#and her cousin when they became orphans and he's also 1) older than her 2) has a lesser alphabetization level than her 3) they don't share

[kashilascorner]

Halfway through David Copperfield... Emily ran away with Steerforth... And you know what i want a retelling of this whole book from HER point of view

[robininthelabyrinth]

JC adopts stray/rouge cultivators after the war au to cope with the destruction of lotus pier. also i love your writing so much!!

Gratuitously Acquired - ao3

-

1

At first, he took anyone who would join, needing numbers – needing people. There were plenty of cultivators that wanted to be associated with a great sect. Plenty, too, that were barely more than criminals, wanting to use the smoke and ash of war to obscure the past, to cover up old crimes and wash themselves clean.

Jiang Cheng wasn’t in any position to refuse them. Soldiers were soldiers.

After the war ended, though…

Some he cast out. Others, even more despicable, he slaughtered for what they’d done.

A few –

“Yan Qiao.”

The female cultivator in question, who had been sneaking out of the still mostly ruined Lotus Pier at night in flagrant violation of curfew, froze in her tracks.

“Uh,” she said. “Sect Leader Jiang. Fancy finding you…here…now…at this time…”

Jiang Cheng looked at the basket of buns in her hands. “You’re stealing leftovers from our kitchens to feed orphans among the common people,” he said. “Again.”

She blushed. “No one wants them now that there’s better available, Sect Leader! Really, they’ll only go stale, and then rot – and I never stole when it was the army eating them!”

“That’s not the point,” Jiang Cheng said irritably. “Tell me, how in the name of heavens did you really get branded as a criminal? Distributed too many alms? Did too much charity?”

Yan Qiao coughed, turning red. “I told you before, Sect Leader. I killed a man.”

“He must have done something particularly heinous, then. You’re shitat killing.”

“Now I am. Sect Leader, if you don’t mind…”

“You’re one of the ones who wants my surname, right?” he interrupted. “Consider it granted.”

Yan Qiao – no, he supposed he’d better start thinking of her as Jiang Qiao – gaped at him. “But…Sect Leader!”

“I’ve barely granted it to anyone, so you’d better live up to it, you hear me?” Jiang Cheng said in his best threatening voice. He’d been assured by several people that it was really quite threatening, anyway. “I don’t want any excuses. Now go feed your damn orphans, and in the morning I want a report on how you think we can do it in a more structured manner. I can’t have you sneaking off every night anymore! Now that you’re a Jiang, you’re going to have work.”

-

2

When they were done with war and started firmly on rebuilding, the Jiang sect’s name was firmly reestablished as a Great Sect once more, it was the opportunists that came.

Smiling faces, sycophantic voices, cowards one and all – like beetles crawling out of the woodwork, not willing to risk their lives, but willing enough to beg for scraps and advantages later on when it seemed safe enough to do so.

Jiang Cheng wanted to chase them all away, but his sect was still weaker than he wanted to admit, still rebuilding, still more army than civilian operation. They had valiant soldiers by the dozen, but they needed more than that. They needed administrators, supervisors, artisans, smiths, merchants, laundry-women…

They needed workers. The ones they got – well, cowards they might be, but skills they had.

He still rejected most of the worst of them.

Most.

“Bo Zhou,” he said, inspecting the surprisingly flush list of taxes they’d collected that quarter, and the man in question turned to grin unrepentantly at him. “You’d tell me if you were a con artist in a previous life, right?”

“A previous life, Sect Leader?” Bo Zhou said. He was still grinning, but then, he was always grinning. He had a crooked leg and an even more crooked heart, and he’d probably steal candy from little children if he happened to have a hankering, but he was amazing at getting people to do what he wanted. Too amazing, really. “Why limit yourself? What about thislife?”

“…Bo Zhou. Tell me you aren’t a former con artist.”

“I may or may not have had a sideline selling snake oil and protective talismans before I became a cultivator,” Bo Zhou admitted cheerfully, and Jiang Cheng pinched the bridge of his nose – less out of actual irritation and more to keep from actually laughing. The only person he knew that was more shameless than Bo Zhou was Wei Wuxian; he couldn’t wait to introduce them once Wei Wuxian stopped skulking around in wine shops long enough to get back to doing his job as Jiang Cheng’s head disciple and right hand. “Who would’ve known that making all those fake talismans ended up making me pretty good at making actual talismans when I became a cultivator? Really, who could have called that?”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Who taught you how to cultivate, anyway? Can I – I don’t know – seek vengeance on behalf of the rest of the world or something?”

Bo Zhou rolled his eyes right back at him. Shameless! “Is this about the taxes? Just be happy I got them all!”

“I can’t just be happy! What if this money is stolen property?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sect Leader. They’re what we shouldbe getting, and from all the right people. You told me this was the right amount yourself!”

“Yes, but no one ever actually pays the full amount!” Jiang Cheng enjoyed the way Bo Zhou’s jaw dropped. “I just wanted to see if you could actually do it.”

“I’m hurt at your lack of trust.” Bo Zhou paused, considering. “Also a little impressed at you for keeping a straight enough face to trick me. Well done, Sect Leader.”

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng said. “You too, Jiang Zhou.”

“It’s Bo…” He trailed off, comprehension arriving and speech departing, and this time he didn’t have a quick retort. He’d been nagging Jiang Cheng on and off for the Jiang surname for the last few weeks, more joking than anything else – he knew that Jiang Cheng hadn’t given his surname to the vast majority of the new people in his sect, only the very few he thought were worth it.

Jiang Cheng enjoyed the newly dubbed Jiang Zhou’s moment of speechlessness thoroughly, since he was moderately sure he wasn’t going to get another one anytime in the next – ever, possibly.

“You proved your worth and your trustworthiness,” he said, patting Jiang Zhou on the shoulder. It occurred to him that he should probably come up with a courtesy name for the man, although he wasn’t sure the man would want one. “Also, congratulations, you’re now the person in charge of tax collection. See if you can think up some new thoughts about supplementing our income, will you? We have so many costs, and I don’t want to rely on Lanling Jin more than I can help it, not like Gusu Lan…”

“Oh, really?” Jiang Zhou interrupted, abruptly excited. “I have so many ideas! How ethical do you want to be about this?”

Jiang Cheng paused. “…very?”

“Be reasonable, Sect Leader!”

“…moderately?” he tried, a little more desperately.

“I can work with moderately. I don’t suppose you’d accept ‘thin and barely plausible veneer’?”

“No.”

“Oh well. Moderately ethical it is!”

-

3

Most of the Jiang sect was slaughtered during the attack on the Lotus Pier. Disciples Jiang Cheng had grown up with his whole life, had expected to see by his side in the future, his friends, his family, even his petty childhood enemies – all gone.

Well, not all gone. There were some Jiang disciples that had been away from Lotus Pier at the time, whether on some errand or a night-hunt or other reasons; they rushed back to his side as soon as they could, of course, and formed the core of Jiang Cheng’s new Jiang sect. When he’d felt utterly alone, when even Wei Wuxian was missing, they had been there for him. They’d preserved their lives and then they’d promised them to him, and it wasn’t until they knelt before him that he really felt like a Sect Leader.

There was no way he could give any of them up now.

“Jiang Meimei, you can’t go,” he said, having completely abandoned all shame in favor of clutching at her robes as if he were a child. “I need you!”

“I’m not even a proper Jiang disciple!” she exclaimed, exasperated – or possibly just annoyed that her grand plan to sneak out in the middle of the night had been stymied by his ambush. “Just because my surname is still Jiang doesn’t mean I didn’t get kicked out, remember?”

“I thought you just left,” Jiang Cheng said, temporarily distracted. “No one ever really talked much about it, actually, but to the extent anyone did, they said that you’d decided that your inclinations were more suited to being a rogue cultivator. That you didn’t want to be weighed down by sect expectations –”

“Hah!” Jiang Meimei tossed her head. “As if it wouldn’t be better to be a roving sect cultivator than a rogue cultivator! I won’t deny that I had a fair bit of wanderlust in my youth –”

“You’re only ten years older than me, you’re not that old.”

“Shut up, brat.”

“You can’t tell me to shut up, I’m your sect leader.”

“You’re my baby cousin is what you are, and, again, I’m actually not part of the Jiang sect!”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jiang Cheng argued. “You’ve been at my side during the entire Sunshot Campaign.”

“I wasn’t going to let my baby cousin get himself murdered, now was I?” Jiang Meimei sniffed. “But I’m still a rogue cultivator. They kicked me out when I wouldn’t accept a marriage, and I’m still firm on that.”

Jiang Cheng blinked. “Wait, you don’t want to be married? Really?” he asked, concerned. “But what about poor Liu Lingling? You shouldn’t be sleeping with her if you don’t intend to be serious about it! I’m pretty sure she’s just waiting for the current project you’re working on to finish to find a matchmaker to exchange birth characters –”

“They wanted me to marry a man,” Jiang Meimei clarified, but her habitual frown had eased considerably; she looked almost on the verge of a smile. “A-Cheng, you’re being dense again. You’re the Sect Leader of a Great Sect now. You know that that means you need to have alliances, marriage contacts with other sects, and that means using your subsidiary branches.”

“Jiang Meimei, you’re the one being dense,” Jiang Cheng said. “You think I’d force you into a marriage? I don’t have subsidiary branches. I barely have a sect, even after all this time. I’m not Wen Ruohan, handing out my surname to anyone who wants it – I only give it to the ones that matter, the ones I want to keep, and those of you that actually share my blood are even rarer, even more precious. How could I give you away?”

Jiang Meimei pursed her lips.

“I really do need you,” Jiang Cheng said quietly. “You weren’t part of the Jiang sect at all, not really, but you still came to help me – you were there from the beginning of the Sunshot Campaign, and you’ve never strayed, never left. You’re my right hand. I can’t do without you.”

Jiang Meimei turned her head away. “It’s not that I want to leave you,” she said. “But becoming a rogue cultivator was hard enough the first time. I couldn’t rely on any of the things that I had always had, everything always changing. I was young and angry then, I could handle it, but things are different now. I’m less flexible, less compromising, older, more tired – I can’t just walk out on a whim and just rough it anymore. I have a girl who, yes, I want to eventually marry; I want to have children. I need certainty. Are you going to give it to me?”

Jiang Cheng looked down at his hands. He’d known it was going to have to come to this, but he’d been dragging his feet, not wanting to succumb to a reality that already existed. Had existed for longer than he wanted to admit, as if simply denying it would mean that it wasn’t the truth.

Like a child.

“Yes,” he said, though it tore his heart out of his chest to do it. “I will. Jiang Meimei…will you take the position of Head Disciple?”

Wei Wuxian wasn’t coming back. Jiang Cheng had already cast him out of the sect, just like Jiang Meimei had been, except in Wei Wuxian’s case it had been something that Wei Wuxian himself had demanded. He was living in Yiling now, and by all reports was quite happy there with his little Wen sect family that he’d picked over Jiang Cheng and all his family.

He was never coming back.

It was time to move on.

“Yes,” she said, and shoved her pack into his chest. “Now go unpack that for me. Consider it payment for driving me to extreme measures!”

“I’m your sect leader, you know,” he grumbled. “Officially, now. You could show me some respect.”

“Would you rather pay for my wedding down the line?”

“I’m going, I’m going!” And then, as he scurried over away, he shouted over his shoulder: “As if I wouldn’t be paying for it anyway! You think my Head Disciple’s going to be married in anything other than top style? Better start planning…”

“Don’t rush me! Brat!”

-

4

Jin Ling wasn’t surnamed Jiang, but he was the most important person in all of the Lotus Pier – and Jiang Cheng wanted to make sure everyone knew it. It hadn’t been easy for him to get the chance to help care for Jin Ling, especially here, so far away from home; Jiang Cheng had expected to barely be allowed to visit, to have to cool his heels outside of Lanling City begging just for a glimpse of him. Being able to take him home to raise for half the year, even if it was due to the dangerous infighting amongst Lanling Jin, was more than he’d ever dreamed.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t clear that Jin Ling himself agreed.

“He’s still crying,” Jiang Cheng muttered, rubbing his eyes. “Surely he’s got to stop sometime? I mean, just – physically?”

“They say a boy resembles his mother’s brother,” Jiang Meimei said, echoing the gesture. “If he’s got your lungs and stamina, Sect Leader, we’re doomed.”

“I’m rethinking the whole having children thing,” Liu Lingling said blearily, having fallen asleep on her soon-to-be wife’s shoulder several times, only to be woken up by the next round of crying. “I need sleep.”

“Go get some, both of you,” Jiang Cheng ordered. When his cousin scowled at him, he scowled back. “I’m serious. If he keeps this up, we’re going to need to go into shifts. I can last a bit longer.”

“That’s a filthy lie.”

“It is not. Your sect leader has given you an order – get to it!”

It was a filthy lie.

Jiang Cheng opened his eyes when the crink in his neck grew too irritating to ignore, at which point he realized he’d been asleep – and, more importantly, that Jin Ling was somehow not crying.

He sat up with a start, suddenly terrified: had something happened to him? Had he been silenced forever? Had Jiang Cheng failed this one last duty he had to his sister?

“Shhh, little one,” someone was whispering, not far away. “Let me tell you the one about the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd, yeah? You seem like someone who’d appreciate stars. It all started –”

Jiang Cheng went to go look.

A teenage girl was rocking Jin Ling in her arms and telling him a story in murmured tones, and Jin Ling was yawning and trying to gnaw on her shirt. She wasn’t even a cultivator, as far as Jiang Cheng could tell. Her clothing suggested some level of poverty, her accent the countryside – how’d she even end up here?

He wasn’t sure he cared.

Jiang Cheng didn’t want to disturb her, but he did anyway; a shift of his weight, a scuffling of his feet, and the floor creaked. The girl jumped, startled, but luckily Jin Ling was already most of the way asleep and just grumbled a little instead of starting to screech.

“How’d you do that?” Jiang Cheng asked, nodding at Jin Ling. “Make him stop crying.”

“My mother had seven kids after me,” the girl said, answering automatically. “And her sister had six. Someone had to learn to deal with all those babies, and it ended up being me. Think it’s just habit after this long.”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t handle one baby. He couldn’t even imagine.

That’s when the girl seemed to remember herself, and bit her lip. “Uh, sorry,” she said, hanging her head. “I heard him crying and I couldn’t resist...I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be here. It was an accident.”

“How did you get here?” Jiang Cheng asked, because accidental or not, a security breach was still a security breach. “And who are you, anyway?”

“My name’s A-Hua. I’m here to work in the kitchens, just got hired this morning; the fourth cook is my uncle’s wife’s cousin, she got me a job, said it was a good place to start – I was trying to find my way out so I could go to the servant’s quarters to get some sleep, but then I got lost…”

More likely she’d decided it was better to try to stay somewhere indoors than go out in the pouring rain to try to find her way to the right set of quarters, Jiang Cheng thought to himself. “Give me your hand.”

“Uh. What?”

He ignored her stare, took her hand and felt her pulse. There was a little bit of natural talent there, though not much; she might, if she tried hard enough, become a cultivator, but she’d never be more than a servant.

Unless, of course, she did something unusual to impress someone.

“Forget the kitchens,” Jiang Cheng told her. “You’re hired on a provisional basis to keep an eye on Jin Ling.”

The girl nodded, eyes wide as saucers. “Can you – do that?”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Yes, I can. What’s your surname? You can’t go around being called A-Hua, we have at least seven people that I know of that go by that name.”

The girl looked distressed.

She probably didn’t have a proper surname. Some people in the countryside didn’t.

But they really couldn’t go around shouting “A-Hua” every time Jin Ling was crying, which was basically all the time.

“Fine,” he said, giving in. “Do well, and I’ll consider letting you use mine. But only if you do well!”

-

5

Jiang Cheng was covered in mud thanks to a successful-but-at-what-cost night hunt and angry about it, stomping around the lotus pools on his way back to town, when he heard the familiar sounds of someone having a panic attack.

He slowed, involuntarily, and took a look: it was some teenager dressed in black, heaving miserably by a tree.

Jiang Meimei had once said that Jiang Cheng was a bit weak when it came to teenagers.

Jiang Cheng said that was nonsense.

Jiang Hua chimed in, quite loyally (if perhaps not with the best timing), and said he wasn’t.

Jiang Cheng yielded the argument at once to keep Jiang Meimei from laughing herself sick.

In view of that, he was better off ignoring the kid. After all, what was it to him that some kid was having a fit of anxiety right next the same old lotus pool that he used to have his own teenage fits of anxiety next to, under the shade of the same old tree that had sheltered him – one of the few places that remained untouched by the Wen sect’s aggression, one of the few places that was exactly the same?

Jiang Cheng groaned and walked over. “Okay, fine. What’s your problem?”

The kid looked up at him. He had dark circles under his eyes. “I think my heart’s about to explode.”

“That’s just the anxiety,” Jiang Cheng said, and sat down next to him. “What’s causing the anxiety? Don’t say that someone is better than you and your parents are disappointed in you.”

“What?” the kid blinked. “No, it’s not – it’s not that. I’m about to screw up the very first job I ever got.”

Jiang Cheng considered that. It was just different enough from his own issues that he didn’t suspect a plot, and yet close enough that he might actually be able to offer some expertise.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked reluctantly.

“Not to some mud-man,” the kid said, and – hey! It wasn’t that bad. He thought, anyway. Actually, it probably was that bad. “I just…I’m the only one left. I have to make something of myself!”

Jiang Cheng’s eye twitched. “What do you mean, you’re the only one left?”

The kid stuttered through his story. It wasn’t as bad as Jiang Cheng had initially feared, but it was still pretty bad – his small village had had bad harvests, and there had been starvation, a bad winter; the kid had been sent out to get help, but it had taken too long and he’d arrived back to find them all already gone. He’d been lost, but some traveling cultivator had agreed to take him on as a disciple provided he proved himself, had taught him all sorts of skills, cultivation and talisman-writing and music –

“Music?” Jiang Cheng asked. “Not the sword?”

“There was only the one,” the kid explained. “Obviously he kept it for himself.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t think much of that – surely this cultivator, whoever he ws, could have shared, just long enough to teach? – but he didn’t comment. It seemed fairly clear that the kid didn’t actually think very highly of his teacher, although he was very earnestly trying to be appropriately filial.

It was a little cute.

“…and I was supposed to wait here for someone when they came by here, some fancy rich person, and then get them to follow me, but it’s been ages and no one’s come by at all!” the kid wailed. “I’m such a screw up!”

“You don’t even know who you’re waiting for?” Jiang Cheng asked, and the kid shook his head. “How were you supposed to get them to follow you, then?”

The kid scratched his nose. “My master said that if I showed off some of my cultivation, they’d follow me right away.”

Jiang Cheng suppressed a smirk. “It must be very impressive cultivation, then.”

“…not really. I only know one trick,” the kid admitted. “But it’s not that hard, and it looks impressive – here, see, wait; give me a second, I just need to whistle –”

Zidian crackled to life on Jiang Cheng’s finger before the kid finished the first stanza.

“Stop that!” he cried out, leaping to his feet, and – startled – the kid stopped, blinking owlishly at him. “Is that what your master taught you?!”

“Yes?” the kid said. “Did I do it wrong?”

Jiang Cheng gnashed his teeth. “That’s demonic cultivation. Never do that, okay? Ever.”

“But then how am I supposed to get the fancy rich person to follow me, assuming he ever showed?”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes narrowed. If he hadn’t tripped over that branch and fallen into the mud – if he hadn’t taken an extra half-shichen to struggle out of the mire – if he’d walked by in all his usual finery, rich person that he was, and seen some kid practicing demonic cultivation…

He’d have given chase in a heartbeat.

More to the point, everyone knew he would. His reputation had been pretty much set in stone by this point.

“Let’s go find that master of yours,” he said. “Right now.”

Of course, that ended up leading Jiang Cheng straight into the bastard’s trap, which would have been a problem except that he’d taken the time to send someone to tell Jiang Qiao, who’d been waiting for him back in town, that he’d be a bit late and not to worry, just wait where she was.

She’d ignored his instructions and arrived just in time to knife the demonic cultivator – a human trafficker whose operations Jiang Cheng had shut down with extreme viciousness only a few months before – right in the belly, gutting him like a fish in a swift easy motion.

“I think I’m getting the hang of it again,” she said, smiling at the knife, and Jiang Cheng made a mental note to ask exactly how manymen she’d killed to get that criminal brand of hers, except the poor kid was sinking down to his knees with a horrified look and, shit, that horrible bastard, evil as he might have been, was probably the last person the kid had in this whole rotten world, wasn’t he?

“Does Jiang Hua still have those beginner manuals we dug up for her?” Jiang Cheng asked, and Jiang Qiao nodded. “Good. Tell her that starting today, Jiang Jianwen here’s her little brother. She’s been pining over raising someone ever since Jin Ling got to be too old to snuggle.”

The kid looked up with wide eyes.

“No, you don’t get a choice on the name,” Jiang Cheng told him. “Whatever name this piece of crap gave you, just forget it, you hear me? You can do better than him. But no more demonic cultivation!”

-

+1

“I wish I could visit the Lotus Pier,” Wei Wuxian mumbled, looking wistfully downriver. They were very close by, but he still didn’t dare, even though Jiang Cheng had grumpily extended an invitation through Jin Ling. So much had happened – he just didn’t know where to even start.

He didn’t want to get into all that messy history with Jiang Cheng.

He just wanted to visit, that’s all.

He missed Jiang Cheng, but he missed the Lotus Pier, too. The food, the places, the air…

“I just need a secret way in that even the sect leader doesn’t know about,” he sighed. He’d once known them all – but there was a different sect leader now, and a different Lotus Pier. He couldn’t risk it: Jiang Cheng might find out that he’d snuck in and feel hurt, thinking that Wei Wuxian was avoiding him, when he was just avoiding the conversation; that would just make everything worse.

Lan Wangji would have distracted him, but Lan Wangji himself had been distracted – some man in Jiang sect colors with a heavy limp and an excited sort of air had rushed over, shouting something about wanting to talk about tax policy and possibly also games of chance, and Lan Wangji had all but fled. It had been so funny that Wei Wuxian had nearly laughed himself sick.

“I know one,” someone said, and Wei Wuxian glanced over: it was a young man in Jiang sect disciple robes, little more than a teenager – only a few years older than Jin Ling, if he had to guess. He was smiling, ducking his head a little; he looked proud of himself. “I mean, if you really want. But only if you don’t mean any harm!”

How adorable, Wei Wuxian thought, and grinned at him. “I just want something spicy without having to go through the whole process of greeting people, is that a crime?”

“Not at all!” the kid exclaimed, beaming, and Wei Wuxian almost felt bad for conning him. Almost.

“Do you really know a secret way in?” he asked, pretending to be doubtful. “Really?”

Sure enough, the kid – Jiang Jianwen, apparently, he must be the kid of one of the ones that survived the massacre – was easily lured into insisting that he did know, and then to agreeing to act as guide.

