#camp omni

[campomni]

Welcome to the official Tumblr blog for Camp Omni!

What is Camp Omni?

Camp Omni is a one of a kind California secular summer camp experience! Camp Omni provides an educational adventure shaped by fun and friends.

Our camp features science, natural wonder, and humanist values such as empathy, creativity, critical thinking, and community. Summer sessions are week long, outdoor residential camps for campers ages 8-17.

For more information, you can click the link below to check out our website!

If you would like to ask questions about the camp/the experience of attending/anything that you can think of, you can go ahead and send us an ask here on Tumblr. We don't bite!

[umbrecrunch]

SYDNEY KIN OMNI. 🦴

pt: Sydney kin omni. end pt.

Sydney + kin + omni.

꒰୨୧◞ 。definition⠀.ᐟ for omnis who love Sydney Sargent from Camp Here and There !! pt: definition; for omnis who love Sydney Sargent from Camp Here and There! end pt.

[omniocademy]

Camping Nitris style. What are you up to this weekend?

[shopomnicuracao]

5 Ways to Prepare for a Camping Trip

Camping essentials and equipment

How your camping trip turns out will depend a lot on your preparation. Preparing for a camping trip does not mean packing a tent and some snacks. It requires you to be completely prepared for anything and everything you would require during your outdoor adventure, including preparing for emergencies. Proper planning and preparation before you head out camping is a must to ensure adventure with safety, and to have a more enjoyable and memorable experience.

Here are five essential tips to keep in mind when preparing for your next camping trip.

1. Research the location thoroughly

Before heading out, gather information about the camping site. Know the terrain, weather conditions, wildlife and any regulations or permits required to set up a camp. Understanding these factors will help you pack the right gear and equipment and plan your activities accordingly.

2. Make a checklist of everything you need to pack

Create a checklist of all the items you'll need for your camping trip. This should include essentials like tents, bedding, cooking equipment (stove, fuel, utensils), clothing as per the weather conditions, personal items, first aid kit, power bank, camping lanterns etc. A checklist will help you organize your packing process and will ensure that you don't forget anything important.

3. Practice setting up the tent

If you're using new gear or haven't camped in a while, practice setting up your tent and other equipment beforehand. This will familiarize you with your equipment and help identify any missing pieces or issues that need to be fixed. Knowing how to set up camp efficiently will save time and help you get started quickly once you arrive at your destination.

4. Pack and prepare food and water

Food is an important part of camping. The right kind of food will give you the energy for your outdoor adventures and will make mealtimes delightful. Plan your meals in advance and pack non-perishable items that are easy to prepare. Consider options like freeze-dried meals, canned goods and snacks that won't spoil quickly. If you'll be cooking over a campfire, bring ingredients and utensils for simple yet satisfying meals. You may run into local wildlife of the area so store food securely to prevent attracting wildlife.

5. Safety and emergency preparedness

Safety should always be a priority especially when you are camping away from home and civilization, without quick access to medical assistance. Essential items such as a first aid kit, navigation tools (map, compass, GPS) and emergency supplies (whistle, flashlight, fire starter) are a must. Familiarize yourself with basic first aid procedures and know how to respond to common outdoor emergencies. Always make sure someone knows of your camping itinerary and expected return date in case of unforeseen circumstances.

These simple steps will help you be fully prepared for your camping trip, setting you up for a safe, fun and stress-free outdoor experience.

[couldeatthatgirlforlunch]

I Can Feel it in my Bones

Synopsis: Being Invincible’s pet is cruel, but you manage to find comfort in it.

Pairing: Yandere!Sinister!Mark Grayson X Gn!Reader

Tw: 18+; Mentions and descriptions of mass murder (this is a version of Mark that joined Omni-man and the viltrumites); Mentions of kidnapping and being chained; Mentioned and implied dubcon/noncon; Implied Stockholm Syndrome; Hurt/little comfort; Mentions of threats; All characters aged up; English is my 2nd language.

Word count: 500

Requested? No.

