#ask: orly

[just-a-carrot]

carrot could i maybe...JUST MAYBE HEAR ME OUT- get a cutesy orlamiggy kiss??

i have this thought where iggy is back with orlam and theyre dancing for the fifth or sixth time, and orlam is so happy for once, the coniving little bastard. theyre swaying and rocking to the violin being played by a rabbit guard. iggy get overcome with confidence and tells orlam hes beautiful when he smiles and orlam blushes, averting his gaze. orlam wants to be back in control and he spins and dips iggy, only for iggy to grab him by his stupid little cape and kiss him

the push and pull between the two makes me so haPPY and excited and its wonderful and i love it.

thank you :>

[skyefeys]

so fun fact, i'm playing the aa trilogy with a friend right now, and apollo justice with another friend. and second fun fact, i love voice acting. anyway here's a fun little breakdown of ten of my favorite voices to do, in no particular order!

1. cody hackins

i've been told i do a very good young-boy-in-anime voice. it's just very fun! originally he was very back-of-throat and kinda fucked up my voice to do, so i moved it forward more to not kill myself. it sounds virtually the same!

2. dee vasquez

i love the badass, cold woman archetype for voices. i gave dee a lower, vaguely gothic, vaguely transatlantic voice. she's one of those characters who changes tone as she gets mad and lets her demeanor slip, so that was interesting! typically i had her speak slowly and quietly, so when she's worked up, she gets faster and louder, and goes from that low-throat crooning to a more full voice.

3. alita tiala

i made alita vaguely russian, for some reason, but i went with it, because i fucking love accents. this fact will become clearer as this ranking continues. anyway, alita is another character who talks differently as her facade slips. initially, she has a timid, hesitant voice, with a very faint accent. when she gets angry, her voice becomes more stern and confident, and her accent comes out more!

4. lotta hart

accents, man. lotta's especially fun because you can just go fucking crazy with her, there's no restraint on her accent she's so extremely southern. her voice's pitch is pretty regular, so if i were to ever voice nicole, i'd probably give her a slightly higher voice for contrast - and because nicole has a sweeter personality, while lotta is more rough-around-the-edges.

5. olga orly

again: accents!! i literally didn't think i knew how to do a russian accent before her, but then i jumped into it and found out i do, somehow?? anyway, olga's fun because she has two completely different voices. her fake identity is higher pitched and timid, and thickly accented. her regular voice is just a bit higher-toned than my regular speaking voice, and she talks in a much faster and rougher way.

6. truly wright

truly just has a higher, cute voice, and that's fun! hers isn't complicated to do, either; i just pitch up. it's good that she's easy and fun, considering she's around all the time. maya is harder, mostly because she's a delicate balance - i don't want to give her a voice as high as trucy's, but i don't want to give her a voice as low as the one i do for ema. speaking of which...

7. ema skye

i haven't gotten to ema's case in the trilogy yet, but most likely, her voice will be a smidge pitched up from my regular talking voice. as for apollo justice ema, i gave her a lower-toned voice - similar to my own talking voice, maybe a bit lower. this is a nod to not only the fact that she's far more cynical than when she was younger, but also the fact that she can do a CONVINCING impression of kristoph gavin, so her voice must be in the lower range. i think about that a lot. aa4 ema also has a tone to her voice like she's not trying to put up any niceties - she just says what's on her mind. in that sense, she's a bit monotonous - but VERY emotive when she talks about science.

8. miles edgeworth

proZD has a video where he describes the voices he does for every ace attorney character, and he describes edgeworth as "not british, but he wishes he was". this is something i have in mind whenever i voice him. i'm not great with guy voices, since i can't go that low, so i focus on things like intonation and accents. edgeworth doesn't have an accent, per se, but he has one of those vague ways of speaking that i can only really describe as "fancy accent".

9. will powers

i like will's voice because i gave him a pretty unique way of talking as compared to everyone else. i'm self-taught, so i don't really know a lot of vocal terms, so bear with me while i explain this as best i can. will's voice comes from sort of closing my throat, and talking from the bottom half of my mouth. it creates this gentle, shyer, and nasal voice. and speaking of nasal...

10. wendy oldbag

now, i wouldn't say i'm GOOD at oldbag's voice, i could use some practice, but it's fun as fuck to do. it's EXTREMELY nasal, it sits right behind my nose. i find myself scrunching up my face whenever i have to voice her! and as a fun little detail, she's one of those people who pronounces the h first in words like what, why, and of course whippersnapper ;]

bonus: the judge

i don't get to voice the judge a lot, since he's one the three characters my friend has claimed, lol. however, this is my apollo justice friend, so they're not always there for me and my other friend playing the trilogy. my friend does a judge voice that i can only describe as slightly more civilized goofy from nicky mouse. now, i can't recreate perfection, so i went in a completely different direction with my judge's voice. i leaned more towards his anime voice - slightly husky, but not to the extent it is in the anime.