And, moreover, it turned out he really did know his way inside, which made this the easiest infiltration ever.

Or so Wei Wuxian thought right up until he felt a knife point touch his ribs.

“Well done, Jianwen!” a young woman – also in Jiang colors – said, reaching out and ruffling Jiang Jianwen’s hair.

“Aw, it was nothing,” he said, just as bashful as he was when he’d been talking to Wei Wuxian. “I couldn’t have done it without shixiong luring off Lan-er-gongzi.”

Wait, that’d been part of this, too?

That was worrisome.

“Hardly nothing,” the older woman standing behind Wei Wuxian said. She had a certain sort of rock-hard steadiness that was more worrying than the knife she was holding on him – she was a powerful cultivator, familiar with killing and scarred with a criminal’s brand, and yet she seemed entirely at ease in a way that suggested a strong sense of righteousness, with no guilt or weak points he might exploit to make an easy out. “You successfully conned the Yiling Patriarch into following you right into a trap.”

Wei Wuxian wondered if he could deny it.

“I don’t know, shijie, that doesn’t seem that hard,” the first woman said. “Isn’t he the kind of person to run head-first into danger at the first instance?”

“Head-first into danger, and like his tail’s on fire away from dogs,” the older woman agreed, and – damnit. There was clearly no denying it; they actually knew him. Though from where, he had no idea. “A-Hua, Jiangwen, let’s go – we don’t want to be late for our meeting.”

“I don’t suppose I can convince you to tell me who we’re going to go see?” Wei Wuxian tried, putting on his most charming smile. “Or, perhaps, who you are, and what you have against me…?”

“Jiang Jianwen you know,” the woman said, rather unexpectedly. “I’m Jiang Qiao, and this is Jiang Hua. Our shixiong is Jiang Zhou – he’s the one that makes Lan-er-gongzi lose his wallet every time he’s forced to visit Yunmeng.”

Wei Wuxian was almost distracted with the tantalizing prospects of stories about Lan Wangji. Almost.

“You’re all surnamed Jiang?” he asked, surprised: he might have believed it for Jiang Jianwen, maybe, he was young enough to be the son of someone in the last generation. But Jiang Hua and Jiang Qiao looked absolutely nothing alike either to each other or to Jiang Cheng, and at least Jiang Qiao was old enough that he should’ve recognized her if she’d been a Jiang. There’d been a lot of people in the old Jiang sect, even if you limited it to those surnamed Jiang, but he’d been Head Disciple back then – he’d known almost all of them.

“We’re adopted,” Jiang Jianwen said. He looked very proud. “Sect Leader Jiang took us into the family as part of the branch lines.”

Wei Wuxian had never once in his life wanted to have the surname Jiang, not even when he’d been mocked for not having it. He’d never even thought about it. Not ever.

He felt a stab of envy at the word family, though.

“He gave you his surname?” he asked, and tried not to feel jealous when they all nodded. “Oh.”

It made sense, he tried to tell himself as they walked through the back streets of the Lotus Pier. The Jiang sect had been demolished, and Jiang Cheng practically the only survivor but for whoever happened by coincidence to not be at home – the Jiang sect would need branch family members, and adoption made sense. There was no reason to resent the idea of Jiang Cheng giving the name he had always treated as being so precious to a branded former criminal, to a con man, to a commoner from the countryside, to a –

“You were a what?” Wei Wuxian exclaimed.

“A demonic cultivator,” Jiang Jianwen said bashfully. “Not a very a good one, though.”

Wei Wuxian wanted to say something to that. He didn’t know what, but something.

“Enough chatter,” Jiang Qiao said. “We’re here.”

Jiang Hua opened the door and Wei Wuxian stepped inside.

Then he tried to step back out, only to be crowded in by the others.

“No, no, no,” he said. “No, I was willing to play along until now, but this is a step too far. You don’t understand! She’s going to eviscerate me!”

Jiang Meimei – older than the teenager he remembered her being when she left the sect, but still unmistakable – grinned with her teeth bared.

“Oh good,” she said. “At least your brain is still working. Now come on and have a seat, and we’re going to talk about how you’ve been treating my baby cousin recently…”

[lexpressobean]

Headcanon: The Aburame Clan is Actually just as Bad as The Hyuuga Clan, but Aburame Branches act like Special Tributaries, not Condemmed Slaves

I just love the Aburame clan peeps okay? I love Shino, and Shibi, and Torune, and Muta, and Bug Ninjas are just so up my fucking alley, y'all don't even know. But as I expand my version of Aburame Clan Lore for my own enjoyment, I had a thought. Am I fully invested in this headcanon? Naw, I just thought it might be an interesting take but it's also partially fanfic too. I decided to share it anyways because why not?

Edit: oops I thought I had added a read more line.

••

Despite the obvious consanguinous marriage going on in the NartVerse, Shibi married Kiyo Hibiki (oc #1), a strong and accomplished kunoichi in her own right, but essentially a "village girl" with no historical prestige about her name. This was a rare instance of a complete outsider marrying into the clan, and even rarer, it was out of love. Because of this, Shibi refused to marry his predetermined fiance, which was his 4th cousin (oc #2) named Sarin. Sarin was the older sister of Yasushi (oc #3), who was also the last Formal Master of Kochu and Yoji Aburame's mother.

The main purpose of the coupling was simply a pattern that had developed over the clan's history to keep up the Main Familial line's pedigree in check and favorable. Unlike Dojutsu wielding clans, where Potency of the single Dojutsu is coveted, The Aburame clan has multiple branch families that specialize in certain traits and characteristics that are helpful to an Insect Weilding Shinobi, and many families specialize in specific Insect Usage for generations indefinitely. The Aburame clan is actually HUGE as a result. However, Kikaichu are the most coveted as they live off of and manipulate Chakra. Kikaichu Tolerance is a must for Clanhead Descendants.

Example: Lady Kakine (Shino's Pat. Grandmother/oc #4) was the daughter of the Aburame Clanhead and a Rinkaichu Master of that generation. Lady Kakine had a younger brother named Kachio (oc #5) who became the father of Shikuro Aburame.

Shibi and Shikuro were first cousins, and Shibi has evey ability to tolerate Rinkaichu as well. But like Kakine herself, who was the first "renewal" of that specific trait in a while, he was dismissed from Rinkaichu and was made to focus on Mastery of Kikaichu, the bread and butter of the clan.

The only exceptions to the rule made were if a coupling helped bring prestige to the clan, as with Lady Kakine and Lord Taibi Aburame (oc #6) a non-hive individual (*bad trait*), yet a member who built rapport with the Third Hokage as an accomplished ANBU operative with a special Hanekakushi Summoning (*compensation and benefit* **These were the leaders first bestowed Noble Status too, after defeating the Kamizuru Clan in defense of Konoha**)

***This is why Shibi was the one who took Torune in after Shikuro died. I REFUSE to believe Torune was left a touch starved orphan, LET SHIBI HUG TORUNE***

Because Shibi broke family tradition (not that Sarin minded, she and Shikuro HAD been a thing and also maybe most definitely encouraged Shibi to follow his heart because they were happy for him???) Shino was born with a muddled pedigree that definitely ruined a good amount of the Main Familial Line's poison resistance for one thing (Rinkaichu venom included). However, Kikaichu Tolerance IS what makes the Aburame clan, and has been so heavily emphasized that Shino showed no immediate or latent signs of intolerance. Shino also sparred heavily with other members as a child to test such things, especially with a non-hive member named Chiaki (oc #7), 3 years his senior and a Yellow Hornet/Apoidea specialist. Shino got stung a LOT. But at least he was able to tough it out lmao. That's all the clan elders cared about. Chiaki hated causing Shino pain, but also didn't want to lose more of his own insects to those monstrous Kikaichu than he had too.

Shino is currently recognized as Shibi's heir, but Shino had to WORK SO DAMN HARD to earn that fucking recognition. This is partially why Shino was so... asocial even as a young child, and so full of self doubt and anxiety when it came to simply being able to be CONFIDENT in himself and his abilities. He wasn't hated by his own clan, but older clan members were NOT the most approving of him. But they better have kept their opinions to themselves, because Shibi was an absolute horror to deal with when provoked. Younger clan members absolutely LOVE/D Kiyo and by association, couldn't bring themselves to ever see Shino in a negative light. So his mom was a commoner, what of it!?

Traditionally, Aburame couples with Specializations will have two children when that specific trait/characteristic is chosen to be the next add-on to the Main Familial Line. One child would be offered as a tribute and the other would continue that specific family's legacy. And as it was a pattern among many known and unknown traits of the Aburame clan, members could usually predict when a specific trait/characteristic would be in demand. It is considered an honor to be a Tribute, yet it is also an extremely tense time for the family of the tribute to the say the very least. Not to mention dehumanizing. But that's what makes Shino so special, he was made out of Love <3.

Bonus Headcanons for sticking around this long lol:

•Shibi passed Fire Release to Shino while Kiyo, passed Earth Release to Shino

•Shibi has deep viridian green eyes, Kiyo has bright golden brown eyes, so Shino has shimmering hazel green eyes, or the more flowery version, Shino has Central Heterochromia with outer green and inner brown and brown specks too!

•Shino is quite a literal mix of his parents in general <3

•Shino has a predetermined fiance of his own, but is TRYING to put that shit off for as long as possible. His fiance, Moya (oc #8) highly respects Shino but is in mutual agreement. Her trait is Venom resistance via Exposure, and as an adult works specifically as Konoha Hospital's Resident Toxicologist under Eirou Nara (oc #9), a lead Pharmacist within the Hospital. Shino and Moya have a good, but awkward relationship. If Torune were still alive, he'd ABSOLUTELY tease Shino AND Moya about it.

• I just like creating drama, man, it's kinda fun in it's own way.

So yeah, food for thought. Because as fun as it is play around with Kekkei Genkai in theory, all and all, being part of a clan must totally suck.

[artificial-ascension]

I see stuff for "what would the Wammys kids be like as parents" but never "what would the Wammys kids parents be like" so here.

Wammys Kids Parents HCs

Mello

Mello's parents were in an arranged marriage because of the mafia families they were in

They actually really liked each other so they didn't mind the arranged marriage

They were actually in an arranged marriage because they were the oldest kids of two of the most powerful mafias in Russia and the leaders of those mobs wanted to join forces and did that by marrying their kids to each other

Mello's uncle didn't like how things were being run and broke the mafia in two and went to war with his brother (Mello's dad)

When Mello's parents realized they were going to have a kid they moved to England and put his aunt (on his Mother's side) in charge

Mello's parents kept him a secret to keep him safe

Mello has his dad's eyes and hair and his mother's complexion

He had both of their intelligence

Both of them were really smart and hella chaotic just like Mello

They cared for him as much as they could without look suspicious to their neighbors

When Mello was 4 they got found out by their rival mafia and were killed

Mello wondered off and ended up at Wammys house afterward

Mello's status as the heir to a massive mafia empire was how he rose to power in LA

Matt

Matt's mom got pregnant when she was 17

Her boyfriend left when he found out she was pregnant

She gave Matt away to her boyfriend's cousin because she didn't have the time or money to care for him because of college

Matt's named after his dad

His dad's cousin was super rich and had his own wife and tree bratty kids who didn't like Matt at all

The kids hated him so much they convinced their dad to get rid of Matt and they abandoned him in Winchester because he had family there

Matt's dad's cousin only took him in to look better than his ass of a cousin

Matt is the spitting image of his mother but has his dad's hair color

Matt's parents are still alive so technically he isn't an orphan

He has abandonment issues and separation anxiety from getting trown out so much though

His mom actually married and had some kids once she graduated and had a good job

She lowkey feels guilty for giving Matt away sometimes

Matt's dad is a hippy who lives in the back of his van and plays video games while coding for money

Matt probably has a fuck ton of half siblings from his dad being a man whore but it's not like he'll ever meet them

A

A's dad was an English sailor and his mom was a Spanish lighthouse keeper

They met in Spain and fell in love and went back to England to get married

His mom worked as a lighthouse keeper in Cornwall while his dad worked as a sailor

They had tree kids, A's older brother, A and A's little sister

A and his siblings spent most of their time with their mom but their dad spent all his time off from work with them

A's dad was very thinly built and honestly he looked like the basic anxious sad boy A with brown messy hair and freckles

Of course he was a sailor so he was actually pretty strong and hella brave

A's mom had dark skin, black curly hair and brown eyes with a much sturdier build

She was really sweet but was lowkey terrifying if you got on her bad side

A would be a perfect mix of both of them if he wasn't albino, but really aside from his lack of pigmentation he has a good mix of their facial features

A's dad taught A and his brother how to sail and took them on short sailing trips with him

He was going to take A's little sister when she was old enough but he died before he could

A's dad died at sea and only died because he stayed on the ship to make sure his whole crew got off when the ship sunk

A's mom taught him how to garden, fish, cook, camp, hunt and really live off the land in general

She died falling from her lighthouse in a bad storm

The fact that both A's parents died trying to help people inspired him to try and save people too

Which led to him trying to take up the position of L so he could solve cases and help people, which ultimately also led to his death

His brother became a Royal Navey admiral and his sister became a marine biologist later in life with A and their parents as their driving factors so at least that's nice

Beyond Birthday

B's parents were in a shinigami cult and technically B's dad is the shinigami Armona Justin Beyondormason but B never found out until his shinigami dad yoinked him out of Mu to tell him he's part shinigami and he forgot to tell him while he was alive (he didn't forget he just kept putting off until B fucking died) so we will discuss his leagal male guardian who died

B's parents owned a huge farm in Japan and taught B how to take care of animals and how to garden

A's mom had a personal garden of herbs and fruits and she used to teach B how to use herbal medicine and how to properly spice foods and most importantly how to make jam

B and his parents looked similar when he was little but he stopped looking like them when he got older

They all had slim builds, dark hair and pale skin and the only thing different was the eyes

B had shinigami eyes obviously and because he was part shinigami you could actually tell he had they eyes by looking at them

B could also turn them off (but he only acquired that skill later in life) and when he did his actual eye color was a dark brownish red

His eyes were also really wide like but not L wide just a bit less wide but still kinda weird

B's dad knew he wasn't B's real dad but he still tookcare of him and taught him things

B was homeschooled because 1. They wanted to indoctrinate him into their shinigami cult when he was young and 2. They didn't want the other kids or teachers commenting on his eyes

His dad was kinda boring and there wasn't anything cool about him, he was super average but he was good at farming and business I guess. Anyway if he had actually been B's dad I feel like B would also be really boring but more like the kind of boring of an abandoned building in the woods but there's nothing there and nothing cool or spooky happens

B's mom was way cooler, she taught B a bunch of old Japanese folk tales and legends and other cultural stuff. She also gave him plenty of history lessons about Japan and the surrounding area, really B just got educated on the entire history or Japan and it's culture and it fed his deep love and obsession with anime and manga when he was older

His mom's grandmother actually dressed up like a man Mulan style to fight in WW2 so he comes from a family of Japanese patriots so what would you expect

His mom taught him to defend himself too and she probably should have taught her husband because he died in a mugging

B's mom died in a freak train accident and B almost died but his shinigami ancestry have him a super human healing speed and endurance so he survived just barely

L

L's mom was a prostitute who got pregnant by one of her customers

She died of tuberculosis when L was six months old

She looked a lot like L with wild black hair, pale skin, no meat on her bones and wide, grey, eyes

L's dad was just some rich guy cheating on his wife and L looked nothing like him

L's mom lived with her brother above his bakery and L continued to love there until he was 6 and his uncle tried to kill him after getting drunk

Near

Near got put on the staircase of Wammys house in a basket when he was little so no one knew his parents

Near's parents were really weird hermits that owned a toy store and yes all their stuff was definitely cursed

They were both very quiet but they were actually pretty nice they just acted very strange

The both of them were black and Near dose have their body types and facial features and just like A, he looks a lot like both of them he just lacks pigmentation because he's albino

Unlike A he does have his parents grey eyes because Near doesn't have ocular albinism

They decided to leave Near on the door step of Wammys House because...?

They just did

For some reason they decided on an orphanage way away, it was probably some weird choice they made because I don't the the fog told them but hey they inadvertently caused the death of a mass murderer 18 years later

Near's parents are still alive and living in their little store and Near actually tracks them down after a bit and hangs out with them and buys their toys

Near's parents also have two more kids and Near likes to hang out with them and help you younger siblings in their classes

[ask-the-fandom-anything]

Hello. Here is my supposed humanization of Sohone, Mune and Glim in the gacha. What do you think? I have my own AU that I want to tell you about: Sohone is 18-20 years old, although he looks like 22-25. Mune is 16-18 years old, Glim is 17-19 years old, and Leeoyn is 20-25 years old. Sohone grew up in a village of day residents. His mother was an amber man, and his father was an ordinary golem. Their names were Argena and Rhodes. Argena during her lifetime was the elder of the day people and an acquaintance of Xolal. Rhodes was an ordinary blacksmith. All his life, Sohone was ignored by his own parents as much as possible, and the children cherished the guy. (Well, I already told you about this). At the age of 8, he was sent as an apprentice to Xolal, at 10 his mother died, and his relationship with his father only got worse (well, I also talked about this). Seoheon has an older cousin, Sun, and a girlfriend, Ir'en, who is secretly in love with him. Mune lived part of his life in the night lie down with the rest of the fauns. His mother died while giving birth to his sister. After the death of his mother, he did not have a very good relationship with his father, but still he loved Mune and wished for a good future for him. The guy had no friends, only Harun and his sister kept him company. Glim lived with her father in a small house. Her mother Ursula was an astronomer, which is why the girl has so many different books and maps. When the girl was little, her mother melted in the sun when she went out into the garden. Because of this incident, Glim's father locked his daughter in his own house to protect her, because he loved her. But Glim didn't like that. She wanted freedom. She had no friends, because she spent all the time at home, and it’s unlikely that anyone wanted to be friends with the zauchka and she was very lonely. Leeoyn is possibly an orphan. He was mocked by the fauns because of his appearance and bruises under his eyes. This explains his hateful behavior. He met Sohone and Sune at the age of 10 and they became good friends, and at the same time, Sohone began to hate fauns and the night dwellers themselves, since Leeoyn said that fauns are still goats (literally and figuratively). In what, in what, and in persecution they were good. Here, too, everyone smacked Mune for uselessness. The snakes that can corrupt everyone came from the world of the Dream World, when the first guardian of the moon opened a portal there and brought the moon and dreams. There are hints of this in the cartoon: 1. We see a huge snake in the Dream World when Mune pulled it out of Necross's chest. This may indicate that they used to be of enormous size. 2. The color of snakes is similar to the color of the moon. 3. Yes, and they themselves look like nightmares I believe this theory is valid. Phospho may have encountered snakes, as he is aware of their existence. I have two options: 1. He had to see how Necross was corrupted by snakes 2. He himself was corrupted by these snakes. This, by the way, explains why he came to help Sohone. Not only to make amends, but also to prevent the same thing that happened to Nekros from happening to this guy. It is possible that Phospho was friends with Necross, as well as with Xolal and Yule, even in his youth. Little is known about his parents and past, but the fact remains. After their death or the expiration of the term, the keepers of the Sun and the Moon go to the World of the Departed, which is connected to the World of Dreams, where they continue their existence. Sometimes they save residents from nightmares and guide them on the right path. This is often done by the keepers of the Moon, but the keepers of the Sun are also involved in this. It is possible that Sohone, Necross and Leeoyn were not the only victims of snakes and there were many more. These were ordinary inhabitants, often diurnal, as they are much more emotional than fauns. By the way, this also explains why Necross and Sohone became demons, but Leeayon did not.

And between the two peoples, a war could have occurred if the guardians of the Sun and the Moon had not intervened, I think because of this, the snakes do not like them. Phew, that's all my AU. Now can you answer a couple of questions for me: Would you like to come up with a backstory for the planet? How do you imagine Corruption AU? Have the snakes died after the events of the cartoon, or are they still alive and living somewhere on the surface? Why are there no cracks and wounds on Sokhon's body after the battle with Nekros, although there should be? Can Guardians die of lack of strength, as happened to Phospho? Whom did the characters of "Mune: Guardian of the Moon" remind you of in appearance and in character? And that's all. Waiting for your answer. Hope you reply quickly. (Привет. Вот моя типо хуманизация Сохона, Мьюна и Глим в гаче. Как тебе? У меня есть свое AU, о котором я хочу тебе рассказать: Сохону 18-20 лет, хотя он выглядит на 22-25 лет. Мьюну 16-18 лет, Глим 17-19 лет, а Лиюну 20-25 лет. Сохон вырос в деревне дневных жителей. Его мать была янтарным человеком, а отец обычным големом. Их звали Аргена и Родос. Аргена при жизни была старейшеной дневного народа и знакомой Ксолаля. Родос же был обычным кузнецом. Всю жизнь Сохона максимально игнорировали собственные родители, а дети лилеяли парня. (Ну об этом я тебе уже говорила). В 8 лет его отдали в ученики к Ксолалю, в 10 его мама умерла, а отношение с отцом стали только хуже (ну об этом я тоже говорила). У Сохона есть двоюродный стпрший брат Сун и подруга Ир'ен, которая тайно в него влюблена. Мьюн прожил часть своей жизни в ночном лечь вместе с остальными фавнами. Его мама умерла при родах его сестры. После смерти матери у него с отцом были не очень хорошие отношения, но всё же он любил Мьюна и желал для него хорошего будущего. Друзей у парня не было, лишь Гарун и сестра состовлчои ему компанию. Глим прожила вместе с отцом в маленьком доме. Ее мама Урсула была астрономом, поэтому у девушки так много разных книг и карт. Когда девушка была маленькой ее мама ращплавилась на солнце, когда она вышла на огород. Из-за этого случая отец Глим запер дочь в собственом доме, чтобы защитить ее, так как любил. Но Глим это не устраивало. Ей хотелось свободы. У нее не было друзей, так как всё время проводила дома да и врят ли кто-то захотел дружить с заучкой и ей было очень одиноко. Лиюн возможно сирота. Над ним издевались фавны из-за его внешности и синяками под глазами. Это объясняет его ненавистное повидение. Он познакомился с Сохоном и Сыном в 10 лет и они стали хорошими друзьями, а параллельно с этим Сохон начал ненавидеть фавнов и самих ночных жителей, так как Лиюн рассказал о том, что фавны те ещё козлы (в буквальном и переносном смысле). В чём в чем, а в травле они были хороши. Вот Мьюна тоже все чморили за безполезность. Змеи, которые могут всех развратить пришли из мира Мира Снов, когда первый хранитель Луны открыл портал туда и принёс Луну и сны. В мультфильме на это есть намеки: 1. Мы видим огромного змея в Мире Снов, когда Мьюн вытащил его из груди Некроса. Это может указывать о том, что раньше они были огромных размеров. 2. Окрас змей похож на окрас Луны 3. Да и они сами похожи на кошмары Я считаю, что эта теория имеет место быть Фосфо возможно сталкивался со змеями, так как он знает о их существовании. У меня есть два варианта: 1. Ему приходилрсь видеть, как Некроса развращали змеи 2. Он сам был испорчен этими змеями. Это кстати о объясняет, почему он пришел на помощь Сохону. Не только для того, чтобы загладить свою вину, но и не допустить того, чтобы с этим парнем не случилось тоже самое, что и с Некросом Вполне возможно, Фосфо дружил с Некросом, а также с Ксолалем и Юлом ещё в молодости. О его родителях и прошлом нам мало что известно, но факт остаётся фактом. После своей смерти или истечении срока, хранители Солнца и Луны отправляются в Мир Ушедших, который связан в Миром Снов, где они продолжают свою существание. Иногда они спасают жителей от кошмаров и наставляют из на верный путь. За частую это делают

хранители Луны, но и хранители Солнца тоже участвуют в этом. Вполне возможно, что Сохон, Некрос и Лиюн не были единственными жертвами змей и и�� было намного больше. Это были обычные жители, за частую дневные, так как они намного эмоциональные, чем фавны. Это кстати и объясняет, почему Некрос и Сохон стали демонами, а Лиюн нет. И между двумя народами могла произойти ��ойна, если бы не вмешались хранители Солнца и Луны, думаю из-за этого змеи их и не долюбливают. Фух, вот и все моё AU. А теперь можешь ответить мне на пару вопросов: Ты бы хотела придумать предысторию планеты? Как ты себе представляешь Corruption AU? Умерили ли змеи после событий мультфильма или же они ещё живы и живут где-то на поверхности? Почему на теле Сохона нет трещин и ран, после битвы с Некросом, хотя должны быть? Могут ли хранители умереть от недостатка сил, как это случилось с Фосфо? Кого тебе внешне и по характеру тебе напомнили персонажи "Мьюн: Страж Луны?" А на этом все. Жду твой ответ. Надеюсь, что ты быстро ответишь)

I like the styles you did to the characters and the Au you’ve created

As for the question you have

Are you talking about spleen & Mox?if so, Yes I would like to come up with the backstory

You’ll see when the comic is out right now am tracing and coloring it, the little sneak peek is at the bottom

All snakes are dead but there are some different snakes that can do other dark magic then corruption

I dunno to be honest, with all the throwing around and missing so many time he should have cracks but my guess is probably the sun’s energy making him not get cracks or wounds

Well I believe that the guardians die right when they give the energy to the new one or when it’s time for them to go, I dunno it’s my theory

To be honest with you leeyoon did remind me of bardle from the last kids on earth

[originalhybridnik]

harry potter: why it’s not “just for kids.”

the other day, this girl i know told me, “why the hell are you reading harry potter? it’s for kids only.” i’m 17, and, well, close to adulthood. i don’t reply to her, because, often, when someone asks me something like this, i have a huge explanation, lasting for a long time, and people don’t like it. so, i’m gonna give my explanation here.

harry potter. the boy who lived. the whole series is loved by millions of people in the world, from different age groups and from different parts of the world. it’d be an understatement to say that i love the series. i’ve read the books, seen the movies, even read the supplementary books, as well as harry potter and the cursed child. i’ve seen the fantastic beasts movies as well. and i’ve read the books not once, not twice, not even thrice. i’ve read the series 8 times. 

here are the reasons as to why harry potter isn’t for any specific age group.