Extra notes: I might write more about this, and other fanfics with Mark and Rex, love my babygirls

General masterlist

You have your own suite. Well, it's not exactly yours, it's Mark’s room, but he barely spends time there, since most of his time is spent destroying Earth and intimidating civilians, alongside Omni-man. Meanwhile, you're always chained to the foot of his bed, just enough freedom to go to the bathroom and wander through almost all the expanse of the room. You can't even reach the door, not that it would change anything, there’s no one around to help you, much less someone brave enough to go against Invincible’s wishes.

Omni-man and Invincible like to talk as if you aren't in the room, as if you're invisible. You know the former doesn't understand why his son keeps a pet since it's death will come before Mark can even look like a 30 year old human. You're the pet. But he shrugs it off when Mark reminds him that not everything is about work, and if he can do whatever he wants to humans, then he wants to have a pet.

Mark is cruel. He always reminds you that the only thing stopping him from harming and killing you is your pretty face. That you only get to eat because he likes your body healthy. That you only get to shower and brush your teeth because he wants to breathe in a nice smell when he’s close to you. That you're only kept in his room and not at one of the slave’s camps because he likes to fuck you.

And you know it. You know it in the way he sometimes doesn't allow you to wear clothes. In the way he doesn't treat you like a person, more like a playtoy or decoration. In the soreness left when he's done.

But sometimes, sometimes you get confused. Because he lays his head on your chest when he wants to take a nap or just feel comforted. Because he keeps you in his room when you know he could just throw you in a cell. Because once in a while he asks about your old interests, and gets excited about things you had in common. Because he gives you things to entertain yourself. Because sex with him is good even when it's not consensual. Because he has a pretty smile. Because he doesn't look like the sadistic dictator who destroyed your city and killed half the people you knew, when he takes his mask off.

You wonder if he still keeps this human side of him because he simply grew up like that and it's too ingrained in his personality, or because he misses his mom and his friends.

It doesn't matter in the end, you're doomed in and out of this room. You're only human, he's a viltrumite. He was made to be a conqueror. You're gonna die faster than he can blink. He's gonna find another pet. At least, you can have some comfort if you keep him happy.

Like, comment and reblog 🥰

[thishazeleyeddemon]

:)

color wheel I made for my students

[milkywayes]

okay so happy pride month or whatever, no one asked but here’s my garrus vakarian dating history headcanon:

he has had 5 casual hookups pre-normandy, which isn’t a big number compared to his peers, and you’d think it’s because he’s an obsessive little freak who’s bad at being a turian, which evens out his good looks and swagger (and for some it does - cue some very frustrated crushes being forcibly stamped out because ‘really? that guy? he yelled at our superior last week in full view of the entire canteen’) but really he just didn’t notice half the advances made at him and the other half he turned down because he was busy thinking about important stuff (like gun mods, or cases, or math) and after careful consideration and weighing the pros and cons decided his time was better spent elsewhere. two of the 5 were with men, the other three with women, all turians. no repeats. he has had zero relationships pre-shepard if you don’t count the homoerotically-charged friendship he had as a teenager, one year before and one year into boot camp, before their very different abilities got them postings on opposing ends of the galaxy (read: elite sniper units on stealth patrol ships vs guy that assists the guy that fixes the lights in a backwater colony). he thinks no one knew about this, but his whole family did know and just tactfully didn’t bring it up. during the archangel years he has 1 hookup mostly because everyone tells him he’s so high-strung and needs to get laid more than he needs oxygen, but he bows out early on because his depression isn’t really conductive to the proceedings (read: she came but he didn’t.) this somehow ends up adding to the archangel urban myth, a true hero of the people asking for nothing in return, wink nudge, which makes him the butt of his team’s jokes quite literally until they all die bloody. he has never been in love until shepard, is initially unable to even categorize the feeling, and unfortunately for him, dealing with uncertainties and gray stuff and undefined parameters are about the only thing he’s actually bad at (besides the whole model turian stuff, if you count that as a skill). so basically his skill tree gets inverted as soon as he catches feelings. previous hookups would have described him as a gallantly attentive but emotionally unavailable, doesn’t save your omni-tool address but remembers your name kind of guy, which he mentions once to shepard. doing so is a faux-pas, though she doesn’t point this out and instead laughs uproariously because just that day he dented his newly-polished armor in his attempt to hold the elevator for her

send post

[benjimatorarts]

Garmasako piece inbetween commissions. I consider this my "Misako convince Garmadon to give up his plan with the Overlord and come back to her and Lloyd" AU.