[ashersbraincell]

[roseandgold137]

Hi, if you want it would be really fun to have a little post about the Young Justice 2 OCs and who they all are because I am having so much fun with these posts and want to know all the kiddos

💕💕💕💕

Ooooh I was waiting for an excuse to say everything all at once

so my idea started with Tim’s set of kids, a trio of which is made up of Jasper (Kookaburra), Diallo (Pitohui) and Kioni (Turaco). Jasper and Diallo will get their moment later but rn we’re starting with Kioni.

Kioni is from Kenya, but her parents moved to Gotham when she was very young so she doesn’t have many memories of her extended family there. Unfortunately, while her parents were trying to move into their new apartment, they were gunned down in the crossfires of a gang dispute. Being new to the area no one knew them yet and no one knew to look for Kioni, so she fell through the cracks and grew up on the streets of Gotham. She was looked after primarily by the owner of a small family restaurant, who would give her and some other street kids food that would otherwise be thrown away

Kioni met Tim while he was investigating a case when she was eleven, and Tim quickly caught on to the fact that she had no one looking after her. At this point he was already three kids in (Jasper, Veda, and Diallo) so he was just like “what’s one more” and adopted her. She became Turaco. A couple of years later, when she’s thirteen, she meets Mi-Sun and Vivian, and together they decide to found the second iteration of Young Justice.

Mi-Sun’s origin I’ve already covered in another post but I’ll put an abridged version here. She was a regular orphan (in an orphanage) until a school trip to lex corp unfortunately coincided with an alien attack and she was pierced through the chest and heart by shards of platinum kryptonite. Though she didn’t realise the full effects right away, the platinum kryptonite gave her all of the powers (and weaknesses) of a regular Kryptonian. Lex Luthor realised this ans tried to capture her, but with help from Kon and other superfam members, she was able to stay free.

Kon decided with her that he should formally adopt her, and at fourteen she became Sunbeam, and met Kioni and Vivian not long afterwards.

Vivian doesn’t remember her old life. She used to be able to remember bits and pieces about it when she first arrived in this dimension, but it seems that her memory was the price to pay for a speed force connection. Irey and Jai accidentally pulled her through reality, and now she’s here. She kind of wishes she felt more strongly about it, but it’s difficult to miss something you have no memory of. Bart was supposed to be keeping an eye on irey and jai, so Wally gave him responsibility over Vivian as penance, but honestly they’re just vibing. Literally. Sometimes they’ll just be in a room vibrating in harmony.

Vivian is about thirteen or fourteen years old. She became Vivace (musical term for lively - though she can’t remember anything, she’s sure she loved music) and it wasn’t long before she (literally) ran into Kioni and Mi-Sun

that’s the founding trio! Of course, they’re not the only members. I’m going to add them in reblogs, but here’s a list of them:

Jasper - Kookaburra

Diallo - Pitohui

Orlie - Petrel

Jinj’r - Cinderspark

Lillia - Wonder Girl

Freia - Bullseye

[jovithorart]

I have a question about orly. Does he get angry sometimes or not to any degree?

Orly is pretty chill 99% of the time and tries to see the good in everyone, but he does get angry in a very specific situation: when someone intentionally hurts his loved ones, either physically or emotionally. He's not very proud of this side of him, so he tries to avoid it the best he can.

[emyn-arnens]

For the meme if you please: 24, eomer and Eowyn??

“Windfola has grown slower in his days spent grazing among the gardens of Emyn Arnen,” Éomer called over his shoulder to Éowyn, and a broad grin stretched over his face as Firefoot’s hindquarters passed Windfola’s head.

“Oh, really?” Éowyn cried, and she urged Windfola faster, bending low over the horse’s neck and looking sidelong at Éomer, who had now fallen a stride behind, and the ground blurred beneath Windfola’s hooves until the two horses galloped neck and neck.

“Truce, truce!” said Éomer, laughing, and he slowed Firefoot’s stride and waited for Éowyn to do the same. He watched her with a fond expression and said, “It brings me joy to see you happy again, sister, for there was a time not long ago when I feared I might never again see you glad and hale.”

Éowyn smiled at him and looked out at the verdant land around them, awash in the bloom of spring and faintly scented of green and growing things, and she said, “It is impossible, I think, to be unhappy here, for despair cannot linger where life grows in abundance and is cultivated and protected by many hands.”

