#anyways. these are our thoughts on the matter

[cams-cult]

COMPRESSION PT. 5⭐️

{ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 }

stepbro!chratt x bratty!stepsis reader

★★!!NOT FUCKING INCEST!!★★ don’t read if your panties easily get in a twist, or do i don’t control you★★

summary- after matt and chris bring home their new girlfriends it makes you jealous.

contains- cheating, oral f! receiving, pussy slapping, softdom! matt.

you pulled into your driveway, your body aching at how long of a day at work it had been. your muscles tense and irritated from how much you had done. you sat in your car momentarily, simply just giving yourself some alone time before you had to face your annoying stepbrothers who had had it in for you since that stunt you had pulled in the restaurant a few weeks back. that they still weren’t over.

you give yourself a moment to stretch and take in everything that occurred today, giving your brain a break. that is until you see two unfamiliar cars in the driveway, ones that had never been here before to your knowledge.

it was probably just friends that your dad and stepmom had over..they had been talking about getting together with friends anyway.. so no big deal.

you finally get out of your car, walking to the front door, eager to take a hot bath as soon as you could. but as soon as you open the door, you’re greeted with two girls who you had never seen before on the couch with your stepbrothers.

matt and chris had never been the boyfriend type..or the bring girls over type..so this was weird to say the least.

they had their arms wrapped around both of the girls waists, their attention not yet grabbed by your sudden presence. the air was thick though, so it didn’t take them long to see that you had arrived home.

you weren’t sure what exactly you were feeling at the moment.. they had been fucking around with you for weeks and now suddenly they have new fucktoys? you were distraught and annoyed.

you were brought out of your envious thoughts as chris speaks up, “this is bianca and she’s tracy..” he says pointing to the blonde girl in matt’s arms. “since when do you invite girls over?” you blurt, jealousy evident in your voice.

“they’re our girlfriends, y/n” he chuckles as he winks at you, signaling that he knew you were jealous. “oh” you scoff as both of the girls shoot eachother confused glances.

“yeah we made it official about a week ago..didn’t we tell you?” matt smirks as he tilts his head to the side, silently mocking you beyond the girl’s notice. “no?—as a matter of fact i thought you were antirelationships..both of you” you roll your eyes as you take another look at the girls who had no idea in the slightest what this bickering was.

“well that’s our bad…we should’ve told you..” chris bites his lip as he winks at you again, wrapping his arms tighter around bianca’s waist.

“yeah whatever—have fun..” you roll your eyes as you storm upstairs, chris and matt shooting eachother cocky glances. your blood boiling with complete jealousy. you couldn’t stop thinking about how the both of them held the two girls in their arms, how they cradled them.

you couldn’t be mad though after all..they were your stepbrothers..

you had to get a hot bath anyways..it had been too long of a day to not take time for yourself to relax.

you lie out some clothes and head to the bath, eager to finally relax your muscles.

about 30 minutes later you get out of the bath and wrap a towel around you, heading to your room to put on your clothes. as you walk to your door you hear your phone buzz as you enter your room. you pick up your phone and see it was a text from chris.

“they just left and were about to come up there. fix your attitude while you’re at it.” you read, rolling your eyes as you toss your phone. you drop your towel and reach for your shirt as you feel a pair of hands wrap around your waist.

shivers run down your spine as your body was exposed completely to one of the boys. the hands trail up from your waist to the upper part of your body. your body betrays you as you lean into whoever’s touch this was, leaning your head on their shoulder.

you bite your lip as the hand snakes over your body to your tits, gripping them softly. your breath hitches as you whimper softly, your knees buckling beneath you.

to your discovery it was matt. you could tell by the way he handled you. his scent. his grip. his body language. you knew it all too well. matt was always more gentle than chris, until chris was present and he had to show off more.

but you were certain on this being matt.. either way you weren’t disappointed.

“turn around…” his voice husk and filled with lust. you oblige turning around and being right on your assumption of it being matt. his hands find your waist again as he grips it softly, his gaze meeting yours. “so jealous, hm?—were y’stepbrothers” he coos, reminding you of what was. you whine “i’ve had a long day, matt..i don’t have time for this” you sigh as your tired gaze meets his.

“i don’t care what you have or don’t have—y’can give me 2 minutes..” he says softly “that’s how long it takes you to finish on my tongue anyway” he smirks as he backs you onto the bed. you roll your eyes as you lean back onto the bed, sprawling out in a more comfortable position leaving your nude body on display for him.

“where’s chris anyway?” you ask curiously, not composing in that he wasn’t here anyway..he’d go too hard on you after all. “he’s outside with his girl..” he says bluntly. you scoff as you lean back up, covering yourself slightly. “what’s the point of fucking around with me if both of you have two new fucktoys?” you say with envy and frustration. “watch your tone—“ he corrects as he leans down getting on your level. inching his face closer to yours.

“and don’t question it—they’ll never know..” he says softly, his lips hovering over yours. “it’s not right” you push him away, his face contorting into aggravation. “that’s hilarious coming from someone who’s soaked by her stepbrother, hm?” he scoffs biting his lip. “don’t tell me what’s wrong or what’s right— you’re ours to do what we want with. got it?” he states as he leans back in, pinning your hands down so you can’t push him away again.

“so let me have what’s mine—spread your legs f’me” he commands, backing up to give you room. “now.” he growls as he grabs your legs and spreads them open.

you gasp as the cold air hits your heat, your wetness glistening in the dim lighting. “see? you’re soaked—fuckin’ pathetic” he growls once again as he bites his lip. your breath hitches as you lean your head back, waiting for him to prey over to you.

“y’gonna be quiet and not make a sound, yeah?” he instructs as he runs his finger along your slit, making you squirm underneath him. your body trembles at his touch, adrenaline pumping through your body. “answer me” he demands as you feel a hard smack on your leaky cunt, making your body jolt up so you can look at him. “i’ll be q-quiet…” you whimper as you bite your lip.

“good girl..” he praises as he leans down, his eyes meeting yours as he licks a stripe on your slit. your hand covers your mouth as you whimper into your hand.

he begins devouring you, his tongue practically making out with your cunt as he kisses each fold, swirling his tongue around your clit, not breaking eye contact with you.

he grips your thighs as he continues devouring you, letting a groan escape the back of his throat which practically made you cum on the spot. your hand leaves your mouth, not being able to feel all of this pleasure without holding onto something.

“matt…” you moan softly as he swirls his tongue around over your needy nub. your back arching onto the mattress completely surrendering to matt. “feels sso good…” you softly praise as you move your hand down to grip his hair.

he grips your thighs harder as he pushes you firmer into the mattress, his tongue moving rougher around your pussy, making you squirm and moan softly, still trying to keep your word about being quiet. “fuck! ah—“ you say a little louder earning a low growl from him as he slaps your thigh.

“close…so close..” you whimper as you grip the mattress beneath you, toes curling as he hits all of those spots that you needed to be hit. “yeah? y’close?” he coos as he pushes his nose into your clit, making you squirm even more than before. “mhmmmm” you hum as you clench around nothing, your eyes squeezing shut as your breathing becomes heavy.

“cum..cum in my mouth..” he instructs as you let go, your body trembling as you moan softly, his tongue helping you finish your orgasm. “ah—“ you moan softly, the wave of ecstasy being evident all over your body. “good girl…” he praises as he leans up, kissing your forehead softly.

you pant gently, a bead of sweat on your forehead. “i think ill need another bath..” you giggle as you sit up, grabbing your towel again and wrapping it around you. “i guess so..” he smiles. “what will we tell chris?” you grab his arm before he could leave.

“we won’t.” he says bluntly. “but he texted me earlier saying to be ready for him—i’m too tired to do anything else” you whine as his figure towers over your own. “just tell him you’re tired—if you tell him about it, consider yourself fucked because i won’t lay a finger on you however much you beg me to..” he says sternly, his hand gripping your own.