Imagine the plan was for her to sneak into the Stone Army's camp to bring back the helmet but come back with her omni husbando.

[campomni]

Scientists are learning how to speak whale?

Camp Omni!! Did you know that there's a research team by the name of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) who are currently attempting to understand the communicative complexity and intelligence of humpback whales? A researcher from this team, Josie Hubbard, recently engaged in a conversation with one of the humpback whales her team had been studying. She had broadcasted a recorded humpback contact call through an underwater speaker and had found that their whale, "Twain", had responded to their call. This conversation had lasted for a total of 20 minutes. Isn't that wild?!

To find out more about this fascinating research study, feel free to visit the BBC article below: https://www.bbc.com/future/article /20240409-the-scientists-learning-to -speak-whale

Read more about Camp Omni here!

[artbyblastweave]

Between Invincible, and The Boys, who does better at handling the problem of "We need to name a bunch of superheroes and can't use any of the names that DC and Marvel grabbed"

In keeping with the corporate themes I think that The Boys is better at consistently coming up with cape aliases that a marketing department would plausibly let them leave the house wearing (sometimes to the point of subtle parody of the blindspots of those same marketing people- Black Noir's name literally being "Black Black" when translated, Stormfront always having been a nod to the infamous neoNazi web forum of the same name, etc.) They also have the fallback of parody- if a name sounds deeply dumb or undignified, it's probably supposed to.

Invincible is more all over the place- They pull ahead in that they snagged one of the last viable direct riffs on Superman's name with "Omni-Man," but they fall behind solely because of Robot. Fuckin' Robot. I understand that they're gesturing at overly-simplistic golden-and-silver-age cape names but I also don't think Invincible is consistently camp enough to telegraph that that's the intent.

[omniocademy]

How someone from NItris goes camping.... by hanging their tent up high in the air.

[mielmoto]

#|| honey's fem by choice but intersex/genderless by birth! fae? conventional gender? unlikely

happy pride once again, y'all

happy pride from your walking, talking sapphic flag

[yudrein-aile]

name changes of the official translation

as the turning manhwa has gotten an official translation, name changes were expected. some are bad. and others are just. well. worse IMO. In any case, the wiki will stick to the fantranslation names. However, here is a list of all the names changes so far up to chapter 11.

official name changes list:

Cavalry: Arcane Legion Yuder: Yudrein Ail World Sphere: Cosmic Orb Peletta: Paletta Red Field Rebellion: Redgrass Plains Riots Gakane Bolunwald: Volunbaldt Bellec: Belleck Airic: Ayrik Blue Crown: Blue Pavilion Parklamannuteia Hall: Parkula Mannuteaux Duvern: Dewburn Imperial Knights: Royal Guard Mana hole: mana core Imperial Knight Accomodation: Royal Guard Camp Shin: Robustus Sul: Arcanum Jung: Omnis Divine Sword: Blade of Orr Ever: Eaver Diarca: da Diaca Tain: Tayn / Tain (both have been used) Herne: Heren Zuckerman: Zuckermann

[fic-heaven]

Distant memory . aot au

[Armoured Titan! Ghost x Female Titan! Reader]

🐥Wanted to write sum Ghostie because apparently he's the only cod character that attracts people to my page :')

Angst to comfort to angst/ aot lore/ Ghost being Ghost/ cute Gaz just wants peace/ traumatized Reader/ ghost's family is still alive/ titans

- Your marleyan captain Makarov ordered your childhood crush to infiltrate the enemy territory in Paradis island. It is your duty as the female titan bearer to aid the armoured and the colossal since they took too long to update on their spying mission. After so long apart, you and Ghost are confronted with feelings from the past.

Sometimes, when your body took the appearance of a fourteen feet tall beast of a woman, you liked to imagine you were flying.

The clouds seemed so close you could reach them, the birds in the sky spooked at the size of a big pair of eyes close to their path of flight, the sun was hotter but not as much as your torching body, the ground was so low you didn't want to even look at it. Not because you had acrophobia, but because of all the war and chaos bellow.