Send me a number and two characters and get a five-sentence drabble.

[michaelnothing]

I wanna see you nakee 👀

[grayintogreen]

Orly Skiffback is a “sea shanty” bard, whereas Faint Chance is a “landlubber litany” bard. Or perhaps “limericks” would be more his thing XD

Orly is here to troll and keep morale up with bagpipes and maybe tell a good yarn in a tavern or something.

Chance is an actual storyteller... And freestyle rapper.

[angelsonthesideline]

You are gorgeous. I’d love to kiss your lips, flick your nips with my tongue and taste every bit of you. I’d love to rub out pussys together and watch you cum. - xo, fellow Toronto girlie

[creed-of-cats]

🫵🏼SAME HEADER!! (like my side account @orly-bird)

What can I say! The Neo-Gotham skyline slaps hard! (Thanks for reblogging my post btw.)

[folkdances]

my opinions on the sexualities of (nearly) every single main aa character and some side characters also

mia fey: bi

phoenix wright: bi

larry butz: straight. he tried to go gay it just didn't work 😢

winston and gaspen payne: straight

maya fey: in my heart she's a lesbian. textually? idk. i will say dubiously lesbian because she said regina berry was cute but most likely i think she is aroace

dick gumshoe: straight but he has fooled around with men before, he just doesn't take it seriously. like he doesn't mind banging boots with men but when he pictures a future he has a wife

miles edgeworth: do i even have to say it. gay

will powers: straight and transfem.

dee vasquez: gumshoe situation where she's straight but i know she has gone down on a girl at least once in her life

lotta hart: straight

gregory edgeworth: he's like a spore to me. asexual reproduction. he cut his fingernails one day and the next a baby had spawned into being. but like straight i guess

manfred von karma: straight. his earring doesn't fool ME!

ema skye: lesbian and ace she will have sex every now and again but mostly out of curiosity whenever she forgets what it feels like

lana skye: lesbian.

angel starr: bi

jake marshall: straight

damon gant: gay

maggey byrde: straight but in a larry way. she tried going gay and it didn't work. her and gumshoe are like schrodinger's bi couple

morgan fey: straight but perhaps a lesbian in another life

mimi miney: lesbian but in a tiktok astrology sapphic way

franziska von karma: she thinks she's straight for a while but she is a butch lesbian (butch in the gender identity sense as well)

matt engarde: gay

adrian andrews: straight. sorry.

dahlia hawthorne: EXTREMELY loaded opinion here. i will say straight but in a very complicated 'there's more important and weird stuff going on' kind of way so no way to really know

ron and desiree delite: straight

diego armando: straight but i do think he thinks about it in prison

viola cadaverini: lesbian idgaf

iris hawthorne: straight but she fools around a little after prison at phoenix's insistence (they are friends don't test me) and changes her mind

kristoph gavin: gay

olga orly: lesbian. what else was i supposed to make of the nickname 'quick-fingers'.

apollo justice: gay and transmasc (the voice training? hello.)

trucy wright: another loaded bomb. i will say aroace but with a lot of weird pseudo comphet stuff happening where she knows she doesn't like boys but she's been acting for long enough that she's semi-convinced herself. she'll figure it out one day

wocky kitaki: straight and he gets really offended if you suggest he's gay but he has thought about it at night

klavier gavin: bi and cis but he goes by she/him pronouns

juniper woods: beat me and take my blood but straight

athena cykes: lesbian and ace. she did have a crush on juniper

simon blackquill: straight until he gets out of prison and edgeworth is his gay awakening. he doesn't really care that much though. probably aro as well

aura blackquill: lesbian. like textually

pearl fey: straight

nahyuta sahdmadhi: straight and cis

dhurke sahdmadhi: bi.

rhoda teneiro: straight

kay faraday: lesbian and nonbinary also

shi-long lang: he doesn't care that much probably bi though

tyrell badd: straight but one day he gets asked if he's gay and he sticks his lollipop in his mouth for a long time before saying "... who hasn't had ... gay thoughts?" and it's never brought up again.

raymond shields: straight

justine courtney: straight

sebastian debeste: straight and transfem but she only figures that out a few years after aai2

abstaining from commenting on bronco knight and simeon saint. for now

[just-a-carrot]

Doodles request: Iggy and Orlam on a first date???

[elisysd]

Prologue

Masterlist - Next

You did it. You couldn’t believe it but after years of studies, weekly mental breakdowns and a coffee addiction that remained up to this day, you managed to land a position in the journalists team that were covering the F1 as well as F2 GP for the french television. You had fought tooth and nails for this position and you were delighted to join them. You would work in the media pen, interviewing the drivers after their races and outside of them during media day. It was going to be a lot of work and you knew that you were going to be underpressure a lot, but you had met the team and they were all so welcoming with you that anxiety was quickly replaced with anticipation.