(spoiler alert to everyone out there) trigger warnings: foul language, death, slavery, discrimination.

1. harry potter, the kid who was orphaned at the age of one, the boy who had no family but his nasty muggle uncle, aunt and cousin, the name known to every wizard and witch, the one-year-old who weakened voldemort to the brink of death. this boy has gone through more pain, sorrow and grief than any fictional character i’ve read of. provided, it doesn’t seem so. but, take it from someone who has read the series as much as i have, he isn’t what he apparently seems to be. j.k. rowling gives us a glimpse of his life before hogwarts, just a mere glimpse. this small portion shows us the amount of bullying he has to go through. he has absolutely no friends, and his cousin’s gang was always behind him. his aunt and uncle starve him for the tinniest of mistakes and he did not even know the real cause of his parents’ death. he has no one to talk to, or be with. he lives in a cupboard under the stairs. his aunt and uncle are certain to “bash out” the magic in him by keeping him away from the wizarding world. he is constantly treated like trash, and he has to do all of the dursleys’ work whether he wanted to or not.

2. he gets a letter from hogwarts, and he isn’t allowed to read it. he keeps getting more and more of them, and he still isn’t allowed to read them. the letters arrive at such a pace that uncle vernon decides to move into a small hut on a rock in the middle of a sea. he then gets his letter hand delivered by hagrid, the keeper of keys at hogwarts. he finally catches a break, and goes to hogwarts, the prized boy who apparently killed voldemort. during his first year at hogwarts, he and his closest friends, ron and hermione embark on a quest to keep the philosopher’s stone from voldemort’s reach. the three 11-year-olds have to get past a three headed dog, past the devil’s snare, one of the deadliest plants in the wizarding world, past a door that could be opened only by catching a flying key scattered across many other flying keys, play on a life size board of wizard’s chess-where ron sacrifices himself so that harry could continue, which almost kills ron, past a room with 7 containers of potions which could kill them if they weren’t smart, and finally to a room where harry meets professor quirell who has provided his body as a refuge for voldemort, who manifests on the back of his head. harry faces the man who killed his parents before he could even speak, and he almost gets possessed by voldemort, because he’s probably the only one who could have the stone, as the mirror of erised could give it only to the person who wanted the stone, but not for a selfish reason. he kills quirell, but voldemort gets away. you see, this shows how deep the first book is. i mean, as a kid, i never understood the sacrifices made, by any of the characters. but, as i read the book again, i understood why what happened happened. it became obvious to me. this shows that we can enjoy the book as a child, without realizing the deepness, and as teens and adults, we get the sacrifices made, the blood shed, the connections forged, and most importantly, how important it is to recognize the values left behind, and, for once, try understanding that this series, even if written for kids, is suitable, and, important for older readers as well.

3. ronald weasely, the sixth child in a relatively poor, and commonplace wizarding family that turns out to be the most loyal, brave and worthy wizarding families ever. he grew up as a wizard and knew a lot about the wizarding world, especially it’s prejudices. he’s the perfect example of a trustworthy, loyal and brave friend. he deserves a lot more than the unnecessary hate he gets. he befriends harry potter, a famous kid that didn’t know anything about his true self, and sticks with him forever. throughout the series, we see this brave boy sacrifice a lot for his best friend. book 1, he sacrifices himself, AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD, for a boy that he knew for less than a year. book 2, he’s ready to walk into a forest, following his WORST fear, spiders, into their fucking home. book 3, he’s ready to follow a mass murderer(not really a mass murderer, but yeah) to help his best friends. book 4, even though he gets jealous and stops talking to harry for a while, we totally get what he was gong through. book 5, he fucking walks breaks into the ministry of magic with his best friends to fight the most feared group of dark wizards and witches ever. book 6, he’s ready to fight anYone for his best friends. book 7, HE’S READY TO RUN AWAY AND FIGHT THE MOST FEARED WIZARD EVER, for his best friend.

all of this, ALL OF THIS, just shows how mature he is, how much we can learn from him, and, most importantly, how wrong it is to title this series as one “for kids”. we see a mere boy sacrifice himself, put his life in danger, time and again, for his best friends. if that isn’t something every human being should be exposed to, then what is?

4. hermione granger, another important character, throughout the series, born into a muggle family, living her life as a smart, bookworm, one day, gets a letter, getting accepted into the best wizarding institution, and, unlike the dursleys, her parents are proud of her and she’s all set for this magical experience. she never anticipates the hate or the prejudice that, is shown towards her and children like her, born into a muggle family. “mudblood,” they call them, exactly the kind of discrimination imminent to THIS DAY all over the world. whether it’s on an international standard, or within a country, whether it is race, caste, gender or preferences, whether it’s against a group or an individual, it’s exactly like this. the whole concept of blood status shows us how deep the books are. it shows us how mature we need to be to understand this. it shows us how we need to think more about this and implement this in real life. a kid from a “pureblood” family, namely, draco malfoy, is the first person to use this, in book 2. it just shows us how parents like his encourage their kids to discriminate people based on their lineage. i won’t point to a specific issue but all of us know of examples, whether we’re the offenders or the offended.

5. slavery is a very important issue touched upon in the series. even though we see harry free dobby from the malfoys, there’s very little importance given to the base, the root cause of what dobby went through. he was a slave to a rich family that considered itself above anyone without “pure blood.” but, we see this very issue taken up in a book 4. we see hermione take a stand against the improper and infuriating treatment of house elves, by organizing a committee called S.P.E.W(society for the promotion of elfish welfare). we see her force people into taking part in this, and even though it’s by force, we all see where she came from. if you don’t know, house elves believed they had only one true purpose in life, to slave around for their owners, without being respected or treated well, and no matter what. we see winky, another elf, previously working(for lack of a better word, cuz that wasn’t working) for bartemius crouch, who’s absolutely against the idea of being paid or even being free. despite seeing dobby and how he enjoyed freedom, she was absolutely against it. again, we see how such an important and deep issue was addressed in a way that makes use all understand, despite our age, that EVERYONE is equal, no matter what. if you STILL think it’s a book for kids only, please continue reading.(continue anyways)

6. can we talk about how the magic-folk have had to live in hiding forever because people are afraid of them? they’re treated like they’re inhuman, trash and most importantly, like they deserve to die for being born with a power for magic? 

7. as long as we’re talking about discrimination, we can also look into the fact that, squibs(non-magic folk born into magical families) are looked down upon? they’re tortured, and they receive as much hate, if not more, as “mudbloods.”

8. a special trigger warning for this: TW /death. THROUGHOUT the series, we see some of our most beloved characters die. spoiler alert: in book 1, we see how james and lily were ruthlessly killed by voldemort, orphaning a one year old boy that’d be famous for something he never knew he did. honestly, it wasn’t even his doing. in the same book, we see the killing of unicorns, the consequences of killing a unicorn and drinking it’s blood, AND the killing of professor quirell/voldemort, and even though he/they were the bad person, it deserves to be a part of this list. book 2, we see a young tom riddle get killed in the end, we see how young myrtle got killed, we see students getting fucking petrified by a monster, an inch away from death. book 3, we see how sirius black apparently killed 13 people and was an accomplice to his best friend’s murder. book 4, we see cedric die as a direct affect from the killing curse. we see harry get tortured by the cruciatus curse. we see the most feared wizard reborn, and, not to mention, we see his weakened form in the movie. book 5, we see the rampage that voldemort causes, killing more and more people, muggles and magic-folk alike. more importantly, we see harry’s godfather, sirius black die. we see the pain harry goes through. book 6, again, we see not only voldemort’s actions, but the use of sectumsempra by harry on draco, and how snape killed dumbledore. book 7, we see SO MUCH death. from alastor (mad-eye) moody to fred weasely, from severus snape to remus lupin and nymphadora tonks, so many fucking deaths. we see harry potter die.

9. can we talk about the phrase “lamb for slaughter”? most of us have heard of this phrase at least once. i cannot think of another explanation of this than the way it’s shown in these books. albus dumbledore literally prepares and protets harry for seventeen fucking years just so he can get get killed by voldemort in the end. this teaches an important lesson to everyone that, sometimes, you need to do what you think is right. even if an adult cares about you more than anything, sometimes they do things they believe in and end up hurting kids.

10. can we talk about how bill weasely got bit in the face by an untransformed werewolf and got deformed for life? even after this, fleur didn’t leave him. if this isn’t a lesson to us about what true love is, then, what is?

11. let’s talk about love. firstly, about how much harry, hermione and ron love each other. they’re the true example of best friends. they were together through everything, there for each other in the worst of times, and for the happiest of moments, and will probably be together until they die. secondly, can we talk about how when people are truly in love, they don’t care about appearances. all they care about is what’s on the inside. this is clearly shown by fleur(check point 10). ALSO, we see tonks sacrifice herself with remus, in the final battle. we see dumbledore care about harry so much, love him so much, despite everything else. we see the love family has. we see harry and hermione become a part of the weasleys. we see harry and ginny fall in love. we even see snape’s love for lily. we see so much love. now, this is something very important for all of us. whether we’re raised in that way, or we are exposed to it later in life, we need to learn that love is important in life.

12. can we talk about the torture neville’s parents, among countless others, went through? because of voldemort? and his death eaters? do you still think these books are for kids?

13. can we talk about how a group of 15 year-olds form a group to learn how to fight in the real world, because of a careless ministry of magic and a cruel teacher? it shows us values of leadership, team work, and most of all, how important friendship is. we see a part of this group march into a battle against death eaters, and, possibly, even voldemort himself, without fear of death. for one moment, look at how brave one is when one is with one’s true friends. this teaches us so much.

14. CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW A CRUEL TEACHER MAKES A 15-YEAR OLD BOY SCAR HIMSELF WITH THE WORDS “I WILL NOT TELL LIES” JUST BECAUSE SHE WAS TOO ADAMENT TO BELIEVE THE TRUTH? do you still fucking think this series is for kids?

15. can we talk about how all the magical creatures are treated cruelly? from elves to centaurs, it’s cruelty at it’s finest. are you still convinced it’s a book for kids just because it has magic?

16. can we talk about how much trauma a reader experiences throughout the series? i mean, i’m absolutely grateful that i went through this trauma, because i came out as a better person, in not one, but, multiple ways. we journey through seven years of happiness, sorrow, pain, love, and so much more. we see our favorites get killed, we see how sometimes, people are misunderstood. we see how everyone is born good, but it’s our childhood and the way we’re raised that makes us bad. this is not something all kids understand. an older person can read this series, go through all of this, and will come out as a better human being.

17. how many of you remember the way snape was treated as a kid? huh? by harry’s own father and his friends. this is a shout out to all the bullies out there that think they can do whatever they want and not care about consequences just because they’re stronger, or more famous, or more good-looking. this fucking teaches kids to NOT bully anyone.

this is more than just a series for me. it let me into this new universe where i experienced so fucking much.

if this wasn’t enough for you to at least consider the fact that these books are not “just for kids,” i’m sorry, but you’re just being morons. you don’t wanna even consider something that goes against what you say and that’s your problem, not ours. so, STOP HATING ON THE WIZARDING WORLD COMMUNITY AND GET A FUCKING JOB.

[tekka-dan]

I was informed of some disturbing news today regarding my best favorite boy Sasuke Uchiha and what his ultimate outcome will be in Borutrash.

Tumblr deleted my first initial rant, so I had to sit down and write it again. Not to fret though, re-writing has given me some clarity and all of you are going to witness my first hand unresolved, but subsiding, rage with the way Borutrash has handled Sasuke Uchiha’s character.

For anyone that’s new to my blog, content, posts: I am heavily against Boruto [as a character, manga, story, concept, anime] so if you’re a fan person of this series and you don’t like disputes or negative opinions your cue to dip is here.

You’ve been warned. Moving on.

Starting off, those of us who remember Sasuke Uchiha from the older days of Naruto [part 1] can easily summarize his character in one word: avenger. As the storyline progressed Sasuke became more than a so-called avenger and he started to gain some heavy handed, much needed, development. If you can recall that much, you would also recall that Sasuke was the “oppositional” character in the earlier days of Naruto. Meaning, Sasuke was the character that didn’t abide by rules, he did whatever he needed to advance but it was for his own sake and decision. He joined the academy to avenge his clan and become stronger to defeat his brother. When he meets Orochimaru that opportunity [to become stronger] arose and he took the bait (eventually—lets forget the part where he was kidnapped against his will, tortured and then kidnapped again).

So with all of that being addressed for his character, Sasuke choosing to follow under Orichimaru’s footsteps, this made Sasuke enter the “antagonistic” role. The reason this role was important for Sasuke [as a character] is because we are given context for his motives outside of the sunshine protagonist. Sasuke knew what his goals and ambitions were from the very beginning and also from the beginning he was being overshadowed by a bumbling fool that couldn’t even throw out milk on time. Sasuke didn’t have time for that, so he fucking bounced like the cool kid he absolutely was. Being on the “dark side” gave depth to this shallow story because once Itachi Uchiha made his appearance, and his role in the black ops and being a double agent was revealed — suddenly this sunshine village with its sunshine protagonist isn’t all sunshine.

Sasuke leaving the village was the best thing he ever did in this series and he is one of the four main characters that had a vision that he never got to achieve and questions he never got answers to. When Sasuke left the village, we are only in the mindset of him as a person and what he’s trying to achieve. We aren’t in Konoha village where the Will of Fire exists, where “I don’t believe in letting comrades die” comes into play — no, fuck all of that, we are simply inside Sasuke Uchiha’s mind and all Sasuke Uchiha thinks about is murdering Itachi for killing his clan and wanting to understand why Itachi would murder his clan in the first place. These are concerns far more prevalent than doing stupid ninja tasks or whatever the fuck Konoha participated in since all they seem to do is evoke war, genocide and havoc. Nothing seemingly important happened in this village up until Sasuke departed and suddenly everyone gives a fuck about saving the last Uchiha.

I seriously wonder what the Third Hokage was thinking. He (and Danzō) coaxed an actual child/teenager (Itachi) to slaughter his own clan in order to silence their people and then they are surprised when the surviving member of that clan flees the village.

Like Konoha is full of fucking dumbasses I swear. So that’s why I’m glad Sasuke did leave and it was eventually at his own free will. That also ties into my next point.

Sasuke represented oppression. His entire clan represented oppression. Them standing up against the Konoha System represented oppression. And it isn’t enough that every single member of them dies, it’s last member flees the village, and he goes on to save the same village that oppressed him to then become fodder and succumbing to pointless death in the continuation series?

Let me repeat that: Sasuke represented oppression. Now they are silencing him - and everyone that came before or after him - forever. Eternity. They expect Sarada to carry on the Uchiha genes but we aren’t remembering that she’s only half. We are forgetting that she [somehow] learned about the massacre from books in a library. She hasn’t learned anything from Sasuke or Sakura themselves. Why is that? Because they are trying to silence it forever.

This entire series feels like some massive “fuck you” propaganda because it doesn’t sit well to me. The character that represented oppression, stands up against the system as the last remaining member who can do so, he’s beat down without given a single answer to the questions he poses and then he’s forced to atone for sins he didn’t commit / shouldn’t be apologizing for to then go on to have an offspring he wasn’t ready for to then be killed off?

Is it not enough to just admit you wanted Sasuke Uchiha around for shipping bait and to ensure his uchiha bloodline succeeds him? Because that’s what it is.

They don’t give a single shit about his character and if Naruto didn’t spend 400 of 500+ episodes chasing him to reiterate Sasukes importance than guess where Sasuke would’ve died?

The same place Itachi would have.

Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha would’ve both fought to the death, not a single brother would’ve walked away from that. And you know what? This would’ve been an honor to him as a person and as a character. Because up until he faces Itachi his only goal was to defeat his brother and learn why he did what he did. Itachi told him (albeit on his death bed) but I assure you they would’ve wrapped Sasuke Uchiha’s character up then and there and let him perish along with Itachi.

But they didn’t. Why? Because they needed Naruto to beat him into submission. They needed Naruto to remind the audience why Sasuke was considered an antagonist and why leaving the village is forbidden. They needed Naruto to brag about becoming hokage to preach about saving everyone, except the “everyone” excludes every single slaughtered and slain / deceased member of the Uchiha Clan, you know, the only people that ever truly mattered to Sasuke. Nah but it’s alright, sunshine protagonist Naruto needs Sasuke around to remind Sasuke that “he knows how he feels” and “believing in his word can make everything better”.

What makes matters worse about them killing Sasuke who represented oppression after they killed and degraded his character is that other characters who opposed the system were killed off long before their characters could be succeeded or milked.

Example 1: Yahiko / Pein.

Everyone knows what became of Pein and everyone is aware of the Yahiko that existed before the Pein. Everyone knows that Yahiko was the Naruto of his village, wanting to make a difference and have the world be a better place. Except, when the poor young sap tried to achieve this goal, he was killed tragically during an incident that was incredible miscommunication. Dying at the hands of his friend is what was supposed to make that moment less painful but it only sparked the rage in what became the Pein we all knew that destroyed Konoha.

Pein / Yahiko was the embodiment of oppression.

Everyone knows how that played out, I don’t need to repeat the entire chapter and how the questions Pein asked Naruto were never answered, rather he was given a mediocre bullshit half ass speech that made him surrender and sacrifice himself.

Example 2: Neji Hyuuga

Before Naruto’s dreams were drilled over and over into our heads, there was Neji who represented oppression in a literal sense, preaching it to his cousin during their battle and then to Naruto during theirs.

When Neji was killed off, people were upset because his character died for nothing without atoning for a single damn thing. Neji was born a slave and died a slave and we are supposed to believe (and be happy) that during death he was free.

Is this what people expect for these characters? That only in death can they find peace, freedom or happiness? What a pathetic and crippling message that presents.

You see the picture I am painting here? It’s not looking too good, is it? There’s a fucking pattern to it, that’s why. The only difference with Sasuke Uchiha is that his bloodline was extinct so they needed someone to carry it on. Pein (who was Nagato) is an Uzumaki so his bloodline continued. Neji is a Hyuuga and his bloodline continued. Sasuke is the only one who hadn’t and they couldn’t do away with his character until they had a certain someone he could procreate with, regardless if they had a lick of chemistry.

I’m not saying you can’t kill off characters from stories, sometimes characters do need to die, eventually they will anyway. However there are better ways to kill your characters and writing stories that don’t disregard their pasts or completely ravage their futures.

Sasuke’s entire history is being erased and everyone else who represents the same thing were also erased.

When Hinata speaks about Neji (if she does?) does she talk about the hierarchy and what it did to him and his father to her kids? No, because they want to forget about it, they are ashamed of it so they hide these facts.

When Naruto speaks to Boruto (if he does?) does he mention Nagato or even Jiraiya? Does he talk about his former sensei enduring a war, taking on an orphaned group of three and then having to return to their village being slain? Does he talk about the brutal systems the other villages carry on? Again, no. Because these are things they are ashamed of, they want to never have be mentioned or brought up again.

Those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it, as the old saying goes.

What makes this worse for Sasukes character after death is that his reunion with his “family” feels cheap and downplayed. The only character trait they knew how to write for his character is to be distant and/or absent. Because of that Sasuke never “grew” on Sarada. I think that’s unfair as fuck to do to him, they already robbed him of everything else and even prior to death he can’t just simply be a fucking father.

How goddamn sad is that?

I gritted my teeth at Sasukes end in Naruto 699 but hearing the news about the current predictions / fate of his character has left me with unresolved despise for this series all over again.

It’s not enough that they keep taking everything from him, now he gets to die the same way he feels: empty..

First they killed his dream, then they killed his spirit and now they are killing his character.