You were no killing machine. You were just a girl trapped in a war too big for you to participate until they forced you to become a monster bound to do monstrous things. A monster that quickly made you fit to their senseless war to obey and follow the cruel orders of your captain Makarov. Though you were not the only sheep forced to become a wolf, there were other cursed people that understood just how terrifying it was to be forced to become a Titan bearer.

As the plan of exterminating the eldians from Paradis Island took a drastic delay of three years, Captain Makarov himself ordered you to infiltrate as aid for the two previously sent spies also carriers of the colossal and the armored Titan. He thought the Female Titan could shift the attention back to the real course, the real reason you three were sent to that hell-hole.

The sky looked so pretty but your admiration was bound to be interrupted when soldiers from the Survey Corps fly directly above your head. Those soldiers you had joined months ago, those you currently call comrades, siblings in arms...

How sad.

Your head shot downwards taking some of them with you since their ODM gear (Omni-directional mobility gear) was stuck to your scalp. The way your head violently dragged them made the poor souls smash directly into the green weeds and rocks from the ground of the forest you were fastly diving to. You weren't dumb, you knew this change of scenario would be heavily beneficial for them. You wanted to give that advantage.

After half an hour with more killing, running and dodging your titan was tied to multiple trees by metallic wires that cut deeply into the muscles of your human-shaped war tank. You didn't struggle, you knew with your crystalization powers you could easily chop your way out of the trap you got yourself into. But that would be too easy, you had to give them time, you had to make sure the other two spies would spot you, shit themselves and finally try and meet up with you for news about the mission and an update from Marley and their families.

The veil of night engulfs the forest, torches were lit everywhere in order to keep your titan well observed. Many of the soldiers here, even Captain Price, had tried to lure you out of your titan but you never relented although It was hard to maintain focus for so many hours being under there, many times you had felt tempted to indulge them and get out of that suffocating coffin of bones and flesh, you prayed to the gods the spies would interfiere soon to get you out of there. Lucky you didn't have to wait a whole new hour for shifts to turn, apparently Simon Riley and Kyle Garrick had spotted a pack of titans rushing to your position to which caused havoc in the make-shift camp they made.

The titans made a nice job of killing most of them until they got to your titan, chewing it's flesh with vigor, their soulless eyes never leaving the meat of your titan's body. Thanks to this you managed to get out of it's nape with agility dodging every mouth that shot your way. Your ODM gear was surprisingly intact considering it had been inside your titan's body for almost a whole entire day, you felt your brain foggy and your muscles protesting when you balanced yourself into the giant branches of a nearby tree, rushing to regroup with the captain who heavily chastised you for being so late. You were relieved he didn't notice you coming out of the titan all of them had bravely captured and was now being feasted upon.

"What the hell took ya so long!? We thought you had been eaten-"

"She was with us." Ghost.

You hadn't seen Simon Riley in six years since he was sent as a teenager to the eldians' den. You remember crying yourself to sleep because the cute butcher's boy was taken from you before you could confess your feelings. But he is a man now and you are a woman bounded to your respective duties. He has changed so much you couldn't immediately recognize him until you spotted the tattoos on his arm, the tattoos you had designed for him all those years back. The mask Ghost ported was new, but it somehow suited him, it was funny how the armored Titan's porter also shielded his face with some kind of armor. Perhaps he didn't know who he was anymore so he opted to hide what was underneath to create a new identity as Lieutenant Ghost from the 141 squad of the Survey Corps. How easily had he moved on from you, from Marley.

"She was scouting with us, sir. We picked 'er before we left, t'was a last-minute decision. I take full responsibility..." Said Sargeant Gaz with an embarrassed expression.

"Fine, whatever. We ain't got no time for apologies with all the losses we just suffered. Let's regroup with the others and get the fuck out of this nightmare of a forest." The captain snarled defeated.

"Sir, what about the female Titan?" Soap asked alarmed.

"There's nothing we can do. We are a group of seven against a whole horde, we are wounded and she's getting eaten there's nothin' we can do."

"But-"

"Obey my command or you can throw yourself to the titans alone!"

The whole squad instantly straightened their aching backs at the intimidating tone of their captain to soon begin launching themselves through the trees to the awaiting horses at the limits of the forest. Once you got into your horse with a cold look you glanced at Gaz and Ghost, they instantly stared back at you in hidden fear and anticipation.