So here you were, waiting with the team, in the Orly airport, to board your flight. The check in had been done, you were going over a few details with Marion who would be your guide for the first few weeks. you were not going to be thrown to feed the lions totally unprepared. Beside the media pen, you were also in charge of social media. You would be the one doing live-streaming on Instagram after the Grand Prix to debrief the races and the weeks when no Grand Prix would happen, you would be doing live-streaming on Twitch, inviting viewers to talk about the season a bit more in depth. A lot of work is on the horizon, but damn, you couldn’t wait.

“So Y/N, how do you feel about your first GP? Is there one driver you can’t wait to interview,” asked you Jean.

“Lewis, for sure. I just want to know what is in the mind of a seventh world champion. How he prepares for a race, his analyses. He has such a calm vibe around him.” you replied instantly. You admired Lewis a lot, not only because of his performances but also because of the values he carried and how he changed the sport.

“And the one you are dreading to interview?” asked Marion.

You took a little pause to think about the question. You didn’t dread to interview anyone. You were excited to meet all of them.

“Maybe Lance. Not because I don’t like him, it’s just that he seems very closed off. He doesn’t like the media and his answers are always short. It’s a bit intimidating.”

“You’ll be fine, don't worry. You will need a little bit of time to adjust to each driver and team's ways of replying to the media but you’ll be good. You wouldn’t be here if you were not.” reassured her Jean.

“Red Bull is probably the worst team to interview. They are controlling everything, each interaction is planned. Jean, do you remember that time, I think it was back then when Ricciardo was still at RB and we wanted to make a long interview for the Australian GP? We had to do so much back and forth between the PR team and ours. But we managed to have ten minutes on the Saturday right after qualifying.”

“You were determined to have him. I remember you saying that you wouldn’t get any sleep until you had booked an interview with him.”

“And I did it. This is what this job is about, not giving up. You are going to be confronted by some real assholes out there, you will have to play dirty sometimes but at the end of the day, it’s all good memories and when the audience is saying that the interview was nice, then you know that it was worth the effort.”

You nodded. You knew what being a woman working in the journalism field was like. Your internships had shown you that sexism was huge in this job and even more in sport journalism. You had been one of the few girls that were following the sport journalism specialization in your college. You had done your last year of college in New York as your school was a partner with one there and you also learned the hard way that no matter the country, the same problems were remaining. Your time there was something you would like to forget. It was awful. Being away from your family, being under pressure a lot because of the school and the prestigious internship you had landed there... It had been hard, but it had made you strong enough to endure what would be coming your way. At least, you hoped so.

Charles knew that this season was going to be complicated and that there was no chance of him winning the championship. The pre tests went awfully wrong and he felt right from the get go that the car had several problems. He just hoped that they would still be able to fight for a good result in the constructor championship.

He had spent a long time talking to Fred, trying to get reassurance and what would be the plan from now on. He trusted him. He had been so happy when he learned that he would replace Mattia. He had thought that maybe things would finally turn in his favor, that he would be the first driver in the team. But even that had been crushed pretty quickly when Fred told him that his priority was not to feed his drivers ego but to rebuild the team. It was, then, a pissed off Charles who joined his friend Joris and a few other drivers like Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Lando Norris and George Russell for a drink before starting the first race week of the season. He needed to forget the tests of pre pre-season.

“So should we expect to have a nice fight between you and Red Bull?” asked Pierre to his best friend.

“No. I don’t feel good while driving. I feel like it’s unpredictable and I don’t like that.” confessed the Monegasque.

“I fear that Red Bull will be particularly strong this year.” added George, as a matter of fact.

“They showed off during the tests. What will it be during the actual race? One thing for sure, it’s not the McLaren that will put up a fight. It’s a shitbox.” said Lando.

They kept talking about their cars and the first race of the season until late in the night.

The next three days, Charles spent them between intense training and meetings with the team. He didn’t see the time flying and soon it was time for him to wear his Ferrari team’s merchandising and to put on a nice face in front of the camera, pretending that he liked the car and was ready for the season.

After a press conference that he thought was way too long, he had to go in front of the journalists. On his way, on his scooter, he met Pierre who was coming back from the media pen, whistling.

“So, how was it? Any new faces among the journalists?” Charles asked.

“It was the same as usual. The same questions from everyone and I feel like a broken record, having to repeat myself to I don’t know how many news outlets and TV channels. And yeah, the french TV has a new girl. It striked me because she is really young. Not more than twenty-five for sure. But nice questions. Different ones. It was nice.”