“and we all know how much you need me as much as you need him.” he smirks.

a/n: the long awaited pt. 5 :3

tags: @starrii-sturns @sturns-mermaid @emely9274 @hjvi @chrepsi @chrisstomach @izzylovesmatt @mattssslutbby @chrisslut04 @fratbrochrisgf @sturnsxbitvh @grace-sturnz @victoriassadcorner @divinesturn @sturniolo-szn2 @riasturns @whore4chris @jensturnss @athaliahxoxo @riggysworld @h3arts4nat @sophand4n4 @lvrsturniolo @trustinsturniolos

[sometimesoliloquy]

hey it’s the “see you later” anon back again to say 1 more thing. june also says i don’t know you i don’t know anything about you and nick responds “my name is nick blaine and i’m from michigan” i think we’re aware that june learns something in season 6 about nick and spirals from that (or we’re assuming that’s what happens?) and i think it comes back to that moment in season 1. who is nick? and is who he says he is/who june knows him to be enough?

Hello again!

Yes, I agree it does seem like we are in for an immanent “who is Nick” reckoning. The show likes to do this periodically: the s1 “I don’t know anything about you” scene eventually playing into/escalating to the infamous s3 Swiss meeting: “I don’t think you know who Mr. Blaine is, or was. Our research indicates he’s not to be trusted”—Side note: I watched Casablanca last night and it’s well-documented that the name “Nick Blaine” (the writers choosing the last name of Blaine for the show that is, "Nick" is canon from the book of course), is a nod to the “Rick Blaine” of that movie but I never realized just how heavy the parallels are, including repeated references to a “shady”, mysterious past and a consistent thread of just how little the two love interests really know about each others’ lives (largely by design). Anyway I thought this was really interesting, I may do a longer post on it later, idk.

Anyway, I do think that Nick must have opened up to June a lot more after that s1 scene but clearly there’s still a lot of details she doesn’t know, either by design or just the fact of how little time they have together. And unfortunately the full question of why Mr. Blaine was “not to be trusted” has never been satisfactorily answered. The “resolution” we were given, insofar as June’s feelings anyway, seems to be that she decided it didn’t matter. That she chose to trust what she knew of him, based on his words and actions and her gut, rather than what she’s been told by strangers (and Serena). And she knows shit is complicated in Gilead, she certainly knows he’s no angel (as she says to Esther in s4: “Gilead makes it really hard to be good”).

Whatever it is June learns in the upcoming episode that causes her to spiral, or to doubt him, I think it will ultimately echo this same pattern, though in a bigger way and ultimately with a more distinct resolution. Whatever she learns about his past or present (if that is indeed the “shocking revelation”), I think she’ll eventually come back to the conclusion that the core of what she knows of Nick is true—that he’s a good man (who loves her) even if it is very complicated.

I do have to think that this time they’ll have to talk about it and have a real reckoning though. They didn’t exactly have that chance in s3/4 but they need to now. And I don’t think June would ever just toss Nick aside for good without letting him explain himself. I think if they are to really be together, to ever truly have a relationship grounded in the “real world”, with a potential future—not just the cumulative amalgamation of fleeting, stolen moments they’ve had so far, where the details and the past were shoved aside by necessity—they need to finally have it out, let it all come to a head and decide where they stand: what can and can’t be forgiven, and what’s most important to them. (@withallthingslove wrote about this really thoughtfully a few weeks back when the press kit came out, I think it's here in this this post). 

June has recently been having these crucial moments of clearing the the air with her loved ones, finally saying things that long needed to be said —first with Luke, then Moira, so maybe the biggest one yet is now on the horizon, with Nick. And we will see where they land.

[the-fox-with-no-name]

Andrew’s line in Chapter 2 of the Foxhole Court "Don’t be so afraid to die. If you are, you have no place in our court." hits so much harder once you know where the story is heading.

It’s not just about dying. It’s about fear. It’s about survival. Andrew is setting the tone from the very beginning: if you let fear control you, you won’t make it. If you can’t face death, your fears, your trauma, the ugly parts of yourself, you can’t survive in the world they’re living in.

This one line literally lays the groundwork for The King’s Men. Book 3 is built on the Foxes finally stepping into that challenge. They are beaten, broken, hunted, and they choose to stand anyway. They face their pasts, their conflicts, and their pain. They face the fear of death and loss head on.

Neil stops running and embraces what he has infront of him, Andrew opens up and let's Neil and others in, and Kevin fights back not just for himself but for others.

The Foxes become a team, not because they’re fearless, but because they stop letting that darkness take hold of them.

Andrew wasn't warning Neil, he was warning us all. He’s laying down the truth he’s had to survive by: that valuing life means accepting its fragility, and fighting for it anyway.

In the end, it’s why he lets Neil in, even when it terrifies him. It’s why the Foxes matter. It’s why living, even painfully, is better than being numb forever.

Kinda genius how the Foxhole Court layouts the blueprints for the rest of the series.

Food for thought.

[lyragrayson4ever]

Could you write a fanfic where Grayson is very tired, sad and doesn't want to go to a gala, but is afraid to tell Lyra, then she realizes what he feels, and decides to stay home and watch movies together? .Please

You and me (Lyra x Grayson)

The mirror reflected a stranger back at me.

Hair perfect. Suit perfect. Smile nowhere to be found.

My hands shook slightly as I tried — and failed — to tie my tie. I never struggled with things like this. I was Grayson Hawthorne. I was the one who had it together, the one people counted on. The one who didn’t break.

But tonight...

Tonight, even standing felt like too much.

I hadn’t told Lyra how badly I needed a break. I hadn't said a word.

Because how could I?

She’d been looking forward to this gala for weeks. She deserved a night where we dressed up and danced all night.

I couldn’t steal that from her.

Even if the thought of another night smiling for strangers made my chest feel like it was splintering apart.

I didn’t realize how long I had been standing there until I heard soft footsteps behind me. I caught her in the mirror — Lyra, in her oversized T-shirt, looking like something dreamt up out of my wildest, most desperate imaginings. Her hair falling around her shoulders, her eyes finding mine instantly.

She didn’t say anything.

Didn’t ask if I was okay.

Didn’t press.

She just... saw me.

In one simple moment, she understood all of it.

Everything I was too proud — too broken — to say.

Without a word, she crossed the room.

She reached for my tie, her fingers nimble and careful as she slid it from my hands. Tossed it onto the dresser like it didn’t matter — because it didn’t.

Then she took my hand and laced our fingers together.

Her touch was steady. Certain.

No hesitation. No performance.

Just Lyra.

Just the girl who had always seen me clearer than I saw myself.

She tugged gently, leading me out of the bedroom.

Through the hall.

Into the living room.

And I froze.

Completely and utterly froze.

The space was transformed.

The coffee table was pushed away, replaced by a sea of pillows and blankets. The TV screen glowed faintly, a movie waiting at the start menu. Popcorn sat on the couch. Two mugs of cocoa — my favorite, extra marshmallows — steamed quietly on the side table.

There was no grand announcement.

No "surprise!" or "are you okay?"

No pity.

Just... this.

Her hands. Her heart.

Creating a space for me to fall apart safely.

The dam inside me cracked so fast it scared me.

I had to blink up at the ceiling, swallow hard, shove the wave of emotion back down — but it clawed its way up anyway.

My chest ached with it.

This raw, burning love for her that I didn’t know how to hold onto without falling apart.

Lyra turned to face me then, barefoot, radiant, looking at me like I was the miracle.

And that’s when I knew:

I wasn’t just in love with her.

I was her.

Every heartbeat, every breath, belonged to her now.

I stepped forward like I was in a trance, cupping her face in both hands. She leaned into my touch without hesitation, her smile small and sure.

"You..." My voice broke embarrassingly, and I had to stop, clear my throat. "You have no idea what you just did for me."