Months ago they had heard a new flock of soldiers had joined the corps but they didn't expect you. Actually... With every year that passed they feared you'd come, but after six years their fears were almost extinguished with the silly expectancy that Makarov had given up on the extermination. But seeing you here with that cold look in your eyes, the way your skin look paler and how big your muscles had gotten, how much you had changed since the last time they had seen you... It meant they had forced you all these years to train to come and correct their failure, like they were actually expecting it. Ghost felt a wave of hatred clouding his already turbulent mind, his horse picked speed leaving you behind with Gaz until the boy sighed, gave you a knowing nod and followed after his lieutenant.

They knew they couldn't run away from you and their responsibilities, their loyalty was being doubted by the very same captain who trained them to become man-eating monsters in exchange for a better life for their families. Ghost wasn't offended by this, he understood compleatly, but the fact that Makarov sent you... It seemed like the captain knew exactly what you meant to him and the hurricane of feelings that would struck him by sending you to enemy territory. You brought old feelings that tormented Simon when he first got to this retched island until he matured and foolishly thought he grew past them.

"Fucking hell..."

.

You had reached the fortress they used to operate, resupply, plan their expeditions and run experiments to investigate the titans. You got an earful from Price who decided to pick up where you left off before he sent you to the showers and finally go to the barracks where Garrick awaited at the door with a grim look. Seeing him like this, with tiredness shagging his body but all grown and healthy made a you feel slightly off put at the seemingly great conditions the eldian people had graced the boys for exchange of their effort to "save humanity"

"Ky..."

He looked to his left and right making sure no one was in the hall before he ran to you wrapping his arms around your body in a tight hug. "Y-you... Fuck..." He couldn't speak, nostalgia hit you two like a boulder and tears were shed in each other's arms "My goodness you had grown... You used to be a little mouse back then" you said pinching his cheek. "Must be the titan in me." Gaz joked referring to the colossal titan's power running through his blood.

"You had made quite an entrance! I'm sorry we couldn't aid you faster, Simon uh... Well... He had a meltdown." His eyes tried to express the words he couldn't bring himself to say yet you played dumb because you did want him to say it.

"He's changed (y/n). The years we spent here since we were brats... They have practically finished raising us."

Your face changed from sympathy to cold defensiveness. Gaz was quick to rectify.

"It's not- I mean, we are loyal to our homeland, but seeing you was like getting a glimpse of the lives we left behind to integrate here. You know how emotional Simon is under that hardened exterior."

"He was given the armored titan for a reason. We need to talk. Where is he?" You sighed taking a step back and pinching the bridge of your nose.

Gaz grimaced signaling you to speak lower hoping no one has heard a word you just muttered. "His office...Come."

.

Walking down the corridor to the lieutenant's office gave you more fright than enduring Price's lectures whenever you did something to piss him off. You hated Simon for leaving you behind, but you knew it was your duty as titan shifters to accomplish what Makarov has put in your hands, and yet... You missed that bad temper and sassy frown he always carried, you missed stargazing while eating stolen watermelons from the market of your street, you missed when you two would pair up for every tiring exercise each morning to make your captain proud, you missed your Simon, and you were afraid "Ghost" the eldian version of Simon had replaced the boy you grew up with. Kyle was still your loving, trusting Kyle. But Ghost?

Gaz knew the mission your lives were doomed to accomplish made you and Ghost sacrifice more than living a normal life, it also made you put aside the feelings you held for one another. Kyle had spent multiple nights being Simon's rock, encouraging him to very slowly open the troubles of his heart to him, in the den of wolves they were instructed to dive in, only them both were fully aware of the true sacrifices they had to endure when they were only children for their families to not live in misery, poverty and hunger, while they told the eldian soldiers lies about their origins. Kyle will never tell you about the nights Simon spent crying feeling convinced that he'd never see you again. As time passed by, Gaz picked the red flags of an incoming identity crisis that only seemed to soothe whenever Simon was reminded of you, of your sole existence, not his family, not his friends but only you and the feelings he strongly felt for you managed to separate Lieutenant Ghost from Simon Riley, the tattoo on his arm you had doodled for him out of boredom and that he surprised you one day having tattooed it, was the only physical proof that you existed, that his whole childhood wasn't a dream. That he only came here to return the founder to Makarov, not live a life as a new Simon who has no (y/n) to love, defend and train with.