Saying that you were stressed out and on the verge of panicking was an understatement. You were pretty confident the night before, when you were lying in your bed, thinking about today and all the questions you had prepared after watching the testings. You were proud of your questions, you had sent them to Marion so she could check them out and add her comments, which she did. She helped you make your questions sharper and clearer. You didn’t have much time to ask them so they needed to be short and precise. You had reworked on them, following her advice, and you were happy about how they turned out.

But crossing the journalists’ entry in the paddock, you could feel the nerves kicked in and suddenly you felt like an impostor. You were too young, you had just graduated, you had little experience and they gave you such a big responsibility. It was too much. You felt your breath caught in your throat and your vision blurring until a reassuring hand was pressed on your shoulder.

“I know what you are thinking. Don’t. You deserve to be here. You wouldn’t have been hired if we didn’t believe in you.” Marion whispered in your ear.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you are a woman. It means that the interviews you had to go through were twice harder than the ones men went through. And you managed to beat them. So you got this. And I’ll be here, you won’t be alone.”

“Thanks Marion.” you said, thankful for her kind words.

And the interviews went well. You quickly forgot the stress and soon you were in your zone. Ready, confident, determined. When Lewis approached you tried to not let the fan inside you come out to the surface. It was not the time. You could see him slightly flinched when you mentioned the last season and the several car problems he had. You assumed that he was not very happy with your question, but you didn’t care. You weren’t there to ask pointless questions. You were there because you wanted to know what went through their minds, not to sugarcoat things. After Lewis, it was time for Pierre and you were happy but nervous to conduct the interview in French.

“So Pierre, you are in a whole new team that was fourth in the championship last year. You come from a back of the grid team, how do you feel about this new challenge?”

“I’m happy. I’m still getting used to how things work but I’m really excited and I can’t wait to work with everyone and get to know the team better during the season.”

“What are your goals?”

“Winning races, trying to bring the best points for the team. You said it, Alpine was fourth last year so the goal is to keep this position and maybe fight with the top teams. That could be great.”

His PR officer signaled that the time was off and he made his way out of the room. They had a few minutes before the next group of drivers would come into the room. You turned to Marion who was next to you, watching you conduct the interviews.

“So, how was I?” you asked.

“Great! You definitely were better by the end of the session. I could feel your nerves at the beginning.”

“I’m going to go outside to breathe. It’s so crowded here.”

You took your bottle of water and headed to the exit. It was so hot outside but definitely hotter inside. You were fumbling with your bag, trying to reach for your notes when you heard a huge ‘watch out’ coming from your left. You didn’t have much time to react as you felt a scooter hitting you and a man, dressed with a red tee shirt, looking very sorry and rushing towards you.

Author's note: Here it is, the prologue of my new fic I Can See you! It will be shorter than what you are used to coming from me. Less chapters, less longer as well. I hope you will like it as much as I do!

Don't hesitate to leave a comment or an ask, as well as reblogging and leaving a like. Besides the fact that I absolutely love to read you, it helps a lot for the story to find its audience. I also have a taglist for this story, so if you want to be added so you never miss a chapter, let me know.

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @thirstylion @cmleitora

[egrets-not-regrets]

Of Fin and Feathers AU: Negotiations

Mara of the gannet harpies meets with Iron Warrior Warsmith Eciton Formicas to discuss the terms of being allowed to set to temporarily reside in an area of Steelix Cliffs deep in the heart of his territory to avoid the Black Templar shoal. Kalium and Erriox have a bet going on.

Author’s Notes: will be naming the MerErriox AU series “Of Fin and Feathers”. This takes place before the whole Gray Knight bonding with Lana in incident. Thanks for @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan for letting me use Keed and Orlys (Alpha Legion Mer) for this one.

Tagged: @shadowfirecat , @kit-williams , @bleedingichorhearts , @barn-anon , @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

@sleepyfan-blog, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @bispecsual , @ms--lobotomy , @whorety-k

They are coming. The templar shoal is coming!

The sirens’ songs carried in the winds to all who heard them. All manner of magical non-human sentient creatures prepared to hide or leave for safer areas knowing the Black Templar shoal will be migrating through. Those who were either unwary and caught at the wrong place and time or foolish enough to confront this shoal had been cut down mercilessly.

The feathers by Mara's ear holes fluttered in the breeze, carrying the siren’s message with it. After which, the sirens fell silent. The gannet harpy frowned, this matched up with the bits of information that came they received over the past few days. Word from the passing gull harpies was that the shoal was making their way to these waters, still maybe three or four days away judging by their speed of travel.