Her eyes shone with something soft and infinite.

"I think I do," she whispered.

I kissed her forehead — fiercely, reverently — like I could somehow imprint how much I loved her into her skin.

"Stay with me," I murmured against her hair. "Just stay."

"Always," she breathed.

We sank into the mountain of pillows, pulling the blankets over us, cocooned in the warmth and the quiet and each other.

I didn’t even know what movie she put on.

I didn’t care.

She curled against me like she was made to fit there, her head tucked under my chin, her hand resting right over my heart.

Like she knew it was hers.

I held her tighter, closing my eyes.

For the first time in weeks, I didn’t feel like I had to hold it all together.

For the first time in forever, someone was holding me.

And it was her.

Of course it was her.

I opened my mouth to say something else — to tell her how desperately, stupidly, wildly I loved her — but the words stuck, thick in my throat.

So instead, I just pulled her closer and let the tears burn quietly behind my eyes.

She didn’t say anything.

She just held me through it.

Through the love and the exhaustion and the quiet breaking I hadn’t even realized I needed.

Lyra.

My heart.

My life

My home.

No galas.

No expectations.

No pretending.

Just us.

Just love.

And God —

God, I would spend the rest of my life trying to deserve her.

[dirtyvulture]

Knight Falls - Part 3

Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Wolverine!Reader

18+ only, read at your own risk (Blood, violence, torture)

Summary: Your perfect life with Natasha isn't meant to stay that way with the Red Room still looking for her.

Word count: 3030

AN: It’s been 84 years since the last update, but I truly thank everyone for their recent interest in this fic and for giving me the motivation to keep going!

Click here to refresh your memory with Part 2.

“Again? Are you sure?”

“Why not? It’s not like she has somewhere to be.”

Dr. Cornelius’s bald head leans into your peripherals. He’s wearing his signature mirrored glasses so you can see your reflection in them: the hair matted to your forehead, the sickly paleness of your skin, the dilation of fear in your pupils.

“You’re our most generous donor,” Dr. Cornelius says, patting your arm with a heavy hand. You try cringing away from his touch, but you’re bolted to the table at every joint. The things you would do to this man if you were free. “Besides, you have to pay for your upkeep somehow, right?”

You growl in response to his words. You don’t try speaking to them anymore. They’d never listen to you anyway. 

In the background, metal scrapes against metal and the clanging strikes a chord of fear in your chest. It’s not easy to move your head but you still try, until you see one of the surgeons back at your side with a scalpel shining in the bright overhead lights. 

“What haven’t we taken today?” Dr. Cornelius asks. 

The surgeon shrugs, his expression unreadable behind a mask. You wonder if he takes enjoyment in this, or he’s just following orders. There’s a lot of each around here. All spineless cowards to you.

“How about the liver?” Dr. Cornelius suggests, pushing down on your stomach. You squirm uncomfortably, but no matter what you do, you can’t escape him. Ever since these sick psychopaths got their hands on you, they weren’t going to let you go.

“Sure.” 

Before you even have a chance to register the surgeon’s response, his scalpel presses into your side until it breaks the skin. Blood rolls down to the metal slab you’re lying on. You can’t block out the pain as he saws through you, but you’ve learned to disassociate from it. If they were going to treat you like an object, you needed to pretend to be one to survive.

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

You come to slowly, your head pounding like someone took a sledgehammer repeatedly to your skull. Light worsens your headache so you squint while you get your bearings. You find yourself strapped tightly to a table, heavy blocks of metal encasing both of your hands. There’s even some kind of solid muzzle over your mouth, restricting your breathing. 

Your first thought doesn’t go to the countless times you’ve been in this position before, it goes to the one that landed you here: Taskmaster standing over you with a gun pointed between your eyes. Your forehead throbs at the memory, but since you actually remember what happened, your healing must be functioning as normal, despite the extreme sluggishness that weighs you down. You pull aggressively at your binds, but you’re cinched tight to the table.

Panic builds inside of you.

Screaming doesn’t do anything. Neither does begging them to stop. Which is why you don’t do it anymore. You lie there like a fish, your eyes glazed over and unseeing, even though you are completely aware of everything happening to you.

Your skin tearing open. The blood pouring out of you that they don’t even try to staunch. Being ripped apart and put together more times than you can count.

The muzzle makes it impossible for you to take a full breath and the anxiety overrides your control. You hyperventilate frantically, but it’s still not enough air and the ache in your lungs starts to build. It feels like you’re drowning in fear and panic and you completely forgot how to stay calm. 

You never thought you’d find yourself in this position again. You promised yourself you wouldn’t let it happen. 

You squeeze your eyes shut and try moving your whole body, but your legs down to your ankle are held in place by metal restraints. A band over your chest presses down like someone’s knee in your sternum. The fear of not being in control is crushing like a weight of its own and you fight harder, until the metal starts cutting into your wrists. But you won’t stop, afraid that you might never make it out if you do. 

“Y/N. Y/N!”

Your head whips around painfully against the restraint locked around your neck. Natasha is crouched a few feet away from you, blocked behind a wall of jail bars. You try to speak but your words are muffled by the muzzle. 

She squeezes her arm through the bar, straining to reach you. Her fingertips barely brush your forearm, but her touch is instantly calming. 

“It’s okay. I’m here,” she says, trying to be brave for the both of you, but you can smell her fear mingling with yours. There’s a cut with dried blood on her forehead, but she seems okay otherwise. At least the two of you were together. You focus on your breaths again, forcing yourself to take them slowly and as deeply as you can. Your heart rate falls and the panic begins to melt away.

Natasha has never seen you like this before. The crazed look in your eyes when you woke up, the desperation in which you tried to unsuccessfully free yourself. She knows it must be traumatizing and embarrassing for you to be in a position of helplessness. She wishes she could be closer to you, to hold you, to tell you that everything will be okay, but she’s stuck behind the bars in a cage and can barely reach you. 

“I love you,” she blurts out, in case she doesn’t get a chance to say the words again. “I love you so much and I’m going to get us out of here, I promise.” You cannot speak, but you look at her with pure adoration and trust. 

“I’m not sure where we are,” she says, filling the silence. “I woke up a few times before they brought us in here. But I think we’re on some kind of aircraft–”

At that moment, your surroundings jolt and Natasha falls back in her cell. You know you aren’t going anywhere with the table bolted to the floor, but the motion is jarring and worrying. Escape would be a lot more difficult if there was nowhere for you two to go.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” Natasha whimpers, curling into a ball. You can’t stand to see her like this, even more frustrated because you can’t do anything to assure her. A growl rumbles in your throat as you tug pointlessly at your arms yet again. “It should be me on that table. You warned me going after the Red Room would be dangerous, but I didn’t think it’d end like this.”

You grunt in disagreement. You had no regrets going to that Russian home with her and you wanted her to know that.  

“If we get out of here,” she continues in a lower voice, “Maybe I should leave y–”

Before she can finish her sentence, the door swings open and three men walk in, Taskmaster among them. Instantly, the hairs on the back of your neck rise in warning. The shortest man struts over to Natasha’s cell, and the scent of fear that rolls off her is so strong it nearly chokes you.

“Natalia,” Dreykov greets as Natasha shrinks back to the corner of the cell. “Glad to see you back in the Red Room.” You growl to get his attention away from her. “Oh.” He slowly turns as if he completely missed you lying there. “Forgive me for not introducing myself.” 

He comes to your side. He smells like cologne, sweat, and a trace of fear. It makes you feel minutely better that even though you’re strapped to a slab of metal and rendered nearly immovable, he’s still scared of you. “You may address me as General Dreykov, and I think you’re already well-acquainted with Taskmaster.”

An insult is muffled by your muzzle. 