[swindlersstole]

i will not be stopped. it is time for the beauty and wonder that is Mango.

Next in the Fruity Rumpus Asshole Factory is Zill, our representative for mangoes diablo! As far as her design is concerned, I’ve noticed a reoccurring character trend for me is “extremely tall extremely skinny older sister”, and that is exactly what Zill is. she’s essentially the Sailor Jupiter of the group, if that puts it into perspective.

Of the four girls, she probably had the least amount of background for the longest time, and there is good reason for that--mostly in that she didn’t really have a concrete name for basically EVER. Before I realized I could use types of the fruit for names, Zill’s name for a long time was just “Manna”, which I was never a fan of but didn’t have any better ideas. Once cultivars came into the mix the game changed, but while that worked great for Chelan right off the bat, the problem with mangoes was: 1) a lot of mangoes are native to India and have Indian names, which would not have fit Zill as she is very not Indian, and 2) while there are a lot of US cultivated mangoes with English women��s names, compared to the rest of the cast those names would have been too plain. I wanted there to at least be a CHANCE someone would get the joke. 

“Zill” was the most unique cultivar name that was (as far as I can discern) US born, so Zill she became! Her permanent name came into place when the girls were getting worked into Nanbaka, so the rest of Zill’s story and character came together after that. 

Dundrasil’s Mango Cult

in DQ11, Zill is an aspiring third-generation chef who gained a love for cooking and bar-tending from her grandfather, Alphonse. She and her family are actually from Dundrasil; Grandpa Alphonse started up the kingdom’s local tavern Manor Diablo as a young man, which was immensely popular to both townfolk and tourist alike, even having done catering for the palace on more than one occasion, and also being a popular date spot for the courting royal family. Alphonse in particular is good friends with Rab, so Rab saw Zill very often when she was a little girl (DQ11S spoiler: In Rab’s chapter, Manor Diablo is the tavern that Rab’s friends in his mindscape invited him to near the end of the dream).

As fate would have it, Zill, her parents, and grandparents were not in Dundrasil the day it fell; they were not too far away in Octagonia visiting relatives when disaster struck. In the course of a night, the family was now refugees, and Zill, who was only a year or two younger than Jade at this point, would suffer a great deal of traumatic stress as a result. However, she does cite this moment as being a pivotal one for her goal of being a chef, for the sake of her grandfather; being a strong-willed Dundrasillian man, he was determined to keep cooking no matter what, but he was still old. Now an adult, it’s Zill’s dream to rebuild the Manor Diablo and continue her family’s legacy.

Refugees that they were, Zill’s family eventually moved to Puerto Valor at the suggestion of her father’s old friend Beaulieu, her father and grandpa being offered jobs as chefs in the casino. Zill would start working there as well when she was old enough, first as a waitress, then bartender, and finally a head chef herself when her grandpa had to retire. She’s good at what she does, and is proud of it, and feeds people like she’s their overbearing grandma trying to put skin on their bones (after their misadventures in helping stop magical blackmailing, Erik and Derk almost left the casino with what could only be described as a barrel-ful of Zill-brand pierogi before Zill was made to cut down on her gift).

She’s much more positive and upbeat than her rough childhood might lead one to think, but she still hasn’t given up on Manor Diablo. Still, because of her past as a refugee, Zill isn’t very forthcoming about this dream of hers, even post-game when Dundrasil is being rebuilt. It takes a lot of prodding from the other girls before she actually manages to ask Eleven for his blessing to remake the tavern, which went a little something like:

Zill: Uhh--Your Highness Prince Eleven Sir? Eleven: I hate everything you just said please just call me Eleven

There was a brief moment in time where after some discord talk, I debated having Zill be one of Eleven’s second cousins (via Rab’s older brothers) and as funny as that was I feel like there might have been too much going on here to really let that slide (like I gave the Mystery Orphans cool parents, I think I only get that one pass). Do still love the idea though.

Regardless, Eleven gives her his full approval for the tavern, and Zill promises she’ll have a special room just for him and Erik when they go on dates. And she DOES, the madwoman, the world is her oyster to shuck.

[imperiuswrecked]

Hello! Very sorry to bother you! But I just wondered: Does Namor have a lot of villains specific to him? I've read a lot of his comics where he's on teams with Cap and the Torch, but found many of his solo series' far harder to get into, so I'm not sure if he has a dedicated rogues gallery of his own!

Hello! It’s no bother at all, I rarely get to talk about Namor’s villains so this is a great ask! First off, Namor hasn’t had a solo comic in almost a decade and the previous two solos (2010 and 2007) were short lived runs and didn’t really go into focus with Namor’s main rogue gallery. Without a solo, Namor often acts as Marvel’s Lancer character, that’s to say he provides backup/an army/support which does a huge disservice to the character and also with a solo Namor’s villains are scattered and forgotten unless Marvel needs a water based villain, but they usually end up just making Namor go crazy for that. :/

Namor has had several villains over the years but here are some of the most important and recurring villains. 

1. Llyra, Empress of Lemuria

She is a half human/half lemurian (there are two underwater species, Atlanteans who have blue skin and Lemurians who have greenish scaly skin and are snakelike) sorceress shape shifter, and Namor’s Arch Nemesis. Their story begins in The Sub-Mariner (1968) #32

Upon meeting, Llyra immediately tries to make an alliance with Namor, wanting him to marry her so they could dominate the seas and earth together. However Namor refuses which sparks Llyra to hate him and then over the next few decades make his life a living hell. Llyra is resonsible for the following: Poisoning Namor’s cousin Aquaria (also known as Namora) to make everyone believe she was dead thus orphaning Namorita (Namora’s young daughter and Namor’s cousin) in the Lemurian Court, constantly going after Namor to hurt him for rejecting her, switching places with Lady Dorma to wed Namor, then when her plan failed, kills Lady Dorma after Dorma saves Namor. (The Sub-Mariner (1968) #36-37) Namor vows to Avenge Dorma’s death.

Later she teams up with Tiger Shark to kill Namor’s father Leonard McKenzie whom Namor had only met for a few hours. (The Sub-Mariner (1968) #46) Then later she takes the form of Susan Storm to r*pe Namor (he thought he was sleeping with Susan and did not consent to sleeping with Llyra since he would never do so because he hates her) and lie about her being pregnant with his son (it was not his son) Namor, the Sub-Mariner (1990) #50. 

Currently her whereabouts are unknown, but she was last left alive after the Atlantis Rising event.

2. Attuma, the Barbarian

Attuma is Namor’s longest running usurper and challenger for the throne. Attuma is a part of the Trench tribe, or sometimes another group of people or tribe depending on the writer, and he is a huge Atlantean who despises Namor for being a weak half breed and constantly tries to overthrow him and take Atlantis by force. He comes and goes in the comics and he and Namor have had many battles over the years. First appearance Fantastic Four (1961) #33

3. Tiger Shark, aka Todd Arliss

Todd Arliss was a human Olympic swimmer who lost his chance to swim forever when he was injured and so he turned to a mad scientist, Doctor Dorcas (another Namor villain) who “cured” experimented on him and fused the DNA of a Tiger Shark and Namor’s own DNA into Todd who then became Tiger Shark, Namor’s enemy. First Appearance The Sub-Mariner (1968) #5

He pops up from time to time in the comics, and was the one who dealt the killing blow to Leonard when he and Llyra killed him. Currently Tiger Shark underwent a character design change to look more shark like than human (he looks more like a toad to me but meh, I like the older look better) and is currently a part of Namor’s Defenders of the Deep as of Avengers (2018) #9.

Other notable villains are:

Warlord Krang

An Atlantean general who keeps trying to overthrow Namor, and take his crown, he once stole away Dorma because he wanted to marry her, recently Krang was given a less villainous still antagonistic role in Namor, the First Mutant (2010). First Appearance Fantastic Four (1961) Annual 1

Also, U-Man, a Atlantean who was a Nazi whom Namor fought alot during WWll. Destiny, (a human who made Namor lose his memories) Doctor Hydro, various other one off villains, and in the First Mutant Namor had to face his grandfather Emperor Thakorr, who made his childhood a living hell.

Namor the First Mutant (2010) #4

Another Villain/Villainous pair is Suma-Ket and Artys-Gran, they were sorcerers/necromancers of old who wanted to take over Atlantis, Artys-Gran stole and impersonated Princess Fen’s body (Princess Fen is Namor’s mother) in order to free her husband, Suma-Ket, so they could rule. Their storyline is Namor the Sub-Mariner (1990) #29-40 and honestly I love that part of the 90′s series, it was a good storyline.

[yoosea-mysme]

Did not expect anyone to ask about my OCs x’D I assume because of my matchups from @marshmallowprotection​

First thing, which I myself often forget: these ocs are actually technically inserted characters in a pre-existing universe, a French roleplay youtube series. I originally just started imagining different scenarios for the existing characters and then basically did the “let’s give them kids and see what happens” thing. Kinda lame concept, but I love the characters I created for it, and I’ve had them for… a couple years now? Second thing, that universe is magical fantasy, I just didn’t mention it in the matchups because it wasn’t relevant (nor how they end up in Mysme’s world, shush). Now that I’ve thoroughly disappointed you, here are the characters themselves, the cousins/siblings gang (because I’m unsure about giving names, we’re gonna call them Big Sister, Younger Brother, Adopted Cousin and Lyn):

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We’ve got Adopted Cousin (here), the oldest one, he’s actually the only one not blood related to the others. Black with green eyes, VERY tall and thin, originally he was meant to have long blond hair, but I have a tendency to picture him with a black long ponytail so it’s still unclear. He’s an orphan who became the apprentice and then adopted son of a character who is HIMSELF not blood related to the parents of the others, but because their parents treat him as family, he’s their uncle and his son is ergo their cousin. It’s the law. If anyone questions it Big Sister will punch them in the face. Hard. He’s also the only one of the group who has zero connection to magic nor any interest in it whatsoever. For a long time, he avoided the topic of his family because he didn’t want to relieve the trauma of losing them, and tried to focus only on his new family; he’s gotten better at talking about it since (though I won’t go into details on how they died). Easily the most chill and calm of the whole group; all he wants is to get to do his experiments, invent some cool stuff, read, draw and sew because it’s soothing. 98% of the time he gets roped in an adventure is against his will by his cousins (other 2% is when he wants to get his hands on something forbidden to study it; the only times he gets in trouble he does not mess around. Go big or go home, what’s the use of going apeshit if you don’t even get arrested). He just wants to stay home and hyperfocus. Please let him take a nap (they don’t).

The advantage of constantly being thrown around by creatures of hubris is that it puts into practice your quick-thinking skills: very promptly got used to taking charge of every kind of situation no matter how crazy and keeping everything and everyone under control, and will get frustrated when people don’t listen to him (he’ll make them listen). Even though they should technically get along great for being the two most reasonable, he often butts head with Big Sister because of his leading nature (“No I don’t think you’re dumb, please I just want us to survive this let me handle it”) His adoptive father is himself in a huge position of authority so he’s learned a lot from him. He’ll drag everyone safe back home by force if he has to (even if he has noodle arms).

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We’ve got the Big Sister (here). Physically perfect mix of her grandmothers, but with her father’s older sister body type (aka: huge): long dark blonde wavy hair and blue (?) eyes. Arguably most attractive face of the bunch. Her father is basically a paladin, her mother is petite but strong (not a fighter though) her aunt is at the head of an army, and she wants in on it. Since she was very young she’s trained with her father in the hopes to join their army (and succeeded) and she’s become the epitome of a huge muscular woman in so doing. She tries to follow her father’s ideals of “justice and protection to the weak and innocent” in theory, but due to her sometimes abrasive attitude (which she gets from him), and the fact that she has inherited a lot of her mother’s personality (a “the end justifies the means” kinda gal), she can sometimes have a warped vision of morality that she has to work on a lot. Sadly, she’s also inherited a bit of her father’s introverted exterior and aunt’s “in case of doubt, punch” reasoning and honestly, that’s just a whole mess of a personality combo but she tries her best. She’s easily the most confident and assertive of the group and never doubts her abilities or goals (sometimes maybe a bit too much), might even boast a lot tad. She’s extremely protective of her loved ones and is the kind that will yell at you for getting in trouble (big sister vibe +1); before her older cousin was adopted she was used to being the oldest of the family and therefore still feels responsible of everyone’s safety, she’ll definitely always try to be in control for every situation. She actually butts head a lot with her adoptive cousin because of them both taking the “older and wiser” role, and it took her a while to begrudgingly admit he’s often better than her at handling things, and that they should just work together instead of trying to one-up each other. She loves messing with people (ESPECIALLY her younger brother whom she can drive MAD) but hates being messed with and will definitely get her revenge. She does her typical “older sibling friendly bullying” thing, but if you trashtalk her brother anywhere near her you’re dead. Only she can mess with him, it’s the law.

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We’ve got the middle child (here), the one I called Lyn (actually a character from another story, this one created entirely by me, that I inserted here once just because and somehow she ended up with an entirely different backstory and family). Related to the other two Brother and Sister by blood (dad is their mother’s half-brother). Somehow looks more like her father’s sister than her parents, also a lot like her mother though she hates to admit it. Her mother had her without ever telling her dad and was extremely abusive to her for 10 years (she has scars, mostly on her back). At that age her father, who was married, found out about her and tried to get in contact with her, until he found out the way she was being treated. Her mom tried to get rid of him by getting him arrested, but his sister-in-law (maybe?? What do you call the sister of the husband of your sister??? She’s the head of the army I mentioned earlier) pulled some strings and managed to get him and his husband custody as well as getting the mom banished. Lyn hasn’t seen her since (but she will ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ). She’s extremely happy with her dads now and thankful to have them.

Her dad is actually a fire mage and she has great control over fire herself, but no interest in pursuing that talent academically; she’s good with knowing how to burn stuff that annoys her when necessary. She greatly prefers to run around outside; she’s really good at sports, an extremely good climber and fighter, runs fast and is agile (all this taught to her by her stepdad). She’s not as much of a “horse girl” as her cousin, but she’s got her own horse (she created it; don’t ask) and she loves him to death. Has absolutely no clue what she wants to do with her life as an accomplished adult and honestly neither do I; maybe she’ll end up going on adventures for the sake of it like the original characters, why not. She honestly doubts herself, her own abilities and her future a lot, but usually tries to hide it behind jokes and smiles. She’s actually extremely resourceful and a quick-thinker, but only if doing so will end in mischief. Sidenote: she drives her adopted cousin up the fucking wall. He just wants to rest and be chill most of the time and she somehow always gets him mixed up in her messes, which he always has to help her clean up. He loves her, but damn does he also want to strangle her. (And now I can see the Vanderwood/Saeyoung vibes, god dammit @marshmallowprotection​  was right about both their matches)

  ______________________________________________________________

And finally, the Younger Brother (here). Perfect mix of his parents, white, grandma’s wavy locks, dark hair and blue eyes, arguably the cutest (his sister and his side of the family just got the bamf genes): youngest of the whole gang, used to being doted on, particularly by his sister. Also used to not being taken seriously because he’s young and being messed with a lot, PARTICULARLY by his sister. He has a huge inferiority complex towards her because he’s always felt like she was more accomplished and closer to their father than he was (which is partially true because since she pursued the same career as him they just got to spend a lot of time training etc. but he loves his children equally. He himself is closer to their mother and mother’s brother) and had a better grasp than him on what to do with her life and how to achieve her goals. He later discovered himself a talent in magic and learned a lot through his grandfather and his mother’s brother the mage; successfully entered the same school as he, one of the best of its kind and has been receiving nothing but praise since. He’s very excited about his studies now. Still very cunning and ambitious.

I mentioned in his matchup description him being easy to manipulate due to his insecurities (also true in love; my baby was in an abusive relationship for some time, his first love, but he’s okay now (his sister and Lyn avenged him…)) and hurting someone he loved because of it: that’s actually Lyn. When he was younger and still dabbling with magic, he started to learn things outside of his level due to the manipulations of his grandfather (that guy is a whole other story, we’re not gonna get into it). Lyn tried to warn him that he was going too far, but tired of never being taken seriously, he tried to prove her wrong and accidentally injured her (and then ran away for two weeks because he had no idea what to do and had a major breakdown). Lyn lost her sight from her left eye; she got most of her sight back now, though not all, but couldn’t get rid of the scar on her face. He felt particularly guilty because out of the entire group, Lyn was the one he had the closest kinship and relationship with due to them being the youngest and certified troublemakers and he couldn’t cope with what he did to her. Lyn was the one who forgave him, helped him get out of that bad mental place, reject their grandfather and get help, and they’ve become even closer ever since, basically inseparable. (Which to me makes the fact I ship them both with TWINS hilarious. Actually damn, that whole thing reminds me a lot of Saeran attacking Saeyoung too because of his mental state and Saeyoung being the one to help him anyway. I’m starting to understand why I ship them with the twins).

 … hope you don’t regret asking, anon x’DD

[cartoonus-maximus]

Okay, so this is an unfinished story I found while digging through some of my older files. I was in high school when I wrote this, and I think it really shows in a lot of ways.

It was a YGO vampire au, with tones of found families and some light puzzleshipping, tendershipping, and bronzeshipping. There’s a fair amount of OOC-ness, but I don’t think it’s any worse than the majority of fanfics written by younger authors.

Anyway, here’s the unedited snippets of the story if anyone wants to see some of my earlier writing. (Or get inspired for your own vampire aus. No judgement here.)

“Blood-Brothers” circa 2012? I dunno, but I was in high school.

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Atem, Bakura, and Malik are vampires, while Yugi, Ryo, and Mariku are their donors. These three blood-suckers are not just friends – they are also blood-brothers, vampires who were all sired by the same creature, Gozoburo.

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idea for later: Seto was pursuing Gozoburo and finally found him after he'd already killed a younger couple. Seto summons Atem, Bakura, and Malik, and the four of them successfully kill their sire. Afterwards, the dead couple's child, Mokuba, is found, and Seto takes the boy home with him to Kaiba corp.

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Prologue:

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Long ago, in a place now known as Ancient Egypt, there was a man. This man was named Gozaburo, and he is important to the story because he has always had a bad habit of kidnapping and killing people.

This is his nature, for he is a vampire.

Once, back in the days of Egypt's great rule, there were four boys who fell victim to him. They were the royal prince, Atem; his cousin, the priest-in-training, Seto; the runaway slave, Malik; and the orphaned thief, Bakura.

But these children were not to be eaten and killed by Gozaburo. No, Fate had something special in store for those four boys.

Over the course of time, Gozaburo forgot about the children who's lives he had destroyed, and the four boys were on their own to live their lives as best they could.

One, by name of Seto, went his own way, not desiring to be too close to anyone else, but the other three stuck together, calling themselves 'brothers in blood.' These three blood-brothers were named Atem, Bakura, and Malik.

And they have one goal that they wish to accomplish: to track down and destroy their sire.

Many centuries have past since their story began. And now is the time to complete their journey.

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Chapter 1: “Drinking Party”

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Malik perched comfortably on the side of a building, occasionally sticking his nose up and sniffing the air. @#$%! Why did he have to be so @#$% weak that he couldn't he get the scent?

It had been two weeks since he and his blood-brothers had left their previous location in the Middle East in search of their quarry, and three days since they had come to the small city of Japan called Domino.

Two long, strenuous weeks during which Malik hadn't had anything to eat... anyone to eat. Oh sure, occasionally Bakura would sneak on ahead, claiming that he was scouting the area when he was probably only drinking a 'Bloody Mary' as he called his pretty little victims, but Malik couldn't sneak away. Atem would always notice and call him back, needing to borrow the strength of his brother. Malik, being vicious but loyal to a fault, was always more than happy to lend his strength to the other, even though he was quickly starving.

Wasting away to nothing, that's what he was doing. He would starve, and wither away to a pile of ashes and die. But, then who would take care of Atem...? Who would remind Atem to feed regularly? Oh forget it; Bakura would take care of him. Bakura could always needle Atem into listening to him, the silver-haired and silver-tongued devil. Brother Baku would...

“Nothing?”

Coming out of his thoughts, Malik flexed his wings slightly and craned his neck to look at his blood-brother who stood just on the ledge of the building's roof above him. “Not a single thing, Atem. With so many scents in the air, I can't distinguish his from the rest!”

Atem frowned as he looked down at the claws on his hands, as he were considering getting them polished. “I'm still unclear as to why he wanted us to follow him. Why has he led us on like this? Ever since he turned us all those centuries ago, our sire has played us in a constant game of cat and mouse. Toying with us, messing with us...”

He shook his head. “Gozaburo must be stopped. He has taken too many lives already, and I am not going to stand by and watch him destroy any more.”

Malik watched as his blood-brother walked away from the ledge. With a tired sigh, he turned to follow. Why did he have to be so loyal?

“Do you suppose Bakura has found us a meal yet?” Malik asked hungrily.

Atem shrugged silently, his mind on other matters.

'Prince Brother Atem must be really, really hungry!' Malik thought to himself. Atem had some strange ethical dilemna that seemed to prevent him from drinking human blood. He would deprive himself of the life-giving liquid for many weeks, sometimes months, at a time, to the point when he became extremely weak and was on the verge of death. Whenever that happened, either Bakura or Malik would bring him a human, often an evil one, and push the mortal against him.

When they did this, Atem seemed to lose his mind, becoming even crazier than Malik was. It was scary to see the cool and collected Atem completely lose it like that, but it seemed to happen very frequently... every few years or so.

The two vampires went back inside the building they stood on top of. Since the building was abandoned, they had moved in and made themselves very comfortable, claiming certain rooms as their own personal territory and setting up their resting places. Being Egyptian vampires, they each slept in a sarcophagus, not a coffin.

They were soon joined by their third blood-brother, the one known as Bakura. He came 'bearing food...' that is, he was carrying three humans in his arms.

The humans had a sort of glassy-eyed, hazy look to them, since Bakura had put them under a trance to keep them from struggling, but that look left their faces the instant Bakura dropped them to the floor.

“Where did you get them?” Atem asked with a slight shudder for what he knew he was about to do.

“I took them from the prison, after reading their personal records. They are each wanted for murder, rape, and the like.” Bakura grabbed one of the frightened humans by the hair, looking on in disgust while the man began screaming and cursing in Japanese. “They are to be executed in the morning anyway, so I thought we could at least put them to good use!”

Throwing the man he held (who was rather a large man) away to the salivating Malik and ignoring the immediate bloodbath that occurred, Bakura reached for another. “Oh, here's one you'll like, my prince! As I recall from his record, he took advantage of a small girl and then beat her to death with a brick and stuck her remains in the freezer! I think he sounds perfectly delightful!”

Atem felt his muscles tense and become hot as he lunged at the man angrily. “Is this true?!”

The man stared up at Atem's face, too scared to form words with him mouth.

“@#$%! Do you have no heart?! Do you have no shame?!” Enraged and hungry,  Atem lost all control of his instincts and his body. He sank his fangs into the man's neck and began to claw, tear, and drink away all of the man's life.

