#but the infrastructure is much farther along

[mariacallous]

This is dated 12-29-2023, for the record.

It was a nightmare scenario that Ukrainian and Western officials had feared for months. Western officials have watched as Russia stacked up precision-guided munitions to launch targeted attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure in the winter while keeping up the pace of strikes on cities using unguided “dumb” bombs. 

And on Friday morning, it became a reality. Russia conducted a hailstorm of strikes across Ukraine, hitting Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Kharkiv. There were at least 158 drone and missile strikes in all, which damaged hospitals, a shopping mall, and schools, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 160. 

The numbers are still going up as search and rescue teams pick through the rubble. Russia fired its missiles with so much abandon that the Polish government confirmed one of the Kremlin’s projectiles entered its airspace. In the chaos that engulfed the Kyiv streets, one man tried to stop the fires from spreading by driving his burning car away from his neighbors. 

The renewed barrages have Ukrainian officials and U.S. experts questioning how long they’ll be able to keep the lights on during winter—or hold territory—especially with the long tail of U.S. military aid running out, unless Congress acts soon. 

Ukrainian officials believe that Russia’s capacity to strike is even greater than what it just showed off: The Kremlin can fire off about 300 Iranian-made suicide drones in one attack on Ukraine and about 150 ballistic missiles in one shot on Kyiv, said Sasha Ustinova, a Ukrainian lawmaker.  

And with the Ukrainian counteroffensive stalled and fresh weapons not flowing until January at the earliest, how resilient will the Ukrainians be? 

“The Ukrainians are heading for a tough winter, for obvious reasons,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview earlier this month. “But I think that the Ukrainian morale is much, much higher than the Russian morale. What is crucial right now, of course, is that we all will step up support.”

But that morale is now getting tested, as Ukrainians were shaken out of bed by dozens of air raid alerts that lit up their phones. And the aid isn’t coming—at least until the U.S. Congress gets back from recess in the second week of January, and maybe for even longer. 

“Ukraine needs funding now to continue to fight for freedom from such horror in 2024,” Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, wrote in a tweet screenshotting the numerous air raid alerts sent to Kyiv residents.

U.S. officials have seen movement across the nearly stagnant front lines slow considerably in recent weeks, a trend that is expected to continue. The weather in Ukraine has hit subzero temperatures and piles of snow have mostly halted forward movement along the 600-mile front, underscoring the prospect of several months of attrition warfare. Ukraine is already making moves to lower the draft age to get more men onto the battlefield.  

Ukraine doesn’t need any silver bullets, experts say. It just needs the regular kind. 

“We’re clearly past the ground counteroffensive now,” said Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. “Since it won’t get large numbers of longer-range precision fires, Ukraine probably needs to entrench and defend right now—and absent Congress passing the supplemental, even those defensive lines may not remain stable.” 

Still, Jonson said the Ukrainian military has been getting some access to more long-range strike weapons, which has forced Russian ships and aircraft to move farther away from the front lines. But Ukraine has had to build its military while fending off the invasion: Jonson said that Kyiv is operating about 600 types of Western weapons systems, while ferrying fuel and spare parts across the front line. All that on roads that will be coated with sleet, snow, and ice. 

Even with its limited arsenal of Western-provided long-range weapons like British-made Storm Shadows and the cluster variant of the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System, Ukraine has still made a dent, knocking out a Russian tank landing ship in Crimea on Tuesday. And experts believe that Russia’s fragile logistics system—which was never designed for continuous military operations across Europe’s second-largest country—is a good target.  

“If they had longer-range weapons, they could completely wreck the logistics system,” said Ben Hodges, the former head of U.S. Army Europe. “I think they know this is a real vulnerability for the Russians, particularly in winter.” 

But Ukrainians fear they are already running out of munitions—and time. Though Western-provided air defenses blanket much of Kyiv, they are not enough to defend against far-flung Russian attacks that could dot the country during winter. As much as Ukraine needs more air defenses to blunt attacks like Friday’s firestorm, Ukrainian officials have indicated that the falling temperatures have already shifted their priorities: Attrition warfare means a premium on artillery fire, and Europe is far behind on its target to produce a million artillery shells by March 2024.

“The biggest problem we’re going to run into is when they start shelling us heavily,” Ustinova said. “Because we will not have enough munitions.” 

But Ukraine has been forced to cut military operations as aid has dried up. Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who heads up a group of forces in the southern push, told the BBC this week that Ukraine is facing particularly acute shortages of Soviet-era 122 mm and 152 mm shells, which still make up a large portion of Kyiv’s military arsenal. And if the Ukrainians want to apply forward pressure in spite of the snow, they have to clear entire minefields in front of them, only for the Russians to reseed the deadly explosives from the air. 

The Russian war chest is still heavily stocked. Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian defense minister, said in November that Russia still has about 7,000 to 8,000 tanks in reserve. Meanwhile, Russia has turned its sanctions-battered economy into a war economy. The Kremlin plans to spend 6 percent of GDP on defense next year. And Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deals for drones with Iran and ammunition with North Korea have indicated to Western officials that Russia’s game is quantity, not quality. 

“It doesn’t matter. As long as it fires, as long as it unfortunately kills Ukrainians, it is good for Russians,” Pevkur said. “They are increasing their production, especially ammunition. They don’t care about the quality. They care about the quantity.” 

Western officials believe that there are 300,000 to 400,000 Russian troops on Ukrainian soil, across a swath of occupied territory that is about the size of the contiguous Baltic states. Russian casualties have totaled about that many troops in the 22 months since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began. But experts caution that the cannon fodder won’t last forever. It might not have to last that much longer, though.

In November, Russian forces claimed to gain ground around the eastern city of Avdiivka, where Western officials believe the Kremlin is trying to make a pincer move to encircle the town, the site of a major coke fuel and chemical plant. They’ve also set their sights on the important railway junction of Kupyansk. 

“They just keep pushing these guys into a meat grinder to convey the sense that they have endless resources,” Hodges said. “They don’t have endless resources.” 

For now, though, absent Western aid, Russia’s focus on eastern Ukraine could lead Kyiv to cede more ground. 

“That’s very painful for us, because we pay thousands of lives to get every single kilometer,” Ustinova said.  

“They are already taking more territory,” she added. “Look at the map.”

[whirligig-girl]

Etheria’s moons to dubious scale. The second from the right, the blue & purple one, is about the same size compared to Etheria as the Moon is compared to the Earth.

Probably the first thing I noticed when I watched She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was all the damn moons. I’d seen screenshots and clips of the show taking place on a space ship, so I figured “Brightmoon” was literally the name of a moon. But nope--the Starship Darla wouldn’t make her appearance until much later. Anyway. Despite the unrealistic appearance of the moons in the show, I resolved to Figure Out How They Work Eventually. Here’s some thoughts so far.

I’m unwilling to trust most of these sizes because of perspective effects and because it’s a cartoon. I think probably they’re all smaller than it seems. Obviously the “real” spacing is completely different than in the drawing.

If this image is taken with a telescope, or even a telephoto lens from sufficiently far away, then the original image scale could correspond to the scale of the actual planets.

we only have actual depth information for ONE moon--the blue and purple one in front of Etheria, which means its actual scale relative to Etheria is probably smaller than in the image.

each other moon could be either very large and distant or very small and near to the camera, but the way it looks in some scenes moving towards Etheria suggest that the moons are depicted not much farther or closer from the camera than Etheria itself, so I think taking these as roughly to-scale can serve as a starting point for figuring the rest out.

My progress so far in figuring out how to fit 11 large moons into orbit around one Earthlike planet:

this is only five. Four ceres in a near 1:2:4:8 resonance (such that triple conjunctions are possible, but rare), with that pink moon represented as a Mars-mass world, orbiting about once per month. If I move the Mars out much more, it might not be stable accounting for solar tides. (Etheria does have a sun? right? it’s not entirely clear to me. Does it have a different sun in Despondos than in the Universe? like, Despondos has Just One Sun? Is Despondos’ cosmic background lighting up half the sky? Or did the Etherian Sun come along for the ride through the portals, off-screen? I’m making the assumption that even if there is no real Sun in Despondos, the moon system pre-dated Etheria’s stranding, so it’s still constrained by solar tides.

anyway. the five there. I think I can add more. the Mars can support subsatellites, which I think should be allowed, and I think I can fit in some smaller asteroid-sized moons in low orbits in between the resonant friend quad.

I’m not even close to understanding their geology, yet. I need to have a grasp on their basic physical properties first. But I’m guessing magic and technology are both relevant. One of the three moons of enchantment clearly had cloud banding, not impact craters. it could be terraformed--even if the first one’s tech that terraformed it is gone, perhaps it could still carry an atmosphere for the ~thousand years or so the first ones have been gone?

I wonder if the moons were early test beds for first ones to test magic/tech integration on a planetary scale. (which leads to the dark question of “was there a Heart of the Moon Project?”)

Certainly if the first ones were spacefarers they would have had some infrastructure on the moons.

[unhallowedrp]

Our  Virginia  setting  is  split  into  directions  -  North,  East,  South  and  West.  Each  direction  will  feature  4  notable  locations  (for a total of 16 locations across the state!) that  tie  into  the  history  of  the  survivors  in  the  area.  However, to  keep  it  simple,  we  have  provided  a  broad  overview  of  the  area  per  direction.

THE  NORTH  (Infected  Count:  Medium  /  Supply  Count:  Low  /  Survivor  Count:  Low)

The  North  is  made  up  of  several  famous  mountains  and  caverns,  providing  an  expanse  of  Appalachia  and  Blue  Ridge  peaks  along  various  old  trails.  Seemingly  untouched  by  infection,  the  lush  overgrowth  and  preservation  of  the  environment  supply  a wide  opportunity  for  hunting  and  gathering of  native  species  of  animal  and  plant.  The  farther  North  traveled,  however,  the  more  hazardous,  as  the  infected  from  D.C  slowly  make  their  way  downwards  and  the  forests  become  dangerous  pockets  of  spore  growth.  Often,  storms  that  pick  up  spores  can  rain  down  on  populations  and  are  a  frequent  threat  to  those  that  do  not  know  how  to  prepare  for  them. The  main  danger,  of  course,  are  the  groups  residing  in  the  North.  From  cave  dwelling  cannibals  of  the  Underdark,  to  the  isolated  religious  Path  that  stubbornly  believe  they  are  God's  chosen,  to  the  Appalachian  trail  as  it  becomes  a  hotspot  for  travel  of  raiders  and  circuses  alike.  It  is  heavily  enunciated  to  move  with  caution  throughout  the  territory,  as  caves  and  abandoned  outposts  provide  different  factors  of  threat  for  passerby's.

THE  EAST (Infected  Count:  High  /  Supply  Count:  High  /  Survivor  Count:  High)

East  to  central  Virginia  are  the  most  populated  areas  of  the  state.  The  capital, Richmond, is  the  only  surviving  militarized  safe  zone  across  four  states,  with  much  of  its  population  housing  the  remains  of  D.C  after  their  safe  zone  fell  to  infection.  The  area  is  densely  populated  from  the  dilapidated  cities  and  is  home  to  a  dangerous  level  of  infected  that  roam  the  ruined  and  abandoned  streets.  Bombs  dropped  to  fight  the  first  surge  of  infection  have  left  damage  to  infrastructure  and  created  a  growing  hazard  both  to  those  traveling  and  for  infected  to  take  further  root  into  the  cities,  though  it  remains  rich  with  supplies  many  have  died  to  collect.  Despite  this,  it  continues  to  provide  the  most  life,  with  the  Richmond  safe  zone  and  Riverwalk  Town  as  the  primary  locations  for  survivors. Much  of  the  East  borders  water,  which  may  be  the  sole  reason  for  its  popularity.  The  mountainous  terrain  to  the  West  gives  way  to  sea  and  several  large  rivers,  including  the James  River,  York  River,  and  Rappahannock  River. Infected  become Swellers once  bloated  with  water,  leaving  them  to  wash  up  on  the  shores  like  dead  fish.  However,  dealing  with  Swellers  is  far  easier  than  other  variations,  as  they  are  much  slower  and  more  predictable  with  tides.

THE  SOUTH (Infected  Count:  Medium  /  Supply  Count:  Medium  /  Survivor  Count:  High)

The  South  of  Virginia  is  a  strange,  heavily  traversed  place.  The  primary  seat  of Roanoke  River,  which  by  itself  brings  heavy  traffic  to  the  area  (both  human  and  infected),  conflict  always  seems  to  be  a  stone's  throw  away.  Many  agree  that  the  air  in  Southern  Virginia  is odd  -  always  a  prickle  at  the  back  of  the  neck,  or  else  a  feeling  of  being  watched.  It  is  all  too  easy  to  stumble  unwitting  onto  a  stranger's  property  -  often  with  fatal  results.  The  damage  done  by  bombing  is  now  thick  and  lush  with  overgrowth,  buildings  overtaken  by  trawls  of  ivy,  but  so,  too,  are  buildings  sparse,  spread  wide  across  the  land,  leaving  a  lot  of  open  space. Threat,  here,  is  sporadic  and  unpredictable,  dependent  on  the  movement  of  members  of  its  primary  settlements.  Particularly  of  note  is Greensville  Prison,  still  active,  fortified,  tended  and  farmed  by  those  very  prisoners  it  once  held. Emporia is  the  largest  commercial  hub  to  be  found  in  Southern  Virginia,  attractive  to  traders  for  its  direct  link  to  North  Carolina,  though  oft  the  target  of  raids  by  inhabitants  of  Greensville  Prison.

THE  WEST (Infected  Count:  Low  /  Supply  Count:  Low  /  Survivor  Count:  Low)

The  Westernmost  side  of  Virginia  is,  for  the  most  part,  overrun  by  forest  (most  notably  the Forest  of  Spores,  which  bisects  the  George  Washington  &  Jefferson  National  Forests)  and  was,  before  the  apocalypse,  incredibly  sparsely  populated.  For  this  reason,  it  avoided  the  brunt  of  the  ensuing  bombing  and  became  the  final  resting  place  of  hundreds  who  fled  heedlessly  West  without  the  supplies  or  knowledge  to  survive  its  wilderness. Mount  Rogers -  the  highest  peak  of  Virginia  -  roosts  above  the  treeline,  looming  unblinking  over  the  West's  vast  forests  and  scattered  settlements,  the  most  notable  of  which  is  what  remains  of Montgomery  County,  a  former  agricultural  hub  now  home  to  two  warring  factions.  With  low  numbers  of  infected,  the  West  can  lull  inhabitants  into  a  false  sense  of  security. The  danger  comes  from  within.

[liffey007]

Here's How EV Charging Stations Operate: Plug In, Fill Up

Here's How EV Charging Stations Operate: Plug In, Fill Up

Your neighborhood gas station may have had some renovations in recent years. From coast to coast, EV charging stations are mushrooming as more and more electric vehicles come onto the road in the years leading up to 2030 and beyond. But how can the same substance that makes your electric toothbrush buzz also be used to silently propel a two-ton car from 0 to 60 miles per hour? The operation of electric vehicle charging stations is explained here, along with how EV Connect can make them work for your company.

Power Relations

Since electric car technology has been around since the 1800s, there aren't many differences between it now and then. Many early Ev charging perth could be charged by the same electrical outlets that powered certain lights and appliances in turn-of-the-century homes, and a rack of rechargeable fuel cells gave the power to spin the wheels and move the automobile forward.

Despite the fact that it may be difficult to conceive a battery-powered car at a time when horse-drawn carriages were the primary form of road traffic, the earliest inventors of motorcars actually experimented with a variety of propulsion technologies, including pedals, steam, batteries, and liquid fuel. Because they didn't need large water tanks or heating systems to produce steam, didn't emit pollutants, or make as much noise as gasoline engines did, it appeared like EVs had the upper hand in the race to mass manufacture.

A Centennial Pitstop

However, due to a number of variables, EVs ultimately came in last. Gasoline became more affordable and accessible than ever because to the discovery of massive oil resources in states like Texas, and better roads and highway infrastructure allowed people to travel farther from home. Gas stations could appear practically anywhere, but power was still uncommon outside of major cities. While EVs saw a long period of decrease in popularity, gasoline won the day.

as lightning-fast

What is the current operation of EV charging stations? In essence, not much has altered: A plug is inserted into the vehicle's charging port, and the other end is connected to an electrical outlet, frequently the same one used to power a home's lights and appliances. Of course, decades of contemporary progress in engineering and technology have made the procedure more simpler and more effective.

Based on the output that each sort of charger offers, there are three primary categories. Level 1 chargers offer up to 5 miles of range each hour of charging and work with the same normal 120 V outlets used in homes and private garages, making them ideal for commuters who live close to their workplace and can leave their car charging overnight at the conclusion of each workday. Level 2 chargers can charge a device up to 20 miles in range per hour, but they need special hardware to work with higher-capacity 240 V residential outlets and 208 V commercial outlets, such those in an office building or complex.

However, EVs may be charged at a pace of 80 miles of range in 20 minutes using DC Fast Chargers. These specialized stations use higher-capacity 480 V AC inputs with cutting-edge technology and equipment in both the charging station and the vehicle itself because that's a significant improvement above the other tiers. These are the kinds of EV charging stations you might see next to busy highways and heavily traveled roads like California's Interstate 5.

[tyrantofthefirmament]

Lord Starscream... forgive me if I sound ignorant, but I would love to know more about Cybertronians and how they function! It seems like Cybertronians have a lot in common with us humans, physically and emotionally. Do you have a sense of smell? Do you cry? Do you have a way of turning off pain sensors by yourself - did you have to do that when you lost your arm that one time? Do you have to drink Energon on a consistent basis?

I suppose we do have some traits in common with humans, as we do with most sapient life forms we have encountered. Most often that would mean a bipedal, or at least upright, form freeing up two or more limbs for manipulating our surroundings, and a complex social structure. I’m not an anthropologist or a biologist, but humans are relatively easy to talk to compared to some aliens I’ve met. You also ask a lot of questions.

Fortunately, I can answer them.

We do have a sense of smell, though I don’t think it functions quite the same as yours. We have some olfactory sensors in all of our vents, so we can catch scents near different parts of our bodies. That might seem odd to you, but bear in mind that we are very tall and having, for example, chemical sensors in our legs might alert us to acidic vapors collected near the ground, that we might not notice if they didn’t waft higher up near our facial vents. Some of our olfactory sensors are more sensitive than others. My facial vents can detect scents with much more subtlety than the vents on my sides. We also have sensors that can detect magnetic fields and electrical charge, which may seem unrelated until you recall that charge is considered a flavor in Energon. I love the tingle of a good strong High Grade when I smell it and the charge hits my vents.

I don’t know if humans would recognize our equivalent of crying, since it looks very different. When we have a strong emotional or stress response, our systems heat up, and our fans switch on to rid our bodies of the excess heat. If it’s bad enough, our coolant will actually boil over and weep out from ducts in our vents to cool us faster. Evaporating coolant directly from a larger surface area helps chill the ammonia still in our lines directly under the vents, which then circulates and brings our internal temperatures down. Our side vents and facial vents both have this response, along with back and leg vents in very large frames, but you can’t always see it as liquid given ammonia’s low boiling point. Sometimes lubricants will weep out as well, because that is part of our flight or flight response in case rapid transformation is needed, and you can see that. Either way, you can definitely smell the ammonia if someone is crying hard enough. 

We can somewhat dull our pain sensors for a short time, but they are one of the systems we have little conscious control over. I rarely bother, since it doesn’t make that much of a difference. Honestly getting my arm shot off ranks pretty low on the scale of painful things I’ve endured. If you mean when Optimus Prime shot it off, I actually barely felt it, due to the Dark Energon in my system at the time, but even without that, a clean break right at the joint wouldn’t be as painful as say, bent struts or getting armor ripped off of my torso. It’s definitely nothing compared to being shot in the wing. To fully shut off pain sensors you need to see a medic, but well stocked medkits usually have small EMP generators that you can clamp on to numb a small area. In certain parts of the extremities you could also sever the wiring to pain sensors if you really wanted to. It’s simple enough to repair later.