With all this said, Gaz was understandably worried about this reunion. Not just because of the news you had from Marley but also for the new update they recently got to inform you.

Ghost was already waiting for you two sitting on his wooden chair that by the looks of the damaged floor, he had dragged with total carelessness from behind his stacked table to the left side of the office right across a sitting area with a small coffee table that held three cups of tea.

When you stepped inside he froze, his body went rigid on his spot, the hairs of his arms rose in goosebumps. You were equally as struck but you swallowed it down for the sake of formalities, as you muttered your quick greetings you sat across from him along with Gaz. Ghost nods your way, places his mask down the table and you try not to cry at the view of your long-lost love sitting there with tired eyes, his littler of scars you remember tracing with your fingers and a sadness radiating from him that made your pulse shake.

"Gentlemen, is it safe to speak?"

"Made sure t'pick the office farthest from the barracks, laboratory and Prize's quarters. The only potential trouble would be the stables nearby, but at this hour it's empty." Ghost said in a matter of fact tone.

"Everyone's in the barracks and the captain is currently on his room writing Laswell of today's mission." Gaz concluded.

You sigh, take a long sip of your cup of tea and carefully place it down fighting a smile. Ghost still remembers how you like it. The men look at each other until Gaz decides to begin:

"We have the attack titan secluded."

"That means Valeria is dead....YOU LET THIS HAPPEN! YOU FUCKING TRAITORS!"

Gaz and Ghost abruptly stand up alerted by the change of mood. This wasn't like you. Kyle calmed you down begging for you to lower your tone, you ignored him smashing the table looking at the distance begging for clarification.

Ghost sat down again and decided to speak. "We are still loyal to our homeland than you think, (y/n)." Gaz nods "Valeria is not dead. She's trapped, contained... They don't even fully understand how the power of the founder works. They plan to study her."

"Why the fuck did you let that happen?"

"We couldn't simply interfiere, it would have blown our cover!" Gaz wails.

"Your cover has lasted six years. Why do you think Makarov sent me?"

"Hopefully not to finish us for the delay." Ghost grunts.

"Us? As in... Task force 141!?" You spat and he flinched lowering the tea from his lips.

"As you know, this mission should have taken less than three years and you doubled it, he is understandably anxious and pissed. Boys, we are still after the founder. Do not lose track on the mission ahead and remember who the real enemy is."

There was a pause then, your bodies feeling exhausted because of all the acrobatics from the last failed mission in the forest and the tension of the thousand feelings this whole conversation was evoking from each of you. As you took another sip of tea, Simon noted how the softness of youth had disappeared from you, stripped away by your hateful marleyan captain Makarov, and all because him and Gaz couldn't accomplish the mission faster as they were getting a soft spot for the eldians, for captain Price, for Johnny... He has failed you and the wrath of your captain fell on you transforming your beautiful body into a galaxy of pain and sorrows, your eyes a pair of dead stars whose light died the day Simon left, and the scars along your body were constellations of memories in the battlefield and your abusive training with your captain before getting the divine "privilege" of being a shifter, your healing powers healed any wound you got from then on never the scars your body during youth.

You composed yourself after a long sigh. "Where do they keep Valeria?"

"On a cell in the lav, they got her sedated. They uh... Have been discussing how and who will get to take her titan."

"So they do suspect it can be taken away...Who exactly did they have in mind?"

"We don't know, but we think it's Colonel Alejandro Vargas." Ghost grunts.

"Tsk. That fool is too unstable. He'll kill us all trying to tame her power... Soap?"

"Nah, lad's got less chance to earn it... What about the captain?" Asked Gaz.

"Old man's too sane to throw his human life away for a power he does not fully understand." Ghost says back.

"For now it's looking like Ale will get it...." You sigh. "So for now they'll keep her locked until Vargas agrees to inherit it, is that correct?"

They collectively nod with their sight lost in thought mauling at the information spilled until you say something that shocks them.