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When Atem woke up many hours later, he found that he was covered in blood. Malik and Bakura each lay nearby in similar states; Bakura was sitting up and licking the blood off of his arms in a cat-like manner, while Malik was still asleep, a human femur clutched between his teeth.

“I see the prince is awake and ready to start the night,” Bakura teased him. “Admit it, you feel better now that you've eaten again.”

Atem sighed. It was true, he felt better right now than he had felt for the past three months. If he intended to continue his manhunt of Gozaburo, he really would need to drink blood more regularly... as much as he detested the notion.

He looked around, realizing that there was nothing left of their victims aside from the pile of bones that surrounded Malik. “Bakura, where are the remains?”

“Well, I drank my fill and then gave the rest of him to Malik, who practically swallowed him whole, the poor, starving devil.” Bakura cocked an eyebrow at his blood-brother in an amused fashion. “You were so enraged and so ravenous, you single-handedly devoured the entirety of that one I brought specially for you. Blood, bones, muscles, organs... It was most impressive, I assure you.”

Atem began to shudder and he felt sick.

“Oh, it's not the end of the world, Atem,” Bakura told him, almost as if trying to give his brother comfort. “We all do it at some point or other... In fact, you've done that sort of thing more than any of the rest of us.”

When he got no answer, Bakura sighed. “Listen, my brother... I don't really understand this feeling of guilt that you often have after feeding, but I'm not going to argue with you about it. But, if it makes you feel better, he deserved it. His victims are all avenged... just like we will be when we find Gozaburo.”

Atem nodded and looked away. After a minute, he slowly stood up.

“I am going to clean myself off,” he explained when Bakura looked at him, an unspoken question in his red eyes. “And then, I'm going to go search some more.”

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Chapter 2: “Shadows and Games”

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Atem flew through the night air, his powerful wings beating rapidly, his sharp nose smelling the air almost frantically. Still nothing.

Not Gozaburo, his sire, and not Seto, his cousin. Where were they? Where could they possibly be?

He searched all around Domino all night, but he found nothing.

No scent. No trace. Nothing. Just nothing...

Heaving a sigh, the exhausted vampire landed in an alley behind a shop. He would just rest for a few minutes, he told himself. They sun would be up in an hour or two, and he would need to get back to his sarcophagus before that happened.

“I'll see you later, 'Jii-chan!”

Atem looked up with some surprise when a person stepped through a side door of the shop out into the alley. It was a boy, probably in his early teens. He wore the uniform of one of the local high schools, and he was carrying a bag full of trash, clearly intended for the trash can that Atem was perched on. And he smelled really, really good...

Atem felt his feeding frenzy coming on again.

The boy opened his mouth to scream, but fell silent when the vampire lunged at him.

“Sssh!” Atem hissed, pressing his hand over the boy's mouth. After a moment, he removed his hand, and was greeted by a torrent of Japanese from the boy's mouth.

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?! You're not going to hurt me, are you? Are you?!”

'His voice sounds nice,' Atem thought to himself, grabbing the boy and pulling him into a tight and sudden embrace. 'Rather gentle, and innocent, and childish...'

The boy let out a small yelp as the vampire sunk his fangs into the skin of his soft, tender neck. Atem sucked at the blood, drinking deeply.

Atem felt the boy relax against him, as many of his victims did in response to his bites. Something to do with vampire's fangs having a paralyzing affect, or something like that. So long as he didn't claw or tear the boy's skin, he knew that the child would remain quiet and peaceful like this.

His blood tasted so sweet and heavenly! Not like those criminals that Bakura always brought home... this taste was wonderful, and it felt oh so good...!

Atem forced his mouth away when he heard the boy whimper. Had he hurt him? He honestly hadn't meant to. He was just... still kind of hungry... and the boy looked so sweet...

“Are you alright, little one?”

The boy stared up at the vampire, his eyes a little glazed over, but fear still existing in them.

Atem sighed. There was that accursed conscience again! Why did he need to feel guilt like this? Why did he have to have a heart?

He petted the boy's hair softly, trying to comfort him, as he licked at the wound to close it up. “I am sorry, little one.”

The boy stared up at him, his face somewhere between fear and wonder. “I've never heard of a vampire who apologized for biting someone before...” His violet eyes widened suddenly. “You bit me! Does that mean... am I dead? Am I going to become a vampire like you are?!”

Atem couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's innocence. “No, little one. You are still very much alive. I did not deplete you of your blood; I only took a little bit of it. No, you are still a human, young one.”

“Oh, good!” The boy smiled. Atem couldn't help but notice how endearing his smile was. “If I died, who would help 'Jii-chan with the Game Shop?!”

“Game shop...?” Craning his neck, Atem looked at the sign above the shop door, noticing it for the first time. His understanding of the Japanese language was rudimentary at best, but he could read the word 'game' now that he examined it closer.

“Yes! Grandpa runs the Kame Game Shop, and I help!”

He smiled gently at the boy, who was jumping up and down in excitement. “Do you now?”

“Oh, yes! And I love it! I love playing games! More than anything else in the world, actually!” The boy giggled. “My teachers all say that I should focus more on my homework, rather than playing games, but I don't care what they say! They're all a bunch of bullies anyway!”

Atem openly laughed at the boy's eagerness. “What is your name, little one?”

The boy looked up him shyly. “I'm Motou Yugi. You can call me Yugi if you like.”

“Well, Yugi, my name is Atem, and I would like to thank you for letting me rest here for a bit. I would love to stay here and talk with you some more, but I really must be going home.”

Yugi pouted in disappointment. He didn't have any friends in school and, considering how nice this vampire seemed to be, he was very much enjoying Atem's company. He brightened quickly, though. “Would you come back and visit me tonight? 'Jii-chan will be in bed, snoring! We can play games together!”

Atem chuckled slightly. “I … would like that. Alright, Yugi, I'll come back tonight.” He then flexed out his wings, took a running start down the alley, and was up in the air and gone within mere moments.

Yugi smiled broadly, glad to have made a friend. Even if it was a vampire who had just bitten him.

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Chapter 3: “Playing Games and Telling Stories”

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True to his word, Atem returned later that night. While he knew that he should be searching for his cousin some more, he had promised to visit the boy and he never went back on his word.

Besides, a part of him wanted to see this boy again; the young one seemed to love games, even as much as Atem did, and he was willing to forgo sleep to stay awake and play games with a vampire.

Atem landed lightly on the roof above the shop, peering in through a window that was wide open and had lights on inside it.

“I've returned, little one.”

Yugi looked up from a puzzle he was fiddling with, smiling and eagerly throwing the pieces he was holding to the floor. “Oh, good! I was getting sick of this puzzle! I could be working on it for a millennium and I still wouldn't get it!”

Folding his wings in as close to his body as he could, Atem slid through the small window, temporarily losing his balance and landing upside-down on Yugi's bed.

Yugi laughed quietly, then rushed over to help the vampire to his feet. Soon both of them were settled on the floor facing one another, sorting through a variety of games that were stashed beneath the boy's bed. Monster World, Dungeon Dice Monsters, Duel Monsters, Capsule Monsters, and a variety of others were hidden under there somewhere.

“You seem to like games with monsters, little one,” Atem remarked. “Do you have a favorite that you wish to play tonight?”

“I like Duel Monsters, but I don't really care what we play.” Yugi smiled shyly. “I'm just glad that someone wants to play a game with me...”

“Don't you have any friends at school who enjoy playing games?”

“... no.”

Atem felt his red eyes widen as he turned to stare at Yugi, completely forgetting the cards he had been shuffling. “None of your friends enjoy playing games, you mean? I know my brothers get bored with the games I play with them very quickly, but – ”

“That's not the problem. I just... don't have any friends.”

The vampire stared, wondering how such a caring young boy could not have any friends. He shook his head and placed a smile on his face, hoping it looked friendly and inviting enough. “Well, Yugi, why don't you and I be friends? I could use the distraction of games to keep my sanity, and my brothers are seldom very helpful in that regard.”

Yugi beamed up at the vampire, apparently pleased with that idea.

Long, strategic hours passed, and the two game-players hardly noticed. They played game after game, talking and laughing and beating one another and having a wonderful time.

“You mentioned having brothers,” Yugi said, finally feeling comfortable enough to ask the vampire questions.

“Well, we aren't really related, but that's what we call each other.” Atem stared off into space for a minute, wondering how best to explain it. “We were not born brothers, but Fate chose to throw the three of us together anyway. My blood-brothers – Malik and Bakura – and I, as well as my cousin, were all taken captive by a strange man. He disguised himself as a friend of my father's, but nothing could be further from the truth.”

Putting the Monster World figures back into their box, Yugi moved so that he was sitting beside Atem, listening to the story intently. Atem wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders, holding the child flush against himself. Yugi snuggled against him comfortably.

“As it turned out, the man was really a vampire, and an enemy of my family and our country. We lived in Egypt, you see, back when it was a thriving nation and considered to be the heart of civilization. This man believed that if he could gain control of Egypt, then he could gain control of the world.

“He kidnapped three young boys, planning to turn them into vampires and force them to destroy their own homeland – a thief, a runaway slave, the prince, and a priest-in-training. He bit us all and turned us into vampires... except for my cousin, the priest-in-training. My cousin fought so much and he was so strong, that the vampire only managed to half-turn him, and he became a half-vampire.

“No matter what the man tried, though, he couldn't control any of us. We fought against him and betrayed him every chance we could. Eventually, we all escaped him.”

Atem sighed and smiled dryly at Yugi, who was staring up at him in fascination. “It's a very long story about what happened after that, but the short version is that my brothers and I have chased our sire all the way to Japan, and that we intend to find him and kill him for the acts of horror and the crimes that he's committed. Also, we know that my cousin is somewhere around here, and I would like to find him.”

Yugi was tilting his head back and looking up at the Egyptian vampire with evident interest. “So, you just spend all your time searching for these two people? That sounds boring... But, I suppose I would do the same if I had any missing family members. I just have 'Jii-chan, and he's always around.”

Atem noticed that Yugi was starting to yawn, and the boy was having difficulty keeping his eyes open. “It's late, and you are tired. I should be going, little one.”

“I'm not tired,” the boy argued, ruining his statement by yawning halfway through.

The vampire chuckled, very much amused by the human youth. “Yugi, I really do need to be going, and you need to be getting to bed – it's not good for your kind to spend so many hours awake and so few asleep.”

The boy crossed his arms, trying to scowl and failing miserably. “But I don't want to! I want to stay up and play more games with you!”

Atem sighed good-humoredly. “Get some rest, little one. I promise that I will come visit you again some other night.”

Yugi frowned, but finally nodded, climbing into bed just as soon as the vampire had left.

Yugi snuggled down under the blankets, a smile on his face. He had made a friend, one who enjoyed playing games just as much as he did, who was willing to come back and spend time with him again.

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Chapter 4:

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(Atem will start feeding off of Yugi, and they will make it a permanent arrangement.)

.

Atem kept his promise, and he came to visit Yugi the following night, as well as the night after that. Soon, he was spending every night playing games with the small mortal, each one enjoying the company of the other.

Bakura and Malik would often tease Atem, making fun of him for befriending a human child. But he only smiled and ignored them. Even on the nights when the three of them were supposed to be out hunting for prey, Atem couldn't prevent himself from going to visit with Yugi instead.

This was no small concern for the other two.

“You can't just starve yourself, Atem,” Bakura told him one night, catching him before he went out the window. “Look, you're malnourished enough as it is! Leave the boy alone for one night and come hunting with us.”

The other paused, then shook his head. “I can't, Bakura. He already spends all day alone, with no form of companionship aside from his grandfather, and I can't bear the thought of him being alone all night, too!”

Bakura's face darkened considerably, and when he spoke again his voice came out in a disgusted hiss. “Fine! Then go play with your little toy, and don't come running to me when you die from lack of nourishment!”

With that he turned and stalked off, leaving Atem to sit on the windowsill watching after him. Malik, who had been sitting on the floor nearby the entire time, sighed loudly and rolled his eyes.

“Looks like you made Bakura mad,” Malik commented.

“Bakura's always mad! He'll get over it!”

The other vampire looked over to gaze at Atem curiously. “What is it about this boy exactly that compels you to go visit him every night? To the point where you will refuse to come hunting with us?”

Atem froze on the window ledge for a moment, staring off into space uncertainly. “I... I do not know.”

.

But, he was so hungry...!

Before Atem knew what he was doing, he had pinned Yugi down to his bed, his red eyes gazing at the boy's neck and nowhere else. His eyes and nostrils were filled with the view of Yugi's pulsing veins, the scent of his blood, his mind filled with nothing but the thought of tasting the boy again...

Yugi cried out in fear as the vampire's hungry mouth came in contact with his neck, teeth slicing through the tender skin and releasing his blood. But, as Atem's paralyzing ability kicked in, Yugi's eyes began to droop and he became quiet, his breath eventually started to come in short gasps.

.

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Chapter 5:

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At school a few days later, a certain Seto Kaiba will smell his cousin's scent on Yugi. He will offer to help Yugi out with his homework, acting overly friendly and being sure that he'll get his own scent on the boy, and even stopping by the Kame Game Shop after school. He will purposefully leave a trail of his scent behind him as he heads back towards his own hideout, but will make the scent stop after awhile, so that Atem will only be able to follow for a little ways. Atem will come to visit Yugi again that night, smelling his cousin, and taking off to find him.

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.

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Chapter 6: “Blood Rush”

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Atem frowned. He'd had Seto's trail! He'd had him... but now it was gone again. Why did his cousin have to be so good at covering his tracks! Seto was almost as good at it as their sire was – a disturbing thought.

The Egyptian vampire prince put his nose in the air again, breathing deeply and searchingly.

Malik was a bit unnerved; he was so used to being Atem's nose, eyes and ears. In the past, he'd often been Atem's wings and legs as well, since Atem would starve himself for such long periods and would become terribly weak. But, ever since he'd started feeding off of that human boy he'd befriended, Atem had become very strong and was more than capable of doing everything himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bakura could see the evident strain on Malik's face, and he cast a smirk towards his blood-brother. “Relax, Malik. The prince is a big boy now, and he doesn't need you to hold his hand anymore.”

Malik frowned, but didn't respond to his brother's joking. He was distracted by a sudden scream coming from a few streets down, his keen vampire hearing tuning into the sound with ease.

“Please... leave me alone!”

Leaping from his perch, Malik took off in the direction of the voice. “Trouble.”

“Are you @#$% kidding me?!” Bakura whined from somewhere behind him. “Are we @#$% heroes now?!”

Soon all three vampires could plainly see the source of the commotion: a young boy with long, white hair had been cornered in an alley by a group of thugs. The boy held a knife in his hand, but he clearly didn't have the confidence or will to use it, and he wouldn't last in an actual fight.

“Just leave me alone...” the boy whimpered pitifully. “... please...”

The thugs only laughed as they closed in on him.

A hiss on his curled-back lips, Atem swooped down at the group of thugs, clawed hands extended and grasping at the men. The other two vampires stayed back for a moment longer, just watching as their normally so subdued companion was suddenly taken over by a bloodthirsty rage.

“Why would you attack a practically defenseless boy?!” Atem asked, holding two of the thugs up in the air as he hovered for a moment. “Why do some people have to be so completely heartless?!”

The two criminals didn't give him an answer. Instead, they began to tremble and whimper every bit as much as the boy had been.

The other members of the gang tried to escape out the front of the alley, but they were cut off by Malik's broad wing span.

“Going somewhere?” Malik asked with a sneer.

One of the crooks pulled a gun out of his belt and took aim at Malik, but his hands were trembling so much that he could hardly manage to fire the shot.

Bakura laughed from his perch on the wall beside them. “I wouldn't,” he told the man with the gun. “You see, bullets don't work so well on us. It will only serve to make him mad. Tell me, mortal, have you ever seen an angry vampire?”

“Well?!” Atem yelled wrathfully at the two men he held. He let them drop to the ground, where they landed on their backs, and he swooped down to stand over one of them, pinning the man to the ground. “What do you have to say for yourselves?!”

In a sudden display of either courage or stupidity, the man replied by spitting in Atem's face, something the vampire really didn't appreciate.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Atem impulsively leaned forward, his jaw suddenly becoming hooked around the man's throat. The man let out a scream as the sharp teeth ripped into his flesh, the claws scrabbling and tearing into his back.

The thugs were still hemmed in by Malik, but they quickly realized that, while there was only one vampire, there were many of them. So, they devised a new strategy.

Bakura watched in amusement as the gang raced to attack Malik all at once. They thought that they would overpower him, since their strength was in numbers.... but Bakura knew they would learn the hard way.

Malik simply laughed at the little onslaught of humans, merely grabbing the first one that came into range and deftly biting into the man's arm, listening to the screams and drinking deeply. After a moment, he threw the empty shell to the ground, laughing and letting the blood drizzle down his face and neck, staining his shirt.

“Well then... who's next?”

“Wait, my brother!” Bakura called as he jumped down to join the feeding frenzy that was quickly taking over the alley. “Don't forget about me! I'm starving up here, and you two are having a drinking party without me!”

Atem actually laughed at his blood-brother's comment. “Well, Bakura, you're more than welcome to these lowlifes. I'm afraid I've become rather accustomed to Yugi's blood, for I haven't any longer the stomach for such disgusting garbage as these.”

Bakura was eager to stand off against one of the thugs, who drew a knife and acted as if the small sliver of metal could possibly defend him against the blood-sucker.

It was mere seconds before the human lay down before him, Bakura happily licking the man's blood off of his fingertips. Looking up and coming back out of his bloodlust, he could see that Atem was sniffing the air again, searching for Seto's trail, while Malik was drinking every drop of blood out the one body that he'd managed to keep, complaining something about his victim being 'too small and unhealthy to provide proper nourishment' or something to that affect. The remaining members of the gang had fled and were nowhere to be seen.

“Well, that takes care of them...” Bakura wiped the blood off his lips as he turned to find himself staring at the boy who's life they had just saved, who had shrunk against a wall as far away from them as possible. “Now, what have we here...?”

The silver-haired vampire began to walk towards the boy, who immediately shrank back and began to whimper and beg.

“Please... please, don't hurt me...”

A cruel comment on the tip of his tongue, Bakura managed to bite it back. The boy looked truly scared, and he certainly wouldn't help matters by opening his big fat mouth. Someone would have to come comfort the boy...

Looking around, Bakura saw that Atem was already wandering off, probably having picked up Seto's trail again and hoping against hope to find his cousin, and Malik was currently busy dealing with the remains of the bodies they'd left in their wakes. Great. That meant Bakura was the only one to take care of the boy... wonderful...

“It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you...” Taking the knife from the boy's hand, Bakura gently touched the boy on the shoulder, hoping that it was a soothing touch. He was too tired to hypnotize the boy, so he would have to do this the old-fashioned way. “It's alright, you're safe now...”

The boy stared up at him with wild eyes for a moment, tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks. Oh great, he was leaking.

“There's no need for tears, you're safe,” The vampire pulled the boy into an intimate embrace, holding him tightly. He rubbed his hands up and down the boy's back soothingly as the child cried on his shoulder. “No one is going to hurt you, I promise.”

Bakura looked the boy up and down, noting the many knife cuts that he'd received from the gang, most of which were still bleeding.

They smelled delicious...

The boy let out a small cry as the vampire began licking and sucking at all the cuts that showed on his arms and face and neck. His tongue was rough, and he wasn't at all gentle, and his grip hurt, but the boy didn't fight him.

Bakura licked his lips happily when he was finished tending to the boy's injuries; this kid's blood tasted sweet and salty, and it was so much better than any blood Bakura had ever drank before! Even the two or three mouthfuls he'd managed to lap up from the cuts were enough to make the blood-sucker feel full of energy and determination. Heck, he even felt almost... happy.

The boy was staring at him with wide chocolate-brown eyes.

“Oh, relax,” the vampire told him, being uncharacteristically sweet and gentle. Unable to prevent himself, he ruffled the boy's pale hair in a friendly fashion. “I'm not going to hurt you. Haven't you figured that out yet? What's your name, kid?”

“R-Ryou... Bakura Ryou.”

“Really? Hey, we have the same name: Bakura.” He gave another, hungry lick to a gash on Ryou's arm, then smiled at the boy sweetly. “Don't worry about those morons, they won't give you any more trouble. Here, I'll take you home, so I know you get there safely. Like a bodyguard. That's a good idea, isn't it?”

Ryou was still staring at him, as if unsure whether to be afraid or not.

Malik walked over to see what was going on, using one of his claws as a toothpick and removing a sliver of skin from between his teeth. “What's up, Baku-Baku?”

He was surprised when the nickname didn't get a rise from his normally aggressive blood-brother. Instead, Bakura threw his arms around the human boy's shoulders and almost hugged him, a strangely happy looking smile on his face.

“This is my new friend Ryou,” Bakura explained softly as he licked at a small scratch on the boy's cheek, making the poor little human look very uncomfortable. “I'm going to take him home, so no one else will hurt him, because he's so sweet and wonderful!”

Malik wasn't sure if he should laugh, cry, or scream, so he let out a strange noise that sounded like a combination of the three. “Ah.... Ryou, was it?... Did he... drink some of your blood?”

The boy nodded nervously.

This time, Malik just laughed. “Drunk! He's drunk! He's stoned on your blood! You've got him buzzin' buzzin' buzzin' like a bee with your hemoglobin! Intoxicated! Under the influence! Drunk, drunk, drunk! He's--”

“Not so loud, Malik,” Atem ordered him, appearing out of nowhere. An amused smiled passed over his face as he took in the scene before him. “Alright, well... Malik, I'm going to need you to come with me, and.... I suppose, Bakura may do whatever he wishes.”

“Don't worry,” He added when he saw the alarmed look on Ryou's face. “He won't hurt a hair on your head... certainly not in the state he's in now.”

The human boy glanced down to the vampire that was now leaning and rubbing against his shoulder, purring softly and looking very much like a contented kitten. Looking back up, he saw that the two 'sober' vampires were already flying off through the air.

Ryou sighed to himself, causing Bakura to fret and worry over him and question whether or not he had inadvertently harmed his new little pet. This was going to be the strangest night of the boy's life, and he knew it.

.

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Chapter 7:

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Atem's nostrils flared every once in a while as he sliced through the inky blackness of the night on his powerful wings. Running on a regular supply of Yugi's blood had made the vampire prince stronger than he'd been in quite some time, if not ever, and it heightened his senses considerably. Even while in the air, he could smell his cousin's tracks.

.

(Atem and Malik go searching for G and S, and they do find Seto, but they lose him again. Seto does allow Atem to follow him, but Malik gets lost in the middle of all the mess, while Atem and Seto manage to have a long talk. Anyhoo, Malik is left out cold behind the Egyptian Museum of Domino.)

.

Malik's body collapsed, his knees buckling under him, and he landed in a crumpled heap in the alley behind a large brick building.