How much Energon we need depends on many factors, but we do refuel pretty regularly. Frame size and activity level make the biggest difference in how often we fuel and how much. A typical Energon cube we’d normally drink from holds maybe 60 gallons of fuel. If an average sized mech, say about my mass, didn’t use their alt mode at all, a cube would last them a couple of weeks easily. If they were a grounder and used their alt mode a few time a day, they’d want to make sure and get a cube at least every couple of days, if not every day. Most people have a cube a day as part of their normal routine anyway. A big mech like Megatron or the Prime would probably still fuel once or twice a day, but they’d consume more. Since they were also soldiers, they would most likely keep fully fueled at all times, so they’d drink 3 to 5 cubes at a time. Megatron would often drink more than that, since he was so active and so large. I have seen him chug 500 gallons of fuel in one sitting, after returning from a battle where he spent nearly all his fuel and got wounded severely. We used the big cubes after battles like that.

Seekers need the most fuel, not just for our size, but overall. My fuel capacity is close to 1000 gallons, and I don’t consider myself fully fueled if I’m below 700. I go through most of that every day since I fly actively, and more on days when I oversee training. Cirrus is bigger than me and with how hard he trains, he sometimes drinks 3000 gallons a day if his morning drills have a lot of afterburner and fast climbs. I do too, on days I show him new techniques, since I usually do all the maneuvers multiple times. You see why I’m such a stickler for securing mines and supply lines? Air superiority depends on fuel, not just for combat sorties, but to maintain training and readiness. Now that we have so many Eradicons (their tanks are smaller but still) and returning Seekers, we’re training Energon Seekers as quickly as we can, and our refineries reach capacity just as soon as we bring them online. Then there’s the Rotorbots on the construction crews, who are even thirstier! 

But you didn’t come here to listen to me go on about running a fledgling city of aerial mecha. Heh, and people wondered why Vosnians were so obsessed with our restaurant scene. I will leave you with this amusing image - not only do Seekers hold more fuel than grounders twice our size, it’s also much stronger. It was a popular joke for us Energon Seekers to share our rations with the mining crews we occasionally worked with, and drink them under the table before we even had to divert fuel into our wing tanks. We kept an eye out for new crews who would underestimate us. Don’t try and outdrink a big Rotorbot though. They’ll bury you.

[shorthistorian]

Hey Jordan, @antique-symbolism referred me to you for a history question I've got about a story I'm writing that might help out some other writers as well. I've got a pseudo-historical setting that lacks telecommunication and a formal postal system, but the narrative requires a good deal of messages being sent back and forth between characters. I've got couriers and pages in the story, but they're a little overworked! I was wondering if you had any insights into historical postal systems and how people sent and received messages and packages before standardized addresses, or between people who were traveling/lacking a permanent residence. How on earth did pages and couriers find people w/o modern ways of tracking people down? Thanks!!

Hi! I love questions like this and @antique-symbolism knows that. They are like pumpkins full of ground beef she tosses into my enclosure for enrichment.

Precise answers to your questions are going to depend on time and place, but since you are in a pseudohistorical setting, we have some wiggle room. I’ll be leaning on the work of Professor Lindsay O’Neill, who I had the pleasure of being a TA for during my grad work at USC. You’ve already identified the big issues at play here. A formal postal service is a pretty crazy and modern thing that we take utterly for granted. For a small fee (for letters at least) you can send something ANYWHERE in the world, even to very remote or unpopulated places. That’s wild and it doesn’t happen overnight or without a lot of organization and investment. For a long time, governments had their own couriers and postal routes, but they were not supposed to be carrying personal correspondence. (An analogy here would be ARPANET, the precursor to the modern internet developed by the US Department of Defense.)

Prior to true postal services, a letter writer had a few options. One could pay a carrier to transport a letter or ask a friend to carry one along with them if they were going the right direction. As today, a letter might need to make multiple stops along its journey or be passed between multiple people. The farther off the beaten track someone lived, the more time and money it would take for the letter to arrive -- if it did at all. O’Neill mentions in her book The Opened Letter that writers regularly made reference to letters “finding” their recipients as in, “when this letter finds you” (24). It was far from a guarantee that it would! [Side note: It is worthwhile to consider how letters and goods are moving. Overland travel, at least until the wide implementation of railroads, was slow and expensive. Water transport was far cheaper and far faster, like months faster, even when moving longer distances. One could easily imagine a setting where post offices only sit along water routes and inlanders need to travel to pick up their mail.]

So what about your story? Details will have to depend on your exact setting, but here’s a few ideas. If letters are as important to the story as you say, maybe that is a reason to beef up the postal infrastructure. This doesn’t have to be a full, government-run, continent spanning postal service, but if your characters are associated with a larger organization, maybe that body invests in regular carriers. Alternatively, your characters might just be willing to pay the money required for quick couriers.

Door-to-door postal service is a more modern development (starting in a handful of major cities in 1863 in the US, for example), so in your story, travelers or people without permanent addresses aren’t at as much of a disadvantage as you might think. Anybody receiving mail would have to retrieve their letters or packages at the post office. Alternatively, if you wanted to reach a wandering friend, you could send a letter somewhere else like a hotel or a business where they could check for it.

As I see it, here’s the bottom line: the mail is, by default, slow, expensive, and unreliable. If it isn’t those things, then there must be some systems in place to improve it. What those systems are and how your characters interact with them will reflect the details of your setting.

I hope that is marginally helpful. If you have more specifics of the time/place you want to emulate, I’d be happy to answer more questions or direct you to other resources. Thanks for getting in touch!

[beardedmrbean]

Dozens of civilians were killed in a Russian missile strike on a crowded train station Friday, Ukrainian officials said, while also warning that they expect to uncover more evidence of gruesome war crimes in parts of the country previously controlled by Russian troops.

Ukraine said a railway station in the city of Kramatorsk, where thousands of people had gathered for evacuation from their war-torn districts, was hit by a Russian rocket Friday morning. At least 50 people were killed — including several children — and about 100 were wounded, officials said. Photos posted on Telegram by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed bodies strewn alongside the tracks along with suitcases, stuffed animals and a baby carriage.

Kramatorsk lies in eastern Ukraine, the region where Russia is concentrating its forces after they failed to conquer the capital, Kyiv. The Kremlin denied responsibility for the attack, but as its troops now prepare to try to win more territory in an area already partially controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, the strike on the train station stirred fears that more brutal tactics lie ahead in a likely war of attrition.

“The inhuman Russians are not changing their methods. Without the strength or courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population," Zelensky said in response to the attack. "This is an evil without limits.”

The report of further grievous civilian losses came amid mounting international outrage over evidence of atrocities committed by Russian troops. Grim images of people shot execution-style or slain while their hands were bound have emerged as occupying forces withdrew from areas such as the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, and Zelensky warned in an overnight video address that worse discoveries were still to come.

In Borodyanka, about 20 miles from Bucha, “it is much more horrible,” Zelensky said. Authorities continued digging Friday through the rubble of a number of residential apartment buildings in the town, where they say as many as 200 residents may be buried.

At the same time, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government admitted that his country had suffered significant troop losses in a war that has ground into a seventh week. The official Russian military death toll is about 1,300, but Western estimates put the figure at several times that.

“Yes, we have significant losses of troops, and it’s a huge tragedy for us,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Britain’s Sky News, without specifying a number.

He also suggested that the fighting in Ukraine could wrap up “in the foreseeable future,” either through achievement of Moscow’s battlefield goals or through negotiations with Kyiv. But Western and Ukrainian officials doubt any willingness by Putin to wind down what he refers to as his “special military operation,” peace talks have as yet produced no tangible results and Peskov himself vowed that the siege of the southern port city of Mariupol, at least, would continue.

“Mariupol is going to be liberated from nationalistic battalions, and we hope it will happen sooner [rather] than later,” Peskov said, alluding to Moscow’s contention that Ukrainian fascists are oppressing Russian speakers in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Mariupol, whose residents have undergone intense bombardment and terrible deprivation for weeks, is of strategic importance to Russia, which wants to use it to block Ukraine’s access to the Sea of Azov and to establish a land corridor to Crimea, the peninsula Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Farther west along the southern coast, Ukrainian officials said that the historic city of Odesa — which would also be a major prize were it to fall — was hit by a Russian missile strike from the sea and that infrastructure was damaged. The report could not be independently verified.

Zelensky said that any investigation in Mariupol would show more of “the same cruelty, the same terrible crimes” by Russian troops as had been unearthed elsewhere.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office announced Friday that it had logged 5,149 “crimes of aggression and war crimes.” In Kyiv-area towns including Bucha, whose name has become synonymous with alleged atrocities against civilians, authorities say at least 400 residents were killed by enemy occupiers.

The German newsweekly Der Spiegel reported that Berlin’s foreign intelligence agency had intercepted radio exchanges between Russian soldiers casually discussing the killing of civilians.

Despite the growing dossier of independently collected evidence, Peskov repeated Russia’s denials of any massacres by its forces, calling the images of bodies lying in Bucha’s streets “a bald fake.”

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly voted to oust Russia from its top human rights panel in an unprecedented action against one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

Moscow has become further isolated with the expulsion of hundreds of its diplomats from countries that have excoriated it for launching the biggest ground war in Europe in more than 75 years.

By contrast, there are signs that diplomatic representation here in Kyiv is beginning to trickle back after many nations shut down their embassies and called staff members back home for fear of Russian forces overrunning the city. The European Union has returned its ambassador to Ukraine to the capital city. The Lithuanian ambassador also announced his return to Kyiv, which followed Turkey’s decision to move its embassy from its temporary base in western Ukraine back to the capital.

In another show of support, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, were expected to visit Kyiv and meet with Zelensky on Friday. Borrell has proposed adding $540 million more to an EU fund being used to send weaponry to Ukraine, which has repeatedly begged the West for more arms to repel Russia’s invasion.

The EU and Britain announced more sanctions against Russia, including on Putin's two adult daughters, following a similar move by the U.S.

Although Kyiv is a wraith of the bustling urban center it once was, and security checkpoints still dot the streets to try to keep out suspected saboteurs, a sense of collective relief seems palpable now that Russian forces have quit the area. People were out Friday strolling through the city’s wooded parks, little heed was paid to the occasional air-raid siren and liquor sales are permitted again, the fast-emptying shelves attesting to considerable demand. A 9 p.m. curfew remains in place.

Some residents have been returning, but authorities are urging residents of hard-hit northern suburbs — such as Irpin, Bucha and Borodyanka — to stay away until mines, munitions and other hazards are cleared from the streets.

Russian troops have pulled out entirely from Kyiv’s environs, British defense officials said in an intelligence briefing Friday. Some will be transferred to eastern Ukraine for the expanded Russian offensive there, but many will require “significant replenishment,” with a mass redeployment to the east likely to take at least a week.

[rjzimmerman]

Why are “we” allowing the construction of these volatile industrial plants in an area that is so subject to extreme weather events?

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

The most intense hurricane on record to strike Louisiana swept through one of the nation’s largest chemical, petroleum and natural gas hubs. And while it may take days or weeks for the full extent of the storm’s impact to become clear, early reports of damage have heightened concerns over the vulnerability of the region’s fossil fuel infrastructure to intensifying storms.

On Monday, officials warned that floodwaters had spilled over a temporary levee erected near a Phillips 66 refinery in Plaquemines, the state’s southernmost parish and one of most severely affected by Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago. And in neighboring St. Bernard Parish, almost two dozen barges unmoored by Hurricane Ida’s 150 miles-per-hour winds damaged the dock at the giant Valero Refinery there. And news photos showed extensive flooding and dark flares at Shell’s refining and chemical complex in Norco, farther inland.

Earlier hurricanes, including Harvey in 2017 and Laura in 2020, caused oil and chemical releases from storage tanks and other installations along the coast.

Louisiana’s 17 oil refineries account for nearly one-fifth of the nation’s refining capacity, with the ability to process about 3.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. In 2020, Louisiana’s two liquefied natural gas export terminals shipped out about 55 percent of the nation’s L.N.G. exports.

Much of that capacity was built after Katrina, and plans are in the works for a dozen more liquefied natural gas export terminals in the region — including at Port Fourchon, where Ida made landfall on Sunday.

[kylos-bens]

Mistakes Like This ↠ Obi-Wan Kenobi (Obi-Wan x Reader) Chapter 6

Word count: 4.5k

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ only!!!!! plz scroll away and shield your eyes dkdkdkdk.

Masterlist

Chapter 7

Tags: @blondekel77 @jediknight-22 @wellhellothere1002​

Just as you expected the Council had ordered you and Obi-Wan to the next mission. They had to get you away from making any more mistakes. Now the ship was set for the planet of Vewiku. When you heard about the news you stopped seeing Obi-Wan around. Now that the mission was officially over the little promise you made together is done. Honestly, you felt that it was Obi-Wan that tried his best to avoid you and not the other way around. On top of that, you were frustrated that your mission is a security escort for an ambassador. You hated these kinds of assignments because the days felt like they dragged on and whenever you were assigned to one it would always bore you to death with all the meetings and briefings.

The quarters have been empty for a while now and Obi-Wan has not retired since leaving Darilia. While you meditated you felt around for his force and it was so muted like he wasn't even on the ship. The doors opened and you turned around immediately hoping to see Obi-Wan but it was one of the protocol droids. "Hello, I am J-3PO! I have your assignment instructions," the droid stood at the doorway and you sighed.

"Hello," you got up and dusted off your robes. "Let's hear it then."

_

There was so much tension when the ship was docking since Obi-Wan decided to finally make an appearance. This was worse than before and he couldn't even look at you. You frowned as the both of you walked down the ramp and onto the landing pad. There was an audience and it made you uncomfortable with how many people were there. You weren't expecting this size of a crowd and it honestly defeats the purpose of why you were here. "What is all of this?" You whispered to Obi-Wan.

"They are excited to see Jedi," he replies. There were a few near-humans who stepped up and greeted the both of you. You assumed they were the ones you had to make contact with and you bowed following the actions of Obi-Wan.

"Welcome to Vewiku City," it was a woman who was dressed in all black that addressed the two of you. "My name is Odrella Vah. I will be your guide." She had human features but there were these striations on her face that appeared to change from a light pink to neutral skin color. The protocol droid as you recalled told you about their species. Those marks are connected to their circulatory system and would change in color when they were under stress or feeling hot. Her platinum hair was twisted into a braid around her head and you can see a red ribbon twisting through it. 

"It is a pleasure for us to be here with you!" you smiled and she returned the gesture.

"You must excuse the crowds that came today. It's just new spreads fast here and it's been years since we have seen a Jedi," she smiles and the striations on her face turned slightly pink. It would be very easy to tell the mood of these people you thought to yourself. "Now we have two Jedi." She guides you and Obi-Wan with the rest of her group trailing behind her. The guards and clones held back the curious crowd and you were looking around getting a feel for the people. Many of them were the same near-human species as Odrella with the striations on their faces. They all were excited and you see that clearly on their markings. There were also a few alien species you were familiar and unfamiliar with. "The whole city has been buzzing because we are having a ball," she looked over her shoulder at you.

"Yes, we were briefed about that," you nod and glanced over at Obi-Wan who has been silent. "

"Yann Threl is excited to meet the both of you," Odrella lead the group onto a shuttle. "It is his first assignment after being promoted to an ambassador."  That was the name you were waiting to hear. The high-ranking official had numerous assassination attempts since his promotion and he is to be escorted out of Vewiku as soon as possible. The briefings with the Council didn't elucidate why he is a target but Neo and you were guessing he owed lots of money here on Vewiku.

The ride to the castle was a smooth one and Obi-Wan was speaking with the guards the entire time. Odrella explained different sectors in the city. There was shipbuilding, farming, and living sectors. The ship landed in the shipbuilding sector so you were able to see the different levels. It reminded you of Coruscant but on a smaller scale. You were excited to see the farming sector because you thought it would be the typical farmland scenery but it was not. Buildings were covered in greenery and Ordella explained since the planet lacked resources they resorted to vertical farming instead. You looked in awe out the shuttle window and in the reflection of the glass you saw Obi-Wan watching you. He turned away once he saw you looking directly at him.

Once the shuttle moved into the living sector you were shocked to see the infrastructure. Everything looked so pristine and clean. There were so many people walking around and some kids playing waved at you. You smiled and gave a smile back. They reminded you of the Younglings back home and you missed them dearly.

The shuttle moved on to the gates of the castle. As they opened Ordella rose up from her seat and stood by the door. "Here we are!" Ordella exclaimed. Obi-Wan let you walk ahead of him and you followed Ordella. The guards walked beside you like you were the one that needs to be protected. You looked up at the castle and it didn't look too imposing or intimidating to you. It was pleasing to look at with its soft neutral colors and a little overgrowth of plants. 

It wasn't long till you were finally inside and waiting in some kind of chambers with Obi-Wan. Ordella went to get Yann and his other guards. "This is definitely not my style," you were sitting on a cushion and watched Obi-Wan pace around. This specific room was decked out in different tapestries and everything was over the top. 

"Really?" he looked under the large table at the center of the room. "I thought you would like it."

"It feels claustrophobic," you looked at your boots. They were polished and you can see your reflection on them.

"It's because I'm here," he stood up straight and you glanced up at him. Before you can say anything the doors opened and Ordella appeared with guards behind her and who you assumed was Yann Threl. You got up and bowed along with Obi-Wan. Once you lifted your head you immediately saw the darker shade of blue-green eyes staring back at you. Just like Ordella he had striations on his face that were actually a deep pink shade right at that moment. His brown hair was cropped short and combed neatly back. Yann's full lips formed into a smirk as you avert your eyes from him. He must only be a few years younger than Obi-Wan.

"I'm so happy to finally meet both of you," Yann went to shake Obi-Wan's hand first and then to you. His hand clasped around yours and he held onto it a moment longer even Obi-Wan glanced at it. "I trust the both of you can keep me safe with the remaining time we have here and on our travel." You observed the ambassador and you wondered why a man of his size was not intimidated by others. He looks more built than his other guards. 

"We can assure you that you are in safe hands, Ambassador," Obi-Wan slips his hands into the sleeves of his robe and you lingered farther away from the group. The ambassador was staring you down and you stared right back at him. It was his turn to look away with a smile. The striations on his face turned bloodshot and you rolled your eyes. Obi-Wan cleared his throat and stood by you."I will be in charge of the security team."

"I will be by your side at all times," you spoke up.

"Wonderful," Yann sat down and stretched out his legs. "Ordella I feel safer already." She nods and then looked over to you and Obi-Wan.

"I will see you both soon. Your quarters have been prepared. The rooms are adjacent to the ambassador so if anything were to happen you're right there. Aira will be around if you need any assistance," Ordella smiled before bowing to the both of you and then to the ambassador. She leaves the room and you see that there were guards stationed right outside.

"Both of you should sit. I'd like to get to know you first," Yann gestured to the seats in front of him. Obi-Wan went on ahead and sat down while you took a while to follow in suit. You felt Obi-Wan's force surrounding you and you tried pushing that away. He's been confining it on the ship and now he wants to hog up your space. "As you probably both know there have been three failed assassination attempts on me." Yann starts off and you nod. "I will be honest. I have no idea as to why I suddenly became a target. I made no enemies in government." You became distracted as he continued to speak about other reasons and your focus was suddenly on Obi-Wan's hands. He was no longer wearing his gloves and you can see his masculine hands placed on the handle of the seat. While he spoke he would tighten and loosen his grip on the handle. All you could think about was the night on Darilia.