Dreykov chuckles. “We’ve been waiting a long time to get our hands on the both of you. You certainly didn’t make it easy.” He steps back as Taskmaster opens Natasha’s cell door and goes inside to grab her.

“Don’t touch me!” she screams. You yank at your restraints again; you’re not above skinning yourself if you have to. If the two of you are separated, there’s no telling what this man could do to her.

“You stay right here,” Dreykov says, as Taskmaster drags Natasha by. She tries reaching out for you again but Taskmaster pins her arms to her sides. “Dr. Morozov is happy to keep you company.” 

“Natasha!” you try to scream, but it’s unintelligible. 

“Y/N, I’ll come back for you, I’ll–” Taskmaster carries her out of the room, Dreykov following behind. The third man, thin and tall, dressed in surgeon’s attire, is left alone with you. While his physical presence isn’t very intimidating to you, the fact that he’s in a total position of power over you scares you the most.

“I heard you’re in possession of a substance we are very, very interested in,” Dr. Morozov says, his voice high and squeaky compared to Dreykov’s. “I told General Dreykov I had to come see you for myself.” He disappears from your vision but returns, pushing a rattling metal tray of instruments. Panic surges through you again, but you swallow the fear and try to stay calm.

“General Dreykov tasked me with removing this adamantium from your bones,” Dr. Morozov says, sounding giddy with excitement as he picks up a scalpel. “He isn’t sure if it’s even possible, and will most likely kill you in the process, but that’s a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.” He brings the blade into your left forearm, cutting your skin from your wrist to your elbow. You snarl and struggle, but he presses the blade deeper and deeper until it clangs against metal. “Aha!”

You need an escape route now. You refuse to lay here and be picked to pieces by yet another crazed surgeon. Your breathing quickens again, but this time you’re totally in control. 

“General Dreykov said you had…hmm, what was the word he used?” Dr. Morozov goes on. But your arm is already healing, so he cuts it open again and uses a clamp to hold it open. Adrenaline rushes through your veins so strongly you don’t even feel the pain for a moment, and that’s exactly what you need. Dr. Morozov is so busy studying your left arm, he doesn’t notice you tugging on your right arm. 

You tense your bicep so hard it feels like it’s going to tear out of your skin. The restraints are too tight so they pinch into your skin as it bunches up at your wrist, but you keep pulling until it starts to cut through. With one last breath to ready yourself for the pain, you yank with all your strength and your skin peels off your hand.The loss of the top layer creates enough room to slip your hand through the restraint, the blood acting like a lubricant. 

“Claws!” Dr. Morozov says suddenly.

If you didn’t feel so sick you would’ve laughed at the irony as you swing your right arm up and release your claws into the center of his chest. Dr. Morozov is dead before he collapses onto the floor. You tear the muzzle off your face first, then use your claws to cut through the remaining restraints. By the time you’re free, the skin on your arm and hand has healed back. You stand up, overwhelmed with nausea and pain, but it passes after you steady yourself on the table.

You check if Dr. Morozov has a security badge of some kind and find one in his pocket, stealing it for your own use and leaving the room. You’ve been dressed in a white shirt and sweatpants, now stained with your blood. You’re not sure why you feel so sick, maybe you had been drugged or were still recovering from being shot point-blank in the head. Either way, you don’t have time to sit and recover. You need to find Natasha. 

Following Dreykov’s scent down the hall, you dodge around corners and climb a few flights of stairs. It’s a miracle you don’t run into anyone, but something tells you it had been specifically set up this way. You use Dr. Morozov’s badge to pass foot-thick security doors, cautious to stay on guard in case of an ambush. But you hardly have time to be concerned with your own well-being when Natasha is with Dreykov. 

The thought of that slimy, vile man putting his hands on your girlfriend makes your stomach knot into a pretzel. Natasha had told you stories of what he had done to her and made other Widows do. While you could no longer be surprised by the vileness of humanity, it broke your heart to hear about the horrible things Natasha had been subjected to. Finding the Red Room would be her way of getting closure from that, but it seemed like whatever plan she had had utterly fallen apart with the surprise of Taskmaster. You have to find her before anything worse can happen to her.

Dreykov’s cologne intensifies and you trace the scent to a large door cracked slightly ajar, where his and Natasha’s voices drift out of.

“Don’t tell me to stop!” Dreykov screams, and his genuine anger causes you to pause in alarm.

“If I don’t tell you when to stop, how will you know to shut up?” Natasha responds, then the unmistakable noise of flesh against bone. 

“Natasha!” you yell, going into motion once more. But before you can get through the door, a massive figure drops down from the ceiling and plants their feet against your chest, sending you flying back into a metal wall so hard it dents around your body. For a moment, you can’t even breathe and you’re certain your entire ribcage has collapsed. 

Each miniscule breath you manage is like swords shoved through your lungs and you truly feel the weight of the metal on your bones as you struggle to get up. You lose track of Taskmaster until he slams onto the back of your head. Your metal skull rebounds against the floor and despite its added protection, your brain was just as vulnerable as anyone’s. Professor Xavier had warned you numerous times how much more severe brain injuries could be for you because your brain was literally cocooned in a metal shell. 

You had never really believed him until now.

No thoughts pass through your mind as you teeth rattle like candy and your vision blurs like someone has taken an eraser to half of it. Taskmaster grabs you by the shoulders and hauls you back to your feet. You hate how he easily he throws you around. Very few people could make you feel like a ragdoll. The claws rip out from between your knuckles and you slash out wildly, but he drops you before you can land a fatal strike. You aren’t focused so much on actually hurting him as you are distracting him. You need to keep him at bay long enough for your brain to heal. 

But you have no awareness of your surroundings, out of your environment and in an already-weakened state. The floor trembles beneath Taskmaster’s weight as he closes in on you. You swing without being able to see and feel the pull of your claws as it strikes against something, but it isn’t enough. Taskmaster’s claws stab through your back and steal your breath. You fly through the air, this time colliding with the ceiling and punching right through, landing on the floor above. 

You’re so disoriented in the settling dust you don’t see Taskmaster emerge from the hole you came through, stabbing you in the leg to drag you back down. Rage overtakes the pain at the thought that this man has simply turned you into his plaything, so when you fall back through the hole, you give in to your animal instincts and attack him. 

You slash and punch and kick in an unpredictable pattern because you aren’t thinking anymore. Taskmaster falls into a defensive mode and you sense hesitation as he backs away from you. Gaining some ground back lulls you into a false sense of security, and you don’t realize until it’s too late that he wasn’t hesitating. He was studying you, picking up on your style and techniques instantly to use back against you. 

After a blow that scores three long gouges across his chest plate, he launches at you in a frenzy that rivals your own. You have no protection like he does, and his claws, although not made of adamantium, are still durable and sharp enough to take chunks out of you. Blood splatters the walls and you’re forced to play defensively again after he punctures your lung and cripples both your legs by slicing your hamstrings in half. You crawl away from him, refusing to beg for your life but too scared to fight him more. You’ve never fought anything like him. 

Taskmaster looms over you as you shrink down, wheezing, the last fire of a fight fading in your eyes. He grabs the scruff of your neck like he would to a dog, stabbing you in the chest until blood spurts out of your mouth.

Despite that you easily outweigh the average male, he easily drags you into Dreykov’s office and kicks the door open.

Natasha is standing over Dreykov at his desk, blood dripping from her crooked nose. You wish you had the energy to break free and punch Dreykov in the face, but you barely cling onto consciousness as Taskmaster drops you like a sack of bricks.

“Y/N!” Natasha shouts.

Taskmaster pulls out a gun and presses it into the back of your head as you struggle to get up. 

“Don’t,” Natasha begs. 

You grit your bloody teeth, wanting to tell her that a little lead wouldn’t kill you. 

“That is not for her,” Dreykov says, pointing at Taskmaster’s gun. “It’s for you.”

Before you can even blink, Taskmaster removes the gun from your head and aims it at Natasha.