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Chapter 8: “The Vampire's New Pet”

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Cries of delight filled the air as Ryou was carried through the night sky by unnaturally strong arms. He had been scared out of his wits when Bakura had first scooped him up and proceeded to carry him through the air, far above the skyline of Domino, but he had since settled into the vampire's arms and begun to enjoy himself.

“Having fun, my pet?” Bakura asked, the hiss of his voice holding a slight teasing aspect to it.

Ryou couldn't help but wonder if it was at all dangerous if a vampire started calling him pet names.

The albino boy pointed his finger down towards a particular building. “I believe that's my house down there.”

Nodding, Bakura swooped down, landing gracefully on his feet and gently setting Ryou down beside him. He followed along behind the little human boy as he began to make his way home, watching over 'his pet.' He didn't exactly feel good about leaving Ryou alone, though; for some reason that he didn't quite understand, he rather liked the boy and wanted to keep an eye on him.

And he wanted to taste more of this boy's delicious blood...

Bakura hung back as the boy went into the house, sighing as the door closed behind him. He didn't take off quite yet though, choosing to wait and watch for a few moments more, and he was glad that he did.

Soon, muffled cries were heard from inside the house. Ryou's cries. “Father, no! It's not like that, I swear!”

Snarling, the vampire jumped into the air, his powerful wings carrying him through a closed window. Shattered glass flew everywhere, zipping through the air as if confetti had been thrown into the air to announce the vampire's arrival.

Ryou was curled up on the floor in the fetal position, and an older man, presumably his father, was standing behind him and kicking him repeatedly.

Ryou was reduced to crying and whimpering again, begging his father to stop. But the man just kept beating him.

“Traitorous brat! You're nothing but a useless, worthless, piece of – oof!” The man was soon on the floor, a silver-haired vampire snarling where he had stood a moment before.

“What was it you were about to say?” Angry words were hissed out from between fangs and sneering lips. “Let me think... you were about to call your son a 'piece of @#$%,' right? I dimly remember my own father calling me that on many occasions.”

“What the—oh, @#$%!” The man on the floor cried out as he got a look at his assailant.

“What's the matter, mortal?” Bakura asked, reaching down and dragging the human man back to his feet, making direct eye contact as he held the man up in the air by the front of his shirt. “So used to bullying your wimpy son, who's so small and weak-willed that he won't fight back? Not ready to stand up to someone your own size?”

“Please, don't hurt him, Bakura!” Ryou whimpered from the floor nearby. Getting onto his hands and knees so he could crawl, the boy scuttled across the floor and latched himself onto Bakura's leg, holding onto the vampire with all his might. “He's my only family! Please, don't hurt him, Bakura! Please!”

Bakura glanced down at the boy, snarling. “Does he do this to you often, Ryou?”

The boy didn't answer right away, only clinging harder.

“Well?! Does he?!”

Looking up at the vampire, Ryou finally managed a nod.

“I'm willing to guess how often,” Bakura muttered, turning back the man he held in front of his face. “My own father used to beat me, before his rather untimely demise, and it seems like he did so... quite frequently. I'll assume you're no better, are you?”

The man barely responded, staring at Bakura and stammering out a few sentence fragments in Japanese.

Bakura hissed vehemently through his teeth. “I loathe your kind with every fiber of my being, you son of a @#$%, and nothing would make me happier than to slit your throat clean open here and now, but...”

He glanced down at the boy who still clutched at his ankles, gazing up at him with tears trailing from chocolate-brown eyes.

He sighed before continuing. “I suggest you thank your son, foolish mortal, for it's he who saved your life tonight.”

With that, Bakura dropped the man to the ground. Leaning over, he plucked Ryou from his leg and pulled the boy to his feet, wrapping his arms around the boy tenderly. “Come then, my pet. Let's look at your wounds.”

Ryou looked down at himself, noticing that his father's kicks had reopened some of his cuts from earlier, which Bakura was eying eagerly. Embarrassed and completely flustered by the entire situation, Ryou raised his left arm and allowed the vampire to lick at one of his bleeding injuries. He couldn't help but enjoy the attention that the vampire gave him though, and he ended up leaning into Bakura's arms, allowing the blood-drinker to take from him what he would.

His father stood up from the floor, taking in the scene and not liking it one bit. “What the @#$% do you think you're doing?! Encouraging a @#$% blood-sucker to feed off of you?! Next you'll be begging to become one them, coming down on your own kind and devouring them! You treacherous little--!”

“That's enough!” Bakura snapped suddenly, holding his hand up as a warning. “I thought that perhaps you'd be smart enough to change your mind about your behavior towards your son after what I said earlier, but clearly it's not enough for a mortal to be defended by a vampire only once.”

Ryou yelped as Bakura suddenly scooped him up in his arms again, as if to carry him off. Which he was intending to do, the boy quickly realized.

It only took seconds for Bakura to get out the broken window and into the air, his wings carrying the two off them into the night.

Ryou began to wail, realizing that he was being carried off and not knowing where or why.

“Don't cry, my pet,” Bakura said with an unnaturally soft voice. “I am not kidnapping you, nor do I intend to harm you in any way or form. I just...”

Stopping and hovering in the air, he looked down at the frightened boy he held in his arms. “Look. I like you, Ryou. You remind me very much of myself when I was your age... and I want you to have a better life than I did.” Sorrowfully, he locked his eyes onto Ryou's, red staring deep into brown. “I don't want you to be hurt all the time like I was. I want to protect you from the pain.”

Ryou nodded, angrily swiping at the tears on his face. So many times in his life he had been hurt by others and wished for a savior to swoop in and rescue him; this wasn't quite what he had in mind, but it was close enough for him. “Where are you taking me?”

“I'm going to take you to my home. Well, at least, it's the place where I'm living for the moment. My brothers will be there, too, so it won't be too quiet or anything. But, you'll be safe there. No one will hurt you.”

Ryou was quiet for a moment, then almost shuddered as he asked a question. “You mentioned your own father having an 'untimely demise...' Did you … kill him?!”

Bakura almost laughed as he shook his head. “No, don't be ridiculous. Even vampires do not devour their own families! No, it was not I that killed him... he was murdered before my very eyes, by the same beast that turned me into a drinker of blood.” He scowled for a second, then shook his head and smiled almost fondly at the boy he was carrying. “But, that's nothing you need to be concerned about.”

Nodding again, Ryou sighed and lay his head against Bakura's chest, surprised when he felt the vampire lightly kiss the top of his hair. Soon, he began to enjoy himself again as Bakura swooped through the sky. Cries of delight filled the air as he was carried through the night sky by unnaturally strong arms.

“Having fun, my pet?” Bakura asked, the hiss of his voice holding a slight teasing aspect to it.

Ryou wondered again if it was at all dangerous if a vampire started calling him pet names.

.

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Chapter 9: “So How Was Your Night?”

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Atem thought long and hard about everything that Seto had told him as he flew through the air, heading for home.

Seto had said that he knew where Gozaburo was, that he was keeping right on their sire's tail, that he was waiting for just the right time to attack.

He'd said that he was using Atem and the others as a distraction, mostly. He knew that Gozaburo was more interested in the three of them than in him, so he was simply biding his time, watching and waiting for just the right moment.

Then he would attack and kill their sire once and for all.

Atem frowned, lost deep in thought for a moment, but was soon brought back to reality by the pain and weariness in his body. He had been going nonstop for several hours, and his body was not used to doing this much activity within the span of a few months, much less in one night. He wanted more than anything to curl up in his sarcophagus and go to sleep.

Maybe he wouldn't get up again for the next three weeks; the thought sounded appealing to him.

He landed on the roof of the abandoned building that he and his blood-brothers had claimed as their home and went inside, momentarily wondering if Bakura was back yet. His question was answered when he went into the main room that the brothers tended to gather together in.

The room was filled with many broken pieces of furniture that had been left behind by the original occupants as well as Egyptian antiquities that the vampires had brought with them; pieces of jewelry and figurines of Osiris and Anubis were scattered around the otherwise dusty, dingy room.

Bakura sat on the floor in the middle of the room, holding a young boy in his arms. The boy was asleep and didn't move for the most part, except to occasionally whimper or clutch at the vampire.

“It's only a dream, Ryou,” Bakura whispered softly, his clawed hands stroking the boy's white hair in an oddly caring fashion. His soothing words lulled the boy back to sleep. “You are perfectly safe, my pet... no one is going to harm you. I'm here.”

He glanced up at Atem. “I'm not certain if this boy is at all capable of having a good dream... it seems that he only has nightmares.”

Atem walked closer and looked at the boy for a moment, and then up at Bakura. He smirked lightly, but said nothing. He was very much amused that Bakura seemed to be so attached to a human boy when this same vampire had mocked him for befriending Yugi.

Bakura sighed. “Look, he reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. And when I went to take the boy home, I learned that his father treats him the same way that mine did.”

Atem frowned; he knew that Bakura's father had been an abusive bully, and, considering how the vampire had responded to Ryou earlier, he wondered how Bakura reacted to this man who was just like his own predecessor.

“In the meantime,” the silver-haired vampire continued, changing the subject so that he was no longer in the spotlight. “Tell me what happened with you. I smell the priest's scent on you; I want to know what happened.”

Atem explained all, doing his best to leave out any detail that he found too personal. He was also very careful to keep his voice quiet, so that he wouldn't wake Ryou up.

When he was finished, Bakura gaped at him in silence for a moment. “So he's... stalking our sire?”

“I suppose you could put it that way.”

Bakura shook his head in frustration and growled. “Your cousin is an idiot. Does he really think that Gozaburo is really going to ever let his guard down? Does he really think that our sire could not sense his watching eyes?! That is the single stupidest thing I've ever –”

He cut himself off when a he heard a small cry come from the boy in his lap, who was blinking and staring up at him owlishly.

“We didn't mean to wake you, young one,” Atem apologized quickly. “Bakura and I were talking and I suppose we got a little carried away.”

“Go back to sleep now, pet,” Bakura whispered, smiling gently at the boy. He touched his hand to the boy's cheek, offering some tender comfort.

Ryou blinked a few more times, then nuzzled back into Bakura's lap, soon drifting off to sleep once more.

Atem watched as Bakura began to stroke the boy's hair again; it was the first time in a very long time that he had seen Bakura appear to be happy... in fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen that. It made him feel very glad that Bakura had found Ryou.

“I guess this is how you must feel about that Yugi boy, isn't it?” Bakura mused aloud. “Hm, it's no wonder, then, that glowing smile you always come home with when you go to visit him. I can't help but wonder though... will Malik ever find someone that means so much to him?”

At that comment, both vampire's furrowed their brows and looked around curiously.

“Say... where is Malik, anyway?”

.

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Chapter 10: “Five Days Later...”

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Mariku sighed loudly as he headed for the back door. What the @#$% was Shadi's problem anyway? Not allowed to smoke in the stinkin' museum... What kind of a rule was that, anyway?

Of course, if his sister caught him smoking at all, inside or outside of the building completely devoted to ancient Egypt, she would have his head on a pike. And then she'd kill him. And probably ground him.

Eventually she would take pity on him and resurrect him, but then she'd spy the cigarette again and kill him again.

The boy slipped out the back door, lighting the small cylinder and raising it to his lips as he stepped out into the alley.

Immediately, his eyes widened and, for a moment, his mouth couldn't make up its mind what to do with the cigarette – should he spit it out or swallow it whole?

In the end, he managed to pull it out with his fingers, allowing his jaw to drop. His panicky mind began to think of possible escape routes, but his feet refused to budge.

Why was there a vampire lying unconscious in the alley?

Mariku stared, his face a combination of wonder and fear, debating in his mind about what he should do about it. The vampire was bound to wake up sooner or later, and then what?

Deciding to play the hero, he picked up an old, broken mop that was sticking out of the museum dumpster. Wrapping his hands around the broken length of wood and holding it over his head, he took a step towards the blood-sucker, intending to stab the stick straight through its chest to kill it.

But he hesitated. The vampire had the tanned skin of an Egyptian, along with a multitude of jewelry very much like the gold trinkets that Mariku wore, and he had bushy, blonde hair.

Mariku realized that he and the vampire rather resembled one another.

Lowering his stick, he moved to sit beside the creature of the night, reaching out to softly touch the vampire's hair with his fingers.

The vampire awoke upon feeling the boy's warmth, a clawed hand reaching up with lightning reflexes and grasping the thin wrist.

“... human...”

Mariku let out a small shriek upon hearing the vampire's hiss. It wasn't so much that the vampire seemed threatening in any way or form as it was that Mariku had never heard one speak before. He was taken aback a bit by this sudden occurrence, and tried to wrench his wrist loose.

“Let go of me, filthy blood-sucker!”

The vampire did, almost immediately.  “... strong... little human...”

“Hey, I am not little!” The boy shouted, fully riled by that remark. He was shorter than most boys his age, as well as incredibly thin, and he was very sensitive about his appearance. Even though this vampire was easily two or three times his size, that didn't mean that he could make any comments on Mariku's stature.

'It,' not 'he,' Mariku reminded himself. Vampires were monsters and were not human and thus had no right to be called by name or gender.

“Now c'mon! Get up and go away! The sun's coming up and I don't want any stinkin' blood-suckers around while I'm smoking... or any other time, for that matter!”

The vampire in question paid very little attention to the boy's ranting. His interests seemed to lie entirely in any portion of Mariku's skin that showed from beneath his tight clothes.

Mariku noticed this. “What are you looking at, anyway?”

Red, inhuman eyes continued to gaze longingly at his skin. “... thirsty... need... blood...”

“Oh, no! I'm not letting you drink from me!”

The vampire gazed at him for another moment, seeming to be lost in thought. It was strange, Mariku realized; the vampire possessed so much strength and prowess, it should be able to lunge at him and tear him to shreds in an instant. However, this vampire didn't. It seemed to want to, but it didn't.

He soon realized why that was. “You're weakened. You probably haven't drunk any blood in awhile, and it's weakened you. Is that why... you're here? And not leaving? And not attacking me?”

The vampire didn't answer. Only continued to look longingly at the boy. “... please...”

Mariku frowned, his mind a roaring mass of confusion. He didn't want to feed his blood to a vampire. He didn't want the vampire to die right in front of him. He wanted to help the blood-sucker. He wanted to run away from it as quick as possible and have nothing to do with it.

“Oh, to heck with it!” He suddenly screamed, giving in and making up his mind on the fly. He reached into his pocket and fished out his Swiss army knife – a gift from Odion on his birthday – and suddenly swiped the blade across his forearm. Droplets of blood began to trickle out.

“You can drink a little bit of my blood,” he told the vampire, who was staring at his arm with such longing it was disgusting. “But you can't have all of it, understand?”

The vampire nodded weakly. “Won't … drink … all. Promise.”

Mariku snorted, picking up the dropped shaft of wood and holding it with his free hand. “Yeah, like I'm gonna believe you.”

Snarling, he thrust his bleeding arm in front of the vampire, who almost immediately grabbed it and wrapped his mouth around the cut.

Teeth grazed his skin, and Mariku tried not to shudder. A part of him was secretly pleased, though, to see the content and peaceful look on the vampire's face.

“How long have you been here?” the boy couldn't help but ask. He was so very curious about this blood-sucker, and his curiosity would not be ignored.

The vampire paused for a moment. “Since... since Tuesday night... or was it Wednesday morning?... It all runs together, you know.”

Mariku felt his eyes bulge. “Wednesday was five days ago! It's currently very, very early on a Monday morning!”

The vampire stared at the boy, his face somewhere between confused and alarmed. “Five... days? And yet... you're the first human to find me... why is this?”

The boy frowned, lost in thought, occasionally being distracted by the vampire's tongue probing his self-inflicted injury in a hungry fashion. “Ummm, well... I only work here once a week. And I'm the only who ever uses this exit, I think – it's the only way I can sneak a smoke without Shadi or Ishizu or Odion or anyone else blowing a gasket at me.”

The vampire nodded, studying the boy closely. “You're Egyptian, aren't you?”

“Yes.”

Another nod, this one more of satisfaction. “I am from Egypt myself. My name is Malik.”

“I'm... Mariku. I work here at the Museum of Egyptology.”

The vampire's eyes lit up, and he laughed. “How I'd like to go through that museum with my brothers, just to see how many things they've got wrong!”

Mariku frowned. “Hey! We are very particular about our facts, and we do all sorts of research beforehand!”

“Whatever,” the vampire rolled his eyes. He seemed concerned when he looked up at the sky, where the sun's rays were beginning to peak through the staggering darkness. “Tell me which way is North, and I'll leave.”

Mariku pointed his finger, and the vampire left, apparently just strong enough to fly.

Mariku wondered where the vampire stayed during the day, and whether or not he would be back again.

.

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Chapter 11:

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Malik will leave before the sun rises, but he will return the following evening to talk to Mariku in the museum. When Malik gets back to the hideout, he is momentarily confused when he sees that Ryou boy walking around the place, perfectly comfortable. Bakura sneers at Malik and says that he doesn't have to explain himself and drags Ryou off to his bedroom.

.

(Seto is the fourth blood-brother, but he is only half-turned and is a loner who tends to do things his own way. He used to be an Egyptian High Priest and he is Atem's cousin. When trailing Gozoborro, Seto finds the house of G's most recent victims, two parents and a child. It's too late to save the parents, who already lie on the floor dead, but Seto takes care of the little boy, who's name is Mokuba. Seto brings the little one home with him, calling him 'little brother' and 'Mokie.')

.

(Pegasus is an older vampire, an old enemy of Seto's. All of his usual employees, Kemo, Croquet, are all vampires as well, and Duke Devlin is his little half-vampire assistant.)

(Pegasus has little Mokuba kidnapped from Seto to get Seto's attention, and he also attempts to kidnap Yugi to get Atem's attention... however, he ends up capturing Yugi's grandfather, which still achieves what he wanted anyway.)

(So, Seto and Atem set out to rescue their friends, Yugi, Bakura, and Malik all going with them. Ryou and Mariku stay home.)

.

(At a later point, I want Ryou to go grocery shopping, picking up food for himself as well as steak for the vampires, and paying for it all with money that Bakura gave him earlier. When he's shopping, he runs into his father, Rashyo, who starts bullying him and calling both him and the vampires horrible names. Ryou sticks up for the vampires and leaves as quickly as possible, collapsing back in Bakura's bedroom in tears. Bakura comes along and holds the boy, offering what little comfort he has to offer.)

.

.

With a sharp cry, Ryou collapsed face-first onto the little cot in the corner of the 'bedroom,' promptly curling up into a ball and tucking his knees under his chin. Tears began to slowly trickle down his cheeks as he thought about everything that his father had said to him.

Every word spun around in his head, making him dizzy and nauseous, becoming louder and louder and crueler and crueler with each minute. His stomach hurt terribly, and he could no longer see through the fog of tears.

The door opened and closed, another person entering and walking over to the cot. Probably Bakura.

Ryou became aware of the vampire sitting down on the cot beside him. A strong hand pressed itself on his back, right between his shoulder blades, and began to rub gentle circles.

Bakura didn't say anything, and the silence itself seemed to speak for him.

“I saw my father...” Ryou whispered through quivering lips.

Silence for a moment. “How did that go?”

Every single word that his father had said flew through his mind, and Ryou felt something inside him break. He began to sob angrily, not even stopping as he was lifted and pulled into Bakura's lap, the vampire's arms wrapping around him tightly, his wings folding down and draping around the two of them as a cocoon.

“He – he said so many horrible things!” the boy stuttered a few minutes later. His tears had begun to slow, allowing his voice to become usable again. “He said that you vampires were nothing but evil parasites, and that you were only going to hurt me later down the road. That-that I'm stupid for trusting you...”

The other frowned, his grip on Ryou tightening instinctively. He didn't know what else the man had said to Ryou, but it was clearly enough to bother the boy. It was enough to make him wonder.

.

“Your father's right, you know,” Bakura whispered quietly.

The boy frowned, blinking his eyes harshly to get rid of his tears, turning to stare up the vampire in confusion. “... What do you mean?”

Bakura's lips tugged into a mock smirk. He wrapped his fingers around the boy's neck, the tips of his claws teasingly trailing over the bite marks on the side of Ryou's neck, showing where the vampire had been. “I am a parasite. And you are my host.”

Ryou frowned. “I always thought of our relationship as more of a symbiotic one.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“Because... I feed you, and you protect me,” the boy said slowly, his lips pursing together as he thought through his wording. “You give me a safe place to live, and you give me freedom. And, even though you drink my blood, you never actually hurt me. … These are things I never had before.”

The vampire frowned, his grip on the boy tightening. “Like I said, you are my host. You belong to me, and of course I'm going to protect you.

.

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(Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, and Tea Gardener are all humans that are being held captive by Pegasus and are rescued by the Brothers. Other vampires who work for Pegasus will include Bandit Keith, Mai Valentine, and Duke Devlin. Mai and Duke will turn out to be really nice and will end up helping the brothers.)

.

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Malik snickered, very amused by the sight of Bakura being so sweet and caring towards the human boy.

Bakura growled. “What?”

“Nothing, it's just... the high and mighty tomb robber! The king of thieves! The proud ruler of Hell... wrapped around the pinky finger of that silly little fluffy-haired boy!”

Bakura's jaws snapped at Malik, as if to bite his brother's nose off. “It's not my fault if Ryou is more tolerable than the rest of you idiots! And besides – he tastes better when he's happy!”

Malik was leaning back against a wall, laughing uncontrollably. “Really? Maybe I'll have to try him sometime.”

“You will not lay a hand on him, do you hear me?!” Bakura was seething by this point, and he was breathing heavily through his clenched teeth. “If you so much as touch a hair on his head, I will personally stake you straight through the heart! Understand?!”

“Y'know, Baku, it's funny to see you being so protective.”

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[starlitnaripetal]

3 Fandoms Meme

I have too many fandoms...Uhhh I’ll just do one from pinnacle moments in my life I guess.

Tagged by: @chibi-sunrise

Three Fandoms:

1. CLAMP

2. SMT (Yes, this includes non-purseowner games as well. #playarealshinmegamitenseigame 😂 )

3. Fire Emblem

The first character you loved:

1. (CLAMP) Sakura: I mean, what’s not to love about her? She’s sweet, kind, kind of an airhead but when it gets down to business she handles her shit. On top of that, she always looks great doing it. From CCS to Tsubasa, she’s always been the one to think of others and puts them first, often forgetting about her well being. She’s just a really good kid.

2. (SMT- Persona 3) Ken Amada: This kid is fucking metal. His mom was accidentally murdered before his eyes and he still gets up to do his business like its no big deal. Obviously, his revenge plan isn't the best thought out thing (nor is it the morally correct thing to do) but he’s 8, cut the fetus some slack. Now, his P3P s.link is prolly the cutest thing cause he’s trying to be all grown up but he also has that internal struggle of wanting to be a kid for a bit longer and having to grow up because he is an orphan and he has to work really hard if he wants to get anywhere. On top of that, he’s actually alone in the world and it takes a lot for him to let his walls down. Now, fast forward to P4:UA- He’s a grown up kid whose on student council, in the soccer team and is top tier in grades. He’s a good kid who has struggled and overcome apocalyptic obstacles.  