"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan looked over at you with concern sketched all over his face. He got up and you raised a hand.

"I'm fine," you wave him down so he does sit back.

"The travel must have been exhausting I should ask for our meal to be prepared," Yann leaned over and placed a hand on your knee.

_

It wasn't long till you were escorting Yann back to his suite along with two other guards. The dinner has been prepared and Obi-Wan went on ahead to double check the room. "You are very pretty for a Jedi," Yann glanced quickly while you walked down the long halls.

"Thank you but you'd be surprise I'm not the only one," you replied. He chuckled and sighed before stopping in front of a door.

"Well here we are General," he looked at you and opened the door. Obi-Wan was standing inside with his hands behind his back. He gives you a nod and you stepped to the side so Yann can walk in.

"Everything is clear," Obi-Wan announced and you smell all the good food that was prepared on the table. It has been so long since you had a meal like this and your mouth was watering. Yann went to stand at the head of the table and he motioned for you to sit next to him. Obi-Wan was seated further away as Yann's other guards sat at the table.

"I hope you don't mind. I allow some of my guards to dine with me. Keeps me company since this job has been very lonely," Yann sits down and you do the same.

"That's fine," you say and there was only the sound of the clinking of utensils and glass. You didn't know what to eat first because a lot of the things prepared were unfamiliar to you but there was one thing you wanted to try. They looked like red jewels in a bowl but you assumed it was fruit and when you reached for it Yann also did. "I'm sorry."  You withdrew your hand and he smiled. The ambassador scooped the fruit and placed some on your plate.

"These are my favorites. I hope you like them too," he grinned. You nod and looked at the other food where Obi-Wan was sitting by and you see him tossing his food around on his plate. You start to eat first with the fruit and you loved the taste. There was silence as everyone filled themselves up with food. Obi-Wan was the only one who wasn't eating and it bothered you. He probably has not eaten or slept in days. On the way here he never showed up for the small meals."So you were General Kenobi's Padawan?"

"Yes. Not so long ago," you looked at Yann and then to Obi-Wan.

"How does it feel to go on missions with your former master? Do you feel like it is just another lesson for you?" Yann poured himself another glass of some dark purple liquid.

"It feels familiar like I am going on another learning expedition but I definitely feel I have more independence," you break off a piece of bread.

"No more lectures I assume?" Yann smiled.

"Oh sometimes he still thinks I'm a Padawan and he would go on and on," you glanced at Obi-Wan and he has a small smile behind that beard of his.

"And what about you General Kenobi," Yann turned his attention to him. "Do you still see her as your Padawan?"

"No I see her as a powerful Jedi Knight," Obi-Wan had his eyes on you. "My equal." Your eye contact lasted longer than you expected that Yann had to clear his throat.

"That's touching," Yann clasped his hands together and you looked back down at your plate. What Obi-Wan said had your heart racing fast and you were thankful that you had no striations on your face that would give you away.

There was more conversation for an hour or so. It bored you but you had to be there. Yann kept on making side comments towards you which you would give a remark in return. Obi-Wan kept his conversations short as he also was not in the mood but he was respectful enough to carry on. The guards had already left the table and returned to their stations. "I must retire now," Yann stood up and downed the drink in his glass. "I did enjoy our first evening together. I hope from now on everything can run smoothly. Goodnight." He bows his head and leaves to go into his quarters. Two guards followed him and Obi-Wan watched as they scanned the room and cleared it.

It was just the two of you in the dining area and the silence was even heavier now. A droid came around to start clearing the table and Obi-Wan got up and sat closer to you. "I didn't see you eat a thing," you said without looking at him.

"I lost my appetite," he crossed his arms.

"So. . .you're avoiding me now," you turned to him and he tensed up.

"I'm giving you space. That's what I'm doing," he whispered. "You said we forget about what happened after Darilia." That hurt you a little bit and he looked at you quickly. "Tell me isn't that what you asked me?"

"I did," you dig your nails into your palms. You knew this would happen. Once you got a taste of what it is like to be with him you could never let it go. Right now you just wanted to embrace him and feel his kiss again. "I didn't expect you to feel so cold and shut me out."

"I'm doing this to control myself," he replied softly.

"How is it working for you?" you slipped your hands into the sleeves of your robes.

"Difficult especially since the ambassador is making advances on you," he looked back at the door to Yann's quarters.

"Oh, so you noticed," you laughed a little. Then it was quiet again. He reached over and touched your knee and it gave you goosebumps. 

"Be careful with him," he says.

"You're jealous Obi-Wan," you whispered. "I can sense it." He squeezed your knee and you placed a hand over his. Obi-Wan leaned closer to you and placed a kiss on your forehead.

"Get some rest. I'll take your first watch for you," he takes his hand away from you and you get up. "We should change the deal. Once we go back to Coruscant we stop this." You stopped in your tracks.

"We can do that," you say before leaving him there to think about what you guys are getting yourselves into.

_

You were meditating because you were having trouble sleeping and because you were thinking about what he proposed. He knows damn well that both of you aren't going to be back on Coruscant for a while. The longer this is going on the deeper you bury yourself in this situation. It was so tempting you had to say yes but now thinking about it you want to take it back and just do what he's doing. Give each other space and have minimal contact with one another. You opened your eyes once you realized someone was right outside your door. The door unlocks and you feel Obi-Wan at the entrance. "What happened to knocking?" you don't look back at him. 

"I have access to all the doors here," he steps right in and you turn around. The door once again looks with a beep. Obi-Wan had left his outer robes somewhere else and you had a feeling about what he was here for. 

"You caught me at the wrong time Obi-Wan," you fiddled with the tassle on a pillow and he makes a few strides towards the bed. "And who's watching the ambassador." 

"I left four guards outside his room," he crossed his arms. "Were you meditating?" 

"Yes," you nod and he looked around the room. "I was contemplating whether or not I should take back what I said." 

"What did you decide?" 

"You interrupted me," you tilt your head to the side. He sighs and sits down on the bed. He's doing these things on purpose. 

"So let's figure it out right now what you want to do," he leans towards you. Obi-Wan always manages to look so handsome even when he's running low on sleep and as you look at him right now in the soft light in your quarters it made your heart skip a beat. He reached up to your face and allowed the back of his fingers to graze your cheek. "What's it going to be?" You take his hand and you moved towards him before swiftly straddling his lap. He lets out a breath and you pushed him down on the bed. 

"Deal," you smiled and he holds your face in his hands. 

"So let me kiss you again," he whispered. You leaned down and placed one kiss on his lips. He lowers his grip on the back of your neck. "That's not enough." You kissed him again and he holds you there. The warmness of your bodies radiated off one another and he starts pulling away the linen shirt you were wearing.  

"They'll hear us," you hold Obi-Wan's wrist. 

"Then you must stay quiet," he successfully removed your shirt and he looked up at you with the same look he gave you the first time he saw you naked. Oh, it did things to you. He cupped one breast and lowered his mouth onto the other. The sensation you loved shocked your body and it caused you to moan. Your arms held you up on top of him and you would run your hands into his hair. His teeth grazed the skin around your breast and you pull at his hair. You sit right on his bulge and he lets out a moan as you grind on him. He holds your hips and he maneuvers the both of you backwards on the bed. Obi-Wan finally leans back on the headboard and you start to remove his robes. The layers were annoying as always and he would give you a kiss as you successfully removed each one. You hold his lightsaber in your hand and he watched as you lift his chin up with the hilt. 

"I can't believe you still manage to be jealous of the ambassador," you whispered. He reached for his lightsaber and you move it away and placed it on the nightstand next to your own. 

"He touched you," he squeezed your waist. 

"And so?" you poked his now bare chest. 

"I'm the only one allowed to do that," he pulled you into a kiss, and this time he slips his tongue into your mouth. When you part he looks into your eyes and they were dark with lust. You sit back up and he puts his hands around your wrist. "What are you doing?" 

"Figuring out what I'll do to you," you replied looking down at the bulge you were sitting on. "What do you think?" 

"No, I want to please you first," he tried to sit up straight but you held him down with the force. He says your name but you ignore him. "Oh, Maker." You had your hand in his pants and you look him in the eyes. 

"Will you tell me how?" you move down his body and took off his boots and pants for him. 

"Y-yes," he swallowed as you reached for his cock. The shaft was throbbing already and you grinned and you free from the force he took hold of your forearm and pulled you closer. Obi-Wan hissed when your lips circled around the tip of his cock. You tasted his pre-cum and licked it right off. He muttered a curse and then he slips his fingers into your hair. You take him into your mouth and were surprised at what you could handle. The gagging commenced when his entire shaft was almost down your throat.  He was holding back from thrusting into your mouth because he worried that you'd freak out. 

With a pop, you removed his cock from your mouth and looked up at him. "Keep going, darling. It feels good." His member was coated in your saliva and you placed a kiss here and there. "The tip feels best." You smiled and started to circle your tongue around where he told you to focus your attention. Obi-Wan's head lolled to the side as he watched you please him. He pushed back his hair and licked his lips as you used your hands to grip the shaft which you didn't want to neglect. With a slight squeeze, you got another moan from him. 

You can feel your own wetness between your legs and Obi-Wan reached over and started to pull down the pants you were wearing to sleep. He gives one of your asscheeks a rub before he placed one hard slap on it. It was loud and you removed your mouth from him. "Ow!" you frowned. He chuckled and rubs the part where it was stinging. "That was loud." You squeezed the tip of his cock and he moaned. 

"Sorry darling," he kissed you and you let him suck the tongue that was just lapping up his pre-cum. You grinned at this and when you part he smirked. You were back to swirling your tongue all over his cock and he stifled some moans and he twists your hair into his fist pulling once and a while you gag on him. This time around he sense that you were getting used to him so he'd gently thrust himself into your mouth and your eyes were starting to water as the tip of his cock met with the back of your throat at his own accord. You paused to catch your breath and he lifts your chin up and wipes the saliva dripping down your lips. "Everything alright?" he brushed the hair that was always in your face and you nod. You were back to pleasing him and your hand fondled with the tip once and a while and you let the saliva drip down. 

"How do you feel Master?" you know he liked that. He swallowed and you felt his cock twitch in your hand. 

"So good," he strokes the skin on your shoulder and he lifts your chin up. "That pretty mouth of yours is not only good at cheeky remarks but at this too." You giggled and he lets you do your thing and he moans your name as you take him back deeper into your throat. "Look up at me darling." You do as he says and his face contorts in pleasure. You bobbed your head up and down while your tongue worked its way on his shaft. You can feel him starting to tense up and he was breathing harder. The top of his chest and neck were tinged pink and you feel his hand grip your hair harder. "Keep going I'm almost there. You're doing so well." The sound of your gagging mixed with his moans turned you on that you had to keep up so you can be rewarded. He thrust into your mouth again and you just let him. He hissed and cursed pushing your head down onto him. He says your name before you can even release that there was a stream of warm cum in your mouth. It surprised you and he holds your face in his hand as you continue to suck him off. 

You took your mouth off him and you had his cum dripping off your lips. Obi-Wan used his thumb to clean it up and put it back into your mouth. You swallowed and he smiled. "Good girl," he kissed you. There was still a slow release of cum coming out of him and you lapped it up. 

"An interesting taste," you giggled and he squeezed your cheeks. Obi-Wan leans closer to you and he looked so dazed and there was even a pink tinge on his cheeks. Oh, he looked so good. 

"You want some more?" he bites down on your neck and places hot kisses all over it and your shoulder.

"Later," you pushed him back on the bed and crawled back on him. He gives you a growl and you placed both your hands on his chest. "It's my turn."

Next chapter

[tinycrow]

I don’t believe in miracles

Chapter 2: Discovery

:: Unknown Location ::

It had officially been half a decade since Mission City. The autonomous robotic organism and caretaker named Ray was no longer finding ‘babies’ that were sparked by the entity known as the All-Spark. She hoped that this was because she had collected them all, rather than the babies dying off or being otherwise ‘acquired’ by another agency. With no real reason to risk being seen, she spent most of her time raising the sparklings at her home base. This was fine, she thought. She enjoyed seeing her sparklings grow to become upstanding workers in what was now a bustling, little city.

There were massive infrastructure changes that had been going on since the events in Egypt. There were 5 major underground tunnels that stretched across their territory. 3 of five tunnels led to an underground bunker that would hopefully protect any humans/non-humans that needed to wait out an attack on their fair city. It wouldn’t survive a direct hit from a nuclear explosion, but it was placed in such a way that it would hopefully not be targeted. It would keep warm and safe any occupants for a couple years. Other than the bunker, the tunnels provided a warmer route between buildings in the city, especially for humans. Still, it wasn’t uncommon for non-human residents to take up the role as “taxi” for other, smaller friends aboveground.

Because of this shift in foot traffic, non-humans were able to speed through the streets, rarely having to stop. Street racing was becoming a problem in recent years, to Max and Ray’s chagrin. There had been ongoing talk of incorporating bigger ‘bots into Max’s team in order to better police the streets, but ‘bots reaching near Ray’s size tended to be rare, considering how young all the other ‘bots in the city actually were.

There were also more places in the city to just hang out as well as enjoy food and drink. The greenhouse now sported a nice café as well as a plethora of flowers and other plant life.

“Okay. We’re going for a drive.”

“It’s... cold out,” Ray lamely refused, shoulders hunching slightly as she sat at a desk to read reports on her large data pad.

“It’s always cold out. We live in the freaking An-“

“I’m busy.”

“I know for a fact that you’ve already read through the security and finance reports. The rest can wait.”

“My babies-“

“-Are being taken care of by a team of now fully-trained humans and ‘bots. Besides, you don’t usually attend them at this hour anyway. We won’t be gone that long.”

Ray was silent and contemplative as she stared downward at Linda Davies, her long-time friend. Back when she was still roaming America, the red-headed woman had been one of her only companions, worried only about helping them both survive the next day. Linda was the one to suggest the novel idea of creating a place to call their own in a place outside the jurisdiction of any opposing government. It was a crazy idea from a possibly crazy friend, but then again, Ray’s life on Earth wasn’t sane from the very start.

Linda glared back in defiance. “You need a break. Enjoy some sunshine. Talk with friends.”

The ‘bot contemplated arguing with Linda more. They both knew, however, that Ray would be going with Linda. With a sigh, Ray put away the data pad and stood.

“Inside the city, or...?”

“I’ve got my eyes on someplace warmer.”

==

:: California, America ::

It was a much different experience, driving at a sedate/normal pace along with the rest of human-driven traffic. Ray didn’t mind it, but Linda seemed peeved as she shifted irritably in the front passenger seat. Perhaps she was too hot? Ray checked the temperature of the cabin and found it to be at a comfortable level with her cooling unit already on. Maybe she wanted some music? She pulled a playlist from the internet that seemed pretty popular.

Linda’s mood barely improved.

“What’s wrong, Linda?”

“I hate traffic.” She grumped, “How about... we stop for coffee and then drive farther from the center of town?”

The holoform in the driver’s seat frowned in thought.

“I guess... Though I feel less safe the farther from the ground bridge we are.”

“We won’t be long.”

==

An hour passes, and the two friends were driving along into the California countryside with the windows down and a coffee in Linda’s hand. Music was blaring from Ray, pulled from various sources as well as internal storage. They didn’t speak much, just enjoyed the feeling of being on the road again.

“Ah, I missed this,” the not-so-young woman said nostalgically, “I love our home, but I wish we had this kind of scenery, you know?” Linda griped with a smile.

“I agree. California’s nice. Actually... Earth is very nice.”

Linda smacked the dashboard lightly, causing the holoform to flicker out for a millisecond. The black-haired and green-eyed holoform grimaced with a small admonishment.

“Sorry. But you talk like you weren’t born here.”

Ray seemed to pause at that. “I suppose it is weird.” She hummed, and explained, “Sometimes it feels that way, you know? Being so different from the literal billions of humans that populate this planet.”

“And your time... before you changed?”

“Well...” The holoform exhaled harshly, “I lived a pretty lonely life. Other than the times I would help out local charities, nothing really made me happy. I’m pretty satisfied with where we are now, and I want to continue working in making life at home better for all of us. For all our kind.”

It was Linda’s turn to be thoughtful. She slowly formed the words, “You really want to open our home to the aliens.”

“Yes.” The answer came subdued but serious.

A familiar car turned onto their road.

The radio turned off.

“Linda, don’t be alarmed.”

Said woman’s back straightened. “Okay, we’ve gotta talk about ways to deliver bad news. What’s wrong?”

“That car behind us...  is one of the aliens we were discussing.”

Linda looked into the rear-view mirror and saw the silver sports car quickly gaining ground on them.

“Fuck no, he don’t.” Linda looked at the holoform of her friend, very displeased expressions on both their faces, “Can’t you go faster?”

“That depends. Are you going to throw that coffee away?”

“Is this really the time to worry about— “

“THROW IT.”

“OKAY!”

The coffee cup went sailing out the window and into the dry, yellow grass. The moment it hit the ground, Ray’s engine revved and her speed started steadily but quickly climbing. Because the road was fairly straight most of the way, she wasn’t worried about having to suddenly turn 90 degrees.

~ Ray and Linda to Shawn and Max. Linda and I are being followed. I need an emergency ground bridge. Are either of you at the console? ~

~ Shawn, here. I’m not, but I can be. Where are you, Sunshine? ~

~ Ray. We are in the California countryside. I don’t want to lead them back to the warehouses. Max, are you— ~

There was a huff of exhaustion as Max chimed in. ~ Max. I’m at the console. Send your coordinates. ~

Ray sent her coordinates as well as those of the car behind her. She told them how fast she was going.

Max swore. ~ There’s no way you can slow down, but if I send a ground bridge, you’re going to be a pancake on the building wall. I’ll look up exits. ~

Linda, hearing the conversation in her earpiece, gained a look of grim revelation.

~ Linda, here. I know none of us want to consider it, but we may need to fight. ~

Max was dismissive of the idea. ~ There are many reasons that won’t work. For one, they’re much more skilled at fighting than we are. There’s also the fact that they may be getting backup, while we don’t have anyone to backup Ray, unless we use the children— ~

Ray’s hackles rose at the thought, and she interrupted, ~ You are not sending my children after me. ~

Max sighed, sounding like he’d heard this, many, many times before.

~ I wasn’t going to. Look, there’s a gentle turn coming up, if you can pull a miracle and lose him, I can send a bridge to Point A. ~ Max sends Ray coordinates to a nearby farm.

~ Or to Point B. ~ He adds a new pointer further away.

~ Keep me apprised. ~ Max said, finally.

Ray affirmed the decision and planned. Knowing Linda would not approve, she kept it mostly to herself. She turned off the holoform, wanting to reserve processing power. It caught Linda’s attention.

“Ray?”

“Do you trust me?”

Linda narrowed her eyes at the dashboard, hearing her voice echo throughout the cabin.

“Do you trust me?”

==

~ Prime, that strange, unknown Cybertronian appeared again. They appear to have a human with them. I’m following them. ~

~ The human must be returned unharmed. Send your coordinates and we will block their escape routes. You are not to attack while they have the human. ~

~ Understood. ~

==

Ray took the gentle, right turn with slightly less speed but fully screeching tires. She would not let her friend come to harm. If this was to end in a confrontation, she would see her friend home, safe and sound with her people.

The dilapidated barn designated as Point A was coming up fast, and she swerved violently as she skidded to a halt, kicking up a massive storm of dust and dirt. She popped the door open. Linda jumped out, expecting a fight to happen. Just as expected, Ray transformed into her bipedal form, stance loose but looking vaguely like she was ready to fight.