“The siren sisters are silent now. They must be starting to move.” Another gannet elder, Nerian, commented, “You heard their song too?”

“Yes.” Mara replied, “This is a new change in the black templar shoal movement.”

Nerian hummed thoughtfully, “They don’t usually come through these waters this time of year. Wonder what changed.”

The old gannet muttered, “I don’t care that much to find out. Any word about the state of our secondary rock?”

“Unfortunately it’s fully occupied. Other sea harpies had been evacuating their roosts since the Black Templar shoal changed their pattern.” Nerian grumbled. He couldn’t help but find this situation frustrating. Not that it was their kittiwake and murre cousins’ fault, they are equally vulnerable to the mercurial shoal’s blades. However, this means they don’t have much time to find a whole new safe sanctuary.

“Please send out a message to the scouting parties and ask everyone to look out for possible places that can be a suitable temporary safe haven.” Mara requested.

“Will be done.” Nerian gave an affirmative before taking off. Mara nodded then turned around to make her way back to the colony.

Keed and Orlys, two Alpha Legion mers, had been helping their bonded Lana help others in the colony figure out logistics of moving the fledglings and others that cannot fly as well as their older brethren could, when they overheard Mara’s conversation with Nerian.

“Mara, we couldn’t help but hear your chat with Nerian.” Keed addressed the gannet harpy, “Are you still looking for a temporary place to settle?

Mara sighed, she forgot how keen mer-Astartes hearing was, “Yes. Unfortunately where we would normally go to take shelter is fully occupied. Everyone is spooked by the change in the Black Templar shoal behavior.”

Orlys remembered a conversation he had with the Blood Angel Scoutling, “Jophiel said Lenora was moving closer to the Iron Warrior base. There is the Steelix Cliffs, parts of which are deep in Iron Warrior shoal territory which would be out of the Black Templar’s path; it may be worth asking Erriox about it.”

The elder gannet harpy hummed thoughtfully, “You do have a point. Would you or your brother take a few others for a flight to scout it out please? The harpies will know what we need in a location. Once there's one or a few suitable places, please contact Erriox to request a temporary stay and report back to me. If there is nothing suitable, report back to me regardless.”

“Will do.” Keed replied.

“Thank you.”

She watched the two mers make their way back to Lana, making some sort of hand gestures to determine, Mara guessed, who stays and who goes. The gannet harpy’s dark eyes crinkled with amusement before she went back to her nest.

A few hours later, the scouting group returned with good news of having found a location well-suited to be their safe haven. Mara thanked them for their work before dismissing them.

Keed stayed behind, having a message to pass on to the elder harpy.

Mara then turned her attention to him, “Have you contacted Erriox about this yet?” She asked.

“Yes.” The Alpha Legionary replied, “Erriox said he notified his warsmith about our request and will let us know his answer.”

Coincidentally, his vox crackled to life as Erriox’s voice came over the channel.

“Warsmith Formicas requests a meeting with Mara. When can she meet him?”

Keed relayed the message to the harpy. Mara tapped her claw to her chin in thought before answering, “I can meet him right away. Where is the meeting location?”

There was a pause as Keed communicated Mara’s answer to the Iron Warrior in addition to discussing whatever else between the two mer-Astartes.

“On the beach in the Trail of Stars Cove. It’s halfway between here and the base.”

Mara laughed, familiar with the meeting location being where many of her colony staged part of their courtship, “Sounds rather romantic.” She joked, “Tell Warsmith Formicas that we’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

“Want me to accompany you?” Keed asked the gannet harpy.

“Yes, that would be much appreciated.” Mara smiled, not that she felt there would be any malicious intent from the warsmith, but it was comforting to know she has a mer-Astartes on her side.

The two arrived at the cove just ahead of their meeting time, allowing for some exploration of the beach.

Mara looked around, a sense of pleasant nostalgia clung to her senses. “This is a place where bonding pairs would go as part of their courtship. It is beautiful to visit at night as the name suggests. You should bring Lana here sometime.” She suggested to Keed.

Lana would probably like that. Keed smiled at the idea, though unseen due to his helmet, “I will remember that.”

The warsmith soon arrived, swimming out of the water to meet them, accompanied by Erriox and one other Iron Warrior mer. The large armored-tail venomfin mer dismissed the other two as he swam closer to them.

Keed tilted his head slightly in question, “Do you need me to stay?” He whispered.

Mara waved her claw, “No, I think I’ll be alright.”

“I’ll stay close.” He answered.

Mara thanked him. Keed gave a curt nod before swimming off after the other two Iron Warriors.