3. (Fire Emblem- Awakening) Henry: He’s a dark humored ass nerd who hangs with a murder of crows and fucks with the dark arts for shits and giggles. If he was an actual person, it’s very likely that I’d be his friend and afraid of playing truth or dare with him.

The character you never expected to love so much

1. (CLAMP- Tsubasa RC) Fai D. Flowright: He is one of the newer characters in the CLAMP series, along with Kurogane and I was kinda sketchy about him at first but he later grew on to me. He’s also an actual mom. He’s always faking a smile in order to make sure that no one worries about him, and it’s really hard to get a read on him unless you really know him. Then you find out he’s actually horribly depressed and blames himself for everything that’s happened to him and those he cares about.

2.  (SMT- Digital Devil Saga) Argilla: The second I saw her character design, I went ugh she’s the forced romance character for the Serph. Turns out, she’s not. She’s basically the mom of the group and puts everyone in their fucking place. After that whole thing with Jinana, I was just like: YES! THATS MY GIRL!

3. (Fire Emblem- Birthright) Azama: I’m serious. He kills a bear with his own hands and he’s a walking sassy shitpost. I mean, what’s not to love?

The character you relate to the most

1. (CLAMP) Fai. I tend to beat myself up for just about anything that goes wrong in my life. However, I tend to hide that from those around me with a laugh in order to not bring them down. I tend to be protective of the few I have around me and make sure I can do whatever I can to make them happy.

2. (SMT- Persona 3) Ken Amada: My dad died when I was around his age and I felt like I had to grow up so my mom wouldn’t worry about me so much. I ended up spending a lot of time around my older cousins in order to make myself seem a lot more mature than I was for my age. However, those childlike tendencies of mine also came out here and there and it embarrassed me. Then, when I got to high school I became this super over achiever that fucked my shit up...and yeah.

3. (Fire Emblem- Birthright) Takumi: THE INFERIORITY COMPLEX IS REAL WITH ME OKAY

The character you’d slap

1. (CLAMP- Chobits)  Hideki. He just needs a slap to get a reality check. Man, this guy.

2. (SMT- Devil Survivor 2) Airi. Her tsundere attitude gets on my nerves.

3. (Fire Emblem) Prolly Niles. He’d know why.

Three favorite characters

1. (CLAMP) Fai, Kobato & Sakura

2. (SMT) Ken Amada, Akechi Goro & Alcor

3. (Fire Emblem) Henry, Rinkah & Mitama

A character you didn’t like at first but do now:

1. (CLAMP- Kobato) Ioryogi: He was an angry dog at first and there never was a reason for it?? Then plot happened and it made sense. He’s also a giant softie.

2. (SMT- Persona 5) Ann: I didn’t care too much about her since they kept pushing her as the main love interest for the protagonist at the beginning. However, once I played the game and did her social link, I saw that she’s an amazing friend and she’s just trying her best to move forward even if she has no idea how to do it.

3. (Fire Emblem) Tharja: The instant I looked at her I knew she was the fan service character. What I didnt expect was for her to have a possessiveness over Robin that’s kinda borderline yandere. I’m not a fan of either of those things but I, a sucker for mages, ended up doing her social links and what not and I ended up liking her.

A character you thought you’d like but don’t:

1. (CLAMP- CCS) Eriol. Well I do like him, I just don’t like his way of doing things. WHY DO YOU KEEP THINGS THAT SAKURA SHOULD KNOW A SECRET FROM HER?!

2. (SMT- Persona 4) Rise:  I thought I would like her just based on her character design and the description of her. As it turns out, I hate her guts.

3. (Fire Emblem) Sumia: I saw Pegasus knight and went HELL YEAH. Then I found out that she’s too tame as a character to pique my interest.

Three OTPs: (most of these things are canon so eh)

1. (CLAMP) Kobato x Fujimoto, Touya x Yukito, Sakura x Syaoran

2. (SMT) Alcor x Hibiki, Jun x Tatsuya, Minato x Fuuka

3. (Fire Emblem) takumi x leo, olivia x henry, kiragi x mitama

I tag: @annoyinsamurai (GET REKT)

You don’t have to do this. I just wanted to tag someone lol

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

Character ask post: Daisy

YES

1 - Sexuality headcanon

Again, heterosexual…it’s strange I never gave much thoughts to the kids’ sexuality, isn’t it? (They’re not all straight, I promise, just bear with me)

She marries a Herbologist called Charlie Matthews

2 - OTP

I suppose I can only say her and her husband…I haven’t written a great deal about him (yet) but it’s all in my head :’) He was a Gryffindor in the year above her  - but they only got to know each other after they’d both graduated.

(there’s a post coming, I swear)

3 - BROTP

Daisy and all of her siblings, especially Toby because they’re both the eldest ones (for a while it was just Toby, Daisy and the twins, so they were both considered the “older ones” whilst the twins were “the babies” of the family)

Daisy is real close to her Papa :3 Like, she is called “Princess” and “Flower” by Jacob because they are so close, because she’s the first girl.

Also all of the Scamander cousins, but especially Linnet - the two end up causing a lot of mischief together.

And, of course, Daisy and her Auntie Tina! She looks up to her Auntie Tina so much, wants to be just like her when she grows up, and can tell her anything. Tina understands a lot of what Daisy is going through: the self-consciousness, the feeling like she’s plain compared to her younger (blonde) sister, feeling inadequate…Tina understands, and that means everything to Daisy.

(I’m not sure if family counts but meh)

4 - NOTP

Okay, just wanna say…I’ve talked about that boy she had a crush on who didn’t like her back and I’m going to go with him - but I have a reason for why that’s more than just “being turned down”.

After he turns her down, most of the school know about it. A lot of boys (mostly Slytherins but also a number of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws) make a joke about it, jokingly asking her out for the sake of amusement. She can’t go anywhere without people talking or thinking about it. It really hurts her and makes her draw further into her shell.

5 - First headcanon that pops into my head

Daisy stopped eating during her later years at Hogwarts; it got so bad that she ended up being hospitalised. While the Healers struggled to make sense of why she wasn’t eating (EDs weren’t recognized as such at this time), Queenie - her mother, and of course a Legilimens - knew; she knew that there was something very wrong, that it was something in her mind.

She became so unwell that she can hardly move - but after she was released, she somehow found the energy to clamber into the case to spend an afternoon with Uncle Newt and the creatures until Auntie Tina came home from work. They invited her to stay for dinner cautiously, knowing that she might freak out or panic but she agreed and still forced herself to eat for them.

Later, Daisy fell asleep on the sofa - neither of them had the heart to move her or force her back home so they let her sleep upstairs for the night. It became a common occurrence.

6 - One way in which I relate to this character

Well, it’s like how I relate to Tina because Daisy and Tina are so similar (hence why they’re so close). One way: Daisy is very self-conscious, especially about hw she looks, and I share this unfortunately.

7 - Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Okay, so another headcanon that I fired at someone on Twitter…this is an idea in progress and meant as a joke but still.

My FC for Daisy is Isabelle Fuhrman in Orphan - I won’t spoil the movie, but there’s a bit where the mother and father were having sex in the kitchen and the little girl saw and…well.

Jacob and Queenie getting it on in the kitchen when they hear one of the kids (Daisy) coming towards the kitchen and hurrying to put their clothes back on. Queenie then ended up sitting Daisy down and going “honey, when a mama and papa love each other, they…they do certain things-”

And then Daisy, in the most deadpan voice imaginable for a 9-year-old: “I know. They fuck” and Queenie is mortified. It turns out that Daisy heard that word in someone’s thoughts at the bakery.

So…yeah, that seems pretty embarrassing :’) (Based on THIS conversation) (please do not take that too seriously, I thought it was hilarious)

8 - Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

She’s not perfect by any means but she’s a kid, you know? She tries her best - even as a grown-up, because no one is perfect. Still, she’s got a good-heart so I’ll vote cinnamon roll! :)

[updcbc]

May 13, 2019 - “A Sovereign Transition of Power: Esther Enthroned Queen of Persia” Esther 2:1-23

Click READ MORE to read the full sermon.

Introduction

Once our home is shattered we are devastated. The healing process could take long years for it is extremely difficult to rebuild from broken pieces and recover from unbearable pain. The road to healing and recovery comes at our doorsteps with the grace from heaven. Behind the scenes is the invisible hand of God at work beyond human imagination.

A royal home bears the same grief of a common home once it is broken. Such was the case of the royal family of King Xerxes and Queen Vashti. They were the great king and queen of the ancient superpower Medo-Persian Empire. The people in every land rejoiced when the king and queen opened the kingdom for everyone. It was on the culminating day of celebration that spelled the breakdown inside the royal family. When the king was drunk he commanded the queen to appear before the multitude with her royal crown. The queen was uncomfortable to appear before a great audience and she disobeyed his word. In ancient times the word of a royal king was good as law to be obeyed by everyone. The king was outraged for he was disgraced before the nobles and the peoples. And he consulted the wise counselors to address the matter. Memucan gave the wisdom of the council. The tension between the authority of the king and the disobedience of the queen was not a simple family affair. At stake was the social order and political stability of the empire. The king understood the gravity of the offense of the queen and saw the impending peril to his sovereign rule. King Xerxes made a decree that every man should be the head in his household. And Queen Vashti was dethroned and to be replaced by someone better than her.

The heart of Xerxes was torn apart as a husband and a king. He grieved for the great loss of Queen Vashti his wife. Though how painful it was he made a firm stand to preserve the peace and order of the empire. It took years for King Xerxes to recover and he revisited the decree he made when he deposed Vashti (2:1-4). He gave his consent for the search of a new queen (2:5-11). Esther was enthroned as the Queen of Persia (2:12-18). As the new queen, Esther safeguarded Xerxes from assassination when Mordecai reported to her the conspiracy against the king (2:19-23). Behind these phenomenal events was the invisible hand of heaven over the whole empire and all the affairs of humankind.

 A.  The Decree Revisited (2:1-4)

Three years had passed since King Xerxes removed Queen Vashti from her throne. The decree he issued maintained order and harmony inside the households in the empire. On the part of the king it was not easy for him to settle down but he came to his senses to move on.

 1. The King Recalled the Decree

King Xerxes recalled the imperial decree. The biblical narrative gave this account, “Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her” (2:1). Why did it take him so long to contain his anger? As a king who ruled the empire with absolute authority, he was outraged that the one who defied his power came from the queen herself who was the closest person in his heart. On the other hand, he could have been disgusted to his own self to internalize the breakdown inside his royal family was the consequence of making a command when he was drunk. It was indeed painful on his part that Queen Vashti was vanished from his presence sealed without remedy based on the indestructible law of the Persians and Medians. The imperial decree established peace and order in the whole empire at the cost of irreparable breakdown inside the royal home. The king learned to settle down. As the king, he must uphold the imperial decree. Indeed, Queen Vashti must go and to live her own life outside the royal family. Likewise, King Xerxes must honor the decree to choose a queen better than Vashti, whose name means, “one who is desired.” Such great transition was exceedingly painful but it was a legal necessity to establish order in the monarchy.

 2. The Proposal to Search for a Queen

How should the king choose a new queen?

“Then the king's personal attendants proposed, ‘Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.’” (2:2-4a)

The proposal given to the king by his personal attendants was sound and clear. First, the king would appoint commissioners in every province of the empire. Second, each commissioner would choose beautiful young virgins in their respective provinces. Third, the beautiful ladies would be brought into the harem of the king in the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Fourth, each young virgin would be given beautiful treatments for a year. Finally, the exceptional lady who would please the king would take the place of Vashti as Queen. We have to remind ourselves that this careful selection was not a modern pageant of beauty and brain for the winner to promote meaningful civic action in society. Rather, it was an awesome political process to crown the most qualified lady as the noble queen with vast authority and power next in command to the great king over the first superpower empire in ancient times.

3. The King Searched for a Queen

What was the response of King Xerxes to the wise proposal? The Scriptures made this account, “This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it” (2:4b). The crucial process of a thorough search for a new queen was under the sovereign rule of the king from beginning to end. The king was pleased with the plan and he administered it to fulfill the decree he had done. We could imagine that the search for a new queen electrified the whole empire!

 A.  The Search for a Queen (2:5-11)

It was in a historic context of a great search of a royal queen in the Medo-Persian Empire that we are introduced to Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai was a Jewish exile under the Babylonian Empire. And Esther, a Jewess orphan, was a much younger first degree cousin of Mordecai whom he adopted as his own daughter. No one could ever thought or imagine that the amazing transition of power in the whole empire would come from this unknown characters of Jewish origin.

 1. Esther Under Mordecai

The Scriptures gave us unsuspected profiles of Mordecai and Esther.

a.    Mordecai the Jew

Here was Mordecai.

“Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah.” (2:5-6)

Mordecai was not an ordinary Hebrew citizen. He came from a Jewish royal blood. He came from the tribe of Benjamin and a descendant among the fourth generation from Kish, the father of Saul the first king of the nation of Israel (1 Chr. 12:1). Jair, the father of Mordecai, was one among the captives taken with King Jehoiachin of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It could be that Mordecai was born in Babylon. Since he was of a royal descent, he was given the privilege, like of other royalties, to be a resident in the citadel of Susa. He chose to stay in Persia after King Cyrus decreed the Jews to return to Judah.

 b.    Esther the Orphan

And here was Esther.

“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.” (2:7) 

Esther came from a Jewish royal blood. Her Hebrew name, Hadassah, meant a “myrtle.” His older cousin Mordecai adopted her as daughter when she became an orphan. She was “lovely in form and features.”

2. Esther Under Hegai

And Esther was one among the chosen beautiful young virgins.

“When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.” (2:8-9) 

We wonder why Hegai made a special notice on Esther. We may assume that on first sight Hegai was captivated of her impressive beauty that set her apart exceptional from all the beautiful ladies. In his preliminary interviews he could have discerned her unassuming depth of wisdom and noble character. And Hegai discretely used his authority to give Esther the best treatment from the rest of the beautiful young virgins.  

 3. Esther the Hebrew

Esther went through the process with much discretion.

“Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.” (2:10-11) 

Why did Mordecai forbid Esther not to disclose her race as a Hebrew? History speaks for itself. Israel was the object of intensified opposition within the empire. This was triggered when King Cyrus decreed for the Jews to return to Judah and build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.

Esther took the word of Mordecai and she obeyed in humble submission as a faithful daughter to her father. And Mordecai, one of the privileged citizens in the empire closely monitored Esther as a loving father to her daughter. Every day he visited her in the courtyard of the harem. And this he did for a year.

 B.  Esther Became Queen (2:12-18)

The time came when each promising lady to enter the palace and personally appear before the royal king. Each one would appear before the king and the nobles to behold the unique beauty of each virgin. And each beautiful young virgin would bring a special object with them to present before the king that would depict their core values and convey a royal connection to the heart of the king.

 1. The Virgins Appeared Before the King

After the royal beauty treatments, each young virgin made her most awaited appearance before the great king in the presence of the nobles. This was the biblical record of the historic beauty pageant in the empire.

“Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.” (2:12-14) 

Each beautiful virgin with an object of her own choice taken from the harem entered the palace and appeared before the royal king. The virgins who appeared before the king would stay to another place of the harem until the king summoned her back by name. In ancient times, it was a custom for kings to build their own harems—a practice acceptable then primarily for political ends but inappropriate and repulsive at present.    

 2. Esther Appeared Before the King

The awaited hour for Esther came as orchestrated by Hegai.

“When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.” (2:15-16) 

We may assume she was the last candidate to enter the palace and appear before the king. After twelve months of royal beauty treatments with oil of myrrh, fine cosmetics, rare perfumes and healthy diet in the hands of trustworthy seven maids under the special care of Hegai—Esther made her personal appearance to the king. And with her was the very object which Hegai himself suggested for her to bring before the king. The Scripture was silent what this object was that came from the harem. For sure, Hegai, as a close noble confidant, knew that the distinct object which Esther brought into the palace in the presence of all the nobles of the empire had a symbolic royal attachment and outstanding personal significance in the heart of the king. Of all the beautiful young virgins who stood before the king, Esther captivated the hearts of all the nobles present, “And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.”

3. The King Crowned Esther Queen

Of course, King Xerxes, was the final judge.

“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.” (2:17-18) 

At last, the imperial decree found its closure for the healing inside the royal family and the peace of the whole empire. The great King Xerxes crowned Esther as the royal Queen of the ancient superpower Persian Empire. The king made a royal banquet in honor of the new queen. The nobles and the peoples of all races celebrated in grand jubilation. Who would ever think that in the midst of all the peoples stood a royal queen of Jewish origin. The secret was kept by Mordecai and Esther. If the secret was disclosed the royal celebration could spell a national disaster.

 D. The Discovery of a Conspiracy (2:19-23)

The sovereign transition of power in the kingdom was beyond human imagination and comprehension. The transition of power was further established when Mordecai discovered a conspiracy against the king.

 1. Mordecai Uncovered a Conspiracy

The biblical narrative unfolded a conspiracy that threatened the royal family and the whole empire.

“When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up. During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.” (2:19-21)

As a basic rule of biblical interpretation we are careful in making unfounded conclusions in whatever form in respect of the silence of the Bible in a given situation. In this particular narrative, we have no idea why Bigthana and Teresh got mad against the king and conspired to assassinate him. Likewise, we do not know how Mordecai discovered the conspiracy. We can only speculate that the two officials got angry with the king because they were not given a royal favor they thought they deserved. And we can only surmise that Mordecai discovered about the assassination plot when the two discussed the matter without being unaware of the presence of Mordecai who happened to be at the king’s gate. We do not know the full details but for sure this historic event was not a mere accident. The discovery of the assassination plot against the king had a crucial place in the preservation of Israel as a nation.

 2. Esther Reported the Conspiracy to the King

Mordecai made an urgent move: “But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai” (2:22). Esther was recently crowned as queen yet she was confronted with a hard decision based on Mordecai’s report. The two persons involved were on the list of the close officials of the king. Her silence, however, could spell the death of the king and her life as well. She took the courage and risk to report the assassination plot to the king.

3. The Conspiracy Was Recorded Before the King

The king listened to the queen and he made a thorough investigation.

“And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.” (2:23) 

The assassination plot was validated. The king was spared from certain death for the plotters had a direct access to the king. Bigthana and Teresh were executed. And in the presence of King Xerxes the discovery of the conspiracy was written in the royal records in honor of Mordecai.

Conclusion

It is such a wonder that those who do not desire for power are at times given noble positions of great authority. This was true to Esther whose name means “a star.” A decree was made to search for a queen in the whole Persian Empire. Esther found favor in the eyes of Hegai who gave her an exceptional beauty treatment and who chose a distinct object for her to bring before the king. She captivated the hearts of the nobles. The king had no second thought and crowned her as the queen of the empire. The peoples rejoiced without any idea that the queen who rose into royal throne was a Hebrew. A great reversal of events could have taken place should they have known then that she was a Jewess. Queen Esther kept her national identity a secret in obedience to Mordecai who understood well the anti-Semitic sentiment in ancient times. Then an assassination plot against the king was uncovered and it was decisively written in the royal records in the presence of King Xerxes who gave the credit to Mordecai. And the king had no idea on the affinity of Mordecai with the queen. We give a careful thought on these phenomenal events.

The virtues rooted in the home have a deep impact in society. Mordecai was a Jewish exile in a pagan empire yet he lived in accordance to Hebrew tradition. He worshiped the LORD and loved his countrymen. Mordecai adopted Esther as his own daughter and nurtured her faith in light of the Scriptures. Mordecai deeply cared for Esther. He watched over her to secure her well being in the harem. Esther respected Mordecai and obeyed him. “She continued to follow instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.” These noble virtues rooted in the Hebrew home had a direct bearing of the destiny of Mordecai and Esther in the whole empire. Like the home of Mordecai, may our Christian home be rooted with godly virtues. As salt and light may we exemplify love, respect and obedience before God and man.

 The wise who read the times make sound judgments. Mordecai knew the history of his nation and understood the anti-Jewish sentiment within the empire. When Esther was in the harem, Mordecai instructed her not to reveal that she was a Hebrew. Esther obeyed the word of Mordecai. As it was written, “Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.” Wisdom opened the door for Esther to the royal throne and preserved her when she was crowned as queen. Like Mordecai, as Christians, may we be innocent as a dove and wise as a serpent. In this dark and sinful world, we need discernment and wisdom to do what is true, right and just.

 The sovereign God is at work beyond human comprehension. Esther was favored by Hegai and prepared her well for the throne. The nobles were pleased with her. King Xerxes crowned her as queen. And the king was spared from death when Mordecai discovered a conspiracy. What word can we say to all of these? Like Mordecai, we may not fully comprehend the invisible hand of God at work in our lives. Be still and know God.

[fadingfartconnoisseur]

How to Use Your Social Network to Travel the World

One of my favorite websites is Couchsurfing. This website allows you to connect with locals abroad and get a place to stay, a friend to show you around, and local information. I remember I used it when I was first traveling and stayed at this lovely home in Athens. I’ve grown to love it even more since they have a “who’s nearby” feature on their app, which I heavily used in France last year.

Celinne, on the other hand, created – and used – her own personal social network. She traveled the world only staying with friends and friends of friends. She reached out on the web and found strangers will to open their home to her. Not only did this help her lower her travel costs, it allowed her to meet wonderful, fascinating, and kind hearted people. To me, travel is about the human connections we make – and she found a way to make some great ones. Here’s her sharing her story, what inspired to do this, and what she learned along the way.

Nomadic Matt: Tell us about yourself. Who are you? What drives you? Celinne da Costa: My love story with travel dates as far back as I can remember: I was born in the heart of Rome, Italy, to an immigrant Brazilian mother and a German-raised Italian father. Since leaving Italy, I’ve gone from living in the quintessential suburbia neighborhoods that American dreams are made of, to frenziedly exploring Philadelphia while balancing my studies at University of Pennsylvania, to adventuring my way through every nook and cranny of New York City. Last year, I left behind my corporate advertising job in the city to design my dream life from scratch. I began with a journey around the world, in which I harnessed the power of human connection and kindness to stay with 70+ strangers in 17 countries across four continents.

Eighteen months later, I’m still traveling full-time and writing a book about my experience circumnavigating the globe by couchsurfing through my social network.

What fuels your passion for travel? Travel accelerates my personal growth and challenges me to become the best version of myself. There are so many beautiful places in the world, but after a while, they begin to blend into one another. What truly makes travel valuable is the lessons it can teach you, if you are willing to be present and pay attention to your environment.

Travel has helped me develop the humility and goodwill to learn from people that I meet along the way. It has pushed me to understand my insignificance on this planet, yet still take actions that will positively impact others. Most importantly, it has challenged me to open my heart to others and live in the moment. Ultimately, travel is not a matter of what I see, but who I become along the way. I don’t need to see the entire world. I just want to feel it run through my veins.