~ Lin’, run to the barn and get that bridge open. ~

~ On it! ~

As the dust cleared, Linda had disappeared into the barn. Ray stepped cautiously forward, wanting to put distance between Linda and the other ‘bot. The silver car drifted in, transformed, and pulled out their blade all in one well practiced movement.

“Release the human, Decepticon, and I will let you live.”

Ray attempted to stall for time. “Not even a hello? A name? I’m afraid you got me at a disadvantage, sir.”

He stepped forward predatorily. She took a hesitant step back.

“Don’t play games with me, ‘con.”

~ It’s open! Hey, Max, wha—hey! Let me go! Ray! ~

Ray cut the transmission with some guilt, and opened a silent communication with Max.

~ Thanks, Max. ~

~ You realize the consequences of what you’re about to do, right? ~

~ I do. I leave my fate in your and our council’s hands. ~

“Well?”

Ray raised her hands slowly in surrender. With determination and serenity, she watched as a semi raced up to his comrade and transformed into bipedal form beside him. She blinked her optics at the new weapon pointed at her.

“I am no Decepticon.”

Sideswipe sneered, “Likely story. What were you doing with that human, then?”

“We were enjoying coffee and a drive through the California countryside,” she said calmly, and at the looks of disbelief, she clarified unnecessarily, “Oh, she was drinking coffee. I find no nutritional value in it.”

“Where is the human?” Optimus asked, getting back to the crux of the matter.

“Oh, back home I’m assuming. Max came by to pick her up.”

“Who is Max?”

“He’s chief of security for a rather large community of people. Are you going to arrest me, officers?”

Optimus gave a look to Sideswipe. Sideswipe resisted grumbling and cautiously approached the possibly deranged Ray, who had yet to draw a weapon.

“You are to follow us to an extraction point. If you deviate from the course, we will be forced to subdue you.”

“Alright, if you insist. Don’t stare at my bumper, I’m quite shy.”

The two mechs stared at her, and then glanced at each other.

‘Taking them off guard would be more fun if I wasn’t so terrified for what the future holds,’ she thought, and she thought of the children she probably wouldn’t be seeing in a very long time. She thought of the danger they could be in if things didn’t go well.

She focused on the details of the two mechs in front of her, hoping to ground herself, and pushed her fears down. She followed one mech and was in turn followed by the other.

==

A pacific Ray sat, essentially blinded in most senses, in what seemed to be a place for general storage. They had temporarily cut off her sight and other various sensors, leaving her with hearing and what was the robotic equivalent to touch. She had guessed that her captors did not have a designated holding area for non-human prisoners (a brig), and to keep their own secrets safe, deemed it necessary to take these precautions. She tried to be mad about it, but a large part of her understood; the Autobots and the humans associated with them were looking for Decepticons, and most Decepticons would rather die than be taken prisoner. Shuddering in fear, she admitted being blinded and constantly guarded wasn’t the worst that could’ve happened to her.

She sang a slow, crooning melody to pass the time and ease any anxiety.

Watching nearby were a pair of cold, blue optics that shuttered briefly at the sound. Memories from long, long ago of similar songs sung to them as a youth slipped into their awareness. The owner of these blue optics resisted the feelings of compassion and sympathy that threatened to take them off guard.

==

In a room far from the femme’s prison, the Autobots (barring one) were in a serious discussion.

“The femme certainly doesn’t act like any Decepticon I’ve seen,” Ironhide admitted.

“And of course, there’s no insignia showing which faction,” Sideswipe said, “Though she did run when she saw us. That’s enough cause for me.”

Optimus rumbled in thought, “Ray associates with humans. For most Decepticons, that would be beneath them.”

A human soldier also piped up, “What about her eye colour? Don’t they usually have red eyes?”

“The colour of one’s optics do not necessarily mean anything. Many Decepticons you have seen may have had red, but there have been those on our side with red as well. Hers are green, which are rarer, but it does not hold any specific meaning,” Optimus explained for the humans’ benefit. “Ratchet, what are your thoughts?”

“The femme has been compliant in every procedure taken to secure her as our prisoner. She has no internal weapons system, however she willingly offered information about her subspace storage containing a rifle, which I have disabled access to as well.”

No internal weapons? Not even a blaster? What kind of warrior disables themselves by not acquiring a proper weapon, especially in a war? The room erupted in chatter.

“Quiet.” The Autobot leader ordered, and then urged Ratchet to continue.

“I have been analyzing the unique radiation that she emits and can come to no conclusions yet. I will note however, that there’s something familiar about it.”

“Familiar, how?” Optimus inquired curiously.

“I cannot say for certain,” Ratchet demurred.

“Keep me updated,” their leader acquiesced, to which the chief medical officer just nodded.

In a quick private comm with Ratchet, Optimus asked, ~ Might I assume you do not want to broadcast whatever it is that is ‘familiar’? ~

~ You are correct. The radiation emitting from the Femme seems to react uniquely with the materials immediately surrounding her. On a molecular level, they are... moving unnaturally. ~

This news surprised Optimus, as this ability was something entirely new. ~ Could it be a new weapon? ~

~ It is hard to say. However, it’s familiar to one of the abilities of an entity we all know of and have lost. ~

~ ... We will talk about this later. ~

~ Indeed. ~

“For now, we will keep her under constant guard. Ratchet, you will continue studying her. All of you are to report any suspicious behaviour. If that is all, you are dismissed.”

==

One week after capture...

She heard a particular set of footsteps approaching and looked up with a genuine curve of her dermas (lips). She recognized those footsteps that had been visiting her almost every day since her capture. She greeted him sweetly.

“Ratchet.”

Ratchet didn’t bother hiding his pleased expression, knowing she couldn’t see.

“You can leave,” he told the guarding Autobot.

Arcee’s optics shuttered and opened again slowly in shock. “Ratchet?”

“Don’t worry, Arcee, she’s not going anywhere. But I technically count as her guard while I am here,” he explained, “so let me work in peace.”

Arcee, aware of Ratchet’s legendary temper, took the out as she saw it gracefully. “Alright. I’ll check in with you in one earth hour.”

“See you later, Arcee!” Ray smiled at the air, not quite sure where Arcee was as the femme was light-footed or on wheels? It was hard to tell.

When Arcee left, Ray turned to where she thought Ratchet was. A puzzled look and an inquiry were sent up to his left shoulder plate, “Is there a reason you sent her away?”

Ratchet settled himself in for a long conversation. There was the squeak of metal compacting slightly as he assumingly sat down on a crate. Ray was already sitting on the concrete with her legs tucked to the side. Her back strut straightened in attention as this event was different to the quiet study and offhand questioning he usually does. Though Ratchet had been nothing but gentle—if grumpy at times—with her, she wondered if that was about to change. Her spark quickened in a small niggling of anxiety.

It must’ve shown in her expression, because he quickly said, “You’re not going to come under any harm in my care, I assure you.”

Ray relaxed slightly, but still had her doubts as she asked, “Is something the matter?”

“I’ve been talking with Optimus and we both agree that it’s time to consider long term plans for your stay here. You have proven yourself to be non-hostile as well as open to our prodding at you and your radiation field. Such good behaviour does not warrant what could be considered torture by sensory deprivation.”

She simply stared blindly at him for a second before slowly admitting, “It would be nice... to see whom I am talking to.”

It only took around 15 minutes to re-enable the appropriate sensors, and he was being intentionally slow and careful. The first thing she saw was thick, yellow-plated servos. When they pulled away, her green optics were wide and bright as they took in the much taller mech. He was sitting, but by her estimates he would probably be at least 5 feet taller than she was. She vocalised a high whistle and winked.

“Cheeky brat. I bet you and Bumblebee would get along just fine.”

Ray took a moment to look at one of her kind captors. She knew the aliens were well armoured and gunned; she had seen it on the day of her capture. However, even the kind medic that had been in her company for days now seemed alarmingly well built. Subconsciously, she pulled her legs up to her chest, in the foetal position. She never liked conflict, but she understood why good people fought. Once upon a time, she was a fighter too, before The Change. But those were weaker foes compared to the aliens she faced now.

“There’s something else we’ve been meaning to talk to you about. You constantly assure us that you are not a Decepticon, but none of us recognize you, nor do we see any mark of affiliation with us.”

She was silent for a while. Ratchet seemed to wait patiently as she seemed to deliberate, optics tracing a path on the ground. The black-armoured femme seemed to come to a conclusion and faced him with a brave speech.

“That is because I am neither a Decepticon nor an Autobot.”

Ratchet didn’t seem surprised by her answer. Truthfully, Optimus and he had been speculating on this ever since she came into their custody. It was hard to believe, but it was the only explanation that fit. The Neutrals had been exterminated early on in the war. This faction was mostly made up of ones who could not or would not fight for one reason or another. They usually had a hard time making a living, and Decepticon raids would eventually become the reason that no Neutral was thought to be alive to this day.

If Ray was a Neutral, it would explain her behaviour towards humans and conflict with either of the opposing factions.

It didn’t quite explain away the radiation that caused nearby molecules to dance almost excitably in her vicinity, or the way she could put you at ease in her presence—a feeling of protection and unconditional love. There was just something missing from this explanation that Ratchet needed to figure out. He had asked specific questions before, but hopefully this time she would willingly answer.

“What colony are you from?”

His question was met with silence. Ratchet withheld a sigh of disappointment, but something in his demeanour must have changed. She saw his disappointment and immediately felt guilty.

She wanted so badly to tell the truth, but it couldn’t be helped. Her people had rights to their privacy and security. She hadn’t gotten communication from the council indicating it was okay to share that information—Ratchet didn’t know but she had easily repaired the severed wires in her antennae. Anyway, it was doubtful that the council would ever agree to open their city to the Autobots, because she knew the humans were afraid. She wished that the time they spent in her and her babies’ presence would ease some of that fear, but it was still not an easy decision to make. She could only hope her feelings reached the people she loved and trusted.

Ratchet tried a different angle, “When did you arrive on earth?”

Ray’s optics, formerly gazing guiltily away, snapped up to Ratchet. This she could technically answer. Her voice was soft but sure as she answered.

“Sometime in the 80’s. But I didn’t start travelling until the late 90’s and didn’t find a place to settle until... the Mission City disaster.”

He thought on this for a bit. It was a bit telling when the femme would be forthcoming with all topics except for where she came from and where she was staying. It made him wonder if there were more Neutrals hiding somewhere.

“Who was that travelling with you when we found you?”

With a pang of anxiety, Ray cautiously revealed, “Linda. She’s a good friend of mine. She... gave me a home.” It was as close to truth as possible. Linda didn’t just give her a home but had helped build it.

“Is there a way we can contact Linda?” He asked, and seeing her wariness, he continued, “If you were happy with her before, I’m sure Prime would let you return as her guardian.”

Ray visibly struggled with herself. There was distress at wanting to be open about her home—she was so proud of what she had helped build—but wanting to respect her people’s wishes. Something in her rattled, and her dentas clenched reflexively.

“I want to... but I can’t... I can’t... It’s not safe... We do not trust...” Her processor stuttered through the many things she wanted or needed to say but was scared of divulging. It created a loop she could not break herself out of.

Ratchet’s servo braced itself on her shoulder, and her continued stuttering petered out. His voice was consoling as he assured her that the Autobots did not mean her or any friend of hers harm, that they had promised to protect humans from the Decepticon threat. The rattling of her mechanical parts somewhere in her quieted, and she took in and vented out air harshly in a very human gesture of recovery.

“There you go. Easy now. You’re safe.”

He tried to pick up the conversation afterward, but her continued silence was worrying. Did she not feel safe here? Granted they took precautions to protect the base’s secrets, but she had not shown any negative effects of the treatment until now. He would speak with Optimus about improving the conditions of her stay here.

==

Three weeks after capture...

It had taken a lot of arguing, but she was finally allowed to—under strict supervision and great limitation—to ‘step’ out of the storage room. Though, to protect the secrets of the existence of Cybertronians, she was only allowed to be in vehicle mode, and it would be in the evening when most of the day’s work was done. Perhaps they were afraid of spy satellites seeing their bipedal forms. With her sight restored, she took the time away from the constant interrogation to simply enjoy the sunshine and the sound of waves nearby. She drove circles or figure 8’s around her guard as well as objects to exercise her precision driving. She even asked her guards about stunts like wheelies, which the amused Autobots agreed to teach her in the limited time she had outside.

Inside the storage room, she would turn into bipedal mode to work her joints, cables, and pistons. She would contort herself in all the ways she knew possible before she grew bored. Sometime during the middle of the day, Ratchet would come along to poke, prod, or ask her things. Very rarely did she ever see Optimus Prime, the Autobots’ leader. When she asked once, she was told he was very busy dealing with the human government and their liaisons. It wasn’t explicitly said, but it was obvious to her that the human government wasn’t happy with the Autobots’ continued stay on Earth.

Though Ray did her best to keep the secret of her little city, she could see that the Autobots were beginning to piece together little things she had been saying (or hadn’t remembered saying). They brought up what she said when Sideswipe and Optimus first cornered her at the abandoned farm, about Max and Linda, about the mysterious warehouse that was obviously just a warehouse and nothing to be suspicious about—

She wasn’t very good at this secret keeping business. Ray supposed it was inevitable that a race so much more experienced than she would start to figure it out, and she only hoped that her people would forgive her.

==

1 month after capture...

Not much changed over the next week, except she obviously gained some level of trust with the Autobots and was involved in less discrete conversations more. Perhaps they had figured out her secret already. They avoided telling her what they thought, so she wasn’t sure.

It was a little over a month when she got a communication from Max, who obviously spoke for the council in this matter. The break in the comm silence ever since her capture took her so off guard, that she froze in the middle of an interrogation. When asked what was wrong, she was too shocked to formulate the words she needed to say, and instead asked to be given some time alone with her guard.

It took her two hours to gather her courage, but she asked to meet with Optimus and Ratchet, stressing that she wanted them alone or she wouldn’t reveal anything. After the agreement was secure, she tried to secure the area against listening devices or humans, using her powers discretely to do so.

It was time.

[emmybluefire]

Leylines - The Threads of Reality

“I want all of you to stop for a minute and tell me honestly: do you take mages seriously?”

“Do you listen when they warn you of the havock your spells can reap if you aren’t careful? Or do you simply discount them as being self-righteous assholes who fetter your ability to learn?”

looked on at the crowd, her expression intense, and her gaze unwavering. Stoically she scanned the crowd for a good long while, a stare piercing each and every single one of them, pulling from their body language things they wouldn’t otherwise communicate.

“Magic is powerful. The forces you pull energy from all have the capability to destroy our world in an instant. As such, it needs to be respected. A balance needs to be kept. And it’s infrastructure *needs* to be maintained.”

“But what is this magical infrastructure? Well the answer is clear. It is the Leylines. However, let's pause there for a moment.” she smiles, folding her hands behind her back.

“Tell me, when you hear the word ‘Leyline’ what do you all think of?” She asks, peering at the crowd gathered before her in search of raised hands.

The next little stretch of this lecture is dynamic to the responses.

“For many, I reckon the leylines simply refer to large twisting, winding, nexus of subterranean rivers that move arcane energy through the world.” 

“The residual energies that break off form it then surface in the form of mana, which mages utilize to cast spells.”

“But this statement is widely generalized, and wholly inaccurate, as there are multiple examples in the world of the Leylines being channeled to do more than just weave together a flame, push energy away from an area to create frost, or blast them with raw magical energy in the form of arcane.”

“The Kaldorei are famous for the creation of the Moonwells, fonts of supposedly holy energy. We all know this. What many don’t know is that each and every single one you see, is built on top of an intersection of Leylines.”

“On the edges of Mulgore, there are hot springs within the mountains that have mysterious healing powers who--just so happen--to rest on top of yet another intersection of leylines.”

“And as many of you know, healing is not the kind of spell most mages have in their repertoire.”

“The Throne of the Elements, a sacred place to the shamanistic orcs of Draenor, was also discovered by Khadgar to rest on top of a large intersection of leylines there. And yet, we can all agree, mages aren’t shamans.”

“And finally, in the Stonetalon mountain range, there is one that is appropriately named ‘Mount Fairview’ in which all of your senses seem to get amplified. You can see farther, sounds are amplified, and the winds carry even the slightest and most subtle scents to your nose.”

“An ability rarely seen in anyone but hunters and druids.”

“And, surprise surprise, the Leywalkers have also discovered a large intersection of leylines there as well.”

“There are many more examples of these places one can find when out adventuring, in history books, or even in your own backyard. But no matter where you look, one thing is patently certain: these leylines aren’t just fonts of arcane magic. They are magic incarnate.”

“But… for now, let's stop there. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you with information right off the bat.” she chuckled.

“Instead, let me ask: Where do you guys think runes come from? What are they? How do you think they were discovered?” she pauses finally, looking over at the crowd for a show of hands.

Glances back behind her and draws a few sigils in the air with her fingers then bends her hand back, index and middle finger and thumb pointing towards… something. She lowers her hand gradually and reality shimmers behind her.

The effect drops as if a veil or cloth was pulled from a large flat object, revealing to everyone a large chalkboard. Upon it was drawn a map of Azeroth, with a few runes inscribed over key locations. Some she mentioned, others she hadn’t.

Steps to the side and grabs a large wooden pointer from the storage plate of the board, and lifts it, pointing to Mt. Fairview in the Stonetalon mountain range. Particularly the rune used to represent it.

“Hunters, Druids. I know you all recognize this one. This rune is used in the sigils for spells like “Farsight”--Also known once as Aspect of the Eagle--Aspect of the Hawk, and other spells of that nature.”

“Some mages might have also seen it in the use of divination spells such as truesight, and scrying.”

Swiftly moves the pointer to The Valley of Ancient Winters, in Northrend, hitting it with a sharp smack, jostling the rune there.

“Frost Evokers, and Water Elementalists. You guys see this one all the time. It is used in the weaving of nearly all frost and water attuned spells meant to damage someone with biting cold.”

And finally, Emmy whipped her stick to the northern segment of Kalimdor, between Darkshore, Ashenvale, and Winterspring. It was Moonglade.

“Healers, Priests, and even alchemists might recognize this one. Found in the Valley of Dulvarinn, a place known for its diverse ecosystem and variety of rare plants. The rune found here is used in many of our known healing spells.”

“But where did they come from? What do these runes have to do with the leylines? Well…”

She sets the pointer down on the storage plate and lowers her hand to the bottom of the board, gradually lifting up. As she did, lines of chalk of variant, and gradient thicknesses drew themselves across the board, infuseing the map of Azeroth like a web.

Most particularly, a lot of them melded into the runes that previously adorned the chalkboard. Several letters that seemed unrelated to one-another now seemed completely, and utterly, interconnected, pulling it altogether into an expansive nexus of elegant lines and shapes.

One might even be able to see new intersections forming as the lines netted their way across the board.

“The Leylines. Are. Everywhere. They infuse everything, and impact everyone whether you realize it or not.”

“Many of the spells we’ve developed today owe their thanks to the Highborn Scholars of old, who developed what we know today as magic by exploring the world, discovering these intersections, and documenting the patterns they saw.”

“It was through the leylines that we’ve developed the expansive runic alphabet we know today, opening up possibilities for a wide variety of spells and enchantments.”

“Magic is possible only because each of these letters, these runes, are interconnected and forever linked… enabling us to cast a spell from any-” she blinks to the back of the crowd, launching a bolt of arcane energy towards the front.

Lifts her hands and blinks back to the front, lifting a hand. It spiraled with a grand calligraphy of runes in an intricate sigil. The bolt hit it, being held in a sort of stasis for a very brief period. She rotated her wrist clockwise and twisted it to face her chest, the bolt fading back into energy, and spiraling back into her arm.

Lowering her hand to her side, she looked upon the crowd, gauging their reactions, before speaking once more.

“-where. From anywhere.” she smirked.