BANG.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Sorry to leave yall on ANOTHER cliffhanger. But one more part to go :)

Please leave likes, comments, and reblog! Follow for more content. 🥰

[rocksibblingsau]

The scenario I just thought up:

Intense Rock teen emo = neon pop colors and glitter and rainbows. It’s not a phase mom/dad!

Rock Parents: my child is on the path of destruction :( ;( but I’m supportive anyways (while wearing sun glasses and praying it’s just a phase) the kids are gonna eat em alive though.

…

Branch: *sees rock trolls dressed up in bright glittery outfits as a form of teenaged rebellion*…is that what pop zombies looked like or are the pop subgenres visiting from other lands…

Barb: OH DEAR GOD ITS SPREADING ITS THE POP-POCALYPSE! AHHHH, just messing, Nah bro, this is like….our version of emo. Though some are really into it for a while then go back to the rock style. I personally hate it but what can you do.

Branch: oh good, I think seeing you dressed up in colorful body paint and rainbow glitter and giant colorful sunglasses would haunt my nightmares for a while.

…

Pop trolls: omg they look so wonderfully amazing! Imma go up and make friends with them. Why can’t the rest of the rock trolls be like those guys?? *reality is gonna hit both sides so hard*

Rock population: *understanding/disgusted/exasperated because this is a thing now.* Somehow someway, one troll starts the reverse emo phase to rebel against their parents and now it’s infected like 1% percent of the Volcano City population.

Thrash: *tired of dealing with arrest reports from his guards about rock citizens dressed in “pop attire”* Just let them dress how they want, it’s a form of freedom of expression and teenage rebellion no matter how gaudy or blinding it is.

Branch would lose his shit if he had to hear Pop music in Volcano Rock City.

[haelynzz]

what are we? and how would it explain shifting (a theory).

i don’t know if i should call this a theory, it’s just something i want to share with you guys. also i think soul = consciousness.

anyways, earlier this evening, i had an interesting conversation with my dad. i’d just come back from school, still in my uniform, and sat down to gossip about my teachers with my parents lmao, i just hate my teachers and need to make fun of them all the time lol. so the conversation led to death somehow (it’s a bit sad, i don’t think i should mention it).

anyways, my dad said, “why can’t we just die momentarily to know what happens?” and i was like—how has no one come back to tell us? just my usual childish questions going on and on.

so i told him: we aren’t our body, our thoughts, or our emotions and feelings. when we ‘die,’ our body dies—not ‘us.’ we can’t just be a body; we must be something else, like a soul or consciousness, we are our soul, right? so it’s our soul leaving. (i was speaking theoretically, of course.)

then he said: “think of a flower. to grow, you plant a seed in soil, water it, let sunlight reach it, and give it oxygen. when it dies, all the energy it absorbed from the soil, air, water, and light returns to the soil, air, water, and light. right?”

i was about to mention how we may be stardust, but he continued: “our bodies must work the same way. we need food (from the earth), water, light, and oxygen to grow. when we die, the same thing that happens to the flower happens to us.”

that brought us back to the law of energy conservation: “energy is neither created nor destroyed. when people use energy, it doesn’t disappear—it just changes form.”

but honestly, i don’t really care about the body/vessel. what matters to me is the soul— consciousness or whatever we truly are, so i asked him: “but what about us? not our body—us?”

he thought for a while, i know i ask him questions like he knows everything lmao, but he said: “we can live on earth but not neptune because earth has what we need. maybe, when your body stops being a good vessel for life, your soul just… leaves and finds somewhere better?” that really got me.

then i asked: “what if we leave without death? then we could go wherever we want without dying.” of course, he said it must be possible—and that’s when i got excited and said, “shifting” and began yapping about the theory of infinite realities and yadayadayada.

but the point here is, according to this theory my dad casually spun out… shifting is natural and according to that, we are immortal, not our body, but our soul or consciousness.

let me know your thoughts, anyways this is just a theory, i am not claiming they’re facts, for anyone who has different beliefs.

[elminx]

This is a very quiet week, astrologically,

We have some planetary movement and not much else.

On Wednesday, Venus enters Aries for the second time this year. This is Venus's third pass over 00° Aries due to her retrograde cycle and is part of ongoing astrological pressure that is being put on the third decan of Pisces and first decan of Aries - effectively the start AND end of the astrological year.

You can read more about this here.

This is one of our two last chances to take advantage of this powerful "New Start" energy this year - Venus passes over 00° Aries on Wednesday, and Saturn does so on 5/24. (Note that both Saturn and Neptune will retrograde back over this degree later this year.) This is an excellent time for a one/two punch of magic focused on starting something you REALLY BELIEVE IN.

Triflers need not apply.

(Am I dating myself with my Murderino references? Does anyone get that? let me know in the comments)

To be clear, you could work with Venus on her own, as the Lesser Benefic, on Wednesday. It's just if you want some real slow burn energy - the kind it takes to bridge the entire galaxy - repeat the spell, or something similar, on 5/24.

As Venus enters Aries, she immediately conjuncts Neptune, which will make things soupy and untenable. Not good for getting things done in the material world, but a decent augury for magic since Neptune is a link to the unknowable, which, to me at least, is where true power lies. This aspect will be exact on Thursday but will be noticeable all week long.

Also on Thursday, Mars reaches 06° Leo and - FINALLY - exits his post-retrograde shadow. We are covering new ground for the first time since 12/6, when he stationed retrograde. This is a great day to set intentions or do magic for forward progress.

I'd like to point out that Venus and Mars should always be read somewhat as a pair because they are our two relational signs - together, they predict how easy it will be to get along with other people. Aries and Leo are both fire signs, so expect things to heat up (from a personal perspective); the big difference is that Leo is one of the most social signs, and Aries is one of the most antisocial.

In fact, Aries is so antisocial that Venus is exiled in that sign.

We may need to watch out for selfishness and a tendency to consider ourselves the main character. I want to be clear that I'm not trying to malign either Aries or Leo here, both signs do these things unconsciously - it's generally not their intention to try and steal the limelight. They just tend not to consider others.

I want to remind you that there's a difference between "I never thought this would hurt someone" and "I knew this would hurt someone and I did it anyway."

They both hurt the same, but we're sorcerers up in these parts - we know that intention MATTERS.

We'll be sitting in this double fire energy for more than a month: Venus enters Taurus on 6/6, and Mars enters Virgo on 6/17. Fire energy like this can really rile up the typically slow Taurus Sun; expect people to "See Red" more easily, and when the bull sees red, all bets are off.

I'm a Taurus Sun/Aries Moon, so I'm aware of this energy quite instinctively. And I'm reminded of a sign I've seen in many a photo:

Don't cross the pasture unless you can do it in 8 seconds, because the bull can do it in 9.

This five-week period is a bad time to kick the hornet's nest; unless, of course, you're overly masochistic and looking to get stung.

I feel like this is a good time to remind you all that Chiron is sitting at the end of Aries, so some of the pain that might arise from this time is probably inevitable.

And then, to round out the week, Pluto retrogrades at 03° Aquarius on Sunday. I think the only people who might notice this are those with planets between 00° and 03° of the fixed signs, and Leo and Aquarius most specifically.

If you feel like you're having a death moment this week, this is why.

Also, happy Beltane, May Day, or Walpurgis if you celebrate.

Energy Update: April 2025

April is a "4" Universal Month [4 (April) + 9 (2025) = 13 = 1+3=4] in a "9" Universal Year. 4 Months are concerned with shoring things up and creating structure, which is very needed after a complicated eclipse season and two personal planet retrogrades in March.

The Set Up

We begin April with the Sun and Neptune in Aries; Retrograde Mercury, Retrograde Venus, and Saturn in Pisces; Mars in Cancer, Jupiter in Gemini, Uranus in Taurus; and Pluto in Capricorn. There will be major planetary movements this month: the Sun enters Taurus (as usual), Mercury stations direct and then enters Aries, Venus stations direct and then enters Aries, and Mars enters Leo.