"Alejandro is too impulsive the attach titan would suit him perfectly... I suggest we try to convince him to take it."

"Have you gone fucking mad!?" Ghost barks making Gaz almost drop his teacup.

"We'll try to get him to join our cause first, show him what's further the walls and the sea. If he does we'll have the attack titan, if he doesn't we kill him. Simple. Judging by how passionate he is about human rights I bet convincing him will be like stealing candy to a kid, and with him cones his squad of vaqueros, wherever Ale goes they go, it could be very beneficial."

Gaz sighs trying to hide his nervousness at the prospect of killing the colonel "But If Alejandro dies...?"

You smile "Then we will try luck with his second in command, Rodolfo Parra. We could blame captain Price for Alejandro's murder if it comes to be, it must be during a scouting mission or else it'll be too obvious... Then with the pain of the loss Rudy will be easier to mold to our like."

Gaz and Ghost seemed convinced exchanging a few words amongst each other. "It's good t'have ya back, (y/n)." Ghost admits out loud and you thank deity up there that he is so reluctant to kill one of his current allies for the sake of Makarov's plan.

.

An hour has passed informing the boys about their families. How Simon's brother has gotten engaged and was expecting a son and how Kyle's twin had opened a business near the market street you all used to play and steal stuff from. By the end Kyle decided to head back to the barracks with a wide smile after hearing from his brother and Ghost- well. He wanted to speak to you about a private matter, Garrick understood instantly and left without a fuss.

Now that you were alone together, Simon went to sit on Gaz's previous seat next to you as you took something from your pocket.

"I had brought these for you..." You softly said handing him a small stock of sweets from Marley. The sweets you used to share together when you chilled together in the rooftops of old abandoned buildings from your neighborhood.

Ghost let out a low chuckle "Waited til' Gaz wasn't around to share 'em with me, doll?" Your face softened at the use of the old nickname he used to call you, He melted in the spot, both of you smiling like idiots and looking elsewhere other than each other's eyes.

"Never liked 'em." He said simply and you looked at him in confusion. "I only pretended to like 'em because you always wanted to share them with me."

"You buffoon..." You chuckled then and sighed a "More for me I guess..." Before shoving the sweets to your pocket but Ghost's hand shot to your wrist stopping you mid motion. His other hand open the bag slightly to scoop up a sweet and gently, very very gently placed it in the gap between your lips.

"Keep it there." He whispered it so sensually you couldn't help but obey, the sweet taste of the marleyan treat melted a little in your mouth.

He leaned to you ear, a hand nuzzling your right cheek gentle like a summer breeze, Simon supports his weight on his other arm, his hand resting near your thigh brushing it lightly with his thumb. You could feel shivers running down your spine. "I said I only ate it when you offered to share 'em with me."

He parted from your ear meeting your eyes with a dark look on his, brown orbes landed on your lips still holding the sweet. Your hands scratch lightly on the stubble from his jaw making his eyes close as he slowly leaned closer once more, your noses touched until you tilted your head to accommodate the lieutenant.

Simon kisses you then, his tongue swiftly robbing the sweet from your mouth. He parts a few millimeters, swallows the treat with an exaggerated gulp and a grimace then tries to kiss you again until you stop him placing your index finger on his lips.

"If you are gonna make that expression on the first kiss you give me I don't want to imagine the face you'll make when we-"

A harsh knock on the door interrupted your sensual moment when the voice of Soap spoke from the other side.

"Love, ye locked the door. Mind lettin' me in...?"

Love?

This was his lieutenant's office he surely must have mistaken it for someone else's room...

But the look of panic on Simon's face said it all. You abruptly stand up like he had burned you. And frankly he must have, because the ache you felt at that moment was worse than a simple burn.

[vega-and-the-pleiades]

In 1942, Dr. Israel Milejkowski assembled a panel of Jewish physicians interred in the Warsaw Ghetto under Nazi occupation. Faced with a famine induced by the Nazis to murder Jews prior to the creation of the death camps, this team of doctors elected to carry out the most rigorous scientific study on human starvation ever performed. They did so illegally under threat of execution, suffering the same disease as their patients, and with no expectation that any of them would survive the occupation. The results of their study were eventually published and later translated into English, and after a two year search I was finally able to get my hands on a copy. Dr. Milejkowski's forward is one of the most harrowing passages of written literature I have ever read. He begins by writing, "I hold my pen in my hand and death stares into my room," and concludes by thanking his fellow doctors and stating that through their manuscript they had embodied the principle "Non omnis moriar -- I shall not wholly die."