“Interestingly enough, many of us have taken transcripts of these runes, brought them to Titan facilities and compared them to the documents found there.”

“While the nuances of our spellcraft, and Titan spellcraft are very different, the general shape of these runes is the same.”

“This has led some to believe that it was the Titans who created the leylines.”

“The theorized reasons vary from scholar to scholar, some saying that they were created to sustain order on the fledgeling surface of Azeroth. More on that later. While others say it was merely to power their facilities. Still though, some have a different theory entirely.”

“Do I have any medical professionals in the crowd?” she glanced around.

“As was just demonstrated, the leylines remind people of blood vessels. Avenues by which nutrients are carried to different parts of the body. What nutrients go to where is determined by the constant ebb and flow of your blood, and where your arteries expand and constrict.”

“In the case of Azeroth, those nutrients are cosmic energies. The leylines pull energy from the cosmos, transform them, and move them to different parts of the planet to breathe life into her.”

“The runes that formed on this map are junctions by which these newly transformed energies get infused into her being.”

“The life that formed on her surface in the wake of some of these energies leaking was merely a happy side-effect. One that many of us are grateful for to this day I’m sure.” she chuckled.

“Today, this is the theory that is regarded as the most plausible by many of us mages. Particularly after reports of an audible heartbeat being heard in the chamber beneath Silithus.”

“I myself have also done research that more or less confirmed this by looking into the properties of Azerite--a substance often considered to be the congealed lifeblood of the planet.”

“Interestingly enough, I’ve found that it contains essences from nearly *all* documented forms of magical energy. Yet… in trace amounts along the outskirts of the main substance, as though it were mid-transformation.”

“So that, my friends, is what the leylines are. That is what they do, and that is where we draw much of our magic from. They are, as I said, the infrastructure of all magic. But, just like any infrastructure, they can also be damaged.”

“And when Infrastructure gets damaged, a multitude of horrible things can happen. Especially when you’re dealing with the fabric of reality itself.”

She sighs softly, folds her hands behind her back and looks down to the ground with a frown. Pausing for a moment to let that all sink in.

“If you all would like to stand, and follow me into the cavern behind, there is something I would like to show you.”

As the group stepped into the cavern, an immediate sense of disorientation would overtake them. For a brief moment, all concepts of direction and senses of what’s up and down would lose its meaning and confuse their minds. Though, this was not a mental attack.

As their bodies adapted to the new gravitational circumstances, they would suddenly feel lighter on their feet. A tickle rippling up their spinal chords as their bodies became completely engulfed in raw, latent magic.

Stops for a moment to let everyone collect themselves… seemingly used to, or unaffected by the strange magics that now surrounded them. “Do not be alarmed, you are completely safe. The situation here is much less dangerous than it used to be.”

‘S lips moved… but her voice didn’t seem sourced from them as normal. Instead, it sounded disembodied. Coming from everywhere, yet nowhere at once, adding yet more weirdness to the situation.

“Whatever you do though, don’t jump straight upward. You will be jettisoned in that direction and potentially break your neck on the ceiling.”

As Emmy continues to move down, the group would find it hard to keep their footing level… instead, they would have to push themselves forward using more effort than typical walking took. The lower gravity makes each step mimic a wide arch forward.

They continued on until they reached a ledge of obsidian. Though, looking into it was like looking into a window to the entire universe. Large Leycrystals coalesced in patches around them, and strange alien creatures flew above them, keeping a long distance away.

“This… is a minor form of what happens when a Leyline gets damaged. The effects here have been lessened since the damage was first discovered, but… well.” she clears her throat. “Does anybody want to wager a guess as to what caused all of this?”

Dynamic responses.

“If you remember from my last lecture, I explained that portals damaged the leylines by putting too much strain upon the veil. In a sense, this is what happened here.”

“The Warpwind Cliffs were once home to Chief Telemancer Occuleth, who has so graciously given his permission for me to teach within his home.”

“When he was banished from Suramar though, he began to wither. An ordeal which kept him from tending to his telemancy pads properly.”

“After many years of neglect, they fell into disarray. So all the ingenious anchors that prevented his portals from damaging the leylines broke down… leaving the energy to bleed out.”

“This formed a rift in the fabric of space/time, causing it to unravel. The combined efforts of the Kirin’Tor and Suramar have slowly begun to reverse this damage--hence why it’s safe enough to remain within here--but the scar it left will stay here forever.”

“You see, in the same way our planet’s rotation creates an electromagnetic field that shields us from cosmic radiation, the pulsation of the leylines creates a metaphysical shield known as ‘The Veil’ that prevents an excess of magic, and other realities, from bleeding into ours.”

“When a leyline get’s damaged, it creates a weakness in that veil that allows foreign forces to seep through into ours. And that, my friends, creates what you see behind me.”

“Of course, as I said, this is a very minor case… as this happened gradually over time, and was caught before the damage became too great. But there are a few more extreme examples I can throw at you.”

“Firstly, Azuna. A telemancy network malfunctioned there, choking a leyline and creating a ley fissure. Now you have anomalies like Manawraiths roaming about, dangerous animated objects, and just walking into the area causes severe disorientation, force damage, and fatigue.”

“Dalaran Crater is another example… in which an abrupt decision to teleport the entire city to Northrend created a massive wound in the planet where similar anomalies happen.”

“Even more severe is the mage tower known as Kharazahn. Its unfathomably powerful enchantments weakened the veil enough that it became a beacon for the Burning Legion to invade from.”

“The resulting energies of chaos unraveled what was left of the veil and created a place within its walls where all senses of ‘how it should be’ become null and void.”

“Halls and time warp, people shrink, gravity changes with the moon, and the spirits of those who were killed there are cursed to never rest.”

“And perhaps the most extreme example of all… Draenor. Our Draenor. The one that eventually became outland.”

“Ner’zul, a man trying to redeem his people, used the staff of Sargeras to open up a portal to another world. Only, it wouldn’t stop. Reality around them began to deteriorate, and the entire continent was thrust into the Twisting Nether.”

She stopped for a good long moment, allowing it all to sink in once more. It became apparent now, that her voice was gradually growing louder, and more severe, this entire time.

“But why? Why does this happen? Well… the answer to that is actually quite simple.”

“If the leylines are blood vessels, then like blood vessels, they can only handle so much energy--so much blood--at any given point in time. Call upon too much--pump too much--and they burst.”

“This is why the spells we cast can only reach a certain potency. Go beyond that, and you must take more time with it, resorting to rituals to cast, rather than a much quicker incantation.”

“This is why people like myself push so hard for others to be mindful of their castings. To be mindful of the impact they have on our planet through these castings.”

“Damage a leyline, and you never know what could happen to you. What could happen to the world around you.”

“The preservation of our world is a must. Keeping the infrastructure in proper working order allows life to flourish. Destroy that infrastructure, and you’ll wind up with a dying world in the long run.”

“Thank you, for listening. I hope this was informative.”

Author’s Note: Hey guys! I’m sorry this took so long to get out. I was busy! But I got it, and can now work on another piece of headcannon and theorycraft for ya’ll to enjoy :P

[guylty]

Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else’s holiday pictures – no offense taken, I totally understand! – please just scroll down to where you see the header for the round-up. All your tumblr Armitage needs will be satisfied down there 😉.

Tbh, it was lovely to leave the confines of my home town and finally venture out a little bit farther afield. In fact, it only occurred to me as we were on the road, that I hadn’t left Dublin at all since mid-January 😱. Ireland is not really that big – it reaches about 500 km (300m) from top to bottom – but the terrain here is characterised by rocks and hills, which makes for small, windy roads, especially as the infrastructure does not need to be as car-friendly as in other, more populated countries in the world. So don’t be surprised if you see the estimated travel time in the map below.

Yes, it takes more than 4 hours to travel 287km (178m) in Ireland. 😁 If you look really closely at the map you will actually notice a black jagged line running through the land. That is the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Our route this time took us the Northern Irish way, crossing into NI near Belturbet and then exiting again via Pettigo. The border is still “green”, i.e. there is no visible sign that you have actually moved from one jurisdiction to another. (I can usually only tell by the difference in road surface 😂 and the fact that the speed signs are suddenly in miles/h and not in kilometer/h any more. It’ll be interesting to see the Brexit regulation work out the issue of the United Kingdom’s *only* land border while keeping both EU customs rules as well as inner-Irish peace…) This is the shortest way of getting up from Dublin in the centre of the East coast, into the Northwestern corner of Ireland, which is part of the Republic and called County Donegal.

Our journey took us even longer than the estimated 4 hours, but then we also had to switch drivers in order to relieve my mother-in-law (77) and take a lunch break. We eventually arrived in Dunfanaghy in the late afternoon where my father-in-law had specifically booked rooms with a view in the plush Arnold’s Hotel. At first I was a bit taken aback at the layer of dust in our otherwise lovely room but then I realised that it meant the room had not been used in months and we were the first occupants since reopening the day prior, i.e. no lingering viruses there… From our luxurious king-size bed we had views out to the beach. (Click all images to enlarge!)

View from the bed

Village idyll

Busy despite the Covid crisis

Dunfanaghy beach at low tide

I have to say I was a bit skeptical as regards the attitude of the holiday makers towards keeping safe from the virus, though. Dunfanaghy was packed to the gills with tourists, particularly from Northern Ireland. (The weekend actually coincided with the traditional, Protestant celebrations of the Battle of the Boyne on the 12th of July every year. This is a significant date in NI, marking the victory of Protestant king William III over Catholic king James II, celebrated with drums, huge bonfires and marches by the Orange Order. It continues to be a controversial tradition within NI, with (some) Catholics offended by the celebration of this victory, while (some) Protestants insist on their right to express their traditions.) As part of the UK, NI has had a different approach to the Covid crisis than the Republic, and tbh I was not really that impressed with the general lack of social distancing displayed last week. (It goes without saying that it was *not only* NI people who were far too close for my comfort; there obviously were also plenty of Irish holiday makers there, too.) Within the hotel, there were hand-sanitisers at all exits and corridors, so it was easy to keep hands clean. In the restaurant, the staff wore PPE masks and the guests were seated well apart as fewer tables than normal were set up. So I felt relatively safe in there. But I hardly saw any face masks worn in the village, people were congregating in big groups outside pubs and shops, and it felt as if there were no covid restrictions at all. All that made me very angry. On our walks, particularly in the very busy Glenveagh National Park, people would not keep distance even though the paths were more than 2 meters wide, and on the parking lot, cars parked directly side-by-side. But then again, at least we were outside, and Glenveagh is an absolutely stunning place.

Glenveagh

Glenveagh Castle

In the kitchen garden of Glenveagh

Bag End?

Entrance to the kitchen garden

Wild life very close by

I have been to Glenveagh a good few times before. It’s a stunning valley with a 19th century hunting lodge castle at the centre. There is a formal garden through which you enter the castle grounds, but what I had not see until now was the amazing kitchen garden. The little gardener’s cottage under the large tree somehow reminded me of Bag End.

The best thing, of course, is the beaches and dunes and the mighty North Atlantic.

Tramore Strand

Horn Head

View of Tramore from the dunes

Horn Head from Dunfanaghy

I was thinking of Squirrel/Radagast who had commented about wild flowers before I left for the North, and I took a good few photos of flowers.

Native Irish orchid

Calla lily – associated with the Irish struggle for freedom

The weather was – Irish. We had two days that were predominantly dry, with only a little bit of drizzle here and there. Only on our last day the weather really turned against us, which was annoying as we had planned to go walking with my in-laws a bit. But well, a bit of wet doesn’t deter my hardy in-laws. There is no bad weather – only inappropriate clothing. So we trudged off on a two-hour walk in the Ards Forest. I think I was the only who got drenched to the skin. Yep, even after 20 years I still haven’t learnt… or bought the right equipment.

Typical family picnic. In the rain. Sharing 1 bottle of Guinness, 2 apples and 2 sandwiches. No lie.

However, we did also get a bit of sunset in, and so the trip’s best memory is this – a sundowner from Horn Head with the ragged shape of Tory Island in the background.

So, that was my summer holiday 2020. Four nights away with family. It was actually really lovely, especially as my f-i-l is now getting really old. This may have been his last trip up to Donegal. It was lovely to spend time with him and my m-i-l who are still very active and who are interesting to chat to. I was especially delighted that Little Miss Guylty came along, too – not just for myself but also for the grandparents for whom her presence is particularly special. And I had four nights of sound sleep that really recharged my batteries. So much so that I can now jump energetically into this week’s tumblr round-up:

  Badtennantwolf has put together a set of icons. I am including the set here for the first four pictures of RA at SDCC in 2015 as we recently had a chat about that occasion (and the famous dragon beanie throw) elsewhere

Richardarmitagefanpage reminds us of a Hobbit Extended Editions rewatch organised by One Ring Net for 21 July

Some dramatic Guy of Gisborne gifs, season 3, by riepu10

LOL. Including this mainly for the spot-on caption by thewarriorandtheking

*sniggers* Mezzmerizedbyrichard has come to the aid of many hot and bothered Mr Thornton admirers…

I have always been somewhat intrigued by that pock mark on Richard’s arm. Maybe he had it removed or something, because I also remember pictures from around the same time where he sported a blue plaster on his bicep. Picture posted by hobbitoferebor

Goodness me. 13 years ago. Yes, he looks a good bit younger. And full-on Gisborne-sideburns. Gifs by riepu10

Eyelash porn courtesy by mezzmerizedbyrichard

Ignore the wig and enjoy the nose! Richard as Claude Monet, giffed by mezzmerizedbyrichard

Lehnsharks’ Thorin drawings

BTS footage of Richard as Thorin was few and far between, so here are a few precious scenes, giffed by riepu10

Daniel Miller/Trevor Price looking ominous… Gifs by riepu10

One of nfcomics’ What A Guy Wants… interesting metaphor…

There we go. Sorry for the whole long holiday crap. I can faithfully promise that that is it for this year *sardonic laugh*.

However, before I go and more importantly, just a quick reminder:

It’ll be August soon and that means… RA birthday auction time!!! Donations of items have been coming in and it is high time for me to start organising and promoting, soon. Watch this space for more info!

Have a lovely weekend,

Sonja ❤️

  2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #28 Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else's holiday pictures - no offense taken, I totally understand!

[fatehbaz]

Having visited the various North American high deserts and spent time in them, I'm glad to see some love for them. Ecologically (and also linguistically tool) they're amazing places with both striking geography and complicated networks of things living there. To see them called barren is to miss the desert for the shrubbery. They're so unique and interesting. Loving the posts about them in detail. To see them through a camera lens is a joy every time.

thank you for the support, thank you for the message, and thank you for defending deserts.

i know that the “true” deserts (Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan) do get a bit of credit/acknowledgement for their uniqueness and biodiversity, but i’ve spent much more time in and feel a lot of compassion for those relatively less-publicized “cold” deserts and semi-deserts (Columbia Plateau, Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, Wyoming Basin) and the aesthetically-similar (superficially at least?) shortgrass prairie and High Plains (eastern Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, etc.). big fan of badlands and sagebrush steppe. “drably-colored” shortgrass prairie or the apparent basin-and-range repetition of topography in Great Basin sagebrush steppe might visually appear “simple,” but whatever. aside from the true deserts of the Southwest, even the cold deserts farther north aren’t without their own endemic vertebrates despite winter cold (some of my favorites include the adorable pygmy short-horned lizard in Columbia Plateau and high-elevation slopes in rain shadow of East Cascades; pygmy rabbit in Great Basin; blotched tiger salamander in Missouri River Plateau badlands; the rare dunes lizard endemic to a very small distribution range in the shinnery-oak sand dunes of Llano Estacado; and the beautifully-colored Crotalus concolor rattlesnake endemic to the canyonlands and pinyon-juniper of the Colorado Plateau, etc.)

even setting aside the “obvious” biodiversity and really cool altitudinal zonation of the Sky Islands, the Sonoran Desert alone is just ... teeming with life, most of it endemic and superlative. so that, even by standards of typical extractivist settler-colonial vision which seems inclined to glorify only the superlative, it’s still hard to ignore the Gila monster, saguaro, rosy boa, etc. (shout-out to jaguar, ocelot, thick-billed parrot, and imperial woodpecker on the periphery of the Sonoran Desert. by the way, i was just reading a lot this week about a “new” cryptic species of desert tortoise from Sinalonan thornscrub. and recently, the Boa constrictor living in western Mexico and on the periphery of the Sonoran Desert was determined to be a unique species. also, American crocodiles lived in the Rio Yaqui in the Sonoran Desert in recent centuries, and still showed up in the desert on the shores of Isla Tiburon into the 1970s!)

shaking my head at the irony of the widely-reproduced term “Great North American Desert” famously being ascribed to the shortgrass prairie of the northern Great Plains (despite the place not being a “desert” ecologically).

and then of course the nightmares.

the history of wastelanding; metals mining; border policing; uranium poisoning in Navajo country and the Colorado Plateau; cattle rangeland and overgrazing, especially in Chihuahuan Desert grasslands along the Rio Grande and Pecos; Indigenous dispossession generally; nuclear bomb testing and fallout raining down upon Navajo, Hopi, Ute, Pueblo people; the absurd amount of water stolen from the Colorado River to sustain Las Vegas; political border infrastructure separating Tohono O’Odham communities; manicured non-native grass lawns in Phoenix; recreationists destroying Joshua trees in the Mojave just for fun; the construction of H**ver Dam and Lake Foul; cattle in northern Great Basin; the conversion of the canyons and coulees of the Snake River Plain landscapes into monoculture extraction sites; the complete destruction of the Colorado River Delta and resulting inevitable extinction of the world’s smallest porpoise in the Gulf of California

so much life in these deserts, and so much of it targeted for elimination

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Western wildfires (NYT) Across a hellish landscape of smoke and ash, authorities in Oregon, California and Washington State battled to contain mega-wildfires on Sunday as shifting winds threatened to accelerate blazes that have burned an unimaginable swath of land across the West. The arrival of the stronger winds on Sunday tested the resolve of fire crews already exhausted by weeks of combating blazes that have consumed around 5 million acres of desiccated forests, incinerated numerous communities and created what in many places was measured as the worst air quality on the planet. “There’s just so much fire,” said Ryan Walbrun, a fire weather meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “And so much smoke.” The fires, which have killed at least 24 people in the last week alone, have engulfed the region in anguish and fear, as fairgrounds have turned into refugee camps for many who have been forced from their homes.

The Maitre d’ Will Take Your Temperature Now (NYT) In recent weeks, a new cadre of gatekeepers armed with thermometer guns has appeared at the entrances of hospitals, office buildings and manufacturing plants to screen out feverish individuals who may carry the coronavirus. Employees at some companies must report their temperature on apps to get clearance to come in. And when indoor dining resumes at restaurants in New York City later this month, temperature checks will be done at the door. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the practice of checking for fever has become more and more commonplace, causing a surge in sales of infrared contact-free thermometers and body temperature scanners even as the scientific evidence indicating they are of little value has solidified. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York last week called for checking patrons’ temperatures as one of several ground rules for resuming indoor dining in restaurants, along with strict limits on the number of tables and a mask mandate for diners when they are not seated. Restaurants also will be required to obtain contact information from one guest at each table.

Voting by mail (California Sunday Magazine) Voting by mail is an increasingly attractive and necessary option for voters, but it requires actual infrastructure to accomplish, large machines to be built and acquired, and a significant effort to get the ballots where they need to be. In 2016, 20 percent of Americans voted by mail, but this year it could be as high as 50 percent. A commercial grade printer can make 50,000 ballots in an hour, but it takes an enormous $500,000 device called an inserter to get the envelopes—linked by barcode to a specific voter—appropriately stuffed at the clip of 14,000 ballots per hour. The process is meticulous: when in 2014, an inserter misfired for 35 seconds in Phoenix, 232 voters in California and 1,000 in Colorado and Arizona got misprinted ballots, and when they caught the error they were able to fix that. The other 3.8 million ballots handled at the facility were fine.