“Lady Mara.”

“Warsmith Formicas.” Mara nodded slightly in greeting.

The warsmith eyed the leaving Alpha Legionaire coolly, “Your reputation precedes you, Lady Mara. Uncovering a squad of five Alpha Legionaries. Not many can boast about that.”

Smiling disarmingly at the warsmith, she explained to him, “It was only a matter of chance that it happened that way, Warsmith Formicas. The brothers had bonded to one of my own. Though it is not without its own challenges, they have been good to their bonded and to the rest of my colony.”

“Indeed.” The warsmith acknowledged before getting back to business, inquiring, “You were requesting a temporary safe haven up on Steelix Cliffs?”

Mara nodded, “Yes, we scouted a suitable place about 15 kms north of here along these cliffs.”

She added, “I recognize this location is deep within your territory, but I am hoping to have your permission for my colony to relocate there temporarily, at least until the Black Templar shoal has left these waters.”

“I heard about the changes in the Black Templar shoal movement. The way that most non-human sentients are clearing out of the area or going into hiding is hard to ignore.” The warsmith narrowed his eyes as his armored tail swayed back and forth in thought, “You have my permission for your colony to stay as long as you need, however in return, I ask that you provide aerial surveillance and support, and the use of your Alpha Legion squad.”

Mara knew what the warsmith was thinking and had been prepared for it, “I have a roster of harpies who can start whenever it is required, though we will need further details as patrol areas and what you are looking for. As for the Alpha Legion squad…”

Keed paused and added without prompting, “my brothers and I will work alongside your shoal for the time being.” They can work under warsmith Formicas in exchange for Lana and her colony being better protected. Besides, it would be a good opportunity to gain more information of the shoals and current state of these waters.

“Thank you.” Mara gave the Alpha Legionary a grateful look before he continued to leave.

She asked, turning to the warsmith, “Is that suitable?”

Eciton Formicas recognized the quiet power and experienced leadership the old gannet harpy had, “Yes, it is. You are well prepared, Lady Mara.” He commented shrewdly.

“I have been around long enough to know requests like this are not without some sort of equivalent exchange.” Mara stated, her dark eyes crinkled with amusement.

She shared a wry grin, “It helps to keep good neighbors and allies.”

The warsmith chuckled, “Certainly. I can see why you have so many mer-Astartes under your wing.”

“It only seems that way. They’re not beholden to me or my colony.” Mara insisted, bringing up her claw to hide her smile, knowing that Formicas was talking about the Primaris boys and the Alpha Legion brothers, “They’re good boys.” She said fondly, “though sometimes they need a good talking to… or a few.”

Eciton laughed at the way she addressed the mers as if they were mere whelps, “If that is all you need to do to have them do what you say, I can use your talks on my warriors if it means they would be more disciplined.”

“You flatter me, Warsmith. You greatly overestimate my ability to make them listen. I’m sure you’re doing a fine job taking care of your warriors.” Mara smiled at him graciously, “Regardless, thank you for permitting my colony to stay in your territory.”

“You’re welcome. Should you require it, I can send a few of my Astartes to assist your move. Once you are settled, your harpies will be included in the patrol schedule and we will discuss details then. I will also increase patrols in your area while the Black Templars are present.” Eciton replied.

Mara bowed her head slightly with respect, “That is much appreciated. We should be fine with regards to moving as it is only a temporary stay and we have enough bodies for that.”

She looked out at the water and spotted the teal form of Keed waiting in the distance, then turned back to face the warsmith, “I am grateful for your assistance in this matter, and it eases my worries. Once everything is settled, I will have someone notify you to discuss further details. It was a pleasure meeting you, Warsmith Formicas.” Mara spoke warmly, reaching out her winged claw for a handshake.

His gauntlet engulfed her clawed digits as he gently grasped it, “Same to you, Lady Mara.”

The gannet harpy gave him a smile before she took off. Eciton watched her form rise above the cliffs before he returned to the water to rejoin his warriors.

“Mara agreed to your request?” Erriox asked.

“Yes. Once she sends word, we will discuss the finer details for their aerial patrols.” Eciton confirmed.

“She was rather charming.” He added offhandedly as they were swimming back to the base.

“You sure she isn’t your bonded? You seem awfully amicable with each other.” The younger of his subordinates, Kalium, asked.

Eciton smacked his helmet with his tail, “No, she isn’t. Quit with that nonsense.” He growled.

Erriox held back slightly as their warsmith swam ahead of them, “I told you so. Fair is fair, you are taking my extra shift.” He snickered at his grumbling battle brother.