The Nitty Gritty

We know that everything is changing when every single one of our personal planets switches signs in a single month. We've been in a personal planet retrograde cycle since November when Mars entered his pre-retrograde shadow in late Cancer with only one week without a retrograde since. In April, Mercury and Venus station direct, and Mars finally exits Cancer for the last time in this cycle. This should provide some relief as, overall, the constant interpersonal shitstorm we've been experiencing since the end of last year finally begins to subside.

Neither of our three personal planets is out of their respective post-retrograde shadows yet, though, so we still have some ground to re-trace and re-imagine before we're entirely out of this storm.

Still, progress is being made.

Our Lights: the Sun and the Moon

As we pull away from eclipse season, the general energy will get much lighter and brighter. We may finally feel like we've entered the easy season of spring. Our Sun only makes two significant aspects all month long: a conjunction with Chiron in Aries, a reminder of the past, and a square with Mars that checks in on our future.

We're in the in-between all month long, and it shows.

The Sun in Aries sextiles Jupiter in Gemini on 4/6, which hints to us that good times are to come - Jupiter is in its exile in Gemini, and we've all been pretty down on our luck for a while now. Now, finally, Jupiter is making moves to exit Gemini, which will drastically improve the odds of anything good happening on this earth - stay tuned for this summer for this positive transition. For now, this sextile is a glimmer - a hint that something good is on the horizon.

Then, we get our first lunar event post-eclipse season, a full moon at 23° Libra on 4/12 that is tightly opposed to Chiron in Aries. This is highly significant if you remember a year ago when our total solar eclipse in April included a stellium of the Sun, the Moon, retrograde Mercury, and Chiron in Aries. This full moon will be a call back to that day, but from a different angle (full moon instead of new). What have we learned with a year to reflect on what was coming up in April 2024?

This last set of eclipses included an Aries solar eclipse, the last eclipse on the Aries-Libra axis that we will experience for the next thirteen years. We are rounding things out, and the endings may pour in hard and fast. This could be a triggering day for some - especially those with personal planets in the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn), and most specifically those found in the last decan that was affected by the solar eclipse a year ago and now this full moon as well.

With Chiron, our Wounded Healer, in play, this will hurt. This is by design. We live in a society that views pain as anathema, but often (in a body that is functioning properly anyway), pain is a signal that we should be paying attention. What is painful needs addressing during this full moon, and it might hit very hard at the core of your ego and who you think you are. This is also the day Venus stations direct at 24° Pisces in a close stellium with Saturn and the North Node, which will bring back some of the eclipse energy even though it's not actively an eclipsed moon.

Things might feel slightly out of control or fated during this time. It looks like the kind of day where the big flex is to hold onto your butt and try to enjoy the ride.

Our Libra full moon is an 8/3 full moon.

7 (Libra moon) + 1 (Aries Sun) = 8. 8 (Libra Full Moon) + 4 (April 2025) = 12 = 1+2 =3. The number 8 is an ouroboros, or infinity sign turned upwards. It often represents a rollercoaster of energy and emotions—ultimate highs and lowest lows, one right after the other. This energy signature is similar to erratic eclipse energy, which Venus's stellium is bringing into play. 3 is our base manifestation number. If you can ride these waves, great (magical) results await you on the far shore.

The Sun enters Taurus on 4/19, which will cause life to slow down a bit as we enter the season of our fixed earth sign. This is a time to sit back and enjoy what spring offers. We are seeing our first spring harvests of fresh fruits and vegetables, and spring flowers are fully blooming. Taurus season is a time meant for enjoyment as the sign of the bull can be, at times, downright hedonistic. As Mercury and Venus are finally in forward motion again, this is when we can rest a bit more and perhaps try to recuperate and recover.

With the Sun now in fixed Taurus, it begins to interplay with Mars in fixed Leo and Pluto in fixed Aquarius to create a t-square in our skies. This is where the shoring up of our "4" month energy comes into play. Although these three fixed signs are all in stressful positions with one another (the Sun squares both Mars and Pluto, who are in opposition), fixed signs have one thing in common: they all require a heavy dose of security to operate at their best.

If you are feeling out of sorts or shaken up by the aftermath of the eclipses and retrogrades, now is the time to take stock of what happened and figure out how to ground yourself into the now. Because it is Taurus season (fixed earth), dirt will be a significant ally during this time.

The Sun squares Mars in Leo on 4/20, a day to question where we are going and what steps we can take to make our dreams a reality. Think big, but map out tangible, achievable steps. The Sun squares Pluto on 4/23, which has the opposite effect: here is a day to think big and focus on what we can eliminate to lighten the load on our journey forward. (Mars directly opposes Pluto on 4/26, which is yet another day to focus on this t-square)

And finally, on 4/27, we have our first new moon after the eclipse season. This is, arguably, the best day of the month as the retrogrades have ended, eclipse season is complete, and we are finally at a new beginning in the oh-so-fertile (dirt fertile, you gutter-minded fools) Taurus. This is a perfect day to pivot in any way you need to and set goals for Spring and the year ahead.

Our Taurus new moon is a 4/8 new moon.

2 (Taurus moon) + 2 (Taurus Sun) = 4. 4 (Taurus new moon) + 4 (April 2025) = 8.

We can see that there is likely still some stressor here, brought in through the repeated "8" energy from the Libra full moon earlier, but we are getting somewhere. And, this day carries "4" energy that echoes the "4" energy of the month. Settle in and take real, tangible steps toward the life you want. And maybe eat some pie. Taurus loves pie.

Mercury

We are most of the way through our first Mercury retrograde of the year, which ends on 4/7 at 26° Pisces. After stationing direct, Mercury enters Aries on 4/16, the third big hit to 00° Aries, our major power point of 2025, and arguably the biggest hit of this point, Mercury-wise. Either of these dates is a powerful day for road opening, pathfinding, or any other type of Mercury magic you might wish to cast.

As Mercury enters Aries, they will conjunct Neptune and sextile Pluto. I wouldn't expect either of these events to be noticed or particularly eventful in and of themselves.

Mercury isn't at its best in Aries, but it is much better suited there than in Pisces, where it was both in its exile and detriment. We should all watch out for speaking out of turn or being too ego-driven in our opinions during this time. We're in post-retrograde territory from 4/7-4/26, so we might fall into that same old hole with miscommunications, whatever that means for you. I'd remind you to think before you speak, but neither Pisces nor Aries is known for doing that, so take that with a whole bucket full of salt.

Communication may finally settle more around 4/26 as Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow. Notably, 09° Aries was the point of our solar eclipse in March, so things may feel a bit angsty and larger than life as we pass through this transition.

Venus

Like Mercury, Venus will round out the last legs of her 40-day retrograde journey as we enter the month of April. Until she stations direct on 4/12 under the light of the Libra full moon (ruled by Venus), we will be working to reform and rediscover how we interact with others. Venus always gets called the planet and romance, but that is overly simplistic - she rules over how we interact with others diplomatically and not-so-diplomatically. When Venus is well placed in the skies, interpersonal relationships tend to run more smoothly; when she is poorly placed, they are more likely to go awry.

Mars, our other relationship planet, was retrograde from December through the end of February, so we've been in this relationship hole for a while now. Times like this test the strength of our interpersonal relationships (big R and otherwise). Undoubtedly, there have been breakups and big reveals. It's been notable that both Venus and Mars have been poorly placed through each of their retrogrades (Venus retrogrades in Aries, the sign of her exile, and Mars retrogrades in Cancer, the sign of his fall). Everybody has been out of patience, out of time, and too emotionally strung out to be able to do more than the bare minimum for five months.

We deserve a break.