As Sally chugs to coast, Gulf residents get ready (AP) Hurricane Sally, a plodding but powerful storm with winds of 90 mph, crept toward the northern Gulf Coast early Tuesday, with forecasters warning of potentially deadly storm surges, flash floods spurred by up to 2 feet (.61 meters) of rain and the possibility of tornadoes. Hurricane warnings stretched from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Navarre, Florida, but forecasters — while stressing “significant” uncertainty — kept nudging the predicted track to the east. That eased fears in New Orleans, which once was in the storm’s crosshairs. But it prompted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare an emergency in the Panhandle’s westernmost counties, which were being pummeled by rain from Sally’s outer bands early Tuesday.

Russian opposition leader Navalny able to leave hospital bed (AP) Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is off a ventilator and is able to leave his hospital bed briefly, his doctors said Monday, while Germany announced that French and Swedish labs have confirmed its findings that he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Navalny, 44, was flown to Berlin for treatment at the Charite hospital two days after falling ill on a domestic flight in Russia on Aug. 20. Germany has demanded that Russia investigate the case. Although noting the improvement in Navalny’s health, the statement didn’t address the long-term outlook for the anti-corruption campaigner. Doctors have previously cautioned that even though Navalny is recovering, long-term health problems from the poisoning cannot be ruled out.

Lukashenko meets with Putin (Foreign Policy) More than 100,000 protesters flooded the streets of the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Sunday in one of the largest demonstrations against the rule of longtime President Aleksandr Lukashenko since his disputed victory in last month’s presidential elections. Police said they detained 400 people during the protests. The demonstrations came before a meeting between Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for today, during which they will reportedly discuss deeper integration of their two countries. Lukashenko’s relations with Moscow had deteriorated in the months leading up to the election, but he has since warmed to Moscow again as the threat to his reign has grown more acute. Putin recently confirmed that he would send a reserve police force to Belarus if Lukashenko requested it.

US issues sweeping new travel warning for China, Hong Kong (AP) The U.S. on Tuesday issued a sweeping new advisory warning against travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, citing the risk of “arbitrary detention” and “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” The new advisory warned U.S. citizens that China imposes “arbitrary detention and exit bans” to compel cooperation with investigations, pressure family members to return to China from abroad, influence civil disputes and “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments.” “U.S. citizens traveling or residing in China or Hong Kong, may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. U.S. citizens may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention without due process of law,” the advisory said.

In Japan, coronavirus discrimination proves almost as hard to eradicate as the disease (Washington Post) When a cluster of coronavirus infections broke out in Kyoto’s Horikawa Hospital, medical staff were not only battling a potentially deadly disease at work. They came home to fight an even more unsettling disease—fear and discrimination. Their children were turned away from nursery schools and after-school clubs, their spouses were told not to come to work, three were fired from their second jobs and one was told point-blank to stay away from a favorite diner. “Our staff were really shocked, severely shocked,” said Masaaki Yamada, the hospital’s administration chief, explaining that the affected workers had not necessarily been in close contact with infected patients. “Some even said they were afraid to go home, and afraid of being seen by their neighbors,” he said. “They got family members to put the garbage out for them. Some said they would go to work when it was dark and come home when it was dark again.” The hospital received anonymous phone calls telling employees to die or threatening to burn the place down. Nearly nine months after the coronavirus first arrived in Japan, “korona sabetsu” (coronavirus discrimination) is proving almost as hard to eradicate as the virus itself.

Mideast deals tout ‘peace’ where there was never war (AP) For the first time in more than a quarter-century, a U.S. president will host a signing ceremony between Israelis and Arabs at the White House, billing it as an “historic breakthrough” in a region long known for its stubborn conflicts. But while the optics of Tuesday’s event will evoke the groundbreaking agreements that ended decades of war between Israel and neighboring Egypt and Jordan, and that launched the peace process with the Palestinians, the reality is quite different. The United Arab Emirates will establish diplomatic relations with Israel, a fellow U.S. ally it has never gone to war with, formalizing ties that go back several years. The agreement cements an informal alliance against Iran and could pave the way for the UAE to acquire advanced U.S. weapons, while leaving the far more contentious Israeli-Palestinian conflict as intractable as ever. A similar agreement announced Friday with Bahrain, which welcomed a visiting Israeli Cabinet minister as early as 1994, also formalizes longstanding ties. But it’s debatable whether agreements like these, among already friendly countries, do much to advance regional peace. “Normalization of states in the region with Israel will not change the essence of this conflict, which is the systemic denial of the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to freedom and sovereignty,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official.

Nigeria reels from twin crises that threaten food availability (Reuters) Mal Shehu Ladan took a boat across what was, until this month, a growing rice paddy. Now, like thousands of hectares of rice in Nigeria’s Kebbi state, it is under water. Floods early this month across northwest Nigeria destroyed 90% of the 2 million tons that Kebbi state officials expected to harvest this autumn, the head of the state branch of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria told Reuters. The loss amounts to some 20% of the rice Nigeria grew last year, and the waters are still rising. Farther south, outside Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, chicken farmer Hippolite Adigwe is also worried. A shortage of maize forced him to sell most of his flock of more than 1,000 birds, and the 300 left are hungry. Chicken feed prices have more than doubled, and he isn’t sure how long he can cope. Twin crises, floods and maize shortages, come just after movement restrictions and financing difficulties caused by COVID-19 containment measures complicated spring planting. Some farmers and economists say it could push Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, into a food crisis. Rice is the country’s staple grain, and chicken is a core protein. “There is a real fear of having food shortages,” Arc Kabir Ibrahim, president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria told Reuters. “The effect on the food system is going to be colossal.”

After Two Decades of Rot, Zimbabwe Is Coming Apart at the Seams (Bloomberg) In Zimbabwe, pregnant women are left alone in hospitals to give birth, taps have run dry in major urban centers, infrastructure has all but collapsed and more than half the population needs food aid. This is the toll that two decades of economic mismanagement have taken on a nation once considered one of Africa’s shining stars. Promises of an economic revival and more political freedom made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, now in his third year of rule, have rung hollow and public anger over intolerable living conditions has spurred protest action that’s been brutally quashed by the military. Western governments that berated long-time ruler Robert Mugabe for violating civil rights are leveling similar criticism against his successor. And even South Africa, a regional power broker and long-time Zimbabwe ally, has now entered the fray, dispatching envoys and ruling party officials to Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, to try and help its neighbor resolve the deepening crisis. No headway was made in initial talks and more are planned in coming days.

[superdiscochino]

Once you accept that climate change is fast making large parts of the United States nearly uninhabitable, the future looks like this: With time, the bottom half of the country grows inhospitable, dangerous and hot. Something like a tenth of the people who live in the South and the Southwest — from South Carolina to Alabama to Texas to Southern California — decide to move north in search of a better economy and a more temperate environment. Those who stay behind are disproportionately poor and elderly.

In these places, heat alone will cause as many as 80 additional deaths per 100,000 people — the nation’s opioid crisis, by comparison, produces 15 additional deaths per 100,000. The most affected people, meanwhile, will pay 20% more for energy, and their crops will yield half as much food or in some cases virtually none at all. That collective burden will drag down regional incomes by roughly 10%, amounting to one of the largest transfers of wealth in American history, as people who live farther north will benefit from that change and see their fortunes rise.

The millions of people moving north will mostly head to the cities of the Northeast and Northwest, which will see their populations grow by roughly 10%, according to one model. Once-chilly places like Minnesota and Michigan and Vermont will become more temperate, verdant and inviting. Vast regions will prosper; just as Hsiang’s research forecast that Southern counties could see a tenth of their economy dry up, he projects that others as far as North Dakota and Minnesota will enjoy a corresponding expansion. Cities like Detroit; Rochester, New York; Buffalo and Milwaukee will see a renaissance, with their excess capacity in infrastructure, water supplies and highways once again put to good use. One day, it’s possible that a high-speed rail line could race across the Dakotas, through Idaho’s up-and-coming wine country and the country’s new breadbasket along the Canadian border, to the megalopolis of Seattle, which by then has nearly merged with Vancouver to its north.

I give that last part about zero chance of happening, but it’s nice to think that if I have the misfortune of living long enough I might benefit from having made my home in the rust belt.

[mintseesaw]

Felicity

Sequel to Fierce & Delicate (link in masterlist)

Pairing: jungkook x reader

Genre: smut, angst, fluff, husband au

Word count: 11.6k

Warnings: mature content, implications of depression, family conflict

a/n: this is unedited :( but I hope you still enjoy it. Tbh, I wouldn't push through writing a sequel if it weren't for your feedbacks and the notes fierce & delicate has received, so much love to you all! 💕

Also, I'm not sure if reading this would make sense if you haven't read the first one haha. Let me know what you guys think. Comments and likes are much appreciated. They actually motivate me to write more ☺️

“Let’s go back to the villa,” he whispered right next to your ear tickling the sensitive skin behind the shell of your ear. The goosebumps that were there earlier because of the cold breeze and disappeared as his body covered you with his warmth automatically reappeared from your arms again.

“One more minute. I like it when we cuddle like this while watching the sea.”

Today is your last day of holiday in Maldives. And spending it like this, unproductive and with your husband in his arms...is much better than any of the outdoor activities you two have done in the past four days. You couldn’t recall when was the last you’ve had a day this cozy with him, on a holiday or not. And you wish to have more of this when you get back home.

Since you and Jungkook met, dated and got married, no one initiated for the two of you to go on a trip. It wasn’t necessarily needed, and out of respect to your husband’s situation back then, there’s no room for you to insist although you had the means to pay for one. But now, the past four days in this paradise that brought you refreshment, peace and elation to have it together with your husband, you wondered why you have not asked him during the early months of your marriage.

First day on the island was wasted on you sleeping all day, trying to gain your energy back as the flight reasonably tired you out. You were too drained to entertain Jungkook’s excitement to wander off to the beautiful scenery so you send him off and even coaxed him to bring his camera, assuring him you would be fine alone in the room. You were sleeping the whole time and only woke up when he had returned.

The next three days were spent doing all the outdoor activities that Jungkook wanted to try out. You knew your husband always has a thing for anything adventurous.. He enjoyed every bit of it, and even more when he saw you struggling to ride the air jet ski or squirming as he urged you to touch a stingray. Not that you hate animals, you’re just never really an animal person.

As much as you don’t find most the activities fun like he did, seeing your husband having the time of his life is enough reason for you to enjoy the vacation itself. Being with him in a beautiful place like this island is enough for you. It soared your heart that you’ve witnessed him with full of delight clearly present in his eyes. His laughs and smiles were genuine and almost never left his face. Something that surprises you—the intensity of his elation during this trip. It makes you wonder, have you been treating him good enough?

The outdoor activities may or may not be his favorite. You’re almost sure they are. To you, on the other hand, the consecutive nights of consummation that lasted until the wee hours of morning are most especially branded in your mind.

Earlier this morning was no exception. The rounds of steamy activities had caused you to wake up later than usual in the morning. It was almost noon when you too decided to get up.

After taking a semi-breakfast and lunch, you persuaded him to sit with you on the shore. Fortunately for the two of you, the sun was not scorching hot enough to burn yours and Jungkook’s skins although it could if you stay longer especially because you skip applying a protection for your skin. Tipping your head back to peak up above, you noticed clouds have unusually occupied the blue sky like it was about to rain. Maybe, that’s why.

Both of you were sitting in the sand, pairs of feet resting on the wet sand where the sea water consistently dances along the shore due to the waves crashing. Your back pressed comfortably against his chest as his arms lay across your stomach. Your hands clasped in between his fingers, silently communicating on their own.

“We can do so much more than cuddling if we go back to our villa,” he suggested maliciously.

Turning your head and having a view of his grinning face. Eyes narrowing, “We’ve been doing that since we came here, aren’t you sated?” It’s true. Post dinner on your first night here was when the consummation had started. Jungkook didnt stop initiating the move to score every night and every chance he get. As for you, who miss your husband so much, control seemed to escape out of your system every time Jungkook touches you tenderly. Not even when he tried his luck on a sunny day was he ever turned down.

On the third day of your holiday in Maldives, you two went on an island hopping. The supposed activity was not followed as the tourist guide, who was also the one driving the motorboat, made a stop on a specific island—it was left unexplored by the business industry As no commercial hotels or any infrastructure had been built, yet. And you were particularly mesmerized by the natural beauty of it, undeniably more breathtaking than the one where you were staying in. Jungkook asked the guide to dropped you off there and pick you both after a few hours seeing the astonished look on your features.

Your little wander on the island was the only time you genuinely enjoyed swimming in the water as it was the only moment you had outside without the possibility of being watched.

You didn’t notice how far away you’ve swam away from Jungkook that only when he started chasing you was when it finally clicked in your mind. You weren’t supposed to swim away because you didn’t know why he was chasing you in the first place, but you still did, as a reflex. He didn’t even try, because he already caught you despite your efforts to swim farther away from him. Squirming in his arms as squeals and giggles were uncontrollably coming out of your mouth, from taking you by surprise. His hold tightening around your waist, closing the distance between your bodies, his wet torso pressed flatly on your back.

You were still trying to catch your next breath from the activity when you felt his lips on your shoulder travelling further on your neck. The water reaching up from your torso didn’t prepare you for his next move as his hand disappeared through your bikini bottom, boldly palming your private part. Your supposed warning as an attempt to stop him turned into a helpless plea.

His tender caresses to the sensitive nub was so maddening that you didn’t how you got out of the water and laid flat on the sand. The roughness of the sand against your back didn’t seem to bother you one bit. You were too consumed with the fact that he was hovering you, sucking the sensitive spot on your neck, and buried deep inside you.

Jungkook didn’t even bother taking off the material that covers your lower part. He only pushed the material aside for his entrance and gave you no time to adjust to his size, pounding relentlessly as your whimpers and moans of pleasure were drowned by the sounds of the sea. He didn’t stop. Not even when you cried out by the delicious stretch of his rough intrusion, not even when you were having a hard time catching your next breath as he particularly stroke deeper, not even when your insides tightened around him as your peak was approaching you so intensely, shuddering from bliss on his arms. It was only when he growled out his release when he finally had a respite.

Although the neighbor island was not occupied by other tourists during that steamy moment, you shouldn’t have let it happened as someone may still have witnessed it. The thought of someone actually seeing you with Jungkook while doing it actually scares you.

“I can’t control it if you’re in my arms like this wearing that sexy summer dress,” he nuzzled your hair, “Fuck, and you smelled so good. How could you even do that.” Feeling his grip tightening around your waist, not too tight to suffocate you but enough to show you who you belonged to.

“You’re just insatiable, don’t even try to point the blame on me.” Your expectation over hearing another argument coming was cut short by the sound of his chuckle vibrating through his chest, feeling it resonate against your back. The sound of waves crashing through the shore almost drowned it, if not for your close proximity.

The calming sound of waves soothed the air between you and Jungkook. And you wish right there and then that you and Jungkook would always be in this state—hearts filled with only love and pure euphoria. Because right now, you will trade for anything just so you two can stay in this paradise forever. A dream far from reality.

“Jungkook,”

“Hmm?”

The salty air that meets your skin creates a soft motion to the hem of your summer dress against your thighs.Your attention suddenly directed at the material of your dress, finding a temporary entertainment, “Can we do this again in the future?”

“Going on a holiday? Of course, if that’s what makes my wife happy…”

Tilting your head through your shoulders, you pressed softly, “And we’ll utilize our shared resources, right?”

He exhaled, then spoke close to your ear, “Whatever you want, my love…” he shifted his head so his lips can touch your temple while his fingers toy your much smaller fingers in comparison to his.

“Thank you,” you murmured tenderly, eyes closing as you pucker your lips to ask for a kiss, which he granted delightfully.

Once he pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours. His eyes twinkling, “Anything else that my wife wants?”

You gave him a soft smile.

“I love you.”

As soon as you utter the words, his burning stare grew intensely. You drew back, shifting your head away from his intense gaze suddenly feeling shy from confessing your feelings like it’s the first time. In contrast to his dark eyes, his mouth twitched into a grin that his set of pearly white teeth came out in full view. Cupping your cheeks in his palms, pulling you into a sweet and passionate kiss not shying away from the tourists who are scattered around the shore.

Jungkook planted a soft kiss on your forehead, alluring you to his request. “Look at your skin, it’s turning red. Let’s go back inside.” You nodded in response, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over you.

You didn’t know what time it was when you opened your eyes, startled from your nap. Your eyes scanned through your surroundings as your vision becomes clearer, picking up the pieces of your last memory.

It was then that you sensed your whole body is covered with discomfort. Your head stinging from headache. Your eyes puffy and tender from all the crying you did all throughout the day. Your body felt heavy—that you felt restraint and couldn’t move like the usual. Adding up to that is this weird sensation swirling in your stomach, like something in it wants to come out.

You have guessed right because in a matter of seconds, a bile quickly rising from your throat as the pressure in your stomach intensifies. Although you haven’t yet make sense what’s happening, your body has already reacted on its own, dragging yourself up with small but determined steps towards the toilet despite feeling no energy left from you. As you feel the urge surfaces from your throat, your eyes brimmed with moisture when nothing seems to be coming out of your mouth. You stayed in that position, head hovering over the toilet bowl for a few seconds.

Only when your stomach has calmed down and the urge to vomit has subsided, was when you decided to sit flatly on the bathroom floor. A sudden wave of spell adding up to the physical ache that’s present in your head. Your throat burning from all the involuntary force that urged the contents of your stomach out of your system.

Why do you feel so physically horrible? It wasn’t because of what happened earlier, right? You contemplated, trying to come up for the cause of this little episode. If it were the food you had eaten—you actually barely ate anything today. Maybe it was because of that? Or it might be simply because you’re literally sick as you felt just exactly like it.

And then like you recalled, it wasn’t the first you had an urge to throw up. It was more than once, if you were not mistaken. As quick as you remembered the times that you did, recognition suddenly flickering in your mind. Is it what you think it is?

Taking birth controls doesn’t completely stop the probability of conceiving. But the chances of getting pregnant is very slim. How— you stopped dead on your tracks. Your eyes widened at the sudden realization.

It’s possible. Because you stopped taking them five months ago.

The next day you went to work earlier, Jungkook being kept in the dark of your presumption. He didn’t approve of your sudden decision, although he didn’t say it out loud. It was evident from his expression. He was subtle, asking why you’re going to work an hour than usual. He took it as a sign of your anger at him. He didn’t want to go against your way as not to make you angrier. For you, on the other hand, it isn’t the reason. You planned to buy a pregnancy test in a pharmacy and take it at work.

You bought three and made sure no one was in the restroom when you took all the kits. It was a good thing no one was there because when all of them showed the same result, you didn’t have the strength left in you to control the sounds of emotions that spilled past your throat.

With all that’s happened in the past week, the restless nights you’ve had over your husband’s suspicious actions made you even more vulnerable now that another circumstance is right in front of you. Crying numerous times since the past few days have reflected your inner turmoil. But it isn’t the same this time. You’re happy.

The tests could be giving you a false hope, but you can sense it, feel it even more that you’ve proven your assumption. And now, the thought of having a little creature inside your womb brings you a different kind of joy. The little bud is the product of Jungkook’s love to you and yours to him.

And right there and then, you made a decision. For your baby’s sake, you will forget all this and forgive your husband, who’s only doing everything for your own good.

It was never his fault you were broken in the first place. No, he completed you. He had picked up the shards of glasses of your broken youth, dreams and passion in life and brought it together with his love. If not for him, you’re not even sure if you’ll ever be happy in your life.

