are gotten rid of by the future pattern?
Does the future trend produce brand-new groups of products or services?
Do the trend modifications enhance or change existing products and services?
What new issues are developed by future fad?
Create Solutions
Create brand-new inventions by fixing troubles created by the future fad or by developing brand-new services or products to sustain the future fad. What brand-new product and services will become commercially viable as a result of this future fad? Can you identify remedies to the ineffectiveness and also other issues that develop from the future fad? All of these solutions are potential inventions that may have significant industrial worth. Use your progressive capabilities today to produce these inventions.
You can also find out the InventHelp on youtube
Example
To show an example of projecting present trends, we will certainly turn back time as well as put ourselves in the late 1980s. Back then, two popular consumer gadgets were:
Personal Computers - Although not nearly as effective as today, many people were making use of personal computers in the late 1980s. Computers have storage devices, such as hard disk drives, that shop different kinds of data made use of by the computer.
Video Clip Cassette Recorders (VCRs) were prominent consumer gadgets for videotaping tv programs and for playing prerecorded web content, such as motion pictures. VCRs use magnetic tapes to keep video information.
The image on your own as a creator in the late 1980s and also you start thinking about future patterns. You anticipate that desktop computers will continue to increase in computing power, storage space capability, etc. This is reasonable based on the computer improvements seen in previous years. You additionally take a broad view of a VCR as a "video storage device". When you understand that the hard disk drives in desktop computers can save any type of kind of information (text information, audio information, video data, and extra), you think about the opportunity of storing video clip information (transmission) on a hard disk drive. Thus, the hard disk drive comes to be a replacement for the tape in a Video Cassette Recorder.
In the late 1980s, the cost of a disk drive that might keep numerous hours of video data would likely be far as well expensive for a consumer device. If you saw the pattern that calculating power and storage space capacity would boost quickly while the rate of the computer systems decreased, a future possibility as possible. Integrating this trend with the advancement of new video compression formulas that decreased the dimension of video clip data to be stored, an entire new product classification was created - Digital Video Recorders (DVRs).
A recent report shows that Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) are currently utilized in 22% of U.S. families - you may have one yourself. What fads can you examine today that may generate popular products and services in the future?
Take Action
Have a look at present services and products, as well as current fads, as well as attempt inventing some future products or services. Although it may take a few years for the technology to evolve in a manner that makes the invention readily possible, those inventions may have substantial future value.
The Refine of Marketing New Invention Ideas
New Invention ideas require to be nurtured and also motivated. It is much better to take your brand-new invention ideas to a company that can breed them. Numerous firms expand the brand-new invention ideas as well as it would certainly be a great idea for you to approach them for suggestions and funding.
The checklist of companies that nurture brand-new invention ideas is significant as well as it can lead to substantial expense financial savings and advantages to all parties. You ought to bear in mind that your new invention ideas remain with you in the sense of copyright as well as a hallmark. You ought to not surrender your brand-new invention ideas to anyone else and also monitor the very same for your monetary benefit. You can take the assistance of individuals who will help you out with making your new invention ideas right into reality yet you need to not let them take credit for the very same.
The copyright legal rights of the brand-new invention ideas have to remain securely with you and also this needs to help you in the process of nurturing the new invention ideas. There are firms as well as equity capital firms that help you with funding for your new invention ideas and also you ought to take the help of these companies regarding feasible. Therefore, the most effective way to approach them is to formulate an organization plan for your new invention ideas and also let them take the strategy as well as placed it to commercial use. Thus, you can retain the aristocracies after sharing them with the firms. All you have to do is call the buyers for your items that occur out of new invention ideas and let them bring monies to you. You ought to obtain a reasonable share of the flows of cash that build up from marketing your new invention ideas as well as you must use this to the fullest level possible.
Try using your creative abilities to research existing trends and task those fads into the future. You can create beneficial inventions by looking at existing patterns and projecting those trends into the future. Particularly, existing fads are studied to anticipate where the patterns will go in the future. As you project present trends into the future, think about the influence of the pattern changes on present items and also services. Develop new inventions by addressing troubles created by the future pattern or by developing brand-new items or solutions to support the future trend.
You may also like to Get your invention off the ground
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