We will get one, but there's still more to iron out before we get there.

On 4/2, Venus conjuncts the North Node at 26° Pisces - this is one of THE fated moments in this retrograde cycle. Watch what comes up during this time or what disappears. This is your cosmic reminder that if a partner says they want to leave you, believe them. Move on with your fucking life. You deserve someone who WANTS to be with you.

Venus is exalted in Pisces, but she still has a shadow side, and that is emotional manipulation. This is a significant stellium between retrograde Venus, the North Node, retrograde Mercury, and Saturn. If Venus conjunct the North Node speaks of fated relationships (I use that term loosely here - no two people are meant to be together) - when you add in Saturn, this is the hammer of fate. Retrogrades are more indicative of endings than beginnings.

This is definitely break-up weather. I know every time I say that, I freak some people out. I want to clarify that breakup weather won't even slow down a couple who's well suited for each other and committed to working through their differences. It does show irreconcilable differences and sometimes forces someone's hand.

Venus retrograde is a reminder that sometimes, love isn't enough.

This is further indicated because Venus is about to make double trines to Mars, our other relationship planet. First, retrograde Venus will trine Mars in Cancer on 4/6, and then she will do so again while she is in Aries and he is in Leo next month. We can see the first as a test and the second as a reward for those who passed if you wish. Trines are overall positive, but a trine between Venus in retrograde and Mars in his fall is so-so, at best.

Then, just to be a stick-in-the-mud, retrograde Venus conjuncts Saturn at 25° Cancer on 4/7. I suspect this will be a hard day, especially for Venusian types (artists/femmes/all Taurus and Libra types). We are being asked to be mature about how interactions with other people - this will piss some people off, for sure. It's worth remembering that Venus in Pisces is the universal lover, she believes ALL people deserve more love, not just who you deem worthy. This can be a hard sell in a divided world.

Things will get notably lighter as Venus stations direct on 4/12, but we still have a lot of ground to cover on our post-retrograde shadows (Mercury, Venus, AND Mars), so we aren't out of the proverbial woods yet.

Venus will do the same thing all over again; she first conjuncts the North Node at 25° Pisces on 4/20 and then Saturn at 26° Pisces on 4/24. It's worth keeping in mind that for this entire time (from 4/1 to 4/24), Venus has only moved 2 degrees, and she has kept this tight stellium to the North Node and Saturn through April. This is where the real meat is, to be a bit gross about it - this is where the sausage is made. This has the opportunity to be a real revolution of the Venusian spirit, and all Venus types (Taurus or Libra Sun/Moon/Ascendant/Venus or Venus conjunct to these points) will feel it hard.

And heavy. Saturn is always very heavy and is amplified by the amorphous depths of water Pisces and the 12th house of the unconscious. If you have hard Venus work to do (and you feel comfortable working with her in retrograde), April is the time to do it.

Finally, on 4/30, Venus enters Aries once more. Again, this is a big hit on that 00° point I mentioned in the Mercury section. But also, Venus is in exile in cardinal Aries, the opposite sign to her home, Libra. Having her further from Saturn and the North Node will feel better, but only just.

Mars

We're a month out from Mar's retrograde cycles, and it's starting to show. Life might, finally, feel like it's starting to pick up speed. We have to deal with half a month more of Mars in the sign of its fall in mutable Cancer, but by 4/18, we are in the clear as Mars enters Leo.

It is over. It is over. It is over.

Mars in Leo is the epitome of the brave lion: perhaps a bit recklessly fearless, even. Do what you need to do - this is good energy, and we could use a fiery Mars placement after that watery mess - but be careful where you roar, if you know what I mean. Mars in Leo tends to make people extra territorial, and some don't have any chill. Take that as you will.

Mars will square off with the Sun and oppose Pluto, but those feel like death rattles, nothing more.

It's smooth sailing ahead - the day Mars enters Leo is the perfect day to do some Mars magic if you've been holding off on working with him while he was retrograde and in his fall.

Jupiter and Saturn

Jupiter and Saturn are making moves to exit their current signs (Gemini and Pisces) and will continue to square off with one another as they do so. This is part of an ongoing cycle that will continue until Jupiter finally pulls ahead of its slower-moving rival.

The only major transit (other than Venus conjunct Saturn, covered above in the Venus section) is that Saturn will conjunct the North Node at 26° Pisces on 4/14. This aspect happens every 18-20 years, so it's a big deal. This is fate meets consequence, plain and simple. These two have similar impacts; combined, they pack a life-altering punch. This is more likely to be felt on a societal level - I would expect to see some significant upheaval occur on a global or at least regional level around the middle of the month.

If you have a personal planet at 26° of the mutable or water signs or mutable lunar nodes, you might want to stay aware through this transit. There is a chance this could hit a bit closer to home. This could, for some, feel a bit like an extra-special eclipse season made just for you. That could go really well or really badly.

Looking Ahead

May is going to be downright pedestrian after the last two months, but there is one big change on the horizon: mid-month, Saturn will enter Aries, completing our first hit on 00° Aries that I have been on about all year long. That will change everything. We'll talk about this more in the May update.

The Details

4/2 - Retrograde Venus conjunct the North Node 26° Pisces 4/4 - Mars in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus, Mars in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces, Saturn in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus 4/6 - Sun in Aries sextile Jupiter in Gemini, Retrograde Venus in Pisces trine Mars in Cancer 4/7 - Mercury stations direct 26° Pisces, Retrograde Venus conjunct Saturn 25° Pisces 4/8 - Retrograde Venus in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus, Mars in Cancer trine North Node in Pisces 4/12 - Full moon 23° Libra, Sun conjunct Chiron 22° Aries, Venus stations direct 24° Pisces 4/14 - Saturn conjunct North Node 26° Pisces 4/16 - Mercury enters Aries 4/17 - Mercury conjunct Neptune 00° Aries 4/18 - Mars enters Leo 4/19 - Sun enters Taurus, Mars in Leo trine Neptune in Aries, Uranus in Taurus sextile North Node in Pisces 4/20 - Sun in Taurus square Mars in Leo, Mercury in Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius, Venus in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus, Venus conjunct North Node 25° Pisces 4/23 - Sun in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius 4/24 - Venus conjunct Saturn 26° Pisces 4/26 - Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow 09° Aries, Mars in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius 4/27 - New moon 07° Taurus 4/30 - Venus enters Aries

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[mantisgodsdomain]

We think Kabbu is aroace but specifically the kind of aroace where he's aware of romance and sex and all that jazz and he is in theory Totally Allo And Normal Definitely but in practice he couldn't catch someone hitting on him if they hit him with a brick to the face.

He's aware of it in theory but in practice the fact that it applies to him and people exist who could find him attractive is completely alien because internally the concepts are like oil and water and he cannot conceive the idea of him actually, like, entering a relationship with someone.

[et-in-arkadia]

* * *

Mission mode change detected, now in Monument Mode Goodnight friends. After exchanging our final bits of data,

I will hold vigil on this spot in Mare Crisium to watch humanity's continued journey to the stars.

Here, I will outlast your mightiest rivers, your tallest mountains, and perhaps even your species as we know it.

But it is remarkable that a species might be outlasted by its own ingenuity.

Here lies Blue Ghost, a testament to the team who, with the loving support of their families and friends, built and operated this machine and its payloads,

to push the capabilities and knowledge of humanity one small step further.

Per aspera ad astra!