If there’s someone you should blame for the emotional damages inflicted in your past, it’s your parents. Perhaps, you shouldn’t, but trying to rationalize your situation, it’s anyone but him. He made a mistake. In spite of the pain that cost him to commit a mistake and inflict it to you in return, now that you’ve come to know that you’re possibly carrying his baby, you want to do this right. Facing them again could probably help you move on.

Once and for all, to see your parents again light up a little hope that it would help you move on. That maybe, this time, they would understand the path you’ve chosen for your life. Perhaps, seeing you far from a miserable life they had predicted you to have when you chose to marry Jungkook despite their objection would change their mind about him. You made up your mind, you will meet them.

“Where have you been?”

It was already dark when you got home. Although it was not that late, you quickly picked up Jungkook’s sentiment. His tone was not accusing, but out of a helpless wonder. He must have known. You didn’t exactly tell him you left work even before noon came. But by the tone of his voice and his stance gave away his restless state, thinking of the possibilities where you might have gone of to.

You didn’t answer. Not because you have no plan to, but because you couldn’t wait to tell him about the news you’ve found out and your decision to see your parents instead of giving the reply he wants to hear. However, this time is not the right time to do it. Not when all this hasn’t been settled.

“You were not at work,” he said. “I was calling you and when you were not answering my calls, I went home because I thought you’d be here.” Lowering his head, “I was so worried that I tried to look out for you. Please don’t do that again, no matter how mad you are. Just… tell me where you are. I’ll let you be, I wont bother you. Just please, tell me where you are.”

“I’m sorry,” you sincerely mumbled under your breath. It took all of your willpower not to draw yourself closer and console him so you could take away his anguish, his worries of the uncertainty.

“I-I...t-thought... I thought you left me.” He choked, as fear crossed his face. It made you feel even weaker.

“I wouldn’t do that.” You tried to assure him. “I made a mistake.” Sadness clouded his features, almost afraid to return your calculating gaze at him.

“I know, but it didn’t change my feelings towards you. We’ve been through worse and I’m still here, because I want to be with you.” Your toned wasn’t so comforting and soft like it used to. But it was only your coping mechanism not to cry in front of him. Somehow, you didn’t want him to show your vulnerability.

He took what he could get from you. Even by means of getting a taste of your cold facade, not letting him read your mind through your eyes. At least you were still talking to him. He expected so much worse than this.

Days passed and the household remained unusually quiet. Your cold treatment towards Jungkook scares him, that any time, you would grow tired of this setting.

He wouldn’t let it happen. You’re not going to slip away from him. Although he was patiently waiting for you to come around, he couldn’t help the ache surfacing from his chest as his presence remains invisible to you. He was unable to have a normal conversation with you, he couldn’t kiss you when he wants to express his affection like how he frequently does. His heart constricted every time you avoided his eyes, and every time you take the chance to avoid his presence. Yet, he’s in relief that you don’t try to get away from him every night. At dinner. It was the only time he’s able to see to be with longer even though your at arms length.

It was also during a dinner with him that you chose to tell him about your plan. He was trying to initiate a conversation, like what he’s been doing for the past few days. But your pregnancy was consuming all your energy that you just want to sleep after work or even at post meals. You missed your husband so much. You rarely get to see him every day as you tried to put your distance from him. Most of the time, you feel so sick, especially every morning and you didnt want to give him a clue of your state as you planned to reveal it to him when you come back. Perhaps, to surprise him.

When he stopped talking, you looked up from your food, barely touched. You realized he didn’t stop, he was waiting for your reply.

“It’s fine. Thank you for the dinner. I’m not that hungry, I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright. I was thinking you probably don’t like it. I can prepare something else, next time. Or we can have your favorites— ramen and rice cake for tomorrow? I recall you haven't had them lately.” A smile plastered on his face. You’re not sure if it was sincere because you know he’s hurt just as much as you are.

You gulped down the lump that was forming in your throat. Nodding your head, not trusting your own voice to speak without giving him a hint of your emotions.

You cleared your throat, “Listen,” Jungkook immediately fixed his eyes on you when he heard the raspiness of your voice and for the past few days, it felt like it is the first time you actually let him have an eye contact with him.

“I filed for a leave—“

His smile was immediately replaced by panic, it was evident through his features.

“Why? Where are you going? Are you— a-are y-you leaving?”

“I’ll be gone for a few days.” You confirmed, pursing your lips.

“It’s because of what I did.” He stated more to himself than to you. A sad smile forming on his face.

A sigh went past your lips. Your eyes looking everywhere but on him. He took your silence as a confirmation.

“You’re coming back, right?” He asked, needing an assurance to let his mind at peace. You’re not leaving him, permanently.

“Yes. I’m not leaving you, Jungkook, please remember that.”

“Why are you leaving?” Your heart constricted at the sight of his shattered look. You almost pleaded him to stop asking, because his thoughts—they are not true. Leaving him is something you will never do under any circumstances.

“I need to do this.”

“If—if you hate my presence, I should be the one leaving—“

“No! It’s not because of that…”

Then why are you leaving? He repeated in his mind. But he remained silent, too broken to form a reply. And you took it as an opportunity yo continue, “I’m going to see my parents.”

This time, he stood up drawing his body close to where you sit, following his movement until you were craning your neck just so you can clearly see his face.

“You don’t have to see them...You don’t have to leave. If it means seeing them, I’ll give you the space, I’ll leave the apartment.”

“Jungkook, it’s my own decision. You are not leaving because I don’t need space.”

“Then I’ll come with you.” He attempted, despite knowing he cannot influence your decision anymore but hoping, at least, you would allow him to.

Although he does not intimidate you, there’s something about his height that take away your pretense of a strength. He certainly does not scare you. It must be his powerful aura, that despite letting you be in-charge most of the time, there’s no lying he has the upper hand to this marriage. That he could sway you through submission if he ever tries to. This time was no exception, only that you’re struggling so hard not to give in. So you stood up, despite having no match with his built to prove that you can stick to your own decision.

“I don’t want them to hurt you-“

He frowns before cutting you off, “They’re not violent, YN.”

“They did it before, you were emotionally harmed because of them. What makes you think they wont do it again? Let me see them alone,” You were not meant to burst out, and you regretted it the moment you witness under your peer when he took a small step back. You sighed, realizing that you shouldn’t let this go anywhere near a fight, “Please…”

“Why do you want to see them? Is it because of what I did?”

“Yes, but it’s not what you think. I’ll try to reconcile with them for…” you stopped mid-sentence, blinking.

The frown present on his face falling deeper into a confusion when you fail to finish your statement. Is there something else he doesn’t know? “For what?”

Your eyes snapped shut for a second, before answering, “Give me a few days to fix this. I’ll be okay, and I’m coming back home.”

“You don’t have to go.” Jungkook mumbled, in an attempt to change your mind despite reading your eyes. You’re determined and there’s nothing he could do for now to bend your decision especially when he’s trying to make it up to you.

Your close proximity with Jungkook allowed you to reach for his muscled arm. His eyes grew wide at your sudden contact with him. “It’s not your fault.”

“Do you really need to leave?” Voice wavering from the pain filling in his heart with the thought of not having your presence for days.

His body reacted on its own before it even registered in his mind, closing the distance in between the two of you. He was expecting the worse when he came to realize what he did, that you will drew back from his touch. His heart quicken its beat as you stayed in his arms, finding temporary comfort through your submission.

He lowered his head, nuzzling your hair through his nose. He missed your scent. “I’ll be here when you come back.”

You were gone even before Jungkook wakes up. It’s clear that he didn’t want to let you go. And letting him see you leave the apartment under his watch would be too hard for you and for him. So you decided to leave even before he wakes up.

Hours later after the train that you’ve boarded on left Seoul, you arrived to the city where you’ve spent most of you life with. The first thing from you mental itinerary is to meet your parents.

You already called your mother, beforehand. When you opened up about your desire to see them, she initially offered their home. However, you didnt give her an answer. Because knowing her, she’ll only persuade you to stay longer than you intend to especially since she is aware Jungkook is not going with you. Good thing though, she was coaxed to decide for the place of the meet up. She sounded so delighted over the phone, having in mind that your initiation to talk to them could possibly mean a reconciliation with them.

And of course, your mother will choose a luxurious place. Not that you were surprise though.

When you got inside the restaurant, a staff escorted you to the receptionist, where you gave her the reservation’s name which is your mother’s. The staff maneuvered you to table while formally mentioning that she is already on the table waiting only a minute before you actually got here. You didn't know where the male staff is taking you as you let him lead the way. But the moment you spot a familiar figure, her back facing your direction sitting on a table placed on the far end corner of the VIP area, you already knew where you’re going. From your direction, you could clearly make out her hair curled in perfect waves. And just by the mere sight of her figure, one could mistaken her as a lady in her early thirties.

You were right. Because when she casually turned and fixated her eyes on you, it proved your affirmation seeing how she barely aged after two years without a proper contact with her. Not only that she look youthful compared to her actual age, she could be likened to you as her sister more than a parent.

“My darling!” She exclaimed, gathering me close to her so she could plant kisses on both of your cheeks. Her face in heavy make-up, yet it it only accentuated her features, making her more astonishing in sight. As your eyes unconsciously skimmed her body, you noticed her fashion style didn’t change a single bit. She never wears anything except dresses from high-end brands. A pair of diamonds decorated on her ears, golds on her wrist and ring finger and what seems to be a million dollar worth necklace clinging to her neck. She’s, no doubt, a wife of a tycoon—regal, beautiful and expensive. Perhaps, it’s from her where you inherited your fine features.

“Mother.” You greeted her curtly as you two took your seats. A smile plastered on her face as she instructed something to the waiter while taking a glimpse of the menu. You guessed she was already ordering for the two of you.

Nothing much has changed.

When she seems to be done ordering almost half of the menu with the amount of time she consumed, she waved off her hand to the waiter signalling him to leave you two alone.

“It’s been long, my dear.” Similar to what you just did, you saw her eyes traveled up and down your visible length.

“I know.”

“How are you my dear? I haven’t seen you since you got married...” Her smile slightly fading as she intentionally left her statement incomplete. You’re sure it meant something the way she let it linger. However, it’s too soon speak out your thoughts especially if they intend to contradict hers, you want to make this work in your favor.

Clearing your throat, you straightened your back as you showed concern to your father’s absence. “Where’s dad?”

“My apologies, your father can’t make it. He’s abroad for business.You didn’t answer me, dear.”

Nodding your head since you are aware he’s never not busy so it doesn’t even surprise you.

“I’m doing fine, and I’m happy if that’s what you’re worrying about. I have an amazing husband who sees to my well being.”

“My child, I thought you’d want to ask for forgiveness for defying us. Otherwise, I don’t see the point of this meet up.”

You froze, what did you just hear? Your hand on your lap suddenly clenching into a fist out of her sight.

Shock crossed to your face. You couldn’t believe what you’re hearing from your mother. You had a tiny hope in you that they would change. And now, you don’t know anymore. Perhaps, Jungkook is right. You shouldn’t have made a move to do this in the first place.

“Mom…you’re not serious.” It took so much of your will power to keep a straight face when all your anger towards your parents is slowly resurfacing.

“I see, you’re not financially struggling. I’m sure it’s you who helped him find a decent job, anyway.”

“What are you talking about, mother? Jungkook was accepted because he deserves to get the job—”

Her eyebrows lifted, shrugging as if she didn’t buy what I said. You watched her more intently and then something clicks. They knew how you’re doing all along?

“You had us followed, haven’t you? Perhaps, investigated if you’re more desperate.” A bitter smile forming in your mouth. You’re not prepared for anything like this.

And your cruel mother didn’t even try to deny it.

“We want to know if he can take care of you. That kid even had part time jobs? His present job isn’t enough, is it?”

“That’s enough, mom. Don’t mock my husband. Stop your men from following us. If you want to know how I’m doing, I’ll gladly provide the details, myself.”

She shrugged her shoulders, lips pursed and warily observing you through her perfectly groomed eyelashes.

You were about to speak again when the waiter appeared, serving wine and then the main courses.

You took the opportunity to continue when the waiter left.

“I would’ve married your best candidate if I love him, you know.”

“Love is not everything, dear, you're living in a fantasy.”

“Would you have accepted Jungkook as my husband if he’s rich like Namjoon?” She didn’t answer, and took a sip from her glass instead, “Actually, it doesn’t matter anymore because you’d still force me to marry a stranger, right?”

“Namjoon is a good man—“

“Im not referring to his personality, mother. The fact that you want me to marry off with someone without my consent, I couldn’t grasp the thought of my own parents letting me live in an emotionless, miserable life.”

“Your father and I were a product of arranged marriage—“

“Don’t I know that? You fed me with that fact all my life.” You refrain from moving, as you watch her direct her narrowed her eyes on you.

“Careful YN, I don’t like your tone.”

“What? You want me to apologize? I wouldn’t. And certainly, I wouldn’t apologize for choosing Jungkook over my parents.”

“How dare you!“ She stood up from her seat, eyes widening in complete fury.

“You really didn’t know? Not even have a clue how the consequences of ruling my life did to me? You still believe you’re the perfect parents for raising me the way you did?”

“I’m telling you to stop, YN. Don’t make a scene here.” She gritted, warily scanning the room with fear of others possibly hearing your words. Mortifying.

“I had hoped that the past years have made you change your ways of how you see me. How treating me as a daughter would change to letting me live and respecting my decisions. But now that I’ve spoken to you, I realized I made the right decision of not allowing my husband to come with me.”

“This is how you repay us after all what we’ve done for you?! You still chose that kid?! That kid who used to work at cheap clubs and grew up in a rubbish community? For all we know he only married you for money. Getting involved with someone like him is unacceptable to this family. You’re a disgrace.” She hissed, her sharp eyes turning darker as if she wanted to hurt me from her mere eyes.

“You can call me whatever you want, mother. But you have no right!” Your voice suddenly raising from your calmed tone that your mother’s eyes grew wide in utter surprise because you’ve never raised your voice to your parents, “no right to insult my husband.”

“YN!” She exclaimed in disbelief.

“I respected you and dad so much despite everything what you did to me. If you can’t accept him as my husband then just respect him as a person. He doesn’t deserve any of your judgment and disgusting treatment. Do you know why I asked to see you? Because I want to forgive you and tell you how happy I am living with the life I wanted.”

“We wanted the best for you and you never deserve to be with someone like him.” Cautiously taking a sit. Your mother may be right, you were not taught to disrespect anyone especially your parents. Defending your husband doesn’t count as disrespecting them when all they’ve done is treat him less than how I human should be treated. Especially if Jungkook is here, he would never try to defend himself against your parents.

“The best for me? I used to see a psychiatrist, mother, all because I was mentally unstable. Is that what you want for me? To seek for medical help because my parents did the right thing? Or...tell me, is it my fault that I became emotionally horrible living with my dear parents? Is it my fault I became desperate to follow my own dreams without you trying to manipulate my life? You should’ve been the first person to feel how your own daughter feels. How treating me as a pawn more than your own child could ruin me. Jungkook is the one who saved me from you.”

For the first time in your life, you saw her slowly cowering back. Were your eyes deceiving you? They must be. Because your mother always has her chin up whatever the circumstances are. She remained silent. And you wish you can read her mind so you know if her softening features are genuine or only for a show.

“We didn’t know that you’ve been through that because you didn’t tell us.” Her hand clutching her hand bag so tightly didn’t go unnoticed to you.

“You never listen to me, how could I tell you? I always try but you listen to everyone. But me.” Is that guilt you’re seeing on her face? You must be imagining things. It would never happen. You continued to speak as she didn’t dare respond yet again.

“You didn’t deserve my forgiveness, but I’m giving you that so I can move on. For my peace, and for my baby’s sake.”

You need to leave now because this is already going near what you’ve purposely anticipated for. Quickly standing up from the chair. And before you turn your back to her, you caught a glimpse of her expression for the last time. Shock.

“What do you mean? YN? Are you pregnant?”

You didn’t answer her, you didn’t turn back to her despite hearing her frantic calls of your name as you walked straight out of the restaurant.

You called for a cab right after you exited from the establishment even though you’re not sure where you’re going. You told the driver to drive around as you let your emotions calm down. Unconsciously drying off your face from the tears that spilled from your eyes as you dialed Jungkook even before your mind has registered what you just did.

You slightly panicked and you’re ready to end the dialing when you heard his voice.

“YN? Hey...how’s the journey? Are you okay?”

You quietly swallowed the lump in your throat, trying to dissipate the raspiness of your voice. You shouldn’t have called him while you’re emotionally vulnerable. He could easily sense it

“Hi… don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“YN? Are you crying? Are you sure you’re okay? You met your parents, didn’t you?” You heard a shuffling in the background, and now you’re wonder what he’s doing before he answered the call. It’s still within work hours.

“I did.” Referring the talk you just with your mother. He quickly picked up what you mean.

“It went bad?”

Silence.

Then you sighed before speaking up, “I did the right thing,” defending you from her, you silently thought.

“Please stop crying, I wish I insisted to go there with you.”

Although you couldn’t see him, his face flashed before your eyes. The tone of his voice giving away his sulky expression.

“No, I’m fine.” It’s true, even though you’re emotional. The talk went horrible in contradiction to what you actually expected. But it felt good to finally let, at least, your mother know what you’ve been through without inhibitions. She could just shrugged it off, for all you care. It doesn’t matter anymore.

The conflict may have not been resolved and you’re nowhere near giving them the forgiveness, but it made you accept where your priorities in life lie now. And for one, it’s moving forward with Jungkook and your baby.

“When will you come home?”

“In a few days.”

“Please, hurry. I miss you so much.”

As you watched the changing view from the window, you whispered softly, “Okay. I miss you too, Jungkook. I have to go.”

After the ride, you were dropped off to the busy streets of the city where you instructed the driver to. You use your idle time to wander off the familiar places you used to go to. You also didn’t forget to visit the libraries and read some random books to help ease your mind from so much worries. It did. Spending days alone allowed you to think clearly although you’ve gone bored most of the time. Somehow, it became a form of refreshment and a little soul-searching going in the nostalgic place despite growing up here. This place had only witnessed your complicated past that tinted your soul and didn’t cause any of it.

Three days later, you went back home. Jungkook was asleep on the couch when you got inside, the TV is on like he fell asleep while watching some show. He was still wearing his dress shirt, tie nowhere around his neck. Did he eat already?

You missed him so much. It was only three days without seeing him. But being away from him made you realized how much his presence means to you even though you two had been talking while you were away.

Brushing his bangs away from his eyes, your face neared close to his, giving him a small peck on his cheek. The gentle movement made him startle a bit and making you jumped back in return for waking him up too soon.

His eyes fluttered open. His eyes growing the size of a saucer when it was you he laid eyes on, not expecting to see you although he was waiting for you with full of hope you will be here tonight. So it brought him too much raw happiness that you finally came home to him.

“I missed you,” you purred against his lips as he continued to plant small kisses on your lips, showing you how much he feels the same way.

“Jungkook,” calling him so sweetly. How he longed to hear your voice in flesh. Talking to you through the phone is nothing compared to hearing your voice here in front of him. It does nothing but made him miss you more and intensifies his desire to touch you, kiss you, and make love to you.

He hummed in reply, daze enough to make out a word.

“Can we use your vacation leave now?”

That’s how you two ended up here. That night, you have packed your things. Jungkook did the same. The next day, you arranged your flight which was set on the same day at night.

Nothing productive happened after going back in your villa aside from cozily resting on the sofa, a random television show playing in the background which you don’t even pay attention with. Your attention divided into his head resting on your lap and his animated recollection of what has happened in the past four days in this beautiful paradise. He really had a great time during this vacation. Is this his first time going on a trip out of the country? When you were still dating him, you learned that he rarely allows himself for recreational activities aside from hanging out with his friends. And it pains you to even think he never let himself had a great time for himself because he was too busy taking care of his family.