Tell us about this long adventure you were just on. How did you think of it? How long did it last? Where did you go? What did you do? I didn’t want to just quit my corporate 9-5 job on a whim and travel the world without a plan. I wanted to make travel into a lifestyle, not a sabbatical, so I decided to design a project that would 1. incorporate my main passions (travel, writing, and making connections with interesting humans) and 2. create opportunities for a lifestyle change once I was done. I challenged myself to design my dream life, attempt to live it out for six months and re-evaluate once I got there.

That’s where the idea of my social experiment came from: I circumnavigated the globe by couchsurfing through my network. I wanted to reincorporate real human connection back into my life. I never used the Couchsurfing website since everyone who hosted me was connected to me somehow (friends, friends of friends, people I met on the road).

I ended up being on the road for nine months for this project, and having 73 hosts in 17 countries across 4 continents: I passed through Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the US.

How did you actually find hosts to host you? How far ahead did you know where you were going to sleep?  There were no websites involved! Only sheer human connection. All the interactions were initiated by me and were enabled by my phone (texting, voice notes, calling) and social media (mostly Instagram and Facebook).

I reached out to everyone I knew telling them about my project and asking whether they knew someone they could connect me with. I kept moving from one connection to the next until I found someone willing to host me. As my project grew and people started finding out about it, hosts started to reach out to me through Instagram.

I only had a one-way ticket to Italy (where I’m originally from) booked – everything else was on the whim. I had a general trajectory of where I was going, and I would add or subtract places depending on my hosting situation. There were places I wanted to visit no matter what, so there were often times when I was down to the wire and didn’t find a host until super last minute. Other times, I had hosts lined up months ahead. It always worked out – I was only left without a host once, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I ended up renting a cheap room last minute, but luckily, I did make some local friends on that trip so I’ll have a place to stay if I return!

What was the furthest connection with a host that you stayed with? How did that happen? My furthest connection was seven degrees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was: my mom’s friend’s girlfriend’s client’s client’s co-worker’s friend. It was crazy how it happened. I kept struggling to find a place, and each person would pass me along to someone else they knew until eventually, someone was available and willing to host. This happened several times during my travels – I also had plenty of five- and six-degree connections. I was taken aback by how dedicated people were to finding me a place to stay.

Did you ever meet someone on the road and stay with them? Or did you strictly stay with friends of friends? Yes, all the time! There was never a point when I had all my hosts lined up – I usually had my next couple of destinations planned, and everything else up in the air. I was constantly meeting and befriending travelers on the road, and upon hearing about my project, a vast majority would offer to host me without me even asking.

For example, I met an older gentleman for all of 30 minutes as I was leaving a meditation retreat in Nepal (which, funny enough, was also part of my project: my Kathmandu’s cousin worked so I was his guest). Despite knowing me so briefly, he offered to host me in Tasmania. I ended up visiting his and his wife’s farm (located in the middle of nowhere) six months later with another host, and it was amazing. Four complete strangers ended up spending an entire evening sharing stories about our travels and philosophies on life over a feast of freshly caught crayfish and vegetables picked from their garden.

Tell us a few host stories that completely surprised you when you were on the road. If there is anything I learned from meeting hundreds of people during my travels, it’s that there is so much more than we could ever fathom going on below the surface of a human being. It is our nature to categorize things. With people, it tends to be by culture, race, geography, religion, etc. If you make an active effort to put these categories aside, sit down with locals, and demonstrate some basic interest in their lives and stories, you’ll find that each person is their own universe. In fact, the most incredible nuggets of wisdom I’ve gotten came from people who didn’t even realize their own brilliance.

One of my favorite encounters was with Maung, an older gentleman that I met who was a hotel manager in Myanmar. After some conversation, I found out he smuggled cows to Thailand for a living when he was younger, and was a commander in the guerilla fighting movement against the oppressive regime alongside a monk who later became famous for his humanitarian efforts towards orphaned children. What a story!

Then, there is Adam, the Italian-American host I fell head-over-heels in love with (spoiler: we broke up). We grew up less than an hour away from each other in the US yet I found him while he was living in Australia.

Lastly, I’ll never forget asking my host Anna in Bali whether she knew of a spiritual healer and her telling me that she lived with one. That week, I spent most of my evenings sitting on their porch in an Ubud village, discussing the meaning of love and happiness as they proceeded to school me on life with their wise Balinese philosophy.

What challenges did you have couchsurfing around the world? How did you deal with them? I could never predict the comfort or location convenience of my accommodation, so I really had to learn to go with the flow and not set any expectations. I’ve stayed in penthouses with my own private room, bathroom, and maid, and I’ve also stayed in cots on the floor of a village with a hole for a toilet. It’s funny because some of my most “uncomfortable” hosting accommodations ended up being my richest and best experiences, and vice versa.

Also, “reading” my hosts was a challenge. Their reasons for hosting me were so different: some wanted to pay it forward, others wanted to actively show me their city and pick my brain, others were only offering a place to stay but didn’t necessarily want to socialize. I had to sharpen my people skills so I could stay respectful and intuitive to people’s boundaries (or lack thereof).

What are your tips for people who are inspired by your story and want to do this on their own? What are some great resources you suggest to use? Identify what you are passionate about, and try to build your travels around what works for you. My project was successful because I tapped into my strengths and passions. If you’d like to create a project around your travels, I suggest you customize it around your preferences: if you are an introvert and hate talking to people, for example, spending hours a day chatting with people and asking them to host you may not be the best idea. Make your journey fun by catering to what you realistically feel comfortable and happy doing, and make sure you do some planning ahead of time.

My best resource was fellow travelers who had also done round-the-world trips. When I was thinking about doing this trip, I reached out to full-time travelers on Instagram, asked friends if they knew people who went on long travel trips, and did a lot of “blog surfing.” I had so many Skype calls with strangers who had just finished round-the-world trips before I left for my own. Talking through my doubts, fears, and confusions – and being reassured that I would be okay – made me so much more comfortable with leaving.

Specifically, my trip was inspired by one of my mentors Leon Logothetis, who is the author of book (and now TV show) The Kindness Diaries. He traveled the world on a yellow motorbike relying on people to offer him gas, food, or shelter, to prove to himself and to others that humanity was kind. Other books I also read that prepared me for the trip were Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton, and A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle.

  How do you make your money last on the road? What are some of your best tips? My top tips for people trying to make it work financially on the road:

Know your weaknesses, and plan for them. I’m terrible at numbers and never budgeted before, but I knew I would have to if I wanted to make this work financially. I created an excel sheet and for the past 18 months, have been documenting and categorizing every single expense so I can track where I need to cut down if necessary. I also knew I’d go crazy if I didn’t occasionally treat myself to something I liked but wasn’t necessary, so I gave myself a monthly “frivolous stuff” allowance.

Always remember that you can barter or negotiate. Traveling and negotiating on the road taught me that currency is not only monetary – it is social as well. I did not have abundant funds, but I did have a skillset: I am a brand strategist by trade, as well as a writer, social media influencer, and content creator. When negotiating with dollars didn’t get me anywhere, I would offer my services in exchange for goods or services of similar perceived value. In many areas of the world, people respond favorably to a favor exchange. If marketing isn’t your skillset, that’s totally ok too! I’ve seen people barter all kinds of skills for experiences of places to stay: for example, exchanging farm work or teaching English for room and board, helping a small business with coding a website in exchange for free tours, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Embrace the minimalist lifestyle. When I’m on the road, I live a very minimalist lifestyle. I only travel with a carry-on to keep my belongings to a minimum, I hardly buy souvenirs or clothes, I walk or take public transportation whenever possible, and I buy most of my food at the grocery store. I normally don’t pay for culture and history-related activities or tours; I email places ahead of time, tell them about my project and that I’m a writer (in addition to having my own social media following, I also write for some major publications… both which I achieved by creating this social experiment). Since I stay with locals, I don’t pay for accommodation, which helps tremendously.

Were your family and friends supportive of your traveling adventure? Surprisingly, yes. I was originally nervous to tell my family and friends about my plan to quit my job to travel around the world by sleeping in random people’s homes – I really expected them to try to talk me out of it. Although a handful of them did, the vast majority had a response along the lines of “Yes! You need to do this!”

I was overwhelmed by the support, how much they believed in me, and how they supported me along the way, emotionally as well as by connecting me to potential hosts. I couldn’t have made it without them!

What’s on your bucket list? Oof, am I allowed to say every country in the world? If had to narrow down to five places that I’m itching to see, they are: Peru, Bolvia, Antarctica, Japan, and the Philippines. Now I just need to find hosts there!

  Do you have any advice for people that feel like Couchsurfing is something dangerous that they could never do? Yes! The first rule is probably the hardest to internalize: you have to trust people. We live in a world that is constantly inundating us with news of what terrible humans we are, but that is not the case at all. I found all over the world that most people are good, and want to help. I have enough stories about people who went out of their way in kindness for me to fill a book (and that’s why I’m writing one!).

Of course, there are exceptions, and that’s where my second piece of advice comes in: trust your intuition. Western society particularly values mind over heart, and that’s something I learned to question during my time in Southeast Asia. It’s important to use rationality and logic when moving through life, but there is something about intuition that just cannot be quantified. Listen to what your gut tells you – if something is off, remove yourself from the situation, no questions asked.

Overall, I’ve surfed over 100 couches in the past couple of years and I’ve only had one bad experience which I quickly removed myself from before it escalated. Statistically, that’s a 1% weirdo rate. Believe that people are good, and that’s the world that will manifest for you!

Celinne da Costa left behind her corporate advertising job in the city to design her dream life from scratch. She began with a journey around the world, in which she harnessed the power of human connection and kindness to stay with 70+ strangers in 17 countries across four continents. Follow her journey at The Nomad’s Oasis as well as Instagram and Facebook or pick up her book of short stories, The Art of Being Human. 

Become the Next Success Story

One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel and that it is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. Here are more examples of people who overcame obstacles and made their travel dreams a reality:

Reader Story: How Angela Travels the World as an Au Pair

How Oneika Gets Teaching Jobs Around the World

Reader Story: How Helen Successfully Traveled and Volunteered Around Africa

Success Stories: Why Trish Sold Everything She Owned to Travel

An Interview with Lee Abbamonte, the Youngest American to Visit Every Country in the World

P.S. – I’m having a meet up on January 23rd in Queenstown. You can sign for that by clicking here! Come join the fun! Location TBD!

The post How to Use Your Social Network to Travel the World appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[touristguidebuzz]

How to Use Your Social Network to Travel the World

One of my favorite websites is Couchsurfing. This website allows you to connect with locals abroad and get a place to stay, a friend to show you around, and local information. I remember I used it when I was first traveling and stayed at this lovely home in Athens. I’ve grown to love it even more since they have a “who’s nearby” feature on their app, which I heavily used in France last year.

Celinne, on the other hand, created – and used – her own personal social network. She traveled the world only staying with friends and friends of friends. She reached out on the web and found strangers will to open their home to her. Not only did this help her lower her travel costs, it allowed her to meet wonderful, fascinating, and kind hearted people. To me, travel is about the human connections we make – and she found a way to make some great ones. Here’s her sharing her story, what inspired to do this, and what she learned along the way.

Nomadic Matt: Tell us about yourself. Who are you? What drives you? Celinne da Costa: My love story with travel dates as far back as I can remember: I was born in the heart of Rome, Italy, to an immigrant Brazilian mother and a German-raised Italian father. Since leaving Italy, I’ve gone from living in the quintessential suburbia neighborhoods that American dreams are made of, to frenziedly exploring Philadelphia while balancing my studies at University of Pennsylvania, to adventuring my way through every nook and cranny of New York City. Last year, I left behind my corporate advertising job in the city to design my dream life from scratch. I began with a journey around the world, in which I harnessed the power of human connection and kindness to stay with 70+ strangers in 17 countries across four continents.

Eighteen months later, I’m still traveling full-time and writing a book about my experience circumnavigating the globe by couchsurfing through my social network.

What fuels your passion for travel? Travel accelerates my personal growth and challenges me to become the best version of myself. There are so many beautiful places in the world, but after a while, they begin to blend into one another. What truly makes travel valuable is the lessons it can teach you, if you are willing to be present and pay attention to your environment.

Travel has helped me develop the humility and goodwill to learn from people that I meet along the way. It has pushed me to understand my insignificance on this planet, yet still take actions that will positively impact others. Most importantly, it has challenged me to open my heart to others and live in the moment. Ultimately, travel is not a matter of what I see, but who I become along the way. I don’t need to see the entire world. I just want to feel it run through my veins.

Tell us about this long adventure you were just on. How did you think of it? How long did it last? Where did you go? What did you do? I didn’t want to just quit my corporate 9-5 job on a whim and travel the world without a plan. I wanted to make travel into a lifestyle, not a sabbatical, so I decided to design a project that would 1. incorporate my main passions (travel, writing, and making connections with interesting humans) and 2. create opportunities for a lifestyle change once I was done. I challenged myself to design my dream life, attempt to live it out for six months and re-evaluate once I got there.

That’s where the idea of my social experiment came from: I circumnavigated the globe by couchsurfing through my network. I wanted to reincorporate real human connection back into my life. I never used the Couchsurfing website since everyone who hosted me was connected to me somehow (friends, friends of friends, people I met on the road).

I ended up being on the road for nine months for this project, and having 73 hosts in 17 countries across 4 continents: I passed through Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the US.

How did you actually find hosts to host you? How far ahead did you know where you were going to sleep?  There were no websites involved! Only sheer human connection. All the interactions were initiated by me and were enabled by my phone (texting, voice notes, calling) and social media (mostly Instagram and Facebook).

I reached out to everyone I knew telling them about my project and asking whether they knew someone they could connect me with. I kept moving from one connection to the next until I found someone willing to host me. As my project grew and people started finding out about it, hosts started to reach out to me through Instagram.

I only had a one-way ticket to Italy (where I’m originally from) booked – everything else was on the whim. I had a general trajectory of where I was going, and I would add or subtract places depending on my hosting situation. There were places I wanted to visit no matter what, so there were often times when I was down to the wire and didn’t find a host until super last minute. Other times, I had hosts lined up months ahead. It always worked out – I was only left without a host once, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I ended up renting a cheap room last minute, but luckily, I did make some local friends on that trip so I’ll have a place to stay if I return!

What was the furthest connection with a host that you stayed with? How did that happen? My furthest connection was seven degrees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was: my mom’s friend’s girlfriend’s client’s client’s co-worker’s friend. It was crazy how it happened. I kept struggling to find a place, and each person would pass me along to someone else they knew until eventually, someone was available and willing to host. This happened several times during my travels – I also had plenty of five- and six-degree connections. I was taken aback by how dedicated people were to finding me a place to stay.

Did you ever meet someone on the road and stay with them? Or did you strictly stay with friends of friends? Yes, all the time! There was never a point when I had all my hosts lined up – I usually had my next couple of destinations planned, and everything else up in the air. I was constantly meeting and befriending travelers on the road, and upon hearing about my project, a vast majority would offer to host me without me even asking.

For example, I met an older gentleman for all of 30 minutes as I was leaving a meditation retreat in Nepal (which, funny enough, was also part of my project: my Kathmandu’s cousin worked so I was his guest). Despite knowing me so briefly, he offered to host me in Tasmania. I ended up visiting his and his wife’s farm (located in the middle of nowhere) six months later with another host, and it was amazing. Four complete strangers ended up spending an entire evening sharing stories about our travels and philosophies on life over a feast of freshly caught crayfish and vegetables picked from their garden.

Tell us a few host stories that completely surprised you when you were on the road. If there is anything I learned from meeting hundreds of people during my travels, it’s that there is so much more than we could ever fathom going on below the surface of a human being. It is our nature to categorize things. With people, it tends to be by culture, race, geography, religion, etc. If you make an active effort to put these categories aside, sit down with locals, and demonstrate some basic interest in their lives and stories, you’ll find that each person is their own universe. In fact, the most incredible nuggets of wisdom I’ve gotten came from people who didn’t even realize their own brilliance.

One of my favorite encounters was with Maung, an older gentleman that I met who was a hotel manager in Myanmar. After some conversation, I found out he smuggled cows to Thailand for a living when he was younger, and was a commander in the guerilla fighting movement against the oppressive regime alongside a monk who later became famous for his humanitarian efforts towards orphaned children. What a story!

Then, there is Adam, the Italian-American host I fell head-over-heels in love with (spoiler: we broke up). We grew up less than an hour away from each other in the US yet I found him while he was living in Australia.

Lastly, I’ll never forget asking my host Anna in Bali whether she knew of a spiritual healer and her telling me that she lived with one. That week, I spent most of my evenings sitting on their porch in an Ubud village, discussing the meaning of love and happiness as they proceeded to school me on life with their wise Balinese philosophy.

What challenges did you have couchsurfing around the world? How did you deal with them? I could never predict the comfort or location convenience of my accommodation, so I really had to learn to go with the flow and not set any expectations. I’ve stayed in penthouses with my own private room, bathroom, and maid, and I’ve also stayed in cots on the floor of a village with a hole for a toilet. It’s funny because some of my most “uncomfortable” hosting accommodations ended up being my richest and best experiences, and vice versa.

Also, “reading” my hosts was a challenge. Their reasons for hosting me were so different: some wanted to pay it forward, others wanted to actively show me their city and pick my brain, others were only offering a place to stay but didn’t necessarily want to socialize. I had to sharpen my people skills so I could stay respectful and intuitive to people’s boundaries (or lack thereof).

What are your tips for people who are inspired by your story and want to do this on their own? What are some great resources you suggest to use? Identify what you are passionate about, and try to build your travels around what works for you. My project was successful because I tapped into my strengths and passions. If you’d like to create a project around your travels, I suggest you customize it around your preferences: if you are an introvert and hate talking to people, for example, spending hours a day chatting with people and asking them to host you may not be the best idea. Make your journey fun by catering to what you realistically feel comfortable and happy doing, and make sure you do some planning ahead of time.

My best resource was fellow travelers who had also done round-the-world trips. When I was thinking about doing this trip, I reached out to full-time travelers on Instagram, asked friends if they knew people who went on long travel trips, and did a lot of “blog surfing.” I had so many Skype calls with strangers who had just finished round-the-world trips before I left for my own. Talking through my doubts, fears, and confusions – and being reassured that I would be okay – made me so much more comfortable with leaving.

Specifically, my trip was inspired by one of my mentors Leon Logothetis, who is the author of book (and now TV show) The Kindness Diaries. He traveled the world on a yellow motorbike relying on people to offer him gas, food, or shelter, to prove to himself and to others that humanity was kind. Other books I also read that prepared me for the trip were Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton, and A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle.

  How do you make your money last on the road? What are some of your best tips? My top tips for people trying to make it work financially on the road:

Know your weaknesses, and plan for them. I’m terrible at numbers and never budgeted before, but I knew I would have to if I wanted to make this work financially. I created an excel sheet and for the past 18 months, have been documenting and categorizing every single expense so I can track where I need to cut down if necessary. I also knew I’d go crazy if I didn’t occasionally treat myself to something I liked but wasn’t necessary, so I gave myself a monthly “frivolous stuff” allowance.

Always remember that you can barter or negotiate. Traveling and negotiating on the road taught me that currency is not only monetary – it is social as well. I did not have abundant funds, but I did have a skillset: I am a brand strategist by trade, as well as a writer, social media influencer, and content creator. When negotiating with dollars didn’t get me anywhere, I would offer my services in exchange for goods or services of similar perceived value. In many areas of the world, people respond favorably to a favor exchange. If marketing isn’t your skillset, that’s totally ok too! I’ve seen people barter all kinds of skills for experiences of places to stay: for example, exchanging farm work or teaching English for room and board, helping a small business with coding a website in exchange for free tours, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Embrace the minimalist lifestyle. When I’m on the road, I live a very minimalist lifestyle. I only travel with a carry-on to keep my belongings to a minimum, I hardly buy souvenirs or clothes, I walk or take public transportation whenever possible, and I buy most of my food at the grocery store. I normally don’t pay for culture and history-related activities or tours; I email places ahead of time, tell them about my project and that I’m a writer (in addition to having my own social media following, I also write for some major publications… both which I achieved by creating this social experiment). Since I stay with locals, I don’t pay for accommodation, which helps tremendously.

Were your family and friends supportive of your traveling adventure? Surprisingly, yes. I was originally nervous to tell my family and friends about my plan to quit my job to travel around the world by sleeping in random people’s homes – I really expected them to try to talk me out of it. Although a handful of them did, the vast majority had a response along the lines of “Yes! You need to do this!”

I was overwhelmed by the support, how much they believed in me, and how they supported me along the way, emotionally as well as by connecting me to potential hosts. I couldn’t have made it without them!

What’s on your bucket list? Oof, am I allowed to say every country in the world? If had to narrow down to five places that I’m itching to see, they are: Peru, Bolvia, Antarctica, Japan, and the Philippines. Now I just need to find hosts there!

  Do you have any advice for people that feel like Couchsurfing is something dangerous that they could never do? Yes! The first rule is probably the hardest to internalize: you have to trust people. We live in a world that is constantly inundating us with news of what terrible humans we are, but that is not the case at all. I found all over the world that most people are good, and want to help. I have enough stories about people who went out of their way in kindness for me to fill a book (and that’s why I’m writing one!).

Of course, there are exceptions, and that’s where my second piece of advice comes in: trust your intuition. Western society particularly values mind over heart, and that’s something I learned to question during my time in Southeast Asia. It’s important to use rationality and logic when moving through life, but there is something about intuition that just cannot be quantified. Listen to what your gut tells you – if something is off, remove yourself from the situation, no questions asked.

Overall, I’ve surfed over 100 couches in the past couple of years and I’ve only had one bad experience which I quickly removed myself from before it escalated. Statistically, that’s a 1% weirdo rate. Believe that people are good, and that’s the world that will manifest for you!

Celinne da Costa left behind her corporate advertising job in the city to design her dream life from scratch. She began with a journey around the world, in which she harnessed the power of human connection and kindness to stay with 70+ strangers in 17 countries across four continents. Follow her journey at The Nomad’s Oasis as well as Instagram and Facebook or pick up her book of short stories, The Art of Being Human. 

Become the Next Success Story

One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel and that it is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. Here are more examples of people who overcame obstacles and made their travel dreams a reality:

Reader Story: How Angela Travels the World as an Au Pair

How Oneika Gets Teaching Jobs Around the World

Reader Story: How Helen Successfully Traveled and Volunteered Around Africa

Success Stories: Why Trish Sold Everything She Owned to Travel

An Interview with Lee Abbamonte, the Youngest American to Visit Every Country in the World

P.S. – I’m having a meet up on January 23rd in Queenstown. You can sign for that by clicking here! Come join the fun! Location TBD!

The post How to Use Your Social Network to Travel the World appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.