Love, Blue Ghost

* * *

no you are actively crying over a dying robot on the moon i am doing just fine thanks

[arsenicflame]

imagine Izzy coming back into his little room after a long day, only to discover someones been in there. his first instinct is that it was mean-spirited— someone stealing something of his, or hiding it, or ransacking the place for the sake of destroying his safe space— but then he actually opens the door the whole way and sees his room. the beds been turned over and washed, freshly made and has at least one new soft blanket. his clothes have been hung and his shelves straightened, the rooms been dusted and swept, all the empty bottles and such gone, and in the centre of his desk sits a note:

"for all you do for us, let us help you too"

[shvdwscng]

"in  due  time,  they  will  adjust.  when  all  of  this  over,  and  soon  if  the  fates  be  willing,  they  will  eventually  like  it  here  as  well.  you  will  find  it  is  drastically  different  from  your  court  -  minus  your  dragons,  that  is."  he  does  believe  that  perhaps  they  might  have  found  dawn  slightly  more  suitable  as  they  began  to  adapt  to  prythian  before  they  venture  out  to  the  other  courts,  particular  before  the  seasonal  courts.  it  was  saint's  first  time  in  a  season  court  as  well,  though  it  was  nearly  not  as  jarring  as  it  was  for  dusk  fae.  "i  would  like  that,  yijun."  saint  has  enough  of  rulers  treating  each  other  akin  enemies  particularly  at  a  time  like  this.  as  the  rest  of  the  prythian  rulers,  he's  had  his  hesitation  previously,  now,  after  all  the  months  they'd  spent  in  dusk,  learning  of  their  court  (  as  much  as  the  other  would  allow  them  ),  of  this  high  lord  before  him,  the  dawn  lord  found  it  difficult  to  accuse  the  man  of  much  anything.  the  drake  court  ruler  has  displayed  on  several  occasions  that  he's  willing  to  work  with  them.  "desperation  can  bring  forth  all  that  we  do  not  fathom.  perhaps,  the  others  might  not  agree,  but  i  don't  find  it  important  to  know  who  was  pulled  than  i  do  to  ensure  that  they  are  not  placed  in  that  position  again."  saint  would  not  ask  him  or  any  ruler  of  those  identities.  it  is  yijun's  honesty  now,  of  revealing  his  meeting  with  kabir,  his  frankness  that  he  has  no  desire  to  side  with  the  currently  missing  king,  that  has  saint  continue  with  his  line  of  thoughts.  now  was  not  that  time  to  turn  on  another  because  as  his  companion  points  on,  it  seems  that  what  kabir  desired  and  perhaps  the  dark  mother  as  well.  he's  silent  as  he  mulls  over  what  the  dusk  lord  reveals  of  the  meeting,  "there  lies  the  issue  with  kabir  and  the  previous  monarchs.  i  don't  blame  him,  not  entirely,  he's  a  boy  who  never  was  prepared  to  be  king.  they  never  quite  understood  the  seven  courts  nor  its  rulers.  they  cannot  compel  the  high  rulers  to  do  anything,  and  the  fact  of  this  matter  is,  we  do  what  we  can  to  keep  peace  in  our  courts  despite  how  we  feel  of  our  neighbors.  so  it's  not  a  matter  of  accepting  each  other,  it  is  a  matter  of  simply  accepting  our  reality  and  tolerating  our  neighbors  in  the  name  of  peace.  before  his  coronation,  we've  had  plenty  peace  and  it  is  due  to  all  seven  courts  maintained  it.  "  his  gaze  remains  on  the  dusk  lord  as  he  speaks,  "i  am  grateful  for  your  honesty  and  as  such  i  do  understand,  and  i  need  no  further  convincing  on  where  your  intentions  lie.  i  can't  speak  for  the  others,  but  i  can  offer  you  this.  if  we  make  it  at  the  end  of  all  this,  and  you  keep  your  word  that  you're  on  our  side  ,  then  i  and  my  court  will  be  right  beside  you  aiding  you  in  anyway  we  can  to  settle  among  prythian.  it's  not  only  up  to  us to  keep  you  out  of  prythian,  its  also up  to  you  to  chose  to  be  a  part  of  our  realm  in  every  form.  things  will  change  for  all  of  us  after  this,  but  i  would  like  to  believe  it  might  be  a  good  thing.  your  court  and  prythian  as  a  whole  will  bring  about  a  new  era  -  unlike  anything  our  ancestors  have  ever  seen  before."

yijun   could   handle   being   tossed   around   the   courts,   it   was   the   fae   of   his   court   that   he   worried   for   more.   it   was   not   ideal   to   be   worried   about   when   they   could   end   up   in   yet   another   court.   but   he   had   in   fact   wanted   to   visit   the   other   courts   eventually.   it   was   just   happening   a   little   earlier   than   he   could   have   predicted.   however   that   seemed   to   be   a   trend   in   his   own   life.   becoming   the   high   lord   far   earlier   than   he   would   have   wanted   as   well.   his   meeting   with   the   dawn   high   lord   had   been   cut   short   in   the   dusk   court.   however   he   was   relieved   to   be   picking   it   up   once   more   regardless   of   the   transition   of   scenery   around   them.   "it   is   my   pleasure   to   meet   with   you   once   more."   he   nodded   briefly.   "you   are   correct,   this   was   not   the   way   that   i   wished   to   be   visiting   the   mainland.   though   i   am   not   upset   at   the   idea   that   i   have   ended   up   in   your   lands   so   to   speak.   i   do   think   my   fae   may   have   differing   opinions   though."   if   yijun   had   to   pick   a   court   that   his   fae   would   have   been   less   upset   with   it   would   have   been   the   high   lord's   in   front   of   him   in   that   moment.   the   dawn   court   sounded   the   most   similar   to   dusk   from   what   he   had   heard   of   the   courts.   "noted."   he   nods   in   regards   to   the   comment   of   his   name.   "if   you   wish   to   drop   the   formalities   i   am   more   than   inclined   to   ask   the   same   of   you."   being   more   casual   with   the   dawn   high   lord   was   looking   like   a   good   thing   to   the   high   lord.   though   he   was   not   going   to   act   as   though   that   was   pleasant.   especially   with   the   things   they   had   yet   to   discuss.   "i   had   heard   this   back   in   dusk,   though   none   of   my   fae   have   revealed   to   me   that   they   had   been   pulled   in   by   him."   he   was   going   to   task   tanvir   with   looking   for   who   had   been   in   contact   with   the   king   shortly   if   no   one   came   forward.   "i   thank   you   for   not   judging   upon   hearing   those   words.   he   did   not   offer   the   whole   of   prythian.   the   gist   was   that   none   of   you,   the   high   lieges   and   courts,   would   ever   truly   accept   the   dusk   court   into   prythian.   his   promise   for   assistance   was   the   assurance   he   would   make   all   of   you   accept   us."   the   high   lord   had   almost   fallen   for   it,   but   he   was   smart   enough   to   speak   with   his   people   before   he'd   made   a   decision.   "i   would   hope   that   you   also   understand   that   my   admitting   this   means   that   the   dusk   court   as   a   whole   has   not   agreed   to   work   with   him."

[asthedeathoflight]

Coda to my other post because I didn't want to completely derail it but we might not be ready for this conversation as a fandom but ableism is absolutely a contributing factor to the way Armand gets treated and im tired of pretending like it's not. The way autistic people of color get treated in our society is abominable and this fandom is not immune to perpetuating that. So much of how he gets talked about can be chalked up to "well he didn't perform empathy/emotion/regret like I wanted him to." If Armand was as effortlessly personable and correctly emotive as Lestat is we'd be having a different conversation. That's all I'm saying.

[monkee-mobile]

Davy and Micky from today. I honestly haven’t been drawing a lot recently but just decided to try out colored pencils in my new sketchbook and I’ve been having fun

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Bestie Deficiency

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[emi-the-gremlin]

Controversial take (maybe?)

I think we need more of mr. Payne being the good parent, like don’t get me wrong I adore all the good Mrs. Payne fics (definitely check out that tag) but she’s the only one who’s actually been described negatively, parenting wise.

Not to mention it also just balances out the group, Charles has daddy issues, Crystal has parental issues, so therefore it stands to reason that Edwin has mommy issues, right?