[roseandgold137]

OC ask game 9

Any/all the YJ2 kids?

9 - Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

Kioni - does swear but only when she’s caught by surprise or after speaking with someone who does curse for a while (she mirrors people a lot it’s the autism lmao)

Mi-Sun - curses every other word but when there’s an adult around she’s suddenly the sweetest little angel that doesn’t even know what fuck means (she’s been to boarding schools and orphanages she’s perfected this act)

Vivian - curses but all of them are slightly off in a way that’s difficult for everyone to describe. Like she’ll say words that definitely sound like they’re curses or she’ll say curse words slightly differently (she’s from an alternate reality she just can’t remember it)

Jasper - didn’t know swear words were a thing he just thought they were normal words. Walked into school and immediately got a month of detention for cursing at the other eleven year olds

Diallo - doesn’t swear but he knows all of them and their meanings so sometimes jasper will use him as a way to check if he’s “allowed” to use a word he knows

Orlie - swears casually but not very often. Mostly when they’re excited or annoyed, or if they forget a word and want to use a filler word instead of just trailing off

Freia - hasn’t cursed yet but she’s gotten close a couple times, but she shuts down when she gets mad so it hasn’t happened yet

Lillia - used to cry when people swore in front of her. She’s grown out of that now but she still can’t bring herself to curse, she makes mi-sun do it for her

Zara - does curse but only backwards bc she thinks it’s funny. It has led to her accidentally casting spells though so when she’s abt to swear someone will full on slide tackle her instead of dealing with another raining dogs situation (she said bitches backwards)

Jinj’r - only knew Tamaranean swear words when she came to earth but mi-sun quickly fixed that. She sounds too happy when she says them though bc she’s proud of herself for learning them, which good for her but the interrogation room is not the place for self praise

[matan4il]

Kibbutz menara in the north has been half demolished by hezbollah

Nonnie, I hope it's okay to add to this ask, another one on the same subject, kibbutz Menara:

Can you write about the huge damage to kibbutz menara in your next update post? Tysm for them

And just in case both are from you, I'm so sorry I hadn't posted about this before, I did think of adding it to one of my daily update posts, but then I thought this deserves a post of its own, so I hope this ask reply dedicated to the subject will do it some justice.

(also, thank you for the kind words about my daily update posts! That means so, so very much! *hearts*)

Hezbollah has been targeting civilian communities along Israel's northern border. Kibbutz Menara is situated incredibly close to the border. I heard one journalist, who described the distance as, "There's the border fence, a narrow road running along it, and on the road's other side, the kibbutz fence," but looking up Menara on the map, sometimes it's not even that. Here's the map:

The kibbutz is also high up the mountain, making it very easy for Hezbollah to target this community, and very difficult for Israeli forces to defend. This image can give you an idea of what we're talking about:

I heard on the news that when fire broke out at one point, firefighters couldn't even approach the kibbutz, because Hezbollah's rockets made it too dangerous, and they just had to sit back, and watch the fire rage uncontrolled.

On Dec 24, Orly Yitzchak, a senior member of the kibbutz, said that 86 out of 155 apartments at Menara have been damaged, so we're talking about over half of the homes in this community at that point. And that's about two weeks ago, when Hezbollah's terrorist activity on Israel's border has only increased since.

Just to give everyone some context regarding this kibbutz... It was founded in 1943, as a community for Jewish youths from Germany and Poland, meaning young Holocaust survivors. The land for it was purchased a short while before the kibbutz was established. The conditions were very rough at first, for example supplies had to be brought there on mules, and at the beginning, the kibbutz members slept in tents and caves. A proper road was only completed in 1947. The first water pipe took longer, it was only inaugurated in 1953. During Israel's Independence War, the kibbutz was besieged from March to May 1948, and food had to be smuggled in at night, while some of the younger kids had to be secretly smuggled out (if you read the novel Exodus or watched its movie version, there's a fictional account of this real event). The kibbutz continued to be under attack even after the end of the war, including its water pipe being blown up in 1965, and community members being murdered along the years.

That's some of what the elders of the kibbutz had been through, the same people who now, at their old age, are forced to evacuate their community, live as refugees in their own country, and no one knows yet if they'll have any homes to return to. Roni, one kibbutz member, said in an interview that it's the community's elders who are strengthening the rest, and asking the younger generation to return to it no matter what.

There aren't a lot of photos taken there since the start of the war, but here are a few, just to give you an idea... The first pic is taken out of a family's living room.

I hope this does the kibbutz some justice. My heart goes out to the community's members. Thank you for caring about them, Nonnie! I hope you're well, and taking care of yourself! Sending you lots and lots of love. xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)