You didn’t dare ask about it because you didn’t want to spoil his happiness. Seeing him in a state of pure elation warms your heart.

Later that night, you took a shower as Jungkook prepared a private dinner outside. An hour and a half later, a light make up adorned your face, hair left untouched after it was blow-dried letting your locks fall in natural waves. Halfway through putting on a lipstick, you saw Jungkook appeared on the bathroom’s doorway through the mirror. He was wearing a striped short sleeve button down top, a pair of tailored shorts and a pair of white sneakers. His outfit made him look youthful more than a married man. So attractive and beautiful. Lucky for you, no one will see your husband in this attire or else you don’t know if you will enjoy the dinner knowing that women will feast their eyes on your husband.

His shoulder leaning on the door frame, as his eyes feed with the view. When he looked back up from scanning your body, he was met with your gaze.

“Your back is showing.” He commented as if the fact is not noticeable.

An eyebrow was lifted and he saw it through your reflection in the mirror, waiting for another statement to make his implication much clearer.

“It’s windy outside…” he trailed, sizing up the look on your face which silently tells him to go on.

“I know that.” You simply replied.

You heard him sighed as you make your final touches, dusting a highlighter on your cheeks before turning to face him.

“You don’t like my dress?”

“You look beautiful as always.” Dipping his head so he could nuzzle your hair. He was avoiding your stare.

“But my dress...” Tilting your head to the side, searching for his expressive pair of eyes.

“It looks good on you, baby, so much, men will surely ogle on the mere sight.” He admitted almost too painfully. You drew back from his arms.

“I’m not changing.” You declared with finality.

“I know Jagi, and you’ll be the death of me.”

You tiptoed with your gladiators on to give him a chaste kiss. He was quick to catch your waist, turning the kiss into a little make-out session.

It was you who pulled away. Or else you’re not going anywhere near the door of the room.

Jungkook requested for a private dinner from the hotel. You planned to give your anniversary gift to him around this time, so you asked the waiter who will be serving you two tonight to keep it so Jungkook wouldn’t have a clue about it, hence the purpose of surprising him.

Walking hand in hand, letting him tug you softly wherever he’s taking you. As you walk, you pass by the perfectly aligned cottages. You noticed there weren’t that much of tourists outside. Perhaps, the lack of live activities in the island during the night forced most of them to just stay in their villas.

Although you were slightly shivering from the cold breeze, it was not enough to slow you down from your pace. The journey took longer than expected. You thought the table you’re occupying for the dinner would be close to your villa. Jungkook muttered something which you failed to hear clearly as the sounds of crashing waves were far louder than his voice. When someone who was wearing a familiar uniform of the hotel employees approached the two of you, you guessed that the lone cottage not far from where you both stood is the one you’re going to occupy.

The male staff greeted the two of you and noticed he has a good American English accent. You politely smiled then followed him suit as he maneuvered you and Jungkook to the cottage. Even from afar and the dim light that the post lamp near it have provided, you could make out the differences of it from the ones you’ve seen earlier. It was specially decorated.

You guessed right. Because when you went closer to it, you couldn’t help yourself but admire the beautiful setup. You thought Jungkook would only take you on a simple dinner, although he mentioned it being a little private. You tug his hand in an attempt to get his attention as he was giving instructions to another staff. It was the one you asked to keep your gift so Jungkook wouldn’t have an idea about it as he has no idea you prepared a present for him.

He grins when he saw the look on your face, evidently showing how surprised you are.

“Do you like it?”

“You didn’t mention it’s a candlelit dinner.”

“That’s the whole point of a surprise.” The smile plastered on his face tells you there��s something else you’re not aware of.

“What else did you prepare for this dinner that I don' know about?” Peering curiously at him. Jungkook didn’t have the chance to reply as the waiter coaxed you towards the table.

“Mr. Jeon, Mrs. Jeon, please do take your seats.” Jungkook nodded to the waiter and gently drag you to the flower decorated cottage. As you neared the table, your eyes caught the red petals beautifully scattered on the center of the table around the lavender scented candle.

Jungkook pulled the intricately designed metal chair for you. It was then that you noticed a single rose lying on the round, empty plate. You took it and drew it close to your nose so you can smell it properly.

“Thank you,” softly whispered. When you had taken a sit, Jungkook made a half turn to occupy the chair across mine.

The waiter then started serving the courses. Your eyes quickly traveled to his when you realized they were serving an Italian menu. It’s your favorite. Before you even had the chance to speak your thoughts, a soft, romantic melody suddenly plays. Your head going sideways trying to locate where the sound is coming from. The faint sound of the crashing waves drowning from the music that lingers sweetly in your ears. He didn’t leave your gaze. He grins seeing that you’re struggling to form a statement as your mouth was left ajar. You didn’t expect that he would do it anything special.

Still in daze of his effort to pull a special dinner, you whispered softly, “You did all of this…” It wasn’t a question, because he really did.

“Happy anniversary, Jagi.” He purred softly. Even with the dim light, you can see his eyes twinkling from adoration. “We’ve been celebrating our anniversaries for years and we’ve never done this before. I want to make this one memorable for you.”

“You didn’t have to...but—thank you. I-I...I don’t know what to say, I’m not expecting anything like this because being with you is enough for me.”

His hand reached out to yours, kissing your knuckles and the wedding band worn on your ring finger.

“Anything for you.” Your heartfelt interaction was cut short when the waiter came back with the wine, pouring to each of the wine glass. Muttering a ‘thanks’ when he finishes, leaving the two of you alone, again.

The two of you started eating. You mentally reminded yourself not to eat too much so you wouldn’t feel sick after the meal, especially now that you’re aware it’s a full course meal.

The primo was already served, and although the palletto is mouth watering, you didn’t finish half of it in discretion. Jungkook didn’t seem to notice it, because you already asked the waiter for the second course.

“How is it?”

“It’s good, and it tastes just like the ones I’ve had in italian restaurants.” You were referring to the Filletto al pepe.

“The chef must be good to be able to cook authentic Italian cuisines.”

He smile shyly. “Actually, he’s an Italian.”

“Oh. So, that’s why.”

Like the first one, you ate half of the portion of the second course. You’re on the fourth one when he noticed your wine was left untouched.

He lifted his eyebrow in question, “You don’t like the merlot? I thought that’s your favorite kind?”

“It is. I just felt like not having an alcohol tonight.”

“What do you want then? I’ll ask the waiter for something else.”

“Just...water, please.” He stared at you for a few seconds, before asking you again, unconvinced.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

During this time, you two were able to talk about a lot of things. And sometimes, he just stares at you lovingly while listening to you talk endlessly. It was several minutes after finishing the courses when he stood up and laid out his hand in front of you. He didn’t even speak but you knew what he was asking for. He wants to take you on a slow dance. The intensity of his gaze almost melts your heart as you took his hand and then he gathered you in his arms. Hands clasped over his nape, his around your waist. His hold on you allowed him to sway not only his body but yours as well to the soft melody.

Not long after, you slightly pushed him away. It’s time to give him your present. His eyebrows forming a line from your sudden withdrawal.

“I have something for you.”

“You do? You didn’t bring anything when we went out though...”

Instead of replying, you turned around to seek for the waiter, when you spotted him, your hand made a gesture to easily give off a signal for him to take out the box you’ve asked for him to keep.

When you turned back around to face Jungkook, his face was scrunched up in full confusion.

“What was that? What did you tell him?”

“The present. He kept it so you wouldn’t know.”

His eyes were wider than usual, still comprehending what you just did. In no time, the waiter came back with the box decorated with a ribbon on top.

You thanked him as he passed it to you.

You pushed the box forward towards Jungkook and whispered softly, “Happy anniversary, my love.”

His eyes going back and forth to you and box as he took it. It was the size of a shoe box and he was wondering what stuff could the box contain.

“Open it,” you encourages as he seemed to be thinking critically what you got for him than actually seeing it for himself.

He slowly untie the ribbon and pulled the cover to reveal its content. He fell even more confuse as he only saw strips of colorful papers that filled the box full. He scurried his fingers through it like he was on a hunt, determined to find the real gift. When he couldn’t seemed to find it, he slightly tipped the box, discarding the strips away. On the last few fistful strips, he saw a small, rectangular, white object. His eyebrows formed a straight line, trying to think the relevance of this tiny stick to be considered an object for a present.

It was then he took it in between his fingers and scrutinize it closely that it finally dawned him. His mouth dropped open.

He snapped his head so hard in your direction from utter shock trying to get a confirmation.

“Is it… is this true, YN? You’re pregnant?” You could see his eyes welling up.

You nodded a few times, “Yes.” You replied lowly. But he heard you, and the moment he did, he pulled you in a deep kiss. His hands were travelling everywhere he could touch you, your hair, your face your arms and then he palmed both your cheeks to kiss you again. He was over the moon. He didn’t know how to handle it, and the only way he could express it so sweetly is through his kisses.

Planting a soft peck on your forehead, finally freeing your swollen lips from his. His arms pulling you closer against his body like he was protecting you. Perhaps, from the cold.

“We’re gonna have a baby,” He dazed, dipping his head on your head to plant multiple kisses all over. “Tell me it’s true, that I’m not dreaming.”

“It is, Jungkook. We’re pregnant.”

Once again, he captured your lips. And you’re not aware how long he was kissing you, but by the time that he pulled away, you took in his dark hooded eyes and felt a hard pressure on your stomach. He is hard.

Just like the other days, you didn’t stop him from his advances even if you two were still technically outside. He was squeezing your butt cheek while dominating your mouth. His tongue long entered your mouth to have a taste. You were left panting when he lowered his mouth, aiming for your jaw, your shoulder and then your neck, the spot where he chose to suck the skin. It was maddening and you’re already losing your sanity. You didn’t have any sip of the wine but you felt just as intoxicated as what an alcoholic drink can do to you after having glasses of it. Perhaps, you really are. Only from your husband’s kisses and desirous touches.

As a matter of fact, you’re not aware how and when you ended up in your villa. Your aching desire clouding your mind that you probably lost your mind to keep track of what’s happening. If it weren’t for him dragging you towards the privacy of your rented room with your body going along wherever he leads you, you wouldn’t have been in your right mind to process your way to the villa.

The moment he pulled you inside, and closed the door behind you, it was like his patience suddenly ran out as he pressed you against the wooden surface, covered your cheeks with his palms then crashed your lips in a searing kiss. His grip let him dominate the kiss and you were not complaining about it. In fact, it turns you on even more when he takes the lead, controlling your needs, teasing you, taking you over the edge, and more.

His lips left yours and you let out a sound of whine, disappointed by the lack of attention from his lips. His name was on the tip of your tongue, about to call him when you felt his lips trailed wet kisses through your jaw down to your neck on your sweet spot.

Your hands find their way to his hair, gripping his locks between your fingers as an outlet to let your desire speak for you aside from the sweet mewls that were coming out of you.

“Jungkook,” you whimpered just as he not so gently sucks your sensitive skin that you felt a faint burning sensation. He knew what he was doing for his tongue started tracing his mark. It didn’t help ease your discomfort over the prolonging desire you want him to aid. In fact, it only intensifies your need like a sprinkle of water through a burning flame.

His lips went farther down your naked shoulder, easing off the strap not wanting a single barrier going on his way. His hand travelling from your waist towards your clothed mound. The only layer covering your breasts is the cotton dress you were wearing and he used it as an advantage, baring your other breast for his eyes and mouth to feast. Dipping his head, his tongue flicked your peak, sending a tingling sensation down where you ache the most. Your fingers tightening their hold through his hair.

“Jungkook please,” you were growing more and more irritated. You want him now.

He was quick to tend to you, kissing your lips, hands cupping your face. “What do you want, baby?” Brushing his lips against yours, the corner of his mouth turning up.

“I want you!”

His dark eyes stared at you, fighting back the urge to smirk at your needy state.

“We won’t hurt our baby, right?” connecting his forehead against yours, kissing your nose as if to help ease your panting.

You shook your head, not trusting your voice to speak. You craned your head up to press your lips to his.

And then you suddenly felt his hands found their way on the back of your thighs, pressing his palms against your clothed skin to urge you to jump on his arms. You did and wrapped your legs around his waist and knotted your arms over his nape. No one dared break the contact on your entwined lips as he expertly maneuvered his way through the bedroom. Your elevated position allowed you to dominate his lips, and it gave you the sudden confidence to push your tongue inside his mouth. It didn’t take long for he placed you on the mattress. You cried out of the sudden lost of contact to his lips. Your sexually deprived state draining your energy and left you with a thread-like strength that you failed to pull him closer.

How does he even have so much control in him? There’s no doubting that he doesn’t want you as much as you do to him because you can see it in his eyes. Dark and burning with desire. His lower lip in between his teeth as he unbuttoned his top, his eyes never leaving yours. You could almost make out an amusement playing on his features even though he wears no expression, like he’s enjoying your frustration. You impatiently watch him unbutton his tailored shorts, the constraint of his hard member creating an evident bulge on his front. And now that he’s left almost naked with his boxers on, it became too painful to look at the evidence of his desire without having any contact from him.

He must have decided to end your misery because he started climbing on the bed, crawling his way over you and parting your legs so he could rest his body on your middle. The moment he did, you reached out, cupping his face to crash your lips on his. It was then you felt his hard member, pressing so painfully against your abdomen that you could feel your core aching and leaking from the intensity of your need. Your whimpering sounds being swallowed against Jungkook’s mouth.

“Help me undress you, baby.” You did just as what he told you to. Desperate to feel him, anything to relieve the throb on your center.

“Up,” he instructed hoarsely, arching your back so he can remove your dress over your head.

“Beautiful.” His eyes scanning through your naked torso. Admiration and lust evident on his face as he feasted the view.

“Jungkook,” pulling his arm, “I want you, now.” your demand came out as a helpless plea.

“I know, baby.” he chuckled, although his face was dark with desire.

Pushing your hips up so you can rub your center against his bulge. Your body slightly trembling from the delicious contact.

His hand snuck in between your bodies, aiming for where you want him to touch the most. He pushed your panties aside, discovering how much you want him.

“Fuck,”

A loud moan emitted past your lips when his thumb flicked your clit. Another finger experimentally slid inside you. The simple ministration almost made you lose your mind. And no later than a second, the pressure stopped that you couldn’t help but to let out a cry from so much frustration.

Jungkook pinned your waist flat against the bed, the little distance between your bodies allowed him to pull your underwear down to your legs past your feet. Then his fingers hooked his boxers down until it reached his thighs to free his hard and swollen member, and glistening with arousal. He’s so huge that a sight of him alone made you clench your insides so hard out of too much need.

He rubbed his veiny length up and down before pushing your knees up a bit so he could have a better angle.

Aligning his steel hard length on your entrance, you bit your lip in anticipation. Your eyes met his when you tilted your head up. All this time, his eyes were on you. You were so focused on his hard length that you didn’t notice he was watching you all along. He chose that moment to thrust his hip roughly and you heard him curse under his breath. Your eyes clenched shut, crying out from the forceful intrusion. It should have hurt you for he’s huge and you can only take so much of him. But the evidence of your desire allowed his length to slide in easily, stretching you to the extremes, and relieving the ache of your prolonged desire that pain felt so surprisingly good through your sensitive muscles inside. Tears spilling from your eyes. He was quick to wipe them off. Kissing your lips tenderly and murmuring an apology.

“No. More please,” urging him to move.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please...Jung— Oh!“ halfway through pleading through his name, he started thrusting in and out of you that a series of delicious moans started pouring from your mouth. The pace was not too fast, but not too painfully slow.

He caught your lips, holding your chin in place. “Is this okay, baby? You’re not hurt?”

“Jungkook, more…” Ignoring his question as you seemed to be so focused on the delicious stroking of his member inside you, wanting more than what he’s offering.

Submitting to your plea, his thrusts quickened. Lifting the back of your thighs a little bit so he could go deeper. The same position allowed him to touch a sensitive spot several times. In and out. Until you could feel the impending snap of the knot tied by a thousand strands of your pleasure.

“Oh, Jungkook!” His name falling out deliriously on your mouth repeatedly like it was the only thing that mattered. The sounds you were emitting seemed to intensify his pleasure of being inside you that it urge him to go even faster, deeper. And the longer he does, the louder you get, screaming only his name and nothing else.

You can feel it, you’re close.

A growl rumbles out of his chest when you squeezes him so tight that he could taste his own orgasm. When he particularly stroke a sensitive spot where a thousand nerves are located which can trigger your orgasm, once, twice… and with the third stroke that you finally felt the twisting of your stomach, waves of pleasure hitting every core of your being. Your mind losing its own consciousness, vision blurring as the world has gone mute for a few seconds. Screaming his name one last time as you arched your back, wrapping your arms over his back tightly, needing his embrace as you ride out your high. He continued hammering his hard length inside you, prolonging your orgasm and chasing his own. Your eyes moistened from the overstimulation, almost painful, yet pleasurable enough to let him jar you over and over until you were writhing beneath him, coaxing his release to hit him sooner. It worked.

You heard him growled your name as you felt him stiffen beneath you, an indication of his approaching peak. The moment it did, he attacked your lips, muffling his own sounds of pleasure. He doesn’t like you hearing his moans because he thinks they are unmanly. But you love them. It gives you an assurance that you can please him like he does to you.

He rested his body on top of yours for a bit, his head nuzzled on your neck, panting from doing all the activity by himself. His hands firmly planted on the bed on both your sides so as not to put all his weight on you. His chest pressed flat on yours, allowing you to feel his heart beating so fast against his rib cage. You let him in this position, wiping the beads of sweats that covered his temple and forehead. You kiss the side of his head, your fingers stroking his hair in a comforting manner. He likes it when you take charge on the aftermath.

Your fingers lightly scratch his scalp, soothingly. Your other hand on his back, feather lightly rubbing his skin that is covered with a little moist of sweat. You tilted your head a little, purring closer to his earlobe.

“I love you.”

He lifted his head, meeting his half opened eyes. The corner of his mouth curled up in reply. He suddenly close the distance, capturing your lips. “I know baby, I love you, too.” He gently murmured against your tender lips. Then he kisses the tip of your nose before rolling over to his back, taking you with him. You ended up on on his side. His arms immediately covered your naked back from the cold. The new position gave you literally no space in between your bodies. His warmth comforting your body. You’re not sure if he’s still awake as your nose is buried on his neck that it didn’t let you see if he is. But you’re too tired and comfortable to move an inch.

“Babe…” you faintly whispered as your fingers traced the skin of his arm, if he’s asleep he probably wouldn’t hear you. He didn’t say anything.

Until he move. His arms tightening around you.

“Jagi, give me a minute or two,”

“What?”

He lifted his head to meet your eyes. “I thought you wanted more.”

You hit his chest playfully, but he caught it even before you do, taking it closer to his mouth to kiss the palm of it.

Not even a few minutes later, he flipped you both so he’s hovering you again. Jungkook pressed his hips against yours and you felt it. He’s turn on, again.

Squeals come out of your mouth as he attacked your neck, biting and sucking the skin playfully as if he’s some kind of a blood sucker creature. You thought you’re not ready to take him again after the intense one you just had. It was like you were not sated enough when he unsolicitedly slid inside you. You’ll always love the feel of him, filling you completely. He made you lose your mind, and didn’t stop after you exploded for the second time of the night.

You let him had you again, this time it was excruciatingly and painfully slow. You could make out a faint light illuminating from the blinds through your heavy eyelids when he finally stopped. His body falling with a thud on the other side of the bed, exhaustingly. That’s the last thing you remembered before sleep consumes over you.

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