Dr. Milejkowski and 23 out of the 28 doctors did not survive.

I've given a great deal of thought to what these individuals went through. How, knowing full well they would not survive the occupation, the physicians of the Warsaw ghetto found a way to not only carry on, but to selflessly persevere and bestow new human knowledge in a way that carries scientific value to this day.

We have all been greeted with the news that Donald Trump will once again become the President of the United States. As of writing, over 72 million people made the decision to entrust perhaps the largest amount of power a human can wield to a man who has sexually abused women, violently assaulted democracy, and leveled his revulsion and the institutions he controls against people like me. I face the threat of Christian Nationalism with the terror associated with being a woman, a member of a non-Christian faith, and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I think about my patients and other medical providers all over the country who have already been directly harmed by the actions of Donald Trump, and the premonitions of what another term might be brewing.

These horrors persist, but so will I. I have no delusions that this is a situation we will break through with the power of love, and be better off for it. This is a situation to be endured no matter the odds or the consequences. And when I think of the physicians of the Warsaw Ghetto, I recognize what we can be capable of when we endure, even if it isn't for ourselves.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam -- I shall either find a way, or make one.

[writtenjewels]

Day One: Poetry

The first night on the station, everyone kept to themselves. There were the ones trying not to make noise as they cried, while others were almost excited to be there. Everyone was from a different time zone, many still feeling like it should be midday. Then there was the natural shyness some of them felt being in a strange place surrounded by unfamiliar people.

By the second night, they already found some common ground to start bonding. It should have been enough that they were all biotics, but after years of being treated like a freak or worse, none of them were eager to embrace that part of themselves. Easier to complain about Vyrnnus, or the food, or the lump mattresses.

But that tension and stress didn't leave. If anything, it was getting worse.

“We need to do something,” Kaidan said to Shelby as they prepared for light's out.

“About what?” the other boy asked.

The two had bonded over their mutual interest in tech. Conatix confiscated everyone's omni-tools when they arrived but the boys still sketched out the schematics of one and talked over how they would use different functions. One day in and Kaidan already got used to running ideas by Shelby. It was just that this one didn't have anything to do with tech.

“Us,” he answered. “Vyrnnus is running this like it's boot camp.”

“He's a turian,” Shelby snorted. “They're all like that.” He pursed his lips in thought and added, “Boot camp. More like brain camp.” That made Kaidan smile. He liked the sound of it. “Anyway,” Shelby said, “what are we going to do about it?”

“I think we need to find a way to relax,” Kaidan answered.

“Relax?!” Shelby gawked at him. His voice was loud enough to grab the attention of the other kids. “We were taken away from our homes and our parents, forced to live in this place and nearly kill ourselves under the watch of a psycho turian, and you want to fucking relax?!”

“Yeah,” Kaidan responded calmly. “I do. We need to find a way to de-stress, or we're all going to snap. We need to...” He hunted for the right words. “We need to just be kids for a few minutes.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” another kid asked. Her name was Natalia, if Kaidan remembered correctly. Everyone was watching him, waiting for an answer.

Kaidan's mind went blank. Back home, there were plenty of ways Kaidan found to feel like a regular kid. He would sit and watch hockey with his father, or help his mother cook dinner in the kitchen. During season, he would walk through the orchard and pick apples, tossing the bad ones around with his biotics. Even if Kaidan could think of an equivalent here, it didn't feel right to suggest it. They needed something to cut through all this tension.

“A recruiter brought me to space,” he began, “to this old, abandoned base. I gave him some sass because he's an ass, but I wish that I punched in his face.”

The other kids burst out laughing. It was like a crack that broke through all their stress and tension. Kaidan's heart lightened.

“Do another one!” one of the girls encouraged.

So he did, making up silly limericks for the other kids to laugh at. Eventually the other kids got in on it, making jokes or performing little tricks to amuse everyone.

This was exactly what they needed: a few minutes to be normal, just between them.